Sunday 13 November 2011

Top 10 engineering colleges in Bhubaneswar, Orissa 2011

1) University College of Engineering  - RANK 1
Burla, Orissa. Ph:                         +91- 663-2430211
UCE under Biju Patnaik University of technology is the top rated college in Orissa providing undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in engineering. Teaching mode and handling practicals are of high standards in the college.
Useful links: http://www.uceburla.ac.in
2) Institute of Technical Education & Research – RANK 2
SOA University, Bhubaneswar. Ph:                         +91-674- 2350181
ITER is the part if Siksha O’ Anusandhan University approved by UGC. The institute is dedicated to provide high quality education and is also known for their management system.
Useful links: http://iter.ac.in
3) College of Engineering & Technology (CET) - RANK 3
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2384110
CET possesses well equipped laboratory facilities and campus for students to deliver maximum outcome. Training sessions within the course curriculum is the most notable advantage for the aspirants.
Useful links: http://www.cetindia.org
4) Silicon Institute of Technology - RANK 4
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-674-2725448
This private institute is counted as top among private institutes in Orissa and one among the top list. They are destined to flourish this as centre for excellence in the field of engineering and technology.
Useful links: http://www.silicon.ac.in
5) CV Raman College of Engineering - RANK 5
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2460693
The college offers undergraduate programmes in various branches of engineering and technology. The placement cell is highly effective in creating opportunities for students.
Useful links: http://cvraman.org
6) National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) - RANK 6
Berhampur, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-680-2492421
This private institute provides best conditions for the growth of engineers and technologists. The industrial training and consultancy services help students to improve their future standards.
Useful links: http://www.nist.edu/
7) Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology - RANK 7
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-674-2725113
Top quality infrastructure and lab facilities in KIIT made it one among the top colleges offering engineering and technology courses. Eminent professors and lecturers deliver informative sessions and ideas for healthy discussions among students.
Useful links: http://www.kiit.ac.in
8 ) Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology - RANK 8
BARAKUDA, PANCHAGAON, KHURDA, Orissa.      Phone:                        +91- 09776209535
The institute is affiliated to Biju Patnaik university of technology and B.Tech and lateral entry B.Tech courses. They are also conducting supplimentary coaching classes for better carrier options of students.
Useful links: http://www.aryan.ac.in
9) Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT) - RANK 9
Sarang, Orissa. Ph:                         + 91-6760-240371
Eminent instructors and high tech lab facilities in IGIT made it as one of the prime choice among aspirants in engineering and technology field. They offers bachelor and degree courses in the subject.
Useful links: http://www.igitsarang.ac.in
10) Orissa Engineering College (OEC) - RANK 10
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Ph:                         +91-674-2541340
The college, affiliated to B.P. University, stands for quality education to nurture talents for the society. They hope to create professionals with responsibility and dedication.
Useful links: http://www.oec.ac.in

Jan Lok Pal Bill or Hijacking of Indian Democracy

General Education Centre of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh held a very timely and meaningful symposium on “Democracy and Jan Lok Pal” which has sent an awareness wave in the campus on the much talked about issue. A galaxy of eminent persons from diverse fields dwelled upon the ticklish subject which is going to be affected not only Indian Parliamentary system but also lives of a large section of Indian citizenry.
Addressing the symposium, the Group Editor of Rashtriya Sahara, Aziz Burney strongly questioned the credibility of Anna Hazare and his civil society and dwelled upon multi-faceted corruption. He questioned why concentrate only on the financial corruption and why ignore political and philosophical corruptions? He asked why Anna Hazare is keeping deadly silence on the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who has turned down the whole Indian democratic system to make Gujarat a testing State for Hindu Rashtra?
*Writer is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law  and Coordinator,  General Education Centre, AMU, Aligarh. E-mail: coordinatorgec@yahoo.in     


Elaborating on the fallouts of the Jan Lok Pal Bill and its proposed provisions, Burney pointed out that our Constitution drafters had foresight as they incorporated many provisions therein to deal adverse and diverse conditions. He said the Constitution of India has a well-defined system to deal with financial corruptions. He said the system should not be encroached upon by anyone because if you allow encroachment in one sector, you will certainly get some other sectors dented too and the whole concept of our democratic system and constitution, which is secular and socialist in character, will come tumbling down.
Burney went ahead to point out that Jan Lok Pal Bill is heavily tilted towards a particular ideology. He pointed out that Jan Lok Pal Bill is only an excuse otherwise real motive is hidden behind the curtains.
Presiding over the well-attended and thought-provoking symposium, AMU Vice-chancellor Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis said this great nation is presently reeling under corrupt practices in every walk of life and causing a large number of human rights violations. He said the Indian democratic system is based on the concept of equality and equity and the system allows every shade of opinion to be debated. He called upon the students to be aware of the burning issues and take their own stand with consideration of interests of the masses. He appealed to the students to truly follow the lifestyle recommended by Islam and urged them to translate the teachings of Sir Syed into their life. Prof. Aziz said it is very important to note that corrupt practices cannot bring excellence to an individual and no one could achieve greatness by adopting corrupt practices. He told the students that all sorts of corruption are slow poison and they should desist from.
Delivering the keynote address, former Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh and former Chairman of UP Minorities Commission, Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi disagreed that just by launching one movement aimed at solving only one of the problems among the numerous ones the nation has been facing a person may become Gandhi. He said that Gandhi had become Mahatma Gandhi after a prolonged war of independence, after making sacrifices and losing a lucrative career in law but some people have hatched a conspiracy to make a Gandhi out of one person and then legitimise their movement which is nothing but an agitational corruption, too.
Earlier, former Dean of the Law faculty Prof. M. Zakaria Siddiqui, elaborating on the topic of the symposium, said that the anti-corruption movement launched by Anna Hazare and his team was the largest mass based movement after the independence movement. But he disagreed that it can be called “Second independence”. He said the people who are calling for the so-called second independence forget that independence can be only one and that has been achieved. Secondly, he pointed out that Loknayak Jai Prakash Narain had also called his anti-Indira movement second independence. He said that we must ensure that in our zeal, we should not trespass the democratic space and must not invite another emergency-like situation.
Prof. Zakaria emphasised developing strong spirituality. He said dishonesty and corruption are all by-products of weak spiritualism. He pointed out that every religion has sanctioned good deeds and disapproved misdeeds. He said it is only spiritualism or in other words inner voice which stops a person to move towards greed or corruption. He called upon the students in particular and the youths in general to develop strong spiritualism to be clean and honest from within. He concluded his address with short comment that spiritualisation is the only way to wipe out corruption from Indian society and nation.
Continuing the theme of the symposium towards critical stages, Director CORD, Lucknow, Athar Hussain said there is no doubt that the movement against corruption is very important and everyone who loves society and the nation should participate therein. But before jumping on the bandwagon, one should get accurate knowledge about the issue and consider plus and minus points and then make a sound viewpoint and finally join or oppose a movement. He said unfortunately in the case of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, the media began presenting larger-than-life images and numerous channels began competing with each other so much so that the tragic news of hunger deaths in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh got enveloped under the blown up anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazre which resulted in the half-baked information reaching to masses and a mass hysteria soon became evident. Husain pointed out that such trends of raising mass hysteria are not a positive sign for peaceful coexistence of citizens and survival of the democratic system at large.
Earlier, making opening remarks and conducting the analytical symposium, Coordinator of the General Education Centre, Dr. Shakeel Samdani addressed a number of silent points of the subject. Dr. Samdani wondered why in the civil society representation of minorities or Dalits has not been made. He said the Anna Hazare team has kept a deadly silence over political, religious and moral corruption. He pointed out that we find religious places built upon public lands like railway stations or bus stations and nobody dares to question them. It is religious corruption. Dr. Samdani said that Article 341 deprives certain religious groups like Muslims and Christians to get the fruits of reservation provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India while some other groups like Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs are allowed to reap rich harvest out of it. He drew the attention of audience towards this political corruption. He also pointed out that almost all Muslim concentrated parliamentary constituencies have been reserved and thus Muslims have been deprived of the representation in Parliament. He said it is another glaring example of political corruption heavily guided by the communal and biased elements.
Dr. Samdani said the Anna Hazare team is composed of only few people. Indian democracy will be hijacked by these few people if the Jan Lok Pal bill is passed. They are demanding to bring even the Prime Minister under the purview of the Jan Lok Pal Bill. He urged the audience just to consider a situation when they decide to dethrone a Prime Minister then they can easily do it or he will be blackmailed by them. In such a situation, it is the Indian democratic system which will collapse and it is the masses who will suffer. He pointed out that such a weak political system on the shoulders of only few people will send wrong signals to the international community resulting in the nosedive of Indian prestige and credibility.
Dr. Samdani again pointed out that a time may come up when the civil society would raise a demand to dismantle certain institutions like Minorities Commission and due to their interference a weak Prime Minister will obey their dictates; then what will happen? Dr. Samdani summed up that if the present Indian parliamentary system is allowed to be hijacked by few people, whose credibility is shrouded under doubt, then it will be the end of democratic system and the Indian state known for its secular and non-violence will certainly move to fascism which will ultimately put the nation to anarchy and the country will disintegrate, like the earlier princely states.
He concluded with an appeal to all the saner elements of Indian society to see the reason and do not go by emotions or hysteria generated by electronic and print media.
The organising secretary of the symposium Nayyer Rahman, a student of M.Com (Final) drew the attention of the gathering towards the fact that India is passing through a crucial phase and the nation is standing on the crossroads. On the one hand it is galloping to be a super power and on the other the number of hungry and deprived people is rising. He said the students of AMU must be aware of all developments and burning issues, because in one or the other way they affect our lives. He called upon them to express their opinions freely and fearlessly.
The hurriedly organised symposium successfully attracted the students from diverse disciplines. For the first time in the recent history of AMU, the Kennedy Auditorium was not only packed to full strength but was overflowing and a time came when a demand was raised to install T.V. screens outside. The Hall went to clapping several times.
In the end of the symposium, Dr. Samdani presented coveted Shan-e-Sahafat Award to Aziz Burney. While presenting the award, Dr. Samdani told the audience that the police firing on innocent Muslims in Gopalgarh (Bharatpur) would have gone unnoticed if Aziz Burney might not have visited it in the hostile atmosphere and might not have reported the fascist and communalised face of the police force there.
It is very important to point out that the positive impact of the symposium has been recorded within a few days. Anna Hazare has condemned Narendra Modi and also the arrest of Sanjiv Bhutt, the glorious police officer of Gujarat.

Textile traditions of the State on display

Pochampalli, Dharmavaram, Guntur, Mangalagiri, Chirala, Kuppadam, Uppada and Gadwal—these are the names that bombard you at the National Handloom Expo that is on at Swaraj Maidan. For a person who does not know about the rich textile tradition of the State these are just names of places.
For those who want to learn about the tradition and technique used by weavers of these places in producing one of the finest textiles, the Theme Pavilion at Expo offers a wonderful chance.
They should all make a beeline to the ‘theme pavilion' established by the Vijayawada Weavers' Service Centre (WSC).
Besides live demonstration of the backbreaking Uppada Jamadani weaving technique, Tie and Dye Jamadani and Kalamkari block printing, the WSC has put on display several traditional and experimental samples of saris, dress materials, bed spreads that have been neatly labelled which is education by themselves.
The WSC Technical Supervisor B. Govardhana Rao explaining about the speciality of the sarees on display said that they were woven at the Vijayawada WSC combining the weaving techniques used by weavers from different places.
“This saree was woven using the technique used in Gadwal, but the border was woven using the technique of Kuppadam (East Godavari) Weavers,” Mr. Rao said citing an example. Explaining the efforts that go into a the weaving of a Gadwal sari, he said that the weaver had to make three knots using yarn of different colour in a weft to create the saree and borders (top and bottom).
In the sarees developed and designed in the WSC were silk and cotton ones dyed with vegetable dyes and made using tie and dye technique. Uppada Sareethat look the same on both sides, Gunturu Butta saris with Gadwal borders and Kalamkari bed spreads printed experimentally using stencils instead of the traditional carved wooden blocks are available at the pavilion for the connoisseurs.
Interesting among the saris on display are the “Gollabhama” sari of Janagam, and the Ganga Jamuna sari with double coloured border of Dharmavaram.
The Chirala Telia Rumal bed spreads that are becoming very popular are made using tie and dye weaving techniques that are over 150-year-old.
“This technique of weaving was very popular a hundred years ago. The technique became very popular in Gujarat and from there it came back to the state and became popular in Pochampalli,” he said giving a little bit of history.
Also on display in the pavilion were sample saris from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Saris woven in the authentic tradition used in Kanchivaram, Kumbakkonam of Tamil Nadu, Mulkaimur of Karnataka and Sambalpur of Orissa are an education.

SA premier stands by minister over travel

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has defended a senior minister who took her seven-year-old daughter on a government-funded overseas trip.
Education Minister Grace Portolesi took her daughter to India with her in April.
The young girl travelled business class with her mother, prompting questions from the opposition about the inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.
Under parliamentary travel arrangements, MPs can take a family member with them on one trip each year.
Ordinarily that is their spouse, but Mr Weatherill said Ms Portolesi had applied in February 2007 for her daughter to be her nominated travelling companion.
He said that application had been approved, as had the girl's travel to India earlier this year.
"It's pretty simple, there's a set of entitlements and she sought to access them," Mr Weatherill told reporters on Monday.
"And she was granted approval by the relevant authorities.
"The very same allowance that the minister has accessed has been accessed by a range of other MPs.
"Children have travelled at the taxpayers' expense using this allowance on both sides of the parliament."
Mr Weatherill said the travel arrangements for MPs had been longstanding and he was not aware of any calls for them to be revised.
But he said if people had concerns they should "honestly and openly agitate about that" rather than engage in innuendo about inappropriate conduct.
The premier said he had not personally reflected on the rules.
Ms Portolesi has been a focus of opposition attention this year over her sometimes uncertain handling of the Aboriginal affairs portfolio.
When Mr Weatherill replaced Mike Rann as premier last month, she was promoted to the education portfolio.

Kolkata Confidential: Little Magic for Little Maestro

Little Magic for Little Maestro
Will it happen here or not? — is the question doing the rounds at Eden Gardens on the eve of the second Test between India and West Indies as Sachin Tendulkar will take guard against the likes of Fidel Edwards and bat for his 100th century. While grapevine has it that a Cricket Association Of Bengal (CAB) official, after Tendulkar was cut short at 76 at Ferojshah Kotla in New Delhi, went to Kalighat temple to thank Goddess Kali, an exorcist (ojha) on Sunday came to Eden Gardens and touched the pitch with his wand, chanting hymns so that Tendulkar could achieve the feat. Hold your breath to see whether the ojha’s wand do the trick for Sachin’s numerous fans.
Minister’s Sept faux in November
On November 11, the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, which is observed as National Education Day, Minister for Urban Development Firhad Hakim committed such a faux pas at a function which even made the children present giggle. At the function to mark the occasion at Mahajati Sadan, the minister referred the day as “Teachers’ Day” instead of calling it “Education Day” evoking laughter from all the corners of the auditorium. Well it had to happen. Even a child knows that September 5, birthday of former President S Radhakrishnan is observed as “Teachers’ Day”

HLL ties up with IGNOU for healthcare education

The programmes, having two semesters of six months each, will be held in distance education mode with contact classes. The curriculum has been designed to fulfil the requirements of healthcare institutions, procurement service agencies and equipment manufacturers.

"This is for the first time, such programmes are launched in the country. Our aim is to impart quality education in inter-disciplinary fields of health sciences and technology. Initially, HLL Academy will function as part of the corporate establishment. We plan to create a separate not-for-profit educational institution," said HLL CMD M. Ayyappan.

The other programmes in the pipeline by the academy are in the areas of socialmarketing and good manufacturing practices. It also plans to launch M.Tech and MBAprogrammes.

HLL produces over 1.316 billion condoms annually. Its staple 'Moods' brand of condom is available in 19 variants and was adjudged a 'super brand' and 'power brand' in India.

Over the years, HLL have diversified their line of business from just being a condom manufacturer and have now entered the business of construction, and setting up of hospitals. IANS

Scholarship opportunities

The UK is known for its quality higher studies and an interdisciplinary approach towards education. Be it the sciences, engineering or social sciences, it has a wide range of courses available at the Bachelor's, Master's and higher education levels. 

It has a personal tutor or mentorship system, under which students get a guide within the university to discuss academic progress as well as general welfare, which helps to create a bonding and make students feel at home. 

The UK is home to leading institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, etc, which rank amongst the top 200 in the world. Popular universities include Manchester, Southampton, Sheffield, Leicester, Sussex, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Bath. With the explosion of educational sanctions in the early 90s, the UK has seen about 60 new universities, notable amongst which are Kingston, Brighton, Coventry and Westminster. 

While undergoing the process of admissions, students may miss applying for the existing scholarships. Research on the university websites can provide valuable information on the available financial aid. Scholarships are offered in popular fields like international business, marketing, finance, MBA, mechanical, electronics, automotive, computer sciences and IT, software engineering, biotechnology, genetics, neuroscience, economics, development studies, international relations, psychology, law and English literature, among others. 

The University of Sheffield has an India bursary of £2,000 pounds for students. Higher order scholarships of up to £6,000 are available to students who show strong academic merit and on invitation. 



The University of Southampton: 

Scholarships of up to £2,000 are available for students in engineering and school of social sciences. Group scholarships for more than four students from the same institution are also offered. 

The University of Leicester: Scholarships of up to £2,945 are offered to first class degree holders and £3,945 for students with marks above 70% in their degree examinations with 80% overall marks in class XII. 



The University of Sussex: £3,000 fee waivers are available to 40 international students. Departmental scholarships of £3,000 pounds are available in engineering, law, social sciences and management. Economics and development scholarships to the tune of £5,000 are also available to a few high achievers. 

The University of Kingston: Scholarships of up to £3,300 are available for candidates at UG and PG levels. 

External scholarships include British Commonwealth Scholarships , Inlaks Foundation, JN Tata Endowment and the Ratan Tata Scholarships, to name a few. A seminar on scholarships and entry conditions will be organised for students who aspire to explore the UK as a destination for higher studies from November 15-17 by Education Pathways India at 1123, 11Floor, Hemkunt Chambers, Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019 . Candidates are requested to call 9911798498 or (011) 46585348 and take prior appointments.