Saturday, April 4, 2009

TSG Elections Results (2009-10)

---------------------------------------------------------------- [For voting details (click here)]
VICE PRESIDENT
Mr. Shubham Matah (Az)

GENERAL SECRETARY

SECRETARY

  • SECRETARY (TENNIS)
    Mr. Rohit kumar
  • SECRETARY (FOOTBALL)
    Mr. Saurabh Chandra
  • SECRETARY (INDOOR GAMES)
    Mr. Amit Suveer
  • SECRETARY (VOLLEYBALL)
    Mr. Ashok Kumar G.
  • SECRETARY (GYMNASTICS)
    Mr. Ravi Gautam
  • SECRETARY (BADMINTON)
    Mr. Alok Joaddar
  • SECRETARY (HOCKEY)
    Mr. Sanjay Kumar Kisku
  • SECRETARY (CRICKET)
    Mr. Irfan Khan
  • SECRETARY (AQUATICS)
    Mr. Gaurav Jain
  • SECRETARY (ENTERTAINMENT)
    Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Dheer
  • SECRETARY (DRAMATICS)
    Ms. Kirti Pandey
  • SECRETARY (JOURNAL)
    Mr. G. Pavan
  • SECRETARY (LITERARY)
    Mr. Saurabh Meena
  • SECRETARY (PHOTOGRAPHY)
    Mr. Naveen Kumar
  • SECRETARY (FILMS)
    Mr. Vaibhav Singhal
  • SECRETARY (FINE, ALLIED ARTS & MODELING)
    Mr. Shalin Bhatt
  • SECRETARY (WEB)
    Mr. Anil Pulakanti
  • SECRETARY (ATHLETICS)
    Ms. Rashmi waghmare

Friday, April 3, 2009

Violation of code of conduct of gymkhana election: Candidature cancelled

Technology student gymkhana
April 2, 2009

This is to bring to the notice of all concerned that the following candidates are debarred from contesting the gymkhana election 2009-2010 on violation of code of conduct of gymkhana election
Name post ballot sl.no.
Abhimanyu dikshit g.sec(soc.&cult) 2
Akshay Sharma g.sec(technology) 4


(m.k.laha)
Election officer

Candidates for the post of G. sec Technology, TSG

First Candidate
Name: Akshay Sharma
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Hall: Rk Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second Candidate
Name: Deepak Singh
Department: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
Hall: LLR Hall of Residence
[Credentials and proposals]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third Candidate
Name: Pranav Patwardhan
Department: Department of Electrical Engineering
Hall: RP Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fourth Candidate
Name: sumit surana
Department: Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering
Hall: Patel Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]

Candidates for the post of G. sec Social & Cultural, TSG

First Candidate
Name: Kavish Desai
Department: Department of Chemical Engineering
Hall: RP Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]
.
.



Second Candidate
Name: Mandar Hemant Chandorkar
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Hall: LLR Hall of Residence
[Credentials and proposals]



Third Candidate
Name: Sahir Hasnain
Department: Department of Chemical Engineering
Hall: Patel Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]






Fourth Candidate
Name: Abhimanu Dikshit
Department: Department of Electrical Engineering
Hall: RK Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]

Candidates for the post of Sports & Games, TSG

First Candidate
Name: ANGAM PARASHAR
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Hall: MS Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]






Second Candidate
Name: ANKIT JOSHI
Department: Geology and Geophysics
Hall: Patel Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]






Third Candidate
Name: Ghyanshyam Jeph
Department: Department of Civil Engineering
Hall: MS Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]







Fourth Candidate
Name: P Arjun Naidu
Department: Department of Computer Sc. and Engineering
Hall: HJB Hall of residence
[Credentials and proposals]

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Candidates contesting for the post of VP, Gymkhana






First Candidate


Name : Digvijay Gagneja


Department : Electrical Engineering


Hall : Nehru


Credentials :



  1. Head incharge of Finances of Kshitij 2009.

  2. Conducted Successful Guest Lectures by ‘Mr.Prahlad Kakkar’ and ‘Dr. Philip Emeagwali’ who captivated an audience of jam-packed TOAT.

  3. Conducted workshop on Forensic Science by CBI and the workshop on Filmmaking.

  4. Initiated and was instrumental in the creation of the online payment gateway for Kshitij.

  5. Soc-Cult Participation: Won GOLD in Inter-Hall Western Vocals, Open-IIT Elocution, SILVER in Inter-Hall Western Groups, Western Vocals, English Elocution, BRONZE in Inter-Hall Choreography, Open-IIT English Dramatics.

  6. Tech Participation: Won SILVER in Inter-Hall AD-Design, Part of Inter-Hall Case-Study Team of Nehru hall.

  7. Sports Participation: Part of Basketball team of Nehru Hall of Residence.

  8. Member of the Western Technology Music Society.

  9. Offered an Internship in ITC, the first company visiting campus for selections.

  10. Anchored Kshitij’s Internal Workshop by iVIZ and External Workshop in Kolkata

  11. Responsible for a smooth registration process of nearly 3000 outstation participants during Kshitij 2009.

  12. A great academic track record with a CGPA of 8.49 in the department of Electrical Engineering

Proposals : (As given by the candidate himself)


1. Establishment of a body for student’s welfare : I propose to create a body to achieve following three major objectives:


a. Establishing a centralized mechanism to provide opportunities for students at IIT Kharagpur to work under the professors in their projects during the summer and winter breaks. This will aim to inculcate and give impetus to students’ research interests, especially the first and the second years.


b. Providing a stipend to the students working on these projects during the summer and winter breaks from a Students’ Welfare fund.


c. Formalizing a Training Procedure for the Final Year students who have registered for final placements by means of GDs, Assessment Tests and Interviews.


(for more info click here)


2. Students at IIT Kharagpur have exhibited an inherent interest in social work which is exemplified by the presence of societies such as Gopali Youth Welfare Society, Jagriti, Sambhav, Parajak etc. Of late, it has been observed that top academic institutions as well as recruiting companies give significant weightage to social initiatives undertaken by students. Thus, I propose to channelize this drive through collaborations with various NGOs who would be willing to educate students about such social initiatives and provide internship opportunities to students from IIT Kharagpur. This would be an excellent opportunity, especially for first and second year students in their summer vacations to be a part of some social initiative.


3. Structural reform in the Training and Placement Cell: I propose to assign the student heads of the societies of different departments, centres and schools as representatives for the Placement Committee.


Their functions would be:


1. To arrange for the contacts from the corporate and academic domains from the faculty of their respective departments and furnish them to the placement committee.


2. To study the profiles of companies that shall be visiting campus and recommend to the placement committee, whether the company can recruit students from their respective department on the basis of the courses offered in their departments that suit the company profile.


3. To prepare and conduct mock tests based on the format and questions asked by companies in the past years in their respective departments.


4. I propose to start the streaming of News Channels on LAN. This is keeping in view the fact that a sound knowledge of current affairs is considered an essential prerequisite in most recruitment and CAT interviews. The interviewers are most often not satisfied with the command that the students hold over pertinent national/international issues. My proposal would give students an opportunity to stay well informed by tuning into these news channels at their convenience from the comfort of their rooms.


(To see the details of each proposal click here)


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Second candidate


Name : Shubham Matah


Department : Chemical Engineering


Hall : Azad


Credentials :



  1. Been associated with Kshitij for the past 3 years: Volunteer, Core Team Member & Core Team Head (Sponsorship).

  2. Sponsorship Head of Kshitij 2009; brought Sponsorship worth INR 9.25 Lacs.

  3. Brought Incubation worth INR 25 Lacs for BPlan competition.

  4. Incharge of Fest's Audio-Visuals, Photography & Videography.

  5. Soc-Cult participation : Won GOLD in Inter-hall Western Groups '08, SILVER in Inter-hall Choreo '09.

  6. Tech participation : Won GOLD in Inter-hall Ad Design '08.

  7. Sports & Games participation : Won SILVER in Inter-hall Cricket.

  8. Anchored National Education Day celebration of IIT Kharagpur & Kshitij's Kolkata workshop.

  9. Interned in Ranbaxy after 2nd yr; going to Bharat Petroleum after 3rd yr.

Proposals : (As given by the candidate himself)


1. I propose to form an‘Alternate Careers Group’under the Technology Students’ Gymkhana in order to provide students with information & resources related to alternate career paths such as Civil services, Actuarial Sciences, FRM, CFA etc.


2. I propose to introduce the following changes in order to improve the placements of students at IIT Kharagpur :


- Conduct mock screening tests, resume-making workshops & mock personal interview sessions in order to better equip the students for the placement season.


- Increase the Post-Graduate student representation in the Placement Committee.


- Include Department representatives in the month of January to supplement the Placement Committee.


- Prepare a database of relevant Job openings appearing in various employment newspapers & websites to ensure that students don’t miss out on such opportunities.


(something similar to http://www.stat.nus.edu.sg/alu_careers.htm)


3. I propose to provide different student groups at IIT Kharagpur with additional infrastructure for conducting meetings. The additional infrastructure is available in the Centre for Theoretical Studies Visitors’ Hall.


4. I propose to have a tie-up with Big Bazaar for home delivery of merchandise at discounted prices via tele-shopping as well as internet shopping that will cater to the need of the students and staff of IIT Kharagpur.


5. I propose to get Sponsored Industrial BTech and MTech Projects for the students. This will be done through a student group formed under the aegis of SRIC that will be entrusted with the task of contacting companies to obtain projects.


Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Dean of Students Affairs and B.C. Roy Chairman

After the meeting of board of governors, the Institute has made 2 new appointments in order to fill the voids left in the institute administration following the resignation of BC Roy Chairman Prof. Madhusudan Chakravarty and Dean, Student Affairs Prof. D.K. Tripathy.

1. Prof. Shouvik Bhattacharya from the department of Mechanical Engineering is now the Dean of Student Affairs.
2. Prof. Gautam Sinha from Vinod Gupta School of Management is now the new Chairman of B C Roy Technology Hospital. He was earlier the Professor incharge of TnP and has won quite a repute for the placements back in 2007-08


Monday, March 30, 2009

Gymkhana Elections reinstated

In a meeting that the V.P., TSG and the HPs had today (30th March) with the President, TSG, it was decided to proceed with the interrupted process of office bearers of the TSG for the year 2009-10.

The election will be held on Friday, 03th April 2009 in the respective halls of residence from 4:00 p.m. onwards.

Polling Booths and Timing of Election:

4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - AZ, NH, PH, HJB, JCB, SDS/MMM, HK/MMM, DSK/MMM, LLR, MS, RK, RP, SN-IG, MT, RLB, VS (each hall to have its own election booth)

5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - Gokhale Hall (Students of SAM, Radar Flats and VSRC to cast their votes in the Gokhale Hall booth)

As decided in the said meeting, Hall-to-Hall campaigning is considered to be over. Only the soap boxes for the VP and the various General Secretaries will be organized.

New SOPBOX Schedule:

31/3/09 -
G. Sec (Sports and Games) - 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
G. Sec (Technology) - 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

01/4/09 -
G. Sec (Soc. & Cult.) - 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Vice President - 8 p.m. onwards

Venue: Second Basketball Court

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Against Friday's (27th) protest

The Chairman of the Board of Governors Of IIT Kharagpur, Mr. Mutthuraman is visiting the campus tomorrow (8am 27th march 09). His visit is concerned with various issues related to administration and student welfare, the future strategies of the Institute. He has also shown interest in meeting the students himself.

Ever since the news of his visit has come, there have been talks of protest in front of him. This is a  very crucial time when we must think and plan properly before taking any step.  We are already aware of the fate of mass meetings and open house in the recent past and a big crowd can be good for the show of unity but can not be strategically decisive. Now the time has come to look forward to convert our united protest into a productive movement. A mass protest may not be appropriate at the moment as it may dilute the main cause and may also further tarnish our image. Then, there is every reason to give our representatives a chance to deal with the issues diplomatically. They are able people who have been selected by us. 

Apart from that Mr. Mutthuraman is not a part of the administration. He is an honorable guest visiting our campus. It won't be very kind of us to welcome him with a protest.

To conclude it would be better from our prospective to plan and look forward for some concrete decisions to come out from his crucial visit. It should be made sure that our demands are properly put forward by our representatives in front of him without creating any unnecessary chaos.  


Junta please put your views........

One Man Enquiry Committee: A portfolio of (Retd.) Justice U.C.Banerjee


Yesterday Retired Supreme Court judge Justice U.C. Banerjee was appointed as the one-man enquiry committee by the Board of Governors. Following is a brief look at the career and track record of the man who has been entrusted with pulling the final curtain on this tragedy.

Justice Banerjee was one of the founder Council Members of SAARC Law and presently is the President, SAARC Law (India Chapter). Justice Banerjee is a Member of International Law Association and participated as a delegate at various International Conferences.

Justice Banerjee was appointed as the one-man panel by the UPA, the ruling coalition, to investigate the infamous
Godhra train burning case where 59 karsevaks, or Hindu volunteers, were burnt to death. In a fiercely controversial decision, he ruled out the possibility of miscreants setting fire to the compartments or any external fire of any kind. This is what Frontline magazine had to say about Justice Banerjee's findings:

"The Banerjee committee ... rules out the possibility of any inflammable liquid being responsible for the fire, as there was first a smell of burning and then a smoke and flames, which would not be the case if inflammable fluid were used. "The inflammable liquid theory gets negated by the statement of some of the passengers who suffered injuries on the upper portion of the body and not the lower body and who crawled towards the door on elbows and could get out without much injury", says the Banerjee report. " ... "The committee has noted the forensic laboratory's experiment and verified its conclusion that it was impossible to set fire to the train from outside", Banerjee concluded. Eliminating the "petrol theory", the "miscreant theory" and the possibility of an electrical fire, the committee said that the burning was an "accidental fire". But it gave no reason why it could have been an "accidental fire"...... "

Other links citing the same are:
1) BBC

There was a huge uproar over this seemingly improbable theory and the BJP made a hue and cry over the report being "politically motivated". Later, the Nanavati Commission, appointed by the Gujarat Government said that the findings of Justice Bannerjee were false and that the train was set on fire by a mob, as part of a pre-meditated conspiracy.

As of October 13, 2006, the Gujarat High Court ruled formation of UC Banerjee committee "illegal" and "unconstitutional". As of now, all of its probe results stay invalid.

Justice Banerjee has also been on the investigative panel for several other high-profile cases like the Vayudoot air crash near Guwahati of 1989 and the Indian Airlines Aircraft crash at Imphal in 1991.

Something which many of our readers might not be aware of is that Justice Banerjee has been a visiting faculty at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, on the IIT Kharagpur campus, lecturing on subjects like labour law. Whether this presents a foreseeable conflict of interest is for the students to decide.

Apparently, the students have decided. In a gathering of 5th year students at Veggies yesterday night, it was clear that the students are unsatified with Justice Banerjee's appointment. A letter was drafted at the meeting itself, addressed to the Acting Director, indicating the students' disapproval. The students opine that should Justice Banerjee investigate this affair, the findings may not be unbiased.


The ball is now in the Institute's court once again... let's see how the authorities respond to the students' apprehensions. Watch this space for further updates.