A former director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, professor MS Ananth, recollects a dinner table conversation with an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer. The IAS officer firmly believed that the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) could easily be replaced by any other exam in India. Like what, asked Ananth? Perhaps, the UPSC examination, argued the officer. It is fair, tough and can pick the best minds in...
11:32 AM, Feb 23, 2012
New Delhi: The tendering process for rolling out the improved version of the world's cheapest tablet PC, Aakash, will be handled by the Department of Information Technology, official sources said. The development comes in the wake of differences between IIT Rajasthan and Datawind, the manufacturer of the tablet PC, over the issue of enhanced specification demands. HRD Ministry has entrusted the IIT to develop and procure the tablet. Currently, the...
12:38 PM, Feb 01, 2012
New Delhi: Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair, who stepped down as the chairman of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology-Patna, on Saturday said that it was a matter of prestige for him and that he was morally bound to leave all government positions. "More than being hurt, it is a matter of prestige for me. I am morally bound to leave all government positions," he said....
05:41 PM, Jan 28, 2012
New Delhi: In the eye of a storm, former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT-Patna. Nair, who has been barred from holding any government post for his alleged role in the controversial Antirx-Devas deal, was in Patna on Friday to bid farewell to his colleagues. "I went there to say farewell. Though I have not got a copy of...
12:59 PM, Jan 28, 2012
A bus driver ran amok in Pune on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring 27. ...
10:30 PM, Jan 25, 2012
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested IIM Lucknow student Rahul Verma, who has been charged with the murder of fashion designer Adesh Vajpayee. Rahul was produced in court on Wednesday and has been sent to a three-day custody. Rahul has been charged with the murder of his friend Adesh Vajpayee. The incident occurred in 2010 in IIT Kanpur. Rahul was a student of IIT Kanpur...
06:17 PM, Jan 25, 2012
New Delhi: Taking action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, the government has barred former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists from holding any government jobs. The action comes in the wake of the controversial deal in which a private company was allotted scarce S band spectrum by ISRO allegedly in violation of rules. Nair, is the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan. He is the chairman...
10:14 AM, Jan 25, 2012
Thodupuzha: A study by IIT Roorkie on Mullaperiyar Dam has suggested the possibility of a vast area around the 116-year-old reservoir getting submerged in flood waters within a short time if the dam collapsed in the event of a strong earthquake. Releasing the findings of the first part of the 'dam-break analysis' conducted by IIT Roorkie in Thodupuzha on Saturday, Kerala Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph said the study found...
08:33 PM, Jan 21, 2012
New Delhi: IT device maker Datawind today said the proposed product testing criteria by IIT (Jodhpur) cannot be applied to the first version of Aakash tablets, the world's cheapest, supplied by the company. IIT (Jodhpur)'s test criteria include conditions like water resistance whereby a unit of Aakash tablet will be placed in a rain chamber supplying rain at a rate of no less than 4 inches per hour. Datawind CEO...
11:40 AM, Jan 15, 2012
Chennai: Desirous of having high IQ level progeny, a city-based couple have placed an online advertisement seeking a sperm donor preferably an IITian for artificial insemination for a compensation of Rs 20,000. The couple in their advertisement have said that the ideal candidate for sperms "should be an IIT student, healthy, no bad habits, tall and fair, if possible." Offering a compensation of Rs 20,000 for the donor and to...
06:51 PM, Jan 14, 2012
Mumbai: Sceptics and scientists alike say homeopathy is a placebo. However, scientists at IIT Powai have done some ground-breaking research, and plan to release a new study this March. The British Medical Association has passed some serious judgment on homeopathy, liking it to witchcraft and black magic, all placebo and no science. The debate over homeopathy is not new. Some of the criticism is over the quality of compounds which...
09:19 AM, Jan 09, 2012
CHENNAI: Around 400 people participated in the first leg of a dawn-to-dusk run at the IIT-Madras campus on Sunday morning. The 12-hour run was held to mark 50 years of Round Table India and to raise funds for its project that aims to increase underprivileged childrens accessibility to education. The event, which was led by city-based athlete Neville J Bilimoria, was flagged off from the Open Air Theatre by TT...
08:14 AM, Jan 09, 2012
Baghdad: A wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Iraq killed 72 people on Thursday, deepening sectarian tensions that exploded just after the last American troops left the country in mid-December. The coordinated attacks targeting Shiites bore the hallmarks of Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaida, although there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The bombings began early in the morning when explosions struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least...
12:29 AM, Jan 06, 2012
Panelists discuss the importance of good education in today's time and alternatives available to youngsters. ...
08:23 PM, Dec 18, 2011
Kabul: In Afghanistan's first major sectarian assault since the fall of the Taliban regime a decade ago, a suicide bomber slaughtered 56 Shiite worshippers and wounded more than 160 others on Tuesday outside a Shiite shrine in the capital. The body of a woman, clutching a dead child in each arm, was sprawled along a dirt road littered with shoes, bloodstained clothing, hats and body parts after the blast, which...
02:21 AM, Dec 07, 2011
New Delhi: There will be a Common Admission Test for all non-IIM and non-CAT institutes from the year 2012. All IITs and IIMs will be excluded from the exam. All institutes where admissions are not through CAT will come under the ambit of the Common Admission Test from 2012. This will be implied on institutes affiliated to AICTE. The national level test will be conducted online for nine days from...
08:51 PM, Dec 05, 2011
New Delhi: Around 35 per cent of teaching posts are lying vacant in 15 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) with 212 faculty members taking early retirement in the last decade, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday. "Approximately 35 per cent of the teaching posts are presently vacant in 15 IITs... a total of 212 faculty members have taken early retirement during the last decade," Minister of State for Human...
06:44 PM, Dec 02, 2011
Washington: Naming yet another Indian American to a key administration post, President Barack Obama has appointed Arun Majumdar, an Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, alumnus as the top bureaucrat in the Department of Energy. Announcing the appointment of Majumdar as Under Secretary of Energy along with four other key administration posts, Obama said: "These men and women have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. "I am grateful they have...
05:04 PM, Nov 30, 2011
New York: Rasanath Das, an ex-investment banker turned Hindu monk, was spending recent Sunday afternoons leading Occupy Wall Street protesters in meditation until police cleared their camp at New York's Zuccotti Park this week. The 32-year-old monk isn't sure now where his next session will be. He'll keep following the protesters to lead meditation, though, convinced they will only roll back the inequality around them if they find equanimity deep...
08:31 AM, Nov 18, 2011
Washington: IIT Mumbai alumni and Microsoft veteran Bharat Shyam has been appointed the new chief information officer (CIO) of Washington state. Shyam's appointment was announced by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire on Monday. "I am incredibly impressed with Bharat," Gregoire said in a statement. "With nearly 20 years of experience at Microsoft, he brings a deep understanding of software and technology. And his level of enthusiasm for the position is unmatched....
11:47 AM, Nov 17, 2011
