Biotechnology Syllabus/Last Year Paper

ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS

Linear Algebra: Matrices and determinants, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and Eigen vectors.

Calculus: Limit, continuity and differentiability, Partial derivatives, Maxima and minima, Sequences and series, Test for convergence, Fourier Series.

Differential Equations: Linear and nonlinear first order ODEs, higher order ODEs with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations,Laplace transforms, PDE- Laplace, heat and wave equations.

Probability and Statistics: Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, normal and binomial distributions, Correlation and regression analysis.

Numerical Methods: Solution of linear and nonlinear algebraic equations, Integration of trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule, Single and multistep methods for differential equations.

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Microbiology: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Microbial nutrition, growth and control; Microbial metabolism (aerobic and anaerobic respiration, photosynthesis); Nitrogen fixation; Chemical basis of mutations and mutagens; Microbial genetics (plasmids, transformation, transduction, conjugation); Microbial diversity and characteristic features; Viruses.

Biochemistry: Biomolecules and their conformation; Weak inter-molecular interactions in biomacromolecules; Chemical and functional nature of enzymes; Kinetics of single substrate and bi-substrate enzyme catalyzed reactions; Bioenergetics; Metabolism (Glycolysis, TCA and Oxidative phosphorylation); Membrane transport and pumps; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell signaling and signal transduction.

Molecular Biology and Genetics: Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; DNA replication and control; Transcription and its control; Translational processes; Regulatory controls in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extrachromosomal inheritance; Chromosomal variation; Population genetics; Transposable elements, Molecular basis of genetic diseases and applications.

Process Biotechnology: Bioprocess technology for the production of cell biomass and primary/secondary metabolites, such as baker’s yeast, ethanol, citric acid, amino acids, exo-polysacharides, antibiotics and pigments etc.; Microbial production, purification and bioprocess application(s) of industrial enzymes; Production and purification of recombinant proteins on a large scale; Chromatographic and membrane based bioseparation methods; Immobilization of enzymes and cells and their application for bioconversion processes.Aerobic and anaerobic biological processes for stabilization of solid / liquid wastes; Bioremediation.

Bioprocess Engineering: Kinetics of microbial growth, substrate utilization and product formation; Simple structured models; Sterilization of air and media; Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes; Aeration and agitation; Mass transfer in bioreactors; Rheology of fermentation fluids; Scale-up concepts; Design of fermentation media; Various types of microbial and enzyme reactors; Instrumentation in bioreactors.

Plant and Animal Biotechnology: Special features and organization of plant cells; Totipotency; Regeneration of plants; Plant products of industrial importance; Biochemistry of major metabolic pathways and products; Autotrophic and heterotrophic growth; Plant growth regulators and elicitors; Cell suspension culture development: methodology, kinetics of growth and production formation, nutrient optimization; Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures; Hairy root cultures and their cultivation. Techniques in raising transgencies.

Characteristics of animal cells: Metabolism, regulation and nutritional requirements for mass cultivation of animal cell cultures; Kinetics of cell growth and product formation and effect of shear force; Product and substrate transport; Micro & macro-carrier culture; Hybridoma technology; Live stock improvement; Cloning in animals; Genetic engineering in animal cell culture; Animal cell preservation.

Immunology: The origin of immunology; Inherent immunity; Humoral and cell mediated immunity; Primary and secondary lymphoid organ; Antigen; B and T cells and Macrophages; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Synthesis of antibody and secretion; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Complement; Antigen-antibody reaction; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hyper sensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction.

Recombinant DNA Technology: Restriction and modification enzymes; Vectors: plasmid, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, yeast artificial chromosome; cDNA and genomic DNA library; Gene isolation; Gene cloning; Expression of cloned gene; Transposons and gene targeting; DNA labeling; DNA sequencing; Polymerase chain reactions; DNA fingerprinting; Southern and northern blotting; In-situ hybridization; RAPD; RFLP; Site-directed mutagenesis; Gene transfer technologies; Gene therapy.

Bioinformatics: Major bioinformatics resources (NCBI, EBI, ExPASy); Sequence and structure databases; Sequence analysis (biomolecular sequence file formats, scoring matrices, sequence alignment, phylogeny); Genomics and Proteomics (Large scale genome sequencing strategies; Comparative genomics; Understanding DNA microarrays and protein arrays); Molecular modeling and simulations (basic concepts including concept of force fields).

Last Year Papers

2012                 2011 

Read More

Recruitment of HPCL through GATE-2013

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., is a mega integrated Oil refining and marketing
company with Gross Sales of r 1,88,131 Crores and 267th position in the prestigious list of
Fortune Global 500 Companies during 2011-12.HPCL accounts for about 19.96% of the
market share and about 10% of the nation's refining capacity and also operates the largest
Lube Refinery in India producing Lube Base Oils of international standards, which accounts
for over 40% of the India's total Lube Base Oil production.
HPCL with its performance oriented culture and well-rounded peoples‟ policies has won
several prestigious awards like the “Forecourt Retailer of the Year” Award 2011, by Star
Retailer Awards, “Golden Peacock HR Excellence Award” for the year 2011, the “CIO 100”
Award by IDG, for the sixth consecutive year for innovation use of IT to deliver value and
many others.
Towards fulfilling its Mission- to be a fully integrated company in the hydrocarbons sector of
exploration and production, refining and marketing; focusing on enhancement of productivity,
quality and profitability; HPCL invites bright and dynamic Engineering Graduates, in
specified disciplines aspiring to join it‟s team of world class professionals for making career
in its marketing division. Interested candidates are required to appear for GATE 2013,for
their respective discipline.


Discipline Prescribed full time degrees in Engineering

Mechanical, Mechanical & Production
Civil
Electrical, Electrical & Electronics
Electronics &Telecommunication
Electronics & Communication
Instrumentation & Control, 
Electronics & Instrumentation, 
Instrumentation & Electronics.

The eligibility criteria regarding prescribed education, age and other eligibility criteria and
application procedure is mentioned below:

Education Qualification

Minimum educational qualification for employment in above mentioned positions are:

 Candidates should have passed qualifying degree examinations and awarded
bachelor‟s degree in engineering/technology in the above mentioned disciplines (full
time regular courses only) from recognized Indian Universities/ Institutes.

 Candidates (belonging to General and OBC-NC category) should have secured
minimum 60% marks in qualifying degree examinations. It is relaxed to 50% for
SC/ST/PWD candidates.

 Candidates currently in final year of their engineering studies may also apply.
However, if selected, they must be in a position to submit their final mark sheet by
31st August 2013.At the time of applying Candidates (belonging to General and OBCNC
category) should have secured minimum 60% aggregate marks upto last
semester examinations. It is relaxed to 50% for SC/ST/PWD candidates.

Age Limit

Maximum 25 years as on 30th June 2013 for the general category candidates. Age relaxation
for OBC (Non Creamy Layer)/SC/ST/PWD candidates will be applicable as per the
Presidential Directive.

Concessions/Relaxations

 Reservation of posts for SC, ST and OBC-NC are as per Government Directives. Out
of 250 posts the reservation of posts are as follows-38(SC), 19(ST) & 68(OBC-NC).
In case of increase and decrease in total Posts, the numbers of reserved category
Post will vary proportionately.

 3 % of the identified vacancies will be reserved for PWD (Persons with disabilities –
with degree of disability 40% or above).

 Appointment to some of the vacancies will be offered to PWD candidates after
considering the nature of duties & Responsibilities of the job, location, hazard, strain
& other factors, also considering that the disability is not likely to interfere with the
performance of duties of the post with reasonable efficiency and without possible
deterioration of his/her health. However, the final appointment would be based on
candidate‟s medical fitness with respect to job profile of the identified posts.

 Any request for change in Category (UR/SC/ST/OBC-NC/ PWD) once filled in the
online application form, will not be considered and accordingly applicable
concession/relaxation will not be extended

 The reserved category candidates are required to submit the caste/ PWD certificate/s
in prescribed format of Government of India, issued by the competent authority at the
time of interview, in support of their claim. In addition, the OBC-NC (OBC-Non
Creamy layer) candidates will be required to submit a valid caste certificate in the
prescribed format applicable for purpose of reservation in appointment to posts under
Government of India/Central Government Public Sector Undertaking as contained in
DOPT Memo No. 36012/22/93-Estt.(SCT) dated 08-09-93 from a competent authority
issued in the year of advertisement. Further the OBC-NC candidates will have to give
a self-undertaking, at the time of Personal Interviews if called for, indicating that they
belong to OBC-Non Creamy Layer.

 The OBC candidates who belong to “Creamy Layer” are not entitled for concession
admissible to OBC-NC candidates and such candidates will have to indicate their
category as Unreserved (UR).

 If the SC/ST/OBC/PWD certificate has been issued in a language other than
English/Hindi the candidates will be required to submit a self-certified translated copy
of the same either in English or Hindi.

 Maximum age limit is relaxable by 5 years for SC & ST, 3 years for OBC-NC and 10
years for PWD :UR, 13 years for PWD : OBC-NC and 15 years for PWD : SC/ST
candidates, as applicable.

 Maximum age limit relaxable by 5 years for candidates domiciled in Jammu &
Kashmir between 01.01.1980 and 31.12.1989.

 Age relaxation by 5 years for Ex-servicemen & Commissioned Officers (including
ECOs/ SSCOs) subject to rendering minimum 5 years


Remuneration Package

Selected candidates will initially undergo training for six months. During the training period,
Officer Trainees will be entitled for a consolidated Stipend @ r 33,000/- per month. Upon
successful completion of training, they will be absorbed at the entry level in the Management
Cadre in “A” grade in the Salary Scale of r 24,900 - 50,500, Subject to fulfilling the required
performance related/ other criterion, and will be on Probation for a further period of 6
months.
Upon absorption, besides Basic Pay, the employee is entitled to allowances at 50% of Basic
Pay under Cafeteria Approach, Dearness Allowance, HRA, Contributory Provident Fund,
Gratuity, and Superannuation Benefits as per Corporation‟s policy in force from time to time.
Upon confirmation, the CTC would be appx. R 8.50 lakhs per annum**. In addition to this,
Performance Related Pay (PRP) is also paid as per the Corporation‟s policy.
** CTC is for candidates posted in metro cities; and may vary for other locations.CTC
includes deferred payments like post-Retirement Benefits.

PLACEMENT/ASSIGNMENTS

Posting/ Assignment can be in any SBUs/Division/Department of the Corporation at any
place in the country/otherwise and the services thereafter will be transferable as per the
requirement of the Corporation. These positions generally involve working in shift duties.
Selected candidates may also be posted any of the subsidiaries/Joint Ventures or any
department of Government of India.
Retention Amount:
An amount of r 5000/- per month will be deducted as retention amount from the total
emoluments for first six months during the period of training or probation (as the case may
be). The amount will be refunded to the officers only after their confirmation in salary grade
„A‟.
The retention amount will be forfeited, upon leaving the Corporation or termination of service
before the confirmation.

How to apply.

1. GATE-2013 Online Examination is scheduled on 20th Jan 2013.GATE-2013 Offline
Examination is scheduled on 10th Feb 2013.For detailed information of GATE-2013,
interested candidates may log on to http://www.gate.iitb.ac.in or websites of other
IITs and Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bangalore

2. Candidates need to purchase the GATE application form as per the information
provided in GATE-2013 websites. They should fill-in and submit the GATE
application form as instructed by the GATE authorities and wait for the admit card to
get the GATE registration number.

3. The candidates will receive their GATE-2013 Registration number printed on their
admit card. On receipt of GATE registration number, the candidates need to apply to
Hindustan Petroleum on-line. The relevant link will be made available from 24th
December 2012 at the „Careers Opportunities‟ link of Hindustan Petroleum Website
www.hindustanpetroleum.com.

4. Candidates should click on the on-line application link, read the instructions carefully
and fill-in the on-line application form giving accurate information including the GATE-
2013 registration number.

5. Candidates should keep scan copy of Passport size photo (in jpg/gif format less than
500 kb).

6. Upon completion, the candidate should submit the online application by clicking the
Submit button a the bottom of the page. If the same is accepted, the system will
generate a Unique Application ID along with the completed application form.

7. Candidates should take a print out of completed application, affix his/her recent
passport size photograph, put his/her signature at the space provided and keep with
him/ her safely for future reference.

8. The passport size photograph affixed by the candidate should be the same submitted
along with GATE-2013 application form. In case the candidate called for GD/GT and
or interview, he/she should come with this printed application form, along with GATE-
2013 admit card and GATE-2013 original official score card.

9. Candidates should ensure that the relevant detail viz-Name,date of birth, Address etc
entered in HPCL Online application should be same as entered in the GATE 2013
application.

10. 14th February 2013 is the last date for receiving application online for HPCL.
Processing Fee

A Non-refundable amount of Rs 200 + applicable Banking charges towards
processing fee is required to be paid by General & OBC-NC candidates while
applying for HPCL.The detail modalities of Payment procedure will be advised in due
course. No Processing fee is applicable for SC/ST & PWD candidates.
General Instructions

Read More