CSAB 2024: Eligibility, Counseling Dates, Process

The CSAB (Central Seat Allocation Board) was established by the Ministry of Education in 2013 as a replacement for the Central Counseling Board. It organizes centralized CSAB counseling for engineering/technology and architecture/planning undergraduate seats in NITs, IIEST, IIITs, and SPAs. The CSAB and JAB-IITs (JEE Apex Board) together make the JoSAA for joint counseling and allocation to the NIT+System and IITs. Here is more information for better clarity and understanding. 

CSAB Counseling Dates 2024 

The dates for CSAB counseling 2024 are yet to be released on the CSAB official website. For 2023, provisional CSAB registration and documents uploading started on 26th June, while the first round of seat allotment started on 18th July. The second round took place on 31st July. You can take an idea from this to evaluate the tentative 2024 CSAB counseling dates.

CSAB Counseling Process

The CSAB counseling procedure involves the following steps: 

• Two rounds of seat allocation are organized to fill up vacant seats of the NIT+System post the 6th JoSAA round. 
• These are conducted through the official website- https://csab.nic.in. 
• You can obtain the details of vacant seats across various participating CSAB colleges on the website after the JoSAA rounds end and before the start of registration for the CSAB special rounds. 
• Candidates have to undertake fresh CSAB registration to participate in these rounds with different CSAB fees, seat allotment, choice filling, and choice locking among other aspects. 

CSAB Eligibility Criteria

The CSAB eligibility criteria include the following: 

Engineering and Architecture- 

• Candidates should get a rank in JEE (Main) B.E./B.Tech paper for these programs and B.Arch paper for the architectural programs. 
• Candidates should have passed the Class XII or equivalent board examinations with at least 45% marks. 
• For architecture, they should have at least 50% aggregate marks in physics, chemistry, and mathematics and at least 50% aggregate for the 10+2 level examination or 50% aggregate for the 10+3 diploma examination with mathematics as a compulsory subject. 
• Those seeking admission to B.Arch courses must provide their NATA scores (they must qualify the national aptitude test in architecture). 
• For PwD/SC/ST candidates, 5% of marks will be relaxed for calculating the qualifying marks and aggregate. 

Pharmacy- 

• Candidates should pass the Class XII examination with Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects and any one from Biology, Mathematics, Computer, and Biotechnology. 
• Candidates should understand the qualifying requirements before applying. 

Documents Required for CSAB

These are the documents required by candidates: 

• Candidates have to provide/verify details while registering online. These include state of domicile, gender, PwD status, category, special benefit claim if applicable, and aggregate percentage of Class XII/equivalent marks. 
• They have to upload scanned copies of original documents in pdf/jpg format, including photo ID proof, admit card of JEE (Main), Class X and XII certificate, domicile certificate, and other requisite certificates. 
• Certificate of category/subcategory/caste/sub-caste issued by the competent authority has to be uploaded if applicable. 

What to do After CSAB Seat Allotment

• The first round of CSAB seat allotment and online reporting involves the central processing of candidate choices. Seats will be given in the order of merit, based on the JEE (Main) for engineering/architecture and Class XII marks for pharmacy and based on the locked choices. 
• The results will be shown on the CSAB portal; individual allotment letters will not be dispatched to candidates. They will only get a general message regarding the same. After the first round of allotment is declared, all candidates will have to pay the acceptance/seat allotment fee of INR 4,000 online and generate the challan. 
• They can then exercise the float (if they want to be considered in the next round for all of their preferences), slide (if they wish to be considered in the next round for higher preference choices only within their allotted institutes), or freeze (if they are satisfied with the presently allotted seat). The last option means automatic communication of allotment to the respective DTEs, who will verify the candidate's eligibility and approve the seat. 
• Candidates can then download and print their provision admission letter and report to the institute for admission per the designated schedule with the necessary documents. 
• Those choosing the float or slide options must wait for the second and final allotment round. This will be done for vacant seats after the first round of online reporting and allotment. The final seat allotment will take place with the same admission procedure as mentioned above. The allotment is also done in spot rounds by NERIST (North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh)/DTEs (Directorates of Technical Education) based on their business rules. These are offline processes with no registration needed by candidates. 

These are some of the key CSAB details one should know, along with the registration, allotment, and counseling procedures. Also, aspirants are advised to follow the official website for the latest updates.