Admission-phd – IISER Tirupati

IISER TIRUPATI

ADMISSION TO Ph.D. PROGRAM – JANUARY 2027

IISER Tirupati, an institute of national importance under the MoE, admits students in the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Earth and Climate Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, and associated interdisciplinary areas of research. In addition to research, the program involves coursework and teaching assistantships. IISER Tirupati invites applications from prospective candidates for admission to the Ph.D. program in January 2027.

The department-specific eligibility criteria for January 2027 admissions are given below. Information about individual faculty profiles and areas of research can be obtained from the IISER Tirupati website.

In this round, the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Climate Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences will admit Ph.D. students.

The broad areas of research, important dates, and eligibility criteria in each department are as follows:

ADMISSION TO Ph.D. PROGRAM – JANUARY 2024

IISER Tirupati invites applications from prospective candidates for admission to the Ph.D. program in January 2024. IISER Tirupati admits students in the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Earth and Climate Sciences, and associated interdisciplinary areas of research. In addition to research, the program involves coursework and teaching assistantships.

The department-specific eligibility criteria for January 2024 admissions are given below. Information about individual faculty profiles and areas of research can be obtained from the IISER Tirupati website.

In this round, the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Earth and Climate Sciences will admit PhD students.

The broad areas of research, important dates and eligibility criteria in each department are as follows:

Biology

Computational Biology and Systems Biology, Biophysics, Cancer Biology/Immunology, Chemical Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology & Neurobiology, Genome Biology, Infection Biology, Plant Biology, Structural Biology, Single Molecule Biology/ Nucleic Acid Biology, Microbiology.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty/

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/departments/biology/

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: October 13, 2023

Closing date of online application: November 12, 2023
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: November 25 – 30, 2023 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: December 05 – 10, 2023 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: December 20 – 25, 2023 (Tentative)
Joining date for PhD Program: January 2, 2024 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR BIOLOGY:

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Biology	Students with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in Master's degree in any branch of Science Physics/ Chemistry/Mathematics/Biological Sciences/ Ecological Sciences/Agricultural Sciences/ Psychology	Qualified for JGEEBILS 2023 (or) DBT-JRF-A / ICMR-JRF /DBT-BINC / UGC-CSIR JRF / DST-INSPIRE-JRF (or) For GATE -Life Sciences, GATE-Biotechnology, GATE-Computer Science and IT, GATE-Chemistry, and GATE-Ecology and Evolution up to rank 200. (or) Any other national fellowship.
	M.Tech/ M.VSc or MBBS degree or any equivalent degree.
	Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply.
	IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed on the right column.

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Biology discipline in the following link:

Biology: Click here to apply online

Chemistry

Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical & Computational Chemistry, Physical & Materials Chemistry, Chemical biology and other Chemistry allied disciplines.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty/

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/departments/chemistry/

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: October 13, 2023
Closing date of online application: November 12, 2023
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: November 25 – 30, 2023 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: December 05-10, 2023 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: December 20-25, 2023 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 2, 2024 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR CHEMISTRY:

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Chemistry	Students with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; with all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in master's degree in any branch of Science: Physics/Chemistry/Mathematics/Biology or ME/M.Tech or any equivalent degree. or Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or CGPA 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply or IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed on the right column.	Qualified for CSIR/UGC-LS/JRF/INSPIRE PhD Fellowships/GATE/Any other National Fellowships

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Chemistry discipline in the following link:

Chemistry : Click Here to apply online

Physics

Atomic & Molecular Physics (Experiment and Theory), Complex Systems (Theory), Condensed Matter, Materials, and Quantum Condensed Matter (Theory), Experimental High Energy Physics, Lasers and Photonics (Experiment), Microfluidics (Experiment), Observational Astronomy, Soft and Active Matter (Experiment, Theory and Computation)

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/departments/physics/

Important Dates:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PHYSICS:

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Physics	Students with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in Master's degree in any branch of Science: Physics/Astronomy & Astrophysics/Chemistry/Mathematics/Biology or M.E./M.Tech. or any equivalent degree.	Awarded CSIR-JRF or UGC JRF or INSPIRE PhD (or) Qualified in JEST (or) Qualified in GATE (or) Any other National Level Examination
	Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or CGPA 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply.
	IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed on the right column.

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Physics discipline in the following link:

Physics: Click Here to Apply Online

Earth & Climate Science

Seismic tomography, Seismic anisotropy and attenuation, Earthquake physics and ground motion, Earthquake early warning system.

Igneous Petrology, Mineralogy, Rare Metal and Rare Earth (RMRE) mineralization, Atmospheric science, meteorology.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/earth-climate-sciences/

Important Dates:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR ECS

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Earth & Climate Science	Students with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; with all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 out of 10-point scale in master degree in: Geology/Geophysics/Physics/Meteorology/Atmospheric Science/Space Physics/Applied Physics/ Astrophysics/Planetary sciences/ Environment Sciences IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed on the right column.	NET in Earth, Atmospheric Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Physics, Environment Sciences/ GATE in Physics, Geology & Geophysics (GG) and Environment Sciences and Engineering

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the ECS discipline in the following link:
Click Here to Apply Online

Mathematics

Analytic Number theory, Algebraic Number Theory, Galois Representations, Harmonic Analysis, Algebraic Geometry, Algebraic K-Theory, Homotopy Theory, Representation Theory, Riemannian Geometry, Differential and Algebraic Topology

Visit the following website for further details:
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty/

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/departments/mathematics/

Important Dates:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA MATHEMATICS

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Mathematics	Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in Master's degree in any branch of Science: Physics/ Chemistry/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Biological Sciences/ M.E./ M.Tech. or any equivalent degree. Candidates with B.E./ B.Tech degree with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply. IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the additional eligibility criteria listed on the right column.	Qualified for CSIR-JRF / UGC-JRF / INSPIRE PHD / NBHM PHD / GATE(MA) or Any other National Fellowship

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Mathematics discipline in the following link:

Click Here to Apply Online

General Information to the Applicants:

The candidate MUST have qualified at least ONE of the above-mentioned essential eligibility criteria in relevant discipline.
The fellowships/scores/ranks must be valid at the time of joining the course.
For candidates belonging to SC/ST, PWD and KM category, the percentage of marks may be relaxed by 5% or 0.5 in the case of CGPA.
Candidates in the final year of their qualifying degree (as mentioned in the minimum criteria) are also eligible to apply. However, their final selection is subject to their successful completion of the qualifying degree with the above-mentioned requirements at the time of admission. A provisional degree certificate is mandatory at the time of admission.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Selection Procedure:

The shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview and the final selection is based on interview performance.

TA/DA will be provided to the SC/ST/PD students appearing for the interview as per institute norms.

Applying does not automatically guarantee that a candidate will be shortlisted for an interview. The respective departments may use additional criteria (based on academic performance and/or performance in the national level tests) to shortlist candidates for interviews.

The respective departments may use additional criteria (based on academic performance and/or performance in the national level tests) to shortlist candidates for interviews.

Fellowship:

Upon selection and subsequently joining the PhD program, candidates who do not possess any CSIR, DBT and INSPIRE, will be eligible for institute fellowship at par with CSIR, DBT etc., but without HRA and Contingency components.

Please Note:

All communication with candidates will be by email only.

Kindly check this website for periodic updates

In case of any application-related specific queries, please contact the respective departments with your application number mentioned in the subject at the following email addresses:

Age Relaxation:

Preferably not more than 28 years at the time of joining. Age relaxation of 3 years will be given for OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) and 5 years for SC/ST/PWD/Female candidates as per GOI norms. Candidates belonging to the reserved category will have to submit relevant certificates, if selected. Relaxation may also be given whenever suitable candidates are not available, in exceptional circumstances.

List of Short Listed Candidates for Interview:

Earth & Climate Sciences

List of Selected Candidates:

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Earth & Climate Sciences

Earth and Climate Sciences

Biology

BIOLOGY

Intake under six themes

Biochemistry & Biophysics, 2) Cell & Developmental Biology, 3) Computational Biology, 4) Disease Biology, 5) Ecology & Evolution, and 6) Plant Sciences.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/people/faculty/

https://iiser-biology-phd.netlify.app

(page with faculty details, open projects and contact details)

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: September 25, 2026
Closing date of online application: October 15, 2026
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: October 25-30, 2026 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: November 18-19, 2026 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: November 20-25, 2026 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 4, 2027 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR BIOLOGY:

Discipline

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Essential Eligibility Criteria

Biology

Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in a Master’s degree in any branch of Science Physics/ Chemistry/Biological Sciences/ Ecological Sciences/Agricultural Sciences.

M.Tech/ M.VSc or MBBS degree or any equivalent degree.

Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree in Biotechnology, Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering with a minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or a CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply.

IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed in the right column.

Qualified for JGEEBILS 2026

(or)

DBT-JRF-A / ICMR-JRF /DBT-BINC / UGC-CSIR JRF / DST-INSPIRE-JRF

(or)

For GATE -Life Sciences, GATE-Biotechnology, GATE-Computer Science and IT, GATE-Chemistry, GATE-Ecology and Evolution and CSIR-LS (Lectureship)

(or)

Any other national fellowship.

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Biology discipline in the following link: https://form.jotform.com/262640983421458

CHEMISTRY

Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Physical & Materials Chemistry, Chemical biology and other Chemistry allied disciplines.

Visit the following website for further details:
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/people/faculty/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/research/chemistry/

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: September 25, 2026
Closing date of online application: October 15, 2026
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: October 25-30, 2026 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: November 05-10, 2026 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: November 20-25, 2026 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 4, 2027 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR CHEMISTRY:

Discipline	Minimum Eligibility Criteria	Essential Eligibility Criteria
Chemistry	Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; with all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in master’s degree in any branch of Science: Physics/Chemistry/Mathematics/Biology or ME/M.Tech or any equivalent degree. Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree with a minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or a CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply. IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed in the right column.	Qualified for CSIR/UGC-LS/JRF/INSPIRE PhD Fellowships/GATE/Any other National Fellowships

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Chemistry discipline in the following link: https://form.jotform.com/262640305530447

PHYSICS

Atomic & Molecular Physics (Experiment and Theory), Complex Systems (Theory), Condensed Matter, Materials, and Quantum Condensed Matter (Theory), Experimental High Energy Physics, Lasers and Photonics (Experiment), Microfluidics (Experiment), Observational Astronomy, Soft and Active Matter (Experiment, Theory and Computation), Theoretical Astrophysics.

Visit the following website for further details:
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/people/faculty/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/research/physics/

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: September 25, 2026
Closing date of online application: October 15, 2026
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: October 25-30, 2026 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: November 05-10, 2026 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: November 20-25, 2026 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 4, 2027 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PHYSICS:

Discipline

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Essential Eligibility Criteria

Physics

Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in a Master’s degree in any branch of Science: Physics/Astronomy & Astrophysics/Chemistry/Mathematics/Biology or M.E./M.Tech. or any equivalent degree.

Candidates with BE/B.Tech degree with a minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; not only in majoring subject) or a CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale can also apply.

IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed in the right column.

Awarded CSIR-JRF or UGC-JRF or INSPIRE PhD

(or)

Qualified in JEST 2025/2026

(or)

Qualified in GATE

(or)

Any other National Level Examination

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the Physics discipline in the following link:

https://form.jotform.com/262640700812449

EARTH & CLIMATE SCIENCES

Seismic tomography, Seismic anisotropy and attenuation, Earthquake physics and ground motion, Earthquake early warning system.
Igneous Petrology, Mineralogy, Genesis of Critical Metal Deposits in Alkaline Magmatic Systems.
Atmospheric science, meteorology.
Economic Geology, Gold Metallogeny.
Environment Sciences, Environment Toxicology, Microplastics and Heavy Metal Pollution.
Sedimentology, Geomorphology, Paleoclimatology.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/people/faculty/

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/earth-climate-sciences/

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: September 25, 2026
Closing date of online application: October 15, 2026
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: October 25-30, 2026 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: November 05-10, 2026 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: November 20-25, 2026 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 4, 2027 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR ECS

Discipline

Eligibility Criteria

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Earth & Climate Science

Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; with all subjects) or a CGPA of 6.0 out of a 10-point scale in master’s degree in: Geology/Geophysics/Physics/Meteorology/Atmospheric Science/Space Physics/Applied Physics/ Astrophysics/Planetary sciences/ Environment Sciences.

IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed in the right column.

NET in Earth, Atmospheric

Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Physics, Environment Sciences/

GATE in Physics, Geology & Geophysics (GG), Atmospheric and oceanic sciences and Environment Sciences and Engineering

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the ECS discipline at the following link: https://form.jotform.com/262640479784470

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Complex systems, Complex networks, Economic & financial networks, Pedagogical Strategies, Curricula and Assessment methodologies, Tech-enhanced learning, Energy Economics, Energy Finance, Financial Economics, Macroeconomics.

Visit the following website for further details:

https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/people/faculty/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/departments/hss/
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty-details/?faculty_id=Hss-1&id=27760
https://www.iisertirupati.ac.in/faculty-details/?faculty_id=Hss-3&id=27760

Important Dates:

Opening date of online application: September 25, 2026
Closing date of online application: October 15, 2026
Announcement of candidates shortlisted for interview: October 25-30, 2026 (Tentative)
Interview of shortlisted candidates: November 05-10, 2026 (Tentative)
Announcement of interview results: November 20-25, 2026 (Tentative)
Joining date for Ph.D. Program: January 4, 2027 (Tentative)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Subjects

Minimum Eligibility Criteria and Research Areas

Essential Eligibility Criteria

Complex systems, Complex networks, Economic & financial networks

Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 on a 10-point scale in Master’s degree in Physics.

IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA >= 8.0 are eligible without the additional eligibility criteria listed in the right column.

Research Areas: Complex systems, Complex networks, Economic & financial networks

Awarded CSIR-JRF or UGC-JRF or INSPIRE PhD

(or)

Qualified in JEST

(or)

Qualified in GATE

(or)

Any other National Level Examination

Subject

Minimum Eligibility Criteria and Research Areas

Essential Eligibility Criteria

Economics

Students with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (overall percentage; with all subjects) or CGPA 6.0 out of 10-point scale in master degree in Economics.

Research Areas: Energy Economics, Energy Finance, Financial Economics, Macroeconomics.

UGC-NET/UGC-JRF in Economics

Subject

Minimum Eligibility Criteria and Research Areas

Essential Eligibility Criteria

Education

Students with a minimum 55% marks in aggregate (overall percentage including all subjects) or a CGPA of 6.0 out of a 10-point scale in a Master’s degree in any branch of Science or B.Ed./M.Ed. with an undergraduate degree in Science.

IISER BS-MS (All IISERs) Dual degree students with CGPA>= 8.0 are eligible without the essential eligibility criteria listed in the right column.

Research Areas: Pedagogical Strategies, Curricula and Assessment methodologies, Tech-enhanced learning.

UGC-NET/UGC-JRF in Education

(or)

Any other National Level Examination

In addition to the regular Ph.D. program, there is ONE position in Education as part of the Joint-PhD program with The University of Melbourne under the Melbourne India Postgraduate Academy (MIPA).

https://research.unimelb.edu.au/strengths/initiatives/international-training-groups/melbourne-india-postgraduate-academy-mipa

Interested candidates can directly apply to this call through the regular Ph.D. admission form for the HSS department at IISER Tirupati. If you are interested in the MIPA program, please mention it to the committee members during the interview. However, admission to the program is contingent upon acquiring a CGPA of 8.5 in the Ph.D. coursework at IISER Tirupati.

Application Procedure:

Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants can submit their forms for the HSS discipline in the following link: https://form.jotform.com/262640237907459

General Information to the Applicants:

The candidate MUST have qualified at least ONE of the above-mentioned essential eligibility criteria in relevant discipline.
The fellowships/scores/ranks must be valid at the time of joining the course.
For candidates belonging to SC/ST, PWD and KM category, the percentage of marks may be relaxed by 5% or 0.5 in the case of CGPA.
Candidates in the final year of their qualifying degree (as mentioned in the minimum criteria) are also eligible to apply. However, their final selection is subject to their successful completion of the qualifying degree with the above-mentioned requirements at the time of admission. A provisional degree certificate is mandatory at the time of admission.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Selection Procedure:

The shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview, and the final selection is based on interview performance.

TA will be provided to the SC/ST/PWD students appearing for the interview as per the institute norms.

Applying does not automatically guarantee that a candidate will be shortlisted for an interview.

The respective departments may use additional criteria (based on academic performance and/or performance in the national level tests) to shortlist candidates for interviews.

Fellowship:

Upon selection and subsequently joining the PhD program, candidates who do not possess any CSIR, DBT, and INSPIRE will be eligible for institute fellowship at par with CSIR, DBT, etc., but without HRA and Contingency components.

Please Note:

All communication with candidates will be by email only.

Kindly check this website for periodic updates.

In case of any application-related specific queries, please contact the respective departments with your application number mentioned in the subject at the following email addresses:

bioadmissions@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in
chemphdselection@iisertirupati.ac.in
physphdselection@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in
earthphdselection@iisertirupati.ac.in
hssphdselection@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in

Age Relaxation:

Preferably not more than 30 years at the time of joining. Age relaxation of 3 years will be given for OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) and 5 years for SC/ST/PWD/Female candidates as per GOI norms. Candidates belonging to the reserved category will have to submit relevant certificates if selected. Relaxation may also be given whenever suitable candidates are not available, in exceptional circumstances.