FAQ - Interactions ..

hi sir

nanda kishore from srinivasa college in kadapa.sir my aim IAS
officer but poor in communication skills..........how to develope the
communications skills.......pleas sir m waiting 4 u r
suggetion...........

urs faithfully

nanu



Dear Nanda Kishore :

Greetings.


read answers for most of your questions at


http://drtps-psychotherapy.blogspot.com/


see CIVIL details at

http://all-india-services.blogspot.com/



Sasneham

Dr.T.P.SASIKUMAR
10:38 PM | Category: | 1 comments

Civils 2011-- a Snapshot...
Snapshot About the ExamThe Civil
Services Examination is conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service
Commission) every year to select candidates for the prestigious
all-India services which include the IAS,IPS,IFS,IRS and others like
Group A and Group B central jobs.
Details The examination is conducted in 3 stages:
  1. Preliminary exam – The format is going to change from 2011 onwards.
  2. Main Exam – Only those who clear the 1st
    stage can take this exam. The pattern for this exam remains the same.
    There are 9 papers to be attempted in this section spread of a few days.
  3. Interview - Those who clear the mains examination have to appear before an Interview Board at New Delhi.
Aspirants
for the civil services will be facing a different pattern of
examination from next year (2011) since the government has approved a
proposal to introduce an aptitude test (CSAT-Civil Services Aptitude
Test) in place of the preliminary exam to shortlist candidates for the
main exam. Till the preliminary exam of 2010, aspirants had to attempt
two papers: a General Studies Paper and an optional paper in which
aspirants had to select one subject among the 23 subjects listed by
UPSC. Now instead of this optional subject, there will be a general
aptitude test. The only hint received from the Government about the
content of General Aptitude test is that “greater emphasis will given to
test the aptitude for civil services as well as on ethical and moral
dimensions of decision-making”. This change will be effective only for
the Preliminary examination while the Main examination will remain
unchanged until an expert committee gives a detailed report for changing
it.
?Format of the Main Examination:
Paper-1One
   of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the 18
languages   included in the VIIIth Schedule to the Constitution
(Qualifying Paper)		300 Marks
Paper-2English   (Qualifying paper)300 Marks
Paper-3Essay200 Marks
Paper 4 & 5General   Studies (300 Marks for each paper)600 Marks
Paper 6,7,8 & 9                Any two subjects (each   having 2 papers) to be selected from the prescribed optional subjects (300   marks for each paper)
1200 Marks
Total Marks for Written Examination2000 Marks
Interview Test300 Marks
Grand Total2300 Marks
Optional
subjects: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science,
Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce &
Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology,
History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical
Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science & International
Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics,
Zoology.
Languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada,
Kashmiri, Konkani, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
Eligibility The
candidate must hold a degree from any of the government recognised
and/or deemed universities or must possess an equivalent qualification.
He must have completed 21 years of age in the year he is appearing for
the exam. The maximum age limit is 30 for a general candidate, 33 for
OBCs and 35 for SCs/STs. Ex-servicemen will get 5 more years exemption
from the prescribed age limit. Similarly the number of allowed attempts
is 4 for general category, 7 for OBCs and unlimited for SC/STs.
Appearing for the preliminary exam or even one paper is counted as an
attempt.
How To Prepare Your
preparation for the civil services examination should be systematic and
well thought out right from the word go. Begin with the preparation for
the prelims i.e. CSAT. There is NO optional paper from 2011, so the new
syllabus would include general studies and general aptitude. The
syllabus of General Studies is too spread out and would cover current
events of national and international importance, history of India and
Indian national movement, Indian and World Geography: Physical, social,
economic geography of India and World, Indian Polity and Governance:
Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights
issues, Economic and Social Development: Sustainable development,
Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social sector initiatives, General
issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity, Climate Change,- that
don’t require subject specialization and General Science. Be updated
with the current affairs of at least the last 2 years. Since there are 2
papers on General studies in the Mains exam as well, be thorough with
this section.  From 2011 onwards, be prepared to face psycho-analytical
questions that test your overall personality and decision making
abilities in the General Aptitude section.
Preparation for the
main exam should not be kept till the results of the prelims are
declared. There isn’t just enough time after that.
You have 9
papers to take, so start preparing well in advance. You have to select 2
subjects out of a list of optional subjects. There are 2 papers each on
each of these two subjects. Select the subjects wisely. Do not just
select them on the basis of how scoring they can be, instead select
subjects that interest you.
Pick out the right textbooks after
selecting your subject. Read the text fully and make notes side by side
so that you don’t have to go through the whole text again. This would
save your time and energy.
The essay paper is an important section
because it is a compulsory paper and is a level playing field as there
are no specialisations here.  Practice writing well-organised and
effective essays. Go through the previous years’ essay topics to get an
idea about the kind of questions to expect. Work on your writing skills
and stick to producing comprehensive, concise and correct text.
The
interview judges your personality and confidence. It can be quite
subjective, differing from person to person and also from one interview
panel to the other. The interview carries 300 marks and if it goes well
can tilt the balance in your favour. There are no hard and fast rules to
prepare for an interview. However some important points to be kept in
mind: Prepare and polish your views and opinion on events and issues of
current interest. Do not bluff around if you don’t know the answer to a
question asked. Be regular with reading newspapers and magazines. Have
active discussions with friends. This will help improve the way you
present an answer or opinion. Be polite and courteous while answering a
question during the interview.
Colleges Accepting This ExamThis
exam selects candidates for the prestigious all-India services which
include the IAS,IPS,IFS,IRS and others like Group A and Group B central
jobs. The National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie now known as
the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration imparts
training to IAS probationers.
Important Dates
  • Prelim: 12th June 2011
  • Mains: 29th Oct 2011 (different papers spread over around 21 days).
10:34 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Naxal Problem needs a holistic approach
If the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been saying it repeatedly
that Naxalism is the biggest challenge to our internal security he clearly wants
to underline the dangers it has been posing to India, as also the need to deal
with the challenge in a most effective way.

Naxalism,
which started from Naxalbari area in West Bengal in 1967, ostensibly to champion
the cause of small farmers and tribals through violence, was wiped out in 1970.
It soon became out of fashion in its homeland West Bengal. But the underground
operations of the outfit continued. The problem became more serious after the
merger of the Peoples War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in
September, 2004 which led to the formation of the CPI (Maoist). Naxalism today
holds sway in vast swathes of 10 states in the country, involving about 180
districts.

Recently the Home Minister said in the Parliament that Naxal
challenge had been underestimated over the years as a result of which left wing
extremism had increased its area of influence. The Home Minster said that they
now pose a very grave challenge to the state. Just days before his statement 36
policemen, including an SP, had been ambushed by the Maoists in
Chhatisgarh.
It was in this backdrop Mr. Chidambaram urged the Members of
Parliament to join hands in facing the challenge. "All sections of the house
must recognize that if we must remain a democratic, republic ruled by law, we
must collectively rise and face the challenge of left wing extremism" Shri
Chidambaram said.

In its status report presented to the Parliament on
March 13, 2006, the then Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil said that the Naxalite
movement continues to persist in terms of spatial spread and intensity of
violence. He pointed out that it remains an "area of serious concern". Naxal
violence has claimed about 6000 lives during the last 20 years. The question
that arises is why have the Naxals been able to extend their area of influence
over the years to become a serious threat to the country's internal
security?

It is encouraging to know that the government is not treating
it as a mere law and order problem. The 2006 status report itself made it clear
that the Government would address the problem in a holistic manner. That
includes 'political security, development and public perception management
fronts' as well. Surely, the Naxal problem is deeply rooted in the social and
economic disparities in remote and tribal areas.
Since the fruits of
development have not percolated to these areas, the Naxal outfits are able to
exploit the sentiments of the local people. But the outfits themselves have been
preventing and in fact destroying, developmental initiatives taken by the
government. They destroy roads, railway infrastructure and administrative
institutions that are needed for speeding up developmental activities. Not only
this, they indulge in train hold-ups, jail breaks and attacks on
politicians.
That is proof enough to indicate that they do not have real
interest in the development of these areas and their loyalties lie elsewhere.
Perhaps, they want to usurp political power which, they think, flows through the
barrel of the gun.

At the same time, a lot many measures need to be taken
to make the fight against Naxalism effective. On top of this is improving
governance in the affected areas by moving corrupt officials who exploit the
local people. It must also be ensured that large scale projects in these areas
do not lead to displacement of people, who in any case, live a life of
penury.

Since law and order is a state subject, the role of State
Governments in dealing with the problem can hardly be overemphasized. They too
have their share of responsibility to fulfil. A good deal of coordination
between the Centre and the States is, therefore, called for. This is
particularly true in view of the fact that the Outfits have established
inter-state networks. The state police need to be modernized to be able to
tackle the Naxal attacks. The Greyhounds experiment in Andhra Pradesh is a case
in sight. Actionable intelligence collection and sharing mechanisms need to be
strengthened. Funds provided to the States under the Police Modernization Scheme
need to be better utilized.

The states also need to go fast with raising
India Reserve Battalions, particularly in Naxal affected areas, which besides
addressing security concerns, provide jobs to the unemployed youth.

A
specially trained police force also needs to be put in place to fight the
Maoists who basically are adopting guerrilla warfare techniques. There is also a
difference in their targets. While other terrorist groups attack the strong
foundations of the country such as democracy, secularism and the financial
institutions, Maoists make India's weak points like poverty and economic
disparity as their targets. All this needs to be factored in the strategy to
deal with the Maoist problem.

Keeping in view the fact that the Naxal
groups have been raising mainly land and livelihood issues, it is important that
land reforms are taken up on a priority basis. States have also to focus on
physical infrastructure like roads, buildings, bridges, railway lines,
communications and power etc. There is no room to brook any delay on this
account.

Unfortunately, the several rounds of talks held with the Naxals
hitherto and the announcements of amnesties and attractive rehabilitation
schemes have not worked so far. Some states like Andhra Pradesh have a good
rehabilitation policy and it has achieved some success, but a lot more remains
to be done.

The Government indeed is committed to address the Naxal
problem in right earnest. It is focusing on improving intelligence set up at the
state level, providing help to the states to modernize and train their police
forces and accelerate development in the affected areas. What is needed is
better coordination both on security and developmental fronts to meet the
challenge posed by the Naxals.
11:08 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Why do professionals prefer IAS/ IPS ?
A new subject has attracted legislators, thinkers, journalists and one could say the economists as well. Why should not we ban the entry of professionally qualified personnel into the IAS or IPS Services ?

Some have argued that government spends, directly or indirectly, a lot of money on the education of an Engineer or a Doctor and in case these professionals join general services like IAS or IPS the hard spent government money goes into the gutter. Good some thinking of the type has emerged to care for the state expenditure.

It was even in the year 1995 as well that some candidates from the general education side had suggested that engineering graduates should not be allowed to appear in entrance examination for IAS /IPS/IAAS/IRS and such like services. The reaction had been in response to the high rate of success in UPSC prime entrance examination from amongst the candidates with engineering degree, even clear walking away with almost 75 % of top ranks by engineering graduates ( doctors etc were not named at that time because they did not figure at the rate as the engineers figured to oust the
generalist). The position is not much different in 2008.And now expenditures made by the society/ government have been talked about.

But the question that needs to be answered is รข€¦..WHY DO THE TECHNOCRATS ATTEMPT JOINING SUCH SERVICES WHERE EVEN ORDINARY GRADUATE COULD WELL FIT ?

Better before starting such discussions those so concerned with the subject would have asked
the Engineers, Doctors, Post Graduate in Sciences, and the like and more so the rank holders amongst these categories of technocrats from even premier institutions like Indian Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani, IIMs that why do they try all hards to enter the general services like IAS ( where minimum qualification is any graduate degree) and let go waste the technical expertise/ professionalism they otherwise acquired through so much of hard work and investment , even as acquired out of aims and ambitions ? have observed that the engineering graduates prefer to enter IAS than to go for IES ( Indian Engineering Service ) since they feel that the top seat of civil governance in
the Union Secretariat will generally be occupied by an IAS officer and not by the IES( Indian Engineering Service) officer. Such views were expressed by one of the engineering graduate who had ranked in top 5 of IAS list and had laid preference for IAS and not Indian Engineering Service.

I had been investigating in this direction for more than 12 years now. And have been able to work out some reasons for such type of thinking being developed. A few years earlier in India we used to talk of brain drain to out side India and it was reasoned that since the engineers/ scientists/ doctors are not well paid in terms of cash and career in India that is why they attempt leaving for US/UK/ other countries. And now the question is of brain drain from professional bank to the general service bank. The reason in this case lies both in Career Prospects, involvement in governance of the affairs of the society and perks in terms of monetary as well as social authority. The disparity between the IAS and other Government services is so huge that any one would prefer IAS . This aspect has been neglected by the Legislature as well as the executive all these years
9:43 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Historical Background of UPSC
Historical Background of UPSC
Indianization of the superior Civil Services became one of the major demands of the political
movement compelling the British Indian Government to consider setting up of a
Public Service Commission for recruitment to its services in the territory. The
first Public Service Commission was set up on October 1st, 1926. However, its
limited advisory functions failed to satisfy the people's aspirations and the
continued stress on this aspect by the leaders of our freedom movement resulted
in the setting up of the Federal Public Service Commission under the Government
of India Act 1935. Under this Act, for the first time, provision was also made
for the formation of Public Service Commissions at the provincial
level.

The Constituent Assembly, after independence, saw the need for giving a secure and autonomous
status to Public Service Commissions both at Federal and Provincial levels for ensuring unbiased recruitment to Civil Services as also for protection of service interests. With the promulgation of the new Constitution for independent India on 26th January, 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission was accorded a constitutional status as an autonomous entity and given the title - Union Public Service Commission Constitutional Provisions

The Union Public Service Commission has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India. The Commission consists of a Chairman and nine Members.

The terms and conditions of service of Chairman and Members of the Commission are governed by the Union Public Service Commission (Members) Regulations, 1969.

The Commission is serviced by a Secretariat headed by a Secretary with two Additional Secretaries, a number of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and other supporting staff.

The Union Public Service Commission have been entrusted with the following duties and role under the Constitution:

Recruitment to services & posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations;

Recruitment to services & posts under the Central Government by Selection through
Interviews;

Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as
transfer-on-deputation;

Advising the Government on all matters relating to methods of Recruitment to various services and posts;

Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services; and

Miscellaneous matters relating to grant of extra ordinary pensions, reimbursement of legal expenses etc.

The major role played by the Commission is to select persons to man the various Central Civil Services and Posts and the Services common to the Union and States (viz. All-India Services).

RECRUITMENT TO VARIOUS SERVICES AND POSTS
To Duties & Role of the Commission

Under Article 320 of the Constitution of India, the Commission are, inter-alia, required to be consulted on all matters relating to recruitment to civil services and posts.

RECRUITMENT is made by one of the following three methods:
# Direct Recruitment;
# Promotion
# Transfer

DIRECT RECRUITMENT is conducted broadly under the following two methods:

# Recruitment by competitive examination.
# Recruitment by selection through interview.

RECRUITMENT BY COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION
Under the Constitution one of the functions of the Commission is to conduct examinations for appointment to Civil Services/Posts of the Union. In addition, competitive examinations are also held by the Commission under arrangements with the Ministry of Defence for entry to certain Defence Services, through the National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and the Officers Training Academy.

The Commission usually conducts over a dozen examinations every year on an all India basis. These include Examinations for recruitment to services/posts in various fields, such as Civil Services, Engineering, Medical and Forest Service, etc.

For an overview of examinations regularly held by the Commission. See "Overview of Examination" under this Chapter.

At present the Union Public Service Commission conduct their examinations at numerous venues spread over 42 regular centers throughout the country.

RECRUITMENT BY SELECTION
Recruitment by Selection is made by the following methods:

1. By Interview Only
2. By Recruitment Test Followed By Interview
3. BY INTERVIEW ONLY

Where the number of applicants is very large, it is not practicable to call for Interview all the
applicants who fulfill the minimum eligibility conditions prescribed. The Commission, therefore, shortlist the candidates to be called for the interview on the basis of certain pre-determined criteria related to the job. A large number of recruitment cases is handled by the Commission by the method (1) above.

BY WRITTEN TEST FOLLOWED BY INTERVIEW
In this category, there are two types of procedure followed:

An objective-type written and/or practical test to test the skill of the candidates followed by
Interview, the final selection being decided by Interview, aided by the performance of the candidates in the written test and/or practical test.

An objective-type written and/or practical test to screen candidates to be called for interview,
the final selection being decided by Interview only.

Appointment By Promotion And Transfer On Deputation/Transfer

In accordance with the procedure decided by the Government, in consultation with the Commission, Chairman or a Member of the Commission presides over the Departmental Promotion Committee Meetings to consider promotions from Group B to Group A and from one
grade to another within group A, where promotion is to be made by Selection.

DeputationThe Recruitment Rules for a number of posts provide for appointment by Transfer on Deputation
(including short term contract) and Transfer. When the field of consideration consists of Central Government as well as State Government officers, prior consultation with the Commission is necessary for selection of an officer. When the file for consideration is made more broad-based and consists of not only Central/State Government officers but also officers from Non-Government Institutions, the selection has to be made in consultation with the Union Public
Service Commission.

All India Services
The All India Services Act, 1951 and Rules and Regulations framed thereunder regulate the recruitment and conditions of service in respect of the All India Services viz. Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service.

As far as direct recruitment to the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service
Examination are concerned, it is done through the Civil Services Examination and for the Indian Forest Service through the Indian Forest Service Examination held by the Commission.

The relevant Rules and Regulations provide that 33% of the vacancies in the IAS/IPS/IFS should be filled by promotion from amongst the officers of the State Service in consultation with the Commission. The Selection Committee presided over by Chairman/Member of the Commission consists of senior Government representatives of the Central Government and the State.

Mechanisation - Project SamperaThe Commission have recently undertaken a project called "SAMPERA" (Screening and Mechanised Processing of Examination and Recruitment Applications). A simplified single
sheet common application form for all the examinations has been devised which will be scanned by using OMR/ICR technology. The implementation of this project will mainly help in high speed scanning of data from forms eliminating manual entry. Other benefits will be accurate and faster generation of Admit Cards, Attendance lists with photo replica and signature facsimile of each candidate, and Error-free list of doubtful cases. The main aim of this project is to cope
with the increasing volume of applications through innovations and mechanised handling so as to reduce the processing time and send communications faster to minimised errors. The cases of impersonation/malpractices will also be eliminated and wasteful expenditure will be reduced.

RECRUITMENT RULES
In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations
1958, Recruitment Rules of all Group 'A' and Group 'B" posts in various Ministries/Departments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission. Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framing/amending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation, The Delhi Municipal
Corporation, The New Delhi Municipal Council, Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc. under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321.

All proposals for framing/amending Recruitment Rules are examined keeping in view the cadre
structure of the organisation and the circulars issued by the Govt. from time to time. After approval, the Commissions' advice in the matter is communicated to the Ministry/Department concerned. More than 14000 Recruitment Rules have been framed/amended so far.
9:15 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Method of Making Notes for IAS Exam
IAS Papers : Method of Making Notes

        There are different methods of making notes and one should decide which method suits you the best. There are two types of making notes, one is the LINEAR NOTES and the other PATTERN NOTES.

Linear Notes

        Let us start with Linear notes first, it is a method in which you condense the material you have read using headings and sub headings and jotting down the most important points. This method works best when making notes from a book where the material is already properly organised. But one disadvantage of this method is that you end up copying a lot of material from the book which defeats the very purpose of condensing.

The right way to use this method is to use loose sheets of paper instead of an exercise book since it is easier to keep adding information. It is a good idea to leave space on each sheet of paper for additional information. Another way to make your notes more interesting is to use colors, block letters, making boxes and highlighting as and when necessary. All this will immediately draw our attention to the actual contents of our notes and make it more clear and comprehensible.

Pattern Notes

        We now come to Pattern Notes. For this we have to begin the topic at the centre of the page. Each line radiating from it represents a branch of the main idea. Each point is written as briefly as possible using a key word or a phrase. It is a better method to adopt because it is more flexible than making Linear notes. One can add extra information to it at any point without any problem. Second
advantage is that we can see the whole pattern at one go without actually
turning the pages. Thirdly we can indicate the links between different topics
more easily than we can do in a linear method. Another advantage of pattern
notes is that it is exceptionally useful when making notes from memory for
revision as you keep jotting down points as and when they occur to you. This
makes it easier to revise for exams and writing out essays as only brief key
words are used. Lastly, it is easier to remember as notes is made in a shape
format.
8:53 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai : A scientist who dared to dream
"There is no leader and there are no led. A leader, if one chooses to identity one, has to be a cultivator rather than a manufacturer. He has to provide the soil and the overall climate and the environment in which the seed can grow. One wants permissive individuals who do not have a compelling need to reassure themselves that they are leaders"- Vikram Sarabhai

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai's name will remain inseparable from India's
space programme. It is well known that it was Dr. Sarabhai who put India on the
international map in the field of space research. But he also made equally
pioneering contributions in other fields such as textiles, pharmaceuticals,
nuclear power, electronics and many others.

The most striking aspect of Dr. Sarabhai's personality was the range and breadth of his interests and the way in which he transformed his ideas into institutions. Sarabhai was a creative scientist, a successful and forward looking industrialist, an innovator of the highest order, a great institution builder, and an educationist with a difference, a connoisseur of arts, an entrepreneur of social change, a
pioneering management educator and more.

However, most importantly, he was a very warm human being with tremendous compassion for others. He was a man who could charm and win the hearts of all those who came in contact with him. He could instantly establish a personal rapport with those with whom he interacted. This was possible because he could convey a sense of respect and trustfulness to them and also a sense of his own trustworthiness.
A DreamerDr. Sarabhai was a dreamer with a seemingly unmatched
capacity for hard work. He was a visionary, who could not only see opportunities
but created some where none existed. To him the object of life, as Pierre Curie
(1859-1906), the French Physicist who was co-discoverer with his wife sMarie
Curie (1867-1934) of polonium and radium, has observed, was "to make life a
dream and to turn the dream into a reality".
What is more, Dr. Sarabhai
taught many others how to dream and to work towards realising the dream. The
success of India's space programme is a testimony to this. Dr. Sarabhai was a
"rare combination of an innovative scientist, forward looking industrial
organiser and imaginative builder of institutions for the economic, educational
and social upliftment of the country".
He had an excellent sense of economics and managerial skill. No problem was too minor to him. A large part of his time was taken up by his research activities and he continued to supervise research till his untimely death. Nineteen people did their Ph D work under his supervision. Dr.Sarabhai independently and in association with his colleagues published eighty-six research papers in national journals.

We are told that anybody, irrespective of his position in the organisation, could meet Sarabhai without any fear or feeling of inferiority and Dr. Sarabhai would
always offer him/her a seat and make him/her relax and talk on equal terms. He
believed in an individual's dignity and tried hard to preserve it. He was always
in search of a better and efficient way of doing things. Whatever he did, he did
it creatively. He displayed extreme care and concern for the younger people. He
had immense faith in their potentialities. He was always ready to provide
opportunities and freedom to them.
Early YearsDr. Vikram Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919 into a wealthy family at Ahmedabad. During his childhood at his ancestral home, The Retreat at Ahmedabad, used to be visited by important people from all walks of life. This played an important role in the growth of Sarabhai's personality. His parents were Shri. Ambalal Sarabhai and Smt. Saraladevi Sarabhai.Vikram Sarabhai had his early education in the family school started by his mother Saraladevi on the line propounded by Madam Maria Montessori. After completing his Intermediate Science examination from Gujarat College, he went to Cambridge (UK) in 1937 where he obtained his Tripos in Natural Sciences in 1940. At the outbreak of the Second World War he returned to India and joined the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore where he took up research in cosmic rays under the supervision of C.V. Raman. He published his first research paper entitled "Time Distribution of Cosmic Rays" in the Proceedings of Indian Academy of Sciences. Sarabhai's work on cosmic rays during the period 1940-45 included the study of the time variations of cosmic rays with Geiger-Muller counters at Bangalore and at the high level station in the Kashmir Himalayas.
After the war he returned to Cambridge to work for his PhD in cosmic ray physics. In 1947, he was awarded PhD by the Cambridge University for his thesis `Cosmic Ray investigation in Tropical Latitudes'. He also carried out an accurate measurement of the cross-section for the photo fission of U-238 by 6.2 MeV y-rays which formed a part of his PhD thesis. After getting his PhD, he returned to India and continued his research in cosmic ray physics. In India he studied interplanetary space, solar-terrestrial relationships and geomagnetism.
A Great Institution BuilderDr. Sarabhai was a great institution builder. He helped to establish a large number of institutions in diverse fields. Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) was the first institution that Sarabhai helped to build. This assignment he undertook just after returning from Cambridge after obtaining a PhD in Cosmic ray physics. He had no formal training in textile technology.Formation of ATIRA was an important step towards modernising textile industry in India. At the time of establishing ATIRA there were no quality control techniques in majority of the textile mills. At ATIRA, Dr. Sarabhai created conditions for the interaction of different groups and different disciplines. While hiring personnel at ATIRA he ignored the requirement of experience.

Some of the most well-known institutions established by Dr.Sarabhai are: Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad; Indian Institute of Management(IIM), Ahmedabad;. Community Science Centre, Ahmedabad; Darpan Academy for Performing Arts, Ahmedabad; Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad; Faster Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Kalpakkam; Varaiable Energy Cyclotron Project, Calcutta; Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda, Bihar.
Science with CultureAfter the death of Dr. Homi J Bhabha in January 1966, Dr. Sarabhai was asked to assume the responsibilities of the office of the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission. Sarabhai had realised the enormous potentialities inherent in space science and technology for a wide range of
social and economic development activities - communication, meterology/weather forecasting, and exploration for natural resources, to name only a few.The Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, established by Sarabhai pioneered research in space sciences and subsequently in space technology. Sarabhai also spearheaded the country's rocket technology. He played a pioneering role in the development of satellite TV broadcasting in India. Dr. Sarabhai was also a pioneer of the pharmaceutical industry in India.
He was among the very few in the pharmaceutical industry who recognised that the highest standards of quality should be established and maintained at any cost. It was Sarabhai who first implemented Electronic Data Processing and Operations Research Techniques in the pharmaceutical industry.
He played an important role in making India's pharmaceutical industry self-reliant and self-manufacture of many drugs and equipment in the country. Dr.Sarabhai was a man of deep cultural interests. He was interested in music,photography, archaeology, fine arts and so on. With his wife Mrinalini, he established Darpana, an institution devoted to the performing arts. His daughter, Mallika Sarabhai, grew up to be a leading exponent of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. He believed that a scientist should never shut himself up in an ivory tower or overlook the problems faced by the society in mere academic pursuit of pure science. Sarabhai was deeply concerned with the state of science education in the country.To improve the same he had established the Community Science Centre. Dr. Sarabhai died on December 30, 1971 at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In a befitting honour to this great Scientist, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) and associated space establishments at Thiruvananthapuram were renamed as the Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre which has grown into a major space research centre of the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In 1974, International Astronomical Union at Sydney decided that a Moon Crater BESSEL in the Sea of Serenity will be known as the Sarabhai Crater.
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