hey driven2insanity
This is really bad and disgusting but look at the positive side!! may be ur suoervisors had no idea about ur capability n now wen u have done lot of work independently, they want u do something that they feel relevant!!
i knw that this means a waste of all ur work that u have done till now and very disappointing but may b at the end u would get somehow to link this to the work that u would b doing as per ur supervisor's idea.
At least they have taken a note of ur capability!! and if u have to continue with such supervisors, u have no opiton but to work under their sheer ignorant beahviour!!
ALL THE BEST!!

To get into such institutes aspiring candidates have to qualify entrance test and most often another national level tests for junior research fellowship like NET, GATE. Then two rounds of interviews and only then you land up in such a lab.
On the other hand , getting TOEFL and GRE scores is not a big deal.
I think now you can understand why people want to work in such labs.
And above all if you do not have passion for science, your work, it is useless to do a PhD. because it will be no more than just a Degree. and you will get nothing out of it.

Ya this is a bit tough but then the quality of PhD is superb. Lots of publications and a deep rooting in science is added advantage. Each and every reputed lab here has such a schedule , it may seem punishing but those who are doing it are at their own will or gains.
And moreover one can not compare the students who work limitlessly and those who work it as a job.
In context of job, work timings depend on the position you hold. An office assistant can leave the office at 5PM but a CEO works till work is completed.
These labs are very well known here and joining is very difficult. My friends who could not get a PhD position in these labs are now doing PhD in US and UK in good labs.
Although it really takes long time to complete a PhD and require work like a dog but then u have a niche of urself. Most of the times you end up writing ur thesis with a handful of Post Doc offers.

XJR, I m in INDIA and i don't know victoria house people but if what u said is true that nowhere people work this much hard for PhD then correct it. This is India, and in any reputed institute like mine this is not so easy to get a PhD. You have to put in a lot of hard work to get a quality PhD, but out there people think that PhD is still a learning phase and whatever has to done left for the Post Doc.
But here learning phase ends with MSc and PhD is real research.
I find lot of guys on this site who are searching for a good, well paid post Docs. This is because they got a taught PhD, don't bother about publications and at the end of PhD , back to square one, that is looking for a Post doc and ultimately settele down with a sub standard lab hoping that after this post doc they will get a good position.

Cheers you are for sure much better than me!!
I joined PhD position 2 months ago in december 2006. And my schedule is killing me . I wake up at 6AM and leave for lab at 8AM , return back at 9PM and go to bed at 2AM.Have to Work for 7 days a week, allowed no holidays, doesn't matter how unwell I have to be in the lab and work.When all scholars in other lab enjoy weekends , I work full time in the lab and still will get my PhD in 6 years. And my supervisor is extremely strict.
I have forgot what is breakfast, take lunch at 4PM , Dinners are almost Fast food.
No social life , no friends and no time to even think about myself.
I always wanted a very busy lifestyle but this much busy............
This PhD will kill me .............
Want to change but have no time to search and apply for another position. TRAPPED!!
What say???

If you wish to switch over you can but ultimately it is not going to make much difference as there is no development without genes. got my point.
I really don't know what kind of problem in developmental biology you want to follow. Hope you are not planning to work in cellular aspects. But you can take anything related to developmental molecular biology or developmental genetics.
More or less it hardly matters as most of the positions in biomedical sciences are open to wide range of subjects.
And a Masters from India is great. But when you are competing for the scholarships there are restrictions to nationality and in that case you can't help. Apply for the international scholarships.

Right in a way, if you are a medical doctor you can do both PhD and MD but if you are a non-medico you can not do a MD.
But I disagree that MD and PhD are same. MPhil and MD are similar. It depends on the type of problem you are pursuing, like both the medico and non-medico can work in a medical field but in case of research in surgical field there are some restrictions for non-medicos.
But PhD is the ultimate degree in research. It doesn't matter if you are medico or not, PhD is same for both.
And yes never expect less work in MD. It is a very difficult degree.
Tell me from which field you are.

See if you apply in bulk to all those who are from your field, your chances of getting a reply fade. You must do a proper preparation before e-mailing to any faculty.
I guess you know it and if not tell me i will let you know. But never send bulk e-mails, Professors are very experienced and they show interest in only those who have genuine interest in their work. Even if they don't have funding, reply is mostly assured.
ALL THE BEST

As Marbeaux said this may be good choice but if I am not wrong u would not like to take this risk as you don't know what kind of person you are joining. If your supervisor turned out to be a real strict one , it would be a hell for you and getting out would be extremely torturous.
And this is my personal experience.

Hi Anirudh!!
It is good that u are much concerned about ur next higher education step but it seems that u r preoccupied with the fear of unexpected. Although this is a very common phase in life at this moment. But the thing to note is that you are not sure about PhD but for the masters.
If I were in this situation, I would have gone for the masters. Why? 1. Masters is a short duration than a PhD.
2. One can easily get a good job after masters also.
3. During the masters one can easily realise if he wants to go for doctoral studies.
and lastly One can easily join PhD after masters.
Isn't it better to go for masters rather than lending into a mess in mid of PhD and getting out with a masters.