Issue 04, APRIL 19, 2014 BIT by BIT

Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra

April 15, 2014 BIT BY BIT 1

The News and Publication Society

www.napsbitmesra.com

Shri Arup Roy Choudhury, the Chairman of NTPC Limited, is an alumnus of BIT Mesra from the departmenet of Civil En-gineering. He has had an illustrious career spanning over 32 years of outstanding contribution in the fields of engineering, general management, strategic manage-ment and business leadership. Below is a candid account with him during his re-cent visit to the campus:

• How do you feel to come back to the campus after a long time?It feels great to come to this place again, where I spent five formative years of my life. I am very happy to see the campus after such a long time.

• You were involved in many co-curricular activities during your time, ranging from Sports to Dramatics. How has it helped along?Co-curricular activities are always very im-portant. Everything in life has to comple-ment each other, and sometimes you can-not have the best of them. When I joined the college I was the topper, but along the way since I was participating in so many activi-ties, I knew that I had to sacrifice my academ-ics a little bit. But I considered that equally important, to do things you like doing. Talking about today, there are many more activities within reach of the students. But what you people have to really think about is proper profiling of the institute. Be in active touch with the alumni in various metropol-itan cities in India, in the US, and in Europe. Develop a system that is club connect-ed, to get access to the BITOSA people. Project yourselves in the right eyes, and print interactive papers and maga-zines. If there are bright ideas, follow them up and see them to completion.

• What are your views on Bitotsav, the techno cultural fest, known as ‘Pebble’ earlier, in providing opportunities for stu-dents to connect to the alumni?I distinctly remember Pebble and the annual Inter College Dramatic competi-tion held here during my time. Institutes like IIT Kharagpur and Jadavpur Univer-sity used to participate actively in them.Talking about getting connected to the alumni outside, today it is largely virtual;

the alumni don’t have to actually come here. You can have video conferences. In fact, you just have to give them a plat-form, and they will organise everything else. Thus with more means available to-day, the alumni are much more accessible.

• What are the current prospects of em-ployment and internships at NTPC?NTPC provides good employment oppor-tunities to students of top technical insti-tutes, through GATE scores. But before you go for a job, you should first have a clear view of your aims in life. If you join NTPC, you are joining a power generating com-pany; you are a power engineer. There is of-ten a misconception behind the same, and some young people aim to join simply because it is one of the biggest compa-nies in India. They aim to prepare for the Civil Services while still working, and if it does not work out, they continue with NTPC. That is not the kind of employment you must look at. If you are really serious about Civil Services then take a break, prepare for two years and give it an hon-est try; a job should not be a problem. But if you want to practise as an engi-neer, be clear about what you want to do.

I also feel that it is very important to respect your discipline. I know many people, who passed out as civil engineers and have to-day become IT engineers. You have to rec-ognize the importance of the discipline you are in. If not, treat your graduation only as a graduation, don’t call yourself a B.Tech.

• How many years of study do you think are appropriate after a B.Tech to get a good job in the civil engineering field?You could actually get a job straightaway; there is a shortage of quality civil engineers in the country today. If you want a job im-mediately, you must decide what kind of job you actually want: a construction job or

a design job. Take a call on that, and join an organization based on the same. When you take up either of them, in the first two years you may want to work on the field, but after that both of them are not isolated from each other. Even on the field, you have to study and interpret the drawing and make your own designs, so you can’t be out of touch.

• What difficulties does an engineer face in the competitive world?The answer to that really depends on your perspective. Life is certainly not a walkover, you have to put in a lot of hard work and ef-fort all the time. Along with that, a little bit of luck is always required, because you have to

be at the right place at the right time. The other thing is, if you have a strong enough desire for something, you will go ahead and achieve it. If you don’t have a clear cut goal in mind, you can’t think of becoming an astro-naut tomorrow, since you haven’t learnt anything about it. But if you have a goal and the determina-tion to pursue it, you can always achieve it.

One should also not get disheartened by failure. On your last day, when you look back, you should be able to see something that made you proud. Many people work hard on their problems and solve it up to 90%. They don’t realize that they are so near completion, and they give it up, only to real-ize their folly 5 years later. Even if you do fail, don’t keep looking back at it, learn from it and move on. Learn from your mistakes, and simply ensure that it never happens again.

• We wanted to know whether there can be a collaboration between NTPC and our in-stitute, so that after college, you can hire a few of our top engineers?Unfortunately, there cannot be a direct col-laboration between NTPC and the institute. If the students want to work with us, they are welcome to apply to our recruitment process. If there is something you want to

achieve in life, we will give you the plat-form for it. Our entrance process is quite simple, through the GATE examination. But the applicants must be be sure of what they want to do in life. We at NTPC produce electricity at our power stations, and are surprised to find a few young boys and girls confused about even that!

• As an alumnus, what changes or devel-opments do you think could be imple-mented to improve the hostels and stu-dent facilities in the institute?During our time, we had individual rooms to ourselves and a common room where we could watch television and read news-papers or magazines, and occasionally play carrom. I must say that the bathrooms needed serious improvement at the time. In today’s situation, I can safely say that you people are quite lucky to be in hostels that are comparatively better compared to most other top institutes. The hostels in most of the IITs are in a condition worse than this. As far as food was concerned, we hardly used to get non vegetarian food at the time and the students were quite agitated because of the same. This eventually led to the forma-tion of a mess committee. There is a definite scope of improvement in facilities provided to the students to keep up with the outside world, but it is important that the students should make the most of what they have.

• You’ve started your education here in Ranchi, been half way round the world and have returned back as the head of one of the top engineering colleges in In-dia, how was the journey like?From St. Xaviers’ College, Ranchi, I went to IIT Delhi. After that, USA was my next destination from where I did my PhD and post doctoral research. Then I returned to IIT Bombay and stayed there for about 23 years. From there I went on to become the Vice Chancellor of Lucknow Univer-sity. I completed my 3 year tenure there and then went back to IIT Bombay. But in between I had the opportunity to visit BIT Mesra in 2007. The natural beauty of this place captivated me. After my term as Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University I was quite sure that I didn’t want the job again. But the fact that BIT Mesra always remained at the back of my mind, among other rea-sons, led me to take up this prestigious job.

• What in your view is particularly promis-ing about BIT Mesra?The best thing about this institution is the students; I feel we are getting real smart students but we are not effectively honing their talents. What I’d like to see is more stu-dents involved in research as is common in the American universities where they have a junior’s research and bachelor’s thesis. That requires more thinking and planning.

We thus need a push in the research zone.

• Amongst the top technical institutes in India, where does BIT Mesra stand?As far as teaching is concerned, I think BIT is arguably the best in class. There is no substantial gap when we compare us to the IIT’s on this basis. But as I mentioned before, the research sector is patchy. We do have some good, a few even excellent re-searches going on, but they are very few in number. What’s tragic is that in last 59 years of its existence, we have not produced a single fellow of any national academy. In IIT Bombay, every department will have six to seven such fellows! Herein lays the gap: research output. Also we don’t have a Dual Degree Program. In a Dual Degree Pro-gram, after having completed 4 years in a B-Tech program, one gets the opportunity to earn a master’s de-gree after dedicated research for an entire year. So the Institute now has more research projects, and those talented students, who could not make it

to the stream of their choice, still have an option to pursue their desired course un-der the dual degree scheme. It’s a win-win!

• From an administrative point of view, what are some of the changes that you plan on implementing?The change that is already in motion is the rotation of head-ship and Dean-ship. Earlier there wasn’t a stipulated time frame. The se-nior most in the department would take up

the position of Head, until the next in the line took up the job when he/she retired. Now the tenure is stipulated to duration of 3 years, after which there would be some-one new. The intent is to bring in new ideas to the table. So we will have a new team of Deans and Heads who take charge from the first of May.

• What is the significance of extracurricular activi-ties in a student’s life?Extracurricular activities are, of course, very impor-

tant. Back when I was in Modern School Del-hi, at the end of the day, we had an hour dedi-cated to extracurricular activities and sports.

And it was taken very seriously. I don’t know if you remember, but the West Indi-escricket team was invited to play with us!Here at BIT, we have a nice gymkhana spread over 25 acres, and nowadays en-tire universities don’t have the luxury of being as massive as our sports com-plex alone. Our Chairman is very keen on enhancing our facilities even more. But the prime focus will be modernizing classrooms and labs. Our chairman has promised a sum of 100 crores in the next 3 years, so Smart Classrooms, better hostel facilities, rooms with closets and tables with drawers are all underway. We want our stu-dents to feel more comfortable, enjoy their confidentiality and individuality. Money is not an issue, I’m very optimistic to see notice-able positive changes within the next year.

• What would be your message to the stu-dents of the institute?BIT Mesra is a serious contender to estab-lish itself as a top destination for aspiring engineers in the immediate future. We consider our students to be valuable as-sets and want to give them the best. A 35 lac grant has already been sanctioned for cloud computing. We have started invest-ing in state-of-the-art, cutting edge tools for better quality education. The institute is thus on its way to become one of the top technical institutes in the years to come.

« TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF NTPC

« IN CONVERSATION WITH THE VICE CHANCELLOR

Dr. M.K. Mishra

Mr. Anup Roy Choudhary

INSIDE THIS ISSUEONGOING RESEARCH................................2FINAL YEAR PROJECTS: DEAN UG...........2.STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS: DSW.............2ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE PAST YEAR........3PLACEMENTS STATISTICS........................3THE REAL ACTION OF BITOTSAV ‘14.......4REWIND: THE YEAR THAT WAS...............5STUDENT ACTIVITIES RULES 2014-15...6NAPS IN THE PAST YEAR..........................7

The batch of UG students we receive every year are some of the brightest minds in the country, and we recognize the immense po-tential they harbour. Unfortunately, many of them do not utilize their potential in prac-tical aspects of their education, namely in research and industrial application of the knowledge gained. The major motivation be-hind introduction of this new format is to improve the quality and potential of research being pursued during the final year projects of UG students. It should thus not be looked upon as an internship, but as a freedom of choice being given to the students in order to avail the best exter-nal research facilities or industrial exposure, so that the overall quality of the research may be improved.The system will be developed at the depart-mental level, where the department can fa-cilitate tie-ups with various research facilities and industrial partners depending on the

The past year has seen a lot of positive changes come about in the way student activities are managed and organized. With a more systematic and clear system intro-duced through the corpus system, proper channelization of student activity funds be-came possible, due to the hard work put in by the administra-tion as well as the students. Through proper budgeting and central alloca-tion of finances of the various institute clubs and societ-ies, funds could be managed more ef-ficiently through-out the year. With the two major institute festivals, Pantheon and Bitot-sav, being largely di-vided into technical and cultural activities, each of these were taken to grand stan-dards through proper organization and pre-planning by the managing teams as well as faculty. The intra-college Pantheon saw all varieties of technical events occupy the scene, whereas Bitotsav was largely dedi-cated to the cultural side of all events. Each of these enjoyed levels of success never matched before, with scores of enthusiastic participants and the entire campus abuzz with activity. Several noteworthy initiatives were taken during the process of organiz-ing Bitotsav, such as ‘The Fight Against Thal-assemia’, a marathon organized for genera-tion of awareness against the deadly blood disorder, as well as the crowd-funding ini-tiative as a part of the sponsorship efforts, which brought together the alumni as well.The various technical teams formed by stu-

dents in various disciplines to participate in various national and international-level competitions also saw a lot of success in the past year. Team Pratyunmis performed well at the ABU Robocon 2014 held at Pune, after an enthusiastic debut made by the team in last year’s event. Team Sri-

jan, as every year, put in a lot of effort throughout the year in building their car from scratch, and successfully partici-pated at the inter-national level at the Formula SAE held in Italy. Team Firebolt also successfully participated in the BAJA SAE 2014 in Indore, where they won acclaim in vari-ous competitions.

The past year also saw the advent of the monthly institute newsletter, ‘BIT by BIT’. Through regular coverage of college ac-tivities, it has gained a lot of importance among students and faculty alike, acting a much needed medium for news and updates about the entire institute, as well as voicing opinions, thoughts and issues.The students also enthusisatically par-ticipated on a large scale at various inter-college festivals organized by other top institutes in the country, including ‘Mood Indigo’at IIT Bombay, and ‘Spring Fest’ at IIT Kharagpur, successfully winning the title of ‘Best College Contingent’ in the latter.Thus, the past year was full of activi-ties and achievements by students of the institute. I hope the same trend is carried forward to the upcoming yearand new heights are scaled.

specific nature of the projects being taken up by students. Opportunities will also be introduced at the central level through the TnP cell. Since most curriculums of various departments have very few cours-es in the 8th Semester, the departments can facilitate finishing the same in a short

span of time, and the remaining time can be used by the student to visit the specific facility with a relaxation in the attendance criteria.

We aim to further increase the weight-age of the final year project. We will be bringing out a fresh curriculum from the year 2015 onwards, where there shall be

increased emphasis on research, as well as reduced classroom hours to allow students to have sufficient time for self-learning. We thusaim to bring about many positive changes in the course structure to allow a robust and efficient education system.

The Department of Biotechnology is ac-tively engaged in basic and applied re-search and development. It is a World Bank sponsored Center of Excellence(CoE) in the field of biotechnology for bio resources and bio prospecting; under TEQIP phase II.

There are five thematic areas of excel-lence viz ; Medicinal Plants, Microbial Re-sources, Microbial Transformation, Bio fuel Production and Plant Derived Chemicals.

In microbial resources and microbial transformation, different fungi and bacterial species are being explored for their applied aspects through bio energy and biotechnology. Produc-tion of enzymes, bio polymers, coal bed methane and molecules of indus-trial importance is the main fields here.

In bio fuel production algae and higher plant based bio fuels, both lipids and bio hydrogen are being explored for production upto pilot plant level. Spe-cies of micro algae and bacteria were collected from southern ocean. These species along with many local spe-cies are under rigorous experimenta-tion for bio fuel production program.

The state of the art facilities avail-able in the department enables the

researchers to explore the genes and molecules upto the utmost depth of their structure and properties on one side, while the pilot plant facilities as-sist in answering the scale up problems. This study was undertaken to put forward the scientific evidences of wheat grass as an alternative therapy to treat cancer. The aim was to investigate the antiprolif-erative effects of wheat grass extract on the selected model of breast cancer cells.

Transcriptomic studies on wheat leaf rust interaction and submergence toler-ance in rice are being studied. Stripe rust is a destructive disease of the wheat and genetic resistance is the best method to control it. Therefore, genes are being de-rived to cure the disease worldwide and the department researches on the same. The latter is the study for improving the flooding tolerance in rice and specifi-cally tolerance of complete submergence.

« ONGOING RESEARCH 2 BIT BY BIT April 15, 2014

« Dept. of Biotechnology « Dept. of Production Engg.Since its inception in 1964, The Depart-ment of Production Engineering has been imparting quality education to under graduate and post graduate stu-dents by training them to meet the de-mands of the manufacturing industry. The department has established links with the industry, R&D organizations, consultancy organizations and academic institutes of the nearby area in further-ing the cause of manufacturing engineer-ing. The department develops students to be technologically and managerially sound to meet the challenges of the rap-idly changing manufacturing scenario.

At the moment departmental research is ongoing in Microelectromechanical Sytems (MEMS) Technology, which in the most general form can be defined as miniaturized mechanical and electro-mechanical elements that are manufac-tured using the techniques of micro-fab-rication. The manufacture of “very small” machines or MEMS devices was achieved using the same techniques employed in the manufacturing of electronics. MEMS devices are found in inkjet printers, ac-celerometers used in cars and handheld phones, gyroscopes, microphones in por-table devices and silicon pressure sen-sors to name a few fields for application.

Manufacturing practices that inter-sect with the use of computers are also grounds for research and project-work in the department. Areas such as Soft Computing Manufacturing and Agent Based Manufacturing Systems have enormous potential in the professional

and industrial spheres to reduce human effort, bring down manufacturing costs, and provide for an efficient manufactur-ing process that aims to meet deadlines and reduce wastage and overhead costs.

Non-conventional manufacturing pro-cesses are also being studied and re-searched on in the department. These practices enlist the services of energy sources that were considered as “non-conventional” in the past. For example, instead of using electric motors, hydrau-lics and gravity, material removal is ac-complished with electrochemical reac-tion, high temperature plasmas and high-velocity jets of liquids and abrasives.

Such fields and areas of research demon-strate how well the Production Depart-ment has kept its pace with current and upcoming industrial practices and innova-tions. The direct beneficiaries of such en-deavours are the students who are directly involved in the research work, as they are being moulded and shaped into pioneers and thinkers for the future generations who are not afraid to push envelopes.Strip Rust in a Wheat Plant

« Final Year Projects : Dr. A K Sinha « Student Activities : Dr. Vinay Sharma

FROM THE DESK OF THE DEAN, EX-TERNAL RELATIONS AND CO-ORDINA-TION:The Campus Recruitment Programme 2013-14, yet again, has demonstrated the faith of the industry on the quality of BIT students. The process has thus far gener-ated 1008 offers with several students re-ceiving multiple offers. The average salary for the B.E students has moved from INR 6.04 lakhs last year to a new high of INR 6.90 lakhs per annum this year with the highest domestic offer being INR 20.5 Lakhs by an Indian recruiter and US$ 1.09 Lakh as an international offer. Over the last three years, the trend in placements has

been born out of recession and re-cruiters are becoming extremely se-lective. Qualities such as dedication, clarity of thought and hard work are being given top priority. The number of people who are being terminated in the first six months of their job is alarming, with organizations becom-ing sceptic about investing heavy amount of resources in training. Stu-dents have to be more serious and understand their role in a corporate environment. It is important to be a team player and concentrate on val-ue addition when it is a question of getting the job done in an efficient way. As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get go-ing. Students should thus strive hard to excel in their chosen fields, to be able to fully realize their potential.ABOUT NAPS: NAPS is doing an excellent job by bringing the BIT community closer. It has to move up the value chain and be made more sustainable. Irrespec-tive of the kind of people involved, the activities have to be well defined and structured. Wishing them luck in all their future endeavours.

« PLACEMENT STATISTICS

The year of 2013-14 was eventful for the students of BIT with many an event being held all round the two semesters. The stu-dents took part in them enthusiastically and made the full use of the learning en-vironment. But it was not only inside BIT that our students did wondrously, they shone outside in competitions in vari-ous colleges across India, bringing laurels and admiration to this deemed university.

One of the biggest college fests in India, Spring Fest’14 held at IIT Kharagpur was where the BIT presence was the most vis-ible. Their competition Verbal Jam was won by Namrata Gummalla with Meera Ramesh finishing as runners up. Both BITians held up the name of this col-lege and were no match for the other contenders. In Extempore, the first and the third prize were won by BIT students Rahul Sahai Saxena and Meera Ramesh respectively. BIT’s play claimed second place in Rangmanch with Pragya Choud-hary winning the Best Actress award. BIT’s contingent team also came third in Nukkad, Rangoli Making, SaReGaMa and Fotographia events. Last, but not the least, BIT’s contingent was selected as the

BIT has been a pioneer in developing and honing the finest technical engineer-ing minds in the country since its incep-tion in 1955. As a technical establishment one can look on with great pride at the feats our technical student teams have achieved this year in competitions across the nation and some even beyond.

TEAM PRATYUNMIS: A group of 16 ar-dent and dedicated robotics enthusiasts have been proving their mettle since the previous year’s ABU Robocon - one of the biggest robotics event in the world. On their debut in 2013, the team emerged as the Best Rookie team in the competi-tion at the national level, having received high praises and appreciation from their mentors and fellow competitors. This time around, at the ABU Robocon 2014 held in Pune, they moved up and made faces turn. After successfully holding off the team from IIT Madras in the first round, the team drew up BITS Goa in the second round. The BITS Goa team turned out to be a formidable foe, as they halted Team Pra-tyunmis further advance by only a margin-al difference in points. The only way Team Pratyunmis intends to go is up..

On the automobile front, the for-mula racing team of the college,

TEAM SRIJAN delivered as they always do each year, but this time around at Formula SAE, Italy. Held at the Varano de’ Melegari circuit in Italy from the 13th to the 18th of September, 2013, the event proved to be a great learning experience for the whole team, who had start-ed the designing work for their car a year in advance. Having worked intensively through the entire

summer break in 2013, the team managed to build their car by the end of July 2013, and have it shipped to venue by the end of August. For the next year’s Formula SAE as well, the team has begun their work and finalised the basic design for their car.

Going a bit off the track, literally, the off-road racing TEAM FIREBOLT 4.0 were the college’s official entry to BAJA SAE 2014 held at Pithampur, Indore from the 20th to the 23rd of February, 2014. Their car, Zeus powered by the rules-compliant 50-HP Briggs and Stratton engine, became one of the early teams to clear the technical and safety inspection in a single go. The team was able to implement the innova-tions it claimed like cutting brakes, adjust-able steering and steering damper; all of which was highly acknowledged by the judges. The team attained 5th rank in the cost evaluation event and 6th in the Com-puter Aided Engineering event. Having gained incomparable experience in this year’s event, Team Firebolt looks poised to impress all over again.

Best Contingent of Spring Fest’14 mak-ing everyone back in BIT extremely proud.

It was not only in tech and cultural events, but also in marketing and commerce that BITians surprised everyone. BIT’s Prashant Kumar, Himanshu Dhiman, Avinash Chau-han, and Chiranjeev Siddartha came second at the Incept Entrepreneurship Ad Chal-lenge and third at the Startup Ad Challenge.

BIT also won the Na-tional Entrepreneur-ship Challenge held at IIT Bombay as well as NIT Rourkela’s Cog-nizance B-Plan event. The B-Plan event of ISM Dhanbad, named Concetto was also won by BIT students Shruti Jalan, Aditya Kumar and Shubham Surekha. BIT also finished first

runners up in archi-tectural fest Zonasa.

Organised by Sahaj Marg and the UN body of UNICEF, the All India Essay Writing Event was won by BITian Deboshree Banarjee, who is also a gold medalist at the zonal level.

« STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS « INSTITUTE TECHNICAL TEAMS

Placement Data- BIT Mesra Campus (as on March 31, 2014). Source: Training and Placement Division

April 15, 2014 BIT BY BIT 3

The formula car built by Team Srijan

Team Firebolt in actionTeam Pratyunmis with its robot

Mr. B. B. Pant

Over the entire campus recruitments process in the year 2013-14, while exist-ing recruiters revisited, there were also a great number of ‘first timers’ recruiting tal-ent on campus. The varied recruiters yet again affirmed their trust in the technical abilities of the students of this campus, as the trend of placement went unabated despite of the recent global slowdown. While the processes are still on, till date, the recruitments for 2013-14 have al-ready resulted into 111% placement

of BE batch (455 offers for 410 eligible students) at the main cam-pus. Students have secured offers for national as well as international postings from 69 recruiters thus far.All in all, the placements statistics tell a tale of how dreams come true and that success comes to those who work for it, in a very reassuring manner. The prospects of campus recruitments in the future look full of promises and new success stories.

Branded amongst one of the quintessen-tial acts of the contemporary Indian fusion music scene, the 8 member fusion band Advaita headlined the Fusion night on the 15th of February this Bitotsav. The Mil-iha, Ghir Ghir and Arani hit-makers have also featured on widely acclaimed and popular television shows like the Coke Studio @ MTV and MTV Unplugged. Even though the proceedings for the evening were interrupted by erratic showers, the students’ will to listen to one of the best fu-sion acts of this country was all but shaken.

Pro night: Bigger than ever was what BIT endeavoured to create this Bitotsav ’14, and boy, did we go big. The headlining act for the 5 day extravaganza was someone who is often described as ‘multi-faceted’, the direc-tor, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer, lyricist and television host, youth icon Farhan Akhtar and his band Farhan Live! Performing with the playback singer Siddharth Mahadevan, the Filmfare-win-ning actor enticed the audience with his en-chanting voice and vibrant youthful energy.

4 BIT BY BIT April 15, 2014

in a nutshell More than 70 teams took part in this years’ Bitotsav’14. The 5 day event saw students put their thinking caps on and dive into the excitement of the carnival themed fest. Various kinds of techni-cal and cultural events which took place around the campus kept everyone’s in-terest alive through all throughout the cultural and technical extravaganza; from dancing contests and eco-friendly fash-ion shows to quizzical and brain-teasing tests, there was something for every-body at BIT’s biggest festival, Bitotsav’14.

Day one saw the Inauguration Ceremony take place in the Central Auditorium, followed by a surprise flash mob dance performance which set the mood abuzz with the excitement of the. But the com-petitive spirit of the participants was on display when the first event, The Publicity Event kicked off. The aim was simple; to get your team’s name on everyone’s mind and win the points. All gimmicks were tried to leave one’s team’s impression on the judge’s minds’.

Day two saw technical events like Rube Golberg and Hackathon test the me-chanical and computing knowledge of the contestants respectively. On the other hand, informal events like the Twister and Takeshis’ Castle were all about being physically quick and flexible foe challeng-es like the three legged race and stretch-ing and twisting your body to the limits. Brain teasing events like Auto Quiz, Vocab Quiz, Criminal Case and Blitzkrieg were also held for students looking for intellec-tual challenges. But the event that drew the maximum crowd was Rewind Play Pause, a laugh riot, where contestants re-enacted some famous movie scenes but had to pause, rewind and fast-forward their act as per the judges’ wishes.

Day three was more about bringing out your cultural and artistic sides with events like Rangmanch, Footloose and Body Painting. The quizzing season con-

tinued with the Entertainment Quiz about various movies, TV shows and trends in the media. Twist the Flow was also held as battle for the vocal masters to show their talkative side. So was Stand and Deliver, for the ones who wanted to debate and dis-cuss the topics of the modern world. On the lighter side, the foodies were challenged to an eat-all-you-can fest at the Hogathon.

Day Four of BITOTSAV was all about the finals of various events like Criminal Case, Vox Populi and Technosight. It was also the day for the street actors to come and enter-tain the crowd with their much-acclaimed Nukkad. The crowd-puller was the event of BIT Roadies, which took place in front of the canteen. An event to create awareness for the nature, Dirty Green was also held.

the last Day of BITOTSAV saw even more finals, like the ones of Footloose, Beauty and the Geek, Analogics and Overnight Coding. The event Watchmacallit saw the contestants play with words and their meanings. But the biggest event was The A-Team which was a treasure hunt with a twist as five members divided across campus with the sole aim was to reunite.

BITOTSAV 2014 saw excitement, revelry and competition at their best and more than lived up to the students’ expecta-tions of being the five most looked- for-ward-to days in the academic calendar.

Drama night, the opening night of Bitot-sav’14 was nothing short of a spectacle. The night witnessed the depiction of a tale, through only elaborate body gestures and embellished facial expressions that

left everyone mesmerized and craving for more. Proceedings included a musical skit, various in house stand-up performances by the students and the renowned con-temporary comedian and poet, Surendra Sharma, recognized especially for his witty one-liners and marriage satires. Sharma, who has to his credit over 500 national and international stage shows under his belt, added yet another feather to his humour cap by making the attendees of the night roll on the floor laughing, quite literally.

Dance night of Bitotsav 2014, i.e. the 13th February, was arguably the most awaited night of them all. The event played host to the group dance competition ‘Groovaloose’, where the most talented dancing groups from the institute in all western dance styles and Bollywood, set the stage ablaze. The fo-cal point of the night this time around was the performance by the famous ‘D-Maniax’ Dance Group. Having carved a niche for themselves as one of the top dancing ensem-bles in the country, this group bewitched all present with their signature dance moves.

music night in Bitotsav ’14 was rocked by the stunning performance of the Un-derground Authority, a band well known not only in India but in lands afar as well for their mesmerising blend of rock and rap. The aura created by them was magi-cal, leaving an everlasting impression on the crowd. With the deafening noise of the crowd the ambience around was made even more electric and power packed.

« the real action oF BITOTSAV’14

« INTERVIEWS: BITOTSAV’14 GUEST LECTURES

• What is the current scenario of data and data analysis start-ups in India as of now?Big IT companies like TCS are focusing on three major fields namely 1.big data 2.real time analytics 3.cloud computing. These are the three things that we are emphasizing based on the current mar-ket trends. The manner in which we start-ed working on data and data analytics, in comparison to the rising startup compa-nies and the already established players is what I’m not really aware of.

•How widespread is ubiquitous com-puting in India? How long would you think it would take for it to get popular-ized among various startup companies? Ubiquitous computing as of now is not very popular. But again, given that it is the 21st century, it might take another three to four years its recognition in the Indian markets.

• How do the IT companies approach places where there is less technology related development?

• What are the qualities you look up in an idea or a start-up before investing?An angel investor first sees if the market opportunity is large enough and if there is an opportunity to build a reasonably large business. We also see if the concept has the ability to be a domi-nant feature in the market and create a niche for itself. Even if the business opportu-nity is large and the concept is interesting, but the team is weak, that’s not a business we will invest in. On the other hand if the business plan is slightly weak, but the team is strong, we would still go ahead and invest in that.

• What do you think is the main reason for the Indian start-up’s to become so much prevalent in the recent times?I think it is the understanding that entre-preneurship is a serious career option. There is early stage funding, and entre-

preneurship development cells in various colleges do a phenomenal job in making

people comfortable in en-trepreneurship. Startups are becoming successful and celebrated. And most importantly, I think we, as a society, have started be-coming more accepting of failures. Earlier, failure was a stigma. Now, it is consid-ered a part of a journey, a stepping stone and noth-ing to feel bad about.

• Lastly, your thoughts on BITOTSAV’14? I think it was extremely well organized. Not just Bitotsav, but I was also very happy to see the scale and range of activities that are happening, specially the activities that are allowing the students to do pragmatic things. For example, organizing a cleanli-ness drive, women empowerment drive etc., are initiatives which helps students un-derstand operating level things.

Places where there is no awareness about computer, are potential markets which should be developed. But those places where people are already aware but lack in terms of infrastructure, we could easily set up a mobile or Wi-Fi network and enable connectivity.

• How can we overcome the problem of unavailability of network in rural areas?In such places, it becomes necessary to work offline. One could capture data and come back to a point where it can be trans-mitted to a server. In cases of emergency and no Wi-Fi connection, one has no choice but to come to a nodal point of connection. This is one of the reasons why the use of ubiquitous devices is being pressed upon.

• Do you think IT companies,along the lines of TCS should play a proactive role in reaching out to tier two and tier three colleges?TCS has taken an active role in educating the tier two and three colleges, and other companies, I hope are following the same approach.

Students testing their robot

Mr. Kushal BanerjeeMr. Banerjee has always led the forefront in academic collaborations between TCS and all major

institutions in the country. This Bitotsav, he delivered a Guest Lecture on the topic ‘Recent Trends in Information Technology - A Paradigm Shift’.

Mr. Prajakt RautMr. Prajakt Raut is an entrepreneur with a personal goal in life to encourage and assist a hundred

thousand people to become entrepreneurs. He mentors start-ups on strategy, business model & monetiza-tion, fundraising and on preparing the company for growth. Currently, Mr. Raut is the VP at Indian Angel Network, India’s largest network of angel investors, and founder of ‘The Hub for Start-ups’, a resource

centre to help start-ups develop, refine and optimize their business plans and investment pitch.

Dance Night in progress

UA vocalist EPR Iyer in full swing

Farhan Akhtar & Siddharth Mahadevan rocking the stage

« REWIND: THE YEAR THAT WASTHE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN A VERY EVENTFUL ONE. LET’S TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE, AND LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR 2013-14.

August: One of the first events was the “All Club Induction” which introduced the newest set of BITians to the various technical and cultural clubs of the college. With this, the clubs began their respec-tive events for the academic year 2013-14. To promote a sense of philanthropy a Blood donation camp was organized in which many students volunteered for the noble cause. A “Prabhat Feri” and march past, followed by a few cultural programmes marked the Independence Day celebrations. UNESQUO organised the first debate of the year in it’s flagship event.”The Stand-off”. The next weekend saw The Disaster Management Training Program, organized by the EPAC, training the students on methods to cope up with adverse circumstances. Next in line was the literary and drama night, bringing out the poetic creativity and love for literature among the students. To hone entrepreneurial skills, EDC cell of BIT Mesra organized “Illuminate-The B-Plan Event” which taught the fundamentals of survival in the competitive corporate world. The first fresher’s get-together, Dance L’avenir, saw all the boys and girls dance with fervour through the evening that was themed around “Looking Into the Future”.

The month of October saw palpable excitement for Pantheon’13 , one of the most awaited events of aca-demic year. This majorly technical intra-college fest be-gan on a high note with active particiption from students in the many cultural and technical events that put to test the wit, awareness, creativity and team spirit of the participants. The music, drama, dance and SPICMACAY nights were a treat. Guest lectures by eminent personali-ties like Dr. Narchiket Mor, Mrs Sampat Meena, an IPS of-ficier and Dr.Diwakar Vaish further glorified Pantheon’13. The Dandiya night and Deepotsav set the festive

mood for Dusshera and Diwali. Returning to the college is like a homecoming and the golden jubilee alumni meet for the batch of 1959-63 organised by the T&P cell saw the alumni of one of the first few batches of BIT return to college and take in all the changes that have shaped the growth of the institute over the past half a century. UNESQUO organized the institute’s first ever BIT Model United Nations where students were at their diplomatic best as they tried to simulate the working of General Assembly of the United Nations.

The events lined up witnessed the annual athletic meet and the students showcased their spirit of sportsmanship. Republic day, 2014 was full of patriotism as the students marched through the campus, shouting slogans. It re-kindled the love for our nation. Every year, the workshop conducted by the team “Robolution” on embedded sys-tems is one of the most eagerly anticipated ones. This year, was not any different. On the occassion of Guru Govind Singh Jayanti , NSS members volunteered and organized a “langar” for the students and locals alike. The rich food served with affection and reverence was truly a blessing.The technical dexterity of the students was brought to the fore in Vertechx, a two-day technical extravaganza of BIT-Mesra, the first of it’s kind. The students showcased their talent in various technical events like coding and ro-botics. Following the technical fest, a two-day speaking, debating and quizzing fest, “Genesis”, was organized by UNESQUO.The various fun spoken events tested the wit, general awareness and spontaneity of the participants The students of BIT-Mesra stood up for the noble cause of the deadly disease of Thalassemia, as they spread aware-ness by taking part in a Mini-marathon which was or-ganised for the same as a part of the pre-BITOTSAV events.

Bitotsav’14, the biggest technical and cultural inter col-lege fest of BIT was a grand success. With a host of tech-nical and cultural events, the fest saw students from the college as well as outside, participate in teams in order to win the coveted BITOTSAV trophy. The five day event was also graced with lectures by eminent personalities. The Drama night left the people mesmerized by the stage show of renowned comedian and poet, Suren-dra Sharma. The Dance night and the Band night exhilarated the audience with the energizing per-formance of Underground Authority and Advaita. Farhan Akhtar, highlight of the pro night, left the crowd stunned with his scintillating rock show.

Bharat Mahotsav, a four-day annual cultural programme showcased the spiritual diversty India. Exquisite classical music performances from various artists and enthralling regional folk dance performances of the four zones of the nation awaened spirit of culture among the people. Dramzest, the annual intra college dramatic festival proved to be acrowd puller as it gave students a chance to bring to stage their talent and creativiry. EDC BIT Mesra or-ganised E-Summit V 1.0 which served as a platform for the young entrepreneurial talent could interact with profes-sionals, corporates, startups, academia as well as investors. BIT Mesra’s biggest literary festival, Rostra, awakened the Shakespeare within one and participation in its events from colleges all over the nation. Youth Parlia-ment, its flagship event, gave the participants a real-istic view into the workings of the Indian Parliament. The year ended with the Convocation Ceremo-ny of 2009 batch. The college was all spruced up to welcome its youngest set of alumni, as they proud-ly took the last step in their engineering journey.

« GLIMPSES OF THE PAST YEAR

April 15, 2014 BIT BY BIT 5

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1. Participants at the mini-marathon organized to spread awareness about Thalassemia. 2. Students participating in an event in DRAMZEST’14. 3. MUN participants expressing their views. 4. Participants readying their robots during an event in Vertechx. 5. Skit during Bharat Mahotsav 6. Students gathered for Prabhat Feri on Independence Day. 7. Participants competing at an event during the Annual Sports Meet. 8. Panel Discussion of E Summit 2014 organized by EDC STEP BIT Mesra 9. Fanfare organized by NAPS during Pantheon’ 13.

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« SKETCH OF THE MONTH

« RULES AND REGULATIONS: STUDENT ACTIVITIES 2014-15 July for Corpus fund creation and use. This corpus fund will be put to use for all stu-dent related activities of clubs and societies along with Bitotsav, Pantheon, Annual Ath-letic meet, Pujas and Langar. Students will not be charged any additional fees for any student related activities.2. The Corpus will have two committees to monitor activities, namely Finance Com-mittee [which will be same as Finance and Sponsorship Committee for Pantheon and Bitotsav] and Events Committee. 3. The Events Committee comprising of 5 final year students will approve the yearly event calendar of each club and the Finance & Sponsorship committee will approve the budget for each club event taking prece-dence from the previous year. 4. There will be one separate Audit Commit-tee comprising of three members who will be responsible for auditing and clearance of all bills related to students activities. This committee will comprise of two Mess Committee members from the final year [1 boy & 1 girl] and another final year student. This third member will be selected from the nominations for Finance and Sponsorship from each club/society.5. All bills after approval from the Finance and Sponsorship Committee will be for-warded to the Audit Committee for pay-ment.6. The Corpus Audit Committee will publish the income expenditure statement once at the end of each semester in all Notice Boards.7. The process of formation of the Corpus Audit Committee must be completed by end of July.

- Dr. Vinay Sharma Dean, Students’ Welfare

A. CLUBS AND SOCIETIES1. A student can become a member of five clubs but he/she cannot be in the executive body of more than two clubs, and cannot be the President or Vice President of two clubs. 2. All members of the club must have an authorized membership card signed by the faculty advisor & President of the club. 3. The Executive body of maximum 20 mem-bers for any club will consist of: - President [outgoing batch] - Vice President [both from outgoing batch. With Male: Female ratio of 1:1] - Two Secretaries [both from second last batch. With Male:Female ratio of 1:1] - Treasurer: [from second last batch] - Fourteen active members4. Executive body of all clubs will be formed every year in the first general meeting of all clubs in presence of the faculty advisors. 5. The Executive body of clubs / societies will make a yearly calendar with specific dates along with detailed budget for each event and submit it to Event Committee of Corpus.6. Each club/society is allowed to organise to a maximum 5 events in one academic year and the events have to be conducted after college hours.7. No events other than those approved at the start of academic year are allowed to be organised. 8. Executive body will be responsible for conduct of all activities of the club / soci-ety and maintenance of enrolment records with the help of all members.9. 1st year students will be introduced to all clubs and societies in August every year through the official Induction programme.10. No club/society events can be sched-uled within 7 days from the start of Panthe-

on and 15 days from the start of Bitotsav. 11. Deepotsav will be an Institute level ac-tivity to be organized by all cultural clubs. 12. All clubs societies must submit all bills for settlement to corpus within 15 days of the programme, else the payment will not be considered. 13. All clubs and societies which have individual club bank account need to submit their updated passbook to the un-dersigned before the start of the new aca-demic session and take prior permission for any transaction from the undersigned.14. General Body Meetings of clubs must be held atleast twice in a semester.15. No activities of any club other than in-ter-university/college competitions shall be held outside the college premises.16. Students having previous record of punishments by the Institute or having more than 5 back papers presently can-not be a member of any Executive Com-mittee. 17. No clubs/societies are allowed to have external sponsorship for any of their events. However SAE and Team Robolu-tion are allowed to have external funding only from automobile and robotics and electronics related companies, subject to prior information to the undersigned.18. Departmental level club/society ex-penditure will be monitored by respec-tive Heads of Department. Their expenses will not be covered under Corpus.

B. PANTHEON AND BITOTSAV1. There will be only one Finance and Sponsorship Committee for Pantheon, Bitotsav and Corpus. However there will be separate Core Committees for Pan-theon and Bitotsav consisting of 20 mem-bers each other than common Finance &

Sponsorship team. 2. Each Institute level club/society will send 2 nominations and Departmental level clubs/societies 1 nomination for the Finance and Sponsorship team who will be interviewed by a panel of Faculty mem-bers to select a 7-member team. 3. The Work of core members including Finance and Sponsorship team will be monitored and evaluated by faculty advi-sors. Any person can be dropped from the core due to non-performance/indiscipline. 4. The composition of each core shall be through interview by a panel of Faculty members and should have a minimum rep-resentation of 33% for girls. 5. Students having previous record of pun-ishments by the Institute or having more than 5 back papers presently cannot be a member of any Core Committee. 6. Pantheon and Bitotsav will try to work on a module of 50% budgetary generation from Corpus and 50% from sponsorship. 7. No work order of any form can be given for organisation of fest without approval of the Professor-in-charge. 8. Core committee members will be al-lowed to participate in Pantheon and Bi-totsav. However, they or their team will not be given any prizes/prize money.9. Income Expenditure statements must be published separately for Pantheon & Bitot-sav by the end of the running semester in all Notice Boards. 10. The process of formation of Core com-mittee should be completed by middle of April.

C. CORPUS1. Students are required to submit an amount notified by the Office of Dean Stu-dents Welfare at the time of registration in

« ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2014-15

6 BIT BY BIT April 15, 2014

- Abhishek Choudhary (BE/1181/2011)

at the media desk for the purpose of website updating and media handling. NAPS also played an influential role in bringing out a twelve page supple-mentary edition of The Telegraph, ‘t2’ solely dedicated to Bitotsav.

NAPS started its own intra college LAN-based radio, ‘BIT Radio Reverb’ and broadcasted five shows, which were much appreciated by all. Although the radio is in its nascent stage, NAPS strives to improve the quality of the shows and make an effort to widen its reach.

The most creative and possibly the most fun idea that NAPS came up with this year was setting up its own photo booth, the

Fanfare desk, in Pantheon and Bi-totsav, where people were invited to get themselves clicked along with various props and placards. Fanfare was an instant hit and NAPS intends on expanding it further.

The club also organized the event ‘Whatchammacallit’ in Bitotsav, where teams were required to guess a word on the basis of the sentences describing the word, given by one of the members of the team, but the sentences were not to include certain banned words. The event saw a good turnout and witnessed a healthy competition between the participating teams. The team owes its success to inces-sant hard work and perseverance, and hopes to continue expand-ing their domain and outreach.

The News and Publication Society left no stone unturned in making its presence felt throughout the academic year 2013-14.

Be it the routine event coverage and the publishing of newsletters, or be it the breaking of creative bounds and coming up with their very own photo booth and radio, NAPS has done it all. From bettering what it already does best on one hand, to exper-imenting and exploring new fields on the other, NAPS has come a long way through.

The year started with the addition of new members to the NAPS family from the fresher batch, 2k13. After interview-ing an overwhelming number of enthu-siastic applicants, NAPS is proud of the hardworking, dedicated, and the youngest members of the club who joined us this year.

Including the one you’re read-ing, NAPS published four issues of the official institute news-letter ‘BIT by BIT’ this year.

The first issue aimed at mak-ing the fresher batch acquaint-ed with the institute and its norms, basic facilities, favor-ite hangouts and gave them a glimpse of all the activities car-ried out by the various clubs and societies of the institute.

The issues that followed focused mainly on the Technical Fest of the institute, Pantheon. Whereas the second issue enlisted the various events to be conducted throughout the fest and en-closed a schedule for the same,

its successor p r e s e n t e d highlights of the journey and com-prised of a number of inter views, them being of the guest lecturers for P a n t h e o n . Besides reg-ular event coverage updates on the NAPS website, this year witnessed live updates during the annual fests Pantheon and Bitotsav, with all information regarding the event,

including the results, going on to the web-site instantly. New columns were added to the website, which include the ‘Booky Bets’, ‘Picture Play’ and the ‘Inconsequen-tia’ section.

NAPS maintained close liaisions with vari-ous media houses and made sure all events were covered by all significant newspapers. NAPS had members sitting constantly

« NAPS: THE PAST YEAR

« EDITORIAL MR. MANMOHAN SINGH, TOI :

The Times of India wants to congratulate News and Publication Society (NAPS), Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra for the excellent work that they have done over the past one year. The year has been re-ally exciting for NAPS as well as the media houses with various events organised. The way they managed to keep the media up to date with upcoming events, and the co-operation they extended in this regard has been a great help. The timely dispatch of news briefs and photographs went a long way in ensuring that the institution gets good coverage of the activities they have been doing. We wish that the NAPS team from BIT Mesra will keep up the good work and raise the bar higher during the upcom-ing academic session.

MR. SAURAV ROY, HT :

The quality of work and the level of com-mitment that the NAPS team from BIT Mesra has shown this past year is com-mendable. We at Hindustan Times (HT) have received timely and detailed updates of all the happenings of the campus, and are very appreciative of the efforts put in. Since english dailies in Ranchi have a early deadlines for story updates, although we have missed a few updates here and there, the overall coverage has been wonderful.NAPS is doing an excellent job, keeping us

updated throughout the year. With a little more efficiency in timely mails to meet the early deadlines of English dailies, I am sure we will maintain a long and fruitful collaboration throughout the upcoming years.

MS. ARTI SAHULIYAR, THE TELE-GRAPH:

We have been giving extensive coverage of all events reported by the News and Publication Society of the well known technical cradle BIT Mesra in our es-teemed newspaper.The regular updates provided enabled this extensive coverage, which touched each and every aspect of interest of read-ers as well as of students in all age groups. A few events in particular such as the inter-school State level Environment Fest, Bharat Mahotsav, Rostra ‘14, Bitotsav pro-vided rich insights into the active life at BIT Mesra. The events were well covered by NAPS and provided captivating infor-mation about the uniqueness of these events, as well as the well-known guests and performers invited. I would particu-larly like to mention the annual techno-cultural fest Bitotsav, which saw the pres-ence of the glorious Farhan Akhtar, as he enchanted the students with his popular numbers.I wish all the very best to all the members of NAPS for coming up with innovative ideas, providing regular coverage and comprehensively reporting said events, all of which indeed require adequate ef-forts.

April 15, 2014 BIT BY BIT 7

THE TEAM OF THE NEWS AND PUBLICATION SOCIETY

Copies of the institute newsletter ‘BIT by BIT’

THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROMEToday we are progressing at a high rate. Our perceptions about things are meta-morphosing. Our ways of living are changing. Our daily routine is becoming more flexible and people have matured. Now it is acceptable for girls to study and work. They can wear whatever they like. Boys can also attend to their looks and do makeup. There has been a sea change in the way we think and interpret. Many things that your parents or grandparents may despise are totally fine with you.

Subsequently, it is normal for people to get in a relationship, live-in or other-wise. This doesn’t appear anywhere out of place. And it isn’t. These relationships may work well or both partners move on. Every boy can be seen craving for a girlfriend. This has somehow become the measure for a person’s “coolness”. But unfortunately quite a few of these relationships turn out to be abusive. In general cases, one of the partners be-comes excessively possessive and domi-nating while the other may mistake it for intense feelings of care and concern. It may sometimes be flattering or over-

« TESTIMONIALS: MEDIA HOUSES whelming. But jealousy and controlling behavior are not signs of affections at all. Abuse can be seen in various forms. There can be incidents of violence in-volving beating, pulling hair, punch-ing etc. A person may also force his/her partner into a dangerous sexual experi-ence that can result in an accident. Acts of emotional abuse involving threats, humiliation, intimidation and betrayal are also prominent. They are more criti-cal as they are very difficult to recognize. They can leave a person with profound wounds. It’s a misconception that only girls are the victims. Boys suffer too.

We all know how prevalent these situ-ations are. We can’t just ask people to stay single their entire life. It is not that marriages fare better either. All the aforementioned problems are evident just as much among married couples also. Some may argue that the majority of our population is living in healthy re-lationships. It is like saying that Indians don’t practice gender inequality. Both these statements may be proven true on paper, but their authenticity is undoubt-edly obscured. A solution for this is not another extensive set of laws because as usual their implementation would be imprudent. In fact, there isn’t any theo-retical solution. Something that would be yielding is that the sufferer stands for himself/herself and confronts the per-petrator. Continually bearing this bar-barity is not an option. This issue may not be as publicized as global warm-ing or pollution. Nevertheless, it is just as integral to our country’s upliftment. -HARSHDEEP SAGAR (BE/10504/2012)

PUBLISHED BY: The News and Publication Society, BIT Mesra

FACULTY ADVISOR (2014-15): Dr. Abhinav ShandilyaEDITORIAL TEAM:

CHIEF EDITORS: Nitin Gupta, Naofel Nasim, Shravya Arya, Sugandha Chauhan. MANAGING EDITORS: Vishesh Dokania, Soham Ray, Talib Ahmad, Roshin Mathew. CO-ORDINATORS: Shobhit Narain, Anuva Agarwal, Koushik MLN, Namrata Gummalla, Uday Kiran, Saumya Bora, Deboshree Banerjee. DESIGNER: Harshdeep Sagar.The News and Publication Society (N.A.P.S.) is the hub for all information and connectivity in the Institute, from the latest news and happenings around the campus, to interviews and opinions of the people who matter, to

organization of the biggest fests and events in the college. It collaborates with the largest media houses to ensure all the important happenings in campus are brought to attention at a regional as well as national level. Being a completely student-run body, N.A.P.S. boosts college-level journalism, with regular publications including newsletters, brochures and batch souvenirs. Send us your feedback at naps@bitmesra.ac.in.

For regular updates on happenings around the campus, follow us at our website: www.napsbitmesra.com. We also feature N.A.P.S. apps on the Android (Google Play) and Windows 8 Stores for ease-of-use.

PRESIDENT: VICE PRESIDENT (MEDIA): VICE PRESIDENT (REPORTING): VICE PRESIDENT (INFO-CELL): GENERAL SECRETARIES:

TREASURER:

2K10 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS:

WEBSITE & DESIGN HEAD:PHOTOGRAPHY HEAD:

2K11 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS:

WEBSITE & DESIGN TEAM: INTERVIEWS TEAM: WEBSITE CONTENT TEAM: MEDIA HANDLING TEAM:

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP TEAM: INFO-CELL TEAM: RESOURCE TEAM:

NITIN GUPTANAOFEL NASIMSHRAVYA ARYASUGANDHA CHAUHANVISHESH DOKANIAROSHIN MATHEWTRISHALA PRADEEP

SURABHI SINHAEKTA SHARMA

TALIB AHMAD, KANISHKA GANGULYSOHAM RAY, MAYANKA VERMAROSHIN MATHEW,PRIYARSHINI GHOSHTALIB AHMAD, APURVA KUMAR,EKTA PRAKASHTABISH AKHTER, AKSHIT CHAWLADEBARPITA ROY, SWAPNIL SHUKLA, IRAM TARIQUEKABEEB SIVAPRASAD, SHELDON BRA-GANZA, PRAKASHDEEP SINGH GOLAN

PRESIDENT: VICE PRESIDENTS:

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: GENERAL SECRETARIES:

TREASURER:

2K11 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS:

WEBSITE & DESIGN HEAD:EVENT MANAGEMENT HEAD: PUBLIC RELATIONS HEAD:EXECUTIVE MEMBER:

2K12 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS:

PUBLIC RELATIONS CO-ORDINATOR: INTERVIEWS CO-ORDINATOR: EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR: CONTENT CREATOR: DESIGN TEAM:

PHOTOGRAPHY AND MEDIA TEAM:

VISHESH DOKANIATALIB AHMAD, ROSHIN S. MATHEWSOHAM RAYSHOBHIT NARAINANUVA AGARWALKOUSHIK MLN

KANISHKA GANGULYMAYANKA VERMAEKTA PRAKASHPRIYARSHINI GHOSH

UDAY KIRANSAUMYA BORANAMRATA GUMMALLADEBOSHREE BANERJEEABHIJEET PASUMARTHY, HARSHDEEP SAGARABHINAV GOYAL,PRUTHVI RAJ

« EXECUTIVE BODY 2013-14 « EXECUTIVE BODY 2014-15

« ADIEU FROM THE OUTGOING NAPS TEAM « A FEW WORDS FROM NAPS FACULTY ADVISORSBIT has many clubs and soci-eties that have proved to be valuable plat-forms for stu-dents in their respective fields. NAPS is a society

where students can identify and

hone their reporting, writing and presenta-tion skills. In the process, there is total per-sonality development of every student in-volved in the activities as an individual. This hands-on experience is the need of hour which gives an edge to the students when they enter the professional world. In last few years, BIT has felt the presence of NAPS. The young, energetic and enthusias-tic team has worked day and night to give a shape to the society. NAPS covers all the events of the institution, provides media liaisons with all major media houses, and interviews eminent personalities coming to the university campus. The editorial sec-tion and newsletter of the society are other feathers in the cap.Now, the new committee has been en-trusted to carry the baton of glory of the society. So my sincere advice to them is – maintain the momentum; keep moving; and embrace all changes. The society shall continue its past traditions and activities, and look for new innovative avenues. The society may also organize its own events to ensure more students’ participation. Finally, my best wishes go with all mem-bers of the News and Publication Society. The coming years may be more challeng-ing but they also open the door to innu-merable opportunities.

For me, NAPS is something that u n d e r s t a n d s the potential of every indi-vidual. It under-stands values and that we are human be-ings who have a voice. If one

finds something objectionable occuring, one should always have the voice to stand up and be heard. NAPS is the greatest plat-form in BIT Mesra that gives you the me-dium to voice the same opinion. This is why I’ve always had the opinion that every stu-dent should avail the facilities and platform provided by NAPS.In the past one year, we managed to see a variety of creative ideas reach successful implementation: from comic strips to the newsletter, from the BIT LAN radio to the successful NAPS website. Many views and opinions were raised, and we tried making things easier for the newcomers.In the immediate future, it is important to further improve the efficiency of the overall system through effective methods. Communication starts from intra stage, reaches inter and group stages, and finally achieves mass communication. If a person is not creative or integrated from within, then he or she cannot make it to the mass stage. It is critical to realize the importance of elements including photography, inte-grated reading, etc., in order to generate a sustainable reader base.I wish the entire NAPS team the very best in the upcoming years. I am confident in the abilities of the new executive body to scale new heights in all their future prospects.

The News and Publication Society has been one big family for all of us. We have seen its ups & downs in the last four years and have seen it grow into what it is today. As a team, we have strived towards col-lecting and presenting information about the happenings in and around the cam-pus in the best manner possible, whether it be through our newsletter, website or even LAN radio. In the entire process, we got to learn a lot, which makes all our endeavours at NAPS worthwhile. We are proud to have worked with such a talent-ed set of juniors, and would like to thank them for being such a wonderful team. Each person’s contribution, no matter how small or big, has been instrumental in building NAPS and helping it improve. The 2k11 batch deserves special mention, as we have seen for ourselves their relent-less efforts towards taking NAPS to newer

heights for the past 3 years. We would also like to thank Shri Mrinal Pathak, our Faculty Advisor for the year 2013-14. His involvement with the club has been remarkable. He has been a great source of inspiration for all of us. His ideas, his support and his media contacts have been a tremendous help for us, and we surely learnt a lot from him. We would also like to thank the BIT administration for their constant support. As our journey at BIT Mesra comes to an end, we realize that we not only walk away with a lot of knowledge, but also have collected many wonderful memories. We once again thank everybody at the News & Publication Society for the memorable experience. We are confident that the next few batches will take the club to new heights and will make us all proud. We wish you all the very best!

8 BIT BY BIT April 15, 2014

Dr. Abhinav Shandilya Faculty Advisor (2014-15)

The NAPS batch of 2k10: (left to right) Sugandha Chauhan, Shravya Arya, Nitin Gupta and Naofel Nasim

Shri Mrinal PathakOutgoing Faculty Advisor (2013-14)