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No stopping IITians from being choosy UK financial jobs shifting to India Fellowships for study of Australia Indian American wins Rhodes Scholarship QUERY HOTLINE |
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No
stopping IITians from being choosy Shadows of discontent that loomed large over the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, are withdrawing, an indication of good times ahead. A manifestation of the corollary of 9/11, the poor recruitment figures that 2001-02 recorded is gradually becoming history. Post the attacks that shook the world, global economic slowdown had cast a shadow on a campus that prides itself for churning out the best in the technical province. The IIT-D is assertive that it has recuperated from the pinch of the black Tuesday. The faculty in charge of placement and recruitment, Prof Kushal Sen, says, "We are confident that by the end of June, 2004, we will have 100 per cent campus placement. Companies are offering better jobs and pay-packets, and this year seems just as good". If dismal figures, both in terms of job offers and pay-packets disappointed IITians last year, this year there is no stopping them from being choosy. "We are getting better offers. This year, we have had more companies and more jobs; companies like Oracle are offering close to 20 jobs. In fact, more than half of the students in each batch from various departments have already found themselves jobs with average salaries of about Rs 4 lakh", says Himanshu, a civil engineering student. While 2001 -02 was an all-time low, the entire academic year 2000-2001 saw an all-time peak of almost 85 per cent placement for B.Tech and M.Tech students combined. "Last year was clearly one of the worst years. People had to run around quite a bit. Off-campus placements were made because companies were not too generous. Students were not offered the packages that IITians deserve and despite that some were ready to take up offers", says Gaurav Gupta, who passed out in 2002. Gaurav adds: "The economic slowdown had students worried. While most companies used to take about 70 students from undergraduate courses and about 20 from the postgraduate level, in 2002 the numbers were slashed considerably. It clearly wasn’t the best year in terms of placements". While information technology (IT) was the biggest casualty last year, the mechanical branch saw a surge. Also feeling the pinch were students of textile engineering. Last year’s gloom, however, seems to be lifting. The current batch is optimistic that traditional recruiters, including Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), Tata Infotech, Infosys, Hindustan Lever Ltd, ITC, Maruti and Wipro will recruit on the lines prior to 9/11. Sources point out that with students themselves becoming "more savvy", the recruitment front is certainty not going to be bleak. Though a good number of students are still enamoured of the prospects of making it big in distant shores, there are many who prefer to enrol for higher studies rather than immediately jump into the fray of seeking employment. "A whole lot of us are preparing for the GRE and even CAT. Everybody is not looking for employment immediately after earning a BE degree. The lure of good money and good perks, and of course a good job profile encourages students to go for further studies", says Amit Singh (name changed on request) who is "studying hard to crack the GRE".
Students assert that with the IIT-D maintaining its standards of
"producing the best", students can "afford to wait and
choose". "We go by precedent. Most of us want similar, if
not more, pay-packets that IITians have got in the past few years. If
our seniors in 2002 had to settle for pay packets between Rs 2 and 3
lakh per annum, with the recession decreasing, we are going to look at
better figures", adds Amit Singh. |
UK financial jobs shifting to India LONDON: More than 100,000 British financial services jobs are likely to be lost to overseas locations, such as India and China, as insurers and banks struggle to cut costs. An official for the financial services consultancy Troika said up to 20,000 jobs had already been moved to India, or less than 5 per cent of back-office staff in life and pensions, general insurance, retail and investment banking and mortgage and credit-card processing. At least 40,000 jobs in the life and pensions and general insurance industries and 60,000 in banking are likely to be moved abroad within five to seven years, he said.Coupled with the advent of cheap global communications and the emergence of skilled workers in developing nations, the temptation for companies to shift jobs abroad was high. More efficient processes are likely to include outsourcing and off-shoring to India and South Africa, where costs are roughly £ 10 per policy, as opposed to £ 30 plus in the UK. The prediction comes just days after Ms Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary, said it was important to avoid protectionism on job transfers. She spoke amid controversy over the Lloyds TSB bank shifting 750 full-time jobs from Newcastle to India. —
PTI |
Fellowships for study of Australia NEW DELHI: Following the success of the inaugural Australian studies fellowships this year, the Australia-India Council (AIC) has announced that the fellowships for the study of Australia would be available in 2004. Welcoming the continuation of the fellowships, Australian High Commissioner to India Penny Wensley said strengthening educational links between the two countries, including links between academics and institutions, was a key priority for the Australian Government. Six of the prestigious fellowships would be awarded next year. Applications are encouraged from areas such as Australian literature, politics and history, environment and health, tourism, film, media communication and the performing arts, gender issues, multiculturalism and indigenous issues, an Australian High Commission press note said. The fellowships are supported and administrated by a consortium of Australian universities, it said. Besides, the AIC’s Australian Studies Programme included two-way exchanges of academics between Australian and Indian institutions, the provision of material to Indian institutions providing Australian courses as well as a teacher exchange programme. —
PTI |
Indian
American wins Rhodes Scholarship WASHINGTON:
Four Harvard students, including an Indian American medical student, have won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. For the third consecutive year, Harvard University garnered more Rhodes Scholarship winners than any other university. This year, Harvard also claimed more than all of the other Ivy League schools combined, says a report in the Harvard Crimson, a campus publication. Among the three undergraduates is an Indian American, Pooja Kumar, a Harvard medical student, who will go for two years of study to Oxford University. They were selected from a pool of 963 candidates representing 366 different universities and endured a rigorous selection process that tested everything from their writing ability to their schmoozing skills. For Pooja, the news of being a Rhodes scholar provided a birthday gift for her mother. Pooja, who grew up in India, Singapore and Indonesia, applied for the scholarship from Pennsylvania. A 2001 graduate of Duke University, North Carolina, Pooja is planning to take two years off from Medical School to study at Oxford. The scholarship is named after British colonialist and phila thropist Cecil Rhodes. —
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QUERY HOTLINE Q I am a student of Class XII (Arts) with fine arts as one of the subjects. I am keen to pursue fine art as a career, does it have any scope? Ajay Gagan Singh A Fine arts is no longer frowned upon today and many talented artistically inclined young people are attracted to it and making a career of it. The commercial success of the new generation of talented artists is also a factor contributing to the popularity of this field. Recent trends show that bright young men are increasingly venturing into the field of art and design as a matter of choice. If you have the basic talent, the skills, techniques and fine sense of aesthetics, which you will imbibe while pursuing a course in art, these will equip you for a life-long career. You could even look at openings in commercial establishments; for example, as a student of painting, you can take up a job in an advertising agency, as a photojournalist or as a professional cameraman, once you have developed an eye for detail. Some knowledge of multimedia will also hold you in good stead. Most colleges of art offer four areas of specialisation in their Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) programmes - Painting, Applied Arts, Sculpture and Graphics. After dabbling in one or more of these, you can even decide to combine one or more art forms and media to create a dramatic new expression. For instance, in my room I have this brilliant composition in mixed media by an upcoming artist that combines photography paint, etching, charcoal and crayon in one harmonious piece of art! Chef Q Could you please tell me about some leading institutes in India where I could train to be a chef? What is the hot cuisine to master these days? Raghu Sharma, Ambala A The reputation of a restaurant is mainly dependent on the quality of food that is served and the chefs working there determine this. Trends come and go. We had nouvelle cuisine with big dishes and small portions. Then came fusion cuisine, which was another name for confusion. And now it's back to the basics. The emphasis now is on sourcing the finest raw material and cooking them in such a way that they retain their essential flavours. Only bad chefs mask the flavours of the ingredients. A good dish can be simple yet delicious. Although culinary skills are taught as a part of the regular diploma/degree courses in hotel management, you could also opt for specialised courses at the following institutes: Institutes of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Nutrition (in 22 cities, including Chandigarh). (H/o: NCHMCT, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi-110012 (www.nchmct.org). Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development, 7 Sham Nath Marg, New Delhi-110054 (www.oberoihotels.com/careers/ ) Academy of Culinary Education (ACE), Cidade de Goa, Vainguinim Beach, Goa-403004 (www.fomento.com/ace.htm ) Indian Academy of Catering Technology & Culinary Arts, 6-3-1219/6A, Umanagar, Begumpet, Hyderabad-500016. Course: 3-yr Bachelor in Catering Technology & Culinary Arts affiliated to Osmania Univ, a PG Diploma in Culinary Arts is in the pipeline. Canan School of Catering & Hotel Management, Chennai. IFS Q Could you please tell me something about the Indian Foreign Service. How can one join this service? Isha Naggar, Ludhiana A The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is considered the most elite service in India. IFS personnel are posted in the M/o External Affairs in New Delhi and in the Indian diplomatic missions around the world, where they serve as India's representatives. To join the IFS, you have to take the Civil Services Examination and secure a high rank as IFS is ranked topmost in the Group A services and comes only next to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in terms of power and status. The exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission comprises three stages: Preliminary (Objective type) Exam, Main (Written) Exam and the Interview. An IFS aspirant has to clear all these stages and secure a good rank at the same time (although your Prelims scores will have no bearing in determining the final merit list). Although the IFS is no longer the No # 1 "hot favourite" it used to be, you will still have to work pretty hard to make sure your name figures in the top 50 positions. Eligibility: Bachelor's degree in any stream with minimum 45%. Age: 21-30 yrs on August 1 of the year in which you take the exam. Watch out for the advertisement in Employment News and leading national dailies in the month of December. For further details, you could contact: Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, New Delhi 110011. The website www.upsc.gov.in carries all the details in case you miss the notification.
Please send in your query preferably on a postcard along with your name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Query Hotline,
The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160020, or at careerguide@tribuneindia.com |
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1. Which former Commonwealth Secretary-General was recently presented the 2002 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmamentand Development? 2. Which Bangladeshi writer's book is titled 'Dikhandita'? 3. Who has been appointed the new Foreign Secretary of India? 4. Which comet's debris are Leonid meteor showers? 5. Name the rocket that was recently launched by India to mark the 40th anniversary of India's space programme. 6.Which advanced light helicopter (ALH) will be acquired by the US Customs from India? 7. Who has been appointed the US Ambassador to India? 8. Which car company's 300 millionth car was recently rolled out from the company's unit at Michigan? 9. In which Chinese city did Air India recently open its office? 10. In which year was John Fitzgerald Kennedy assassinated? 11. What is the name of the most powerful conventional (non-nuclear) bomb in the US arsenal that was recently tested in Florida? 12. Name the inventor of AK-47 rifle. 13. What is the capital of Georgia? 14. Name the home of the wards for leprosy patients that is supported by Steve Waugh. 15. Which country will host the Commonwealth Games in 2010? Name: Class: School: Address: Winners of quiz 194: The
first prize by draw of lots goes to Upinderjit Singh, VII-D, St Xavier High School, Bathinda.
Second: Ruchi Kuthiala, VIII, Tara Hall Convent School, Shimla.
Third: Satpreet Singh, VI-C, GMSS School, Sector 46, Chandigarh. Answers to quiz 194: Mahathir Mohamad; Hiren S Gandhi; N. Ram; Maumoon Abdul Gayoom; 2004; Nuclear science; Sri Lanka; Britain ; Himachal Pradesh; Abidjan; China; Rene Zimmermann; Australia; Irfan Pathan; 315. Cash awards of Rs 400, 300 and 200 are given to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. These are sent at the school address. — Tarun Sharma
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