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President buries 'TimeCapsule' on IIT KanpurcampusKanpur: President Pratibha Patilrecently buried a 'Time Capsule'on the Indian Institute ofTechnology, Kanpur (IIT-K)campus on the occasion of itsgolden jubilee celebrations andalso unveiled a nanosatellitedeveloped by the institute. Thecapsule, which is made of a specialmetal, contains pen-drives, chips,images and several other documentsrelated to the landmark achievementsof the IIT-K.Lauding the nanosatellite Jugnu'sdevelopment team, Patil said itprojects the complex nature oftasks that the students there wereequipped to handle.Congratulating IIT-K students andfaculty, Patil said that the institutehas come a long way in its 50years of its existence, and alsocalled upon the institute's studentsand faculty members to developsuch devices that can harnessenergy in efficient ways withminimal negative impact on theenvironment."It (IIT-K) had made an impact ontechnical education within thecountry, while its studentsthrough their innovations, haveplayed an important role in India,as well as around the world," thePresident said. Jugnu, developedby a team of 50 IIT students, willhelp in collection of informationrelated to floods, drought andother natural calamities.IITs admission criteria setfor an overhaulNew Delhi: The admission criteriafor admission to the premierengineering institutes of thecountry - the Indian Institutes ofTechnology (IITs), is all set for anoverhaul.According to the recommendationof a panel set up under IITKaharagpur's Director, Mr.Damodar Acharya, the JointEntrance Examination (JEE) forundergraduates and GraduateAptitude Test in Engineering(GATE) for postgraduates maysoon not be the only criteria fortheir admission. The committeeproposes to consider the Class XIImarks as well.Presently, the eligibility for astudent to sit for a JEE is 60% inclass XII after which a cut-off isdecided every year for admissioninto an IIT. Following theconsensus of the last meeting ofthe IIT Council to give moreweightage to the school leavingexamination, the committeeproposes to mull over the issue offactoring in class XII examinationresult in the cut-off for admissionto the IITs.The IIT Directors in a meetingwith the Human ResourceDevelopment (HRD) Minister,Kapil Sibal, in Manesar, alsoexpressed their discontent overthe existing pattern for GATE asthey felt that not enough studentswith research orientation werebeing picked up through this exam.Sibal said that each IIT shouldsubmit a proposal within a monthon one area of expertise in higherresearch. Although the admissioncriteria is becoming stringent withthe proposal of IIT-KharagpurDirector's recommendation, theHRD minister retreated with afirm 'No' to IIT-Kanpur Director'sproposal for a fee hike. Accordingto the fee-hike proposal, whichthe IIT-Kanpur's Director framed,it suggested to hike fees by eighttimes. At present, the B.Techstudents pay Rs.50,000 per year astheir fee which the committeeproposed to increase up to Rs.4lakh per annum over the period of10 years with a Rs.35,000 mark-upevery year."The proposal on fee hike shouldbe discussed as the governmentwas planning to set up a HigherEducation Funding Corporationwhich would address poorstudents," said a senior official.During the meeting, Sibal alsoasked the IITs to come upwith their plans for the futureendeavors in a specialized area inwhich they want to emerge asglobal giants by 2020 in fourweeks time.Nanotech is used to treatcancer - IIT-B & DocsIn Mumbai it could have beenIndia’s second nano success if itpasses the muster. Only this nanocreation is revealed in thehealthcare field and it was possiblebecause of partnership betweenoncologists and scientists of theIndian Institute of Technology-Bombay.The joint effort of the IIT -B anddoctors from Tata MemorialXtraEdge for IIT-JEE 4 APRIL 2010