Telangana government plans big IT push to rebuild brand Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: After four years of political uncertainty, which ended in the creation of Telangana, attention is now turning towards rebuilding brand Hyderabad.

State information technology minister K Taraka Rama Rao is set to clear several IT companies' expansion plans, which had been put on the back burner all these years. Among the companies geared up for expanding their operations in and around Hyderabad are tech major such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Cognizant, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Taking charge of his ministry on Thursday, Rao said the expansion plans of the MNCs would provide 40,000 direct jobs. "Encouraging the growth of the IT sector is the top priority of our government," he told the media. "By 'grounding' (starting) the projects — including ITIR (Information Technology Infrastructure Region) — we are looking at creating 15 lakh direct and 35 lakh indirect jobs in the IT sector over the next five years."

While the ITIR project, which is coming up with a central funding of over Rs 1.32 lakh crore, is a long-term programme expected to be completed by 2024, Rao wants to focus on short-term plans that will revive the brand equity of Hyderabad — something that will require early approval of the expansion plans of the MNCs.

Cognizant, which has service-based operations with 30,000 employees in Hyderabad, has plans to expand operations to develop its own encryption software and anti-spam software products for which it has sought 54 acres of land at Adibatla village on the city outskirts. Sources said the expansion would provide over 12,000 jobs once the clearances come through.

Google, which has a staff strength of 7,500 at its Madhapur office, is looking to build its own township on a 20-acre plot in Kokapet to house its entire operations in Hyderabad under one roof. The sources said Google's new venture would provide 5,000 additional jobs.

Amazon, which is limited to support and back-end operations in the city, is looking for a proper expansion of its operations, including software development, for which it has sought 2.6 million sq ft land in Nanakramguda. The expansion is expected to generate 5,000 jobs. TCS, which has offices at Gachi Bowli and Madhapur, has already got 70 acres of land at Adibatla and has even started construction there. Pending minor clearances, this expansion should create an additional 12,000 jobs. Facebook and Microsoft too have big plans for Hyderabad.

"Some of these cases are entangled in legal issues, including land litigation," said a senior official in the government. "The new IT minister held a series of meetings with the companies even before he took charge. Since the groundwork has been done, clearances for the expansion plans can happen anywhere between a couple of days and a week."

The sources said the minister was planning to convene a round-table meeting of the IT sector's stakeholders next week where he would invite suggestions to make Hyderabad more investor-friendly.

Besides this, Rao is said to have prepared a 16-point agenda for the revival of the IT sector, which had begun to look sluggish during the Telangana struggle. The government plans to set up an IT governing body that will monitor various sector-related issues.

"There are several issues such as women's safety, HR-related problems and the menace of fake IT companies exploiting gullible job seekers," said Naveen Reddy Gaddam, vice-president of Telangana IT Association. "The governing body is expected to monitor these issues."

While the emphasis is on the IT industry clustered in and around Hyderabad, the government also wants to take the sector to two-tier and three-tier cities such as Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal. "We will build IT corridors in these cities along the lines of the one in Hyderabad," said Rao. Special incentives and tax rebates have been planned for start-ups and investors in these corridors.

Source: TOI

Refer Islam Tab A Useful Information  for all

MAC Address (Media Access Control)

---

MAC (Media Access Control) addresses are permanent by design, several mechanisms allow modification, or "spoofing", of the MAC address that is reported by the operating system. This can be useful for privacy reasons, for instance when connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot, or to ensure interoperability. Some internet service providers bind their service to a specific MAC address; if the user then changes their network card or intends to install a router, the service won't work anymore. Changing the MAC address of the new interface will solve the problem. Similarly, some software licenses are bound to a specific MAC address. Changing the MAC address in this way is not permanent: after a reboot, it will revert to the MAC address physically stored in the card. A MAC address is 48 bits in length.

A MAC address is a physical hardware address assigned to each device that has the capability of connecting to a network. The internet is nothing more than a large network. The MAC address is something that is assigned in the chip on the device and is not something the user can change.

As a MAC address can be changed, it can be unwise to rely on this as a single method of authentication. IEEE 802.1x is an emerging standard better suited to authenticating devices at a low level.

Types of MAC address:
Unicast address : An address for a specific computer.
Multicast address : An address for a specific group of computers in
network.
Broadcast address : An address for all computers in network.

---

HOw Can U Change MAC Address:

Windows

Under Windows XP, the MAC address can be changed in the Ethernet adapter's Properties menu, in the Advanced tab, as "MAC Address", "Locally Administered Address", "Ethernet Address" or "Network Address". The exact name depends on the Ethernet driver used; not all drivers support changing the MAC address in this way.

However, a better solution - requiring Administrative User Rights - is to pass over the System Registry Keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Here settings for each network interface can be found. The contents of the string value called 'NetworkAddress' will be used to set the MAC address of the adapter when next it is enabled. Resetting the adapter can be accomplished in script with the freely available command line utility devcon from Microsoft, or from the adapters context menu in the Network Connections control panel applet.

There is a nice tool to change the MAC address for all cards (even those that can't be changed through the adapter's Properties menu): SMAC MAC Address Changer

Note: to check your MAC address easily on a Windows XP box, go to Run, type CMD, then type "ipconfig /all" without quotation in the command prompt. The number under physical address is the MAC address. If multiple IP are displayed, you should look under the label "Ethernet adapter x", where x is the name of your connection (which is Local Area Connection by default).

Windows

Under Windows XP, the MAC address can be changed in the Ethernet adapter's Properties menu, in the Advanced tab, as "MAC Address", "Locally Administered Address", "Ethernet Address" or "Network Address". The exact name depends on the Ethernet driver used; not all drivers support changing the MAC address in this way.

However, a better solution - requiring Administrative User Rights - is to pass over the System Registry Keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Here settings for each network interface can be found. The contents of the string value called 'NetworkAddress' will be used to set the MAC address of the adapter when next it is enabled. Resetting the adapter can be accomplished in script with the freely available command line utility devcon from Microsoft, or from the adapters context menu in the Network Connections control panel applet.

There is a nice tool to change the MAC address for all cards (even those that can't be changed through the adapter's Properties menu): SMAC MAC Address Changer

Note: to check your MAC address easily on a Windows XP box, go to Run, type CMD, then type "ipconfig /all" without quotation in the command prompt. The number under physical address is the MAC address. If multiple IP are displayed, you should look under the label "Ethernet adapter x", where x is the name of your connection (which is Local Area Connection by default).

Router

The method to change the MAC address of a router varies with the router. Not all routers have the ability to change their MAC address. The feature is often referred to as "clone MAC address". This take the MAC address of one of the machine on your network and replaces the router's existing MAC address with it. Some support the option to manually enter the MAC address.

How to change a MAC address in Linux

To change your MAC address in Linux (and most *nix system) is easy. All it takes is two easy to script commands:

    ifconfig eth0 down hw ether 00:00:00:00:00:01

    ifconfig eth0 up

These two little commands would set your eth0 interface to use the MAC 00:00:00:00:00:01. Just plug in the NIC you want to set and the MAC address you want to use into the commands above and your done. Changing your MAC address is one of those things that is much easier to do in Linux then under Windows.

Social Engineering

Social Engineering:-  To Hack The Human Mind :)

This has become one of the hottest topics today and it seems to work out most of the times. Social Engineering doesn’t deal with the network security issues, vulnerabilities, exploits, etc. It just deals with simple psychological tricks that help to get the information we want. This really works!! But it requires a lot of patience.
We are all talking about network security and fixing the vulnerabilities in networks. But what happens if some internal person of a network accidentally gives out the passwords. After all we are all humans; we are also vulnerable and can be easily exploited and compromised than the computers.
Social Engineering attacks have become most common during the chat sessions. With the increase in use of Instant Messengers, any anonymous person may have a chat with another any where in the world. The most crucial part of this attack is to win the trust of the victim.
                                  
It may take a long time (may be in minutes, hours, days or months) for this to happen. But after you are being trusted by the victim he will say you every thing about him. Most of the times his person information will be useful to crack his web accounts like e-mail ids, etc. Even some people are so vulnerable to this attack that they even give their credit card numbers to the strangers (social engineers).
Some social engineers stepped one more forward and they send some keyloggers or Trojans to the victims claimed to be as screensavers or pics. These keyloggers when executed gets installed and send back information to the attacker. So be careful with such attacks.

Prevention:
1) Don’t believe everyone you meet on the net and tell them every  thing about you. Don’t even accidentally say answers to the questions like “What’s you pet’s name?”, “What is your mothermaiden’s name?”, etc. which are particularly used by your web account providers to remind your passwords.

2) Don’t give your credit card details to even your chating through instant messengers. Remember, it’s not a hard deal for an attacker to crack an e-mail id and chat with you like your friend. Also data through IMs can be easily sniffed.

3) Don’t accept executable files (like *.exe, *.bat, *.vbs, *.scr, etc.) from unknown persons you meet on the net. They might be viruses or Trojans.
Please act carefully, use security software and ask professionals for help.

Install window XP In 10Min.

---

As We all know that During Formatting a Computer After the File Copying is Completed then windows Require 39 Minutes Time...But What Extreme In It.... Yes We can Bypass this faking Time .... How TO DO IT??? So read On..
I have Included Snaps Shots That will help you.

>> INSTALLING WIN XP IN 10 MINUTES! <<

STEP1 : After the Copy Part is Over ... System is Rebooted as we all know In general Foramatting Procedure...
Now After Reboot The Below Image Will Appear....


 STEP 2: Now As This Image APPEARS You Have to Press  "Shift + F10 "  . This Will Open The command Prompt...  Now type  taskmgr  in it. This will open the Task manager .

STEP 3 : After The task Manager Opens Goto Processes ... And Find "Setup.exe"  process and Right CLICK on It.... and set the Priority to Highest....


 
STEP 4: Now Just Watch the Set It will take around 9 minutes and 2 minutes for Tolerance(depends System to system)....

Thats the Overall Tutorial...Hope You all Have LIKED IT...
So When you Format your PC Next Time It will Really Save Your TIME i.e around 20 to 25 minutes....Enjoy Hacking.~

To Find The USB Logs

Go to Run Then Enter Code _|
For window 7 -->
C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log

For window Xp -->
C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.log

For Ram Analysis

Open Source Tools from ForensicZone

Download Link

Phishing Attacks

Here we tells about PHISHING & How can we protect from it.~!

>>WHAT IS PHISHING:-

The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surroundering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

 

>>MOBILE PHISHING:

Phishing scams are not limited to the internet. Some phishers use the telephone to make requests for information. If you get a call from your banking institution asking for personal information, hang up and call your bank directly. Your bank will have your social security number and account information on file and should only ask you to verify a few digits.

like Iphone,Apple ,iTunes n more...By SMS

EXAMPLE:-

>>Congratulations! Your mobile phone has won US$ 10 Million prize money. To claim your money, call this number XXXXXXXX,give your permanent address,pin number,account number or credit card number...

The phisher can ask like it They want your personal Information.

 Some people do the reply to phisher then after he/she can be target of Phisher... so never be reply these type of Messages or Mail.

 

In a phishing attack, the attacker creates a situation wherein people believe that they are dealing with an authorized party, like their bank or another service provider. The attacker will ask the victim for sensitive information such as credit card information.



>>Phishing attacks generally target:

    * Bank information – e.g. VISA and PayPal accounts.
    * Username and password information.
    * Social Security numbers.
    * Information which can be used to retrieve forgotten or lost credentials.

>>Follow the tips below to protect yourself against these threats:

· Your bank will never ask you to divulge account information or passwords via email. Never give out this information, especially via email.

· Don’t open emails that come from untrusted sources.

· Don’t run files that you receive via email without making sure of their origin.

· Don’t click links in emails. If they come from a known source, type them on the browser’s address bar. If they come from an untrusted source, simply ignore them, as they could take you to a web designed to download malware onto your computer.

· Keep your computer protected. Install a security solution and keep it up-to-date.


>>Protect yourself from Phishing scams that could lead to identity theft. I cannot stress this enough. Phishing scams are a hot topic lately that have grown with the popularity of online banking and social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Friendster.

The term Phishing comes from the analogy to "fishing". The phisher uses a bait to lure victims into giving out personal information like passwords and credit card numbers. The bait is typically and urgent plea from one of the victims friends or trusted websites, asking for information to resolve some sort of problem with their account.


>>Anti-phishing software is a must for anyone that accesses the internet. Most of the internet service providers have some safety measures included as part of their online security software. Most web browsers also have add-ons that can detect most phishing scams. Unfortunately, these measures are not enough. Some of the more clever phishers have found ways to trick the anti-phishing software so you need to be cautious of suspicious emails and messages.

Ethical Hacking

Yes! Prevention is better than cure. This is not the James Bond 007 film like “License to Kill”. This is “License to Hack”. But the theme is same. Where in the Bond film the James Bond the hero fight against the villain. Here the Computer Experts as “Ethical Hackers” fight against the Computer-savvy criminal’s malicious attack. We have to protect our Network, confidential information, bank accounts, and even an identity. We are in the time to fight against these malicious hackers who breach the most secure bank accounts, corporate information or even government website to mischief, damage or even sabotage.

Many companies are nowadays employing these experts as “Ethical Hackers” to actually test by attacking their own Computer Networks. They attempts to detect potential weak systems or servers to intrude or crash their own security systems and suggest changes to increase the safety. These steps are made effective in such technical methods and procedures to test the effectiveness and quality of their own network systems and prevent the attack of intrusions before they happen.

Here we are using the term “ Ethical hackers” as a legal profession for Computer Networks Experts to keep the bad things out. These experts use the same tactics and techniques to violate the security protocols as their vigorous counterparts, but in an ethical manner.

These ethical hackers test the systems in the company for a secured network quantitatively and evaluating weakness, flaws and threats.

Career Wise Now this kind of jobs leads to make a team of these experts in a company as a bright career option to do the intrusion testing or penetration testing as “Ethical  Hackers”. There is a world wide demand for information security professionals up to 60,000 and many of the multi national companies such as IBM, Infosys, Wipro, Reliance and Airtel looking for good ethical hackers as reported by a survey made by the International Data Corp.

Scope  As the free lancers are not preferred by the reputed companies in India, you can work as the full time company employee in the post of Information Security Specialist / Consultant. These kind of jobs opens the door for the professionals as an entry level job positions like Network Security Administrator, Network Defense Analyst, Web Security Administrator, Application Security Tester, Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker, Security Auditor, Otherwise you can choose for Secured Programmer, Cryptographer, or Forensic Professional.

The job responsibilities include Authorised Security Hacking to LAN Assessment, Application Testing, Security Tools Installation and Security Surveillance. There is an immense scope for a career growth and progression up the ladder up to the level of Chief Information Security Officer

Remuneration  In India the scale of pay starts from Rs. 4-6 laks per annum and it can even rise up to Rs.40 Lakhs. Top companies like IBM, Infosys, Wipro, Dell, Cap Gemini, Google etc with employment opportunities primarily in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune.

There is a belief that the information security professionals  are have a chance to earn 20-30% higher than for most other professionals who are in the same positions in IT field.

 Skills The field is clearly open to Computer Science graduates, skilled computer experts or even to the talent of malicious hackers for a good reason. A high college level background, excellent computer programming talent and good networking skill in IT is required.

 Qualification A degree in Computer Science with good programming and network skills with a training certificate in a reputed training center. You are suggested to update your knowledge through workshops, Seminars, and Trade Shows which gives you the latest tools, techniques and technologies. The training period can vary from a fast track of week time course up to 3 months course of fee starts from Rs. 10, 000 onwards.

Indian students with foreign degrees returning home

Indian students with foreign degrees returning home

Akshay Kumar, 25, knew his journey would be tough. But he thought he was prepared.

In 2012, after an engineering degree and a oneyear stint with a multinational, Kumar felt he needed a makeover. "I didn't want to be stuck with civil engineering all my life. I also wanted to see the world and explore new options," he recalls. Doing an MBA from a premier institute was on his mind.

He did think of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the Xavier School of Management, but the desire for global exposure pushed him to explore options overseas. Kumar settled for a oneyear post-graduate course at the Imperial University in the UK, which he financed via an education loan. "Visa rules and the bleak job market there did weigh on my mind. But I had a feeling I could manage it," he says. He had confidence in Imperial's good global ranking, its alumni network and his own hard work.

Kumar began his hunt for a job virtually from the day he landed in the UK. He studied hard to get good grades but worked even harder to find a good job. By tapping into networks of his alumni, friends and family, Kumar reckons he would have reached out to over 200 firms during that year. "It didn't work. My good grades made me eligible for plenty of jobs, but my non-European Indian passport was the problem," he shrugs.

Kumar moved back to India late last year and has just landed a job with a private equity firm. "All my plans have been delayed by five years," he says. Close to half his salary today goes in paying monthly instalments on his education loan.

The World isn't Flat

The West has a problem. Its economy is in a funk, not enough jobs are being created, cautious companies aren't hiring too many, and worried governments — from the US to the UK — are raising visa barriers for foreigners to work in their countries.

Young Indians, who went overseas for education, are facing a tough time finding a job. Many like Kumar have returned home. And some are now casting the net wider — looking for jobs from the US to Hong Kong and Singapore — or settling for sub-optimal options. Rupa Chanda, professor, IIM-Bangalore, who has worked on reports on international student mobility, says visa and immigration is the biggest factor affecting Indian students' decisions.

The US, the UK and Australia — the three most popular destinations for Indians seeking global education — have seen the number of Indian students come down over the past few years (see Out of Favour?). Remember, many Indian students take hefty education loans to finance their studies abroad. While many would find decent jobs back in India that would not help much as these students need dollar salaries to comfortably service their loan. This is taking its toll. "Overseas education is costly. Many Indian students are doing a cost-benefit analysis to figure how to recoup their investments overseas and putting off their plans [to study there]," explains New York-based Rahul Choudaha, chief knowledge officer, World Education Services (WES), a non-profit organization that provides credential evaluations for international students planning to study or work in the US and Canada.

But to be fully able to understand how this trend will play out, one must understand the backdrop. A big generational shift is taking place among the students looking for overseas education. Many of them now are India's liberalization children, who have grown up post-1991 and lived in an increasingly global world with fewer barriers.

So in many ways this is their first brush with a world with barriers. Many are also children of globetrotting well-paid senior corporate executives who think differently about education, exposure and investing in a world-class education. "These parents understand the long-term rewards of a world-class education. I see many of my friends taking their children to these top campuses after they pass out from school to give them a first-hand feel," says Hema Ravichandar, strategic HR expert and a former HR head of Infosys.



Woes on Foreign Shores

Both of Ravichandar's children have studied overseas. Her daughter, Aditi, is doing her MBA from Wharton in the US and her son Nikhil, 22, completed his Bachelor's in economics from Warwick in the UK. Nikhil chose the UK over India because of the flexibility available in picking courses — he wanted to do economics with law which was impossible in India with its rigid course structures. "Education in India is not very research-driven and multicultural," he adds.

But during his stay there, the UK revoked the two-year work permit for foreign graduates. Thus he needed a firm job offer to stay on after graduation. This was difficult since he was particular about the kind of work. "I wanted a job in economic consulting," he says. Unable to get that he preferred to do a postgraduate programme instead. While he did not take any loan, for many of his classmates, who had taken a hefty education loan, things were difficult.

Now, Nikhil is back in India getting some interesting exposure at a few start-ups in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley. He is contemplating a startup of his own. "This is the best time to take the risk and explore it," he says.

Across the Atlantic, Sujoyini Mandal, in her 20s, offers another peek into the odds that Indian students face overseas. After her graduation from Jadavpur University, Mandal went to Singapore for her postgrad and worked with a think-tank there. Life was good but since she had always yearned for a degree from a world-class university, she applied for a Master's at Harvard's Kennedy School.

For two years, she deferred her admission as she did not get any financial aid. She saved some money and, with a bit of aid, finally took the plunge in 2011. Foreign students in her college face an education loan cap of $30,000 ($15,000 a year), she says, making things even more difficult Mandal started looking for a job when she graduated in May 2013. But mandates that fitted her needs and aspirations were not easy to come by. She did land a contract with the World Bank but that was short term, uncertain and had no medical cover. Last month Mandal finally landed a job with an investment bank.

Despite such struggles, there are many reasons why the pursuit of overseas education among young Indians is unlikely to die down any time soon.



The Demographic Bulge

Every year, around 800,000 Indian students reportedly go overseas for their education. This costs the country close to $15 billion of forex annually, estimates industry lobby Assocham. If students are going overseas for education, it's because India has a problem of both capacity and quality. The country has one of the world's largest education infrastructures: 600 universities and 34,000 colleges with 17 million students enrolled and 5 million students graduating every year. But India is also witnessing a demographic bulge — it has perhaps the world's largest young population. Experts estimate that some 100-million-odd students will seek higher education over the next decade.

The capacity problem is compounded by the quality issue. About 70% of the capacity in India is of poor standards. At the other end of the spectrum, competitive intensity at the premier colleges is so stiff that it is often easier for bright students to get admission in Ivy League colleges in the US and the UK than in the IITs, IIMs and even top colleges in Delhi University.

All this coincides with the rise of India's aspirational upper middle class. Over the past two decades, many first-generation Indians have risen up the corporate hierarchy and are financially well-off. These welltravelled, financially stable corporate executives desire the best for their children. "They are looking for the best educational experience. They know it is a life-long asset. Indian premier colleges do not have the capacity and are very rigid," says TV Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Education. Pai's son studied at Stanford University in the US and now works for a start-up in Silicon Valley.

This aligns well with the global trend of rising international mobility of students. According to Institute of International Education (IIE), since 2000, the number of students leaving home in pursuit of higher education has increased by 65%, totalling about 4.3 million students globally. What is more interesting is that the share of students from the developing countries in this pie is rising — it moved up from 54.8% to 69% between 1999 and 2009.



India vs China

Not surprisingly, the world's two most populous and powerful emerging countries — China and India — send the largest number of students overseas. But China has rapidly shifted gears to overtake India.

Consider what's taking place in the US. In 2000-01, India topped the list of international students by country, with 66,836 against China's 63,211. But by 2009-10 China had overtaken India. In 2012-13, China sent 236,000 students; India was nudging the 97,000 mark. While the number of Chinese students has been growing in double digits of late, that of Indian students has been sliding. To understand why that is happening, it is important to analyze the profile of students going overseas from both the countries.

Chinese students going to the US are evenly split between undergraduate (40%) and postgraduate programmes (44%). But Indian students are heavily skewed towards postgraduate programmes (55%) with just 13% at the undergraduate level. Indian students are also unique as over 60% are in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) category. Bear in mind that historically, postgraduate and STEM programmes offer more financial support than undergraduate and non-STEM programmes.

"The decline in Indian students is directly related to the 'Strivers' [value-for-money seekers as per WES research, see Different Breeds], who have been putting their plans on hold due to increasing cost of studying abroad which in turn was triggered by economic uncertainty and currency devaluation," says Choudaha.

A majority of Indian students arrives at the Master's level and funds education by taking loans as financial aid from colleges has dried up. So, while the majority of Indian students go for education loans, Chinese students are supported by their families. According to a research by WES, 47% of Indian respondents report loans as one of the primary sources of funding as compared with only 3% of Chinese.

Chinese students, in contrast, are "explorers" (experience seekers), says Choudaha. Often the only-child of financially well-off parents, they have the financial wherewithal to study abroad and are under less pressure to find a job there. But change may be afoot. Some Indian students could make the transition from 'strivers' to 'explorers' and Choudaha expects more and more Indian students — most of them children of well-off senior executives — to go overseas at the undergraduate level. Not so dependent on financial aid, he also sees many more Indians exploring new interdisciplinary fields, beyond STEM. Even in the STEM category, experts feel that Indian students will be the biggest beneficiary as the Obama government eases rules for this critical segment in future.

Lessons from China

Two decades back, China faced problems similar to those India faces today — its higher education had both capacity and quality issues. Since then China has worked hard to upgrade its educational institutions. It has two programmes — Project 211 and Project 985. The former aims to make 100 Chinese universities world class in the 21st century; this will help China churn out world-class trained professionals to push economic growth. These universities are expected to set national standards for education quality that can be replicated by others.

Project 985 started more than a decade back and is an attempt to build China's own Ivy League colleges in the 21st century. In the first phase the project included nine universities. The second phase, launched in 2004, includes 40-odd universities. The projects have been backed by significant investments. According to a New York Times report, China is investing $250 billion a year in human capital.

The dragon country's efforts are now bearing fruit. Many Chinese universities are climbing up the global ranks. Two Chinese universities have made it to the top global 50 in the Times Higher Education report. India has none. In the top 500, 16 Chinese universities make the cut against seven from India. Mobile international students are taking note. A decade back, China was hardly on anybody's radar.

Today, it is the third largest education hub in the world after the US and the UK with 3.28 lakh international students, according to IIE. By 2020, it hopes to host 500,000 international students. Even Singapore is targeting 1.5 lakh foreign students by 2015. In contrast, India was home to just 27,000 international students in 2012. China is aware that to push innovation and realize its economic ambitions, it must be able to attract top talent — in its colleges and workforce.

Also, in virtually every key statistic, the world today is seeing a shift from the West to the East. From economic GDP to consumption power, MNCs across the board are looking at Asia and the world's two most populous nations. This shift is happening demographically too. But in the education space, the West still dominates.

Of the world's top 100 universities, 46 are in the US. Seven of top 10 universities are in the US. Asia has just 11 in the top 100. "It is difficult to replicate what US has done with its universities to 2emerge as an innovation hub," says Pai. So, ambitious and aspirational Indians will continue to look overseas for education. But if India has to realize its potential, it must invest heavily in building world-class institutions in the country — the China way.



Source : The Economic Times