IIT final yr student lands Rs 1.8-crore job @ Google

Isha Jain

Lucknow





Son of entrepreneur parents, final-year computer science student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna, Lucknow boy Ashutosh Agarwal bagged a plum job with an annual package of Rs 1.80 crore at Google Inc.Presently in his 7th semester, the 21year-old, who finished a three-month internship at Google New York earlier this year went through another rigorous round of interviews, including telephonic, before he was absorbed by Google. He will work in one of the North American states, after he completes engineering. The placement is off-campus.
Ashutosh said the journey from Google Summer of Code (GSoC) to Google Inc has been exciting. “I had a great experience working there as an intern and the job offer is a dream come true. But this is certainly not the end, not the destination. I am very young and have a long way to go,'' Ashutosh told TOI over phone from Patna.
Delighted with Ashutosh's achievement, his parents, father Gopal Krishna Agarwal and mother Alka Agarwal said, “We are happy about his success. He is jovial, makes people happy and keeps cracking jokes among family and friends.'' Prior to his internship, Ashutosh had another stint at Google. This was at the end of his 4th semester. “After I finished second year exams, I was trying to do something.Fortunately , I got opportunity at GSoC, a global programme that offers students stipends to write code for open source projects. For three months, I worked from home and added a new feature to an existing programming framework,'' he said.
After he completed his internship in August, Google offered him a full-time job.“Since it was off-campus placement, not many came to know. When I got the offer letter, my friends and I partied,'' said Ashutosh. An above average student, Ashutosh completed his schooling from Seth M R Jaipuria and secured 96.4% in class 10 and 95% in class XII.
IITs will not reveal salary figures from this season
Country's premier technical institute, the IITs have decided not to reveal any pay package figures from this placement season following complaints of peer and parental pressure on students. “Disclosing salaries puts unnecessary pressure on students. It kickstarts peer pressure as well as parental and societal pressure. People forget that only very few of them actually get those fat pay packages of over a crore. The minimum and average salaries are much less,“ said Prof Sudhirkumar Barai, Chairman, Career Development Centre at IIT Kharagpur.
Source: Times of India, 3-12-2015

Technology the way forward for Indian education

India’s education system is in a crisis. And it’s a crisis that we believe technology can play a critical role in solving. The 2014 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) showed that nearly 75% children in Class V cannot solve a Class III division problem. Alongside low student learning levels such as these, India also faces a shortage of 1.4 million teachers — meaning many children face even more difficult access to quality instruction.

So what can be done? One piece of the puzzle is to think about what types of learning can be made available through technology that can both help augment a child’s experience in a classroom and also give access to those in rural areas.

Educational technology (EdTech) allows students to study at their own pace, which means that gaps in learning are addressed quickly and easily. Self-learning models enable anywhere, anytime learning by reaching directly to students.

This type of learning is the best for students whether they’re struggling to catch up or excited to move beyond their grade level. These emerging adaptive learning tools allow students to bridge the academic achievement gap by providing personalised learning.

Second, the power of technology can also connect students to high-quality resources, regardless of their location. Personalised learning using adaptive tools and allowing teachers to differentiate instruction to meet varying student interests is the best way to think of the classroom of the future.

Third, EdTech can help to promote higher order skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving and creativity by encouraging students to participate in project-based work and allowing teachers the time to engage actively with

students in such areas. When class time is freed up by using technology, teachers are enabled to spend it with students or in small group work situations, enabling learning in many different ways. This can be achieved through blended

learning models that combine one-to-one learning on computers with teacher instruction. The Nalanda project by the Motivation for Excellence Foundation in Mumbai explores the potential of learning mathematics using a blend of teacher instruction and self-learning through an offline digital learning tool.

We need to recognise that the large number of low-income children in the Indian education system calls for the creation of open educational resources that can be made available free or at a low cost to the students. The cost of proprietary digital content, ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per year per subject, is often too high for students, whether they’re studying in government or private schools. Moreover, we need to create products in local languages that cater to students studying in vernacular medium schools, especially to first generation learners.

With the Internet and mobile infrastructure becoming widely available, the government pushing for the adoption of digital technology, and entrepreneurs and funders collaborating to create innovative solutions, there is tremendous potential for technology to continue to improve the quality of education and student learning levels in India. This is a special time in history when we actually have a chance to help all our students have access to world-class education.

Sal Khan is founder and CEO, Khan Academy and Ashish Dhawan is founder and chairman, Central Square Foundation

Source: Hindustan Times, 2-12-2015

Past and Prejudice

CHANDER GUPTA





The events of the past leave their imprint on the mind in the shape of memories that we can recall. Memories are a nebulous commodification of the past. We delve into memories to revisit our past. Besides creating evocative memories, our past also builds a legacy of provocative prejudices.The prejudices are sometimes so subtle that their impact on our behaviour is not recognised by us. Impulses that trigger reaction or even over-reaction are the offshoots of our prejudices. It is not as much the `provocation' from the other side as emanating from our own prejudices.
Worse than judging others is pre-judging them. Pre-judgment comes from that legacy of the past we aptly call `prejudices'. The more the potency of our prejudices, the less will be our objectivity . Pre-judging people or ideas is particularly dangerous because we are not even aware of our prejudices.So ingrained do prejudices become in our psyche that we can't differentiate wheat from chaff. Prejudices obliterate our objectivity .
Lack of and lapses in objectivity distort our true self, making us commit avoidable errors in our social discourse.Prejudices become an unconscious blemish on our conscious self. We have to identify and isolate prejudices for cleansing our psyche. The more objective we are in our day-today lives, the less strife will we encounter. To be completely prejudice-free may not be humanly possible. But we can and we should try to be as objective as practically is possible.

All But One Deemed Varsities Score A, B

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi





BLACKLISTED TO STAR PERFORMERS 17 of 38 deemed to be univs found deficient earlier have now earned an `A' rating from NAAC

An autonomous body set up by the country's top higher education agency has given a neargreen signal to all 38 deemed universities that had been blacklisted in 2009 for failing to meet a range of quality parameters.The National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC), established by the University Grants Commission, in a report submitted last month to the Supreme Court, placed 17 of the 38 deemed universities in Category A and assigned one ­ Nehru Gram Bharti University in Allahabad ­ to Category C. The NAAC report was reviewed by ET.
The NAAC's recommendations come almost a year after a UGC report had given a clean chit to all except seven of the deemed universities that had been blacklisted six years ago.
The NAAC, which assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in the country , also placed these seven institutions in Category A or B. The panel awarded Category A rating to Bharath University, Chennai; Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Ambala, and Manav Rachna International University , Faridabad.
Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Science and Technology (PRIST) University, Thanjavur; Vinayaka Missions University, Salem; Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Chennai, and Institute of Advanced Studies in E d u c a t i o n , S a r d a r s h a h r, Rajasthan, got a Category B rating.
Institutions graded A, B and C are considered very good, good and satisfactory , respectively , and are accredited, while grade D is an `unsatisfactory' rating and not accredited, according to the NAAC website.
The latest development could mean a complete reprieve for the deemed universities that had been declared severely quality deficient in 2009 by a committee headed by PN Tandon.
“With the Supreme Court accepting NAAC's new gradation, the human resource development ministry should instruct UGC to take all policy decisions based on NAAC accreditation and not the Tandon classification,“ Dr S Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean of SASTRA University in Thanjavur, told ET.
The quality of deemed varsities has been questioned repeatedly.During the second stint of the Congress-led UPA government, then HRD minister Kapil Sibal ordered a review through the Tandon committee, which found 44 of the 126 deemed universities to be seriously deficient.
These institutions challenged the Tandon committee report in court, while some of them opted out of the deemed varsity system and applied instead for Institute of National Importance status, after which 38 of the 44 varsities have been under the scanner.
A UGC panel set up in 2014 to examine afresh the 44 blacklisted varsities effected a surprising U-turn, saying that no more than seven of them were found to be inadequate on specified standards and should face action. The report of the committee headed by UGC vice chairman H Devaraj was accepted by the UGC.

Source: Economic Times, 2-12-2015

Effort not wasted as city ragpicker bags UN award

Nitisha Kashyap

New Delhi:





For him it was just a means of livelihood and he had never thought that collecting ewaste from households would have its rewards. But this 35-year-old waste picker from Hazrat Nizamuddin area was pleasantly surprised to get a call to attend COP21 in Paris. Mohammad Khokhan Hamid is going to receive the UN Climate Solutions Award for keeping the environment clean.Hamid, who lives with his wife and two children, started picking waste when he was 14. He would collect it from households and then dump it in Jahangirpuri and Azadpur. Now, he collects waste from 90odd houses on Pandara Road in central Delhi.
“Three years ago, I got in touch with Chintan, an NGO collecting ewaste and recycling it. They explained that burning electronic waste was hazardous not just for people but even the environment.The toxic metals and flame retardants result in severe environmental problems,“ Hamid said.
Chintan had started a project `From Toxic to Green' under which e-waste is channelised safely . They discourage waste pickers to burn them and give incentives on recycling. The NGO works with Safai Sena, which has 12,000 members including waste pickers, doorstep waste collectors, junk dealers and other recyclers.
The organisation has trained around 2,000 waste pickers, including Hamid, on how to deal with ewaste and solid waste. “These people play a key role in mitigating ewaste related carbon emissions in Delhi,“ said Chitra Mukherjee, head of programmes at NGO Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group.
The prospect of receiving the award has given Hamid a great sense of pride in his work and himself. He was initially apprehensive about going to Paris, but his wife, Ayesha, asked him not to step back.“Language would be an issue and I may not be able to speak to my family till the time I will be there. But my wife assured me that she will handle everything here,“ he said.
Three months ago, when Chintan broke the news to him no one believed him and he had to show his passport to prove it. He has since safely kept his passport inside a suitcase. This is the first time he would be going anywhere outside Delhi. “I am yet to shop for my Paris visit. I have been told that it is going to be colder than Delhi so I have to buy warm clothes,“ he said excitedly .

Source: Times of India, 02-12-2015

Innovation only way to both go green & grow'

Vishwa Mohan

Paris:





Microsoft founder Bill Gates has backed PM Modi's case for India's growth, saying it will be unfair to ask developing countries to shift to low carbon strategies as long as clean energy costs much more than fossil fuels. He added that vigorous innovation was the ation was the only way to close the gap.Gates told TOI that slowing down development to go green is a difficult trade-off. “So if you say to a developing country like India because of green reasons you slow down the development, that is a very difficult thing as we know development can save lives, provide education to kids, take care of health, and there are so many benefits of energy usage”.
Pitching the merits of the coalition of 28 of the world’s wealthiest investors that he helped launch here, Gates said initiatives like Breakthrough Energy Coalition can make a big difference. “The only way you can achieve both goals (fighting climate change and boosting economic growth) is to have innovation that brings down the premium for clean energy ideally to zero or even invent a source of energy which is cheaper then coalbased energy ,“ he said. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates's argu ments are in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India is not responsible for global warming and needs carbon space to grow to pull millions out of poverty and provide electricity, transport, housing, education and health. India has called for subsidised transfer of green technology and asked developed nations to accept higher carbon control targets in keeping with historical responsibilities. “As long as the energy that is green (or zero CO2 energy) costs a lot more than say coal-based energy then you are asking countries to make a very difficult trade off,“ Gates said.
The Breakthrough Energy Coalition is an international group that includes India's Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani and is intended to promote research for delivering affordable and reliable carbon free power.
Gates expressed the hope that the number will grow further and efforts would result in providing solutions to the world where poor and developing countries do not have to comprise on economic growth and poverty eradication. The coalition was launched in Paris together with the `Mission Innovation', an initiative of 20 governments, including the US, India, France, UK, Germany , China, Japan and Australia.
Asked about Indian partners of the coalition, Gates said that when he approached Mukesh (Ambani), he was very quick to say he was enthused. “Reliance is a very fast moving and technologyoriented industry . ...It is good that his (Mukesh Ambani) company is involved in this (the Coalition). It's fantastic,“ he said. About Ratan Tata, Gates -co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tan Tata is somebody said, “Ratan Tata is somebody I know through his philanthropic works and I really admire him. It was a big boost to have him agree“. He noted that Ratan Tata, in fact, talked to University of California and brought it on board.
Besides Tata and Ambani, Jack Ma of China's Alibaba Group, Richard Branson of UK's Virgin Group, Meg Whitman of HP , Vinod Khosla of US' Khosla Ventures, Chris Hohn of UK's The Children's Investment Fund and the University of California are among the investors in the Gates-led coalition on global warming.

Source: Times of India, 02-12-2015

Tax relief valid on edu loans to study abroad

Lubna Kably

Mumbai:





In good news for parents whose children study overseas or plan to do so, the Pune income-tax appellate tribunal has held that higher education abroad is no bar for claiming tax relief on educational loans.A deduction for interest paid on such loans will be allowed from the taxable income of a parent, who has taken the loan and is paying interest, even if the child is studying overseas.
However, such a loan must be taken from either financial institutions, banks or from government-approved charitable institutions. Though Section 80E of the I-T Act states a parent is eligible for claiming tax relief on such loans, it has often been a ground for dispute during tax assessment. The term `higher education' has been defined in Section 80E of the I-T Act as: “Any course of study pursued after passing the senior secondary examination (SSE) or its equivalent from any school, board or university recognised by the central government, state government, local authority or any recognised authority .“
“This section does not specify that higher education must be undertaken by the student in India or that the overseas course must be approved by authorities in India. The only requirement is that such higher education should be undertaken by the student after passing SSE or its equivalent from a recognised institution in India,“ says Parizad Sirwalla, tax partner, KPMG.
Even in this case of Nitin Shantilal Muthiyan, which came for hearing before the Pune tribunal, the tax officer had held that deduction under Section 80E is allowable only in cases of higher education pursued in India. He, thus, disallowed the claim of interest of Rs 73,125 made by the taxpayer whose son, who had completed his BE in Electronics from Pune University, was pursuing a course at George Washington University , US. At the first stage of appeal, the commissioner of I-T (appeals) also upheld the action of the tax officer.
The taxpayer then filed an appeal with the income-tax appellate tribunal (ITAT) and obtained a favourable order. The ITAT in its order observed: “Provisions of Section 80E do not contain any stipulation that the higher education should be pursued only in India. If the intent of the legislation was that education should be pursued in India, in order to avail of the interest deduction, it would have stated so. Further, the taxpayer's son had completed SSE or its equivalent, as is required by this section, before pursuing studies overseas.“ Thus, the ITAT allowed the interest deduction claim made by the father during financial year 2008-09.
“The ITAT's decision is welcome, particularly in light of the spiralling cost of overseas education, and more and more Indian students opting for higher studies overseas. In terms of applicability of the decision, an ITAT's decision is binding within its jurisdiction, but carries precedent value in similar disputes for other jurisdictions, which are outside its purview,“ adds Sirwalla.
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Source: Times of India, 2-12-2015