ALL ready to “advance” into the corporate world, with power suits replacing uniforms, defence personnel were felicitated at a convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Friday.

The defence personnel had joined the institute’s six-months’ certificate course in Business Management to prepare themselves for corporate services. More than 90 per cent of the candidates are already placed and will be serving 14 companies that came in to recruit them.

The candidates, 60 in number, with 36 Armymen, and 12 each from Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, had enrolled themselves for the course last October.

Many of these candidates have already retired from the service and others on the verge of retirement. A number of Short Service Commission officers had also participated in the programme. The candidates were conferred certificates by the Dean of the institute Jayant Varma in the presence of Harvant Krishna, Director General under the Ministry of Defence.

IIM-A designed the course with special guidance from the Directorate General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defence, with the programme’s main objective being to help officers rehabilitate after retirement. “We had a specially formulated course that was divided in three terms of eight weeks each, with two terms giving ideas on basics of management and last being elective,’’ explains Sailesh Gandhi, IIM-A faculty and co-ordinator.

Some of the candidates who had joined the course before retirement will, however, be retired by May end, after which they will be prepared to serve the company they joined. “More than 90 per cent candidates have taken up job. The rest chose not to take up job too soon but will be doing so eventually,’’ Gandhi said.

Companies like TCS, Adani, Aditya Birla, ICICI, DLF had come to recruit these personnels at the campus placement, with the maximum salary going as high as 30-35 lakh and the minimum being 10-12 lakh per annum. “The salary varies much because we had officers from all ranks for one course. There were Short Commission Officers to Major Generals taking up the course, so recruiters paid them according to their rank,’’ Gandhi added.

Courtesy : Express india

GUJARAT University will shortly begin a new Genetic Resource Centre at the School of Sciences. The building for the Centre, being built at an initial cost of Rs 35 lakh, is expected to finish in six months. A departmental MoU with Spain’s Wrockow University to tap the latest development in Genetic Science is also in the pipeline.

The Genetic Research Centre, which will act as a liaison among various subjects currently on offer at Gujarat University like Bio-informatics, Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, will also host two new courses of Integrated MSc in Genetics _ a five-year programme in Genetics after Class 12 _ and MSc in Genetics. A Chemical Data Research Programme for MBBS and MSc Pharma and Genetics are also on the cards at the centre.

“We are keeping an eye on current market requirements and are launching courses that may help the pharma industry in the State. Courses will be self-financed with most of the launch expenses being borne by the University Development Fund. It will have a full-fledged Genetic Centre and advanced laboratory and library. A placement cell will also be set up at the Centre,’’ said Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor Parimal Trivedi. Research and study in Cell Biology, Human Anatomy, Organ System and Clinical Developments will be part of the activities of the Research Centre, which will maintain a data base for research activities, conducted with the help of industry.

“MoU with Wrockaw University will facilitate exchange programme for students and teachers from both ends that will help us in learning international practice in Genetics. It will also help us keep abreast of the latest developments in Genetics,’’ Trivedi further said. While the university is busy finalising about the fee structure and also the latest instruments required for the course, trained faculty is also one of the concerns. “We will first allow experts form industry to teach here as visiting faculty, and in the meantime train our own faculty for the purpose,’’ Trivedi added.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

COME March 20 and 224 Squadron of Indian Air Force will give up its 24-year-old fighter plane Mig-23 MF, which has covered 32,581 flying hours. Four of the remaining five Mig-23 MF fighters will take to the skies one last time on the coming Tuesday at frontline Air Force Station, Jamnagar under South Western Air Command.

Mig-23 MF, also known as Raksha, will fly for the last time on March 31 bringing to an end the operations of 224 Squadrons, also known as Warlords, who will then end their operations temporarily and begin when re-equipped with new aircrafts and assigned a new operational role.

224 Squadron was raised on July 4, 1983 at AFS Adampur in Punjab. The Warlords moved from Adampur to Halwara in Punjab in 1996 and then to Jamnagar in September 1997.

The Mig-23 MF is one of the first IAF fighters to be equipped with R-23 R and R-23 T, Beyond Visual Range (BVR), Air-to-Air missiles that carry 96 rockets, and 1.5 tonnes of bombs of 100, 250 or 500 kg calibers and can attain a speed of approximately 2500 Kmph.

Mig-23 MF is a swing-wing interceptor capable of delivering an array of missiles bombs and guided weapons.

It also trains IAF pilots in air-to-air fighting skills.

Warlords have participated in several operations including ‘Operation Meghdoot’ in the air defence of Siachin glacier in 1985-86. The Squadron has also operated from Leh, the highest airfield in India, and is also the first to operate from Ladakh. They were also adjudged the “Best Overall Fighter Squadron’’

Courtesy : Expressindia.com