The modification window for Indian Institute of Technology Joint Admission Test for Masters 2024 (IIT JAM 2024) applications is set to open on November 20, 2023, at jam.iitm.ac.in. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), which is organising Institute the test next year, will allow registered candidates to make changes to their applications on the official website – jam.iitm.ac.in. The IIT JAM 2024 exam will be held on February 11, 2024. The exam will be conducted in two shifts, with Chemistry, Geology, and Mathematics in the morning session and Biotechnology, Economics, Mathematical Statistics, and Physics in the afternoon. Candidates can choose to appear in one or two test papers, but they can only take two papers if they are not scheduled at the same time.

Following the examination, candidates will be able access their responses and the answer key through the JOAPS login. The results will be announced on March 22, 2024, and scorecards will be available on April 2, 2024. The application for admission will commence on April 10, 2024.

The JAM 2024 examination will take place in eight zones, and the list of cities for each zone can be found on the official website. Candidates are required to specify their first, second, and third city choices during the application process. Once the first city is selected, the zone will be alloted, and candidates can then choose their second and third choices only from within the same zone.

The JAM 2024 is open to all nationals (Indian and foreign), and there is no age restriction. It is a computer-based test (CBT) to be conducted in seven Test Papers at the undergraduate level. Test Papers will have three types of questions: (i) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), (ii) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ), and (iii) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions. Candidates may appear in ONE or TWO Test papers.

Candidates qualifying in JAM 2024 are eligible to apply for admission to around 3,000 seats in IITs for the academic year 2024-25. No additional evaluation process, such as a suitability test or interview, is required for admission to the programmes in Admitting Institutes under JAM 2024.

JAM Scores are used for admission to programmes such as MSc, MSc(Tech), MS Research, MSc(MTech) Dual Degree, Joint MSc-PhD, and MSc-PhD Dual Degree in various institutes.

A former BJP MP has lost his son in Lucknow’s SGPGI Hospital, allegedly due to shortage of beds at the Emergency Ward. The grieving father sat on a protest at the ward with his son’s dead body, till the government suspended the doctor in question and promised further action.  

Bhairon Prasad Mishra’s son, 41-year-old Prakash Mishra, was suffering from a kidney ailment and was taken to the SGPGI’s Emergency ward around 11 PM yesterday.  Mr Mishra claims no bed was available and the Emergency medical officer did nothing to help. His son died shortly after, the former MP has claimed.

Later, Mr Mishra — who represented Banda in parliament — sat on a protest outside the Emergency ward with his son’s body.   

“I have lost my son, but I sat there so these guys fall in line. After me, some 20-25 people got the treatment… When I was sitting on protest everybody was complaining about him. He should be punished,” he told reporters.

The hospital authorities have promised strict action and formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.  

“The doctor said to him to take him to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).  But there were no beds available. Don’t know why it was said… We have formed a committee. Strict action will be taken… The doctor has been suspended as of now,” said Dr RK Dhiman, the hospital chief.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the state’s BJP government over the incident. “It is not the hospital’s fault. But it is the fault of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Why no budgets are being given to hospital?” he said.  

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has promised strict action and visited the leader at his home. “This is an unfortunate incident. A three-member committee has been formed and the matter will be investigated thoroughly,” he said.

Scientists from China and Sri Lanka are conducting joint “marine scientific” activities on board a Chinese research vessel, a senior official said Tuesday, amidst concerns voiced by India and the US.

The Chinese ship ‘Shi Yan 6’ arrived at the Colombo port last week. According to sources, Sri Lanka was delaying granting permission for the arrival of the vessel due to concerns raised by India. However, there is no official confirmation of the same.

“Clearance was granted to carry out marine scientific research on October 30 and 31,” a spokesman for the Colombo Foreign Ministry said.

The vessel is currently located off the western waters, he said.

Scientists from the National Aquatic Research Agency (NARA), personnel from the Navy, and the University of Ruhuna were given clearance to go on board, he added.

Director General of NARA, Dr Kamal Tennakoon, said the vessel is engaged in research activities in the seas off Bentara in Colombo.

The Chinese geophysical scientific research vessel commenced research operations in the Sea of Sri Lanka on Monday.

Described as a research and survey vessel with a carrying capacity of 1,115 DWT, the vessel is reported to be 5.3 meters in length, overall 90.6 meters, and 17 meters in width.

It is said to be China’s first scientific research vessel focusing on geophysical exploration.

NARA said the temperature of the seawater, the condition of the sea waves, how they affect fish, and climate change will be studied during the research, NewsFirst Lanka reported.

NARA said samples of different seawater levels will also be tested.

Four NARA officials joined the research activities, while two Navy officers also joined the research team.

The ship was expected to bring back the Sri Lankan personnel on board to Colombo off the western waters tomorrow at the conclusion of the activities, the spokesman said.

The vessel had applied to do a joint survey of Sri Lanka’s marine borders, officials said. However, the research would now be limited to western waters.

In August, permission was sought by the Chinese research vessel to conduct marine research activities in October.

The arrival of Shi Yan 6 followed President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to China last week.

Last month, the US expressed concern to Sri Lanka about the scheduled visit of the Chinese research ship to the island nation.

US Under Secretary Victoria Nuland, who met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, had reportedly raised concerns about the visit of ‘SHI YAN 6’.

China dispatches its research/surveillance vessels to Sri Lanka on a regular basis.

India has been raising concerns over the visits of Chinese vessels to Lanka.

The Government of India raised concern over the visit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy warship HAI YANG 24 in mid-August.

On a similar visit by a Chinese satellite tracking ship in early 2022, the Indians protested strongly.

However, after a considerable delay, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock at the southern port of Hambantota, a port in Sri Lanka’s south, under a 99-year lease to the Chinese company that built it after Colombo was unable to service a USD 1.4 billion loan taken for the project.

In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship ‘Yuan Wang 5′, which arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota, elicited strong reactions from India.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt. China is one of the top lenders to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka owes USD 7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, including USD 3 billion to China.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.