Syllabus for Entrance Test
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Syllabus for Entrance Test
1. Syllabus for Ph. D. in (Mathematics)
  1. 1. Linear Algebra:
    • Finite dimensional vector spaces; Linear transformations and their matrix representations, rank; systems of linear equations, eigen values and eigen vectors, minimal polynomial, Cayley-Hamilton Theroem, diagonalisation, Hermitian, Skew-Hermitian and unitary matrices; Finite dimensional inner product spaces, Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization process, self-adjoint operators.
  2. 2. Complex Analysis:
    • Analytic functions, conformal mappings, bilinear transformations; complex integration: Cauchy's integral theorem and formula; Liouville's theorem, maximum modulus principle; Taylor and Laurent's series; residue theorem and applications for evaluating real integrals.
  3. 3. Real Analysis:
    • Sequences and series of functions, uniform convergence, power series, Fourier series, functions of several variables, maxima, minima; Riemann integration, multiple integrals, line, surface and volume integrals, theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss; metric spaces, completeness, Weierstrass approximation theorem, compactness; Lebesgue measure, measurable functions; Lebesgue integral, Fatou's lemma, dominated convergence theorem.
  4. 4. Ordinary Differential Equations:
    • First order ordinary differential equations, existence and uniqueness theorems, systems of linear first order ordinary differential equations, linear ordinary differential equations of higher order with constant coefficients; linear second order ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients; method of Laplace transforms for solving ordinary differential equations, series solutions; Legendre and Bessel functions and their orthogonality.
  5. 5. Algebra:
    • Normal subgroups and homomorphism theorems, automorphisms; Group actions, Sylow's theorems and their applications; Euclidean domains, Principle ideal domains and unique factorization domains. Prime ideals and maximal ideals in commutative rings; Fields, finite fields.
  6. 6. Functional Analysis:
    • Banach spaces, Hahn-Banach extension theorem, open mapping and closed graph theorems, principle of uniform boundedness; Hilbert spaces, orthonormal bases, Riesz representation theorem, bounded linear operators.
  7. 7. Numerical Analysis:
    • Numerical solution of algebraic and transcendental equations: bisection, secant method, Newton-Raphson method, fixed point iteration; interpolation: error of polynomial interpolation, Lagrange, Newton interpolations; numerical differentiation; numerical integration: Trapezoidal and Simpson rules, Gauss Legendre quadrature, method of undetermined parameters; least square polynomial approximation; numerical solution of systems of linear equations: direct methods (Gauss elimination, LU decomposition); iterative methods (Jacobi and Gauss-Seidel); matrix eigenvalue problems: power method, numerical solution of ordinary differential equations: initial value problems: Taylor series methods, Euler's method, Runge-Kutta methods.
  8. 8. Partial Differential Equations:
    • Linear and quasilinear first order partial differential equations, method of characteristics; second order linear equations in two variables and their classification; Cauchy, Dirichlet and Neumann problems; solutions of Laplace, wave and diffusion equations in two variables; Fourier series and Fourier transform and Laplace transform methods of solutions for the above equations.
  9. 9. Mechanics:
    • Virtual work, Lagrange's equations for holonomic systems, Hamiltonian equations.
  10. 10. Topology:
    • Basic concepts of topology, product topology, connectedness, compactness, countability and separation axioms, Urysohn's Lemma.
  11. 11. Probability and Statistics:
    • Probability space, conditional probability, Bayes theorem, independence, Random variables, joint and conditional distributions, standard probability distributions and their properties, expectation, conditional expectation, moments; Weak and strong law of large numbers, central limit theorem; Sampling distributions, UMVU estimators, maximum likelihood estimators, Testing of hypotheses, standard parametric tests based on normal, X2 , t, F - distributions; Linear regression; Interval estimation.
  12. 12. Linear programming:
    • Linear programming problem and its formulation, convex sets and their properties, graphical method, basic feasible solution, simplex method, big-M and two phase methods; infeasible and unbounded LPP's, alternate optima; Dual problem and duality theorems, dual simplex method and its application in post optimality analysis; Balanced and unbalanced transportation problems, u -u method for solving transportation problems; Hungarian method for solving assignment problems.
  13. 13. Calculus of Variation and Integral Equations:
    • Variation problems with fixed boundaries; sufficient conditions for extremum, linear integral equations of Fredholm and Volterra type, their iterative solutions.
2. Syllabus for Ph. D. in (Biotechnology)
  1. 1. Microbiology:
    • Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Microbial nutrition, growth and control; Microbial metabolism (aerobic and anaerobic respiration, photosynthesis); Nitrogen fixation; Chemical basis of mutations and mutagens; Microbial genetics (plasmids, transformation, transduction, conjugation); Microbial diversity and characteristic features; Viruses.
  2. 2. Biochemistry:
    • Biomolecules and their conformation; Ramachandran map; Weak inter-molecular interactions in biomacromolecules; Chemical and functional nature of enzymes; Kinetics of single substrate and bi-substrate enzyme catalyzed reactions; Bioenergetics; Metabolism (Glycolysis, TCA and Oxidative phosphorylation); Membrane transport and pumps; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell signaling and signal transduction; Biochemical and biophysical techniques for macromolecular analysis.
  3. 3. Molecular Biology and Genetics:
    • Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; DNA replication and control; Transcription and its control; Translational processes; Regulatory controls in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extrachromosomal inheritance; Chromosomal variation; Population genetics; Transposable elements, Molecular basis of genetic diseases and applications.
  4. 4. Process Biotechnology:
    • Bioprocess technology for the production of cell biomass and primary/secondary metabolites, such as baker's yeast, ethanol, citric acid, amino acids, exo-polysacharides, antibiotics and pigments etc.; Microbial production, purification and bioprocess application(s) of industrial enzymes; Production and purification of recombinant proteins on a large scale; Chromatographic and membrane based bioseparation methods; Immobilization of enzymes and cells and their application for bioconversion processes. Aerobic and anaerobic biological processes for stabilization of solid / liquid wastes; Bioremediation.
  5. 5. Bioprocess Engineering:
    • Kinetics of microbial growth, substrate utilization and product formation; Simple structured models; Sterilization of air and media; Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes; Aeration and agitation; Mass transfer in bioreactors; Rheology of fermentation fluids; Scale-up concepts; Design of fermentation media; Various types of microbial and enzyme reactors; Instrumentation in bioreactors.
  6. 6. Plant and Animal Biotechnology:
    • Special features and organization of plant cells; Totipotency; Regeneration of plants; Plant products of industrial importance; Biochemistry of major metabolic pathways and products; Autotrophic and heterotrophic growth; Plant growth regulators and elicitors; Cell suspension culture development: methodology, kinetics of growth and production formation, nutrient optimization; Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures; Hairy root cultures and their cultivation. Techniques in raising transgencies.
  7. 7. Characteristics of animal cells:
    • Metabolism, regulation and nutritional requirements for mass cultivation of animal cell cultures; Kinetics of cell growth and product formation and effect of shear force; Product and substrate transport; Micro & macro-carrier culture; Hybridoma technology; Live stock improvement; Cloning in animals; Genetic engineering in animal cell culture; Animal cell preservation.
  8. 8. Immunology:
    • The origin of immunology; Inherent immunity; Humoral and cell mediated immunity; Primary and secondary lymphoid organ; Antigen; B and T cells and Macrophages; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Synthesis of antibody and secretion; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Complement; Antigen-antibody reaction; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hyper sensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction.
  9. 9. Recombinant DNA Technology:
    • Restriction and modification enzymes; Vectors: plasmid, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, yeast artificial chromosome; cDNA and genomic DNA library; Gene isolation; Gene cloning; Expression of cloned gene; Transposons and gene targeting; DNA labeling; DNA sequencing; Polymerase chain reactions; DNA fingerprinting; Southern and northern blotting; In-situ hybridization; RAPD; RFLP; Site-directed mutagenesis; Gene transfer technologies; Gene therapy.
  10. 10. Bioinformatics:
    • Major bioinformatics resources (NCBI, EBI, ExPASy); Sequence and structure databases; Sequence analysis (biomolecular sequence file formats, scoring matrices, sequence alignment, phylogeny); Genomics and Proteomics (Large scale genome sequencing strategies; Comparative genomics; Understanding DNA microarrays and protein arrays); Molecular modeling and simulations (basic concepts including concept of force fields).
3. Syllabus for Ph. D. in (Microbiology)
  1. 1. Historical Perspective:
    • Discovery of microbial world; Landmark discoveries relevant to the field of microbiology; Controversy over spontaneous generation; Role of microorganisms in transformation of organic matter and in the causation of diseases.
  2. 2. Methods in Microbiology:
    • Pure culture techniques; Theory and practice of sterilization; Principles of microbial nutrition; Enrichment culture techniques for isolation of microorganisms; Light-, phase contrast- and electron-microscopy.
  3. 3. Microbial Taxonomy and Diversity:
    • Bacteria, Archea and their broad classification; Eukaryotic microbes: Yeasts, molds and protozoa; Viruses and their classification; Molecular approaches to microbial taxonomy.
  4. 4. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells:
    • Structure and Function
  5. 5. Prokaryotic Cells:
    • cell walls, cell membranes, mechanisms of solute transport across membranes, Flagella and Pili, Capsules, Cell inclusions like endospores and gas vesicles; Eukaryotic cell organelles: Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria and chloroplasts.
  6. 6. Microbial Growth:
    • Definition of growth; Growth curve; Mathematical expression of exponential growth phase; Measurement of growth and growth yields; Synchronous growth; Continuous culture; Effect of environmental factors on growth.
  7. 7. Control of Micro-organisms:
    • Effect of physical and chemical agents; Evaluation of effectiveness of antimicrobial agents.
  8. 8. Microbial Metabolism:
    • Energetics: redox reactions and electron carriers; An overview of metabolism; Glycolysis; Pentose-phosphate pathway; Entner-Doudoroff pathway; Glyoxalate pathway; The citric acid cycle; Fermentation; Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Chemolithotrophy; Photosynthesis; Calvin cycle; Biosynthetic pathway for fatty acids synthesis; Common regulatory mechanisms in synthesis of amino acids; Regulation of major metabolic pathways.
  9. 9. Microbial Diseases and Host Pathogen Interaction:
    • Normal microbiota; Classification of infectious diseases; Reservoirs of infection; Nosocomial infection; Emerging infectious diseases; Mechanism of microbial pathogenicity; Nonspecific defense of host; Antigens and antibodies; Humoral and cell mediated immunity; Vaccines; Immune deficiency; Human diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi.
  10. 10. Chemotherapy/Antibiotics:
    • General characteristics of antimicrobial drugs; Antibiotics: Classification, mode of action and resistance; Antifungal and antiviral drugs.
  11. 11. Microbial Genetics:
    • Types of mutation; UV and chemical mutagens; Selection of mutants; Ames test for mutagenesis; Bacterial genetic system: transformation, conjugation, transduction, recombination, plasmids, transposons; DNA repair; Regulation of gene expression: repression and induction; Operon model; Bacterial genome with special reference to E.coli; Phage and its life cycle; RNA phages; RNA viruses; Retroviruses; Basic concept of microbial genomics.
  12. 12. Microbial Ecology:
    • Microbial interactions; Carbon, sulphur and nitrogen cycles; Soil microorganisms associated with vascular plants.
4. Syllabus for Ph. D. in Chemistry
1. Syllabus for Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry
  1. 1. IUPAC nomenclature of organic molecules including regio - and stereoisomers.
  2. 2. Principles of stereochemistry: Configurational and conformational isomerism in acyclic and cyclic compounds; stereogenicity, stereoselectivity, enantioselectivity, diastereoselectivity and asymmetric induction.
  3. 3. Aromaticity: Benzenoid and non-benzenoid compounds - generation and reactions.
  4. 4. Organic reactive intermediates: Generation, stability and reactivity of carbocations, carbanions, free radicals, carbenes, benzynes and nitrenes.
  5. 5. Organic reaction mechanisms involving addition, elimination and substitution reactions with electrophilic, nucleophilic or radical species. Determination of reaction pathways.
  6. 6. Common named reactions and rearrangements - applications in organic synthesis.
  7. 7. Organic transformations and reagents: Functional group interconversion including oxidations and reductions; common catalysts and reagents (organic, inorganic, organometallic and enzymatic). Chemo, regio and stereoselective transformations.
  8. 8. Concepts in organic synthesis: Retrosynthesis, disconnection, synthons, linear and convergent synthesis, umpolung of reactivity and protecting groups.
  9. 9. Asymmetric synthesis: Chiral auxiliaries, methods of asymmetric induction - substrate, reagent and catalyst controlled reactions; determination of enantiomeric and diastereomeric excess; enantio-discrimination. Resolution - optical and kinetic.
  10. 10. Pericyclic reactions - electrocyclisation, cycloaddition, sigmatropic rearrangements and other related concerted reactions.
  11. 11. Principles and application of Photochemistry - Principles of energy transfer, cis-trans isomerization, Paterno-Buchi reaction, Norrish Type I and II reactions, photoreduction of ketones, di-pi-methane rearrangement, photochemistry of arenes.
  12. 12. Synthesis and reactivity of common heterocyclic compounds containing one or two heteroatoms (O, N, S).
  13. 13. Chemistry of natural products: Carbohydrates, proteins and peptides, fatty acids, nucleic acids, terpenes, steroids and alkaloids. Biogenesis of terpenoids and alkaloids.
  14. 14. Structure determination of organic compounds by IR, UV-Vis, 1H & 13C NMR and Mass spectroscopic techniques.
  15. 15. Green Chemistry & Catalysis.
  16. 16. Medicinal Chemistry.
2. Syllabus for Ph. D. in Inorganic Chemistry
  1. 1. Chemical periodicity.
  2. 2. Basics of atomic structure and bonding in homo - and heteronuclear molecules, including shapes of molecules (VSEPR Theory).
  3. 3. Concepts of acids and bases, Hard-Soft acid base concept, Non-aqueous solvents.
  4. 4. Main group elements and their compounds: Allotropy, synthesis, structure and bonding, industrial importance of the compounds.
  5. 5. Transition elements and coordination compounds: structure, bonding theories, spectral and magnetic properties, reaction mechanisms.
  6. 6. Inner transition elements: spectral and magnetic properties, redox chemistry, analytical applications.
  7. 7. Organometallic compounds: synthesis, bonding and structure, and reactivity. Organometallics in homogeneous catalysis.
  8. 8. Cages and metal clusters.
  9. 9. Analytical chemistry- separation, spectroscopic, electro- and thermoanalytical methods.
  10. 10. Bioinorganic chemistry: photosystems, porphyrins, metalloenzymes, oxygen transport, electron- transfer reactions; nitrogen fixation, metal complexes in medicine.
  11. 11. Characterisation of inorganic compounds by IR, Raman, NMR, EPR, Mossbauer, UV-vis, NQR, MS, electron spectroscopy and microscopic techniques.
  12. 12. Nuclear chemistry: nuclear reactions, fission and fusion, radio-analytical techniques and activation analysis.
  13. 13. Environmental Chemistry.
3. Syllabus for Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry
  1. 1. Basic principles of quantum mechanics: Postulates; operator algebra; exactly- solvable systems: particle-in-a-box, harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen atom, including shapes of atomic orbitals; orbital and spin angular momenta; tunneling.
  2. 2. Approximate methods of quantum mechanics: Variational principle; perturbation theory up to second order in energy; applications.
  3. 3. Atomic structure and spectroscopy; term symbols; many-electron systems and antisymmetry principle.
  4. 4. Chemical bonding in diatomics; elementary concepts of MO and VB theories; Huckel theory for conjugated pie-electron systems.
  5. 5. Chemical applications of group theory; symmetry elements; point groups; character tables; selection rules.
  6. 6. Molecular spectroscopy: Rotational and vibrational spectra of diatomic molecules; electronic spectra; IR and Raman activities - selection rules; basic principles of magnetic resonance.
  7. 7. Chemical thermodynamics: Laws, state and path functions and their applications; thermodynamic description of various types of processes; Maxwell's relations; spontaneity and equilibria; temperature and pressure dependence of thermodynamic quantities; Le Chatelier principle; elementary description of phase transitions; phase equilibria and phase rule; thermodynamics of ideal and non-ideal gases, and solutions.
  8. 8. Statistical thermodynamics: Boltzmann distribution; kinetic theory of gases; partition functions and their relation to thermodynamic quantities - calculations for model systems.
  9. 9. Electrochemistry: Nernst equation, redox systems, electrochemical cells; Debye-Huckel theory; electrolytic conductance - Kohlrausch's law and its applications; ionic equilibria; conductometric and potentiometric titrations.
  10. 10. Chemical kinetics: Empirical rate laws and temperature dependence; complex reactions; steady state approximation; determination of reaction mechanisms; collision and transition state theories of rate constants; unimolecular reactions; enzyme kinetics; salt effects; homogeneous catalysis; photochemical reactions.
  11. 11. Colloids and surfaces: Stability and properties of colloids; isotherms and surface area; heterogeneous catalysis.
  12. 12. Solids - structural classification of binary and ternary compounds, diffraction techniques, bonding, thermal, electrical and magnetic properties
  13. 13. Polymer chemistry: Molecular weights and their determinations. Kinetics of chain polymerization.
  14. 14. Data analysis: Mean and standard deviation; absolute and relative errors; linear regression; covariance and correlation coefficient.
  15. 15. Chemistry in nanoscience & technology.
  16. 16. Supramolecular chemistry