A coalition of technology companies and environmental groups led by Google Inc and Intel Corporation launched an initiative on Tuesday to help conserve electricity and curb global warming emissions by making the world's computers and servers more energy efficient.

The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, organized by Internet search leader Google and computer chip maker Intel, sets ambitious industry targets to increase the energy efficiency of computing gear over the next four years.

The plan aims to cut the amount of electricity computers consume in half by 2010 using existing power-saving technologies. Currently, the average PC wastes about half of the power it consumes, while the average server wastes about one-third, officials said.

"Let's create a more efficient IT industry by driving up the efficiency of computers," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president for Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. "We think we can have huge savings in terms of carbon footprint and energy costs."

The initiative is expected to save more than USD 5.5 billion in electricity costs by 2010 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change by 54 million tons annually - an amount equal to eliminating 11 million cars or 20 large coal-fired power plants each year, company officials said.

Gelsinger estimated that energy-efficiency technology initially would make computers about USD 20 more expensive and servers about USD 30 costlier, but consumers are expected to recoup the costs through lower electricity bills and rebates from utilities

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

The National Institute of Hotel Management located near Gandhinagar has won accolades in the hospitality sector, with the institute being ranked among the top 10 hotel management institutes across the country, as well as for achieving cent per cent placement target over last three consecutive years.

Bolstered by its successful run, the institute that offers three-year BSc degree course in Hospitality and Hotel Administration at present, has decided to introduce an 18-month post-graduate diploma, diploma and short-term certificate courses in the hospitality sector from this year.

NIHM principal Salil Chatterjee told mediapersons here on Wednesday that in 2004-05, all 97 outgoing students got jobs in chain hotels/ restaurants, private airlines and call centres after successfully completing the degree course at the institute, with monthly stipend ranging between Rs 4,500 to Rs 18,000.

Similarly in 2005-06, all 111 outgoing degree-holders got employment in hospitality and aviation sector with average monthly stipend of Rs 10,700 each.

Chatterjee said campus interview for 105 students who passed out from the institute in 2006-07 had been held, and all of them had received placement orders from prominent hotels like Oberoi, Taj and Le Meridien ,and also private airliners such as Jet Airways.

The maximum monthly stipend that Jet Airways offered to students who graduated in cabin crew discipline was Rs 27,000.

Asked, he said that students from Gujarat constituted a meagre 5 per cent of the total intake capacity of 150 every year at the institute.

Besides the vegetarian and non-vegetarian taboo, most of the Gujarati boys/girls seeking admission fail in the All-India entrance test due to lack of English language proficiency. The lack of awareness about hospitality course among parents is also one of the main reasons for Gujarati youths not joining the institute, he said.

Chatterjee said the institute figured in the top 10 hotel management institutes across the country both in private and government-run institutes on different parameters like competence of faculty, infrastructure and facilities, pedagogic systems and placements. Delhi-based Oberoi Centre tops the list followed by other such institutes in Mumbai, Manipal, Delhi, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Calcutta.

Meanwhile, the IHM authorities are apprehensive of a move reportedly initiated by the Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority to reduce the institute’s premises by 40 feet, as the GUDA proposes to lay a service road along the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar highway.

“If reduced, the front elevation of our institute will get spoiled. We’ll inform the Union Tourism Ministry under which the IHM functions. The Institute has been built on four acres of land allotted by the Government, and has been a pioneer centre for hospitality education across the nation possessing good infrastructure, spacious classrooms fully equipped with state-of-the-art teaching aids, laboratories, a mock bar and trained faculty,” he added.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

The R J Shah Committee looking into the admissions and fee structure in self-financed medical and para-medical institutions has come up with a policy that is being seen as a move that may encourage malpractice and exploitation of students by the individual institutes.

In a meeting held with the representatives of self-financed medical, dental, physiotherapy and homoeopathy institutes on Tuesday, the committee decided on having three parallel admission processes, each run by a consortium of colleges.

The committee allowed the institutes to have their own separate admission process, including distribution of admission forms, drawing up merit list and conducting counselling. The decision has come under fire from parents and students alike. They feel the institutes will now indulge in all kinds of malpractices in admissions.

Following several litigations filed by parents against some “irregularities” in admissions, the session was delayed by 211 days last year. The parents say the new system will delay the admissions this year also, though the committee has claimed to finish the process by August 1.

“With this new system in place, there is a good chance of malpractice in admission as this will create a lack of coordination between the Shah committee and private institutes. Also, if any case of an institute exploiting students comes to our notice, a litigation is bound to follow, as we won’t let any malpractice go unnoticed. This will definitely delay the admission process and the Shah committee will be blamed for it,” said M D Rana, president, Parents’ Association for Medical/Paramedical Admission.

The committee, however, defended its decision. “We will monitor the admission process and will have a final say in the admissions so that chances of any malpractice are ruled out,” said C B Rawal, spokesperson of the committee.

“We have given these institutes time till July 30 to finish counselling. Also, we have specifically asked them to have a transparency in the system, prefer merit and follow a non-exploitative system, to which they have agreed,” said a senior official of the committee.

While four institutes in the state — DDIT Nadiad, Dental College Vadodara and Visnagar, and Karamsad Medical College — have agreed to process admission on the guidelines of the Centralised Medical Admission Committee, a consortium of institutes, including Kesar Sal Medical College, CU Shah Medical College, Karnavati Dental College, Ahmedabad Dental College and Bopal Dental College, will follow their own admission process. The third party, belonging to the association of close to 25 self-financed physiotherapy and homoeopathy institutes, will also have its own admission process.

The decision is also being seen as a violation of the Supreme Court 2005 judgment in PA Inamdar case, in which the apex court had argued for a single window and centralised admission system for unaided colleges.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com