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Govt. to set up Neutrino Research Centre

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digitalLEARNING Network
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In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Pawan Kumar Bansal said that the government will establish an India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) jointly by the Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Science and Technology. “A site in Bodi West Hills near T. Pudukottai village of Theni district, Tamil Nadu has been identified as a suitable location,” he said. An official press release on Thursday said, “The project includes construction of a world-class underground laboratory under a rock cover of 1200 metre from all directions. The underground laboratory will be accessed by 7.5 metre wide tunnel of approximately 2 km in length. The primary goal of INO is to study neutrino properties.” “Determination of neutrino properties is one of the most significant open problems in physics today. Such studies will help us to understand the interactions among subatomic particles at a very small scale. In this underground laboratory, a massive 50 kton particle detector will be installed to study the cosmic ray produced neutrinos,” the release added. Most of the construction work of the proposed project will be carried out deep underneath the earth's surface. The activities such as blasting and muck dumping will have some impact on the local environment. However, noting that wildlife is rarely reported from this area, the impact of the activities on them will be effectively negligible. The Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, which has prepared the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project, has opined that the environmental impact will be low considering the ecological setup of the area. In addition, it has been suggested that by adopting proper planning and management measures, the impact could be reduced to a considerable extent. During the operation phase, the impact of the project on environment will be effectively negligible. In order to minimize the impact on the environment, howsoever small, it is proposed to setup an Environment Monitoring Cell to oversee the implementation of the environmental management plan of INO. Some of the measures that will be implemented are control blasting and use of new vehicles to reduce the noise level during construction phase, disposal of rock debris as and when generated, planting local species and greening, waste disposal and sanitation, etc.

Private schools are money spinning ventures – Supreme Court

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digitalLEARNING Network
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The Supreme Court on Thursday said private schools were money-spinning enterprises and asked them to wake up to their corporate-social responsibility by educating poor children. The apex court bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar said this on a petition by the Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan. The society has challenged 25 percent reservation of seats for students from economically weaker section (EWS) under the Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education law. The court indicated that it might call for the accounts of last five years of these schools to check their financial status. The court asked senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for the schools, to tell “if there is a mechanism for the regulator (under the right to education) to exempt a school from admitting 25 percent (of the) students from the EWS”. The court reminded the private educational institutions that they “are questioning the wisdom of parliament as the said provision flows from a statute enacted by parliament”. Vikas Singh told the court that under Article 21A of the constitution “parliament can't make a law and compel an unaided school whether belonging to minorities, or other wise, to provide free and compulsory education to the children from EWS of society”. The senior counsel told the court that “the right to education law is not in line with Article 21A but is contrary to its objectives” and that of the fundamental rights. Article 21A of the constitution states that the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to 14 years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine. Vikas Singh said that the said provision of the statute violated the right of an affluent child from taking admission to a school of his choice. The court dismissed the plea on the grounds that there was no student with such a pleading before it. “None of them is before us. Where are the pleadings of the rights of the affected child,” the court asked. Schools' counsel said that whatever law the apex court will lay would affect this (affluent) child also. At one point, Vikas Singh said that the government would use it (right to education law) “as an election issue”. The court asked Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising to refer to the report of the Law Commission on this issue. Jaising said that the commission dealt with this subject in its report but there were no recommendations. Taking a dig at Vikas Singh, she told the court, “He (Vikas Singh) may be representing a higher (class) school but we are concerned with the country as a whole.”

Jamia Millia reaches out to women in distress

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digitalLEARNING Network
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The women's studies centre in Jamia Millia Islamia has broken new ground by reaching out to distressed and deprived women on the capital's fringes as part of its study module. “We are trying to work with the community in an organized way because we are trying to make our academic curriculum more initiative- oriented,” Bulbul Dhar-James, director of the university's Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women Studies, told the sources. “For the first time, we have identified Shaheen Bagh, four kilometers from the university towards the river, as one of the most deprived areas in the neighborhood. It is majorly populated and unauthorized too. We are taking up the area as case study to address issues of development.” James said her centre was “looking at migration into the area post-Godhra (communal violence in Gujarat in 2002) and post-Ayodhya (communal riots after the 1992 Babri mosque demolition) and education of the girl child”. “We have included them in our gender sensitisation programme with legal and clinical aid,” James said. The Jamia centre is conducting legal awareness workshops with students and members of the faculty to generate awareness about domestic and gender violence and the legal support available to victims. “Imparting life skills to women to make them self-employed is one of the key components of our sensitization campaign,” she said. Her centre will identify more communities in the months to come. James will represent the country and South Asia as a special rapporteur at the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next month that will address gender violence, women and children's welfare and cross-border terrorism. Commenting on the plight of women in conflict areas and situations, she said, “Women were equal perpetuators, sometimes bigger than men, of conflict situations. We want to work in tandem with peace and within the framework of law and harmony,” she said. James urged women to avail themselves of the legal and clinical aid provided by the Sarojini Naidu Centre. The centre is collaborating with the NGO Breakthrough, the creator of the Bell Bajao campaign against domestic violence, to raise awareness about domestic violence. The campaign urges the people to ring the bell in a house when domestic violence is unfolding inside. At a panel discussion hosted by the Jamia centre, country-director of Breakthrough Sonali Khan said, “More silences had to be broken down and more conversations were necessary to address issues pertaining to violence and help women take up roles of leadership”. Outlining a trend thrown up by a survey on violence in urban fringe carried out by her organization, Khan said, “There was still a lot of verbiage associated with violence”. She said “people were now aware of the fact that the violence could include verbal abuse, psychological torture and economic deprivation as well.” “We need to work at various levels like in society, judiciary and in families to mobilize opinion against violence against women. The law against domestic violence is in place, but the mechanism is ambiguous,” Khan said.

Dept. of Biotechnology to set up Centres of Excellence

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digitalLEARNING Network
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The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is implementing a programme to augment and strengthen institutional research capacity for promotion of excellence in interdisciplinary science and innovation in specific areas of biotechnology through support for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology.

This information was provided in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha by Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, Pawan Kumar Bansal. According to an official press release on Thursday, “The programme provides flexible long-term support for highly innovative research (both basic and translational in nature) in biotechnology.

DBT has planned to establish 50 such Centres of Excellence in Biotechnology in the country. So far, 15 Centres have been supported, covering healthcare, agriculture, bioinformatics and basic research in biotechnology.” The release further added, “These Centres of Excellence have been established in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has also initiated a proposal for establishment of 50 Centres for Training and Research in the frontier areas of Science and Technology. In addition, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has established Centres of Excellence (CoE) at University of Hyderabad; Bharathiar University, Coimbatore; National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore; Calcutta University; Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai; and IIT, Chennai. The establishment of CoE at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata is under progress.”

These centres are expected to strengthen an institution’s research infrastructure along with developing and enhancing the research capability of the faculty in a specific thematic area of research. A critical mass of young scientists around a leader is also expected to be developed which will lead to enhance the competitiveness of the institution in a specific research area. These centres are expected to generate not only high-quality publications and intellectual property but also translational outputs through high end innovation.

Youth from Naxal affected areas to be provided training for employability

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digitalLEARNING Network
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Considering the requirement of skilled manpower in hospitality sector, the ministry of tourism has launched a special programme called 'Hunar Se Rojgar' for creation of employable skills amongst youth in the age group of 18 to 28 years who have passed the eighth standard and are from Naxal affected areas. This information was given by Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. This programme aims to provide skills training of 6 and 8 weeks duration in hospitality related subjects like Food Production, Food and Beverage services etc. The programme is being conducted by the Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and by the governments of states and union territories through identified Institutes having adequate infrastructure for hospitality education. A Central Financial Assistance of Rs.52,86,500 lakhs was sanctioned to the government of Orissa under this programme in the year 2009-10.

Jamia vice chancellor to ‘play’ a new role

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digitalLEARNING Network
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Jamia Millia Islamia University Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung will soon be seen in a new 'role' as he will act in a play staged in the campus. The Outreach Programme of Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), Delhi, will put together two stage productions on the Jamia campus, in one of which Jung will be seen playing a part. Jung will play the role of Mughal emperor Akbar in one of the plays, Anarkali-Akbar-Salim. “Jung will play the part of Akbar. Stage actors Ankita Gusain and Jitin Gaur will play the part of Anarkali and Salim,” an official from Jamia said. The play will be performed at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday in M.A. Ansari Auditorium, Jamia Millia Islamia. The duration of the play is 80 minutes. Be-Libaas, the other play to be staged, will be performed at 6.30 p.m. on Monday, also in M.A. Ansari Auditorium, Jamia Millia Islamia. The duration of the play is 90 minutes. “The play Be-Libaas is about men, women, the society they live in and the options they have. Different anecdotes about human relationships and supposedly 'free choice' give us a mirror of life where there are both victims and victimizers,” the official said. Both plays have been directed by eminent actor and stage personality Aziz Quraishi, who has acted in more than 50 plays and has worked with the likes of E. Alkazi, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Ranjit Kapoor and acted in more than 50 TV serials, among these “Hum Log” and “Sword of Tipu Sultan”

Private colleges challenge AICTE’s approval norms in Delhi HC

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digitalLEARNING Network
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The private unaided professional institutions have filed a writ petition in the Delhi high court against the All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) latest norms for approval of new institutions or renewal of the existing ones for academic year (AY) 2011-12. The institutions have dubbed the norms as arbitrary, illegal, illogical and in contravention of various Supreme Court judgements.

The private institutions are protesting against AICTE’s new norms that came out in December 10, 2010. They mainly include “drastic” increase in the deposit money to be kept with the AICTE with a 10-year lock-in period for starting an engineering college, hike in processing fee under various heads, reduction in NRI admission quota from 15% to 5%, stringent punitive measures against non-compliance of refund in case of cancellation of admission, maintenance of faculty-student ratio, provision of 10 laboratories per course and constitution of board of governors by the institutions and providing for representation of two AICTE nominees.

The Federation of Associations of Managements of Unaided Professional Educational Institutions, which is the apex body of private unaided professional colleges in the country, has decided to take legal action against AICTE. The vice president R.P. Joshi said the decision is unanimous. “The federation had asked all its member associations to submit their views on the new approval norms. We (AMUEC) did so by expressing our concern over provisions like the hike in fixed deposit to be kept with the AICTE from the existing Rs 35 lakh to Rs 90 lakh for a 10-year period.” He said, “The norms provide that the deposit money will be refunded at the end of 10 years, but the AICTE will retain the interest earned on the same,” said Joshi.

Further expressing his concern over the norm of maintaining 100% faculty in the private institutes, “The norms relating to maintenance of 100% faculty is impractical, considering the acute shortage of faculty faced by engineering colleges across the country. The Rama Rao committee, which was appointed by AICTE itself in the past, has recognised the faculty problem in its report”, he said. Meanwhile, AMUEC is also claiming that the new approval norms are contradictory to the apex court rulings in landmark cases such as the TMA Pai Foundation as well as the Islamic Academy of Education vs State of Karnataka; and the P A Inamdar vs State of Maharashtra, which are quite clear about the private institution’s rights to fees and admissions. It is to be noted the timing litigation falls very close to the AICTE’s schedule for approval of new professional institutions, including engineering colleges. The last date for filing of pleas with the AICTE is February 28. The federation moved the petition on February 15 seeking the court’s intervention on the grounds that the AICTE may not accept their applications for not having fulfilled the new norms.

On February 18, the Delhi high court’s single-judge bench of justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, which heard the petition, ruled that the institutions can file their applications by the stipulated date subject to further orders in the writ petition. The AMUEC controls 177 private unaided engineering colleges in Maharashtra while the federation involves similar associations from key states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat, among others.

Prof Ghosh wins IBM faculty innovation award

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digitalLEARNING Network
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Prof. Siddhartha Ghosh has received IBM's (USA) Smarter Planet Industry Skills Innovation Awards 2010 for his project “A Proposal to Design and Development of Teaching Materials for Smarter Cities” along with a cash award of USD $10,000. Prof. Ghosh will now develop a course along with IBM Team on “Future (2050) Smart Cities” which will be taught in USA universities. The competition was open for all the engineering faculty members across the globe and jointly conducted by IBM Academic Initiative, IBM University Relations and IBM Smarter Planet Industry Skills Innovation Awards 2010. It's a reputed award across globe in teaching fraternity. In his paper Ghosh has shared his concepts, ideas and dream on how to use Artificial Intelligence to convert the present cities to smart cities by 2050. He has touched the areas like

IIT Madras student commits suicide

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digitalLEARNING Network
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A 26-year old MTech student of Mechanical Engineering at IIT- Madras committed suicide by hanging himself. V. Anoop hung himself from the ceiling of a room which is used to store water cans on the sixth floor of the hostel building. Anoop, a native of Andhra Pradesh, is remembered as a cheerful person. Residents said he had stepped out on February 23rd evening to meet a friend in Velachery but was not to be found after he returned at night. His roommate Narasimha Rao started looking out for him around the campus but could not find him. While returning, Rao noticed a length of rope hanging from the ceiling of an unoccupied room. He immediately informed the hostel authorities who alerted the police. Police teams rushed there, broke open the door, and recovered Anoop's body. Anoop had also left a note stating no-one is responsible for his death and the police should not disturb any of the college professors, his friends or family for an inquiry. Anoop's family was informed about the demise of their child. His father who works in private company in Tirupati was informed. After the postmortem, the student's body was handed over to family members on February 24, 2011 evening. Police sources said Anoop, who was pursuing a dual degree MTech programme in Mechanical Engineering, should have completed his course in 2009. However, he remained on campus in an attempt to complete his arrears and finish his project within the stipulated extension period. “Though he got an extension, he was unable to complete the project to clear the course. A lot of people think this might be the reason for his suicide. It is very sad that this happened because we have facilities like guidance counselling available on the campus but students also need to take the initiative to use it when they think they have a problem,” a student said.

Kapil Sibal unhappy with Eflu VC’s appointment

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digitalLEARNING Network
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The Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has asked the President Pratibha Patil to reconsider her decision to appoint Prof B. Gopal Reddy's as the VC of English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) based in Hyderabad. The university battling with controversies was functioning without a regular VC for nearly eight months. The last VC of the university Prof Abhay Maurya's tenure expired in June 2010 and a search committee headed by eminent writer U R Ananthamurthy was constituted in September 2010. The committee in its meeting on Oct 23, 2010, short-listed four names – Debarati Bandyopadhyay, (Shantiniketan University), Sukanto Chowdhury, (Jadavpur University), Gopal Reddy, (Palamur University) and Shelley Walia (Punjab University). The President, in her capacity as Visitor of all central varsities, has cleared Prof. B Gopal Reddy's candidature, which is backed by Petroleum Minister S Jaipal too. Kapil Sibal has returned the file to the President requesting her to reconsider her decision and appoint a fresh search committee, sources said. Prof. Reddy who joined as Eflu VC from December 12, 2010 has more than six years experience as VC of two universities, including Palamur, and is now additionally in-charge VC of Kakatiya and Telangana Universities.

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