OCI and PIO students looking to study in Indian professional colleges can opt only for NRI seats
NEW DELHI Sept 23: OCI (Overseas Citizen Of India) /PIO (Person of Indian Origin)/Foreign National candidates are eligible to apply ONLY for NRI (Non-resident Indian) seats and not for Indian (All India Quota/ Central/ Deemed Paid/ Indian) seats, the ministry of home affairs said in a notification released on Thursday.
Earlier, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) students were treated on par with Indians; they had equal opportunity to compete for seats in government institutes as well as participate in admission rounds of the all-India quota in medical colleges. But from this year, in case of technical education, OCI/PIO students will be considered foreign nationals who will be allotted supernumerary seats and will have to pay higher fees.
With the new notification, OCI and PIO students seeking admission in Indian professional institutes will henceforth be treated on a par with foreign nationals and can seek admission only under the non-resident Indian (NRI) quota. This will translate to fewer seats for such candidates and considerably higher fees than what Indian students pay.
Last year, the SC had given a year's exemption to such students; in May 2022, it refused to extend the rule.
The ministry of home affairs' notification released on Thursday said OCI and PIO candidates participating in undergraduate and postgraduate admissions will be considered on par with the NRI in case of those "appearing for the all India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), JEE (Mains), Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) or such other tests to make them eligible for admission only against any Non-Resident Indian seat or any supernumerary seat: the OCI cardholder shall not be eligible for admission against any seat reserved exclusively for Indian citizens."
The notice states that this information is with respect to “Gazette Notification of Ministry of Home Affairs Gazette Notification No. S.O.1050 (E) dated 04/03/2021”. This is what the notice states:
“(4) Parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of- (ii) appearing for the all India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) or such other tests to make them eligible for admission only against any Non-Resident Indian seat or any supernumerary seat: Provided that the OCI cardholder shall not be eligible for admission against any seat reserved exclusively for Indian citizens.”
And this is the explanation given: “For the purposes of this notification─ (1) The OCI Cardholder (including a PsIO cardholder) is a foreign national holding passport of a foreign country and is not a citizen of India.”
The notice further advises that, “Deemed Universities/ Institutes where NRI seats are available should verify only citizenship card for OCI/ PIO/ Foreign National candidates at the time of reporting and not other NRI documents which are asked & verified for NRI Sponsored Candidates. Also, the Nationality of all candidates should be checked along with other documents.”
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