Signs don’t match - Discrepancy in letters on IIT director (28.12.08)
New Delhi, Dec. 28: The presidential approval for M.S. Ananth’s reappointment as IIT Madras director appears to have been tampered with before being released under the Right to Information Act, casting fresh doubts on an appointment already under legal scrutiny.
Copies of the approval letters, provided by the human resource development (HRD) ministry and the President’s secretariat, carry different signatures, indicating that only one of the two can be authentic (see graphic in the link). Ananth’s reappointment for a second term as IIT director last year was set aside by Madras High Court last week on the ground that the appointment process violated the IIT Act. This was the first time a court had set aside the appointment of an IIT director.
A review petition against the order is expected to be filed this week on behalf of the ministry.
But discrepancies between the approval letters provided by the ministry and the President’s secretariat suggest foul play, said the appellant before the court, E. Muralidharan.
Both approval letters carry the same text and are signed over the name of Barun Mitra, joint secretary in the secretariat. But the signatures differ.
Mitra, asked which was the original document, refused to explain the discrepancy. “I do not need to explain anything to you. These are official documents and I will only respond if I am asked officially,” he said.
Once official documents are released under the RTI Act, however, they become public documents.
In both letters, the presidential approval is dated June 28, 2007, when A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was President. The President’s approval to all director appointments in the IITs is mandatory since, as Visitor to the institutes, he is their highest authority.
“The question is not merely about identifying the original document. The larger question is: who tampered with a presidential approval and why,” Muralidharan said.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
IIEST: Unborn Giants
The following is what wikipedia says about IIEST:
Indian Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology [1](IIEST) are institutes proposed by the Government of India to meet the growing demand for engineering and scientific manpower to meet our country’s increased industrialization. The proposed IIESTs would be created by an act of the Parliament of India. They would be given the status of Institutes of National Importance, on the lines of IITs and NITs by the Indian government.
Initially, a group of seven elite universities had been selected for upgradation to the status of IITs by the S.K.Joshi committee. Since these colleges were controlled by the respective state governments and which couldn't be given IIT status due to political, administrative or technical reasons the MHRD appointed another Committee, called the Anandakrishnan Committee. The Committee recommended setting up a new family of institutes by upgrading the selected group of colleges and to be called IIESTs (Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology). Later, the Government of India shortlisted it to five institutions for the upgradation.
The five institutions have been short-listed based on the final Anandakrishnan report are as follows:
IIEST Kochi Cochin University of Science and Technology
IIEST Kolkata Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur
IIEST Hyderabad Osmania University College of Technology
IIEST Visakhapatanam Andhra University College of Engineering
IT-BHU which was shortlisted to be an IIEST in now on the path of being upgraded to an IIT.
Indian Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology [1](IIEST) are institutes proposed by the Government of India to meet the growing demand for engineering and scientific manpower to meet our country’s increased industrialization. The proposed IIESTs would be created by an act of the Parliament of India. They would be given the status of Institutes of National Importance, on the lines of IITs and NITs by the Indian government.
Initially, a group of seven elite universities had been selected for upgradation to the status of IITs by the S.K.Joshi committee. Since these colleges were controlled by the respective state governments and which couldn't be given IIT status due to political, administrative or technical reasons the MHRD appointed another Committee, called the Anandakrishnan Committee. The Committee recommended setting up a new family of institutes by upgrading the selected group of colleges and to be called IIESTs (Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology). Later, the Government of India shortlisted it to five institutions for the upgradation.
The five institutions have been short-listed based on the final Anandakrishnan report are as follows:
IIEST Kochi Cochin University of Science and Technology
IIEST Kolkata Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur
IIEST Hyderabad Osmania University College of Technology
IIEST Visakhapatanam Andhra University College of Engineering
IT-BHU which was shortlisted to be an IIEST in now on the path of being upgraded to an IIT.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Mumbai terror drama: Story in figures (26-29 Nov, 2008)
Indo-Asian News Service (from NDTV.com)
Saturday, November 29, 2008 6:48 PM (Mumbai)
At least 183 people, including 22 foreigners, were killed in the 60-hour terror trauma in India's financial capital that began on Wednesday night. Following is the long-drawn ordeal in cold figures:
Hours of operation: 60
Total people killed: 183
Civilians (Indians): 141
Security forces: 20
Foreign tourists killed: 22 (Three each from Israel and Germany; two from Canada and one each from US, Italy, China, Thailand, Mauritius, Singapore, Britain, Japan and Australia. Five are yet to be identified)
Total Injured: 239
Indians: 216
Foreigners: 23
NSG commandos:
In operation: 477
Killed: 2
Injured: 8
Policemen killed: 18
Terrorists
Total: 10
Killed: 9
Arrested: 1
Saturday, November 29, 2008 6:48 PM (Mumbai)
At least 183 people, including 22 foreigners, were killed in the 60-hour terror trauma in India's financial capital that began on Wednesday night. Following is the long-drawn ordeal in cold figures:
Hours of operation: 60
Total people killed: 183
Civilians (Indians): 141
Security forces: 20
Foreign tourists killed: 22 (Three each from Israel and Germany; two from Canada and one each from US, Italy, China, Thailand, Mauritius, Singapore, Britain, Japan and Australia. Five are yet to be identified)
Total Injured: 239
Indians: 216
Foreigners: 23
NSG commandos:
In operation: 477
Killed: 2
Injured: 8
Policemen killed: 18
Terrorists
Total: 10
Killed: 9
Arrested: 1
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Copy of famed Lincoln letter turns up in Dallas
From NDTV page on 18 Nov 2008
A Texas museum hopes a document found in its archives turns out to be an authentic government copy of Abraham Lincoln's eloquent letter consoling a mother thought to have lost five sons in the Civil War.The famed Bixby Letter, which the Dallas Historical Society is getting appraised as it prays for a potential windfall, has a fascinating history.
The original has never been found. Historians debate whether Lincoln wrote it. Its recipient, Lydia Bixby, was no fan of the president. And not all her sons died in the war.The letter, written with "the best of intentions" 144 years ago next week, is "considered one of the finest pieces of American presidential prose," said Alan Olson, curator for the Dallas group."It's still a great piece of writing, regardless of the truth in the back story."Historians say Lincoln wrote the letter at the request of a Massachusetts official, who passed along news of a Boston woman grieving the loss of her five sons.
The letter is addressed to "Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass." and begins with an acknowledgment that nothing written could possibly make a grief-stricken mother feel better about such a horrific loss."I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming," Lincoln wrote.
After thanking Bixby on behalf of a grateful nation, Lincoln wrote that he would pray that God relieve her anguish and leave her with only the "cherished memory of the loved" along with "the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."The letter, as was the president's custom in his personal correspondence, is signed "A Lincoln."
A Texas museum hopes a document found in its archives turns out to be an authentic government copy of Abraham Lincoln's eloquent letter consoling a mother thought to have lost five sons in the Civil War.The famed Bixby Letter, which the Dallas Historical Society is getting appraised as it prays for a potential windfall, has a fascinating history.
The original has never been found. Historians debate whether Lincoln wrote it. Its recipient, Lydia Bixby, was no fan of the president. And not all her sons died in the war.The letter, written with "the best of intentions" 144 years ago next week, is "considered one of the finest pieces of American presidential prose," said Alan Olson, curator for the Dallas group."It's still a great piece of writing, regardless of the truth in the back story."Historians say Lincoln wrote the letter at the request of a Massachusetts official, who passed along news of a Boston woman grieving the loss of her five sons.
The letter is addressed to "Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass." and begins with an acknowledgment that nothing written could possibly make a grief-stricken mother feel better about such a horrific loss."I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming," Lincoln wrote.
After thanking Bixby on behalf of a grateful nation, Lincoln wrote that he would pray that God relieve her anguish and leave her with only the "cherished memory of the loved" along with "the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."The letter, as was the president's custom in his personal correspondence, is signed "A Lincoln."
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Rising Income And Declining Satisfaction
Special Article (Growth and Welfare), The Saesman, Nov.1, 2008
Rising Income And Declining Satisfaction
By Bharat Dogra
In recent years whenever our ruling politicians have been told about increasing problems and discontent of the people, they have responded in various ways. They never forget to draw attention to the high rate of economic growth. “Look at the 9 per cent growth rate, things can’t be bad”. But what politicians forget is that there is an increasing disconnect between the growth rate and GNP figures on the one hand and the real well-being of people on the other. This leads to growing disenchantment with existing economic indicators like the GNP. So much so that the French government, responding to people’s changing perceptions, has now launched efforts to find other indicators which can be a better reflection of the real condition of the people. Even the 23 high-income OECD countries, which are supposed to be the biggest achievers and beneficiaries of the existing path of development, are discontented. The Human Development Report states: “Although per capita incomes in the OECD countries now average $20,000, surveys reveal growing insecurity and considerable dissatisfaction.” In Britain, a study by the New Economics Foundation which prepared an index of ‘Sustainable Economic Welfare’ revealed that during 1975-1990, the GNP rose by about 33 per cent but sustainable economic welfare fell by about 50 per cent.
Quality down
In a survey on the changes in the quality of life by the British Social Science Research Council covering a five-year period, the people who were interviewed almost unanimously said that their level of consumption had gone up yet the quality of life had gone down during the last five years. They feared that this trend of increased consumption and a decline in the quality of life would continue over the next five years. Most countries have registered an increase in life expectancy in recent decades; but this has been accompanied generally by an increase in chronic health problems, physical as well as mental. The Director-General of WHO said recently, “Increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize.” The state of the World Health Report 1997 (WHR) prepared by WHO went a step further when it added, “Longer life can be a penalty as well as a prize. A large part of the price to be paid is in the currency of chronic disease.” In Britain, for instance, General Household Surveys after a 16-year gap revealed a 50 per cent increase in ‘long standing illness’ and a 75 per cent increase in acute illness during the preceding two weeks. Walter Yellowlees, a highly experienced doctor of this country said in a paper presented at the Royal College of General Practitioners : “I believe it is true to say that in those countries which have achieved unparalleled advance in technological skill in medicine and in what is called standard of living, we are witnessing the decay of man ~ the decay of his teeth, his arteries, his bowels and his joints on a colossal and unprecedented scale.” Suicide rates are known to be quite high among some of the most economically prosperous countries, raising disturbing questions. In Australia (what appears to be a land of fun and fortune), suicide rates are reported to be among the highest in the world. As many as ten per cent of Australians commit some form of self-harm. China is supposed to have the most impressive record of economic growth in recent years. However, a recent study by WHO, Harvard University and the World Bank noted that China also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world ~ about thrice the world average. In India, the price rise is disconnecting the common people from the widely publicised data of high economic growth. The impact is worse than what is indicated by official statistics of inflation. In recent interviews with weaker section families, this writer found that people would time and again come back to talking of the impact of inflation regardless of what question was being asked. However, even before the present phase of inflation, middle class families were also complaining of a sense of deception ~ of seeing their cash gains being lost in the middle of other, frequently bigger changes. Many people complain bitterly about the steep hike in educational and medical expenses. With the increasing privatisation of education, people have more diverse options for their children’s education and careers, but for many of them this gain has come at too heavy a price. There is increasing economic tension as limited income gains are more than wiped out by sharply rising educational expenses from early school to the university level. At the same time, there has been a decline in the standard of government schools and closer career linkages with expensive educational institutions so that few options may be left for the people to opt out of the expensive system. The lack of options is becoming even more difficult in the case of medical treatment. In most parts of the country, the standards of government hospitals and public health centres have been allowed to deteriorate. Simultaneously, there has been a proliferation of private hospitals and nursing homes, including several in the ‘five-star’ category. People are torn between the desire to avail the treatment here and the prohibitive expenses. A single serious illness or accident in a family can eat up all savings, perhaps also lead to indebtedness. Close family ties push people to seek better and convenient medical treatment at all costs, leaving behind a legacy of debt and economic stress even in the middle of rising cash earnings. Steeply escalating expenses of medicare and medicine cause tension and uncertainty among people regarding how to cope with a medical emergency.
Lopsided growth
Although India has been known for its closely-knit families, the trend towards a breakdown of ties has increased. This is partly because of the same factors that promise a rise in monetary gain. The disruption of family life leads to stress and depression, above all for children, and increasing economic problems as well. Growing inequalities in the wake of fast but lopsided growth leads to social tension and a feeling of being left out among many people. In the middle of all the glitter and glamour of fast economic growth, many may feel squeezed out or alienated compared to those who can join in the celebrations. Thus in a situation of rising inequalities, in terms of relative gain and loss even many of those who have not lost in real terms may nevertheless feel like losers. Such feelings get aggravated in times of inflation when the majority suffer a huge pinch even as the party goes on uninterrupted for a select few. There needs to be a wider and deeper realisation of these factors which matter a lot for the well-being of people beyond the statistics and rhetoric of growth and GNP. A better realisation of the real basis of people’s well-being will make it possible for economics and governance to become more involved in the true welfare of people.
Rising Income And Declining Satisfaction
By Bharat Dogra
In recent years whenever our ruling politicians have been told about increasing problems and discontent of the people, they have responded in various ways. They never forget to draw attention to the high rate of economic growth. “Look at the 9 per cent growth rate, things can’t be bad”. But what politicians forget is that there is an increasing disconnect between the growth rate and GNP figures on the one hand and the real well-being of people on the other. This leads to growing disenchantment with existing economic indicators like the GNP. So much so that the French government, responding to people’s changing perceptions, has now launched efforts to find other indicators which can be a better reflection of the real condition of the people. Even the 23 high-income OECD countries, which are supposed to be the biggest achievers and beneficiaries of the existing path of development, are discontented. The Human Development Report states: “Although per capita incomes in the OECD countries now average $20,000, surveys reveal growing insecurity and considerable dissatisfaction.” In Britain, a study by the New Economics Foundation which prepared an index of ‘Sustainable Economic Welfare’ revealed that during 1975-1990, the GNP rose by about 33 per cent but sustainable economic welfare fell by about 50 per cent.
Quality down
In a survey on the changes in the quality of life by the British Social Science Research Council covering a five-year period, the people who were interviewed almost unanimously said that their level of consumption had gone up yet the quality of life had gone down during the last five years. They feared that this trend of increased consumption and a decline in the quality of life would continue over the next five years. Most countries have registered an increase in life expectancy in recent decades; but this has been accompanied generally by an increase in chronic health problems, physical as well as mental. The Director-General of WHO said recently, “Increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize.” The state of the World Health Report 1997 (WHR) prepared by WHO went a step further when it added, “Longer life can be a penalty as well as a prize. A large part of the price to be paid is in the currency of chronic disease.” In Britain, for instance, General Household Surveys after a 16-year gap revealed a 50 per cent increase in ‘long standing illness’ and a 75 per cent increase in acute illness during the preceding two weeks. Walter Yellowlees, a highly experienced doctor of this country said in a paper presented at the Royal College of General Practitioners : “I believe it is true to say that in those countries which have achieved unparalleled advance in technological skill in medicine and in what is called standard of living, we are witnessing the decay of man ~ the decay of his teeth, his arteries, his bowels and his joints on a colossal and unprecedented scale.” Suicide rates are known to be quite high among some of the most economically prosperous countries, raising disturbing questions. In Australia (what appears to be a land of fun and fortune), suicide rates are reported to be among the highest in the world. As many as ten per cent of Australians commit some form of self-harm. China is supposed to have the most impressive record of economic growth in recent years. However, a recent study by WHO, Harvard University and the World Bank noted that China also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world ~ about thrice the world average. In India, the price rise is disconnecting the common people from the widely publicised data of high economic growth. The impact is worse than what is indicated by official statistics of inflation. In recent interviews with weaker section families, this writer found that people would time and again come back to talking of the impact of inflation regardless of what question was being asked. However, even before the present phase of inflation, middle class families were also complaining of a sense of deception ~ of seeing their cash gains being lost in the middle of other, frequently bigger changes. Many people complain bitterly about the steep hike in educational and medical expenses. With the increasing privatisation of education, people have more diverse options for their children’s education and careers, but for many of them this gain has come at too heavy a price. There is increasing economic tension as limited income gains are more than wiped out by sharply rising educational expenses from early school to the university level. At the same time, there has been a decline in the standard of government schools and closer career linkages with expensive educational institutions so that few options may be left for the people to opt out of the expensive system. The lack of options is becoming even more difficult in the case of medical treatment. In most parts of the country, the standards of government hospitals and public health centres have been allowed to deteriorate. Simultaneously, there has been a proliferation of private hospitals and nursing homes, including several in the ‘five-star’ category. People are torn between the desire to avail the treatment here and the prohibitive expenses. A single serious illness or accident in a family can eat up all savings, perhaps also lead to indebtedness. Close family ties push people to seek better and convenient medical treatment at all costs, leaving behind a legacy of debt and economic stress even in the middle of rising cash earnings. Steeply escalating expenses of medicare and medicine cause tension and uncertainty among people regarding how to cope with a medical emergency.
Lopsided growth
Although India has been known for its closely-knit families, the trend towards a breakdown of ties has increased. This is partly because of the same factors that promise a rise in monetary gain. The disruption of family life leads to stress and depression, above all for children, and increasing economic problems as well. Growing inequalities in the wake of fast but lopsided growth leads to social tension and a feeling of being left out among many people. In the middle of all the glitter and glamour of fast economic growth, many may feel squeezed out or alienated compared to those who can join in the celebrations. Thus in a situation of rising inequalities, in terms of relative gain and loss even many of those who have not lost in real terms may nevertheless feel like losers. Such feelings get aggravated in times of inflation when the majority suffer a huge pinch even as the party goes on uninterrupted for a select few. There needs to be a wider and deeper realisation of these factors which matter a lot for the well-being of people beyond the statistics and rhetoric of growth and GNP. A better realisation of the real basis of people’s well-being will make it possible for economics and governance to become more involved in the true welfare of people.
Life springs from dead: clones of dead mice frozen for 16 years
Japanese scientists have produced clones of deadmice frozen for 16 years, demonstrating the first successfulresurrection of the full genome of a long dead animal stored at thetemperature of a supermarket freezer. (The Telegraph, New Delhi, Nov. 3, 2008)
Indian lands on Moon
India marked its presence on Moon on Friday night to become only the fourth nation to scale this historic milestone after a Moon Impact Probe with the national Tricolour painted successfully landed on the lunar surface after being detached from unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1.Once Chandrayaan-1 reached the designated lunar orbit, it re-oriented itself for this special task.An instrument, about the size of a computer monitor and so far carried piggyback by the Chandrayaan-1, was released from 100 kilometres above the moon.The instrument struck the moon's surface at a designated spot in 25 minutes. During the journey it took images of the moon and sent back data to the mother ship before it crashed into pieces.
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