Ranchi: The Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB) on Friday released the schedule for four rounds of online counselling for admissions into BE and BTech courses in govt engineering institutes. The process will be carried out on the basis of the state merit list compiled from JEE(Main) results.According to an official notification issued by the board, the first state merit list will be published on July 5. The initial choice-filling window opens on July 6 and closes on July 9, with a brief editing window available until 5 pm on July 10. Provisional seat allotment letters will be issued from July 12 to 17. The first round of registration for admissions was held between June 24 and July 2.Subsequent rounds will follow a structured timeline, based on the number of vacant seats available. In the second round, new registrations will be allowed from July 17 to 19, followed by choice-filling until July 22 and admissions concluding on July 29. The third round commences with fresh applications between July 29 and 31, leading to admissions from Aug 4 to 6. The final, accelerated fourth round allows registrations on Aug 6 and 7, wrapping up the entire admission cycle by Aug 11.Candidates who register initially need not reapply for subsequent rounds, though fresh registrations are permitted at the start of each phase. A board official said, “If, after being allotted a seat in the first, second or third round of counselling, a student wants to change their branch or institute based on the vacant seats, they can re-apply for counselling.”The official clarified that if an admitted student secures a seat upgrade in a later round, their previous admission is automatically cancelled, making the new allotment mandatory.Registration and counselling fees are structured by category. General, EWS, Backward Classes-I and Backward Classes-II candidates must pay a total of Rs 900, whilst SC, ST and female candidates have to pay a combined fee of Rs 500. Disabled candidates are exempt from registration fees but must pay the category-specific counselling fee.Security deposits range from Rs 5,000 for general candidates to Rs 2,000 for ST, SC and female applicants. The board said that if the student vacates the allotted seat before the fourth round of counselling, their security deposit will be refunded. However, the deposits will be forfeited if a student fails to enrol after a recommendation or withdraws in an inappropriate manner.