Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped

The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped was set up in 1976 by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment with the aim of developing manpower in the field of rehabilitation and to serve the orthopaedically handicapped.

The institute runs outpatient services for persons with disabilities like paraplegia, hemiplegia, arthritis, cerebral palsy, post polio residual paralysis and congenital anomalies. Patients availing facilities in the outpatient department are examined and evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of rehabilitation specialists. The physiotherapy outpatient department is equipped with modern electrotherapy and exercise therapy equipment. There is also a speech therapy OPD.

It also conducts out-reach camps for the economically weaker disabled persons, living in far-flung and remote areas, with the help of the district administration and locally active nongovernmental organisations. There is an integrated school for orthopaedically disabled children up to Class V that is approved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The institute offers a bachelor in physiotherapy (BPT), a bachelor in occupational therapy (BOT) and a bachelor in prosthetics and orthotics (BPO). Each of these four-and-a-half-year courses are affiliated to the University of Delhi.

The application form is available at the institute’s counter from the end of March. To obtain it by post, send a demand draft of Rs 550 (Rs 300 for SC / ST applicants) to the director, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi-110002.

Eligibility

You should have passed Plus Two or an equivalent examination with physics, chemistry, biology and English for the BPT course. A general category student should have a minimum of 50 per cent marks in aggregate in the above mentioned subjects while a SC / ST / PH / CWAPP category applicant needs to have 45 per cent. You should have completed 17 years of age on or before October 1 of the year of admission.

Entrance exam

Candidates are admitted to the bachelor of physical therapy, bachelor of occupational therapy or bachelor of prosthetics and orthotics through an entrance test conducted every year in the month of June / July by the University of Delhi.

Pattern of exam

The three-hour test consists of objective-type questions based on the Plus Two curriculum. The question paper tests the applicant’s knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology or mathematics, general knowledge and English. Each of the sections is worth 50 marks.

How to prepare

To ace the biology section, you can practise questions from biology books by M.P. Kaushik, and the Test Bank in Biology by Vinay Kumar.

For the physics and chemistry section, some of the books you can refer to are Physics 10 + 2 by H.C. Verma, Chemistry by O.P. Agarwal and Objective Chemistry by S. Chand.

For the maths section, you can consult Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Agarwal and Mathematics by Rao and Venkateshwar.

Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal and English Grammar by Wren and Martin will help you do well in the English section.

Prepare for the general knowledge section from books by O.P. Khanna, Maniram Agarwal or Tata McGraw Hill publishers.

Regular, time-bound practise of questions, especially from previous years’ question papers, will give you a competitive edge.