Govt cos, MNCs may help Satyam with $400-m deals

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Satyam Computer Services may be poised to win large contracts worth around $400 million in revenues from some government-run entities and multi-national firms, giving the scandal-tainted firm a welcome breather at a time it is vulnerable to large-scale customer defections.

A top Satyam official, who asked not to be named, said the company was the front-runner for large contracts from the Indian Railways, BSNL, Vizag Steel Plant and the Indian Mint, as it was the lowest bidder.

The contracts from these entities are for tasks such as data management, information infrastructure management and deploying new applications. Rival bidders eyeing these contracts include IBM, Accenture, CSC, TCS, Infosys and Wipro.

Some of Satyam’s overseas clients are also likely to increase their engagement with it, the official said, listing a $100-million multi-year contract from a large global telecom company that is close to being finalised and additional work from a US-based technology company and a Swiss-based vending services company. The official declined to name the companies.


$10 laptop display on Feb 3 , Rs500 laptop display on Feb 3

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A $10 laptop (Rs 500) prototype, with 2 GB RAM capacity, would be on display in Tirupati on February 3 when the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Techology is launched.

The $10 laptop project, first reported in TOI three years ago, has come as an answer to the $100 laptop of MIT's Nicholas Negroponte that he was trying to hardsell to India. The $10 laptop has come out of the drawing board stage due to work put in by students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and involvement of PSUs like Semiconductor Complex. “At this stage, the price is working out to be $20 but with mass production it is bound to come down,” R P Agarwal, secretary, higher education said.

Apart from questioning the technology of $100 laptops, the main reason for HRD ministry's resistance to Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was the high and the hidden cost that worked out to be $200.

The mission launch would also see demonstration of e-classroom, virtual laboratory and a better 'Sakshat' portal that was launched more than two years ago. Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on 'Sakshat'. Five per cent of these books can be accessed free.
The mission, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal 'Sakshat', and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.

In this context, government would give Rs 2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and subsidise 25% of costs for private and state government colleges.

The mission would seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country, including each department of nearly 400 universities and institutions of national importance. The mission would focus on appropriate e-learning procedures, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners, and utilization of EduSat and DTH.

10 dollar laptop rs500 laptop at tirupati 10$ laptop 10$ laptop at tirupati

Slumdog Millionaire Interview w/ Danny Boyle and Dev Patel

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Slumdog Millionare IMDB User Rating

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IMDB: 8.7/10 To know the current rating visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/

Rotten Tomattoes: 8.3/10 To know the current rating visit http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slumdog_millionaire/

Plot summary for Slumdog Millionaire - 2008

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The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost.

Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love. Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Eighteen year old Jamal Malik is having an amazing answering streak on the Indian version of the television game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He's only one correct question away from the big prize. However, some, including those associated with the game show, question how someone like Jamal, a self confessed non-genius who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, can be doing so well on the show when others who are brighter, more educated and wealthier than him have failed. Is Jamal cheating? Is it purely luck that they have asked him the questions to which he knows the answers? Seeing Jamal's life journey to this point ultimately answers these questions. His life journey includes being orphaned at an early age; growing up with an older brother, Salim, who was both his guardian/protector and antagonist; and having a relationship since childhood with another orphaned child, a girl named Latika. His motivation for being on the show also may provide some answers to his success. Perhaps it was all just meant to be. Written by Huggo

In Mumbai, the eighteen year-old orphan from the slums Jamal Malik is tortured by the policemen in a precinct accused of cheating a game show. Jamal, who has no education and works in a call center serving tea, is close to wining twenty million rupees in the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" hosted by Prem Kumar, giving precise answers to the questions and raising suspicion of fraud. The police inspector shows the videotape and after each question, Jamal tells parts of his childhood with his brother Salim, his crush for Latika and their fight to survive on the streets to justify each correct answer, guided by his common sense and past experience, and prove his innocence. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Slumdog Millionaire - Trailer

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Video showing the plight of the poor in Mumbai - Related to Slumdog Millionare

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Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film directed by Danny Boyle, co-directed by Loveleen Tandan, and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is an adaptation of the Boeke Prize winning and Commonwealth Writers' Prize nominated novel Q and A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Tandan, who began as the film's casting director (India), was later appointed the co-director by Boyle because of her significant contributions to the film's production.
Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young uneducated man from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati, mentioned in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.
After screenings at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire initially had a limited North American release on 12 November 2008 to critical acclaim and awards success, and later had a nationwide release in the United States on 26 December 2008 and in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009. It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009.
Slumdog Millionaire won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the Critics' Choice Awards and all four of the awards it was nominated for at the Golden Globes, including Best Drama Film. It has also been nominated for eleven BAFTA Awards and ten Academy Awards.
Source: Wikipedia

Cricket - ICC Rankings ICC Cricket Ratings Cricket Ranking

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South Africa has taken the top spot in International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ODI Championship table following its 39-run victory over Australia in Perth Saturday. The Proteas were three ratings points behind Ricky Ponting’s men going into the fifth and final ODI of the series, but now they move ahead by a fraction of a point and top the ladder for the first time since April 2008 when they briefly wrested No. 1 spot from Australia’s grasp.
Australia have an immediate opportunity to take back the top spot as its five-match series against New Zealand begins Sunday. The table is so tight at the top that victory in that first ODI will send Australia right back to where it has spent the vast majority of the past seven years since the rankings were devised.
Meanwhile, India is hovering just outside the top two and is now just five ratings points behind South Africa and Australia after winning the first match of a five-ODI series in Sri Lanka.
At the other end of the table, Zimbabwe has moved up one place to 10th in the rankings after winning the opening two matches of its five-ODI series in Kenya.

US Economy shrank at fastest clip since '82

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The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending.
The new figure, released Friday by the Commerce Department, showed the economy sinking at a much faster clip in the October-December period than the 0.5 percent decline logged in prior quarter.
Although economists expected an even worse fourth-quarter performance — a staggering 5.4 percent rate of decline — the results were still grim.
The report provided clear evidence of the economy's rapid deterioration as the housing, credit and financial crises — the worst since the 1930s — feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle that has proven difficult for Washington policymakers to break.

PwC global chief executive meets minister

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PricewaterhouseCooper's global CEO Samuel DiPiazza, who is India amid the ongoing probe in the auditing major's role in Satyam scam, on Thursday met Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta.

The PwC global chief, who rushed to India from Davos, where he was expected to attend the World Economic Forum, went to meet Gupta on Thursday.

"We can confirn that Samuel A DiPiazza, Jr, Chief Executive Officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers International, met the Corporate Affairs Minister. It would be inappropriate to comment on a private meeting," a PW statement said.

DiPiazza's India visit coincides with Price Waterhouse suspending two of its partners -- S Goplakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri -- who worked on the accounts of scam-hit Satyam Computer and were arrested last week.

The PwC global CEO had been expected to stay longer at the World Economic Forum at Davos, but departed early. The two PW partners are being questioned in connection with the Rs 7,800-crore Satyam scam.

On Tuesday, PW had said, "In the light of recent allegations, the two have been suspended of all their duties and functions as partners, pending completion of investigations into the Satyam matter."

Price Waterhouse has also announced the resignation of its assurance leader, Thomas Mathew, but said he would continue to remain a partner of the auditing firm.

House Passes Obama’s Stimulus Plan 2009 stimulus package , Barack Obama Stimulus Plan , economic stimulus package 2009 , obama stimulus package

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obama stimulus plan details , stimulus bill , stimulus package , stimulus package 2009 , stimulus package details , Stimulus Plan

Much of the spending would be for items such as health care, jobless benefits, food stamps and other programs that benefit victims of the downturn.

The president said he understood skepticism about the size of the stimulus package, "which is why this recovery plan will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my administration accountable."

Aid to the poor and unemployed

$43 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increase them by $25 a week and provide job training

$20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 13 percent

$4 billion to provide a one-time additional Supplemental Security Income payment

$2.5 billion in temporary welfare payments

$1 billion for home heating subsidies

$1 billion for community action agencies.

Health care

$40 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed under the COBRA program or provide health care through Medicaid

$87 billion to help states with Medicaid

$20 billion to modernize health information technology systems

$4 billion for preventative care

$1.5 billion for community health centers

$420 million to combat avian flu

$335 million for programs that combat AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis

Infrastructure

$43 billion for transportation projects, including $30 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $12 billion for mass transit, including $6 billion to buy transit equipment like buses

$31 billion to build and repair federal buildings and other public infrastructure

$19 billion in water projects

$10 billion in rail and mass transit projects

Education

$41 billion in grants to local school districts

$79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid

$21 billion for school modernization

$16 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350

$2 billion for Head Start

Energy

$32 billion to fund a so-called "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste

$6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes

Science and technology

$10 billion for science facilities

$6 billion to bring high-speed Internet access to rural and underserved areas

$1 billion for the 2010 Census

Housing

$13 billion to repair and make more energy-efficient public housing projects, allow communities to buy and repair foreclosed homes, and help the homeless.

Environment

$3.2 billion to clean up Superfund and waste sites, leaking underground storage tanks, nuclear sites and military bases

$400 million for habitat restoration projects

$850 million to prevent forest fires.

Law enforcement

$4 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment

Tax Cuts For Individuals

$500 per-worker, $1,000 per-couple tax cut for two years, costing about $145 billion. Workers could expect to see about $20 a week less withheld from their paychecks starting in June. Millions of Americans who don't make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks

Greater access to the $1,000 per-child tax credit for the working poor in 2009 and 2010, at a cost of $18.3 billion. Under current law, workers must make at least $8,500 to receive the credit. The change eliminates the floor, meaning more workers who pay no federal income taxes could receive checks

Increase the earned-income tax credit — which provides money to the working poor — for families with at least three children, at a cost of $4.7 billion

Provide a $2,500 tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010, at a cost of $10.3 billion. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000

Repeal a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time for homes purchased from Jan. 1 to July 1, unless the home is sold within three years, at a cost of $2.6 billion. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $150,000

Tax Cuts For Businesses

Extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up the depreciation of that equipment through 2009, at a cost of $5 billion

Provide an infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two, at a cost of $15 billion

Repeal a Treasury provision that allowed firms that buy money-losing banks to use more of the losses as tax credits to offset the profits of the merged banks for tax purposes. The change would increase taxes on the merged banks by $7 billion over 10 years

Subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction, teacher training, economic development and infrastructure improvements, at a cost of $35.5 billion

Extend tax credits for renewable energy production, at a cost of $13 billion

Extend and increase tax credits to homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient, at a cost of $4.3 billion. Homeowners could receive tax credits of up to $1,500 for upgrading furnaces and hot water heaters and making other improvements through 2010

TCS may call back 20% onsite staff in US

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TCS, India’s largest software company, is planning to move about a fifth of its employees working onsite at various locations in the US to India, as general slowdown and reduced client requirements have declined the need for a large workforce in the US. According to a person familiar with the development, a communication was sent last week to various middle and senior-level management personnel, informing them about the proposal to shift people back to India, following a sharp fall in client requirements.
However, a TCS spokesperson, when contacted, strongly denied that 20% of the staff in the US was being moved back to India. “In the current environment, moving work to offshore locations (to India) is the focus for the company and its customers, as this helps optimise costs and increase operational efficiencies for both TCS and its customers,” he said, adding that less than 5% of TCS’ total US staff strength have come back to India in December 31, 2008.
The Tata Group company employs close to 14,000 employees in the US, who service many blue chip clients in the banking and financial services, auto and other manufacturing sectors.
Typically, most of the client requirements, include a combination of what is called ready-to-serve (RTS) work and enhancement work or value-addition. Since the slowdown in the US, most clients have completely stopped the enhancement work and hence require lesser number of people for delivering solutions onsite.

Is this Nasa talking about Doomsday 2012

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Apocalypse 2012

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Just as "Y2K" and its batch of predictions about the year 2000 have become a distant memory, here comes "Twenty-twelve."

Fueled by a crop of books, Web sites with countdown clocks, and claims about ancient timekeepers, interest is growing in what some see as the dawn of a new era, and others as an expiration date for Earth: December 21, 2012.

The date marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle on the Long Count calendar developed by the Maya, the ancient civilization known for its advanced understanding of astronomy and for the great cities it left behind in Mexico and Central America.

(Some scholars believe the cycle ends a bit later -- on December 23, 2012.)

Speculation in some circles about whether the Maya chose this particular time because they thought something ominous would happen has sparked a number of doomsday theories.

Satyam to name new CEO - Homi Khusrokhan is in the race

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Satyam may appoint Homi Khusrokhan as its new CEO.

About Homi R Khusrokhan

Homi R Khusrokhan was appointed managing director of Tata Chemicals (TCL) in October 2006. Earlier, he was Executive Director of Tata Chemicals and, before that, managing director of Tata Tea from 2001 to 2004. Prior to joining the Tata Group, Mr Khusrokhan worked for Glaxo Laboratories (India) for 29 years, rising to become managing director of Burroughs Wellcome in 1995 and MD of both Glaxo and Wellcome (India) in 1996, a position he held till he retired in 2000. During his tenure, the company was voted as the 'most respected company in India', in a 1999 Business World survey.



Having obtained his BCom (Hons) from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics at the University of Bombay, Mr Khusrokhan qualified as a chartered accountant (CA), served his articles with A F Ferguson & Co in Bombay, and then went on to obtain the postgraduate degree of MSc (Econ) in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He then worked with the Ford Motor Company in the UK for three years, before returning to India to join Glaxo.

Mr Khusrokhan was very active in industry affairs, in the pharma industry and otherwise. He was president of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India and vice president of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is married and has two children, a boy and a girl, both in the US.

Lok Sabha polls between April-May: Election Commission

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The next general elections in India will be held in April-May this year, S Y Quraishi, election commissioner of India said here.

After delivering a lecture on 'J&K Elections 2008', at the India House last evening, Quraishi said, "We, in the Election Commission, have not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15”.

The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Shiv Shanker Mukherjee, was present on the occasion.
Narrating the problems faced by the Election Commission in holding the 7-phase elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Quraishi said the 61.5 per cent turnout despite adverse weather conditions justified their decision to go ahead with the poll, which was fair and transparent.

"The Indian election commission has the highest credibility," he asserted.

General election in India is the largest electoral exercise in the world involving 671 million voters.
Noting that India is the only country in the world to introduce the Electronic Voting Machines at such a large scale, he said the system has ensured that the "secrecy of vote is not compromised."

Answering a question, he said the State Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir were not linked to the Kashmir problem. "It (the dispute) should be resolved through negotiations," he said.

Quraishi said "our experience is that while the party in power is almost invariably unhappy with us, the opposition parties love us. But once the opposition party becomes the ruling party the roles get reversed."

He said both the ruling and the opposition parties realise, especially when they are no longer in power, how much they stand to benefit from EC's interventions.

Model EAMCET 2009

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Students Federation of India (SFI) will conduct a model Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) at 304 centres, including 27 in the district, on February 22. 

A 15-member committee was set up with MLC Chukka Ramaiah of IIT fame as the convener. Gold medals would be given to the toppers and others would get nine fabulous prizes, SFI district president B. Jagan said on Tuesday. 

The students have to pay a fee of Rs.30 before February 15 by contacting SFI office or dialling 97015-07650. Stating that the results would be announced within two days, he said the evaluation of the answer scripts would be done by a team of experienced teachers. 

The SFI has been conducting model EAMCET for the past six years and last year 47,000 students took the test. Mr. Jagan said they wanted to convey the message to the authorities concerned that the EAMCET organising committee should not charge Rs.250 per candidate.
 

Inter, CBSE and ICSE syllabus included in EAMCET - EAMCET 2009 Syllabus Change

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Students appearing for EAMCET entrance examination this year have to be well versed not only in their Intermediate subjects but also in the CBSE andICSE syllabus to do well.

The EAMCET committee has decided to revise the exam syllabus after a gap of eight years by combining the Intermediate, CBSE and ICSE subjects. The change was necessitated following the revision of Intermediate syllabus in 2007.

This is one major reform being undertaken in EAMCET, following the state government’s decision to give 25 per cent weight to Intermediate marks in determining ranks in the entrance exams from this year.

It has also been decided not to allow first year Intermediate students to appear for EAMCET this year as it was creating unnecessary problems while determining ranks apart from creating additional expenditure towards allotment of centres and appointment of examiners.

Last year, nearly 50,000 first year intermediate students appeared for EAMCET and some of them even secured good ranks, despite being ineligible to join engineering and medical courses. “We have set up committees with four experts for each subject to frame the new syllabus,” Prof D.N. Reddy, chairman of EAMCET-2009 and Vice-Chancellor JNTU-Hyderabad said on January 22. “They will thoroughly examine the syllabi of Intermediate, CBSE and ICSE and prepare a question bank for EAMCET.” Expert committees have been formed for mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany and zoology.

Prof Reddy added that there would be no change in the exam pattern or model.
The number of questions will also remain the same. “The common syllabus will be framed by the first week of February,” he said. “We will issue the EAMCET notification in the second week of the same month.” The committees will also focus on drafting ‘errorfree’ question papers in the backdrop of several goof-ups in EAMCET last year that led to award of 10 marks for all the students in lieu of errors.

Prof. Reddy warned that the convenor would be held responsible if errors crept into the question paper. “He has the power to appoint subject experts,” said the chairman. “It is the duty of the convenor to ensure that the questions and the four options given are correct.” Prof. L.V.A.R. Sharma, who has the distinction of being the EAMCET convenor for a maximum period for four years, has been given the post once again.

He resigned from the post of dean of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, which runs IIITs in the state, to take up the job.

CET 2009 Notification

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The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education announced on January 7 that the EAMCET 2009 will be held on May 14 and that Dr L V A R Sharma will be the EAMCET Convenor. 


Announcing the decision here APSCHE chief Dr K C Reddy said that the Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET), held to admit students in MBA and MCA courses, will be held on May 9 according to the schedule decided by the state government on January 7.
The top-level APSCHE meet also finalised the schedule for various common entrance tests for admission to professional courses for the year 2009-10, identified the test convenors and the university responsible to conduct the test. 


The ECET, conducted for polytechnic students for lateral entry into engineering courses, Dr Reddy said, will be conducted on May 11 and Dr G. Tulasiram Dass, Director, Academic & Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University (JNTU), Hyderabad, will be the Convener for the test.
According to the decision, the Ed.CET (for B.Ed admissions) will be held on June 7, Lawcet for admissions to Law courses on May 30 and Pecet (postgraduate engineering) on June 10, he added.
While Dr V R C Krishnaiah of Department of Law, S V University, Tirupati, will be the Convener for Lawcet, Dr K.S. Sudheer Reddy of the Faculty of Education, Osmania University, will be the Convener of the Ed.CET. Prof. Reddy said that the notification inviting applications from the students will be issued separately relating to each CET by the respective conveners soon. 


While JNTU, Hyderabad, will conduct the EAMCET and the ECET, Andhra University will hold the ICET and Dr P S N Raju, Principal AU College of Engineering will be its Convenor. The other entrance tests will be conducted by Osmania University (Ed-CET), Sri Venkateshwara (Lawcet), and Acharya Nagarjuna University  (Pecet). Prof. D. Suryanarayana of Department of Physical Education, ANU, will be the Convener for Pecet. The vice-chancellors of the respective universities, entrusted with the job will be the chairmen of the tests, Dr Reddy informed.


“There will be no change in the exam pattern for all the entrance tests. The model will remain the same,” he said. 


He also said that the universities are taking all steps to ensure error-free question papers following the bitter experiences encountered last year in forcing the government to award marks. “We will hold the respective conveners responsible for all the errors as they have the power to appoint expert committees on various subjects to draft questions,” Prof. Reddy said. 


It has also been decided to introduce web-based counselling for admissions right from the first phase for all the entrance tests. 


Last year, the initiative was introduced in EAMCET, ICET and EdCET, but only from the second phase of counselling.
SETBACK : In a setback to Eamcet, the top-six engineering colleges in the state will come out of it as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to confer deemed status to the institutes. The deemed status will enable the colleges to conduct their own entrance examination and decide the fee structure. Students, who want to opt for these colleges need to apply separately and appear for the entrance exam.
Vignan Engineering college (Guntur) recently secured approval from the UGC, while the nods for other top colleges including Koneru Lakshmaiah (Guntur), Rajiv Institute of Engineering and Technology (Nandyal), CBIT (Hyderabad), Srinidhi College (Ghatkesar) and Pulla Reddy Engineering College (Kurnool) are in the pipeline.

EAMCET 2009 Notification

|
The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education announced on January 7 that the EAMCET 2009 will be held on May 14 and that Dr L V A R Sharma will be the EAMCET Convenor. 

Announcing the decision here APSCHE chief Dr K C Reddy said that the Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET), held to admit students in MBA and MCA courses, will be held on May 9 according to the schedule decided by the state government on January 7.
The top-level APSCHE meet also finalised the schedule for various common entrance tests for admission to professional courses for the year 2009-10, identified the test convenors and the university responsible to conduct the test. 

The ECET, conducted for polytechnic students for lateral entry into engineering courses, Dr Reddy said, will be conducted on May 11 and Dr G. Tulasiram Dass, Director, Academic & Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University (JNTU), Hyderabad, will be the Convener for the test.
According to the decision, the Ed.CET (for B.Ed admissions) will be held on June 7, Lawcet for admissions to Law courses on May 30 and Pecet (postgraduate engineering) on June 10, he added.
While Dr V R C Krishnaiah of Department of Law, S V University, Tirupati, will be the Convener for Lawcet, Dr K.S. Sudheer Reddy of the Faculty of Education, Osmania University, will be the Convener of the Ed.CET. Prof. Reddy said that the notification inviting applications from the students will be issued separately relating to each CET by the respective conveners soon. 

While JNTU, Hyderabad, will conduct the EAMCET and the ECET, Andhra University will hold the ICET and Dr P S N Raju, Principal AU College of Engineering will be its Convenor. The other entrance tests will be conducted by Osmania University (Ed-CET), Sri Venkateshwara (Lawcet), and Acharya Nagarjuna University  (Pecet). Prof. D. Suryanarayana of Department of Physical Education, ANU, will be the Convener for Pecet. The vice-chancellors of the respective universities, entrusted with the job will be the chairmen of the tests, Dr Reddy informed.

“There will be no change in the exam pattern for all the entrance tests. The model will remain the same,” he said. 

He also said that the universities are taking all steps to ensure error-free question papers following the bitter experiences encountered last year in forcing the government to award marks. “We will hold the respective conveners responsible for all the errors as they have the power to appoint expert committees on various subjects to draft questions,” Prof. Reddy said. 

It has also been decided to introduce web-based counselling for admissions right from the first phase for all the entrance tests. 

Last year, the initiative was introduced in EAMCET, ICET and EdCET, but only from the second phase of counselling.
SETBACK : In a setback to Eamcet, the top-six engineering colleges in the state will come out of it as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to confer deemed status to the institutes. The deemed status will enable the colleges to conduct their own entrance examination and decide the fee structure. Students, who want to opt for these colleges need to apply separately and appear for the entrance exam.
Vignan Engineering college (Guntur) recently secured approval from the UGC, while the nods for other top colleges including Koneru Lakshmaiah (Guntur), Rajiv Institute of Engineering and Technology (Nandyal), CBIT (Hyderabad), Srinidhi College (Ghatkesar) and Pulla Reddy Engineering College (Kurnool) are in the pipeline.

EAMCET 2009 Syllabus Change

|
Students appearing for Eamcet entrance examination this year have to be well versed not only in their Intermediate subjects but also in the CBSE and ICSE syllabus to do well.
 

The Eamcet committee has decided to revise the exam syllabus after a gap of eight years by combining the Intermediate, CBSE and ICSE subjects. The change was necessitated following the revision of Intermediate syllabus in 2007.
 

This is one major reform being undertaken in Eamcet, following the state government’s decision to give 25 per cent weight to Intermediate marks in determining ranks in the entrance exams from this year.
 

It has also been decided not to allow first year Intermediate students to appear for Eamcet this year as it was creating unnecessary problems while determining ranks apart from creating additional expenditure towards allotment of centres and appointment of examiners. Last year, nearly 50,000 first year intermediate students appeared for Eamcet and some of them even secured good ranks, despite being ineligible to join engineering and medical courses. “We have set up committees with four experts for each subject to frame the new syllabus,” said Prof D.N. Reddy, chairman of Eamcet-2009, who is also the vice-chancellor of JNTU-Hyderabad. “They will thoroughly examine the syllabi of Intermediate, CBSE and ICSE and prepare a question bank for Eamcet.”
 

Expert committees have been formed for mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany and zoology.
Prof Reddy added that there would be no change in the exam pattern or model. The number of questions will also remain the same.
 

“The common syllabus will be framed by the first week of February,” he said. “We will issue the Eamcet notification in the second week of the same month.”
 

The committees will also focus on drafting ‘error-free’ question papers in the backdrop of several goof-ups in Eamcet last year that led to award of 10 marks for all the students in lieu of errors.
 

Prof. Reddy warned that the convenor would be held responsible if errors crept into the question paper. “He has the power to appoint subject experts,” said the chairman. “It is the duty of the convenor to ensure that the questions and the four options given are correct.”
 

Prof. L.V.A.R. Sharma, who has the distinction of being the Eamcet convenor for a maximum period for four years, has been given the post once again.
 

He resigned from the post of dean of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, which runs IIITs in the state, to take up the job.

JNTU Hyderabad Notifications

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B.Tech (CCC) Registration Forms & Project Forms
Part Time Ph.D./ M.S./ M.Phil. Research Programmes - 2009 Admission Notification / Application Format
M.Tech/ MBA/ MCA & B.Pharmacy Courses - One more chance to clear backlog subjects-permitted
Notification for JRF in a DBT Sponsored Project - Center for Environment
Pre-Ph.D/Pre-M.Phil/Pre-M.S Supplimentary Examinations Notification
MBA/MCA Correspondense-Cum-Contact Course -2008
MBA/MCA correspondense cum contact course 2008 2nd Notification
Notification for SRF/JRF in CSIR Project - Centre for Environment

Government Jobs

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Executive Trainees (Finance),Supervisor Trainees (Finance) 
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)-
New Delhi16/02/2009


Recruitment of Executive Trainees (600 nos) 
National Thermal Power Limited (NTPC)
New Delhi - 11000316/02/2009



Jr. Supervisors Trainees (HR),Assistant (Finance and Accounts) 
POWER GRID CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD
Kolkata13/02/2009


Lecturers,Sr. Lecturer 
BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya
Sonipat13/02/2009


Curator ,Exhibition Officer,Assistant Executive Engineer 
National council of Science Museums (NCSM)
Kolkata16.02.09                  

Office Assistant : 150 posts 
Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB)
Warangal, Andhra Pradesh17/02/2009


Scientist,Engineer,Telescope Assistant,Cook 
Indian Institute of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)
Koramangala, Bangalore17/02/2009


Walk in Interview Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, Tutor 
RAJENDRA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (RIMS)
Jharkhand16/02/2009 to 21/02/200

APPSC Notification

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Anna University Results Nov-Dec 2008

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Anna University - Controller of Examinations
Results for BE/B.Tech./B.Arch./ME/M.Tech./MBA/MCA/M.Sc/B.Sc/Part Time B.E Examinations Nov/Dec. 2008
Exam Results of Nov-Dec 2008 Semester Examinations declared. Affiliated Colleges Univ - Exam Results for UG / PG - Nov. / Dec. 2008
Anna University Results 2009 available online on Anna Univ website at following links:
http://result.annauniv.edu/result/re08.html [link]
http://result1.annauniv.edu/result/re08.html [link]
Anna University Results 2009 on Squarebrothers.com:
http://results.squarebrothers.com/anna-university-results/nov2008/ [link]
Anna University Results Nov-Dec 2008 Exams

SBI Jobs State Bank Jobs

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Jobs in SBI Bank

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SBI Jobs State Bank Jobs

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Education UK expo from February 11

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The British Council will organise the ‘Education UK exhibition’ here on February 11 and 12.
Representatives from nearly 60 universities in the United Kingdom will be present at the exhibition, to be held at Hotel Taj Coromandel, Nungambakkam, between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Interested candidates could interact with representatives from schools, colleges and universities to know about the courses, admission requirements, facilities and services offered. Students could register online ( www.educationuk-in.org) or at the venue. Entry is free.
Visitors could attend seminars conducted by academics on topics such as student visas, studying for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, engineering and business degrees.
Among the universities participating are the University of Sheffield, Queen’s University Belfast, Middlesex University, the University of Manchester, London Metropolitan University, the University of Leeds, the University of Greenwich (London), the University of Edinburgh, Cardiff University and Kingston University.
The exhibition will also be held in Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Pune.

Employment News 24 to 30 Jan 2009

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HIGHLIGHTS OF FORTHCOMING ISSUE - 24 to 30 January, 2009
  1. Indian Overseas Bank invites applications for 1250 Probationary Officers.
  2. State Bank of India invites applications for appointment of 191 Specialist Cadre Officers posts in State Bank Group.
  3. United Bank of India requires Security Officer in the Specialist Officer Cadre.
  4. National Thermal Power Corporation Limited requires 600 Executive trainees in various disciplines.
  5. National Aerospace Laboratories requires 76 Medical Officers and Technical staff.
  6. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited needs 54 Refinery Operator, Asstt. chemist, Steno-Typist etc.
  7. National Highways Authority of India requires 35 Personal Assistants and Stenographers.
  8. Union Public Service Commission invites applications for various posts.
  9. Engineers India Limited requires Management Trainee & Engineers.
  10. Public Service Commission, Uttar Pradesh notifies Combined Junior Engineer Special Recruitment Examination -2008 and Junior Engineer General Recruitment Examination -2008
  11. Intelligence Bureau notifies Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Gr. II / Wireless Telegraphy Examination - 2008
  12. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad notifies Common Law Admission Test.
  13. Union Public Service Commission declares the result of Combined Medical Services Examination, 2008.