Think India Foundation

Managing Indian cities

The Indian Institute for Human Settlements(IIHS) is accepting applications for its 'Programme for Working Professionals in Urban Development (PWP-UD )' scheduled to run from September 2013 to August 2014. The PWP-UD is an, inter-disciplinary , practice-based programme that allows participants to build upon their existing backgrounds to specialise in urban practice. 

Taught by a diverse faculty of leading academics and practitioners, it is designed to focus on applied learning and skill-development necessary for finding effective, sustainable and integrated solutions to problems facing Indian cities. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mixed reactions to DU's 4-yr graduation move

PATNA: The Delhi University's move to replace the traditional three-year graduation courses with a fresh four-year programme has evoked mixed response in Patna from where hundreds of undergrads go to Delhi University for further studies every year.

The new curriculum will have 11 foundation courses in Modern Indian Language, Information Technology, Business Entrepreneurship and Management, Communication Skills, Geography, History, Culture and Civilization and Environment and Public Health. All the foundation courses are compulsory, irrespective of the discipline the student is pursuing. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Vijnan Parishat to broaden its horizon

BANGALORE: Karnataka Rajya Vijnana Parishat(KRVP) has been instrumental in spreading science in abolition of blind practices in Karnataka reached a mile stone on Thursday with the extension of its head office building. 

The Parishat played a major role in promotion of science in rural Karnataka, and guiding the students on various streams of science ranging from psychology to space technology. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

AOF to upgrade computer unit

BHUBANESWAR : Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) has announced plans for upgrading  the computer centre of the Palli Unnayan Seva Samiti, an institution working with education and development of children belonging to underprivileged sections, into a Centre for Excellence in Information Technology.

 The CSR arm of Amway India will provide all infrastructure and equipment for the purpose. The AOF also presented educational aid to the organisation at a function attended by additional DCP S K Das, secretary PUSS Swati Suchismita Patra and area manager Amway India Sridipta Sinha. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Workshop on Computational Chemistry from month-end at Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute for Basic Sciences is organising a four-day national workshop on Computational Chemistry here from the month-end.

Computational Chemistry is a branch of Chemistry that uses the principles of Computer Science for solving chemical problems. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

MKU announces creation of two more schools

MADURAI: Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) on Friday announced the creation of two new schools taking the total number of schools in the university to 20.

The two new schools - School of Information Technology and School of Youth Empowerment - were approved during the academic council meeting and senate meetings held during the day. The university's syndicate had already given its nod for the two schools. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Google India To Train Engineering Students In Andhra Pradesh On Cloud & Mobile Computing

Google India has taken an important steps to educate engineering students in Andhra Pradesh on latest technologies in the cloud and mobile domain. The company has signed MoU with the Government of AP to train students of the Jawahar Knowledge Centres (JKC) which is run in select engineering colleges across AP. As a part of the agreement, Google will train the trainers & mentors at the AP Society For Knowledge Networks (APSFKNW) and also offer required Google services & software absolutely free of cost to the students. Office of Minister for Information Technology, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, has confirmed the development.

The MoU was signed between IT minister & Nelson Mattos, VP (Europe & Emerging Markets) Google. The state government has allotted 20 acres of land to Google India to setup their campus. The company, in return, has committed to employ 6000 software engineers. Read more

Source : www.crazyengineers.com

Few takers for govt panel report on HEPs

VARANASI: Noted environmental scientist of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) expert Prof BD Tripathi has outrightly rejected inter-ministerial group recommendation of re-engineering hydro electric projects to maintain 30-50% water flow during the lean period of December-March. The group was headed by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi. 

"It is not a question of merely maintaining Ganga's water flow. The quality and character of water flowing in the river is equally important," said Prof Tripathi. Rejecting Chaturvedi panel's report he said it was not in the interest of Ganga and described it as a "sarkari report" prepared to suit the government. Several environmentalists, including director general of Centre for Science and Environment Sunita Narain and Tarun Bharat Sangh chief 'Waterman' Rajendra Singh have already objected to the report. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India can create world class varsities, says President

Silchar (Assam) : Emphasising on bringing higher education closer to common man, President Pranab Mukherjee said the dream of creating world class universities in India is an achievable aspiration.

"We must remember that once we had world class universities in Nalanda and Takshashila where brilliant minds of the world came for acquiring education. Therefore, the dream of creating world class universities in India is an achievable aspiration," he told the 13th annual convocation of Assam University in Silchar town of North Eastern Indian state of Assam. Read more

Source : indiatoday.intoday.in

JEE Main students can now review scores

 New Delhi : In a move that will bring relief to many students, who scored lower than expected in the Joint Engineering Examination (JEE) Main exam, the Central Bureau of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to give them a chance to review their scores. In a notification late on Monday evening, CBSE announced that the exam’s answer key will be released to students.

The notification, published on www.jeemain.nic.in, states that students can obtain a copy of their OMR sheet, answer key and calculation sheet by paying a fee of Rs. 500. The deadline to apply for these materials is June 15. However, it does not address the issue of extension of deadline for students to register for the JEE Advanced. The exam, which is the second-level for admission to IITs, can only be given by the top 1.5 lakh students in JEE Main. However, since many are awaiting a correction in scores, they have missed the JEE Advanced registration deadline of May 13. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Merit bar to go higher in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: With over 29,000 more students clearing the HSC examination this year compared to the previous year, the merit bar is likely to go up by three to five marks. For instance, it will be tougher than ever to enroll into an MBBS course.

Officials said that this year 1.05 lakh students passed the HSC (science) exam as compared to 76,333 students who cleared the exam in 2012. This means that 29,085 more students are vying for admissions this year. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

All India CA Exam Postponed Due To Paper Leakage @ Mumbai University

The CA (Chartered Accountant) examination which had to be held on Wednesday i.e. 15th May has been postponed due to the paper leakage in Mumbai University. The paper leakage has gone viral. The nation wide CA exam has been pushed behind as the wrong question paper given out in a city college on Monday afternoon.

Close to 1.37 lakh students are taking the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Course that is a level below the CA final exam. Read more

Source : education.oneindia.in

Students becoming more choosy for Engineering Courses

After appearing number of engineering entrance exams, students must be fretting over which college they will get admission into. Though everyone has half eyes on the top colleges, many will not make the cut.

One of the most common reasons for not getting admission in an institute is the rank one scores in the entrance test. Over 5 lakh students give the JEE entrance exam every year to get into the IITs, but the seat available are only 10,000. Read more

Source : education.oneindia.in

India seeks US collaboration in education sector

Washington : India has sought academic collaboration with various US institutions to leverage the full potential of the education sector to meet the increasing needs of both the countries, particularly in the fields of information and technology.

The digital world is challenging the traditional lecture-driven teaching in universities. (Reuters) 

"Our academic institutions have been slow to leverage the potential of technology for education. Knowledge networks that link research in the grand challenges of the world have also been slow to develop," Minister of India for human resources development, M Pallam Raju said yesterday. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

UPA on media blitz to showcase its feats

NEW DELHI: I&B minister Manish Tewari on Monday launched a multi-media initiative with the theme 'Glimpses of the India Story' to showcase the achievements and highlights of nine years of UPA rule. 

The publicity campaign seeks to highlight the impact of policy decisions at the ground level for inclusive growth and participatory governance. The ad spots have been directed by Pradeep Sarkar of 'Parineeta' fame while the radio jingles have been written by Javed Akhtar and sung by Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Act like pro-reform activist, Kiran Bedi tells media

Chandigarh : Social activist and former police officer Kiran Bedi on Sunday asked the Indian media to assume the role of a pro-reform and pro-democracy activist in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a seminar on the issue of Communication and Ethics at Panjab University, she said mediapersons must redeem their profession and play the role of an ombudsman over the media firmament of the country.

The seminar was organised by Chandigarh Journalists Association. Referring to recent resignations of two union ministers, she said, had the media been truly active, this corruption would have been exposed earlier. She regretted that the media is not looking at places where facts are being hidden. Dr Bedi exhorted media persons to see what unethical practices are going on in various organs of the media. The watchdog mechanism must draw information and support from citizenry. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Behind fall of a Meghalaya univ, rise and rise of a ‘chancellor’

Guwahati : If PhD degrees in one year to 434 candidates is a "feat" for which CMJ University in Shillong now finds its doors sealed, the growth of its chancellor in the field of academics has not been any less exponential.

Till the early 1980s, as far as anyone can remember, Chandra Mohan Jha was a petty government contractor. By the time he moved on to his first educational ventures, the North East India Trust for Education and Development (NEITED), in 1999-2000, he had managed to rope in former CM D D Lapang as a chairman. The trust landed in a controversy over use of funds and Lapang resigned soon after. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Gurgaon, the mecca of education

With state-of-the-art infrastructure, more than 30 educational institutes and a wide assortment of professional courses being offered at a cheaper cost - Gurgaon has rightfully earned a berth in the hallowed list of hot education destinations.

The fact that it has already been recognised as one of the preferred medical destinations further consolidates Gurgaon's position on the global map as one of the best places to live in. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Half-baked reforms in school education must go

The Standing Committee of MPs for the Ministry of Human Resource Development has asked the ministry to re-look at the ‘no failure and detention’ policy up to Class VIII. This was enthusiastically publicised as a great educational reform by Kapil Sibal who made the Class X Board examination optional.

The RTE Act prescribed norms that are, after over three years of implementation, being fulfilled by not more than 8-10 per cent of the schools in the country. Even during the first three years, the quality of learner attainment has steadily declined. Over 12 lakh positions of school teachers are still lying vacant. The Act presumed that everything is hunky-dory. The CBSE, under the effective control of the MHRD, meekly echoed the directions it received from the ministry and announced immediate implementation of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Plants being used as alternate source to generate electricity

Washington: Researchers led by an Indian origin professor at the University of Georgia are developing a new technology that will make it possible for plants to generate electricity. "Clean energy is the need of the century," Ramaraja Ramasamy, assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering and the corresponding author of the paper said. 

"This approach may one day transform our ability to generate cleaner power from sunlight using plant-based systems," he said. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

WB-assisted centres of excellence a matter of honour, says CoEP

The College of Engineering Pune (CoEP), which has earned two centres of excellence on its campus under the World Bank-assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), has called it a honour as well as a responsibility.

The CoEP centres for excellence for inter-disciplinary research, will focus on 'smart renewable energy' and 'signal and image processing'. Other notable institutes have got the nod for only a single centre each under the TEQIP of the Government of India. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

US varsity invite for UP minister

Lucknow : 

Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Shiv Pal Singh Yadav has been invited by the US' John Hopkins University to share his experiences on flood control and expediting a water sector restructuring project in his state, an official said Thursday.

The invitation comes weeks after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav cancelled his lecture at the Harvard Business School to protest the "extended frisking" of Urban Development Minister Azam Khan at a Boston airport. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Micro-finance mooted for French citizens in Karaikal

PUDUCHERRY : Ambassador of France to India Francois Richier discussed collaborative projects in heritage preservation, education, urban development and measures to be adopted to attract French investment at separate meetings with the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Iqbal Singh and Chief Minister N Rangasamy here on Wednesday. Richier announced this after the meeting in the presence of French Counsel General of Puducherry Pierre Fournier.

Ambassador of France to India Francois Richier with Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh in Puducherry on Wednesday | EPS

Speaking to reporters, Richier said he discussed how to bring French investment to India by simplifying the procedures and adopting fast track procedures. Richier informed that he would visit Karaikal on Thursday, where 500 French citizens live. He would explore the possibilities for improving the French school there and speedy visa clearance for the French teachers for the school. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Logjam frustrates educational reform plans: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi : Six months after he made a comeback to the union council of ministers, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said that his stint as the minister of state for HRD has turned out to be "frustrating."

Unable to realise even a single educational reform he had planned since he took over, Tharoor told  that the country’s education system has become the biggest casualty of constant disruption of the Parliament sessions. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Disappointing: Only 400 of 24K clear IIT-JEE mains in Pune

Pune : Tutorials advise students to study in systematic way.

The city has fared poorly in the IIT-JEE main examination 2013 as only 400 students qualified for the supreme engineering test.

As many as 24,000 students had appeared for the examination this year whose results were out on Tuesday. The cut-off marks for the examination was 113 out of 360 and the advanced test will be held on June 2, 2013. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

NESO urges PM to address immigration issue in Northeast

New Delhi : North East Students' Organisation today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take urgent steps to solve the problem of illegal immigration in the region saying due to continuous influx, the indigenous people have become minorities in their homeland. 

During their 15-minute meeting with the Prime Minister, the apex body of students unions of all Northeastern states also requested him not to abolish the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region as widely reported in the region. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

French Envoy stresses on cooperation for dev in Puducherry

Puducherry : On a week-long visit here, French Ambassador to India Francois Richier today laid emphasis on cooperation between France and the Union Territory of Puducherry in fields like education and tourism. 

The Union Territory has greater scope for development through cooperation between France and Puducherry in the fields of education, tourism and other sectors, he told reporters after meeting LT Governor Iqbal Singh and Chief Minister N Rangasamy. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Gujarat firm to design new Nalanda University campus

AHMEDABAD/PATNA: Although Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar do not see eye to eye on development, it seems that ideas to make Bihar better frequently emerge from Gujarat. A Gujarat-based consultancy firm, Vastu Shilpa consultants - mentored by architect B V Doshi - has been asked to design the prestigious Nalanda International University in Patna.

Not too long ago, the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Cept) University was selected to prepare a city development plan for Patna. As for the Nalanda project the consultant was selected by a jury in New Delhi, said the university's vice chancellor, Gopa Sabharwal. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India, US joint research gets fresh leg up

New Delhi : India and the US will announce eight new agreements between top research universities at a summit level meet in June in a bid to give fresh impetus to their education diplomacy under the $10 mn Singh Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative. 

Eight Indian universities will each tie up with an American university handpicked by top researchers in the latest phase of the initiative, named after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama. The universities will collaborate on research projects on climate change, demographic gains, public health, sustainable infrastructure development, renewable energy and agriculture education. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Leadership training held for employees of Assam PSUs

Dimapur : IIM Shillong the premiere management Institute located in Northeast India recently concluded a five day Management Development Program on “Transformational Leadership & Enterprise Resource Planning,” for senior manager level employees of various Public Sector Enterprises of the Government of Assam at its Mayurbhanj Palace campus.

A press note received here stated that the program was aimed at exposing participants to topics like Business Process Re-engineering, Change Management, ERP implementation and selection strategies, appraisal of Global business environment and performing sustainable business activities by ways of interactive sessions and group exercises. Read more

Source : www.morungexpress.com

Afforestt creates first urban jungle in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram : 

Bangalore-based company Afforestt, that works to revive forests, Saturday took the initiative to grow an "urban jungle" in the campus of an educational institution here.

"We work towards creating maintenance free, self-sustainable and greenery that will bring back our rich bio-diversity," said Shubhendu Sharma, founder and director of Afforestt. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Without DU diligence

The debate over reforms reflects the pathologies of our larger politics

To assume that a high-end undergraduate degree, aiming at global benchmarking and a stream that allows students to drop out after two or three years, should be one integrated programme is to live in a pedagogic fantasy land: it risks diminishing the standards for real honours students and leaving behind those who are not inclined to be challenged. There will be no pedagogic identity left to the university.

The debate over reforms in Delhi University is not just a matter of parochial university politics. At stake is the future of the last of the great surviving public universities in India. Reform in the university was long overdue. But the nature of the reforms runs the risk of making DU irretrievable. Parents are already worrying whether DU will remain a viable option. But in a strange way, the politics around this reform has also become a microcosm of the pathologies around reform politics. Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

Education City to host pvt, govt varsities

Gurgaon : The Millennium City, a potential education hub, is likely to get its first-ever Education City in Sector 68. 

According to the master plan of the Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex of 2031, 470 acres have been earmarked for the Education City by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda). Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Campus Front protests against invalid cheques distribution to minority students

Murshidabad: Campus Front of India, West Bengal state committee organized a Dharna to protest in front of DM office at Berhampur in Mursidabad against invalid cheques distribution to minority students.

78000 cheques given in pre-matric scholarships to minority students in West Bengal have either been deemed invalid or bounced. West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) have distributed the pre-matric scholarship for the year 2012-13 to nearly 12 lakhs minority students. Read more

Source : twocircles.net

India's literacy rate rises to 73 per cent as population growth dips

This is one slump in growth rate that the nation can rejoice over. According to the Census of 2001- 2011, India's population has grown at 17.7 per cent as against 21.5 per cent in the decade. 

The child gender ratio has slipped by eight points from 927 in 2001 to 919 in 2011

The country's population at present is 1.21 billion, an increase of 181.96 million since 2001. What is even more comforting for the country's planners is the fact that female growth rate has been better than male growth rate. Read more

Source : www.dailymail.co.uk

Urban-rural gap in literacy rates on the decline

NEW DELHI : The latest statistics from the 2011 Census showed a positive development in female literacy. More number of females have become literate compared to males in the decade 2001-2011.

Any person aged 7 and above is considered literate, if he or she can read and write, with understanding, in any language. The largest increase in literacy rate was noticed in Dadra & Nagar Haveli by 18.6 points - significant growth from 57.6 per cent in 2001 to 76.2 per cent in 2011 and Bihar by 14.8 points - from 47.0 per cent in last census in 2001 to 61.8 per cent in 2011. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

The making of a city

How cities grow depends a lot on land ownership patterns in the surrounding rural areas.

There are many drivers of migration. Key among them are education and the reluctance to return.

The urban challenge in India is usually addressed in policy circles by focusing on cities alone. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

ETC joins world seminaries on child dev

Dimapur : An inaugural programme was organized by the department of ILEMA to mark the introduction of the Master of Arts in Holistic Child Development (MA-HCD) at Cooks Chapel Hall, Eastern Theological College (ETC), Jorhat on April 28. 

ETC Campus children presenting a special song during the inaugural programme of launching the Master of Arts in Holistic Child Development at Cooks Chapel Hall, Eastern Theological College (ETC), Jorhat on April 28.

 Dr. Dan Brewster, Director, International Academic Programmes, Compassion International who initiated and helped launch this programme at ETC attended the event. In his speech Dr. Dan Brewster, who travelled to more than one hundred countries during the last 29 years for the cause of children said, “In 2008 I planted a tiny seed at ETC and it is happening to grow today. Children are in a big trouble everywhere, not because of their fault. They are suffering and starving people group, and they are unwanted and exploited generation. Our children of North East India are crying tonight and God wants us to hear the cry of every child because they are the future of the Church and our society.” Read more

Source : www.morungexpress.com

WBMDFC to provide coaching to minorities for Group D jobs

Kolkata: West Bengal Minorities Development Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) is going to provide free information for the jobs, as well as coaching to minority youths for the Group – D jobs, constable, and security guards in government as well as private sectors.

WBMDFC has also been preparing students for the union public service commission examinations (UPSC) and WBCS (West Bengal Civil Service) in collaboration with Aliah University. Read more

Source : twocircles.net

Creating a breed of cyber warriors

EC Council and IANT to train over 10,000 students across India in information security domain.

The EC Council is joining hands with the Institute of Advance Network Technology (IANT) to train over 10,000 students and professionals across India in information security domain, with an aim to create cyber warriors to fight global cyber war. EC Council is an international provider of certifications and training in the information security domain.

The students will be trained in EC-Council’s certified ethical hacker and secure coding programs as part of IANT’s academic curricula. Students at IANT’s 100+ institutes across India including Pune will go through an intensive course in Certified ethical hacker (CEH) and EC-Council certified secure programmer (ECSP). Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

Odisha government gets poor response to exam reforms

BHUBANESWAR: The state government's notice inviting suggestions from people by April 15 to reform the Plus II examination has evoked a poor response. Government sources said less than 70 persons offered their ideas in response to the higher education department's notice.

Higher education secretary Gagan Dhal had asked educationists, vice-chancellors, administrators, people's representatives, students and mediapersons to offer suggestions on the examination reforms. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

PCS opposed to exam for promotion

Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Service (PCS) Sangh at its important meeting held here on Saturday opposed strongly the provision of compulsory examination for promoting PCS officers to IAS cadre. The sangh said PCS cadre officers are selected at different levels through examinations conducted by State Public Service Commission which is a Constitutional institution. They said conducting another examination for promoting PCS officers to IAS cadre who had been already been selected by Public Service Commission puts a question-mark on the commission. The sangh has taken a decision to oppose this new arrangement by requesting chief minister and the Central government not to implement it.

Mega Job Fair: On the second day of the two-day 'Mega job fair-2013' being held at R R Institute of Modern Technology, a number of students appeared for pre-examination and interview through registration. Habibul Hasan, superintendent of police, trans-Gomti and Shahab Rasheed Khan, additional additional superintendent of police, Special Task Force, who were the chief guest and special guest, respectively on the last day of the event, congratulated 413 students selected by different companies and prayed for their bright future. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Arriving Millions

Multitudes have to be connected to modernity for our great leap forward

A group of BPO recruits at a training session in Uttarakhand

It has become a cliche to speak of India as a land of paradoxes. The old joke about our country is that anything you say about India, the opposite is also true. We like to think of ourselves as an ancient civilisation but we are also a young republic; our IT experts stride confidently into the twenty-first century but much of our population seems to live in each of the other twenty centuries. Quite often, the opposites coexist quite cheerfully. One of my favourite images of India is from the last Kumbh Mela, of a naked sadhu, straight out of central casting, with matted hair, ash-smeared forehead and scraggly beard, a rudraksha mala around his scrawny neck and a distant gaze in his eyes, for all the world a picture of timeless other-worldliness, chatting away on a mobile phone.

Young Indians are growing into such a paradoxical India. What are the prospects for the expansion of the participative political space in tomorrow’s India, say over the next two decades? To me this desirable objective requires both growth and equity. It is happening, but there’s still a lot that needs to be done before we get there. Read more

Source : www.outlookindia.com

Slum kids get a reason to dance at Nagpur

NAGPUR: With no fancy trappings of the high-end dance workshops being held in the city, the event at Wankar Bhavan in Laxmi Nagar was one of its kind. Organized by the Slum Development Committee of Rotary Club of Nagpur, in association with Bivash Academy of Dance, Kolkata, 'Dancing Stars' was for the underprivileged kids from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) schools and slums around the city.

To encourage these kids, the club has been organizing cultural programmes on festive occasions. "But through this activity we decided to widen the scope and provide a bigger platform to them," said Atul Shah, president of the club. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

78000 cheques given in pre-matric scholarships to minority students in WB are invalid

Kolkata: 78000 cheques given in pre-matric scholarships to minority students in West Bengal have either been deemed invalid or bounced.

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal during the distribution of pre-matric scholarships to minority students at the Netaji Indore stadium, Kolkata (Photo: Rahul Chattopadhyay).

West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) have disbursed the pre-matric scholarship for the year 2012-13 to nearly 12 lakhs minority students. Read more

Source : twocircles.net

Only 25% of Indian have access to modern health care: Union minister

CHENNAI: To achieve significant progress in implementation of National Rural Health Mission and in higher education, the private sector needs to play an pro-active role, said Dr M Mangapati Raju, Union minister of human resource development on Saturday. "No doubt that the government has to facilitate an incentivizing mechanism to involve private sector. Government of India had taken a policy decision of developing public private partnership models in all these activities. I hop these models may attract more private sector participation during the XII Plan period," he said addressing the 17th convocation of Sri Ramachandra University, Porur. 

Only 25% of the Indian population have access to the modern tertiary health care, which is practiced mainly in urban areas, where two thirds of India's hospitals and health centres ate located, Raju said "India also lags behind the developed nations in the doctor-patient ratio. There is one doctor for 1,953 people or a density of 0.5 doctors per 1,000 population coupled with acute shortage of nurses and health delivery personnel. There is an urgent need for strengthening public health through creation of necessary human resource capacity at all levels," he said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

NEET deferral in Karnataka illegal, claim aspirants, parents

HYDERABAD : The first-ever NEET exam, to be held on May 5 across the country, has been postponed in Karnataka in view of Assembly polls, raising fears that candidates in the neighbouring State may gain undue advantage

With the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG), for admission to medical and dental courses, being postponed in Karnataka in view of the Assembly elections, candidates here have raised fears that aspirants from the neighbouring State may gain undue advantage. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Indian students can work for 6 yrs in the UK after graduation: James Bevan

British diplomat says change in visa norms have affected influx of students.

James Bevan

Describing the perception that ‘Indians could no longer work in the UK after graduation’ as a ‘myth’, British high commissioner to India James Bevan said that in fact it is quite the opposite scenario. 

Indian students could work for up to six years after graduating, provided they get ‘graduate-level jobs’ that pay at least £25,000 a year, according to Bevan. He spoke on Wednesday during a press conference held in a city hotel. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

K'taka polls: Cong promises rice at Re 1 a kg, interest-free farm loan

The party is seeking to return to power after a gap of seven years

The Congress on Wednesday unveiled a series of promises to the citizens of Karnataka, including 1 kg rice at Re 1 with a maximum of 30 kg for below poverty line card holders, interest-free loans to farmers and free laptops to pre-university students, if it returns to power. Assembly elections are being held on May 5.

The party, which is seeking to return to power after a gap of seven years, has also promised to develop an 8-lane expressway between Bidar in the North to Chamarajanagar in the South to promote industrial development. Connectivity with major ports and airports, industrial townships, promotion of garments, textiles, engineering, automobile industries and creation of 5 million jobs are some of the other promises included in the party's pre-poll manifesto. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

NIELIT partners Wheebox to develop web portal for students

BANGALORE, INDIA: National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (under the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY)) and Wheebox.Com, International Talent Assessment Company, have launched the NIELIT Web Portal that will provide an online assessment test on English and Cognitive abilities for all candidates pursuing O, A and B Level Courses from NIELIT.

The portal will provide an online assessment test on English and Cognitive abilities for all candidates pursuing O, A and B Level Courses from NIELIT

The portal was launched by Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology. Sibal said, "the sustainable efforts of NIELIT would help in eliminating digital illiteracy." Read more

Source : www.ciol.com