Engineering colleges to get another chance

The state government will give another hearing to the self-financing engineering college managements before taking a final call on recommending to the all-India council for technical education (AICTE) not to give extension of approval to underperforming colleges, as directed by the high court.

The government had earlier decided to recommend to the AICTE not to give extension of approval to six engineering colleges that did not satisfy the minimum stipulated criteria of 25% average pass in the first and second semesters in 2013 results.

The high court directive came after colleges approached it claiming that the government had given only a prospective effect to its January order, which said students not clearing the first semester cannot be admitted to the sixth semester and those not clearing the fourth semester cannot be admitted to the eighth semester.

The managements want a similar prospective effect to be given to the order regarding the performance of engineering colleges as well. The decision not to recommend the extension of the AICTE approval of the underperforming colleges was made through an earlier order dated January 31, 2012.

"Our demand was that the order on January 31, 2012, regarding performance of colleges also should have only a prospective effect, and the performance of colleges should be tested only from the performance of those who joined the BTech course in 2012," said T A Vijayan, secretary of Kerala Self-financing Engineering Colleges Managements' Association. Education minister P K Abdu Rabb said the government had already taken a stand on the matter not to extend approval to six colleges that have failed to satisfy the criteria set by the government, but it would abide by the court's directive.

"Since the court has asked the government to give them a hearing before taking a call on the matter, the government will do so and inform the court our view without delay," he said.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-24/thiruvananthapuram/37269281_1_aicte-council-for-technical-education-colleges

CBSE school forgets to register students for Board Exams

Reportedly due to school negligence in registering students for board exams online, the future of 113 class X students is uncertain. These students may be forced to appear for the school based exam which are scheduled to be held in mid of march.
Many students prefer board exams as they find if difficult to shift to state syllabus schools in class XI despite good grades.

“The staff member, who was entrusted the task of enlisting students on-line fell ill, due to which this confusion has happened. We have been pursuing the matter with CBSE immediately after we realised that we had not received the hall tickets,” said school principal Asha S.
School authorities faxed a letter to CBSE’s regional office in Chennai requesting them to make arrangements for the students to sit in the Board based exam. However, a CBSE official from Chennai said, “We have a transparent system, wherein the schools have to fill details on-line about students appearing for school and Board based exams. The school has approached us too late and now nothing can be done”.
Parents feel that this is not just a mistake of school management. ” This has been done deliberately by school authorities to ensure that the children appear for school-based exam and continue their studies in another school run by the same management” alleged a parent Madhava Prabhu

JEE Main 2013 – Centre codes for new centres in Kerala

In order to facilitate the JEE(Main) candidates who have enrolled to appear in KEAM-2013 scheduled for 22 and and 23rd April 2013, and who could not opt for 9th or 25th April at Ernakulam (initially the only online exam centre in the state of Kerala) due non availability of slots, the Board decided to increase capacity by creating three new centre cities to conduct Computer Based JEE(Main) Exam. The new centre cities are given below.


The candidates who had enrolled to appear both for Computer Based JEE(Main) Examination on 22nd and 23rd April 2013 at Ernakulam and KEAM-
2013 were given the choice to appear for their Computer Based JEE(Main) Examination at any of the above mentioned cities and dates. Now this facility is also being extended to the candidates who enrolled at Ernakulam for 9th or 25th April 2013 to change their centre city of Computer Based Examination from Ernakulam to either of above mentioned new centre cities. The candidates who wish to change may do so upto 28th Feb 2013, 5.00 PM.

After IIT-B, IIT-M starts confession page, more than 500 confessions already made by students

Engineering college	University	Location	Outlook 2012	India Today 2012	Dataquest 2012
Amity School of Engineering & Technology	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University	New Delhi	73	NR	26
Amrita School of Engineering	Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham	Coimbatore	47	NR	23
Army Institute of Technology	Pune University	Pune	NR	NR	66
B. S. Abdur Rahman University	B. S. Abdur Rahman University	Chennai	NR	NR	30
Bannari Amman Institute of Technology	Anna University of Technology, Coimbatore	Sathyamangalam	NR	NR	29
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra	Birla Institute of Technology Mesra	Ranchi	15	16	13
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani	Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani	Pilani	07	05	11
Birsa Institute of Technology Sindri	Vinoba Bhave University	Dhanbad	28	NR	81
Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology	Osmania University	Hyderabad	41	NR	NR
College of Engineering, Guindy	Anna University	Chennai	12	NR	NR
College of Engineering, Pune	Pune University	Pune	22	19	14
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology	Jalandhar	44	NR	NR
Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering	University of Mumbai	Mumbai	46	NR	NR
Dehradun Institute of Technology	Uttarakhand Technical University	Dehradun	NR	NR	45
Delhi Technological University	Delhi Technological University	New Delhi	09	11	16
Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology	Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology	Gandhinagar	NR	NR	10
Faculty of Engineering & Technology – Jamia Millia Islamia	Jamia Millia Islamia	New Delhi	NR	21	NR
Galgotia’s College of Engineering and Technology	Gautam Buddh Technical University	Greater Noida	69	NR	24
Ganeshi Lal Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management	Mahamaya Technical University	Greater Noida	NR	NR	36
GMR Institute of Technology	Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada	Rajam	75	NR	68
Government College of Engineering, Amravati	Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University	Amravati	45	NR	35
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana	Punjab Technical University	Ludhiana	43	NR	NR
Harcourt Butler Technological Institute	Uttar Pradesh Technical University	Kanpur	24	NR	48
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad	Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad	Allahabad	20	18	NR
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	Mumbai	03	NR	04
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	New Delhi	02	02	06
Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati	Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati	Guwahati	09	10	08
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur	Kanpur	01	01	02
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Kharagpur	04	03	07
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras	Indian Institute of Technology Madras	Chennai	05	04	01
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee	Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee	Roorkee	DNP	06	NR
Indian School of Mines	Indian School of Mines	Dhanbad	11	NR	NR
Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University	Indian Institute of Technology(BHU) Varanasi	Varanasi	06	07	05
Indraprastha institute of information Technology	Delhi	Okhla	58	NR	NR
Institute of Technology, Nirma University	Nirma University of Science and Technology	Ahmedabad	34	NR	17
International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad	International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad	Hyderabad	14	20	03
K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering and Information Technology	University of Mumbai	Mumbai	NR	23	NR
LNCT Bhopal	RGPV	Bhopal	NR	NR	39
Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University	New Delhi	NR	NR	21
Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University	New Delhi	NR	NR	65
Maharashtra Institute of Technology	University of Pune	Pune	50	NR	72
Manipal Institute of Technology	Manipal University	Manipal	24	NR	NR
Mepco Schlenk Engineering College	Anna University of Technology Tirunelveli	Sivakasi	40	NR	54
Model Engineering College	Cochin University of Science and Technology	Kochi	49	NR	NR
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad	Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad	Allahabad	27	NR	NR
National Institute of Engineering	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Mysore	36	NR	NR
National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur	National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur	Hamirpur	23	NR	37
National Institute of Technology Karnataka	National Institute of Technology Karnataka	Surathkal	13	08	12
National Institute of Technology, Rourkela	National Institute of Technology, Rourkela	Rourkela	19	NR	15
National Institute of Technology, Silchar	National Institute of Technology, Silchar	Silchar	NR	NR	33
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli	National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli	Tiruchirappalli	10	10	NR
National Institute of Technology, Warangal	National Institute of Technology, Warangal	Warangal	16	15	NR
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology	University of Delhi	New Delhi	17	17	09
Oriental Institute of Science and Technology	Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya	Bhopal	NR	NR	90
P.S.G. College of Technology	Anna University	Coimbatore	18	14	NR
P.E.S. College of Engineering	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Mandya	48	NR	NR
P.E.S. Institute of Technology	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Bangalore	35	NR	NR
PEC University of Technology	PEC University of Technology	Chandigarh	21	NR	38
R.V. College of Engineering	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Bangalore	33	NR	NR
GSS Institute of Technology	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Bangalore	78	NR	NR
Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology	Mahatma Gandhi University	Kochi	NR	NR	53
Sardar Patel College of Engineering	Mumbai University	Mumbai	NR	24	NR
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology	Sardar Vallabhai National Institute of Technology	Surat	NR	18	NR
Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science	Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya	Indore	38	NR	NR
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University	Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University	Jammu & Kashmir	25	39	NR
Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology	Visvesvaraya Technological University	Bangalore	71	NR	27
Indrapastha institute of Information technology	hydrabad	Hyderabad	39	NR	NR
Thapar University	Thapar University	Patiala	26	NR	18
Thiagarajar College of Engineering	Anna University of Technology, Chennai	Madurai	42	NR	25
University College of Engineering, Osmania University	Osmania University	Hyderabad	37	NR	NR
University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Panjab University	Panjab University, Chandigarh	Chandigarh	31	NR	NR
Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute	University of Mumbai	Mumbai	32	22	NR
Vellore Institute of Technology	Vellore Institute of Technology	Vellore	NR	12	NR
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology	Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology	Nagpur	29	NR	NR
West Bengal University of Technology	West Bengal University of Technology	Kolkata	NR	NR	22

On 20th feb a group of students from Indian institute of technology, Madras started a fan page IIT Madras Confessions, where anyone can make any kind of confessions and it is completely anonymous. More than 500 ‘confessions’ have been already made by students on various experiences they have had on campus.

“They are not meant to be taken seriously. The page allows students to submit anonymously, stories they needed to get off their chests, but don’t want to be judged for. Our confessions page was an offshoot of the IIT confessions Facebook page started a week ago. The likes for that page went from 20 to 20,000 in just about a day, and soon, each IIT had its own pages,” explains an IIT-M student.
“It is addictive but it is just entertainment. Also, we think it is a fad that will die soon. We have had such interesting pages earlier too — IIT tips and IIT memes for instance. But people soon lose interest and move on to the next rage,” said another student.
Same thing was started by Indian institute of technology Bombay students on 18th Feb

IIT-Kanpur students organise eye checkup camp

The VivekanandaSamiti of IIT-Kanpurorganised an eye checkup and free medication camp at NavSrijan School Village, Ratanpur, near IIT-Kanpur on Sunday morning.

The camp was conceptualized and organized by students of IIT-Kanpur in association with volunteers of Shiksha Sopan, an NGO working for the education of underprivileged children of villages around IIT-Kanpur.

The IIT-Kanpur students informed that while Dr Anju Mishra, a city ophthalmologist and her team analyzed the villagers for eye problems, physicians from Ramakrishna Mission Hospital oversaw the proceedings and also provided free medication. The camp saw more than 100 villagers registering for the free services. Patients with cataract issues will be further treated at Ursula Hospital free-of-cost.

One of the students asscociated with the social cause said that this camp was the sixth in a series of camps planned by CHS, Vivekananda Samiti in association with Shiksha Sopan as part of Gymkhana Golden Jubilee Celebrations. The next camp is scheduled on March 17 at Nankari village near IIT Kanpur, he added.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/IIT-Kanpur-students-organise-eye-checkup-camp/articleshow/18685263.cms

Now, CET for agriculture students too

The Common Entrance Test (CET) not only holds the key to professional courses but will also cover agriculture and other related subjects. Students who want to pursue courses on agriculture, food science and veterinary science will have to appear for the test, to be held on May 1, 2 and 3 this year.

Courses that'll need CET rank for admission include BSc agriculture, BSc forestry, BSc sericulture, BSc agri-biotechnology, BSc horticulture, Bachelor of home science (BHSc), Bachelor of veterinary science and animal husbandry (BVSAH), Btech food technology, Btech dairy technology, Bachelor of food Science (BFSc), Btech (food science and technology) & BSc agricultural marketing and Btech agriculture engineering.

"In the past, there were separate examinations for these courses that were conducted by respective universities. We decided to include them under CET as eligibility criteria for them are similar to professional courses like medical and engineering. This will ensure that students aren't hassled. They can sit for CET and take up various courses under agricultural universities after counselling," said a Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) official.

CET 2013 medical entrance is subject to the Supreme Court's decision, which is expected on February 28, 2013.

CET dates

April 5 -- Last date for application

May 1 -- Biology and Mathematics

May 2 - Physics and Chemistry

May 3 -- Kannada

May 10 -- Practical examination on identification of agriculture-related specimens. (For students who claim for seat under agricultural quota).

May 27 --- Results will be out


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Now-CET-for-agriculture-students-too/articleshow/18683784.cms

IIT Bombay students develops Urine test mobile app

Reportedly students of Indian institute of technology Bombay have developed a smartphone application for urine test with a medical technology company— Biosense Technologies . The technology is able to detect 10 analytes or components in urine such as glucose, protein, ketones, blood, bilirubin, urobilinogen, pH, specific gravity, leukocytes and nitrites. The fluctuation of these levels, when compared to a standard, is what is used to diagnose if a patient is healthy or suffering from a disease.


What you need to do is to purchase a urine dipstick, available at local pharmacy at Rs 3 per piece and the UChek colour mat which comes in the kit. The user must dip the dipstick in the urine sample for two seconds and place the dipstick in the colour mat. Once the colour is determined, the user opens the application on the phone, takes a picture of the colour mat and checks the results. The app provides the results of the levels of each analyse as well as advice about if one needs to visit a doctor or eat more greens.
This smartphone app is able to detect up to 25 diseases that include diabetes, nephropathy, diabeticketoacidosis, cancers of the urinary tract, urinary tract infections, liver disorders like cirrhosis, obstructive jaundice, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes in pregnancy, etc.
This app will go live in last week of March.

Now, CET for agriculture students too

The Common Entrance Test (CET) not only holds the key to professional courses but will also cover agriculture and other related subjects. Students who want to pursue courses on agriculture, food science and veterinary science will have to appear for the test, to be held on May 1, 2 and 3 this year.

Courses that'll need CET rank for admission include BSc agriculture, BSc forestry, BSc sericulture, BSc agri-biotechnology, BSc horticulture, Bachelor of home science (BHSc), Bachelor of veterinary science and animal husbandry (BVSAH), Btech food technology, Btech dairy technology, Bachelor of food Science (BFSc), Btech (food science and technology) & BSc agricultural marketing and Btech agriculture engineering.

"In the past, there were separate examinations for these courses that were conducted by respective universities. We decided to include them under CET as eligibility criteria for them are similar to professional courses like medical and engineering. This will ensure that students aren't hassled. They can sit for CET and take up various courses under agricultural universities after counselling," said a Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) official.

CET 2013 medical entrance is subject to the Supreme Court's decision, which is expected on February 28, 2013.

CET dates

April 5 -- Last date for application

May 1 -- Biology and Mathematics

May 2 - Physics and Chemistry

May 3 -- Kannada

May 10 -- Practical examination on identification of agriculture-related specimens. (For students who claim for seat under agricultural quota).

May 27 --- Results will be out


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Now-CET-for-agriculture-students-too/articleshow/18683784.cms

Andhra students not at disadvantage in new JEE format, assures IIT Board

Addressing concerns regarding the applicability of the new Joint Entrance Examination format in Andhra Pradesh where intermediate course is of two years and percentage of marks secured by a student is the aggregate of those secured in both the years, the IIT Joint Admission Board on Monday assured the state's students will not be disadvantaged on this count vis-a-vis those from other boards.

The HRD Ministry Monday said that Andhra Pradesh Board will provide separately the marks of class XII for calculation of top 20 percentile to ensure parity for the state's students. For other Boards, which compute class XII results using marks secured in class XI and XII, the top 20 percentile calculation will be based on marks of class XII, provided the Board makes this information available to JAB/COBSE, the IIT Joint Admission Board has resolved.

The move comes after JEE 2013 entrance test was challenged in the Andhra Pradesh HC vide writ petition No 32533 of 2012. The petitioners sought suspension of notification of JEE 2013 to the extent of regulation of admission into IITs for 2013-14 on the basis of the norm of "being within the 20 percentile of successful candidates in class XII/ equivalent examination conducted by respective Boards" in the interest of justice. In his judgment, Justice L Narasimha Reddy said "this court is not inclined to agree with the contention that percentile system is unconstitutional".

However, the court directed respondents to examine the disadvantage which the petitioners may have suffered vis-a-vis their un-preparedness in the present system when they were studying in the first year of intermediate and to clarify the same through a press statement.

The JAB has resolved that as far as students appearing for "Andhra Pradesh class XII examination in 2013 are concerned, their results will be compared only with that of other students who give their examination in 2013. The performance of students of 2012 and the fact that they will be governed by the 60 per cent rule will have no bearing on the percentile rank of 2013 students. All students in this batch have given their class XI examination without knowing the new rule and so no one is at any advantage or disadvantage".


Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/andhra-students-not-at-disadvantage-in-new-jee-format-assures-iit-board/1079689/0

Relief to IIT aspirants from AP

The Joint Admission Board (JAB) of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which is to hold entrance test for admission to premier technical institutes under a new format in 2013, has decided that cut off percentage for the top 20 percentile calculation.

In the case of Andhra Pradesh Board students, it will be calculated only on the basis of their class XII marks.

“For other boards also, which compute their class XII results using marks secured in class XI as well as class XII, the top 20 percentile calculation will be based on the marks of class XII, provided the board concerned makes this information available,” the JAB resolved.

It has been brought to the notice of the JAB chairman that the Andhra Pradesh Board will provide separately the marks of class XII for the calculation of top 20 percentile, it added.
Petition challenged

This came after the Andhra Pradesh High Court, hearing a petition that challenged the new format of joint entrance examination (JEE), recently directed the respondents, including the Centre and the IIT council to examine the disadvantages, which the students may have to suffer due to the implementation of the new format.

The court issued such directive, observing that the intermediate courses in the State was of two years duration and the percentage of board marks secured by a student was the aggregate of the marks secured in the two years.

The court also noted that petitioners Master K.Kireeti and others were not aware of the proposed system when they were studying in the first year.

Justice L Narasimha Reddy declined to agree with the contention that the percentile system for admission to the IITs was “unconstitutional.”

Complying with the court’s directive, the JAB re-examined the new test format, cleared by IIT council, and came out with a conclusion that there was no need to bring any change into it.

“It is a matter of fact that Andhra Pradesh as well as some other State boards uses both class XI and class XII results while many other boards use only class XII results. This fact is not of consequence to all the students in a State Board as students get percentile ranks based only on how they perform vis-à-vis other students of the same Board giving the examination in the same year,” it said.

As far as the students who will be appearing for class XII examination in Andhra Pradesh in 2013 are concerned, their results will be compared only with that of other students who give their examination in 2013.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/314926/relief-iit-aspirants-ap.html

611 applications received for new engg colleges: AICTE Chairman

A total of 611 applications for setting up new engineering colleges in the country have been received, 20 of them from Andhra Pradesh, and a decision will be taken in the first week of March, according to the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman S.S. Mantha.

He was here to participate in a seminar on redesigning engineering curriculum in the context of outcome-based education organised in JNTU-Kakinada on Sunday. He later told presspersons that accreditation for new engineering colleges would be strictly on the basis of outcome-based education system henceforth and that alone would lead to quality improvement.

He said there should be improvement in quality of students, teachers, infrastructure and everything to implement outcome-based engineering education. There should also be interface with industry and the point cannot be overemphasised, he added.

He said it was all right if many of the engineering colleges not having the basic infrastructure and faculty got closed down. “Let the best and fittest survive,” he said.

Industry mapping

Mantha said there should be industry mapping and “we can reap the demographic dividend only if we make our engineering graduates employable. Many studies have found that only 25 per cent of our engineering graduates are employable and the rest are getting absorbed in other sectors for low salaries. Therefore, there is a lot of underemployment.”

He said fees for engineering courses was being decided by State-level committees in different states and there is no national-level fee committee functioning right now. “I feel we should create some new financial model to make engineering education affordable to large sections of students in our country. Perhaps, we should take a relook at the dual fee system, which was in vogue in the past, with the rider that it should be linked to the economic status of the student’s family,” he said.

Education loans
Even though banks were liberally giving education loans to students, he said not many students were in a position to make use of them for various reasons and therefore other methods should be thought of, he added.

JNTU-Kakinada G. Tulasi Ram Das also spoke about the programmes taken up by the university.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/611-applications-received-for-new-engg-colleges-aicte-chairman/article4449387.ece

Race begins for deemed varsities

With just a week left for class 12 students to take up government examinations, several students are making last-minute preparations as they would lose a chance to get into premier institutes like IIT as only the top 50,000 from the JEE main exam all over India would make it to the JEE advanced test. Sensing the difficulty in getting into institutes like IIT and NIT, students have started to apply in large numbers to reputed deemed universities like VIT, SRM and Sastra.

VIT university chancellor, Dr G. Viswanathan, told DC on Saturday that over 1.25 lakh students had applied for entrance examination and, as the university had extended the deadline for applications up to March 17, they expect the final number to touch 2 lakh, 40,000 more than last year.

“As students need to write two examinations - JEE main and advanced, besides a separate one for the state institutions - students are apprehensive about the competition and their chance to get into a top-class institute like IIT, so they are applying in large numbers to get a seat in institutes like VIT,” he said.

Thanjavur-based Sastra university chancellor R. Sethuraman also pointed out a similar trend in his institute. “We issue application forms after class 12 results are announced and admit 70 per cent of the students based on their class 12 marks and the rest through the revised AIEEE ranking based on a transparent counselling process,” he said.

However, Mr Sethu­raman added that the number of enquiries the university received had increased by 10 to 15 per cent, which could be termed as a welcome one.

Shravan, an IIT aspirant in the city, said he had applied to a few reputed deemed universities like VIT and SRM as he was not certain about his prospects of a seat in IITs and NITs. “Until last year, AIEEE and JEE had a different pattern, which we could clear with much difficulty, but it is going to be much more difficult from the coming academic year because of the new pattern. As I don’t want to take a chance, I’ve applied to some of the top deemed universities where I could get a seat.”

Don’t pressurise kids, warn docs

With examinations fast approaching,doctors are warning parents against putting too much pressure on their children to perform, as this could upset their hormonal balance and lead to heath disorders later on in life.

“Anxiety, tension and impatience usually found among the old, could become common among students, if they are subjected to stress during exams,” says Dr. Rex Sargunam, former director, Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore.

Regretting that parents try to make children afraid of a bad performance in their board exams, he says this could only inflate their stress levels  and lead to poor  health during examinations. “If the students are made to feel fearful or anxious over a prolonged period of time  it could result in additional secretion of hormones affecting their mindset in adolescence,” he added.

The situation is worse in private schools as the parents see the plus two board examination marks as the gateway to higher education. “A lot of pressure is mounted on students who want to do engineering or medicine,” said Ms. Usha Lakshminarayan, a government school teacher, strongly suggesting busting the myth that engineering is a superior field of study.

“Parents should realise that  the rote learning which gets their children admission to engineering courses is of no use. But of late the situation is changing in government schools too,” she noted.


Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130224/news-current-affairs/article/race-begins-deemed-varsities

Alumni meet of IIT-K in Delhi from March 3

The Alumni Association of IIT-Kanpur is organising alumni convention of the institute in IIT-Delhi from March 3. Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, will be the chief guest. The aim of holding convention in New Delhi is to ensure maximum participation.

Alumni convention spokesperson Shantanu Srivastava said that the directors of IIT-K Indranil Manna and IIT-D RK Shevgaonkar, four IIT-K alumni who received Padma Bhushan/Padma Shri awards this year, many distinguished alumni, who are leading functionaries in government, public, private and corporate sectors would participate in the function.More than 1,000 participants from both India and abroad are expected to participate. It is likely to be the biggest IIT-K alumni convention.

"The alumni and their families from all over the world will be able to meet, interact with each other and explore how the association can be made more vibrant and useful for the institute and the nation," he said.The convention will have less speeches and more interaction and entertainment programmes for the alumni and their families. The Convention is being organized by the Alumni Association of IIT Kanpur Outer Delhi Chapter on behalf of the Alumni Association IIT-K. "The alumni willing to take part in the convention can get details about the program and the registration procedure from the convention website www.iitkaaconvention.org or the alumni association website www.iitkalumni.org," he added.

The alumni association of IIT-K conducts meeting every year during winters. This time, the association is holding the convention outside the campus. The institute is having a network of over 23,000 alumni. The alumni association holds importance for the institute as IIT-K gets hefty donations, which are utilised in the development of infrastructure other projects.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Alumni-meet-of-IIT-K-in-Delhi-from-March-3/articleshow/18664590.cms

IIT-M develops low-cost nano water purifier

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) are gearing up for the commercial release of an affordable nano technology-based water purifier.

The purifier has been developed to address the problem of arsenic contamination, a threat to drinking water sources and an emerging health hazard in several parts of the country.

The Arsenic Task Force of the government of West Bengal has certified and approved the purifier developed by IIT-M. “The pilot phase is over and we are now preparing to take it to the market,” said T. Pradeep, professor, department of chemistry, who heads the research group working on water purifiers.

The team has incubated a company at IIT-M to commercialise the technology, Dr. Pradeep told The Hindu on the sidelines of the Nano India conference organised by the department of science and technology and the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) in Thiruvananthapuram.

The purifier developed by IIT-M uses iron oxyhydroxide, a nanostructured material, to remove arsenic from drinking water. It functions without electricity or piped water supply.

Dr. Pradeep said it could provide arsenic-free water at an approximate cost of five paise per litre. “Over the next few years, we hope it will benefit at least 10 per cent of people living in arsenic-contaminated areas.”

The IIT-M-incubated company will commercialise the technology with partners who can take up distribution.

The research group has also come up with a nano material-based fluoride water purifier. “It will take some more work for field implementation of this purifier. We expect the technology to be ready in six months.”

Dr. Praveer Asthana, director of the nano mission under the Union department of science and technology said the water purifiers developed by IIT-M highlighted the relevance of industry-institution projects in the nano technology sector to deliver affordable, efficient solutions.

Dr. Pradeep said nano materials could play a key role in low-cost solutions to remove water contaminants. “They interact with the contaminant to remove it within a very small contact time. It is also possible to tune the chemistry of any of these materials so they can attack a wide spectrum of contaminants.”

IIT-M has already developed and commercialised a nano silver-based water purifier that breaks down pesticide residue.

The research team is working on an all-inclusive water purifier to address a wide spectrum of contaminants like pesticides, mercury, cadmium, lead, fluoride and arsenic. The group is collaborating with scientists working on other methods of water purification like reverse osmosis, membranes and solar and thermal technologies.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/iitm-develops-lowcost-nano-water-purifier/article4446899.ece

AP government will consider only 12th score for IIT eligibility

Last year in 2012, Joint Admissions Board (JAB) – the top admissions body of the IITs announced a radical change in their admission process and they added a new eligibility criteria for admission to IITs. As per this eligibility criteria only students in the top 20 % of their school Boards in class XII examinations will be eligible for admissions.


But students from some state such as Andhra Pradesh where boards compute an aggregate score of class XI and XII performances raised their hands and filed a petition in high court. They argued that as the IITs announced the new admission criteria only in late 2012 – after these students completed class XI – they were disadvantaged compared to students in boards that compute only class XII scores.
But the HRD ministry has convinced the Andhra Pradesh government to provide student scores in only class XII to the IITs, to allow them to compute the eligibility of candidates for admissions.
“Yes, it’s true that we only announced the new admissions criteria in 2012, after most students who will appear for the 2013 IIT-JEE completed class XI, but that’s a challenge every student will face,” said a senior IIT administrator involved with this year’s examination. “No one’s at any disadvantage.”

Uttar Pradesh Technical University issues notification for entrance exam

Uttar Pradesh Technical University issued notification for conducting the state entrance examination 2013 for admissions to engineering and management institutions on Friday. According to UPTU registrar US Tomer, "The state government gave its clearance on Thursday after which the notification was issued."

The application process will be both online and offline for all the courses. The online application process will begin from February 28 from 10.00 am, while the sale of manual application forms will begin on March 1. The last date for filling up the application form is March 21. The university will accept submission of the forms till March 25. The online exam for MBA, MCA will be held on April 20 and 27 and the offline exam for BTech will be held on April 21. Tomer said that through SEE admissions will be done in 1.80 lakh seats in all courses including BTech, BPharma, hotel management, fashion designing and others.

For BTech, candidates will have the option of both online and offline filling up of application forms, the MBA, MCA aspirants will only have the online facility.

The cost of the form is Rs 1,000 for general and OBC students, but for SC/ST and girl students of all categories, the cost is Rs 500. "In order to encourage girls in technical education, the cost of the form is kept half for them," said Tomer.

For the first time, dependants of armed forces belonging to UP domicile, but working anywhere in the country will be given 5% weightage in the admissions. Earlier, only those who were either posted or belonged to UP were given the benefit.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Uttar-Pradesh-Technical-University-issues-notification-for-entrance-exam/articleshow/18637989.cms

IIT-I all set to offer new courses

The Indian Institute of Technology, Indore ( IIT-I) is all set to introduce MSc, MTech and PhD degree programme for next academic year 2013-14. Apart from these masters' programme, the institute will take admissions in the dual degree programmes as well. The institution has invited applications for courses in different departments of sciences and engineering.

The courses include MSc and MSc + PhD in chemistry and physics subjects in School of Basic Sciences. The admission will be given to students on the basis of JAM 2013. The PhD will also be given in MSc mathematics. PhD admission will be on the basis of UGC-CSIR-JRF/ NET etc.

MTech and MTech +PhD course will be offered in communication and signal engineering and production and industrial engineering. PhD will also be offered to the selected candidates in subjects, including computer science engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering at School of Engineering.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences will offer PhD in philosophy, English, psychology and sociology. PhD will also be offered in biosciences and bioengineering subjects.

The last date of online application for the course is March 31 while hard copy of application can be sent by April 9. The programmes will start from July 22.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/IIT-I-all-set-to-offer-new-courses/articleshow/18638491.cms

BHU to organise annual sports festival at IIT Gymkhana

The annual sports festival of Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, 'Spardha 2013', is going to start at IIT Gymkhana, BHU from Friday.

Detailing the reporters about the highlights of the four-day festival on Thursday, IIT Gymkhana, chief councilor, Prof SK Sharma, informed that as many as 1,120 participants from different colleges, universities and technical institutions will be taking part in various sports like taekwondo, karate, cricket, football, volleyball. Former captain of National Hockey team of India, Padmashree Mohammad Shahid will be inaugurating the festival.

Interestingly, this year a unique mini football match on a 25 by 25 feet court, will be played in the Spardha 2013. According to general secretary, Games and Sports Council, IIT-BHU, Sagar Barua, the match will be held on the call of the noted football player Dider Drogbar who is on his mission to popularize football.

Other highlights of the sports festival will be a mixed cricket match with both female and male students. According to Barua, as many as 900 male participants and 180 female participants with 40 coaches and managers will be arriving for the festival. While no IITs are taking part in this year's sports festival, technical institutions like NIT Allahabad, NIT Surat, NIT Kurukshetra, NIT Jamshedpur will be present on the occasion. The festival will culminate on February 25.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/BHU-to-organise-annual-sports-festival-at-IIT-Gymkhana/articleshow/18620337.cms

IIT-K alumni honour Rahul Sharma

The IIT-Kanpur Alumni Association has decided to confer on Gujarat IPS officer Rahul Sharma the prestigious Satyendra Dubey Memorial Award. The award is to be presented on March 3 at Kanpur but Sharma has not made up his mind yet on whether to attend the function.

Best-known whistle-blower Satyendra Dubey (1973-2003) was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He was murdered in Gaya, Bihar after fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project. Like Dubey, Sharma is an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur. The award is meant for IITians and had gone to Arvind Kejriwal, a graduate from IIT-Kharagpur, in the past.

But, there is a big catch here. Clause 12 of All India Service Rules states that if an officer gets an award, he/she has to seek permission of the government before accepting it. The chances of the government granting permission to Sharma to attend the event in Kanpur are nil.

Sharma has been charged-sheeted by the Narendra Modi government for not taking permission before submitting call data records of certain persons to judicial inquiry commissions to prove their complicity in the 2002 post-Godhra riots. The records had helped nail the truth in the Naroda Patia case where former minister Maya Kodnani was among those who were convicted.

Sharma's records include the phones of Modi's office, politicians and police officers and, besides revealing who was talking to whom, it shows their movements during the peak hours of rioting on February 28, 2002.

A 1992-batch IPS officer, Sharma is also being recognised as a saviour of 200 children in a madrassa in Bhavnagar which was surrounded by a mob on the same day. Sharma was moved out of his position as SP, western railway, on February 26 — a day before the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt in Godhra.

He was transferred as SP Bhavnagar and he tackled the Godhra aftermath effectively. Even the Union home minister L K Advani had praised his actions in parliament. But after he submitted the CD in 2004, he has been given sideline postings and harassed by bosses with dozens of memos on the smallest of issues. Presently, he is posted as DIG, Special Reserve Police, Vadodara.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/IIT-K-alumni-honour-Rahul-Sharma/articleshow/18621030.cms

4th year electrical engineering student of IIT-Bombay drowns in Vihar lake

Reportedly Ankur Abhishek , 4th year electrical engineering student of Indian institute of technology, Bombay drowned at Vihar lake in Powai drowned at Vihar lake in Powai on sunday afternoon.

Ankur went for adventurous outing with his four friends in restricted area of the lake, where he slipped and drowned.”The students reached Vihar lake in the morning and the incident occurred around noon. There was no help at hand. The had ventured too far. To reach IIT for any immediate help was difficult. They could not even convey their location on cellphones,” said professor Urijit Yajnik, dean, student affairs.
The institute have not decided to take action against the four students yet. Ankur’s father His father has been informed and he will arrive in Mumbai on by Monday evening

Lucrative placements have become a hallmark of DTU (formerly known as DCE)

First batch of the Delhi Technological University (after transition of DCE into DTU in 2009) will graduate this year. Currently the institute is offering 15 undergraduate programmes and 18 post-graduate programmes enrolling 6,500 students.


Innovative curriculum, better industry linkages and lucrative placements have become a hallmark of DTU. This year six students of DTU have bagged an annual salary offer of Rs 60 lakh each.
“The biggest advantage that DTU has vis a vis DCE is complete autonomy for academic as well as administrative functioning. We introduced innovative curriculum in DTU which had increased industry relevance and which led to a phenomenal rise in high quality placements,” said vice-chancellor of the university, Professor P. B. Sharma.
“We have built a strong industry interface. We have signed quite a few MoUs with the industry leaders like Samsung Electronics, Intel, Maruti Udyog and Indian Oil. The industry sponsorship for research has gone up to Rs 11.5 crore this year. The total sponsorship by the industry during the time of DCE was Rs 1.25 crore,” Sharma said.

AIEEE 2013 on 16th March, IIT-B invites applications

Indian institute of technology, Bombay , ESEA (Environmental Science and Engineering Association), is organizing a programme called AIEEE-2013 (Awareness Initiative On Energy, Environment And Ecology) on 16th March, 2013 .
The events include
Quiz Competition prizes worth 7000/-
and
Paper Poster Presentation with Prizes worth 8000/-.
The program schedule
1. Quiz It comprises of 2 Rounds, 2 members for each team, certificates to all finalists.
Timings: 4:00 Pm to 8:30 Pm
Entry Fee: Rs.100/- and Spot Fees: Rs. 200/-
Last Date for Registration: 9th March, 2013.
2. Paper and Poster Presentation
Entry Fee: Rs.300/-
Timings : 8:30 am to 2;00 Pm
Last Date for Abstract Submission: 25th Feb, 2013. Selection of Abstracts: 28th Feb, 2013 Last date for Registration: 4th March, 2013.

IIT Madras new initiative to discuss all issues with sexual minority

Indian institute of technology, Madras is going o start a new initiative to support the group of sexual minorities in the institute, where the students will come forward and open up about issues they face, and ask for help if they need any. In August 2011,IIT-Bombay became the first Indian educational institution to set up a support group for sexual minorities.

The institute took this initiative after one gay student discussed about all difficulties to Mitr, chief advisor of IIT-M’s guidance and counselling unit. “This student was confident of handling the issues, but he said that there may be others like him, and they may be silently suffering and may need help,” said chief adviser of Mitr.
The institute has also opened a new panel where all other students can also discuss many other sensitive issues, like substance abuse and sexual harassment faced by women on campus.
Most probably this new initiative by IIT-M and IIT-B will also set an example for other higher educational institutes across the country.

students informed of board practicals just one day before exams

In Tamil Nadu state class 10 students were completely surprised on Tuesday when they were told that some of them had to take their board exam practicals on Wednesday. Schools blamed the delay in announcing the practical dates on the last minute decision of the directorate of government examinations.
School principals said they were informed of the dates on Monday evening at a principals’ meeting. “The intimation came very late. As we know that the exams are around the corner we had our students prepared for the practicals,” said correspondent of NSN Matriculation Higher Secondary School Chitra Prasad.
“There seems to be a lack of co-ordination between department officials. They should give more importance to the revision exams,” said a school principal.
The practicals are to be conducted in two phases, with the first spell from February 23 to 25 and the second spell from February 25 to 28. The second spell clashes with the dates of the third revision exam, planned from February 25 to March 4.

About 17 Lakh students will appear for CBSE board exams

CBSE board exams are scheduled to start from March 1, around 17.7 lakh students will appear for board exams this year.


Reportedly 22 lakh students have registered at Class X and XII levels, two lakh more from 2012. A total of 9.42 lakh students will appear for the Class XII Boards, an increase of over a lakh from 2012.
Another first for the Class XII students this year will be the introduction of the value-based questions of 3-5 marks each in 15 major subjects across the streams. The subjects include English, Hindi, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, accountancy, history, geography, business studies, entrepreneurship and economics.
The questions, to be interdisciplinary in nature, will be for 5 marks in a 100-mark paper and 3-4 marks in a question paper of 70 marks

IIT-M to play major role in solar project

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) will not only coordinate part of the much-awaited national programme, Solar Thermal Project, but will also integrate the efforts of all the other IITs involved in the project.

The three-year Rs. 15 crore project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, aims to use solar energy to find solutions to the country’s energy problems.

“Two years ago, all IITs were asked to present their proposals on energy generation. Expert committees were set up and feasibility studies conducted on the proposals, after which the project, divided into three parts has been sanctioned to different IITs,” said T. Sundararajan, head, department of mechanical engineering at IIT-M, who is coordinating the project.

The foundation stone of the project was laid at Thirukalukundram on Sunday.

Prof. Sundararajan, along with Srinivasa Reddy, another professor from IIT-M and Prof R. P. Saini from IIT-Roorkee, are involved in the first part of the project, which is the establishment of a pilot solar thermal power generation system.

“The project is on a much larger scale compared to regular academic projects. What we will do, is concentrate solar power using flat mirrors – fresnel reflectors, in an array on tubes carrying water, to create steam at high pressure and temperature,” said Prof. Sundararajan

The unique part of the project, said the professor, is that it can take steam up to 400 degree Celsius, much higher than the temperatures attained in other existing projects. “With high temperature steam, we are looking at better energy conversion. We hope to generate at least 75-100 kilo watts of electric power with the project,” he added.

The power generated on a pilot basis, will look at satisfying the energy needs of Pathashala, a school run by the Krishnamurthy Foundation of India, in Vallipuram, a village in Kancheepuram, about 80 km from Chennai. The project needed an open area for this mode of power generation and so this locality was selected, said the coordinators.

“There are nearly 110 students and many teachers there. We will provide power to this community and any excess power can be sent to neighbouring villages,” said Prof. Sundararajan.

The project, unlike many others that are de-centralised, has a distributed way of transmitting power and will be used to provide electricity to remote villages and mountainous terrains.

Since the energy is derived from steam, it can also be used for cooking and washing purposes, the professor added. The first part of the project will run into two phases of 18 months each. IIT-Bombay will meanwhile look into air-conditioning options through solar power while IIT-Guwahati will look at ways of storing thermal energy to be utilised later.

“Both these projects will be integrated with our solar thermal plant project at Vallipuram,” said Professor Sundararajan.


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/iitm-to-play-major-role-in-solar-project/article4432765.ece

IIT coaching centre told to refund fee

The Capital’s apex consumer court has directed an IIT entrance coaching centre to refund the tuition fee to a girl, who dropped out of the course due to “depression”. “It is true that the academy suffered financial loss as they could have taken in another candidate who would have studied for the full term. But taking a more considerate view, keeping in mind the circumstances of the student, we would order a refund of the period she did not study in the academy,” said a bench headed by justice Barkat Ali Zaidi, president of Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

The court asked the institute to pay back R42,360 to Shrishti Aggarwal out of R67,000 she paid for the two-year course. She joined the institute in April 2006 but left five months later due “to high pressure of the syllabus and resultant depression”.

Her father Suresh Aggarwal urged the institute to refund the tuition fee for the unutilised period. However, the institute refused saying fee once paid cannot be given back. He then filed a complaint in the district consumer court.
“Her classroom was adjacent to a stinking toilet, she was made to wait for a teacher for three to four hours almost every day and infrastructure of the institute too was below average and it was these factors which led her to depression,” Aggarwal told the court.

Though the institute denied the allegations, the forum was not convinced and asked it to refund the entire R58,600 along with a compensation of  R2 lakh to Aggarwal for “deficiency in service”.

However, acting on an appeal by the institute, the state consumer court said the student was entitled to a refund of only one-and-a-half years of the course, which she did not utilize and reduced the refund amount from Rs 58,600 ordered by the district forum to Rs 42,360.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/IIT-coaching-centre-told-to-refund-fee/Article1-1013599.aspx

IIT paid Rs6L extra to Inquiry Officer for five meetings

In defiance of a Central Government order, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur made excessive payment to the Inquiry Officer (IO) of the case related to IIT whistleblower Professor Rajeev Kumar.

A retired judge of Calcutta High Court, the IO was paid Rs7 lakh for five inquiry meetings. The HRD Ministry has taken cognisance of the act by the institute which has defied the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) order dated July 31, 2012. The order  stipulates a maximum of Rs75,000 that any inquiry office can be paid.

This is the second defiance of Central Government directives by IIT Kharagpur pertaining to the inquiry proceedings against suspended Professor Rajeev Kumar of Computer Science & Engineering. Last week the institute defied HRD Ministry directives to place the procedural matter of allegations against Kumar before the Visitor (President of India) for a review. After four months, the institute responded to the Ministry saying an inquiry has already been conducted against the whistleblower and report submitted to IIT Kharagpur Director. The board of governors of IIT Kharagpur will now meet on March 23, 2013 to decide on further action.

Kumar was suspended on May 13, 2011 on charges of misrepresenting and defaming the institute. The institute then appointed Retired Judge Ronojit Mitra as the Chairman of one-man “Standing” Enquiry Committee for all disciplinary cases against faculty and officers of the Institute.

The said payment to the IO also includes an amount of Rs2, 05,000 at three stages when the proceedings was at very initial stage taking the total amount paid to Rs7, 05,000.  The DoPT office memorandum (OM), dated 31/07/12, fixed a ceiling of maximum Rs75,000 per case for the retired judge as IOs.  “The DoPT OM is applicable to autonomous bodies, including IITs. They may retain their own provisions so long as they are not more beneficial than what has been proposed in this DopT orders,” said a top HRD Ministry official.

According to the information made available to the HRD Ministry, the official said that in addition to the above excess payments, the IO was even provided facilities like free transport and all other kind of hospitality extended which do not fall within the purview.

Ironically, it has also been brought to the notice of HRD Ministry, Council of IIT and CVC that four of the five Inquiry meetings were conducted on the hearing days of a case of IIT Kharagpur vs. CIC & Others in which under suspension professor Rajeev Kumar had to appear in-person as he is the sole respondent in Calcutta High Court.

As a whistleblower, Kumar had pointed discrepancies in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) towards IITs. He was hailed as an “unsung hero” last year by the Supreme Court regarded Kumar as an ‘unsung hero’ for revealing the flaws in the JEE and also asked the IITs to water-tight the entrance test.


Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/128314-iit-paid-rs6l-extra-to-inquiry-officer-for-five-meetings.html

Parents of JEE aspirants seek more exam centres

Parents of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirants have urged the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) authorities to create at least three more examination centres in different parts of the state.

At present, there is only one centre at Rourkela for JEE-main examination to be held on April 7. About 50,000 students from the state will appear in the test.

"Every year, the candidates face immense difficulty in getting accommodation at Rourkela. Moreover, candidates from far off southern districts like Koraput, Rayagada, Phulbani, Malkanagiri have to travel a long distance to appear for the examination", the parents said here.

"The candidates who appeared in the JEE-main examination last year, had faced serious problems as neither accommodation nor proper food was available in the hotels at Rourkela. Most of the candidates had to spend the night before the test under the open sky, while some others slept at the railway station itself," said Sudhir Kumar Rout, the father of an examinee.

He pointed out that the scenario was different in other states. Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand have four centres each, Gujarat has nine, Punjab two, Hariyana five and Himanchal Pradesh has two centres.

"The state government should intervene and pressurize the CBSE to create at least three more centers in different regions of the state for the convenience of the candidates," said Chandra Dhwaja Sahu, the father of another aspirant. The examination should be conducted in Bhubaneswa, Berhampur and Koraput, besides Rourkela, the parents suggested.

The guardians, however, had no objection to the CBSE naming only one centre for the JEE-advanced examination, as a small number of students clear the main exam and qualify for the advanced level.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Parents-of-JEE-aspirants-seek-more-exam-centres/articleshow/18568418.cms

Basic science aspirants grow five-fold in six years

Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (CBS), Mumbai, a joint initiative of the department of atomic energy and Mumbai University, has generated massive interest among students.

From the 3,250 aspirants who took the first entrance test in 2007, registrations have gone up to 16,000 this year. The number is expected to go up further by March 8, the last date for submitting applications.

CBS offers five-year integrated MSc programmes. The highly competitive NEST is the entry test for both CBS and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar.

The current annual student intake for CBS is around 35 and approximately 60 for NISER.

"We have already received 16,000 applications and the number may go up to 20,000. The statistics are extremely encouraging," said Kishore Menon, officer in charge, public relations, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Experts said the number of students taking the test has seen a gradual rise, from a little over 3,200 in 2007 to 9,600 in 2011. They attribute this to the rising popularity of basic sciences.

"Our programme debunks the perception that students are not interested in a career in science or research. With more avenues opening nationally and internationally, awareness among students has gone up tremendously. While engineering and management are still considered lucrative options, a good PhD can help you diversify and get into finance and other well-paying sectors," said Ameeya Bhagwat of CBS.

S M Chitre, chairman of the academic board of CBS, said the fact that many have left perceived lucrative vocations such as engineering and medicine to join CBS showed students are increasingly realising that science is a good option.

"More students are getting attracted to basic sciences and that is a good sign. The country requires human resources for ambitious programmes such as space, atomic power and biotechnology," he said.

Officials said students of the first batch of CBS who graduated last year were selected by top research institutes such as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, TIFR, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, and Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.

"Several factors have contributed to the net result of a huge rise in aspirants. Besides access to some of the best teachers in India, the programmes at CBS and NISER give you glimpses of challenging research you can further pursue," said Bhagwat.


Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/basic-science-aspirants-grow-fivefold-in-six-years/1075767/0

Indian railways wants experts suggestion from IIT Bombay

According to sources Western Railways approached IIT Bombay. They want experts suggestion on how to increase services on the suburban corridor. IIT-B’s operations research department will also conduct a study to suggest technical measure to improve the functioning of the railway. For example, the study will suggest if the inter-signaling distance can be relocated or changes can be made at crossover points where trains slow down to shift from one track to another.

WR runs 1,250 services, of which 1,116 are 12-car, 14 are 15-car and 120 are 9-car. But the facility seems to be not quite enough for 36 lakh commuters who avail of the facility every day. At a commuter interface meeting, organized by Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam in Borivli, some passengers requested WR’s general manager Mahesh Kumar to increase the number of services. Besides, they also asked for the installation of escalators at Borivli station and an increase in the height of platforms to cut down on the gap with train footboards.

CBSE regional officer accused of sexual harassment

Reportedly the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has ordered inquiry against S.Devdas, the joint secretary and regional officer of CBSE Allahabad on the basis of the complainants lodged by a woman assistant secretary at CBSE Allahabad and a female teacher of a school in Moradabad affiliated to the board.
Two separate inquiries have been ordered by the sexual harassment and complaints committee of the board.
According to the first complaint, Devdas called her to the office at odd hours for insignificant work and asked her to sing and dance. She alleged that the officer also pressurised her into having dinner with him at a hotel. She has also accused the officers of passing lewd remarks and threatening to spoil her future career prospects.
On the other hand, the teacher from Moradabad, in her complaint has accused Devdas of pressurising her to share her mobile number while on an inspection to her school and later called asking her to visit him at the place he was staying during the night. The teacher has also alleged that the officer also offered her a job in Allahabad and threatened of serious consequences if she did not compromise.

NIT Jamshedpur girl student hangs herself in hostel room

Reportedly on sunday night Namita, a 2nd year engineering student of the National institute of technology Jamshedpur committed suicide by hanging herself from ceiling fan in her hostel room. No suicide note was found in her room.
The incident came to light when her roommates went to their room after attending the ongoing college festival Utkarsh. After knocking at door for nearly half an hour, the girls panicked and called the warden of Ambedkar Girls hostel. Warden Dr Prabha Chandra was forced to break the door after even her calls went unanswered. When they broke through, victim Namita was hanging from the fan.
She was immediately taken to TM Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Her parents were informed of unfortunate incident on Sunday night itself.

ICSE XII board exam kicks off, students are happy about their first exam

Indian Certificates Secondary Education (ICSE) class XII board exam started on Tuesday with first paper of accountancy. According to ICSE class XII date sheet board exams will continue till March 25th. All students found 1st paper of board exam as an easy ride.


“It was great. We didn’t expect it to be an easy one,” said Radhika Rawal, a student of St Xavier’s Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh. Piyush Sachdeva, her classmate and the topper of the class said, “It was fine, quite easy”. Sukhdeep Singh, another student added, “It feels amazing. We all are happy about our first exam”.

IIT Madras will lead much awaited national Solar Thermal Project

Reportedly Indian institute of technology, Madras will play a lead role in the much-awaited national programme, Solar Thermal Project, the foundation stone of the project was laid at Thirukalukundram on Sunday.


“Two years ago, all IITs were asked to present their proposals on energy generation. Expert committees were set up and feasibility studies conducted on the proposals, after which the project, divided into three parts has been sanctioned to different IITs,” said T. Sundararajan, head, department of mechanical engineering at IIT-M, who is coordinating the project.
First part of this project is the establishment of a pilot solar thermal power generation system.Prof. Sundararajan, along with Srinivasa Reddy, another professor from IIT-M and Prof R. P. Saini from IIT-Roorkee, are involved in this part of the project. The first part of the project will run into two phases of 18 months each. IIT-Bombay will meanwhile look into air-conditioning options through solar power while IIT-Guwahati will look at ways of storing thermal energy to be utilised later.
The unique part of the project, said the professor, is that it can take steam up to 400 degree Celsius, much higher than the temperatures attained in other existing projects. “With high temperature steam, we are looking at better energy conversion. We hope to generate at least 75-100 kilo watts of electric power with the project,” he added.

IIT-B students free to confess their activities on new FB page with tagline “Polt, Tharkaap, Murder, #whatever. Get it off your chest.”

The new facebook page ‘IITB Confessions’ allows all past and present students to confess anonymously their on-campus activities through a link from where posts are then uploaded on the Facebook page. On very first day the page received 100 confessions and more than 1,700 ‘likes’. The page has become most entertaining thing among the students.

The page invites students to confess, with the tagline, “Polt, Tharkaap, Murder, #whatever. Get it off your chest.”
Students have ‘confessed’ to have thrown computers off their balconies, bribed teaching assistants, eaten free meals at the canteen, indulged in sexual escapades and other kinds of risqué and contraband activities on campus.

ICSE reschedule three papers of Class 12 board exams.

Reportedly due to a nationwide trade union bandh on February 20 and 21, ICSE (Indian School Certificate Examination ) has reschedules three papers of Class 12th board exam.


Three papers, art paper III, environmental science paper I and environmental education paper 1, scheduled on February 20 and 21 are now rescheduled to February 25 and April 1.
While ICSE board has rescheduled exams, state government is not in favor of resheduling the exams as there are chances the bandh would be called off.”I don’t think there is any necessity to reschedule the February 21 exam as of now. The bandh would be called off it seems. In fact rescheduling exam will lead to chaos,” said Sarjerao Jadhav, Chairman of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education.

After Kerala now Orissa state demanding for more examination centers in state

CBSE has already opened three new examination centers in Kerala state for JEE Main 2013 offline exam, which is scheduled to be held on 7th April 2013. Reportedly after Kerala now parents from Orissa state are demanding for at leat three more examination centers in state. At present, there is only one centre at Rourkela for JEE-main examination . About 50,000 students from the state will appear in the test.
“Every year, the candidates face immense difficulty in getting accommodation at Rourkela. Moreover, candidates from far off southern districts like Koraput, Rayagada, Phulbani, Malkanagiri have to travel a long distance to appear for the examination”, the parents said here.
“The candidates who appeared in the JEE-main examination last year, had faced serious problems as neither accommodation nor proper food was available in the hotels at Rourkela. Most of the candidates had to spend the night before the test under the open sky, while some others slept at the railway station itself,” said Sudhir Kumar Rout, the father of an examinee.
Parents also pointed that all other states are having more than one examination centers for same exam.

States	Number of Examination Centers
Jharkhand	Four
Andhra Pradesh	Four
Rajasthan	Four
Uttarakhand	Four
Gujarat	Nine
Punjab	Two
Hariyana	Five
Himanchal Pradesh	Two

IIT Kanpur students to organise 3 day workshop on holistic living

According to sources to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary students of Indian institute of technology are going to organise a three day workshop on holistic living by revered Swami Narasimhananda, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.

February 25, Day 1
A Workshop on Psychology of the Gita -Analysis of the Human Mind, in the light of Gita
February 26, Day 2
A Workshop on angels and demons: Finding out the angels and demons within us and trying to get rid of the demons and befriend the angels will be held.
February 27, Day 3
A Workshop on Facing Real-Life Challenges: A workshop to find out ways to ethical living, healthy relationships, balancing career and personal life.

How to boost up your confidence for exams

Exam time is there , remember that all students try to give their best but only few will succeed. To get in top 10 or top 100 is not important, the most important thing is self satisfaction. There are many students complaining of losing their confidence just a few days before the exams, don’t do this at last moment. There are some ways that will help you to boost your confidence for exams.
Practice, Practice & Practice

If you have completed your syllabus. Try to solve as many papers as you can. Do some analysis of previous year question papers so that you may know frequently asked question in each subject. Prepare best answers for such questions, so that if any question repeat this year also you can give your best.
Time analysis

Some times paper is easy but lengthy, so prepare for that. While solving previous year papers try to finish it half an hour before. So that in your exams you will get enough time to re-check your answer sheet.
No Tension
Don’t think about your exam too much. You can’t do anything about it, what can you do is only study. Exam tension, exam anxiety or nervousness is all part of growing up. Most of this feeling comes from our mindset and pressure that comes from our family and teachers. Try to keep this at bay and you will do fine in your exams.
Be healthy and take breaks
Eat good food and have a good sleep. Take a break after certain time period, refresh your mind. In morning or evening go to any park and take some fresh air, relax your mind.

JEE (Main) – 2013 , three new centres in city for Computer Based Exam in Kerala

As per the declared schedule, the Computer Based JEE(Main) Exam was to be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi on 9th, 22nd, 23rd and 25th April 2013 throughout the country including Ernakulam, the only centre for Computer Based Examination in the state of Kerala.
In order to facilitate the JEE(Main) candidates who have also enrolled to appear in KEAM-2013 scheduled for 22nd and 23rd April 2013, and who could not opt for 9th or 25th April at Ernakulam due non availability of slots, the Board has decided to increase capacity by creating three new centres to conduct Computer Based JEE(Main) Exam. The new centre cities are given below ;


As such the JEE(Main) candidates who have enrolled to appear both for Computer Based JEE(Main) Examination on 22nd and 23rd
April 2013 at Ernakulam and KEAM-2013 may give their choice to appear for their Computer Based JEE(Main) Examination at any of the above mentioned cities and dates.
This facility will be available upto 22nd Feb 2013.

Last date for selection of slots/date for computer based (online) examination extended upto 22nd Feb

As per notification issued by CBSE last date for selection of slots/date for computer based (online) examination has extended upto 22nd Feb.
The last date for selection of slots/date for computer based (online) examination was 15th Feb 2013. It has been noticed that some of the aspirants of JEE (Main)-2013 computer based examination (online) have not selected the slots/dates for Examination as yet. Therefore, the last date for selection of slots/dates is being extended up to 22/02/2013.
The allotment of slots will be on first come first served basis. If a candidate does not make any selection by 22nd February, 2013, he/she shall be randomly assigned a slot/date based on the availability of the same.

Some tips to crack Physics board exam

Most of the time Physics paper is a surprise for students, some times paper is very easy and some time it becomes as a challenge for students. Last year Physics paper came as a shocker to many class XII students. They said the paper was lengthy and more difficult than expected. It was probably after many years that physics managed to give jitters to students in the Boards with some even emerging from the exam hall in tears.
There are some tips given by them who have already scored well in physics board exams.
1. At first complete your NCERT books.
2. Prepare/plan the answers for direct theory portions, derivations so that no time is lost in planning the content while writing the exam.
3. Derivations should contain a sentence or two of intro, a diagram[if any], clear mathematical steps and final result.
4. Chapterwise mind maps are also very useful
5. Work out the solved examples from NCERT text book.
6. Prepare definitions of main physical quantities appearing in a chapter, along with their units.
7..After completing any chapter, go through different types of conceptual, application oriented questions that can be asked from it from previous years’ board papers, sample papers etc.
8. Write at least one paper after thorough preparation-under examination conditions i.e. for continuous 3 hours, without using calculator and sticking to the time limit.
9. Stay relaxed and enjoy the preparation.

MPPET form submission last date extended

Considering demand of Madhya Pradesh Association of Technical and Professional Institutes (MPATPI), directorate of technical education (DTE) has extended the last date of submission of applications of pre-engineering and pharmacy test (PEPT) on Friday from February 17 to 24.

Confirming the decision, Madhya Pradesh Professional Education Board (MPPEB) exam controller Pankaj Trivedi said, "Dates have been extended to give an opportunity to students. Several students wanted to extend the dates." There will be no change in exam date ,which is scheduled to be organised on April 21. He, however, added that it is first and last extension of dates.

MPATPI vice-president Surendra Patidar said, "This year applicants' number for PET was less as comparing to the last year owing to various reasons. MPATPI demanded an extension in dates which was later accepted by DTE."

He added that this year around 75,000 students applied for entrance test, which is almost 50,000 less than the previous year. "We have almost 90,000 seats and such less number of students was a concern for engineering colleges across the state," said Patidar.

MPATI has also demanded wide publicity of state pre-engineering test. "We need to publicise in various other parts of the state about the state engineering entrance test. We have huge infrastructure and quality education in the state as compare to other state. In such a situation, more students should be attracted to engineering courses in the state," he said.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/PET-form-submission-last-date-extended/articleshow/18524270.cms

Areva signs fellowship pact with IIT-Bombay

Areva, the France-based multi-national that offers technological solutions for nuclear power generation, has signed a fellowship agreement with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

Under the pact, Areva will support doctoral Student Fellowships for R&D projects in nuclear reactor production and design, nuclear fuel cycle products and services, renewable energies and energy storage.

It will support the scholars and help them connect with the international scientific community working in renowned R&D laboratories and universities worldwide.

“I am proud that this collaboration will bring together the French and Indian research communities. We are committed to sharing our expertise in nuclear and renewables with our Indian partners,” said Luc Oursel, CEO, Areva.

“The agreement will benefit students undertaking research in the area of energy at our institute and has the potential to strengthen scientific sharing and learning between the two organisations” said Shiva Prasad, Dean, IIT-Bombay.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/areva-signs-fellowship-pact-with-iitbombay/article4419411.ece

Arvind Kejriwal @IIT Delhi, requests students to devote their 2 months internship period for nation

On Saturday Arvind Kejriwal Indian politician and social activist, visited Indian institute of Delhi campus for an interactive session with students.
Kejriwal himself is an IIT Kharagpur alumnus. he holds a BE from IIT Kharagpur.


“The need to see a meaningful change in the way our system works has to come from within- ask yourself whether you want such a change or not.”
“We must try to get rid of our slave mentality as if we are still living under British rule and seek for change more proactively,” Kejirwal said.
Anti-corruption leader Kejriwal requested students from IIT to take time out of their 2 months’ summer internship to devote to working for the nation.

Board exams are near, Students getting more anxious

Most of the students have completed their preparations for board exams but they are not satisfied. As the board exams are approaching, students are getting more nervous. Specially in case of CBSE, most of the students are going to appear first timefor board exams as they had skipped the class X board exam by opting for school exams instead.
Under the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system, which allows a student to be promoted even with the lowest grade of ‘D’, this lot seems to have taken studies lightly.
R S Patel, father of a class XII student Deepanshu, says “Though I am satisfied with the endeavour of my son in studies, I am not happy with the CCE. Class X should have been a board exam”.

IIT Bombay’s one more step for benefits of students, signed a fellowship agreement with Areva

Areva, the France-based multi-national that offers technological solutions for nuclear power generation. Reportedly Areva has signed a fellowship agreement with Indian Institute of technology,Bombay .


According to this agreement Areva will support Ph.D students for R&D projects in nuclear reactor production and design, nuclear fuel cycle products and services, renewable energies and energy storage.Company will also help students to connect with the international scientific community working in renowned R&D laboratories and universities worldwide.

For the first time Board exam will be held on Sunday

Education system is continuously changes, for the first time ever in the Maharashtra state a HSC board exam paper has been scheduled on Sunday. HSC students will have to write their biology and economics papers on March 17, which is a Sunday.

“The students demanded a change in schedule because they needed more time to prepare. We had to push the exam to a Sunday because either an HSC or an SSC exam was scheduled for the other days; we can’t have exams of two board levels on the same day. Students will have to adjust,” said a senior officer from the state education board.
With this new change initiated by Maharashtra state it might be possible that from coming year other states will also adapt this change.

IIT whistleblower questions inquiry fee

A suspended IIT whistleblower has alleged the institute paid an inquiry officer six times the Centre-prescribed rate for probing charges of misconduct against him.

Professor Rajeev Kumar has claimed, on the basis of papers obtained through RTI, that retired judge Ronojit Mitra was paid Rs 5 lakh as “honorarium” to probe allegations of “misconduct” against him. Under government norms, such an inquiry officer can be given a maximum of Rs 75,000.

IIT Kharagpur director S.K. Som pleaded ignorance on the issue. “I have no idea how much money has been paid. How can I comment?”

But Kumar, who has earlier accused Mitra of being “biased”, yesterday wrote to Union HRD minister M.M. Pallam Raju alleging the inquiry officer was paid in violation of rules. The professor has said he obtained through RTI the details of payments made to Mitra. Raju is the chairman of the IIT Council, the apex decision-making body for all IITs.

Kumar had complained to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against Mitra. The CVC had then asked the ministry to direct the IIT Kharagpur authorities to look into the allegation and forward the complaint to the appellate authority, in this case the President.

Kumar has claimed that Mitra was also given free transport and hospitality for himself and his family while the inquiry was on.

Under an order of the department of personnel and training on July 31, 2012, applicable to all government departments and autonomous institutions, an inquiry officer can be paid up to Rs 75,000 for investigating a case of alleged misconduct. The earlier ceiling was Rs 9,750.

Kumar also alleged Mitra was appointed the inquiry officer on April 4, 2011, a month before Kumar was suspended.

Som, the IIT director, pleaded ignorance about this allegation. “Really, I do not know,” Som said, arguing that he took over only in October last year.

Kumar had highlighted loopholes in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) as well as financial irregularities in a proposed deal for purchase of laptops.

He was hailed as an “unsung hero” last year by the Supreme Court for highlighting the flaws in the JEE. In August last year, the court asked the IITs to fine-tune the selection process.

The IITs made several changes to JEE, which included allowing the candidates to take home a carbon copy of answer sheets.

IIT Kharagpur had to scrap the plan to purchase laptops for faculty after Kumar alleged the institute was shelling out Rs 28,000 more than the market price for each M4500 model of Dell.

But the computer science professor was suspended on May 13, 2011, on charges that he had damaged the reputation of IIT Kharagpur by making the allegations.

Mitra submitted his report last month. The board of governors of IIT Kharagpur is scheduled to meet on March 23 to decide the course of action based on the report.

But Som said “the allegation of bias against Justice Mitra was brought before the board of governors and was rejected”.


Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130215/jsp/nation/story_16564878.jsp