Agitation. Protests. There is something quintessentially democratic about these two concepts. They signify the guarantee of Freedom of Speech and Expression, which the constitution of India provides.
Since the past 3 weeks however, this very freedom has been used to hold a country to ransom. Yes, I am talking about the ongoing agitation by a particular section of society. Squatting on the railway tracks, demanding reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota. The regular threats of cutting supply lines to Delhi, railway losses and 'retaliation' should galvanize our leaders. Its not just about the crores of rupees being lost daily due to lost productivity, but something deeper.
Lets try to think aloud what went wrong.
Subsidies, reservations, duties etc these are what our governments use to garner votes. India has a long history of "quota" system. Be it people, companies or goods. Giving special privileges to a particular section is a temporary way of improvement. Time and again this has been proven right. A closed economy, with quotas for local companies, brought us to the brink of an economic disaster. But this preferential treatment is the only way to guarantee a large number of votes in a short time. So this becomes a high return political stunt.
In the current context, the UPA government is not able to enforce law and order solely because of the fear of loss of votes from a large community.
This psyche of ensuring quick electoral wins diverted government's priorities. What really should have happened is a massive investment in basic infrastructure. Well connected cities and villages with good education would have suppressed the need to provide reservation. A village with access to a good highway that leads to a city with good government schools. An efficient bus service to facilitate that. This should have really lifted the backward classes out of the ignorance they faced in the independent India.
Now the valid question what can be done to quell this agitation ? This incident is the second instance of what Gujjars started. Will there be more of them ?
There can be a start here. Education vouchers to the poor sections can be provided simultaneously starting up good governmental schools. The current agitation leaders should be convinced that in the long run these measures will be helpful for everybody. To handle the current situation there is no way but to cede to these demands. But the leaders should also take the reverse step, canceling quotas for the uplifted sections, which has not been done since the Mandal Commission report implementation in 1989. That means, well, its not working out.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Recruiting at my Alma mater - a reflection
5th March 2011.
N.I.T Kurukshetra awaited The Royal Bank of Scotland to hire interns. One of the employees to form the interview panel was yours truly.
It feels just out of this world to go back to your Alma mater as a fortune 'maker'. Although I had experienced it on 16th Sep. 2010 also, when I came to recruit full time employees, but this time it was more pronounced and profound.
Owing allegiance to your college and organisation
This is the most exciting part. You know in your heart that it is the place that made you what you are today. You want to select every student of your college and make their careers. Then comes Mr Henry Fayol, shrieking with his theory of subordinating personal interests over organisational interests. The critic in you has to come out and eliminate more than half of your own college juniors.
Still its people who are fresh out of college and go for recruitment that can give valuable feedback on the employability of the students. Simply because they give a damn. One observation though, people need to be more thorough with their interview preparations. Its their sheer bad luck and the company's good luck that the most recent batch of alumni came. Please do away with bogus entries on your resumes! Being on the other side of the table it is very easy to see through every sham and charade. So by eliminating such contenders you tend to profit your organisation.
Some suggestions to students reading this
Don't ever stop enriching yourself. That humble bit of knowledge that you thought was unnecessary may turn out to be the highlight of your interview.
The daily newspaper is not enough. The subjects are also not enough. Keep reading everything and anything. Attend as many speaking and discussion sessions you can. They help every time.
Hoping to come back soon again to the campus of the B.O.K and the land of Mahabharata.
Enough gyaan, goodnight.
N.I.T Kurukshetra awaited The Royal Bank of Scotland to hire interns. One of the employees to form the interview panel was yours truly.
It feels just out of this world to go back to your Alma mater as a fortune 'maker'. Although I had experienced it on 16th Sep. 2010 also, when I came to recruit full time employees, but this time it was more pronounced and profound.
Owing allegiance to your college and organisation
This is the most exciting part. You know in your heart that it is the place that made you what you are today. You want to select every student of your college and make their careers. Then comes Mr Henry Fayol, shrieking with his theory of subordinating personal interests over organisational interests. The critic in you has to come out and eliminate more than half of your own college juniors.
Still its people who are fresh out of college and go for recruitment that can give valuable feedback on the employability of the students. Simply because they give a damn. One observation though, people need to be more thorough with their interview preparations. Its their sheer bad luck and the company's good luck that the most recent batch of alumni came. Please do away with bogus entries on your resumes! Being on the other side of the table it is very easy to see through every sham and charade. So by eliminating such contenders you tend to profit your organisation.
Some suggestions to students reading this
Don't ever stop enriching yourself. That humble bit of knowledge that you thought was unnecessary may turn out to be the highlight of your interview.
The daily newspaper is not enough. The subjects are also not enough. Keep reading everything and anything. Attend as many speaking and discussion sessions you can. They help every time.
Hoping to come back soon again to the campus of the B.O.K and the land of Mahabharata.
Enough gyaan, goodnight.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Got 3G ? Lets peel the onion.
3G, 3rd generation. The latest mobile phone technology fad in India. According to the techno numbers, it allows one to have broadband internet speeds (256kBps) on the go, on a mobile phone.
Considering the current IT revolution in India and upcoming e-governance initiatives, fast and mobile internet can really do wonders. Apart from this increased data usage, growth in revenues due to greater usage form the good part.
But lets peel the onion. What I said above, or what companies and marketing gurus say is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg or in our case the inedible onion peel.
Peel it off. What do you see ?
Layer 1 : Increased power demand by the service providers
With almost all mobile service providers rolling out 3G, it goes without saying that they will require an altogether different set of equipment than the current 2G. This implies that this new machinery to churn the ever greatest KBs will need more juice. Judging by the speeds expect power consumption to increase approx 15-20%. This means more power demand i.e. more burning of fuel to heat more water to produce more steam to produce more torque to produce more rpms of the turbine. More carbon emissions, quite obvious.
Layer 2 : Increased mobile phone dependency mostly unnecessary
TV on the move ? Gaming on the move ? Not to sound Luddite, but give that mind a rest ! It has been proven clinically that brain grows faster when it is given some rest to assimilate information and thoughts. That's why the boffin in your R&D lab is all by himself and thinking !
Wasn't the calling functionality of the mobile a distraction enough ? On the move broadband is certainly going to show some interesting changes.
Faster social degradation through unwanted internet content will be on steroids now.
Layer 3 : Data security
More bandwidth means more space to do things. Simply put, malicious intent can now be used on the go. Expect large organizations like banks, MNCs, consultancies and governments to install additional security infrastructure. More power consumption again? You bet !
Although this may lead to increased ease of corruption and malpractice reporting.
Layer 4 : Privacy invasion
Spam video calls, anyone? Or for a more macabre situation, a cross connected video call ?
These concerns which rose due to increased mobile 2G usage, will be equally applicable to a 3G user too.
Consider a hacked in camera of the 3G mobile phone. Tapping and surveillance taken to a whole new level. Big Brother just got more kit !
Burrrrppp ! onion gone !
What is needed is not just self regulation on the part of mobile authorities but also some form of a regulatory framework. Current policies do not take into account the unique challenges that high speed mobile data transmission poses.
Considering the current IT revolution in India and upcoming e-governance initiatives, fast and mobile internet can really do wonders. Apart from this increased data usage, growth in revenues due to greater usage form the good part.
But lets peel the onion. What I said above, or what companies and marketing gurus say is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg or in our case the inedible onion peel.
Peel it off. What do you see ?
Layer 1 : Increased power demand by the service providers
With almost all mobile service providers rolling out 3G, it goes without saying that they will require an altogether different set of equipment than the current 2G. This implies that this new machinery to churn the ever greatest KBs will need more juice. Judging by the speeds expect power consumption to increase approx 15-20%. This means more power demand i.e. more burning of fuel to heat more water to produce more steam to produce more torque to produce more rpms of the turbine. More carbon emissions, quite obvious.
Layer 2 : Increased mobile phone dependency mostly unnecessary
TV on the move ? Gaming on the move ? Not to sound Luddite, but give that mind a rest ! It has been proven clinically that brain grows faster when it is given some rest to assimilate information and thoughts. That's why the boffin in your R&D lab is all by himself and thinking !
Wasn't the calling functionality of the mobile a distraction enough ? On the move broadband is certainly going to show some interesting changes.
Faster social degradation through unwanted internet content will be on steroids now.
Layer 3 : Data security
More bandwidth means more space to do things. Simply put, malicious intent can now be used on the go. Expect large organizations like banks, MNCs, consultancies and governments to install additional security infrastructure. More power consumption again? You bet !
Although this may lead to increased ease of corruption and malpractice reporting.
Layer 4 : Privacy invasion
Spam video calls, anyone? Or for a more macabre situation, a cross connected video call ?
These concerns which rose due to increased mobile 2G usage, will be equally applicable to a 3G user too.
Consider a hacked in camera of the 3G mobile phone. Tapping and surveillance taken to a whole new level. Big Brother just got more kit !
Burrrrppp ! onion gone !
What is needed is not just self regulation on the part of mobile authorities but also some form of a regulatory framework. Current policies do not take into account the unique challenges that high speed mobile data transmission poses.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Bringing a 60 year old engine to life ...!!! for a shiny new race car !!
This was the D-Day !!! 24th April 2008...!!!
January 2008 - me and my friends had an idea of participating in the FSAE contest.
Gruelling schedules ensued. Specially for me it was a bit of off track as formally I am enrolled in IT engineering but automobiles !!! oh ! i loved them since i was a kid. Balancing both was an uphill task. Studying at odd hours about the suspension systems for the FSAE car and then in the day mugging up software nuances. Just a respectable GPA is now enough for me as it is true salvation to study what you love. I was a funny sight with Race Car Vehicle Dyanamics in one hand and Operating Systems Concepts in the other !!
Then came the hard fact ...MONEY..!!
from where will the money required for this project will come ?? 25 lakhs !!!! phew a very hefty amount !!
Then a bolt in the clear sky ! Our prof. in charge cued us to repair a 60 year old car chassis to prove our mettle and then take the money.
April 1....
Gruelling and enervating work to repair the i-6 GM engine started....cleaning 60 years of dust, grime and carbon we trudged along dilligently. Then again bunking classes, skipping meals....those were the wonderful moments !!!
Getting small spare parts from Delhi and then installing them with a new fervour....
all this went along and then 24th April....
after a night of tries to start it, the engine gave way to our efforts after getting a new carburettor(1950 man no FIs and fancy pnuematic valves !!!)...
It coughed and then roared to life and those heavy pistons worked to keep it going. It was like a dream, as this job will open a whole new lot of options for me and my friends.
Looking forward to get a nod from authorities (read money) and start building a race car with some lip smacking handling !!
Really want to bring the knowledge acquired during all my life to fruition about suspension systems and handling dynamics...
FSAE here I come ..!!!
January 2008 - me and my friends had an idea of participating in the FSAE contest.
Gruelling schedules ensued. Specially for me it was a bit of off track as formally I am enrolled in IT engineering but automobiles !!! oh ! i loved them since i was a kid. Balancing both was an uphill task. Studying at odd hours about the suspension systems for the FSAE car and then in the day mugging up software nuances. Just a respectable GPA is now enough for me as it is true salvation to study what you love. I was a funny sight with Race Car Vehicle Dyanamics in one hand and Operating Systems Concepts in the other !!
Then came the hard fact ...MONEY..!!
from where will the money required for this project will come ?? 25 lakhs !!!! phew a very hefty amount !!
Then a bolt in the clear sky ! Our prof. in charge cued us to repair a 60 year old car chassis to prove our mettle and then take the money.
April 1....
Gruelling and enervating work to repair the i-6 GM engine started....cleaning 60 years of dust, grime and carbon we trudged along dilligently. Then again bunking classes, skipping meals....those were the wonderful moments !!!
Getting small spare parts from Delhi and then installing them with a new fervour....
all this went along and then 24th April....
after a night of tries to start it, the engine gave way to our efforts after getting a new carburettor(1950 man no FIs and fancy pnuematic valves !!!)...
It coughed and then roared to life and those heavy pistons worked to keep it going. It was like a dream, as this job will open a whole new lot of options for me and my friends.
Looking forward to get a nod from authorities (read money) and start building a race car with some lip smacking handling !!
Really want to bring the knowledge acquired during all my life to fruition about suspension systems and handling dynamics...
FSAE here I come ..!!!
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