GATE 2024 Introduces a New Paper "Data Science & Artificial Intelligence" (DA)

  For about last one decade we have seen the introduction of courses like M. Sc. in Big Data Analytics / Data Science, B. Tech. in AI/ML etc in India. The arrival of ChatGPT and such generative AI tools are going to change the landscape of AI applications. Impact of AI can be felt from the government decisions to introduce AI and Data Science in school level by the state boards. Keeping pace with such changes, a new subject Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DA) has been introduced in GATE 2024, as can be seen in the GATE 2024 organizing Institute, IISc Bangalore website. There are six modules in the DA syllabus: Probability & Statistics, Linear Algebra, Calculus & Optimizaon, Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, Database Management and Warehousing, Machine Learning. The online application portal for GATE 2024 is expected to start from 24th August 2023.

ATAL - AICTE Training and Learning Academy

 AICTE has launched quite sometime back very helpful online one-week faculty development program for faculty members or research scholars of AICTE approved institutes or CBSE school teachers or Central Govt./PSU staffs. Participant does not need to incur any cost for participating in this online training program. Very nicely managed website  https://atalacademy.aicte-india.org/login is there where one needs to register with all details. Then one can view all the upcoming FDPs in different subjects spectrum. One can apply for maximum four such FDPs in an year. Most training programs are in the advance topics of different subjects. A competent faculty member can also apply to AICTE to host one such FDP. As of now, 80% attendance and 60% score in test is necessary to get the certificate, online, if one fulfills other criteria of a participant.

NIMCET Old Question Papers for MCA in NITs

Some NITs, National Institute of Technology, offer MCA courses. This list includes NIT Trichy, NIT Karnataka, NIT Calicut, NIT Warangal, MANIT Bhopal etc. The entrance test for admission into MCA in these institutes is called NIMCET.  However, this NIMCET official website does not provide us previous year question papers, which is very essential for candidates preparing for this entrance examination. NIMCET should provide these question papers available to the students in their website in the line of GATE, JAM, NET and such examinations. However, some third party websites provides these question papers. One can download these question papers from these websites: Link1, Link2.

Online Programming Websites

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the institutions are closed worldwide. Even the institutes that had started to offer physical classes have mostly forced to shut down their campus due to reporting of Covid cases among the student/teacher/staff. In this situation, online classes or virtual classes are the only options.  When lockdown was imposed in India on March last 22nd in 2000, I did not anticipate that it would last for so long. So, when our college asked to take some classes online, I avoided the classes through Zoom/Google Meet or such platform due to unfamiliarity with these applications. Poor Internet connectivity was also another issue. So, I mostly prepared study materials in similar to book chapters and provided these for uploading in college website for the students. Later on, I became conversant with Google Meet or such platforms. 

However, when taking some laboratory sessions like MATLAB, Operating System Lab, C++ Lab, many students were not able to connect with the class sessions as they do not have PC/Laptop with them. A smartphone is all they have. So after sometime, found some websites, where students can execute their programs online. For example, https://www.onlinegdb.com/ is a very nice website where one can type and execute C, C++, Java, Python, R, Prolog programs. Even, one can do C programming with files in this onlinegdb.com website. Following is one snapshot for C programming online:

For doing R programming, I found https://www.mycompiler.io/ very helpful. This website also offers compilation facility for Java, Python, PHP, Bash, Perl, x64 Assembly language programming etc. For doing Matlab program, one can use the free and opensource equivalent up to many extent the Octave, and https://octave-online.net/ can be used for running Octave commands.

Similarly, many Institutes have developed virtual labs for many different subjects. One can explore https://www.vlab.co.in/ and https://vlab.amrita.edu/ for many labs in wide disciplines like Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Biotechnology, Physical Science, Chemical Science. 

School students can explore http://www.olabs.edu.in/  for some virtual experiments in Chemistry, Biology, Physics. 

Given the present scenario, where many countries are facing second wave or third wave of Covid-19 infections, these kinds of website really help students a lot. The digital revolution and use of ICT has enabled the learning in this critical time possible through online classes and online laboratory sessions.

Register for / Download certificate of Covid-19 Vaccine in COWIN Website

 As GoI opened the facility for registering senior citizens and persons with co-morbidities above age 45 to take COVID-19 vaccine, lot of people is trying to register using COWIN App in smartphone. But that works only for the hospital authorities. For common people of India, one should use the website https://www.cowin.gov.in/home for registering oneself. To register, first one needs to give a mobile number where an OTP (one time password) will come, which is to be entered within 180 seconds. Upon correct verification, one needs to give valid identification number such as Aadhar number / PAN Number / EPIC Number / Driving License number, Name as given in the ID card, Gender, Year of Birth as mentioned in the ID card. With a single mobile number, maximum four members of a family can register. Govt. will verify your registration and send you appropriate SMS for further course of action such as date and place of vaccination.  To download the vaccination certificate, one can login with his registered mobile number and then enter the OTP sent to the mobile phone to download the certificate. 

Importance of Mentoring in Student Life and Career

 

To begin the article on this topic I searched in the Internet of proverbs on mentoring. Then got the website https://www.geteverwise.com/mentoring/20-inspiring-mentorship-quotes/ and two quotes I liked most:

1. “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg

2. “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor

Some of us grow up in a typical Indian joint family surrounded by our parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Most of us do not get the exposure of joint family and grew in a nucleus family. Now a days the mentoring of a student mostly starts from the parents only. If parents can not give time for mentoring to their child, then it is often done by a teacher in school. In good schools, teachers identify the talents in you in some sphere and encourages you to hone the skills. All of us have are good in at least one field. Some does good painting, some does good singing, some does good in studies, some are good in sports, and so on. It is definitely not necessary that all will do excellent in studies. If we give little bit extra efforts in that field where we have natural fluency, we can quickly excel. But then, if I am not that good in studies, then is not there any hope for me in studies? Of course, hope is there always. Only difference is that, I need to spend much more time and effort to reach at a certain level.

So, a mentor can be your parent or someone in your family, or your teacher in school/college, or your senior in college/university, or your project manager in company, or just your boss in your job. If you look at any successful person and get a chance to ask her/him the question: "do you recognize role of any mentor behind your success", I believe, most people will answer in affirmative. Of course, the major credit of being successful must go to the person herself/himself. But the caring, kind words, encouragement, inspiration, motivation, visionary wisdom received from the mentor definitely plays very vital role to sail through.

Now, the mentor often gets changed as you move on from school to college, college to university, and ultimately in your profession. Mentor spots your quality and then starts showering her/his experience, knowledge with you during insightful discussion during work or often during tea time or such times. Sometimes, we find ourselves to be in trouble for some reasons, and then these mentors actually guide us to come out of the fearful situations.

That is why many organizations have started to adopt the concept of mentorship formally. Whenever, a new incumbent joins the organization, then that new comer is assigned with one particular mentor or a group of mentors.

Now you may argue, if someone is not that lucky to be spotted by a mentor, is not there any hope for her? Surely, there is hope, always. If we do not get direct mentorship, we do get indirect mentoring from various sources such as Internet, lives and teachings of great personalities, good novels or movies, or even the nature.

The point I wanted to share with you is that, if you really want to excel and you have some potential, then in some way or other you will get the directions towards excellence, which is often in the form of mentoring. At the end, I would like to conclude with the popular quotation used in Hindi movie: “kehte hain, agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to puri kayanat usey tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai.”

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: True Patriotic Indian Freedom Fighter

This article has been submitted in departmental magazine MEGHADRI, of BCA department of Raja N L Khan Women's College to remember one of the greatest son of India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

 The Indian nation is gearing up the 125^th year of birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. But did he receive his due place in the recorded history of Indian freedom fighting history? Did the nation pay enough seriousness in solving the mystery of his death? Did the nation pursue the vision of Netaji in nation building after independence? The answer is: NO.

Let us briefly remember the life of this great patriotic son of India. Subhas chandra Bose was born in Cuttack of Odisha on 23^rd January in 1897. He was the youngest son of Janakinath Bose and Prabhabati Devi. He received his school education in Ravenshaw Collegiate School of Cuttack. In his early student life, he was greatly influenced by his teacher Beni Madhab Das. During this time, he read the writings of Swami Vivekananda and teachings of Swami Vivekananda left a very prominent impression in his mind. Later on, he came to Calcutta for higher education and enrolled in Presidency College.

During this period, the Indian freedom struggle was moving gradually toward peak. Subhas came in touch with various famous personalities of that time such as Deshbandhu Chitta Ranjan Dash. He qualified in the tough Indian Civil Service examination in 1920 and joined this ICS but then resigned to join the freedom fight movement of India. C. R. Dash was his initial mentor. He first joined as Chief executive Officer of Calcutta Municipal Corporation ad later on he became Mayor of this Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

As the involvement of Subhas Chandra Bose grew in freedom movement, British found him playing very pivotal role in freedom movement and made him under arrest several times. Subhas was hardliner in freedom movement of Indian Congress and that led him to loose favor of Gandhi-ji. As, the possibility of another World War was looming over after the first World War, Subhas was in favor of freedom movement to be in a very high pitch. But the Indian Congress under the leadership of Gandhi-ji, did not allow his voice to be officially recognized. 

Many stalwarts of the then country such as Rabinranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Vithalbhai Patel etc. Rabindranath Togore gave him the titte "Deshnayak". However, Subhash  Chandra Bose had the greatest regard for Gandhiji, and it is him who first coined the term "father of the nation" as a title of Gandhi-ji. 

In 1941, he escaped from his residence in Calcutta, where he was under house arrest. He reached Moscow via Afghanistan. Then finally he reached Germany. He believed in principle of “enemy of enemy is a friend”. So, he was interested to receive help from Germany, Italy, Russia against British to make India a free country. Although, in doing such attempt, he was very critical in maintaining the high esteem of India and informed those foreign countries that all the financial helps received from them would be as lons which will be repaid after independence of India.

Later on, Rash Behari Bose invited him to Japan and made him the supreme commander of Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauz. Netaji Subhas was very instrumental to garner military and financial support from both Japan and Germany. INA received huge support from the non-residential indians in South Eastern Asian countries such as Singapore, Burma etc. When the World War II started, INA also started marching towards India through Berma. INA entered India into Manipur and raised the Indian tri-color flag there. But the sudden defeat of Japan after atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by America, Japan had to withdraw the supportive supply line of INA. Despite this hardship, INA put up a great courageous fight against British during this time. But finally, INA was defeated by British. Meanwhile, Netaji Subhas was rumoured to have died in plance crash in 1945. During this INA daays, Netaji was successful in establishing complete harmony among different sects of soldiers. He started a complete women regiment in INA which was still unheard in many countries at that time. The judiciary judgements of INA captains by the British created a huge freedom movement among the country men and also among the navy personnel, who ultimately started revolting in 1946. All these facilitated the independence of India in 1947.

Except, setting up some judiciary commissions, naming some airports or roads by his name, all the governments of India took very little initiative to solve one of the greatest mystery of World History: the disappearance of Netaji. 

 Many historians believe that had Netaji alive during independence, the partition of India could have been avoided. He had a clear vision of governance and many of those were visible in the operations of INA.  But, unfortunately, history took a different turn.

 Before, I conclude, I want to mention that, if at any point of time, you get the opportunity to visit Elgin Road or Bhawanipore Education Society Kolkata for purposes such as appearing in examinations, do visit the nearby Netaji Research Bureau there and have a glimpse of history by plenty of photographs and documents there. You can read the books Aami Subhas Bolchi and Subhas Ghare Fere Nai, written in bengali, from the college library and know the details of those days of history and Netaji.