‘Indian institutes soon to have NRIs, foreign scientists’

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May 24, 2017

The Government of India is soon going to launch a first-of-its-kind programme to allow foreign and NRI scientists to work in the country’s scientific institutions for a period of one to three months.

The programme titled as ‘Visiting Advanced Joint Research’ (VAJRA) is aimed to encourage top scientists across the world to work in India and to guide doctorate and post-doctorate students. The programme will also expose the students to research culture worldwide.

The scientists selected under this programme will be a cut above the rest in their respective fields.

“The faculty will be physically available for 13 months in the Indian institutions, but maintain an adjunct faculty status round the year,” said Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology.

The secretary was speaking at an event organised to publicise the ministry’s achievements since the current government came into power.

Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan was also present at the event. He said that since the current government’s inception, thousands of Indian-origin scientists working abroad have come back to India.

Under the VAJRA programme, number of scientists has been capped at 1,000 and draw a salary of $ 15,000 in the first month and $ 10,000 each in the remaining months.

The government currently runs a programme under ‘Ramanujan Fellowship’. However, it is aimed at attracting Indian students and doctors working abroad. The period of the fellowship is for five years.

Dell EMC partners Benett University for research on data analytics and machine learning

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Akash

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May 24, 2017

data-analysis-pitfalls-to-avoid-in-process-improvements.jpg — Business workplace

Dell EMC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bennett University to research jointly on data analytics and machine learning.

Under the partnership, a research laboratory will be set up by the Dell EMC to perform the research work and to develop key skills of Bennett University faculty members and students in areas of data science and cloud infrastructure.

The MoU leads Bennett University to become a member of Dell EMC’s External Research and Academic Alliance Program. According to a statement by Bennett University, the alliance will primarily involve coordination of information and expertise dissemination for education and training in the field of information storage and management (ISM), cloud infrastructure services (CIS), data science and big data analytics (DSBDA) and data protection and management (DPM),.

As part of the agreement, Dell EMC is likely to train the staff of Bennett University’s computer science engineering department in some of the leading technological areas. The training will be further extended to students with major focus on practical application. It will also provide a scope for around 120 students every year to opt for a course in the fields data science, cloud and information infrastructure.

“Bennett University’s main goals are driven by the larger aim of enhancing India’s higher education sector, by providing the students a premium Ivy League learning experience,” said Bennett University vice chancellor Yaj Medury. “Our USP lies in the courses we offer in partnership with prestigious global institutions such as Georgia Tech, Cornell University, Babson, edX.”

This will help advance different facets of the university ecosystem, he said. “We plan to move forward in machine learning and artificial intelligence with specific emphasis on health domain and the area of video analytics,” he added.

Krishna Kant, head, Dell EMC Academic Alliance, said, “The partnership with Bennett University is a step towards bridging the knowledge gap as a part of Dell EMC’s External Research and Academic Alliance Program in the upcoming digital era of IT and workforce transformation. Our goal is to ensure that the students and faculty alike, are well equipped to evolve digitally and to be better prepared when it comes to employability, with the help of training in the correct skill-set.”

Deloitte launches e-learning programme for businesses to understand GST regime

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Akash

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May 23, 2017

For companies and businesses, to understand the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the tax consultancy firm Deloitte has recently launched an e-Learning programme.

The e-Learning programme will be of 18 hours in length. According to a statement released by the firm, the programme will help organisations in smooth transitions according to the new regime. The consultancy firm will educate internal teams, customers and vendors through a structured programme on what GST means for them.

Partner of Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Prashant Deshpande, said that there will be four specific e-Learning modules for stakeholders – business leaders, procurement team, sales and distribution team, and internal teams. Accounting, finance, legal and tax departments of a company will come under internal teams.

It will help companies leverage and benefit from the practical experience of the network of Deloitte’s global indirect tax specialists. “These modules offer technical and practical training for various roles, interactive learning experience, simulated scenarios and assessments to ensure user engagement combined with flexible learning pace,” Deshpande said.

University of Hyderabad to boost e-learning

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Akash

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May 23, 2017

The University of Hyderabad (UoH), to help develop discipline-wise e-learning materials, is soon going to collaborate with several universities within the country and abroad.

The university is nearing completion of the India-European Union project- Enhancing Quality, Access and Governance of Undergraduate Education in India (E-QUAL). The “E-QUAL” is a collaborative project funded by European Union with a funding commitment of over one million Euros till May 2017.

Under the project, various activities are being implemented under disciplines like critical thinking, cultural studies, human ecology, natural resource management and sustainable development. The idea behind the project was to improve the quality of education in India.

“While the aim of e-learning is to implement e-courses and provide training for teachers on developing e-content, UoH became the first central university to develop and adopt an online education policy. An e-learning centre was set up as per the policy,” said Prof J Prabhakar Rao, faculty coordinator for the project.

“The project has also helped expose students to organising academic conference and presenting papers on online education. The study modules expose them to diverse disciplinary perspectives and basic concepts for a holistic understanding on the subject,” added Rao.

IIT Kharagpur to measure happiness index in Madhya Pradesh

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Akash

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May 23, 2017

News - 1 — Girl drawing smiley face on to a wall

IIT Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Madhya Pradesh for measuring the well-being of the people of the state.

The MoU was signed between MP government’s ‘Rajya Anandam Sansthan’ (Department of Happiness) and IIT-KGP’s Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness. According to an official communiqué from IIT-KGP, the MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Director of IIT-KGP Prof P P Chakrabarti.

IIT-KGP will analyse the data collected by the State government to develop the index and assess the level of happiness in the State. The institute will also chalk out recommendations to enhance happiness, the statement added.

The institute, through an online screening and assessment system, will identify suitable volunteers from the database of more than 30,000 people who have offered to be part of the collaborative exercise.

“Very good experience with the state and its leadership team, especially the volunteers who do this work without any payment in addition to their normal duties. Looking forward to some very interesting collaboration,” the release quoting Prof Chakrabarti said.

Satinder Rekhi, the patron of Rekhi Centre of Happiness at IIT Kharagpur, was also present at the MoU sign.

Microsoft to empower Indian NGOs through its Cloud Services

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Akash

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May 23, 2017

Laptop Isolated on Black Background. Vector Illustration.

Microsoft India has recently announced that its Azure Cloud service is available to non-profit organisations (NGOs) under its “Public Cloud for Good” initiative.

Qualified NGOs can avail free Azure credits worth $5,000 for a year with benefits such as insight, agility and operational efficiency. The software giant, between 2016 and 2018, is donating around $ 1 billion in Cloud Computing Resources to 70,000 NGOs worldwide, including India.

“Microsoft has a long-standing commitment to contribute in new and more impactful ways to a societal ecosystem that connects the benefits of technology to those who need it most and work harder to drive inclusion,” said Madhu Khatri, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft India.

To highlight how NGOs were using the platform to drive greater impact, Microsoft India partnered the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) Foundation to organise “Azure for Good” workshop. The workshop was attended by 22 representatives from 12 local non-profits.

“We are glad to partner with Microsoft in offering the Azure services worth $5,000 for a year free of cost to the eligible NGOs and are confident that this grant will more than suffice their cloud platform needs,” said Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation.

Sandip University gets autonomous status in Bihar

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Akash

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May 22, 2017

Sandip University has launched 1st self-financed university in Bihar. The university has bestowed upon by the Government of Bihar to commence various educational courses.

The university has its campuses in Mumbai and also in Nashik. This university was recently named as “Top 10 emerging educational institute of India”. Last year, Sandip University, Nashik, Maharashtra, got autonomous status under the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC)).

Dr Sandip Jha, Chairman, Sandip University, Nashik said, “With the growing awareness & diversity of youths from Bihar, there is always a need to bridge a gap between the knowledge & enhancement of skills, with this initiative we will mitigate the collaborative approach of a students, to acquire a balance proportional mix of knowledge & hand on experience.”

“As a native of Bihar, I have always seen that there are lot of difficulties a person from Bihar needs to undergo; whether in terms of job, global exposure, understanding, cross disciplinary efforts, etc. But, I am quite confident that Sandip University, Madhubani (Sijoul), will spark a new revolution in Bihar. People of Bihar need education to foster and polish their entrepreneurial zeal with the adoption of new cutting edge technologies and advanced teaching techniques,” he added

The university will focus on curriculum and teaching methods that entrails the students to demonstrate and deliver impeccable solutions to contribute to the country’s economy.

Dr Jha further said, “Bihar is one of the fastest growing state in India with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.4%. It implies delivering a high output value is must. I am sure that Sandip University will push crucial frontiers among the aspirants, who wants to expand their abilities to advanced level. I look forward and quite delighted to see the hope of enlightenment in Bihar.”

Researchers at IIT Delhi develop cheapest respiratory filter

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Akash

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May 22, 2017

Forest Fires Cause Smog in Dumai City — A woman in the city of Dumai, Riau, Sumatra wears a mask to protect herself from the air pollution caused by forest fires.

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) researchers have developed the cheapest respiratory filter so far.

Te newly developed filter will restrict entry of up to 95 percent dust and air pollutants.

The filter named as “Nasofilters” is a nano-respiratory filter will cost around Rs 10. The product is ready for commercialisation. It will protect against the finest particulate pollutants in the air for at least eight hours and hence reduce the risk of respiratory diseases.

President Pranab Mukherjee recently awarded the team of innovators with the “National Startups Award” for “Nasofilters”. The team includes, IIT Delhi faculty members, Manjeet Jassal and Ashwini K Agrawal along with institute’s alumni, Sanjeev Jain, Prateek Sharma, Tushar Vyas and a student Jatin Kewlani.

“To protect the health of millions, the team has developed an incredible filter technology to save people from the harmful effect of air pollution especially keeping in mind the PM2.5 concentration,” Aggarwal said.

Explaining about the project, the professor said, a thin flexible membrane was created by assembling millions of small-sized pores to capture tiny particles with high efficiency.

“This allows filters to be used for long hours while maintaining good breathability and comfort. The filters aim to provide relief to common users from air pollution and to protect people, who are prone to allergies. It also safeguards those who are exposed to job related industrial particulate pollutants. This is also probably the cheapest naso filter in comparison to the face masks and other alternatives available in the market to fight critical levels of air pollution,” he added.

The filter can stick to the user’s nasal orifice and would restrict entry of foreign particulate matter including PM2.5 particles, bacteria and pollen allergens.

The product will soon be available in Indian and global markets under the brand name “Nasofilters” by “Nanoclean Global Pvt Ltd” a company formed by the innovators.

Enrolments in Uttar Pradesh government schools declined, says CAG Report

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Akash

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May 22, 2017

The government-run primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh have seen a decline in the number of students enrolments, a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed.

From 3.71 crore enrolments in 2012-13, the same has come down to 3.64 crore in 2015-16. However, private-unaided schools have seen 36.5 per cent rise in the enrolments between 2010 and 2016, whereas for the same period, government schools have registered a decline of 18.6 per cent.

The CAG report for financial year 2015-16 on general and social sectors was tabled in the Assembly of Uttar Pradesh recently.

According o the report, on an average there were around 20 lakh drop-outs every year between 2010 and 2016, but the state government’s claim was of 0.63 lakh annually.

“In the 428 schools checked by the audit team, against the enrolment of 51,649 children, the attendance on the day of joint physical verification was just 13,861 which comes to 27 per cent,” the report said.

The report further stated that around 6.22 lakh children in the state were not provided school books during 2012-16 despite receiving adequate funds under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). There was a shortage of around 1.75 lakh teachers against the sanctioned strength of 7.60 lakh in the state-run schools, the report added.

Moreover, irrational deployment of teachers does not meet the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) in 17,732 primary schools and 1,349 upper primary schools with an enrolment of more than 150 students.

The report further revealed, even after six years of implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 119 teachers posted in primary schools and 30,730 posted in upper primary schools did not possess the required qualification.

The UP government provided only one set of uniform to the children under the SSA during 2011-12, though two set of uniforms were approved under the project and fund were released accordingly.

“Further, uniforms were not provided to 97 lakh children during 2012-16 despite availability of sufficient funds,” the report said.

MHRD to transform ITIs into formal schools

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Akash

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May 22, 2017

Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) is soon going to remodel Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) into formal schools like those affiliated to CBSE and ICSE.

ITIs offer skill education graduates will soon be remodeled as formal schools and enable its students to pursue regular courses in other schools and colleges. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has mooted a proposal in this regard that has been accepted by the MHRD. The proposal is likely to benefit over 2 million students graduating from over 13,000 ITIs every year.

On the similar lines of CBSE, ICSE and other regular boards, another board will be set up to award certificates ITI students at par with those given to students clearing class 10 and 12 from boards. This will help ITI graduates to pursue regular courses in other schools and colleges, a senior HRD Ministry official said.

Soon after the proposal’s approval, the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) will be authorised to conduct academic examination and certification for the ITI students.

Following consultations with CBSE, UGC, NCERT and state education boards, bodies like UGC and AICTE will be informed that they should instruct all colleges and universities to recognise ITI graduates as class 12 pass outs, the official added.

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