Paid PhDs: UGC, varsities toothless, helpless

To upgrade the standards of research being done in Indian universities, University Grants Commission (UGC) asked all the universities to follow the minimum standards and procedure for awarding MPhil and PhD degrees, but till date majority of the universities across the country has not adopted it, reports Chitleen K Sethi and Smriti Sharma Vasudeva of Tribune News Service.

One of the conditions laid down by the UGC in June 2009 for universities was that soft copies of all MPhil and PhD thesis submitted to the varsities would be send to the UGC to be hosted on the Information and Library Network (Inflibnet) Centre, Ahmedabad, designed as the repository of all research work.

"We are yet to receive thesis from any university following this notification. However, we have had some voluntary submissions by researchers," said Jagdish Arora, Director of Inflibnet, and chairman of UGC committee on research regulations.

Arora added that the committee had recommended universities across the country to use anti-plagirisation software. "This software has some limitations but it can at least point out works where large parts have been copied verbatim. We have further suggested that the software be used to check authenticity of the thesis before the degree is given and not after. At Inflibnet we can do only a postmortem of the thesis. It is for the university authorities to be alert," stated he.

The universities, at their end, seem to be fighting a losing battle against plagirised research. Vice-chancellor of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Satya P Gautam, said he had headed the research committee of the university to keep a check on the researchers. The Internet has further complicated the issue. "Universities in Europe and North America take a very serious view of plagiarism and fake thesis writing. They withdraw the degree. Indian universities should do the same," said he. Himachal Pradesh University V-C Sunil Kumar Gupta said project reports submitted by the students too were being copied. "For PhD we are putting our research on line through Inflibnet," added he.

Kurukshetra University Vice-chancellor DDS Sandhu said the university followed UGC norms in research. "Every researcher has to get two papers published in reputed Indian journals. This ensures that a part of his research comes in public domain and if there is something fishy, it gets noticed. Also, we are planning to put all PhD thesis on our website along with salient features of the research," said he.

Jaspal Singh, V-C, Panjabi University, Patiala, said, "Every PhD topic is first discussed by the research board and the candidate and guide is supposed to answer queries of the panel. Also, we have adopted UGC guidelines to ensure such things do not happen. We would be tying up with Inflibnet also."

Indian firms prefer CAs over MBAs as decision-makers

With a post-slowdown environment, Indian firms are paving the way for recruitment of more Chartered accountants (CAs), perceived to have core competence in financial matters. While MBAs are being hired for purely sales, marketing or international trade functions, CAs are increasingly being looked upon as decision-makers, reports Bhargav Trivedi from the Economic Times.

Apart from the stability factor, competence in financial matters, changing taxation regime and risk-aversion are playing in favour of CAs. "These days, we are recruiting more CAs and fewer MBAs. For higher positions like senior managers, we prefer a CA," says Abhishek Tiwari, Senior Manager (HR) at KPMG. The global consulting firm is looking at recruiting 100-150 CAs during the current year in India. Tiwari, however, adds, "We cannot say MBAs are losing their charm, but increasingly, they aren't preferred for a financial job."

Further, with Corporate India getting cautious with salaries, CAs are gaining a natural edge. "If a company is unable to afford an MBA from a top B-School, it would rather hire a top CA than look for a management graduate from lower-rung B-schools," says a global headhunter. A chartered accountant's average salary is at Rs. 6 lakh a month, while for MBAs, the figure is the minimum, says Nagesh Pinge, Chief Internal Auditor at Tata Motors, who sees a growing preference for CAs when companies need better financial control. Loyalty also tilts the balance in their favour. MBAs, due to peer pressure, appear to constantly pursue higher salaries. CAs, on the other hand, are seen as less aspirational and stick to the job longer.

Thus, CAs are currently being accepted as business leaders who could take up roles beyond auditing and financial management. "They are superior (to MBAs). CAs are already groomed for three years during articleship (training with auditors) and can start working from day one," a finance official at a top Indian company who requested for anonymity told the Economic Times.

Compared to a two-year MBA curriculum, CAs go through a rigorous three-year curriculum. Since they understand balance-sheets the best, CAs are being hired for work other than the traditional audit, he points out. Vardhan Dharker, CFO of KEC International, a Rs. 3,000-crore capital goods company, said, "I think CAs are as good as anybody else in taking decisions. There has been a change in the thinking over the past five years."

Brokerages, who bore the brunt of the 2008 stock-market collapse, too have stepped up CA hiring. As important intermediaries in financial transactions, CAs are seen as being more cost-effective. Angel Broking, a leading stock-broking house, has increased CA hiring from 5 percent to 15 percent. "Good MBAs are expensive compared to CAs. For tier-II cities, the average MBA salary ranges between Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 6 lakh, while CAs are available in the Rs. 2.5-3 lakh range. Both do similar kind of work," says Dhruv Desai, Senior VP (HR) at Angel Broking.

The company recruits CAs for back-office work which is more financial in nature, while MBAs are hired for front-office jobs where they have to interact with customers and use their communication skills. "Though our recruitment is predominately MBAs as we are customer-centric, the ratio is tilting in favour of CAs." he says. MBAs constitute 75 percent of the company's total recruitments, but the share of CAs has doubled to 10 percent over the past two years, he says. The company employs more then 7,000 people. Changing accounting methods and introduction of new tax regime in the globalisation era have pushed up the demand for accountancy professionals.

"Due to complexities of accountings and prospective taxation regime like GST and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), you need CAs as MBAs don't study these subjects," says Sanjiv Shah, who runs an accounting firm in Vadodara. He says CAs are now assuming advisory roles as well. Shah, who operates in the mergers and acquisition (M&A) space, adds, "If CAs have to take a decision about an M&A deal, their skills are useful during the due diligence process."

Please give your views regarding the above article... Do you agree or disagree with above mindset of Indian Firms.

Google Nexus One Smart Phone review

""The Nexus One is not a revolutionary device, but it is the first handset that will offer a meaningful challenge to Apple’s iPhone. ""

While Google’s software, called Android, has powered other phones, this is the first one where the search giant has specified the design – that focus means the pencil-thin Nexus One is built to feel like a genuine object of desire.

And the Nexus One offers features the iPhone lacks, too – the camera’s resolution is 5mp, compared to Apple’s 3mp, there are satnav capabilities built in that cost Apple users extra, and a fast processor means the Nexus One operates quicker than any phone currently on sale in the India. Web-browsing is impressive, although in the India is likely to lack the multitouch capabilities that have been available on previous versions of Android. Automatic online synchronization of camera photos is also impressive. It’s effective voice operation, for controlling the phone and writing emails, however, that is the most surprising feature. This is the first time I’ve seen a version of that technology that is genuinely useable.

In the burgeoning market for additional applications (Apps), however, Apple’s iTunes Store offers 115,000 compared to the 20,000 or so in Google’s Android Marketplace. That means that there are currently far more games, tools and clever tricks available to iPhone owners. As more phones start to adopt Google’s operating system, however, Android is likely to catch up fast. And while Android can run a number of Apps at once, the iPhone can’t.

Does the Nexus One feel quite as well put together as the iPhone? No, although it’s close enough to make no meaningful difference. What Android handsets can’t do, however, is plug in to your music collection as seamlessly as an iPod or an iMac. And that’s the biggest problem Google faces – an iPhone is a web-browsing, every song in your pocket, phone call making pleasure to own. It’s part of an entire ecosystem, with accessories, covers, speaker systems and even ties that are built to house iPods.

But the Nexus One does plug in effortlessly to the web, social media, email, calendar, search and contacts functions; perhaps the company that dominates web search should simply start making the computers as well.

The Unlocked Nexus One is priced at $529 (Rs.24860, dead cheap man) in india.

The Movie Review of The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother (Thandie Newton) of his five-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) is buckling under the constant strain of financial pressure. No longer able to cope, she reluctantly decides to leave. Chris, now a single father, continues doggedly to pursue a better-paying job using every sales skill he knows. He lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, and although there is no salary, he accepts, hopeful he will end the program with a job and a promising future. Without a financial cushion, Chris and his son are soon evicted from their apartment and forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations, bathrooms, or wherever they can find refuge for the night. Despite his troubles, Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving and caring father, using the affection and trust his son has placed in him as an impetus to overcome the obstacles he faces. Below is piece of conversation between Father and Son which I liked most in this movie. Infact these all lines so motivating that it force everyone to think once... Just enjoy the lines but request is there... Plz try to understand the wordings...
Christopher Gardner (Father): Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right?
Christopher (Son): All right.
Christopher Gardner (Father): You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it.

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe
Director: Gabriele Muccino