Author: sureshzmc07

An Evening of Gratitude: Celebrating Stephanian Friendship

An alumni meet-up of St. Stephen’s College was recently held at the home of Surabhi and Charlie. The event brought together old and new friends in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Surabhi began the evening with an icebreaker, asking, “What are we grateful for, thankful for, and blessed with?” The responses were thoughtful, ranging from gratitude for family and friends to appreciation for life’s opportunities.
Rekha Rachel George, a music teacher and the evening’s entertainer, led a medley of songs spanning generations, including classics by Bob Marley, John Denver, and ABBA. Rekha’s daughter, who also sang, added a touching moment to the gathering. Music filled the space with a sense of nostalgia, reminding attendees of their shared time at St. Stephen’s College.
The evening also featured a delicious spread of food, including paneer pakoras, chola kulcha, and paneer cutlets, which were enjoyed alongside tea and coffee. Non-vegetarian options were also available, but as the host noted, the vegetarian dishes were the highlight for many.
Mark, arriving later with his camera, captured candid moments that will serve as lasting memories of the evening. As a special gesture, Surabhi gifted mugs to the first-time attendees, inscribed with the phrase, “A sweet friendship refreshes the soul,” perfectly encapsulating the spirit of the night.
The gathering was a reminder of the value of friendship, gratitude, and shared memories, leaving everyone with a sense of warmth and appreciation.

For a long time, IT companies hadn’t enforced cost of living adjustments (COLA) because inflation rates remained relatively low. This situation changed when inflation rates surged, putting companies under considerable pressure. They found themselves grappling with higher salaries, especially in India, but were unable to pass on these extra costs to their clients.Sometimes clients believe that they are paying a fair price and would resist price increases.
For some time now, the inclusion of COLA clauses in contracts has become a common practice in the industry. These clauses allow companies to adjust their fees based on changes in the cost of living, ensuring that they can maintain their profitability and continue to provide quality services to their clients without bearing the full burden of inflation-driven expenses.
At Cognizant, for instance, a cost-of-living adjustment was applied to the compensation of each of their employees residing in a jurisdiction other than its CEO Ravi Kumar’s principal work location (the United States) to adjust the compensation of such employees to the jurisdiction of Mr Kumar’s principal work location. Each such cost-of-living index, including that for India, the location of the worldwide median employee, was used to adjust the applicable compensation of employees to the cost-of-living index for the United States. All cost-of-living indexes used were as published by cost-of-living databases provider Numbeo.com for 2023, Cognizant said in its proxy filing.
Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of IT research advisory Everest Group, said, “COLA is historically a significant source of profit for the IT firms. It is not shared with employees and is used to support earnings. As market conditions have tightened, it is harder for firms to get COLA into contracts, but where they can, they work hard to ensure that they are in place as they help profitability.”
Stanton Jones, distinguished analyst at ISG, said the cost-of-living adjustments were not added to IT services contracts for many years because inflation was low. “However, when inflation spiked, it put a lot of pressure on firms as salaries rose (especially in India) but they were unable to pass these costs on to clients. It’s now regular practice to include these clauses in contracts.”
Bendor-Samuel said wage increases for employees are driven by local market conditions and are not connected to COLA adjustments. “COLA is only indirectly linked to wage increases because wage inflation will allow for COLA adjustments. However, if a firm can make COLA adjustments but not increase wages, they will do that. But if there is significant wage inflation, then the COLA provisions will activate. Again, it is becoming harder to get COLA into new contracts as firms are looking for price decreases in the current market.”
Jones said in terms of COLA, it’s an index used in multi-year outsourcing relationships to make sure prices for managed services (or rate cards) are aligned with the impact of inflation on operating costs. “Wages are an important part of the operating cost for a provider, but not the only one. Also important to keep in mind that enterprises generally do not have visibility into the specific or even aggregate level of compensation of their provider teams,” he added.

NASA and SpaceX have postponed the launch of their next crew mission to the International Space Station (ISS) due to the impending threat of Hurricane Helene. Initially slated for this week, the launch has been rescheduled to at least Saturday, September 28, as the storm is forecasted to strengthen and move toward the Gulf of Mexico, potentially impacting the Florida coast.
With winds expected to reach hurricane levels, NASA has emphasised the need for caution, citing the extensive wind field associated with the storm.The upcoming Crew-9 mission will feature NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, both currently in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center.

Hurricane Helene impacts Crew-9 launch timeline

Hurricane Helene is expected to grow into a Category 3 hurricane by Thursday, with a wind field projected to extend 250 miles. The storm is set to impact the Florida panhandle, resulting in high winds and heavy rain across Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island.
NASA stated in a post on its website, “Although Tropical Storm Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico, the storm system is large enough to cause significant weather conditions along the east coast of Florida.”
SpaceX aims to launch the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon Freedom on Saturday, targeting a lift-off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 1:17 p.m. Backup launch windows are available from Sunday to Tuesday if needed.
This delay allows teams to complete a rehearsal of launch day activities on Tuesday night with the spacecraft and rocket, which will return to the hangar after the rehearsal to safeguard against potential storm impacts.

The Crew-9 mission

Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague are on board the Crew-9 mission. The two astronauts are being held in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Centre after their arrival on Saturday.
To enable NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who are already on the ISS after a previous Boeing Starliner trip, to return, Crew-9 is operating with just two astronauts.

Crew Dragon mission history

Crew-9 represents SpaceX’s ninth operational mission under the Commercial Crew Program since the initial test flight, Demo-2, in 2020. To date, SpaceX has launched its Crew Dragon fleet 14 times, transporting 54 people into orbit, including two astronauts on repeat missions.
The upcoming launch will mark the fourth flight for Crew Dragon Freedom, which has previously completed missions for both NASA and private company Axiom Space. Notably, this will also be the first human spaceflight from SLC-40, following the construction of a crew access arm to facilitate crewed missions on the Space Coast.
Also read: Who is Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov, the Russian cosmonaut rescuing Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore?

IIT Delhi vs IIT Bombay: Who leads the placement race?

Two of India’s premier institutes for higher education in engineering and technology, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, are dream destinations for many aspiring engineers. In the NIRF Rankings 2024 (engineering category), IIT Delhi has grabbed Rank 2 while IIT Bombay grabbed the third place. In fact, since 2020, both the institutes have grabbed the second and third rank in the engineering list of the NIRF.So, what sets these institutes apart? Beyond their distinguished faculty, advanced courses, research facilities, and impressive campuses, one major differentiator is their placement records. Today, we will compare which of these esteemed IITs excels more in terms of placements.

Placement records: A comparative analysis of IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay

So, which institute fares better in terms of placement records? Here’s a look at the data from the last three years for both institutes for UG 4 year programme, as published by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) under the management category in 2024:
(UG 4 year programme)

In a comparative analysis of placement and higher education outcomes between IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay under their four-year undergraduate programs, distinct trends emerge over the three academic years from 2020-21 to 2022-23.
IIT Delhi consistently saw a higher median salary for placed students. In 2020-21, 672 students graduated, with 541 placed at a median salary of Rs 17.6 lakh and 101 opting for higher studies. This increased to a median salary of Rs 20.5 lakh in 2021-22, with 621 of 685 graduates placed, and 64 students pursuing further studies. By 2022-23, the number of graduates rose to 835, with 676 placed at a median salary of Rs 20 lakh, while 50 chose higher education.
IIT Bombay, on the other hand, had fewer placements in the initial year but showed significant improvements over time. In 2020-21, 500 of 663 graduates were placed with a median salary of Rs 13.9 lakh, and 163 opted for higher studies. This improved in 2021-22, where 591 of 674 graduates were placed at a median salary of Rs 18 lakh, with 83 students choosing further studies. By 2022-23, 644 of 798 graduates secured placements with a median salary of Rs 19.6 lakh, while 154 pursued higher education.
Overall, IIT Delhi led in median salaries across all three years, though IIT Bombay saw a greater number of students pursuing higher studies.

NEW DELHI: Yuvraj Singh recently joined Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist on their renowned podcast, Club Prairie Fire. During the show, the legendary all-rounder shared various stories and experiences with the two cricketing icons, providing insights into his career and personal life.
Yuvraj faced a tough situation when asked to choose between playing, selling, or benching Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni.
Earlier, Vaughan expressed his opinion that he would trade Virat due to his lack of success in leading a team to an IPL title.
He selected Dhoni as his preferred choice for both a player and captain in the starting lineup. However, Vaughan stated that he would not include Rohit in the playing XI and instead have him on the bench.

“As a player, I would go for Rohit Sharma if it’s T20 cricket. He is an outstanding captain and someone who can change the game with his batting for sure, he will be my first choice,” Yuvraj said.
Yuvraj, when asked to choose between benching either Dhoni or Kohli responded with a witty comment. He acknowledged that selecting one over the other could lead to sensational news stories. In order to avoid any controversy, Yuvraj cleverly opted to bench himself instead.
“I would bench myself as naming one between Virat and Dhoni would be in the headlines. I don’t want that to happen,” he added.
Yuvraj also revealed what England’s Andrew Flintoff had said to him during their verbal spat in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
He recalled the moment when Flintoff provoked him after he had smacked a couple of boundaries in his over.
“Freddie bowled two good balls, he bowled a length ball, which went for a boundary, and a good yorker, which I was hit over the point. When I was walking after taking a single, he said, “F… shit shots,” Yuvraj said.
Flintoff didn’t hold back and continued to provoke Yuvraj, which led to an altercation between the two, forcing the umpire to step in.
“He repeated that on my face. I walked towards him; he kind of spat on me. I showed him my bat, saying that you know where it’s going to go. It went worse after that. Then the umpire came in,” Yuvraj added.