q1/random_k4/random_2.md

Online BSc Degree
and Diploma Program
PROGRAMMING AND DATA SCIENCE

Batch 1: Starts January 2021

For latest updates, visit - www.onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in

Brochure Last Updated: 2nd November 2020

Contents

Introduction

Why learn Programming & Data Science

About IIT Madras

Our Experience in Online Education

Academics

Overall Structure of the programme

Term Structure

Course Structure

Assessments

    Online Assignments

    Three Quizzes

    End Term Exam

    Pass Criteria for Each Course

    Learners Who Do Not Pass a Course

Exam Cities

Fee Structure

Foundational Level

Diploma Level

    Diploma in Programming

    Diploma in Data Science

Degree Level

Admissions

Important Dates

Two Admission Paths

    Regular Entry

    Diploma Only Entry

Mandatory Requirements

Regular Entry

    Eligibility to Apply

    Application Process

    Qualifier Process

    Qualifier Exam and Pass Criteria

Contact Us

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Introduction

IIT Madras, India’s top technical institute, welcomes you to the world’s first online BSc
Degree program in Programming and Data Science. For the first time, you can work
towards an undergraduate degree / diploma from an IIT regardless of your age or
location, and with a wide range of academic backgrounds.

“

IIT Madras is pioneering a completely online program to
produce graduates who will be employable in the sector
that presently has high demand - Programming and Data
Science. The program uses an innovative combination of
online learning and in-person assessment and is flexible and
affordable. I believe the program will be a gamechanger
in the field of education in India in the coming years and
inspire other top-ranking institutions to launch many such
online initiatives.

- Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras

Why Programming & Data Science?

Decision making is increasingly becoming
data driven within the commercial sector
and the government. There is a large
quantity of data readily available for this
at present. Smart devices connected to
the internet bring more input sources,
apart from those generated by humans
as they interact with services and one
another. Data driven decision making
involves the analysis of large volumes
of data to identify patterns and build
predictive models. This requires a
combination of skills ranging from
computing, statistics and mathematics,
and is broadly labelled data science.

INCREASING DEMAND

BETTER JOB OPPORTUNITIES

UPSKILL

As formal academic programs in data
science are only just emerging, there
is a huge gap between the demand for
data scientists and the supply of suitable
qualified applicants in the job market.
The throughput of traditional classroom
programs is limited and will not be able
to provide the numbers needed to meet
the upcoming requirements. Online
teaching has the potential to train much
larger numbers, but delivering scale
without diluting quality has proven to be
a challenge until recently.

Our program therefore aims to create
a thoroughly trained programmer,
proficient in application development,
data sciences and machine learning.

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About IIT Madras

Indian Institute of Technology Madras is one of the
foremost institutes of national importance for higher
technical education and research.

In 1956, the German Government offered
technical assistance in establishing
an institute of higher education in
engineering in India. The first Indo-
German agreement in Bonn, West
Germany for the establishment of the
Indian Institute of Technology at Madras
was signed in 1959. The Institute with its
campus in Chennai, previously known
as Madras, was formally inaugurated
in 1959 by Prof. Humayun Kabir, Union
Minister for Scientific Research and
Cultural Affairs.

The Institute today has sixteen academic
departments and several advanced
research centres in various disciplines
of engineering and pure sciences. A
faculty of international repute, a brilliant
student community, excellent technical
& supporting staff and an effective
administration have all contributed to the
pre-eminent status of IIT Madras.

Our Experience in Online Education

IITM is well-equipped to provide an
online degree course. We have been
ranked number 1 Engineering Institute
for the past 5 years and we have been
ranked number 1 Overall for the past 2
years by NIRF.

Furthermore, IITM began the NPTEL
program, the country’s first online
content portal as an inter-IIT consortium
project in 2001 and nptel.ac.in  is one
of the largest online course portals in
the world. In 2014, IITM also created
NPTEL online courses - the country’s first
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
Today, NPTEL is considered the largest
MOOC provider in India.

MHRD launched the SWAYAM MOOC
platform in 2017 and NPTEL has been
the largest contributor to it. NPTEL
also manages  swayam.gov.in  - the
national MOOCs portal, as well as the
network of more than 3800 SWAYAM
local chapter colleges. With IITM
continuing to lead the NPTEL project, it
makes them the perfect choice to offer
an online degree program.

2001
NPTEL
Program

2014
NPTEL
Online
Courses

2017
SWAYAM
MOOC

2020
IITM
Online
Degree

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Overall Structure

There are  THREE LEVELS  in our Online
Degree program and to get a BSc
Degree in Programming and Data
Science from IIT Madras, a learner
has to successfully complete all three
levels.

1.
FOUNDATIONAL LEVEL

2.
DIPLOMA LEVEL

3.
DEGREE LEVEL

There is also the flexibility to exit at
any level. Depending on the courses
completed, the learner can receive
Foundational Certificate from Centre
for Continuing Education, IIT Madras
or Diploma(s) from IIT Madras. (Pg 13
for Admissions related information)

We are currently formulating a
Diploma Only Entry (Pg 13) option for
those who are interested in doing only
Diploma Level courses and exiting
with one or both Diploma(s) from IIT
Madras.

Total Courses: 31
116 credits

Completion time: 3 - 6 years
based on preferred pace & performance

Fees: Based on courses registered
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

Online Courses & Assignments
12 weeks of coursework for each course

Quizzes and Exams
3 Quizzes and one End Term Exam for
each course - in person and invigilated.

ACADEMICS

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Term Structure

Every year is divided into three
terms  - January Term, May Term and
September Term.

Before progressing to the next level,
the learner has to clear all the courses
in the current level.

In a term, a learner may register
for a course only if they have
already successfully completed the
prerequisites for that course.

The learner may be allowed to
register for upto 4 courses in a term
depending on their performance in
the previous exam(s).

A learner has to clear all Foundational
level courses successfully, before
registering for any Diploma Level
courses. Similarly, learners have
to clear Diploma Level courses
successfully before registering for any
Degree Level courses.

Course Structure

The duration of the core courses
in Foundational, Diploma and
Degree Level is 12 weeks and the
courses carry 4 credits each.
The Skill Enhancement courses
and Electives in Degree Level
have varying credits and may
be of different duration.

The fee for each term depends on the
total credits one registers for in that
term. Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

The recorded video content released
every week will comprise a series of
lectures, sample problems and step
by step instructions on how to solve
them.

The duration of each video would be
15 to 30 minutes amounting to a total
of about 2 - 3 hours of video content
each week in each course.

Weekly assignment(s), which will be
released along with the videos, will
have to be completed and submitted
online in the specified period of time.

There will be 3 quizzes for each
course, one each at the end of weeks
4, 7 and 10. Each course further
culminates in an End Term Exam. All
the quizzes and the end term exams
have to be completed by the learner,
in person, at designated exam centres,
held under invigilation.

All in-person, invigilated quizzes and
exams will be scheduled for weekends,
subject to availability of dates with
exam partner.

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Assessments

There are 3 types of assessments for each course - online weekly assignments,
monthly in-person invigilated quizzes and an in-person invigilated end term exam.

If the Average Assignment Score for a
course is less than 40/100, the learner
will not be eligible to write the end
term exam for that course.

Online Assignments

A 12-week course will have at least one
assignment every week.

Each assignment has to be submitted
online within the specified due date.

From the 12 weekly assignment scores
for a course, a learner’s best 8 scores
will be considered to calculate the
Average Assignment Score.

Three Quizzes
IN PERSON, INVIGILATED

There will be 3 quizzes for each course, one each at the end of Weeks 4, 7 and 10.
Every quiz will be based on content covered up to that point in the course. These
quizzes have to be attempted in person, in the specified exam city (Pg 9).

Each quiz will be conducted in a single
session and will consist of sections of
45 minutes duration for every course
chosen.

It is mandatory to appear for at least
one out of the three quizzes to be
eligible to write the end term exam.

The best two out of the three quiz
scores will be considered to calculate
the Average Quiz Score (Q) out of 100.

40% of Q will be used to calculate Total
Course Score T and course grade.

End Term Exam

IN PERSON, INVIGILATED

At the end of a term, there will be an
end term exam of 3 hours duration for
each course.

This exam score (out of 100) is called
End Term Score (E) which accounts for
60% of the Total Course Score (T).

To be eligible to write the End Term
Exam, a learner’s average assignment
score should be >= 40/100 AND they
should have appeared for at least one
out of the three quizzes.

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Pass Criteria for Each Course

Total Course Score (T) = 40% of Average quiz score (Q) + 60% of End Term Score (E)

A learner is deemed to have passed a course only if the below mentioned two
conditions are met:

Total Course Score (T) >= 50/100 AND

End Term exam score (E) >= 40/100

These criteria are the same for all learners participating in the course.

An absolute grading system, as described in the below table, will be followed:

Condition satisfied by ‘T’ - Total Course Score (Out Of 100)
and ‘E’ - End Semester Score (Out Of 60)

Letter Grade

(T ≥ 90) AND (E ≥ 24)

(90 > T ≥ 80) AND (E ≥ 24)

(80 > T ≥ 70) AND (E ≥ 24)

(70 > T ≥ 60) AND (E ≥ 24)

(60 > T ≥ 50) AND (E ≥ 24)

S

A

B

C

D

(T < 50) OR (E < 24) OR Average assignment score <40/100 OR No quiz attended

U (Fail)

Learners Who Do Not Pass a Course

For any learner, if Total Course Score (T) < 50/100 or average assignment
score < 40/100 or no quiz attended, they have to repeat the entire course. This
includes submission of assignments and redoing all the subsequent quizzes and
end term exam. Fees for repeating the course is the same as the course fees.

If Total Course Score (T) >= 50/100 but End Term Score (E) < 40/100, the learner has
2 options:

Attend only the end term exam whenever it is conducted in the subsequent
term. The fee to repeat an end term exam will be ₹1000 for foundational and
₹2000 for diploma / degree level courses.

They can repeat the entire course by paying the full course fees and
completing all assignments, invigilated quizzes and the end term exam.

Exam Cities

The Invigilated Quizzes and End Term
exams are scheduled to be conducted
in a limited number of cities across
India. Learners can select 3 options
among the cities, and they will be
expected to attend the exam in the
City / Centre that has been allotted
to them. The allotted city will be from
these 3 options.

The list of exam cities where
invigilated exams will be scheduled
may change later depending on the
location of majority of our learners.
Here is the link to view the current
exam cities .

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Fee Structure

For details about application fees, check Application Process (Pg 14) section.

Each term, pay only for the courses you register for!

Foundational Level - ₹4000 per course.
Skill Enhancement courses in Diploma / Degree Level - ₹5,000 per course.
All other courses in Diploma / Degree Level - ₹10,000 per course.

Fee waivers depend on category of learner and family income:

Family Income > 5LPA

Family Income > 1LPA
and <=5LPA

Family Income <=1LPA

Applicable
Fees

Certificates
Required

Applicable
Fees

Certificates
Required

Applicable
Fees

Certificates
Required

General

Full Fee

OBC

Full Fee

-

-

50% waiver

EWS + Family
Income

75% waiver

EWS + Family
Income

50%waiver

OBC-NCL +
Family Income

75% waiver

OBC-NCL +
Family Income

SC / ST

50% waiver

SC / ST

50% waiver

SC / ST

75% waiver

PwD

50% waiver

PwD

50% waiver

PwD

75% waiver

SC / ST + Family
Income

EWS / OBC-NCL +
PwD + Family Income

SC / ST + PwD

75% waiver

SC / ST + PwD

75% waiver

SC / ST + PwD

75% waiver

SC / ST + PwD

The term family income for the purpose of availing fee waivers includes the income
of the candidate, the income of his/her parents and spouse, also the income of his/
her siblings and children below the age of 18 years.

OBC-NCL / EWS / Family Income certificates need to be obtained in the prescribed
format. Only those who clear Qualifier Exam and wish to avail fee waiver based on
family income need to submit the Family Income certificate. (Note that Family Income
certificate is valid only for one year and will need to be submitted afresh each year to
continue availing corresponding fee waiver.)
Format for OBC-NCL certificate 
Format for EWS certificate 
Format for Family Income certificate 

Tentative Fee for Each Term, depending on your end Goal and possible paths to
reach the goal:

        Foundational Certificate 

        Diploma in Programming    |  Diploma in Data Science   |  Both Diplomas  

        BSc in Programming and Data Science  

*Note: If a learner does not pass a course in the term they registered for it - refer
section about Learners who do not pass a course for details on whether they will
need to repeat entire course or only repeat the end term exam. Fee to repeat an entire
course will be the same as the full course fee. Fee to only repeat the end term exam is
₹1000 for foundational level courses and ₹2000 for diploma / degree level courses.

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Foundational Level

The Foundational Level comprises
courses in Mathematics, Statistics, Basics
of Programing and Python, and English.
These courses have been chosen to
ensure that the learner who passes these
successfully is well prepared to proceed
to the Diploma Level courses.

8 courses
32 credits

1 - 3 years
10 hrs/course/week

₹32,000*
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

Requirements for registration

The learner should apply for and clear the Qualifier Process (Pg 14).

Options on successful completion

Learners have the following two options when they successfully complete all 8
Foundational Level courses:

Exit: The learner may exit with a Foundational Certificate from Centre for
Continuing Education, IIT Madras.

Proceed to next level: The learner can join the Diploma Level (Pg 10).

Courses in Foundational Level

Mathematics for Data Science I

Statistics for Data Science I

Mathematics for Data Science II

Statistics for Data Science II

Computational Thinking

Programming in Python

English I

English II

Diploma Level

There are two sections in the Diploma
Level with courses for Diploma in
Programming and courses for Diploma
in Data Science. Each of these diplomas
comprise 5 core courses and 1 skill
enhancement course. These Diploma
Level courses assume that the learner is
well-versed with fundamentals.

Requirements for registration

6 + 6 courses
22 + 22 credits

1 - 3 years
10 hrs/course/week

₹55,000* + ₹55,000*
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

The learner should have cleared all 8 Foundational Level (Pg 10) courses or should
have joined via Diploma Only Entry (Pg 13).

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Options on successful completion

Learners have the following options based on the courses completed in this level:

They may exit with a Diploma in Programming from IIT Madras.

They may exit with a Diploma in Data Science from IIT Madras.

They may exit with both Diplomas from IIT Madras.

The learner can join the Degree Level (Pg 11) if they have completed all 12
Diploma Level courses AND have not entered the program via Diploma Only
Entry option.

Diploma in Programming

The Diploma in Programming lays a
sturdy foundation in Databases and
Programming concepts with Data
Structures and Algorithms. The learner
goes on to apply these in the building
of a web application by the end of the
diploma.

Courses for Diploma in Programming

6 courses
22 credits

1 - 2 years
10 hrs/course/week

₹55,000*
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

Database Management Systems

Modern Application Development I

Programming, Data Structures and
Algorithms using Python

Modern Application Development II

Programming Concepts using Java

Skill Enhancement I

Diploma in Data Science

The Diploma in Data Science exposes
the learner to the holistic approach of
gathering, analysing, and interpreting
data for a variety of problems. The
courses on Business Data lays down the
context and the need for the data, while
the Machine Learning courses equip
the learner to use and analyse this data
towards impactful conclusions.

Courses for Diploma in Data Science

6 courses
22 credits

1 - 2 years
10 hrs/course/week

₹55,000*
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

Machine Learning Foundations

Business Data Management

Machine Learning Theory

Business Analytics

Machine Learning Practice

Skill Enhancement II

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Degree Level

The Degree Level has courses that
complete the requirements for the BSc
degree.

Requirements for registration
The learner should have come in via
Regular Entry (Pg 14), cleared all 8
Foundational Level (Pg 11) courses and
all 12 Diploma Level (Pg 11) courses.

11 courses
40 credits

1 - 3 years
10 hrs/course/week

₹1,00,000*
*Refer Fee Structure (Pg 9).

Exit: Once the learner successfully completes 40 credits from Degree Level courses,
they can exit with a BSc Degree in Programming & Data Science from
IIT Madras.

Credit Requirements
Learners have to complete a total of 40 credits at the degree level:

4 credits from mandatory course titled “Strategies for Professional Growth”
4 credits from 2 Skill Enhancement Courses of 2 credits each. These are to be
completed on NPTEL and the credits transfered to this degree program.
8 credits from 2 Core Courses of 4 credits each. There are 3 pairs of core course
options to pick from.
24 credits from Elective Courses - 6 courses of 4 credits each or more courses of
lesser credits.

Core Courses
Learner has to do a pair of core courses where each course is of 4 credits. Following
are the options for Core Courses:

Core Course Option I

Core Course Option II

Core Course Option III

Operating Systems

Software Testing

Computer Architecture

Software Engineering

AI: Search Methods for
Problem Solving

Deep Learning

Elective Courses
A total of 24 credits need to be obtained from Elective Courses. Listed below are 9
courses of 4 credits each, including the 3 pairs of core courses. Excluding the 2 courses
that the learner has already picked as core courses, he / she can opt for the elective
courses in the following two ways:

a. Obtain all 24 credits by picking 6 of the remaining 7 courses listed below. OR

b. Obtain upto 12 credits from NPTEL (accepted courses list will be provided soon) and
obtain remaining credits by picking from a subset of the 7 courses below.

Operating Systems

Software Testing

Computer Architecture

Software Engineering

Topics in Application
Development

Topics in Machine
Learning

AI: Search Methods for
Problem Solving

Deep Learning

Topics in Data Science

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ADMISSIONS

Important Dates

Applications Closed (Regular Entry)

-  15 September 2020

Weekly release of Term 1 Qualifier courses
content starts

-  5 October 2020

Qualifier Exam Hall Ticket (only for those who
get minimum required marks in Assignments)

-  2 November 2020

Qualifier Exam (only for those with Hall Ticket)*

-  22 November, 2020*

Qualifier Exam Results

-  7 December, 2020

Registration for Term 1 (only for those who clear
Qualifier Exam)

-  7 to 27 December, 2020

Foundational Level Batch 1 starts

-  4 January, 2021

*Dates for in-person exams are subject to government restrictions prevalent at that time.

Two Admission Paths
1. Regular Entry

Anyone joining the program via Regular Entry will join at the Foundational Level.

The Foundational Level courses allow for interested applicants with a variety of
educational backgrounds to learn the basics (Math, Statistics, Computational Thinking,
Python programming and English) which help them take up the Diploma Level and
then the Degree Level courses.

There are three exit options for those who enter the program via Regular Entry:
Exit 1. Foundational Level certificate from Centre for Continuing Education, IIT Madras.
Exit 2. Diploma in Programming AND/OR Diploma in Data Science from IIT Madras
Exit 3. BSc Degree in Programming and Data Science from IIT Madras

View Regular Entry (Pg 14) for details on Eligibility, Application Process, Qualifier
Process, Qualifier Exam and Passing Criteria.

2. Diploma Only Entry

The Diploma Only Entry is primarily aimed at working professionals or learners who
already possess the fundamentals taught in Foundational Level courses and wish to
exit with one or two Diplomas (Diploma in Programming AND/OR Diploma in Data
Science) from IIT Madras.

Learners entering via Diploma Only Entry can only do Diploma Level courses and
cannot proceed to the Degree Level courses.

We have plans to open applications for Diploma Only Entry in May / June 2021. All
details related to Diploma Only Entry will be provided soon on our website .

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Mandatory Requirements

Access to good internet connection as
well as a laptop/desktop device will be
a key requirement to learn effectively.

Learner should be able to travel to
assigned exam centres for quizzes and
exams, each term.

Regular Entry
Eligibility to Apply

Eligibility for those who cleared class 12 or equivalent in 2018 or earlier:

1.

2.

The candidate must have studied Mathematics and English in class 10.

They should have cleared class 12 or equivalent in 2018 or earlier.

Eligibility for those who cleared class 12 or equivalent in 2019 or 2020:

1.

2.

3.

The candidate must have studied Mathematics and English in class 10.

They should have cleared class 12 or equivalent in 2019 or 2020.

The candidate should be:
(i) currently enrolled / previously enrolled in any Bachelor’s Degree program in
campus mode OR
(ii) completed 1 year Diploma (campus mode only) OR
(iii) completed CA Inter

Note that applicants who cleared class 12 or equivalent in 2019 or 2020 may apply for the
qualfier process with eligibility criteria 1 & 2 alone, but will be required to fulfil criterion 3 to
join the foundational courses after clearing the qualifying exam.

Application Process

Anyone who is eligible may apply by filling in the application form, uploading
required documents and paying the application fee. Check out Application
Process  section on our website for the latest updates and to start applying.

Application fee - ₹3,000 (For applicants belonging to PwD (>= 40% disability) / SC / ST
category - ₹1,500; For applicants belonging to PwD (>= 40% disability) and also SC /
ST category - ₹750)

Qualifier Process

All applicants will have to go through a Qualifier Process, like a trial month,
wherein they will get access to 4 weeks of content for the four foundational level
courses - English I, Mathematics for Data Science I, Statistics for Data Science I and
Computational Thinking.

Video content of 2 - 3 hours duration will be released for each course on a weekly
basis. Along with the content, the first three weeks will also include an assignment
for each course that need to be completed and submitted online within the given
deadline.

Average assignment score in each course will be calculated. Only those who get
minimum required average assignment scores in all four courses will be allowed to
write the Qualifier Exam (refer next page).

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Minimum Average Assignment
Score required in each course

General Learner

SC / ST / PwD with 40% disability

PwD with 40% disability & SC / ST

OBC-NCL / EWS

40%

30%

30%

35%

Qualifier Exam and Passing Criteria

Only learners who get minimum required average assignment scores in all four
courses will be eligible for the in-person invigilated Qualifier Exam conducted at the
end of 4 weeks of coursework. Only these candidates will receive hall tickets.

The Qualifier Exam is of 3 hours duration and covers all 4 subjects with 45 minutes
allotted per course.

To pass the Qualifier Exam, the learner has to get a minimum Total Qualifier Exam
Score and a minimum Qualifier Exam Score in each course individually. Refer table
below.

Only those who pass the Qualifier Exam will be eligible to register for Foundational
Level courses.

Minimum required
Qualifier Exam Score
in each course

Minimum required
Total Qualifier
Exam Score

General Learner

SC / ST / PwD with 40% disability

PwD with 40% disability & SC / ST

OBC-NCL / EWS

40%

30%

30%

35%

50%

40%

40%

45%

Note: Relaxations in pass criteria indicated for various categories of learners, is
applicable ONLY for the qualifier process. There will be no relaxations in terms of
grades / pass criteria once registered into the program.

Though everyone who passes the Qualifier Exam will be allowed to register for
Foundational Level, there will be limitations on the number of courses a learner will
be allowed to register for in the first two terms based on the Total Qualifier Exam
Score (S).

Total Qualifier Exam Score (S)

Number of courses allowed to
register for in first two terms

Minimum required <= S < 50%

up to 2 courses

50% <= S < 70%

up to 3 courses

S >= 70%

up to 4 course

Maximum number of courses a learner will be allowed to register for in later terms
will depend similarly on the average of course scores in the previous two terms.

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Contact Us

Online Degree Office, 3rd Floor, ICSR Building,

IIT Madras, Chennai - 600036

7850-999966 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm)

support@onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in

www.onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in 

iitmadrasonline

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