Free Wi-Fi at 25 monuments this year

The facility will be available free of cost for the first 30 minutes and thereafter, it is chargeable on the basis of additional usage.

The Archaeological Survey of India has finally identified 25 centrally-protected monuments to offer Wi-Fi this year. The facility will be available free of cost for the first 30 minutes and thereafter, it is chargeable on the basis of additional usage. The list includes Humayun’s Tomb, Qutab Complex and Red Fort in Delhi, Rani-ki-Vav in Gujarat’s Patan, Rock-cut temples in Himachal’s Masroor, Leh Palace in Jammu & Kashmir, the Hampi ruins in Karnataka, Elephanta Caves in Mumbai, Khajuraho temple in Madhya Pradesh, Sun Temple in Odisha, and the excavated site of Sarnath in Varanasi. 

Last month, Taj Mahal became the first monument in India to offer free Wi-Fi to tourists. The service, inaugurated by the Union minister for Information & Communications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, is currently being offered at 5G speed through various Wi-Fi hotspots created within the complex. BSNL has collaborated with a US-based company for providing the high-speed service, which is free for the first 30 minutes and afterwards, users pay Rs 30 for an hour. “The service at other monuments will be on the lines of the one being offered at Taj Mahal. Tourists will have options to choose from various easy subscription plans. For security purposes, they will have to feed in their mobile numbers and e-mails to the BSNL Wi-Fi network,” said an official from the Tourism Ministry. “With this facility, visitors can shoot videos and photos and upload them on social media in real time. This, along with the e-ticketing facility, will go a long way in increasing the footfall at our monuments,” added the official. 

Right move

Supreme Court takes a step towards reading privacy as a fundamental right. The timing is just right.

The Englishman has known that his home is his castle since 1628, when Sir Edward Coke wrote it into the Institutes of the Lawes of England, the bible of common law. And he codified a belief that had been in currency for at least a century earlier. Coke’s dictum has been sadly misused by the right in several countries to argue for the right to be badly behaved at home. But, on the other hand, it also established the notion of private space as the refuge of free will, the fundamental building block of democracy. It is therefore surprising that until now, the jury has been out on the question of privacy in India, which has successfully adapted numerous English institutions to an Asian context. In response to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s argument that two judgments by constitution benches in 1954 and 1963 had held that privacy is not a fundamental right, and that there can be no clarity on the question unless it is referred to a nine-judge bench, the Supreme Court has held that without the fundamental right to privacy, the right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution would be meaningless. This is not the last word on the issue since the matter, in which various parties have argued that the collection of Aadhaar data is a violation of privacy, is still being heard. But the court has clearly indicated its willingness to sanctify privacy. Following his observation on Englishmen and their castles — Englishwomen did not typically own property or enjoy much free will at the time — Coke had elaborated, “…et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium (and each man’s home is his safest refuge)”. Hopefully, the court will enlarge on the theme. The idea of private space is no longer defined spatially. It is the dimensionless mindspace in which we think, express and interact. The contemporary “castle” that deserves legal protection is the human community, the media and the ether in which its communications intermesh, where it interacts with institutions and performs all the functions that bring richness to life, from rocket science to slapstick comedy. While individual privacy remains the bedrock of democracy — its basis is a secret ballot — the privacy of the collective and of relationships has assumed equal importance. While public concerns about the collection of private data by Aadhaar for authenticating identity may be exaggerated, the possibility of multiplexing data to profile people and groups is real and could amount to an invasion of privacy. Since deterrents to this possibility will be legal rather than technical, the courts will play a crucial role in resolving this issue. The Supreme Court has moved purposefully in the right direction. - 

Slimming Down

Reduce Centrally sponsored schemes, specify their objectives and timelines.

-A Niti Aayog taskforce chaired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has apparently recommended that 25 per cent of the funds under Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) be made available to states as untied monies. If this recommendation is accepted, states would receive a total of Rs 42,000 crore during 2015-16 itself. This recommendation should be viewed in the context of the fairly substantial changes proposed to the CSS policy framework, as well as the 14th Finance Commission (FFC) recommendations on devolution of tax revenues. At this juncture, states have taken stock of what they have lost on the swings and gained on the roundabouts. Although every Central finance commission makes recommendations that are perceived by some states as being less beneficial, the recommendations of the FFC have resulted in a solid 10 percentage point increase in devolution of divisible tax revenues. This is untied money. States could put this money to good use in their own priority areas — be it health, education or early childhood care. It is for this reason that many Central ministries witnessed a sharp decline in CSS allocations. To some extent, allocations have now been raised from the original 2015-16 budget level. The taskforce’s reported recommendation that programmes on health, education and employment be implemented by all states is welcome. It is also appropriate to reduce the number of CSS to 25-30, as against the current 67. This approach would have a desirable impact on the states’ ability to tailor their development efforts to their requirements. Reduction in the number of CSS would also enable better fiscal management in the states. As far as untied funds to the extent of 25 per cent go, the taskforce should indicate broadly how this money can be spent. According to some reports, the earlier dispensation of 10 per cent as untied money left many states wondering what to do. The list of 25-30 CSS would also need to be drawn up carefully, so that crucial areas are not left out. A good starting point is to look at the problems that stare us in the face: Rural poverty and unemployment and the resultant lack of income and livelihood security; productivity and drought-proofing of agriculture; lack of access to affordable and sustained healthcare; problems of both quality and access to elementary and secondary education, including the lack of trained teachers, high absenteeism, reluctance to transfer funds, functionaries and powers to enforce accountability to panchayats and lack of schoolrooms and physical infrastructure. Issues relating to malnutrition need serious attention and intervention. At the other end of the spectrum are problems relating to internal security and the quality of policing. Drawing up this list of 25-30 CSS is as important as the issue of their funding. They need to be adequately funded — Central government funding, state government funds and local government resources have to be factored in. Inadequate funding or midstream lack of clarity will result in idling or misutilisation of available monies. Another problem that has led to poor implementation of even flagship schemes is the hiring of personnel. Many schemes provide for hiring staff on a contractual basis. But many states have hesitated to do so as they are afraid of being saddled with manpower costs if the Centre decides to discontinue the scheme. What states most dislike is the frequent introduction of schemes and their abrupt cessation. This taskforce is a good forum to work out the list of CSS, the precise outcomes these should attain, the period of time in which this should happen and lastly, a solid system of account-keeping and early audit. Impact-assessment by independent agencies is already part of the system and could be further institutionalised. If the Centre and states can work together to prepare a roadmap, fully involving local governments and factoring in contributions of corporations, India could hope to provide good education, health, nutrition, skill development and jobs, as well as a secure environment in which its citizens can flourish. The writer is a former member secretary, Planning Commission. -

Aug 07 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

India's Engineering Graduates Fail to Crack English Language Code

Prachi Verma Dadhwal & Saumya Bhattacharya

New Delhi:





About 67% of engineers graduating from India's colleges do not possess good spoken English skills

Poor spoken English may be keeping a large number of India's engineers from landing some of the best paid jobs in the country.A study has found that an overwhelming 97% of engineers in the country cannot speak English required for high-end jobs in corporate sales and business consulting.
Moreover, as per the report based on the study, about 67% of engineers graduating from India's colleges do not possess spoken English skills required for any job in knowledge economy.
The study `The National Spoken English Skills of Engineers Report', conducted by Aspiring Minds, surveyed English skills study of 30,000 engineers across 500 engineering colleges.
Although the problem is far more pronounced in tier 2 and tier 3 colleges, instilling spoken English skills is a big challenge in Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology as well.
About 600,000 engineers graduate annually in India.
“As we get students from different back grounds and regions around the country , they are mostly not comfortable with the English language,“ said Gautam Biswas, director, IIT Guwahati. “Quite a few students appear for JEE (joint entrance examination) in their mother tongue. It becomes very difficult for them to follow the curriculum as almost everything is taught in English.“
UB Desai, director of IIT Hyderabad, said the problem of students not being able to speak English is not restricted to IITs but is prevalent across the country, and even in China and a few European nations.
“Over the years, the focus in the education system has shifted to chemistry, maths, physics. Focus on soft skills has reduced. This is impacting the students. Sometimes, these students may even lose out on good job prospects as many companies come to campuses for global positions as well,“ he said.
Engineering students in the metros do much better in spoken English skills than those in the non-metros, according to the study . Kushal Sen, dean-faculty at IIT Delhi, affirms this.
“A majority of our students may not have the problem of speaking in English but there are about 30 per cent who need to be groomed when it comes to soft skills. Soft skills that include speaking in English, etiquette, etc, are important from the job point of view,“ he said.IIT Delhi offers its students additional courses on soft skills.
Tier 1 colleges fare better in spoken English skills than their peers down the line. “As expected the spoken English ability of candidates becomes worse, on average, in campuses in lower tier cities,“ said Varun Aggarwal, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO), Aspiring Minds. “There is further degradation of spoken English skills from tier 2 to tier 3 campuses as compared to that from tier 1 to tier 2 campus,“ he said.

the speaking tree - Possession Without Obsession Is The Way To Go

Jaya Row





Vedanta speaks of the attitude of dispossessiveness towards your possessions. But people have misunderstood this to mean giving up possessions. And they have given up vedanta instead! The Bhagwad Gita extols concepts like aniketa, homeless, and aparigraha, dispossession. And people have either walked away from home and possession in the name of religion or renounced spirituality .Possession is physical. How can a physical entity cause mental bondage?
You may possess the whole world and remain free of `my-ness' and `mine-ness'. Or you may have very little but be hopelessly dependent, possessive and miserable! Vedanta recommends sannyasa or renunciation. This is a mental attitude, not a physical state. You have to renounce your dependence, attachment and acquisitiveness; not possessions.Possession and possessiveness are totally unrelated. King Janaka was a man of renunciation. So was Sudama, a pauper.
Possessiveness is defined as excessive desire to acquire, possess and dominate.This leads to bondage and loss of freedom. The Tibetans refer to it as do chag or sticky desire. It springs from dependence and lack of self-sufficiency. It causes fear, friction, suspicion and frustration. The root cause is a sense of emptiness, incompleteness, deficiency. You are too obsessed with yourself.
Vedanta emphatically declares the truth that you are paripurna or totally fulfilled, completely satisfied. For some reason, you do not know it.Ignorance of your fullness causes an imaginary void.Desire arises in the mind to acquire and possess things to fill the void. When desire is fulfilled, you are happy. When desire is thwarted, you are unhappy .
Vedanta gives knowledge of your fullness. Once you experience fullness you will be free from desire. Then you will be independent of the world. Vedanta also prescribes the technique of obtaining the world so that you are comfortable at any stage in life. In short, Vedanta enables you to gain the world and not be bound by it.
The turning point is to look within and become aware. Awareness is a function of the intellect. You are living a life divorced from the intellect. Look within. Are you jealous, vicious, negative towards people? Or are you loving and affectionate? Are you smallminded and obsessed with yourself or are you inspired with a higher vision?
The 3-D plan of action is ­ Dedication, Devotion and Discrimination. Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita to perform yajna, work in a spirit of service and sacrifice for a higher goal. Shift from the attitude of taking to that of giving.
Devotion is not just declaring love for God; it is cultivating love for your fellow beings, removing hatred, ill will and competitiveness from your heart.One who hates no being, is dear to me, says Krishna.
Discrimination is knowledge.Knowledge of what will remain with you and what will perish. Then you begin to disinvest in that which is temporary and divert your energies to that which endures. Shankaracharya defines knowledge as ­ nitya anitya v iveka vichara ­ constant reflection on the distinction between the permanent and impermanent aspects of life.
Get to the centre of the wheel of life.You will gain mastery over the universe.Worldly things occupy the rim. Objects of attachment spin ceaselessly and mercilessly around you. Fixed at the centre is Atman, the lodestar. That is the real you. Find it! Follow Jaya Row at speakingtree.in The Speaking Tree is also available as an 8 page newspaper every Sunday for Rs 3. Book your copy of The Speaking Tree with your newspaper vendor or SMS STREE to 58888.

Here's the list of 8 words added to Oxford Dictionary's June edition

 We share with mid-day readers a list of 11 words that were added to the Oxford English Dictionary’s (OED) June edition

 >Arre (interjection): Used to express a range of emotions and commands, esp.annoyance, surprise, or interest, or to attract someone’s attention. [Firstrecorded in 1845]  

>Batchmate (noun): A member of the same graduationclass as another; a classmate. Also used in Philippine English. [1918]
> Revert(verb): To answer in speech or writing; to reply. [1973]
> Topper(noun): The leading student in a particular class, school, exam, etc.; ahigh-achieving student. Frequently with preceding word. [1971]
> Yaar(noun): As a familiar form of address: friend, mate. [1963]
A few more that we bet you didn't know werein the OED:
> Biodata(noun): Biographical details, esp. summarising a person’s educational andemployment history, academic career, etc. Used chiefly in North America andSouth Asia. [1947] 
> Videshi(adjective): In India: foreign; coming from a country other than India. [1980]
> Papad(noun): poppadom [1813]

Source | Mid Day | 3 August 2015 

CBSE tightens strings to check fake universities menace -

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has informed that sporadic incidents of candidates using fake Mark-sheets and Certificates for obtaining job or admission in Higher Educational Institutions as well as incidents of schools sponsoring ineligible candidates in the examinations conducted by the Board have been reported.

UGC, AICTE and CBSE have taken several steps to check the menace of these Fake Universities, Institutions and Schools. UGC has written to all the Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Education Secretaries of all states including Union Territories to check the menace of fake universities and initiate a drive against institutions offering degrees without approval of the Statutory Authorities viz. UGC, AICTE and Distance Education Council (DEC) in the States and Union Territories. UGC also issues ‘Public Notice’, ‘Press Release’ and paid advertisements for the awareness of the general public, students in the leading daily newspapers at the beginning of academic session, cautioning aspiring students not to seek admission in such institutions.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has informed that various fraud cases have been detected during the last two years in several states. AICTE has further informed that presently 343 technical institutes which do not have AICTE approval are running in the Country. The details of such Institutes are available on AICTE web portal at www.aicte-india.org/misapproved institutions.php.

In order to avoid irregularities, to ensure the availability of qualified faculty and basic infrastructure, AICTE has published an approval Process Handbook as per the AICTE (Grant of Approvals for Technical Institutions) Regulations, 2012. Institutions violating these norms and standards are liable for punitive action per the Approval Process Handbook. AICTE has introduced e-governance in all the processes to bring transparency, accountability, flexibility by integrating the entire system. Besides above, AICTE has also taken few steps viz. sending letters to Principal Secretary/ Director, Technical Education/ concerned State authorities for taking appropriate action. Public Notices have also been issued by AICTE in newspapers cautioning the students not to take admission in such unapproved institutions for the benefit of Stakeholders.

CBSE has also displayed the list of affiliated or disaffiliated schools as well as the results of Class X and Class XII and other entrance examinations conducted by the Board on its website for ensuring the genuineness of the mark sheets. Public notices are also issued as and when the Board withdraws affiliation of any school.

As per information made available by the University Grants Commission (UGC), 21 Fake Universities have been listed in the UGC list of Fake Universities. The details of such Fake Universities are available on the UGC website www.ugc.ac.in. In addition, the UGC has also informed that Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), Qutub Enclave, Phase-II, New Delhi are also unrecognized and functioning in violation of Section 2(f) and Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. The High Court of Delhi has given the final decision against the IIPM and advised that acts of the IIPM, Arindam Chaudhari and Malay Chaudhari, constitute a criminal offence of cheating punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. To comply with the Court decision, the UGC has lodged FIR against IIPM in the Police Station.

The Ministry requested the Chief Secretaries of several State Governments where these Fake Universities and Institutions are situated, to investigate the matter and register complaints in the Police Station. The prosecution may also be initiated against those involved in defrauding and cheating students by misrepresenting themselves as “Universities” awarding degrees with their name.