Homi Bhabha National Institute

Introduction & History
The Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, was established in Mumbai in 2005. It was founded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to integrate the academic programs of its various constituent institutions. In 2003, the DAE Science research council recommended the establishment of such university-level institutions, which were approved in June 2005. It is named after the notable Indian Nuclear physicist Homi Jehangir Bhabha. The mission of the institution is to encourage excellence in sciences, including engineering and mathematics, in such a manner that it has a major impact on the development of indigenous nuclear technology. It accelerates the pace of basic research and technology development by master's and PhD academic programs in physical, chemical, life sciences, and medical sciences. Additionally, it maintains a highly qualified human resource to tackle key national issues related to nuclear science, which include power, security, law, and intellectual property rights. Today, it is one of the best and rarest institutions in India to offer PhDs and Master’s in nuclear research. 

Homi Bhabha National Institute Location/ Campuses

Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) is located in Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra. It serves as the central office. While it encompasses the academic and research programmes of its Constituent Institutions (CI) and Off-Campus Centre (OCC). They are spread in various parts of the country and hold exclusive and magnificent research facilities. The campuses are centrally funded and have a large number of specialised labs, including modern classrooms and high-performance computing facilities. Students and researchers have access to institutional libraries both online and offline, hostel, sports and healthcare facilities. IC have various media centres for content creation and online learning. They have World-class experimental facilities, including unique mega facilities such as nuclear reactors, accelerators, and tokamaks. It has 10 centres as CI and 2 centres as OCC, these are:

1. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai

2. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam

3. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore

4. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata

5. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata

6. Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar

7. Institute of Physics (Iop), Bhubaneswar

8. Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh

9. Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai

10. Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai

11. National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar (OCC)

12. Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre (HBCH & MPMMCC), Varanasi (OCC)

Homi Bhabha National Institute Ranking and Recognition

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has placed HBNI in category ‘A’, the highest category of the Deemed universities in India. It has been accredited by NAAC as a category ‘A+’ university. In the NIRF rankings of 2024, it is placed at 6th position in terms of research, 16th in the university category, and 27th in the overall institutions category. HBNI secured 3rd position in the Nature Index 2024 among all Indian academic institutions. The institution was granted 23 patents last year alone. 

According to the Centre for World University Rankings, it is among the top 4.4% of universities worldwide and has a Regional Rank (Asia) of 272.

Homi Bhabha National Institute Academic Programmes

HBNI offers a wide range of postgraduate programmes through its Constituent Institutions and Off-Campus Centre, however, none of them offer any graduate programme in any of the fields, except NISAR, which offers an integrated M.Sc programme for higher secondary passed students. 

PhDs: The institution offers PhDs through all its centres in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical & Health Sciences, Applied Systems Analysis, Computer Science, Theoretical Computer Science, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Computational Biology, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Integrated PhDs. IMSc and NISER offer an integrated Ph.D. programme where students study M.Sc., which is then followed by Ph.D. in the same domain. BARC, IGCAR, IPR, and VECC offer it as a Double Degree in Engineering. IMSc offers the same in Theoretical Physics, Theoretical Computer Science and Computational Biology. Also in Life Sciences and Chemical Sciences at NISER.

M.Tech: The institution offers M.Tech program at BARC, IGCAR, RRCAT, VECC and IPR. These programs have one year of coursework followed by a year of project work.

M.Sc. (Engg): This program is offered by the BARC, IGCAR, VECC, RRCAT and IPR. It is more focused on research, as students spend one and a half years on project work. 

Integrated M.Sc.It is only offered at NISAR in various subjects such as Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

PG Diploma Courses: This program is offered at BARC in Radiological Physics (DipRP) and Nuclear Science and Engineering (PGDNSE) at the BARC training school.

HBNI offers super-speciality courses and Post Graduate Courses at TMC, Mumbai in Medical & Health Sciences. These are:

• Doctor of Medicine (D.M.) 
• Master of Chirurgiae (M.Ch) 
• Certified Fellowship Programmes in Medical & Health Sciences 
• MD (Pathology, Anaesthesia, Radio-diagnosis, Radiation Oncology, Microbiology, Nuclear Medicine)
• M.Sc. in Nursing, Clinical Research, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technology, Public Health and Epidemiology, and Occupational Therapy in Oncology

BARC-RMC also provides an MD in Nuclear Medicine and an M.Sc. in Hospital Radiopharmacy.

Why Choose HBNI?

There are ample reasons to go for HBNI. It has a central university status, which provides a sense of recognition. You study and work with some of the best brains in the country. It offers multiple postgraduate courses to choose from, and PhDs from a large pool of interdisciplinary sciences. Primarily focusing on nuclear-related sciences and engineering, which itself is rare. All the CI and OOC are equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories and research equipment, where students get access to these technologies. As compared to other universities or institutions, it charges way less for academic sessions. It also has a high placement record and a strong alumni database.

Homi Bhabha National Institute Admission Process

The admission to any of the HBNI institutes is based on academic performance and various qualifying National entrance examinations in their respective subjects. Some of these exams are:

• UGC-CSIR-NET Fellowship 
• JEST Score
• ICMR-JRF Test, ICAR-JRF Test
• DBT-JRB Biotechnology Eligibility Test
• GATE Score in specified subjects
• JGEEBILS 

The admission process is carried out in both online as well as offline modes. The various application forms are available online and can be accessed via an online portal, but they must be submitted physically if requested. The requirements of documents vary from year to year and the course selected. However, some common requirements are:

• Printed application form from the website, duly signed
• Proof of date-of-birth
• Mark sheets and degree of graduation and master's (if applicable)
• Research Proposal (if required, or only for research courses, or PhDs) 
• The application fee is Rs. 5000/-, which has to be paid through a Demand Draft, which is to be issued in favour of the Accounts Officer, HBNI, payable at Mumbai.

Candidates might need to send the application form, required documents and fees to the address given by HBNI. In case of PhDs, they may be asked to fill it out online and on the provided website of the institution only.

For final seat allotment, the college releases the merit list on its official website. After candidates get shortlisted based on their merits, they are required to pay the admission fee to lock in their seats.

From 2023-2024, 1039 students were taken in, of which the majority were in Phd+ integrated PhD, counting up to 349. 

HBNI Scholarships and Financial Aid

The financial aid and scholarship depend on the course enrolled in. For the NISAR integrated MSc., there are 2 scholarships:

During the DISHA fellowship, Students get a monthly stipend of Rs. 5000 and Rs. 20,000 as part of their annual contingency grant. 

Under the Dept of Science and Technology (DST)-INSPIRE program, the fellowship granted is Rs. 20000 per month for the research program. 

It is important to note that HBNI does not charge any fees for PhD programmes.  

Industry and Global Collaborations

With the setting up of HBNI, the DAE has encouraged collaborations at the national and international levels. It provides funding for research in tune with its mandate through its various funding agencies. Funding agencies insist on having a principal collaborator from within the DAE in addition to an investigator on a collaborative project. Collaborations with various academic institutes have been carried out by signing formal agreements of cooperation between the HBNI and institutes and universities. HBNI has a dedicated HILC centre, which works in building and collaborating with industries through formal agreements. These collaborations focus on R&D, technology transfer, student internships, and consultancy services. It aims to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial applications. The HBNI has established a  formal Memorandum of Understanding with 24 institutions/Universities within India and internationally. These are:

• Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, Bombay, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Madras, Indore, Roorkee, Delhi, Jammu, Guwahati )
• Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
• Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai
• Jadavpur University, Kolkata
• Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Panjab University, Chandigarh
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
• University of Calicut, Calicut
• Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Girinagar, Pune
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mumbai
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad
• Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research(JNCASR), Bangalore
• AIC RRCAT PI-HUB FOUNDATION (AIC π-Hub), INDORE
• The Commissariat a L'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives, France
• Ghent University, Belgium

Placement and Industry Connect

Homi Bhabha National Institute has a very strong placement record, with a lot of students securing jobs in India as well as abroad. Many of them choose to pursue careers in higher studies and are enrolled in prestigious universities all around the world. HNI also retains talented individuals as JRF, scientific officers, etc. and they are appointed in the CI and OCC institutions of HBNI. 

According to the NIRF reports, 99% of 1-year PG programme students were placed in 2020-21, securing an annual median package of  INR 11.4 LPA. From 2021-22, around 98% of the students were placed. It achieved a 100% placement record in the year 2022, in its 2-year PG programmes, with an average salary of 11.7 LPA, and for the year 2023, 3-year PG programmes, it was 25 LPA with a 99% placement record.

HBNI Placement Cell (HBNI-PC) helps students find job opportunities through campus recruitment and provides career guidance to them through resume building, interview preparations, workshops, and various industrial tours.

Some of the notable Industries connected are Deloitte, Howmet Aerospace,  ENS, Nurture Farm, Aurigene Oncology, OHIO state university, Syngene, etc. 

Allumanai and Impact

HBNI has a long list of Allumanai and their contribution to the world of science and research. Many HBNI alumni work within the Department of Atomic Energy, contributing directly to India's nuclear programs and indigenous research. Their work often involves sensitive and specialised areas, which can limit their public recognition.  Nonetheless, some of the notable alumni are:

• Dr. Neena G. Shetake received, Asian Association for Radiation Research Young Scientist Award.
• Sandeep Dukare, a Senior Scientist at Aurigene Oncology Ltd.
• Ram Kumar Singh, a Principal Investigator at the Biocon Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Centre.
• Meena Mahajan received a J C Bose Fellowship from SERB, DST, India. 
• Ashish Pandav, a former HBNI PhD student, received an award from the Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The alumni network of HBNI is widespread all around the world, covering 18 nations. It has many alumni ambassadors around the globe.

FAQs

1) How to get admission in an MSc course in HBNI?
The candidate must have completed a BSc in the respective subjects with an aggregate of 55%, they must have qualified the required joint entrance exam with a reasonable score. The shortlisted students are then called for counselling or interviews. A list of selected students is then published by the institute.

2) What foreign universities are in collaboration with HBNI?
The 2 foreign universities in a formal Memorandum of Understanding with HBNI are the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, France and Ghent University, Belgium.

3) What are the Admission dates for 2025?
The Common Entrance Test (COAP) for year 2025 is scheduled between May 13 to July 11. Centralized Counselling and Allotment(CCMT) for 2025 will be followed by the result of COAP. Candidates with valid GATE score can join.