23 Jun 2008, 0136 hrs IST,PTI
OXFORD: The Oxford University considers Indian students among the best in the world and would like more of them joining its campus, Chancellor Chris Patten has said.
The university, which produced the likes of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has presently 257 Indian students on roll. But one-third of its students are from China.
"We want more Indian students because we want the best in the world to come to Oxford," Mr. Patten said. Most of the Indian students are in the Said Business School.
"About a quarter of the students are doing MBAs...but I would like to see more in social sciences and humanities, doing both under-graduate and post-graduate work," he said.
Though Indians are less in number, they have won more scholarships than the Chinese.
Last year, they won 54 different scholarships, including the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, according to an Oxford journal. "They (Indians) probably got more than China," the Chancellor said.
He said the number of scholarships may go up as the university improves its financial position.
"I hope as we develop our endowments we will be able to offer many more (scholarships) to post-graduate students in the next few years," Patten said. The university has developed a Master’s programme in South Asian studies.
For a one-year MBA programme, it could cost as much as Rs. 40 lakh, including the cost of tuition fee, boarding and lodging and the out-of-pocket expenses.
"It is a different world out here...We are gaining immensely," said Karandeep Singh Vohra, pursuing MBA at the Said Business School.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
E Sarathbabu: A crorepati who lives in a hut!
A crorepati who lives in a hut!
April 29, 2008
His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago.
He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah in an Anganvadi to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry," says Sarathbabu.
In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true with Foodking. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his mother. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in Chennai. Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed a turnaround in 2007.
How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two years? Sarathbabu shares the trial and tribulations of an exciting and challenging job in an interview with Shobha Warrier.
A tough beginning
As I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first year was very challenging. I had a loan of Rs 20 lakh by the end of first year. I had no experience in handling people in business, and it was difficult to identify the right people. Though I made losses in the first year, not even once did I regret my decision of not accepting the offers from MNCs and starting an enterprise of my own. I looked at my losses as a learning experience. I was confident that I would be successful one day.
--------------------------
The inspiring rags-to-riches tale of Sarathbabu
Shobha Warrier
When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.
He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys [Get Quote] co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.
Sarathbabu was in Chennai, his hometown, a few days ago, to explore the possibility of starting a Foodking unit in the city and also to distribute the Ullas Trust Scholarships instituted by the IT firm Polaris [Get Quote] to 2,000 poor students in corporation schools.
In this interview with rediff.com, Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his story, in his own words.
Childhood in a slum
I was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five kids on her meagre salary.
As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.
So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government.
She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. Although she didn't say explicitly that we should study well, we knew she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her hard work should not go in vain.
I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is something very special.
My mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology. She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn't know what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.
When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.
I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.
I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the work.
Life at BITS, Pilani
Sarathbabau. Photograph: Sreeram SelvarajA classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.
When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there was also a sense of uncertainty.
The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs 42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us. Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters -- they were all married by then -- pawned her jewellery and that's how I paid for the first semester.
My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was the scholarship that helped me through.
It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her when the next scholarship came.
The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the time I reached the fourth year.
First year at BITS, Pilani
To put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.
On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.
I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it took a really long time -- till the end of the first year -- to make friends.
The second year
I became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.
In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.
In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to handle around 100 students.
Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.
They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA, it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.
Inspiration to be an entrepreneur
It was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in the papers that 30 per cent of India's population does not get two meals a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help them, I wondered.
I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance [Get Quote] and Ambani. Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around 15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people, he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should become an entrepreneur.
But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed to clear it in my first attempt.
I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the debts but I hadn't built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.
Life at IIM, Ahmedabad
My college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was elected the mess secretary.
Becoming an entrepreneur
By the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my own. But back home, I didn't have a house. It was a difficult decision to say 'no' to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.
Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.
Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40 students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.
Foodking Catering Services Pvt Ltd
My mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.
I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the weaker sections of the society.
My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.
I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea, coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.
When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11 lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).
Three months have passed, and now we have forty employees and four clients -- IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute and System Plus.
In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now, the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations will start in another three months' time.
Ambition
I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality of life. In the first year, I want to employ around 200-500 people. In the next five years, I hope to increase it by 15,000. I am sure it is possible.
I want to cover all the major cities in India, and later, I want to go around the world too.
I have seen people from all walks of life -- from the slums to the elite in the country. That is why luxuries like a car or a bungalow do not matter to me. Even money doesn't matter to me. I feel bad if I have to have food in a five star hotel. I feel guilty.
Personally, I have no ambition but I want to give a house and a car to my mother.
Appreciation
I did not expect this kind of exposure by the media for my venture or appreciation from people like my director at the IIM or Narayana Murthy. I was just doing what I wanted to do. But the exposure really helped me get orders, finance, everything.
The best compliments I received were from Narayana Murthy and my director at IIM, Ahmedabad. When I told him (IIM-A director) about my decision to start a company, he hugged me and wished me luck. They have seen life, they have seen thousands and thousands of students and if they say it is a good decision, I am sure it is a good decision.
Reservation
Reservation should be a mix of all criteria. If you take a caste that comes under reservation, 80 per cent of the people will be poor and 20 per cent rich, the creamy layer. For the general category, it will be the other way around.
I feel equal weightage should be given for the economic background. A study has to be done on what is the purpose of reservation and what it has done to the needy. It should be more effective and efficient. In my case, I would not have demanded for reservation. I accepted it because the society felt I belonged to the deprived class and needed a helping hand.
Today, the opportunities are grabbed by a few. They should be ashamed of their ability if they avail reservation even after becoming an IAS officer or something like that. They are putting a burden on the society and denying a chance to the really needy.
I feel reservation is enough for one generation. For example, if the child's father is educated, he will be able to guide the child properly.
Take my case, I didn't have any system that would make me aware of the IITs and the IIMs. But I will be able to guide my children properly because I am well educated. I got the benefits of reservation but I will never avail of it for my children. I cannot even think of demanding reservation for the next generation.
April 29, 2008
His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago.
He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah in an Anganvadi to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry," says Sarathbabu.
In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true with Foodking. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his mother. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in Chennai. Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed a turnaround in 2007.
How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two years? Sarathbabu shares the trial and tribulations of an exciting and challenging job in an interview with Shobha Warrier.
A tough beginning
As I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first year was very challenging. I had a loan of Rs 20 lakh by the end of first year. I had no experience in handling people in business, and it was difficult to identify the right people. Though I made losses in the first year, not even once did I regret my decision of not accepting the offers from MNCs and starting an enterprise of my own. I looked at my losses as a learning experience. I was confident that I would be successful one day.
--------------------------
The inspiring rags-to-riches tale of Sarathbabu
Shobha Warrier
When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.
He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys [Get Quote] co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.
Sarathbabu was in Chennai, his hometown, a few days ago, to explore the possibility of starting a Foodking unit in the city and also to distribute the Ullas Trust Scholarships instituted by the IT firm Polaris [Get Quote] to 2,000 poor students in corporation schools.
In this interview with rediff.com, Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his story, in his own words.
Childhood in a slum
I was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five kids on her meagre salary.
As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.
So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government.
She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. Although she didn't say explicitly that we should study well, we knew she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her hard work should not go in vain.
I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is something very special.
My mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology. She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn't know what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.
When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.
I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.
I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the work.
Life at BITS, Pilani
Sarathbabau. Photograph: Sreeram SelvarajA classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.
When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there was also a sense of uncertainty.
The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs 42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us. Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters -- they were all married by then -- pawned her jewellery and that's how I paid for the first semester.
My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was the scholarship that helped me through.
It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her when the next scholarship came.
The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the time I reached the fourth year.
First year at BITS, Pilani
To put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.
On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.
I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it took a really long time -- till the end of the first year -- to make friends.
The second year
I became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.
In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.
In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to handle around 100 students.
Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.
They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA, it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.
Inspiration to be an entrepreneur
It was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in the papers that 30 per cent of India's population does not get two meals a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help them, I wondered.
I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance [Get Quote] and Ambani. Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around 15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people, he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should become an entrepreneur.
But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed to clear it in my first attempt.
I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the debts but I hadn't built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.
Life at IIM, Ahmedabad
My college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was elected the mess secretary.
Becoming an entrepreneur
By the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my own. But back home, I didn't have a house. It was a difficult decision to say 'no' to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.
Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.
Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40 students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.
Foodking Catering Services Pvt Ltd
My mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.
I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the weaker sections of the society.
My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.
I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea, coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.
When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11 lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).
Three months have passed, and now we have forty employees and four clients -- IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute and System Plus.
In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now, the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations will start in another three months' time.
Ambition
I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality of life. In the first year, I want to employ around 200-500 people. In the next five years, I hope to increase it by 15,000. I am sure it is possible.
I want to cover all the major cities in India, and later, I want to go around the world too.
I have seen people from all walks of life -- from the slums to the elite in the country. That is why luxuries like a car or a bungalow do not matter to me. Even money doesn't matter to me. I feel bad if I have to have food in a five star hotel. I feel guilty.
Personally, I have no ambition but I want to give a house and a car to my mother.
Appreciation
I did not expect this kind of exposure by the media for my venture or appreciation from people like my director at the IIM or Narayana Murthy. I was just doing what I wanted to do. But the exposure really helped me get orders, finance, everything.
The best compliments I received were from Narayana Murthy and my director at IIM, Ahmedabad. When I told him (IIM-A director) about my decision to start a company, he hugged me and wished me luck. They have seen life, they have seen thousands and thousands of students and if they say it is a good decision, I am sure it is a good decision.
Reservation
Reservation should be a mix of all criteria. If you take a caste that comes under reservation, 80 per cent of the people will be poor and 20 per cent rich, the creamy layer. For the general category, it will be the other way around.
I feel equal weightage should be given for the economic background. A study has to be done on what is the purpose of reservation and what it has done to the needy. It should be more effective and efficient. In my case, I would not have demanded for reservation. I accepted it because the society felt I belonged to the deprived class and needed a helping hand.
Today, the opportunities are grabbed by a few. They should be ashamed of their ability if they avail reservation even after becoming an IAS officer or something like that. They are putting a burden on the society and denying a chance to the really needy.
I feel reservation is enough for one generation. For example, if the child's father is educated, he will be able to guide the child properly.
Take my case, I didn't have any system that would make me aware of the IITs and the IIMs. But I will be able to guide my children properly because I am well educated. I got the benefits of reservation but I will never avail of it for my children. I cannot even think of demanding reservation for the next generation.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Facebook Open portions of its Platform code,
Facebook Open Sources Parts of Its App Dev Platform
By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service
June 3, 2008
Facebook is releasing as open-source software parts of its application development platform in order to make it easier for programmers to create applications for the social-networking site, the company announced Monday.
Facebook will offer as open source "most" of the code that runs its platform, plus implementations of its most popular methods and tags.
This is another step in Facebook's program for external developers, which it kicked off a little over a year ago when it opened up its platform to them. Since then, about 400,000 developers have created some 24,000 applications for Facebook.
With this move, Facebook is also responding to Google's OpenSocial, an initiative to establish a standard set of common APIs (application programming interfaces) that will let developers create social-networking applications that can run with minor modifications in multiple sites.
OpenSocial is generally considered a challenge to Facebook's platform, because observers believe it could make it easier for social-networking sites to match Facebook's broad catalog of third-party applications.
Among OpenSocial's supporters are Yahoo, AOL and MySpace, Facebook's biggest competitor. In March, Yahoo, Google and MySpace formed a nonprofit foundation to promote the OpenSocial platform as a neutral, community-governed specification.
With the open-source portions of its code, Facebook expects that developers will find it easier to test and tune their applications, and create their own tools, among other things.
The Facebook Open Platform, or fbOpen, as the open-source portion of the platform is called, can be extended so developers can create their own tags and API methods, Facebook said.
The open-source portion of the platform includes the REST API, FBML parser, FQL parser, and FBJS sanitizer and proxy, Facebook said.
Most of the open-source code is being made available via the Common Public Attribution License (CPAL), while the FBML parser is governed by the Mozilla Public License (MPL).
Gartner analyst Ray Valdes calls fbOpen a good move that became necessary for Facebook to make in light of the OpenSocial challenge.
"OpenSocial is gaining enough ground and becoming more real, whereas in the past it was basically a bunch of people talking about the specification. That spec is now being implemented and deployed," Valdes said.
In addition, OpenSocial wasn't significantly open sourced, but that also has evolved to the point where it is now a real part of the open-source portfolio for social-networking applications, he said.
On a broader scale, Facebook is also reacting to the overall trend for greater interoperability, away from "walled garden" sites and embracing the open Web and data portability, Valdes said.
"Facebook needed to respond and they did. Whether what it's doing is sufficient depends on the uptake among developers and partners," Valdes said.
In addition, a possible long-term benefit for Facebook is that this open-source effort may attract more sophisticated developers who are able to create more substantial applications than the typically lightweight widget-like Facebook applications, Valdes said. In particular, Facebook could benefit from developers who create enterprise applications for specific vertical industries, he said.
Ami Vora, senior platform manager at Facebook, said that this move isn't a competitive reaction. Facebook has been tossing around the idea of open sourcing a large subset of its platform since its opening a year ago, Vora said. "This is a release for developers and by developers," Vora said. "The goal is to make developers' lives easier."
Developers have been asking Facebook for more tools and resources. "We thought a good way to do that would be to give them the platform itself so that they can understand how it is put together," Vora said.
By downloading the open-source code, developers get a working subset of the platform on which all Facebook applications run, she said. Now, developers will be able to run and test applications in the Facebook platform but on their own local servers, which should make the process quicker, save on bandwidth and provide more stability in their own controlled environment, she said.
Facebook chose to open source most of the platform code under CPAL because it is based on the MPL, but extends it by stating that contributions and enhancements must be shared even if applications are delivered via a network, like the Web, Vora said.
Thus, Facebook expects that by choosing CPAL, it will foster more sharing of improvements and additions among developers. "We think this is a very appropriate license," she said.
Gartner's Valdes concurred, saying that CPAL should ensure that improvements made to the open-source platform code flow back into the community and aren't kept hostage for competitive purposes by individual players. "It's a very good move on Facebook's part," Valdes said.
Copyright (c) 2006 PC World Communications, Inc.
By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service
June 3, 2008
Facebook is releasing as open-source software parts of its application development platform in order to make it easier for programmers to create applications for the social-networking site, the company announced Monday.
Facebook will offer as open source "most" of the code that runs its platform, plus implementations of its most popular methods and tags.
This is another step in Facebook's program for external developers, which it kicked off a little over a year ago when it opened up its platform to them. Since then, about 400,000 developers have created some 24,000 applications for Facebook.
With this move, Facebook is also responding to Google's OpenSocial, an initiative to establish a standard set of common APIs (application programming interfaces) that will let developers create social-networking applications that can run with minor modifications in multiple sites.
OpenSocial is generally considered a challenge to Facebook's platform, because observers believe it could make it easier for social-networking sites to match Facebook's broad catalog of third-party applications.
Among OpenSocial's supporters are Yahoo, AOL and MySpace, Facebook's biggest competitor. In March, Yahoo, Google and MySpace formed a nonprofit foundation to promote the OpenSocial platform as a neutral, community-governed specification.
With the open-source portions of its code, Facebook expects that developers will find it easier to test and tune their applications, and create their own tools, among other things.
The Facebook Open Platform, or fbOpen, as the open-source portion of the platform is called, can be extended so developers can create their own tags and API methods, Facebook said.
The open-source portion of the platform includes the REST API, FBML parser, FQL parser, and FBJS sanitizer and proxy, Facebook said.
Most of the open-source code is being made available via the Common Public Attribution License (CPAL), while the FBML parser is governed by the Mozilla Public License (MPL).
Gartner analyst Ray Valdes calls fbOpen a good move that became necessary for Facebook to make in light of the OpenSocial challenge.
"OpenSocial is gaining enough ground and becoming more real, whereas in the past it was basically a bunch of people talking about the specification. That spec is now being implemented and deployed," Valdes said.
In addition, OpenSocial wasn't significantly open sourced, but that also has evolved to the point where it is now a real part of the open-source portfolio for social-networking applications, he said.
On a broader scale, Facebook is also reacting to the overall trend for greater interoperability, away from "walled garden" sites and embracing the open Web and data portability, Valdes said.
"Facebook needed to respond and they did. Whether what it's doing is sufficient depends on the uptake among developers and partners," Valdes said.
In addition, a possible long-term benefit for Facebook is that this open-source effort may attract more sophisticated developers who are able to create more substantial applications than the typically lightweight widget-like Facebook applications, Valdes said. In particular, Facebook could benefit from developers who create enterprise applications for specific vertical industries, he said.
Ami Vora, senior platform manager at Facebook, said that this move isn't a competitive reaction. Facebook has been tossing around the idea of open sourcing a large subset of its platform since its opening a year ago, Vora said. "This is a release for developers and by developers," Vora said. "The goal is to make developers' lives easier."
Developers have been asking Facebook for more tools and resources. "We thought a good way to do that would be to give them the platform itself so that they can understand how it is put together," Vora said.
By downloading the open-source code, developers get a working subset of the platform on which all Facebook applications run, she said. Now, developers will be able to run and test applications in the Facebook platform but on their own local servers, which should make the process quicker, save on bandwidth and provide more stability in their own controlled environment, she said.
Facebook chose to open source most of the platform code under CPAL because it is based on the MPL, but extends it by stating that contributions and enhancements must be shared even if applications are delivered via a network, like the Web, Vora said.
Thus, Facebook expects that by choosing CPAL, it will foster more sharing of improvements and additions among developers. "We think this is a very appropriate license," she said.
Gartner's Valdes concurred, saying that CPAL should ensure that improvements made to the open-source platform code flow back into the community and aren't kept hostage for competitive purposes by individual players. "It's a very good move on Facebook's part," Valdes said.
Copyright (c) 2006 PC World Communications, Inc.
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