Online applications for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2019 will begin on November 1st, according to the official website, jest.org.in. Registration for JEST 2019 will run up to December 15, 2018 and the exam is scheduled for February 17th, 2019.

The JEST is recognized by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) as a National Eligibility Test (NET), and the exam is for those who want to pursue a PhD or integrated PhD in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, Neuroscience or Computational Biology at one of the many participating institutes, which include TIFR, IISER, IISc, HBNI, Bose Institute, and ICTS.

To apply for JEST 2019, candidates will have to pay an application fee of Rs.300 via credit/debit card and NetBanking. The JEST 2019 application fee for SC/ST candidates and female candidates is Rs.150. The application fee for female SC/ST candidates is waved. The online payment system has not been put in place yet, and instruction on how to pay the JEST application fee will be intimated once the system is ready.

The admit card or hall ticket for the JEST 2019 exam will be made available after January 20th, 2019. Candidates will need to download their admit card, print it out and carry it (along with a photo ID) to the exam centre. The JEST score is valid for a period of one year.

Each participating institute may have their own eligibility criteria (direct JEST link here), and the JEST 2019 exam will be held in exam centres across India. For the full list of JEST 2019 exam centres, click on this direct link. For the list of participating institutes, click on this direct link.