The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made several changes in the process for pursuing research work by various universities and institutions across the country. In a journal released by UGC on November 07, it is announced that the government teachers and employees anywhere in India can now be a part of the part-time PhD program.
Earlier the teachers and employees were required to take study leaves from their respective departments to pursue their research task.
The current practice for PhD thesis evaluation is to have three examiners, the guide of the research scholar and two external examiners. Research scholars typically had one external examiner from their own state and one from another state. According to the UGC, one examiner should come from outside the institution and the other should be an eminent academic from abroad.
UGC has also changed the requirement that, before submitting the first thesis, the researcher must publish at least two articles in referenced research journals, however, the publication in journals is not mandatory before submitting a PhD thesis.