Future of Test Cricket

It is rightly said that what is constant in this Universe is “CHANGE”. The phrase aptly applies to the game of Cricket. Since its inception on international stage in the year 1897, the form and the rules of the game has continuously reformed according to the suitability and the taste of the spectators. Every sports in this world is led by its ability to make money and not by its popularity. Sports like F1 and Golf are only limited to the esoteric class but the prize money and sponsorship is biggest for these games.

Similar is the case of test cricket. Previously it used to be a 6 days sports tournament but later reduced to 5 days. Also due to the long version of its people had to wait for good 5 days for the results outcome and that also majority of times the result was a draw. Viewers lost interest in this form of cricket. Taking up the recent survey by ICC on turnaround of people for the last year the percentage viewers has dropped down to about 20%.

No doubt Test Cricket is the real test of players cricketing acumen. In history the sports was played between nations to establish harmony, to keep alive the spirit of sports and to entertain people but times have changed sports have been commercialized where the organizers and sponsors are more inclined to make huge profits rather promoting the spirit of the game. Recent and most fantastic example has been the IPL series of T20 cricket.

With time the interest and taste of the viewers has changed. People are more interested in short form of the game. The success of T20 format of the cricket in recent times explains the whole story. In this retrospect the future of Test cricket seems to be bleak and doesn’t seem to have a promising future. Even ICC may look forward to scrap this form of cricket due to its longish, boring and indecisive nature.

Open Book Exams

This may sound unusual but the Indian Higher Education need a serious reform. Students with overburdened workloads are being over pressurized to obtain good result.

The Indian education system focuses more on cramming rather than applying yourself. A lot of time and energy is wasted in mugging up the long tedious and confusing formulae’s. This leads to real time wastage and the main purpose of the education is not solved. Mind is not a vessel to be filled but a place for the fire to be kindled. Knowledge should focus on understanding rather just mugging. Let us consider an example of a Engineering guy, he has to go through large nos. of formulae’s and copious amount of derivations in exams. A good chunk of useful time is wasted on cramming those results. The basic aim of engineering studies is that we are able to solve day to day problem so rather wasting time in cramming. Emphasis should be laid on the proper application of the learned concepts. Why the system wants us to be like a photocopier machine that takes some input and produces the exact reprint of fed data.

India produces some 1 lakh engineers every year, and the number still increasing. The question is....What quality of so called "Engineers" who after four years of undergrad studies don’t know how to write simple programming codes or how a power system operates, the theoretical knowledge is of no use, we find ourselves incapacitated when we join industry after completion of studies. Students don’t have practical exposure. The students are quite oblivious of the modern day technology used in present day world.

So in my views open book examination concept should be introduced and also there must be complete revamp the examination process. More emphasis should be given to practical sessions and application based problem statements rather theoretical questions. Learning theory is important but application of it is a higher order phenomenon, and should be encouraged. Theory without practice is sterile.

Open book exams will have its disadvantages too but it advantages far exceeds it. The education policy makers should give a thought on this subject and also conduct surveys and discussions with top educationist and students on this burning topic.

How India can come out of Recession

With global recession gripping each and every part of the world economy the effect of it on Indian economy is inevitable. Statistically speaking it would not right to say that Indian economy has entered in a state of recession but by and large the India Inc is facing a slowdown rather a meltdown. So looking at the tumbling big economies, exigent steps needs to be taken in order to avoid this catastrophe which may severely affect growth prospects of India in future.

First and foremost the government should make sure that it should pump more liquidity in the system so that the cash flow is maintained and the money cycle goes on. RBI should make sure that sufficient amount of loans at proper rates are available both for the consumers and the producers. Few months before there was marked increase in the interest rates due to rise in inflation but since now the inflation is under control and tamed it give room for further slashing of interest rates. Some public sector in recent past has dropped the rates but still lot has to be done to bring the interest level down further.

The biggest problem today is that investors have lost their confidence about the market and they are apprehensive about any new deal hence it should be responsibility of India Inc. to rebuild their confidence in the market.

Government should invest in new avenues such as renewables, biotechnology etc which would not only generate employment but also fuel growth in future. Government should address the employment problem very seriously as service sector has been adversely affected by this meltdown. Our agriculture sector has grown just at a meager rate of 3-4% every year since last 5 decades. Government should try and make an effort to raise the growth level to about 10-12% every year because how much a dire economic situation may be there, the consumption and demand of basic food grains would never go down. So rather than becoming a manufacturing hub India should look forward at exporting food grains. Not only this, thrust to agriculture would also generate rural employment and hence prosperity and stability.

With projection of growth rate of about 6% percent around for India for the year 2009, it is the prime responsibility of not only the government but we all as a citizen of India should work in association to fight against this catastrophe so as India emerge as one of the super powers in coming decades.

Why MNIT is the Best?

Probably, before writing this article I was quite skeptical and apprehensive whether I would be able to prove my point, but as I moved along I found it that there are several things which we must rejoice being part of this prestigious institute.

I would like to take up some interesting facts about our Institute in order to justify my stand. First and foremost being one of the oldest NITs (previously REC, est. in 1962-63), the institute has a large pool of Alumni serving in different sectors at leading positions all over the world. MNIT is another name for dedication among its pass-outs and the name of the Institute is taken with dignity and respect in elite fraternities.

The NIT’ian tag which we get being as a part of this college gives us a sense of pride. May be the brand name be new but the popularity of it has exponentially increased in last few years.

In terms of “Talent pool”, MNIT has one of the lowest closing ranks in comparison to another NIT’s. So “crème de la crème” qualify for this college and the fact we are the students who belong to top 0.5% of the lot who appear for AIEEE exam.

The next best thing here is the “Placements”. If we have a look at the last session’s (2007-08) placement it has been better than some of the IIT’s.

In terms of location the institute is located in the heart of the Jaipur city, which is well connected by rail, road and airways. Extending into an area of over 312 acres (1.26 km²) of lush greenery, the campus of the Institute is elegantly laid-out with a picturesque landscape. Magnificent residential complexes for students that have succeeded the test of time combined with architecture, and natural beauty which enthralls and inspires. It is the first NIT to have Wi-Fi connectivity in hostels for Internet Access.

The word “College” personifies the formal word “Institute” & brings it closer to the student community.

There are many more things to cherish for and probably the best things are still to come which will make our college “Best of the Best”.

So MNIT’ians its time to give your gut the feeling of being the part of one of the most prestigious institutes of the country.

In the end I would like to close with the following words:

“Our college is not just about red walls but about the great peoples who have passed through and has made a difference to this society and has changed the world around.”