Monthly Archives: November 2013

IIT-M alumnus dean of Nanyang Business School

Education, Leaders, World Opinion
RaviKumarCF09nov2013
Chennai:
An IIT-M alumnus professor,  Ravi Kumar, 61, has been appointed the dean of the Nanyang Business School (NBS) in Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Ravi Kumar comes from the University of Southern California’s Marshall Business School, where he held several key leadership positions, including that of Vice-Dean for international programmes and Vice-Dean for graduate programmes. The university in its press release on Tuesday described Kumar as ‘an academic heavyweight with a good blend of east-west experience’.
The release quoted Kumar, “NTU has an ambitious leadership that has been consistently building its brand worldwide. As one of the pillars of the university, the Nanyang Business School has a great reputation for thought leadership.”
His appointment came after a comprehensive review of international candidates by a six-member search committee, led by Insead professor Gabriel Hawawini for two years.
Previously, Kumar served as the Dean of the College of Business at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He introduced reforms that saw the Korean college break into the top 100 of the Financial Times global MBA rankings.
On his East-West experience, Kumar said, “Maybe it has to do with the Confucian tradition or Asian thinking; Korean students thirst for learning, work very hard to succeed in being educated and really prize education, and their professors. But they are also less likely to question their professors’ ideas or come up with alternative viewpoints. The non-Asian students in the US, however, have that native irreverence and vitality, so they are very happy to question anything and everything the professors say!”
Prof Kumar, the ardent champion of business education feels most proud when some of his former students have become successful executives of commercial and non-profit companies. “As an educator, nothing matters more than helping your students to realise their potential and know they have made it good,” he said.
A table tennis champion and player for the IIT-M in his young days, Kumar received his Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the institute in 1974. He holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas, and a Doctorate of Philosophy from the Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences Department at North western University.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / June 19th, 2013

Madras Christian College hosts conference on tribal development

Green Initiatives/ Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nature

Chennai :

Tribal children from Wayanad got their first experience of a train ride when they travelled from Nilgiris to Chennai on Thursday to give cultural performances in front of academics and biodiversity authorities at a national conference on Forest, Livelihood and Tribal Development.

The conference, organized by the department of social work at Madras Christian College in Tambaram here saw researchers, academics and students from 15 states, including the northeast, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, discuss issues impacting tribals in different parts of the country.

Speaking on the Tribal Rights Act and its Implementation on Forest Dwellers, former Tamil Nadu principal chief conservator of forests C K Sreedharan said that if the concerned machinery expected to implement the Act did not believe in it, then the whole thing was bound to be a failure. “After a policy decision is made, the officials in charge of implementing it should accept the decision. Tribals need a lot of support from everybody. A lot depends on the sincerity and commitment of civic servants and local implementation organizations,” he added.

Responding to a question from the audience after his talk, Sreedharan said there were no loopholes in the Forest Rights Act 2006 but a lot had been denied to the tribals for a number of years.

Conference coordinator D Prince Annadurai said that the tribal population in India was at the receiving end because of several big corporate projects and that there was an increasing need to bring them to the limelight to provide intervention so that they could reap the benefits of development and to learn from their practices and ways. It was not an attempt to change their lifestyle overnight, he said.

Peter Ronald, project manager of the Nilgiris Wayanad Tribal Welfare Society, said that the trip gave the children, representing Paniya and Kaatunayaka communities of Wayanad, exposure to the world outside their communities. “After seeing the college, one of the children told me that he wants to study in MCC after he finishes school. That’s the kind of experience we want to give these children,” he said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai> Tribals / M. Ramya, TNN / October 03rd, 2013

Her heart and soul were given to Theosophy

Leaders
Radha Burnier./ Photo: N. Sridharan / The Hindu
Radha Burnier./ Photo: N. Sridharan / The Hindu

Radha Burnier, international president of the Theosophical Society, died here on Thursday after a prolonged illness. She was 90.

Radha Burnier played a role in enriching the philosophy behind Theosophy by making it relevant to present-day issues. She was actively involved with service-oriented organisations that deal with education, animal welfare and environmental issues.

“She breathed her last at 9 p.m. following an acute myocardial infarction. She had a mild stroke three years ago. She also battled cancer, had a surgery and her health deteriorated on Thursday. Yet she continued to be an inspiration for many youngsters. She was a great personality,” said S.D. Inbaraj, honorary medical officer of the Theosophical Society.

“She is a lady of highest principles and integrity. Her heart, soul and life were given to the cause of Theosophy,” said S. Harihara Raghavan, honorary general manager at the Theosophical Society.

“The body will be kept in the Headquarters Hall of the Theosophical Society, Adyar, for people to pay their last respects,” said Mr. Raghavan.

According to the Theosophical Society’s website, Dr. Burnier was in her fifth term as president of the Theosophical Society, having taken office as the seventh president in 1980. She supervised the research and publication work of the Adyar Library and Research Centre as its director during 1959-79. She was also a well-known exponent of Indian classical dance.

Dr. Burnier has lectured all over the world on Theosophical and cultural topics. Her talks and writings are known for clarity of thought and depth of vision. Dr. Burnier was born in the Theosophical Society’s estate at Adyar, Chennai, on November 15, 1923 into a Theosophical family. She was the daughter of N. Sri Ram who was the fifth president of the Theosophical Society. Her grandfather A. Nilakanta Sastri, a civil engineer by profession and a Sanskrit scholar, was an early member of the Society.

She played a major role in well-known director Jean Renoir’s classical film The River in 1948.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – November 01st, 2013

Indian Brit is new UK Dy HC

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion
Bharat Joshi.
Bharat Joshi.

Chennai:

Bharat Joshi is the new British Deputy High Commissioner in Che­nnai.

He succeeds Mike Nithavrianakis who had served here for four very active years. Joshi will have a challenging task ahead as a major part of his Chennai portfolio is focused on enh­ancing the trade and inv­estment partnership between the UK and the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pudu­cherry.

Born in Croydon, UK, in 1969, Joshi joined the Foreign and Com­monwealth Office (FCO) in 1995 and has had dip­lomatic postings in Ga­mbia, Dhaka and Qatar. He was most recently British High Commi­ssioner to Cam­eroon and non-resident Amba­ss­ador to Gabon, Chad, Equa­torial Guinea and Central African Rep­ublic.

A specialist in crisis ma­nagement, he had be­en deployed to the scenes of major incidents invo­lving British nationals including after the bom­bing of the British consulate general at Ista­nbul in 2003.
He has spent much time in dealing with critical diplomatic issues, including promoting tra­de and human rights, besides climate change and UN policy issues.

Joshi said he is hugely excited “returning to my country of origin at a time when the UK’s relations with India are growing at a faster pace than ever before — evidenced by growing tra­de, the opening of new UK offices across India and regular high-level visits in both directions —  is a dream come true.”

He said he was “looking forward to getting to know this part of the country and its people over the next few years.” Joshi is married to Bhakti for 17 years and they have two daughters. Cricket, badminton, history, reading and travelling are among his prime interests.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by DC / November 06th, 2013

Dhanush croons with legendary singer Janaki

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

DhanushCF07nov2013

Actor Dhanush, who is clearly a multi-faceted personality, shot to fame as a singer with Anirudh’s “Why this Kolaveri Di”, although he has also lent his voice to popular songs, like “Enga Area” from ‘Pudhupettai’, “Un Mela Aasaithaan” from ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ and “Voda Voda” and “Kadhal En Kadhal” from ‘Mayakkam Enna’. After ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’, every song that’s sung by Dhanush is received with extra expectation and enthusiasm. But Dhanush hasn’t seemed to have disappointed his fans with his songs.

The next song that is keenly awaited is the track that he has crooned for his upcoming film, ‘Velaiyilla Pattathari’, which is also his 25th film. Dhanush broke the surprise on his microblogging website, “Velaiilla Pattadhaari team is honoured with the return of the legend S. Janaki amma. I am blessed and lucky to have sung along with her. Schedule three starts today. The film is 60 per cent complete. Audio soon. First look sooner.”

‘Velaiilla Pattathari’ is the directorial debut of cinematographer Velraj. Actress Amala Paul pairs opposite Dhanush. The film is produced by the actor himself. The sensational combination of Anirudh and Dhanush comes together once again for this film.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> Kollywood / by DC / Deepika Ramesh / November 05th, 2013

Tee-shirts, denims the style quotient this Deepavali

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Though traditional clothes are being rejected in favour of casual wear, Kanjivarams cotton saris seem be going strong | Express
Though traditional clothes are being rejected in favour of casual wear, Kanjivarams cotton saris seem be going strong | Express

Casual is the buzz-word, at least as far as the purchases made by people ahead of the Deepavali festival is concerned. Sales of clothing items such as tee-shirts and denim trousers for both men and women seem to be spiralling in the many textile showrooms of T Nagar, the shopping hub of the city. The trend, employees of these showrooms say, is normal and is visible ahead of many a festive occasion.

Speaking to City Express, the salespersons at a leading store in T Nagar, located near the Duraiswamy Road-Usman Road traffic junction, concur that casual wear has been witnessing maximum sales this season. “A large section of our customers from all over the State are looking for casual wear. These people, who belong to the younger generation, are keen on tee-shirts and jeans. It is registering maximum traction,” they added.

Balaji, a salesperson at an adjoining clothing store, which also has a jewellery store, concurs. “Casual clothing is the order of the day.” This doesn’t mean that other styles of clothing have been consigned to oblivion. Although selling in lesser numbers, he states slim and narrow-fit and the style statement of the yesteryear, the good old boot-cut trousers, are back this season. According to him, sales of formal clothing are expected to pick up in the post-Diwali season – which is a year-on-year trend.

Unsurprisingly, women are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting their attire. Churidhars and salwar suits in a mélange of choices – be it the Anarkali or Patiala styles – are also a big draw, adds Balaji. This is in addition to the silk saris and skirts that register comparative amount of sales.

When it comes to silks, despite having an encycloapaedia of options to select from, Kanchipuram silks are the most-sought after. As the sales manager of an 85 year-old silk showroom located near Panagal Park, Vinayagam, explains, “We have a wide range of silk saris, in an equally wide range of budgets to suit practically every customer. However, most end up asking only for Kanchipuram silks. People are unmoved even when show them varieties like Belgaum, Benaras, Arani and Dharamavaram silks.”

DeepavaliCF05nov2013

This season, the showroom has launched a new range of upper-end silks, with a base price of nearly `14,000, which the customers seem to be lapping up eagerly.

Pricing dictates the sales volumes, as he explains. “Silk saris in the price-band of `2,000-5,000 are witnessing the maximum sales. Saris in this category include single-side silk variant and those made out of silk-cotton and silk-polyester blends.” From `2,000 to nearly `2 lakh, looks like there are saris priced to suit every budget.

Cotton saris are not lagging behind either. The ‘Karishma’ variant of cotton saris and cotton-polyester blends – traditional favourite of people for gifts – are equally popular.

He anticipates that the sales of veshtis, steady so far, might pick up once the muhurtham season sets in – a period considered auspicious to solemnise marriages.

However, sales of the half-sari seems to be on the decline. Once a traditional favourite of young girls, not many customers are keen on purchasing it. As a the salesperson at another showroom says, “We can stock only those items that our customers demand. We cannot have such items wasting our floor space.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / October 31st, 2013

Former President Kalam to grace Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology’s convocation

Education, Leaders, Science & Technologies

Allahabad :

Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad (MNNIT-Allahabad), is poised to hold its 10th Annual Convocation-2013 on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi MP Hall Complex. The occasion will be graced by former President APJ Abdul Kalam as the chief guest while Prof VK Saraswat, chairman, Board of Governors, would preside over the function.

Speaking to newspersons on Wednesday, director, MNNIT, Prof P Chakravorty, said that during the convocation, 693 BTech, 77 MBA, 72 MCA, 9 MSc, 6 MSW, 404 MTech and 34 PhD students will be awarded degrees. For academic session 2012-13, 23 gold medals will be awarded to postgraduate students and nine to the undergraduate students.

Further, 18 sponsored gold medals are to be awarded across various academic programmes. This is in addition to the medals to be awarded to the toppers of the first, second, third and fourth years of undergraduate programs.

The coveted and prestigious Institute Gold Medal will be awarded to Shobit Srivastava of BTech (Computer Science & Engineering) for standing first amongst students of all branches of the Institute in the Final Year Examination of 2013. He will also receive a gold medal for standing First in BTech (Computer Science & Engineering) Final Year Examination 2013.

Archan Mudwel of Mechanical Engineering will be awarded the gold medal for standing first at BTech third year examination 2013, while Tanu Agrawal and Priyanshu Srivastava, both of Computer Science & Engineering, will be awarded gold medals for standing first in the second and first year examination 2013, respectively.

He said that the institute has continued to take large strides in its mission of academic excellence. In 2012, 66 new faculty members were inducted in various departments. This has taken the total faculty strength to 199, with 50 professors, 36 associate professors and 113 assistant professors.

During academic session 2013-2014, 1,485 students were admitted for various programs of BTech, MBA, MCA, MSc, MSW, MTech and Ph.D, out of which 92 students are from other countries.

In a new initiative, the institute has organized 22 Short Term Training Programs, Faculty Development Programs and Workshops during 2012-2013. Under the TEQIP II program, the Institute has been sanctioned an amount of Rs 12.5 crores towards implementation of several schemes such as innovative research, curriculum development, educational tours, training programs, networking, procurement of equipments, purchase of books, international visits and laboratory upgradation.

The Institute has maintained its excellent record of placements up to 85% during the session with ongoing placements of post graduate students also.

In terms of providing technical assistance to industries, government organizations, the institute has offered more than 290 testing and consultancy activities during the financial year 2012-2013. Altogether 40 research projects, with total sanctioned amount exceeding Rs 10.91 crores have also been sanctioned from various funding agencies, notably DRDO, DAE, ICSSR, DST, CSIR, UGC, DBT and UPPCB.

The Institute is looking at further initiatives towards renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, reusage and recycling of waste water, disaster management and energy conservation as its focus in coming years, he added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad> Mnnit / TNN / October 31st, 2013

Solar photovoltaic plant for Rs 50,000

Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologies
Picture for representational purposes only.
Picture for representational purposes only.

Chennai: 

Fed up with power cuts?  There could be a way out as it may be possible to install a solar photovoltaic plant of one kilowatt capacity on your  rooftop for as little as Rs 50,000 under the new guidelines iss­ued by the energy de­partment on October 18.

Coming a year after the  government anno­un­ced its solar energy policy, the guidelines provide for a subsidy of Rs 20,000 for consumers looking to install a grid connected battery- less solar system on their rooftops.

While a one kW solar system without battery costs Rs 1 lakh, the consumer will have  to invest only Rs 50,000 and the rest will be borne by the state and Union governments. His power troubles too could be over as a solar system of one kW capacity can generate approximately 1,600 units a year.

“If the  bi-monthly electricity consumption of a consumer is more than 500 units then the total annual saving is likely to be Rs 9,200 which is higher than returns from conventional investment,” said the department in its order.

In the first year, the subsidy will  be provided to 5000 solar systems at a cost of Rs. 10 crore and the next year to 10,000 systems. With the Tamil Nadu Ele­ct­r­i­city Develop­ment Agen­cy (TEDA) acting as a nodal agency, consumers can either apply online through the TEDA website or  manually.

If applying online, a signed printout will have to be submitted to the TEDA office in Chennai within three months. Domestic consumers, whose existing electricity connection is in the tariff class LT-1A with Tangedco, will be eligble and will be selected on a first come first serve basis.

They will, however, be expected to buy the solar plants from suppliers listed by TEDA. In case of apartments, flat owners can submit applications either individually or collectively.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs  / October 25th, 2013

A push for Tamil resources online

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Science & Technologies
There are few free online resources for users in Tamil. The biggest is Tamil Wikipedia, and its volunteers want to make more knowledge free and accessible to all./ File Photo / The Hindu
There are few free online resources for users in Tamil. The biggest is Tamil Wikipedia, and its volunteers want to make more knowledge free and accessible to all./ File Photo / The Hindu

Tamil Wikipedia volunteers offer to help State’s top universities digitise scholarly works

A group of volunteers who contribute regularly to the free online Tamil Wikipedia are lobbying with the State’s top universities to digitise volumes of Tamil encyclopaedia to make accessible valuable content under open knowledge networks.

“There are various Tamil development agencies and universities that get funded to produce scholarly works in encyclopaedias,” says A. Ravishankar, an active volunteer of Chennai’s network of contributors to Tamil Wikipedia.

“These were initiatives started in the 1960s. So mostly they don’t have digital versions and are not accessible unless you buy the book. There are also many works that are out of print. We are looking to digitise these under open knowledge networks,” he says.

Unlike in Western languages, there are few free online resources for users in Tamil. The biggest free resource is the online encyclopaedia Tamil Wikipedia that recently celebrated its 10 anniversary in the city. It has over 55,000 articles written and edited by over 900 contributors, in an age group ranging from 11 to 77 years.

The transferring of such scholarly works online, under licences such as ‘creative commons’ or other ‘copyleft’ (opposite of copyright) agreements have already started around the world and in India. Recently, the University of Goa released its encyclopaedia in Konkani under the creative commons licence that allows for everyone to share information with proper crediting.

In 2008, Malayalam encyclopaedia ‘Sarvavijnjakosam’ was released under GFDL (GNU Free Documentation Licence) on the website mal.sarva.gov.in.

The task of digitising Tamil encyclopaedias would be labour-intensive even more than cost-intensive, and is an area where the Tamil Wikipedia network can pitch in, volunteers say. “There are no good OCR (optical character readers) for Tamil. So the work will have to be manual, and each of the articles will have to be physically typed. If we take up the work, we can save the universities a lot of money and also open up vast reams of knowledge for the common good,” Ravishankar adds.

The Tamil Wikipedia network has asked its volunteers to spread the message at all possible venues to free up knowledge. “You cannot lock up knowledge in books any more,” Ravishankar says. “It is time to free it for the world to read.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Karthik Subramanian / Chennai – November 04th, 2013

Exporters’ rush to secure space in Spices Park

Business & Economy, Nature, Science & Technologies
A view of Spices Park at Muthupatti, near Sivaganga. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
A view of Spices Park at Muthupatti, near Sivaganga. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu

The park has come up on a sprawling 75.73 acres near Sivaganga

Exporters of spices in southern districts vie with one another to get a coveted space in the maiden Spices Park at Muthupatti near here.

When Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram laid the foundation stone for the park in the nondescript Muthupatti on the outskirts of Sivaganga in August 2008, not many exporters were aware of the facility on the anvil. And when he inaugurated the park on October 6 exporters started making a beeline to set up their units.

“Soon after the inauguration there was overwhelming response from the exporters and 25 units were booked in no time. There were more than 25 applications for the remaining 12 slots and they will be allotted on the first-come first served basis,” Mr S. Nallakannu, Deputy Director, Spices Board, Sivaganga, told The Hindu. The allotment process would be completed in the next two weeks, he added.

Each unit, measuring one acre and above was being allotted at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per acre to the exporters, who were registered with Spices Board India. The exporters should set up the facilities within the stipulated two year period and those who failed to do so would forfeit the allotment, he said.

The Madurai based M/s Devi Industries has been allotted four units and it expected to commence the work shortly, he said. In the next two years, the park would be buzzing with activity, providing direct and indirect employment to as many as 2,000 people in this area, Mr Nallakannu said.

The park had been created mainly to empower the farmers who grow spices in and around the district and ensure better price realisation besides helping exporters to process the products and export after adding value, he said. Farmers from Ilayankudi, Kalayarkoil, RS Mangalam, Kamudhi could benefit from the park.

Established at a cost of Rs. 20 crore, the park has come up on a sprawling 75.73 acres. It was divided into two zones – facilitating zone and exporters’ zone. In the facilitating zone, two semi-automatic plants had been set up to process and add value to chilli and coriander (in one plant) and turmeric.

The plant for processing chilli and coriander had the capacity to grind the two products at 500 kg an hour and automatically pack the powder in 50 gm to 5 kg in retail packing and 5 kg to 50 kg in bulk packing. The plant also had the capacity to process two tonnes of whole chilli in an hour and pack them in 25 and 50 kg bags, he added.

The two plants were in operation and farmers could make use of the facilities to process their spices products and sell them after value addition and for better price realisation, he said.

The facilitating zone also had two godowns for keeping raw material and finished goods, a sterilisation plant, administrative office building, building for bank, fire fighting system and a power house, he said. The export zone had facilities like a 1.6 lakh litre capacity water tank, roads, underground water lines, stormwater drainage and weigh bridge, besides external lightings, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> TamilNadu / by Walter Scott / Sivaganga – October 27th, 2013