Education: Neglected Priorities

Posted on June 6, 2012 by indra

In all the hue and cry of IIT-JEE 2013 and RTE, Mr. Sibal and his HRD ministry has overlooked the core issue of education. What must be the priority for education in the larger national interest? WHERE MUST THE GOVERNMENT AND THE SOCIETY FOCUS?

Many and I too, believe that work on education in the metro and urban sector is generally on track. Even if the government schools are not up to the mark, the rise of private sector in education is significant in urban India. Many private institutions, the costliest in the world class category as well as the cheap ones, have come up and are further getting added. Many have started to think differently about the methodologies for imparting knowledge and to find better ways to make the children learn instead of the traditional rote way. Many are getting inspired from the work being done in developed countries. Innovative approaches are being tried. Many agencies, individual NGOs and even corporate houses are actively getting associated with education.

However, the rural India is not getting the due attention from the private sector and without the same nothing significant will be achieved as it constitutes the major population the country. Education in the rural India depends almost totally on the government schools. The system might have covered the population but the quality is suspect with the deteriorated discipline among the teachers and the society getting exponentially disenchanted with the present system of education.

Over the years, the better offs or so-called upper castes with sufficient landholdings and living still in the rural India are not having the same emphasis on the education of their children as they did in past.

Women are still the largest among the illiterate mass contributing hardly anything to the family earning or even managing the home budget. The work on the education or skill training of grown up mothers who had to drop out for many reasons is hardly there. So is the case of SC, ST, handicapped and even Muslim families with no land holding and totally dependent on the temporary engagement for menial work for earning the livelihood. The drive to educate these groups would have been taken up with the seriousness of the project to eliminate polio from the country. For example, Nitish instead of distributing transistor radio sets to Mahadalit would have also ensured setting up of radio stations providing education in an innovative enough manner so that the users of those transistor radios get enlightened and benefited with a change in their mindsets about the necessity of the education that is free and that will take the generations out of poverty.

Unfortunately, it appears the politicians and religious gurus wish to keep these deprived groups in rural India illiterate and ignorant perpetually as otherwise they will go out of job and flouring livelihood. With good education, they will not be brought under their influence and serve their vested interests.

I find hope in two recent news reports: Premji had recently organized a meet of super rich of the country for charity for the society. The government plans to make CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) as mandatory. Can the top 100 corporate houses of India and the extended business community focus on quality rural education and skill training for every one?

It is the only way that rural India can start participating in the growth of India with least physical doles and subsidies from the government.

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IITs: The Way for Entrance in 2013

Posted on June 4, 2012 by indra

IIT-JEE 2013 will be different. Instead of just one examination, the candidate will have to perform in three, the board examination, as well as one main and an advance test conducted on the same day.

Why should Kapil Sibal and his HRD ministry instead of facilitating IITs to grow and go global keep on interfering with its already well-established system of the entrance examination? Is that so critical an issue for the country? India by now has 16 IITs. The older ones are known and respected world over. The newer ones under the mentorship of old ones, will get assimilated into the brand.

Why has Mr. Sibal stirred the hornet’s nest?

Will the new entrance system improve the quality of incoming candidates?

Will the schools, particularly in rural India, improve the quality of teaching because of the performance of its students of class XII in the board examination is getting weightage?

With the menace of the unscrupulous coaching industry get reduced? Perhaps the answer for all the questions will tilt towards a doubtful yes.

The coaching industry has already prepared itself and communicated well through media. It will improve its margin with hardly any further value addition than it does today. It will be costlier and exclusive for richer section of the population. It will be a further drain even for the middle class.

The media has reported the opposition to the new idea of Sibal. A distinguished alumnus, a former director of an IIT, and many columnists, have expressed their opposition to the new system. The faculty members, alumni associations and the students of IITs and parents have protested and threatened to go to the court.

Mr. Sibal, who couldn’t stand the onslaught on the issue of cartoons in text book recently, perhaps will have to surrender again. As such he has already respectability among the elite groups that matter.

IIT-JEE is an established system, perhaps the toughest one in the world. It has been greatly respected with no scam till date.
Instead of getting into the controversy, the HRD ministry would have spared IITs and let it’s JEE system evolve as it has already done. It should be left to the IIT council consisting of the faculty members, representative of alumni and industry to continue with the task, if necessary.

However, as only small percentages of successful students of IIT-JEE get into IITs, any college including the private ones should be free to admit the students based on the scores in IIT-JEE. If these colleges build an image of its teaching quality and provide world class infrastructure, many students not getting the branches of choice may join them. It will improve capacity in more sought after branches.

The colleges such as BITS, Pilani or BIT, Ranchi and many others that have established a reputation can join the group. It will bring a competition in attracting good students.

Mr.Sibal and his ministry of HRD must focus on facilitating IITs to become the best institute with its quality of produce. Let IITs be more autonomous in real sense of the term. Let it focus on research and development and innovation. Let it have the newer branches of technologies. Let it attract the best teachers from world over?

Will Mr. Sibal create better hostel facilities for students so that an engineering student get a room each as was the case in our days? Can he get a super specialty hospital and medical college serving the community around, integrated in each IIT?

Let Mr. Sibal work for a better industry and institute tie-ups? Let him make it attractive to the best students from the developed and developing nations.

Mr. Sibal! Please let IITs be on its own for JEE.

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Higher Education –Some Myths

Posted on June 1, 2012 by indra

Indians in general must go for a change in perception about education and its various aspects. Some myths must die.

Every student and more so his parents do everything to get his ward admitted in the best college, say IITs for engineering. It’s stressing both physically and mentally. It’s a drain on hard earned money too. Same is the case with those joining medicine or other professional institutes for higher education. Does the name of college that one student attend matter? I shall like to narrate my story. I wish it provides the guideline.

While I graduated from IIT, Kharagpur and my eldest son followed me by getting in there after 28 years, the second one went to BIT, Ranchi and the third one through state JEE got admitted in REC (Now NIT) Kurukshetra. Perhaps as I was in manufacturing sector, they all picked up mechanical engineering. After graduation, while the eldest got a job offer from Bajaj Auto, the second one got into Tata Tinplate and Tata Elexi, and the youngest in L&T. All the three are in 40s today. After finishing their MS in different subjects from Purdue, San Francisco and Arizona University, they all are engaged in US. My eldest daughter-in-law graduated in metallurgy from REC, Jamshedpur, did her MS from Dallas and presently working for an Irish company from US. She might be in the best in status and the best paid among them.

I don’t think the college they graduated mattered nor did the marks they obtained in school and board in the professional careers of all five. Even if they would have decided to remain in India, they would have been well off but for the quality of life. Why do we, Indian parents worry so much about the marks or grade differential even beyond decimals?

I have some more engineers from the private institutes of India in my extended family. The two sons of my cousin in Vadodara studied and passed out from government and private engineering colleges of Gujarat. They completed their masters and now employed. To my surprise, one of them plans to join faculty of engineering college. They are hardworking and leading a pretty well life. Let the parents and the students understand that the institutes contribute pretty little. The important for success is one’s hard work, perseverance, will power and self confidence. My advice is to work hard to get into the best ranking institute. But do not unnecessarily stress yourself and get worried if you fail to get into an institute of your choice. Don’t waste another year for getting into that.

I have seen parents and students both grieving over the branch of study that are available in the institute they have got. It hardly matters if you get into chemical, metallurgy or even agricultural engineering. Why should you not get into three years physics course in IIT, if you have been offered one? Take any branch that you get but do really good in that. What is important is the intense learning of the subject that you are pursuing and be the best in it.

Except for few, all the professional institutes, even in private sector, provide ample opportunity to master the subject and achieve excellence. However, one must get into the best available and affordable.

However, every one today need excellence in certain soft skill on which some institutes are still not focusing. For a successful career or perhaps even for succeeding in one’s own business, the skill in communication (speaking, presentation) particularly in English that has become the language for business, and sufficient working knowledge of computer applications are essential. If the institute doesn’t have the facility, one must join some good institutes in the locality that provide it and be proficient.

I don’t agree with dropping out for getting into business. The examples of Apple’s Steve Jobs, Microsoft’s Bill Gates or Face book’s Zuckerberg who didn’t pursue the formal higher education need to be taken in right spirit. Education must provide the passion for knowledge and its application. It comes from within. It can happen with anyone.

It is unfortunate that many in industry hardly pursue the passion of keeping themselves in touch with the latest trends in their areas of activity. Indians are worse off.

In years to come, the certificates, marks and grades or the institutions will hardly matter. The selection will be entirely on the basis of the capability to perform the required assignment well.

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Higher Education Sector Needs Re-engineering

Posted on May 31, 2012 by indra

Over the years at this time of the year when in Noida, I get shocked with the news related to the admission menace of the about million or more young boys and girls of the country who out of their aspiration for a secured better professional career seek admission in the institute of their choice after completing their class XII with flying colours with distinctions in many subjects. The policy makers and administrators of the country must answer some .pertinent questions.

Should not a student getting 80% and more marks get admissions in a good college for pursuing the subject of his choice? How can a college decide on 100% as cut off marks?

Why are the students in Delhi with that high a score not getting admission in the colleges? Why are the students from Patna or Kolkata seeking admission in Delhi for even the science, commerce and pure humanity courses?

Why do IITs (15 of them now) only admit the top 10,000 students from an entrance examination in which more around 5, 00,000 students appear? Is there much difference between the intelligence levels of those selected and those falling in between 10,001 and 20, 000? Will the students in the later group if studies engineering in tier 2 colleges be a worse engineer or less successful in career?

Why is the curriculum of the science (math, physics, chemistry) as well as English not the same for CBSE as well as other state boards?

Why shouldn’t IIT-JEE follow the same curriculum of the class XII boards?

Why should after 12 years of schooling, the students can’t master one foreign language, English if the country has decided to have the higher education in that language?

In simple language, after 65 years of independence, the best colleges in the capitals of various states of the country remained the same. Unfortunately, the best colleges have not expanded and added capacity. Because of the political patronage and lack of autonomy, the quality of at least some of those best colleges has deteriorated. Neither the Science College of Patna nor Presidency College of Kolkata is the same as they were in 50s and 60s.

I wish all the educational institutes of excellence-universities, colleges, and professional institutes would have enhanced its capacities by 5% every year along with its infrastructures.

A college like Presidency College or Science College could have by now a separate school for each of the subject it teaches. Imagine of a school of physics teaching the subject from class XI to Master and PhD level.

Imagine of old IITs at Kharagpur, Bombay, Chennai, Kanpur and Delhi with at least fifty schools of different specialized admitting 25,000 students every year.

While the new institutes must get set up but the older must initiate a growth plan of at 2.5% every year with corresponding expansion of all the infrastructure-teachers, hostels, residential facilities and everything else necessary for a knowledge town including incubation centres for start ups.

The capacity expansion must not be thrust upon as it was done by this government to take care of the reservation. I wish reservation could go and the demand for the same must come from the students and other beneficiaries in the institutes rather than parliamentarians.

Mahabharata would have got a twist in the story if Drona would have accepted Karna and Eklavya, and interestingly they would not have sought any reservation for their entrance or promotion.

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Amir Khan’s Show: Horrid Healthcare

Posted on May 29, 2012 by indra

I had watched the first two episodes of Amir Khan’s ‘Satyamev Jayate’ though presently in Cary, North Carolina, US, courtesy Internet and U-tube. I was really impressed by Gen-Y young Indians- men and women. They are really bold to share their horrific personal experiences in public that the people of our generation would have not done. I got to the third episode on dowry menace through automatic recording of the programme by Anand. But I watched the fourth one on healthcare live at 10 PM yesterday night. The information pained me. It must be tallying with personal experience of every citizen of the country who has the misfortune to get into such trap. I am also one such person.

But the most impressive information that enriched my knowledge was about the generic medicine and how the doctors are colluding with medicine manufacturers and sucking or even killing the common persons. In the programme, Dr. Samit Sharma from Rajasthan talked about his endeavour to get the cheap generic medicines available for people at very cheap cost by prescribing generic names in prescription rather than the branded one. The Rajasthan government has set up shops selling generic medicines across the state in an effort to make good quality medicines available to people at the lowest possible rates. I shall quote just the example of one medicine from Amir’s article in Hindustan Times, though it has mentions of some more:

“When a student sits for his/her MBBS exams and is asked to name the drug that is to be prescribed for a patient suffering from diabetes, he might write ‘glimeperide’. This is the salt commonly used to treat diabetes. When that same student becomes a doctor and a patient suffering from diabetes comes to him for treatment, he might prescribe the medicine Amaryl. So is that young doctor giving the wrong medication? No. Amaryl happens to be one of the brand names by which the salt ‘glimeperide’ is sold. So what is the difference between the two, apart from the names? Well, a strip of 10 tablets of Amaryl costs around Rs. 125, and a strip of 10 tablets of the salt ‘glimeperide’ costs Rs. 2. Both are essentially the same thing. We pay approximately Rs. 123 more for the brand name.” (Please follow the link read the article and watch the u-tube too, if not difficult.)

I wish the people at large will request the doctor to prescribe the generic medicines. At least, I am going to ask my doctor on my return from USA, as between two of us in family we consume medicines costing about Rs 4000 a month. I shall also ask the doctors in the extended family if they also are practising the same sins.

Interestingly, I came to know from Anand and Shannon that the situation is same in USA too.

Another pleasant surprise came from Dr, Devi Shetty who was on the show. I had met Dr. Devi Shetty in HM days. He was heading BM Birla Heart Hospital in Calcutta. The information that Dr. Shetty provided on Amir show made me ask a simple question: When the contribution of Rs 10 a month by a person can cover the healthcare insurance in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with the government support of a contribution of Rs 30 to those persons, why can’t the same be emulated by the governments of other states such as UP, Bihar and Orissa, or for that matter by West Bengal? Why can’t the doctors of these states come out to help the teeming million with the serious healthcare troubles taking some lessons from Setty?

I wish the social activists such as Anna, Aruna, Arundhanti Roy and Kejriwal would have worked on these issues of healthcare that is horribly anti-people. Can the enlightened one in the society rise against the devils among the doctors?

PLEASE PASS ON THE LINKS OF THE EPISODE 4 TO AS MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE.

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Petrol Price Rise: Protest or Fuss

Posted on May 27, 2012 by indra

Once upon a time, say some 30 years ago, there were only two car manufacturers in India, each manufacturing only one model of car. Every time, the petrol price would increase, that too by a fraction of rupee, the car sale would drop. And interestingly, the annual car sales between the two were, even in the best year, not more than 30-40 thousands. Today, the dozens of car manufacturers sells around two million cars of all sizes and models. India exports cars. Car industry significantly contributes t0 the trillion dollar economy of the country.

Cars and/or particularly the two wheelers are no more luxury but the necessity. Expenditure on fuel for the vehicles for even many common families is significant.

The last summer session of the parliament ended on Tuesday. Wednesday in afternoon, the oil companies announced the increase in petrol prices by an unprecedented Rs 7.54 per litre effective that midnight, just hours after the celebratory dinner of Manmohan Singh for completing its three years of UPA-II. The gas stations all over the country saw almost a riot with all sorts of vehicle lining up for getting the tanks filled. And the reactions of the car driving public were as usual interesting. Should those who use car park it in the garage and buy a cycle? Some with rural background suggested buying of a horse without knowing its unaffordibility today.

Naturally, the media that night in India was full with the criticism of government and those in government had all the excuses of slowing economy, ballooning fiscal deficits, falling rupee with respect to dollar, and the necessity of overdue reform as the reasons for the rise. None talked about the effect of this price rise of petrol on all the ills of the national economy?

As I have spent my life in car industry, I had many questions in my mind. Why did the people crowd the gas stations? Does one time filling that will save few rupees for this month matter? Will the price rise provide answer to the poor governance of the government that runs by excuses? Is the government policy that keeps taxation on the raw crude oil as well as final product heavy increasing the final price, prudent? Should the government bother so much about the profit of the oil companies? Is it not collecting the money from a class of people and trying to offer it to the vote bank in the name of being inclusive and equitable? Why doesn’t it look into reducing taxes and optimizing the other parameters of the cost? Can it decisively say that there is no scope? I wonder why the price of petrol in many other countries with similar lack of indigenous resource are so less?

The breakup of the final price charged to the customer consists of central government and state taxation-excise duty, education tax, dealer commission, VAT, crude oil custom duty and transportation and storage cost besides the business administrative cost. As estimated, the price of crude is only around 36-40% of the price that the customers pay at the pumps. The government must also look into cutting down the cost.

It is interesting to look into some other effects of the price rise. The auto companies that manufacture primarily diesel vehicles get the advantage of the petrol price rise, as the differential between the fuels has gone to Rs 33 per litre. Knowing the government of the company, many companies are expediting the manufacturing or import plans for diesel engines and other related parts to roll out more diesel models. As estimated and reported, while the pending orders for diesel cars have swelled to about 2 lakh and increasing, the already manufactured petrol vehicles are being offered at heavy discounts up to Rs 75,000.

The price rise of diesel will be coming soon and that will get in to the inflation figure. The government instead of working on other priorities must be busy in finding ways to make it visibly acceptable to the vote banks.

I don’t believe that the opposition parties and their protest matter. Unfortunately, social activists of the country hardly bother about these issues, and aam adami is leaderless.

Interestingly, the global crude prices were at a seven-month low on that Wednesday, hovering at $91 a barrel.

In next few days, the petrol price will be cut by few rupees to provide psychological relief. Price of Diesel and LPG price will also get a raise though not that high. Excise duty on the diesel cars may get enhanced taking the advantage out. What can be a better solution for a government, bankrupt in ideas and will?The government will never touch the kerosene that only creates black money through adulteration mainly at the gas stations.

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Manmohan Failed India

Posted on May 25, 2012 by indra

I am yet to reconcile with a question, how and why Manmohan failed India, his country that had a potential to race ahead. I am, by nature, intolerant for inefficiency and ineffectiveness. And after seeing India and Indians shining in many fields that none could even imagine just two-three decades ago, it pains to see the present condition of the country’s economy and more so the helplessness of the people who matter in academic, media, industry, people at large.

I am not a fan of Chetan Bhagat, but I totally agreed with his view expressed recently in one of the article in Times of India: “Many of us unfortunate enough to be educated and emotionally invested in our country are in pain these days. We see our nation being plundered and mismanaged by the politicians in power. Even as the rupee collapses and industrial production growth turns negative, our top leadership discusses 60-year-old cartoons in Parliament.”

UPA-II still celebrates. Mulayam and Lalu are still important. BJP, the only opposition party that could have been an alternative is still in malaise of personal ambitions. A person such as PA Sangma, Pranab Mukherji, or Abdul Kalam can’t become the president of India as Sonia Gandhi needs a loyal person such as the incumbent one. Rahul Gandhi still lacks the confidence of his father necessary to get into the driver seat.

Pranab, time and again, expresses his concern of falling rupee and increasing deficit and expects austerity. However, Manmohan instead of providing the way out from the malaise, taking major political parties in confidence for some hard actions and taking actions to remove the cause of wrong signals to domestic and foreign investors, still finds its government’s performance good enough for celebration with sumptuous dinner party.

The country still doesn’t know if Manmohan approves of the retrospective taxation proposed in the last budget that has been considered as one single reason affecting India story so badly dissuading the foreign investment. Are all sane thinkers of the country antinational? Why are the domestic business houses focusing on investing abroad? Why Manmohan could not put his personal weightage on passing the land acquisition bill in session that has just ended as he did in case of Nuclear Bill? Doesn’t he know how huge numbers of key development projects all over the country are not moving ahead because of that?

How can a person without a fire in belly can take the country on the path of development and see the aspirations of a billion plus men and women?

Perhaps, Manmohan is languishing in an old mantra of some Indian sage, ‘santos hi param dharam’ with the India economy gradually moving towards a situation where the envious nations will say, ‘Punah muShiko bhava’:

The fiscal deficit ballooned to 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011/12, up from 4.9 per cent the previous year.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth averaged 2.8 per cent in 2011/12, compared with 8.2 per cent in 2010/11.

The current account deficit has grown to $19.6 billion in the October to December 2011 quarter, from $10.1 billion a year earlier.
Inflation is back at 7.23 per cent in April this year, rising from 6.89 per cent in March.

The rupee has undergone a free fall. Even with RBI assistance, it is down near Rs 56 against the US dollar.

And then my question: why has so much revered Manmohan failed India?

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Higher Education: Yes or No

Posted on May 23, 2012 by indra

Americans are unique. One created a history by creating a company of $1000 billion last week. In process, he also created about 10 more billionaires and some millionaires too. One among them is a second generation Indian also. Peter Thiel, the other billionaire Peter Thiel questioned the need of college education. Interestingly, Thiel also got enriched by about $ 2.14 billion through his holding in Facebook.

Interestingly, Thiel is paying 20 young people under 20 $100,000 a year to drop out or not go to college in order to pursue new business ideas.

CBS “60 Minutes” last Sunday had a story on the issue. It had Thiel to put forward his ideas and presented Vivek Wadhwa to comment on Thiel’s proposition. Vivek Wadhwa teaches at Duke and Stanford universities

Thiel has made his fortune as an Internet entrepreneur. He has founded “The 20 Under 20 Fellowship” as an alternative to higher education. His critics have called it an “elitist ploy.”

In the “60 Minutes” interview, Thiel was very much forthright and told CBS’s Morley Safer: “We have a bubble in education, like we had a bubble in housing. … Everybody believed you had to have a house; they’d pay whatever it took…Today, everybody believes that we need to go to college, and people will pay – whatever it takes.”

Parents all over the world endeavour to pay whatever is required for the higher education of their wards. My daughter-in-law has been working real hard pursuing the higher education in medical profession since almost last 10 years. I presume the profession of doctor in US is very high earning one. I was amazed to hear Thiel saying, “There are all sorts of vocational careers that pay extremely well today, so the average plumber makes as much as the average doctor.” And then Thiel said to my utter surprise, “only half of recent college grads are employed full-time and tuition has quadrupled over the past 30 years,” and believed “the system is broken and its promises are hollow.” “We now have $1 trillion in student debt in the U.S. … Cynically, you can say it’s paid for $1 trillion of lies about how good education is.”

I don’t know if it was intentional. Wadhwa in the interview appeared to be very soft in countering Thiel’s proposition.
Wadhwa told Safer. “What I worry about is a message that’s getting out there to America that it’s OK to drop out of school, that you don’t have to get college. Absolutely dead wrong.”

Wadhwa conceded that the people chosen for the “20 Under 20” have good ideas, but he insists a college education is needed to “turn those ideas into inventions and companies/” However, he said, “The majority of them will fail. And they’re going to regret not having completed their education.”

In the programme, Wadhwa was not made to debate Thiel face to face. I wonder if the debate could have been on the line the US presidential candidates debate.

Unfortunately, the situation in higher education sector is becoming grim. While the higher education in reputed US universities is becoming unaffordable, with outsourcing employment has shrunk. One going for education loan would certainly relish its burden for the rest of one’s life.

US has many examples of the top few entrepreneurs such Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Facebook’s Zuckerberg who didn’t have any formal higher education. Similar stories may be there in other countries too, including India and China. However, the dream of every young person becoming entrepreneur is equally elusive. Perhaps the route to the entrepreneurship may go through the institutes of higher learning. And that only can provide the opportunity to a larger mass to get into entrepreneurship that can be more sustainable.

With India following everything that US does, higher education is getting costlier and education loans are becoming popular.

I see higher education different today after more than 50 years that I left IIT.

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IIT-JEE 2012: Ultimate of Indian Aspirations

Posted on May 20, 2012 by indra

The results of IITJEE-2012 are out. It still excites me and reminds me of 1957. And that is the reason behind writing this entry while in USA. Over the years, many things have changed. Here are some salient aspects and my views.

• A total of 0.48 million candidates appeared for JEE.
• The count of successful girls in JEE has doubled to 2,886 since the last edition of the exam. Priya Inala–all-India rank (AIR) 21–from Andhra Pradesh is the girls’ topper, with only two other girls in the top 100. 0.15 million girls took the JEE all free of cost. I am sure pretty soon the performance of the girls, both in number and ranking to improve and surpass that of boys as in some other coveted examinations of the country.
• A general candidate pays Rs 40,000 as registration fee while a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe candidate pays Rs 20,000. Interestingly, I didn’t know that and wonder why the government can’t refund the fee paid by those successful ones who come from BPL families.
• The students from the IIT-Bombay zone (home to Kota) dominate the list of selected candidates.
• The southern zone has bagged the credit for having eight of the top 20 rankers, most from Andhra Pradesh.
• The north got the top three from Faridabad, Chandigarh and Bhilai. Can Ruchir Sharma, the author of ‘Breakout Nations’ relate the regional performance with his conclusion of North leaving south behind?
• Of the 4,805 OBC candidates who qualified, 1,625 made it to the common merit list. Of the 3,464 SC and 654 ST students who qualified, about 300 made it without the handicap of score relaxation. Can the government, the respective institutions or some rich alumni come forward with financial incentive for these candidates? I wish the education system to eliminate the reservations with no effect on any.Nearly 400 Muslim aspirants have cracked the IIT-JEE http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nearly-400-muslim-candidates-crack-iitjee-largest-number-ever/953649/ Over 180 Muslim candidates have been shortlisted in the general category as well.
• Anand Kumar and Abhayanand of Bihar have become legendary. Twenty-seven of Anand Kumar’s Super 30 students cracked the JEE. Fifty-one students from Abhayanand’s training institute passed the exam. But heartening for me is one more similar claim coming from Bihar. Thirteen youths from weavers’ colony in Gaya crack entrance. An illiterate farmer’s 12-year-old son has created history by becoming the youngest candidate to clear the IIT-JEE exam.
• For the first time from this year, the IITs will have an “exit policy” with objective of reducing seat vacancies. Interestingly, last year, all the IITs together accounted for 762 vacancies, of which 650 were the result of dropouts. About 100 seats stayed vacant in the physically disabled category as there were not enough candidates.
• For the first time, IIT made the correct answer script available on computer and the candidates could assess their scores. All these years, I have been critical of the IITJEE selection system.

Interestingly, I couldn’t get data about the number of successful students who didn’t take any coaching or tuition. And that is the difference between today and that in 1957, when I went to appear for the entrance examination of IIT, Kharagpur. I also don’t know the number of those who succeeded in the first attempt.

I wish IIT could base all its questions from the curricula of CBSE class X-XII and all the state boards could agree to have the same curricula for science, mathematics and even English. If the states agree to get a common curricula and test for getting its best students into IITS, why should it not agree for the same at school stage?

It will either eliminate coaching or that coaching will also improve the standard of students appearing in CBSE examinations.

Over the next few years, IIT-JEE will further evolve. However, will it mean more technocrats and scientists for the country? With all the best IITians hankering for and preparing to get into IIMs without any practical experience or craving to join IAS, the country can’t be hoping that. I wish students with that mindset shun appearing for IIT-JEE, as it tells a lot of our value system.

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When in US 2012

Posted on May 17, 2012 by indra

It was in 1993 that I visited US for the first time. It was a business trip. I could stay with Rakesh for few days. Alpana was in the university in Dallas. I was there in her school and its library one day for quite some time. It made me going back to 1961, when I had passed out from IIT, Kharagpur. If I would have been a little smarter, I could have got into some US university.

After retirement, we have been coming to US since 2005 and staying for longer time. I used to spend a lot of time in the book shop-Borders. I read more than I did when even in college. Unfortunately, the chain of bookstores had to shut its door. The outlet of the only left out one- Barnes &Nobles is not conveniently located. The US visits changed our life styles even though we live a retired life. I learnt to be less dependent on servant, though we keep one. Now I love to help Yamuna in her kitchen. With help of toaster, microwave oven and rice cooker, I can manage the emergency. We have also learnt about trash management and the use of plastic bag for safe disposal of kitchen wastes.

I enjoy and insist on doing everything possible while at home so that we don’t become burden on the kids (still for us though in their late 30s) as they are very busy in carrying out their professional and domestic tasks with no assistant available here as possible in India. And all elderly persons must do that to remain fit and till they remain fit.

I do also like and ensure that the kids don’t get their privacy encroached by our presence and actions. And that also provide opportunity for us to have better quality of life. I try to give more time for Yamuna, as she needs it too.

While I do get into intense conversation and discussion with the kids on many subjects of common interest, my intention is always to try to learn as much as possible from their knowledge instead of thrusting my views. I have learnt and now endeavour to remain within my limits.

USA provides huge opportunity to observe, appreciate and learn from its prosperity all around. Sometimes I wonder if ever, we can have some similar clean ambiance to live in India.

Let me give two examples of the way I keep my quest of learning going. I observed a new addition in the front lawn of Anand’s house this time. Shannon has placed few fancy solar lamps and artificial flowers along the walking path. These items get on charged with the sunlight in the day time. In night, it emits light. The flowers change the colour too- red, green and then blue controlled by some timer. I don’t know the name of the product developer but as Shannon informed, these are all from China and are available at very cheap price. The 10 lamps did cost $25. The flowers are a little costlier. Interesting, I read an article in Mint today in the morning that tells that these are available in India too now. I did not know about it and its technology when in India.

As another example, I can mention is about the mulch used in the flower beds to retain moisture and may be to provide some nutrients to the planted flowers plants too (Images). Interestingly, the community landscaping uses the pine needles to cover the bare earth work along the road or around the trees as mulch. It retains moisture and protects from the scorching sunlight. It also stops the generation and spread of dust if the clay top surface are bare. I wonder why can’t in India we consider this technique to at least control the dust generated and spread through wind.

I hope I have been able to convey what I keep on wondering and engaged.

And find below- How do Solar Powered Lights Work?

The concept of solar powered lights is simplicity itself. Inside a plastic case are a battery, a solar cell to capture the sun’s energy and convert it to electricity (a smaller version of roof top solar panels), an LED and a photo resistor to detect light or dark that acts as a switch to turn the solar light on and off. Since all the power for a solar light comes from the sun, you never need to worry about connecting wires to lights, running wires between the lights and finding an unobtrusive way to plug the light string in.

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