Based on my brother's experience, I can say that Nalanda Open University is one of the best open universities in India in terms of educational quality, exam pattern and schedule, and exam discipline. The process of admission to Nalanda Open University is quite nice. It is very simple to be admitted there, and the entire admissions process can be completed within a day. The university will provide you with all of the necessary study materials. You will be notified about the schedule of the upcoming examinations via Registered Post, and you can also check the schedule on the official website of Nalanda Open University. The fee structure for many of the courses offered by the university is affordable. After the examination, you will be notified of the results on a specified date (delay in the declaration of results is a myth at Nalanda Open University). Your grade sheet will be mailed to the address you provided the university. The top student in each subject receives a gold medal, and this university is a torchbearer for women's education and empowerment in Bihar. The top six girls/women are recognized for their achievements and are awarded. So, if you are considering Nalanda Open University for your studies then you should go for it.

If you want to stand out among others in your master’s degree, you should pursue your master’s in a regular mode from a government university. This will later help you to pursue your further studies in post-graduate degrees, like Ph.D. So it is suggested that you work a bit harder and try to get admission in a government college with the course offered in the regular mode. However, if you merely require a master’s degree, you can pursue it from any educational institution.

IGNOU BA Economics (Hons) is better. The course structure is more flexible. Study materials are offered in both English and Hindi. You will get more time to clear your pending courses without paying additional fees. You can change the study center and examination center according to your convenience.  Whereas Nalanda Open University study centers are in Bihar only. The Patna center is usually the venue for examination. The course materials of NOU are mostly in Hindi.

No, IGNOU is better than Nalanda Open University. It is world’s largest university and provides the following facilities. IGNOU study materials are free of cost. IGNOU results, examinations, and classes are conducted on time.  It has many regional centers all across the country. You can change your learning center or place of examination as per your convenience. You will get more time to complete your courses without paying any additional fees at IGNOU.  These are some of the things that make IGNOU a superior choice.

My brother did B.Tech and M.Tech in Biotechnology. According to him, it’s not a good idea to pursue Biotechnology in distance mode. Distance mode education works best for subjects that have less practical work.  Biotechnology, on the other hand, requires extensive lab work and teacher-student interactions. Basically, Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary course. So, doing a regular degree or an engineering degree in Biotechnology will be far better.