Bharathiar University VC advocates video conferencing to promote e-learning

Video conferencing facilities will be made available in Bharathiar University as well as in its affiliated colleges, in order to promote e-learning, Vice Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam said here recently.

To make e-learning popular it was not enough that students alone were motivated to adopt this system; it was also essential that teachers got trained in e-learning systems, he added.

He was presiding over a five-day national workshop for teachers on "Content Creation and Learning Management System (LMS) for e-learning" organized by the Department of Extension, Career Guidance and Students Welfare of Bharathiar University.

At least one teacher from each department would get trained in e-learning systems by making them for enrol for either a diploma or a post-graduate diploma course, he said.

In higher education there was an increasing tendency to create a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). He wanted e-learning - computer-enhanced learning - be used as a viable option to reach the maximum number of students, especially those doing distance education.

Computer-enhanced learning had both advantages and constraints. Enumerating the advantages, he said the system offered flexibility and convenience to learners, besides variety in learning.

The constraints were that it was not cost-effective and that many colleges could not spare funds and infrastructure required for development of the relevant software.

Acceptance of e-learning for regular students should be seen in the light of the present higher education scenario in India. Only seven per cent of students opted for higher education. "Educational dualism" - colleges that had state-of-the-art facilities on the one hand and colleges that did not have even the basic facilities - was rampant.

Curriculum was neither job-oriented nor life-oriented. Industry-university linkage was very little. Old and traditional methods of teaching were still the order of the day. Faculty output was not whole-hearted. There was a void in socially useful research undertaken at colleges and universities.

Prof. Thiruvasagam hoped that e-learning would successfully overcome these hurdles and provide practical solutions to improve the learning system.

Mangala Sunder Krishnan, National Co-ordinator for the e-learning Core Science Project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, said that e-learning was not something that happened overnight, but one that involved both synergy and cost.

It required a lot of support and awareness to bring it on a par with classroom teaching.

He also stressed the need for institutions to have qualified faculty, to be in tandem with the students.



Courtesy : The Hindu

Mithun opens Hotel in Mumbai after success stories at ooty, coimbatore & madurai

When ‘Disco Dancer’ Mithun Chakraborty abandoned Bollywood at the height of his career, he shocked the fraternity and fans by announcing that he was opening a hotel in Ooty.

But the move proved so successful that Mithun is now planning to make a comeback in Mumbai with the next hotel in the Monarch chain of hotels.

According to sources, the actor-turned-hotelier has bought a huge piece of land in Andheri (East) at a whopping Rs 85 crore.

According to sources, Mithun bought the land in Mogra Village, Andheri (E) from Gurnam Developers. When contacted, Mithun was reluctant to speak about the deal or the price. But he did admit that he was on the verge of finalising a land deal to set up a hotel in Andheri (East).

“I have paid an advance to the owner of the property. I have also placed an ad in newspapers to find out if there are any claims to the property. If there are, the deal will fall through,” said Mithun. He confirmed that once the deal came through in every sense, he would set up a hotel for business class travellers and families.

The hotel, like his other three in Madurai, Coimbatore and Ooty, will also be named Monarch. “Monarch is a brand of the Howard Johnson Group, USA, and I am the sole franchisee in India, said Mithun.

For Mithun, the deal is considered very important as he intends to go public in the days to come. “The reason I selected Mumbai for my next hotel is because I want to grow as a businessman. Building this business class, family hotel in Mumbai is one step towards my goal,” he said.

Hotel Boom
Mithun is not the only one planning a 5-star hotel in Mumbai. According to sources, Pune’s Pride Group of Hotels is also scouting around for a plot between Andheri and Malad.

The group intends to start a 120-room 5-star hotel by 2008. Sources say that the Taj Group has also drawn up a plan to construct a 200-room hotel on a plot near Santacruz airport.
Courtesy : Mumbai Mirror

Plan to expand Coimbatore Airport

To keep pace with the spurt in air and passenger traffic, caused by the economic revival and the arrival of low-cost carriers, the Airports Authority of India is embarking on an expansion of the Coimbatore airport.

The terminal building is struggling to cope with the increasing passenger and aircraft movement. The passenger movement has registered 100 per cent growth compared to 2003-04. At present, there are 175 aircraft movements a week (one movement includes both landing and take-off). This includes 17 aircraft movements a day to and from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, six movements to and from Sharjah a week and 14 movements a month of a cargo freighter to and from Colombo.

To deal with the situation, the AAI plans to build three more parking bays. The airport has three parking bays besides an isolation bay. At peak hours, aircraft are made to hover for want of a parking bay. The parking bays get packed whenever an aircraft suffers a technical snag or an aircraft waits for a VVIP. The additional bays, costing Rs. 4 crore, will be opened within a month, say AAI sources.

Airport Director (in charge) R.S. D'Cruz told The Hindu that to cope with the growth and based on expression of interest by new airliners to start services, a proposal for an additional terminal building on an outlay of Rs 20 crore has been sent to the AAI. The process is expected to be faster because it does not involve land acquisition. The terminal to be exclusively earmarked for arrival will be roughly 50,000 square feet and will have two aerobridges to connect the departure and arrival lounges with the aircraft. Five escalators will be installed in both the terminal buildings. The entire work will be completed in two-three years. Once the administrative procedures are completed, tender will begin, the sources say.

The existing 8,500-foot runway (recently expanded from 7,500 feet) is enough to handle only aircraft of the Air Bus 320 type. Hence, it will be expanded by another 1,500 feet, so that it can handle the Jumbo 747 type of aircraft. The acquisition of 80.92 acres towards Avanashi Road is under way. The revenue administration has handed over 25 acres, and the rest is expected within a month.

Once the runway expansion is taken up, the AAI wants to upgrade the simple approach lighting system. Navigating lights for 600 metres will be provided for easy night landing, the sources say.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Coimbatore builders participate in Property show at Muscat

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), India’s premier housing finance company is for the first time organising ‘India Homes Fair’, a two-day property show in Muscat on September 26 and 27.

This unique property fair will exclusively showcase the finest properties promoted by leading developers from Chennai and Coimbatore. The exhibition will be held at the Nizwa Ballroom, Sheraton Oman Hotel, Ruwi and will be open to visitors from 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 9pm.

Commenting on the exhibition Renu Sud Karnad, executive director, HDFC said: “HDFC is organising this event given the buoyant Indian real estate market and the inherent need for a large number of NRI’s based in the Middle East to invest in a property back home.

Through this event we are bringing the NRI home-seekers and leading developers from Chennai and Coimbatore together in Muscat under one roof. We hope to provide a platform where both of them can interact freely so that the developers are exposed to the NRIs, their needs and preferences. Similarly the NRIs can freely discuss their dreams, plans and concerns with the developers while having a look at the properties.”

Almost all the leading developers of Chennai and Coimbatore are participating in this unique exhibition. There are 14 developers showcasing over 50 projects and visitors can choose from properties having a value range of between Rs2.5 million to Rs10 million, varying from an area of 850 sqft up to 2,000 sqft, which will cater to customers looking for modest to deluxe homes. Over 2,000 units of 1/2/3 bedroom apartments, row houses and plots, will be on display and these are well-built, spacious and provide all the amenities, making it perfect for the whole family.

Visitors at the exhibition can also look forward to easy home loans at comfortable terms from HDFC. Besides providing the home-seekers an opportunity to select from the widest range of properties, the exhibition will also offer free home loan counselling, legal and technical advice on all property related issues and more.

The participating developers from Chennai include, Chettinad Housing, Doshi Housing Ltd, Deluxe Apartments & Buildings Co. (DABC), KGEYES Residency Pvt Ltd, Lancor G-Corp Properties Ltd, Navin Builders, Pace Builders (Madras) Pvt Ltd, Real Value Promoters Pvt Ltd, True Value Homes (India) Pvt Ltd and Vishranthi Sabari. The Coimbatore developers include Mayflower Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Ramani Realtors Pvt Ltd, Sreevastsa Real Estates Pvt Ltd and Covai Property Centre (India) Pvt Ltd.

HDFC has had a presence in the Middle East for over ten years with eight offices located at all major business hubs in the Middle East. It also has a wide network of over 219 outlets (inclusive of outlets of wholly owned distribution company) and 90 outreach locations, reaching out to over 2,400 towns and cities all over India.

HDFC believes in assisting its customers and the office in Muscat was specifically set up to service the NRIs and help them to buy their dream homes back in India.

The Sultanate of Oman has a population of 2.3 million people out of which the NRI population is about 0.31 million.

The ‘India Homes Fair’ is exclusively showcasing properties from Chennai and Coimbatore as there is a significant demand among the NRI’s in the Middle East to invest in these two cities.

HDFC’s direct dealings with customers have helped it keep in touch with the changing trends and customer expectations. HDFC’s 29 years of experience in the real estate industry and business relations with the developers has given it a thorough understanding of the market.

It has developed strong in-house systems to assist customers in terms of determining real estate prices, title issues, legal and technical aspects, etc.

Courtesy : Times of Oman

Indian Chamber show in Coimbatore

The third edition of 'Chamber Show' would be held in coimbatore from September 30 with an aim to create a brand name for this industrial city in Tamil Nadu.


The three-day event, being organised by the local chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has attracted top traders and manufacturers, including engineering and automobile companies, chamber president A Shaktivel told reporters here.


Wide range of companies dealing in textiles, insurance, banking, electronics, IT, solar energy, food, health care, publications and plantation, would display their products in about 120 stalls, where over 1.5 lakh people are expected to visit, he said last night.


'Aani Veir', an exclusive and special programme for women, would be anchored by G Thilakavathi, ADGP, Enforcement, Chennai, even as leading entrepreneurs would share their success stories.


Another added feature of the show would be a food court where cooks from Chettinad area of Tamil Nadu would serve their choicest dishes, Shaktivel said. (Agencies)



Courtesy : Chennai Online

Special trains between Chennai and Coimbatore

With a view to clearing the extra rush during the Ayudha Pooja festival two special trains would be operated on Chennai-Coimbatore sector.

The special train will leave from Chennai on Sept. 22 and on Sept. 29 and from Coimbatore on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, a Southern Railway release said this evening.

The train No 0607 would leave Chennai Central at 10.20 pm and scheduled to reach Coimbatore at 07.15 am the next day, while Train No 608 would leave Coimbatore at 11.45 pm to reach Chenn ai Central the next day at 8 am.

The specials will have a composition of one AC two tier coach, two AC three tier coaches, 10 sleeper class coaches, three general second class coaches and two luggage cum brake vans, the release said.
Courtesy : The Hindu

Crowded skies and congested airports

THE OPENING up of the domestic sector to private airlines and the development of low-cost, no-frills airlines have contributed to a phenomenal growth in traffic at the country's airports. A resurgent economy and growing exports have meant freight by air too has recorded significant increases year on year.

The total passenger traffic has shown a 38.8 per cent increase in March 2006 compared with March 2005. International traffic rose by 14.4 per cent while domestic traffic recorded unimaginable growth in the same period. Just imagine, there were 5.16 million domestic passengers using the network of India's airports in March this year, as against 3.41 million in the same month last year. Such has been what still seems to be unplanned growth, as a result of which most, if not all, airports in the country are facing a severe congestion.

Be it New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, Hyderabad or Bangalore, or even tier-two airports including Ahmedabad and Coimbatore, take-offs and landings are becoming a huge problem in the peak hours. From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., most of the airports are more crowded than inter-State bus terminals. During the peak hours, aircraft are either forced to circle overhead awaiting a landing slot or queue up on the taxiways for their turn to take off. Pilots routinely tell their passengers after take-off that the flight was delayed due to "congestion at the airport." The reason for the congestion: continuing increase in the number of flights and the number of airlines operating to most airports.

Airlines and passengers alike are looking to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to launch the much-talked-about project to develop, expand, and modernise the airports. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has weathered many storms over the modernisation of the New Delhi and Mumbai airports, involving the private sector in a major project. He has promised to unveil a similar package for the Kolkata and Chennai airports within the next couple of months. And the AAI has promised to undertake a major programme to develop and expand at least 35 domestic airports within the next two or three years.

With air travel costs dipping, domestic passenger traffic is expected to maintain its upward swing in the months and years to come. Unfortunately, the regulatory framework has not been able to cope with a rather unplanned growth in the aviation sector. In their hurry to capture a new market and register their presence, low-cost airlines are taking wing with leased aircraft and foreign pilots. Consequently, the congestion does not seem to be confined to the major airports or even the international ones. The tier-two cities, which the no-frills airlines have consciously tried to link, have reported stunning figures. Ahmedabad, Pune, Coimbatore, and Amritsar, for instance, have posted a very healthy growth in passenger traffic. Similarly, the open skies policy now pursued by the Centre has brought a range of international connections to new airports such as Pune, Ahmedabad or even Tiruchi. In a way, the availability of so many airports and airstrips across the country should be a major asset for India and its aviation sector.

The AAI's figures for March 2006, when compared with March 2005, provide a clear picture of the present scenario and point to the air pockets and rough weather that lie ahead if the Authority and the Aviation Ministry do not undertake the promised expansion and modernisation drive right away. In March this year, the airports handled 2.02 million international passengers and 5.16 million domestic passengers. This compares with 1.77 million and 3.41 million respectively in March last year. For the year 2005-06, there were 22.36 million international passengers (19.42 million the previous year), and 50.98 million domestic passengers (against 39.86 million the previous year). The growth in total passenger traffic has been 23.7 per cent year on year.

After the advent of Air Deccan, which pioneered the concept of no-frills airlines, SpiceJet and GoAir have taken this forward, carrying more first-time passengers by air. Other airlines such as Paramount and Kingfisher have tried to create a niche for themselves among business clients. The public sector domestic carrier, Indian Airlines, has acquired a new name `Indian' and has tried to cater to a large segment of traffic using its massive network.

In terms of international aircraft movement, there has been a 20 to 30 per cent increase in operations to major airports in India such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Thiruvananthapuram. On the domestic circuits, aircraft movements have risen sharply in centres such as Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune, Goa, Kochi, Kozhikode, and Coimbatore to name a few. But AAI has also pointed to some decline in traffic at a few airports — notably, Lucknow, Patna, Rajkot, and Imphal.

It is interesting to note, again from the trends that the March figures suggest, that Nagpur reported a 148.6 per cent increase in total passenger traffic for the month when compared with March 2005. The figure was 121.7 per cent in the case of Pune, 98.6 per cent for Coimbatore, and 68.5 per cent for Ahmedabad. At the top end of the spectrum, the 15 international airports recorded a 38.8 per cent increase in passenger traffic in March, while at the bottom rung, the 23 domestic airports posted a 32.5 per cent growth. Kochi, which boasts the first private airport, witnessed a 27 per cent rise in traffic. For the first few years, the Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) found it difficult to even pay interest on the borrowings, But now, it is not only financially comfortable but planning to offer a whole range of concessions, including waiver of parking charges, to international airlines. That is what proper infrastructure combined with a healthy traffic growth can do for an airport.

But, taking a typical case scenario in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Bangalore, passengers often tend to lose their calm while going through the boarding procedures or waiting for the aircraft to take off. The lack of basic infrastructure for, say, baggage scanning, check in (for some airlines), and security check is glaring. Mumbai's domestic airport cannot even offer enough seats to passengers waiting to board their aircraft. One experiment may be to provide a separate terminal for low-cost airlines.

Alongside passenger traffic, even freight movement by air has picked up momentum. The total freight handled in the country has registered a 13 per cent growth in March this year compared with the same month in 2005. Coimbatore saw a 78 per cent increase in freight handling this March, thanks to the hosiery town of Tirupur and the textile industry in the region. A lot many freight services are now in operation to all parts of the country.

At one point of time, when the domestic sector was first opened to private operators, Indian Airlines, which was till then a monopoly, battled to retain a 60 per cent share in traffic. Today, the private airlines together have taken away anywhere from 50 to 85 per cent of passengers in different airports. For instance, the private airlines accounted for 85.5 per cent of passenger traffic in March in Bangalore, 84.8 per cent in Guwahati, 83.4 per cent in Ahmedabad, and 82 per cent in Goa. It was more than 75 per cent in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Kochi. For the public sector airlines, it was 57.2 per cent in Kozhikode, 55.9 per cent in Amritsar, and 49.2 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram, with a national average of just 24.8 per cent of passenger traffic.

Most of the private airlines have just ordered their regular fleet of aircraft. And if all of them manage to survive in the race for market share, Indian skies and the airports will face a major infrastructure and security challenge. First, the regulator has to get its act together and put in place much-need rules of the game to provide a fairly even playing field. Secondly, the Airports Authority must quickly get going on its major plan of developing and expanding domestic airports to cope with the projected traffic. This will mean terminal buildings with adequate facilities and equipment, runways of international standards to take wide-bodied jets too, and supporting infrastructure to handle aircraft, service passengers, and provide an interface to the city centre in terms of transport.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Feng-shui fever grips Coimbatore!

The latest rage in Coimbatore is keeping Chinese Feng-shui articles at home.

People believe that keeping a smiling Buddha will bring prosperity, a bamboo tree will help in career and health.

As a result, the business of Chinese Feng-shui (Architecture), from which these items of prosperity and luck are derived, has gained momentum in the recent times. Besides having a decorative value, the Feng Shui items are also considered auspicious for the family.

"I have come here to buy these Vastu items like Laughing Buddha and bamboo tree. We keep them in our house for decoration. These are also for good omen," said Tshewang, a tourist customer from far away Bhutan.

Shopkeepers are happy that there is increasing demand for the articles.

"Business is running very well. Most of the Feng-shui items have been imported from China. The more popular it gets in the country, the more demand it brings to us. There are so many items and each item has different effect. The business has just doubled since we started selling Feng-Shui items," said Naman, a shopkeeper.

Apart from the Laughing Buddha and bamboo tree, pots of various designs, golden snakes, horses and coins are some other favourites of customers.

The cost of Feng-shui articles range from rupees 10 to 1, 000 depending on their significance.

Feng shui, pronounced "fung shway", is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment. The literal translation is "wind and water".

But actually Feng shui is not about a decorating style; it is a discipline whose guidelines are compatible with many different decorating styles.

For a place to have "good feng shui" is for it to be in harmony with Nature, to have "bad feng shui" is to be incongruous with Nature.


Courtesy : Hindustan Times

Coimbatore getting ready for IT boom

As Coimbatore prepares for a takeoff in Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector in a big way, traditional manufacturing sector is equipping itself for challenges it may face, such as employee shortage.

"Manufacturing and IT should co-exist and the CII has identified three key areas of focus for the manufacturing sector," says Jayakumar Ramdass, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore Zone. Chennai is a model city in this regard, he added.

Skilled manpower


Ensuring availability of adequate skilled manpower is one of the areas of focus. "It is directly proportional to the quality of students coming out of colleges and institutes."

CII is working out a strategy to strengthen industry-institute relationship. Coimbatore, being a textile hub, is also trying to introduce textile courses in industrial training institutes.

Another area of focus is introduction of modern manufacturing concepts. A summit will be held next month on lean manufacturing.

This is to improve delivery schedules, bring down inventory and improve profits.

Low cost automation is also important for industries and small and medium scale enterprises should invest in this.

The idea is: units should reduce costs and modernise.

They can go in for low-cost enterprise resource programmes. The cost of IT products for manufacturing units is expected to come down with the entry of IT and ITES companies here.

The CII will persuade the SMEs to go in for these methods, he said.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Tea prices rule firm in Coimbatore auction

Tea prices continued their upward trend at the auction here last week with good support from the exporters and major blenders, according to trade sources.

Supported by the CIS exporters and major blenders, high-grown larger teas and well made brokens of orthodox leaf were at substanially dearer levels, while others placed at irregular and subjected to quality, they said.

Limited quantity of orthodox dust ruled firm to dearer by Re one to Rs two per kg and most of the teas were absorbed by the exporters and a few internal traders.

With good general demand, better liquoring CTC leafs, medium/plainer bolder grades were sold at previous levels, while medium brokens met with a steady to slightly easier market.

Smaller brokens and fanning, especially plainer sorts of CTC leafs, ruled firm to dearer, the sources said adding the exporters and major blenders operated marketably supported by internal traders.

CTC dust also met with fair demand. Good liquoring and high prices teas sold at firm to dearer levels. Medium liquoring opened firm and ruled firm to dearer. Plainer varieties with better appearance also ruled firm to dearer by Re one to Rs two, while others were irregular, they said.

However, some Pakistan type bolder dusts declined by a rupee in value, the sources added.

Of the 4.30 lakh kgs offered on sale dust alone accounted for 2.36 lakh kgs.
Courtesy: New Kerala