‘END ADDICTION TO CO2’

On World Environment Day, UN Says Everyone Must Take Steps To Fight Warming

Wellington: The United Nations urged the world on Thursday to kick an all-consuming addiction to carbon dioxide and said everyone must take steps to fight climate change.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon said global warming was becoming the defining issue of the era and will hurt rich and poor alike.
“Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit,” Ban said in a statement to mark World Environment Day, which is being marked by events around the globe and hosted by the New Zealand city of Wellington.
“Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions,” he said in the speech to reinforce this year’s World Environment Day theme of “CO2 Kick the Habit”.
“Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. It is a message we all must take to heart,” he said. World Environment Day, conceived in 1972, is the United Nations’ principal day to mark global green issues and aims to give a human face to environmental problems and solutions.
New Zealand, which boasts snow-capped mountains, pristine fjords and isolated beaches used as the backdrop for the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, has pledged to become carbon-neutral.
“We take pride in our clean, green identity as a nation and we are determined to take action to protect it. We appreciate that protecting the climate means behaviour change by each and every one of us,” said New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.
New Zealand, like many countries, staged art and street festivals to spread the message on how people can reduce carbon usage.
In Australia, Adelaide Zoo staged a wild breakfast for corporate leaders to focus on how carbon emissions threaten animal habitats.
In Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, people plan to clean up Gulshan Baridhara lake that has become badly polluted, and in Kathmandu the Bagmati River Festival will focus on cleaning up the river there.
Many Asian cities, such as Bangalore and Mumbai, plan tree-planting campaigns, while Pune will open a “Temple of Environment” to help spread green awareness Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are rising quickly and scientists say the world faces rising seas, melt ing glaciers and more intense storms, droughts and floods as the planet warms. AGENCIES
GREEN CORNER
Canada first in the world to pass climate act
The Canadian House of Commons has become the first parliament in the world to pass a climate act, which commits the country to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. The House passed the Climate Change Accountability Bill on Wednesday. It was moved by the leader of the opposition New Democratic Party. IANS
Mexico City smog hurting people’s sense of smell
Chronic pollution in Mexico City, which stains the sky yellow and can trigger government warnings to stay indoors, could be killing off residents’ sense of smell, scientists say. Tests showed people in Mexico City struggled to sniff out everyday odors like coffee compared to residents of a nearby town. REUTERS
Roman statues make a stand against emissions
The marble features of some of Rome’s most famous statues were obscured by gas masks on Thursday as part of a protest against traffic pollution organised by an environmental pressure group. Slogan put up by the group “Terra1” read “The statues say NO to pollution from CO2 emissions!” REUTERS

Times; they are changing...

First job fair in Valley: 428 students get offers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Srinagar: Yet another indicator that winds of change are blowing across Kashmir Valley was evident in the strong presence of Indian corporate houses at the state’s first-ever job fair. What was equally heartening for students of Kashmir University was the fact that 428 of them have been given offers from companies like Wipro, Nokia, Dell and HDFC among others.
At least 15 corporates had flown into Srinagar for the two-day fair, organised by Punjab’s CT group of institutions that saw a turnout by thousands of hopefuls.
“Nearly 5,000 boys and girls enrolled for the festival and 428 candidates were shortlisted for jobs across the country with 15 major companies including Wipro Technologies, Convergys, Nokia, Dell, ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz, Accenture and Reliance,’’ said Showkat Ahmed, assistant registrar, Kashmir University.
Though only 10% of the applicants got offers, the mood on the campus is upbeat. Sources at the university said that most of the packages offered were between Rs 1.75 lakh and Rs 2.75 lakh per annum. One of the reasons given for lower recruitment was the fact that a lot of youth wanted to remain in the state, rather than venture to other parts of the country.
Sources said they expected the offer letters to reach the individuals chosen by the companies in the next 10-15 days.
Mgmt quota seat fee hiked
The committee on fee structure for self-financed professional courses colleges in Tamil Nadu on Thursday announced an increase of Rs 30,000 on tuition fees for engineering seats under management quota in the state from the current year. Fulbright scholarships to be doubled
Seeking to broaden bilateral education ties between India and the US, the government decided to double the number of scholars under the Fulbright educational exchange programme on Thursday.
A meeting of the Union cabinet, chaired by PM Manmohan Singh, gave its approval to the revised draft agreement between the two countries and also change the nomenclature of the fulbright scholarship to ‘fulbright Jawaharlal Nehru scholarships and grants’. Initially about 240 students from India and a similar number from the US would be sponsored annually under the programme. TNN

NEW COURSES ON THE BLOCK

The Nation’s Financial Hub Finally Offers A Degree In Stock Markets. With HSC Results Out Tomorrow, A Look At New Curricula

Hemali Chhapia | TNN

Mumbai: When senior colleges open their gates this year, classrooms may bear a new look. Some may get converted into mini brokerage firms, as students study the nitty-gritty of financial markets. Other classes may see students of science understanding market dynamics. Meanwhile, a degree in international hospitality will show that it is possible to bring the world to the classroom.
BCom (Financial Markets)
The idea probably came too late to the country’s financial hub. It was natural for officials at the University of Mumbai to wonder how there was never a course for students to understand financial markets. From this year, about 30 colleges in the city will offer graduation in commerce with a specialisation in financial markets.
“The course is an attempt to identify an emerging area and provide quality professional manpower for the financial sector,’’ said university vice-chancellor Vijay Khole. Admission to the six-semester financial markets degree course will be given on merit to those who have cleared the HSC. The course will cover almost every aspect of the stock market. Students will be exposed to the nature and purpose of fixed-income securities and markets.
They will also gain skills in modern valuation techniques, including the use of the zero-coupon curve, duration and convexity, option-adjusted spreads and the discount margin method for floating-rate notes.
Course content will also include valuation of fixed-income securities, mortgage-backed derivatives, domestic and international fixed-income instruments, valuation of bonds with options, corporate bonds and MTNs, mortgage-backed securities and other curricula.
BSc (Economics)
It is often said that scientists are poor managers. This year, colleges are offering a BSc in economics. The university is to yet finalise the curricula, but the process has begun. Parvathi Venkatesh, dean of arts, said economics offered to arts students is hardcore theory, while commerce students learn business economics.
But for students of science, the subject is likely to delve into economic principles, followed by tools of quantitative methods for solving theoretical or applied problems. The course, said a member of the board of studies, will help students get critical, analytical, research and problem-solving skills.
“There’ll be two papers in the first year, three in the second and three more in the third, with a combination of three more subjects, like math, statistics or other subjects,’’ added Venkatesh.
BSc (Hospitality Studies)
Till last year, the university offered a Bachelor of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies (BHTMS). However, this has been now altered to a BSc in hospitality studies, with the varsity whipping up a better menu for the curriculum.
The three-year course does give an edge to students as there is a six-month compulsory hotel attachment in the second year. Principal of Rizvi College, hotel management, Kashmira Umrigar said that the internship, which is meant to provide great hands-on training, is mandatory.
Some of the core courses are front office, housekeeping, food production, food and beverage, cookery, bakery, marketing, accounts, financial management, organisation design and management information system. There are also ancillary topics, like the basics of computing, accommodation division handling, catering science, communication and principles of management.
Some colleges are also starting a BA degree in international hospitality, which is being offered in association with the Indira Gandhi National Open University and the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
ADMISSION DATES
ADMISSION SCHEDULE FOR DEGREE COURSES: BA, BSc, BCom, BSc (Comp), BSc (IT), BMM and BMS SALE OF FORMS: June 5 to 12 COLLECTION OF FILLED ADMISSION FORMS: June 9 to 14 First merit list: June 16 evening Payment of fees: June 17 and 18
Second merit list: June 19 evening Payment of fees: June 20 and 21
Third merit list: June 23 evening Payment of fees: June 24
Final merit list: June 25 evening Payment of fees: June 26
PROPOSED NEW COLLEGES Arts/science/commerce: 84 | Law: 10 | BEd: 28 | Management: 27 | Fine arts: 1 | Engineering: 15 | Architecture: 3 | Pharmacy: 14 | MCA: 9 Colleges have been approved by the university, but are awaiting state government nod

A Low entry barrier in Electric Vehicles is a MYTH

Technical competence, indigenization and a service-oriented approach characterize the electric two-wheelers’ market. It’s time we acknowledge the significance of these attributes - differentiating factors that set apart the real from the ‘nearly-real’

Market is never saturated with a good product but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one
— Henry Ford

In older times when sugarcane was a big success in Indian agriculture, a lot of sugar mills had mushroomed to buy the produce. Every farmer was busy cultivating sugarcane to make a quick buck. As a result of which other crops were neglected and there was so much sugarcane that prices nose dived and the farmer could not even
break-even. Leave aside the race to make money; the survival of the farmers was at stake. The market was spoiled.

Every new category in India is first seen with a doubt, then it attracts interest of a lot of people and very quickly it becomes a breeding ground for spoilers who not only bring bad name to the category but also shake the faith of the consumer. Electric vehicles are one such case. Electric vehicles in general and electric two-wheelers in particular, were looked with some doubt to begin with. Having made a small but firm base, they are now attracting a lot of people (read manufacturers). Numerous small electric vehicle manufacturers (read traders) have jumped in without having an adequate manufacturing or service back up - that is so critical for such a complex product which requires 'handling with care' attitude. It is their casual and reckless approach towards this critical category which is alarming and should be addressed strongly.
They must realize that at the end of the day, electric vehicle is an automobile. It is a moving product which by definition is prone to use & abuse as per individual habits. One needs to have technical competence to gaze all possible usage patterns and develop a product that lasts them all. And if that is not possible fully, educate the consumer about the right use, service them well and keep them satisfied.

Above all, one needs to have commitment, drive and passion towards this category. One has to be in it for a long haul. This has been true for conventional petrol driven automobiles as well where only serious players who worked hard initially, made huge investments in the technology, team and competency have survived and flourished.

So what we see everyday is the entrance of two new players, while more than two shut shop. This is bound to happen and a lot of companies have already closed. One can look at this phenomenon positively and say that only competitive players will survive and fly-by-night operators will move out. But that is not the point. The point is that they are shaking consumer's confidence with every closure which is bad for the category. This is a more serious issue and a larger forum has to be created to address it. There are two critical aspects to this, one is technological competence that is largely the manufacturers responsibility and the other is the right ecosystem for these vehicles, which is a collective responsibility of all the interest groups. We will look at both of them one by one.

At a technological level electric two-wheelers are totally different from the conventional petrol twowheelers but are in no means simpler than them. In petrol two-wheelers the complexity lies in the engine and fuel is common to all of them whereas in electric two-wheelers the real complexity lies in the battery which is the fuel of the vehicle and motor is common to all. Petrol by nature has more power to deliver and the engine can sustain the load to a greater extent (the margin of error in terms of payload is large). In an electric two-wheeler the power comes from the battery which can not match the power of petrol and the motor, which is the engine of such vehicles, has lower power in terms of payload and speed. Therefore a right balance of battery and motor makes this technology much more complex.

We can club various electric vehicle manufactures on the basis of their current activities and future action plans; and there are three such groups as per my understanding. First group comprises of players, whom I call as traders; they are simply importing the CKDs and dumping the assembled vehicles in the market. They do not provide any service support and once there stock is depleted, these players tend to wind up their establishment and customer is left in the lurch to struggle with his vehicle. The second group is of those players, who have basic manufacturing setup, and a few service centers to provide spares / service support. These I call as the small manufacturers. The third group is of those manufacturers who have vision of the future and have invested in building the competence and infrastructure to develop, manufacture, sell and support the electric vehicles required for Indian roads. There are a few companies in the third group while the market is flooded with traders. Much higher specifications / performance electric vehicles suitable for Indian road conditions will have to be developed for electric vehicles to have a substantial presence in the market. Companies which invest heavily in manufacturing setup, indigenization and basic technology platform, like battery, motor, controller, etc are the companies which are going to survive in the long run.

The electric two-wheelers are a major success in China which is the leader in the electric two-wheelers category and it manufactures more than 90% of the total electric twowheelers produced in the world. This is due to the fact that China as a nation is upgrading from a cycle to electric two-wheelers. A lot of electric vehicles available in China are the basic 250W motor vehicles and expectation of people there is not very high. Secondly, in China brands do not exist in this category which is not the case with the Indian market. Hence, the Chinese example is the inspiration but is not the correct model to follow because of all these differences. The interest groups, including the government must realize this. A minimum quality benchmark has to be adhered to strictly like ISI or ARAI, as is in our case.

India is a two-wheeler country and Indian consumer is very demanding. In India a two-wheeler is seen as a family vehicle where husband is the rider; mother the pillion with younger child in her lap and an elder son standing in front. Although the electric two-wheelers are a new mode of transportation with their payload limitations but the expectation of an Indian consumer remains the same. This brings us to the next level of technical competence - optimizing existing technology to produce vehicles that satisfy consumer expectations. One can count such companies on fingers who are capable of delivering this. The more critical thing is that a certain minimum base has to be there for companies to invest more. That base is under threat if there is little consumer confidence. This is the second aspect "proper ecosystem" that I mentioned earlier. An automobile is not like any other consumer durable product which can work in isolation. Various other systems are required to be in place for automobile category to flourish
Apart from the technological complexities there are lots of infrastructural nuances that need to be looked at as far as electric twowheelers are concerned. The ease of charging an electric vehicle must be there on the same lines as there are petrol refueling stations. Service is the backbone of a successful automobile company. A strong service network is required to be in place to attend to the vehicles that are sold as maintenance is part that cannot be neglected. Since, it is a new technology, a lot of training is required for developing sound service network across the country. A huge service network is only developed when the organization has the vision, dedication, manpower and money to support it.

Developing this kind of ecosystem requires a lot of investment and commitment, something that is not seen from a lot of players today. It is unfair for the category of such a tremendous global relevance to not get adequate support system. The government needs to intervene and provide support to those companies who are working in this direction.

The value proposition that electric vehicles have to offer is tremendous. On one hand it saves the money which in other case would be spent on petrol, and on the other hand it prevents environment from the vehicular pollution. In a life of a typical Indian middle class consumer, the petrol expense eats away almost 10% of his monthly salary. The electric vehicles give freedom from the clutches of petrol and provide the individual with that extra sum of money as savings which he can invest, save or spend to make his life better.

The world today talks about the global warming and the climate change and to which vehicular pollution is a major contributor. These electric vehicles are zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) which not only prevent the environment from the aftermaths of the pollution but also make the earth a better place to live.

The role of government and regulatory authorities cannot be denied in building of this category. The current rules and regulation should be made stringent enough to prevent the mushrooming of players which dent the confidence of the customer in electric two-wheelers category. The big and influential players should unite and urge the government to support the electric vehicles which are the vehicles not only of future but even of today.

Burgeoning fuel prices, better fuel efficiencies, lower maintenance costs etc are foremost concern areas for an average Indian in today's context. With governments promoting mass transport as an answer to the global fuel price hikes, certain enterprising corporates have taken the initiative to provide electric battery run vehicles as an alternative. Electrotherm (I) Ltd, manufacturers of YObykes in India, have been pioneering this concept of electric vehicles, backed with a strong R&D and technological support. This issue of the Trailblazer series attempts to highlight some basic thoughts on this sector.

Mukesh Bhandari Chairman & CTO, Electrotherm (I) Ltd
An Electronics Engineer who has been researching on electric vehicles for more than two decades

Green vehicles on the rise....

Go green with Prius in ’09

Lijee Philip & Boby Kurian MUMBAI/BANGALORE

FORGET the galloping fuel prices, just book your Prius. Japanese auto major Toyota is planning to launch the first mass-marketed hybrid car in India early next year. Hybrid cars, which use both petrol engine and electric motor, are usually fuel efficient and has lower emission levels , making them environment-friendly.
Toyota’s domestic arm, which does not have the required manufacturing infrastructure to roll out hybrid cars and unsure of the initial volumes, is likely to bring it in as CBUs (completely-built-up units), with an offering price of Rs 18-22 lakh.
High import duties — as much as 114% — on CBUs that Toyota intends to import will initially push up prices. While Toyota believes that there will be a demand for these cars due to their superior technology, low emissions and fuel efficiency, volumes will be low, making local manufacturing of the model unviable.
Toyota, which also manufactures Prius in the US and Europe, is unlikely to do so in India unless the government supports fuel-efficient and environment-friendly hybrid cars. A company official said that the domestic arm has not yet firmed up any plans to launch the hybrid car in India.
The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997 and is currently sold in more than 40 countries, with its largest markets being Japan and North America. Last year, Prius accounted for more than 40% hybrid sales in the US. Toyota and Honda are the leading manufacturers of hybrid vehicles globally, and Toyota Prius (launched 11 years ago) is the market leader. Worldwide cumulative sales of Prius in May 2008 crossed a million units. While Toyota chose to use a totally new brand name for its hybrid car, Honda elected to offer hybrid versions of its popular models such as Accord and Civic. Environmental concerns (and rising gasoline prices in the US) have spurred the sales of these greener cars.
Globally, the largest selling hybrid car plays in the upper end of the mainstream market, but finds its way into celebrity Alisters like Julia Roberts and Leonardo Dicaprio. And priced higher in India, the car is more likely to be a society tag for “being environment friendly, at least to begin with”, sectoral experts said.
Sources said Toyota may try to push for an early launch of Lexus, its premium SUV brand in India, which could see Prius introduction being pushed back a little. In 2008, Toyota is working on rolling out the new-generation Corolla priced competitive (slightly below) to Honda Civic.
Meanwhile, recent new launches in the mid-size segment like Suzuki SX4, Hyundai Verna, Chevrolet Aveo, Honda City are putting pressure on Toyota Corolla sales. While sales in this segment have been stagnant for the last few months, company officials indicate that’s due to constraints of capacity.
lijee.philip@timesgroup.com

e-waste...

BMC officials, diplomats discuss e-waste disposal

Mumbai: India currently prod u c e s 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 tonnes of e-waste annually and the figure is expected to touch one million tonnes in the next three year. However, India lacks a proper e-waste disposal system and it is left up to the unorganised sector to dispose of the waste.
The unorganised sector uses uncontrolled burning and disassembly to discard the waste, leading to environmental and health problems—uneducated workers are exposed to toxic fumes as they don’t even use protective gear. The improper disposal also allows toxic substances to travel up the food and water chain.
At a meeting on e-waste awareness on Wednesday, civic officials, local NGOs and diplomats from various nations aired their views on the issue.
B K Soni, chairman of Ecoreco Eco Recycling Limited, demonstrated the shredding of a hard drive. “We shred all kinds of electrical and electronic goods using eco-friendly methods. We shred the parts into pieces, segregate the pieces and then send them to smelting companies. Unlike the kabadis, we use no chemicals or flames, so our method of recycling has zero hazards, he said.
Municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak said there was a need to introduce incentives so that people return their electrical and electronic goods to the manufacturer when they bought a new piece.
Dr Indu Shahani, sheriff of Mumbai, stressed on the need of involving the youth in solving the problem of e-waste.

Finding your passion...

Changing fields helped cook recipe for success

Anahita Mukherji | TNN

Mumbai: Two decades ago, 21-year-old Moshe Shek, a Byculla boy with a BSc in biochemistry from St Xavier’s College, a passion for photography and a stint in a flying school, found himself confused about where his life was heading. So Moshe, a fourth-generation Jewish settler in Mumbai, took a year off and went to a kibbutz (community) in Israel.
“Life on the kibbutz was like living with one huge family. There was no system of money. We worked in the fields and grew the food we ate,’’ says Moshe. He split his time between cultivating avocados and learning Hebrew. But when the bitter winter chill came, Moshe, who grew up in Mumbai’s heat and dust, begged for a change of job. He was put in the kitchen “with six old crabby women’’ where nobody expected him to last. But it was there that Moshe had his eureka moment. He fell in love with food and decided to become a chef. “I loved the atmosphere in the kitchen, the warmth, the people and the handling of food,’’ says Moshe. When Moshe announced his ambitions, he was looked down upon. “You want to be a cook?’’ was the incredulous refrain. Moshe did a hotel and food course at Sophia Polytechnic, Breach Candy. “The faculty was impressed with my experience, and allowed me to directly join the second year of a two-year course,’’ says Moshe.
The course was intense and gave him the grounding required for the field. According to Moshe, what you get out of a course depends on what you put into it. “If you put in a lot of research, you’ll have more queries to ask in class, which in turn will help you go into greater depth while understanding the profession,’’ he adds.
After the course, he did a stint at the Taj in Mumbai, where he earned a princely sum of Rs 1,600 a month. There were also two years of workstudy in London and a scholarship in Switzerland. He returned to Mumbai to cater from a “hole in the wall in Byculla’’. He slogged 14 hours a day and rarely saw much money. He shopped for vegetables in the wee hours, prepared meals, delivered dabbas, waited outside homes and offices for clients to finish meals, collected empty tiffins and went back to wash them.
In two years he had 700 clients, but he missed Israel and returned there. But after four years at the Hilton in Israel, he grew restless again. “Israel wasn’t home for me. I felt like a foreigner. Mumbai was where I belonged.’’
He returned to the city, set up the now-shut Athena, Mumbai’s first night club, Basilico, a popular Italian joint, and in 2003 Moshe Oliva in Delhi. He also opened the Moshe’s restaurant at Cuffe Parade, followed by similar outlets across South Mumbai. Madonna, Salman Rushdie and Jeffrey Archer have all grabbed a bite at Moshe’s while in the city.
While his name now rolls off the tongues of Mumbai’s elite, Moshe is himself reminded of his gruelling journey to build a name from scratch. And he’s willing to help strugglers. “I’ve promoted dishwashers to assistant managers and cleaners to supervisors,’’ he says.

FEEDING AMBITION: After doing a BSc in biochemistry, Moshe Shek studied hotel management and built a successful career.

Spicy career!

HOTELS HUNGRY FOR PROFESSIONALS

A Booming Hospitality Industry Has Created Rising Job Opportunities & Schools Are Mushrooming To Feed The Demand

Anahita Mukherji | TNN

Mumbai: Not many 24-yearolds can boast of starting a cafe. But then, Kainaz Messman was always interested in entrepreneurship. Armed with a degree from the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (IHMCT), better known as the Dadar Catering College, and a post-graduate course from the Oberoi Centre for Learning Development, Delhi, she started her career as a chef in Udaipur, but was forced to quit due to a back problem. She headed home to Mumbai, teamed up with her mother and began Theobroma, a popular Colaba confectionery shop, in 2004.
She’s not the only one capitalising on the booming hospitality sector. From running Irani cafes to working as a chef at the Taj, and from working on cruises to catering for corporates, the hospitality industry has clocked unprecedented growth in India.
45% CUT-OFFS
You don’t need to ace your math paper or score in history for a course in hospitality. Some of the best hospitality colleges accept students with 45% in Class XII. Twenty-somethings are now getting picked off college campuses by five-star hotels. Ram Kumar Kanojia, a student of the HAFT Hospitality Management Course at Sophia Polytechnic, Breach Candy, got his very first job as a chef at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai.
“Over the last 10 years, the demand for hospitality students has grown manifold. There’s a boom
in travel and everyone wants to be a part of the excitement and dynamism,’’ says Meher Dasondi, head of HAFTHospitality Management.
Another student of the course, Zyros Zend, got a job on a cruise liner off Miami. He returned home to make fortune cookies. “Numerous wedding proposals have been made using my fortune cookies. I have made cookies with wedding rings inside for men to propose with,’’ says Zend. He also supplies to five-stars.
According to Romil Ratra, GM of the Intercontinental, hospitality courses provide the foundation for a career in the industry. A former student of IHMCT, Ratra says catering college gave him first-hand experience of every bit of the industry. He began his career with the Taj, was the first manager of nightclub Insomnia, and went on to start his own restaurant before joining his present company.
The demand for skilled manpower has kept up with the supply. Hotels have sprung up at an unprecedented rate. Marriott alone plans to set up 25 new hotels across India in the next three years. To ensure a steady supply of manpower, colleges are mushrooming. Students are in demand before they’re done with college. Lavy D’- Costa, project co-ordinator at St Andrew’s College, which began a BSc in hospitality studies last year, says fivestars have already begun enquiring about students, “even though they’re only in their first year of a three-year degree course’’.
DIPLOMAS TURN TO DEGREES
Several well-known diploma courses have now turned into degree courses. This year, for the first time, HAFT will run a three-year Hotel Management and Catering Technology degree affiliated to the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) in place of the earlier diploma course. At Rizvi College, Bandra, too, the diploma course has been phased out. Rizvi now runs a BSc in Hospitality Studies affiliated to Mumbai university and a BSc in Hotel Management and Catering Technology under YCMOU.
HIGH RETURNS
While a BSc in hospitality is ten times more expensive than a vanilla BSc, industry insiders say the return on investment is high, as there is instant placement, provided the course is from a reputed institute.
The National Council for Hotel Management under the Centre’s Ministry of Tourism runs 24 hotel management institutes across India, including IHMCT, Dadar. The institutes conduct a BSc in Hotel Administration and Management as well as PG and certificate courses.
Many hotel chains, too, have their own courses. The Taj backs the Indian Institute of Hotel Management at Aurangabad, and Oberoi runs its own institute in Delhi.
Several colleges have international tie-ups. IHMCT, Dadar, has a two-year chef ’s diploma with George Brown School in Canada. The course includes an eight-month internship abroad. “It’s suited for students who love cooking,’’ says Vernon Coelho, head of productions, IHMCT. Rizvi College has a BA in hospitality affiliated to Indira Gandhi National Open University and the American Hotel and Lodging Association. HOTEL MANAGEMENT COURSES
MINISTRY OF TOURISM INSTITUTES
The National Council for Hotel Management, under the Union Ministry of Tourism, runs 24 Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM) that provide undergraduate, postgraduate as well as certificate courses in hotel management. These institutes are in Mumbai, Goa, Gandhinagar, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, New Delhi (2 institutes), Chandigarh, Gwalior, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Vaishali, Shimla, Srinagar, Gangtok, Gurdaspur, Guwahati and Shillong PVT INSTITUTES IN MUMBAI
Sophia Polytechnic, Breach Candy Hotel Administration and Food Technology
BSc in Hotel Management and Catering Operations Certificate Course in Craft Bakery and Confectionery Certificate in All-Round Restaurant and Etiquette
St Andrew’s College, Bandra
BSc in Hospitality Studies
Rizvi College, Bandra
BSc in Hospitality Studies BSc in Hotel Management and Catering Services
Anjuman-i-Islam, CST A K Hafizka Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology
Bachelor of Hotel and Tourism Management
Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology
OTHER INSTITUTES
Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal
Bachelor of Hotel Management
Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad (assisted by the Taj Group
Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, Delhi

Handling fame...

IIT topper a victim of success

Hemali Chhapia | TNN

Mumbai: For the painfully shy Shitikanth, topping the fiercely competitive IIT entrance exam has been akin to wearing a crown of thorns.
Ever since the results were declared, the 18-year-old’s life has been turned upside down. So much so he fled his house in Patna and arrived in Mumbai on Monday a little past midnight to escape the long line of politicians, touts, coaching class tutors and other opportunists who had given him no rest since the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) declared him the topper on May 30. Unable to deal with the constant badgering and cajoling—“please endorse our class’’, “please appear in this ad’’, “please be the chief guest’’—the teen did the only thing he could think of to retain his sanity. He cut and ran.
Sitting in a faculty room on the TIFR campus in Mankhurd, Shitikanth refused to lift his eyes from a book. “My house is no longer the normal place I lived in all these years,’’ he said.
After landing in the city, Shitikanth, who is preparing for the International Physics Olympiad in Vietnam, phoned his mentor Prof Vijay Singh, and asked if he could arrange accommodation for him in Mumbai. Like the other four students representing India in the Olympiad, Shitikanth was scheduled to arrive in the city in the first week of July. He put his “unscheduled’’ arrival down to “too many disturbances’’ back home. “He is keen on bringing back the gold medal this year,’’ said Singh.
Shitikanth’s father told Prof Singh, the national co-ordinator for the Science Olympiad, that politicians had given them no peace, phoning his son and landing up at Patna home. “A party wants to give him an award, some local politician wants to felicitate him,’’ his father told Singh, who taught at IIT-Kanpur before joining TIFR’s Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mankhurd. Coaching classes queue up for endorsements
Mumbai: The IIT entrace exam topper, Shitikanth, has fled his house in Patna and reached Mumbai to escape the line of politicians, coaching class tutors and others who have given him no rest after the exam results were out.
Shitikanth said that representatives from two or three coaching classes even landed up on his doorstep. “They wanted me to allow them to use my name for their advertisements,’’ said the soft-spoken topper who has chosen to study at IIT-Kanpur. His endorsement was made even more desirable by the fact that he had topped all the exams conducted in the run-up to the IIT-JEE.
After he was declared the all-India top-ranker, the chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar invited Shitikanth to a meeting. “I had some questions for him. Each year, there are floods in north Bihar. I asked him what mechanism he has put in place to ensure that life and property were not damaged. Also, I told him that schools here do not encourage research and something needs to be done about that,’’ he said.
Shitikanth, is the son of doctors who work in government hospitals. An alumnus of Patna’s St Michael High School, he scored 93% in Class X and 91.4% in Class XII while at Singhania School, Rajasthan. He has been in tutorial town Kota, Rajasthan, for the last two years preparing forthe JEE.

TROUBLED GENIUS: Shitikanth has fled his Patna home and taken shelter in Mumbai with his mentor, Prof Vijay Singh of TIFR

Nothing's waste....

Coloured marbles give crystal-clear water

Mansi Choksi | TNN

Anil Bhatia took a plastic bottle, inserted holes in it, threw in some colourful marbles, added a blackish granular catalyst called biosanitiser crystal and immersed it in the terrace tank of his Marine Drive building. That was a few months ago.
Today, the corporation water that reaches his building is completely free of pathogens, pesticides and chemicals like nitrates and sulphates. What’s more, the water from the building — even after being used for cooking, cleaning and bathing — purifies other waste water it comes in contact with. The water tank, which had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, is now completely free of pests and odour.
“The biosanitised water has the ability to purify other waste water. The idea is to convert waste into resources, it’s nature’s way of self-correction. These crystals were developed by Uday Bhawalkar of the Bhawalkar Ecological Institute (BERI) in Pune after 42 years of research,’’ Bhatia, pointing to how the copper rings in the tank still retained their shine, said.
Smelling freshly-scooped manure from his building’s garden, Bhatia says he has been ensuring — for the last decade — that all the waste produced in his lane is utilised in some way or other. He has even convinced residents of his lane, a club and hotel in the area to adopt the idea of zero-waste management. Garbage is separated at the household, collected and later recycled by composting. “We worked with Bhawalar on vermicomposting projects, too, and understood how nature had its way of using waste. A coconut tree, for example, is able to produce the sweetest water from the most saline environment. We just have to understand the funda,’’ he says.
Bhatia also recently protested against cricket fans, watching the IPL match at Wankhede, destroying the tree enclosures and littering plant beds.
mansi.choksi@timesgroup.com

WATER OF INDIA: The coloured biosanitiser crystals now give the Marine Drive building purified water throughout the year.

Made in Singapore...

In Singapore, garbage island rises from the sea

Singapore: Once there was a dirty bit of sea next to the world’s busiest port here. Today it is an island where birds nest and people play, though the entire island is made of rubbish. You wouldn’t know unless you were told. There’s no sight or smell at Semakau landfill to indicate it is the last depository of Singapore’s garbage. The corals and all the animals of the beach have been fooled too — they think it’s a natural island, and they have grown in droves around it.

Singapore has been incinerating its waste for decades. A place had to be found to dump the ash that’s left behind. Since the city state has hardly any space left, the planners looked at the sea. They put a seven-kilometre perimeter wall around 350 hectares, divided up the area inside into small portions, and started filling it up with ash in April 1999. Today, four of the portions are full, but the rate at which the ash is being generated is going down, much to delight of the municipal authorities. Singaporeans are getting more aware of the need to recycle what they used to throw away earlier. At the current rate, the landfill will be operational till 2045, the planners estimate.

The place is so clean it has turned into a new holiday spot. Students come in droves for inter-tidal walks where they gawk at mangrove roots, seagrass, coral reefs, crabs, starfishes, sponges, shrimps and many other forms of life that thrive in the belt between high and low tide marks.

Birdwatchers come to glimpse at some of the 66 species recorded at Semakau, sport-fishermen love its artificial lagoon and even amateur astronomers prefer it because they can get away from the glare of the city lights. IANS

Wastewater sludge can be used to generate energy
Scientists have determined that wastewater sludge has the potential of becoming a new resource for alternative energy. Research has demonstrated that sewage actually contains 10 times the energy needed to treat it, and it is technically feasible to recover energy from sludge. According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), wastewater treatment is coming under increasing scrutiny with the financial cost of energy. ANI

TRASH TROVE: A view of the Semakau

Japanese robot weathers rain to climb Grand Canyon

Tokyo: Neither rain, sleet or hail could stop a Japanese robot from climbing the Grand Canyon, with the hand-sized “Evolta” scaling a 530 meter cliff in just under seven hours.
Powered by two AA batteries on its back, the blue robot inched up a thin rope with its hands and feet over four days late last month, hampered by rain and heavy wind, but making it to the top on its sixth try.
The 134 gram robot was part of a battery campaign by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd. “It was freezing cold and the weather was horrible with rain and hail pouring over us,” Toshiya Inoue of Matsushita’s communication group told Reuters.
“The robot wasn’t waterproof so the battery broke down at one point,” he said. Video footage showed “Evolta” sliding down the wire, but soon picking up its snailpaced ascent. The final feat took six hours and 46 minutes. REUTERS

TECH ASCENT: The EVOLTA robot

Paralysed man takes a virtual walk

Uses Brain Waves To Imagine His Character Walking, Talking In Second Life

Tokyo: A paralysed man using only his brain waves has been able to manipulate a virtual internet character, Japanese researchers said on Monday, calling it a world first.

The 41-year-old patient used his imagination to make his character take a walk and chat to another virtual person on the popular Second Life website. The patient, who has suffered paralysis for more than 30 years can barely bend his fingers due to a progressive muscle disease so cannot use a mouse or keyboard in the traditional way.

In the experiment, he wore headgear with three electrodes monitoring brain waves related to his hands and legs. Even though he cannot move his legs, he imagined that his character was walking. He was then able to have a conversation with the other character using an attached microphone, said the researchers at Japan’s Keio University.

It is the first time a paralysis patient has succeeded in meeting a person and having a conversation in an internet virtual world, they added. Researchers are now studying a system that would let patients create text messages by mentally selecting certain letters, said Junichi Ushiba, associate professor at the biosciences and informatics department of Keio University’s Faculty of Science and Technology.

“In the near future, they would be able to stroll through Second Life shopping malls with their brain waves... and click to make a purchase,” Ushiba said.

Second Life is an increasingly popular virtual world in which people—and animals—are represented by animated avatars and do everything from social activities to shopping. AFP

HOPE FROM TECH: A paralyzed man enjoys a virtual walk in ‘Second Life’ with his character being controlled via sensors recording the electrical activity of his brain.

The power of nature???

Mushroom hits new high

Himachal’s Guchhis Sell For Rs 11,000 A Kg At Kullu Fair

Ashwani Kumar | TNN

Kullu: Wrapped in mysticism and hailed as an aphrodisiac, Morchella esculenta, an edible mushroom also known as the Common Morel, sold for Rs 11,000 per kg at the recently held Banjar fair in Kullu. Locally known as guchhi, it was arguably the hottest attraction at the mela, its main trading centre, that saw buyers from across the region. While last year this natural wonder, demanding a premium, went for Rs 8,000 per kg, this year, due to less production and greater demand, the price simply peaked.

Believed to sprout in dense woods when it thunders, guchhi elicited a great deal of curiosity. Sonia, an NRI from America, visited Banjar valley around the same time to unearth its mystery. ‘‘The natural phenomenon definitely leads to the genesis of this fungus,’’ said Sonia, of the mushroom credited with growing only in this part of the country abounding in innumerable deities and spiritual experiences.

Radha Krishan, an oldtimer naturopath of the valley, said, ‘‘Guchhi generates heat and wonderfully increases sexual power in men and women.’’ At the fair, even as it remained the fancy of all, it could only be bought by the rich and those who didn’t mind shelling out the price to increase their libido. And, of course, wholesalers from as far as Delhi. It is mostly exported to European nations, with France as its chief importer, and is in great demand due to its meaty flavour.

‘‘Earlier, its production was up to 100 quintal, but this year it has been very less,’’ said prominent gucchi businessman Chaman Lal. Other old-timers says it was a delicacy served at weddings, but now rue the fact that it can only be found at weddings of the rich, who can afford it. Most locals now collect the mushroom, which is increasingly scarce, to sell to the five-odd traders operating in the Kullu valley to make some quick money during the season.

Known to grow at altitudes higher than 1,500 metre, it is abundantly found during April-May and July-August. ‘‘It is found in cedar forests,’’ said one local who gathers mushrooms. Unwilling to buy stories of its aphrodisiac qualities, G K Khullar of department of biochemistry at PGI, said, ‘‘There is no research to substantiate claims that the mushroom can increase sexual pleasure.’’ Even though it may just be a placebo, the faith in its ‘powers’ seem unshakeable. While alluding to China’s failed attempts in trying to cultivate it, Banjar divisional forest officer B S Rana said, ‘‘With royalty rights lying with panchayats, guchhi draws Rs 10,000 per quintal.’’ But the middlemen make a killing at Rs 11,000 per kg.

MAGICAL GUCHHI
Morchella esculenta or Guchhi, as it is popularly known in Himachal, belongs to the Helvellaceae family. The mushroom grows wild in dense forests of Himachal and Jammu & Kashmir
Guchhi has two seasonal crops: March to May — the main season with better yield and quality; and the second in Sept & Oct. It has a meaty flavour, is rich in protein and generates heat in the body. The guchhi is believed to be an aphrodisiac. Abundant at one time, with an annual produce of 900 quintals; by 2008, its quantities have fallen to mere 10 quintals a year 99% of the produce exported to European nations, with France as chief importer. Experts say guchhi grows only when it thunders. As climate has changed in the region, there has been a fall in production.

All attempts by Himachal govt and scientists across the world to cultivate guchhi under artificial conditions have failed .

WILD DELICACY: Locals in Kullu Valley swear guchhi, also known as morel, is a magical aphrodisiac.

ACADEMIC ROADS LESS TRAVELLED......

Colleges Are Going All Out To Advise Students On Lesser-Known Degree Programmes That Have Healthy Career Prospects

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Parmesh Gandhi followed his best pal and enrolled for the traditional Bachelor of Commerce degree. Halfway through the course, faculty members realised he had strong fundamentals in banking. However, nothing could be done to shift him as the seats for banking and insurance were already full.

Gandhi is an example of how little students know of the specialised courses that degree colleges have begun to offer of late. A principal said, “Parents of today’s 18-year-olds were not exposed to courses in infotech or accounts and finance. As parents have mostly studied the traditional science or commerce, their children tend to either take up the vanilla packet or, in the case of science, go in for IT or biotech.’’

Several colleges across the city are now going all out to counsel students and parents on selecting a course based on the candidates’ strengths and interests. D G Ruparel College’s principal and vice principal will speak to parents and students who may be undecided about what to take up, said principal P Kulkarni.

Another top institution for science, Ruia College, has installed plasma screens to display information about courses being offered as also the faculty member who can dole out more
information on each programme. Said principal Suhas Pednekar, “We have faculty members and heads of departments who talk to students about curricula and job prospects in various streams.’’

Not many students specialise in statistics, chemistry or pure physics, he said. “We are going to talk about the dearth of research analysts and statisticians across the globe. We are going to tell parents that with many companies outsourcing chemical manufacturing, chemistry experts or chemists are going to be in great demand,’’ said Pednekar.

Mulund College of Commerce, which produced last year’s university topper, is counselling for
the first time. “We are setting up counters to guide students about courses they can take up. The orientation programme is being conducted because we have seen that students mainly take courses their friends join,’’ said principal Sandhya Divanji.

Not every college is making a start now. Jai Hind College principal Kirti Narayan said her college guides students at various levels. Principal scientific advisor to the government of India, R Chidambaram, who regularly complains about the “pilferage’’ that happens at Class XII, where students get into either medicine or engineering despite being good at pure science, would be satisfied to know this. “Few students are showing interest in pure science. But if we do notice some bright sparks who are cut out for specific subjects, we keep giving them information about prospects in those areas,’’ she said.

Colleges are ready to talk about relatively uncharted areas to students who have not opted for biotechnology, engineering or medicine, or commerce aspirants looking for something besides the chartered accountancy or company secretariat courses.

Gandhi was probably not lucky enough to know all this. Students, say college principals, must speak to staff and faculty members before freezing their options.

SPECIALISATIONS
SCIENCE: Horticulture | Statistics | Zoology | Botany

COMMERCE: Business management | Cost accountants | Accounts and finance | Banking and insurance | Auditing

ARTS: Economics | Journalism | Foreign languages (French, German, etc) | Psychology | Sanskrit | Political