UGC hikes fellowship, scholarships

The University Grants Commission has revised fellowship and scholarship amounts for scholars of various schemes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

“The Expert Committee for bringing parity among all existing Fellowship and Scholarship Schemes of UGC, in its meeting held on November 17, has recommended revised rates of fellowships/scholarships amount for scholars under various schemes,” it said in a notice on its website.

The revised rates for 15 such schemes are applicable with effect from December 1.

Emeritus Fellowship has been hiked from Rs 20,000 to Rs 31,000 per month. Similarly, BSR-Faculty fellowship has been raised from Rs 30,000 to Rs 46,500 per month. Also, Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Scholarship for Research in Social Science has been brought up from Rs 8,000 in first two years and Rs 10,000 for third and fourth year to Rs 12,400 and Rs 15,500 respectively.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/12/ugc-hikes-fellowship-scholarships/#sthash.FJ2zcWJo.dpuf

Parliament passes IIIT bill

Any decision on education policy will be in tune with constitution, Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani assured as Parliament passed a bill to bring four institutes of information technology under the ambit of a single authority.

The Indian Institutes of Information and Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2014, passed by Rajya Sabha 1 December, seeks to provide the four existing IIITs an independent statutory status and proposes to declare them as institutes of national importance to enable them to grant degrees to their students.

The bill, passed by Lok Sabha last week, is the first education bill passed by the Narendra Modi government.

Moving the bill for passage, Irani assured the house that any decision on education policy by government will be in ambit of the constitution.”Some members asked if the education policy decisions by government will be influenced by my own thought. I would like to assure members any decision by government will be within the ambit of constitution,” she said. Irani also called it a “golden moment” saying MPs from “left, right and center” came together for the education bill.

“I am feeling proud… the message is clear, there is no politics in education,” she said. The four institutes are IIIT-Allahabad, IIIT-Gwalior, IIIT Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur and IIIT Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/12/parliament-passes-iiit-bill-first-on-education-by-modi-government/#sthash.dyVdhMbI.dpuf

Dec 05 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Not prohibited, but is it permitted?

Somasekhar Sundaresan





India has followed a policy of making laws whenever a problem is spotted, rather than enforcing existing laws to solve problems. The result is a society that is never sure of where it stands, legally

Does the law need to tell you what you are permitted to do? Or rather, must you on ly do what the law explicitly permits you to do? As a matter of Indian law, the answer would be: “No.“ Our constitutional framework does not entail telling people what they are permitted to, and to assume that all else is prohibited. In fact, unless something is prohibited, one should assume that all else is permitted.However, social reality is one of unpredictable fear and concern. Most Indians, who do not wish to take a chance, would ask their lawyers in dread: “Where is it written that I can do this?“ The Indian Constitution guarantees various freedoms. Indeed, these freedoms are not absolute.They may be fettered by laws that impose “reasonable restrictions“. The objectives for which reasonable restrictions may be imposed are spelt out ­ for example, grounds such as national security, public order, decency and morality, contempt of courts, incitement to offences and defamation. Although such grounds are themselves limited, they can be vague and subjective. Therefore, laws that impose restrictions on freedom are capable of being challenged in high court and the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional.
In one such case, the Supreme Court has quite clearly said that courts are not to act upon the principle that everything is to be taken as prohibited unless it is expressly permitted. On the contrary, the court has said, the principle to be applied is that everything is to be understood as permissible until it is shown to be prohibited by law.
Yet, why do Indians crave for specificity from the law on what they might legitimately do? Over the decades, the Indian Republic has followed a policy of making laws whenever a problem is spotted, rather than enforcing existing laws to deal with the problem. Examples of our system following the principle of “show me a problem and I will write you a law“ are aplenty. For instance, when the Satyam fraud was discovered, company law got rewritten for the entire society, instead of existing laws being stringently enforced. It's a lot like when college adolescents are attracted to each other and their institutions impose prohibitions of all sorts on them, rather than deal with the issues that give rise to the situation.
Even the judiciary, when public interest litigants ask them to legislate, trip up and contribute to the approach of legislating solutions. A classic example is the Supreme Court ban on sun-control films being used on vehicle windows. The judges were somehow convinced that banning tinted windows in vehicles would help curb the occurrence of crimes inside them.
The net result is that Indian society has been seasoned as one that is never sure of where it stands with the law. It is the lack of clarity about whether one is legitimately entitled to complain that makes our society fearful of challenging laws. It's a society that develops respectful awe (read “fear“) for the lawmakers rather than for the law. It might even become a society that would not want to assert freedoms -the people keener not to end up on the wrong side of the law, than to enjoy and cherish freedoms. Anton Chekhov, a Russian writer who lived between 1860 and 1904, (before the Soviet revolution) wrote a story called `A Man in a Case', which quite explains the concept. A character in the story, Byelikov, was a confused soul who would have full clarity only with government circulars in which things would be specificially forbidden. For anything else, that allowed subjective liberty, like opening a drama club or a reading room or a tea shop, he would say: “It is all right, of course; it is all very nice, but I hope it won't lead to anything!“ In the story, those who put his body in a case and bury him, say: “We returned from the cemetery in good humour. But not more than a week had passed before life went on as in the past, as gloomy, oppressive, and senseless -a life not forbidden by government prohibition, but not fully permitted, either: it was no better.“
Tweets: @SomasekharS

Dec 05 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

India Deserves a Lot of Attention





Ulrich Spiesshofer sees India as an export hub

ABB global CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer, 50, is on a mission to change the way the global leader in power to automation does business. India is the largest engineering hub for ABB worldwide, with about 4,000 engineers and will play a key role in its future, he said in an interview to Satish John. Those employees include the 1,200 in its R&D centre, which ABB plans to leverage to tap markets in Africa and elsewhere for affordable micro power grids, locomotive technology and other segments, the German national said on a day in which the ABB India stock surged 20% before ending . 1,315.05, up 13%.at ` Spiesshofer, who is changing the organisational structure in ABB, is eyeing opportunities in India in locomotives and renewables as the country looks to modernise its electricity network and put in place infrastructure for smart cities.Edited excerpts:
ON INDIA EXPECTATIONS
There is a very large and strong home market. There are some underlying dynamics both in the power and automation side of our business which will allow us to participate in the market very strongly and I see India's role as an export hub. It will grow into the next level in the next couple of years. So altogether India deserves a lot of attention from our side.
ON OPPORTUNITIES IN POWER
ABB is into power and automation.There is a big shift that's happening in the generation side. In the future, one can expect much more activity from the renewables generation side. ABB has the strongest offering in solar energy.We'll continue to invest there.We've localised some of the activities and we're ideally placed in the segment. In the utilities space, we need to bring power to the consumption side. Renewables mean longer distances. We need to have low loss, higher distribution.
Look at the consumption side of it.Over 300 million Indians are without access to electricity . There are two options to reach electricity to them. It can be either through the conventional way or through micro-grids where you can take solar or wind energy and combine them with storage and distribute them.We are driving it very aggressively .
If you take agriculture, most countries consume about 2% of the electricity that is generated. In India, agriculture consumes more than 20%. This is only because of very inefficient irrigation systems. We have developed solar pumps in India, where we have solar panels and water pumps that exist close to each other and then you engage in irrigation in a much more responsible way. So for me, the utility sector, the electricity value chains are opportunities that are very demanding.
Another emerging opportunity is in the transportation and infrastructure space. The government is talking about setting up more than 100 smart cities. There is a lot of investment in transport.
ON PROSPECTS FOR AUTOMATION IN INDIA
If you take the situation of Indian manufacturing, it will compete against other manufacturing regions of the world. India is not only about cheap labour cost... it's about quality and about accuracy . The coexistence of affordable labour cost and high-level automation can position India in a very strong way in the manufacturing world. So my advice to customers is don't bank on cheap labour cost only . But if you combine affordable labour cost with smart levels of automation, then you get better quality output and good productivity and then you can really differentiate. So automation and labour need to go hand in hand and not replace each other.
ON CONTRIBUTION OF INDIA R&D
We have hired more than 4,000 engineers in India. Of these, 1,200 are in R&D and the rest in engineering.That makes India the largest engineering hub for ABB worldwide.
The role of R&D in India for ABB worldwide has changed fundamentally. In the past, it was an extended workbench. But today we are leading key projects all around the world with Indian teams. So we are proud of what the team has achieved here. I spent Tuesday afternoon with different R&D teams and we now have fully capable, fully empowered local R&D teams. It can not only work for India but for key projects worldwide. We'll continue investing here.
What I am particularly proud of is that it has one of the lowest turnovers in R&D in India. It is because we are combining the short-term opportunity to long-term people development.
ON PARTNERSHIPS, ACQUISITIONS
Here in India, I met many customers and companies that may be potential partners. I'm putting in a new organisation for ABB as of Ja nuary 1. But you'll see us make acqui sitions in the next few years again.
There's no doubt about that. The partnership ap proach is the way to drive growth. In l echnology converg a world where technology converges more and more, it is important that we stay focused and identify complementary partners where both partners are benefited.
We want to outgrow competition and for this we'll focus on strong organic growth, targeted acquisitions and more partnerships in the times to come.
ON POTENTIAL FOR SMART GRIDS
If you take the smart grid situation here, there's a demand-driven pull and a supply-driven push to develop market capabilities. The move by India to move towards renewable energy will increase the complexity of the grid. It will be more volatile and less predictable and longer distances and many more feeding points than in the past.
So to control that grid you need to put in some very smart technologies to make sure you've a reliable grid. So the next phase of smart grid development will be driven a lot by raising complexity in the generation side and less so from the consumer perspective. We are working on consumer savings but the big change will come from the generation side.
ON GROWTH POTENTIAL OF INDIAN LISTED ENTITY
Today , we have a 75% shareholding in the Indian listed subsidiary . The focus is to profitably grow this business. So if you look at the underlying growth drivers of this country and ABB's technology position, there's no reason to be not optimistic for the long term. But we need a predictable reliable economic environment where the government policies that are on the horizon are put into reality and actions are taken in light of those policies.
We see an increased appetite for potential investment but we need to see the investments and see money flowing into the projects so that we are convinced that this is going in the right direction. We listen in to what the customer hears and we have patience and perseverance to get it going.
ON HIS MESSAGE TO ABB INDIA'S MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS
For the shareholder in India, ABB is a very attractive long-term investment. Look at the years to come, we are well-positioned to take advantage of the market potential. We have a strong technology base, a strong brand. We are investing continually in competitiveness.
ON INDIA SCALING UP
Besides numbers, there is other way to look at business. For me, India is a highly strategic, relevant piece of the ABB portfolio. The local market, the export capability and the global capability are the key elements that can differentiate India very strongly. There is a coexistence of the ABB portfolio... We have a strong China, a strong India... We are changing the organisational structure of ABB. We are putting three new regions -Europe, America and AsiaMiddle East-Africa. I really believe in the axis between Asia, Middle East and Africa. There's a fantastic opportunity in the future. The competition in Africa will be won, enabled by Indian and Chinese resources. We need to make sure that we compete that way... We won't try to penetrate Africa from Europe...we'll try to penetrate from our Asian outposts.
ON INDIA STARTUPS
Let us talk about software. India deployed a lot of resources for software for financial services and insurance business. We see some activity there. That's why we are picking up maybe one of the companies or teams.
We will also be partnering with some small local teams or university departments. So in industrial software there are tremendous opportunities to work together with the Indian workforce and Indian software and also with large-scale players in India.

Dec 05 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

India to Outpace China in 2 Yrs: RIL Chief

New Delhi: Our Bureau





Country will surpass China's growth rate but mature governance needed to tackle infra issues, says Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani expects the Indian economy to outpace China to become the world's fastest growing in two years, but the country needs “mature governance“ to tackle infrastructure issues.He said businesses are upbeat as a sense of confidence has replaced the feeling of helplessness that prevailed earlier, and the country is lucky that oil prices, a big chunk of India's imports, are much lower this year.
“I clearly see with both inflows and internal stability, we will gradually increase our growth rate and I have no doubt in my mind that we will be the fastest growing economy in the world in the next 2-3 years. We will exceed China's growth rate,“ he told a private television channel.
He said confidence in India had increased significantly, leading to a desirable change in sentiment. “I believe for all economies it is confidence, and to my mind, confidence is the most important element. I think what we have got back at the individual level, at the institutional level and the government, the confidence has come back, the spirit of helplessness and what to do, what we can not do, has gone away.I think both internal and external confidence has come back to India,“ Ambani said.
Commenting on global crude oil prices, the billionaire said 2014 has been a lucky year for the country which depends heavily on imports for its energy needs.
“2014 has been a lucky year for India. If we think about 2004 2014, oil prices went from $20 to $140 and we now are on the horizons of $60-70. That really is a gift of nearly $35-40bn from what we are used to a year. So, if this continues for two years, it's a gift from the world. Last year, we had paid penalty but going forward it's a gift to us.“ Highlighting the problems of infrastructure, Ambani said the government needs to strike a balance in addressing the needs and expectations of stakeholders in infrastructure projects.
“We will have to have a path to what I call mature governance, and the recognition that any investment will need returns, that return has to be fair and transparent. It has to be fair not only to the investor but also to the users of the infrastructure. For example, I have rail or port service, I should be able to afford the output after giving a fair return, so really it is a three-day partnership between the consumer, what the government wants and what the investor wants.“
Ambani said Reliance Industries will be completing investment . 200,000 crore over the last decof ` ade, which will reflect in production in the second half of 2015 and first quarter of 2016. “This itself, in a sense, doubles Reliance.To double a company of our size in 2-3 years, to my mind, requires focus. We are not going to allow anybody to de-focus.“
He said in the retail business, he sees Reliance catering to consumers physically and digitally.Reliance Industries, which sees its retail business growing by 2530% every year going ahead, has earlier said that it is keen to tap synergies with Network 18, a broadcasting group it has recently acquired, to explore and expand e-commerce.
“We will see an online-offline world and whoever is able to integrate that in the interest of the customer, if we generate customer value, I believe we will win in the market,“ Ambani said.

Dec 05 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

`Indians don't speak up, just follow orders'

Sujit John & Boby Kurian

Mumbai: TNN





We're Trained To Solve Problems, Not Find Them, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka Tells TOI

Vishal Sikka, 47, took over as CEO of Infosys at a time when things looked dim for the once vaunted software company . It had gone through over two years of underperformance compared to some of its peers. Sikka's appointment was a surprise and a relief. Surprise because of his background in software products that was very different from the services space at Infosys.Relief because many wanted a fresh face at the helm. In the four months since Sikka's appointment, the Infosys stock has risen significantly. In an exclusive interview to TOI, Sikka says he feels a tremendous burden of expectation:What are your thoughts on the first four months at Infy?
The atmosphere is electric.People are so excited, there is so much positive energy that has been built up -it's difficult to describe. Never seen anything like this. Yes, may be in the trip to Australia with (PM Narendra) Modi. But that was little different. I walk into these rooms and people go crazy . There's a tremendous burden of expectation.

How different is it from SAP?
I have to think more about this.But the propensity to change, the desire to improve is awesome in Infosys. Over the last year there was this turmoil, people leaving. I created a team to look at simplification of processes, to deal with problems people have. Everybody in the team was so genuinely passionate about simplifying things. I was very impressed.Our development centre (DC) in Chennai told me they would be the best embracer of artificial intelligence among DCs in Infosys. You don't normally find large companies embrace change this way .
What makes it so?
Part of it comes from our education, which is at the heart of Infosys. Our Mysore training campus is so awesome. We can train on such a massive scale -16,000 trainees at a time for 23 weeks. Mr Murthy used to call it learnability. Education is in the mindset of employees, they are keen to learn.
What do you see as your big challenges?
One is that the company processes have not kept pace with its massive growth. Another is that we have to improve the confidence of the youngsters.This is true for all Indian IT companies. The consistent feedback from customers is that though Infosys is without comparison in quality and delivery and we follow orders dutifully, we don't speak up, we are not proactive. As an innovator, this made me very sad.We are trained to solve problems, not trained to find problems. We have this cultural thing -if I speak up, it is questioning of authority . This is totally counter to the Western mindset. We serve Western companies, and they expect us to speak up. John McCarthy , father of artificial intelligence and who was in my examination committee, once told me this unforgettable thing: Finding and articulating the problem is half the solution. The other half is to solve it.
Many of the solutions to yesterday's problems will be automated. But no matter how intelligent robots become, they will not tell us what the big problems are, they don't have the imagination of human beings. That's why I'm moving the company in that direction.
Do you think this will result in some confusion?
The results of the change will take a while. But the mindset change will happen instantaneously . The industry has been in a downward spiral, even the big western guys. They are hiring cheaper and cheaper, jamming people into projects faster and faster, hiring from more and more mediocre places. That is the wrong direction.That spiral goes to zero. We want to create an upward spiral, create more and more value. Turbo props were excellent planes, but they lost the battle to jet engines. There's a certain inevitability about going up the value chain.

Dec 05 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi) 1,000 new words in Oxford Dictionary London PTI   The Oxford Dictionary has added as many as 1,000 new words and phrases to its online version including `al desko', `lolcat', `Duck face' and `Obamacare', in its largest ever quarterly update.The online dictionary has added a raft of words including teenspeak, gaming terminology and business lingo.The entries by editors at Oxford Dictionaries reflect the influence of popular culture and include abbreviations such as lolcat (a picture of a cat with a humorous caption) and IDC (I don't care). While `Obamacare' is an informal term for a federal law intended to improve access to health insurance for US citizens, `al desko' means working at one's desk in an office. `Duck face' is an exaggerated pouting expression in which the lips are thrust outwards, typically made by a person posing for a photograph. Words such as mamil (middle-aged man in Lycra), silvertail (a person who is socially prominent or who displays social aspirations) were also added to the online dictionary , Guardian reported.