How to Get into BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre)?

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is one of India’s most prestigious nuclear research centres. It was founded by the visionary scientist Homi J. Bhabha to advance India’s research in atomic energy. BARC is funded by DAE and is a dream place for engineering and science graduates. This is considered a perfect place for research in nuclear and interdisciplinary sciences in India. If you are a nuclear science enthusiast and want to take it as a career in BARC, this blog is for you.

In this blog, we will discuss:

• What does BARC do?
• How to get into BARC?
• Career Opportunities

What Does BARC do?

BARC is India’s leading nuclear research centre, with the main office in Trombay, Maharashtra, Mumbai. BARC ‘s fundamental objective is to preserve secure nuclear energy activities, mainly for energy production. It handles all aspects of atomic energy, including theoretical reactor technology to computerised modelling and simulation, new reactor fuel materials development, risk analysis & evaluation, etc. 

DAE funds BARC and hence produces extensive and advanced research and development covering the entire spectrum of nuclear science, chemical engineering, material sciences and metallurgy, electronics instrumentation, biology and medicine, advanced computing, high-energy plasma physics and associated research for the Indian nuclear program and related areas. Four more BARC Training Schools have been opened in Hyderabad, Indore, and Kalpakkam to accommodate DAE’s expanding demands. NISER is another DAE-funded institute that produces extensive research and offers science education to students. To know more about this institute, check out this blog.

How to Get into BARC?

Every year, BARC recruits skilled engineers and physics graduates from all over India. There are many programs and modes through which you can enter into BARC. Career opportunities at various levels are available at the Centre in wide-ranging R&D areas of Nuclear Science and Technology. Personnel of DAE are broadly categorised as:

• Scientific (Scientific/Technical Officers) through training schools and direct recruitment.
• Technical (Scientific Assistant, Foreman, Draughtsman, Technician, Para-medical staff, Fire service staff, Horticultural staff)
• Administrative (Administrative, Accounts) and Purchase & Stores
• Auxiliary (Security staff, Driver staff, Attendant)

There is a different recruitment process for each category. In this blog, we will talk about the recruitment process for only scientific and technical officers. 

Recruitment Programs:

Recruitment of Scientific Officers (Scientists and Engineers) is through two primary programmes

• The Orientation Course for Engineering Graduates and Science Post-graduates (OCES) is a 1-year program conducted at five BARC training centres (Mumbai, Kalpakkam, Indore, and Hyderabad)
• The DAE Graduate Fellowship Scheme (DGFS), conducted by the BARC Training Schools. DGFS is a 2-year program.

To get selected for these programs, you must clear the BARC Entrance Exam and the interview process. You can also provide your GATE scores in the same discipline you apply to. If you are oriented toward research, you can go for DGFS, while if more technical and application part suits you, OCES is the perfect match for you.

If you want to know about another organisation responsible for defence research, the DRDO, check out this blog.

Exams to get into BARC:

There are a few basic eligibility criteria for the BARC entrance exam:

• The minimum age is 18 years, while the maximum ranges from 26 to 31 years for various reservation categories. 
• You need to have a B.Tech/ B.E./ B.Sc./5-year integrated M.Tech. with at least 60% aggregate marks to apply for the exams. 
• However, many engineering and science fields graduates like aerospace engineering or mining can’t apply for the exam. You must check the detailed eligibility criteria on their website well before applying for the examination.

The online exam is objective and there are 100 questions to be attempted in 2 hours. You can check the detailed syllabus from the BARC website before filling out the application form. Candidates are shortlisted based on GATE or BARC exam scores and called for an interview.  Although there is no definite cutoff for clearing the exam, usually more than 50% of marks (out of 300) are sufficient to qualify for the interview process. Hence, in short, if you have a good GATE score, you don’t need to take the BARC Exam, while if you don’t have a good GATE score, you can try taking the BARC exam. 

Career Opportunities:

After the interview process, selected candidates are recruited as Scientific Officers. The job profile differs from other governmental jobs, and after the completion of training, all candidates must sign a bond and agreement to serve DAE for at least three years. Candidates can be sent to any of the BARC centres depending on their performance in the training program, with top performers kept on the main campus.

Scientific officers are government scientists who use scientific ideas and techniques to analyse technical issues and offer solutions. They also manage and watch over technical staff while they conduct tests and experiments. There are various other roles of scientific officers that BARC releases through vacancies advertisements and you must keep an eye on their official website.

Salary:

The Pay Matrix-7 decides the pay level and, hence, is different for different job profiles and can change periodically. But generally, the basic pay is around Rs.56,100 with allowances of about Rs. 39,000. Salary increases as your experience increases and you get promoted to higher positions. Even during training in any of the above-mentioned programs, a stipend of around Rs.55,000 per month is provided. Various other allowances like travel, stay, leave, and medical are also provided to the trainees.

Conclusion:

BARC is one of the best places for engineering and science graduates to contribute towards the welfare of our country. Getting a job in BARC is one of the difficult tasks but a rewarding one. This enhances your skills while enabling you to serve the nation by developing and launching new missions and technologies. Now, if you want to know about ISRO and want to know how to get into it, check out this blog.

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