India, July 9 -- The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) on July 8 announced the final merit list for admissions to polytechnic diploma courses across the state. A total of 1,40,850 applications have been included in the list. This includes 1,40,286 applications from within Maharashtra and 564 from other states.

The polytechnic stream, chosen by students after Class 10, has been gaining popularity in recent years, especially among high-performing students. This can be gauged by the fact that five students, who scored a perfect 100% in the 10th board exams, have applied for admission to diploma courses this year.

These five students are Ravan Harshada Hemant from Kolhapur, Sontakke Arnav Arvind from Latur, Lahane Manthan Shrikant fr...