Blue Whale in India

Representative image 

Let us first understand: What is Blue Whale ???
It is a game to be played after one gets registered with the blue whale "Administrator"

How do you get into it ???
You get into it by following a link ? means; neither it is an app nor a game to be downloaded. Unfortunately, the link is made available on many Whattsapp groups here in India.

How does it proceed ???
You get couple of easy tasks to furnish first. Surprisingly, most of the tasks are performed only after 2.00 AM; post mid night. So, make sure your kids dont lock up into their rooms these days in the nights.
Normally, it starts with sharing few personal information first (with the administrator); phone number, e-mail ids, facebook/twitter account details etc. It is here that the game takes a serious turn; either from the shared information or the prevalence of digital foot print of an individual; the administrator takes a firm grip of the player.

All this is possible for me to put it across; mainly due to a 22-year old youngster from Karaikal, Puducherry who escaped during the last 3-stages and was bold enough to narrate each and every step as he started feeling "entrapped".

The youngster narrated it as a "Virtual trap", no matter how hard you try to come out; it will just be impossible. As per the victim, even the adventure seekers will be mentally tortured and may succumb to these tricksters. There is also an element of black mailing; once the player shares his/her details; the ADMINISTRATOR have all the information; that could be sensitive pictures of the player or many other weak links to his activities or it could be the details of relatives and even pets; in one of the case a player was threaten with a blood stains all around its pet dog. We also learned (today) that the girl from Jodhpur, Rajasthan made a second attempt to kill herself (with sleeping pills) after a failed attempt of jumping into a lake in the outskirts of the town, claiming that if she doesnt performs this task; her mother's life will be in danger. Though starts as a point to prove an individuals capacity to face challenges... such as a. watching horror movies during mid night, b. taking selfie in a grave yard, c. inflicting  wounds on your body by a razor blade every step accomplished to be shared with the administrator........ it ends up with a fatal jump at the fag end.

Who are at risk ???
Youngsters in 12-20 years; though in India, we have found as old as 28-falling prey to it. Experts also believe that especially those children who feel alone in their tiny sphere of life, the ones who feel neglected; also those who are always ready to take challenges (adventures seekers).

As has been reported... there are 50-challenges to be accomplished; as one gets closer; the last 3-challenges are very close to taking their own lives. Fortunately, for the family members, it is at least at these last few challenges as the victims become too disillusioned and starts keeping to themselves away from others; also as one can notice some inflicted wounds on their body... the family will have their best chances to rescue the "hopeless" kid. As happened in the Puducherry case, where the brother of the victim noticed these traumatic changes in his brother and fortunately it was just at the last challenge at 4.00 am that he was rescued with the help of local police.

How fortunate you are.... my dear (in Puducherry).... you have paved the way to help many others taking this ugly, meaningless, cowardly challenge designed by a sick person some where in Russia.... Come on.... my dear kids wake up... you are all dissidents of a very strong and pleasant group of humanity where our ancestors have taught only to share love and peace..... not to kill yourselves..... 

Next step for M.Sc. students

In the present era of IT dominance, STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics have taken a back seat among the younger generations. My association with the University of Hyderabad (past 7-years) has offered me an ample opportunity to help post graduate (M.Sc.) students finding avenues in performing higher studies.... M.Tech., M.Phil., Ph.D. I will be confining myself to the subject of PHYSICS, but the students from other branches too can be benefited from the clues offered here; it is addressed to the students of INDIA.

The foremost step for the M.Sc. students is NOT to look for jobs right away; if one decides to venture into teaching (after M.Sc.); to get into a respected school/college one needs to have a B.Ed. qualification. The option of doing M.Phil. would also make him/her eligible for teaching at graduate level college. The third option is: M.Tech. at IITs and IISc (and few other places). This degree (M.Tech) too would blend the M.Sc. student towards technology which would open doors to Industry. Few organisations like: BARC (Mumbai), IITM (Pune) and centers under ISRO, DRDO offer "Scientist-SC" jobs; which is a regular job at these R&D institutes.

The most suitable option for the M.Sc. students is to opt for Ph.D. This would lead to a doctorate in Physics and certainly places the candidate on a firm platform of getting into wide fields of Education, Research and Industry. One need not to be concerned about financial support; it is not correct to believe that the 5-6 years span of Ph.D. program would add a burden on the parents. To quote my own example, my father was to retire just around the time (1984) of my completion of M.Sc.; I could support my family from the handsome amount of fellowship I was drawing from a national level R&D institute (ISRO's Physical Research Laboratory) for all those 6-years of pursuing Ph.D. 

The student has to take call on the topic of his interest; accordingly one can proceed further on choosing an institution for performing Ph.D. Within the given topic, there is again a choice of theory vs. experimental; there are institutes which specialize in a given type of research. I tried to compile a survey of institutes by subject; which should help students in browsing thru various institutes which offer Ph.D. programs here in India.

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                                                                                 05-04-2022

Major fellowships for pursuing Ph.D.

1. UGC: JRF, NET 

2. CSIR: JRF 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been entrusted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the task of conducting the Joint CSIR-UGC NET June 2021 Examination in CBT mode. Online applications for JRF/NET are invited twice a year on all India basis through Press Notification of Joint CSIR-UGC NET for JRF and LS/AP; while in the year 2020 it was conducted only once due to the prevailing pandemic conditions.

Both the fellowship carry an amount of Rs. 12,000/ per month for the 1st two years and a raise of 2,000 from 3rd year onwards. It also carries an appreciable amount towards contingency, house rent allowance and medical assistance.

3. PMRF 

Prime Minister's research fund is a prestigious fellowship granted in few of the hand picked academic institutions (around 37) of the country. 

A handsome amount of Rs. 70,000 to 80,000 have been offered to an allocated number of students in each of these institutions.  

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Institutes offering Ph.D. program:
The order of institutes given below is completely irrelevant:

JEST: Joint Entrance Screening Test is the most respected and acknowledged qualification criterion for applying to many research centers across India.

NET: The National Eligibility Test conducted by UGC is an easy ticket to join many research programs in the universities (and IITs) across India and also helps as a qualifying certificate applying to the post of Assistant Professor in the academic institutes (recent developments are notified above)

Subjects (short form): 
A&A-Astronomy & Astrophysics,      CMP-Condensed Matter Physics,
At-Atomic, En-Energy,                      HEP-High Energy Physics,
QFT-Quantum Field Thoery,              Phy-Physics, Exp-Experimental, Th.-Theoretical


I. Theoretical Physics, Condense Matter Physics, High Energy Physics + Other
Name of the Institute (with link): Subjects offered - Admission procedure for Ph.D.

TIFR : A&A, CMP, High En. Phy, Th. Phy., Nuclear/Atomic - Own/JEST

SINP: Nuclear Phys, Ast.&Cosmology, Crystallography, CMP, High En. Nuc.Phy., Plasma Phys., Surface Physics, Theory - JEST

SNBNCBS: Ast.&Cosmology, CMP, Material Sc., Theory - JEST

IISERs (JEST) 

Mohali: NMR, Low Temp Lab., BioPhys. Soft Matter Phys. Laser Phys., CMP, String Theory

Pune: A&A, At.Phys., Nonlinear Opt., CMP., Gravitation, QFT., HEP, Plasmaonics, Soft CMP
Klkta: CMP, A&A, Cosmology, Nano-Sciences, HEP
Tvm: CMP,HEP,Optics, Stat.Mechanics

II. Atomic, Molecular Physics, Optics, Lasers, Photonics + Other subjects  
IISc : A&A, At. Opt, Exp. CMP, Th. CMP - JEST

IIT-K: CMP-Th./Exp., Ion beam, Plasma, Nuclear Solid State Laser Photonics, HEP Th., - Own

IIT-B: HEP Th./Exp., CMP, Opt.&Photonics, Soft Matter - Own

IIT-D: CMP-Th./Exp., Opt.&Photonics, Plasma & Nuclear Phys - Own

IIT-Kgp: A&A, Optics & Photonics - Own

IIT-M: App.Optics, At&Mol Phys, Low Temp.Phys., Magnetic materials, MW and Dielectrics, Nanomaterial and Nanostructure, Nonlinear Optics, Semiconductor Phys., Theoretical Phys., Ultrafast Lasers and Optical Amplifiers - Own

IIT-G: CMP-Th./Exp., Laser &Photonics, Th.Phys., HEP, Asto Phy., Computational BioPhys. - Own

IIT-H: HEP, CMP-Th./Exp., Opt. Spect, Laser Plasma Phys. - Own

IIT-Bbnr: Th.Phys., Optics, CMP, HEP, At.&Mol.Phys - Own

IIT Roorkee : Smart Materials&Molecular Electronics, Carbon Nanotubes, Photonics and Fiber Optic

III. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Cosmology + Other

IIA: A&A dedicated institute, Sun, Solar system, Space Astronomy, Techniques and Instrumentation - JEST

IUCAA : Cosmology, Galactic Astronomy, Gravitational waves, High En.Astrophys., Instrumentation Astronomy, Observational Astronomy, Solar Physics, Solar system and stellar Phys.  JEST

NCRA: The milkyway, Interstellar medium, Nearby Galaxies, Active Galaxies and Clusters, Cosmology, Pulsars and Transients  JEST

RRI: A&A, Light Matter Physics, Soft Condense Matter Physics, Th.Phys. JEST

ARIES: A&A, Solar Phys., Atmospheric Sciences

IV. Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology, Space Sciences, GeoSciences + Other

PRL : A&A, At.Opt, GeoSc, Planetary Sc., Space &Atmospheric Sc, Th.Phy - JEST 

VSSC-SPL: Atmospheric Sc., Planetary Sciences, MW Boundary layer Phys., Numerical Atmos. Modelling, Aerosol Chemistry, Ionosphere Themosphere Magnetosphere, Atmospheric Tech., Space borne Expts - Own

IIST-Tvm: A&A, Atmos.Sc., Solid Earth, Remote Sensing, Applied Adaptive Optics, At.&Mol.Phys., Nonlinear Dynamics, Photonics, Quantum Information, Statistical Physics - Own

NPL : Material Phys.&Engg., Radio & Atmos Sci., Quantum Phenomenon and applications - Own

IITM: Meteorology, Seasonal and extended rain prediction, Tropical Clouds, Monsoon mission, Atmospheric Chemistry - Own

IIGM: Upper Atmosphere, Solid Earth, Antartica - Own

NARL: Middle, Upper Atmospheric Studies, MST Radar, Rayleigh Radar, Atmospheric Wind Profiler, Sodar, Optical Rain Gauge Own

V. Plasma Physics:
IPR: Plasma Physics Thoery/Exp. , Plasma Diagnostics, Fusion Technologies - JEST 

IIT-D:  Plasma & Nuclear Phys - Own

SINP:  Plasma Phys., Surface Physics - JEST

CPP : Dusty Plasma, Electron Positron Ion Plasma  Own

Central Universities & Other well known government universities: 

UoH: CMP, HEP, Quantum optics, nonlinear optics, laser physics, solid state physics, material sciences, electronic sciences, Glasses and Ceramics, Liquid crystals, Thin films, QFT, Cosmology

JNU: Chemical Physics, Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry, Computational Physics, CMP, , Mathematical Physics,  Nonlinear Dynamics, Probability Measure, Quantum Chaos, Quantum Optics, Statistical Nuclear Physics, and String Theory

Tezpur Univ:  CMP, Electronics and Photonics, High Energy Physics, Nanoscience & Technology and Astrophysics

Panjab Univ: Nuclear Phy. (Th./Exp), CMP (Th./Exp), HEP (Th./Exp), Astrophysics, Planetary Sc., Geochronology, Spectroscopy

Pune Univ: Materials Science, Solid State Physics, CMP, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Cloud Physics, Thin/Thick Films, Diamond Coatings, Nuclear and Accelerator Physics, Lasers, Plasma Physics, Field Electron/Ion Microscopy, Biophysics

NITs:
Warangal
Thiruchirapalli
Rourkela
Calicut
Kurukshetra

BITS (Own)
Pilani : CMP, Optics, Spectroscopy, Field Theory, Quantum Computation
Hyderabad: Nanoscience, Photonics, Renewable Energy
Goa: HEP, CMP, Astrophysics, Optics

SRM Univ.:
VIT:

AMITY Univ.:

CHRIST Univ.:

Shivnadar Univ:

Sharada Univ.:

.......

CSIR-Labs: (to be added soon)

DRDO labs

DAE Jobs



N.B.: The authenticity of subjects offered and admission procedure can be assured with the host institute, while the author takes no responsibility what so ever. 

Amal Alamuddin; Yalda Hakim - What do the PRETTY FACES represent

Amal Alamuddin

Yalda Hakim

I like to bring out two faces which are exceptionally beautiful and can attract any male from 10-100 years age; they are very successful in their professional lives…. The most interesting part is: they are children of Islam following parents.  While Amal Alamuddin, Beirut born, human rights British lawyer occupies a huge chunk of the discussions on the net today for grabbing the most eligible Hollywood bachelor in her kitty; Yalda Hakim, an Afghan born Australian broadcaster has made a place in the hearts of viewers starting from Bangladesh to all along Western countries  via BBC world network.

The idea of this blog is neither to hurt anybody’s feelings nor to intrude into the privacy of these two pretty women; but to let the readers know that if some one who happen to be merely born in Lebanon or Afghanistan need not be tagged with a specified class or creed. The Bollywood (INDIA) actor, Shahrukh Khan who did a splendid job of producing a film (shot in USA)  “My Name is Khan”,  but “I am not a Terrorist” ; ironically had to face the wrath of immigration officials at the entry port of USA simply due to his surname. I am not trying to name a country, a group or an individual here. To quote my own personal example here in India, I had to cancel my flight to New Delhi from Hyderabad, where I was to attend the advisory council member meeting of Google Lunar X-prize; as my name was matching exactly with one of the suspect of the bomb explosion that had just taken place (in my home city: Hyderabad). Why did I do this.... I was only scared of unmindful frisking and the crazy environment which was prevailing in curbing the terrorism at that time. Whom should I blame.... NONE... these are the bad days we are going through.

Amal Alamuddin:

The news of George Clooney allegedly getting engaged to Amal Alamuddin has brought a huge splash in the entire world. What a combination it is; on one side we have the most charming and sought after bachelor while on the other the lady with a combination of stunning looks, intelligence and the one who has been representing none other than Julian  Assange and few other very high profile cases.

What all can I write about AMAL….. just today the Wikipedia page got updated on her, and will continue to be getting done; every bit of news percolating is read with enormous interest; it is difficult to guess whether it was Clooney’s enormous following of Hollywood, or the charm of AMAL or it is the amalgamation which is catching the attraction all around the globe.  A local news paper has quoted that when Mr. Clooney proposed to AMAL she took it as a joke. A simple google check on her name takes me to 10s and 10s of pages narrating the very recent stories primarily woven around her engagement to George Clooney and their future plans of getting married in October-2014. Indeed, I read a dozen posts and cant stop adding here that; both family members of bride as well as groom are happy to see the couple uniting; including the dad of AMAL claiming that Mr. Clooney may now be called Mr. George Alamuddin (on the lighter vein).

Yalda Hakim:

Yalda Hakim has gone through Hollywood film like sequences  in her life, while she was 6-months old (narration);  her father had to smuggle them with the little Yalda strapped to her mother’s back while her two brothers walked along with few armed men escorting them during the night time across Afghanistan into Pakistan; with the journey lasting for about 10-days. As she grew up in Australia and finally landed a Special Broadcasting Services job; she came up with amazing stories which included retracing her childhood journey to covering the Bangladesh factory fires, disturbances in Libya and the ONLY reporter entering into a place near Khandahar (Afghanistan) where one Peace keeping  soldier had massacred 16-civilians.

Today Yalda’s BBC world coverage reaches millions across the globe, she has been appreciated not only for her extremely attractive looks but also for asking the probing questions to the reporters across the globe; who else could do a better job than a foot soldier of the same field.

Conclusion:

The two pretty faces after all represent a progressive and hard working women acheiveing the best in this world of opportunities; can be called as progressive global citizens. I wish and pray that the world we live will be a great place for every individual. Let there not be any prejudices about cast, creed, religion, region, color and social status. Let us respect each other and let there be a peace all around…. AAMEN…