Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.
As many as 11 companies, half of them from IT sector, visited the varsity over the past six months and picked up a number of students.
A considerable number of postgraduates were also chosen by multinationals from diverse sectors through off campus placement exercises. The department of Finance and Control achieved a record of sorts by scoring 100 percent result on this front. The department has 30 seats.
This is in sharp contrast to a period not so long back when departments scored a nought. Even students of humanities have secured employment. They include students from Sociology, Rural Development and Anthropology departments. CAPART, for instance, an autonomous body engaged in sustainable development of rural areas, recruited six students from these departments. A matching number was also recruited by Pradan, another leading New Delhi-based NGO.
And it has promised to visit the varsity in September to hold its second phase of recruitment drive. Legal recruitment firm Juriscape India has also evinced keen interest to visit the campus shortly. It would be targeting students of Law, English and Journalism departments. The recruited ones would be absorbed as content writers, legal aid assistants and researchers.
Offers have also come in for students of the department of Fisheries Science. Companies like IFB-Agro Industries and Bay Seafood, both Kolkata-based firms, would be holding recruitment drives in the coming months.
Tech firms like Infosys, TCS, Wipro BPO, HSBC, Genpact Mindtree, Subex Azure, Mindfire Solutions and Exillant have already conducted several rounds of placement drives. …
August 18th, 2007
Following are excerpts on this from the PIB that mainly talks about the establishment of a new steel center at IIT Kharagpur.
The Empowered committee also cleared a proposal to create a post of Chair professor in the Department of Metallurgy in IIT, Kharagpur, Benaras Hindu University and NITS at Rourkela, Durgapur and Jamshedpur and other institutes, where study of Metallurgical Engineering is pursued at a salary at par with the individual institute’s norm. These institutions will also provide scholarships to five undergraduate students in each of them to pursue studies in areas related to iron and steel. The undergraduate scholarships will carry a monthly stipend of Rs.4000 per month during the entire period of the course.
August 17th, 2007
Dr. R. K. Ghosh pointed us to a Forbes article by the Editor in Chief of JACM. Following is an excerpt from it.
The U.S. produces about 1,400 Ph.D.s in computer science annually and China about 3,000. By stark comparison, India’s annual computer science Ph.D. production languishes at roughly 40. That number is about the same as that for Israel, a nation with roughly 5% of India’s population size.
While India needs all the new IITs, IIITs and Central Universities that the PM announced during his Aug 15 speech, one wonders where from these institutions will get Ph.Ds for their faculty. The government and the IT industry must brainstorm together and come up with a strategy to tackle this. Following are some initial un-coordinated half-baked thoughts.
- Start motivating good students from an early age about the value of research. This can be done through science magnet schools.
- In IITs and IISc and may be a few other selected institutions have a track similar to MD/PH.D tracks in US medical schools. Students in this track would pursue a B.Tech-P.hD program (no need for MS) and would be given a generous stipends.
- To allow more time for IIT/IISc faculty to pursue research and guide Ph.D students these institutions (especially their CS depts.) should take in more M.Tech students and let them do most of the teaching.
- Government should open special graduate centers in IT/Computer Science (may be as branches of exisiting IITs) that only focus on research. For example, the IIT Kharagpur center in Bhubaneswar may house a faculty of 5-10 CS professors and offer *only* a Ph.D program in computer science. Such centers may have affiliated faculty (who have Ph.Ds) from nearby engineering colleges. Such centers should be slowly opened in every metropolitan area with 15+ engineering colleges. (The IIITs could have served this purpose but it seems most IIITs are focusing on undergraduate education. Exceptions are IIIT Hyderabad, which has a good research program; IIIT Bangalore which only offers M.Tech and Ph.D and the nascent IIIT Bhubaneswar which will also only have M.Tech and Ph.D program, at least in the beginning. )
- Government needs to offer better salary and perks to professors so that more students are attracted to a career in academia.
August 17th, 2007
The PM’s independence day speech will be remembered for a long time for its groundbreaking educational steps. Here, we analyze them vis-a-vis Orissa.
- K-12
- "We will support 6,000 new high quality schools — one in every block of the country" [Orissa has 314 blocks. Currently the central govt has three kinds of schools: Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Ekalabya Vidyalayas. My guess is these will be Navodaya Vidyalayas. Until now, Navodaya Vidyalayas were being made one per district. Extending it to one per block will do wonders.]
- Higher education
- "We will also ensure that adequate numbers of colleges are set up across the country, especially in districts where enrollment levels are low. We will help States set up colleges in 370 such districts." [Orissa has 30 districts. As per the NSSO study of 2004-2005, Table 3.14.1 shows that in the 15-19 age group 29% people in Orissa are attending school/college and in the 20-24 age group this number for Orissa is 6.1%. (Both numbers are lowest among all but the small states/UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep.) For the Scheduled Tribe population these numbers are 17.1% for the 15-19 age group and 4.1% for the 20-24 age group.]
- "We will set up thirty new Central Universities. Every state that does not have a central university will now have one." [Orissa does not have one so it should get one. But considering that there are 23 other existing central universities, making it a total of 53 central universities, Orissa should get two.]
- "we are setting up five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research" [The five IISERs are at Pune, Kolkata, Mohali, Bhopal, and Trivendrum. A NISER is being set up in Bhubaneswar.]
- "eight new Indian Institutes of Technology" [Three of these IITs are announced to be in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Orissa should get one of the other five IITs.]
- "seven new Indian Institutes of Management" [Announcements have been made with respect to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Shillong. If Orissa gets a new IIT then its chance of getting a new IIM this round is much less. Orissa should try though.]
- "twenty new Indian Institutes of Information Technology." [There will be one in each main states, including Orissa, which does not have one. Existing ones are at Allahabad, Amethi, Jabalpur, and Gwalior and a new one is being established at Kanchipuram. ]
- Vocational Education
- "We will soon launch a Mission on Vocational Education and Skill Development, through which we will open 1600 new industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, 10,000 new vocational schools and 50,000 new Skill Development Centres."
- "We will ensure that annually, over 100 lakh students get vocational training – which is a four-fold increase from today’s level."
- More scholarships
- "We should seek not just functional literacy, but good quality education – education that is affordable, accessible, equitable – and available to every boy and girl who seeks to study. For the needy we will provide more scholarships."
August 16th, 2007
Following are the relevant excerpts from the Prime Minister’s independence day speech(TOI) (Hindu)(PIB)
Towards this end, our Government has decided to invest in setting up good quality schools across the country. We will support 6,000 new high quality schools — one in every block of the country. Each such school will set standards of excellence for other schools in the area.
As our primary education programmes achieve a degree of success, there is growing demand for secondary schools and colleges. We are committed to universalizing secondary education. An extensive programme for this is being finalized.
We will also ensure that adequate numbers of colleges are set up across the country, especially in districts where enrolment levels are low. We will help States set up colleges in 370 such districts.
The University system, which has been relatively neglected in recent years, is now the focus of our reform and development agenda. We will set up thirty new Central Universities. Every state that does not have a central university will now have one.
In order to promote science and professional education, we are setting up five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, seven new Indian Institutes of Management, and twenty new Indian Institutes of Information Technology. These will generate new educational opportunities for our youth. I am sure that, working together, we can ensure that at least a fifth of our children go to college as compared to one-tenth now.
The vast majority of our youth seek skilled employment after schooling. Last year I spoke the need for a Vocational Education Mission. Such a Mission is ready to be launched. We will soon launch a Mission on Vocational Education and Skill Development, through which we will open 1600 new industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, 10,000 new vocational schools and 50,000 new Skill Development Centres.
We will ensure that annually, over 100 lakh students get vocational training – which is a four-fold increase from today’s level. We will seek the active help of the private sector in this initiative so that they not only assist in the training but also lend a hand in providing employment opportunities.
We should seek not just functional literacy, but good quality education – education that is affordable, accessible, equitable – and available to every boy and girl who seeks to study. For the needy we will provide more scholarships.
I wish to see a revolution in the field of modern education in the next few years. It is my fervent desire that India becomes a fully educated, modern, progressive nation. From this historic Red Fort, I would like this message to go to every corner of India – we will make India a nation of educated people, of skilled people, of creative people.
This is the first time eight new IITs have been formally and officially mentioned. Three of these were previously announced to be in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. So it would be a shame if Orissa does not get one of the remaining five.
August 15th, 2007
Following are excerpts from a report in The Hindu:
… Surmounting heavy odds, the well-trained rugby team of the Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) was now ready to take on the world, representing India at an under-14 international school rugby tournament in London.
For the products of the country’s largest school for tribal communities, rugby was just the right tool to unleash their collective talent. Hitherto dismissed to their miserable tribal hinterland, the students had a mission: to prove their mettle to a world cynically ignorant of the tribal life, their dreams and ambitions.
KISS, a sister concern of the KIIT Deemed University, had picked them out of their poverty-stricken families to offer an education, to get them a slice of mainstream life. Nurtured in the residential campus since age six, the team members were now prepared to announce their arrival. London beckoned, so did recognition and fame.
The training
Behind their collective exuberance was a well-tuned method. Thirty students had been selected from a first list of 56, who underwent rigorous training by a World Rugby Association coach.
The 30 proved their worth at a tournament in Kolkata on July 16, watched closely by their sponsors, the Kolkata Jungle Crows.
The final 12 now await the flight for the big fight on September 24, but not before some fine-tuning by an English coach, Paul Walsh, and two coaches from the Kolkata Rugby Association.
“We are confident of beating the other teams.” This remark by the KISS Rugby team captain to a visiting media team from Bangalore, had a solidity built on months of disciplined training. “From 6 a.m. to 7.30 a.m., 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., we are at it every day,” explained the team’s school coach, Manash Jena.
The team
Tag Rugby was the team’s first brush with the game, 18 months ago. Graduating to full rugby in quick time, the team captained by Bikash Chandra Murmu practised hard. Any tribe-based differences forgotten, the students were now part of one team. It had Chitta Ranjan Mumu and Babula Malka, Raj Kishore Murmu and Bukai Hansda, Niranjan Biswal, Hadi Dhangada Majhi, Sahadev Majhi, Gauranga Jamuda, Narsingh Kerai, Barial Beshra and Ganesh Hembram. Represented were the tribes Banda, Santal, Bathudi, Kandha and Kolha, whose people were otherwise dismissed to the poor rural backyard of Orissa.
The vision
Tribal people make up 23.13 per cent of Orissa’s population. It needed a body as systematic as KISS to pull them out of obscurity and neglect.
It was eventually left to philanthropist and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) founder Achyutananda Samanta to make that critical difference through KISS. …
August 15th, 2007
Following are some excerpts from a Business standrad report on this.
Asian School of Business Management (ASBM), one of the premier business schools of Orissa today a Post-graduate Programme in Banking, Insurance and Financial Services Management (PGPBIFSM).
The programmed is tailored to meet manpower requirement in these sectors. …
The director of ASBM Biswajit Patnaik said the PGPBIFSM course aims to bring appropriate balancing of banking, insurance and financial services. It is the only B-school focussing on the sectoral programmes, he claimed.
The school had launched the retail programme management earlier.
The new course contents 90 hours of elective study and 150 hours of soft skill development along with the foundation courses, specialisation and super specialisation programmes.
August 15th, 2007
Following is from a UGC page.
Post-Graduate Merit Scholarship Scheme for University Rank Holders at Undergraduate Level for the academic session 2006-07.
The University Grants Commission, on the basis of a initiative of MHRD, had introduced Post-Graduate Merit Scholarship Scheme for University rank holders (in General and Honours Courses at Undergraduate levels) with the objective of attracting talents for pursuing post-graduate studies in basic subjects. The scheme is for non-professional courses only. The selection will be purely on merit basis. The awardees under this scheme can pursue their Post-Graduate programme in any area of specialization as also in any institution of higher learning in the country recognized by UGC under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of UGC Act.
Subjects identified at undergraduate level for the award of Scholarships
| S.No. |
Subjects |
| 1 |
B.Sc. (General) |
| 2 |
B.A. (General) |
| 3 |
B.Com. (General) |
| 4 |
B.Sc. (Botany) (Hons.) |
| 5 |
B.Sc. (Chemistry) (Hons.) |
| 6 |
B.Sc. (Mathematics) (Hons.) |
| 7 |
B.Sc. (Physics) (Hons.) |
| 8 |
B.Sc. (Statistics) (Hons.) |
| 9 |
B.Sc. (Zoology) (Hons.) |
| 10 |
B.A. (Economics) (Hons.) |
| 11 |
B.A. (English) (Hons.) |
| 12 |
B.A. (Geography) (Hons.) |
| 13 |
B.A. (Hindi) (Hons.) |
| 14 |
B.A. (History) (Hons.) |
| 15 |
B.A. (Philosophy) (Hons.) |
| 16 |
B.A. (Political Science) (Hons.) |
| 17 |
B.A. (Psychology) (Hons.) |
| 18 |
B.A. (Sanskrit) (Hons.) |
| 19 |
B.A. (Sociology) (Hons.) |
| 20 |
B.A. (Urdu) (Hons.) |
| 21 |
B.Com. (Hons.) |
Eligibility
While in General Courses the First & Second Rank holders at under-graduate level in the above mentioned courses only admitted in any Post-Graduate courses would be awarded the scholarship
In Honours Courses scholarship will be awarded only to the First Rank Holder.
These awardees will have to submit the proofs of their merit position at undergraduate level as well as their admission in first year of Post-Graduate courses during 2006-07.
The scholarship would however, be subject to securing a minimum of sixty percent marks at undergraduate level.
Duration of Scholarships: 2 Years
Number of Scholarships per year:
| General Course |
1800 |
| Honours Course |
575 |
| Total |
2375 |
Rate of Scholarship: Rs. 2000/- p.m.(10 months in a year)
Other Conditions:
A student who is awarded the Post-Graduate Scholarship will not be debarred from accepting any other Scholarship. But candidate is entitled for only one scholarship either PG Merit Scholarship for University rank holding or Indira Gandhi PG Scholarship for Single Girl Child.
Students desirous of leaving the studies mid-way without completing the PG degree will have to take prior approval from the UGC by submitting an application along with justification through the concerned university.
The University/College institution will have to submit a certificate of completion of the PG Course in respect of each student availing this scholarship.
Documents to be submitted at the time of application:
Proof of admission to Master�s degree course in a recognized Indian University.
Matriculation Certificate.
Verification certificate from the institution where the candidate has taken admission (Annexture-II)
University Rank Certificate at U.G. level (Annexure-III)
Procedure for application:
Eligible students who are pursuing postgraduate 1st year course in any of the above mentioned subjects in the current year, i.e. 2005-2006 may submit their application for the above scholarship (Annexure I) giving full details like name, father�s name, date of birth, permanent and postal address, name of the undergraduate course, percentage of marks obtained along with merit certificate, postgraduate, course being pursued etc. (with all relevant attested copies of documents).
The application may be submitted to Joint Secretary (NIC), University Grants Commission, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002 within 15 days from the date of publication of this advertisement.
Application received after the due date will not be considered. Those who have applied earlier need to apply fresh in response to this advertisement.
Candidates are advised before submitting application should read guidelines for the scheme which is available on UGC website www.ugc.ac.in.
Envelops containing application should be marked as APPLICATION FOR PG MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FOR UNIVERSITY RANK HOLDER.
August 14th, 2007
The following is copied from the UGC page on educational loans.
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 new scheme covers all type of courses including professional courses in schools and colleges in India and abroad.
The Salient features of the scheme are as under:
-
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
Tax Benefit
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.
Equitable Access to quality higher education has been a concern of the University Grants Commission. To this purpose the Commission, besides encouraging colleges and universities to provide for liberal financial support to the meritorious but needy students, has also been instrumental in educational loan scheme. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines in this regard to all commercial banks. A large number of banks have already launched educational loan schemes. Provided below are links to the respective website of individual banks offering such facilities.
Disclaimer: 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.
August 14th, 2007
