TCS-Aspire FAQs:

1. What is Aspire?

Ans: Aspire is a pre-engagement program designed for associates joining TCS. This is a program designed to cover the basics of software engineering modules and soft skills which would be helpful when the associates joins TCS.

2. How do we learn in Aspire?

Ans: In Aspire, we have courses covering various areas like Web Technologies, Unix, etc. The first step of learning would be to GO TOP enroll for the courses. Each course would follow a weekly timeline.

For each week, you will be given some learning objectives, learning activities and online learning materials. Participants are expected to cover the materials and activities and accomplish the learning objectives for the week. At the end of each week, you will need to update the activity tracker to record the progress of your learning.

3. Do we have evaluations on the topics covered in Aspire?

Ans: We have some assessment modules designed for participants in Aspire. This would include online assignments and self evaluation quizzes. These assessment modules will be rolled out in due course of time.

4. Do we have any other assessments other than the online assessments?

Ans: Yes. We may also conduct offline assessments for the participants who have undergone Aspire. This will be done once the participant formally joins TCS.

5. I was not able to complete a week’s learning activity within the timeline. Will the material still be available?

Ans: Yes. The materials will still be available in the course page. However, we would be uploading more materials and activities for subsequent weeks. So, participant may need to spend some more time
and complete the pending learning activities at the earliest to avoid back-lag.

6. I have completed a week’s activity in a shorter period. Can I go ahead with the next weeks learning activities?

Ans: Yes, upon earlier completion of a week’s learning activities, participants may proceed with the next week’s learning activities provided the subsequent activities have been opened in the system.

7. What is the advantage of completing the Aspire program?

Ans: On successful completion of Aspire, a participant would have a clear understanding on the basics of software engineering and soft skills. This would enable identifying the associate for a fast-track training program of a shorter duration than the regular training program. Moreover, Aspire would be a platform to prove that a participant can be a self-learner capable in addition to the traditional classroom training programs.

8. The city in my Profile is filled as TVM(trivendram). Does it mean that I will be asked to join at TCS
Trivandrum for the training?

Ans: No. TVM is the default value given for the city while creating profiles in Aspire. This need not mean that an associate will be posted at TCS Trivandrum for the training.

9. My friend has also got an offer letter from TCS but did not get the mail from Aspire. Why does it happen so?

Ans: Aspire is a program which we roll out as batches. The invitation to Aspire is sent in batches and if your friend did not get an invitation, that would probably mean that he/she is not batched along with you.

10. Can I share my credentials for Aspire with my friend?

Ans: No. TCS is a company where in we have strict Information Security policies and all the participants who access Aspire are expected to follow the same. You cannot share your credentials for Aspire with anyone else.

11. When do I get my joining letter from TCS?

Ans: You would get your joining letter soon as your batching is confirmed. You may expect a mail from TCS Talent Acquisition Group specifying the date and location for joining.

12. Do I not get the joining letter unless I complete Aspire?

Ans: No. An associate who got an offer letter from TCS will get a joining letter as an when his batch is scheduled. If you successfully complete Aspire, you will be identified for a fast-track, shorter duration training program. Else, you will need to follow the regular duration training.

13. How do I list out the assignments for a course?

Ans: You can locate an Activities tab in the course page. Under that, you will find a link Assignments if you have any assignments for the course. When the link is clicked, it will list all the assignments available for course. Similarly, you can also list out all the activity trackers also for a course by clicking the Feedback
Activities link. You will also find a calendar on the right side of the Aspire homepage. Once logged in, it will highlight any assignment activities pending for the next 10 days for the courses you have enrolled for.

14. Do you have a toll free number in which I can call and clarify if I have any further queries?

Ans: No. We do not have a toll free service available for Aspire now. Should you have any further queries, you can write to ilp.aspire@tcs.com

Testimonial

Testimonial by Manu Zafar Abdulla. Joined TCS ILP on June 16,2011. Belongs to Mainframe Stream, posted to Mumbai and is from Non Computer Science Background.

      My interesting tryst with mainframes started on the fourth day of ILP.The first session was handled by our Tech-lead.Apart from the meager idea of mainframes (which perhaps, i acquired when I studied 'the history of computers in my school days..), I had no presumptions.We were introduced to what basically a mainframe was..that it was something that spanned rooms..with lots of resources to handle huge amount of data..that banking, insurance, railways and healthcare sectors relied on them..and so and so.As soon as he tried to log in to the server..the server got hung up.We got our first chunk of advice..'to be in love with mainframes, what you ought to have is a lot of patience(I swear..there were no server problems after that till now!!).We were further dipped in to this exciting world(i hope the whole of our batch would agree to it!!..) by our facilitator(an experienced TCS mainframer,friendly, softspoken and a curious teacher!! .).The interface was completely new..( i'll keep the tech stuffs apart..) felt like an evolved version of DOS..but much more colourful..ooh yeah..The first week,we were taught how to create files in certain formats..copying between them..different commands and such basics.( I tell you, for a layman..these things arent very simple,make sure you pour in attention to the tech sessions.!!). Our systems are connected to a mainframe located somewhere else..every activity is done logging on to this server and so homeworks cant be done at home.We usually get assignments..which would have to be completed at our lab..(Our sessions end at 2:00pm..but we always reach our place of stay at 9:00pm...assignments..case studies..evaluations..we are occuppied 7 days a week!!). We are used to spending our weekends(the much awaited weekends, infact!!) in techlabs to meet our monday deadlines..We enviously keep gazing at Java and .net guys hanging out and enjoying to the fullest (It seems to us that they have no work atall!!).
As a 16 day old mainframer(as I potray to be), here is what I have inferred...Learning mainframes isnt tough..its all about getting used with this 'never seen' interface..the more you practice.. the more errors you incur and the better you turnout to be.You'll have hurdles initially and hectic ILP schedules,but everything would add value to our career. We dont get to learn mainframes in this scale from anywhere else. TCS presents a wonderful opportunity for us to be in the big mainframe game. And definitely, our splendid spring is on the offing!!! Happy mainframing to all aspirers!!

About ILP

 The 60-day ILP training is split into two equal phases.

• First 30 days called Core Skills. In this phase, you will be introduced to the basic concepts based on the Project you will be doing. You will get a Case study at the end of this 30 days, which will be pursued in the next 30 days. Here, you will ONLY learn the concepts required for you Case study. And these session are not completely theoretical, you will have probably one theory session a day, and the rest would have some exercises based on that learning. The syllabus is split into several sections, and you will have an Evaluation Test at the end of each section.

• Along with Technical, you have Business Skills(BizS) sessions as well. Here you learn topics which will transform you into the corporate space. It includes communication, several etiquette's, do's and don't in the company etc.

• Next 30 days is called Project Delivery. As the name mentioned, you will get a Case study to be done with deadlines, reports etc. In short these 30 days is a real life simulation of a project. You will have status reports(weekly), meetings, deadlines, documentation, and all such things. BizS sessions would rarely come through.
  In this phase, you will be Analyzing, Designing, Documenting, Coding, Testing and Maintaining different projects(done by different groups within your batch).
  In between, people would be randomly called up by senior officials to keep track of the learning(like an interview)

So what difference does it make?
 It makes lot of difference. Let me split this view into two.

• Computer Science freshers: Includes all freshers who are from computer background, or have a basic knowledge on computer science. In the old curriculum, the theory sessions were just a repetition of whatever they knew, which tend to be boring and monotonous. But its no more, now ILP is very dynamic, and its a chance for every fresher to get more exposure on to the corporate space.

• Non-Computer Science freshers: Earlier, these freshers had a brilliant opportunity to listen to theory sessions and make up a concrete base. But now, you have to take an extra effort to keep up. It's not bad in anyway, its extra good, and you have to take the extra effort to utilize the exposure you get. This does not mean that Non-CS students would be in trouble, trust me, I have batch mates who perform even better than CS students. So no worries!
  And here comes the importance of Aspire as well! If you put that effort in, it'll be way better! So please make sure you get through Aspire and follow the courses(if not perfect it, at least get a feel of it!)

* the ilp scheduling is as follows..though its an overall rough idea abt the ilp scheduling..but more or less,we would be following the same script-

*The duration of ILP is 60 working days, which would span close to 3 months including the holidays(Sat & Sun).The first two days have only induction sessions, wherein we will be introduced to various policies and processes in TCS. At the end of the second day, we will know about our Stream and batch, and the upcoming sessions would be according to these details..

The 60-day ILP training is split into two equal phases.

**FIRST 30 days are called CORE SKILLS. In this phase, WE will be introduced to the basic concepts based on the Project we will be doing. we will get a Case study at the end of this 30 days, which will be pursued in the next 30 days. Here, we will ONLY learn the concepts required for our Case study. And these session are not completely theoretical, we will have probably one theory session per day, and the rest would have some exercises based on that learning. Along with Technical, you have BUSINESS SKILLS(BizS) sessions as well. Here We learn topics which will transform us into the corporate space. It includes communication, several etiquette's, do's and don't in the company etc.The syllabus is split into several sections, and we will have an Evaluation Test at the end of each section.The details are below-


First phase, theoretical. U will b taught completely abt ur Stream.

U will b having Case studies(Practical works), Viva Voce, Powerpoint presentation on stream topics, objective type assessment. Some business skill classes(Oral+Written+Team work).

Ur performance ll b observed thru out this phase.

In biz skill, u ll have pre-test on oral and written.

Oral - Given a random topic, u have to speak for 5 mins

Written - Given a random topic, u have to write something.

Dey will evaulate these tests.. Rating ll be given. if u perform low, u ll b put in remedial.





**Next 30 days is called PROJECT DELIVERY. As the name mentioned, we will get a Case study to be done with deadlines, reports etc. In short these 30 days is a real life simulation of a project. we will have status reports(weekly), meetings, deadlines, documentation, and all such things. BizS sessions would rarely come through.

In this phase, you will be Analyzing, Designing, Documenting, Coding, Testing and Maintaining different projects(done by different groups within your batch).

In between, people would be randomly called up by senior officials to keep track of the learning(like an interview)..details are as follows-

Second phase on projects.

Ur group will b spilt into group. each group will have 6 associates (including team lead).

Different phases in Project-

1. Requirement Gathering

2. Test Case and Scenario Preparation

3. Construcion (Coding + Integration + Unit Testing)

4. Testing

5. Bug Fixes and Maintenance



At the end of 2nd phase of ilp training, u ll have final evaluation.


Final Evalution covers the following area,

1. Oral Skill(OS)

2. Writing Skill(WS), and

3. Technical Skill(TS).



1. OS.

U ll be asked to present a ppt on ur project (project means the one u

r doing in 2nd phase). U ll be evaluated based on ur presentation.


2. WS.

U ll be asked write a letter or a report or an essay regarding ur

project/some random topic.


3. Technical

Technical evaluation has four phases depends on ur stream. there are- Mainframe, unix,Java, Dotnet Streams.

For Mainframe and unix, u will be having Objective type Test, Viva-voce, Group

Presentation(Regarding Project).

For Java & Dotnet, u will be having an application development(Given a

scenario, u have to develop a simple application), Viva-voce, Group

Presentation(Regarding Project).

Based on these evaluations and observations u ll b rated.

Top rated associates from each group ll b awarded certificates + given some high ratings

My day1 ILP

• And the Sun rises on us, with a whole new career up ahead, looking bright and vibrant. All of us got ready early, the Bus was expected to arrive at 7am. All of us looked well groomed, and professional - a surprising new trend for us. A few of us had a Tie, but not many. But as the bus arrived, it started to rain cats and dogs.

• We had to share umbrellas to get to the bus. And surprisingly 5 minutes later, we had the bright sunshine back. Sadly, we missed a student back in the lodge of being late, and hopefully none will get into that situation.

•  After a 40 minutes drive, we reached the Peepul's Park. We were allowed to enter the building after providing the Joining letter at the gate. Our bags had to go through an X-ray scanner and ANY electronic items(including Pen Drives) was not allowed inside. After getting into the campus, we were seated in a Hall, which had close to 260 new aspirants seated. It took sometime for everyone to be seated, and then our HR came forward and took a head count. We were allowed to have breakfast then, which I should say was AWESOME! Cheap and Healthy food was available in the Canteen - and of course the highlight was FREE Tea and Coffee! After Breakfast we had a few introductory sessions by fascinating people at TCS.

•  After a couple of sessions, we had to move into batches to different rooms for Document verification. All the Original Certificates and Service Agreement thoroughly scrutinized and any fault in this would lead in a delayed admission to TCS[That is, you will be asked to join in the Next ILP Batch].

•  It had a few tensed and anxious moments, but if you have all the documents, you have nothing to worry. I cleared the verification quick, and then we had a few more sessions on the formalities and the portals we need to register once we were officially an Employee. We were also given certain documents to be filled in and submitted next day along with the Attested copies of the certificates.

•  The next session was for opening a Bank account, all of us were given a form and perfect instructions on how to fill it. You need to provide a Photo and ID proof for this, and you will be given an account number, ATM card, Passbook and cheque book.

•  This marked the end of Day 1 - in short Day 1 summarizes to Document verification, Bank Accounts and an Introduction. But this process takes real long - 8am to 7pm. But finally it was the end of our First Day at TCS, tired, but certainly proud and excited, we reached back to our lodge, looking forward to the next day.

Verification Process

Next comes the Tedious job of making up the Agreements and Documents. Once you receive the Offer Letter, via Mail or by Person, you will have to accept it from the Portal and download an Annexure. The Annexure provides all the details regarding what is to be done, but it still can get confusing. Here is a list of documents you need to get ready, and the process of getting those documents.

• Academic Certificates - 10th, 12th, Provisional Certificate and Mark sheets of every Semester of you UG/PG. You need the Original certificates along with a set of Attested Copies.
  • Birth Certificate - TCS insists that 10th or 12th certificates will not suffice. You need to make a Birth certificate as such for this purpose.
  • Passport (Not mandatory)
  • Offer Letter and Joining Letter
    
  • 12 Passport Size Photographs
  • Date of Birth and other details of the person you would like to nominate for Gratuity, Superannuation, Provident Fund and Health Insurance. (Passport copy of your Parents, or anyone concerned)
  • PAN Card
  • Medical Certificate (The contents are available along with the Annexure, you have to take a print of it and consult a Doctor with Minimum Qualification MBBS.)
  • Service Agreement - Now this is the most important Document. The content of the Document will be provided along with the Annexure, you have to take a print of this agreement on a Rs.100 Stamp paper taken in your name. All you have to do is take a print of the document and go to a Place where such works are done, they will take the print of the first page on the Stamp Paper you will provide and pin the rest along with it. Then make sure you fill the blanks with your Name, and the Surety's. Now who is a Surety? TCS has pointed certain regulation in qualifying for a Surety, preferably Father or Mother.
  • Surety Verification - Surety is provided as you have to agree for a bond of duration 12 months with value Rs.50,000. So in order to make sure you have Rs.50,000, TCS requires you to provide a sort of Witness for the same. You can do the surety in multiple ways. Either you can make the surety as someone who has Land Property worth Rs.50,000, OR you can put a Fixed Deposit of Rs.50,000 in a bank according to the conditions mentioned in the Annexure. You have to make a Joint deposit with Your account and TCS, and the Surety Verification form should be Signed and Completed by the Bank Manager(Preferably, you have other options too. And make sure its a Nationalized Bank)
  • Affidavit/Notarized Undertaking - This document proves that there are no existing Criminal cases, or Disciplinary case pending in the University. It also verifies the previous Employer and the Release letter of you former Employer(if any). To do this, again the content is available in the Annexure, you need to print it out on a Rs.100 Stamp paper. After taking the print, along with two witnesses, you need to go to a Notary Officer. He will sign and attest the Document, and the witnesses should sign the paper in his presence. He will bill you Rs.200 for this process.
  • Background Verification Check - All you have to do is fill in some details regarding your Previous residences. A Background Check might be done by the agency assigned by TCS on the truthfulness of data provided. You need a separate Document on a Rs.20 Stamp paper if you have Year Gaps. Find the format here - Year Gap Affidavit Format for TCS
    
• Make sure you have the Original as well as a Set of Attested Copies of each of the Document above.

And the rest, I'll update it once I get through! And feel free to comment if you have any doubts!

Documentaion

From the experience of the TCSers who joined prior to us the following precautions regarding documentation is shared.....
Precautions to be taken for document making and producing:

Common mistakes done on documents.

1) Check whether the 3rd clause in serv.agreement is not deleted.. If deleted u have to redo that paper alone.

2) No editing works on Serv. agreement should be done.. just print as it is in the annex.

3) Make sure that the PAN,Surety verification form and form 16 are attested(many haven't attested it).

4) The first line in service agreement, the date should be in WORDS, in last page also preferably in words, but in    numbers also accepted.But first pg should definitely be in words.

5) Those submitting land deed for surety, the land valuation should be in English.

6) Don't fail to bring 2 stamp sized photographs.

7) No need of tie on the first day (not sure about the case if somebody join on Mondays).

8) 2*50 or 5*20 Rs stamp paper service agreements are also accepted.

9) Only Serv. agreement, surety verification form, PAN, and Medical certificate are collected on day1 (but u should bring all other docs too).

10) Don't worry about lunch.. A lovable food court is there with reduced prices on all kind of foods(none more than 50Rs)

11)Till July end the training timing in Ambattur ll be 8-6.. After that 2 batches(morn and eve)

12)The building, Food court, toilets and auditorium makes us feel like we are in a real corporate life.


Note: Timings are tentative.. may change from ilp center to center.


Documents Required:


Major Documents to be submitted:

1.Service Agreement

2.Surety verification Form(Single Page Form)

3.Surety Supporting Documents

( Note: 1.Attested PAN card copy of surety should be attached

2.ITreturn/Form16/Form12b etc should be attested and should be of year    2009-2010 or 2010-2011 only ... 2008-2009 IT returns or Form16 will be rejected )

4.Medical Certificate

5.Background Check Form(with Pass Port Size Photo Pasted at Appropriate Place)

(CT Reference Number : Your DT Number)

6.Supporting Documents for BGC Form(Self Attested)

IMPORTANT NOTE : Other Documents that are requested by TCS You take with Yourself ... Instruction Regarding those documents will be delivered by ILP coordinators.

BANK ACCOUNT OPENING :

Documents Required:

1.PAN card Copy/Driving License or any other ID proof (Have Address Proof Also for safety)

2.Two Passport Size Photos.

NSR Registration:

Please note that everybody must have completed atleast First Step in NSR .. It is better if u complete Both.

PAN CARD:

IF anybody does not have a pan card yet please get it ... otherwise it leads in salary deduction at time of ur salary.

PASSPORT:

It is  better if u have passport. Those who do not have apply soon .But its not much of  a problem.. You have sufficient time to submit it even after joining office.

Other Things to note:

1.Those who have opened an F.D account for surety ... it  should be in lieu of TCS.

2.Those who are submitting Land Deed it would be better if it is in English and Try to get Current Land valuation in English.[ NOTE : In case of any problem contact your ILP coordinator Who is mentioned in Joining Letter.]

3.If any body have taken surety agreement OR  No criminal affidavit on 5x 20rs stamp paper it will not be accepted ...please change it to 1x100rs or 2x50 rs stamp paper document ..

ORIGINAL MARK SHEETS and Related Documents :

Take all ur original mark sheets they will be returned after verification.

PERSONAL DATA :

All candidates should remember their

a).X,XII,U.G and P.G(If Applicable) Percentage

b).Their Blood Group

These data will be entered to database.

IF I  MISSED OUT ANYTHING PLEASE CLEAR YOUR DOUBTS BEFORE UR JOINING BY ASKING OTHER MEMBERS OR CONTACTING THE ILP COORDINTOR.

ILP @ TCS, Karappakkam, Chennai

1st day goes with documentation provided details on documentation page.....
2nd day@ TCS, Karappakkam, Chennai..

If u hav enough patience to sit in the auditorium from morning to evening, then you can pass the day...
3 presentations, 1 documentary movie, few instructions to fill the forms and submission of service agreement those who dint submit yesterday.. Thats the whole day about...

The day started at 8.45 am, with a presentation from Mr. Sumit (a HR kind of designation, ILP center, Ambattur). Infact he started off really well and was very friendly throughout his speech and was humerous too(loved the way he welcomed late comers)..It went upto 11.30am, covering what exactly we will be doing in the ILP, whats the importance of aspire, how we will be grouped into, and how our ILP and previous year ILP differ.etc.... Inshort, he covered entire details about ILP.

11.30, the 2nd presentation by Mr.Prabha karan( again a HR kind of designation), who explained about the TCS facilities provided for the employees such as transportation, travel expenses , visa support, leaves that are permitted to take, list of TCS office in Chennai and so on... It ended at 12 and was asked to take lunch and return by 12.30.
I think i don’t need to describe more about the beautiful food court as i hv done enough on it yesterday....
Next session started by 12.30 and it was jus collecting the serv.agreement of those who dint submit yesterday.
Then a lecture by Mr.Lakshman Pradeep(HR for ILP i guess) (covering few more details about ILP).
Finally a movie, 1.5hr (facilitated me to take a nap) long showing the growth of TATA groupfrom the 1850s till now and that was the end of the day (3.45pm)... As i said, it just tests ur patience to sit in the auditorium... I have to report on Monday at 7.45 am and they welcome us with a PAT test!!!...

Note:
1)we are asked to flourish the importance of aspire to those who are gonna join after this.. The importance is that we will not be learning the same aspire in ILP. Aspire is the building block for ILP. Which means, in ILP we will be directly posted into a project atmosphere (ie development,testing and maintenance).If we haven’t done the aspire yet, we are supposed to complete it with 1 week time!!!

2) if we don’t clear first test, they ll ask us to do a ‘remedial package’(what i told to learn the aspire for 1 week)... After that, we will be made as project ready.. if we are not ourselves project ready, then we hv to undergo another remedial package... finally at the end, if we don’t clear a test, we will be put into a 15 days extra course called LAP.. Still if we don’t clear it, we are supposed to meet the HR after that...

3)there are totally 8 batches..
* each batch 36-trainees
* 36 divided into two(18*2) and assigned 2 different projects.
* 18 divided into 3 modules containin 6 per module(6*3)and assigned to do various phases of the project
*6 divided 3 containg 2 per batch, which is the least subdivision assigned to do various tasks in the project..

4) Almost all the Chennai trainees will be posted in the OMR road TCS offices after training.(any of these- siruseri, thorappakkam, karappakkam, or sholinganallur)

5) for us, all will be in morning shift after july (7-2 am, and eve shift is 2-9pm)

6) first salary for us will be received only on the month of September .

7)An employee number will be generated for us which we will be using for all the purposes in the office.

8) for those who dint complete NSR phase 2, its arranged on 20th and 21st July in Ambaattur itself(its for our batch oly)

9 ) Besides the 4 streams, there is also a ‘testing’ stream. One of the batch of J2EE will be put into testing after getting trained in J2EE.

‎3rd day ( 1st day of training) @ TCS, Ambattur, Chennai.

I enjoyed this day a lot, but i was told by the instructors that “this is the last day of your enjoyment”!!!!
The day started at 7.45 am, where we were seated in a lecture hall allocated to our batch... The first good news i heard from them in the early morning was that ‘dotnet’ stream was allocated to our batch. With that, we had an intro among ourselves infront of others. We were also asked to tell the unique character of us(The response from many guys were interesting). The session went on and they gave few instructions reg. the rules and regulations to be followed in TCS, Ambattur, and also the instructions about the PAT test.
Break time at 10 am. Cafeteria is quite like a canteen with a token system (not a food court type but there are small shops too where u can pay directly as well). Again, don’t worry about the rates, where it merely takes around 60-70 Rs for finishing Breakfast, Lunch and eve tea together..
Next session started at 10.30am, “THE PAT TEST”.... We were allotted each cabins for the doing the test...It is a 45 mins, 36 questions objective type(4 or 5 options) of exam... I must be the first person to finish the exam, coz i dint know anything in that (though it was about the programming basics (told by CS-IT students))... It dint take too much time for me to complete it as i did it in an ‘inky pinky ponky’ manner.. But i later realized that most of my friends and batchmates also were blank about the test ... The test covered the basics in Unix, java, c++, webtech, DBMS, and all other topics mentioned in aspire(cant remember the exact questions)...
Next session at 12.00pm, ‘Business skills’... You will enjoy a lot in this session, where they make us to practice to become a perfect communicator.. First activity, the mentor gave a card for each of us, with a topic written on it, and we had to speak about it for a minute... There was also a ppt regarding an intro about Biz skills. Session was over by 1.45.
Lunch time is 1.45 -2.30... Meals Rs 33/-, veg rice Rs 25/- , veg burger Rs 20/- and Chick burger Rs 25/-, which are the major items.
Nxt session at 2.30.. I felt, this session should have been kept for the whole day... It was again the business skills session, where 2 activities were given for us as a team... First one was to perform a skit with a topic given , and the next one was also a fun activity... The session was full of fun...
Break time at 4 -4.30.. Had tea, came back and the final session was from 4.30 to 5.45pm.. We did nothing in this session other than sitting in the hall. Few guys performed their talents infront of others(danced, sung, and had few fun games too but wasn’t that much of fun :P)..Finally, at 5.45, all of rushed out as like how the children rushes when the school bell rings... As i said earlier, we were told that this would be the last day to enjoy!!! :(..
Note: All the faculties so far i met in Ambattur office are very friendly, interactive and are jus 3-5 years old in their software career...
That was the whole day about.. I will try my level best to give daily updates for the first few days and forgive me if i miss any coz, sitting infront of PC for 10hrs, and sitting again in the night will be hectic.... Take care... :)
First Week @ TCS, Ambattur, Chennai.

I have posted most of the details about the training in my previous updates itself... Here i will share about the ILP and ILP centre in my perspective.
My views about ILP:
All I can say is I am enjoying ILP and everyone will enjoy ILP. It depends on how we take the given tasks. We are given with a descent level of freedom to make our views in a laughable way. I will stress the fact that the entire faculty I met so far in ILP centre are v.friendly, caring, skilled and most importantly, they all treat us with a smile. Since, they are jus 3-7 years older than me, i feel less hesitation to call them by their name (though I am not fully used to it. Still the mam mam, sir sir words come often). To add this, I love all my batch mates and I think we are one among the best combinations to put as a batch to make the sessions more funny and interactive.
Each and every task done by a trainee will be assessed and instant feedback is given. Feedback in the sense, a friendly advice... Even though, we are not learning about the core programming concepts from the first day, we are slowly approaching to it. I like this gradual approach because the Non CS-IT students won’t feel a depression from the initial day. It jus makes them feel that they are one among and all they have to do is to put a bit more effort than others.
As told by a HR in the induction program, a training may not make a trainee, a perfectly skilled one in the core skills (programming). But it is also to make the trainee to learn the behaviour, mannerisms, corporate culture and work ethics along with the core skills (programming). TCS ILP-Centre is providing all these in exact proportions to make a trainee to adopt himself to the corporate culture.
Since we are put into groups, we don’t feel that we are loaded with works personally, but at the same time it gives the individual responsibility to execute the split up tasks within the group. The smile and respect given by the securities and canteen suppliers makes ourselves feel that we are employees and not students
All the views I stated above may vary from person to person. But I mentioned already that, its all how we take that. Even I have felt like “oh god, plz finish the weekdays soon”. But those were timely feelings, and when I look it back at the end of the day, it will be just a kind of learning what we need acquire as a software engineer.
I wish all the TCS employees a ‘happy learning’ and I wish all who are yet to join ‘with’ TCS to get their D.O.J soon.... Take care...

‎2nd week@ TCS, Ambattur Chennai
It was just another replica of the first week with some more added fun. Apart from the technical assignments and presentations, we had awesome events in Biz skills(Personality development session). The most entertaining part of the week was on Friday, coz we had “Maitree” on that day..
Maitree is a 100% unofficial session where we can have fun, perform our talents, play fun games, do social works and discuss with senior officials.... This is the only session, where we can use our regional languages... In this half an hour long session, we had few performances from our class mates this week... But it was full of fun becoz, rather than the performances, nutty comments from my mates played a major role..:P
Apart from these, we were exposed to few offers and facilities provided by TCS this week..
1) A worthy laptop bag: Really a good quality one, printed as Tata consultancy Services on the back side..
2) Tata Nano offer for TCSers: The offer is that, we can avail it for 0% EMI if its paid in an installment basis or a 10000-25000/- Rs discount if ready cash...Moreover, the car is signed by Mr. Ratan Tata ... Offer is also available to the frnds and relatives of the TCSer.. But its oly till Jul 31st.
3) Bus Service for the evening shift batch upto around 20 Kms from Ambattur..
Food is still good in the canteen, and I have explored most of the items available there...
Share Auto service is available upto the ILP centre itself during morning and evening, so that a long walk towards the bus stop can be avoided... A good vehicle parking facility is also available (Of course its there in every corporate company).
So far, timings are sharp in ILP and you won’t be stretched to sit further after 5.45 pm. Frequent breaks in between every sessions really makes us comfortable...
From Aug 1st onwards we will be put into shifts of morning (7-1.45) and evening (2-9pm) batches, and the big relief is that, its morning shift for our batch...
As I said in previous post, I guess that our batch must be the best among all other batches in case of fun and entertainment... We have already planned a weekend party too on Sunday..;)...
I too don’t know what else to update about the training, coz I think I have covered almost every details so far...
So far so good in the case of learning...Bcoz, we are yet to go into the deeper part of the programming (Feelings of a Non-CS guy....:P)...
Expecting a fun filled and challenging month ahead..
Definitely, I will update the happenings on a weekly basis..... Take care..

‎3rd Week @ TCS, Ambattur, Chennai

I started feeling like we are slowly getting dragged into the pressure zone from this week... Quite technical stuffs, new terms, softwares, and lots are being punched into us... But still, there is no compromise for the fun we are having... Its getting multiplied week by week...
The happiest thing is that, during the shifts, we won’t feel like we are being stretched for very long time... Time goes very soon everyday and since its a morning shift for me, its enjoyment unlimited in aftnoons...
From these 3 weeks, I can say that the ILP is a 3 months extension of a college life, just like another semester (Though the aim of the ILP is to transform to corporate life, we can feel a mixed environment, i.e. college fun with frnz, corporate in infrastructures)...Here also we have classes, presentations, tests, assignments, and most importantly fun factors in all of them... But I have also heard that the seriousness of ILP will only be known at the end of the ILP, which means we and our activities will be watched each and every second throughout the ILP and based on our way of behaviour, they will asses us....
Technical presentations, Biz skills and Zone (lab)... These are major 3 sessions we have throughout the ILP and thats all what we had in the last week too... Each day, we will be having a combination of these 3 sessions....
As an advice from our senior faculty, she told us not to neglect any project offerings after the ILP...Even though, the project is not from our domain, we should accept the offering and get into it... Then only, we will get the further projects easily...

4th week @TCS , Ambattur, Chennai.
(Damn sure you will enjoy this post...I was in a great mood to post this...)
Its exactly 1 month since I have joined TCS, and 20 working days have been completed in ILP center. 40 remaining... The week was quite tight till Wednesday as we had to complete an assignment and present it... ... Well, after that I don’t want to say again that we had fun, bcoz that has been evolved as a part of our life in ILP (atleast for CHN-03-M21 batch)..,
Went for another batch movie (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), fun filled zone sessions, funny Biz skill preparations and a weekend rush to go home on Friday. These are the summarized fun we had this week..
Since there is nothing else to share other than these, this week I will post some of the key advices given by some senior faculties regarding how to continue our work in TCS.
The advices are,
1) After the completion of ILP, we should not wait for a project which is related to the stream which we are familiar to... Whichever stream it is, we have to get into the project first... 

2) Importantly, waiting for a project will never take us into a project.. We have to fight (ask repeatedly) for the project (only in TCS) ..

3) Only, if you are in a project, you will be in the safer side... If a recession comes, benchers are the first one to be fired!!! (hope everybody knows bencher is the one who is not allocated to any project)..

4) For those who believe that testing is a scope-less field, it is just a myth.. Testing is equally important as developing with same salary hike and equal onsite opportunities.. 

5) There are more than 2 lakh employees in TCS.. So for a better development, salary hike, project opportunity and onsite visit, you have to advertise yourself to make you visible among others...

6) You should never restrict with only one language.. The basic languages are not just C and C++... The basics are C, C++, Java, .net, mainframe and Unix... Within one year, we should learn all these (An active software Engineer should know all these).

7) Though you should know all the streams, be specialized in one stream... Be versatile enough to change to other streams too... Because being specialist won’t work out once the technology is outdated... But never be a generalist..

 When you are in a project, follow “start the work early, finish the work early” policy...Though it is a kind of school teacher’s advice, only when we follow this, we won’t be in stress situation in the final stages (Thats how the phrase comes “IT companies are very stressful” )...

9) Regarding Recession: We had multiple views regarding that... Some said that TCS won’t get affected, and some said to “be careful during recession”... I just can’t be on any of the sides to confirm the news (lets hope for the best).. But one thing for sure, 90% of the TCS projects are from U.S...

10) Though I always say that ILP is fun, its enjoyable and all, our mannerisms are very much noted there... If we don’t study in ILP, we will feel for it during the project phase...(Definitely I have to follow this advice)...

11) The remaining advices are like there should be team work, integration, passion to learn, rigor, speed, innovation, focus and all other positive words in English....

Courtesy: A 20 years experienced TCS Employee (Met him in the Meet the Mentor session, don’t remember his designation)...
From next week onwards, our project delivery phase is getting started and I guess, the days are gonna be tighter (But I will update for sure)...
Knew lot of you have got the D.O.J (very happy abt that), and for those who dint get it, it is not too far away...
Happy Raksha Bandan (Oly for elder sisters......:P), a very happy Independance Day and a very very Happy Weekend.... Take care....

5th week @ TCS, Ambattur, Chennai...

It was just a 4 day week, which went in a flash... Thought that the project delivery phase would have been started this week, but it is actually yet to be started... So this week also there was no big stress and all... Half of the week’s sessions passed in “Know your TCS” lectures... Rest it was just Core skills, biz skills and zone sessions as usual...
Mean while we had another Meet the Mentor session about how we should treat a client... Nothing more to say on that..
I just got a feeling that shift timings will not be enough for us to complete our upcoming project...The faculty keep on saying about that project only and hence I think its a very important one...
Family day on Saturday... But I couldn’t participate... Heard, it was unlimited enjoyment throughout... Seems our batch showed off stage dance performance too... (I should hv attended )...
We also had a B’day celebration for our mates in Ambit Mall (nearer to TCS)... But I wonder where we will have our next celebration... Coz we made such a big mess there by throwing cakes and snow spraying and finally the Ambit mall employees begged us to get out of it.....
Pretty not sure whether our project delivery phase starts next week or not... Expecting a tight week...
Thats all about this week and I know the post is nothing interesting at all, and I don’t find anything more interesting to share at all... Let me see If I could find it in next week, take care....

6th week@TCS, Ambattur, Chennai..

Another awesome week passed by, and the week had 6 days to be passed in TCS!!!........ Yes I worked this Saturday too!!!....Not because of the work load, but due to our mentor’s request to practice more...
Wondered when I came to office on Saturday... Saw lots of trainees working there and only then realized that this has been a regular practise for other fellows to come on Saturdays...
Project Delivery phase, Project Delivery phase, Project Delivery phase... Repeatedly falling on our ears from our mentors... This phase is going pretty good so far... Not a huge workload, but quite a kind of preparation for the upcoming week works... The final work should be submitted a week b4 leaving ILP...
The ILP centre is getting crowded and crowded with over 2000 trainees so far...(CHN01-CHN08)...
Long canteen ques, lift ques, packed zone sessions, and so on...
Meanwhile I have started searching home near Medavakkam, where I guess it would be easy to go either Thorappakkam or Siruseri after ILP... 99% scope of getting posting in these 2 places only...
Heard that TCS has lots of projects to be done in 2012... So don’t worry, everyone will get our projects... No info about recession or anything so far...so far so good...
No outings in this week other than a Saturday lunch... We all set to go for next week only, for Mankaatha (only if we get tickets , still hunting for it...)
Happy that I met few of the friends from this TCS group in ILP centre... Hope I could see rest of the Chennai mates soon... Take care...


‎7th week@TCS, Ambattur,Chennai

Again a week, where I worked on Saturday... The first 3 days were heaven, the rest 3 abruptly changed to hell...
First 3 days:
I said heaven bcoz, of the salary as well as the Mankaatha expectation... Monday went on dreaming about Tuesday, Tuesday went on dreaming about Tuesday evening.... Tuesday was the last day for our previous mentor as she was about to leave for her project... The eve which we couldn’t forget... Gave a farewell to her (we must be the first one in the world to cut a cake for one’s departure)... She gave a KFC bucket treat in return too... went very awesome, mentor turned to be a best friend for all of us there...
And then yeah finally the first month salary came when i checked the atm after that...24282/- .....
No words to explain the feelings, and then started dreaming about the upcoming big day, the tour to Mankaatha day... 24 of us hv booked it for a first day show in mayajaal which is of 3 hrs distant from office, so it seemed to be almost a tour to the movie.. Wednesday, started at 10pm, reached there at 2 (enjoyment unlimited during the travel) show at 2.40, enjoyed the second half, returned back and infact returned back home at 11.30pm only..:P. The longest day with my colleagues..
Next 3 days:
Well, I don’t want to tell the reason that why it changed to hell for all of us, but we are somehow managing through it... works were tightened after that... lots happened, nothing seemed positive(or fun filled i can say)...Anyway we could manage ourselves i guess... Atleast for a good cause...
Thats all for the week, I have included the salary split-up here

August month salary split-up:
Earnings:
Basic: 9700/-
conveyance-non taxable: 800/-
HRA - 3880/-
sundry medical : 790/-
Leave Travel Allowance : 808/-
Personal Allowance : 2880/-
Miscallaneous : 40/-

Total - 18898/-

Deductions:
PF + Arrear PF + Prof tax + Health Insurance = 5108/-
(but combined for the month of July + August)..

So as a % for August alone, the net salary comes around 15,685/-.... (as per my calculation)... Pretty not sure whether my calculation is correct and whether this will be the salary hereafter...

TCS ILP PAT TEST on DBMS

1. The DBMS acts as an interface between what two components of an enterprise-class database system?

A.Database application and the database
B.Data and the database
C.The user and the database application
D.Database application and SQL
Ans:- A

2. SQL stands for ________ .
A.Structured Query Language
B.Sequential Query Language
C.Structured Question Language
D.Sequential Question Language
Ans:-A


3. Because it contains a description of its own structure, a database is considered to be _______ .
A.Described
B.metadata compatible
C.self-describing
D.an application program.
Ans:-C

4. You can add a row using SQL in a database with which of the following?
A.ADD
B.CREATE
C.INSERT
D.MAKE
Ans:- C

5. The wildcard in a SELECT statement is which of the following?
A.%
B.&
C.∗
D.#
Ans:- C

6. The command to eliminate a row from a table is:
A.REMOVE FROM CUSTOMER
B.DROP FROM CUSTOMER
C.DELETE FROM CUSTOMER
D.UPDATE FROM CUSTOMER
Ans:- C

7. The SQL WHERE clause:
A.limits the column data that are returned.
B.limits the row data are returned.
C.Both A and B are correct.
D.Neither A nor B are correct.
Ans:- B

8. Which of the following is the original purpose of SQL?
A.To specify the syntax and semantics of SQL data definition language
B.To specify the syntax and semantics of SQL manipulation language
C.To define the data structures
D.All of the above.
Ans:-D

9. The wildcard in a WHERE clause is useful when?
A.An exact match is necessary in a SELECT statement.
B.An exact match is not possible in a SELECT statement.
C.An exact match is necessary in a CREATE statement.
D.An exact match is not possible in a CREATE statement.
Ans:- B

10. A view is which of the following?
A.A virtual table that can be accessed via SQL commands
B.A virtual table that cannot be accessed via SQL commands
C.A base table that can be accessed via SQL commands
D.A base table that cannot be accessed via SQL commands
Ans:- A



11. The command to eliminate a table from a database is:
A.REMOVE TABLE CUSTOMER;
B. DROP TABLE CUSTOMER;
C.DELETE TABLE CUSTOMER;
D.UPDATE TABLECUSTOMER;
Ans:-B

12. ON UPDATE CASCADE ensures which of the following?
A.Normalization
B.Data Integrity
C. Materialized Views
D.All of the above.
Ans:-B

13. SQL data definition commands make up a(n) ________ .
A.DDL
B.DML
C.HTML
D.XML
Ans:-A

14. The SQL keyword(s) ________ is used with wildcards.
A.LIKE only
B.IN only
C.NOT IN only
D.IN and NOT IN
Ans:-A

15. Which of the following is the correct order of keywords for SQL SELECT statements?
A.SELECT, FROM, WHERE
B.FROM, WHERE, SELECT
C. WHERE, FROM,SELECT
D.SELECT,WHERE,FROM
Ans:-A

16. A subquery in an SQL SELECT statement is enclosed in:
A.braces — {…}.
B.CAPITAL LETTERS.
C.parenthesis — (…).
D.brackets — [...].
Ans:-C

17. The result of a SQL SELECT statement is a(n) ________ .
A.report
B.form
C.file
D.table
Ans:- D

18. Which one is not the command of DDL?
A. create
B. alter
C. delete
D. drop
Ans:- C

19. Grant & Revoke are the commands ___________.
A. DDL
B. DML
C. DCL
D. TCL
Ans:- C

20. Commands of TCL are ?
A. COMMIT & ROLLBACK
B. DROP & TRUNCATE
C. UPDATE & DELETE
D. NONE OF THESE
Ans:-A

21. Which of the following are the five built-in functions provided by SQL?
A.COUNT, SUM, AVG, MAX,MIN
B.SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, MULT
C.SUM, AVG, MULT, DIV,MIN
D.SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX,NAME

TCS ILP PAT TEST on Java

1.Which of the following statements is false about objects?
a.An instance of a class is an object
b.Objects can access both static and instance data
c.Object is the super class of all other classes
d.Objects do not permit encapsulation
2.Which methods can access to private attributes of a class?
a.Only Static methods of the same class
b.Only instances of the same class
c.Only methods those defined in the same class
d.Only classes available in the same package.
3.What is an aggregate object?
a.An object with only primitive attributes
b.An instance of a class which has only static methods
c.An instance which has other objects
d.None of the above


4.Assume that File is an abstract class and has toFile() method. ImageFile and BinaryFile are concrete classes of the abstract class File. Also, assume that the method toFile() is implemented in both Binary File and Image File. A File references an ImageFile object in memory and the toFile method is called, which implementation method will be called?
a.Binary File
b.Image File
c.Both File and Binary Files
d.None of the above

5.A class can have many methods with the same name as long as the number of parameters or type of parameters is different. This OOP concept is known as
a.Method
b.Invocating
c.Method
d.Overriding
e.Method Labeling
f.Method
g.Overloading

6.Which of the following is considered as a blue print that defines the variables and methods common to all of its objects of a specific kind?
a.Object
b.Class
c.Method
d.Real data
e.types

7.What are the two parts of a value of type double?
a.Significant Digits,
b.Exponent
c.Length, Denominator
d.Mode, Numerator

8.After the following code fragment, what is the value in fname?

Code:
String str;
int fname;
str = "Foolish boy.";
fname = str.indexOf("fool");
a.2
b.-1
c.4

9.What is the value of ‘number’ after the following code fragment execution?
Code:
int number = 0;
int number2 = 12
while (number < number2)
{number = number + 1;
}
a.5
b.12
c.21
d.13

10.Given the following code snippet;
Code:
int salaries[];
int index = 0;
salaries = new int salaries[4];
while (index < 4)
{
salaries[index] = 10000;
index++;
}



What is the value of salaries [3]?
a.4000

b.5000

c.1500

d.1000

12.Which of the following is not a return type?
a.boolean
b.void
c.public
d.Button

13.If result = 2 + 3 * 5, what is the value and type of ‘result’ variable?
a.17,byte
b.25, byte
c.17, int
d.25, int

14.What is the data type for the number 9.6352?
a.float
b.double
c.Float
d.Double

15.Assume that the value 3929.92 is of type ‘float’. How to assign this value after declaring the variable ‘interest’ of type float?
a.interest = 3929.92
b.interest = (Float)3929.92
c.interest = 3929.92(float)
d.interest = 3929.92f

First Week @ TCS, Ambattur, Chennai.

My views about ILP:

All I can say is I am enjoying ILP and everyone will enjoy ILP. It depends on how we take the given tasks. We are given with a descent level of freedom to make our views in a laughable way. I will stress the fact that the entire faculty I met so far in ILP centre are v.friendly, caring, skilled and most importantly, they all treat us with a smile. Since, they are jus 3-7 years older than me, i feel less hesitation to call them by their name (though I am not fully used to it. Still the mam mam, sir sir words come often). To add this, I love all my batch mates and I think we are one among the best combinations to put as a batch to make the sessions more funny and interactive.

Each and every task done by a trainee will be assessed and instant feedback is given. Feedback in the sense, a friendly advice... Even though, we are not learning about the core programming concepts from the first day, we are slowly approaching to it. I like this gradual approach because the Non CS-IT students won’t feel a depression from the initial day. It jus makes them feel that they are one among and all they have to do is to put a bit more effort than others.

As told by a HR in the induction program, a training may not make a trainee, a perfectly skilled one in the core skills (programming). But it is also to make the trainee to learn the behaviour, mannerisms, corporate culture and work ethics along with the core skills (programming). TCS ILP-Centre is providing all these in exact proportions to make a trainee to adopt himself to the corporate culture.

Since we are put into groups, we don’t feel that we are loaded with works personally, but at the same time it gives the individual responsibility to execute the split up tasks within the group. The smile and respect given by the securities and canteen suppliers makes ourselves feel that we are employees and not students

All the views I stated above may vary from person to person. But I mentioned already that, its all how we take that. Even I have felt like “oh god, plz finish the weekdays soon”. But those were timely feelings, and when I look it back at the end of the day, it will be just a kind of learning what we need acquire as a software engineer.

I wish all the TCS employees a ‘happy learning’ and I wish all who are yet to join ‘with’ TCS to get their D.O.J soon.... Take care...

ilp-assignments-database

Warning To who ever is going to copy paste and submit the same copy as below, Answers can vary depending on thoughts. There is more than one way for a solution, please do NOT blindly Copy Paste.

MP
EMP_NO NOT NULL NUMBER(4)
EMP_NAME VARCHAR(25)
DESIGNATION CHAR(4)
JOINING_DATE DATE
SALARY NUMBER(7,2)
DEPT_NO NUMBER(2)


DEPT
DEPT_NO NOT NULL NUMBER(2)
DEPT_NAME VARCHAR(25)
BUDGET NUMBER(15,2)
MANAGER VARCHAR(25)


Create tables EMP, and DEPT, the structure for which are given above.

Soln
CREATE TABLE `EMP` (
`EMP_NO` INT( 4 ) NOT NULL ,
`EMP_NAME` VARCHAR( 25 ) NULL ,
`DESIGNATION` CHAR( 4 ) NULL ,
`JOINING_DATE` DATE NULL ,
`SALARY` INT( 7 ) NULL ,
`DEPT_NO` VARCHAR( 25 ) NULL
) ;

CREATE TABLE `DEPT` (
`DEPT_NO` INT(2) NOT NULL ,
`DEPT_NAME` VARCHAR(25) NULL,
`BUDGET` INT(15) NULL,
`MANAGER` VARCHAR(25) NULL
) ;

Write SQL queries for the following :

1. Display each employee’s name and date of joining.
SELECT EMP_NAME , JOINING_DATE FROM EMP;

2. Display employees earning more than Rs.5,000. Label the column name “Employee”.
SELECT EMP_NAME AS EMPLOYEE FROM EMP WHERE SALARY > 5000;

3. Display all employee names and employee numbers in the alphabetical order of names.
SELECT EMP_NAME , EMP_NO FROM EMP ORDER BY EMP_NAME ASC;

4. Display all employee names containing the letter “S”.
SELECT EMP_NAME FROM EMP WHERE EMP_NAME LIKE '%S%';

5. Display the employees hired in 1981.
SELECT EMP_NAME FROM EMP WHERE JOINING_DATE LIKE '1981';

6. Display the minimum and maximum salary.
SELECT MIN(SALARY) AS MINIMUM , MAX(SALARY) FROM EMP;

7. Display the list of employees along with their department name and its manager.
SELECT EMP_NAME, DEPT_NAME, MANAGER FROM EMP E, DEPT D WHERE E.DEPT_NO=D.DEPT_NO;

8. Display the number of different employees listed for each department.
SELECT DEPT_NAME, COUNT(EMP_NO) FROM EMP E, DEPT D WHERE E.DEPT_NO=D.DEPT_NO GROUP BY DEPT_NAME;

9. Delete the records of all the employees hired in 1981 from EMP table.
DELETE FROM EMP WHERE JOINING_DATE LIKE '1981';

10. Update the salary of all the employees to Rs. 10,000.
UPDATE EMP SET SALARY=10000;

Life at TCS ILP

The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows

Hi all.
26th December 2011 was my joining date in the Asia's largest Global IT Services Company as Assistant System Engineer-Trainee.

Day 1:
The Day started with queing up in line of more than 250 people for half an hour outside the TCS Premises. We entered the TCS Premises and it was like yeah!Here i enter my workplace . To the amazing and interesting part of TCS premises in Kolkata is the name of the buildings of TCS: Lords,Eden and Wanderers.(Three legendary cricket grounds).
We were given the route to enter into the auditorium. The moment i entered the hall, i saw my head ILP Co-ordinator Ramanjit Goswami. We were given the smart card that very day. (note: please upload your smart card photo as per directed by the TCS size and color, else you will get it late).
We have to submit our joining documents on the same day. The emphasis was mainly on service agreement.
(Note: please carry all your original and merit certificates in technical feild).
We were also offered Coffee (the first coffee at TCS).
Three banks were invited by TCS for opening of the salary account.(Axis Bank,SBI,Kotak Mahindra).
(note : you can give your own salary account number to TCS,but condition is that it should be listed in list of TCS).

Day 2:
The day started with some lectures and informations on different aspects of rules and regulations and how to adjust and cope up yourself in working environment. Those students who were not able to submit theit documents on 26th Dec because of some reasons and incompleteness, were allowed to submit on this day.
We were also informed about the salary and how to save from tax, and also different HR policies.
And to the best part , we all were allocated our stream. JAVA. The stream i wanted.
Out of BIPM,Unix,Java,Dot Net and C/C++, most of the students got Java.

Day 3: 
After spending 2 days in TCS Auditorium , this very day were shifted to Training Center of ILP. The first day as Trainee . We met our TechLead and BizLead.
(TechLead: The person who will evaluate and observe your technical knowledge
BizLead:The person who will evaluate and observe your behaviours,etiquettes and dressing sense and ofcourse communication skills)
The day went on with introductions and informations on how this training would go. Different stages of training were told to us.

Till this Day: ILP is worth enjoyable and this very courses are so desgined and processes that even a non CS/IT guyz would love to learn in this fashion. The best part is assignments. You will love it because it helps you in learning. Your ILP is of 60 working days.


Fear of PAT: Guyz and Girls.PAT is just a mere formality. My ILP Coordinator cum HR himself told that PAT is just a exam . This will not be counted in your performance.

ASPIRE: No one will ever ask you about this. If you want to o aspire stuffs do it, or else leave it. This is for your learning purpose only.

[note: There will be no exams in TCS ILP. But, there will be presentations and daignostics for different modules].

Initial Learning program (ILP) ???

WHAT IS ILP?

        

New Curriculum

New Curriculum Tata Consultancy Services

Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) has introduced a new curriculum for Initial Learning Program(ILP), an initiative to train the freshers. I am proud to say I belong to the pilot batch of this curriculum. It is good, and more towards real life simulations, unlike the old curriculum which fed you theory classes. Our batch commenced on June 16, 2011, and more details on my experience in TCS can be found here.
Details mentioned here is based on my experience at ILP Trivandrum in (Java)IT stream.

First phase


What's new?
 In the previous curriculum, TCS followed a strategy of intense theory sessions. There were lots of theory sessions, in which every topic was covered. Apart from this, you have tests every now and then, in which you needed to overcome a certain percentage to get through. Also, you would not know your stream till the 30th day of training, and only then stream specific training is done.

Scheduling
 The duration of ILP is 60 working days, which would span close to 3 months including the holidays(Sat & Sun). The first two days have only induction sessions, wherein you will be introduced to various policies and processes in TCS. At the end of second day, you will know about your Stream and batch, and the upcoming sessions would be according to these details.
 The 60-day ILP training is split into two equal phases.

• First 30 days called Core Skills. In this phase, you will be introduced to the basic concepts based on the Project you will be doing. You will get a Case study at the end of this 30 days, which will be pursued in the next 30 days. Here, you will ONLY learn the concepts required for you Case study. And these session are not completely theoretical, you will have probably one theory session a day, and the rest would have some exercises based on that learning. The syllabus is split into several sections, and you will have an Evaluation Test at the end of each section.
  Along with Technical, you have Business Skills(BizS) sessions as well. Here you learn topics which will transform you into the corporate space. It includes communication, several etiquette's, do's and don't in the company etc.
• Next 30 days is called Project Delivery. As the name mentioned, you will get a Case study to be done with deadlines, reports etc. In short these 30 days is a real life simulation of a project. You will have status reports(weekly), meetings, deadlines, documentation, and all such things. BizS sessions would rarely come through.
  In this phase, you will be Analyzing, Designing, Documenting, Coding, Testing and Maintaining different projects(done by different groups within your batch).
  In between, people would be randomly called up by senior officials to keep track of the learning(like an interview)

So what difference does it make?

 It makes lot of difference. Let me split this view into two.

• Computer Science freshers: Includes all freshers who are from computer background, or have a basic knowledge on computer science. In the old curriculum, the theory sessions were just a repetition of whatever they knew, which tend to be boring and monotonous. But its no more, now ILP is very dynamic, and its a chance for every fresher to get more exposure on to the corporate space.
• Non-Computer Science freshers: Earlier, these freshers had a brilliant opportunity to listen to theory sessions and make up a concrete base. But now, you have to take an extra effort to keep up. It's not bad in anyway, its extra good, and you have to take the extra effort to utilize the exposure you get. This does not mean that Non-CS students would be in trouble, trust me, I have batch mates who perform even better than CS students. So no worries!
  And here comes the importance of Aspire as well! If you put that effort in, it'll be way better! So please make sure you get through Aspire and follow the courses(if not perfect it, at least get a feel of it!)

Second phase



What's new?
 In the previous curriculum, TCS followed a strategy of intense theory sessions. There were lots of theory sessions, in which every topic was covered. Apart from this, you have tests every now and then, in which you needed to overcome a certain percentage to get through. Also, you would not know your stream till the 30th day of training, and only then stream specific training is done.

Second phase is all about Project Delivery. After the Core Skills(Phase 1), you get into something which simulates the real life project scenario. Eventhough the Core Skills would be relaxed, and fun, when you get to Project Delivery, you will begin to feel the heat. Status reports, weekly reports, deadlines, document, MoM... it has everything in it.
It has basically 4 stages

• Analysis and Design
• Construct
• Testing
• Maintenance and Support

To begin with the project, your Batch will be divided into groups of 4 to 6 members. As a whole, your batch would have 2 projects(Same projects, but different products). The project would be divided into 3 modules(ideally) which would be assigned to each group. The Group Leader(Module Leader) would be responsible for distributing the jobs among members and reporting to the Project Leader(your Tech Faculty)

                                                                                                                  

Analysis and Design

In Analysis and Design, you decide the way your project will be. A few things you will be doing in this stage are

• Analyze the case study and understand the requirements
• Design the classes, use cases, and other functional diagrams required for the project
• Prepare the SRS
• Design the HTML pages(if a web app)
• Design the User Manual
• In short, you Analyze the whole project, and design its structure based on the requirements

Construct

This stage is infamous for its documentation. Lots of documentation to be done.

In the next stage, i.e., Construct, you build your application based on Stage 1(Analysis and Design). You start coding in this phase. At the end of this phase, your Project would be ready to deploy. Within this stage, you would review your code to check if it meets the standards.

Testing

After you complete the Construct, you will hand over your codes to another group who will be testing it for bugs. In the mean time, you would be testing the project of some other group. Bugs will be reported, and certain documents are to be maintained. After Cycle 1 of testing, you will have fix the bugs found in your code and then close it. In Cycle 2, the testing team makes sure the bugs are fixed.

After testing, you will have the Final Presentation and Project Demo.

Support and Maintenance

This is the last stage, in which you will be maintaining some other code. You would take over the code of some other group, and certain changes should be made on it(like adding some functionality etc.) Again certain documents are maintained for the same. After this phase, you will have one more Project Presentation.

This is a capsule on how the Project Delivery phase goes on at ILP. If you ask me about my experience, I would say this phase is the best. You get a real life scenario where you have a chance to correct your mistakes, and Learn. Our batch went through this phase extremely well, and I'm proud to be a part of it. 

If you have any queries, please leave a comment.