30 Days National Workshop on Econometrics @ Farook College: Classes Starts from June 13, 2015

Data Analysis and interpretation are the key areas of any research. Most of the researchers find it as a challenging and gruelling passage in the research process. Proficiency in the use of statistical tools is a very essential skill required for every researcher. Statistical tools are extensively used in economics, finance, commerce, agriculture, health sciences, politics, biological sciences, international relations etc.  A thorough knowledge of the principles statistical inference is indispensible for the successful application of statistical tools in both teaching and research. Moreover, the availability of many user friendly statistical softwares simplifies the application of statistical tools in teaching and research.

Realizing the importance of statistics in teaching and research, the Department of Commerce, Farook College is planning to organize a ‘workshop on Econometrics’  with emphasis on probability theory, statistical inference, econometrics, time series analysis, financial econometrics, forecasting etc. The programme will cover most of basic and latest topics used in research such as ARIMA modeling, GARCH  modeling, VAR modelling etc.  Statistical softwares such as SPSS, MEGASTAT, MINITAB, GRETL and EVIEWS will be extensively used with a multitude of data sets from various disciplines.

The programme starts on 13^th June, 2015 & It will have around 150 hours class. To impart maximum flexibility, the programme has been organized on Saturdays, Sundays and other holidays so as not to clash with the regular working hours of the participants.

Resource Person:  Prof.  Thomachan, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri

For details contact

Mohamed Nishad T - 9995090815

Another GandhiMarg to Save Corruption Inc..Kudoos Anna Hasare-...Our light amidst darkness!!!!!

Anna Hazare begins fast-unto-death


Garnering impressive support from the public, veteran anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare embarked on a fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday, demanding passing of the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted through a civil society initiative.




He also rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeal to call off the fast and engage in a discussion with a Sub-Committee of the Group of Ministers over the framing of the Lokpal Bill.



Visits Rajghat



Mr. Hazare first visited Rajghat, where he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, before proceeding to India Gate atop an open jeep accompanied by several social workers and members of the public.



From there, he proceeded to the public meeting at Jantar Mantar with tricolour-waving students cheering him all along the way. Mr. Hazare demanded setting up of a joint committee with 50 per cent representation for citizens and 50 per cent for the government for formulation of a strong Lokpal Bill.



“We want a joint committee. If you want to end corruption, then why don't you constitute it? It means you do not want to end the corruption. I will fast till the joint committee is constituted and till there is pran (life) in me,” Mr. Hazare said in response to the Prime Minister's offer.



At Rajghat, Mr. Hazare said: “I have come to request Gandhiji to give good sense to this Government. So many sacrifices were made for this country. But everything is being destroyed. You [Gandhiji] gave direction to this country but these people are destroying it.''



PMO ‘disappointed'



The Prime Minister's Office had on Monday night expressed “deep disappointment” over Mr. Hazare's decision to go on fast. The statement from the PMO added that the Prime Minister had “enormous respect for Mr. Hazare and his mission.”



Mr. Hazare said he had got the same assurances from the Prime Minister at an earlier meeting on March 7. “He said we have faith in you; we respect you; then why did he not sit with us on this issue again?...If the Government alone drafts this bill, it will be autocratic, not democratic; there will be discrepancies,” Mr. Hazare added.



‘Not acceptable'



RTI activist and Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal said the Prime Minister at that meeting had offered to pass on their suggestions to the Group of Ministers constituted to formulate the draft of the Lokpal Bill.



“This is not acceptable to us. We want to be part of the formulation. Who are the Ministers in this GoM? They include people like Veerappa Moily who drafted a weak Lokpal Bill, Kapil Sibal who could see no revenue loss in the 2G spectrum scam and Sharad Pawar,” Mr. Kejriwal remarked.



Former IPS officer and social activist Kiran Bedi echoed Mr. Hazare's demand for a joint committee with at least half the members chosen from civil society like senior advocates Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan and Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. “The remaining members can be from the Government. This committee should treat the Jan Lokpal Bill as its working draft. It should submit its report by mid-May and the Government should then place the Bill drafted by the committee in Parliament,” Dr. Bedi said, adding that such a committee's work would plug all loopholes in the Bill.



A number of politicians from the Opposition parties and public figures visited Mr. Hazare during the course of the day to express solidarity with him. Marking a change from usual protest demonstrations where party flags dominate, both sides of Jantar Mantar Road were lined instead with rows of tricolour flags.

"Globalisation is a Continuous Process" P Balakrishnan - Director, CDS, TVM

The perception that globalisation had set in only two decades ago was flawed, said Pulapre Balakrishnan, Director of Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.




Globalisation had been a continuous process and not something that could be inducted at a specific period, he said. He was delivering a lecture on ‘Some globalisation claims: two decades on' at Maharaja's College here on Friday (01-04-2011) . The country needed to learn the lessons of globalisation. It would be a challenge to ensure inclusive growth, he said.



Several reasons could be attributed to the rise of corporates and the weakening of nation states which culminated in rapid economic changes globally. While the distance between countries came down in terms of economic parameters, cultural homogenisation was not taking place. whether the transformation of economy meant transformation of the lives of people remained a crucial question.

competitiveness attained focus in the wake of emergence of global markets and establishment of new manufacturing hubs. corporate entities trying to woo government and equity markets exerting influence on governments were part of the emerging scenario. instances of corporate projects displacing tribal settlements indicated the overriding of the goals of civil society.

In the Indian Context, the performance of the agricultural sector needed to be examined against the celebrated growth of services sector. Pointing out instances of a government agency intended to protect the interests of adivasis playing a role in alienation of their land, he said globalisation might not always contribute to social capital.

Efforts aimed at generating employment opportunities and focusing on export failed short of attaining inclusive growth. initiatives for providing education and skill training to rural massess would help restrain migration to urban areas and stabilise the economy.

Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2011040353630700.htm&date=2011/04/03/&prd=th&  The Hindu, Sunday April 3, 2011 Issue.

UGC-JRF/NET Exam June 2011-Applications Invited

UGC NET Bureau has invited application for NET Examination to be held on June 26th 2011. Applications should be submitted online. Log on to www.ugcnetonline.in for details. Before submission of the online Application Form, U should read the notification given in the above mentioned website carefully (http://ugcnetonline.in/notification.php ). See this link for the latest structure of Paper III (implemented from June 2010 onwards) http://ugcnetonline.in/strc_of_paper3.php

Pls note the following important dates...
Important Dates

Application Submission Start Date : 29-3-2011

Application Submission End Date : 25-4-2011

Last date for receiving the documents* at the test center: 2-5-2011 (The print out of online Application Form (2 copies), Attendance Slip and Admission Card to the respective test center with fee receipt & category certificates)

Examination Date : 26-6-2011

For General candidates, the examination fee is Rs.450/-

Printout of Online Application Form should be addressed to the Registrar of the respective University Test Centres. code is 16 Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi – 682 022.
The subject code for Commerce is 08.

STEPS FOR SUBMISSION OF ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

1. U are required to download the Bank Challan Performa from the UGC website OR take photocopy from the UGC-NET Notification published in the Employment News and then deposit the requisite test fee in any branch of State Bank of India along with the bank charges (commission) of Rs.20/-.

2.Before applying Online, U must possess the following : (i) Scanned passport (pp) size photograph in JPEG format of less than 300 kb, (ii) Copy of Bank Challan (fee receipt).

3. Apply online (i.e. www.ugcnetonline.in OR through a link available on the UGC website: www.ugc.ac.in).

4. After successful submission, U should take printout of online Application Form (two copies), Attendance Slip (one copy) and Admission Card (one copy) on separate A-4 size papers.

5.The Application (consisting of two copies of printout of online application form, one copy of Attendance Slip and one copy of Admission Card) must reach the Registrar of the University (UGC Test Centre) before May 2, 2011.

U must affix ur recent identical passport size photographs, at the places indicated, on the printout of Online Application Form and must sign across the photograph after it is affixed so that a part of the signature spreads over the Application Form beyond the photograph. Besides, it should be duly attested by the Head of the University Department/Principal of the College/Class-I Gazetted Officer.

6. The envelope containing the Application Form should be superscribed “UGC NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY TEST FOR JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AND ELIGIBILITY FOR LECTURESHIP, JUNE 2011”.

One more important info:

If u do not receive ur Admission Card (Roll Number) till 20th June 2011, are advised to contact the office of Registrar/Co-ordinator of their UGC-NET Centres from 21st to 24th June 2011, with the copy of Admission Card (Provisional) and two identical passport-size photographs duly attested by a gazetted officer. No Admission Card (Roll Number) will be issued on the day of the Test (i.e. 26th June 2011). UGC will not be responsible for any delay/non-receipt of the Admission card.
 
An important policy change is seen in NET requirement which is announced in June 2010. See the para given below;


NET/SLET/SET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professors in Universities/ Colleges/Institutions. Provided however, that candidates, who are or have been awarded a Ph. D. Degree in accordance with the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2009, shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professor or equivalent positions in Universities/ Colleges/ Institutions.



U have three months ahead, if u prepare for the exam seriously with a time table, U can get through NET. Believe... nothing is impossible...and no failure is a failure until u accept it and stop trying.....


Best Wishes.....

Rgds

AT

CSAT: The Changing Face of Indian Civil Service Examination (CSE)

As per the decision of Government of India, the syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination from May 2011 is changing.

The Preliminary Examination shall now comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours duration each. Detailed below is the new syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination, which will be applicable from the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2011 onwards:

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian National Movement
• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and ClimateChange - that do not require subject specialization
• General Science.

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

A set of sample questions for both Papers would be put on the UPSC website http://www.upsc.gov.in in due course for reference of the prospective candidates.

There is  no change in  the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE).

Tips for Presiding Officers & Polling Officers.

India is the largest Democracy in the world. The Government of India is chosen by the people of India through election.


The Election Commission of India takes the whole responsibility of conducting Election in a fair and peaceful manner. The Elections are of different types such as Parlimentary Election, Assembly Election, Panchayat Election, Municipal Election etc.

The Election Commission appoints Returning Officer who plays a vital role in conducting free and fair election. The Returning  Officer appoints the Presiding and Polling Officers who are the incharge of Polling Station.
In each Polling Station there will be a Presiding Officer, First Polling Officer, Second Polling Officer, Third Polling Officer and sometime fourth Polling Officer.

The first Polling Officer will take over the charge of Identification & marking the ' Marked Copy of Electoral Roll' as soon as the voter is identified and found true he puts an indelible mark in the forefinger of the voter then he permits the voter to move to the Second Polling Officer. The Second Polling Officer is the incharge of Ballot Papers. He will issue the Ballot Paper to the voter after obtaining signature in the counterfoil. The Third Polling Officer will help the voter in folding the Ballot Paper. In the last row there will be Fourth Polling Officer who will holding the charge of keeping the voting seal and the stamp pad.



The presiding Officer is the incharge of the Polling Station . All Polling Officers are under the control of Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer has the right to change the sequence of the Polling Officers as he feels better for the smooth conduct of election.

The Presiding Officer has lot of work to be done in the previous and on the polling day. He is continuously under constant pressure till the submission of election material alongwith Ballot Boxes or EVM whatever it may be.

 It is observed that in each election the Presiding Officers generally confused with lot of formalities to be done during, before and after the closing of Election. The Presiding Officer should ensure all the formalities

are done in a perfect manner. A little lack in any election precedure may lead to lot of problems. Now I want to laid some tips for the Presiding & Polling Officers which will help them in completing all formalities without any discrepency.

The work pertaining to election can be divided into three parts


1. Formalities to be completed in the previous day of Election.

2. Formalities to be Completed during the Election Day.
3. Formalities to be Completed after closing of Election


FORMALITIES TO BE COMPLETED IN THE PREVIOUS DAY OF ELECTION




Checking of Materials



As you are aware of the fact that you will be issued all the Election Materials on the previous Day. As soon as the materials are received

it should be thoroughly checked before proceeding to the Election Booth. Each and every item in the lot is most essential.

You will be appointed in such a remote place where you cannot even get a pin. So, you should be very cautious.



1. Indelible ink must be thorougly checked whether it is dried or not.



2. All the Ballot Papers should be checked with the serial numbers printed on the Ballot Paper as well as in the counterfoil are to be tallied.



3. If any shortages or surplus of Ballot Papers found immediately it should be brought into the notice of Returning Officer for further

necessary action.



4.There will be seven Statutory Covers with necessary printed forms.



5. There will be seven Non- Statutory Covers with necessary printed forms.



6. All other allied materials will be tallied with the list given alongwith the materials.



Setting Up of Polling Station



As soon as reaching the Polling Station.

1. Open all the materials carefully.



2. Make proper Seating Arrangement for the Presiding Officer, Polling Officers and the Polling Agents.

3. The Seating Arrangement for the Polling Agents should be near the Entrance so that they can see the voter for proper identification.




4. The Seating Arrangement of the Presiding Officer should be in such a way that he can easily watch the Polling Officers, Polling Agents,

the voters and the Ballot Boxes so that he can watch all the activities which are going inside as well as outside of the polling station.



5. Voting compartment should be made by using the card board given for that particular use.



6. Make ensure that there is no photograph of any political leaders except 'Father of Our Nation'.



7. Make ensure that the bulbs and fans are in working condition.



8. There should be two separate way for Enter and Exit. If there is a common entrance than the same entrance can be divided into

two way using a thread or with any stick.



9. Paste a Slip bearing your polling station number and name in such a way that the voter can easily recognise your Polling Station.



10. Paste a Slip of Contesting Candidates which will be supplied alongwith the Polling Materials.



11. Place the Ballot Box closer to the Presiding Officer so that he can have an eye over dropping of votes.

Now your Polling Station is ready for next day voting.



Making the Materials Readily Available.



All the necessary Polling Materials should be arranged in such a way that there is no need of searching any materials.

1. Keep the Electoral Roll of Marked Copy, Ruler , Indelible Ink in the desk of First Polling Officer.



2. Keep the Ballot Papers and a metal stick for detaching the Ballot Papers in the desk of Second Polling Officer.



3. Keep all the materials for sealing such as match box, sealing waxes, Candle,metal seal etc in a safe corner of the Polling Station.



4. Separate all the Statutory Covers and Non Statutory Covers. The necessary printed forms can be put inside for readily available.



5. Affixing signature and distinguising mark in the reverse of the Ballot Papers. The distinguishing mark should be put backside of the

right top corner (that is behind the name of the candidate). The signature of the Presiding Officer should be in the Ballot Paper only but

the distinguishing mark should be put on both the counterfoil and the Ballot Paper.



6. Keep the Declaration of Start and Close of the poll to be pronounced by the Presiding Officer in a readily available place.



7. Keep the Appointment of Polling Agents readily available.



8. Keep ready of paper seal



9. Keep a duly filled Addressed Tag for using in the Ballot Boxes.



with this you have completed all the formalities to be done before the poll.





FORMALITIES TO BE COMPLETED DURING THE ELECTION



1.In the morning of the Election Day: All the Polling & Presiding Officer should be present atleast 2 hours prior to the commencement of the poll.



2 .Appointment of Polling Agents: Your work start with appintment of polling agents. For this purpose you have printed forms for the

appointment of Polling Agents.



3. .Ballot Box Preparation: You can start your Ballot Box preparation 20 Minutes prior to the commencement of poll. These can be Categorised as:



a) Show the empty Ballot Box to the Polling Agents for ensuring the box is empty.



b) Get your paper seal signed by the Polling Agents and yourself (Presiding Officer)



c) Put the Address Tag duly filled inside the box for identification at the counting centre.



d) Fix the paper seal cautiously so that it should not be damaged at any cost.



e) Strengthen the paper seal with cardboard provided for the purpose.



f) Put Sealing wax in such a way that the paper seal should not move in any direction.



g) Put the distinguishing mark over the visible area of the paper seal from outside.



h) Close the slit.



i) The box is ready for polling.



4. Declaration: The declaration statement to be loudly read by the Presiding Officer that the Polling Starts.



5. It is the whole responsibility of the Presiding Officer that the polling should be conducted in a peaceful manner. The particular Polling Booth is totally under his control.



6. The police personal should not enter the station until and unless a call from the Presiding Officer.



7. During the Polling, the Presiding Officer has to complete the Presiding Officer's Diary.



8. He should have a scoresheet for obtaining the percentage of Polling in each interval of an hour.



9. If there is anymore voter standing in the queue even after the closing time specified for the poll, than the Presiding Officer

should issue a slip bearing numbers from the last voter standing on the queue starting from serial number 1. No voter should be allowed to join the queue just after the issue of slips.



10. When the last voter polled his vote than the Presiding Officer can read out the Declaration for the Closing of Poll.



11.Just after reading the Closing Declaration, The Presiding Officer can close the slit of the Ballot Box.



FORMALITIES TO BE COMPLETED AFTER CLOSING OF POLL



1. After the Closing of the Slit of the Ballot Box, the same can be packed with with cloth provided with the polling materials.



2. Obtain the signature of the Polling Agents if any present on that time.



3. Complete your Ballot Paper Account carefully. No of Ballot Papers inside the box should tally with the no you shown in your Ballot Paper Account.



4. Complete the paper seal Account.



5. Ballot Paper Account, Paper Seal Account, Presiding Officers Diary and the Declaration should not be sealed and pasted because these are to be checked physically by the Returning Officer at the Collection Centre.



6. All seven Statutory covers should be sealed carefully.



7. All the seven Non-Statutory covers should be pasted carefully.



8. All the un-used centre materials should be packed in the third cover.



9. Now you can move towards the collection centre by availing the bus engaged for the election duty. You will be accompanied by the Laison Officer who will be the incharge of transporting the materials from the Collection Centre to Polling Station and vice versa.



By going through this article, I hope the Presiding Officers and the Polling Officers definitely feel better in accomplishing their task in a complete manner. All the Best. Go Ahead.


(Courtesy: http://www.indiastudychannel.com/)

UGC-JRF/NET Examination on Dec 26, 2010: Apply online before Oct 25,2010

The University Grants Commission announces holding of the National Eligibility Test (NET) on 26th December, 2010 (Sunday) for determining the eligibility of Indian nationals for the Award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Eligibility for Lectureship in Indian universities and colleges. UGC will conduct NET in 77 (seventy seven) subjects t 70 (Seventy, including four new centres) selected University Centres pread across the country.



Candidates who have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s Degree OR equivalent examination from universities/institutions recognised by UGC in Humanities (including languages) and Social Sciences, Computer Science & Applications, Electronic Science etc. are eligible for this Test. The Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Physically Handicapped (PH)/Visually Handicapped (VH) category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s degree or equivalent examination are eligible for this Test.

Important Dates

Application Submission Start Date : 29-9-2010
Application Submission End Date : 25-10-2010
Last date for receiving the documents* at the test center: 1-11-2010
Examination Date : 26-12-2010


SCHEME AND DATE OF TEST :


The Test will consist of three papers. All the three papers will be held on 26th December, 2010 in two separate sessions.

Paper-I shall be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate. It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate. UGC has decided to provide choice to the candidates from the December 2009 UGC-NET onwards. Sixty (60) multiple choice questions of two marks each will be given, out of which the candidate would be required to answer any fifty (50). In the event of the candidate attempting more than fifty questions, the first fifty questions attempted by the candidate would be evaluated.


Paper-II shall consist of questions based on the subject selected by the candidate. Each of these papers will consist of a Test Booklet containing 50 compulsory objective type questions of two marks each.

Paper-III will consist of only descriptive questions from the subject selected by the candidate. The candidate will be required to attempt questions in the space provided in the Test Booklet. The structure of Paper-III has been revised from June, 2010 UGC-NET and is available on the UGC website www.ugc.ac.in.

Paper-III will be evaluated only for those candidates who are able to secure the minimum qualifying marks in Paper-I and Paper-II.


For more details log on to http://www.ugc.ac.in/ or http://www.ugcnetonline.in/