14 crore people in 107 seats to vote in third phase on Thursday

Good morning friends.  Tomorrow will be a big  day for those who are running for a Prime Minister.  They all hope that they will be the one chosen.  Tomorrow morning, I will cast my vote and I am excited to vote and excited to know who will be the lucky one.

 

More than 14.40 crore voters in 107 parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states and two union territories will exercise their franchise in the third phase of the elections on Thursday.

 

Deputy election commissioner JP Prakash said that of a total of 1.65 lakh polling stations, 15,193 in 10 parliamentary constituencies in Bihar and West Bengal have been classified as naxal-affected areas in the third phase.

 

Prakash said as many as 19,763 villages have been identified as vulnerable to intimidation of voters and 45,843 persons would be kept under watch in these areas.

 

Simultaneous polls would be held to the 32-member Sikkim assembly for which 167 candidates, including 15 women, are in the fray.

 

In case of Sikkim, a unique feature is going to be the Sangha assembly constituency. It is the only constituency in the country without a fixed geographical boundary. Prakash said the constituency is for Buddhist monks who are spread across the state. In every polling station, he said, there would be a separate EVM for the Sangha constituency. The Sangha monks can vote anywhere in their local areas. Thus, each polling station in Sikkim would have two EVMs — one for normal votes and another for the Sangha monks. There are 3,058 Sangha voters in the state.

 

Prakash said that over 6.6 lakh polling personnel would be on poll duty during the third phase.

 

Two helicopters would be used in West Bengal and one in Bihar in view of the naxal problem in some areas, he said.

 

He said that the repoll in 115 polling stations in Jharkhand on Tuesday was completed peacefully. Between 55% and 60% polling was recorded in these naxal hit areas.

 

Asked whether the government had sought the EC’s nod for the grant of Rs 100 crore for relief and rehabilitation of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Prakash said the EC was examining the issue. He said EC had earlier also given such a clearance.

 

Replying to a question on the BJP charge that JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda had allegedly distributed money to voters, he said the EC had asked for the CD from the state CEO. The ruling BJP in Karnataka had complained to the Commission about Gowda allegedly distributing money to voters. It had also produced video footage in support of ts charge.

 

Prakash said that the Commission would take a decision on the reply filed by BSP nominee from Lucknow Akhilesh Das for his alleged comments against Samajwadi Party candidate Nafisa Ali.  -The Times of India

Solar power charges Amdavadis

Good morning friends.  I read an article about the solar power charges.  It will be good.  We will have less electricity to use.  As we use less electricity,  our bill will be less too.

Imagine a house running only on solar energy. From water heater to every light bulb. This thought could turn into a reality soon, with a sharp rise in number of takers for this alternative and green power source.   

Advanced solar appliances have become popular among educational institutes and corporate houses to generate thermal and electric energy.

School of Solar Energy, a constituent of Pandit Deen Dayal Petroleum University in Gandhinagar is researching photovoltaic cell – a device that directly converts sunlight into electricity which could bring down the cost of using solar energy. They are not alone. Indian Institute of Management in city (IIM-A )has installed solar street lights in the campus, Intas Biopharma has started with a borocell solar heating panel for their kitchen facilities and even Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has plans for solar powered street lights in AMC gardens.

General Manager (projects- engineering) of Intas Biopharma, Satish Kolte says, “Not only is solar energy an environment-friendly option, it also cuts on costs in the long run. We started with this solar prototype two months ago in our kitchen and so far, it has given good results.”

“We will be using solar energy in all our upcoming plants. We believe industries can tap into this freely available large source of energy,” adds Kolte.

Recently, Gujarat government also announced Solar Power. 

Policy, 2009, to promote solar power generation as an alternative source of energy.

Satish Deshpande, a solar power expert, has been using solar energy in his home since the last 12 years and now prefers to cook his lunch in his solar concentrator. Deshapande says, “It makes economic sense to embrace it.”

Akshat Khare, a young entrepreneur has started a solar-based lighting system to promote the use of solar energy. “We have installed solar streetlights at IIM-A, SEWA and at other organizations in city,” he says. –The Times of India

Just a good words for you all!

For You Dad!

It’s my graduation day.  I want to offer my diploma to my dad who was very supported with me all the time.  Whenever I needed him.  I know he is always busy but he made sure that he will give me the best time.  I’m very proud of him.  For me he is my best teacher, my best playmate, my best friend and the most of all he is the best dad. 

IIM-A launches 1 yr programme in public management and policy

Good morning friends.  It’s a very busy day today for me.  A lot of work waiting. It’s always my routine that before I start my work I made sure that  read some articles for some knowledge of what is happening around the world, around our city.  I have just read with reference to The Times of India that IIM-A launches its 1 year programme in public management and policy. 

 

Thirty officials working for government and banks interested in public policy from across the country reached the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Monday.

These 30 make the third batch of the one year postgraduate programme in public management and policy (PGP-PMP), a full time residential programme.

The group has diverse backgrounds with substantial work experience spanning a minimum of seven years.

The average GMAT and CAT scores of the students are 698.89 and 92.27 percentile respectively. The average age of students is 37 years.

“The programme was launched in April 2007 for participants in their mid-career, who wish to take up senior management positions in public management and policy. It aims at operationalising IIMA’s mission of improving managerial practices both in the private and public sectors,” said IIM-A officials.

The course includes governance, management of public services, public enterprises, regulatory agencies and bodies, independent and statutory organisations.

The programme is divided into five terms with the first two terms
exclusively focusing on core management. The third term of the programme is a six to eight weeks international immersion module which exposes the participants to work practices in an environment different from those in India.

India successfully launches spy satellite RISAT -2

Good morning friends.  I read one article with reference to NDTV.  Indian was successfully launches a spy satellite RISAT-2.

Aiming to bolster India’s defence surveillance capabilities, ISRO on Monday successfully launched its first all-weather spy satellite that will help security agencies keep a watch on the movements on the borders, from its spaceport.

The PSLV-C12, carrying 300-kg Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-2) and 40-kg micro educational satellite ANUSAT lifted off from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan space Centre here at 6:45 am and placed into 550 km orbit around earth.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, weighing 230 tonnes at the time of launch, soared into a clear sky from the spaceport here, about 90 km north of Chennai.

At the end of the 48-hour countdown, the 44-meter tall four-stage PSLV-C12 blasted off from the second launch pad with the ignition of the core first stage.

RISAT has all-weather capability to take images of the Earth and would also be beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, besides amplifying defence surveillance capabilities of the nation. It would also help keep track of ships at seat that could pose a threat.

As per specifications, RISAT is different from previous remote sensing satellites as it uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), equipped with many antennas to receive signals that are processed into high-resolution pictures.

The SAR, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, gives RISAT defence capabilities.

ANUSAT is the first satellite developed by an Indian university (Anna University), which would demonstrate the technologies related to message storing and forward operations.

University sources said scores of students and faculty from different streams had worked on this satellite for the last six years.

ANUSAT is a store-and-forward communication satellite that will help transfer confidential academic materials, including exam question papers, to prevent question paper leakages. It will also help monitor drought and wasteland, urban planning and other studies.

This is the 15th flight of ISRO’s workhorse PSLV, which had launched 30 satellites (14 for India and 16 for foreign countries) into a variety of orbits since 1993.

Secrets of unconditional love unraveled

Good morning friends! What is love?  Can you define what love is? There are different kinds of love.  There is this love in our family, love with our friends, love with an opposite sex.  But the important is that we should love someone without anything in return.  We call that…..”UNCONDITIONAL LOVE”.

The reason why you immeasurably care for a person without any thought of reward is one of science’s biggest mystery. Now, researchers at Montreal University claim that they have unravelled the secret behind unconditional love.

The research team, led by Professor Mario Beauregard, of Montreal University’s centre for research into neurophysiology and cognition, found that the emotion emerges from a complex interplay between seven separate areas of the brain.

Such brain activity has only limited overlap with the cerebral impulses seen in romantic or sexual love, suggesting it should be seen as an entirely separate emotion.

“Unconditional love, extended to others without exception, is considered to be one of the highest expressions of spirituality. However, nothing has been known regarding its neural underpinnings until now,” The Times quoted Mario, as saying.

To reach the conclusion, the volunteers were recruited on the basis that they had a proven ability to feel strong unconditional love: low-paid assistants looking after people with learning difficulties.

In the study, Mario asked them to evoke feelings of unconditional love and hold them in their minds while they had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Of the seven brain areas that became active, three were similar to those of romantic love. The others were different, suggesting a separate kind of love.

The findings showed that some of the areas activated when experiencing unconditional love were also involved in releasing dopamine – a chemical deeply involved in sensing pleasure, with rising levels strongly linked to feelings of reward and even euphoria.

In a research paper in an academic journal, Mario said: “The rewarding nature of unconditional love facilitates the creation of strong emotional links. Such robust bonds may critically contribute to the survival of the human species.” (ANI) – Yahoo

Now, English to reach remotest Guj

Good morning friends.  English language is a universal language.  It is very important that we all should learn this language to communicate with the majority.  I’m glad to tell you that English now will reach to remotest Gujarat.  We all know that many will benefit on this English language. With reference to The Times of India  English teaching will be taught  to some isolated area in Gujarat.

 

While the Samajwadi Party has vowed to work against use of English in education in its manifesto, the Gujarat government has decided to go in just the opposite direction — ensure that the language is taught in the remotest corners of the state.

A new scheme will be launched to teach English to standard VIII students in 164 schools in Gujarat’s eastern tribal belt. To benefit some 8,000 tribal children, this will include 120 tribal ashram shalas as well. Gujarat already has Society for Creation of Opportunity through Proficiency in English (SCOPE) to teach the language to urban youth.

Thanks to satellite technology, the best teachers of English will reach out to the children.

“Ashram shalas are equipped with televisions and computers. The best teachers from Ahmedabad and Vadodara will be hired to give tutorials sitting in a studio at Bharkarachaya Institute for Space Application and Geoinformatics (BISAG) in Gandhinagar.”  

Teaching will start from the next academic year, but the government is gearing up now. Teachers from the tribals schools will be called to Gandhinagar for orientation courses.

They will have to remain present in the room while the tutorials are being telecast. The plan is to turn the teachers into local resource persons who will ensure that the children take interest.

Ahmedabad-based NGO Unnati-Organisation for Development Education, has been hired to do the job. Unnati director Binoy Acharya told TOI that the distance learning model was chosen because it is “difficult to take good English teachers to tribal areas”. “This is a pilot project, which will later be extended to all tribal schools. There will be around 35 sessions, each lasting one-and-a-half hours, with on-line facility for local teachers to interact with the tutor in BISAG.”

If the experiment is successful, the government plans to extend it to mathematics and science and then to other standards as well. As for English, the children will be given elementary knowledge, which will be followed up by monthly and quarterly tests.

“Answer books will be dispatched to Gandhinagar for regular checking in order to know the progress of each child and also whether distance learning in English can be extended to other subjects.”

NID workshop for art & craft teachers

 

Good Morning friends,

Something interesting for those who are teaching art and crafts. NID is offering faculty training and development programme for art and crafts teaches. Read the complete news below which I found on times of india website.

 

Faculty training and development programmes for science teachers are common, with a lot changing in their field. National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad is offering a similar opportunity for art and craft teachers.

 

Industry programmes and projects (IP&P) department at the institute is conducting a three-day summer workshop ‘Thinking with Design’.

 

Starting on April 21, its objective is to orient and empower teachers to benefit students by moulding their creative thinking towards design.

 

“There’s a slight distinction between art and design. The world has become open to the concept of design and this sensitivity needs to be instilled in children at an early age. This will be possible only if teachers have an inclination towards design,” said activity chairperson of IP&P Anil Sinha who will conducting the workshop.

 

At the workshop, minds of teachers will be opened up. So that they give students a chance to experiment. Art can’t be taught with instructions since it’s a creative field, only techniques can be taught, added Sinha.

 

The programme content will include what and why of design, elements and processes, and colour and design. It will have lecture sessions, individual and group assignments and case studies.

 

“We have received numerous inquiries, but confirmation only from 15 participants. While none are from Gujarat, eight are from Kolkata,” said Rupali Rai from IP&P. Participating teachers will be given a certificate.

Happy Birthday Lord Hanuman (2)

There is a statue of Lord Hanuman at Nandura[citation needed]. The height of statue is 105 feet high situated besides national highway no. 6. From here Shegaon (temple of Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj famous in Maharashtra) is around 40 km ahead.

 

 

Ragigudda Anjaneya temple is a Hanuman temple located in ,JP Nagar Bangalore. The temple is located on a hillock.

 

The Hanuman temple at Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India is situated inside SIES complex. The Hanuman idol is 33 feet (10 m) tall and is installed on a pedestal of height 12 feet (4 m), bringing the total height to 45 feet (14 m). In the picture shown, Hanuman has silver coverings (Silver Kavasam).

 

 

Similarly, a 32 feet (10 m) idol of Sri Anjaneyar was entrenched in 1989 at Nanganallur in chennai, India. The distinguished factor of the idol is that it was molded out of a single rock.

 

 

Other large Lord Hanuman idols:

 

A 30 foot Murti of Anjaneyaswamy, in Ponnur near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

 

An 85-foot (26 m) Karya Siddhi Hanuman murthi was installed at Carapichaima-Trinidad and Tobago, by Avadhoota Dattapeetham Pontiff Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda. (Tallest in the Western hemisphere and second tallest in the world)