Hi I took a home loan in 2013 and paid back the same before getting possession. During the period I paid around 270,000 inr as interest and zero principle. The loan was settled in 2015 and I travelled abroad for job. Now I returned to India in June 2023. Can I claim benefit in income tax for interest paid on loan during Pre EMI period after 8 years? As I was NRI I didn't claim any benefit in income tax.

Ans: With a JEE Main CRL of 742, your strongest NIT option is NIT Trichy CSE, as recent JoSAA trends show its closing rank well beyond your rank, making it a safe and top-tier choice; it also consistently ranks among the top NITs (NIRF ~Top 10) with excellent placements, coding culture, and peer quality. Next in preference would be NIT Surathkal CSE, known for its strong placement record, industry exposure, and highly reputed campus environment, followed by NIT Warangal CSE, which offers a robust alumni network and consistently good tech placements. If you are open to electronics, NIT Trichy ECE becomes a strong alternative, followed by NIT Surathkal or Warangal ECE. However, when compared with IITs (excluding Bombay, Kanpur, Madras, Kharagpur), you should prefer top IITs like Delhi, Roorkee, Guwahati, Hyderabad, or BHU for CSE/ECE, as IIT brand value and opportunities are superior; but if you are getting lower IIT branches, then NIT Trichy CSE is often a better and more practical choice due to stronger placement outcomes in core tech roles. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Based on your son's percentile, your son has a reasonable chance in NIT+ system, but an exact prediction needs his ST category rank and home state, because JoSAA clearly says ST seat cutoffs are based on ST category rank, not percentile/CRL. Based on recent JoSAA/CSAB trends, CSE/IT in top NITs is difficult, but he should target lower branches in NITs and CSE/ECE in newer IIITs/GFTIs through later rounds/CSAB. Possible choices to fill include NIT Agartala, NIT Meghalaya, NIT Mizoram, NIT Nagaland, NIT Manipur, NIT Sikkim, NIT Arunachal Pradesh, NIT Puducherry, NIT Andhra Pradesh, and GFTIs like Assam University, Mizoram University, Gurukula Kangri, BIT Patna/Deoghar/Jaipur. Branches to try: Civil, Mechanical, Production, Metallurgy, Biotechnology, Chemical, Electrical, and in some newer IIITs, ECE/IT/CSE may be possible in CSAB. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: For a government job aim, your son can prefer BITS Pilani Civil Engineering over MIT Manipal CSE, if your son is comfortable with Civil. Reason: Civil directly suits UPSC Engineering Services, state AE/JE, CPWD, PWD, Railways, PSUs, municipal/infrastructure jobs, and BITS Pilani has a stronger national brand. BITS officially offers B.E. Civil and higher civil specialisations, while UPSC ESE includes Civil Engineering as a core paper. Your son must choose BITS Pilani Civil, but he should also start preparing for GATE/ESE/PSUs from 2nd year itself. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Based on your son's percentile, your son has a reasonable chance in NIT+ system, but an exact prediction needs his ST category rank and home state, because JoSAA clearly says ST seat cutoffs are based on ST category rank, not percentile/CRL. Based on recent JoSAA/CSAB trends, CSE/IT in top NITs is difficult, but he should target lower branches in NITs and CSE/ECE in newer IIITs/GFTIs through later rounds/CSAB. Possible choices to fill include NIT Agartala, NIT Meghalaya, NIT Mizoram, NIT Nagaland, NIT Manipur, NIT Sikkim, NIT Arunachal Pradesh, NIT Puducherry, NIT Andhra Pradesh, and GFTIs like Assam University, Mizoram University, Gurukula Kangri, BIT Patna/Deoghar/Jaipur. Branches to try: Civil, Mechanical, Production, Metallurgy, Biotechnology, Chemical, Electrical, and in some newer IIITs, ECE/IT/CSE may be possible in CSAB. All the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Jitendra, BIT Mesra Off-Campus Jaipur is recommendable mainly for CSE/IT-related courses but not at the same level as BIT Mesra main campus or top NITs. It is an official BIT Mesra campus established in 1995, has the BIT academic brand, and offers campus facilities like classrooms, labs, a seminar hall, computer/internet access, and workshop facilities. Student reviews mention decent faculty, supportive seniors, and around 60–70% placements, with IT recruiters such as Deloitte, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and others reported. However, please note it is a small off-campus centre, so exposure, peer group, hostel/campus life, and recruiter depth may be weaker than Mesra main campus or MNIT Jaipur. The official admission page also mentions limited girls’ hostel facilities, and boys’ hostel concerns appear in student discussions. It is advisable to choose it if you get a CSE/AI/DS/IT-type branch and do not have better options like NITs, IIITs, Thapar, LNMIIT, Manipal main campus, or good state government colleges. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Adam, Based on your rank, getting Mechanical Engineering in NITs through regular JoSAA is very unlikely. For Mechanical, even lower NITs generally close far before this OBC rank in JoSAA; therefore, do not depend only on NITs/IIITs/GFTIs. Still, fill choices in CSAB Special Round, because vacant-seat cutoffs can relax after JoSAA. You must target your state government engineering colleges, home-state counselling, GFTIs with lower-demand branches, and private options. You also must have the following backups for Mechanical branch: State Colleges, JSS/AKGEC/KIET, Chandigarh University, LPU, UPES, SRM, VIT lower campuses, Amity, Galgotias. Also consider Electrical/Civil/Production/Metallurgy if available. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Based on your score, CSE at NIT-Trichy is unlikely because 2025 HS OPEN CSE closed around 4,600, and ECE is also difficult/borderline because female HS closing ranks were around 10,277–12,606. However, EEE, Instrumentation & Control, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, and Metallurgical/Production are realistic to good possibilities depending on your actual rank and round. Fill in the choices of NIT Surathkal/Warangal/Calicut/Rourkela for core branches and IIITDM Kancheepuram, IIIT Sri City, IIIT Kottayam, IIIT Una, IIIT Nagpur for CS/ECE-related options. Additionally, please review the JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the last 2-3 years to gain further insights and better understand admission trends & fill in the realistic choices in JoSAA. It is advisable to have the backup options of reputed TN Colleges of SSN, Sathyabhama, PSG, Amrita etc. All the BEST for Your Prosperous Future!

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Ans: HI ADAM,
GREETINGS FROM THE REDIFFGURUS!
With an 84 percentile and an OBC rank of 87,136, it is very challenging to secure a spot in Mechanical Engineering at NIT Andhra Pradesh or IIIT Kurnool via JoSAA, even with an Andhra Pradesh domicile. Therefore, please consider applying to the following NITs: NIT Agartala, NIT Nagaland, NIT Mizoram, or NIT Meghalaya.

BEST WISHES.

Ans: Hi Shivam,
GREETINGS FROM THE REDIFFGURUS!
Please share your 10th and 12th-standard marks so I can provide my suggestions

with regards