The Bollywood Movies on Azhar Sachin and Dhoni

Why Bihar students are putting money in their answersheets

April 14, 2016 16:28 IST

'Our parents have been fighting to earn a livelihood. They can't afford coaching or home tutoring. Please pass me.'
M I Khan reports from Bihar.

Thanks to strict measures to stop cheating in examinations in Bihar, students have started placing currency notes of Rs 100, 500 and 1,000 in their answer sheets with requests to the examiners to give them passing marks.

This year, the Bihar School Examination Board had used strict measures against mass cheating and the use of unfair means in Class 10 and 12 exams.

CCTV cameras have been installed at examination centres and the 'unlawful assembly' of five or more people banned under prohibitory orders.

After the Bihar School Examination Board conducted nearly cheating-free examinations last month, a large number of students have been living in fear of failing the Class 10 and 12 exams.

BSEB officials have admitted that the pass percentage is likely to fall drastically. The results are expected next month.

What is the talk of the town these days in Bihar is that a large number of examinees have placed 100, 500 or 1,000 rupee notes in their answer sheets to secure pass marks.

"It is a sort of bribe to the examiner," says Jogender Sharma, a teacher who is currently busy checking Class 10 answer sheets in Vaishali district.

To secure pass marks in Hindi, students place Rs 100, reveals another teacher. But for English, mathematics and science, students place Rs 500 and some even Rs 1,000 notes in answer sheets with a 'request'.

'Please pass me, there was no cheating possible this year. I have been trying to pass the exam for the last two years,' reads one such request.

Another request reads, 'Our parents have been fighting to earn a livelihood. They can't afford coaching or home tutoring. Please pass me.'

Some students come up with 'requests' to examiners to pass them so that they can get married. Some of them ask the examiners to treat them like their sons and daughters and pass them.

Some students request the examiners to pass them in subjects, by writing in block letters that there is no teacher to teach those particular subjects in their school.

Mass cheating in board exams has been rampant in Bihar for years. Every year, it is common to see photographs of scores of people climbing window sills to hand over cheating material to examinees with impunity.

Last month, nearly 1,000 students were caught cheating in Class 10 exams across Bihar. Dozens of 'cheating helpers' were also arrested.

Nearly 1.57 million students appeared in the Class 10 exams at 1,309 centres across the state.

The Bihar School Examination Board put in place similar tough measures for the Class 12 exams. Nearly 2,000 students were expelled after they were caught cheating.

IMAGE: A typical examination centre in Bihar. Photograph: ANI/Twitter

Aishwarya Rai berates scribe over Panama Papers leaks question

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on Thursday chose to stay mum over her name figuring in the Panama Paper leaks for allegedly having links with offshore entities.

When asked by journalists about Panama Paper leaks, Aishwarya's co-star Randeep Hooda tried to come to her aid and said "Sarabjit Sarabjit" (apparently implying that questions should be related to their upcoming film only).

However, the actress, who was at the trailer launch of her upcoming film "Sarabjit", said, "The statement has been made to all of you already. Hope you all are aware about it."

When asked by PTI about the statement, the actress said, "Why are you acting so desperate? You are the only one asking for it."

Her manager, who was present at the event, said, "The statement is there in the Indian Express take it from there."

The reported secret list, called 'Panama Papers', contains of about 500 prominent Indians, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya among other politicians and businessmen.

The Panama Papers are a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, including the identities of shareholders and directors of the companies.

Earlier, Bachchan had issued a statement saying that his name was "misused" and he was not aware of any of the companies mentioned in the report.

Aishwarya's legal adviser had called the investigation false. 

Over 60% new entrants sink below IPO price so far in 2016

Quick Heal Technologies which got listed in February has taken the steepest hit as its shares have slumped 31 per cent against its IPO price.

More than half of the new entrants to the stock market this year are trading well below their IPO price, giving negative returns of as much as 31 per cent.

Out of the six companies that have launched their IPOs this year, four are still trading below the price at which they had issued shares to the investors, an analysis of the performance of these firms showed.

The rest two companies have managed to make gains by staying above their issue price.

Quick Heal Technologies which got listed in February has taken the steepest hit as its shares have slumped 31 per cent against its IPO price.

In the case of Precision Camshafts, the first public offering of 2016, its shares have fallen by over 17 per cent.

Similarly, shares of HealthCare Global Enterprises tumbled 12.5 per cent and that of Bharat Wire Ropes have lost more than one per cent.

In contrast, Infibeam Incorporation and TeamLease Services have managed to stay afloat even as the broader market sentiment remained weak.

Infibeam, which got listed earlier this month is trading way above its IPO price, surging 17.5 per cent.

TeamLease shares have also risen by almost 3 per cent from its issue price.

Besides, Equitas Holdings which completed its IPO earlier this month is yet to make its stock market debut.

The BSE benchmark Sensex has witnessed a fall of 491 points or 1.87 per cent so far this year. The index hit its 52-week low of 22,494.61 on February 29, 2016. 

Can I still make money from the Bitcoin?

Crime, speculation, wealth, greed and drama are all words that were associated with the Bitcoin in the year 2013.  This currency captivated millions of people around the world as we watch in awe at its souring highs and also its big lows in 2013.  We saw in the space of one year this currency be valued at $10 right up to $1,200 surpassing the value of gold at its peak before it crashed way down to $500.  Today depending on the exchange it can vary between $380 up to $680 at some points.

We truly watched anxiously as Bitcoin owners became millionaires and millions of dollars were transferred on the black market.  While the creator of Bitcoin was a secret his identity was soon unravelled as being Satoshi Nakamoto.

Those that had the opportunity to buy into this currency were reluctant, but millions were quick to follow this saga.  Why?  Mainly due to its volatility and uncertainty but as we can see those that did get eaten into the craze enjoyed the rewards.

Whereas the government can decide when they print more money and how to distribute it, Bitcoin does not have any dependence on a bank or even the government, Bitcoins are created through mining.  This is a difficult process which means solving a number of maths problems on specialist Bitcoin software.  The power required to run this software is significantly higher than a regular PC which is why many computers are usually linked together to form a group.

One year on and Bitcoin is now enjoying a stable and much more mature future.  It is becoming more legitimate and is being pushed towards the mainstream adoption of this currency.

But would you buy a Bitcoin?  For those that waited and watched Bitcoin as it was created and went on a rollercoaster ride may be considering to buy this currency now and store it in a safe place.  But how does it work and where can you spend this?

To put in simple terms this is the internet’s version to money which is why it is often referred to as “crypto currency”.  Although the coin can be sold it cannot be used twice.  But very similar to paper money it can be kept in a wallet.  These are digital wallets which can be stored in a secure cloud environment or they can even be given in a physical form.  Unfortunately if the cloud wallet is hacked or you were unfortunate to lose your private Bitcoin key you will no longer have access to this Bitcoin.  This is worth bearing in mind if you are considering buying into this currency.

You can use this currency to buy things from an array of merchants that accept this currency or further still it can be exchanged for cash through a direct buyer or an exchange.  The choice is yours.  Furthermore you do not need to know the complex nodes and hashes in order to get involved in this currency.  There are lots of people buying and selling through exchange.

Celebrities that have more money than sense

If you were worth millions of pounds, what would you buy yourself?  Consider yourself as a mega famous film star then you may be tempted to purchase a trip to the moon or using teen heart throb, Justin Bieber, as an example, a very expensive Halloween prop.

We have dug deep and found some of the most elaborate celebrity purchases but these are just a few of the most extravagant buys:

Babyonce

Daughter of Beyonce and Jay Z, Blue Ivy Carter is only a mere few months old and she already has everything that a girl could ever wish for and this includes a crystal bath tub.  Yes you heard right, little Blue Ivy has been showered with some of the most expensive gifts that people would only ever dream of receiving in their entire life.

Another outrageous gift includes a sterling silver Tiffany brush to be put in her two thousand square foot nursery.

Ashton Kutcher

The estranged husband of Demi Moore forked out $200,000 so he could be the 500thcustomer of Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo.  He has yet to set a date of when he is going to fly towards the final frontier.  It was originally advised that space flights would start in the year 2013, so let’s hope 2014 is the year that his dreams come true.

Tamara Ecclestone

She may be the daughter of Formula One Bernie Ecclestone but she has been reported to spend a large amount of money so that she can have a bath in style.  Her luxury bath tub is said to carry an $800,000 price tag due to it being made out of rock crystal.  The cost associated with turning the crystal into a bathtub is what makes this so expensive and out of our reach.

Donald Trump

Someone else who loves to splash out on bathroom items is Donald Trump who spent millions renovating his Boeing 757 which he purchased from Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen.  He was quick to improve this aircraft with gold covered seat belts, a Rolls Royce engine and even gold plated faucets.

George Lucas

Probably one of the most bizarre purchases has to be buying your own fire brigade.  The brain behind Star Wars has a brigade that consists of twelve full time fire-fighters, a couple of volunteers and two fire trucks.

Jennifer Aniston

We have to admit that Jennifer always looks amazing whenever she walks down the red carpet but what is her secret?  Not only does she spend $385 a week on pre-made meals that have been approved by her dietician but she spends significant amounts of money on eyebrow shaping and yoga classes.

Justin Bieber

We quickly mentioned early on that Justin Bieber spent over $5,000 on a Halloween costume.  He commissioned a Los Angeles based jewellers to create a gold grill that was custom made for him.  The mouth piece may have looked full of bling but is an expensive fashion accessory.

As you can clearly see celebrities do have more money than sense.

Do calories always tell you the truth about foods?

We have heard it all before; calories are the ultimate ingredient to determine whether weight loss is a success or simple failure.  It is common sense that if we consume less than is burnt then the pounds will quickly disappear, just like last nights’ Pizza hut.  Simple stuff?  Well not really, while calorie cutting does work to some extent it does not work as much as you might think it would.  It is worth noting first that calories are not equal.  If you were to choose the right kind of calories you can eat less without feeling hungry but if you choose the wrong calories then your food will leave you feeling less than satisfied and potentially craving more.

So will I lose weight if I simply eat less?? 

Yes in the short term if you cut down your calories you will lose weight but these results will not be lasting.  The word on the street is that the majority of people who go on a “diet” will end up putting more weight on that what they lost.

Did you know that in order to lose one pound you need to cut 3,500 calories out of your diet?  So depending on what your current size is if you were to consume between 1,400 calories to 2,000 over the course of a day you will lose a total of eight per cent of your total body weight over a period of three to twelve months.

So are there so many diets that fail?

Unfortunately there is not one single answer as what works for one person may not work for someone else.  First of all we are all human and diets are very hard to maintain over a long period of time.  Secondly our bodies can work against us.  Once we have lost a certain amount of weight our metabolism will slow down so that you have to eat less just to maintain the current weight that you are at.  It is our body’s way of ensuring that we do not starve.  So when you think that you are working hard at your diet and not getting the results you feel you deserve, this is often the reason why.

Furthermore many people get too excited and will at the beginning cut out too many calories.  At the beginning of the diet while the food cravings are intense these will soon wear off, there is evidence to prove that over the long term a low calorie diet will curb hunger.  In addition to this if you choose to diet without exercising you will lose muscle mass and this will slow down your metabolism even further.

Where do our calories come from?

As previously mentioned calories are not equal and those calories that are from fat or even refined carbohydrates will certainly end up on your thighs.  So consider if you had the choice between a doughnut and a chicken sandwich which both had the same amount of calories, which would you choose?  Nutritionally the sandwich is the winner and even in terms of your weight the doughnut should not be contemplated.