What do you think would be the pattern of Common Aptitude Test in Engineering as Proposed by Mr. Kapil Sibal?

Heard some rumors like it will be on the pattern of SAT (Just Like US), so do you think that Indian Students would be tested on Vocabulary also or just the mathematical ability part. How would you see the current IIT JEE coaching Industry transforming for the upcoming pattern of examination?

Do you think that the pattern change is a good move?

********I had posted this discussion on linkedin Educational professionals in India group*******

Response 1:

I think pattern change would be a good move to be at Par with Industry and global standards. The current rote learning also needs to be checkd for mushrooming coaching Industry. With mushrooming Engineerging colleges across India it would be idle to have a common entrance test for IIT, NIT and other govt and pvt colleges.

My Reply:

While the change of pattern might be a good idea, I personally as a teacher of physics do not think that the current pattern involves rote learning. It is all about understanding. The reason students go to coaching institutes is because most of the times their school teachers are not capable of giving them an in depth understanding which they find at the coaching institutes.

Otherwise, if you see, 95% of the syllabus of IIT JEE is same as that of CBSE or other state boards. Then why do the students feel the need for additional coaching?

Why should government want to check the "mushrooming" coaching industry, instead, shouldn't they be more concerned about providing quality education in schools? Is there anything inherently wrong with the idea of coaching? I think it is just another form of teaching, and probably what is being done is "Give the dog a bad name and then kick him".

And even if they change the pattern to SAT type, won't that just change the coaching pattern instead of eliminating it? Already there are many players who are coaching people for SAT. (Kaplan, Princeton Review... Jamboree...)

One must also understand that to date all the IITians have been selected based on their performance in a test based on PCM and it has worked. The Top US universities are full of ex IITians. The top Software companies in the US are being practically run by the IITians who were selected through the same type of test.

Response 2:

Some leading brands in IITJEE coaching have been irresponsible towards students. They have ended up killing the confidence and careers of tens of thousands of students. Thats why most principals and teachers are against coaching.
A proof of their irresponsible behavior is that some of them have still not incorporated support for "school XI /XII" along with IITJEE coaching. They are still telling students that school performance does not impact IITJEE results.
I think government intervention is necessary to stop such misinformation campaign being undertaken by some IITJEE coaching brands.

My Reply:

I personally do not discourage students from paying attention to their school studies. While in general there is a correlation between School performance and IIT JEE , it has happened a few times in past that a board topper has not been able to qualify IIT JEE while a student getting 60% marks in Boards is able to do so.
Why should they (coaching institutes) incoroporate the support for Class XI/XII? (By the way 90% of syllabus is anyway covered) Are they obligated to? What is so unethical about it? Are they getting the students at gun points? Of course if there is misinformation, the government intervention is necessary. But the bottomline is that the baby must not be thrown along with the bath water! :-)

Is Astrology a Science

Yesterday I was watching on India TV a program titled Sabse Bada Sangram. The program was all about experimentally verifying the accuracy of astrological predictions. Normally I am kind of agnostic towards the discipline of astrology. Kinda.. believe it when the predictions are positive and discount it when they are negative. Yesterday's program spontaneously caught my interest for here was the first time I was going to witness the truth or fallacy of astrology as a discipline.

The method was that they would provide a panel of astrologers with the date, place and time of birth and then the astrologers were supposed to guess the profession of the person. The astrologers could not see or hear the person whose horoscope they were calculating nor was there any internet connection to search any kind of database. I saw their predictions of about 6 people and I was quite surprised.

While many people were giving some general answers, some people were telling the name of profession as well. I was particularly impressed by one of the astrologers by the name Ajay Gautam who got about 5 of the 6 guesses about the profession correct. It was an astounding feat. Among the people he guessed right were:

Ashok Masti: Stage show performer
???Jaitley: fashion model, miss india finalist
Vijay Jolly: A politician (Former BJP MP from Saket)
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: Musician

While many Astrologers were beating around the bush , Ajay gautam accuracy rate appeared to be far above expectation (random chance).

It does appear that after all astrology might have some scientific substance. Perhaps might be following some metaphysical laws.

Smart planner for Boards and IIT-JEE

This is a transcript of my article Published in HT Horizons , March 4, 2009 by the same title.

Smart planner for Boards and IIT-JEE
As students sit for their class XII exams, Ambarish Srivastava gives last-minute guidance on
how to balance Boards and IIT-JEE preparation

How to prepare without losing tempo?
As far as Board examinations are concerned,at this stage solving the past 10-year papers would be very helpful in order to prepare well in a short time.
As far as IIT-JEE is concerned,one should solve as many questions as possible from a good source (such as GMP); if time Is less then one may decide to do the odd numbered problems or if one has even lesser time one may choose to attempt the prime number problems. One must understand that the most portion of the syllabus for the Board exams is also a part of the IIT-JEE syllabus and therefore, If one is preparing for IIT-JEE one should be able to handle most numerical problems of Board examinations with relative ease.
IIT-JEE is a low scoring exam; In order to do well, one need not be proficient in
all the topics. In fact, the cutoff may go as low as up to 40-45 per cent So If one has not studied certain topics, one might as well leave them out altogether. If you have thorough understanding of even 70 per cent of the topics, still you may be able to do fairly well In IIT-JEE.


Tips to help you

Examination temperament: What matters really Is not how much we know,' but It Is how much we are able to deliver on the day of the examination. It Is important to get the feel of solving problems In an actual examination situation and for this one must take a number of mock tests.

The good, the bad, the ugly: You need not attempt all the questions on the IIT-JEE examination paper. Even before you start attempting the paper you can classify the questions into 'The good', 'The bad' and 'The ugly". Good questions are those which you feel you will be able to attempt with relative ease. The bad questions are those you think you might be able to answer with some difficulty and ugly ones are those which seem to be too difficult to waste time on in an examination situation. This will save you from time pressure. Even if you are able to attempt just 60 per cent of the questions and do them correctly, you will get a good rank. Many times in a hurry to attempt all the questions, students end up making a lot of silly mistakes and hence get a very low score.

Stay cool: Do not panic. In computer parlance, worry and brooding eat in- to your RAM, and hence your effectiveness in studies will reduce. Understand that even if you are not able to make It to the IITs, it is not end of the world. If you stay cheerful, your grasping ability will double and so also your ability to perform in the actual examination.

Beware of negative marking: If you are not sure of the answer to a question, do not attempt. Know that every single mark counts.

Chemistry should not be neglected: Chemistry is the most scoring paper in IIT-JEE and the one
good thing is that In chemistry, you can score more marks In a relatively small amount of time because many of the questions are simply knowledge based and do not require calculations.

Time management
Time management will differ from Individual to Individual. On an average, the attention span of a JEE-aspirant is about two hours, so it is generally a good idea to take a small break after every two hours. Be selective In your studies. Try to optimise the available time. Do not try to spend a lot of time in solving the same type of problems. Make sure that you have memorised all the standard results so that you don't end up wasting the exam time in deriving the results. For the board examinations, you should memorize the theory part of subjective type questions as per the standard text books.

Comparison of Questions (IIT JEE Vs. Boards)
While the syllabus of the Board examinations is almost a subset of the IIT-JEE syllabus, the nature of the questions asked in the two examinations is different. IITs focus more on conceptual and deep understanding of the subjects while, most of the questions asked in the Board examinations are straight forward, direct applications of the standard results. Hence If one is preparing for IIT JEE, the numerical questions asked in the Board examinations are automatically taken care of. However, there are certain descriptive questions asked in the Boards for which the theory must be memorized from the standard text books. There are also certain topics which are there in the Boards but not In the IIT-JEE syllabus.

PCM
As far as physics is concerned, mechanics is relatively easier. Modern physics and thermodynamics are also scoring topics so one must pay careful attention to them. In chemistry, organic happens to be most scoring and If one understands the principles, the questions can be attempted with relative ease. In mathematics, one should especially have a good understanding of vectors, calculus and the coordinate geometry.

-------------Following part of article was not written by me---------------
"I focussed on Boards in March as I was preparing for IIT-JEE until February. The preparatory leave students get before Board exams are more than enough, provided one has studied during term exams and pre-Boards. Some people consider JEE completely diffferent from the Board exams but this Is not true. Only the focus is different. Board exams are theory-based while JEE calls for a practical approach. On top of it, If you are focussed on JEE, Board's marks shouldn't matter much though I managed to score 90 per cent."

SHASHANK SINGLA
Third-year student BTech (electrical), Indian Institute of
Technology (Delhi)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently Ambarish Srivastava is a Professor of Physics, Faculty Training Coordinator and Centre Coordinator at FIITJEE Limited, Faridabad Centre.

My Article Published in HT Horizons on March 4, 2009

Smart Planner for Boards and IIT JEE, by Ambarish Srivastava. Professor of Physics, Faculty Training Coordinator, FIITJEE Limited , Centre Coordinator, FIITJEE Faridabad

test post

	Smart planner for Boards and IIT-JEE As students sit fur their class XII exams, Ambarish Srivastava gives last-minute guidance on how to balance Boards and IIT-JEE preparation
	How to prepare with­out losing tempo? As far as Board examinations are concerned,at this stage solving the past 10-year papers would be very help ful in order to pre­pare well in a short time. As far as IIT-JEE is concerned,one should solve as many questions as possible from a good source (such as GMP); if time Is less then one may decide to do the odd numbered problems or if one has even lesser time one may choose to attempt the prime number problems. One must under­stand that the most portion of trie syllabus for the Board exams is also a part of the IIT-JEE t syllabus and there­fore, If one is preparing for IIT-JEE one should be able to handle most numerical problems of Board examina­tions with relative ease. IIT-JEE is a low scor­ing exam; In order to do well, one need not be proficient in all the topics. In fact, the cutoff may go as low as up to 40-45 per cent So If one has not studied certain topics, one might as well leave them out altogether. If you have thorough understanding of even 70 per cent of the topics, still you may be able to do fairly well In IIT-JEE.	trips to help you	Time management	Comparison of questions PCM (IIT-JEE vs Boa, ds)
		Examination temperament: What matters really Is not how much we know,' but It Is how much we are able to deliver on the day of the examination. It Is important to get the feel of solving problems In an actual examination situation and for this one must take a num­ber of mock tests. The good, the bad, the ugly: You need not attempt all the questions on the IIT-JEE examination paper. Even before you start attempting the paper you can classify the questions into The good', The bad' and The ugly". Good questions are those which you feel you will be able to attempt with relative ease. The bad questions are those you think you might be able to answer with some difficulty and ugly ones are those which seem to be too dif­ficult to waste time on in an exami­nation situation. This will save you from time pressure. Even if you are able to attempt just 60 per cent of the questions and do them correct­ly, you will get a good rank. Many times in a hurry to attempt all the questions, students end up making a lot of silly mistakes and hence get a very low score. Stay cool: Do not panic. In com­puter parlance, worry and brood­ing eat in- to your RAM, and hence your effectiveness iri studies will reduce. Understand that even If you are not able to make It to the IITs, it is not end of the world. If you stay cheerful, your grasping ability will double and so also your ability to perform in the actual examination. Beware of negative marking: If you are not sure of the answer to a question, do not attempt Know that every single mark counts. Chemistry should not be neg­lected: Chemistry Is the most scoring paper In IIT-JEE and the 1 good thing is that In chemistry, you can score more marks In a relative­ly small amount of time because many of the questions are simply knowledge based and do not require calculations.	Time management will differ from Indi­vidual to Individual. On an average, the attention span of a JEE-asplrantls about two hours, so it is generally a good Idea to take a small break after every two hours. Be selective In your studies. Try to opti­mise the available time. Do not try to spend a lot of time in solving the same type of problems. Make sure that you have memorised all the standard results so that you don't end up wasting the exam time In deriv­ing the results. For the board exam­inations, you should memorize the theo­ry part oi uie suo-'iectlve type ques­tions as per the standard test books.	While the syllabus of the Board examina­tions Is almost a sub­set of the IIT-JEE syl­labus, the nature of the questions asked In the two examinations Is different IITs focus more on conceptual and deep understand­ing of the subjects while, most of the questions asked in the Board examinations are straight forward, direct applications of the standard results. Hence If one Is preparing for IfT- JEE, the numerical ques­tions asked In the Board examinations are automatically taken care of. However, there are certain descriptive questions asked in the Boards for which the theory must be mem­orized from the stan­dard text books. There are also certain topics which are there In the Boards but not In the IIT-JEE syllabus.		As far as physics is concerned, mechanics is rel­atively easier. Modern physics and thermody­namics are also scoring topics so one must pay careful attention to them. In chemistry, organic happens to be most scor­ing and If one understands the principles, the questions can be attempted with relative ease. In mathematics, one should espe­cially have a good under­standing of vec­tors, calculus and the coordinate geometry.
					1 focussed on Boards M| in March as I was preparing for IIT-JEE until February. The preparato­ry leave students get before Board exams are more than enough, provided one has studied during term exams and pre-Boards. Some people consider JEE completely dlf-. ferent from the Board exams but this Is not true. Only the focus Is different Board exams are theory-based while JEE calls for a practical
			approach. On top of It, If you are focussed on JEE, Board's marks shouldn't matter moch though I man­
			aged to score 90 per cent SHASHANK SINGL A Third-year student BTech (electrical), Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) ,
	Srivastava Is a Faculty Training Coordinator, FIITJEE Urr.lted
	V

Ambarish Srivastava quoted in India Today

I was quoted in an article in India today:

copied from: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/90665/Aspire/Engineer+a+dream.html

It was April 2009 and Rahul's mother was helping him prepare for the most important exam of his life. The gods had been pleased, the tilak was in place and the yogurt tasting ceremony had been wrapped up. What could go wrong? Unfortunately for Rahul, the aforementioned ammunition failed and a lot did go wrong. Several sleepless nights, poor diet and nicotine ensured that Rahul's concentration levels dipped to an all time low during the six-hour long exam. And without acute sharpness, one can forget about cracking the most competitive exam of the country- Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT JEE). A total of 3.85 lakh candidates appeared for the IIT JEE in 2009 and out of these only 10,035 qualified for admissions in the 15 IITs. This year the number is predicted to climb higher. Faced with such competition it would be unwise to leave anything to chance. A thorough knowledge of physics, chemistry and mathematics should be the cornerstone of your preparation. A detailed syllabus is available on IIT websites. At the same time you cannot afford to ignore board examinations. A minimum of 60 per cent is required by candidates in order to be eligible for the test. Balancing both school and IIT preparation can prove to be a major hurdle for many students. "A solution to this could be to go for the school integrated programmes offered by institutes such as FIITJEE (called the Pinnacle programme) wherein the inputs for IIT JEE are clubbed together with the inputs for board examinations," says Ambarish Srivastava, professor and faculty training coordinator, FIITJEE. All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) is another gateway to prominent engineering colleges in the country. For B.E and B.Tech, the compulsory subjects are physics and mathematics. The third subject can be any one of the following: chemistry, computer science, bio-technology or biology. The number of attempts which a candidate can avail are limited to three. "There is a perception that AIEEE is tilted towards testing rotelearning, but I feel that getting your fundamentals right are crucial for both IIT and AIEEE. At the same time the important results should always be on one's fingertips, because in an objective type exam one cannot afford to derive the results on the spot," explains Srivastava. Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, conducts a computer-based entrance exam called the BITSAT. It is a three-hour test and has 150 question on physics, chemistry, mathematics, logical reasoning and English. The exam is conducted across the country over a period of 30 days. This gives the candidates the luxury to choose a venue and date according to their convenience. In order to ensure that students focus on their school studies, candidates are required to have a minimum aggregate of 80 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics. "Our syllabus is based entirely on the 10+2 pattern and N.C.E.R.T textbooks," says S Gurunarayanan, dean, admissions, BITS, Pilani. When it comes to joining a coaching institute, most feel that word of mouth publicity is the best guide. Get a feedback from previous students on the competency of teachers, speed of teaching, student-teacher ratio and quality and regularity of mock tests. Taking frequent mock tests is essential if you wish to attain confidence on the D-day. But are coaching institutes mandatory? Most experts feel that students can do without them. But sometimes the teachers at school are not trained enough to handle or impart the approach needed to crack entrance exams. "Many students come to us without seeking help from such centres. I suppose coaching outside the school can help if you are preparing for multiple exams along with handling the pressure to perform well in boards," says Gurunarayanan. To sum it up, outline your strategy at least a year before the exam. This is the only way you can minimise the luck factor. Gunaa A V RANKED 16TH IN IITJEE-2009 One of the factors which should be given crucial importance is the person's health. I do not think I would have been able to achieve my dream if I had followed an erratic sleep pattern or skipped my meals, which many of my peers did. My strategy was to utilise my active and energetic hours for my studies and the rest of the day for relaxation or leisure. When getting admission into an IIT becomes your ambition, you are in for a long haul. There would be a lot of ups and downs. Do not get discouraged by small failures and use them to push yourself towards improvement. Plan your studies well, so that your entire syllabus is covered well before the exam and the final few weeks can be devoted solely to revision and solving sample papers. The D-day and the night before are crucial. If you do not click on that one day, all your effort goes down the drain. So maintain proper sleep pattern and try not to get too worked up in the examination hall. While attempting the paper, do not linger on a particular question for too long. Keep moving or you might miss the easier questions at the back due to lack of time. I would also want to emphasise that during my preparation I did not leave anything to luck. I do not believe that there is anything that cannot be overcome by hard work.

Petition to Save IIT JEE

copied from:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveJEE/petition.html

To: Members of Parliament of India - Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha

Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India,
Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resources & Development,
Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition,
Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker of the House
Members of the Parliament in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,
State Education Ministers, Chairman of the UGC,
Directors of all IITs and Citizens of India.

Petition Created on 5th April 2010.

Subject : An appeal not to abolish a proven system called JEE (Joint Entrance Examination for IITs).

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister and a great visionary, created the five IITs, getting UNESCO, USA, Germany, UK & Russia to fund, furbish, staff and nurture them in the initial years. Pandit Nehru built them on the lines of premier institutions world wide. The dream was to kickstart and accelerate a process that would identify talented high school graduates and provide them a high quality education in engineering.

To qualify for the JEE (Joint Entrance Exam for IITs) every applicant must have passed the final examination of the 10+2 system (or equivalent) with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. There was no emphasis on overall performance at high school and none on student’s educational background, promoting a level playing field for students from nooks and corners of India.

Over the past 50 years, 175,000 graduates of the IITs have established IIT as a Global Brand, facilitated by the autonomous structure & funds granted to the IITs by the Government of India. This valuable Brand name arose out of the graduates being able to compete in the global market place, where merit and capability are the only measures that matter. The success of IIT alumni who have done the Nation proud belongs to the Indian Government, the IITs themselves and also the Indian Tax Payers, whose money was invested unconditionally by GoI in IITs for five decades.

Whilst all of the above share credit for the success of the IITs, basic marketing principles would say that a Global Brand is created more by its graduates and the benefits that those alumni bring to India and the world at large, than any other single entity; thus, IIT Alumni is a critically important group to consider.

Such excellence and recognition could not have been achieved over a sustained period of 50 years, without the help of the selection process. The key ingredient to the IIT system is the JEE ( Joint Entrance Examination ), that has helped pick truly gifted students for 50 years for a B.Tech Degree. Quality materials are needed to develop a quality product, and JEE does just that, selecting from about 400,000 aspirants annually, the cream of the nation to study at IITs.

Whilst JEE is a key ingredient, the IIT Brand is a recognition of the contribution of IITians to the Global society. IIT Alumni have created many new companies and have served the nation by introducing state of the art technologies. They have helped generate several million jobs over the last 50 years globally, with almost 75% of those jobs being created in India.

Quoting French Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1921, Anatole France “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” The IIT Brand has inspired passionate young Indians to dream big, believe in themselves and aspire with confidence.

In accordance with the IIT Act, the President of India initiated a review of the IIT system in 2004 by a Committee consisting of :

Prof. Rama Rao, former Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad;
R. Chidambaram, then Principal Scientific Advisor;
Dr G. Mehta, Director Indian Institute of Science;
Dr S.K.Joshi, National Physical Laboratory;
A. Mahindra, Chairman Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd;
and C.K.Birla, Chairman Hindustan Motors

and they had concluded that :

“JEE is singularly responsible for accomplishing the brand image of India” and “the system which has been put into place to conduct the JEE exam should NOT be disturbed and that a group be formed of senior IIT professors who have been associated with the JEE to look into some reforms.”

There has been no review since and nothing could have changed to warrant abolition of JEE by 2013 as reported by the media in recent times.

Any system that has consistently delivered high on career development can be prone to abuse. There have been allegations of some misuse of the JEE too. Private coaching classes have mushroomed around the country to circumvent JEE methodologies used to identify excellence. This needs to be fixed.

However abolishing JEE would be a case of "throwing the baby out with the bath water". We are sure you will see our appeal is fair, in the best interest of the nation and children of the future.

There is a good case for the proposed Common Entrance Test (CET) eliminating the need for one student to take multiple exams for example the CBSE Board 10+2, IIT JEE, BITS Pilani, AIEEE, State Level MH-CET and private college entrance tests and then having to attend in-person interviews for seat allotments for example in Trichy (TN), Warrangal (AP), Pilani ( Rajhastan), Wakaranghat (HP), Delhi, Mumbai and more.

However with hurdles like 18 official languages, many backward class students deserving reservation and a large disparity between rich and poor in terms of opportunities & awareness, implementing CET will be a challenge; it further compounds the risk of placing all eggs in one basket called the CET, eliminating free choice. What happens to a clever student who for reasons beyond his control does badly in the CET or is forced to miss CET. Does he or she not deserve a few more options ?

CET will grade a million students whilst JEE differentiates between the top 10000 students by testing their native intelligence. Even if CET is established, the need for JEE will not diminish as it is a unique high grade filtering process. JEE is unique in testing complex problem solving skills requiring abstract & lateral thinking while other entrance exams test knowledge.

JEE is very different from 10+2 board exams in that JEE tests a students raw intelligence, which is an individual's ability to grasp abstract concepts, recognize patterns plus apply prior knowledge while 10+2 school board exams test knowledge acquired at school. Restricting entry to JEE by raising the qualifying marks from 60% to 85 % in 10+2 exams as is being considered is a retrograde step as it will deny IITs the benefit of selecting some very clever and creative students, favouring those who only excel in examinations. Should such talented students be denied the opportunity of a lifetime for an affordable and superlative education ?.

If the current JEE format allows any form of "beating the system", then what is essential is to plug the loopholes. If, as alleged, JEE standards may have been compromised by the very people meant to guard the system, it is not a system failure, but a violation of ethics that requires eradication. The system needs to be streamlined to plug the loopholes without compromising on any processes which ensure standards.

JEE is the Gold Standard for Engineering entrance exam and should stay. This appeal is for GoI to set up an “ Independent Commission ” to correct the flaws and abuses in the JEE system and not to abolish the methodology.

To abolish the JEE would be tantamount to finding a key ingredient of a winning formula and removing it. There is no scientific basis whatsoever for doing this, no scientific evidence whatsoever that the Global IIT brand would be improved, and no scientific evidence whatsoever that any generally accepted objective would be achieved. Indeed, such a move flies directly in the face of any evidence-based thinking that has been put forward.

The Nation will be indebted to the Ministers of GoI, for making the right decision “Not to Abolish JEE” and that JEE, the Gold Standard, will continue to serve our children of future generations.

We the undersigned "Save JEE Team of Volunteers", offer our services to the nation to help investigate, redesign and develop a fool proof and just "JEE" system.

Ram Krishnaswamy, B.Tech 1970, IIT Madras, M. Bldg. Sc. Sydney University, MIE.Aust., MAAS.,
1990-97 Managing Director- Environmental Noise control Pty Ltd.
1997-2000 Managing Director - Noise Control Australia Pty Ltd.
Currently: Managing Director – NoDesCo, Sydney, Australia.

Arvind Singh, B.Tech 1993, IIT Kanpur
Currently: Software Development Lead and Principal Architect, Marshall Watson , Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

B.K.Syngal, B.Tech (Hons)1961, M.Tech 1962 IIT Kharagpur, India,
C.Eng (UK), M.I.E.E. (UK), Sr. M.I.E.E.E. (USA), and F.I.ET.E. (India), Member London Court of International Arbitration.
1991-98: Chairman and Managing Director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), 1998-2001: Chairman, Reliance Telecom,
2001-2007: Vice Chairman, BPL Communications Limited, Currently: Sr. Principal Dua Consulting, India

Barun Kumar, B.Tech 1992, IIT Kanpur, Currently: DGM, Reva Electric Car Company, India

Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, B.Tech, 1971, IIT Bombay, MBA, 1971, IIM Ahmedabad, M.Phil., Columbia University, Ph.D., Columbia University,
Professor and President of The University of West Georgia, with two terms served as Interim Executive / Senior Vice Chancellor of the University System of Georgia
(Dr. Sethna is the first Indian-born President ever of any U.S. University)

Chidambaram Raghavan, B.Tech. 1974 IIT Madras, M.Sc in Engg 1976 Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland USA
1978-85: Worked in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), 1985-06: Principal Research Engineer at Flow International Corporation, Kent, Washington
Currently: Consultant for Aerospace and Advanced Systems in India to Flow International Corporation, India

Gajendra Sidana, B.Tech 2006, IIT Madras, Currently: Process Safety Engineer, Hazira LNG Pvt. Ltd (a Shell & Total Joint Venture), India

Dr. G.S.Parthasarathy, M.Tech 1969, IIT Madras, Prof in Civil Engineering, M.S.University of Baroda, Gujarat, India

Dr. Harwant Singh Chhabra, B.Tech1969, IIT Madras, MBA, Fellow IIM Ahmedabad, Former Professor, NITIE and IIML, Currently: President, Lemonte Acquisitions Houston, USA

Jairam Sampath, B.Tech 1985 - IIT Madras, PGDM 1989 - IIM Ahmedabad, Currently: CMO - iPath Technologies, India

Dr. Narayana Prakash R.Saligram, B.E 1976 (NITK, Suratkal), M.Tech1980 IIT Bombay, PhD 1993(IISc), Currently: VP (Operations) Plug Power Energy India Pvt. Ltd., India.

Navroze Havewala, B.E, PGDM – IIM Bangalore, Currently: Chief Executive of Mazda Consultants, India.

Padmanabh Sahasrabudhe, B.E 1999 JNEC, M.Tech 2001, IIT Bombay, Currently: Senior Member of Technical Staff in Oracle USA.

Dr. P R Swarup, B.Tech 1975, IIT Kanpur, Ph.D Rajeev Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal, D.Sc. (Honoris Causa)
1975-96 Worked on Physical Infrastructure Construction Projects in India and overseas
Currently: Director General, Construction Industry Development Council, New Delhi, India

Raghav Mittal, M.Tech [Dual Degree] 2004, IIT Kharaghpur, Managing Director Extra Edge Infomedia Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, Editor UPTU WATCH, Trustee & Chairman Paarth Educational Foundation, Mathura, Mentor Paarth Educational Services, Mathura, Advisor: Braj Chikitsa Sansthan; BSA College of Engineering & Technology, Mathura , Trustee & Project Coordinator, The Braj Foundation , Secretary, Braj Rakshak Dal . Member, District Vigilance Committee Mathura, Coordinator, Students' Forum for India's Heritage [SFIH], Convener, Bharat Bandhu Network [BBN], Member, Bharat Punarnirman Dal [BPD]

Dr. Raj Mutharasan B.Tech 1969, IIT Madras , M.S. Drexel University 1971, Ph.D. Drexel University 1973
Frank A. Fletcher Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Former Dean of Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Ramanan Ramamurti, B.Tech 1976, IIT Madras, Currently: Director - Nile Ltd., India

Ranjan Pant. IIT Kanpur B.Tech (1973). Currently, Chief Technology Officer at Powermax Global, Maryland, USA.
Involved in organizing IIT alumni activities in the US since 1998; Co-founder of Capital IIT (later Pan IIT association of Washington DC);
Co-chair of world's first major international IIT conference (Washington DC, 2002);
co-author of “IIT India's Intellectual Treasures” and forthcoming book “Global 101“ which features 101 IIT alumni making key global contributions

Sadashiv. K, B.Tech 1977, IIT Madras, MBA IIM Bangalore, Currently: Partner (ASEAN)-Climate Change & Sustainability Services, Ernst & Young, Singapore

Dr. Samir Kelekar, B.Tech 1983, IIT Bombay, MS 1987 Clemson University, USA, Phd 1994 Columbia University, NYC, USA.
Founder- Director of Teknotrends Software Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, India.

Dr. Sanat Agrawal, B.Tech 1988, IIT Kanpur,
Currently: Associate Professor, Mechanical Engg, Jaypee Institute of Engg and Technology (JIET), Madhya Pradesh, India.

Sanjay Jadhav, B.Tech 1989, IIT Bombay, MBA 2003, IIT Kanpur, currently Director on Golden Arch International Ltd., India
Guest faculty at National Power Training Institute , Project Director and Volunteer at Bharatshodh

Selvaraj Israel, B.Tech 1972, IIT Madras. Retd Engineer SG ISRO. Currently Researching Human Posture, India

Somayajula Achuta Ramaiah, B.Tech 1967, IIT Madras. Wing Commander (Retd) Indian Air Force, India

Somnath Bharti, MSc (IITD), LLB (Delhi University), Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court, Partner, Bharti & Associates (Advocates and Corporate Lawyers), India.
Former Secretary, IIT Delhi Alumni Association, Formerly Member, Senate, IIT Delhi, Founder, Save Vikram Buddhi Movement.

Dr. Sriram Parthasarathy, B.Tech 1982, IIT Madras, PhD 1998 Georgia Tech, India

Suresh Adina, B.Tech 1989, IIT Kharaghpur, MS 1992- MIT USA, MS 1998- NEU USA, Currently: MD Quickeagle Networks, USA

Udit Chaudhuri, BSc 1979, Univ of Delhi, Adv Dipl Mgt -Wolfgang Mewes Verlag, Strategy Consultant / Technical Writer / Lead Coordinator (SME Interim Management Program), India

Varada Raju Dharanipragada, B.Tech 1970, M.Tech 1974, IIT Madras
Currently : Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Vickram Crishna, B. Tech 1975, IIT Delhi, P.G.D.M. 1977 IIM Calcutta, Chief Executive, Radiophony, India, Currently: Coordinator, Privacy Network in Asia, India.

Vikash Kodati, B.Tech 2002, IIT Guwahati , Currently: Technical Manager at Verasta – a subsidiary of Trilogy, USA.

Vinayak Markande, B.Tech 1980, IIT Bombay; DMS- University of Bombay
1993-96 : Project Manager- National Peroxides Ltd., Kalyan, Mumbai, 1996-05 : Sr. Project Manager- Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Baroda
Currently: Director / Proprietor - Perrin Valves Pvt. Ltd., Baroda, India

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

Sign the Petition to save IIT JEE

http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveJEE/petition.html

Googling Myself

In one of his novels Dan Brown said that even the great celebrities and scientists google themselves... then what to talk about me. Well I too google myself sometimes. Today I googled myself and felt happy that one of my students appreciated me. (Gives me pleasure to know that I am cherished by atleast a few souls) I don't know the name of the student who wrote it (I wish I did). Nonetheless I am feeling happy having come across this on the net. (Well the quote is not my own but it inspires me also, I think the quote is by Zig Ziglar).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

copied from: http://www.goiit.com/posts/list/0/community-shelf-a-saying-that-will-always-keep-u-motivated-965951.htm

This is a saying told to me by one of my teachers at FIITJEE.It will always keep one motivated if one tried to understand its meaning.

It is as follows:-

Student: How do a start my everyday with a new joy to prepare for IITJEE?

Sir: Remember this -"Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life".This saying makes everyday as special as any other day.

SAID BY-

Ambrish Srivastva (My physics teacher and a gr8 motivator)

FIITJEE Limited

Education Master Interview with FIITJEE Chairman DK Goel

copied from http://www.educationmaster.org/news/interview-fiitjee-chairman-dk-goel.html

Interview with FIITJEE Chairman DK Goel
Published On: 27th April 2010

Interview with FIITJEE Chairman DK Goel By Staff Reporter

DK Goel is the founder and Chairman of FIITJEE. An alumnus of IIT-Delhi, he founded FIITJEE in 1992, which is a forum for IIT-JEE, a launching pad for the serious JEE aspirants. He is the man who looked at teaching from a different perspective making FIITJEE one of the best coaching institutions to crack IITJEE. In the following interview with Education Master, Mr. Goel shared his experience and views on various topics on education.



Education Master: FIITJEE has been a leading brand in IIT coaching scene for nearly 2 decades now. What prompted you, an IIT alumnus, to start this initiative?
DK Goel: I had a fair share of corporate work opportunities. However, I wanted to be an entrepreneur and wanted to set up a school but had little money. Those days, the best of MNCs paid pittance compared to the salaries today. Starting IIT-JEE coaching has been a means to a much larger goal.

EM: When you started FIITJEE, what are the primary objectives you had in your mind given that other brands (like Brilliant Tutorials and Agarwal Classes) were major players in entrance exam coaching sector who not only held classroom classes, but also through correspondence?

DKG: You will be surprised to know that Agarwal Classes closed their correspondence course division in January, 1994 because the business was no longer profitable. Agarwal Classes did not have classroom coaching for IIT-JEE as such. They used to give classroom coaching to students only for boards.
Brilliants gained importance in correspondence courses only after the closure of Agarwal Classes. Brilliants was never respected for its classroom coaching as such.

When I started FIITJEE, I was not at all impressed with any of the coaching institutes in India.

EM: Looking back now, do you think you were able to achieve your objectives then?

DKG: FIITJEE is just the beginning of my mission.

EM: The IIT-JEE coaching market is a huge one and the competition is fierce with limitless players vying to get a bigger bite of the pie. Many ex-IITians like you have joined the coaching bandwagon since you have been producing excellent results.

DKG: You are very right.

EM: Where does FIITJEE stand today amongst the top brands with respect to the market share as well as success rate?

DKG: FIITJEE has been producing highest number of selections in IIT-JEE in India since 1998.

EM: Why FIITJEE today, and why FIITJEE tomorrow?

DKG: Mantras for success are simple – honesty, hard work, planning and passion are the key. This holds true for any enterprise anywhere in the world. For this simple reason FIITJEE will remain on top for a very, very long time.

EM: FIITJEE has carved a niche for itself in IIT-JEE coaching. Why hasn't it diversified into coaching for other competitive exams like medical or management entrances like CAT?

DKG: The intelligence barrier in exams other than IIT-JEE mentioned by you is low and therefore it does not interest me. Just consider this, all IIT-JEE coaching institutes in the country have majority of ex-FIITJEE faculty. We are the only one capable of training staff to teach for IIT-JEE. No other institute has any training program of substance.

EM: Your 'FORTUNATE 40' initiative does have a scope for students who would like to take up medicine as their career. Will FIITJEE itself impart medical coaching to them or would do so through a tie-up?

DKG: This is restricted to IX/X only. We are not offering medical entrance coaching as such. Though we do have a junior college in Hyderabad where students are aspiring to be doctors generally take admission. It was started due to a political request.

EM: Some would say your 'FORTUNATE 40' initiative looks like a spin-off of the highly successful Bihar's 'Super 30'. How different is 'FORTUNATE 40' from 'Super 30'? Please tell us more about it.

DKG: My research on ‘Super 30’ says a different story about them and their success. Though from outside it may look similar, I leave it to you to find the difference.

EM: FIITJEE also has school-linked programs integrating school teaching and coaching. How many schools are you currently tied-up with and what is your eventual target? Do you have tie-ups with government-run or aided schools?

DKG: We have tie-ups with both private as well as government run schools. This is a ‘not for profit venture’. There is no planned number in our mind. This is a project to demonstrate how school teaching can be complete and students need not go for any extra coaching after the school. This program revolves around ideal school education.

EM: Don't you think school tuitions should suffice when it comes to cracking the various entrance exams for undergraduate courses? If so, then would you agree that the school education system is faulty as it does not prepare a student adequately for the super-tough entrance exams? (In other words, why are coaching institutes like FIITJEE so necessary to crack IIT-JEE? Where does the fault lie?)

DKG: Indian society is undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts which would take another 60 years at least. Even in metros, school teachers lack the motivation to teach properly in school and the substandard school teacher becomes an excellent teacher in the evening.

Other strategy of school teachers is to not finish the course in school in time to get more tuition. Everyone wants to earn more and school teachers are fervently engaged in making extra bucks. Situation is very bad in smaller cities and towns.
In rural India, school education is limited to literacy, familiarity and passing the exams only. There is no passion or focus on using education in a practical way. I have described the general scenario, though good teachers can be found everywhere albeit few.

Another reason is that coaching is needed to outdo others. Even Indian cricket team needs coaching including Tendulkar.

EM: Your thoughts on Indian education system with respect to rote learning and innovation… Being a product of IIT yourself, do you think rote learning is the general way to get good grades in IITs as shown in a recent Bollywood blockbuster?

DKG: In 3 Idiots they showed rote learning inside the college but not for cracking the entrance exam. It was 100% true until a few years back. IITs lacked the innovation spirit of the west but not IITians. Once IITians were in a developed country they contributed at par with the best there. School system is a totally degraded one and encourages rote learning because of:
1. Shortage of good motivated teachers,
2. Pattern of the exams.

EM: What is your take on the MHRD's school reforms initiative? What are your thoughts on making CBSE Class X board exams optional? What are the reforms would you like to see yourself especially in the Indian school education system that you find the MHRD has overlooked or should stress upon?

DKG: Every excellent idea need not give us positive results. Just interview parents from any CBSE school in Delhi or any city and find out if CBSE and schools are prepared to do justice to ongoing assessment process that has come to replace X board. The idea is excellent but not executable. Our HRD Minister probably will realize it after having caused much damage to students' career as well as to education itself.

The new system is all set to give rise to a new system of corruption. I can see the seeds and the country will see the weeds in a few years. Few things the government should do are:
1. Reward good teachers.
2. Increase education spends; allow good education societies like DPS to run schools in rural areas where government will give funds for infrastructure.
3. Encourage school teachers to set up schools of their own, for this allow banks to give long term soft loans up to 95% of project value.
4. Bar developmental agencies including DDA to sell/auction school land at commercial prices. How do you expect a school to give good services when they buy land for 20-50 crore? School fee is barely sufficient to service the interest on project cost??? Is MHRD blind??? You reap so as you sow!!!

EM: Talking about reforms in the education sector, HRD minister Kapil Sibal has got the Foreign Education Providers Bill approved by the Cabinet and would be placed before Parliament now, and is currently pressing hard for tie-ups with international universities and also inviting them to open shops in India. Your thoughts on foreign universities operating in India.

DKG: This new Bill will be good for the country, though it could have been much better after some other steps. This is a great idea but with bad preparation!!! He needs to clean up India first and correct government policies too!
A private engineering college can be set up with land and Rs. 1 crore investment. Setting up one IIT takes land plus Rs. 200 crore to begin with and investment continues for a decade. Government also gives grants. Allow private sector to set up institutes of excellence and compete with IITs. If foreign universities can be allowed to make profits why an Indian entrepreneur should not be allowed to recover the investment and make a modest return on capital invested.

EM: It is now plausible that some of the biggest names in technology schools like MIT, Yale or Princeton may be here in India in the not-so-distant future. If they start operating independently will it dilute the IIT brand?

DKG: Ask any IIT professor or an alumnus and they will tell you that the IIT brand is already diluted with so many IITs. After the foreign universities come to India quality of higher education will improve and IITs will definitely go down. Best students will choose MIT, Princeton or Stanford and not IITs!!!

EM: Also, the process of gaining a seat in one of those colleges may be different from getting a berth in IIT like entrance exams and/or selection criteria. In that case, what would FIITJEE's strategy be?

DKG: We are already training students for admission to top US universities. We will meet any challenge.

EM: Where do you see FIITJEE 10 years from today? What can we expect from FIITJEE in 2020?

DKG: Frankly, I have not thought about this. One day FIITJEE will contribute to society through education at all levels.

EM: What would be your evergreen big tip for the IIT aspirants?

DKG: 1. Whatever you do, do it perfectly. Make sure after preparation you can solve any new problem on that topic on your own.
2. Do not ignore sports and physical fitness.
3. Participate in variety of extra-curricular activities to develop a well rounded personality.


Related Tags: DK Goel, FIITJEE, Fortunate 40, MHRD, Indian Education System, Foreign Education Bill, Education Reforms

Death is More Real than Thought to be

At least for me. I have strong Buddhist Leanings. I think about absolute happiness and tranquility. Aspire to be as tranquil as Eckhart Tolle and S.N. Goenka however the pressure of Job makes me forget about higher things. Keep writing emails, teach the students , reach home , fall asleep ... continue next day. I want to read more , meditate more but somehow keep postponing. I am 33 and death does not seem to be approaching fast however , so far I have lost two colleagues.

I was just searching the internet for an old friend of mine (Piyush Gigras) and was shocked to come across his obituary. He had already died in the year 2001. He must have been 24 then. It was shocking. Difficult to believe that a young man could die. The other colleague I have lost was Kandi Saritha Reddy. She was my Colleague in M.Tech. She Died around 2002, She must have been 25 then. Can I be sure of living long? I wonder should the reading for spiritual enlightenment be postponed for the old age. Where to strike a balance between Professional development and the spiritual development.

Mindfulness is required. Mindfulness to balance. Read, think , Meditate.... Love, Be kind , Be compassionate.... Be mindful...






copied from:
http://wupa.wustl.edu/record_archive/2002/01-11-02/obits.html

Obituaries

Gigras, chemical engineering graduate student

By Tony Fitzpatrick

Piyush G. Gigras, a graduate student in chemical engineering, died Monday, Dec. 17, 2001, in an auto accident in northern Iowa while en route to visit family in Minnesota.

Gigras was born Nov. 1, 1974, in Moradabad, located in the northeast part of Uttar Pradesh, the most populated state in India. He spent most of his life in the northern part of India.

His father, Gopal Gigras, worked for the government of India as a scientist. Gigras joined one of the most prestigious institutes in India, the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, in the fall of 1995, majoring in chemical engineering.

He came to Washington University as a graduate student in the chemical engineering department in the fall of 1999. He began working in the field of non-Newtonian fluid dynamics under the guidance of Bamin Khomami, the Francis F. Ahmann Professor of Chemical Engineering.

"Piyush was an extremely gifted student," Khomami said. "He was a first-rate researcher. He was kind and generous, and touched the life of all he knew in a very positive and meaningful way. He is truly missed by all of us.

"I truly feel that I have lost a son, a very promising son who would have had a great impact not only on his profession but also on the people that would have come in contact with him."

Kartik Arora, a chemical engineering graduate student and friend, said, "Piyush had a very pleasant personality, and was liked by everyone who knew him. He was fun-loving with a very comforting smile.

"He liked seeing new places. In his 2 1/2 years in the United States, he saw six different states and eight different cities, including Las Vegas. He enjoyed taking pictures with his 35-80 mm focal length SLR camera.

"We shall miss him forever, and for some of us, life will never be the same without him."

Gigras is survived by his parents and two brothers. At his family's request, his body was transported back to India. A campus memorial service is being planne

You are a Good manager if you are doing these five things

copied from:
http://companiesmanagement.com/2010/04/you-are-a-good-manager-if-you-are-doing-these-five-things/

You are a Good manager if you are doing these five things
April 16th, 2010

How to get more from your limited opportunities? Who found the secret found the success. I know you are probably aware from these five tips but even that its a good time to give you a reminder to don’t forget them at all.

Take print and have them with you. Even if you can’t have them with you then at least in office time. They key principle is to deliver the piece of work using the appropriate tools. We use the term project based working to describe this approach.

1# Get trained!

Research points out that only 61% of people have received any project management training.

2# Ensure

Ensure you have the buy-in of senior managers for your project. You will need to work hard to influence upwards and get their support.

3# What about the day job?

Projects get in the way and the day job gets in the way of projects! Many people have found that by applying project based working to day to day activities and by being more rigorous on project work, more is achieved.

4# Identify the priority

Identify early on in the life of the project the priority of your projects. Inevitably there will be a clash with another project or another task. Use your project management skills to deliver and your senior management contacts to check out the real priority of the project.

5# Project Management Software

Discover how project management software can help. But, you will need to develop the business case, produce a project definition alongside planning what will go into the software. Many project managers use simple Excel spreadsheets or charts in word to help deliver their project.

There are many more tips to make you more good I mean better and better to best. So keep in touch and learn more here.

You are not a Good Manager if you are making these Six Big Mistakes

You are not a Good Manager if you are making these Six Big Mistakes

copied from: http://managementtoolz.blogspot.com/2010/03/six-big-mistake-managers.html

Management in all business areas and human organization activity is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.

Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.
Lack of communication.
In any industry, at any level, communication is key to being a successful manager. Employees need to know what is expected of them and when specific projects or tasks need to be completed. Communication needs to be clear, and any questions that arise need to be answered.
Favoritism.
Once a manager has obvious favorites, he or she loses credibility and the respect of the rest of the team.
Just do it.
The Nike slogan does not work when employees are trying to gain an understanding of the process or project. Rather than expecting your team to simply work blindly on tasks they do not understand, a good manager takes the time to explain what the project is all about and how the team's work is incorporated into the plan. Remember, the more the team is invested in a project, the better the results will be.
Never change.
In a rapidly changing business environment, not being open to change can be a major mistake. While you may stick to tried-and-true methods in some areas, you should consider and weigh the value of change in others. Above all, be flexible.
Failing to hear what your employees have to say.
Managers make the mistake of listening but not always hearing what their employees are saying. To manage effectively, you need to understand the needs and concerns of your employees.
Too much technology.
A new breed of managers are more tech-savvy than they are comfortable handling and managing people. Embracing technology is a key to success in the modern office environment, but not at the risk of embracing people skills. Do not hide behind e-mails and other technology.
Read the next post to it

Great advice for employees (Dealing with the Unreasonable requests))

copied from : http://stateoftheartconsulting.blogspot.com/2009/12/honey-just-say-no.html


“Honey! Just Say No!”

The word ‘No’ is definitely the most reviled word to hear when you were a toddler. Nowadays, as parents this is the word which we use zillions of times a day at home when our 4+ year old son, ‘invents’, ‘discovers’, ‘nags’, ‘screams’ and so on.

I think too much ‘No’s’ in childhood might have created an aversion towards the word ‘No’ in me. Whenever, my team members say something is impossible, my reply would be, “ the word No’ is not in my vocabulary”. Everything is possible is what I used to say to my team when we were stuck with either a challenging task or a nonsense request from the client or occasionally a situation arising from stupidity of others or due to a false assurance made by someone who do not understand how things are accomplished professionally. On a scale of 1 –10, I was right 9 times, that “it’s possible”, I should say with pride.

However, may be due to my workaholic nature, many occasions, where I should have said ‘No’, I either forgot to tell or I avoided telling ‘No’ or I simply accepted the tasks or mediocre orders and later regretted. Some people used to take ‘advantage’ of my only ‘Achilles' heel’ and most of them benefited from it mostly in the form of ‘fame’, ‘status’, ‘money’ and other material benefits.

Why I didn’t say ‘No’ needs research! I may blame it on our great Indian culture that teaches or preaches the disciples to make the life meaningful through our actions. Through metaphors from our epics and holy books we, Indians are ‘programmed’ to be tolerant, dutiful, respectful and to have all the good virtues depicted in our holy books.

When I was a kid, I used to quiz why the great Asura King, Mahabali, agreed to give the three paces (steps) of land for ‘Vamana’, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Why he didn’t say ‘No’? Even the King ignored the warning even from his guru. The story goes on as Vamana measured all the worlds and the sky with just two paces. Then, Mahabali offered himself as the third pace and was thus banished to the Patala, the nether world.

Anyway, my guru enlightened me that always the ‘good will triumph over the evil’. But the irony is that we are not ‘Saints’ or can’t expect incarnations of the supreme to appear like those days to slay the evildoers. The only certainty is to learn how to say ‘No’, in situations, where our conscience disagrees with what you were asked to do by someone, even if s/he is your superior or elder to you. You need to be the judge of your actions and decline accordingly.

The best seller “The Book of NO” (250 ways to say it – and mean it and stop People Pleasing Forever) by Susan Newman illustrates plethora of situations that we may face both at the workplace and private life and guides you how to say ‘No’.

Have you ever counted the number of times you said ‘No’ while at work? It would be very rare or nil, if the requester always is your boss, right?

Recently, a legal officer in one of the UAE banks was asked by his supervisor to perform a diligence exercise on a proposed merger of two banks. On a closer look, the employee realized that the task has nothing related to the bank where he is working and on further quizzing the ‘boss’ agreed that this is his personal work and what he was asking is a ‘personal favor’. The irritated employee said ‘No’ as this was not part of his job and also has nothing to do with the employer, the bank.

In the corporate world too much such personal favors or unethical job requests like changing of HR records, manipulation of data and the like from unprofessional and callous bosses come on a daily basis and the unfortunate subordinate employees, most of the time, do not have much choice except to say ‘Yes’ instead of ‘No’.

Similarly, using the employee as a Trojan and compelling him/her to reply emails to clients or suppliers with the text dictated by the supervisor, just to create friction or to convey to the Client or the Supplier what the supervisor wanted to say is also not uncommon these days.

In such situations, the employee should be saying ‘No’. However, if the employee is “weak” or is a “saint”, then there will not be any end to it, as s/he will be taken for granted incessantly.

The moment you say ‘No’ to an insipid supervisor, we can expect the countdown for employee’s exit soon. Recently, I received an email from one of my female friends working in a bSME (below the SME category business) explaining the reasons that triggered her resignation. The major reason was the attitude of her female toxic boss (trying to emulate the female CEO in the 2006 movie, ‘ The Devil wears Prada’; please click the link to watch the clipping!) who used to hate this female employee since the day the employee defied Boss’s pressure to manipulate the core data ‘black box’ of the company. Since then, boss catches my friend for wrong or fictitious or unreasonable reasons such as not complying with the dress code, not carrying boss’s luggage during one of the business travels, her personal hygiene etc. Even after the employee submitted her resignation, the harassment continued in the form of delaying the resignation acceptance and withholding of her end of service entitlements. Sometimes, the ‘No’ bears a mega price tag!

An employee should master the art of saying ‘No’ in a very diplomatic ways if the situation demands such diplomacy. But diplomacy should not to be the criteria, if someone is using you as a ‘tool’ to do bad or inappropriate tasks. Remember, the requester may not have a conscience but you may be having one!

Even though I preached diplomacy, but in circumstances where the employee feels that s/he has been used or the request is unethical and against all known norms, then definitely the employee with no hesitation should turn it down with a ‘big No’ giving diplomacy a vacation. The power of this two-letter word (‘No’) is amazing, ‘yes’, if aptly used!



A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please,or worse, to avoid trouble!

great joke

Bill Gates organized an enormous session to recruit a new Chairman for Microsoft Europe.5000 candidates assembled in a large room. One candidate is Arun Doshi an Indian (Gujrati) guy.

Bill Gates thanked all the candidates for coming and asking those who do not know JAVA program to leave.2000 people leave the room. Arun says to himself,'I do not know JAVA but I have nothing to lose if I stay. I'll give it a try' Bill Gates asked the candidates who never had experience of managing more than 100 people to leave. 2000 people leave the room. Arun says to himself ' I never managed anybody by myself but I have nothing to lose if I stay. What can happen to me?' So he stays.

Then Bill Gates asked candidates who do not have management diplomas to leave. 500 people leave the room. Arun says to himself, 'I left school at 15 but what have I got to lose?'
So he stays in the room.

Lastly, Bill Gates asked the candidates who do not speak Serbo-Croat to leave. 498 people leave the room. Arun says to himself, ' I do not speak one word of Serbo-Croat but what do I have to lose?' So he stays and finds himself with one other candidate.

Everyone else has gone.

Bill Gates joined them and said 'Apparently you are the only two candidates who speak Serbo-Croat, so I'd now like to hear you have a conversation together in that language.'

Calmly, Arun turns to the other candidate and says `kem chhho'

The other candidate answers 'ek dam majama'

Some puns

Q:What did the lonely banana say?
A: I’m a kela.



Q: What did the green peas say?
A: Nothing. They just mutter-ed.



Q: What did one milk say to the other milk?
A: Hey, Dudh!

An Intriguing Story

Abhijeet was a very sincere employee at a coaching centre run by Mr. Amit Agarwal. He used to teach Mathematics and he was very good at his subject.

Not only was he good at his subject, he was also great at communication skills and he was an honest man. He was a well paid employee and therefore he was quite satisfied with his job. His boss (Mr. Amit) was also very happy with him and used to foresee a lot of potential in him. He was fond of his people skills, however the boss was also very greedy. All the time he used to think about money and growing the business. Getting more and more students. He did not even mind begging borrowing and stealing. He belonged to the creed of "Everything is fair in War and Business".


Of course it is not that only Mr. Amit was Corrupt, there were a host of other coaching centres who were involved in unethical practices. There was Sri Hari Institute, Sky Institute, and Then There was Vishnu Academy of Competitions. All of them were engaging in unfair practices.

You might be wondering what kind of unfair practices am I referring to.

----To be completed

oneliner resources

http://oneliners.rediffblogs.com/

http://www.onelinerz.net/top-100-funny-one-liners/

Ten Lessons I learnt from the movie "Rocket Singh, Sales man of the Year"

1. After Sales Service is More Important than Selling a Product

2. People who are treated mechanically in an organization will just work mechanically

3. People who are treated affectionately and given importance will take pride in their work and will go the extra mile.

4. Never underestimate the importance of any person, you never know the impact a hurt employee can have on your company. Do not disparage your employees, sometimes it might be worse than firing them.

5. Always be watchful of people's attitudes in the organization and be aware of the emotional undercurrents in the company.

6. Have guts! Try something daring. Do not underestimate your idea or your ability. You might as well turn our to be a powehouse.

"The big shots are the small shots , who keep on shooting"

7. Be courteous with all your clients (or for that matter anyone), you never know whose help you might need to enlist

8. Be honest in your dealings, treat your employees as partners.

9. If you can't buy a car, buy a scooty, or whatever you can afford. Try to optimize everywhere.


10. Respect the values of your elders and spiritual tradition. It gives you strength when you feel frail.