LIRC@SFIT

Sr. No. Member No. of Transactions 1 SAHU MADHUSHREE DAMBARUDHAR SONALI 37 2 PHILIP FRANCIS FERNANDES 25 3 DSOUZA NELSON NORBERT PAUL DSOUZA ALICE DSOUZA 25 4 BHATT PARTH CHYAVAN VAISHALI 25 5 ANDHALE SHREYA VILAS URMILA 25 6 OJHA ANOOP PARASNATH SHANTIDEVI 24 7 LOBO ANDREA KARLTON ALICE 23 8 AHUJA RISHIKA SANDEEP DIPALI 23 9 MELVIN YOHANNAN MARIAMMA YOHANNAN 23 10 CHAUHAN DEEPAK DINANATH SHEELA 22 All the above "Active Users" are eligible for one extra book from the Library for the following month i.e. September 2019.

--> LIRC AT A GLANCE AS ON 31/08/2019 Name of Library Software: LibSuite 6.5 U.G. BOOKS Total Titles: 10448 Total Volumes: 27320 Editions : 341 Ref.Books : 3472(UG= 3181 PG=291 ) P.G. BOOKS Total Titles: 292 Total Volumes: 1187 Editions : 02 Books in the BOOK BANK: 1459 Faculty Publications: 305 E-Books : 55 Doctoral Theses : 11 Project Reports: 1800 CDs: 3135 VIDEO DVD: 64 PERIODICALS Total Journals for UG = 39 UG Courses: 37 (National) UG Courses: 02 (International) Total Journals for PG = 10 PG Courses: 10 (National) Total Subscribed Magazines: 19 Technical : 07 Non-Technical Magazines: 12 Total Gratis Magazines: 8 Technical : 02 Non-Technical Magazines: 06 E-PACKAGE : IEEE/IET Electronic Library (IEL)The full-text of IEEE content published since 1988 with select content published since 1872 from: IEEE journals, transactions, and magazines, including early access documents IEEE conferences IET journals IET conferences IEEE published ...

In an attempt to bring focus to fitness among the youth, the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently shared a circular on its website, urging affiliated colleges and universities to participate in the ‘Fit India Movement’, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched yesterday. As part of the movement, universities and colleges have been asked to make efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff, in order to achieve physical fitness, mental strength and emotional equanimity. “The Fit India Movement helps take the nation forward on the path of fitness and wellness and it provides a unique and exciting opportunity to work towards a healthier India,” said the circular released by UGC. “Every person should pledge and attempt to walk 10,000 steps… and follow it up in his/her daily routine,” states the circular. It further requests institutes to implement an institutional fitness plan to incorporate exercise into the daily routine of ...

HRD directs UGC to set up committee to probe 'sale of fake degrees Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70899412.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

The two will collaborate in research which will use AI and Machine Learning to study issues relevant for business and public policy The partnership will also jointly introduce a new executive programme New Delhi: The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Microsoft India announced a new partnership on Friday to take forward their shared vision for an AI-empowered India at an event in Hyderabad. Through the creation of the AI Digital Lab, the two organizations will collaborate in research which will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to study issues that are relevant for business and public policy. In addition, the partnership will also jointly introduce a new executive program titled “Leading Business Transformation in the Age of AI" in October 2019 which will equip business leaders with tools and strategies to transform their respective organizations to AI-driven organizations. The rapid development of AI implies that the ability of business leaders to creat...

At present, 24 per cent of a worker's basic pay is deducted - with 12 per cent each counted as employer's and employee's share - towards the EPF savings The government has proposed to reduce the contribution made by employees towards the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), in a move to increase take-home salary. The government wants to reduce the rate of contribution — part of the employee’s share — for a class of workers depending upon age, income or gender, without changing the contribution from the employer’s share. The proposal is part of the proposed Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Bill, 2019. The ministry has also proposed providing an option to workers to switch between the ... To read the full article, please visit: https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/take-home-salary-may-rise-under-new-employees-provident-fund-law-119082700033_1.html#targetText=The%20government%20has%20proposed%20to,to%20increase%20take%2Dhome%20salary.&targe...

Complete skeleton formed in Andhra Pradesh using remains of several of the giants washed ashore It was like a jigsaw puzzle for the young wildlife biologist looking at the skeletal remains of dead blue whales washed ashore on the Andhra Pradesh coast. But he found a way to put them all together. All in just two months. Where the parts were missing, he used plaster of Paris and put in stainless steel and screws to configure a life-size skeleton of the endangered species. In 2017, Kumpatla Balaji, an Andhra University alumnus, launched a project to use the skeletal remains to form the blue whale, replicating its natural anatomy structure. He was spurred to do so, after experts were unable to fit the bones collected from the Machilipatnam coast. Mr. Balaji is a research scientist at the Coringa Marine Museum in Rajamahendravaram city, where the 32-ft-long life-size blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) skeleton he engineered is being preserved and on public display since early 2018. “Dozens...

On new ULIPs, the minimum sum assured will be less than 10 times the premium IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) issued a notification on new regulations in ULIPs (unit linked insurance plans) and traditional insurance policies, a few weeks back. Of the several changes, the move to reduce the minimum sum assured (SA) in ULIPs and a guaranteed surrender value for traditional policies from the second year, were prominent. Source:  https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/personal-finance/did-you-know-life-insurance-rules-have-changed/article29252624.ece  (Accessed on August 29, 2019)

Around 85,000 employees added on net basis, highest in six years The Indian information technology (IT) industry added a record number of employees in the April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) of the ongoing financial year, with around 85,000 new hires. This is the highest-ever net employee addition by the industry in a single quarter in six years, according to a recent report by equity research firm CLSA. Industry experts are of the opinion that the spurt in recruitment happened as IT services firms went aggressive on hiring in anticipation of a strong demand environment. This was supplemented by healthy hiring in onsite locations, triggered by ... To read the full article, please visit: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/it-industry-on-hiring-spree-adds-record-number-of-employees-in-q1-119082500648_1.html  (Accessed on August 29, 2019)

Stearic acid-coated fly ash surface can be made to behave like rose petals or lotus leaves. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad have developed a cheap waterproofing material by coating fly ash, a waste by-product from coal-based thermal power plants, with stearic acid, which is a surfactant. While fly ash is extremely water-loving (hydrophilic), it turns into a highly water-repelling surface once coated with stearic acid. The stearic acid has a hydrophilic part called the head and hydrophobic portion called the tail. While the head of stearic acid which is hydrophilic binds to fly ash particles, the water-repelling tail remains free. Numerous free hydrophobic tails of stearic acid makes the fly ash surface water repellent. Fly ash varies in size from 100 nanometres to a few microns and can thus provide surfaces with different roughness based on the size of the particles chosen. The stearic acid-coated fly ash surface can be made to behave like one of the ...

In his monthly radio address ‘Mann ki Baat’, the prime minister said when the country observes the 150 birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, “we will launch a new mass movement against use of plastic”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to observe the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi this year as a day to make India plastic-free and exhorted municipalities, NGOs and the corporate sector to come up with ways for safe disposal of accumulated plastic waste before Diwali. The call for a mass movement came days after Mr. Modi’s Independence Day’s address in which he had urged people to shun ‘single-use’ plastic to protect the environment. In his monthly radio address ‘Mann ki Baat’, the Prime Minister also urged people to participate in the annual ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ or ‘the quest for cleanliness is service’ campaign, which will begin on September 11 this year. “This year, on October 2, when we celebrate Bapu’s 150th birth anniversary, we shall not only de...

MSU accepts UGC changes for PhD Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70883487.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

A government official said on condition of anonymity that the panel will prepare draft amendments to existing anti-ragging regulations to add ways to curb bullying and also prepare an action plan to implement them. The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to form a high-powered panel to suggest norms to curb bullying in colleges and universities and to come up with an implementation plan. (HT FILE) India may soon have an anti-bullying policy in schools and colleges to combat a menace that is increasingly rearing its head in schools and colleges across India, especially with students from diverse social and economic backgrounds increasingly studying together. The policy will be framed for colleges first. The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to form a high-powered panel to suggest norms to curb bullying in colleges and universities and to come up with an implementation plan to put them into practice, according to an order the higher education sector regulator issued rec...

Students feel the varsity is stimulating the 'copy-paste' culture among the students by not abiding the UGC policies. Mumbai University In May this year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had sent a notice to the University of Mumbai (MU) regarding detection and prevention of plagiarism manual. This letter was in response to a complaint sent by a PhD student of the varsity, citing the problems students are facing when it comes to writing and preserving their thesis or dissertation. However, as per Shodhganga – a digital repository of the thesis by UGC – from the year 2010-18, MU has uploaded only 122 total thesis meanwhile Savitribai Phule Pune University in the same period has uploaded 1,243 thesis. Students feel the varsity is stimulating the 'copy-paste' culture among the students by not abiding the UGC policies. "Technically, if you upload a thesis on Shodhganga, if it has any plagiarized substance in it, it will draw a red line on it which will refrain ...

The higher educational institutes have been directed to prepare and implement a fitness plan, incorporate sports, exercise, physical activities for fitness into the daily routine. The higher education institutes plan to include fitness in the curriculum. (Express Photo By Bhupindra Rana/ Representational image) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to announce the Fit India Movement on August 29 , the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked higher educational institutions (HEIs) to motivate staff and students to attempt walking 10,000 steps each on the day and “and follow it up in daily routine”. The commission has also directed institutions to screen the launch event live for faculty and students, while ensuring their attendance. Advertising Short video clips of activities held on campus are to be sent to the UGC. The institutes have also been directed to prepare and implement a fitness plan, incorporate sports, exercise, physical activities into the daily routine on campus,...

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has received more than 100 proposals from universities for its 'Paramarsh Scheme'. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is expecting to receive around 100 proposals from the higher education institutions for its  'Paramarsh Scheme' . As a part of the scheme, top institutions will mentor five non-accredited institutes to secure National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade. "The last date for submitting proposals by the mentors is September 2. These will then be examined," a UGC official said here on Monday. "Once the proposals are accepted by the UGC, the institutes can start the mentoring programme within a month," the official added. The scheme mandates that the mentor institutions should have secured a NAAC score of 3.26 out of 4. Human Resource Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', who launched the scheme last month, said it would improve quality and standards of higher educa...

Engineering colleges need to reinvent to be relevant Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70839936.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 27, 2019)

Bogus journals, substandard PhD theses under the scanner The University Grants Commission (UGC) is on a cleansing process against bogus journals and substandard PhD theses as the quality of our research sector has been eroding, UGC vice chairman Bhushan Patwardhan has said. Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium on ‘Research in Ayurveda: Need, scope and future’ organised by AMMOI (Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India) here on Sunday, he said the quality of research papers had been eroding in the country, especially over the past 10 years. “The UGC has appointed a 20-member committee headed by Padmanabhan Balram, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to review the research papers approved by the UGC in the last 10 years. The committee has been given six months to review the situation. At least we will know where we stand and how much damage has been done to the research sector,” he said. To check the umpteen dubious journals that publish papers wi...

UGC to decide on proposals to review PhD theses soon Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70833071.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 26, 2019)

Online learning platform Internshala together with All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) organized a national event, on Sunday to celebrate Internship Day 2019 . The initiative was to honor the colleges and organizations with the best boarding culture. The top three organizations include the Times Internet, Out of the Box Solutions and today's Kalam Foundation, a voluntary organization working to reform education. According to Internshala, over 15,000 students received boarding opportunities in the last four months. Read more at: https://www.businessinsider.in/the-top-indian-colleges-and-organisations-for-internships-awarded-by-aicte/articleshow/70834885.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 26, 2019

Varsities, colleges asked to ready fitness plan for students .. Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70822789.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 26, 2019)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay students decided to go traditional during their convocation by ditching the ceremonial black robe along with headgears and wearing white kurta pyjamas on Saturday (10 August), Livemint reports . The University Grants Commission (UGC) told vice-chancellors of all universities to adopt “ceremonial robes made out of handloom fabrics which would not only give a sense of pride of being Indian but also be more comfortable in hot and humid weather”. Infosys chairman and co-founder Nandan Nilekani and an alumni of the institute was conferred an honorary doctoral degree by the institute. Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal was the chief guest of the 57 convocation . 2,603 students, 385 PhDs, and two joint PhDs of IIT-B/National University of Singapore and one Cotutelle PhD (Joint Supervision) agreement with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivieres in Canada were awarded by the minister. Source:  https://swarajyamag.com/ins...

Microsoft joins Google, Intel for data protection consortium  Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70789920.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

On Thursday Google announced that new Android version or Android Q will be officially known as Android 10. Yes, for Android Q Google changes its naming strategy and this comes as a surprise for most people. In addition, Google has also changed the look of the Android logo. Read the full article at: https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/android-os/story/google-ditches-dessert-names-announces-android-q-will-be-officially-called-android-10-1590651-2019-08-23  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

BERLIN—A consortium of more than 700 German research institutions and libraries today announced an agreement with publisher Springer Nature to make it simpler for authors to publish their papers open access. The agreement is the largest national open-access deal to date, but it doesn’t allow authors to publish open access in Nature or its sister journals. The consortium, called Project DEAL, has negotiated for more than 3 years with major publishers to reach “publish and read” agreements . Such agreements give member institutions full access to a publisher’s online content and make papers that their researchers publish freely available worldwide. Charges are based not on subscriptions, but on a fee per published paper. Read the full article at: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/more-700-german-research-institutions-strike-open-access-deal-springer-nature  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

Abstract Scholarly articles are now increasingly being mentioned and discussed in social media platforms, sometime seven as pre- or post-print version uploads. Measures of social media mentions and coverage are now emerging as an alternative indicator of impact of scholarly articles. This article aims to explore how much scholarly research output from India is covered in different social media platforms and how similar or different it is from the world average. It also analyses the disciplinewise variations in coverage and altmetric attention for Indian research output, including a comparison with the world average. Results obtained show interesting patterns. Only 28.5% of the total research output from India is covered in social media platforms, which is about 18% less than the world average. ResearchGate and Mendeley are the most popular social media platforms in India for scholarly article coverage. In terms of discipline-wise variation, medical sciences and biological sciences h...

· Around 76% of healthcare professionals in the country already use digital health records in their practice: Future Health Index 2019 · India meets the 15-country average when it comes to the usage of artificial intelligence within healthcare at 46% New Delhi: India is leading in the adoption of digital health technology with 76% of healthcare professionals in the country already using digital health records (DHRs) in their practice, according to a 15-country Future Health Index (FHI) 2019 report by Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology. Interestingly, India meets the 15-country average when it comes to the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) within healthcare at 46%. Commenting on the launch, Rohit Sathe, President – Philips Healthcare, Indian Subcontinent said, "Philips’ Future Health Index 2019 report confirms that digital health technology is a pivotal pillar in delivering value-based care across the healthcare continuum in India. Tools includ...

Patent filings rise as Indian IT cos look to raise their game Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70780094.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

The number of students enrolled in higher education system has gone up to about 3.66 crore in 2017-18. The GER rose to 25.4 per cent in 2017-18, while the aim is to increase it to 30 per cent by 2020 Read the full article at: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/ugc-targets-30-enrollment-in-higher-education-by-2020-from-presents-25-4-5926972/  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

UGC asks nine universities in state to implement EWS quota  Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/70784181.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

UGC NET 2020 exam date: The application process for the December session will begin from September 9 to October 9. Candidates can apply on the official website — www.nta.ac.in or ntanet.nic.in. Read the full article at: https://indianexpress.com/article/jobs/nta-releases-ugc-net-december-2019-june-2020-sessions-schedule-ntanet-nic-in-5926199/  (Accessed on August 23, 2019)

After banning new engineering colleges, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has placed a two-year ban on new pharmacy colleges, until 2022. This is because the AICTE as well as the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), a statutory body under the Central government which regulates pharmacy education and practices, believe that many colleges performed poorly at academics and there were not enough jobs for pharmacy graduates to justify the boom in the number of colleges. The decision to not allow more pharmacy colleges was taken at a meeting held in Delhi on Wednesday, barely a month after the PCI proposed a five-year freeze on colleges offering diploma and degree courses. In January this year, the AICTE decided to not permit new engineering colleges from the academic year 2020-21. According to AICTE, the intake capacity of pharmacy institutes across India has gone up by 49.5% in the last three years, and this year alone, the capacity increased by 28.1%. From 1,809 diploma a...

Get ready for your to-read list to reach even more ridiculous lengths. Love to read? Then go ahead and buy as many books as you like. Experts from scholars to poets to  tidying sensation Marie Kondo  all insist that  owning more books than you could possibly ever read  says great things about your mind. The only constraints are the size of your bookshelf and your wallet.  Except maybe that last one is as much of a constraint as you think. Thanks to some hard work by the New York Public Library, there's a new way to get more titles for your to-read list for way less cash.  It's not just the classics that are out of copyright.  Everyone knows that some very old books are no longer under copyright and therefore available for free. That means you can get the likes of  Shakespeare  and  Jane Eyre  for little to nothing (depending on whether you're a sucker for a fancy cover). But according to  a super helpful ...

Source: Maharashtra Times (Mumbai) dated August 22, 2019

Inc. today opened its largest campus building globally in the city of Hyderabad as it prepares for a furious expansion and battle with nemesis Walmart Inc. in one of the world’s fastest-growing retail markets. The Seattle-headquartered company is making an ambitious push in India, the last major retail frontier still primarily reliant on smallscale neighbourhood and mom-and-pop stores. “E-commerce is so small in India relative to the total consumption, less than 3%,” said Amit Agarwal, Amazon’s country manager for India. AFP■ The campus in Hyderabad was built over three years and can accommodate up to 15,000 workers. The largely untapped country is critical to the global domination plans of both Amazon and Walmart, the latter of which spent $16 billion last year to buy India’s biggest startup, retailer Flipkart. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has so far pledged $5.5 billion for its India operations. Built in Hyderabad over three years, the new campus is Amazon’s first owned building outsid...