When Dr. Shashi Tharoor(ST) contested elections from Trivandrum, it was certain that he will win the elections purely because of his persona, and track record as a diplomat. I was proud enough to say, he was elected from my place.
The name of ST being a dark horse in the IPL auction, was reported by media many days before the auction. The bid secured by Kochi at a whopping 1500 crore surprised every single Keralite. I felt it was too much money for my state to handle. The media reports said, the bid was won by a consortium named 'Rendezvous', and "members of the consortium would be revealed in the subsequent days". I had the gut feeling, that something was fishy about this deal, and I told the same to my father, who was all praise for ST for bringing in IPL to Kerala.
ST is in the dock, and his forced resignation, has raised a storm in the cyber world. Support tharoor tweets, facebook communities etc, has left the cyber space buzzing with activity. Multitude of my friends, have commented, that "a person of ST's calibre is a misfit in politics". ST, a first time MP was fittingly rewarded with a Ministerial berth, owing to his immense talent, and his tenure has been rife with controversy. The Hon'ble PM,a PhD from Oxford, and the architect of India's economic leap,a man of proven credentials, has fitted into his role perfectly,be it managing the trouble some allies or the dissidence within his own party. He has carried himself with dignity, and has an impeccable track record. Even his detractor's voice find little resonance. The misfit propaganda, i feel, is hence uncalled for
The evidence against ST was overwhelming and the Government of India had to disown him. A tricky Parliament session is on, with cut motions etc in the offing, and ST is one controversy they could do away with. ST has the freedom to go the extra yard to prove his innocence, and fight his way back into the ministry.
As the Hon'ble PM subtly said "There are ups and downs in politics" , and now ST is going downhill. If he can prove his innocence, he would be a real hero for his sheer grit and determination, else, he will remain in the list of tainted politicians..Good Luck ST!!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Food For Thought
IPL - Indian Premier/Political League, has transformed cricket into a billion dollar entertainment industry. Good for them !!!
Many villages and cities in India are facing acute power crisis, and here you have in the name of IPL, power being lavishly consumed; be it flood lights at the stadiums or the millions of TV sets.
Spare a thought for the people who have hours of power cuts, in this scorching summer!!!.
PS: You might argue, they are paying tax to the government (debatable though!!), but my point is, Is it really needed? It just helps the rich to get richer. IPL has demoted cricket to a page3 item.
Many villages and cities in India are facing acute power crisis, and here you have in the name of IPL, power being lavishly consumed; be it flood lights at the stadiums or the millions of TV sets.
Spare a thought for the people who have hours of power cuts, in this scorching summer!!!.
PS: You might argue, they are paying tax to the government (debatable though!!), but my point is, Is it really needed? It just helps the rich to get richer. IPL has demoted cricket to a page3 item.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Generation of Employment
A job is every man's dream. The dreams may take different shapes across individuals. Ours is a country blessed with a potent human resource, and it is ironical that we end up contributing to the benefit of some foreign investor. For the government, it means more people are employed, reducing their woes. A brief analysis of the trends, is all it takes to understand that we really lack a mechanism for generation of jobs within the country. From the late 70's onwards people were going to west Asia in search of jobs, and the trends still continues. Does it indicate that we have failed to create job opportunities in India?
I beg to differ. Since the IT revolution, it has not been difficult for the educated lot to find a job after graduation within India. The scenario is different in case of a casual laborer, who toils to make both ends met. In this write up I intend to propose a mechanism that may offer a casual laborer employment for most part of the year.
Where will the jobs come from?
Too many households, require skilled people for range of jobs from painting to house keeping. There is dearth of talent, and even if we find some one, he would be occupied with other jobs. The requirements/ job specs can be put up in a government/private owned online portal or employment exchange like organization.
The Government, should ensure that only people with proper skill sets is registered with them.This can be implemented through a certification program run by ITI's. Government can provide facilities for skill set enhancement, which can manifold the availability of skilled task force. The onus is on the Government to ensure the steady supply of talent, and servicing the requirements.
Who will pay?
The employer will pay to the Government who will in turn pay the employee. The minimum working hours would be set forth by the Government. This channel can eliminate wage disputes, and exploitation of the employee.
How will it Benefit the society?
We will have a highly skilled task force, which is instrumental for the progress of the nation. Employment opportunities would in turn improve the standard of living of the downtrodden masses, and hence poverty can be uplifted to some extent.
Such a scheme, if incorporated into the NREGA, can benefit more people.
Dear Reader, you may find so many anomalies with the proposed mechanism. Point them out in the comments section. We shall debate over this, and finally reach some productive conclusion.
I beg to differ. Since the IT revolution, it has not been difficult for the educated lot to find a job after graduation within India. The scenario is different in case of a casual laborer, who toils to make both ends met. In this write up I intend to propose a mechanism that may offer a casual laborer employment for most part of the year.
Where will the jobs come from?
Too many households, require skilled people for range of jobs from painting to house keeping. There is dearth of talent, and even if we find some one, he would be occupied with other jobs. The requirements/ job specs can be put up in a government/private owned online portal or employment exchange like organization.
The Government, should ensure that only people with proper skill sets is registered with them.This can be implemented through a certification program run by ITI's. Government can provide facilities for skill set enhancement, which can manifold the availability of skilled task force. The onus is on the Government to ensure the steady supply of talent, and servicing the requirements.
Who will pay?
The employer will pay to the Government who will in turn pay the employee. The minimum working hours would be set forth by the Government. This channel can eliminate wage disputes, and exploitation of the employee.
How will it Benefit the society?
We will have a highly skilled task force, which is instrumental for the progress of the nation. Employment opportunities would in turn improve the standard of living of the downtrodden masses, and hence poverty can be uplifted to some extent.
Such a scheme, if incorporated into the NREGA, can benefit more people.
Dear Reader, you may find so many anomalies with the proposed mechanism. Point them out in the comments section. We shall debate over this, and finally reach some productive conclusion.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
A New Beginning
I blog with the intention of making my blog a personal diary. I have spoken about various events that shaped my thought process, as well helped me grow as an individual.
Coming straight to the topic in contention. I wanted my blog to be a place where I could scribble my craziest ideas too, and hence I named it 'myvisions' in 2007. Looking back, I find the blog has served its purpose of a personal diary, but the idea column looks empty. I am planning to dedicate a few articles in that direction.
Over the past few months, I am haunted by an idea, which I believe, if implemented can lead to the betterment of society. I had shared the idea to many people who too echoed the same, but commented on the need of an action plan. I too knew of the lack of clarity of my idea. I have been thinking about it for some days now. I thought the best way to induce more clarity of thought would be by writing it down on a sheet of paper. I thought it would be better off if I could make a blog entry with each idea, so that I could discuss with the readers of the blog, and give my idea a perfect shape, and eventually come up with an action plan.
I hope, my dear readers would actively take part and make my endeavor a successful one.
The first article, which would come up in the next few days would talk about a new scheme, on the lines of the National Employment Guarantee scheme.
Looking forward to your wholehearted supported and criticism.
Coming straight to the topic in contention. I wanted my blog to be a place where I could scribble my craziest ideas too, and hence I named it 'myvisions' in 2007. Looking back, I find the blog has served its purpose of a personal diary, but the idea column looks empty. I am planning to dedicate a few articles in that direction.
Over the past few months, I am haunted by an idea, which I believe, if implemented can lead to the betterment of society. I had shared the idea to many people who too echoed the same, but commented on the need of an action plan. I too knew of the lack of clarity of my idea. I have been thinking about it for some days now. I thought the best way to induce more clarity of thought would be by writing it down on a sheet of paper. I thought it would be better off if I could make a blog entry with each idea, so that I could discuss with the readers of the blog, and give my idea a perfect shape, and eventually come up with an action plan.
I hope, my dear readers would actively take part and make my endeavor a successful one.
The first article, which would come up in the next few days would talk about a new scheme, on the lines of the National Employment Guarantee scheme.
Looking forward to your wholehearted supported and criticism.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
My Research Work
The previous entries in this blog has always focused on my personal dilemmas and decisions. I think it is high time, I write an entry that is different from all those. What else can I write? My research work. My friends keep asking me what exactly am I doing with Solar cells. I am tired of repeating the same old answer "It is fine". I think I should give a very precise answer. Keeping in view of the reader's difficulty in understanding the technical lingo, I hope to keep it simple and easy to understand.
My job : To establish a process flow for the fabrication (making) of high efficiency Silicon based solar cells
Silicon solar cells can achieve theoretical efficiencies of 31%, but industrial solar cells are still reeling at the 16 -17% mark. Experimental cells have demonstrated efficiencies up to 24.5%. My job is to make a solar cell that can give an efficiency of 10-16% to begin with.
How to achieve this : My work is based on an experimental solar cell built by Fraunhofer ISE, Germany, called the PERL cell. You can google it to obtain the paper on PERL cells, if you are interested. I am focusing mainly on the optimization of a light trapping scheme titled,texturing(as shown in first image,Image courtesy: pvcdrom.pveducation.org) on the cell as well as formation of metallic contacts used on the cell.
Where am I now?
Having already fabricated a few prototype solar cells, I am quite well versed with the process flow for an ordinary cell. With this basic premise, I set out to establish the process for PERL cell. Tough and mentally challenging, it needed loads of patience. I have still not reached the tip of the iceberg,
I am on the verge of optimizing the texturing process, and have identified the optimal feature sizes and spacing.Certain technical delays have hampered my progress. A SEM image showing my result is attached he
rein.
The metal contact process optimization is also at a critical juncture, and am keeping my fingers crossed. Once I am done with both the process optimizations, I would set out to fabricate the replica of a PERL cell at IITB.
I was really running out of ideas for my blog post, and this is the only thing that came to my mind. If you found it dumb and a waste of time, my apologies. If I was able to explain my work at least a couple of readers, I would be happy. I would be happier if anyone wants to ask any queries regarding the same. I would be happiest, if some get fascinated by this work and takes up research as a career. Looking forward to your comments and guidance.
My job : To establish a process flow for the fabrication (making) of high efficiency Silicon based solar cells
Silicon solar cells can achieve theoretical efficiencies of 31%, but industrial solar cells are still reeling at the 16 -17% mark. Experimental cells have demonstrated efficiencies up to 24.5%. My job is to make a solar cell that can give an efficiency of 10-16% to begin with.
How to achieve this : My work is based on an experimental solar cell built by Fraunhofer ISE, Germany, called the PERL cell. You can google it to obtain the paper on PERL cells, if you are interested. I am focusing mainly on the optimization of a light trapping scheme titled,texturing(as shown in first image,Image courtesy: pvcdrom.pveducation.org) on the cell as well as formation of metallic contacts used on the cell.Where am I now?
Having already fabricated a few prototype solar cells, I am quite well versed with the process flow for an ordinary cell. With this basic premise, I set out to establish the process for PERL cell. Tough and mentally challenging, it needed loads of patience. I have still not reached the tip of the iceberg,
I am on the verge of optimizing the texturing process, and have identified the optimal feature sizes and spacing.Certain technical delays have hampered my progress. A SEM image showing my result is attached he
rein.The metal contact process optimization is also at a critical juncture, and am keeping my fingers crossed. Once I am done with both the process optimizations, I would set out to fabricate the replica of a PERL cell at IITB.
I was really running out of ideas for my blog post, and this is the only thing that came to my mind. If you found it dumb and a waste of time, my apologies. If I was able to explain my work at least a couple of readers, I would be happy. I would be happier if anyone wants to ask any queries regarding the same. I would be happiest, if some get fascinated by this work and takes up research as a career. Looking forward to your comments and guidance.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Welcome 2010
Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New year :)
The previous year was all turmoil and trauma. Lost my job, four months of dilemma, death of my cousin. It had it all. There were moments of joy too, but the losses were irrevocable. 2010, brings with it lot of hope. The yearning for a better year, hoping that 2009 would be the worst year in my life (I sincerely do hope!!!).
I wish to dedicate this post to listing out the few highlights of last year.
The previous year was all turmoil and trauma. Lost my job, four months of dilemma, death of my cousin. It had it all. There were moments of joy too, but the losses were irrevocable. 2010, brings with it lot of hope. The yearning for a better year, hoping that 2009 would be the worst year in my life (I sincerely do hope!!!).
I wish to dedicate this post to listing out the few highlights of last year.
- Jan 1,2009 --Stuck in my flat in Bangalore. Spend the day reading,The Hungry Tide. It was the most boring new year I had.
- Jan 15,2009 -- Patent application filed with Siemens.
- Feb 5,2009 -- Termination of Employment at Siemens.
- Feb - May -- Distraught and Busy with job hunting. Gave the ISRO test.
- May 14,2009--Interview at IIT Bombay for Research Fellowship Scheme.
- June 16,2009-- Joined IITB as a Junior Research Fellow.
- June 26,2009--Death of a prominent member of the family
- June 29,2009--ISRO interview, didn't clear it though
- July - Oct --At work. Moments of joy as well as misfired experiments Gave DRDO exam.
- Oct 13,2009--Death of my Cousin in a car crash.
- Nov 12,2009--Interview at ARAI, got the job.
- Nov - Dec --The real transition, declined the offer on Dec 22,2009 and continuing at IIT.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
In the line of fire
A spontaneous decision, followed by days of introspection. The smoke had lifted and I was no longer plunging into the abyss. The lure of money, luxury had me on my toes. I had almost made up my mind and sent out a mail on 16-11-09 to my friends stating my decision.
The fellowship at IIT is more of a studentship, with no classes and exams. You get to design and perform your own experiments, and report the result to your Professor. I was thoroughly enjoying my job, every minute of it. Failures and successes were part of it. Every result was a lesson learned for another set of experiments. It was during that period when a string of failures as well as some personal setbacks made me frustrated. I felt I needed a change and the call letter for interview came in. A real blessing and I decided to take leave for a day and attend the interview. I took the train to Pune, and found my way to this place on top of a hill. An exotic location for a research institution, I thought. The interview went well, and the panelists queried about my patent at Siemens, and the look of content on their face said it all. I returned to Mumbai the very same evening, with a sense of satisfaction. I resumed my experiments from the very next day onwards.
As days progressed, I was becoming more and more apprehensive about my decision. The inner voice sounded skeptical about my decision. Two mighty forces were at loggerheads, the free mind and the rational mind. The battle went on for a few days, and a resolution was no where in sight. I would say odds favored the 'free mind' .I was uncertain. I rang my parents and explained my precarious situation. The very same evening they expressed their opinion. They wanted me to pursue higher studies and hence continue at IIT. The battle had come to an abrupt halt, and a sense of victory prevailed in me. I am victorious, I felt and now, I had n-number of reasons to convince my rational mind. A few of them being,
Dear Reader ,if philosophy bores you, please skip the next para:
As I see, every tidbits in life has some meaning associated with it. The message may not be clear, but once you decipher the puzzle, everything makes sense to you. The world would be a wonderful place to live, if we start listening to our inner voice. Often, it is the logical mind that emerges victorious. The mind which talks about numbers, dollars, luxuries, chicks, booze etc. Eventually, it boils down to personal preferences. The crux being, never do anything against your inner voice. Remorse would set in at a later stage, and then you shuttle across centers that promise, 'peace of mind', a flourishing business these days.
Dear All,I had an interview at Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune on 12-11-2009. The interview went well, and I got selected. This is a semi government organization and they are into applied R&D. Hence I would be moving over to Pune by first week of December. I am yet to receive their confirmatory mail.The options available for me if I continue in IIT would be a 3yr MTech prgm in VLSI. I am certain that my patience would run out within that time frame. 3 more years in Mumbai would drive me nuts. Hence I decided to make a career for myself, and then if time permits pursue higher studies after a few years, be it MBA or MTech.
I received their confirmatory mail in the subsequent days, with the date of joining as 01-01-2010. Let me shed more light on the subject. The offer was 10k per month for an year, plus one time incentive of 70k. On completion of an year, the offer would be 60k per month. A spicy offer for a BTech graduate with little or no experience in the industry. I was lured. I had decided to forfeit my fellowship and leave IIT forever.
The fellowship at IIT is more of a studentship, with no classes and exams. You get to design and perform your own experiments, and report the result to your Professor. I was thoroughly enjoying my job, every minute of it. Failures and successes were part of it. Every result was a lesson learned for another set of experiments. It was during that period when a string of failures as well as some personal setbacks made me frustrated. I felt I needed a change and the call letter for interview came in. A real blessing and I decided to take leave for a day and attend the interview. I took the train to Pune, and found my way to this place on top of a hill. An exotic location for a research institution, I thought. The interview went well, and the panelists queried about my patent at Siemens, and the look of content on their face said it all. I returned to Mumbai the very same evening, with a sense of satisfaction. I resumed my experiments from the very next day onwards.
As days progressed, I was becoming more and more apprehensive about my decision. The inner voice sounded skeptical about my decision. Two mighty forces were at loggerheads, the free mind and the rational mind. The battle went on for a few days, and a resolution was no where in sight. I would say odds favored the 'free mind' .I was uncertain. I rang my parents and explained my precarious situation. The very same evening they expressed their opinion. They wanted me to pursue higher studies and hence continue at IIT. The battle had come to an abrupt halt, and a sense of victory prevailed in me. I am victorious, I felt and now, I had n-number of reasons to convince my rational mind. A few of them being,
- It is not very often one gets a chance to pursue higher studies at IIT. It is a privilege.
- If Mumbai could drive me nuts, why can't Pune? Would I opt for change then?
- I have no plans of settling in Pune, and I plan to return to Kerala after studies. My parents are all alone at home, and either me or my bro got to be there at hometown. My bro's job doesn't give him that luxury.Teaching is a profession I would thoroughly enjoy. I went to the s/w field not out of choice but by chance.
- Knowledge is power.How much money do you need to live?
- I thoroughly enjoy my work here. It would be treachery leaving my work and leaving.
Dear Reader ,if philosophy bores you, please skip the next para:
As I see, every tidbits in life has some meaning associated with it. The message may not be clear, but once you decipher the puzzle, everything makes sense to you. The world would be a wonderful place to live, if we start listening to our inner voice. Often, it is the logical mind that emerges victorious. The mind which talks about numbers, dollars, luxuries, chicks, booze etc. Eventually, it boils down to personal preferences. The crux being, never do anything against your inner voice. Remorse would set in at a later stage, and then you shuttle across centers that promise, 'peace of mind', a flourishing business these days.
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