PTOC 

• Process for the conduct of Pre Thesis Open Colloquium - PTOC

PTOC of any Ph.D. student can be conducted, only after receipt of approval by the Associate Director (Academics), AcSIR;

1. Firstly take a tentative date from |Dr. Soumya Sinha Roy

2. Request for the conduct of PTOC form (Annexure-III) is to be mandatorily submitted to the Coordinator's ID (coordinator.igib@acsir.res.in ) So, that they can compile and send it to AcSIR HQs before the conduct of PTOC, preferably 15 days, but mandatorily 7 working days before the proposed date of PTOC, along with the following documents for verification:

a. Enrollment Letter 

b. AcSIR approved DAC Constitution 

c. Reports of all DAC meeting 

d. Report of Comprehensive Examination along with the Dean’s approval 

e. Semester Grade cards and cumulative grade card 

f. Result of the Societal Program undertaken by the student along with the Societal program Project Report including the format of Cover page attached (Cover pg. format: Annexure IV). 

g. Project Proposal Report and Review Article (applicable only for batches of admissions up to Jan 2020) 

h. List of SCI publications /Patents (with a copy of the title page) emanated from the student’s original Ph.D. thesis research work (with AcSIR affiliation fully compliant to the format prescribed by AcSIR HQ) 

i. High School Certificate (Class X) 

j. Duly filled PTOC form in word format (name as per high school certificate – Class X) 

k. All other relevant information, including, approvals on change of supervisor/co-supervisor/DAC, change of faculty, academic break, any kind of leave, extension of tenure etc., if applicable; 

3. The following documents must be sent to the AcSIR HQs within 5 working days after the conduct of PTOC of the student :

a. PTOC proceedings duly signed by the student and the DAC members;

b. Synopsis (Summary of the work done) (signed by the student and the supervisor) : 

The format of the synopsis should include the following: 

▪ Cover Page: Sample sheet is enclosed as Annexure V 

▪ Title: Should be short clearly reflecting the focus of your PhD research work (should be same as that of the PhD thesis). Ensure that there are no scientific /technical/grammatical errors. 

▪ Introduction: Context and rationale of your PhD research. Explain the broader field and the specific problem you are addressing clearly outlining its relevance to scientific/ technological/Societal/issues on SDGs. 

▪ Literature Review: Summarize the current national and international status in the domain of your PhD research problem clearly indicating the inadequacy or gap in the existing knowledge that led to the formulation of your PhD problem. Accordingly, define the PhD research problem clearly outlining its importance/justification. 

▪ Aim & Objectives: Briefly mention the aims (PhD problem statement) & objectives of the research work. 

▪ Research Methodology: Give brief, but sufficient details regarding the methodologies adopted to address the research problem, highlighting the data collection & data analysis methods. 

▪ Interpretation of Results: Scientific interpretation of the acquired data and its analysis to address the research problem stated earlier. 

▪ Important Conclusions & Outcomes: Briefly enumerate the conclusions and important research outcome(s) of your PhD work. Discuss the potential impact of your research outcomes on the research field, industry, or society at large. 

▪ Key words: 3-5 keywords that best encompass your PhD research work The style of presentation (fonts – size & style, margins, line spacings, section and sub-sections, etc.) must be identical, as in the PhD thesis. 

c. Thesis board (signed PDF as well as Word format) along with the short academic CV of the proposed external examiners; Guidelines for proposed Examiners and AcSIR Affiliated Institutes. 

d. Approval for change of thesis title, if applicable; 

Guidelines for proposed Examiners :

1) The number of external examiners shall be a minimum of six (06), ensuring that no more than one examiner is proposed from a single state;

2) The proposed external examiners should be at least of the level of Associate Professor/ Professor or equivalent levels from reputed             Institutes/Universities and should be an expert in the core research domain of the Ph.D thesis;

3) Not more than one external examiner from one institution/university may be proposed;

4) CSIR Scientists and AcSIR faculty members from CSIR and AcSIR-affiliated institutes shall not be proposed as external examiners;

5) Collaborators of the research supervisor with whom the concerned student has worked or co-authored any publication shall not be 

proposed as an external examiner;

6) The consent of the external examiners for thesis evaluation shall be obtained only by the AcSIRHQs.;

• The list of external examiners of the PhD Thesis Board has to be submitted along with the proceedings of successful completion of PTOC, but not later than a month before the submission of the thesis;

• In case the CVs of the external examiners are not available, publicly available website links to CVs will be accepted.

Ø According to the revised timeline from the Senate's 34th meeting, the following applies to students whose Pre-Thesis Open Colloquium (PTOC) is conducted after August 7, 2025: (AcSIR OM)

PhD thesis can be submitted any time within three (03) months of the successful completion of the Pre-Thesis Open Colloquium (PTOC);