Sunday 13 November 2011

Top 10 engineering colleges in Bhubaneswar, Orissa 2011


1) University College of Engineering  - RANK 1
Burla, Orissa. Ph:                         +91- 663-2430211
UCE under Biju Patnaik University of technology is the top rated college in Orissa providing undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in engineering. Teaching mode and handling practicals are of high standards in the college.
Useful links: http://www.uceburla.ac.in
2) Institute of Technical Education & Research – RANK 2
SOA University, Bhubaneswar. Ph:                         +91-674- 2350181
ITER is the part if Siksha O’ Anusandhan University approved by UGC. The institute is dedicated to provide high quality education and is also known for their management system.
Useful links: http://iter.ac.in
3) College of Engineering & Technology (CET) - RANK 3
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2384110
CET possesses well equipped laboratory facilities and campus for students to deliver maximum outcome. Training sessions within the course curriculum is the most notable advantage for the aspirants.
Useful links: http://www.cetindia.org
4) Silicon Institute of Technology - RANK 4
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-674-2725448
This private institute is counted as top among private institutes in Orissa and one among the top list. They are destined to flourish this as centre for excellence in the field of engineering and technology.
Useful links: http://www.silicon.ac.in
5) CV Raman College of Engineering - RANK 5
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2460693
The college offers undergraduate programmes in various branches of engineering and technology. The placement cell is highly effective in creating opportunities for students.
Useful links: http://cvraman.org
6) National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) - RANK 6
Berhampur, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-680-2492421
This private institute provides best conditions for the growth of engineers and technologists. The industrial training and consultancy services help students to improve their future standards.
Useful links: http://www.nist.edu/
7) Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology - RANK 7
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-674-2725113
Top quality infrastructure and lab facilities in KIIT made it one among the top colleges offering engineering and technology courses. Eminent professors and lecturers deliver informative sessions and ideas for healthy discussions among students.
Useful links: http://www.kiit.ac.in
8 ) Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology - RANK 8
BARAKUDA, PANCHAGAON, KHURDA, Orissa.      Phone:                        +91- 09776209535
The institute is affiliated to Biju Patnaik university of technology and B.Tech and lateral entry B.Tech courses. They are also conducting supplimentary coaching classes for better carrier options of students.
Useful links: http://www.aryan.ac.in
9) Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT) - RANK 9
Sarang, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-6760-240371
Eminent instructors and high tech lab facilities in IGIT made it as one of the prime choice among aspirants in engineering and technology field. They offers bachelor and degree courses in the subject.
Useful links: http://www.igitsarang.ac.in
10) Orissa Engineering College (OEC) - RANK 10
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2541340
The college, affiliated to B.P. University, stands for quality education to nurture talents for the society. They hope to create professionals with responsibility and dedication.
Useful links: http://www.oec.ac.in

Jan Lok Pal Bill or Hijacking of Indian Democracy


General Education Centre of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh held a very timely and meaningful symposium on “Democracy and Jan Lok Pal” which has sent an awareness wave in the campus on the much talked about issue. A galaxy of eminent persons from diverse fields dwelled upon the ticklish subject which is going to be affected not only Indian Parliamentary system but also lives of a large section of Indian citizenry.
Addressing the symposium, the Group Editor of Rashtriya Sahara, Aziz Burney strongly questioned the credibility of Anna Hazare and his civil society and dwelled upon multi-faceted corruption. He questioned why concentrate only on the financial corruption and why ignore political and philosophical corruptions? He asked why Anna Hazare is keeping deadly silence on the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who has turned down the whole Indian democratic system to make Gujarat a testing State for Hindu Rashtra?
*Writer is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law  and Coordinator,  General Education Centre, AMU, Aligarh. E-mail: coordinatorgec@yahoo.in     


Elaborating on the fallouts of the Jan Lok Pal Bill and its proposed provisions, Burney pointed out that our Constitution drafters had foresight as they incorporated many provisions therein to deal adverse and diverse conditions. He said the Constitution of India has a well-defined system to deal with financial corruptions. He said the system should not be encroached upon by anyone because if you allow encroachment in one sector, you will certainly get some other sectors dented too and the whole concept of our democratic system and constitution, which is secular and socialist in character, will come tumbling down.
Burney went ahead to point out that Jan Lok Pal Bill is heavily tilted towards a particular ideology. He pointed out that Jan Lok Pal Bill is only an excuse otherwise real motive is hidden behind the curtains.
Presiding over the well-attended and thought-provoking symposium, AMU Vice-chancellor Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis said this great nation is presently reeling under corrupt practices in every walk of life and causing a large number of human rights violations. He said the Indian democratic system is based on the concept of equality and equity and the system allows every shade of opinion to be debated. He called upon the students to be aware of the burning issues and take their own stand with consideration of interests of the masses. He appealed to the students to truly follow the lifestyle recommended by Islam and urged them to translate the teachings of Sir Syed into their life. Prof. Aziz said it is very important to note that corrupt practices cannot bring excellence to an individual and no one could achieve greatness by adopting corrupt practices. He told the students that all sorts of corruption are slow poison and they should desist from.
Delivering the keynote address, former Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh and former Chairman of UP Minorities Commission, Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi disagreed that just by launching one movement aimed at solving only one of the problems among the numerous ones the nation has been facing a person may become Gandhi. He said that Gandhi had become Mahatma Gandhi after a prolonged war of independence, after making sacrifices and losing a lucrative career in law but some people have hatched a conspiracy to make a Gandhi out of one person and then legitimise their movement which is nothing but an agitational corruption, too.
Earlier, former Dean of the Law faculty Prof. M. Zakaria Siddiqui, elaborating on the topic of the symposium, said that the anti-corruption movement launched by Anna Hazare and his team was the largest mass based movement after the independence movement. But he disagreed that it can be called “Second independence”. He said the people who are calling for the so-called second independence forget that independence can be only one and that has been achieved. Secondly, he pointed out that Loknayak Jai Prakash Narain had also called his anti-Indira movement second independence. He said that we must ensure that in our zeal, we should not trespass the democratic space and must not invite another emergency-like situation.
Prof. Zakaria emphasised developing strong spirituality. He said dishonesty and corruption are all by-products of weak spiritualism. He pointed out that every religion has sanctioned good deeds and disapproved misdeeds. He said it is only spiritualism or in other words inner voice which stops a person to move towards greed or corruption. He called upon the students in particular and the youths in general to develop strong spiritualism to be clean and honest from within. He concluded his address with short comment that spiritualisation is the only way to wipe out corruption from Indian society and nation.
Continuing the theme of the symposium towards critical stages, Director CORD, Lucknow, Athar Hussain said there is no doubt that the movement against corruption is very important and everyone who loves society and the nation should participate therein. But before jumping on the bandwagon, one should get accurate knowledge about the issue and consider plus and minus points and then make a sound viewpoint and finally join or oppose a movement. He said unfortunately in the case of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, the media began presenting larger-than-life images and numerous channels began competing with each other so much so that the tragic news of hunger deaths in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh got enveloped under the blown up anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazre which resulted in the half-baked information reaching to masses and a mass hysteria soon became evident. Husain pointed out that such trends of raising mass hysteria are not a positive sign for peaceful coexistence of citizens and survival of the democratic system at large.
Earlier, making opening remarks and conducting the analytical symposium, Coordinator of the General Education Centre, Dr. Shakeel Samdani addressed a number of silent points of the subject. Dr. Samdani wondered why in the civil society representation of minorities or Dalits has not been made. He said the Anna Hazare team has kept a deadly silence over political, religious and moral corruption. He pointed out that we find religious places built upon public lands like railway stations or bus stations and nobody dares to question them. It is religious corruption. Dr. Samdani said that Article 341 deprives certain religious groups like Muslims and Christians to get the fruits of reservation provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India while some other groups like Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs are allowed to reap rich harvest out of it. He drew the attention of audience towards this political corruption. He also pointed out that almost all Muslim concentrated parliamentary constituencies have been reserved and thus Muslims have been deprived of the representation in Parliament. He said it is another glaring example of political corruption heavily guided by the communal and biased elements.
Dr. Samdani said the Anna Hazare team is composed of only few people. Indian democracy will be hijacked by these few people if the Jan Lok Pal bill is passed. They are demanding to bring even the Prime Minister under the purview of the Jan Lok Pal Bill. He urged the audience just to consider a situation when they decide to dethrone a Prime Minister then they can easily do it or he will be blackmailed by them. In such a situation, it is the Indian democratic system which will collapse and it is the masses who will suffer. He pointed out that such a weak political system on the shoulders of only few people will send wrong signals to the international community resulting in the nosedive of Indian prestige and credibility.
Dr. Samdani again pointed out that a time may come up when the civil society would raise a demand to dismantle certain institutions like Minorities Commission and due to their interference a weak Prime Minister will obey their dictates; then what will happen? Dr. Samdani summed up that if the present Indian parliamentary system is allowed to be hijacked by few people, whose credibility is shrouded under doubt, then it will be the end of democratic system and the Indian state known for its secular and non-violence will certainly move to fascism which will ultimately put the nation to anarchy and the country will disintegrate, like the earlier princely states.
He concluded with an appeal to all the saner elements of Indian society to see the reason and do not go by emotions or hysteria generated by electronic and print media.
The organising secretary of the symposium Nayyer Rahman, a student of M.Com (Final) drew the attention of the gathering towards the fact that India is passing through a crucial phase and the nation is standing on the crossroads. On the one hand it is galloping to be a super power and on the other the number of hungry and deprived people is rising. He said the students of AMU must be aware of all developments and burning issues, because in one or the other way they affect our lives. He called upon them to express their opinions freely and fearlessly.
The hurriedly organised symposium successfully attracted the students from diverse disciplines. For the first time in the recent history of AMU, the Kennedy Auditorium was not only packed to full strength but was overflowing and a time came when a demand was raised to install T.V. screens outside. The Hall went to clapping several times.
In the end of the symposium, Dr. Samdani presented coveted Shan-e-Sahafat Award to Aziz Burney. While presenting the award, Dr. Samdani told the audience that the police firing on innocent Muslims in Gopalgarh (Bharatpur) would have gone unnoticed if Aziz Burney might not have visited it in the hostile atmosphere and might not have reported the fascist and communalised face of the police force there.
It is very important to point out that the positive impact of the symposium has been recorded within a few days. Anna Hazare has condemned Narendra Modi and also the arrest of Sanjiv Bhutt, the glorious police officer of Gujarat.

Textile traditions of the State on display


Pochampalli, Dharmavaram, Guntur, Mangalagiri, Chirala, Kuppadam, Uppada and Gadwal—these are the names that bombard you at the National Handloom Expo that is on at Swaraj Maidan. For a person who does not know about the rich textile tradition of the State these are just names of places.
For those who want to learn about the tradition and technique used by weavers of these places in producing one of the finest textiles, the Theme Pavilion at Expo offers a wonderful chance.
They should all make a beeline to the ‘theme pavilion' established by the Vijayawada Weavers' Service Centre (WSC).
Besides live demonstration of the backbreaking Uppada Jamadani weaving technique, Tie and Dye Jamadani and Kalamkari block printing, the WSC has put on display several traditional and experimental samples of saris, dress materials, bed spreads that have been neatly labelled which is education by themselves.
The WSC Technical Supervisor B. Govardhana Rao explaining about the speciality of the sarees on display said that they were woven at the Vijayawada WSC combining the weaving techniques used by weavers from different places.
“This saree was woven using the technique used in Gadwal, but the border was woven using the technique of Kuppadam (East Godavari) Weavers,” Mr. Rao said citing an example. Explaining the efforts that go into a the weaving of a Gadwal sari, he said that the weaver had to make three knots using yarn of different colour in a weft to create the saree and borders (top and bottom).
In the sarees developed and designed in the WSC were silk and cotton ones dyed with vegetable dyes and made using tie and dye technique. Uppada Sareethat look the same on both sides, Gunturu Butta saris with Gadwal borders and Kalamkari bed spreads printed experimentally using stencils instead of the traditional carved wooden blocks are available at the pavilion for the connoisseurs.
Interesting among the saris on display are the “Gollabhama” sari of Janagam, and the Ganga Jamuna sari with double coloured border of Dharmavaram.
The Chirala Telia Rumal bed spreads that are becoming very popular are made using tie and dye weaving techniques that are over 150-year-old.
“This technique of weaving was very popular a hundred years ago. The technique became very popular in Gujarat and from there it came back to the state and became popular in Pochampalli,” he said giving a little bit of history.
Also on display in the pavilion were sample saris from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Saris woven in the authentic tradition used in Kanchivaram, Kumbakkonam of Tamil Nadu, Mulkaimur of Karnataka and Sambalpur of Orissa are an education.

SA premier stands by minister over travel


South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has defended a senior minister who took her seven-year-old daughter on a government-funded overseas trip.
Education Minister Grace Portolesi took her daughter to India with her in April.
The young girl travelled business class with her mother, prompting questions from the opposition about the inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.
Under parliamentary travel arrangements, MPs can take a family member with them on one trip each year.
Ordinarily that is their spouse, but Mr Weatherill said Ms Portolesi had applied in February 2007 for her daughter to be her nominated travelling companion.
He said that application had been approved, as had the girl's travel to India earlier this year.
"It's pretty simple, there's a set of entitlements and she sought to access them," Mr Weatherill told reporters on Monday.
"And she was granted approval by the relevant authorities.
"The very same allowance that the minister has accessed has been accessed by a range of other MPs.
"Children have travelled at the taxpayers' expense using this allowance on both sides of the parliament."
Mr Weatherill said the travel arrangements for MPs had been longstanding and he was not aware of any calls for them to be revised.
But he said if people had concerns they should "honestly and openly agitate about that" rather than engage in innuendo about inappropriate conduct.
The premier said he had not personally reflected on the rules.
Ms Portolesi has been a focus of opposition attention this year over her sometimes uncertain handling of the Aboriginal affairs portfolio.
When Mr Weatherill replaced Mike Rann as premier last month, she was promoted to the education portfolio.

Kolkata Confidential: Little Magic for Little Maestro


Little Magic for Little Maestro
Will it happen here or not? — is the question doing the rounds at Eden Gardens on the eve of the second Test between India and West Indies as Sachin Tendulkar will take guard against the likes of Fidel Edwards and bat for his 100th century. While grapevine has it that a Cricket Association Of Bengal (CAB) official, after Tendulkar was cut short at 76 at Ferojshah Kotla in New Delhi, went to Kalighat temple to thank Goddess Kali, an exorcist (ojha) on Sunday came to Eden Gardens and touched the pitch with his wand, chanting hymns so that Tendulkar could achieve the feat. Hold your breath to see whether the ojha’s wand do the trick for Sachin’s numerous fans.
Minister’s Sept faux in November
On November 11, the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, which is observed as National Education Day, Minister for Urban Development Firhad Hakim committed such a faux pas at a function which even made the children present giggle. At the function to mark the occasion at Mahajati Sadan, the minister referred the day as “Teachers’ Day” instead of calling it “Education Day” evoking laughter from all the corners of the auditorium. Well it had to happen. Even a child knows that September 5, birthday of former President S Radhakrishnan is observed as “Teachers’ Day”

HLL ties up with IGNOU for healthcare education

The programmes, having two semesters of six months each, will be held in distance education mode with contact classes. The curriculum has been designed to fulfil the requirements of healthcare institutions, procurement service agencies and equipment manufacturers.

"This is for the first time, such programmes are launched in the country. Our aim is to impart quality education in inter-disciplinary fields of health sciences and technology. Initially, HLL Academy will function as part of the corporate establishment. We plan to create a separate not-for-profit educational institution," said HLL CMD M. Ayyappan.

The other programmes in the pipeline by the academy are in the areas of socialmarketing and good manufacturing practices. It also plans to launch M.Tech and MBAprogrammes.

HLL produces over 1.316 billion condoms annually. Its staple 'Moods' brand of condom is available in 19 variants and was adjudged a 'super brand' and 'power brand' in India.

Over the years, HLL have diversified their line of business from just being a condom manufacturer and have now entered the business of construction, and setting up of hospitals. IANS

Scholarship opportunities

The UK is known for its quality higher studies and an interdisciplinary approach towards education. Be it the sciences, engineering or social sciences, it has a wide range of courses available at the Bachelor's, Master's and higher education levels. 

It has a personal tutor or mentorship system, under which students get a guide within the university to discuss academic progress as well as general welfare, which helps to create a bonding and make students feel at home. 

The UK is home to leading institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, etc, which rank amongst the top 200 in the world. Popular universities include Manchester, Southampton, Sheffield, Leicester, Sussex, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Bath. With the explosion of educational sanctions in the early 90s, the UK has seen about 60 new universities, notable amongst which are Kingston, Brighton, Coventry and Westminster. 

While undergoing the process of admissions, students may miss applying for the existing scholarships. Research on the university websites can provide valuable information on the available financial aid. Scholarships are offered in popular fields like international business, marketing, finance, MBA, mechanical, electronics, automotive, computer sciences and IT, software engineering, biotechnology, genetics, neuroscience, economics, development studies, international relations, psychology, law and English literature, among others. 

The University of Sheffield has an India bursary of £2,000 pounds for students. Higher order scholarships of up to £6,000 are available to students who show strong academic merit and on invitation. 



The University of Southampton: 

Scholarships of up to £2,000 are available for students in engineering and school of social sciences. Group scholarships for more than four students from the same institution are also offered. 

The University of Leicester: Scholarships of up to £2,945 are offered to first class degree holders and £3,945 for students with marks above 70% in their degree examinations with 80% overall marks in class XII. 



The University of Sussex: £3,000 fee waivers are available to 40 international students. Departmental scholarships of £3,000 pounds are available in engineering, law, social sciences and management. Economics and development scholarships to the tune of £5,000 are also available to a few high achievers. 

The University of Kingston: Scholarships of up to £3,300 are available for candidates at UG and PG levels. 

External scholarships include British Commonwealth Scholarships , Inlaks Foundation, JN Tata Endowment and the Ratan Tata Scholarships, to name a few. A seminar on scholarships and entry conditions will be organised for students who aspire to explore the UK as a destination for higher studies from November 15-17 by Education Pathways India at 1123, 11Floor, Hemkunt Chambers, Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019 . Candidates are requested to call 9911798498 or (011) 46585348 and take prior appointments.

CII seeks changes in FCRA to spur investment in education

New Delhi: Industry chamber CII has made a pitch for changes in the Foreign Currency Regulation Act to alleviate investor apprehensions over some provisions so that greater FDI can flow into the higher education sector.
     
It has recommended that a clarification be made that FCRA is not applicable to investments made under automatic FDI in a Section 25 company against equity subscription.
     
At present, 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in education.
     
For-profit entities are not allowed to get licences from the University Grants Commission. They are not allowed to function as private universities under the Acts of different state governments.
     
Hence, the investment vehicle is often a Society or a Trust or a Section 25 company.
     
Since only a Section 25 company can issue share capital, it is the most preferred medium for investment. Money flows into the operating 'not-for-profit' set up from an Indian corporate, or a fund in India or abroad, or from a foreign collaborator.
     
Wherever there is FDI, as is the case with most venture capital and private equity investments, or indirect in the sense that the investing company has foreign shareholders or has access to foreign funds, the FCRA Act comes into play.
     
While all legal authorities and accounting firms are of the opinion that investment in a Section 25 company, being in exchange for a share subscription, does not come under FCRA, investors are jittery since the FCRA legislation has harsh penal provisions, it added.
     
The CII recommendations form part of the paper which CII had recently submitted to the Planning Commission for inclusion in the 12th Plan (2012-17). 

India’s growing youth population: Asset or liability?


India is poised to have one of the largest pools of young people in the world in the future. Demographically, does that qualify as a dividend or a disaster?
You can’t make a real argument either way unless you take another aspect into account: skill.
The able working population in India must be transformed into capable working people. Numbers alone don’t matter. A growing population of young people becomes an asset only when it has the skills to become an economically productive segment of society. Otherwise, it ends up being an economic burden, consisting of more mouths to feed.

India is poised to have one of the largest pools of young people in the world in the future. Demographically, does that qualify as a dividend or a disaster? Punit Paranjpe/AFP
Ensuring that its youth population turns into an economic asset is the challenge that faces India today, according to experts who participated in a skills development discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) India Summit being held in Mumbai.
Panel experts also believed that without harnessing the potential of its youth population, the economy would be unable to gallop ahead in double-digits.
Thankfully, the government is aware of that. “The problem of skill development has to be tackled at different levels, said Kapil Sibal, human resource development minister. “We are planning to launch a training policy framework in 2012 so that by 2022, India will have 500 million skilled people and 200 million graduates.”
According to Rajiv Khandelwal, co-founder and executive director of Aajeevika (Livelihood Bureau), an organisation that provides support services to migrant workers, there are currently 40 million people employed in the unorganised sector. Those who work in the unemployed sector typically have few skills and consequently, get very poorly paid. Most of them hail from relatively poor states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
Because the nature of their work is often tough and offers few benefits by way of insurance and pensions, most workers don’t survive very long on the job. In fact, the average age of retirement in the unorganised sector is 28 years, Khandelwal, the WEF’s social entrepreneur for 2010, revealed.
Education and development of skills will go a long way in ensuring that large chunks of future generations don’t end up the same way.
To do that, the panelists urged the government and corporate sector to join hands. Technology could also pitch in to help towards improving young India’s skills sets.
N Chandrashekharan, chairman and managing director of IT company Tata Consultancy Services, and RS Pawar, chairman of NIIT, a technology education service provider, noted that 400,000 teachers would be required in the coming decade to train the next generation.
Since it was highly unlikely that many teachers would actually be available by then, they suggested telecom and broadband services could be used instead to reach students even in the remotest part of the country.
Clearly, the fact that India will soon be home to one of the world’s youngest populations in future can become a tremendous asset, but only if our policy makers start planning for it today.

The right to fix your education


On Friday, the Prime Minister launched the Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan — a yearlong nationwide campaign for promoting the Right to Education (RTE). As these efforts gain ground, the country faces one important choice: should elementary education be delivered through the current model, which focuses on the expansion of schooling through a top-down, centralised delivery system? Or should we use the RTE as an opportunity to fundamentally alter the current system, to create a bottom-up delivery model which builds on an understanding of children’s learning needs, and which privileges innovation and accountability for learning, rather than schooling?
Lets’ first understand the current system. For decades, India’s education goal has been to create a universal elementary education system by expanding schooling through inputs: building schools, hiring teachers, and enrolling children in these schools. Substantial finances have been provided to create these inputs: in 2008-09 the country spent Rs 6,314 per child (this is a low estimate, as available data is yet to take into account post-RTE budget hikes). Most of this money has gone toward creating a large education bureaucracy controlled and managed by the state and central government.

EC Plans Using Facebook to Educate Voters


KOLKATA: The Election Commission is planning to take the help of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to impart electoral messages to young voters, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said.

"The Commission is now seriously looking at the social media as the hubs to impart electoral education," Quraishi said delivering the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture 2011 titled 'Education for Deepening Democracy'.
"Like Maulana Azad, I believe that an educated and aware citizen is the best guarantee for deepening both democracy and development," Quraishi said.

The CEC said he had recently held talks with policy makers of Education and Youth ministries to integrate citizenship and voter education as a part of the curriculum of their various courses.

"We have established the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management ( IIDEM) making voter education a core area of emphasis in it," Quraishi said.

Regretting that many voters in the age group of 18-35 years do not exercise their voting rights for whatever reason, the CEC said the Commission has put voter education and awareness programme on fast track to improve the situation.

In a strategic initiative called YUVA (Youth Unite for Voter Awareness), the Commission has planned to rope in the new and young voters, he said. 

Can India's growth tackle its ills?

The answer actually lies in the neighbouring Chinese economy where the GDP growth touched nearly 10 per cent on an average in the last three decades. Imagine China, known as the factory to the world, importing brides from neighbouring Laos, Cambodia and South Korea!  That is actually true. 

So how will Indian values continue to be shaped by the country's distinct growth story?  Those questions were deliberated upon by the panelists and delegates from all over the world at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Mumbai on Sunday.

Going back to China's bride import example, many would happily put the blame on the mainland's 'one child policy'. But what motives could one put on India's recently declared worst sex ratio (914 females per 1,000 males) since its independence? India is just at the cusp of a China kind of growth in the next few decades. The soft statistics emanating from India are also not very encouraging.  For example, Punjab, the most prosperous state, has 893 girls per 1,000 boys. India, whose trade deficit touched a record high of close to $20 billion last month, will soon have to follow the Chinese footsteps of importing brides. 

Shantanu Prakash, managing director of Educomp Solution pointed out that research has proven that education is really a tool that opens up the mind. "India currently has  one of the lowest GDP-to-education spend amongst the ASEAN countries," says Prakash, citing India's biggest state Uttar Pradesh's example where almost 97 per cent of the education budget goes to paying the salary of teachers and other staff.  So is education the answer?  

You may agree that as people become more educated and modernized the traditional fixation with male child would gradually decline.  But that doesn't seem to be showing on the ground. The worst sex ratio is in the Mumbai's South Mumbai Malabar Hill and Colaba where the most affluent and educated people live. "The ratio of perfectly normal if you step into the tribal areas around Mumbai," said Rajni Bakshi, fellow, Gateway House (India), a Mumbai think tank.

Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director at Plan India, a community development organization, is more blunt.  "We have a growing society which is killing girls in the womb," says a charged Dengle, while explaining that the conventional role of women hasn't changed much in the real India. So what's the model of prosperity for one of the world's fastest growing economy? "Education will (only) give you a platform, but you still have to take informed decision," reasons Educomp's Prakash. Spiritual guru Nikhilananda Saraswati of Chinmaya Mission pitches in by suggesting, "We have to change the paradigm of education. We need value based and informal education today." 

The other big hurdle before a healthy growth is the unstoppable corruption in the Indian society. One of the delegates asked how an Australian media outlet wrote about India being culturally corrupt. "We have a high tolerance to corruption. We don't denounce it," he says, while naming some of the politicians and even chief ministers coming back to power with majority despite corruption charges against them.  

There was also no clear cut answer at the policy level as to whether India should alleviate poverty first or focus on education or skilling? "Sustainable development actually means sustaining the values while we are developing," stresses the spiritual guru. There is a lot the private sector can do in many of the social and cultural areas. "Philanthropy is not new to this country. It goes back to years even before Europe took a lead," reminded Mario Marconi, managing director (family services) at UBS, asking why that has not gained momentum. "We have to balance the materialistic and the spiritual world," suggests Chinmaya Mission's Saraswati. 

The growth juggernaut fuelled by consumption and investment won't wait for any of these issues. Somebody has to challenge it whether it is the political society, the business society or the civil society. Anti-corruption movement, for one, is taking a lead. But what's important is that the society has to embrace it.

beyondbrics


High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/11/13/wef-india-mukesh-ambani-calls-for-private-universities/#ixzz1desi8xVH
It’s no secret that India’s education system is greatly lagging behind its rapid economic growth, booming population and ambitions as a global power.
But India’s richest man has a simple solution: change the law and let the private sector build the world-class universities the government has so far failed to fund and create.
India’s education gap has long been considered a major hindrance to the ascendance of Asia’s third largest economy to the world stage – its inability to provide a basic, let alone world-class, education to many of its citizens means it may not be able to capitalise on its much-vaunted demographic dividend.
As beyondbrics recently reported, Indian universities – because of a lack of funding, more stringent government regulations and an inability to accommodate student demand – are far behind their western couterparts.
Even with only 14 per cent of India’s roughly 97m people of higher education age enrolled in university, the country’s schools are overwhelmed.
Many top-ranked international institutions in the US and elsewhere have annual expenditures of over $3bn dollars. The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, India’s highest-ranking university, has total research funding, on the other hand, of just $36.6m for 2010-2011.
And so India’s government and industry need to work together to meet the aspirations of the country’s young, and growing, population. The best way to do that is “building a world class university,” Mukesh Ambani, billionaire chairman of Reliance Industries told investors and policymakers at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit on Sunday.
“Now in India, by law, private sector cannot build [such institutions],” he added. “We’ve talked about how important education is, and if you really want to build a not-for-profit education university, the framework doesn’t exist for that, the rules don’t exist for that, the legislation [doesn’t] exist”.
Ambani is already putting his money where his mouth is. He’s in talks with the London School of Economics to set up universities in India in conjunction with Reliance Foundation, his company’s philanthropic arm, which is run by his wife, Nita, according to the Economic Times.
He praised the efforts of Prithviraj Chavan, the chief minister of Maharashtra – the state in which lies India’s commercial centre, Mumbai, which hosted the summit – in fast-tracking the legislation that would allow Reliance and LSE to move forward with their plans.
Chavan, also seated on the panel, said the very vastness of the population such world-class universities might serve is actually what keeps the government from being able to pass legislation that will allow them to be built.
“The big challenge before the political system in India is managing the diversity in the country,” he said. “We have already got that legislation through [in Maharasthra] … the difficulty is now what kind of social justice parameters do we add into that.”
Chavan said that affirmative action programs – which reserve seats for students from historically oppressed tribes or castes – would need to be included, but that such social programs might come at the cost of high-quality investment in the field.
“International universities do not want any shackles by affirmative action programs, but how do I reconcile the two?” he said. “That is the diversity and the contradiction [of this system].”

Anna's Lokpal will cost Rs2,000 crore each year: Activists


India may have to shell out Rs2,000 crore every year to maintain the Lokpal as suggested by Anna Hazare and team, say social activists and former bureaucrats in Chennai. They also alleged that the bill, as proposed by Team Anna, had many shortcomings.
Speakers at a seminar organised by the Southern India Education Trust and the Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought among Muslims (FPMTAM), called for dismissing such proposals and, in turn, introducing amendments which would safeguard democracy and secularism in the country.
AFaizur Rehman, secretary general, FPMTAM, described Lokpal as a behemoth, and wanted to know if it was wise to dedicate an annual budget of 0.25% of India’s gross annual revenue for it. “The bill’s drafters should explain the rationale behind the demand,” he said.
Veteran bureaucrat MR Sivaraman, former Union revenue secretary, said the bill has ignored the fact that corruption has two sides — the giver and the taker. “The guilt of the former has been left out completely,” he said. He also opposed granting powers to Lokpal for tapping telephones.

India to tie up with Oz state in infra, finance and sports


New South Wales is poised to be the new face of Australia for India when it comes to development, according to Barry O’Farrell, who is premier of the southeastern state of the continent-country.
The 52-year-old leader of South Wales’s liberal party told to Business Standard his state was working out partnerships with India in infrastructure, finance, sports and education.

“There is a 30-member trade delegation from New South Wales here in India to give a glimpse of the array of opportunities we offer,” he said. The modern trade investment, he added, was “all about partnerships”. The Conferederation of Indian Industry was visiting Sydney to explore the opportunities.
O’Farrell said the response from Indian companies had been “good”. He has already held met with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma and Godrej Group of Industries chairman, Adi Godrej. Infrastructure is also an area where New South Wales is looking for Indian partners. “We are looking for investors for our state infrastructure projects. Also, engineering and construction companies from my state are looking to partner with India,” he added.
O’Farrell termed Australia’s ban on uranium sale to India as “stupid”, and hoped it would be lifted. “I believe that the ban will end when a new federal government is elected in Australia. But, yes, I want the existing government to make the change.”
Education is also a crucial sector that New South Wales is promoting. Farrell said it would take a while before the memory of the past attacks on Indian students fade, but said the issue had been addressed.
“New South Wales is an extremely safe place for the Indian students. We cannot be held liable for the past incidents in other states,” he said.
O’Farell said the Mumbai Cricket Association and Cricket New South Wales will from now collaborate in a big way. Apart from the exchange of coaching techniques and facilities between the two partners, an MoU to be signed on this tomorrow will concentrate on the partnership between the two nations, especially on injuries to the players. “We want that your cricketers should have long careers,” he said.

Students on yatra to force Centre to hike education spending

CHENNAI: Nine children who are on a nine-day rail yatra from Kanyakumari to New Delhi reached Chennai on Sunday. They are travelling across the country to put pressure on the central government to keep its promise of setting aside 9% of the GDP for education and health. 

"The central government has promised 6% for education and 3% for health. The yatra is to force the government to deliver its promise," saidJainab Hartoon, a class 11 student from a village in Meerut. 

Around 3.1% of the GDP goes to education and less than 2% to health. Around Rs 21,000 crore was spent for primary education last year. "Even 9% may not be enough for a country like India, but it's a start," said national convener of the rail yatra Thomas Pallithanam. 

In Tamil Nadu, access to school, enrollment rate and teacher absenteeism are not problems. The problem is what they do after they reach the classroom. "The teacher is just sitting in the classroom doing nothing," said Sarguna Pandian, a class 9 student from a village in Salem. This is reflected in a survey done in November 2010 by a non-governmental organization, ASER Centre. About 69% of class 5 students cannot read a story in Tamil, their first language. About 40% of class 5 and 58% of class 4 children cannot subtract two digit numbers. AID India director Balaji Sampath said the government has no mechanism to find out how well students do. "They only look at enrolment rate, teacher absenteeism and drop out levels. On all these counts, our state has been doing pretty well. It doesn't reflect the quality of education," he said. 

Bangalore creates world record in diabetes check-up


While the world was waging a battle against diabetes, Silicon City was engrossed in creating a Guinness World Record for diabetes check-up. On Sunday, a whopping 3,573 people were screened at the Palace Grounds and tests were conducted. Bangalore created a record when blood glucose level tests were conducted and measured in eight hours.
The event, organised by Novo Nordisk Education Foundation, on the eve of World Diabetes Day, set a record of the largest number of people tested for blood sugar levels.
“Diabetes is a growing malady that is destroying the lives of millions, thanks to the sedentary lifestyles. We have a responsibility to educate people with ways and means to tackle the epidemic,” said Bhaskar Rao, inspector general of police (anti-terrorist cell), Internal Security Division.
Melvin D’Souza, managing trustee, Novo Nordisk Education Foundation and MD of Nordisk India, received a certificate from officials of the Guinness Book of Records, UK. “More than 62 million people suffer from diabetes in India. Despite an adult prevalence rate of 6.2%, only 6 million to 7 million people get treated. The first step is to increase awareness about diabetes and detect it earlier. The Guinness Record is only one of the many activities we have undertaken. Our changing diabetes barometer project, with state government support, reaches people in rural areas also,” he said.
On the researchundertaken by the NNEF, he said, “Our research and educational grant programme Prerana encourages healthcare professionals to come up with ideas to change the management and, consequently, the outcome of diabetes in the country.”
The previous record was held by Kuwait where1,290 were screened for blood glucose levels in September. “Today, we beat them with a record number of 3,573 people. This was possible as we coordinated with various institutions like MS Ramaiah Institute, Victoria Hospital, and Bowring Hospital,” said Anupama Rao, project 
coordinator.