It's springtime for MBAs again: Study

Mumbai: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Corporates are once again investing in the promise of an MBA. On the academic floor, management education which went through troublesome years is seeing springtime this recruitment season.Employer demand for recent business school graduates will see a strong upward trend in 2015, as 84% of companies worldwide plan to add new MBAs to their workforce -up from 74% in 2014 and 62% five years ago, according to a global survey of employers. Globally , more than half of the employers will increase starting salaries for new MBA hires in 2015, either at the rate of inflation (30% of companies) or higher (21%).
The median starting salary expected in 2015 for recent MBA graduates in the United States is $100,000. This represents an increase of $5,000 over 2014 salaries and is nearly double the expected starting salary of $55,000 for bachelor's students in 2015. Prior work experience is key in helping students stand out in the job market, especially for MBA graduates, the survey noted. Depending upon the degree earned, employers expect fresh graduates to have an average of two to four years of prior work experience.
The survey was conducted by GMAC, the European Foundation for Management Development and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance and 113 business schools worldwide.The GMAC 2015 Corporate Recruiters Survey drew responses from 748 employers in 47 countries around the globe, including 46 companies in the Fortune 100.The analysis provides a view into the current employment landscape, gauges the demand for MBA and master-level business graduates, and offers insight into hiring practices and trends across industries and world regions.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

India, China ink 24 key agreements to boost ties in trade, economy, education

ndia and China signed 24 key agreements to strengthen their bilateral relationship in several fields including trade and commerce, education, skill development, railways, human resource and other areas.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang after delegation level talks in Beijing.

Key agreements signed are

• MoU in the field of Railways which will enable India to seek Chinese cooperation to introduce high speed rails on Delhi-Nagpur Sector, and increase track speed on Chennai-Benguluru-Mysore route. As part of MoU, China will also extend assistance in establishment of Railway University in India.
• Several other agreements were also signed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade and investment and other fields and for establishing relationship at the provincial, city and municipality level between India and China.
• MoUs in this regard, will facilitate establishment of relationship between Chennai and Chongqing, Karnataka and Sichuan, Hyderabad and Qingdao and Aurangabad and Dunhuang as sister-state or province relations.
• MoU to open consulate General offices in Chengdu and Chennai to facilitate trade and economic engagement and people-to-people exchanges.
• Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and China’s Fudan University signed an agreement for establishment of Centre for Gandhian and Indian Studies at Fudan University and Yoga College in Kunming.
• MoU to enhance increase cooperation in the field of vocational education. It will facilitate China to extend assistance in establishment of vocational training institutes in India.
• An action plan on cooperation in setting up of the Mahatma Gandhi National Institute for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in Gujarat.
• Both nations also signed Space Cooperation Outline for 5 years i.e. from 2015-2020.
• MoU was also signed between Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and China’s Earthquake Administration for cooperation in earthquake science and earthquake engineering.

Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja Pandit selected for prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University

Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja Pandit are two Indians who have been selected for the prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University.

Both of them are among the 50 scholars, scientists and artists who will begin their one-year fellowships at the Radcliffe Institute in September 2015.

Shivani Agarwal is from Indian Institute of Science has been selected as William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Fellow for learning to make choices in the era of big data.

Maharaja Pandit from University of Delhi has been selected as Hardy Fellow for his project life in Himalaya.

About Radcliffe Fellowship

• Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University is considered as one of the most prestigious honors for faculty. It is instituted by Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.
• The fellowship is dedicated to creating and sharing transformative ideas across the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities.
• Annually the fellowship Program supports the work of 50 leading artists and scholars across the world.

Vedanta - Wrong Logic of Karma

P L GUPTA





During the long journey of life, we pass through trying conditions and adverse deals.Any kind of injustice makes most of us feel agitated and some of us tend to rebel at situations or people in our search for fair play . The Law of Karma evolved to bring some kind of solace to reconcile disturbed minds by giving them reasons for why bad things happen to good people or why bad things happen at all.God is a useful invention: as purveyor of justice for our actions in various lives and who keeps a record of all our good and bad actions, our karma, so to speak. But how practical or true can this theory of kar ma be? What is the bench mark that will determine that a certain action is good or bad?
And what ab out the thought behind an act, the intention? To chart a credit-debit balance sheet on the basis of actions that are subjectively slotted as being `good' or `bad', is a rather shaky proposition.
The good and bad differs from state to state, religion to religion, situation to situation and also changes with the times. The concept of good and bad, say , of the Dark Ages, differs drastically from modern times. For instance, how would one judge the taking of life?
Killing in self-defence, to save another being attacked, in times of war, accidental, as death penalty...? Where would these figure: in the credit or debit column of the karma sheet? You see why the theory of karma doesn't hold water?

May 20 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Indians 2nd biggest job creators in London

Kounteya Sinha

London





Indian Firms Gave 504 Employment Offers In '15

Indians have become the second biggest job creators in London in 2015.Latest data released by London and Partners on Tuesday showed that Indian companies have already created 504 new jobs this year in London alone -second only to the Americans who created 1983 jobs. China which is investing heavily in UK created only 277 jobs so far this year.
The number of jobs being created by Indian companies for Londoners has been increasing with every passing year. In 2012, India created 404 jobs in London followed by 429 in 2013 and 438 in 2014.
More foreign companies -driven by a surge in tech startups -are expanding or setting up headquarters in London than ever before. A record 270 companies, creating nearly 5,000 jobs, have set up or grown significantly in the last year, according to the Mayor's business and promotional company .
As far as new companies are concerned, 28 new Indian companies set up shop in London in 2015 -four higher than the Chinese and second only to America. Global giants like Pfizer, Greenland Group and Tata Elxsi have all expanded or created new headquarters in London. f A decade ago, just 26 tech t companies came to London s but, last financial year there were a record 108. London and a Partners said, “Companies l from India, China, Japan, Australia, Spain and France are also key investors, creating many jobs in tech, financial and business services and the life science industry.“

May 20 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Speed post faster, more reliable than pvt couriers: CAG

New Delhi TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Should we depend on private courier services? A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) study has found that private couriers deliver only 90% of letters compared to 99% by speed post.In major cities, the performance of speed post is faster and more reliable. The postal service delivers 99% of letters through speed post within 1-9 days as compared to 92% by private courier services that take up to 10 days.
At the local level, the delivery by speed post is 98% compared to 93% by courier services. While the time taken by speed post is 1-11 days at local level, it is 1-12 days in case of private couriers.
In a report on department of posts, tabled in Parliament recently , the official auditor has said the performance of speed post has been better not only at local level and in major cities, but it is the only reliable service at the tehsil and village level.
To compare the performance and quality of speed post with private courier agencies for delivery of mails, a test check was conducted by CAG in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Checks were conducted by posting hundreds of letters.
At the tehsil level, only speed post could reach 100% addressees that too within 1-7 days. Private couriers could deliver only 83% letters and the time ranged from 1-23 days.
Speed post was introduced in 1986 to provide a faster and time-bound mail delivery service in major cities. However, due to late delivery of mails people had stopped relying on the department. But the auditor says the perception is wrong and speed post still remains most reliable and account for more than 10% of the total revenue of the DoP.

May 20 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Red-tapism killing innovation in Indian labs: Top science journal

Shimona Kanwar

Chandigarh





At a time when the Narendra Modi government is celebrating a year in office, one of the world's leading science journals, `Nature', has criticized its handling of India's top research organizations. In its May 13 editorial, the journal blamed “bureaucratic morass“ for the lack of scientific innovation in the country .The journal's cover this week is about science in India.“India must tackle the bureaucratic morass that is impeding research and innovation,“ says the editorial in `Nature'. “Scientists complain that funds for grants routinely arrive months late and that it can take years to fill positions. As a measure of the problem, one-third of the national laboratories, which are overseen by the prestigious Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), lack permanent leaders. Even the CSIR is run by a temporary director-general.“
Currently , 65% of government-run major scientific laboratories under the CSIR are without permanent directors.
“The problem lies in not being able to attract the best minds towards science and innovation today ,“ former CSIR director general professor S K Brahmachari said while referring to the “puny scientific workforce“ mentioned in `Nature'. “To drive the best minds as scientists, we need societal respect and comparable financial remuneration.“
Professor Dinesh Kumar Abrol, former principal scientist at CSIR, Delhi, said: “In the absence of decision makers, people-friendly CSIR projects like the CSIR 800 and Open Source Drug Discovery have come to a standstill. These projects had been working towards bringing research products to the rural areas and making health affordable through novel drug discoveries.“
Many CSIR scientists have quit the organization and joined academic institutions in the recent past. “In pre-independent India, Dr S S Bhatnagar in 1942 and professor C V Raman in 1933 earned Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 a month, respectively,“ said professor Brahmachari. “Post-Independence, salaries were reduced for scientists. Post-liberalization, opportunities in areas other than science increased exponentially and diverted our best minds away from public-sector science institutions.“