IITs secret for selection

MUMBAI: The mystery surrounding the selection process that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) follow has been revealed for the batch of 2008. The 3.2 lakh students who will take the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) on Sunday can now have a fair idea of how their scores will be evaluated, something which has always been an IIT ‘trade secret’.

IIT-Roorkee, which is holding this year’s exam, and IIT-Bombay, which held the JEE last year, have told TOI how the ranks are given.

Clearly, a couple of marks here and there won’t get you past the IIT gates, but if you are among the students scoring in the top 80% of all three subjects-mathematics, physics or chemistry-you are in line for a JEE rank and have taken the first step towards admission.

The procedure to be followed will first eliminate the worst 20% of the candidates in each subject. With every wrong answer attracting negative marks, the lowest scores can be even below zero in the JEE.

After these students are eliminated, the IITs are left with three sets of students-the top performers in each of the three subjects. “Once we have the sets of the top performers in maths, physics and chemistry, we take those who have done the best in all three subjects and eliminate the others. This, however, is only Stage One,” said N Venkataramani, JEE chairman at IIT-Bombay.

This process was followed last year by IIT-Bombay and IIT-Roorkee has said it will stick to the same procedure for Sunday’s exam. All these students receive a rank from the IIT. For instance, last year around 1.42 lakh students were shortlisted in the first stage.

In the second stage, the aggregate marks of the students in all three subjects are considered and approximately 6,000 students-the actual number will be based on the seats available-will be selected for getting into the IITs.

For over a decade, the IITs used a statistical method to draw up the merit list. Scores in each subject were plotted on a graph and the curve looked like a bell, with average scores in the centre and exceptionally good and very low scores at the right and left ends respectively.

The IITs would then pick all the students on the extreme right of the bell and, depending on the seats available, decide a total cut-off mark after shortlisting the top 84% of the students in each subject. This process was discontinued from last year. The IITs, say sources, plan to review their short-listing process next year too.

Praveen Kumar lands up in drunken brawl

Indian pacer Praveen Kumar has been accused of beating up a doctor in Meerut on Thursday night, according to reports by a private news channel.

The UP paceman landed up in police custody after a drunken brawl with the doctor. The doctor claimed that Praveen also abused him and was drunk at the time of the incident.

According to the reports, Praveen’s action might lead to stringent measures from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Praveen might be charged under clause 3 of misdemeanour by the BCCI.

Currently, Praveen Kumar is playing for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Female foeticide up, adoption of girls rise

In an irony of sorts, while the female foeticide has become a major cause for concern with a declining male-female ratio, there is a “great demand” to adopt girls. The woman and child development ministry treats the sex ratio, particularly in the 0-6 age group, as the basis to determine female foeticide. From 962 in 1981 to 945 in 1991, the 0-6 age group sex ratio is further down to 928 now at the national level with states like Punjab (793), Haryana (820), Madhya Pradesh (931), Delhi (865) and Rajasthan (909) faring poorly.

“It is a serious crisis of disappearing daughters in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and the traditionally notorious Haryana and Punjab. Even in south Delhi, inhabited by the most affluent sections, the problem is alarming while the dubious trend is catching up in north-eastern states,” Union minister of state for women and child development, Ms Renuka Chowdhary, observed. She even referred to Andhra Pradesh but the state minister for women and child welfare, Ms Nedurumalli Rajya Lakshmi, was quick to retort that sustained efforts by the state government have yielded positive results.

In fact, the current sex ratio in Hyderabad district is 1,014 girls for 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group — up from 933 earlier, Ms Rajya Lakshmi revealed. A crackdown on pre-natal diagnostic centres helped arrest the dangerous trend of abortion of the girl child. At present, the state average is 978 girls for 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group. A joint secretary in the women and child development department pointed out that about 70 to 80 per cent of children adopted in the country were girls. “In 2007 as many as 2,405 children were adopted and 2,409 in 2006. More than 70 per cent of the adopted children were girls,” the official said.

Kurnool girl is SSC topper in Andhra Pradesh

Kurnool students have bagged six of the top 10 places in the SSC public examinations this year. In the res-ults announced on Thursday, Gangula Charvitha, of Keshav Reddy English Medium High School, Nandyal, Kurnool, took the first rank with 591 marks out of 600. The second spot went to T. Ritesh Chandra of Sri Lamxi English Medium High School, Kurnool, who scored 587 marks.

In third spot was A. Vandana of Kakatiya High School, Nizamabad, with 586 marks, followed by Pyreddy Mary Arpitha of Keshav Reddy Talent School, Kurnool (586). In fifth was Masood Meena, who scored 586 marks, of Keshav Reddy Talent School, Kurnool, and in sixth was Garikapati Vrandha (585) of Bhashyam High School, SR Nagar, Hyderabad. Vinnakota Venkataratna Ushaswini (584) of Keshav Reddy Talent school, Kurnool, took the seventh rank and Adi Reddy Muralidhar Reddy (583) Keshav Reddy high school, Kurnool, placed eighth. M. Shravani (583) of Kakatiya High School, Nizamabad, and Ch Surya Kumar (582) of SSS Vidh English Medium School, Kadiam, East Godavari, rounded of the top ten for the examinations held in March.

A pass percentage of 75.47 was recorded in the examinations this year. A total of 7,22,137 successful candidates saw the pass percentage go up by 3.82 per cent from last year. As in the recent past, girls fared better than boys, even if only marginally this year, with an overall pass percentage of 75.84. The pass percentage for boys is 75.14 per cent. Of the 9,56,887 students who appeared as regular candidates for SSC exams, 3,78,129 boys and 3,44,008 girls passed the exams. As many as 4,55,660 candidates secured first class, while 1,80,314 candidates second class and 86,163 candidates third class.

The districts at the top and the bottom on the results chart are both in Telangana. Nizamabad led with a pass percentage of 89.01 per cent, while Adilabad recorded a poor 58.67 per cent. There were 3,08,566 private candidates, out of which 78,776 boys and 52,129 girls passed. In the special SSC test conducted for 892 candidates who missed the exams in March due to various reasons, 107 boys and 81 girls passed.

This year, 1,453 schools secured 100 per cent results, a significant increase from the 1,118 schools last year. Only eight schools had a zero per cent success rate, with none of the students passing, from the 24 schools of last year. “The advanced supplementary exams for candidates who failed would be held from June 11 to June 24 between 9.30 am and 12 noon. The due date for remittance of exam fee is June 5,” said Mr Damodara Rajanarasimha, minister for school education, who released the SSC results.

He said marksheets will be given to all candidates within 10 days to facilitate admission into first year Intermediate courses. “The nominal rolls of failed candidates will be dispatched to the concerned schools by June 25. The candidates failed in Special SSC exams are also eligible to write advanced supplementary exam,” the minister said. Candidates who want to get their answer papers re-evaluated should submit a DD (Rs 150 per subject) from SBH/SBI in favour of Secretary to the Commissioner for Government Examinations, AP, with the re-evaluation application from May 17 to June 6.

City, Jaipur terror traced to PoK

Police has found striking similarities between the improvised explosive devices used in the Jaipur serial blasts and the ones used in the twin blasts on August 25, 2007, in Hyderabad. Intelligence agencies said this indicated that terrorists who triggered the Jaipur and Hyderabad blasts learned their deadly tricks in the same camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Bangladesh and from the same trainers. Sources in the intelligence department told this correspondent that contrary to initial reports, RDX was not used in the Jaipur blasts.

Forensic tests revealed that only ammonium nitrate gel (also known as Neogel) was used in them. The same material was used for the twin blasts in the city. Neogel is freely available in local markets. “About 1.5 kg of Neogel with metal ball bearings was put in boat-shaped wooden cases in Jaipur and Hyderabad,” said the source. “In both cases, timers were used. The similarities in the signatures of the bombs are shocking.”

On August 25, 2007, two IEDs exploded at Lumbini Park Laserium and Gokul Chat Bhandar in the city while one unexploded bomb was recovered from Malakpet and defused. The Special Investigation Team and Counter Intelligence teams of the Hyderabad police reached Jaipur on Thursday to investigate the links between the two incidents. While two bombs were used in Hyderabad, eight bombs were used at six places in Jaipur while one bomb was defused.

“Our information is that the terror couriers behind both blasts got trained in the same camps in PoK and Bangladesh and this explains the similarities in the operations,” said the source. Bangladesh-based Harkat-Ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) is suspected to be behind both the blasts. “There are similarities in the bombs used in Jaipur and Hyderabad blasts,” said the city police commissioner, Mr B. Prasada Rao. “There are also slight differences.”

He added that city and Jaipur police were sharing information on the blasts. The special secretary (internal security) in the union ministry of home affairs, Mr M.L. Kumawat, an AP cadre IPS officer, is coordinating the probe into the Jaipur-Hyderabad blasts link from the Centre.

TO BRING BACK BLACK MONEY LYING IN SWISS BANKS AND OTHER FOREIGN BANKS.

INDIA IS NOT POOR COUNTRY…..LOTS OF BLACK MONEY IS THERE IN INDIA.,,,

Dishonest industrialists, scandalous politicians and corrupt officers have deposited in their illegal personal accounts the huge sum of about US$ 1000 Billion which have been misappropriated by them creating scandals and by corruption. This amount is about 13 times larger than foreign debt. This amount is such a big amount that from it 45 crores of poor people can get Rs. 100000/- each. This huge amount has been collected really from the people of India by exploiting the people of India and by betraying people of India. So really this entire amount belongs to the people of India. So all such property kept in to Foreign Banks must be declared as National property and it should be brought back in India. And for keeping such property in foreign banks illegally, all dishonest industrialists and merchants, scandalous politicians and corrupt officers must be punished at least for 10 years imprisonment to capital punishment. The function of delcaring such property lying in to foreign banks illegally as the national property can be done in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha only by making law. Government will not do this such law until there is heavy pressure on the Government from every corner of the country to make such law because those who have collected such illegal money and kept into foreign banks are themselves sitting in the parliament and in the Government. However, any autocrate Government has to yield to the heavy pressure of public opinion. Azadi Bachao Andolan is actively endeavouring to create such heavy pressure of public opinion to make such law. Once general public can understand the necessity of such law the best opportunity to create heavy pressure on Government is always at the time of elections.

People should declare not to vote for any candidate who does not promise in writing to make such law if elected in the parliament. If atmosphere is created every political party and every candidate of every political party will have to promise to make such law. Once all the candidates committed to make such law are elected in the parliament, such law to bring back all foreign money by delcaring national property will become a reality.

Once such law is enacted and passed by the parliament, all such property kept illegally in foreign banks as personal and private property will become national property. As per the rules of foreign banks, they can not keep national property. They can keep only personal property. As soon as such illegal personal properties are declared as national properties, the foreign banks have no other way except to return it to the Government of India.

Once this huge amount of black illegal money and property comes back to India, entire foreign debt can be repaid immediately in 24 hours only. After paying entire foreign debt, we will have surplus amount almost 12 times larger than the foreign debts. If this surplus amount is invested in earning interest, the amount of interest will be more than the annual budget of the Central Government. So even though all the taxes are totally abolished, then also Central Government will be able to maintain their extravagant expenses and huge wasteges of money as being done since last 50 years.

But we do not want to continue the extravagant expenses and huge wasteges of the Government. We want to stop it. The above argument is just to give the idea how huge amount our dishonest leaders, politicians, cricketers, film makers, administrators and rich persons have looted our country and to what extent they have accumulated the wealth. In fact, due to such a huge malpractice and exploitation, our 45 crores of people are dying of starvation. In fact, all these wealth belongs to such poor people from whom the wealth has gone to dishonest upper class of the society i.e. politicians, bureaucrats, cricketers, film makers etc. So legally and morally, both the ways, this entire wealth belongs to the people of India and so it is a national property. So to get it back from foreign countries, foreign banks strong movement is essential.

Dhoni..Like Chennai

Dhoni perminently stay in chennai..????

Zarkand Dynamit turns in to Chennai ..Dynamite..

Dhoni craze is equals to the Rajanikanth Craze..

Jaipur: Jolted, but spirit not crushed

What’s the safest place to be the day after a terror attack? Obviously, the site of the attack. At the Hanuman Mandir near Jaipur’s Sanganeri Gate, Tulsa Devi was back to selling fruits on Wednesday. And she’s selling the previous day’s wares. “I have fruit worth almost Rs 1,500 with me. If it rots, I will lose all the money,” says the single mother, who fainted due to the impact of the blasts that jolted Jaipur.

It was an astonishing sight in the Johari Bazar area on Wednesday evening. Minutes after the curfew was lifted, roads were jammed with traffic. Though no shops opened, locals say they have never seen such huge crowds in the area. Says Mahavir Prasad Sharma, a purohit in the Roop Chandrama mandir opposite Hanuman Mandir, “The saviour is stronger than the destroyer. There is nothing to fear.”

Most of Wednesday evening’s crowd in the Johari Bazaar area was made up of curious onlookers. In fact, for quite some time before the aarti in Hanuman Mandir, God took a backseat. “That’s where the blast took place,” a father pointed out to his son.

“And that wall has been damaged by the impact,” he added. Manisha Sharma, a housewife, was so keen to see the extent of the damage, she travelled all the way from Sikar Road, first to SMS Hospital, then to Hanuman Mandir. “Everybody at home told me not to go. But I lied to my husband and came here. I had to see for myself what had happened. But everything looks quite normal,” she said, almost disappointed.

Lion starts roaring…..

Sanath Jayasuriya is one of those batsmen who have destroyed many a bowling attack, and his pride must have been hurt with his pretty sedate show in the Indian Premier League so far.

He repaired all that tellingly against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, as he blasted 114 not out off just 48 balls to guide Mumbai Indians to a sensational nine-wicket win.

The Sri Lankan veteran hammered 11 sixes and nine fours, and scored at an astounding strike rate of 237.5.

Sachin Tendulkar’s debut in the IPL was sedate, as the Mumbai skipper was dismissed for just 12 runs.

Earlier, S. Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought Chennai back from the edge of almost certain defeat to pose a teaser for Mumbai, as they reached 156-6.

Dhoni and Badrinath were involved in 95-run partnership which carried Chennai to a pretty decent total, which looked impossible at one stage. Badrinath scored a fine 53, while Dhoni scored 43 not out.

Shaun Pollock bowled four overs for just nine runs.

Sachin Tendulkar returned to serious cricket, and won the toss against Chennai Super Kings, deciding to field first.

Teams: Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Dominic Thornley, Dwayne Bravo, Shaun Pollock, Abhishek Nayar

Bank chasing IIMB students with loans

Loans for students at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore are readily available from several banks, including the SBI, SBM, Andhra Bank and Allahabad Bank.

The banks extend a collateral free loan of up to Rs 10 lakh.

For loans of amounts above Rs 10 lakh, the students need to provide collateral, IIMB said in a statement. Credila Financial Services, an educational loan services company, also provides education loans under similar terms.

In addition to bank loans, IIMB provides financial assistance to needy students. The objective of the Financial Aid Policy at IIMB is to ensure that no student is deprived of an education at the institute for financial reasons, it was stated.

The eligibility criteria for this year has also been revised to include those with an annual household income of Rs three lakh (Rs two lakh in the previous years). As in the past, students with severe financial difficulties can also apply for financial assistance extended by IIMB.

The students are granted financial assistance based on the assessment of their financial need.

Students apply for financial assistance once they arrive at IIMB. In case a student is facing difficulty in making the initial payment to secure admission, he or she can send the application ahead of time. The application is re-processed to assess and confirm granting of financial assistance.

In 2007-2008, IIMB disbursed Rs 91 lakh towards financial assistance. Keeping in mind the increase in fees for the entering batch, the amount budgeted for financial aid this year has been revised to Rs 1.5 crore, it said.