IIT Kharagpur launches new course

IIT Kharagpur will be the first in the country to open a School of Entrepreneurship, the first batch for which will be inducted latest by 2009. The institute is also investing Rs 396 crore in six new projects, including an increasing intake of students up to 24,000 to 30,000 in phases in the next 10 years. Faculty is also being recruited to cope with the influx of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. All IITs are increasing their intake capacity in line with the Central government's policy of upgrading these centres of excellence. Fifty per cent of the investment going into the School of Entrepreneurship is being borne by Mr Vinod Gupta, an alumnus of the IIT. Initially, 30 students will be taken in

World University Rankings

For the first time, no Indian university figures in Britain’s most authoritative league table of the world’s top 200 universities while China is in with six universities revealing a wide gap in higher educational standards between the two competing Asian giants.Other Asian countries with world-class universities are Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which figured regularly in all the previous rankings, since The Times Higher – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings which began three years ago, have fallen off the map this year partly because of a change in evaluation norms.For this year’s survey, individual IITs were assessed, and not the “IIT system as a whole.” And none of the seven IITs was considered good enough to find a place among the top-ranking world universities.By way of consolation, however, IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai find mention among the world’s top 50 technology institutions, with the former at 37 and latter at 33 — both way behind China’s Tsinghua University, placed at 16.The six Chinese universities included among the world’s Top 200 are Peking University, Tsinghua University (also listed among the 50 best technology institutions), Fudan University, Nanjing University, the University of Science and Technology of China and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The survey, which covers 28 countries, confirms the English-speaking world’s dominance in higher education with America and Britain leading the pack. Harvard University tops the league table followed by Cambridge and Oxford at second and third positions respectively. The top 10 universities are all either in U.S. or Britain. FROM-HINDU

DU start course on banking

Delhi University (DU) in collaboration with ICICI Bank is going to start a three-month-long certificate course on banking.The course titled as "Foundation on Banking", would be launched by the Commerce department of the varsity which has recently entered into a partnership with ICICI Bank.The course would be open to those candidates who have secured 50 per cent or more marks in aggregate in their B Com degree.

Earn while they learn

There is a good news for the students of Delhi University as the varsity management is mulling "earn while they learn" programme for its students.undergraduate and postgraduate students will be provided part time jobs within the university set-up while they pursue their studies. They will be given employment for 25 to 30 hours per month.There is a need for students to understand work culture and professionalism while pursuing their academic life.At the same time, this will reduce the monetary burden on their parents, he said, adding that the programme would also protect students from indulging into non-social activities as they won't have leisure time for them.

Patna IIT

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed hope that the proposed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna, may become functional from the next academic year.Although the building for the Institute was yet to come up, the state government was prepared to provide an alternative building to make the IIT functional from the next academic year. State government was in the process of acquiring 500 acres of land near Bihta, about 30 kms from the state capital, for setting up of the institute.

FIITJEE

FIITJEE, a leading private coaching institute for IIT-JEE and other top level engineering entrance examinations in India, has announced a "FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam" to be held in 54 test centers across the country on December 2. All students from Classes VII to XI are eligible to apply for the exam.Information regarding the registration process, test schedule, syllabus and the regular FIITJEE programmes are available on its website www.fiitjee.com.The last date for registration is November 28. The result will be announced on December 16. The test is being conducted to encourage aspirants of IIT-JEE and to offer them feedback on their preparation.

Anna University conduct leak-free exams

Anna University is constructing its own satellite ANUSAT to conduct not only leak-free exams but also to foster interest in Earth observation and space technology among students and faculty and to provide hands-on training for all aspects of spacecraft building and operations support.With the development of this project, the varsity has become the first university in India to take up space technology with emphasis on micro-satellite development in its university engineering curriculum. The varsity will also be able to conduct the examinations in a fair manner. This (ANUSAT) would help Anna University to conduct leak-free examinations in all its affiliated colleges.

All India Pre-medical/Pre-dental entrance examination, 2008

The CBSE has begun accepting on-line applications for the All India Pre-medical/Pre-dental entrance examination, 2008.Aspiring students can submit their applications on-line on the website of the Central Board of Secondary Education.The entrance test, conducted for 15 per cent of the merit positions in medical and dental colleges all over the country, involves a preliminary and final examination. The preliminary test will be held on April 6, 2008 while the final exam is scheduled for May 11, 2008. The last date for submission of application is November 26. The preliminary exam will comprise of 200 objective type questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education is going to start many new courses soon, disclosed Ashok Ganguli, CBSE chairman.Ganguli said, “We are in touch with India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies for some IT courses, with National Institute of Fashion Designing for fashion designing courses, with some hospitals for starting courses related to general health, besides courses in retail management, service sector, heritage crafts, multimedia and visual arts and creative skills.He said presently CBSE is focusing on four important factors — language, including communication skills enhancing regional as well as local languages; teaching mathematics from Class III onwards with the help of mathematics laboratory; teaching science by learning by doing from Class VI onwards and teaching with the help of computer technology. As per CBSE, a student can get five chances to clear a compartment in any subject. However, students who fail to clear their compartment in the third chance under CBSE Board are denied admission in schools under Punjab School education Board. About this, Ganguli said, “I am also the president of Council of Board of School Education. A meeting is being held in Pune in January 2008, where I will take up the issue.”He added that keeping in view the constructive approach and conceptual framework, CBSE is going to change its assessment pattern. In the Board examination of 2008, question papers will be based on thinking skills among children. So 20 per cent of the question papers will be based on higher order thinking skill, while the remaining will be based on medium order thinking skill. This will help in maintaining the correlation between speed and accuracy, he said.

Applied Materials Opens Nanotech Lab @ IIT Bombay

Applied Materials, Inc., a provider of nanomanufacturing technology solutions, has opened Nanomanufacturing lab at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The company has contributed equipment worth $7.5 million to the Centre of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at IIT Bombay. The centre will serve as a research and educational platform and for faculty, students and researchers in India to work on breakthrough ideas to invent and innovate technologies that will have an impact on solving current as well as future problems of semiconductor technology. IIT Bombay has decided to name the laboratory as 'Applied Materials.

Rensselaer Medal

Toby Heavenrich of Candor is this year’s winner from Candor High School of the Rensselaer Medal from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.The award is given to students who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science. Each medalist who is accepted and subsequently enrolls at Rensselaer receives a scholarship of $60,000 payable in four yearly awards of $15,000 each.

Mathematics exhibition

This exhibition is a result of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Kerala State Council for Science and Department of Atomic Energy to set up a 'Kerala School of Mathematics' in Kozhikode - a world-class mathematical studies centre.The idea is to generate students' interest and help them overcome their fear of Maths, which has led to poor performance in the state board exams in the past two years.The concept revolves around relating numbers and abstract equations to everyday life.

Science graduates prefer biotech: Survey

Biotechnology has emerged as the preferred choice for 82 per cent of science graduates showing interest in pursuing it as a career as against professional courses in agriculture, according to an Assocham survey.The chamber's paper on 'Prospects in Agriculture vs Biotechnology' revealed that a meagre 18 per cent of 500 science graduates said they would pursue post-graduation in agriculture to push up innovations in the sector to serve needs of 70 per cent of India's population.Due to the dependence on external factors such as rain, availability of inputs and quality seeds at affordable rate, agriculture has been unable to attract investment from the majority of businessman. The chamber said this further attributes to graduates' disinclination towards the sector

IIT-Kanpur to help Bhutan set up management school

A five-member delegation from Royal Bhutan University visited IIT Kanpur to seek its help in establishing a world class management institute in capital Thimpu.
Besides developing the infrastructure of the institute and arranging for its faculty, IIT-K will also be designing the curriculum for its MBA course.The delegation, headed by Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Bhutan University Dr. Dasho Pema Thinley, is on a two day visit of IIT-K. Acting Director of the IIT, Professor Kripashankar said that the delegation will discuss issues relating to faculty and student exchange programme, development of curriculum and IIT internships for Bhutanese students during their visit.

Coaching class bags $12 m in foreign funds

Mahesh Tutorials Educare Pvt. Ltd received FDI worth $12 million (about Rs49 crore) from Mauritius-based Helix Investments to expand its operations in India and abroad.With current revenue of Rs35.5 crore, the tutorial, which has a strong presence in Mumbai, wants to have a turnover of Rs150 crore by 2010. Most importantly, a stock market listing—an initial public offering (IPO)—could be likely in the near future.In 2000, Career Launcher received FDI of $1 million from Intel Corp.’s investment arm Intel Capital.Other coaching institutes are not far behind. Mumbai-based IITian’s PACE, which comprises former IIT professors, coaches students for the IIT entrance examination. IITian’s PACE is currently in advanced stages of talks with three foreign venture capitalists to finance a one-stop solution for all the educational needs of a child coming from the wealthy class.
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Bribery Charge

The student of IIT, Kharagpur, who had accused his teacher of demanding a bribe to change his assessment, reportedly confessed before the inquiry committee, set up to probe the charge, that he had actually wanted to pay the teacher for his grade change.The three-member inquiry committee set up by the institute’s director recorded Subhas Kumar’s statement on 16 August wherein he reportedly admitted to have offered to pay his teacher, Dr S Chakraborty, to change his grade. The inquiry committee also recorded the statements of the two witnesses to the alleged demand, Deepak Raj Kindo and Ravi Kumar, on the same day.source-Statesman

Software training for science graduates

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has inducted around 500 science graduates after transforming them into software professionals under a seven-month-long course.Students from different parts of the country were given training in software technology under the project 'Ignite' for the first time.However, trainees of ‘Ignite’ are being given 30 per cent less salary than their other counterparts.TCS was planning to increase the number of students taken for the project to 3,000 next year and up to 5,000 in the coming years.

prime numbers

In 1874, an English mathematician W. Stanley Jevons claimed that only he knew the divisors of the prime number 8, 616, 460,799. He had obtained this number by multiplying two of the largest prime numbers known then viz., 96079 and 89681.The largest prime number discovered without the help of computers consisted of 39 digits it reigned supreme from 1876 to the middle of the 20th century. With the help of computers the quest for the largest prime number surged forward.In 1983, the largest known prime number was a monster with 39,000 digits in it. In 1986, the largest known prime number has an astounding 60,000 digits in it. It will occupy more than 500 lines and require 25 pages to be written down.New and sophisticated methods have been evolved to determine whether or not a number is a prime. No longer need we use the old method of successive divisions to check for remainders. In this method, even the super computer of today would not have time to explore a number with a mere 50-digits, even if it had worked non-stop for 15 billion years.Josh Findley, a volunteer in the Mersenne.org research project called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), has discovered the largest known prime number. Findley used his home PC and free software by George Woltman and Scott Kurowski as part of an international grid of 240,000 networked computers in virtually every time zone of the world.The new number, expressed as 2 to the 24,036,583th power minus 1, has 7,235,733 decimal digits and was discovered May 15th. It is nearly a million digits larger than the previous largest known prime number, and belongs to a special class of rare prime numbers called Mersenne primes . The discovery marks only the 41st known Mersenne prime, named after Marin Mersenne , a 17th century French monk who first studied the rare numbers 300 years ago. Mersenne primes are most relevant to number theory, but most participants join GIMPS simply for the fun of having a role in real research - and the chance of finding a new Mersenne prime.

Centre for computing resources

The Indian Institute of Technology- Madras (IIT-M) inaugurated the P G Senapathy Centre for computing resources in its campus here.The facility with a data centre has been set up at a cost of Rs 20 crore with the data centre coming up at an investment of Rs 2.5 crore and was inaugurated by Infosys CEO and Managing Director S Gopalakrishnan. The facility can house 12,000 CPUs and has a computing power of 10 peta flops.

convocation

The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is finding it tough to find quality faculty at the institute, said Director Surendra Prasad at the 38th convocation of the institute.Ramamurthy said increasing career options, attractive salaries in industry and globalisation of market for technically trained personnel were some of the factors dissuading students from taking up teaching careers. He stressed on setting up of a national structured faculty intern programme in leading institutions where promising graduates could be nurtured.guest at the event, said the Commission was likely to meet after August 15 to decide the financing pattern of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012) and firm up the action plan for improving the standard of higher and technical education.IIT awarded 1,380 degrees, including 140 PhD degrees. The institute also honoured five alumni with distinguished alumni and distinguished service awards and gave the degree of honoris causa to space scientist Dr U R Rao.

math Olympiad

In the 14th IMC which was held in Blagoevgrad University, Bulgaria, 140 teams from 36 reputable universities competed on 3-9 August, 2007. Hungarian students came in first and Moscow University students came in second.Iranian Olympiad competitors have swept eight medals and currently stand third in the International Mathematics Olympiad.

Arjuna awards 2006

Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who set the shooting rages ablaze with his record breaking feats in 2006, was today selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's highest sporting honour.Ace archer Jayanta Talukdar, athlete K M Binu, chess player P Harikrishna, shuttler Chetan Anand, woman cricketer Anjum Chopra and woman hockey player Jyoti Sunita Kullu were among the 14 selected for Arjuna awards 2006. The list of awardees was finalised by a 15-member committee headed by former Indian captain Kapil Dev and included renowned sports personalities like K Malleswari, P T Usha and Anjali Bhagwat. Former All England champion Prakash Padukone headed another 15-member committee, constituted to choose winners of Dronacharya award for coaches.Apart from Dravid and Jeev, Koneru Humpy (chess), M C Marykom (boxing), Gagan Narang and Samresh Jung (both shooters), Mahesh Bhupathi (tennis) were among the other nominees for the prestigious Khel Ratna award.The list of awardees: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Manavjit Singh Sandhu
Arjuna Awards: P Harikrishna (chess), K M Binu (athletics), Vijender (boxing), Anjum Chopra (womens cricket), Jyoti Sunita Kullu (womens hockey), Chetan Anand (badminton), Jayanta Talukdar (archery), Navneet Gautam (kabaddi), Vijay Kumar (shooting), Saurav Ghosal (squash), Subhajit Saha (table tennis), Geeta Rani (womens weightlifting), Geetika Jhakar (womens wrestling) and Rohit Bhakaar (sport for physically challenged).
Dhayn Chand Awards: Varinder Singh (hockey), Shamsher Singh (kabaddi), Rajendra Singh (wrestling). Dronacharya Awards: R. D. Singh (athletics, paralympic), Damodaran Chandralal (boxing), Koneru Ashok (chess)

Ramon Magsaysay Award

Seven people from China, India, South Korea, Nepal and the Philippines will receive this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award.The awardees include an environmentalist, an AIDS activist, a blind lawyer - all from China - as well as a journalist who writes about India's rural poor, a South Korean pastor, a Nepalese educator and a former senator from the Philippines.The award, to be given out in Manila on Aug. 31, is named for Ramon Magsaysay, the late Philippine president. Some 256 Asians have received it in various categories since it was established in 1957.The Philippines's Jovito Salonga, a former senator, will receive the prize for government service. A staunch opponent of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Salonga defended victims of the regime and led efforts to recover its stolen wealth.The Reverend Kim Sun Tae, from South Korea, will be honored for public service. Orphaned by the Korean War and blinded when he was young, Kim struggled to become a Christian pastor and helped found the Siloam Eye Hospital in Seoul that provides eye services to poor Koreans. More than 20,000 people have received free eye surgery.Mahabir Pun, awardee for community leadership, used wireless technology for the benefit of poor villages in Nepal. After 20 years in the United States, Pun returned to Nepal to help establish schools and, later, with donations of computers and wireless-communications gadgets from all over the world, helped hook these schools and villages to the Internet.Tang Xiyang is recognized with the prize for peace and international understanding. He was known for his "Green Camps," which have helped publicize the degradation of China's environment. The camps, in which environmentalists and students are dispatched to areas in China where the environment is at risk, have helped influence government policy, according to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.Palagummi Sainath, a journalist from India, will receive the prize for journalism, literature and creative communication arts. The foundation said Sainath had written passionately about India's poor and the injustices they suffer. Today, "his journalism workshops occur directly in the villages, where he teaches young protégés to identify and write good stories and to be agents of change," the foundation said.The awardees for emergent leadership are China's Chen Guangcheng and Chung To. Chen, who is blind, led the filing of a class-action lawsuit in 2004 against officials in rural Shandong Province for, among other complaints, coercing women into having late-term abortions or sterilization. Chen publicized his case, eliciting a backlash from officials that later put him in jail, where he is serving a four-year sentence for "inciting a mob" of supporters.

More language courses for JNU

Jawaharlal Nehru University is keen on expanding its School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies in a major way by bringing more Indian and foreign languages within its purview.In its 11th Plan recently submitted to the University Grants Commission (UGC), JNU has sought expansion of the School and introduction of more languages.the School has also demanded an increase in the number of students being admitted to Korean, Japanese and Chinese languages.In addition to introducing Swahili language, the School is also looking forward to further expanding teaching of languages like Turkish, Bhasha Indonesia, Italian and Portuguese that are till now being offered as part-time programmes.The University has also asked for further expansion and technological upgrading of the Language lab.

Compartmental Examination Result

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced the Compartmental Examination Results for Senior School Certificate Examination (Class XII) 2007. Students have done little well in the exam as compared to last year. The pass percentage of class XII compartment exam last year was 75.21, while this year it is 75.96.Out of 45,792 candidates who appeared in the exam this year across the country, 34,782 candidates cleared it. In Delhi, out of 15,693 students, 12,819 candidates passed the exam. The exam was conducted in 282 centres which included 22 centres in foreign land.

IIM-B makes selection criteria public

IIM-B made public its criteria for selecting students for its 2007 batch. It's the first time any IIM has revealed the selection process for admission to the post-graduate programme in management (PGP).This is a fallout of the case involving IIM-B and Vaishanavi Kasturi, a visually challenged girl who filed an application under Right to Information (RTI) Act. After being denied a seat in IIM-B, Vaishanavi sought to know the selection process. Central Information Commission (CIC), hearing the case, had set July 30 as the deadline for IIM-B to make its admission criteria public. IIM-B internally developed a process that seeks to identify the most promising candidates.This has been progressively refined over the years based on data on CAT applicants and academic performance of candidates.

CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is going to make some significant changes in the exam pattern for both class X and XII from this year.for Class XII, the Maths paper will have a total number of 29 questions including 10 one-mark questions. Earlier the total number of questions was 26.both Social Science and Maths papers of class X will have 30 questions including 10 one-mark very short answer types. In the previous pattern, the total number of questions was 24 and 27 in Social Science and Maths, respectively.both Social Science and Maths papers of class X will have 30 questions including 10 one-mark very short answer types. In the previous pattern, the total number of questions was 24 and 27 in Social Science and Maths, respectively.FROM-edunews.com

AIEEE 2008

The seventh All India Engineering / Architecture Entrance Examination (AIEEE) for next academic session will be held on 27th April 2008 at various centres across the country. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has given the directives in this regard.The entrance test consists of two papers, the first part deals with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for BE and BTech courses and second paper includes mathematics aptitude test, and drawing for B Architecture and B Planning.

IIM Shillong

The seventh Indian Institute of Management (IIM) proposed at Shillong, Meghalaya, will become operational from the academic year 2008-09. The new institute will be called the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong and will get a grant for non-recurring expenditure of Rs 120 crore over a period of five years and Rs 45 crore for recurring expenditure over a period of six years. The government of Meghalaya has provided 120 acre of land free of cost for setting up the institute.In the first year, the institute will admit 60 students. The capacity will be increased to 120 students in the third year and 180 students in the sixth year.Initially, the institute will offer a two-year post graduate programme in management (PGPM) and later it would also offer short-term programmes on subjects of local relevance like tourism, horticulture and hydel power.RGIIM will be initially run from a temporary campus at Mayurbhanj complex. Mayurbhanj complex campus was occupied by the North Eastern Hill University, which has now vacated the premises. A permanent campus for RGIIM will come in the new Shillong township.

Course for Manufacturing Sector

IIM Calcutta is ready to launch a new course for manufacturing sector for Indians to acquire manufacturing skills with the help of IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras.The course has been recommended by the National Manufacturing Competitive Council (NMCC). The duration of course is one year and the purpose of the course is to train professionals for the manufacturing industry.The course has been launched in collaboration with the Japanese Government. The students will receive technical assistance from the Japanese industry experts visiting as lecturers. Students will also be exposed to Japanese industries by visiting them.

Sushila Mishra

Sushila Mishra, a resident of Nadda Village in the Bangah District of Bihar scored 91 per cent in her class XII boards and also cleared the IIT-JEE exam, but Sushila wasn't able to get a seat at IIT because her father couldn't afford to pay Rs 40,000 as admission fee.Sushila's father approached various banks for a loan, but failed to get any because of his weak financial status.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says an inquiry is on to find out why Sushila was denied financial help.

Srinivasa Varadhan

Indian-born Srinivasa Varadhan has been 900-thousand dollar Abel Prize, for his pioneering research in probability theory.The Abel Prize, named for 19th century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel, has been given annually by the Norwegian government since 2002 to honor the world's most influential mathematicians.Srinivasa Varadhan has been teaching and conducting research at New York University's prestigious Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, in New York City.His research has applications in many different fields, like finance, population dynamics, and traffic engineering.Varadhan's journey to the summit of the mathematics world began in Chennai, India, where he was born in 1940. He started getting serious about a career in mathematics during his undergraduate years at Madras University. It was in Calcutta, India, where he'd gone to get his PhD in applied statistics, that Varadhan says the urgings of his peers helped steer him from the applied side to the theoretical side of probability.He finished his PhD and Varadhan decided to come to the United States to pursue further research in probability theory at New York University's Courant Institute. He was eventually offered a permanent position there.Srinivasa Varadhan hopes his award will inspire more young people to take an interest in mathematics, and that it might encourage private and public institutions to support math education and research with more funding.




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Dwayne Cameron

Dwayne Cameron -- an award-winning mathematician who received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching -- died of a heart attack. He was 60.Born in Middleborough in 1947, Mr. Cameron attended Memorial High School, from which he graduated in 1965. He received a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Kansas State University in 1969 and a master's degree in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire in 1980.In addition to being a presidential award winner, he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in Statistics at Princeton, an inductee to the Massachusetts Mathematics Teachers Hall of Fame, a Tandy Technology Scholar in Mathematics, a recipient of the Mary P. Dolciani scholarship, and a participant in a variety of National Science Foundation projects.Mr. Cameron started teaching in 1969 at Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett, and taught there until he retired in 2005.

jobs to youth

The Punjab government signed an agreement with the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to tap the national potential of up to 2 million jobs for Punjabi youth.As part of the agreement, career counselling, skill up-gradation and training sessions will be conducted so that Punjabi youth can successfully compete in the job market.Private security, detective agencies, business process outsourcing (BPOs) and IT accountancy would be the local target areas for employment generation.Vice Chancellors of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjabi University, Patiala and Panjab University, Chandigarh have agreed to pool their resources for collaborative enterprises with the state government, the NCC and the recognized private players to create necessary infrastructure for the purpose.

Uttar Pradesh acts to stop cheating in board exams

The Uttar Pradesh government decided to end the existing system of students taking the board exams in their own schools to check cheating during examinations.As per a government order, the 'self examination' system has been banned with immediate effect.The self examination system was introduced by former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.Prior to Yadav's return to power for the third time in 2004, the overall results stood at just about 40 percent at the Class 10 level and 70 percent in Class 12.However, they shot up to 74 percent in Class 10 and 89 percent in Class 12 soon after the self examination system was introduced.

Bismillah Khan

Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan,s name will be enshrined in the minds of children as his life and art become part of the school curriculum for Class 9 students.In its recently published Class 9 English book, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has devoted an entire chapter on the legendary musician who died at the age of 90 last year.Born on March 21, 1916, Bismillah belonged to the well-known family of musicians from Bihar and took to music at the age of three when his mother took him to his maternal uncle's house in Varanasi. Bismillah was fascinated watching his uncle practise the shehnai.He passed away on Aug 21, 2006.The man who mesmerised generations of Indians with his mellifluous music had wished to give a performance at the historic India Gate. His wish remained unfulfilled after the concert scheduled Aug 9, 2006, was cancelled for security reasons.When India gained independence, Bismillah Khan was the first Indian to greet the nation with shehnai. He poured his heart out into raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience which included Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who later gave his famous 'Tryst with Destiny' speech.

Intel launches Classmate PCs

Intel and HCL have together announced the launch of the Classmate PCs in the Indian market.The two companies announced that this new range of personal computer products are priced in the sub Rs 18,000 range.This personal computer range has been specifically developed by Intel to aid students in their classroom learning.It comes powered with a Intel Processor 900 MHz and comes equipped with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity.

India's first Space University

India's first space university is all set to take wings next month seeking to groom tailor-made experts to fuel the country's satellite and rocket programmes.The Institute, which offers technically tuned courses in space science and technology, has already attracted some of India's bright minds encouraging India's space agency.It would initially operate from the campus of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, a lead centre of ISRO, which will create a full-fledged infrastructure for IIST on a picturesque site in Ponmudi near the Kerala state capital in about two years.ISRO sources said around 150 students were expected to be enrolled in aeronautical and avionics engineering and integrated MSc in space sciences in the first academic year. Bangalore-headquartered ISRO gets 70,000-plus applications annually from students of other institutions, from which it's able to short-list around 1,500 by way of written tests.ISRO has totally subsidised the education and the students passing out of the IIST are required to serve the space agency for five years. If not, they would have to pay the bond amount.

B N Suresh is IIST director

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) dream space technology institute has got its first head.Dr B N Suresh, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), has been appointed director of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Suresh will continue to hold the additional charge of VSSC director.The order appointing Suresh - a Padmasree awardee and IIT-Chennai alumnus - as IIST director was issued earlier this month. ISRO’s plan is to start the IIST this year at a temporary campus at the VSSC until the main campus is ready at Ponmudi.An expert on control and guidance systems, Suresh succeeded current ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair as VSSC director on September 20, 2003.Joining the ISRO in 1969, Suresh contributed significantly to the design and development of satellite launch vehicles, aerospace engineering, aerospace control actuation systems and integrated simulation for aerospace system.He is the recipient of a number of awards including the Dr Biren Rai Space Science Design Award, 1993; the Agni Award of the Defence Ministry in 1999 and the ASI Award instituted by the Astronautical Society of India. He was awarded the Padmasree in 2002.He has also been selected chairman of Science and Technology Sub-Committee of United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS).

Undergrad Publishes Mormon Cricket Genome

A Brigham Young University junior molecular biology major has sequenced the mitochondrial genome of the "Mormon cricket," the insect said to have scourged Utah's early settlers' crops until the miraculous intervention of California gulls.Mormon crickets still affect Utah today - a spray program is in place to treat nearly 100,000 acres in Box Elder County inundated with the pests. Daniel Fenn, a Salt Lake City native, is the lead author on "The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex: Tettigoniidae: Orthoptera)," published in the academic journal Insect Molecular Biology.

CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) plans to introduce grading system for Class X exams from the next academic session. The proposal is with the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) waiting for approval.The CBSE plans to introduce a nine-point grading system for class X.The CBSE has also launched a vocational course in financial marketing management (FMM) and plans to introduce more courses in a phased manner

EAMCET 2007

Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) was the hot favourite for students on the first day of the EAMCET counselling that began on Thursday in six centres.While the first five rankers in the EAMCET did not attend, sixth ranker Y. Raghavender got the first opportunity to choose. He opted for ECE in Osmania University College of Engineering (OUCE). Minister for Technical Education R. Chenga Reddy handed over the allotment letter to him.Among the top 100 rankers of which only 38 preferred to attend, 32 students got admitted to ECE while six opted for Computer Science Engineering (CSE). For the top 100, JNTU Hyderabad was the most preferred college with 27 students opting for it and 11 choosing OUCE.Figures provided by counselling authorities indicate a massive hike in seats of CSE, ECE and IT while seats in core engineering subjects got reduced considerably compared to last year. With an increase of 1,390 seats, a total number of seats in ECE stands at 27,360.The CSE stream saw an increase of 2,255 seats taking the total to 26,030. Similarly, seats in Information Technology (IT) stream saw an enhancement of 1,710 taking the total seats to 15,025. The biggest loser was Mechanical Engineering where 720 seats got reduced this year from 9,880 seats last year.Seats in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (EIE) got reduced by 420. Even the supposedly hot stream this year, Civil Engineering saw a reduction of 390 seats with only 2,360 available now.The Chemical Engineering stream was the worst sufferer with 330 seats reduced and only 965 on offer. Seats were also reduced in Bio-Medical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Applied Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering.in the first spell of counselling, seats would be allotted up to 40,000 ranks till August 6. Counselling for the physically-challenged students would be conducted on August 3 in the first phase.HINDU


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EAMCET 2007

The counselling for MBBS and BDS courses would start from July 24 and the rank holders who submitted online applications for registration should attend the counselling at any centre of their choice mentioned in the application form.As per the schedule the counselling would be held for EAMCET rankers from first to 1,000 on July 24 for all categories. From 1,001 to 2,500 rankers the counselling would be held on July 25. From 2,501 to 10,000 rankers the counselling would be held on July 26.In the second and third phase the candidates of Backward Classes category and SC and ST categories from 1 to 4,000 would be held on July 27. The counselling for BC-A, B,C, D categories and SC & ST candidates from 4,001 to 12,000 would be held on July 28. For BCE category from 4,001 to last rank would be held on July 28. On July 29 counselling would held for SC and ST candidates only from 12001 to 25,000 ranks.The verification of certificates under Sports and Games quota for rankers from One to 20,000 would be held on July 25 and from 20,001 to last rank on July 26. The certificate verification under CAP category would be held on July 27. For NCC candidates the certificate verification and counselling would be held on July 28.On July 30 counselling would be held for Anglo-Indian category, sports and games

BOSE to include Applied Mathematics in curriculum

The Board of School Education (BOSE)in JK is intending to introduce Applied Mathematics as a subject in secondary and higher secondary classes with an aim to improve math skills of students. The initiative was prompted by dismal performed of students in mathematics in the board examinations recently.In this regard, a two-day workshop ‘Development of Syllabus for Applied Mathematics’ organized by Board’s Academic Division and Curriculum Development and Research Wing, was inaugurated today.In Kashmir division, only 73.5 percent regular and 19.48 percent private candidates passed the Mathematics examination. While in Jammu, the percentage is 70.5 and 30.5 respectively.

killer electrons

USScientists claim to have discovered the force behind ‘killer electrons’ that cause a major hazard to spacecraft, astronauts and satellites at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory. The report has been published in the July issue of the journal ‘Nature’ Physics.Scientists claimed that this theory might be beneficial for saving the life of astronauts, who may be shot dead through thrust of electron entering on the shell of the earth. According to study published in the journal, ‘Killer electrons are found in the outermost of Earth's doughnut-shaped radiation belts, which circle the Earth and are bound by the planet's magnetic fields. They travel at near light speed and charged with a thousand times more energy than the average dental X-ray.’

CBSE GUIDELINES

CBSE Board has directed to Schools to reduce the bag load of students. This would mean giving less or no homework to the students in order to provide them with sufficient time for other activities. From this academic session onwards, NCERT has also come up with new books that reduce the curriculum burden on the students.The CBSE has directed all the schools to have a counsellor for helping the students deal with adolescent problems. As per the directions of CBSE, all the affiliated schools have hired a full time psychologist. The schools arrange for lectures from time to time in order to provide psychological assistance to the students where they can discuss all their problems.The Board has issued a circular directing all the affiliated schools to start up new health clubs to educate the students on health problems and other related issues. The initiative has been taken keeping in view that the most of the students are facing health problems due to improper lifestyle.
The clubs will hold lectures for students on issues related to mental, physical as well as psychological health. The schools will make arrangements to invite experts from different fields to educate the students. Regarding feedback, the schools will regularly file reports to the CBSE regarding the activities and working of these clubs. This will also include banning of junk food in school canteens.With CBSE issuing new guidelines, the students of Class X and Class XII will be given fivr chances to clear their compartment.A candidate placed in compartment can reappear for the compartment examination to be held in July/August the same year and may avail himself/herself of a second chance in March/April. If he still fails, the student will get third chance in July/August of next year. Further, a fourth Chance in March/April and a fifth chance in July/August of the subsequent next year. The candidate will be declared ‘PASS’ only after he/she clears the compartment subjects in which they failed.With the CBSE coming up with all these innovations the students are bound to get some relaxation and time to relax and indulge themselves in some extra circular activities.

IIITs

The work on construction of three International Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) sanctioned for the three regions of the Andhra Pradesh will begin shortly.Efforts are on to ensure that the IIITs are ready to recruit students from the next academic year, i.e. 2008-09. The three IIITs coming up at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district, Nuzvid in Krishna district and Basar in Adilabad district.

Medak IIT

It is likely that classes of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will begin 2009 at the ordnance factory at Eddumailaram till the construction of buildings at the proposed site at Kandi.the entire funding for the IIT (about Rs. 1,000 crore for a seven-year period) would come from the Government of India.The student strength after seven years would be approximately 5,000.

Important questions for AIEEE

1..An integer m is said to be related to another integer n if m is a multiple of n.then relation is
(a) reflexive and symmetric
(b) reflexive and transitive
(c) symmetric and transitive
(d) equivalence relation
Hint:2 is multiple of 6,but 6 is not multiple of 2.
2..The function f:R-R defined by
f(x)=(x-1)(x-2)(x-3) is
(a)one-one but not onto
(b) onto but not one-one
(c) both one-one and onto
(d) neither one-one and onto
Hint: here f(1)= f(2)=f(3)=0
3.If the complex numbers z1,z2,z3 are in A.P,then they lie on a
(a) circle (b) parabola (c) line (d) ellipse
Hint: Let z1,z2,z3 be affixes of points A,B,C respectively. Since they are A.P,means
2 z2=z1 + z3
So B is the midpoint of the line AC.
4..The product of n positive numbers is unity.Then their sum is
(a) a positive number (b) divisible by n
© equal to n + 1/n (d) never less than n
Hint: AM greater than or equal to GM.
5..The number of roots of the equation x – 2/(x-1) =1 – 2/(x-1) is
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 0 (d) infinitely many
Hint: division by zero is not possible.
6.The equation e*x=m(x+1), m is negative ,nature of its roots
(a) no real roots (b) exactly one real root
© two real roots (d) infinitely roots
Hint: Let f(x) = e*x , g(x) = m(x+1) ,now draw the graph
7..The number of non-negative integral soloutions of abc= 30 is
(a) 30 (b) 27 (c) 8 (d) none of these
Hint: 30= 2*3*5
8 If A is a skew-symmetric matrix,then trace of A is
(a) 1 (b) -1 (c) 0 (d) none of these
Hint: Diagonal elements of a skew-symmertic matrix are all zero.
9..From the matrix equation AB = AC,we can conclude B = C,provided
(a) A is singular (b) A is non-singular
© A is symmetric (d) A is square
Hint:divison by zero not possible.
10.The reflection of the point (3,8) with respect to the line x + 3 y = 7 ,is
(a) (5,-6) (b) (-1,-4) (c) (0,-1) (d) ( -9,-4)
Hint: reflection line is perpendcular bisector of the original line.

Diploma in food analysis

The Mysore-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), which functions under the Ministry of Defence, has invited applications for the post-graduate diploma course in food analysis and quality assurance.The intake of seats is 25 and the selection of candidates will be done on the basis of written test and interview. The candidates should have a degree in science with chemistry or biochemistry as one of the subjects or B.Sc degree in agriculture or veterinary science or B.Sc in home science or nutrition, dietetics or food, nutrition or food science and nutrition from a recognised university. The candidates should have a minimum of 50 per cent marks in aggregate.Application forms and prospectus can be had from the Director, DFRL, Siddharthanagar, Mysore-570011 on payment of Rs.100 by demand draft in favour of the Director, DFRL, Mysore. The last date for receipt of completed application forms is July 27. The written test and interview will be held in the DFRL seminar-hall-cum-conference hall of training block at 10:30 a.m. on August 8, 2007.

Waterfall walls that make images

Engineers and architects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing a building with waterfall walls capable of displaying images and words. The interactive "digital water pavilion", to be unveiled at the International Expo Zaragoza 2008 in Spain, will feature an exhibition area, cafe and various public spaces — all enclosed within curtains of recycled water

SC stays OBC quota in DU, Symbiosis

The Supreme Court today stayed the 27 per cent OBC reservation in Delhi University and Symbiosis International University for the current academic session.The decision came on a petition filed by Youth for Equlaity, a recently formed trust, which sought to restrain Symbiosis International University and Delhi University, from going ahead with their respective decisions on OBCs from this academic year (2007-08).Youth for Equality, which earlier also had questioned the validity of the Act, alleged that both universities deliberately decided to go ahead with the 27 per cent quota for OBCs despite being aware that the Centre has deferred the implementation of the controversial provision of the Act.

Ashok Ganguly committee

The Ashok Ganguly committee appointed by the Delhi High Court to look into admission procedures to nursery classes in public schools recommended awarding of five points to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students.On the recommendation of the first report of the Ganguly committee, the Delhi High Court in October last year had barred nursery schools from conducting any interviews or interaction with children or their guardians during the admission process.While doing away with the interviews, the court had fixed a points system ranging from 1 to 100 for admissions.While assigning maximum 25 points to the neighbourhood clause, the committee earmarked 5 points for physically challenged children. The committee left 25 points to the discretion of the school management.Stressing on the neighbourhood school model, the court said priority should be given to children staying within three km radius of schools - giving 20 points.The points would decrease with the increased distance from the school. The wards of teachers and ex-students would get preference in admissions.

Can Statistics Predict the Outcome of a War?

A University of Georgia scientist has developed a statistical system that can, she claims, predict the outcome of wars with an accuracy of 80 percent. Her approach, applied retrospectively, says the US chance of victory in the first Gulf War was 93%, while the Soviets only had a 7% chance in Afghanistan (if only they'd known; failure maybe triggered the collapse of the USSR). As for the current Iraq conflict: the US started off with a 70% chance of a successful regime change, which was duly achieved — but extending the mission past this to support a weak government has dropped the probability of ultimate success to 26%.Slashdot.org

Numbers, Culture, and Superstition

Many people around the world thought Saturday, July 7th, 2007, might be the luckiest day of the century. That's because in the Gregorian Calendar, it was the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year. This might explain why about three times as many weddings were reported that day in the U.S. as for a typical Saturday in July. On the other hand, the 13th day of July falls on a Friday – a coincidence many believe brings bad luck.Ian Stewart is a British mathematician and author at the University of Warwick who also publishes an Internet web log on popular mathematics. He recently wrote an article on number symbolism for the Encyclopedia Britannica online.There is a cultural fascination with numbers, Stewart says, and people tend to give them all sorts of significance. He notes that the number 13 is unlucky for many Western cultures, but 4 is unlucky for the Chinese, because the Chinese word for four and the Chinese word for death sound very similar. It varies from culture to culture, Stewart says, all of which suggests that the numbers themselves don't actually have these particular features.Surprisingly, the number seven is consistently considered lucky, even for very different cultures. Everyone knows that in western casinos, a person wins at the slot machines if they get triple sevens, and seven is the most probable outcome of rolling two dice. But even the ancient Greeks thought seven was a special number.Stewart explains that the Pythagoreans in ancient Greece thought the number 3 represented the spiritual world. They associated the number 4 with the four essential elements in the physical world: fire, earth, air and water. Therefore, 7 – which was 4 plus 3 – was particularly important, he says, because it embodied both the spiritual world and the material world.According to Stewart, the Chinese also have a special reverence for the number seven. They believe that many stages of their lives are related to that number, he explains. People get their baby teeth when they're seven months old, their adult teeth when they're seven years old, go through puberty when they're 14, which is 2 times 7, women go through menopause when they're 49, which is 7 times 7. Stewart says people find these patterns significant because they suggest, in one sense, a grand plan. Clearly, he notes, these ages aren't exact, women don't always go through menopause at 49, but they're very close approximations. And the number seven keeps coming up.Stewart notes, too, that the lunar cycle is 28 days long, which is 7 times 4. He says that this could be a reason why, in so many different cultures, weeks are seven days long. For the ancient Babylonians, he says, seven was an especially important number in astronomy. They believed there were seven heavenly bodies that moved around the planet, against a background of fixed stars: Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon. One of the ways we like to order our world, Stewart observes, is to look at things we see in nature, associate numbers with them, and then say 'Ah! See? Those numbers are important.He thinks there might also be a more mathematical reason behind our interest in numbers like 7 and 13: both are prime numbers. He says these numbers are surprising because they can't be built up from smaller numbers by multiplying them together. Every time you come to a prime number, Stewart explains, you think: this is sort of different from everything that's come before, it's not related to the numbers I understand, so perhaps it has all sorts of strange properties.Maybe there is an explanation for some of these things, says the author, but it's not that particular numbers are lucky or unlucky. "It's the way we react to them," Stewart says. "We tend to invent patterns even when they don't really exist because our brains like patterns.As a mathematician, Ian Stewart doesn't believe numbers have any supernatural powers. But he understands their emotional appeal, which is probably why days like July 7th, 2007 and Friday, July 13th are special for many people, and why a faith in the symbolic power of numbers has been such an enduring part of human culture. from-VOA News

MBA

IT companies in India moaning about scarcity of talent can expect it to get much worse – about 40% of Indian MBA applicants for overseas MBAs were from IT, and only 18% say they want to stick on in the industry after an MBA, says a recent study. Despite the boom in India’s IT industry, upwardly-mobile Indians are sensing greater benefits outside IT. The QS Applicants Survey shows that 39% of Indians wanting to do an MBA overseas came from IT – and over 50% of those who apply for an MBA do so to switch careers from IT to consulting, financial services, andbanking.Aspirations, again, are at an all time high – while India ranked 27th among countries when it came to current salary levels, it ranked 14th in the list when it came to Post-MBA salary expectations. Over 4% of applicants expected to earn $80-85,000 upon completion, far higher than the regional average.The QS Applicants Survey 07, conducted across 33 countries, covered about 1200-odd applicants in India and is aligned to the QS World MBA tour, a year-long event covering 35 countries with an average of 375 foreign educational institutions.

Foreign univs contact students via SMS

Widespread use of IT tools has made it easier for counsellors and representatives of foreign universities to contact Indian students. So much so that students are now receiving SMSes carrying details of on-the-spot registration for foreign universities.While university representatives are sending messages to students, mobile operators are negotiating data space with counsellors. International Placewell Consultants, for instance, sends out text messages that convey details of on the spot registration, scholarships offered and even information on work permits.Some of the universities IPC represents include University of Sheffield, University of Leeds and the Universtiy of Canterbury.Some mobile service providers have approached me for data on education and colleges that they can be made available for their customers.Reliance Communications, for instance, is going to launch an application on R World by means of which a student can shoot questions which will be answered by experts.

NPTEL

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), has started putting finishing touches to the first phase of a mammoth project called the National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL). This aims to put all the courses of this Institute online in the next three years.On June 30th this year, the IIT finished uploading 120 of its most popular science and engineering courses ( www.nptel.iitm.ac.in) that will provide access to classes and faculty of the IIT to not only the students in the country, but also to the students, teachers academicians, "and anybody who cares to log in" from across the world; and all this for free to boot.NPTEL was inspired by the Open Courseware (http://ocw.mit.edu) project instituted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The IIT is one of the few higher learning institutes in India that can boast of an ideal student-teacher ratio. But then, out of the 350,000 students that aspire to get into the IITs each year, only about 4000 manage to gain admission. This is because this institution is India's "Ivy League" technology institute. In fact, it is ranked as the third best technology university in the world (just behind MIT and California University, Berkeley) by the London-based Times Higher Educational Supplement.

Lifeline Express

The world's first hospital on a train, the brand new 'Lifeline Express', will be inaugurated today.The four-coach train brings the benefits of modern medicine free-of-cost to millions of poor villagers in rural India.The 'Lifeline Express' offers on-the-spot diagnostic, medical and advanced surgical treatment for preventive and curative interventions for the poor. It will use the huge railway network of 63,500 km.The train was first launched on July 16, 1991 by Impact India Foundation in collaboration with Indian Railway. It originally comprised four old rail coaches released by the Railways.The coaches were redesigned and restored by engineering and medical consultants and refurnished into a fully functional, air-conditioned hospital.It is equipped with all modern medical and surgical facilities, including training facilities for up to 50 medical personnel.The four new state of the art coaches have been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Perambur.Equipped with three operation tables, the train has modern surgical equipment and accessories, kitchen, restrooms, sterilisation equipment, recovery room for the patients, audiometry/ophthalmic room and X-Ray room.it also has an auditorium and training facilities for 50 medical personnel. Two powerful generators for round the clock power supply have been installed in the train.The project is funded by Impact UK, charitable bodies, Indian corporate houses and individuals.About 75,000 surgeons and medical personnel from India and abroad, together with a large number of volunteers, have so far volunteered their services for it.

Mobile math lab for cellphones

Israeli scientists have developed a mobile math lab application for cellphones, providing students with experiential, interactive ways to learn math.The University of Haifa researchers said that problems, graphs, and functions can be sent to others via text messaging, with the applications available online.The program was developed by Professor Michal Yerushalmy and colleagues at the university's Institute for Alternatives in Education. He says that the program can be installed on most cellular phones, enabling the phones to function as computers, able to perform mathematical functions ranging from elementary school geometry to high school level calculus.The applications, developed in collaboration with Arik Weizman and Zohar Shavit of the University of Haifa Computer Science Department with support from Eurocom Israel, are available at www.math4mobile.com.

CPMT COUNSELLING

In a list released on Monday, 147 candidates from all over UP chose CSMU as their first choice, leaving only 11 seats at the University vacant for the rest of the candidates. The CSMU has 185 seats, out of which 27 are filled through CBSE and the remaining 158 through the CPMT.The results of Sunday’s counselling were released today and 738 students have already decided upon their choices, which means that almost all MBBS seats have now been taken and students will have to opt for other streams like Homeopathy.” 269 students also withdrew their security deposits, as they did not get the seat of their choice.The Directorate of Medical Education also cleared the confusion relating to MBBS seats, as the admission booklet had mentioned 765 MBBS seats, but the actual number open to the counselling was just 749. “There is no anomaly in the system. Out of 765 seats, we have to give 16 seats to the Central Government and that is why there are 749 seats.As per information released by the office of the Director General Medical Education (DGME), students above the rank of 13,000 were suppose to appear for counselling on Wednesday. The confusion began when no other specification was made. As a result, students having ranks up to 35,000 and 40,000 also came for counselling for just 1,600 seats.

Scheme for woman scientists

The Department of Science and Technology is inviting women candidates with science background for availing scholarships for training in the area of intellectual property rights, especially in patent searches, understanding of patent specification and preparation of technology scan report.Candidates with degrees in M.Sc.,/Ph.D in physical sciences, chemical sciences, life sciences or B.Tech or B.E./M.Tech or MBBS/MS/MD/MVSc/MPharma with good academic record can apply. Candidates should have a good familiarity with computers in handling database, surfing the net and information searches. Candidates should not be more than 50 year of age and must possess good health.The scholarship will be admissible for a period of one year and the amount of scholarship will be maximum of Rs.10,000 per month for candidates having M.Sc., or B.Tech or MBBS and maximum of Rs.15,000 per month for Ph.D/M.Tech/MPharma/MVSc and M.S./M.D

village internship programme

Medical students in the Capital are planning agitation over the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry’s latest proposal to add an extra year and a half to the five-and-a-half-year-long existing undergraduate medical degree course. The Government is proposing to add a “village internship programme” and “medical ethics course” to the existing undergraduate programme.Students are demanding that the Government expand its “rural internship network” and involve engineering students for building roads, architects for constructing houses and students from other courses of Delhi University to bring in all-round rural development.

BCCI ties up with IIT Mumbai for soil research

The BCCI has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai to test soil from various centres.The decision was made with a view to gain some scientific knowledge about pitch preparation. "There was a lot of criticism regarding pitches for sometime now. So, the BCCI has taken up the issue very seriously. It is our main project for the year," the Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said.

Kanpur Indo-American Programme

Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP) was started in 1962 for the development of IIT-K. Under the programme, the institute was funded by the US from 1962 to 1972. Even many faculty members came from US.. However, later, the programme lost momentum and the assistance from US stopped.Now after three decades, when IIT-K is rated among the top technical institutes in the world, the US has again decided to enter into collaboration with the institute.IIT-K has collaboration with Ohio State University, USA, Yokohama University, Japan and others.

Educational Loan

Government of India in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banker's Association (IBA) has framed a Comprehensive Educational Loan Scheme to ensure that no deserving student in the Country is deprived of higher education for want of finances.The scheme envisages loans up to Rs.7.5 lakh for studies in India and up to Rs. 15 lakh for studies abroad. For loans up to Rs. 4 lakh no collateral or margin is required and the interest rate is not to exceed the Prime Lending Rates (PLR). For loans above Rs. 4 lakh the interest rate will not exceed PLR plus 1 percent. The loans are to be repaid over a period of 5 to 7 years with provision of grace period of one year after completion of studies.Repayment of an education loan is deductible under section 80E of the Income Tax Act. The yearly limit for deduction is Rs. 40,000 (for both the principal and the interest). Only loans taken for higher education - fulltime studies in any graduate or post-graduate, professional, and pure and applied science courses - may claim deduction. The deduction will be available for a maximum of eight years starting from the day you start repaying.Since the rules, regulations, eligibility conditions, repayments and interests rates etc are revised by the banks from time to time in keeping pace with the changing capital market conditions, students and parents are advised to thoroughly check the terms and conditions of educational loan scheme on offer at the time of application.

IIST Admissions

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has published the counselling list for admissions to its Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST).The admissions are being held for BTech (Avionics) - 50 seats, BTech (Aerospace Engineering) - 40 seats and Integrated Masters in Applied Science - 30 seats. The ISRO had started the online registration on June 11 and closed it on July 3. The list was published on the IIST website, www.iist.ac.in on Monday.The ISRO is racing against time to start classes on a temporary campus at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba, this year itself. Later, the institute will be shifted to Ponmudi where the main campus is expected to come up in two years’ time.The space agency had planned the ambitious project to attract young talents to the space sector. The ISRO, like many other crucial government agencies, is facing a problem to attract talented youngsters, one reason being the fat pay packets on offer from the private companies.

Coaching Industry

The average private institute that trains students for IIT-JEE demands anything between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000. And this doesn't include the cost of study material. The fees maybe higher for 'crash' course.The total number of students who appeared for the IIT-JEE this year was 2,43,029 of which 7,209 are eligible to seek admission to 5,537 seats in IITs at Mumbai, Delhi, Guwahati, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Chennai and Roorkee.Some institutes also conduct motivational workshops apart from regular classes. As many as 2,10,318 candidates had registered for the preliminary examination of CBSE All India Pre-Medical 2007,out of which 17,135 had qualified for the final examination.Stiff competition in competitive exams creates a platform for these institutes to attract students through advertisement in media or by distributing pamphlets.Medical coaching classes charge anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 for the eight-month course and also provide instalment facility. The coaching industry has become highly professional and corporate, many of them operated by IIT graduates. Services of retired IIT professors and even current IIT students are roped in for hefty compensation.There are at least eight big players in the organised sector like career launcher, IMS, TIME, Brilliant Tutorials, FITJEE, Pie Education, Vajiram and Ravi, Rau's Education, Akash Institute.A few cities have become famous for such coaching centres like Kota of Rajasthan, Patna for Alok Kumar's 'Super 30', Pune, especially for civil services, etc. Students often shift to these cities for some time so that they feel at home and concentrate solely on studies. These institutes even provide associated boarding, lodging and shopping facilities.

attractive packages to young researchers

The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) has recently submitted several proposals to the Planning Commission to award attractive packages to young researchers including grants worth Rs.2-10 lakh for research and special incentives for participating in international conferences and other scientific research programmes.For attracting more young PhD holders for research in Science, the report proposes that ''young, bright PhDs should be given faculty positions with adequate start-up grants soon after their obtaining the PhD to enable them to start productive teaching and research career at an early and more creative age. All new faculty members should be provided a start-up grant of at least Rs.10 lakh for faculty in experimental sciences and Rs.2 lakh in theoretical sciences.

DU Admission---fourth cut-off

Delhi University’s fourth and final cut-off list for admissions released on Monday offers only a few courses in some colleges as admission to most other programmes stood closed after the third list.While B.Com (Honours) is by now unavailable at almost all colleges, there is a ray of hope for students who can pursue the same at College of Vocational Studies and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College for 88-92.5 per cent and 87 per cent respectively.Surprisingly, the course is still open at Kirori Mal College where it has dipped by one per cent from the third cut-off list to stand at 92-96 per cent.Admissions to B.Com (Hons) are also open at Deshbandhu College and Dyal Singh for 82.5-84.5 per cent and 85.5-90.5 per cent, respectively.P.G.D.A.V College is also offering the same at 86-89 per cent, while at Shyam Lal College the cut-off is 82.75 per cent.It seems B.Com (Programme) has also followed the same path and the course is still available at a handful of colleges. The admissions are open at Dayal Singh for 81.5-86.5 per cent, 81-84 per cent at P.G.D.A.V. and at Vivekananda College for 80 per cent.Students can opt for the same at Kirori Mal and Shaheed Bhagat Singh for 90.5-94.5 per cent and 85-90 per cent, respectively.History (Hons) can still be pursued at Deshbandhu, Lakshmi Bai, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shivaji, Swami Shardhanand and Zakir Husain College.Hans Raj has also taken out a fourth cut-off list for this course and the eligibility criterion is 76.5-82.5 per cent.Studying the popular Economics (Hons) is still an option for students at Deshbandu and evening colleges like Ram Lal Anand and Shyam Lal.Ramjas College, too, has not closed admissions for the same and the cut-off stands at 88.5-92 per cent. It is also available at College of Vocational Studies and Deshbandhu for 84.25-89.5 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively.Political Science (Hons) remains on offer at several colleges like Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Dayal Singh (evening), Maitreyi, Ram Lal Anand (evening), Ramjas, Sri Aurobindo, Zakir Husain and morning and evening colleges at both Deshbandhu and P.G.D.A.V.Colleges like Acharya Narendra Dev, Indraprastha College for Women, Janki Devi Memorial, Mata Sundri, Motilal Nehru (evening) and Miranda House have closed their admissions in Arts and Commerce courses.Among the Science courses, most of the colleges have come out with a fourth cut-off list, registering a small decrease in the programmes.While admissions to Physics (Hons) and Chemistry (Hons) have been closed at Hans Raj, Hindu and Shivaji, they are still available at Acharya Narendra Dev, Dayal Singh, Deshbandhu, Motilal Nehru and Rajdhani College.At Kirori Mal, Physics (Hons) and Chemistry (Hons) are being offered at 81 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively. Apart from these two, Sri Venkateswara College has declared a fourth cut-off list in courses like Botany (Hons), Zoology (Hons), B.Sc. Life Science and B.Sc. (Hons) Biological Science.Botany (Hons) can be pursued at Hans Raj with 68 per cent, for 71 per cent at Hindu and at Daulat Ram College with 68.3 per cent.B.Sc. Physical Science and B.Sc. Life Science remain available in most colleges offering Science courses.Eligible candidates ought to complete their admission formalities in the concerned colleges between July 11 and 13.hindu

Mathematics proves the walk

Manoj Srinavasan and Andy Ruina, researchers in applied mechanics at New York's Cornell University, drew up a geometrical model of human walking and running.They found that, in essence, each leg is a "telescoping actuator" that can change its length.In walking, the body vaults forwards in circular arcs, driven forward by the pendular swing of the legs, with the toe and heel providing the push-off and landing point for each movement. In running, though, the body travels from one parabolic arc to the next, with a bounce in between.Srinavasan and Ruina then factored in the metabolic cost of three drains on energy on both movements.These are the energy expenditure required to keep the body's basic functions ticking over; the cost of swinging the legs; and the cost incurred when a leg is in contact with the ground.Their equations showed emphatically that walking and running are the most energy-efficient gaits for our species, honed by millions of years of evolution.

brain drain

China suffers the worst brain drain in the world, according to a new study that found seven out of every 10 students who enrol in an overseas university never return to live in their homeland.Despite the booming economy and government incentives to return, an increasing number of the country's brightest minds are relocating to wealthier nations, where they can usually benefit from higher living standards, brighter career opportunities and the freedom to have as many children as they wish.The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences revealed 1.06 million Chinese had gone to study overseas since 1978, but only 275,000 had returned. The rest had taken postgraduate courses, found work, got married or changed citizenship.Unlike illegal migrants from the countryside - many of whom are poorly schooled - the students are usually welcomed with open arms by western institutions, which gain high scholarship fees and academic excellence.Britain has gone further than most to attract this pool of intellectual talent. Chinese students have been the biggest group of foreign nationals at UK schools and universities for several years. Last year their numbers increased 20% to 60,000.The report claims the lack of first-class scientists and research pioneers represents the biggest obstacle to China's ability to innovate.

higher salaries for researchers

The UK needs to spend an extra £250m a year on academic salaries for researchers in science and engineering, the campaigning group Save British Science (SBS)said.Universities are routinely experiencing difficulties attracting and retaining the best researchers in a globally competitive environment.The report, Attracting the Best, calls for greater variation in scientists' salaries, where world-renowned experts would be paid more than £100,000 a year, but concludes that most academics would not earn more than £50,000 and some senior lecturers working alongside them in would earn little more than £40,000.A small number of people would be paid very substantially more than the majority, if the scientists' proposals were adopted.

EAMCET-2007

Admissions into engineering and pharmacy colleges based on the Eamcet-2007 will start on July 19 and the admission process for MBA and MCA based on ICET-2007 will start on July 16.The Eamcet and ICET admission committees met on Monday at the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) and decided to issue notification for the counselling on July 10.Eamcet counselling would be held at six centres: Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Warangal, Tirupati, Guntur and Kadapa, and ICET counselling at eight centres at each state university premises. The first phase of admissions, especially for ICET, would have to be completed in just about a week because infrastructure and counselling centres need to be handed over to the NTR University of Health Sciences so that it can conduct its medical counselling.

DOEACC

The Department of Electronics Accreditation of Computer Courses (DOEACC) conducts examinations for all the levels (O/A/B/C), twice each year, in January and July, at several cities and towns including those in the remote areas of the country. These examinations are conducted independently and are overseen by an examination board consisting of experts/ professionals from premier academic institutes and software houses. After registering with DOEACC, you are eligible to take the O/A/B/C level examinations, provided you fulfil all other criteria as well. For detailed information you can correspond with the DOEACC SOCIETY, Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, New Delhi 110 003. Or visit their website at www.doeacc.org.

CAT 2007

The CAT usually comprises Data Interpretation, Quantitative Analysis and English Usage sections. Always attempt the section that you are strong in and like first. This will ensure that you get a lot of marks quicker and more easily.An important factor to consider is to balance speed and accuracy. Do not spend too much time on a single question. If it takes a long while to read, skip it and go to a smaller question. If time permits you can always get back to it. Another vital aspect to keep in mind is that CAT has negative marking and every wrong answer will lead you to lose marks.Hence attempt those questions where you are sure of the answer. If you do not know, it is best to let go and move on rather than spend a lot of time with no results. CAT considers an all-round performance, hence focus on attempting all sections equally.If you score highly in one section and poorly in another it would not be considered at all. Hence focus on attempting the maximum number of questions in every section where you know the answers. Also remember that not all questions are difficult. The paper is interspersed with several easy ones that hardly need some seconds to answer. The key is to be able to identify them. That, of course, comes with a lot of practice prior to the examination.Understand the basic theories behind the concepts and then solve the problems without glancing at the solutions. When you finish, compare both your solution and the printed solution. The cutoffs for the section usually range anywhere between 12-14.The Reading Comprehension section usually has a passage followed by a series of questions. The faster you read, the better it is as you can save time. However, reading speed should match the understanding level. Make sure you understand what you are reading.Underline important names, keywords as you read. Broadly, this includes three types of questions.The first is paragraph forming where there are four to six sentences labelled A to E that are actually a part of a paragraph. These are presented in a jumbled order and you are expected to rearrange the sentences such that the sequence forms a coherent paragraph.A useful start will be to identify the first sentence of the paragraph and then establish potential links.Another set of questions relates to the correct usage of grammar. English Usage and Vocabulary include questions on synonyms, antonyms and analogies. If you do not understand what is inside the paragraph, you can revisit it if a question is asked from that paragraph.The Logical and Analytical Reasoning section comprises logical puzzles. Use visual aids to understand the question. For instance, if the question is on relationships, try drawing a family tree or use a grid if you need to match options.The Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency section includes questions based on tables, pie charts, bar graphs and line graphs. Ensure that you go through these questions carefully and this may also involve some calculations.

Young Achiever

Visually challenged Vineeth R. scored record marks in the BA history examination of Calicut University.Vineeth secured record marks (688). The first ranks, say history teachers, used to be around 600 marks; Vineeth’s was a rare achievement. The second rank winner got 591 marks — 97 marks behind his.He has set his eyes on the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). He believes Civil Services involves a bit of risk in it. “I will attempt it only after securing a job first,” he says.Vineeth says students should be more responsive and politically conscious. Determination and sincerity apart, students should be well aware of their social commitment — that is his advice to his friends on campuses.

Mr Himanshu Jain

Mr Himanshu Jain, who first compared the fluctuations of atoms and of jellyfish, has received the world's top prize for glass science research.The scientist compared the movements of atoms in glass to the wiggling of jellyfish in water.Mr Jain, director at the International Materials Institute for New Functionalities in Glass at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, in neighbouring Pennsylvania, received the Otto Schott Research Award on July 2, at the International Congress on Glass in Strasbourg, France.The biennial award, which carries a cash prize of 25,000 euros, is the most valuable prize for glass research. Mr Jain, a professor of materials science and engineering at Lehigh, is sharing the award with Walter Kob of the University of Montpellier in France.The award has been presented since 1991, biennially and alternating with the Carl Zeiss Research Award, to recognize excellent scientific research and to encourage cooperation between science and industry. Both awards are administered by the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Science in Germany.The award is named after Friedrich Otto Schott (1851-1935), a German chemist who invented borosilicate glass, which is known for its high tolerance to heat, chemicals and sudden temperature changes.Mr Jain was taking a boat ride to the Isle of Skye off Scotland's west coast 20 years ago, when he first conceived of the connection between jellyfish and atoms in glass.Watching the hundreds of jellyfish in the Sea of the Hebrides, Mr Jain couldn't help noticing what many before had observed - that the invertebrates were not swimming but wiggling as they drifted in the water.The fluctuations of the jellyfish caused Mr Jain to wonder anew at the movements of atoms in glass. When the temperature of a glass is lowered to 4 degrees Kelvin, or near absolute zero, he says, these atomic movements slow from a lively hop to a virtual standstill.

cat forms

Aspiring Indian Institute of Management, or IIM, students are in for a shock because Common Admission Test, or CAT, admission forms are off the net.IIM sources say the reservation fiasco must be blamed for the inconvenience. They say their admission planning schedules went haywire.Online applications had been introduced by IIMs only last year to make it easily accessible to students. Last year 5-6% of applicants had opted for online forms, which is about 10,000 students.The forms will be available at UTI branches from July 16.

Trai Report

India's total subscriber base (wireline and wireless) crossed the 200 million mark in March, according to a Trai release.Total number of subscribers increased to 205.86 million in the quarter ending March 2007 from 189.92 million in the quarter ending December 2006, an increase of 8.39%. Overall growth for the year (March 2006 to March 2007) was 46.71%. Tele-density reached 18.23 (17.16).The subscriber base for wireless services has increased to 165.11 million (149.62 million) and that of Wireline service to 40.75 million (40.30 million).The number of Public Call Offices (PCO) in the country increased to 5.55 million (5.30 million), a growth of 4.72%. The rural wireline subscriber base increased to 12.56 million (12.48 million), a growth of 0.64%. The rural wireless subscriber base is 33.14 million.The number of Village Public Telephones (VPT) in the country has increased to 5.64 lakh (5.57 lakh) a growth of 1.26%.

off campus

The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow’s Noida Campus began its new session in its new building in Sector-62.IIM-Lucknow is the first IIM in the country to start an additional campus. The Noida campus has been developed as a centre of excellence in the area of executive education and as a different value addition experience for the executive participants.IIML-Noida campus runs a three-year post-graduate programme for Working Managers.

new institutions

The government aims to bring two per cent students under the scholarship fold and double the number of junior research fellowships. This is aimed at improving research quality. It is also working on information communication technology for all 367 universities and on connecting 18,000 colleges through the National Knowledge Network, as recommended by the National Knowledge Commission, the commission said.The commission also said it had given in-principle approval to the setting up of three new IITs, seven new IIMs, 20 National Institutes of Technology, five Indian Institutes of Science Education Research, 20 IIITs, two Schools of Planning and Architecture.The commission also proposed that some faculty be recruited on salaries higher than government pay scales, on contract basis for five years with no assurance of automatic renewal. The contract system would be mostly for NRIs with special research funding support.

higher education

A blueprint presented to the government on carries the promise of changing the way higher education is run in the country.The presentation made by the officials before the prime minister was a follow-up to the outline he had laid for increasing enrolment in higher education at the Mumbai University on June 22.The presentation recommended increasing the fee for undergraduate courses to Rs 12,000 per annum, with 40 per cent students getting substantial scholarships.The common national entrance test for 30 central universities, including 14 new ones to be set up, will be the same as the JNU test, which is well regarded and has been accepted.The semester system will be like JNU’s, allowing a student to take a break for a year or two and return, if they wish.If implemented, centralised entrance admissions to all central universities including Delhi University, and uniform semester and credit systems will soon come into force, allowing students easy mobility across institutions.hindustantimes.com

delhi university cut-off

The cut-offs for Science courses have dipped further in the third list but the downslide this time is comparatively lesser than the second list. This time the cut-offs have mostly gone down by one to three per cent.The cut-offs for pure science subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Botany have gone down by one to three per cent at most places, including both popular colleges like Hans Raj, Sri Venkateswara and Kirori Mal and off-campus colleges like ANDC, Dayal Singh and Moti Lal Nehru. However women colleges like Miranda House and Gargi, which had slightly lowered their cut-offs for science courses in the second list, have closed admissions for almost all subjects. The restructured B.Sc. General courses — B.Sc. Life Sciences and Physical Sciences — have taken a more severe beating than the basic courses. Maitreyi College, which has closed admissions for most courses, has brought out the list for only these two courses and has lowered the cut-off by four per cent for both. “The B.Sc. general course used to be much more popular earlier but the restructured courses are not doing that well. It is perhaps because the syllabus has not been made that well and students do not prefer it,” said S.R. Arora, Principal of Hans Raj College.The college has brought down the cut-off for B.Sc Physical Science by three per cent and that of B.Sc. Life Science by two per cent. The most popular Science courses are Mathematics and Statistics as most colleges have closed admissions for these subjects or have lowered the cut-offs marginally.

foreign languages courses

With various MNCs setting up their offices in India, there is a good demand for interpreters these days. You can get lucrative job opportunities if you have proficiency in German, French, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Persian etc.Delhi University offers courses in nine languages - German, French, Hispanic, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Persian. It runs programmes right from undergraduate to PhD level. If you are interested in part time courses, you can take admission any of the 18 colleges including St Stephen’s, Hindu, Ramjas and Hansraj.JNU offers the best language programmes in Delhi. You can choose from various language options like Arabic, African Studies, Chinese and South East Asian Studies, Russian Studies, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies.Max Mullar Bhavan for German, the Russian Centre for Russian. Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan offers courses in French, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, German, English and Chinese. YMCA also teaches German and French. Jamia Milia Islamia, Portuguese Cultural Centre , Italian Embassy Cultural Centre and Institute of Russian language, are some other places where you can learn foreign languages.Apart from these institutes, Pune, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Punjab University also run courses in foreign languages.

LU announces counselling dates

The Lucknow University (LU) on Thursday announced counselling details for its postgraduate programme in Hospital and Health Care Administration.counselling for the PG Diploma in Hospital and Health Care Administration will be held on July 7 at 9 am.Students who come for the counselling need to bring 10 passport-sized photographs with their names written on the back of each photograph along with them. The students also need to bring original documents with self-attested mark sheets and certificates to support their category claim.The LU also released the counselling schedule for its Lucknow University Professional Courses Admission Test (LUPCAT), which will start from July 7 and will go on till July 12. The university has included several courses like mass communication, journalism etc under LUPCAT.

MBBS course to be longer by a year

A one-year stint in India’s most backward villages will become compulsory for all MBBS students from the next academic session.The Union health and family welfare ministry has decided to amend the Medical Council of India (MCI) Act that would make the undergraduate MBBS course six-and-a-half years long instead of the present five-and-a-half years.The last year of the course will be spent by students in serving patients in rural India. They will have to spend four months each in a public health centre, community health cell and district headquarters.They will be based at the district headquarters and will serve under the district health officer. Only on completion of the village stint will the graduates be allowed to practice. The doctors will be given a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 as an incentive to work in these areas.

Varsity ready for 2007, 2008 exams

The RTM Nagpur university has scored a first of sorts in the country — after it became first university that is ready with question sets, dates of winter 2007 and summer 2008 examinations.winter-2007 examinations schedule that will begin from September 1 and results of same would be out before October 13. In addition, the summer 2008 examinations would begin from February 24 and end before April 30, before onset of extreme summer. university is now trying a unique experiment during winter examinations of conducting examinations only on Saturdays and Sundays. This will help the students to attend regular college as well they will get five days period for studies.

The SSC topper who is hearing-impaired

Sixteen-year-old Puja Shah was born with a hearing impairment that allows her to hear only 10 percent of a normal person's hearing capacity. But even she could clearly hear her success story , when she emerged as the topper in the Special Category with 91.69 percent in this year's SSC examination.Puja is a girl of few words. Her hearing condition has left a cruel impact on her ability to speak also. Everyone learns to speak by hearing and repeating certain sounds.But fate never offered this option to Puja and she also accepted it with grace and dignity.Puja's mother also used to accompany her to school initially. She would constantly interact with her daughter's batchmates in order to sensitise them toward Puja's condition. She also helped and encouraged Puja to master lip-reading, her only mode of communication with others.

HINDU RLEASES THIRD LIST FOR EVERY COURSE

DELHI University’s third cut off list may dash many hopes on Thursday but those seeking entry into Science courses still stand a chance. While many colleges have closed admissions for a number of courses, including Economics and Commerce, the third list has marked a 2 to 5 per cent decline in cut-offs across all Science courses.A number of seats are available in Botany, Chemistry and Zoology Honours in colleges like Hindu, Hans Raj, Kirori Mal, Ramjas and Sri Venkateswara while admissions to Maths has been closed at Daulat Ram, Hansraj, DDU, Dyal Singh, KMC and Miranda House.The Sanskrit (Hons) course seems to have lost its charm, with most colleges releasing a third list for the programme at cut-offs as low as 45 percent. While colleges like IP, Daulat Ram, DDU, Gargi, LSR and Sri Venkateswara didn’t release a third list for most courses, admission to courses like Sanskrit, Hindi and Sociology remain open in most.Hindu College, however, remained the surprise of the pack with a third list for every course taught at the college, though the cut-offs saw a marginal drop. While B Com (Hons) cut off dipped by a mere 0.5 percent, drop in courses like Maths, Economics and Political Science varied from 1 to 2 per cent.

Lee Chi Ching

Chinese 'comic man' Lee Chi Ching of Hong Kong bagged the 'Nobel Prize of Manga', a Japanese recognition to artistes working in the comic book genre abroad. This is the first 'Nobel Prize of Manga', an award that will now be given annually.Lee developed an adventure-based comic series , which ran from 1995-2006 in Chinese. The comic strip has also been translated into numerous languages.Manga, a name used for Japanese-style comic books, often combines complex stories with drawing styles that differ from their western superhero counterparts, particularly in their frequent emphasis on cuteness.

Counselling for medical seats begins

The counselling for admission to health science courses in Maharashtra began on Tuesday with PCB group toppers of MHT-CET examination getting top priority. The counselling sessions simultaneously started at Grant Medical College in Mumbai, BJ Medical College in Pune and Government Medical Colleges in Nagpur and Aurangabad from 9 am. The first round would continue till July 11.As many as top 750 students from state merit list (from 186 to 189 marks out of 200) all over Maharashtra filled up the preference form of which 89 were from Nagpur with three absentees. A majority of students opted for MBBS course in 18 state government colleges, which indicated that most of the general category MBBS seats were already filled up.The admission procedure for physically handicapped candidates was also started on Tuesday at the Directorate Of Medical Education and Research (DMER) at St George's Hospital Compound in Mumbai. The process will continue till July 9. The list of candidates selected in the second round will be declared on August 28, and the last date of joining colleges is August 30. The list of candidates selected for the dropout round will be declared on September 14, and the last date of joining colleges is September 21. The cut-off date of the admission process for MBBS and BDS is September 30.

India’s math contribution

Indians' contribution to the development of mathematics has largely been swept under the carpet in global history books. But a BBC crew, led by an Oxford professor, was in the country last week to film a documentary revealing Indians created some of the most fundamental mathematical theories.The Story of Maths, a four-part series, will be screened on BBC Four in 2008. The first part looks at the development of maths in ancient Greece, ancient Egypt and Babylon; the second focuses on India, China and Central Asia and the rest look at how maths developed in the West. The India reel focuses on how several Indians developed theories in maths that were later discovered by Westerners who took credit for them.Aryabhatta (476–550 AD), who calculated pi, and Brahmagupta (598-670 AD) feature in the film, which also showcases a Gwalior temple, which documents the first inscription of ‘zero’.The documentary also features the history of Kerala-born mathematician Madhava (1350-1425) who created calculus 300 years before Newton and German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz did, said Du Sautoy. “We learn that Newton invented the mathematical theory calculus in the 17th century but Madhava created it earlier,” Du Sautoy said.Chennai-born Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920) also features in the film. “He developed a lot of his own maths. He contacted English mathematician G.H. Hardy, who persuaded him to come to Cambridge. They began a collaboration between the analytical maths of the West and the intuitive maths of India, and together produced brilliant theories and amazing results.”

BPO SECTOR

India’s competitive advantage as compared to other countries has made it a target destination of multinationals for their back-end operations. To begin with, the abundant skilled manpower gives the country an edge in BPO. About 100,000 engineers graduate from India every year. Many of these engineers are employed with call centres for trouble shooting and providing technical support.India’s technological advances are noteworthy. Several Fortune 500 companies have opened centres here, to benefit from the technologically skilled, highly educated, motivated workforce. Indian BPO organisations have successfully built up the scale of operations to match the pace of increasing demands of these services. These companies have now graduated and expanded their service offerings from simple processes to providing higher value knowledge-based processes. India does a lot of analytical work and has a vast pool of PHDs, MBAs, statisticians and economic graduates.India ranks high in areas such as capabilities, quality of work, linguistic capabilities and work ethics, and thus is ahead of competitors such as China, Philippines, Ireland, Australia, Canada etc. Indian companies also have unique capabilities and systems to set, measure and monitor quality targets. Also, India is able to offer a 24x7 service and reduction in turnaround times by leveraging time zone differences.INDIATIMES.COM

Microsoft Code4Bill contest

Abishek Kumarasubramanian from the IIT, Madras, has won the Microsoft Code4Bill contest that Gates had announced when he was in India late last year.the IITian will have the opportunity to work with Gates and his technical assistant team in Redmond on a 1-year internship.According to Microsoft India, the team comprises the world’s top-notch techies who formulate and drive Microsoft’s technical strategy.Mr Kumarasubramanian was selected on the basis of a competition spanning over 7 months, with a registration of some 20,000 students that included three online technical challenges and two rounds of one-on-one interviews. The last of these 19 students also interned with Microsoft India for a period of two months.The final 19 students who took the internship at Microsoft India are from India’s premier technical institutes including IIT, Madras, IIT, Roorkee, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and Army Institute of Technology, Pune.

Andhra govt reserves 4 percent seats for Muslims

The Andhra Pradesh government will give four per cent reservation to Muslims in jobs and education. Fourteen 'castes' among the Muslims have been put by the state government in "Category E" and will get the benefit of reservation.As of now, there are now four categories of Backward Classes - A, B, C and D - with a combined quota of 25 per cent while Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have 14 and seven per cent reservations respectively.The move came against the backdrop of the High Court quashing an earlier ordinance providing five per cent reservations for Muslims. With the scaling down of the quota by one per cent, the total reservations in the state will touch 50 per cent, which would be in line with the ceiling set by the Supreme Court.

National Institute for Nanotechnology

The Central Government has cleared a project of Rs.400 crore for Punjab to set up a cluster of premier technology institutions including a world class National Institute of Technology for agri-foods and Rs.150 crore for National Institute for Nanotechnology.An official publication was released here on Monday in which the Union Government has agreed to upgrade the Medical Institute at Jalandhar to a National Institute for Research in Health Sciences with an annual funding of Rs.100 crore.

Students can mention mother's name for CBSE records

Students now have the option of mentioning their mother's names and candidates who are orphans can give the names of their guardian while registering for the exams conducted by Central Bureau of Secondary Education (CBSE).The changes are part of the amendments in the examination bye-laws that were recently notified by the Board.Candidates now have the option of either mentioning their mother's name or their father's name or both for the records of the Board, such as certificate and marks statement.As per the notification, candidates who are orphans will have the option of mentioning the guardian's name while registering for the exams.But the guardian's name cannot be mentioned if the names of either or both of the parents are known.The other amendments include giving the dyslexic and spastic candidates and students with visual and hearing impairment the option of studying one compulsory language as against two at present.A candidate placed in compartment may avail five chances to appear in the exam and clear the test, as per the notification.Now, transfer certificates will be issued only under the signature of the regular principals and vice principals and it will have to be counter-signed by an officer not below the rank of district inspector of schools or deputy director of education or education officer of the state or concerned Union territories, the notification said.The amendments were made as per the recommendations of the examination committee of the Board.PTI