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Guarding the OCEANS
With India’s vast 7,516 km coastline, there is a very large sea frontier to protect. The Coast Guard — fourth arm of the defence services — is an additional force to that of the Navy, handling not the defence of the sea frontier, but the protection of Indian waters and the maritime resources within the jurisdiction of the coastal economic zone of
2.02 million sq km The Coast Guard keeps a watch for smugglers and pirates and other such elements and handles the security of offshore rigs and installations and the safety of ships in coastal waters. Recently, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 99 nationals from Bangladesh and Myanmar, who remained adrift in the Indian Ocean for 12 days after the Thai Navy
intercepted boats carrying them illegally to Thailand. Another important duty of the coast guard is to provide protection to fishermen and their families and to assist them at sea when in distress. The Coast Guard also ensures preservation and protection of marine environment and preventing and controlling pollution of the marine ecology. In fact, over the last ten years, the Coast Guard has been providing assistance to the wildlife and fisheries authorities in protecting the Olive Ridley turtles in the world’s largest rookery along the Orissa coast.
Take your pick
THERE are four major areas of work in the Coast Guard. The General Duty Branch is the operational branch responsible for exercising command of ships at sea. General Duty officers manoeuvre the ships and operate weapons and sensors and are required to have a wide sphere of knowledge of the equipment involved. Officers of the Pilot/Navigator Branch operate aircraft from shore air stations for surveillance of coastal areas — also called the Exclusive Economic Zone — and for search and rescue missions at sea. The Engineering Branch deals with the maintenance and repair of the various ships and aircraft of the Coast Guard while the Electrical Branch is responsible for the effective and efficient functioning of the power generation and distribution system of the ship, the radio, the communication equipment, the radars and other sensors that are installed on board.
Mission admission
IF you wish to join this elite force you need to have completed your bachelor’s degree. For recruitment as assistant commandants in the General Duty Branch, you need to be 21-25 years of age, have a B.Sc with maths and physics, and pass the Second Mate’s exam prescribed by the Ministry of Transport. If you possess a commercial pilot’s licence, or have passed B.Sc with physics and maths you can also be recruited into the pilot/navigator branch. An engineering degree, or equivalent, is necessary for entry into the technical branches. Marine engineering graduates, or those with a Certificate of Competency from the Ministry of Surface Transport, or a similar qualification are also recruited as assistant commandants in the technical branch. The age limit here is 21-30 years. In addition, all candidates are required to have a minimum height of 157 cm and a minimum weight of 45 kg and eyesight in the range of 6/6 and 6/36 in both eyes. Women, too, can join the Coast Guard in the legal and supply branches and can join after graduation in any subject. School leavers and matriculates within the age group of 17-22 years are eligible for recruitment for non-gazetted posts in the coast guard, as Naviks in the General Duty Branch, whereas candidates within the age of 22 years, with a diploma in mechanical, electrical electronics or aeronautical engineering after matric level are recruited as Yantriks. Selections to the various cadres are conducted every January and June, for which the forms are filled six months in advance. The examinations are conducted in two phases. There is a preliminary selection test in GK and IQ at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Port Blair. Those qualifying Phase I go through a final selection exam in New Delhi. The examination is a test of Science, IQ and GK. This is followed by interviews and medical examinations.
Training exercise
ONCE selected, you will be sent for basic and advanced training along with Naval Officers. The training begins with a capsule or orientation course at Goa for five months. You are then transferred all over the country as per the branch. Technical officers go to INS Shivaji at Lonavala, electrical officers to INS Vulsara. Pilots go for training to INS Rajali near Chennai (helicopters) and to Daman (fixed wings). Women Officers are trained at INS (Hamla) in Mumbai. Subsequent training for search and rescue operations and pollution control is conducted in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Often, officers and Naviks are sent abroad for higher training, too, and for courses in management and computer training. After training you can be posted to any of the 11 district commands — one in each coastal state on the mainland and two in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are four Coast Guard stations: Vadinar, Okha, Tuticorin and Mandapam under respective district commands. The air wing of Coast Guard is operated from four stations and six air units. As in any government service, officers of the Coast Guard are offered good, secure jobs with a number of benefits. These include furnished accommodation facilities, free medical facilities, and free food on board ship. Moreover, Coast Guard officers are provided with government loans for buying land, house or vehicles and good retirement and pension benefits.
In expansion mode
OVER the last couple of years, the maritime scenario has changed dramatically. Other than the threat of sea attacks from terrorist, there has also been a sharp increase in piracy on the high seas, smuggling of contrabands and operations to prevent ‘possible’ covert transfers of weapons of mass destruction. Ship traffic in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay is expected to grow immensely with the Sethusamudram Saythu ship canal project, currently being built near Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, with the development of technology and international and national legislation on exploitation of the oceans, there is a need to enhance coastal security and patrolling against suspicious movement of hostile ships. The service is expanding with the inclusion of more units and development facilities including pollution control vessel, hovercrafts, interceptor vessels, advanced offshore vessels, long-range surveillance aircraft and shore support facilities. After the Mumbai attacks, the government has also decided to establish a national command control communication and intelligence network by linking the operation rooms of the two maritime arms, the Navy and the Coast Guard, for the first time, both at the field and apex levels. Managing the oceans is not an easy task. It calls for knowledge, skill and commitment to action, and requires young men and women who possess leadership qualities, are intelligent and bold and can think with originality. Although the work may involve long journeys out at sea, and risk to life, the Coast Guard’s life provides a lot of excitement and adventure. So, if you are up to the challenge you, too, can join the Coast Guard. For more information contact the Director (Training), Recruitment Cell, Coast Guard Headquarters, National Stadium Complex, Purana Quila Road, New Delhi-110001.
(The writer is a career expert)
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OFFICE MANTRA
There’s no substitute for hard work, but there are a host of skills needed to pave the path to success, writes
R.C. Sharma. Read on…
Words are indeed the beginning and the end of every thing. They are powers manufactured to influence people: a mother soothing her injured child, the politician making promises in an attempt to whip up votes, public relations men doing a “snow job” to create a better image for someone or something, great writers creating books, preachers exhorting their flocks, great statesmen calling out to their people in an influential thrust of power — all of them dealing in persuasion, all of them touching upon human needs and all with aims and goals in view. For a successful and rewarding career, keep in mind the mantras indicated below: Respect all: Treat your friends and colleagues as individuals. You should enjoy their company and so they reciprocate. Work, play, laugh and even cry together to show solidarity. It may sound like a cliché, but this is one of the basic requirements for a successful career. Share your thoughts and experiences with your friends and colleagues. You should not talk about work all the time. Share views on all matters under the sun — philosophy, culture, society and the alike. This kind of communication deepens understanding. Tell them what you want, and let others explain what they expect from you. Be positive: A positive mental attitude is the starting point of all success. Never allow negative emotions to appear when dealing with friends, colleagues and subordinates. These only create impediments. Banish fear: Fear is the greatest enemy of man. It is a harbinger of evil and must be eradicated to achieve success. Whether you are appearing for a competitive examination, attending an interview or facing a boss, be fearless or you may lose confidence and stamina and success may not smile upon you. Hope floats: The greatest of all forms of happiness comes as the result of hope of achievement of an unattained desire. Poor beyond description is the person who cannot look to the future with hope that he will become the person he would like to be or with the belief that he will attain the objective he has failed to reach in the past. Crisis management: Learn to defuse a crisis situation. Most of us wait till the situation gets out of hand and it becomes too difficult to resolve it. In most cases, staff members have minor problems and want to be heard. If they realise that they have been given a patience hearing, they will feel satisfied even if nothing comes out of it. Be fit: Remember, the first impression is made by your physical personality and all other things follow. Take a walk every day, exercise and eat nutritious food. Sound physical health begins with a “health consciousness” produced by a mind that thinks in terms of health and not illness. Physical fitness is one of the chief conditions of success. Courtesy counts: Whether you are in the office, before the interview board, talking to your boss or in a public place, be polite. With courtesy and politeness, you can win over all those around you. These are the gems of your personality, cost nothing but pay a rich dividend! Market yourself: Public relations is a phenomenon and a necessity of our times, wrote PR guru Philip Lesly and how true! You can no longer do without if you are a frontline runner, a union boss, a teacher, a student, an accounting executive, a discount house operator, PTA leader, or preacher of the gospel. As part of the deal, you will have to develop the public relations package that will sell on the social and business market. Tolerance, labour of love and self-discipline are other qualities that can ensure success. Tolerance, which is among the higher attributes of culture, is expressed only by the person who holds an open mind on all subjects at all times. There can be no richer person than he who has adopted a labour of love and who is basically engaged in performing it. Labour is the forerunner of all human progress. The man who is not the master of himself may never become the master of anything and he who is the master of self may become the master of his own earthly destiny, the master of his faith, the captain of his soul. These tips will equip you to pave the way to success. So, don’t sit back, face challenges, changes, setbacks and reap a rich harvest of success.
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COURSE CHAT
“The basic principle of Islamic banking based on Shariah, Islamic rules of transaction, is prohibition of Riba (interest) and is known as interest-free banking system. As per the tenets of Islam, earning interest on money deposit and loans in the bank is prohibited by law,” Dr Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi, who designed the one-year diploma course, said. The university academic council, highest body of the university, which decides on academic affairs, has approved of the introduction of the course early this month from the next academic session, he said, adding, that there would initially be 20 seats in
the course. In this system of banking the depositor, who does not bear risk as in other banking systems, has to equally share the risk with the bank. Owner of the capital, however, is allowed to have a share in the bank’s profits, Siddiqui, a retired AMU professor of economics and Islamic studies, said, adding that a similar system is followed by the banks while offering loans to the customers. This type of banking system reduces speculation or gambling, he said. The course would enable students to make a career in Islamic banking, which is already very popular in Islamic countries, he added. “As of now no university in the country is offering a course in Islamic banking. Though some research work on the subject has been done in Karnataka and Pune universities, and a handful of part time refresher courses are being offered by some institutes, the course does not figure in the syllabus of any university,” he claimed. About the future prospects of the course, he said that though there are no Islamic banks in India, there existed a few non-banking cooperatives in Karnataka and Mumbai, which have branches in cities like Aligarh and Chennai. “India is seen as a potential place for the Islamic banking, which can also attract NRI investors. Some of the top Indian companies are looking forward to launch Islamic financial products in the country,” said Siddiqi, claiming that the placements after pursuing this course would be very good.
— PTI
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WONDERING how to make your kids smarter? Well, giving them fish once a week and feeding them with bread and cereals four times a day can make a lot of difference, claims a Kiwi study. The study by University of Otago research fellow Dr Reremoana Theodore suggests that eating certain types of food may boost or significantly lower kids’ IQ.
Alarmingly, eating margarine daily has shown strong links with significantly lower IQ scores. Theodore has called for further research into margarine and says children from disadvantaged families could be most at risk as margarine is often cheaper than other spreads. It is believed that trans-fatty acids in margarine could be to blame might be responsible for low IQs. Richard Swinbourne, a dietitian who works with schools in the Taranaki region, says the findings need to be seen as part of a wider picture. “You could have a child having margarine but if they were having a couple of bits of fruit a day, and going to school with breakfast, and physically active... I’m sure they would overshoot someone that wasn’t having the margarine, alone,” he said. Swinbourne also emphasises the importance of children eating breakfast. In the study conducted over 600 New Zealand European children, as well as detailing the pregnancy of each mother, Theodore studied the effect of certain factors on children’s intelligence. She found that mothers who drank moderate amounts of alcohol while pregnant had children with much higher IQs, than those who did not. However, Alcohol Advisory Council says this result seems to be “at odds with the great body of evidence linking alcohol to poor health outcomes for the foetus”. “There is no known safe level of consumption of alcohol during pregnancy and both Alac and the Ministry of Health advise pregnant women to avoid all alcohol,” said council’s acting chief executive, Dr Andrew Hearn. Dietician Jacquie Dale says children don’t need
margarine, butter or other “blended” spreads on their sandwiches instead, parents should look for substitutes that are low in saturated fat, not overly processed and that contain some “goodies”. This may include peanut butter, hummus, cottage cheese, a thin slice of cheese, or chutney.
— ANI
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Chalk talk
The Kalal Kheria village in Agra district, known as Chalk village, once used to produce 50,000 boxes a day. Barely 4km from the Taj Mahal, when the education for all campaign was launched in 1950, a family in the village opened the first chalk unit — Prem Chalk Udyog — and began supplying to the ministry of education. Today, government orders have simply vanished, forcing chalk units to rely on middlemen and exporters for marketing chalk. Earlier, Kalal Kheria village used to supply chalk to the state and central governments but now trades only with stationery dealers in UP, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, chalk was also exported to countries like South Africa, Russia and the Middle East, which has almost stopped. Some southern cities have also contacted the village for supplies. On the other hand, prices of raw material – mainly Plaster of Paris and Gypsum — have increased manifold, casting a dark cloud over the cottage industry. Of the nearly 750 families engaged in the manufacturing of chalk, just over a 100 families run 60 units now and are on the verge of penury. Naturally, output has come down from over 50,000 packets a day to barely 20,000. The village also produces 8,000 to 10,000 boxes of coloured chalk every day. Annual trade now hovers around the Rs 2.5 crore-mark, with little signs of hope.
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Recession-hit Singapore still needs foreigners
SINGAPORE, which relies heavily on foreign workers, will still need overseas labour despite a recession.
With Singapore in recession, the inflow of foreign workers will slow, acting minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong said in a written response to an MP’s question in parliament. “However, even in a slowdown, our economy still needs foreign workers. Many of them take on jobs that Singaporeans may not want to do or are unable to fill, like in construction and marine,” Gan said. Almost 25 per cent of Singapore’s population were estimated to be non-resident foreigners last year, the statistics department says. Gan said foreign workers allowed Singapore companies to remain globally competitive and contributed to keeping jobs within the country. Singapore in October became the first Asian economy to enter recession.
— AFP
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CAREER HOTLINE
A world of opportunity
— Radha
Dheer A. The legal outsourcing sector offers numerous opportunities to students from various academic backgrounds, including law graduates. A large part of the work is related to litigation support, contract management and
IPR. India is also set to emerge as a major player in the risk management, corporate compliance, and patent services offshoring space. Moreover, the current economic scenario has proved to be a boon in disguise for the legal outsourcing and consulting sector, as new forms of business are emerging from multinationals. The banking sector is outsourcing foreclosures and mortgage work to India. There is also an increase in the number of litigation cases that present further opportunities for growth. Presently, over 100 LPOs are providing high-value outsourced legal and IP services, e.g. contract drafting and management, litigation and document analysis, due diligence, legal research, and patent research, analysis and prosecution-related services for US and UK law firms. Legal consulting, analytics and outsourcing companies like Pangea3,
UnitedLex, CPA Legal, and Mindcrest are some of the leading players in this space that offer growth opportunities to
law graduates. LPO firms facilitate the growth of their employees through ongoing customised training. For instance, there is a dedicated UnitedLex University for advanced training for the company’s
staff. IGNOU’s School of Law (SoL) is launching a one-year PG diploma in LPO from February 15, 2009 in collaboration with Rainmaker, a leading LPO recruitment firm (log onto the IGNOU website www.ignou.ac.in for more details). The fee is an affordable Rs 15,000.
Doctoring a future in the US
— Geeta Pant A.
Although infinitely cheaper, quality undergraduate medical education in India is as good as that in the US. Indian medical courses are rigorous and the lengthiest in the world; which is perhaps why Indian doctors do so well abroad. The US National Committee on Accreditation has given its approval to the system of evaluating medical education in India. It has granted parity to the parameters (curriculum, teaching, method of evaluation, extension, research and impact of educational processes) for health science courses including the MBBS programme set by the Medical Council of India (MCI) However, this parity does not give students or doctors automatic passage to the US or any other country. It only means that our standards of education will be treated on par with those in the US. You have to still go through the stipulated procedure of clearing the mandatory tests etc (which can be fairly
cumbersome. Not to mention, expensive).
Seeds of change
— Gurbir Chahal A. If you are scouting for greener pastures abroad, Europe has a long tradition of forest education. Oxford Forestry Research Institute (UK), European Forestry Research Institute (Finland), New Zealand Forestry Research Institute, Forest Research Institute, Malaysia (FRIM) are just some of the research organisations you could consider. Also a number of highly esteemed universities like Yale University (www.yale.edu) and University of California, Berkley (US), Oxford University (www.ox.ac.uk) and University of Reading, UK (www.rdg.ac.uk), University of Queensland, Australia (www.uq.edu.au) and University of Toronto (Canada) offer excellent research programmes for scholars
like you. Closer home, you could consider joining international forestry organisations like International Forestry Research Institute (Indonesia), Regional Community Forestry Training Centre for Asia & Pacific (Thailand), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (Nepal), Pakistan Forest Research Institute, Institute of Forestry (Bangladesh) and Chinese Academy of Forestry. A holistic multi-pronged and multi-disciplinary approach needs to be adopted a approach to tackle the global problem of environmental degradation and dwindling forest cover Most of the courses abroad have adopted this approach to facilitate research work.
Consider a
M.Phil first
— Sujit Gupta A. The fields are truly diverse ranging from fiber optics communication, microwaves, IC technology, lasers, digital electronics, experimental electronics, optoelectronics, power electronics to medical electronics and nano electronics... I can go on and on. However, since you have already done your M.Sc, I think your professors will be better able to guide you about the cutting-edge areas in physics so that you can choose one related to your interests etc. Also, doing your M.Phil will give you greater insights into the different areas you could look at. Do scan the websites of the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science for areas in which research facilities are offered. Moreover, the Association of Indian Universities (www.aiuweb.org) regularly publishes a list of thesis submitted by research students every month (just click on the “research” link). Scanning through the list will give you a fair idea of what research is being undertaken in your field. Similarly, log on to the website of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): www.csir.res.in for a wealth of info.
How about political governance?
— Nasreen Khan A. Yes, your sister can join an interesting programme in Political Governance for Women at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai. Launched in collaboration with the Times Foundation and Women’s Movement for Peace and Prosperity, the programme empowers women like your sis with the requisite knowledge and skills to manage politics. Your sister has the option to choose between two six-month formats: diploma and workshop. While the diploma programme runs during weekends, the workshops run three afternoons a week. The courses are open to members of political parties, NGOs, foundations, educational institutions and forums. The programme combining a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge of political working, covers the whole gamut from managing people, communication skills, personality development and event management through fund raising, public finance and accounting to the civic structure of India, the Constitution and current issues, including economic and gender issues. This
column appears weekly. Please send in your queries, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications
to:
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THE Indian Coast Guard has been much in the news ever since the horrific attack of 26/11. Various newspaper reports now indicate that the Coast Guard Station at Jakhau off the Bhuj coast had received an alert specifying the location of the suspected Lashkar ship and had informed the authorities. Unfortunately, due cognisance was not taken of this vital intelligence information.
The Coast Guard has also won accolades from the International Maritime Organisation and the maritime community for its anti-piracy operations. It has assisted the Navy in tackling Somali pirates and was instrumental in locating and apprehending a merchant ship MV Allondra Rainbow hijacked from South China Sea by pirates. Coast Guard vessels and aircraft have also been assisting the custom authorities in anti-smuggling operations and have effectively served national interests in high-risk areas. They are also used in search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, anti-pollution and other duties in maritime zones.
THOSE who work hard and pursue their goals with devotion and dedication reach great heights and success waits impatiently to bless them. To begin with, understand the psychology of words — it is very persuasive. Words are mental manipulators. English scientist John Tyndale had this interesting anecdote to tell on the effect of words. Each morning, his servant – an elderly man — would knock on the professor’s door and say: “Arise sir, it is near seven o’clock. You have great work to do this day.” Similarly, you also have great work to do this day. You,
too, have to learn to use words to converse with your colleagues, friends and subordinates.
IN what is being touted as a first of its kind in the country, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will launch a one-year postgraduate diploma course in Islamic Banking and Finance based on tenets
of Shariah.
FIRST it was replaced by pens and pencils and now by the IT revolution. As more and more modern schools switch to various methods of teaching using acrylic boards, markers and smartboards, the demand for chalk has come down drastically in the recent years.
Q. I am a law graduate and currently scouting for jobs. Can you elaborate on the opportunities in the LPO segment? Which are the leading LPOs in the country and what are the opportunities for growth? Are there any LPO training institutes in India?
Q. Now that the US has recognised our Indian MBBS, can we go and practice in the US after completing our medical course?
Q. I have done M.Sc forestry. I would like to study forestry abroad. Which countries and institutes offer research programmes in forestry?
Q. I have completed my master’s in physics with specialisation in electronics. Now, I want to do PhD. Please tell me about the possible area of research.
Q. My sister, a B.A. (Hons) in political science, is a dynamic activist, who now realises that it’s better to work for the society from within the ring than to shout for and against politicians from the ringside. At the same time, she finds political science too theoretical to help her with her goals. Any suggestions beyond joining a political party?