Cochin International Airport- World's first Airport to be powered entirely by Solar Energy

          Located in the southern state of Kerala, Cochin International Airport is now the first airport in the world to run completely on solar power. It is indeed a proud moment for each keralite that a project like this is first successfully implemented in a developing country like India. On August 18,2015, the Then Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 12 MW solar power plant, comprising 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres of land (near the cargo complex).

          CIAL first ventured into the Solar PV sector during March 2013, by installing a 100 KW solar PV Plant on the roof top of the Arrival Terminal Block wherein a total of 400 polycrystalline modules of 250W with five 20kW capacity 'Refu-sol make string inverters' were used in this plant. Following its success, CIAL installed a 1 MW Solar Photo Voltaic power plant partly on the roof top and partly on the ground in the Aircraft Maintenance Hangar facility within the airport premises. Later on, 4000 monocrystalline modules of 250W with thirty three  Delta make string inverters of 30kW capacity were used in this plant, to make it the first Megawatt scale installation of solar PV system in Kerala.

          The Cochin International Airport on an average, has a demand of 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity , costing over 3,50,000 rupees for its operation every day. Thus by installing a 12 Mega Watt Solar PV system integrated with SCADA(Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) for remote monitoring, the airport became totally self sufficient in meeting its energy demands. The company is hopeful of recouping the costs incurred in the installation in less than six years. Today, with its solar power plant it produces more energy than it needs and banks the rest with the state power grid for rainy days and night-time requirements.
          The project was initiated mainly with a sense of duty towards the environment and to promote self-sufficiency. Solar Energy is a clean source of energy and is abundantly available over an average of 300 days a year. By the installation of a 12MW solar PV power plant, the airport has succeeded in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300,000 metric tonnes which is equal to planting three million trees or not driving 750 million miles. Also, the problems of power scarcity leading to frequency instabilities in the grid could be partially solved by the project.
I hope that the country will achieve more such milestones, and generation of power through greener sources of energy will be promoted.

Joining formalities for Tata Consultancy Services

          In this post, I would like to take you through the joining formalities and things that you have to keep in mind before joining TCS. On the day of joining, you will be asked to submit a few essential documents without which they will not be able to confirm your employment, the most important of which being the Service Agreement.

          The list of documents that have to be submitted is available in the Nextstep portal under the Joining Annexure tab. You have to be very careful with the requisite documents or you will end up being rescheduled.

          The most important document as I have already told, is the Service Agreement. The Service Agreement has to be made between you, The Surety and TCS. The surety has to be mandatorily an Income Tax payee. Land Deed will not be accepted though it is said in the Joining Annexure that surety can be a person with land deed. If your surety is not an income tax payee, you have all chances of getting rescheduled. Also, make sure you attach a Xerox copy of Surety's PAN card and Surety Signature Verification Form. If no competent authority is available to attest the surety's signature, you may attach photocopy of surety's passport.

          Another important document is your PAN card. Acknowledgement slip of the PAN card application will not be enough and you have to have your own PAN card at the time of joining. The documents such as Non-criminal affidavit, Medical certificate etc. can be easily obtained and so if there is an error in your documents, they will give you one or two days time to re-submit the documents. Keep in mind that your photograph should be attested by the doctor who gives you the medical fitness certificate. Also, the Non-Criminal Affidavit has to be made on 100 rupee stamp paper.

          About the academic qualifications, you have to carry original mark lists of all semesters and the Degree certificate(Provisional Certificate if Degree Certificate not yet issued). You have to clear all the backlogs and you should have received the updated mark lists at the time of joining, without which you will be re-scheduled. If you have any query regarding these, contact the ILP support at the earliest.

          You also might know about the National Skills Registry(NSR) e-card. You have to carry NSR e-card on your joining date. Make sure you have at least applied for NSR e-card when you join. Similar is the case for Passport. If you don't have one, make sure you have the acknowledgement slip of the Passport application.

          In addition to all these, make sure you have completed your Background Check(BGC) which is mandatory. Once you join TCS, option to edit BGC data will not be possible. You will have no more access to Nextstep portal. If you have entered any data incorrectly, it might result in you getting rescheduled at a later time(like after one month) when the verification is completed by the Head Office in Mumbai.

          The above-said documents are most important and are the ones people usually make a mistake with. Please check the Joining annexure and Joining Formalities in the Nextstep portal for more details and clarity.

          About my experience at TCS, the first few days will be very hectic and you will be asked to fill a number of forms like the I-DAF form, the Intellectual Property Agreement etc. There are chances that you may not have to attend IRA-1 depending on your location. I had to attend IRA-2 which is based on TechLounge. The top-scorers of IRA-2 will be given location of their preference. ILP will mostly constitute of tests, so preparing for TechLounge will definitely give you an upper-hand.

If you have any queries about the joining formalities, feel free to comment on the post.

Read also: Tips and Tricks to clear TCS Aspire Learning Course

What after Engineering?

What to do after Engineering? This is one of the serious questions engineers passing out in India every year asks themselves. It is a common fact that a very huge number of Engineers pass out every year and many among them haven't even the slightest of the clue about what to do. Many get placed in leading companies (especially software companies) during their campus placement drives but in this post, I would like to highlight my viewpoint on what an Engineer should think of doing after their four year  engineering programme.
          It is a commonly known fact that the jobs in software companies are not secure and surely is not a field where you wouldn't want to stay for long time unless you are a Computer Science engineer. For those of you who aren't one, I would recommend you to try for a government job which is ofcourse the most secure job. And I believe that the easiest way to get one is to prepare for GATE exam (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering). Gate exam is a very high standard exam which tests for your depth of knowledge in your Engineering discipline. With the preparation for GATE exam, one could also attempt a number of other recruitment exams like BARC, ISRO, JTO, BEL, and state electricity boards and Public Service Commissions. Based on the rank  obtained in the GATE exam, multiple Navaratna companies like BARC, BHEL, IOCL, HPCL, NTPC, Power Grid, NHPC etc. does their recruitment and they provide a very attractive salary package. Gate exam is conducted primarily as the admission test to premier colleges like IITs or IISc and other engineering colleges for Masters or Ph.D. programmes.
          GATE exam is the right option for those who are ready to work quite hard and luckily the exam requires only a preparation time of around 4 to 6 months.  Another option is the Indian Engineering Services (IES) conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) which lately has introduced a more student-friendly syllabus. Surely, IES exam requires a wider preparation strategy and requires a much longer preparation time. The Highlight is that preparation for both Gate as well as IES can both go hand in hand. IES offer much less job vacancies compared to GATE.
          Getting a respected government job is much better than trying to meet extreme project targets in a Software company, which surely loots your peace of mind. It is not about getting a job just after graduation, but  about getting a respected and enjoyable job wherein you wouldn't have to compromise much on your peace of mind

Please feel free to comment your doubts and queries.

Tips and tricks to pass TCS Aspire Learning Course

          Hello everyone. In this post I will brief out a few tricks to pass the TCS Aspire Online Learning modules. The Aspire Modules are quite lengthy and for those who are not much familiar with programming languages may feel difficult to clear the cut-off soon enough. You might as well know that the batching process is carried out on the basis of the cut-off score for every month. If you don't clear the cut-off score for this month, you will get an option to reset the modules in which you have undertaken atleast one quiz(after the batching process of the month is completed). So, you might have to redo the module in order to improve your score.

          The reason why I am making this post is because I am used to learning stuff at the last moment and that I am quite sure that there is absolutely no use in learning these modules long before the joining date.(Once you clear the Aspire Batching Cut-off, you will be allotted to a particular stream and will be given the tech-lounge modules to learn before you join. Also, your joining date will be around two months(usually) after the month in which you cleared it.). I have also come across so many future-TCSers asking for easy ways to crack the Aspire module. My advice is to try to do the Aspire module in fair manner and resort to this strategy in the worst case.

Tip 1: The questions that are asked in the quiz are mostly repeated again and again. So, before every quiz go through the queries at the end of each chapter and find out the answers to it. The answers that are given by others are not very trustworthy.

Tip 2: Again, as I have already mentioned that, after each batching process, there will be an option to reset the module. So, for those modules that you find tough, you could simply attend every quiz before the end of the batching process and if required, take a screenshot of the questions so that when you have the reset option available, you could reset the module and take the quiz once again.(Before taking the quiz, find answers to all the questions that you have come through, as the questions are mostly repeated.)

Tip 3: This is the easiest way to score in Aspire modules. Once you start learning each chapter, copy the entire text into a MS Word document. When you start attending the quiz, there will be a time countdown of 30 to 60 seconds. In the mean time, open the word or pdf document and use CTRL+F to search for the answer.(When searching for the answer, choose a keyword from the question which would easily fetch you the result). For the final module quiz, you could copy-paste the entire module text and keep in handy. It is advisable not to directly use CTRL+F on the web browser as it may be detected.

Tip 4: The Python Module is the easiest and the most important module which could fetch you easy marks. Download the Python software (version that is recommended in the course material) and keep it open while you attend the quiz. There are so many "Find the output" type questions which you can type in the Python software and find out. Also, use Tip 3 to find answer to non-output type questions

Please use these tips only if it is absolutely necessary. It is always better to depend on your abilities. Do take the Aspire modules seriously as these tips might make you clear the cutoff, but you might not be so lucky in passing the Initial Readiness Assessment (IRA-1) when you join TCS. Please feel free to comment below if you have any queries regarding the joining and the tests.

Good luck to all future TCSers

Read Also: Things to keep in mind about the Joining Formalities for TCS

Residential fish farming

          Residential fish farming, as the name suggests is the small scale production of consumable fish from the comfort of our house. This concept has grown widely in recent years owing to its ease and the surplus produce. The fact that fish available in the market is preserved for over 2 months generally, before reaching the consumer. Preservatives like ammonia is used(in Kerala) to avoid deterioration of the fish over time and to store at higher temperatures. These preservatives have a very adverse effect on our health.
          Residential fish farming  thus proves a solution to the increasing costs of the fish as well as the adverse effects that may arise due to consumption of chemically treated fish. In addition to all these, there exists the following advantages:

Inexpensive to run

Easy care – all you need to do is feed your fish!

any size and shape ponds can be made

highly productive methods can be practiced

takes very less time 

Can be integrated with growing vegetables- Concept of Aquaponics

How do we start?

          I have been doing residential fish farming for quite some time now just as a hobby. I had converted a 3*3m rainwater storage tank into a fish tank. Setting up a cement tank just for growing fish is absolutely a loss. Instead, fish can be grown by digging a small pond and using tarpaulin sheets over it to avoid loss of water. A point to be noted is that before laying the tarpaulin sheets, lay enough empty cement bags(easily available from any construction sites) or coconut shells etc. to avoid roots of trees from making holes in the tarpaulin sheets leading to leakage of water. Another alternative to digging up a pond is to lay some cement bricks in form of a rectangle and laying tarpaulin in between to obtain a small water reservoir enough to grow fish. Here again, precaution against roots should be taken.

Aquaponics

         Aquaponics refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising fish,prawns etc in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrification bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients, and the water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system. 

          This system wherein the water is recirculated after filtering through the hydroponic system may seem to be complex. An alternative to this is to pump the water from the bottom of the tank(or tarpaulin sheet where fish is grown) such that the excretions are pumped out to the place where vegetables are grown. This can be done only when the plants are required to be watered. Fresh water can be pumped into the tank to compensate for the pumped-out water. Hybridizing aquaculture and vegetable cultivation is very beneficial as the water from the tanks are rich in nutrients and thus, is a natural manure.

Which Fish Do we grow?

The most important factor in residential fish farming is to select which fish breed has to be grown to obtain optimum output. There are a few options I would choose:

• Tilapia and giant gourami is a good option. Tilapia is a fish that is widely produced. It is an over-powering fish which doesnt consume other fish. Tilapia grows fully in around 6 to 9 months weighing from 600 grams(normal tilapia) to 2.5kilograms((ailotica(broiler) tilapia) depending on the feed provided. It also reproduces largely. Giant gourami can also be grown along with tilapia without harm. It grows upto 6 kg.
• Another alternative is to grow breeds like cutla, rohu, mrigal etc. which can grow together. These grow to very large sizes(like 80 kg size) if they are introduced to natural ecosystems but in small ponds and tanks the sizes can largely differ.

Building an ecosystem

It is essential to build a good ecosystem in order to ensure sufficient growth of the fish. Fishes that breed quickly has to be provided with breeder colonies so that external disturbances does not affect reproduction. Generally, to avoid loss of fish seed, males and females are introduced into a temporary pond generally in the ratio 1:4(one male for four females). This is done mainly in case of Tilapia. If allowed to breed in the same tank, there is high chance that the fish seed gets eaten up by the other fishes or tilapia males.

Setting up a breeder colony is easy. Accumulate sand, soil, stones etc towards one end of the tank (or tarpaulin sheet). Also introduce pieces of PVC pipes of various sizes near the stones. This is done to allow the females to hide once the eggs are fertilized.

Tranformers and Electricals Limited Kerala (TELK) Engineer Trainee Recruitment

Recruitment to the post of Engineer trainee at Transformers and Electricals Limited Kerala(TELK) is conducted once in a few years time by KITCO placement park located in Belhaven Gardens,Kowdiar, Trivandrum. The selection process consists of the following stages:
1. Written Test
2. Group Discussion
3. Interview

1.Written test
This is the most challenging step in the recruitment process. The question paper consists of 100 questions all MCQ type and carrying 1 mark for each right answer. The time allotted for completing the test is 90 minutes. There is generally no negative marking which means "Answer all the questions!!". The question paper is divided into 5 sections:
a) General awareness
In this section there are 10 questions which deals with general knowledge and current affairs. The questions though only ten in number, covers a wide range of areas.

b) English Language
This section consists of 10 questions which are generally easy. It includes grammar, vocabulary, antonyms ans synonyms etc.

c)Reasoning Ability
This section consists of 15 questions consisting mainly from areas like Relationships, letter series etc.

d) Numerical Ability
This section consists of 15 questions from areas like percentage, profit and loss, squares, etc.

e) Technical Ability
This is the toughest part of the question paper. It consists of 50 questions and these are asked from any subjects in Electrical and Electronics Engineering which even includes non-core subjects like hydraulic machines and heat engines. The questions asked in these are of GATE level and is advised not to be taken lightly. If you are a person preparing fo gate exams, it would prove to be very helpful.


2. Group Discussion
This process is more like an elimination process than a selection process. A group of 10-15 people discuss on a topic as decided by the invigilator. You have to be really interactive throughout the process to be short-listed for interview.

3. Interview
This is the final process of selection in the recruitment process. A board of interviewers will interview each shortlisted candidate for around 30 minutes. You have to have sound knowledge in electrical subject to get through the process. The questions may arise from the lowest Basic Gates(AND,OR,NOT) to even advanced control theory.


Please find attached the question paper for the written test and the answer key. It will give an overview and will help you understand the pattern of questions asked in the test.

For more details follow the link www.kitcoplacementpark.in
Link to the Official website of TELK: click here

TCS Aspire-A key to early on-boarding

          If you have been placed at TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) and have received the offer letter, it is around time that you receive an e-mail asking you to take up the Aspire Online courses available under the Campus Commune tab in your login home page.

          Completing the Aspire Course content with a good score is necessary for early on boarding onto TCS. The Aspire course is quite a lengthy one and requires much attention to clear the cut-off and make it early to TCS. As of now, there are seven modules in the aspire course. The list of these modules are as follows:

1. Introduction to Computer Systems    (280 miles)
2. Know your TCS   (120 miles)
3. Basics of Programming   (800 miles)
4. Business Skills   (480 miles)
5. Problem Solving   (800 miles)
6. RDBMS   (800 miles)
7. Python   (1440 miles)

       Total          4720 miles

          Each module has various number of sub-modules and course materials to go through. After learning each sub-module, it is advised to take up the quiz for the session and clear the task. Make sure that the preparation is good enough as the questions asked in the quiz requires knowledge into the finest detail written in the course material. The batching process requires that you should clear the cutoff score after completing all the modules in the Aspire course. Suppose the miles required for cu-off is 3700. If you have cleared the cut-off, based on your scores, you will be selected for the then-batching process. If you fail to clear the cutoff, you have the option to reset these courses and reattempt the module(s) in which the score is not satisfactory. Tip: Make sure that you reset these modules only after completing all the modules. 

          So, every time the batching process for a month is completed, you will be provided the reset option for all modules except Business skills. Once you have cleared the cut-off, you will be asked to take up the language lounge quiz whose scores are not looked into, while deciding your joining date, batch and venue. The final score which shortlists you into a batch is dependent on various parameters like the Aspire Course Score, Your Interview Score, Personal Profile Score etc. and based on all this, and your preferred location and selected stream, they will provide you with the joining date and ILP location. 

All the best for all those preparing to join TCS. If you have any doubts or clarifications, just comment on this and I shall get back to you ASAP

Kerala's need of the hour: Fresh and pesticide free vegetables

          For the past few days it has been widely noticed that the vegetables available in our market are full of toxic chemicals and pesticides which are applied to it during cultivation. The main problem is that people do know the fact but they are not left out with a choice than to depend on the vegetables available in the market. There are around 230 registered pesticides of which around 110 are used by farmers on a regular basis. Most of these pesticides are applied far more than required(like 10 times more) for immediate pest elimination. Some farmers also use residual pesticides like methyl perathione, furadan and monocrotophus which remain in the crop for 45 days after spraying. These are banned for use on vegetables and fruits as it is deadly dangerous to human body. Thus it is the need of the hour to start educating ourselves about the extent of harm these chemicals can do to our body and to try reducing the over-dependence on vegetables available in the common market.
          This is possible only if we are ready to cultivate vegetables and fruits on our own to whatever extent possible. Government of Kerala and the 'Krishi Bhavan' has been promoting the cultivation of fruits and vegetables at our houses. In some houses where the space is an issue, terrace farming can be done. In-fact, terrace farming in kerala  has been gaining a lot of popularity in the past few years due to its effectiveness.
Terrace farming is quite an easy way of producing vegetables at home. This is done on the roofs of houses using gunny bags or even flower pots. Through proper care, it is as good as in-land cultivation. Adequate shade from the sun  is necessary as there are chances of the plant getting damaged due to excess sun. The most commonly planted seedlings on rooftops include peas, bitter-guard, ladies-finger etc. If this is made a practice, the dependence on the market vegetables can be drastically reduced (except for those that cannot be grown in our climate).
          Proper awareness about the usage of chemicals and pesticides and the various complications that arises out of them in due time has to be spread among the common people. People are generally reluctant to look into these issues and are sometimes lousy to do a bit of farming as they are used to buying the vegetables from the market. this attitude has to change, only then can you live a healthy life.
          For details of vegetable farming, visit the nearest horticulture departmental office or Krishibhavan. There are enough schemes and subsidies to get you started.
Go green, live a healthy life!! 

Naturopathy- A key to healthy living

In this present era, we come across numerous types of diseases owing to untimely diet, junk food, heredity, lack of regular exercise and what not?... And for each of these diseases that can sometimes prove to be fatal, there happen to be a large number and varieties of treatments. Naturopathy has been gaining popularity in the last couple of years owing to its effectiveness and safety.
Naturopathy is totally an alternative medicine employing a wide array of natural treatments, including homeopathy, acupuncture, herbalism as well as proper diet (nutrition) and moulding a healthy lifestyle. Naturopathy says that there are cures for almost all diseases in the nature itself and it generally avoids the use of surgery and drugs. It is based on a belief in vitalism and self-healing rather than evidence based medicine. "Living in harmony with the nature" is the ultimate aim of naturopathy. Naturopathic practice is based on a belief in the body's ability to heal itself through a special vital energy or force guiding bodily processes internally. Diagnosis and treatment concern primarily alternative therapies and "natural" methods that naturopaths claim promote the body's natural ability to heal.
Kerala, a state in India is well known for Naturopathy and Nature cure. Numerous people come to these centres and go with a relief they never got from the conventional medicine. I would like to share my experience about my recent visit to a Nature Cure center at Cochin, Ernakulam. People coming there for treatment generally suffers diabetes, blood pressure(low and high), over-weight, bone diseases, etc. Some even come there to try out a different life style quite different from their usual. I have heard many people say giving  a positive feedback about the treatment and most of them come back again and motivate others to try it out.
The treatment duration should at-least be for a period of  14 days to show visible effects. I would like to explain the various treatments I underwent while staying there.

YOGA

A typical day at the treatment center starts with prayer and yoga. The science of Yoga imbibe itself the complete essence of the Way of Life, including - Gyan Yoga or philosophy, Bhakti Yoga or path of devotional bliss, Karma Yoga or path of blissful action, and Raja Yoga or path of mind control. These are actually only the most superficial aspect of this profound science of unfolding the infinite potentials of the human mind and soul. In Yoga, various postures and asanas help in relieving physical as well as mental ailments.

MUD Bath

Mud is an important element of nature cure. It contains many important minerals which have positive effects on human health. Mud can absorb various toxins from human body and is therefore very useful in preventing quite a lot of diseases. It is also known for its healing properties and it also helps in cooling and relaxing body as it can hold moisture for a long time. It relaxes muscles and improves blood circulation, maintains metabolism rendering positive impact on digestion. It is useful in conditions of inflammation/ swelling and relieves pain, is a good hair conditioner and is good for skin. It is useful in condition of stiff joints

Steam Bath

In this treatment, steam is exposed to spines and other parts of the body uniformly in a very scientific way. The temperature of the steam can be adjusted and maintained as per requirements of the patient. It helps in removing toxins from the skin.

Spine Bath

This treatment involves immersing the spinal cord in hot or cold water(as directed) for around 10 minutes. This basically helps in relaxing the spine. While undergoing spine bath, make sure to use a wet cloth to cover the head to avoid it getting heated up.

Hip Bath

This treatment involves immersing hip region in a tub in hot or cold water as directed for around 20 minutes followed by taking a bath. While undergoing hip bath, make sure to use a wet cloth to cover the head to avoid it getting heated up.

In addition to all this, various other treatments like massage,acupuncture, magnet therapy, eye-nose wash etc are also provided daily. The diet is fully vegetarian such that the food intake is alkaline, which our body prefers. 

I am sure that all these treatments can help rejuvenating oneself and help in regaining health. The contact details of the Nature cure centre are as follows:

St. Tresa's Nature Cure & Yoga Ashram

Kurumassery P.O., Moozhikkulam, Angamali, Kerala, India.

Phone: 0484 2473221

If you wish to know more about naturopathy or the treatment, please add a comment. Thanks

TCS Off Campus Drive for the batches of 2015 & 2016

In this blog post, I will take you through my experience about the selection process at TCS in brief. Basically, there are two rounds of selection process wherein the first is the online aptitude test, which if cleared, will get you to the interview process. Once you have been shortlisted for the TCS selection process, you will be notified to attend the online aptitude test

Online Aptitude Test

The online test consists of  two sections: E-mail writing section and an aptitude section. The e-mail writing section comprise of 10 minutes where they ask you to write an email to someone, including many words and phrases that has to be used compulsorily. A minimum of 50 words is compulsory. I made a mistake in answering the email part where I forgot to save the email at regular intervals. Finally, the Summary of responses said that I have not answered the e-mail part. But fortunately it was saved on their server.

      The second part comprised of around 30 questions to be answered in around 80 minutes. The questions were comparatively easy but you can expect at-least one question from each areas mainly the following ones:

 Time Speed Distance

 Percentage

 Profit, Loss and Discount

 Age problems

 Number properties

 Ratios and Proportions

 Interest Calculations

 Time and Work

 Permutation Combination

 Probability

 Clocks

 Progressions

The cut-offs for the aptitude test was high. So you have to be prepared enough to get a good score and be shortlisted to the next stage

Interview

 The interview for shortlisted candidates from trivandrum was conducted on 26/2/2015 and 27/2/2015 at the TCS office at Infopark, Kakkanad, Cochin. The interview consisted of three rounds:

1. Technical Interview: Here you can expect questions from your academic project, programming languages, your core branch etc. This is the first process of elimination and has to be taken very seriously. For me, they asked to introduce myself first, went through my resume, asked about my academic project and to write programs in C and C++. This is to check if you have sound  technical knowledge.

2. Managerial Interview: Here you can expect them to ask more about TCS, knowledge of the current trends in your engineering discipline, current trends in IT industry etc. They will ask more about TCS in this round and you have to go through their company website to answer these questions. They can also give you tasks like "Sell me this pen" to test your communication and persuasive skills. This round also is an elimination round. They asked me to introduce myself, then asked whether I had received any placements, asked me why I wanted to join TCS though I am not from an IT background etc. Typically asked questions are available in many websites, make sure you go through it.

3. HR interview: This is the final set of interview wherein they ask you more about yourself, why they should select you, might make you do some puzzles. They want to assess what kind of a person you are and how you react to various situations. They will assess your leadership qualities etc. They asked me to give a brief introduction, went on to my role in my academic project, asked me why I preferred to work with TCS than other placement options.

On the whole, the selection process was a good experience for me. After the final round, they have told that they would inform the results via e-mail. In case you wish to know the results, please try contacting them on the details given to you.

Summary of The Best Laid Plans by Sidney Sheldon

MAIN CHARACTERS

1. Leslie Stewart: She learns that for some men, power is the greatest aphrodisiac. First she works in an advertising firm, then married to a large scale business man. She bought many newspapers, Tv channels to take grudge on Oliver Stewart who first promised to marry her but later married daughter of  senator Todd Davis so that he could become governor one day.

2. Oliver Russel: handsome man but seems to have a bit more towards women though he has a wife. He was a lawyer, then Todd Davis helped him become the governor and finally the president of United States.

3. Senator Todd Davis: He is a very rich business man who married  who married his daughter to Oliver when he found out that he had the potential to make it into politics. Todd Davis wanted power and he wanted to take control over Oliver

4. Dana Evans: Reporter who was really into the job in which she had real passion. She helped in turning in the culprit of the murders as most people had suspicions over Oliver, Peter Tager being the real culprit

5. Peter Tager: Initially assistant to Todd Davis and then to Oliver. He had lost an eye and wore an eye patch. He tricked women and gave them liquid ecstasy that helped him to have sex but eventually kill them.


A Quick Summary:

Oliver Russel was a lawyer whom senator Todd Davis  appointed as his attorney. The senator watched him closely as he felt he would make a fine governor and keeping that in mind he wanted to marry his daughter to him. Oliver was much interested in making love with women. Todd's daughter Jan knew this but started talking with Oliver as her father had compelled. Soon they got in love. This was the time when Oliver had sex with Jan's best friend and she came to know about it. Jan left for Paris at once. Furiously Senator Todd Davis stopped funding for Oliver's campaign. But then he met Leslie Stewart. She adored him and soon they fall in love. Their marriage was fixed. Oliver felt he could not become governor anymore. Todd tricked him into marrying his daughter and Leslie waited to take grudge on him. She married a rich man and bought presses, television channels etc. Oliver was elected governor and later and eventually was elected the president of the United States. Oliver's assistant Peter Tager used liquid ecstasy to trick women into bed. Once Oliver had a bottle of liquid ecstasy which Peter had given him. He brought it to Leslie which she refused. Those who took it, died.  There were about six deaths. Press under Leslie Stewart printed against Oliver. She thought Oliver was the real culprit who tricked women into bed. Peter Tager's idea was to frame the President for all this. Finally Dana Evans who was a reporter found out that Peter was behind all this and that the president was innocent. Leslie who wrote false news against the President became a laughing stock to the world. President Oliver did many good things like uniting the Arabs, Israel and Iraq.

DESIGN AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP WORKSHOP BY MIT

Rajesh Nair, co-founder of Degree Controls Inc and being its single largest shareholder and is presently completing his MS in System Design and Management at MIT initiated a seven week long workshop at Mar Baselios college of Engineering, Trivandrum with an experiment to see if entrepreneurs can be made by giving them proper training and guidance. The workshop kick started on december 7 and ended on January 25th. The initial phase of the workshop included sessions of familiarizing with different hardware components like arduino and micro controllers and also familiarizing with application development on various platforms like android, arduino etc. The next phase was to analyse problems related to healthcare by visiting hospitals and medical centers  and create economic solutions to it.

 The main objective of the workshop was to create entrepreneurial attitude in students so that they see problems as opportunities and try working on them. Meanwhile, several sessions was given to pitch the problem before different personalities and to overcome the initial fear. The workshop included two mini projects and three main projects, the final project being the one that is worth taking to the next level. The participants had to finally make an investor pitch using presentations and many of these projects were invited to startup village, Cochin.

        This was the best workshop in my life till today. Would have been a big miss if I  hadn't attended it. This workshop has changed my attitude very much. Now I see every problems around me as a possibility. 
Best workshop ever!!
thanks to Rajesh Nair, Aditya Pasupuleti, Prashant Patil, Dan Sawada and many more who came long distances and spared their Christmas holidays for us

see also....MIT Video - Starting Up Young Entrepreneurs

Home Automation Module Prototype

An economical Infra-Red based home automation module, for wireless control of electrical appliances using a very cheap TV/DVD player remote controller. The prototyped version uses arduino uno as microcontroller, three transistors and relays for switching three 230V/15W bulbs, IR TSOP receiver (1738), old VCR remote controller and some passive components.


Theory of Operation:
The cheapest way to remotely control a device within a visible range is via Infra-Red light. Almost all audio and video equipment can be controlled this way nowadays. Due to this wide spread use the required components are quite cheap, thus making it ideal for to use IR based control for this project.
Infra-Red actually is normal light with a particular colour. We humans can't see this colour because its wave length of 950nm is below the visible spectrum. That's one of the reasons why IR is chosen for remote control purposes, we want to use it but we're not interested in seeing it. Another reason is because IR LEDs are quite easy to make, and therefore can be very cheap.
Unfortunately,  there are many more sources of Infra-Red light. The sun is the brightest source of all, but there are many others, like: light bulbs, candles, central heating system, and even our body radiate Infra-Red light. In fact everything that radiates heat also radiates Infra-Red light. Therefore we have to take some precautions to guarantee that our IR message gets across to the receiver without errors. 
Modulation is the answer to make our signal stand out above the noise. With modulation we make the IR light source blink in a particular frequency. The IR receiver will be tuned to that frequency, so it can ignore everything else. The standard carrier frequency used is 38KHz. IR TSOP 1738 has been tuned to 38 KHz, and can ignore everything else.The method of modulating the signal depends upon the protocol used. Protocol defines the method of encryption, and is made by the remote controller manufacturing companies. Common protocols includes NEC (Japan based, common in India),          RC-5(Europe based, common in India).
This project uses NEC protocol based remote controller, that transmits Pulse Position Modulated signal at a carrier frequency of 38KHz. Different protocols have different decoding algorithms. In serial communication we usually speak of 'marks' (or burst) and 'spaces'. The 'space' is the default signal, which is the off state in the transmitter case. No light is emitted during the 'space' state. During the 'mark' state of the signal the IR light is pulsed on and off at a particular frequency.
At the receiver side a 'space' is represented by a high level of the receiver's output. A 'mark' is then automatically represented by a low level. Please note that the 'marks' and 'spaces' are not the 1-s and 0-s we want to transmit. The real relationship between the 'marks' and 'spaces' and the 1-s and 0-s depends on the protocol that's being used. Protocol consists of several bits, grouped as address bits, command bits, start bit, toggle bit,flag bit etc.Some of the protocols will have more bits specifications where as some may not have.

NEC Protocol:
NEC protocol has the following bit specification:
·         a 9ms leading pulse burst as start bit
·         followed by a 4.5ms space
·         8-bit address ( differentiates different types of appliances of the same company)
·         8-bit inverse of address bits (for verification only)
·         8-bit command (distinguishes between different buttons on the remote controller)
·         8-bit inverse of command bits (for verification only)






The NEC protocol uses pulse distance encoding of the bits. Each pulse is a 560µs long 38kHz carrier burst (about 21 cycles). A logical "1" takes 2.25ms to transmit, while a logical "0" is only half of that, being 1.125ms. The recommended carrier duty-cycle is 1/4 or 1/3. 


The picture above shows a typical pulse train of the NEC protocol. With this protocol the LSB is transmitted first. A message is started by a 9ms AGC burst, which was used to set the gain of the earlier IR receivers. This AGC burst is then followed by a 4.5ms space, which is then followed by the Address and Command. Address and Command are transmitted twice. The second time all bits are inverted and can be used for verification of the received message. The total transmission time is constant because every bit is repeated with its inverted length. If you're not interested in this reliability you can ignore the inverted values, or you can expand the Address and Command to 16 bits each!

A command is transmitted only once, even when the key on the remote control remains pressed. Every 110ms a repeat code is transmitted for as long as the key remains down. This repeat code is simply a 9ms AGC pulse followed by a 2.25ms space and a 560µs burst.

For fast prototyping and decoding the protocol, an arduino based library called IRremote.h developed and open sourced by  Ken Shirriff
The IRremote library records the duration of each (modulated) pulse sent by the remote control. Each key on the remote corresponds to a particular code value, which is converted to a particular sequence of pulses. The library generates a unique value for each button press which is distinguishable from another button press.
It records the duration of successive pulses. If the pulse is shorter than the previous,0 is assigned. If the pulse is the same length, 1 is assigned. If the pulse is longer, 2 is assigned. (upon comparing on-durations with on-durations and off-durations with off-durations.) The result is a sequence of 0's, 1's, and 2's, then hashing these values into a 32-bit hash value.
Though the prototyped version is based upon this library, but has proved not very effective due to many limitations (repeated key press is not processed, platform non independence etc) of the library. To make this project more cost effective, low cost microcontrollers like ATmega8 is being used, and direct C programming is being implemented using standard protocol decoding algorithms and is under way to be completed soon as a very cost effective end product module. The overall production cost of a single module is expected to be less than Rs. 150/- .
Future Prospective:
Encrypted IR communication, resistant to ambient daylight can be utilised for robotic competions like Robocon where there will be instances for communication between manual and automatic bots;
The project idea can also be expanded with GSM based mobile communication for building energy conservation modules.

To read more click the link: home automation module
 Credits: RAHUL MANOJ

Watch "Miracle- image of Jesus seen in the holy Eucharist" on YouTube

Use windows 7 without Activation.

All of us might be know that it is possible to use Windows 7 and Vista for 120 days without activation right .??? Actually, this is possible to use Windows 7 without Activation using the slmgr -rearm command
which will extend the grace period from 30 days to 120 days . But , in this post I will show you a trick using
which it is possible to use Windows 7 without Activation for approximately an year!

1 . Goto “Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories ” .
 Right click on“ Command Prompt” and select “ Run as Administrator “. If you are not the administrator then you are prompted to enter the password, or else you can proceed to step -2 .

2 . Now type the following command and hit enter slmgr -rearm

3 . You will be prompted to restart the computer. Once restarted the trial period will be once again reset to 30 days . You can use the above command for up to 3 times by which you can extend the trial period to 20
days without activation.

4 . Now comes the actual trick by which you can extend the trial period for another 240 days. Open registry
Editor (type regedit in “ Run” and hit Enter ) and navigate to the following location
HKEY _ LOCAL_ MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform

5 . In right- side pane , change value of SkipRearm to 1 .

6 . Now you will be able to use the slmgr -rearm command for another 8 times so that you can skip activation process for another 240 days.
So you will get 120 + 240 = 360 days of free Windows 7 usage .120 days using “ slmgr - rearm” command before registry edit + 240 days using “ slmgr - rearm” command< after registry edit = 360 Days .

Get Serial Number Of Any Software - Using Google

Many people are downloading trial version of softwares and using it , after
the expiration of trial version they try for crack , Serial Number, Keygen , Patch ..
Most of us don't know where to get Serial Number from, Many websites may infect your system with Trojans, Viruses , Spy ware ... .

But simple way to find Serial Number with less effort and in less time too, but make sure you have anti virus activated before trying to get some Serials , Patches to avoid data loss.Just follow below steps :

1 ) Go to www .Google .com

2 ) type this " 94FBR" in search bar

3 ) Write Product name with desired software and leave a space then type
        "94FBR"
Eg :- avast 94 FBR

4 ) Press enter .


Now you can see Many links which contains Serial no , Crack , Patches.. ..
Just make a try, this simple trick works for many people ..

kumarakom- An ideal vacation spot

Kumarakom is situated about 16 kilometres from the kottayam city in the ''god's own country"- Kerala, India.

The vembanad lake...

It is a popular tourist location famous for its backwater tourism. It is blessed by The Vembanad lake which is the largest fresh water lake in Kerala.

delicious karimeen(pearl spot) fry

 In it grows a wide variety of fishes like karimeen(pearl spot), shrimps etc. which make a very delicious meal.. Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary that extends over 14 acres is a noted bird sanctuary where many species of migratory birds visit. Kumarakom is well known for its unique house boating experience. People going fishing on boats called "kettuvallom" has always been an attraction to tourists. Tourist flow has always peaked at the time of Onam(one among the most important festivals in kerala) when the most popular boat racing takes place at the Vembanad lake. Boats like Kochu-odi Vallam, Odi Vallam, Iruttukutthi Vallam, Churulan Vallam and Chundan Vallam(Snake Boat) takes part in these races. 

The famous vallam kali(boat race)

Kumarakom is thus a very beautiful place to live accounting for its increasing tourist attraction. So if you get a chance to visit this place,don't miss it...

Aurora Australis

        Among the views of Earth afforded astronauts aboard the +International Space Station (ISS), surely one of the most spectacular is of the aurora. These ever-shifting displays of colored ribbons, curtains, rays, and spots are most visible near the North (aurora borealis) and South (aurora australis) Poles as charged particles (ions) streaming from the Sun (the solar wind) interact with Earth’s magnetic field.

While aurora are generally only visible close to the poles, severe magnetic storms impacting the Earth’s magnetic field can shift them towards the equator. This striking aurora image was taken during a geomagnetic storm that was most likely caused by a coronal mass ejection from the +Sun on May 24, 2010. The ISS was located over the Southern Indian Ocean at an altitude of 350 kilometers (220 miles), with the astronaut observer most likely looking towards Antarctica (not visible) and the South Pole.
       The aurora has a sinuous ribbon shape that separates into discrete spots near the lower right corner of the image. While the dominant coloration of the aurora is green, there are faint suggestions of red left of image center. Dense cloud cover is dimly visible below the aurora. The curvature of the Earth’s horizon (the limb) is clearly visible, as is the faint blue line of the upper atmosphere directly above it (at image top center). Several stars appear as bright pinpoints against the blackness of space at image top right.

      Auroras happen when ions in the solar wind collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. The atoms are excited by these collisions, and they typically emit light as they return to their original energy level. The light creates the aurora that we see. The most commonly observed color of aurora is green, caused by light emitted by excited oxygen atoms at wavelengths centered at 0.558 micrometers, or millionths of a meter. (Visible light is reflected from healthy (green) plant leaves at approximately the same wavelength.) Red aurora are generated by light emitted at a longer wavelength (0.630 micrometers), and other colors

Iphone Jail Breaking

Jailbreaking is the process to unlock the iPhone and iPod touch devices to permit the installation of third-party applications. It can also add ringtones or change wallpaper on iPhone. It opens up the file system of iPhone so that it can be accessed from the computer. Attackers use different techniques to jailbreak the iPod; after jailbreaking, they can install malicious code or software, which helps to access the information from the iPod. Some tools used for jailbreaking, include: 

1. iDemocracy :

          iDemocracy is the iPhone jailbreak and third-party app installation solution for the Windows platform. It installs Installer.app (for 3rd party apps/games), custom ringtones, and SIM unlock. It has new features like free ringtones on firmwares, as well as File Browsing. Go here to know more : http://code.google.com/p/idemocracy/

2. iActivator :

          iActivator is a Cocoa-based application for the Mac. It is a graphical interface providing iPhone activation/deactivation tools, and methods for breaking/restoring the jail. Go here to know more : http://www.iphone-hacks.com/2007/07/

3. iNdependence :

          iNdependence is a Cocoa-based application for Mac OS X which provides an interface for jailbreak, activation, SSH installation, and ringtone/wallpaper/application installation on your iPhone. It allows unauthorized third-party application installation on your iPhone. Go here to know more : http://code.google.com/p/independence/ ;

4. iFuntastic :

           iFuntastic is an iPhone hacking and modification tool. It provides a GUI for almost any iPhone modification task. It can dig into your iPhone and edit images and logos. It can replace any system sounds and color iChat SMS balloons. It has full file browser feature, which simply browses the iPhone's internal file system, and edit UI images. Go here to know more: http://www.tuaw.com/tag/iFuntastic/

5. AppSnap : 

          AppSnapp is a tool for jailbreaking and allowing the installation of non-sanctioned third-party applications to the iPhone. This tool jailbreak the iPhone or iPod Touch, pushes the Installer.app to the device, which contains a catalog of native applications that can be installed directly over a WiFi or EDGE connection. It automates the process on iPhones running software/firmware. It can be completed purely using the iPhone without interacting with a Mac or Windows computer. Go here to know more : http://jailbreakme.com/ ;

6. iPhoneSimFree : 

           iPhoneSimFree is used to unlock the iPhone. It is capable of completely restoring/repairing software unlocked "bricked" iPhone. Go for detail : http://www.iphonesimfree.com/cgi-bin/iphonesimfree/engine.pl?page=home  ;

7. anySIM :

            anySIM is a GUI-based SIM unlocking solution for iPhone. This application works only on VIRGIN 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 phones. It is described as fully automatic, needing only to be copied to a "jailbroken" iPhone and launched from the springboard interface.Go here to know more about it: http://www.iphonestalk.com/anysim-v1-1-free-gui-based-sim-unlock-tool-for-virgin-iphone-os-v1-1-1-released/

Yes, the freedom is yours: Extreme Supermoon

Yes, the freedom is yours: Extreme Supermoon: SUPERMOON Credits : JPL/NASA The term super-moon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 , defined as a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit .In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.

The technical term for this phenomenon is a perigee - syzygy which is shortened to "supermoon"!!
Well March 19 2011 has witnessed one of the "ExtremeSuperMoon" phenomenon..... which is repeating itself after an interval of 18 yrs..
Actualy its a common misconception that supermoon is a phenomena which occurs after 18 yrs,in truth there are about 4-6 super moons annually.The extreme supermoon of march 19 2011 is the second super moon of the year....


The difference between a normal moon and a super moon is that

The Super-moon is
-> 14% larger
-> 30% brighter
To explain this phenomenon we must notice that the path of the moon around earth is elliptical (relatively) with earth at one of its focii and at perigee position the moon is closest to the earth and at this time we observe this miraculous phenomena..


The picture below shows the size differences observed at different positions in moons elliptical orbit.

full moon at apogee and perigee
Apogee and prigee of moon, Size difference can be clearly noted..

Due to the super moon phenomena the variations in tide,(ie is high tides and low tides) would be higher than normal.
This could be explained by the considering the inverse square law relation,

During a super moon event the "r"(distance) would be very short compared to the other times, So there would be a high gravitational pull...and this pull results in the different tide levels..

The following is a list of past and predicted extreme super-moons.

* November 10, 1954
* November 20, 1972
* January 8, 1974
* February 26, 1975
* December 2, 1990
* January 19, 1992
* March 8, 1993
* January 10, 2005
* December 12, 2008
* January 30, 2010
* March 19, 2011
* November 14, 2016
* January 2, 2018
* January 21, 2023
* November 25, 2034
* January 13, 2036

Astrologers of the past belive that occurence of a supermoon (its prediction) is a sign of a impending disaster to come..and the coincidence of many natural disasters with this phenomenon is striking.
There is a huge group of people who are blaming super moon for the march 11 tsunami that struck in Japan.In my point of view it is totally absurd.

Perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The "super moon" of March 1983 & SuperMoon of Dec. 2008 were harmless contradicting its relation with Natural disasters...

All I want to point out is that dont blame supermoon for the natural calamities we are facing. And guys remember by doing so we are spoiling once a life time opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the miracles of nature.