India

M. Vidyasagar, V X Patel, and G.S. Deodhare

ndia is thye second largest country in the world in terms of to the local colleges is based on a variety of factors, including
I population (after China), and the seventh largest in terms of area.
In a recent assessment by the United Nations, the Indian economy
the HSC marks as well as the performance in the statewide
Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by many states.
was rated as the sixth-largest in the world in terms of the PPP The ItTs are the best-known and best-funded undergraduate
(F’urchasing Power Parity) of its citizens; moreover, by the end of educational institutions in India. The caliber of the students in the
the century, India was expected to move into the fourth place. RECs is only marginally lower than in the UTs, but unfortunately
Together with China, India is among the two oldest continu- the same cannotbe said of the funding level, the quality and quantity
ous civilizations in the world. Over the millennia, India has had of equipment, and general level of autonomy and functional inde-
a series of invaders who subsequently became settlers, so that pendence given to these colleges. To mention only one glaring
India can perhaps be considered the original “land of immi- example, while each IIT is a fully autonomous body with its own
grants.” After 190 years of I3ritish rule, India became an inde- director, the RECs are (as the name implies) merely colleges, and
pendent dominion of Britain in 1947, and a republic in 1950. are forced to be a i a t e d to a nearby universitythat is often of much
Today India consists of 25 states plus seven Union Territories. lower quality. There is some talk of “equalizing” the situation
With its more than 900 million people speaking fourteen regional between the IITs and the RECs, but it remains to be seen whether
languages, its wide variation in everything from climate to this will be achieved by elevating the RECs to near the level of the
standards of living, lndia is a land of infinite diversity and ETs. The quality of the remaining colleges is extremely variable,
fascination, and infinite promise, mostly unrealized. even among the colleges affiliatedto the same university,and caveat
emptor is the watchword for the students.
A Thumbnail Sketch of ithe Indian Education System All in all, the educational picture in India is like a giant
kaleidoscope that throws up different patterns at different
India has (at last count) 37 5 degree-level engineering colleges
times-much the same as everything else connected with this
offering a total of about 1.800 programs covering different
vast and heterogeneous country.
branches of engineering and Itechnology, and graduating nearly
100,000 engineers annually. The premiere engineering institu-
tions are the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore and
Some Data
the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), of which there are six:
on Control Education
Genesis of Control Education in India. Courses in control
five established at Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, and Ma-
systems f i s t began to be offered in India during the late 1950s
dras, and the recently establiished IIT-Guwahati. Next, in terms
in the form of courses on servomechanisms. At that time, gener-
of prestige, are the Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs), of
ality was preferred over specialization, and not all students were
which there is one in each state of India. These are funded on a
taught control systems. Soon, however, controls became a core
50-50 basis by the central government and the respective state
course for many disciplines. In 1980, the Defense Research and
governments. In this category, one should also include the Birla
Development Organisation (DRDO) started a specialized gradu-
Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) at Pilani, which was
ate level program devoted entirely to the guidance and control of
started with collaboration with MIT in the United States. Finally,
missiles. Today, most engineering colleges offer courses in con-
there are literally hundreds of engineering colleges, each of
trol both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
which is affiliated to one of the hundreds of degree-granting
universities in India. Size of the Controls Faculty. Institutions that offer only
undergraduate courses in control typically have one or two
Each summer, millions of hdian youngsters write the Higher faculty members specialized in control. Usually these faculty are
Secondary Certificate (HSC) public examinations, which are con- in the electrical engineering department. In institutions that offer
ducted by a variety of “boards.” These examinations are either graduate level courses in control, such courses are offered in as
statewide or nationwide, depending on the board. The IISc is a many as four different departments (electrical engineering, me-
postgraduate institution, and a student cannot enter IISc directly chanical engineering, chemical engineering, and aerospace en-
after the HSC. Entrance to the I n s is based strictly on the student’s gineering). There can be a very large number of faculty
performance in the nationwide Joint Entrance Examination (E),specializing in control in each such department. For example, the
and not on the HSC marks. Entrance to the RECs is based on a electrical engineering department at IIT Kanpur has six profes-
combination of the JEE perfomnance and the HSC marks. Entrance sors specializing in control, the chemical engineering department
at IIT Bombay has three, BITS Pilani has 12 in various depart-
The authors are with the Centre for Artij5cial Intelligence and ments, the electrical engineering department at IIT Madras has
Robotics, Raj Bhavan Circle, High Grounds, Bangalore 560 001, three faculty members specializing in control, and IISc Banga-
India, email {sagar;vvp,deodharel@cair:emet.in. lore has eight in the electrical engineering department. Jadavpur

30 IEEE Control Systems

University has seven faculty in the electrical engineering depart-
ment. The Institute of Armament Technology in Pune, which
teaches service officers as well as scientists of the DRDO, has
three faculty specializing in guidance and control.
Style of Instruction. The style of classroom instruction
consists of lectures supplemented by assignments
and tutorials.At the graduate level, students are
also required to present a seminar. Students
are encouraged to use MATLAB, CC,
Mathematica, or other such software to
supplement what they learn in the class-
room.
Laboratory Racilities. In most in-
stitutions, undergraduate students
carry out the following standard experi-
ments:
Modeling of some available process
Time response of an RLC circuit on
oscilloscope
Identification of an RLC network by frequency sweeping
Synchronous generators
PID controller for some processes
Temperature control
Level control
Postgraduate students with a control specialization carry out
six hours of laboratory work per week. Sophisticated control
experimental kits are available in all the IITs, at a few Regional
Engineering Colleges, and at several state-govemment engineer-
ing colleges. Some of these kits are bought from well-known
foreign companies such as Feedback Instruments U. K. and
Tech-Equipment. Typically, the experimental kits consist of
Pneumatic system
Hydraulic system
Temperature control system
Level control system
Pressure control system
Coupled tank system
Analog and digital servo experiments
CNC machine
PC interfacing and off-line identification of some process
Analog computation
Programmable Logic Controller and interfacing with some
process
Tuning of PID controllers
Nonlinear elements, limit cycles, and describing functions
Speed control of DC motor, position feedback, and velocity
feedback
Undergraduate Degrees Offered and Requirements
Diploma Courses. A few institutions offer a diploma course
that includes some instruction in control. The typical diploma
course is of three years’ duration divided into six semesters. In
each semester, four to five courses are conducted, along with two
to three laboratory classes. At the end of each course, a written
examination is conducted. For the laboratory courses, a practical
examination is conducted along with an oral examination. In the
final year, students carry out a project. Thus, the requirement is
often 20 to 25 courses with 15 to 20 courses in laboratory work.
April 2996
A preliminary controls course is offered in the Diploma Course
for specializations in electrical, mechanical, instrumentation,elec-
tronics, and chemical engineering. Mathematical foundations are
usually not emphasized in such courses. A few projects are
carried out on automatic control systems. The emphasis is
more on producing a skilled engineer or techni-
cian and therefore most of the time is spent
in the laboratory. Microprocessor-based
projects are very popular. In instrumen-
tation engineering, a few projects are
carried out related to control valves or
orifices.
B.E./B.Tech. Courses. The B.E.
course is of four years’ duration and is
eight semesters long. There is no under-
graduate degree offered with a speciali-
zation in control alone. However, at many
places a B.E.B. Tech. degree is offered with
the specialization instrumentation and control.
The requirement is often 35 to 40 courses, 20 to 25 labora-
tory courses, and a dissertation in the final year. In a typical
undergraduate program in instrumentation and control, two to
three courses in control are included. An undergraduate controls
course is also offered in electrical, electronics, computer, me-
chanical, chemical and aeronautical engineering departments in
the third or fourth year. The syllabus covers standard books by
K. Ogata, B.C. Kuo, or Nagrath and Gopal. (The last two are
Indian professors specializing in control.)
A few of the above specializations also offer a second (op-
tional) course in control systems. This normally deals with
classical controller synthesis, introduction to nonlinear control
systems (describing function and phase-plane analysis), intro-
duction to state-space theory (concepts of controllability, ob-
servability, and state feedback for single-input single-output
systems), and introduction to digital control and the effects of
sampling. A brief introduction to advanced topics such as adap-
tive control, optimal control, and robust control is also given.
Projects. Though almost all B.E. or B.Tech. degrees require
that a project be completed during the final semester or final
year, very few students do theoretical projects. Occasionally
industry will sponsor undergraduate projects, but these are usu-
ally in applied areas such as Programmable Logic Controllers
(PLCs), fuzzy-logicbased controllers, or temperature control sys-
tems. The level of interaction with industry varies from college to
college, and the location of the college plays a major role in this
regard, since students usually have to cany out the project in the
premises of the industry while attending to their coursework at the
same time.
Employment After Graduation. Students with a good con-
trols background are usually able to find employment in process
control industries or the aerospace industry, where their control
training can be used. However,a recent trend is that most students
opt for software jobs, which usually carry higher pay and also
provide the possibility of traveling andor resettling abroad.
Qualifications of the Engineering Faculty. The minimum
requirement is normally an M.E./M.Tech., although some
smaller colleges relax this to a B.E.B.Tech.
31
 Postgraduate ESducation in Control
The research interests of the various groups offering post-
graduate education in control at the various academic institutions
span a variety of research areas, consisting of both theoretical as
well as applied areas. The theoretical topics studied include
almost all the standard areas, such as adaptive control, stochastic
control, robust and optimal control, fuzzy systems, and variable
structure control. Application areas include power systems, ro-
botics, machine drives, aircrafts, missiles, process control, etc.
M.E./M.Tech. and M.S. #Courses.The M.E.N.Tech. course
is typically of 18 months’ duration and is spread over three
semesters. During the first two semesters students do intensive
coursework. Usually 10 lecture courses and two laboratory
courses are compulsory. In ithe final semester, students devote
their full time to their project. The degree programs are usually
further divided into streams such as instrumentation and control
and systems and control, etc.
The M.S. (Master of Science) degree is usually of two years’
duration, and is primarily a research degree. In comparison with
the M.E./M.Tech. degrees, the number of courses required for
the M.S. is about half, while the amount of contribution required
from the thesis is correspondiingly much higher, as is the normal
duration of the program (two years vs. 18 months).
The typical range of course offerings includes:
* Linear Control Theory
* Optimal Control
* Nonlinear Control
0 Adaptive Control
* Modeling and Simulation
0 Stochastic Processes
* System Identification
* Digital Control
* Computational Techniques
* Distributed Computer Control
0 Application of Software Engineering
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and so on.
Students in the controls specialization also opt for some of
the following courses from the mathematics department:
Abstract Algebra
Functional Analysis
Variational Principles
Differential Geometry
Topology
In addition, students in the controls specialization choose
elective courses from the areas of computers, power systems,
power electronics, digital signal processing, etc., depending
upon their interests.
For their master’s thesis (in the various programs), the
students specializing in control carry out either theoretical pro-
jects or sponsored projects from R&D organizations. The list
below shows some of the recent applied (sponsored) projects in
some academic institutions:
Mechanical design and fabrication of Autonomous Guided
VehicIes (AGV) including drives.
Controller design for the AGVs.
Mechanical design and fabrication of a SCARA manipulator.
* Design and implementation of a PC-based controller for a
two-link SCARA manipulator.
* Design and implementation of sensory systems.
0 On-line computer control of a distillation column.
On-line computer control of a heat exchanger.
On-line computer control of a plug flow reactor.
* On-line computer control of stirred tank reactor.
* On-Line computer control of pH in a stirred tank reactor.
* Integrated simulation environment.
* Robust control of chemical reactors.
0 Control of molecular weight distribution (NIWD) in emul-
sion systems.
IEEE Control Systems
 Mode of Evaluation of Master’s Thesis. A master’s thesis
is reviewed internally by a group of examiners, including the
supervisor. Sometimes the thesis is also sent to a single extemal
examiner. The student has to defend hisher thesis before an
audience, including an examiner from another institution in India.
Ph.D. Program. There are no compulsory courses for the
Ph.D. program if the student has already completed the required
courses at the graduate level. The Ph.D. supervisor and other
faculty members decide the course requirement for the Ph.D.
candidate. Typically the student is asked to complete three or four
courses. The other requirements for the partial fulfillment of the
degree consist of passing a comprehensive examination and
giving a few seminars at various stages. The thesis is sent to two
or three external examiners who are active research workers in
the student’s area of research. The examining panel consists of
one member from within the country and one or two from abroad.
Once the report of the examiners and the thesis supervisor(s) are
received and necessary corrections are made, the student has to
defend the thesis before an examination board. The interval
between the submission of the thesis and final thesis defense is
typically of the order of six to ten months. The duration of the
Ph.D. program varies from three to six years.
At the Ph.D. level, most students do theoretical work for their
theses. A few projects sponsored by R&D organizations may
form part of the thesis work. At various places research is
conducted in all the standard areas of control theory, such as:
Robust Control
H- Control Theory
L’ Control
Adaptive Control
Fuzzy Systems
Reduced Order Modeling
Periodic Control
Quantitative Feedback Theory
Discrete Event Dynamical Systems
Fault Tolerant Systems System Identification
Manufacturing Systems
Distributed Computer Control
Knowledge-Based Control
and so on.
Most Ph.D. graduates try to join an academic institution upon
the completionof their degrees.Very few seek R&Djobs in industry
or government.A few may even opt for softwaredevelopmentjobs,
since they are more lucrativethese days. While waiting for a suitable
permanent position, Ph.D.s can find temporary employment as
Project Associates, especially in the IITs and IISc.
Interaction with Industry and Government Agencies
One glaring weakness of the Indian academic community is
the very low level of interaction between academia and the users
of research output, such as industry and the scientific depart-
ments of the government (e.g., Atomic Energy, Defense, and
Space). Even though the latter bodies all have many challenging
scientific and technological problems to tackle and are willing
to sponsor research in the academic institutions, there appears to
be a cultural bias among some academics both against accepting
such projects as well as having the graduates of their programs
April 1996
join the government R&D organizations. There are, of course,
several honorable exceptions to this statement-both the guided
missile program and the satellite-building program have bene-
fited enormously from the participation of some committed
academics. For instance, Jadavpur University and the IISc
(through the Joint Advanced Technology Program) have contrib-
uted significantly to India’s guided missile development pro-
gram. With the budgets of the academic institutions (not
excepting the IITs) coming under great pressure, and the budgets
of the mission-oriented scientific agencies being in relatively
healthy shape, there are now strong incentives for more academ-
ics to shed their prejudices and start becoming useful to Indian
technology and industry. It remains to be seen whether such an
attitudinal change actually takes place.
Interaction of Academic Groups
Within the Country and Abroad
With internal distances being vast and travel infrastructure
poor, in the past it was rather difficult for Indian academics to
keep in touch with each other and with the outside world.
However, with the advent of email the situation has improved
dramatically. Now Indian academics are able to keep in touch
with their counterparts abroad, and also with their Indian col-
leagues should they wish to do so. The National Systems Con-
ference is organized at a different place each year, and has by
now become something of an institution. In addition, the IITs
and 11%witness a large number of visitors coming through either
to visit their families or to attend one of the many international
symposia and conferences organized in India during the pleasant
winter season. Programs such as the UN-sponsored TOKTEN
(Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals) are an-
other mechanism whereby non-resident Indians are able to spend
some time visiting Indian institutions.
Summary and Conclusions
In general, controls education at the undergraduate level in
India fares relatively well when compared with its counterparts
in more advanced countries. The graduating engineers are able
to cope with the requirements of Indian industry and technology.
At the postgraduate level, the situation is not so happy, in that
the overall quality of education is comparable to mediocre over-
seas universities. There is also a clear lack of a sense of direction
in the choice of thesis topics. Here again it must be emphasized
that some committed individuals, be they faculty or students, are
able to overcome the manifold disadvantages of working in an
Indian environment and to produce first-rate work. But these are
the exceptions and not the rule. The situation is exacerbated by
a very low level of interaction between the government scientific
departments and industry on the one hand, and the academic
institutions on the other hand. However,the situation may change
as budgets become tighter at academic institutions, and account-
ability increases.
Acknowledgment
The authors express their gratitude to all faculty members
who responded to our questionnaire by providing relevant details
about their academic and research programs.
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