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Young Mumbaikar set to be Cambridge professor

Friday, 01 October 2010 00:00
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( 1 Vote )
Mumbai: Vikram Deshpande, an IIT-Bombay alumnus is all set to join the league of the eminent professors at the Cambridge University. What sets him apart in the prestigious professors group is his age. At 38, this Mumbai lad is set to be one of the youngest professors at Cambridge when he joins the university on October 1, reports Anahita Mukherji of Times News Network.

Deshpande will also be one among the few Indian professors in the university. Deshpande said, "It's important to pursue a career in a field that you are passionate about. Only then can you work hard at it." He is presently posted as a reader in the engineering faculty at Cambridge.

Deshpande did his schooling in Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. His father, Sudhir Deshpande, shares Deshpande's childhood and says he was very mischievous as a kid. He said, "Vikram was very bright but everyone thought his elder brother was cleverer at studies than he was."

Even Deshpande's guide at IIT-Bombay, MSC Bose vouches for his credibility when he says, "Over the past 25 years, at IIT-Bombay I have had more than 50 BTech project students. It is safe to say that Mr Deshpande is the star of this group.... (he) is a gifted student, has expertise in computer analysis and optimal design of automobile systems. There is no doubt in my mind that he will become an outstanding teacher and researcher."

Deshpande rose to new heights seven years ago when he was awarded the Philip Leverhulme prize worth 50,000 pounds. The prize is awarded to scholars in UK institutions for outstanding research achievements.
Deshpande earned his PhD from Cambridge University and a research fellowship at Brown University in the U.S. He was then appointed as an assistant lecturer at Cambridge in October 1999. In the last ten years, Deshpande also had a brief stint as associate professor at the University of California.


Bihar brains shine in IAS exam, again

Monday, 16 August 2010 00:00
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( 2 Votes )
Courtesy : Times of India

BEGUSARAI/PURNIA/AURANGABAD: Bihar brains have once again made it to the Union civil services aspirants — with a bang.
Begusarai boasts of having two sons of the soil in the elite club of top 50 successful IAS aspirants this year. While Rajiv Roshan, a native of Gaura village under Teghra subdivision, has secured 23rd rank, Shambhu Kumar of Sihma village is placed 47th.
What adds to the pride of Bihar is the fact that Rajiv did his schooling and college in his native district and, thus, breaks the myth that a Bihari has to move to a reputed institute outside the state if he aspires to score high in the toughest all-India test for the coveted job. He cracked the exam in his first attempt.

Currently working for the customs at Mumbai, Rajiv earlier served the CISF as a sub-inspector. His father, Tridev Narayan Choudhary, is a farmer and mother a retired government teacher.

Shambhu, whose father Valmiki Singh is also a farmer, is an IIT engineering graduate and had made to the Indian Forest Service before script-ing his new success story.
Meenu Thakur of Udaynagar village in Purnia's Srinagar block shines at 89th rank. Her father Shyamanand Thakur, who worked as a school-teacher to feed his wife, four daughters and a son, would never let his modest financial status come in the way of Meenu's studies. The family lives in a two-room house and Shyamanand rides a ramshackle bicycle.

Meenu actually dreamt of becoming an IITian. But she bowed to the wishes of her father who wanted her to join the civil services. After pass-ing out of Garhariya middle school, she studied at a Navodaya Vidyalaya and did her graduation in history from Purnia Women's College in 2003. She scored 69% in her MA and is currently doing research for her Phd from Patna University.

Animesh Parashar of remote Nawadih village under Obra block in Au-rangabad district has secured 30th rank. Son of schoolteacher Madhesh-war Prasad Singh, Parashar did his schooling from Rajarshi Vidya Mandir and plus two from Sinha College in Aurangabad. He cracked JEE and studied at IIT-Kharagpur. Though he had made it to Indian Forest Service, he wrote the civil services exam and came out with flying colours, albeit in last attempt.


Shah Faesal tops UPSC

Friday, 18 June 2010 12:33
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( 3 Votes )

Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the Civil Service Examination, has attributed his success to the provision of equality for all enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

“Indian Constitution provides for giving equal rights to everyone irrespective of caste, religion, region and my success in the UPSC exam is a result of that,” he said at a felicitation function here on Tuesday night.

Faesal said people create controversies over petty things like caste, religion, region and language.

“There is no reason to get upset if someone doubts your Indianness because you are a Muslim. There is no need for a certificate from anybody that you are an Indian. Practise any religion in your home or society but outside, do not ever forget that you are an Indian and learn to respect people from other religions,” he said.

“In pursuit of your goal, you will find people who will trouble you because you belong to a particular religion, caste, region but if you have the capability, then nobody can stop you from overcoming these hurdles and reach your goal, Faesal added.

Bihar's illiterate youth inspires story in NCERT book

Wednesday, 02 June 2010 10:47
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( 0 Votes )
Patna: The rollercoaster ride to success of an illiterate Bihar youth, who launched a radio station and promoted social messages on polio, AIDS and other issues but was arrested for illegally running it, has found place in school textbooks.

The story of Raghav, in his mid-20s, and his 'Raghav Radio' has been published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in its book "Bharat Mein Samajik Parivartan Evam Vikas" (Social change and development in India) for Class 12. 

The book describes Raghav as a role model fordevelopment in society. It highlights his struggle and the difficulties he faced after starting 'Raghav Radio' in Mansoorpur village in Vaishali district. 

Raghav, who currently works as the project head of a community radio station in Rajasthan's Ajmer district, told the sources that his "story in the NCERT book will inspire people, particularly the youths, to make a difference in society". 

The book mentions Raghav as being born in a family of agricultural laborers who were too poor to provide him with education. 

It was in 2004 that Raghav, who had an electronics repair shop at Gudri Bazar near Mansoorpur and loved to tinker with old equipment, stumbled upon the innovative idea of launching a radio station. 

With the old tools and gadgets that he had stored over the years, he launched hisradio station that very soon became a hit with the villagers. 

The station operated like a community radio service in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Saran districts, providing local news and views in the local dialect. 

Apart from Hindi songs and news, it provided information about crime in the area, programmes on AIDS awareness, polio eradication, literacy initiatives and news about missing people as well as on local functions and festivals. And all that free of cost. 

The media highlighted his story and he became very popular. The union communications ministry took notice too -- but that was to be his undoing. 

In 2006, the ministry sought a report on the legality of the private radio station. Raghav did not possess an operating license as he was too poor to pay the license fee and too naive to understand that it was illegal. 

'Raghav Radio' closed down. The district authorities said it was closed for violating the Indian Telegraphs Act. 

The government held him an offender and arrested him for a brief period but for people residing in and around Mansoorpur village, he was a hero. 

Later, many NGOs came forward to help him and gave him vocational training. 

Impressed by his talent and struggle, the Barefoot College at Tilonia in Rajasthan, run by Bunker Roy, appointed him the head of Barefoot Community Radio Station, the first of its kind in Rajasthan. 

The radio service caters to the educational, development and socio-cultural needs of the local community in a radius of six to 10 kilometres through indigenously created broadcast programming. 

From an ordinary illiterate youth to becoming someone who has the ability to inspire people through his simple deeds, Raghav has indeed come a long way. And themission to inform and educate continues.

After UN speech, Lucknow girl to go green

Monday, 10 May 2010 11:42
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( 1 Vote )
Lucknow: While most children of her age look forward to playing with friends in summer vacation, 13-year-old Yugratna Srivastava, who made history by delivering a speech at a United Nations summit last year, has plans to green the city.
a
Srivastava, who appeared for Class 9 exam this year, will plant saplings in different neighborhoods of Uttar Pradesh's capital.
"I always wanted to do something constructive during summer vacation therefore I decided to launch a plantation drive," Srivastava, a student of Saint Fidelis College here, told the sources on Saturday.
a
"I will try to rope in my friends and children of other neighborhoods for the drive. I will also approach elders for joining the campaign," said Srivastava, whose father teaches botany in a government college.
At present, she is busy identifying the areas where the saplings will be planted, starting third week of May.
"We will mainly plant saplings in schools, parks or other public places," she added.
a
On who would bear the cost of the saplings, Srivastava said: "I will approach the state forest department. I am sure they will help me."
"I may also seek assistance from non-government organizations (NGOs) or corporates," she said.
According to Srivastava, whose summer vacation started on Saturday and will last till July 5, the campaign is likely to begin after the final exam results are announced later this month.
a
Srivastava had addressed the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York last September where she was applauded by world leaders.

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