NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry today gave the go ahead to a single National entrance exam for all undergraduate engineering and architecture courses from 2018 on. The single national entrance exam will from 2018 on decide admissions to over 3,000 public and private engineering colleges. It will be conducted multiple times in a year.The HRD ministry has moved the single exam format to ‘improve standards and quality of engineering education’ in the country. As of now there are multiple exams for engineering conducted by the Centre, states and private institutes. The National Entrance Exam will coexist along with the JEE Advanced that determines admission to the IITs.The Centre has asked the apex engineering education regulator- All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to issue a suitable regulation under the AICTE Act for implementation of the proposal. AICTE has also been asked to ensure the test is well standardised keeping in mind the country’s linguistic diversity.All states and deemed to be universities offering the courses have been asked to give their ‘constructive suggestions’ to ensure a smooth implementation of the common exam. The HRD ministry has also advised that maximum institutions be brought in under the Joint Seat Allocation regime for an efficientt system.Incidentally, Tamilnadu was one of the states that has strongly opposed the concept of a common exam- AIDMK MPs even raised it in Parliament recently.colleges and an exit exam for engineering graduates has suffered a jolt. Tamilnadu has strongly objected to the move being ‘forced’ on the country by the Centre.