Techfest, the annual Science & Technology festival of IIT Bombay is organizing the first Inter IIT Energy Saving Championship this year. Initiated to make people compete for the cause of energy conservation, the focus will be to encourage youth to take up responsibilities for the society.

Five IITs- Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras are competing. The basis would be checking the per capita energy consumption at the institute. The bills of individual months of previous years of each participating IIT have already been reviewed and would be the guiding factor for checking the decrement in energy consumption. Efficient energy use and innovative saving methods will play an important role in deciding the winners.

A panel comprising of professors as faculty in-charges and students has already been formed in each IIT to handle the event. Here in Kharagpur, the panel is composed of Prof. Prabodh Bajpai, Prof. N. K. Kishore and seven student members from AIESEC, IIT Kharagpur, which is helping moderate the event.

Are you fascinated by the art of film-making? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to direct, produce, shoot and edit your very own movie? The newest society in the Kgp pipeline, The Technology Students’ Film Making Society, seems set to provide answers.

Formed under the aegis of the Technology Film Society, this new group opens its agenda with member selection interviews, an open-to-all short movie making competition and workshops by professors and professional guests for interested students. Once workshops are over, members will be divided into various teams, viz. screenplay writing, cinematography, actor management and editing. An annual production in the form of a completely indigenous full-length movie is also planned. The new society will also be responsible for production of documentaries for the institute. They are planning to use cameras from the CET as of now but plans for acquisition of equipment are being worked on.

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The official website of the Technology Students Gymkhana has been revamped and it can be accessed at http://gymkhana.iitkgp.ernet.in/

You can also keep up with the latest happenings at the Gymkhana by following the TSG page on Facebook .

Incase of any doubts, queries or suggestions please get in touch with Mr. Sudipto Sannigrahi, Public Relations Chair, Technology Students Gymkhana. He can be reached through email (sudipto.ec.iitkgp@gmail.com/ sudipto.prchair@gmail.com)  and phone (+91-9434356219).

Promises made a year back:

“The extension work of the existing messes in RK, RP is already in progress and is expected to be over by August 2009. The mess of Patel hall will also be extended and the work will be completed by mid September.  We are planning to build common rooms on the first floor of these halls and the existing common room will be used as an extension of the mess. The target date for completion is June 2010″

“We are planning to construct two new blocks at RP hall each consisting of 32 rooms (96 beds). We plan to complete this job by June 2010.

In RLB Hall, an extension is planned containing approximately 23 rooms, while in SN/ IG we are targeting one more block by June 2010 to accommodate 288 girls in 96 rooms. Work will start shortly.

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“The increase in student strength on campus this year has created its own challenges.”  - from our August ’09 issue

“If stories about the increase…are giving you jitters…” – from our April ’07 issue

“A new….is being planned…”  - often makes an appearance“The increase in student strength on campus this year has created its own challenges.”  - from our August ’09 issue

“If stories about the increase…are giving you jitters…” – from our April ’07 issue“A new….is being planned…”  - often makes an appearance

Rather than harp on the visibly apparent problems thrown up by a rapidly expanding student population, Prof. N. Dhang prefers to accept the fact in all its reality and prepare to meet the challenges that will undoubtedly present themselves. As head of the Civil Works Department which carries out all the construction-related tasks, he’s made available to The Scholars’ Avenue a comprehensive and detailed master-plan of all intended expansion projects. A vision of the future: in one place, in one map, for all to take note of.  Agreed, it’s only a blueprint with artists’ impressions and there aren’t accurate deadlines set for each of the projects, but the very scale is impressive: from a Nalanda to complement Vikramshila to new circulation routes that could expand our conception of a world of 2.2 kms. Furthermore, a plan laid down also becomes a plan that we, as a well-informed campus community in general, can expect and demand results from.

To be sure, there are still areas that remain fuzzy, for example the idea of a food court. Over the years, we’ve seen its location being juggled between the PAN loop and behind the Gymkhana and its form vary from an eatery to a three-story plush hangout. Or making Jnan Ghosh SF-friendly (with the help of a concrete stage, for one). As per Prof. Dhang, the student body coming forth with suggestions or specific opinions on the matter could make a difference, and he is interested in presenting his ideas to them and receiving their feedback. Prof. Dhang was in fact eager to see these designs disseminated among people of the campus.

And what is his take on the labour problem? “It’s a myth. One must not make up his or her mind that it is something which cannot be solved. The work in RP, Azad and MT halls being completed on time is proof that with effective management, these problems can be solved.”

Sometimes it is existent, like an inconspicuous needle in a hay stack, sometimes like an ostentatious parade of unity. For decades, if not centuries, this phenomenon, pervasive to say the least, has managed to veil itself in an imperceptible cloak of self deniability. It’s been one of the few practices of man (or to keep the feminist at bay, mankind) that has been able to survive the test of time without having any complaisant reasoning to substantiate it. A vast majority of today’s Indian society perceives it as an occurrence which must be eradicated under all circumstances. However, a seemingly equal majority, surprisingly, extends a silent but steady support to this one-of-a-kind tradition which, more commonly, goes by the name of ragging in our Subcontinent.

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It is no well-kept secret that the JEE this year was rather eventful, with much fodder for gossip provided to the media, print or otherwise.  An entire nation was entertained by the latest shenanigans of the education ministry and the IITs, what with all the JEE bungling. Alarmed students crossed their fingers, a disgruntled Nitish Kumar hankered for re-examination, Kapil Sibal gasped for air despite all his glibness, and JEE chairmen scurried for cover. To add to the list of goof-ups, 52 students were wrongly invited for admissions, only to be shown the door later. Et cetera.

That JEE 2010 might have unwittingly resulted in random selections is not an unjustifiable concern. The situation could not have been salvaged by any degree of corrective measures, the assurances of the JEE chairman, and Mr. Sibal, notwithstanding. All this at a time when everybody is complaining of the deteriorating IIT standards. 

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