Sunday, November 29, 2009

CAT 2009: 10 tips to light up your path to success

Here we present to you a summary of all the important advice in the form of the following 10 tips, that will surely help you in your endeavour:

1. Don’t rush with preparations now - Revise a few vital concepts and take a couple of practice tests to fine tune your strategy. All test takers should avoid cramming too much information in these last days.

2. Take Mocks to create the test like situation – Take more and more Mock tests to recreate the exam scenario at home with strict adherence to time.

3. Revise the basics – According to the experts, CAT tests your basic knowledge. So now you should revise on the basics. Keep one hour before sleeping to revise the basics.

4. Analyze Mock tests again – Analyze Mock tests which you have already taken. Try to solve the questions which you did not attempt or got wrong. You can also try and solve the questions which you have got right in a faster way.

5. Don’t waste time by putting your efforts in areas which cannot be improved now – If you find that you cannot grab a particular area, then don’t try too hard to be good at it in this stage. Forget your weaknesses; just build on your strengths. You should take at least one full length Mock test on alternate days.

6. Start Confidently – It is always advisable to start the CAT exam paper with the section you are most comfortable in. In that way you can gain confidence and make the entire CAT exam paper more scoring.

7. Get a balanced score – It is a known fact that IIMs look for an overall balanced paper. Make sure you attempt all the sections and at least get the cut offs in your weak areas and higher percentiles in stronger areas.

8. Keep moving – Don’t get tense if you get stuck in a particular question. Just keep moving and focus on other questions. Your effort must be to read every question in the paper. Use the ‘Mark for review’ feature judiciously.

9. Finish the paper 15 minutes in advance – Attempt to finish the paper 15 minutes in advance. Then only you will be ale to attempt all questions you may know. Have that last 15 minute buffer in the end to boost your score.

10. Relax and take it easy – The CAT exam day will be really hectic. So don’t take much stress on last minute preparations or go overboard with enjoyment. Just relax and ease out.

CAT:Prometric promises new dates for missed candidates

The first-ever experiment of the IIMs to conduct its Common Admission Test (CAT) using computers ran into trouble today with servers crashing in 11 of the 105 centres across the country, affecting over 1500 students who would take the exam again within ten days.

Soon after the exam started, students faced problems in opening the computers at 11 centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Bhopal.

Nearly 2.41 lakh students across the country had registered to take the exam for getting entry into seven Indian Institutes of Management and other elite B-schools.

Doing away with the paper-based system, the IIMs had entrusted the conduct of computer-based CAT 2009 to American firm Prometric. The firm has decided to spread the test over a period of ten days at 105 centres in 32 cities.

"Once the exam started, the screen went blank. We were made to sit in another room and there was no information given to us on what happened," said a candidate here.

Another student said they faced problem when they pressed the 'exit' button on the key board.

Prometric said the tests would be rescheduled within ten days for the affected students.

"It has certainly not been cancelled in any of the test centres. As a result of isolated technical issues, exams of some candidates are being rescheduled and provided with a new appointment via email and SMS," said Soumitra Roy, Managing Director, India, Prometric.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Are engg students being fooled by IT firms?

"Infosys, TCS or Wipro! Somehow I need to have a placement in any of these IT companies," voiced over 400 students, who took admission in a Chennai-based engineering college in 2005.

Among all those voices, was a frail, but a determined voice of Raman Sharma, a boy from Chhattisgarh, who studied day and night to get admission in this college. Dressed in white shirt, black pant and leather sandal on the first day of his fourth-year engineering course, Raman thought that he had crossed the first hurdle of making his dream true of becoming an IT engineer. But at the same time, he was unaware of the words like recession, lay-off, firing, cutting costs, virtual pool and bench strength, which he faced, once he passed out from his college in May 2009. Helping his father in the field, Raman is still waiting for his appointment letter from TCS.

Raman's case is not the only one. In the last one and a half year, most of the 2008-09 graduates have not been given joining letters after they were handed offer letters in the campus. Now, most companies are coming back to these graduates, asking them to join the BPO division instead of the technology division, which is a frustrating situation for the engineering graduates, who worked very hard for four years in college to get through an IT company. Saurabh, who did not prefer to mention his college name, said, "I studied IT for four years, but now when I go to any company for job, they say that there is a vacancy in the BPO sector, but not in the main stream."

Wipro had given offer letters to 8,000 graduates for jobs in the IT services segment, but when these graduates joined the company, they were asked to work in BPO division. Pradeep Bahirwani, Vice-President (Talent Acquisition), Wipro Technologies said, "This was part of its new initiative to let engineering graduates commence work without delay. Their experience at the BPO would be considered relevant and continuous when they move into the IT services after 12 to 18 months."

Similarly, Mahindra Satyam had 3,000 campus hires waiting to join the telecom solutions company till September. The company sent an email to the campus recruits, saying, "We are glad to share our plans with you for adding fresh engineering graduates to our Network Implementation Services operations in the near future. The candidates who accept this offer, the salary package offered will be Rs.1.7 lakh per annum, which is Rs.1.2 lakh less than what the campus recruits were supposed to get as per the company's initial commitment. In case the 'freshers' do not accept this offer, its earlier offer issued through campus selection stands good and very much valid, but will depend only as and when company has the requirement." Also Infosys, which had hired around 18,000 graduates last year, asked more than half of the recruits to work in its BPO section. But it did not reduce the salary.

Even though these companies have not offered joining letters to all the previous campus recruits and placed many of selected candidates in BPO division, they have started making rounds of engineering colleges for the campus recruitment once again. This year too, they plan to hire 'freshers' in large numbers.

According to recent NASSCOM report, Infosys has plans of hiring 20,000 graduates this year, even though 30,000 people at Infosys are 'benched'. Similarly, TCS has plans of hiring 25,000 people this year, even though 100s of students like Raman are waiting to get the joining letter. TCS officials denied of giving any information regarding the last year campus recruits, who are yet to get the joining letter.

As already we have a large number of students waiting to get their joining letter, these companies seem to be doing the same mistake again by planning to hire large chunk of students. Some IT professionals also believe that this step may be a sign of major lay off in middle level positions.

To get the answer of this question, we need to wait till the current session gets over in June 2010.

Friday, November 20, 2009

HCL to hire 300 engineers by 2012

With a view to tapping the growing IT market in Latin America which is expected to be over 25 billion dollars by 2012, IT firm HCL Technologies (HCL) today announced the official opening of a new global IT development center in Brazil, and plans to hire over 300 engineers by 2012.

Brazil is the leading country in IT services spending in Latin America, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the overall IT spending in the region. This center compliments HCL's operations in Sao Paulo and will offer a range of services, including enterprise application services, custom applications development and maintenance, and remote infrastructure management to clients primarily in Latin America, North America and Europe, it said in a statement.

The company expects to hire over 300 engineers to work at the center by 2012, it added. ''Brazil offers the perfect balance of cost savings and talent base that allows HCL to serve clients not only in this fast-growing region, but also in the US and Europe,'' said Shami Khorana, president, HCL America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL.

With this center, the firm will service a growing number of its clients and prospects in the financial services, insurance, healthcare and pharmaceutical, public sector and manufacturing industries.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Chaudhary Charan Singh, CCS university result 2009

Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCS) has announced the results of the exams held in the month of June 2009. The results can be checked at the official site. http://www.ccsuniversityresult.org.

Candidates can get their results through SMS. SMS "Result" and "coursename" and send it to 56263.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

BTC Result 2009, Uttarakhand

The merit list of Basic Teaching Certificate, Uttarakhand (BTC Uttarakhand) entrance exam 2006 has been available at this moment on official website of Uttarakhand govt.

BTC result 2006 is available at http://gov.ua.nic.in/schooleducation/BTC%20Exam%202006/BTC-2006%20Marit%20List.htm .

The result were available in districtwise general rank on the website. The much awaited BTC result is available in 2009.

Students, who are looking for BTC Results 2009 or 2006 should pay visit to above said link.

Students can also visit following link to get more details regarding BTC result 2009 or BTC Merit list 2006: http://gov.ua.nic.in/schooleducation/home.htm.

AIEEE 2010: Online application started

The All India Engineering Entrance Examination for admissions into NITs, IIITs, Deemed Universities and other government funded institutions will be held on April 25 next year. The entrance, to be conducted by CBSE across the country and some centres abroad, will be held in two parts -- the first past for B.E./B.Tech and second one for B.Arch./B.Planning, the CBSE said. Submission of online application form for AIEEE 2010 has started . The last date for online submission of form will be December 31.

This is supposed to be the single largest entrance examination being conducted on a particular day. Last year more than one million students had appeared for this examination. The 9th All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) for admission to BE/B.Tech and B.Arch/B Planning courses in the Participating Institutions (provisional list given at http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2010/aieee/tentative.htm) for 2010-11 will be held on 25th April, 2010 (Sunday), at various centres across the country and abroad.

Scheme of Examination : The Entrance examination would consist of two papers. Paper 1 (Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics) to be held from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm on 25.4.2010, for those seeking admission to BE/B.Tech Courses will have objective type questions from the three subjects with equal weightage. Paper 2 to be held from 2 pm to 5 pm on 25.4.2010, will have 3 parts, namely Mathematics (Part-I), Aptitude Test (Part-II) & Drawing Test (Part III) with Parts I and II containing objective type questions and Part III having questions to assess the drawing aptitude of the candidate.

Those seeking admissions to B.Arch/B.Planning courses have to take Paper 2. Those desirous of being considered for BE/B.Tech as well as B.Arch/B.Planning courses have to attend both Papers. Objective type questions are to be answered on specially designed machine gradable answer sheets, using ball point pen (black/blue) only.

Scoring scheme: Objective type questions will have four options with one correct answer. For each incorrect response marked, one fourth (1/4) of the total marks allotted to the question would be deducted. No deduction from the total score will, however, be made if no response is indicated for an item in the answer sheet. More than one answer indicated against a question will be deemed as incorrect response and will be negatively marked.

Syllabus: The syllabus for the examination is given as Appendix III of the Prospectus and also at http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2010/aieee/syllabus.htm

Language of Question Papers: Candidates can opt for question papers either in English or in Hindi and the option has to be exercised while filling Application Form and the same cannot be changed later.

Examination Centres: The list of Examination Centres is given at http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2010/aieee/examcentre.htm from which applicant is required to give four options convenient to them.

Eligibility : Qualifying Examination: The minimum academic qualification for admission through AIEEE 2010 is a pass in the final examination of 10+2 (Class XII) or its equivalent qualifying examination which includes the following (i) The +2 level examination in the 10+2 pattern of examination of any recognized Central/State Board of Secondary Examination, such as Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, and Council for Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi.

(ii) Intermediate or two-year Pre-University Examination conducted by a recognized Board/University.

(iii) Final Examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy.

(iv) Any Public School/Board/University Examination in India or in foreign countries recognized by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to 10+2 system.

(v) H.S.C. Vocational Examination.

(vi) A pass grade in the Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Open School with a minimum of five subjects.

(vii) 3 or 4-year Diploma recognized by AICTE or a State Board of Technical Education.

Those appearing in 10+2 (Class XII) final or equivalent examination may also appear in AIEEE 2010 for consideration of provisional admission. Those appearing in 10+2 (Class 12) in 2011 are not eligible to appear in AIEEE-2010.

Subject combinations: For admission to B.E./B.Tech. Courses, applicant should have studied Physics & Mathematics and any one of Chemistry/Bio-technology/Computer Science/Biology. For admission to B.Arch/B.Planning, applicant should have studied Mathematics and should have 50% marks in aggregate at 10+2 level.

No of attempts: A candidate can attempt AIEEE only 3 times, in consecutive years. Those who have passed +2 exam in 2008, 2009 or are appearing in +2 in 2010 are eligible to appear in AIEEE-2010. Those who have passed +2 in 2007 or before or are appearing in 2011 are not eligible to appear in AIEEE-2010.

Date of Birth: Applicant should have been born on or after October 01, 1985. Upper age limit is relaxed by 5 years in case of SC/ST/Physically Handicapped (PH) candidates. Those belonging to these categories, born on or after October 01, 1980 are eligible.

Application Procedure: Application can be made either ‘Online’ or submitted in the prescribed Application Form.

Cost of Application form: BE/B.Tech only or B.Arch/ B.Planning only: The cost of Information Bulletin inclusive of examination and counselling fee for BE/B.Tech only or B.Arch/ B.Planning only is Rs. 450/- (General/OBC) and Rs. 225/- (SC/ST applicants).

Additional Fees with Filled Form: BE/B.Tech & B.Arch/ B.Planning: Those who wish to appear for both BE/B.Tech and B.Arch/B.Planning should send their filled application form along with additional fee in the form of Demand Draft of Rs. 300/- (General/OBC) and Rs. 150/- (SC/ST) drawn in favour of Secretary, CBSE payable at Delhi/ New Delhi.

Centre Fee: For those opting examination centre in foreign country, the examination and counselling fees for appearing in BE/B Tech only or B Arch/B Planning only is Rs. 1000/- (General/OBC) and Rs. 500/- (SC/ST). Such applicants should send additional fees @ Rs. 550/- (General/OBC) & Rs. 275/- (SC & ST) in the form of Demand Draft drawn in favour of Secretary, C.B.S.E payable at Delhi/New Delhi. Those who want to appear both BE/B.Tech & B. Arch/B Planning together, at examination centre in foreign country should send their application form along with additional fee in the form of Demand Draft of Rs.1550/- (General/OBC) and Rs. 775/ - (SC/ST), drawn in favour of Secretary, CBSE payable at Delhi/New Delhi.

Online submission of application: Application may be submitted online at www.aieee.nic.in from 17.11.2009 to 31.12.2009. On submission of details asked, a Confirmation page with Registration No. will be generated. Applicant should take printout of Confirmation page and paste photographs, put left hand thumb impression and Sign in the space earmarked for the purpose. Payment of Fee can be made either by Credit Card or by Demand Draft from any Scheduled Commercial Bank. For Credit Card payment, Service/Processing Charges of 2.25% of the examination fee will have to be paid by the candidates, in addition to Examination Fee. The Computer generated confirmation Page along with Demand Draft of any Scheduled Bank/Challan/Proof of remittance of exam fee is to be sent by Registered/Speed Post to CBSE. Those submitting applications online are required to retain a photocopy of Confirmation Page with Registration No. and also a copy of mode of remittance of Examination fee.

Availability of Printed Application Forms : In Person: Information Bulletin containing Application Form for appearing for BE/B.Tech only or B.Arch/ B.Planning only, can be obtained personally from Regional Offices of CBSE and Designated Branches of Syndicate Bank /other Banks / Designated Institutions as per the list given at http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2010/aieee/InfoBulletin.pdf between 1.12.2009 and 31.12.2009. In addition to Examination Fee, /Processing Charges of Rs. 5/- will have to be paid at designated branches of Syndicate Bank or designated institutions.

By Post : Information Bulletin containing Application Form for appearing for BE/B.Tech only or B.Arch/ B.Planning only, can also be obtained by Post from the Assistant Secretary (AIEEE), Central Board of Secondary Education, PS 1-2, Institutional Area, I P Extension, Patparganj, Delhi-110092, by sending a request along with a Bank Draft of Rs.500/- (General/OBC) and Rs. 275/- (SC/ST), drawn in favour of ‘The Secretary, CBSE’, payable at Delhi/New Delhi and a self-addressed envelope of size 12” x 10”. The request has to reach the Assistant Secretary (AIEEE) latest by 10.12.2009.

Last date for submission of filled up forms: Filled up applications including Registration Forms with Bank Draft should reach AIEEE Unit, CBSE, PS1-2, Institutional Area, IP Extension, Patparganj, Delhi-110092, latest by 5.1.2010.

Admit Card: Admit Card will be sent ‘Under Certificate of Posting’ to the candidates, between 10.3.2010 and 31.3.2010. Those who do not get the Admit Card by 6th April 2010, should contact in person/write to the Assistant Secretary (AIEEE), Central Board of Secondary Education, PS 1-2 Institutional Area, IP Extension, Patparganj, Delhi-110 092, with 2 photographs (as pasted on the Application Form), one attested by Principal of the institution where candidate is studying/passed XII or by a Gazetted officer, Photocopy of the Application Form, proof regarding remittance of fee (photocopy of the Demand Draft/Challan) in respect of those candidates who have made application online, and the original postal receipt issued by the Post Office for having despatched the Application Form by Registered/Speed Post and a Demand Draft for Rs.50/- taken in favour of Secretary,CBSE payable at Delhi/New Delhi as fee, in order to get a duplicate

Admit Card: Those meeting in person can do so between 10.04.2010 and 25.04.2010. Those who require the Duplicate Admit card by Post (outstation candidates) will have the facility between 10.04.2010 and 20.04.2010. They have to make an additional payment of Rs.30/- as postal charges. Duplicate Admit Card will not be issued at the Examination Centres.

Results and Score Card: The results of AIEEE-2010 are likely to be declared on or before 7th June, 2010. Separate rank lists will be prepared for B.E./B.Tech and B.Arch/B.Planning. Score Card indicating All India Rank and State Rank with total marks and marks in each subject will be sent to all candidates appearing in AIEEE. The score cards will be dispatched to the candidates from 12.06.2010 to 27.06.2010 under Certificate of Posting (UPC). In case of non-receipt of the score card within the stipulated period, candidate may apply for duplicate score card on payment of Rs. 50/- (plus postal charges of Rs. 30/- for outstation candidates) in the form of Demand Draft in favour of Secretary, CBSE, payable at Delhi/New Delhi between 09.07.2010 and 31.08.2010.

Counselling: Those scoring above a certain cut off percentage of marks (which will be different for General, OBC, SC/ST/PH category candidates) to be called for counselling shall be determined at the time of declaration of AIEEE results. As per the notified cut off score, candidates declared eligible up to the notified Rank will be called to appear for counselling. All India/State Rank and marks shall be put on AIEEE website also. The All India/State Rank to be called for central counselling will be decided by Central Counselling Board which will be constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. The decision of seat matrix etc. will be taken by Central Counselling Board. The required information will be displayed at appropriate time at www.ccb.nic.in.

Final list of institutions admitting students (with intake in each discipline and category as per reservation) through AIEEE-2010, including counselling procedure, counselling schedule and counselling centres would be displayed on the CCB website in May/June 2010.

Reservation: Reservation for SC/ST/OBC and Physically Handicapped candidates will be applicable as per Govt. of India/State concerned existing rules or amended from time to time.

Details including the Prospectus are available at www.aieee.nic.in

Monday, November 16, 2009

ONGC New Hiring and Recruitment Started

ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd) has inviting talented, active young executives with good educational record to come in the ONGC organization.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will hire executives in the salary scale of Rs. 24,900 – 50,500/.

The ONGC Company has invited applicants for several jobs as like Junior Technician, Technical assistant, Assistant Technician in electronics and DGM security officers in the corporation.

The online registration site would be available from 10.00 am on 16, sept. 2009 to 30th,Sep. 2009.

The date for Written Exam is 25th Oct. 2009

http://www.ongcindia.com/

NIIT starts a not-for-profit Technology University

NIIT has opened a not-for-profit university, spread across 100 acres and targeting technology courses. The university commenced with the session from this September with a founding batch of nineteen BTech and ten MTech students. "We expect to have 500 students in the next academic session starting July 2010. The number will scale up to 5,000 in the next ten years," said Rajender Pawar, NIIT Chairman to PTI.

Pawar said based on four core principles of being industry-linked, technology-based, research-driven and seamless, the university will focus substantially on research. "The concept that knowledge should be looked upon from a holistic rather than a sectional point of view is gaining acceptance. NIIT University gives a glimpse of what future education institutes should be," said Karan Singh, Member of Parliament and Chancellor of NIIT, after inaugurating the university.

The university will offer PhD programmes in Computer Science and Engineering, Educational Technology and Bioinformatics and Biotechnoloy. Its MTech programmes will cover Computer Sciences and Engineering and Educational Technology, while BTech programmes in Computer Sciences and Engineering will be offered through customised curriculum aligned to the industry needs. The project will cost over Rs. 1,000 crore over 10 years.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Kerala takes IT industry to rural areas

In a move to push the spread of the IT industry at the grassroots level, Kerala Saturday opened two "techno-lodges", small IT service centres, in Kadakkal and Perinad in Kollam district. The techno-lodges scheme of the state government seeks to facilitate the setting up of IT industry units in small towns and villages.

Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan, who inaugurated the facility in Kadakkal, said the techno-lodge scheme would promote IT companies to operate from low-cost rural centres and thereby create employment in rural areas. "Today this has seen fruition in Kadakkal and Perinad, and very soon there would be more centres across the state," Gurudasan said.

Under the scheme, the government plans to open around 100 techno-lodges across the state with a view of creating more jobs in the IT-enabled services sector in rural areas. Over 60 panchayats (village council) have already come forward offering infrastructure facilities to set up techno-lodges.

Technopark-based Accentia Technologies has taken over the techno-lodges in Kollam and will start rolling out their services from these centres. The 2,500-square-feet Kadakkal facility has a seating capacity of 54, while it is 78 for the 2,750-square-feet centre in Perinad.

Accentia plans to employ 250 professionals in the Kadakkal facility and 300 in Perinad to work across three shifts. The state government has spent nearly Rs.2 million for refurbishing the building at Kadakkal and around Rs.3 million on the Perinad centre, officials said.

"Technolodge has been set up with the objective to create low cost alternative locations for BPO companies," state IT Secretary Ajay Kumar said. "Many IT companies in the state have already shown interest in the upcoming techno-lodges as this initiative will provide local talent and lower cost opportunities," he added.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

IIMB gets 180 slot zero offers, highest in IIMs

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has bagged 180 "slot zero" (the first two days) offers for the batch of 348 students for year 2010, the highest across all IIMs for summer placements.

"The entire batch of 348 students, the biggest ever batch at IIMB, was placed within a span of five days by over 150 companies, with as many 180 slot zero offers being made, the highest across all IIMs", Prof P D Jose, Chairperson of the Placement Committee, told reporters here yesterday.

More than 50 per cent of the batch was placed by the end of Slot Zero (the first two days of placement offers).

The major recruiters included Goldman Sachs, Citi, HSBC, ABG, Nomura, Bain & Co, Standard Chartered, A T Kearney, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Co, Credit Suisse, Macquarie, Merril Lynch, Morgan Stanley, J P Morgan and Barclay's Capital.

Recruiters from Sales & Marketing formed the major chunk (21 per cent) as a result of more number of FMCG companies this time, followed by Investment Banking (19 per cent), finance (16 per cent), consulting (15 per cent), general management (12 per cent), IT (9 per cent) and private equity (three per cent).

"There was a welcome jump in Investment Banking this time compared to last year (14 per cent). It was Investment Banking which occupied the top slot last time as far as recruiters were concerned", Jose said.

Eightynine major offers were made with the highest from Goldman Sachs (13), closely followed by Citi and HSBC (nine each).

Detailing the highlights for the summer placements for 2010, Jose said a total number 64 students are interning abroad with the Blackstone Group, recruiting the first ever summer intern for their real estate PE London Desk at IIMB.

Firms like Goldman Sachs, Citi and Standard Chartered recruited highest number of interns from IIMB while international firms like Cowell & Lee, Sing Tel and Alvarez & Marshal, Morgan Stanley Private Equity recruited interns only from IIMB, he said.

Strategic Management roles were offered by Indian majors like TAS, Aditya Birla Group, IBM, Wipro Consulting and Mahindra & Mahindra.

There was representation from the real estate sector with companies like JLLM participating for the first time.

The other first timers included marketing firms like J&J Medical, GSK, Samsonite Heinz; Private Equity Funds like Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Blackstone Group and Investment Banks & Financial Services including Nomura, Credit Suisse and Helion Ventures.

New Google service allows virtual pilgrimage

Internet users can now take a virtual pilgrimage in Spain thanks to Google's Street View service.

The virtual re-creation of the "Road to Santiago", one of the most famous pilgrimage routes in Europe, is one of the features of the service, which also showcases the Alhambra in Granada, the Toledo Cathedral, the aqueduct in Segovia, the mosque in Cordoba and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Pilgrims have travelled the route to Santiago de Compostela, a city in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia that is home to the Shrine of St. James, since the ninth century.

The list of Spanish monuments on Google Street View Spain was unveiled Tuesday in Santiago de Compostela by Galician regional government President Alberto Nunez Feijoo and several Google Spain executives.

Users of Google Street View can see the roads, highways, streets, restaurants, hotels and colourful places along the Road to Santiago from Auritz, a town in the northern province of Navarre, to Finisterre, a point in Galicia that means "land's end" in Latin.

Virtual pilgrims and tourists are able to travel through Pamplona, Estella, Logrono, Najera, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Astorga, Ponferrada and Santiago de Compostela.

Tourists and pilgrims can use the virtual map to plan trips along the Way of St. James, identifying points of interest, as well as hotels and restaurants.

Google's showcasing of Galicia and the Camino de Santiago will make the route "a tras-national phenomenon," Nunez Feijoo said.

The legend of Santiago de Compostela dates back more than 2,000 years to when, according to Christian tradition, St. James the Apostle was beheaded in Jerusalem on King Herod's orders and his disciples brought his remains to Galicia.

Centuries later, a cathedral was built atop the saint's grave, becoming one of the top destinations of Christian pilgrims.

The Road to Santiago was awarded the 2004 Prince of Asturias Concord Prize in recognition of its contributions to the building of Europe and the development of European identity across the centuries.

The Road to Santiago has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

IIT-JEE candidates to get performance cards

Students appearing in the next Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to IITs will get performance cards specifying marks and the ranks secured
by them in the test.

For the first time, the JEE Board would issue such performance cards which can be considered as certificates by many other institutions wanting to give admission to JEE candidates.

The board will also put out the answers of the questions on its website to help students make assessment of their performance.

The Prime Minister's Office had sought a reply on the issue from the HRD Ministry which said a decision for issuing such score cards has been taken by the Joint Admission Board
(JAB) for IITs in its meeting on August 23.

"It has been stated by the Chairman JEE-2009 that at the meeting of JAB on August 23, it was decided to issue score cards to every student appearing in JEE and to provide marks
to them a week after the results are declared," the letter said.

IIT Guwahati Director Prof Gautam Baruah said JAB has urged for issuing such performance cards which will serve as certificates for the students.

"Many other institutes, which want to take JEE candidates, can give admission to students on the basis of these performance cards," Baruah said.

At present, the IITs are not issuing any score cards to students. Certain institutes, which are giving admission to JEE candidates, have to get authenticated data from the JEE Board on the list of students and marks secured by them.

The performance cards will be issued two weeks after the results are declared. But the marks of the students can be put out in the website just a week after the results are declared, he said.

The next JAB meeting in April 2010 will give the final approval to the move, he said.

The IITs for the first time will put out the answers of the question on the website.

"This will help students know how they have performed in the examination. The answers will be put in the JEE website two weeks after the exam," Baruah said.

Meanwhile, the JEE Board has decided to hold the next JEE on April 11, 2010. Students can apply for the entrance test till the last week of December. About four lakh students had appeared in the test last year for nearly 8,200 seats in 15 IITs, IT-BHU and ISM Dhanbad.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Google adds new features to Orkut


Due to unbelievable success of Facebook, Google had to take efficient measures in order to be competitive and renewed design to its social networking website.

Despite the fact of unpopularity for the latest few months the site will have a large number of visible changes in the appearance. The updated re-design of Orkut is made based on Google Web Toolkit (GWT) infrastructure. Users will have an opportunity to find friends directly, they will be able to talk via video chat which is interconnected with Google Talk. It will help the users to download the pictures in the most quickly way, give the opportunity to moderate pictures on-line and it provides an interactive activity stream for users.

The activity stream functions as a status message update in terms of Twitter and Facebook. It has the option similar to the Facebook such as comments. Moreover it also has some additional applications and video testimonials.

As previous avatar of Orkut was insecure, the new version is considered to be much safer and moreover mobile versions will be altered for the iPhone, S60 and J2ME platforms. It is also expected that Orkut will cooperate with other Google services, i.e. “Google bar”. It enables quick access to other Google services.

It was decide to select few users in order they could use the new Orkut. As a result new selected users are able to invite others in order to experience the new Orkut. It provides a community for those users who want to take a preview of the new version.

Monday, November 2, 2009

IIT- JEE 2010 : Online application till Dec 7

The online application proceedures for the IIT Joint Entrance Examination 2010 were launched yesterday. The offline application facility will begin only on 16th November. JEE 2010 is conducted for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology at Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Mandi, Patna, Punjab, Rajasthan, Roorkee, Institute of Technology BHU, Varanasi & Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.

The JEE will be conducted at various centres accross the country on Sunday, 11 April, 2010. Paper I is from 9 a.m. to 12.00 noon, while Paper II is from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Candidates for JEE-2010 have options to apply either on-line or off-line. The Fee for on-line application for GE/OBC/DS candidates is Rs 900/- and for SC/ST/PD/Female candidates is Rs 450/-. For on-line submission, visit JEE websites (a facility is provided with this website to enter the JEE website)

The fee for off-line application form for GE/OBC/DS candidates is Rs 1000/- ( in light blue envelope) and for SC/ST/PD/Female candidates is Rs 500/-.(in light green envelope).

Candidates shall go through the following general information on filling and submitting of off-line application form.

1.
Ensure that you fulfill all eligibility criteria .
2.
Submit only one application form. If you submit more than one, your application for JEE-2010 will be rejected.
3.
A machine will process the OMR application form by picking up only the dark pencil marks. Therefore darken the bubbles corresponding to the letters or numerals using HB pencil only.
4.
Choose two cities, where you want to write JEE-2010, belonging to the same zone from the list given below.
5.
Options once selected in the application form cannot be changed at a later
stage.
6.
Note down the OMR application form number (printed near the barcode) and quote this application number in all your future correspondences.
7.
Completed application form with all enclosures must be sent to the respective zonal IITs by Registered Post /Speed Post only.
8.
No acknowledgement card will be sent. However, you may check the status of
your application on the JEE websites, IVRS and through SMS.
9.
Candidates' application must be complete in all respects. Incomplete application forms or application forms filled in a language other than English will be summarily rejected.
10.
The application fee is non-refundable. For all enquiries, candidates may use the website or the phone with IVRS facility of the IIT concerned.

The examination will be held on the scheduled date ( April11) and the schedule will remain unaltered even if the above date is declared a public holiday.

Type of Examination : There will be two question papers, each of three hours duration. Both the question papers will consist of three separate sections on Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Questions in these papers will be of objective type. The answers for each of the questions are to be recorded on a separate specially designed machine-gradable sheet of paper (ORS – Optical Response Sheet). While answering each of the questions the candidate is expected to darken the bubble against correct answer(s) using hard black (HB) pencils only. In some sections, incorrect answers may be awarded negative marks. The detailed syllabi based on which JEE-2010 will be conducted, for the three subjects, namely, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics are given in the brochure.

Choice of Language of Question Paper : A candidate can opt for question papers either in English or in Hindi. This option should be exercised while filling the application form. It cannot be changed at any later stage.

Choice of Font of Question Paper: Candidates with poor vision can ask for question paper with enlarged font. They must send a request letter addressed to the Chairman, JEE of the respective zones along with the application form. The format of the letter is given in the detailed brochure.

Cities/Towns of JEE-2010 centres: JEE-2010 will be conducted in major cities and towns of India as well as in Dubai. While applying, candidates should choose any two towns/cities in the same zone. Efforts will be made to allot candidate’s first or second choice. However, in some exceptional circumstances, a different city in the same zone may be allotted. Requests for a change of centre within a city, will not be entertained. However, under exceptional circumstances, a change of city within the zone or outside the zone may be permitted with a request letter. The letter should clearly indicate the Registration Number with valid reasons for the change and should be received on or before March 28, 2010 along with a draft of Rs. 500/- (Rs. 250/- for SC/ST/ PD candidates) drawn in favour of “Chairman, JEE” of the concerned IIT. The application should be sent to the IIT from where the candidate received the admit card. In this regard, the decision of the Chairman, JEE-2010 will be final.

Use of calculating and communication aids: Use of electronic devices like mobile phone, calculator, I-Pod etc. is NOT PERMITTED in JEE-2010. Materials like Log table, book, notebook, etc. should not be brought into the examination hall.

Eligibility for JEE-2010: Candidates must make sure that they satisfy all the eligibility conditions given below for appearing in JEE-2010:

Date of Birth: The date of birth of candidates belonging to GE, OBC and DS categories should be on or after October 1, 1985. Whereas the date of birth of those belonging to SC, ST and PD categories should be on or after October 1, 1980. The date of birth as recorded in the high school/first Board/ Pre-University certificate will be accepted. If the certificate does not mention the date of birth, a candidate must submit along with the application, an authenticated document indicating the date of birth.

Year of passing Qualifying Examination (QE): A candidate must have passed the QE for the first time, after October 1, 2008 or in the year 2009 or will be appearing in 2010. Those who are going to appear in the QE later than October 1, 2010 are not eligible to apply for JEE-2010. The qualifying examinations (QE) are listed below: (i) The final examination of the 10+2 system, conducted by any recognized central / state Board, such as Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi; Council for Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi; etc. (ii) Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination conducted by a recognized Board / University. (iii) Final examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy. (iv) General Certificate Education (GCE) examination (London / Cambridge / Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) level. (v) High School Certificate Examination of the Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma of the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva. (vi) Any Public School/Board/University examination in India or in any foreign country recognized as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). (vii) H.S.C. vocational examination. (viii) Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling with a minimum of five subjects. (ix) 3 or 4 year Diploma recognized by AICTE or a state Board of technical education. In case the relevant qualifying examination is not a public examination, the candidate must have passed at least one public (Board or Pre-University) examination at an earlier level.

Minimum Percentage of Marks in QE: Candidates belonging to GE, OBC and DS categories must secure at least 60% marks in aggregate in their QE. Whereas, those belonging to SC, ST and PD categories must secure at least 55% marks in aggregate in the QE. The percentage of marks awarded by the Board will be treated as final. If the Board does not award the percentage of marks, it will be calculated based on the marks obtained in all subjects listed in the mark sheet. If any Board awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the Board specifying the equivalent marks, and submit it at the time of counselling/ admission. In case such a certificate is not provided then the final decision rests with the Joint Implementation Committee of JEE-2010.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

IIT JEE 2010 IITJEE Entrance Exam 2010 Forms Download

At present there are 15 IITs (including 2 new IITs-IIT Himachal Pradesh and IIT Indore)for which admission is conducted through JEE. In addition admission to IT BHU, Varanasi and ISMU, Dhanbad is also conducted through IIT JEE. After getting admission in any of these institutes students can expect to get placements in the leading companies offering the best pay packages.

In addition to quality education, faculty, training etc IITs boast of world class infrastructure and other facilities.

If you have been reading along, we have been publishing quality content for IIT JEE Examinations over the years. From IIT JEE 2009 Solutions to IIT JEE 2008 Results and the IIT JEE 2008 Solutions. We also published about the New IIT's being inducted in India. Not to forget about the Cut Off IIT JEE 2007 which fell by a great margin.

Application Forms for IIT JEE 2010


Examination Schedule

April 11th, 2010 (Sunday):
Paper 1: 09.00 -12.00 hrs
Paper 2: 14.00 -17.00 hrs

Paper-1 and Paper-2 will each have separate sections in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Both papers will be of objective type, designed to test comprehension, reasoning and analytical ability of candidates.

Syllabus for this examination will be available on the websites of all IITs. The candidate will have the option of submitting the application form either on-line or off-Line. Important dates regarding Application Form and Brochure:

On·line application process : Sun. Nov. 01, 2009 -Mon. Dec . 07. 2009
Off-line application process: Mon. Nov. 16, 2009 -Tue. Dec. 15, 2009

Last date for receipt of completed hardcopy of application forms at IITs: Sat. Dec. 19, 2009

Further details regarding the application process will be published in leading National Dailies and Employment News/Rozgar Samachar on Sat. Oct. 31, 2009.

Radhakrishnan takes over as ISRO chairman

Eminent scientist K. Radhakrishnan Saturday took over as chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre here and acknowledged the expectations from him "in carrying on the good work".

"I have now taken over as the chairman and as I have said before this is going to be a huge responsibility and also a lot of expectation for me to carry on the good work with the help and support of all the employees," Radhakrishnan told mediapersons.

Radhakrishnan took over as chairman of India's space agency from G. Madhavan Nair. Under his chairmanship - since 2003 - ISRO successfully launched 25 missions, including India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008.

Soon after taking charge, Radhakrishnan left for a function at the recently launched campus of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) on the outskirts of the ciy.

Radhakrishnan, an electrical engineer from Kerala University of the 1970 batch, holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and a doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur.

Starting his career at ISRO here as an avionics engineer in 1971, he went on to hold key positions such as director of the Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres under the umbrella of the National Natural Resources Management System (1989-97).

During 2000-2005, he was with the Department of Ocean Development (presently Ministry of Earth Sciences) as the founder director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and project director of the Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges.

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