7 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NIT-R portal for NRI, foreign origin students admission to institutes
ROURKELA: To simplify admission of candidates for 105 institutes of the country eligible for both Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) and Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) special categories, the NIT-Rourkela has created a single common portal.
The move is aimed at simplifying admission process for foreign-origin and NRI students. As coordinating institute for both DASA and CSAB, NIT-R has announced commencement of a common registration process for candidates seeking admission to undergraduate programmes.
The institutes include 31 NITs, 26 IIITs, one IIEST, three SPAs and 44 technical institutes funded fully or partially by the central or state government for the academic year 2025-26.
Students from over 50 countries including NRIs and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs)/ Persons of Indian Origins (PIOs) are allowed admission in higher institutions through DASA. On the other hand, CSAB Special is primarily meant for students with Indian citizenship. CSAB-Special conducts supplementary admission rounds held after Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) to utilise the remaining seats across various centrally funded technical institutes and help prevent wastage.
Reliable sources in the NIT-R explained that candidates with NRI status are eligible for admission both under DASA and CSAB-Special categories, while from 2023 onwards the candidates with OCI and PIO status too became eligible to apply in both categories. Previously, they were needed to apply in different portals making the process for seat allocation cumbersome and overlapping of applications also created confusion.
Integration of two separate platforms with introduction of a common portal ( provides single registration window for two distinct admission schemes and will help reduce administrative burden, ensure clear timelines and simplify document handling or onboarding process, they added.
Chairman for DASA & CSAB 2025 and NIT-R Director Prof. K Umamaheshwar Rao said the coordinated admission process reflects Indian government's commitment to simplifying global access to its higher education institutions.
Chairman of the local organising committee Prof. Anindya Basu of NIT-R said students of Indian origin from across the world will now have access to a seamless, transparent, and integrated admission process. The joint portal will remove procedural overlaps, reduce candidate stress, and reflect India's commitment to modernising education governance, he added.
