Saturday, April 28, 2012

Folk music and Dances of Rajasthan

Folk music and Dances of Rajasthan

The people of Rajasthan live life to the hilt. After hard work in the harsh desert sun and the rocky terrain whenever they take time off they let themselves go in gay abandon. There is dancing, singing, drama, devotional music and puppet shows and other community festivities which transform the hardworking Rajasthani into a fun-loving and carefree individual. Each region has its own folk entertainment, the dance styles differ as do the songs. Interestingly enough, even the musical instruments are different.

Of considerable significance are the devotional songs and the communities who render these songs. Professional performers like the Bhaats, Dholis, Mirasis, Nats, Bhopas and Bhands are omnipresent across the state. They are patronised by the villagers who participate actively in the shows put up by these travelling entertainers. Some of the better known forms of entertainment are:

Ghoomar Dance: This is basically a community dance for women and performed on. auspicious occasions. Derived from the word ghoomna, piroutte, this is a very simple dance where the ladies move gently, gracefully in circles.

Gait Ghoomar: This is one of the many dance-forms of the Bhil tribals. Performed during Holi festival, this is among a few performances where both men and women dance together.

Gait: Another Holi dance but performed only by men. This becomes Dandia Gair in Jodhpur and Geendad in Shekhawati.

Chart Dance: This is popular in the Kisherigarh region and involves dancing with a chari, or pot, on one’s head. A lighted lamp is then placed on the pot.

Kachhi Ghodi: This is a dance performed on dummy horses. Men in elaborate costumes ride the equally well decorated dummy horses. Holding naked swords, these dancers move rhythmically to the beating of drums and fifes. A singer narrates the exploits of the Bavaria bandits of Shekhawati.

Fire Dance: The Jasnathis of Bikaner and Chum are renowned for their tantric powers and this dance is in keeping with their lifestyle. A large ground is prepared with live wood and charcoal where the Jasnathi men and boys jump on to the fire to the accompaniment of drum beats. The music gradually rises in tempo and reaches a crescendo, the dancers seem to be in a trance like state. Drum Dance: This is a professional dance-form from Jalore. Five men with huge drums round their necks, some with huge cymbals accompany a dancer who holds a naked sword in his mouth and performs vigorously by twirling three painted sticks.

Teerah Taali: The Kamad community of Pokhran and Deedwana perform this dance in honour of theft deity, Baba Ramdeo. A rather unusual performance where the men play a four-stringed instrument called a chau-tara and the women sit with dozens of manjeeras, or cymbals, tied on all over their bodies and strike them with the ones they hold in their hands. Sometimes, the women also hold a sword between their teeth or place pots with lighted lamps on their heads.

Kathputli: Puppet plays based on popular legends are performed by skilled puppeteers. Displaying his skill in making the puppets’ act and dance, the puppeteer is accompanied by a woman, usually his wife, who plays the dholak, or drum and sings the ballad.

Pabuji Ki Phach: A 14th century folk hero, Pabuji is revered by the Bhopa community. The phad, or scroll, which is about 10 metres long, highlights the life and heroic deed of Pabuji. The Bhopas are invited by villagers to perform in their areas during times of sickness and misfortune. The ballad is sung by the Bhopa as he plays the Ravan-hattha and he is joined by his wife who holds a lamp and illuminates the relevant portions at appropriate points.

Maand: Rajasthan’s most sophisticated style of folk music and has come a long way from the time it was only sung in royal courts, in praise of the Rajput rulers.

Professional singers still sing the haunting ballads of Moomal Mahendra, Dhola-Maru and other legendary lovers and heroes.

List of singers and performers also includes the Mirasis and Jogis of Mewat, Manganiyars and Langas, Kanjars, Banjaras and Dholies. Performances like the Kuchamani Khayal, Maach, Tamasha, Rammat, Nautanki and Raasleela are no less popular. The musical instruments of Rajasthan are simple but quite unusual. Handcrafted by the musicians themselves they are rather unique and include instruments like the Morchang, Naad, Sarangi, Kamayacha, Rawanhattha, Algoza, Khartal, Poongi, Bankia and Da There are dozens of other instruments which are exclusive to Rajasthan only.

It is a rather difficult task to list all the different types of music, dance and entertainment that can be found in Rajasthan. The range is mindboggling.

RAS Public Administration 2007 Prel Solution

1
The basis of influence in informal organisation is

closeness with higher people

2
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Name of Writer) (A) Paul H. Appleby �. List-II (Book) 1. Big Democracy

A1, B3, C4, D2

3
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Name of Thinker) (A) Maslow �. List-II (Theory) 1. Need Hierarchy Thoery

A1, B4, C5, D3

4
A significant approach to communication event is based on Laswell formula, that deal with

communication- interpretation modes

5
Which one of the following leadership styles permits substantial delegation of authority to subordinates and allows them to set objective an solve problems themselves ?

democratic leadership

6
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (A) Veblen �. List-II 1. Professional Deformation

A4, B2, C1, D5
7
Which of the following book is called an apt text of Entrepreneurial Govt. ?

Reinventing government (David Osborne and Ted Gaeber)

8
Which one of the following is not created by Act of Parliament ?

?
9
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Book) (A) Oranizations �. List-II (Author) 1. March
4th choice is closest.

A4, B1, C3, D2

10
Which one of the following administrative theories is called Genric Management ?

administrative management

11
Which of the following is defined as a process of analysing and collecting information relation to operation and responsibilities of a specific job ?

job analysis

12
For which of the following the President's recommendation is required for introduction of Bill ?

both 1 & 2

13
To whom the Union Service Commission presents its annual report as to work done by the Commission ?

president
14
On which date the Governor of Rajasthan assented The Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act ?

23rd april, 1994

15
Consider the following advantages claimed by the Centre for All India Services. �. (A) Control over State Administration �. Which are correct in above ?

B, C & D

16
When was the first Central Service Commission set up ?

1926

17
Who had coined the term All India Service ?

committee on division of Function,1918

18
Who was called the Father of Local Self Government during British Rule ?

Ripon

19
Which one is not mission of organisation development ?

avoid human emotions

20
The tenure system for Civil Services in India was started during the period of

curzon

21
Which one of the following country first developed scientific method for recruitment ?

china

22
Administration is a moral act and administrator is a moral agent.' Who said it ?

Ordway Tead

23
Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act has made provisions for Gram Sabha. Which Articles of above Act is related with Gram Sabha ?

Articles 1,2,3,4,5

24
There will be one or more Vigilance Committees to supervise the functions, implementation of schemes and other activities of Gram Panchayat in Rajasthan. Who will constitute the Vigilance Committee ?

gram sabha

25
The middle-tier of Panchayati Raj Institution in Rajasthan in Panchayat Samiti, which is compsed by �. (A) Direct elected members for Panchayat Samiti

A & C

26
Consider the following with reference to Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act. �. (A) Direct Elections of members as all levels �. Which of above are existed in Rajasthan ?

A, B, D

27
Who will make rules for the more convenient transaction of business of Govt. of India and for allocation among Ministers of the said business ?

president

28
Under which Article of Constitution the Governor of State is bound to lay before House of Legislature the Annual Financial Statement of State ?

Article 202

29
In Britain, responsibility for Central Co-ordination an Management of Civil Services is divided between :

Treasury and home department

30
Who is in-charge of Office of Public Service and Science in Britain ?
Chancellor of Exchequer

31
The term 'Economic and Social Planning' is included in Indian Constitution. In which part of following this provision has been made ?

concurrent list

32
Who was the first Lokayukta of Rajasthan ?

I G Dua

33
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Kind of Budget) (A) Line Item Budget �. List-II (Basic Orientation of Budget) 1. Control

A1, B4, C2, D3

34
Personnel administration of employees of Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti in Rajasthan is managed by

state government

35
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in England is Parliamentary Omudsman. Consider the following : �. (A) is independent of Govt. �. What are the characteristics of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration ?

A, B and D

36
Which one is not characteristics of 'Sala Model' of Riggs ?

actual behaviour is similar to formal expectations

37
Discussion on organisation of Planning Commission is incomplete without reference to its attached bodies. Consider the following �. (A) Programme Evaluation Organisation �. Which organisations are attached to Planning Commission ?

A and C

38
In which year the institution of Lokayaukta was established in Rajasthan ?

1973

39
Who has recommended for productive planning with a constitutional status in India ?

KC Neogi

40
"The Collector sometimes when overburdened with work, grumbles that he has the life of a dog, but knows that he has work of a man.' Who said it ?

Mangat Rai

41
The CLECTS in prismatic society of Riggs are

Elite groups who use traditional clouts to win election

42
In a communication process, the sender of information seeks to establish a commonness with the receiver of information. Consider the following : �. (A) When interacting with others, words, letters etc. are used �. What are the characteristics of communication ?

D

43
Who has coined the term Cybernetics ?

Norbett Weiner

44
Consider the following steps : (A) Identification of problem �. Which of the above is the correct step of decision-making ?

A,B,C,D

45
According to Likert, which of the following types of leadership is the most successful and effective ?

participative

46
The Theory X assumption did not cover which of the following ?

most of workers not inherently dislike work.

47
Which one of the following is covered under Eleventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution ?

jurisdiction of functions of panchayats

48
Which one of the following is not the merit of Rank classification ?

it defines the contents of any job in detail

49
Which of the following Provisions of Indian Constitution provides constitutional safeguards to Civil Servants ?

Article 311

50
Before the introduction of money bill in Lok Sabha, whose recommendation is necessary ?

president

51
The reservation in appointments in favour of any backward class has a constitutional base. In which Article of Indian Constitution such provision has been made ?

Article 16(iv)

52
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Statements) (A) Budget is series of goals with price tag attached �. List-II (Thinkers) 1. Kautilya

A4,B3,C2,D1

53
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Thinkers) (A) Mouney and Reile �. List-II (Kinds of Leadership) 1. Institutionists, Specials, Hybrids

A2,B3,C1,D4

54
No Tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of Law'. Which Article of Indian Constitution provides this ?

265

55
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Item) (A) Constutution of Municipalities �. List-II (Articles of the Constitution) 1. 243 Q

A1,B2,C3,D4

56
Which one of the following Writs gives the direction of an official for performance of duty ?

mandamus

57
Which of the following are the tools of budgetary control exercised by the Parliament ?

A and B

58
Which one of the following is not the function of Public Officials ?

to make the decision on policy

59
Which one of the following statements is not correct in respect of French Civil Services ?

Ecole Polytechnique does not conduct training for higher technical corps

60
The 'quorum' for meetings of any Panchayati Raj body as per Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act is
1/10 of total members

61
The elections for various Panchayati Raj bodies in Rajasthan are managed by

state election commission

62
The body of apex of the system of Administrative Court in France is the

council of state

63
Who among the following is considered as first comparativist in Public Administration ?

Woodrow wilson

64
Which of the following is not characteristic of Development Administration ?

effectiveness

65
Which one of the following is not correct about anonymity of Civil Servants ?

they cannot be held responsible for their acts of omission and commission

66
In Rajasthan, State Planning Board was created on the recommendation of

Rajasthan administrative reforms committee, 1967

67
The Chief Secretary's Job is not a technician's or even a professional's, he is not a knowledgable engineer, nor even a first class magistrate, he is a part of process of Govt. and in a democratic republic, part of human process.' Who said it ?

?

68
Heuristics' in context of decision making imply

Error and trial method

69
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Model) (A) Linking Pin Model �. List-II (Given by) 1. Mc Gregor

A2,B3,C4,D1

70
Assertion (A) : The Council of Ministers shall be collective responsible to the House of People. Reason (R) : The Minister shall hold office during the pleasre of President.

Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation of A

71
Assertion (A) : Ordinances should be promulgated only where absolutely necessary. A responsible Govt. should be careful about it. Reason (R) : It gives the executive a clear power to legislate and is an encroachment on the jurisdiction of the Parliament.

Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

72
Consider the following statements : (A) Budget is an economic horoscope of the country �. Which of the above are characteristics of Budget ?

B, C and D

73
While making comparison with private administration, who said that Public Administration us adrift wit compass or anchor ?

Ludwig von Mises

74
Who said that in the science of administration whether public or private, the basic good is efficiency ?

75
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Statements) (A) Public Administration stand in danger of senescence �. List-II (Authors) 1. Martin Landau

A4,B3,C2,D1

76
Who said that Politics has to do with policies or expression of State will while Administration has to do with the execution of these policies ?

Goodnow

77
Who said that administration is knowledge, knowledge is power. Administration is power, this simplistic syllogism is major reality of our post-industrial age.

John F Kennedy

78
Organisation is the form of every human association for attainment of a common purpose. Who has given this definition ?

Simon

79
Willy-nilly, administration is every one's concern. If we wish to survive, we had better be intelligent about it. Who said it ?

Adams Brooks

80
Hierarchy is the linchpin that locks the form. Who said it ?
?

81
Which one is not characteristics of closed model of organisation ?

conflict within organisation is adjusted by interaction with peers

82
Which one of the following is not a driving paradigm of New Public Management ?

emphasis on procedure

83
Public Management is merger of normative orientation of Traditional Public Administration and the instrumental orientation of general management. Who said it ?

Christopher Hood

84
Who was the first person to give red-tape its sociological baptism ?

Spencer

85
Who said that organisation is the machine of management in its achievement of the ends determined by administration ?

Oliver Sheldon

86
Which of the following is concerned with the modification of role expectancies and welding of divergent elements of preserve organisation integrity ?

Bakke's Fusion Process

87
The older thoery of organisation is not science, as often claimed, but theology is sense that it is a set of beliefs accepted on faith, not on demonstration of empirical reality. Who has given this statement ?

Herbert simon

88
Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List-I (Organisation) (A) Project Organisation �. List-II (Characteristics) 1. Existence of horizontal and diagonal relationship

A1,B4,C2,D3

89
Assertion (A) : Administration is now so vast an area that a philosophy of administration come close to being a philosophy of life. Reason (R) : Administration is concerned with both ends and means

Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation of A

90
Assertion (A) : The Principle of Organisation is from the literature of Business Administration. Reason (R) : There is larger area of overlapping interest and ideas between two fields, however, and in the matter of organisational analysis. Public Administration is heavily indebted to Business Administration

Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation of A

91
Assertion (A) : Administration is a fine art. Reason (R) : It summons an imposing body of special talents on behalf of a collaborative creation which is integral to the conduct of civilized living today

Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

92
Assertion (A) : Open an theorists dislike the rigidity, the inflexibility, emphasis on means and anti-humanist view of bureaucracy. Reason (R) : Close model theorists consider organisation as a fluid network structure.

A is true but R is false

93
Assertion (A) : Generalists play an important role in the policy function of the Govt. in India. Reason (R) : A large number of top post in the Union and State Administrations are manned by the speecialists.

A is true but R is false

94
Assertion (A) : The system approach is based on the concept that organisation should be studied as a whole because the behaviour of one part has a considerable impact on the others. Reason (R) : The system approach ignores the interactions between a system and its environment.

A is true but R is false

95
Assertion (A) : The concept of civil service neutrality is changing in developing countries. Reason (R) : Civil servants play a povotal role in the developing countries.

Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation of A

96
Assertion (A) : Paul Appleby suggested two basic types of changes in administration, constant and episoic Reason (R) : Constant change is reorganisation and episodic is incremental change

A is true but R is false

97
Assertion (A) : The grapevine supplements the formal sources of information in the organisation. It has its usefulness in organisation life. Reason (R) : It creates an actual system of relationship in the organisation which is vastly different from what is formally prescribe

Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

98
Assertion (A) : Administrative State is the name given to that State in which the executive branch is dominate one even though it has the legislature and the judiciary. Reason (R) : The function of Publci Administration have expanded in scale, range and nature

Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation of A

99
Bureaucracy is the term usually applied to a system of Govt. to control of which is so completely in the hands of officials that their power jeopardise the liberty of ordinary citizens.' Who has given this statement ?

H J Laski

100
Which one is major role of formal organisation ?

profitability of enterprises

Friday, April 27, 2012

RIGHT STRATEGY TO SUCEED IN RAS EXAM

RAS – how you play this complex game of Civil services exam

A] – Myth: Coaching means success!

Reality: Right Coaching provides you right directions, competitive edge & fast learning but Real work depend on you because maintaining passion, hard work, patience & discipline and sustaining a range on information & knowledge in brain till last time will play more vital role for selection of this exam.
B] – Myth: Toppers strategy is always right!

Reality: If you read interviews on topper, you can easily understand that what is the source of variations in this exam. It is better to understand your weakness & strength and adopt a strategy which is more suitable to your environment & conditions. It is better to change according to changing condition because something is right at this time will not right in the future. Try to develop a proper understanding for right decision making. Dear Friends,
I am Just recalling the fact which is well known that Numbers of participant are around 3 lacs and Number of seats are vary from 400 to 500.(this time 1106)

Because of this reasons (high level of competitions ) few words like LUCK, Uncertainty, complexity and fuzziness are discussion topics in your daily talks.

Definitely these are right and we can not neglect because it is ground reality of these exam. But the main question: how you play this complex game of Civil services exam by robust strategy & Tactics and clear & simple plans and under guidance of Right coaching (or self) with Right information, right material, and right time management.
KEEP IN MIND: Be Proactive (Already prepare for future happening) and Try to use your understanding for Right Decision (Learning from past experience of all sources, work at present & shaping the future carefully).Before taking any DECISION, Are you able to answering these critical questions??? Check it, clearly!!!
ASK YOURSELF? (Questions are Simple But if you ignore it …You can enter spiral game of this exam and scanning the mistake at preparation phase is difficult …So Try to Proactive for every decisions & actions)
1. A Robust Strategy & Tactics:

- Why I am choosing these optional ( My choice , friends choice , coaching choice or Toppers choice )
- Why I am joining these coaching center ( Teaching methodology, Proper intellectual & emotional support , right direction and update regularly according to changing trend and complete the whole syllabus at right time so that I have proper time for practice & feedback to ownself about the preparation).
- Have I prepared a complete framework (mental image) about completion two options, essay, GS at right time?
2. Right Planning: How much I have simplified the plan for maintain it throughout period of preparation? Are your plan is proper align to strategy? ( complete daily target and move gradually & continuously and maintain it )
3. Right Information: Why I am confusion from external wrong information about RPSC pattern (Check it, what is right about RPSC and don’t believe some myths which misguide & confuse the mind and disturb to whole preparation).
4. Right material: What I have right books, notes, magazines & new papers? ( Add some uniqueness in your reading material for differentiation to your competitors )
5. Right Time Management: how many hours I can read? (Proper allocation of time to all subjects according to its requirement, every paper has same marks), Why I am not balancing the preparation? (Balance is an easy path).
6. Right suggestion: which suggestion is better for me? ( Don’t confuse with a range of advices from a range of sources and try to decide better one on the basis of real requirement of RPSC exam as well as suitability to you )
7. Right Answer writing: How many times I tried to write answer at home? ( Check it ! writing is a game of 1300 mark in RPSC exam & Try to write answer at home and rectify all types of errors ).
8. Right Mindset: why I am thinking in a particular paradigm (frames)? ( Give more flexibility & openness in your attitude & Expand your thinking in various dimensions ( multiple framing, think out of the box, win win thinking ) .
9. Right way of practice: am I learning from practice? ( Practice at right way with consideration of time & Proper feedback about experience , errors etc for improvement of overall performance )

If you adopt these paths: You will fail in Civil services Exam

“Confront to the Brutal Facts, yet Never Loose your faith” –Prof Jim Collin (Management & Strategy guru- Stanford university)

1. Wrong Strategy & Tactics (select optional without interest or select wrong coaching )

2. Wrong Planning ( No balance preparation , No alignment to strategy & to make a Target More than 800 marks).

3. Wrong Information(Believe on myths about RPSC requirement & exam pattern , Again and again search for new information for best and Make a huge data base of useless information )

4. Wrong Material (wrong books, notes, magazines & new papers? copy and again copy from a range of notes & books?).

5. Wrong Time management (Spending lots of time in favorite subject, debates & collects all type of knowledge).

6. Wrong suggestions ( More suggestions from various source & apply imperfect information & knowledge ).

7. Wrong answer writing ( No Focus , No priority , No balance view , No Integration and No Clear conclusion).

8. Wrong way of practice ( No feedback about Targeted change, No proper analysis & No practice on critical areas ).

9. To Follow old Mindsets & neglect current changing environment and ignore facts & data of ground reality.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Article:Empowering Women Rebuilding the Society

Empowering Women Rebuilding the Society

“To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves”.-Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

In India, today, women appear to rule the roost. India as a nation is revered in a feminine form i.e. ‘the Bharat Mata’, the first citizen of our country presently is a woman, many important government posts are occupied by women and educated women are pouring into the professional workforce with profound implications for national and multinational corporations. However, ironically, these are accompanied by news about dowry killings, female infanticide, domestic violence against women, sexual harassment, rape, illegal trafficking and prostitution and myriad others of the same ilk. Gender discrimination prevails in almost all areas, be it social, cultural, economic or educational. An effective remedy for these evils needs to be sought in order to ensure the Right to Equality guaranteed by the Constitution of India, to the fairer sex. Gender equality facilitates the empowerment of women. Since education begins at home, the upliftment of women would be accompanied by the development of the family, the society and in turn, would lead towards a holistic development of the nation.

Among these problems the foremost that needs to be addressed is the atrocity committed against females at birth and during childhood. Female infanticide i.e. killing of the female child is still a common practice in many of the rural areas. Further female foeticide is common in some parts of India, despite the passage of ‘Prenatal Diagnostic techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act in 1994. In case they survive, they are subjected to discrimination throughout their lives. Traditionally, since sons are thought to take care of their parents during old age and daughters are considered a burden because of dowry and other expenses that have to be incurred during their marriage, female children are neglected in the matters of nutrition, education and other important aspects of well-being. The Sex ratio in our country is abysmally low. It was only 933 females per 1000 males according to the 2001 census. The Sex ratio is an important indicator of development. Developed countries usually have Sex ratios above 1000. For instance, the USA has a Sex ratio of 1029, Japan 1041 and Russia 1140. In India, Kerala is the state with the highest Sex ratio of 1058 and Haryana is one with the lowest value of 861.

During their youth, females face the problem of early marriage and childbirth. They are not cared for properly during pregnancy leading to many cases of maternal mortality. The MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) i.e. the number of females dying during delivery per one lakh persons, in India is 437(as in 1995). In addition, they are subjected to harassment for dowry and other forms of domestic violence. Further, at the work place, public places and elsewhere, acts of violence, exploitation and discrimination are rampant.

Various steps have been taken by the government to prevent such abuses and to empower women. Criminal laws against sati, dowry, female infanticide and foeticide, ‘eve teasing’, rape, immoral trafficking and other offences relating to women have been enacted in addition to civil laws like the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and other Matrimonial enactments. The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act has been passed in 2005. A National Commission for Women (NCW) has been set up. Other measures by the government include provision of reservation in representation and education, allocation for the welfare of women in the five year plans, provision of subsidized loan facilities and so on. The year 2001 has been declared as the ‘women empowerment year’ by the Government of India and 24^th January as the National Girl Child Day.

The 108^th Constitutional Amendment Bill, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Bill which seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies has been a highlight in the recent times. It was ‘passed’ in the Rajya Sabha on March 9^th 2010. Though well intended, it can have little, if any, tangible consequences for the real empowerment of women since it does not touch upon the core issues which plague them. The solution must envisage a two-pronged attack, on the one hand, on tradition which is responsible for assigning a low status for women in the society and on the other hand, the outrages perpetrated against them. The proposed ‘Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace’ Bill, 2010 is a good move in that direction. Mass campaigns need to be organized especially in the villages in favour of survival of the female child and provision of human rights for her, including education and health. It is essential to dispel the ghosts of the past and place women on an equal footing with men in order to pave the way for their empowerment, social, economic and educational. Empowering women and thus rebuilding the society would take the nation on a path of greater development, as Swami Vivekananda says, “Countries and Nations which do not respect women have never become great nor will ever be in future”.

Article:Honor killing in India

Honor killing in India

Recently, there has been a spate of honor killings in the country and this has led the government to decide what laws should be put in place to stop this heinous crime. More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honor Killings' linked to forced marriages and the country needs to introduce stringent legislation to deal firmly with these heinous crimes. Supreme Court has said the government must explain what it is doing to prevent "honor killings". Taking note of the rise in "honor crimes", the Supreme Court demanded responses from the federal government and state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Honor killing is the murder of any family member or social group member by other people due to the belief of perpetrators who feel that the murdered persons actions have brought dishonor upon the family or group. The loose term "honor killing" applies to killing of both males and females in cultures that practice it. Human Right’s definition for Honor Killing is:

Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life

The most watched scenes of honor killing in our country are reflecting that this is a death that is awarded to a man or woman of the family for marrying against the parent’s wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying within the same gotra (Brahmins use gotra for deciding marriages) or outside one’s caste or marrying a cousin from a different caste. In fact we have had a tradition of honor killing. This tradition was first viewed in its most horrible form during the Partition of the country in between the years 1947 and 1950 when many women were forcefully killed so that family honor could be preserved. During the Partition, there were a lot of forced marriages which were causing women from India to marry men from Pakistan and vice-versa. And then there was a search to hunt down these women who were forced to marry a person from another country and another religion and when they returned ‘home’ they were killed so that the family honor could be preserved and they were not declared social outcastes from their region. At that time, the influence of religion and social control was much greater and hence there were at least a couple of honor killings a day, if not more. The partition years can be seen to be the beginning of the tradition of honor killing on a large scale. It’s worth mentioning here that Honor Killing is not specifically related to India only. This is a practice that continues to be prevailing in North and South America, Africa, Turkey and many other countries. But the thing that has to be kept in mind is that the number of incidents relating to this crime is very low and there is a very strict punishment for committing this crime in other countries. The misconception about honor killing is that this is a practice that is limited to the rural areas. The truth is that it is spread over such a large geographical area that we cannot isolate honor killings to rural areas only, though one has to admit that majority of the killings take place in the rural areas.

But it has also been seen recently that even the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Tamil Nadu are not safe from this crime because 5 honor killings were reported from Delhi and in Tamil Nadu; a daughter and son in law were killed due to marriage into the same gotra. Sociologists believe that the reason why honor killings continue to take place is because of the continued rigidity of the caste system. Hence the fear of losing their caste status through which they gain many benefits makes them commit this heinous crime. The other reason why honor killings are taking place is because the mentality of people has not changed and they just cannot accept that marriages can take place in the same gotra or outside one’s caste. The root of the cause for the increase in the number of honor killings is because the formal governance has not been able to reach the rural areas and as a result. Thus, this practice continues though it should have been removed by now.

We need to do something to prevent such a thing from happening. Firstly, the mentality of the people has to change. And when we say that the mentality has to change, we mean to say that parents should accept their children’s wishes regarding marriage as it is they who have to lead a life with their life partners and if they are not satisfied with their life partner then they will lead a horrible married life which might even end in suicide. Secondly, we need to have stricter laws to tackle these kinds of killings as this is a crime which cannot be pardoned because. Humans do not have the right to write down death sentences of innocent fellow humans.

Article:Sexual Exploitation Against Women

Sexual Exploitation Against Women

NEED FOR DEFINITE LAWS AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN

The number of rapes reported in the last month is seriously alarming and brings about the question of how safe are women in our societies today. From Kerala to Kashmir and from the west to east India, the rising number of rape and assault cases on women cast doubts on the status and security of the ‘empowered, new generation’ woman of India. And the sad fact is that most of the perpetrators of this heinous and cruel crime go unpunished and enjoy their respective lives, leaving the victim to suffer in ignominy.

The recent news of a girl in Kerala pushed out of the train and the unconscious girl raped and killed shows how even in a state that boasts of 100% literacy and high respect for women, such barbaric acts take place. The involvement of politicians in rape cases in states like UP and Maharashtra show that there is little the poor victim can do against such influential and powerful persons. Most of the victims therefore do not report cases of assault due to fear of humiliation and retaliation (by the perpetrator especially if he is influential). Our system of tackling this crime is also inefficient. Instead of encouraging the victim to register the complaint, she or her family members are threatened and dissuaded by the authorities against registering complaints. The delay in getting justice and the further inspection, examination and questions in police-stations and courts makes the victim feel humiliated and this experience is as bad as going through the trauma once again.

Our society is also not open and still regards women who are exploited, for no fault of theirs, with contempt. Society looks at a sexually abused woman in a totally different light than before she had been put through the torture. She becomes an object of gossip and talk. And above all this our patriarchal and conservative society blames it all on the woman or girl.

The present civil and penal laws in India also don’t adequately provide for protection of women from sexual harassment. There is no definite punishment for the harasser. Even in workplaces, we see a lot of women being harassed and not treated equally or with dignity. The existing guidelines under law are not sufficient to ensure the protection of women nor is it enough to get justice to an exploited victim. There are many instances when the courts have let the accused walk-free citing lack of evidence of injury marks or accusing the victim of lying and consenting to sexual acts. Such heartless verdicts that do not take all the factor into consideration often deter other victims too from lodging their complaints, at the same time giving a ‘go-ahead, green signal’ to men to fulfill their lust.

There is a need to have a specific law in place against sexual harassment, especially in the case of exploitation of girl child. There is also a need to ensure that there are complaint cells in work places to cater to the needs of women against harassment in workplaces. We boast about women empowerment and 50% reservation for women in institutes, but what is the point of all these if she is still to be considered as an object to fulfill one’s needs and then to be discarded. The Indian Government needs to look urgently into this matter as the number of cases of brutal rape and assaults are increasing and the victims are not delivered due justice in time.

Rape is a crime that merits punishment more stringent and harsher than murder, loot or arson because unlike in other crimes where the victim is dead and gone or has a chance to regain what is lost in the form of money or wealth, for a sexually assaulted woman, she is forced to live with her modesty outraged and dignity destroyed; virtues that can never be restored. This makes rape the most heinous of all crimes. The victim is forced to live throughout her life with the memory of the inhuman act and to bear the lewd and heartless remarks passed about her by the biased and conservative Indian society.

Laws and legislations may not be enough to restore what was lost but it will bring consolation to the victim that the accused doesn’t go scot-free but will have to face its consequences. And this may even help to deter others from repeating this crime and hence help in reducing the number of cases of sexual exploitation of women in the country.

Article:Is the media of today upholding good journalistic standards?

Is the media of today upholding good journalistic standards?

It is said that media is the fourth pillar of the democracy, because it keeps the people aware about the political turmoil on one hand, and it pressurize the political leaders to show accountability to the people on the other. Today, in India the face of media has changed a lot and in-fact many times it has proved its efficiency. The media is actively involved in the national level affairs relating to the social justice, law and order, constitution and many other things.

Many times the media has played an extremely positive role by creating a public opinion towards a thing. Recently in the campaign of social activist Anna Hazaray, media played a big part in making the campaign a success. There are many other examples when the media played a great role in providing justice to the people as like in the case of Jessica Lal murder, if the media had not given the case so much of hype there were hardly any chances that the culprits would have got the sentence of life. Moreover many times certain scams were uncovered by medic through sting channel operations, although the legality of these operations might be altogether different debate but still they did some social good by it.

But only on these facts we can’t conclude that the media of our nation has touched the height of high journalism. Media of nation can only be said to be of high standard when it is aware of its societal responsibilities and it is actively involved in it. But in this regard I would rather say with great sorrow that media of our nation has failed in its duty towards the country. It is correct that the media has been successful in giving itself a professional touch according to the changing conditions of globalization, but on the other hands it could not maintain a fair functioning of its duties towards nation at large.

The truth is that even when the hype of media results in positive yields, those incidents are not a product of the consciousness of media for the society at large but instead a part of their strategy to create reputation and money. As like the case of the death of Jessica Lal was given so much hype by the government, but in rural areas everyday thousands of people are killed , many types entire families are killed but our media hardly take those incidents with that seriousness with which it takes the case of Jessica and alike. In several states many people are dying because of hunger and malnutrition, but such things never get enough attention from the fourth pillar of our democracy. One the one hand at regional level many agitations are taking place, which are even continued from years but they got never justice from the side of media as like Sharmila is agitating from years to improve the plight of the people of North-East, but the media never give it enough attention.

Although in today’s time media needs to be professional, because fund raising is very necessary for it to function properly but with the professional touch it has to focus on social issues even if they are not so profitable. In rural India many NGOs are working for the welfare for poor, removal of literacy and many other social causes, and if they would be help through media in their campaign then it can bring drastic change in the plight of the people. When the big projects are created and people are replaced without adequate compensation, media should be actively involved in showing the plight of those people to the public, but it hardly happens. Because ultimately the true goal of the journalism to make good to people, and media should always keep this point in mind.

In this regard there is also a responsibility on the government that it should not unnecessarily interfere in the working of the media. The independence of media is a very necessary aspect of its fair functioning, and moreover it is guaranteed under ar. 19 of the Constitution of India, which ensures freedom to speech and expression. In the past many time the political leader had pressurized the media to achieve their own political ends, and hindered the emergence of high level journalism. Political leader are required to understand the importance of reporting by media, and they must give the journalists and editors sufficient safeguards against the criminal and unsocial elements.

In conclusion I would rather say that to achieve the high level of journalism the media is required to be oriented towards the problems of the people. It is required to impartial and independent in the reporting of political incidents. It is required to be more concentrated on social issues as like suicide by farmers, rural development, social movement, displacement, land acquisition etc. After shameful incidents of bribing in Parliament people are losing faith in the democratic structure of nation, and media can play a great role in bringing back this trust.

Article:Population Explosion - How can we tackle this problem?

Population Explosion - How can we tackle this problem?

It is rightly said ‘The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function’. For countries like Spain, Canada and Italy, where the population is decreasing, population explosion might be considered as a boon. But for developing country like India, population explosion is nothing but a curse which is damaging the development of the country and its society. With 16% of world’s population, India is the second most populated country in the world. A developing country already faces a lack in their resources and needs. And with the rapidly escalating population, the resources available per person are further plummeting, leading to increased poverty, malnutrition and other large population related problems. Therefore, predicament is much more severe here in India because of the escalating pressure on the limited resources of the country.

The rapid growth of the world's population over the past one hundred years results from a difference between the rate of birth and the rate of death. It took the entire history of humankind for the population to reach 1 billion around 1810. Today the world has a population of 6 billion and the population of India stands at about 1 billion. This only means that more people are now being added each day than at any other time in human history which poses as a major problem.

As far as India is concerned, according to statistics, as of March 2011, the total population of India was a little over 1 billion - 1,210,193,422 to be exact. The population clock in the Union Health Ministry in New Delhi now ticks at the rate of 31 persons per minute! The clock shows that about 44,640 babies are born in India every day. This gigantic growth rate is due to the industrial and technical revolutions that has taken place. The new technologies available have brought down the death rate because of the vastly improved Medicare resulting in increased life expectancies. Various cultures and norms, migration all have contributed in this regard. India is projected to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2030.

This increase or overpopulation now has given rise to various problems like illiteracy, unemployment, pollution and poverty. We have created an interrelated web of global environmental problems. We are destroying our natural resources and biological diversities. India is facing an intense crisis of resources. There is fierce competition for the nation's limited natural resources leading to quarrels between states, between communities and even families. The fast rate of growth of population has affected the quality of life of the people.

To check ill-effects of population growth on the socio-economic front, the Indian Government had launched the Family Planning Programme in 1951. This was later rechristened as the Family Welfare Programme. This programme promotes on a voluntary basis, responsible Planned Parenthood, through independent choice of family planning methods best suited to the people. This if properly implemented by making them rightly follow the slogan ‘one couple, two children’ could do wonders. But, at the same time a proper family planning would only work if women, especially in the rural ideas could be made to come out of the false notion that having many children is a boon. And for this, the requirement is to improve the literacy rate, female education and the socio-economic status of the families as population growth is directly allied to these factors. Special benefits and provisions need to be highlighted and be provided to the

people who have one child and maintain a small family. Benefits like free education, better facilities and financial support should be put forward so as to encourage nuclear families.

Therefore, I believe the need of the hour to tackle this problem of overpopulation lies in education. This can be done if one person takes into their stride of educating the other. ‘Each one, teach one’ should be followed and advocated. Persuasive measures need to be taken. We have seen in the past that there have been coercive measures attempted in India. In 1975- 77, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi created sterilization camps and forced vasectomies causing population-control policies to be met with strong resistance and fear, which stagnating progress significantly. More recently, the government has considered using injection birth- control methods, which have been alleged to have significant negative side effects and recall the coercive measures of the 70s.

What thus needs to ensue is support-financial and political, that must be given to promote, encourage and facilitate birth control and methods which involve people as an agent of change rather than being a source of dilemma. Around 30 million Indians want to use contraceptives, but do not have access to them; money ought to be given to provide it. Others are unaware and unwilling to discuss birth control methods, efforts must be made to promote discussion and spread knowledge of it to those who are receptive. Also, campaigns currently expound on the good of the country. Instead, media should emphasize that a small family is beneficial to an individual's own well-being rather than focusing on population control for the national good. These types of measures have been enacted in some states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and they have since been country’s growth stability leaders. They now show high literacy rates and thus a well planned society. This has to be cultured all over India. The philosophy must be to have the people be an active participant in the country’s problem. If the people understand that and want to help, then the problem disappears because there is no one left to cause it.

Gandhi advocated that it is easier to practice self control than control by contraceptives. Multiplicity of wants would multiply problems in multiple folds. Thus, to tackle the problem, rather than following stringent rules and regulations, a change of mindset would help more through the involvement of education, advertisement and campaigns ensuring for a developed and a healthy India. Therefore, all we need is to shift the mindsets from “Population Control” to “Population Development”. Development of people through right education and healthcare can solve much issues-even population, assuming it is a problem!

Lastly, it can be concluded by saying that with so many of us on a very small planet, and with the addition of so many more every week, we can no longer persist to relate to each other, or our environment, ecological systems and biosphere like we have, as we will succumb to the effects of human overpopulation. Mother Nature, which could not care less, will eliminate us. We humans must grow up and learn to walk, hand in hand with each other and with our natural world. There is no alternative if we yearn to sustain humanity and advance our civilization.

Article:Why India is the next global leader?

Why India is the next global leader?

In the 20th century entire world considered USA, Russia, Japan and some of the European countries As the global leaders. But in the 21st century two more countries from Asia emerged as the global leader that is India and China. Now the question is who is a global leader? Though there is no clear cut definition, a global leader is one who can a play major role in world affairs, work for maintaining peace and tranquillity and can extend all type of help in preventing global crisis such as climate change, food insecurity, hunger, poverty etc.

As mentioned above India emerged as a global leader in the 21th century due to it’s all round development. She got freedom from British government in 1947.From there on she never looked back and made rapid progress in the growth trajectory. First of all entire credit goes to her founding fathers and constitution writers. They did not left any loophole in the constitution .They established a responsible legislative body to make law and new policy, an executive body to execute various policy enacted by legislation and an independent judiciary to safe guard the constitution and the fundamental rights of each citizens. No individual or politician in India can take the power and law into his own hand at will, like what is happening in African countries, even in Pakistan .Pakistan is a country got freedom with India but the military power there has the power to topple the civilian government creating instability. But this is not the case with India, her founding father made a system by amalgamating the best features of other democratic countries. That is why India is known as one of the stable country of the world.

Since independence India became part of all important international organisations and plays a significant rule in creation of non-aligned movement during the Russian USA cold war period. Now India is member of major international organisation such as UNO, WORLD BANK, IMF, UNESCO, UNICEF, ILO, WTO, FATF etc. Currently India is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for two years for which the election was held this year. In that election she got a record 189 votes, only four countries voted against its membership. This shows her popularity throughout the world.

In the first three to four decade after independence India could not play any major role in international affairs due to her fragile economic condition and involvement in three major wars, two with Pakistan and one with China, she was mostly dependent on foreign aid for it’s socio economic and infrastructure development, but after 1991 economic liberalisation she has become a major contributor of aid to the third world countries. In 2008 India achieved a remarkable feat by becoming a trillion dollar economy. Currently India is at the cynosure of the world leader for it’s contribution to each and every continent of the globe.

Currently India is engaged with various countries for their infrastructure development, capacity building, and socio economic development. Being a part of south Asia India always take the leading role in promoting peace, financial stability, and facilitating free trade among the south Asian countries under the SAARC umbrella. She is helping Srilanka by providing financial and technical assistance in the construction of railway line, road, housing for displaced Tamils during LTTE war, renovating a Kankasanthurai harbour. She has provided $1 billion grant in aid to Bangladesh for their infrastructure development at the interest rate of .75%. India has allowed Bhutan and Nepal to use it’s land to do trade with Bangladesh and to import or export goods using Bangladesh port. Due to India’s sincere effort the relation with Pakistan is also improving.

India formed south south co-operation with Brazil and South Africa to provide financial help to the least developed countries which were earlier dependent only on the north for aid. India started an India Africa e-network project to connect all the 53 countries of Africa through fibre optic connection. This network will also be connected with some of the reputed technical institutions and famous medical colleges to provide e-education and telemedicine services to African people. Apart from this some of the other Indian project in Africa got international acclamation like construction of railway line linking Ethiopia and Djibouti, setting up of 80 institutions for capacity building in various sectors such as food processing, agriculture, textile, weather forecasting and rural development.

India has the observer status of SCO and also planning to join CSTO. She is working closely with the SCO member countries in maintaining peace and stability and preventing terrorism, drug trafficking from central and south Asia. She is also planning to extend help in construction of nuclear reactors for some of the central Asia countries like Kazakistan.She is the world’s 6th largest contributor to the Afghanistan infrastructure project and also providing training to Afghanistan security forces so that they can protect their country after Americas pull out from 2014.Along with this India has taken the responsibility of giving training to Afghan Gov. employees through VV Giri National labour institute , constructing road from delaram to Zarang and building power plants to meet its energy need.

With the grouping like BIMSTEC, Mekong Ganga co-operation, India ASEAN summit, East Asia summit India is maintaining cordial relations with all the south east asean countries. India has promised to promote culture by protecting all important historic monuments through ASI of India. She has proposed to build a highway which will connect Myanmar, Thailand , Laos ,Vietnam and Cambodia to facilitate free movement of goods and spur economic development in that region. India also establishing training institutions to provide vocational training to the students as a part of Indian ITEC (Indian technical and economic co-operation) program. She is also providing grant in aid to these countries. Recently Indian P.M Dr Manmohan Singh offered 500 million grant in aid to Myanmar. As a peace loving nation India wants peace to prevail in the west Asia and North Africa. She wants an amicable resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and Palestine and India is one among the few countries who recognised Palestine as an independent state. As a larger democracy of the world she promotes democratic government instead of autocratic Government throughout world.

Above all India has developed strong institutional capabilities that will benefit the world community. Indian election commission providing all necessary assistance to the countries which want a strong impartial election process in their system. Recently Indian election commission extend help to Egypt for their election reform. India also providing it’s wonder machine EVC(electronic voting machine) to Nepal, Mexico, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Afghanistan etc. for conduction of their election. Indian CAG (Controller and auditor general) which is another example of a unique institution in the field of audit appointed as the external auditor of two major UN organisations: IAEA and world intellectual property right.

India has one of the largest and advanced security forces in the world. She has a strong navy, army and air force which is not only protecting our countries but also engaged in UN’s peace keeping process weather it is in Srilanka, Somalia , Afghanistan or any other countries. She has also engaged in the Indian Ocean’s international transit corridor to protect the merchant vessel from the Somalia pirates which has become a sanctuary for them. Till now India escorted more the 1000 vessels including some Indian vessels. India has a well develop space research centres (ISRO) which is regularly launching satellites for itself and for other countries. The types of satellites include communication satellite, weather forecasting, remote sensing etc. Recently ISRO launched a satellite called meghatropics with collaboration with France which will benefit all tropical countries. This will provide real time data regarding rainfall pattern in tropical region thereby helping farmers in agriculture and ensure food security. India is World’s first country to identify presence of water on Moon surface through her Chandrayan-I mission and planning for Chandrayan-II mission to send humans on to the moon surface.

21st century belongs to the country leading in food production and having large work force and India has both the above factor. India’s food production is increasing year by year to feed the world And she has one of the largest work forces of the world which is a boon for her. The contribution India will make to the global society is prefigured by the upsurge in the national mood which is marked by ambition, optimism and the spirit to accept the challenge of innovation and accomplishment. There is no doubt that India is a present leader. The world leaders should acknowledge it by providing unequivocal support for its quest as a permanent member in UN’s reformed Security Council. Then only her efforts and contribution towards the world will be rewarded.

Article:Has corruption haunted india’s growth ?

Has corruption haunted india’s growth ?

What is corruption? This question has become more important in the wake of Anna’s cry for Jan Lokpal to curb corruption. Can corruption be defined? Corruption has different connotations for different people. However, in general terms it is stated as an act of bribing someone to gain some benefits which may be lawful or unlawful. As a popular saying goes that before you have to pay bribe to get wrong thing done but today you have to pay for getting right things done at the right time. Corruption has become so pervasive that some people take it as an accepted way of life. The prevention of corruption act1988 defines corruption on taking gratification other than the legal remuneration in respect of an official act. Corruption can be defined as misuse of public funds for private.. Corruption may be attributed to plethora of reasons like acts of commission and omission or delay, exercise or discretion as violation of rules.

Though India has been hailed as a rising economic power in recent times, attracting FDIs (Foreign Direct Investments) from all over the world, the picture is not very rosy. The rampant corruption prevailing in the country in all the spheres is posing a threat to India’s growth story. As corruption is directly linked to the economy, it can have disastrous effect on India’s economy. Slower growth means the fight against poverty will slow as number of jobs will be reduced. According to a report India tops the list of black money in the entire world with almost US$$1456 billion in Swiss bank. However 80%of Indians earns less than Rs 5 per day. Alleged tax evader Hasan Ali Khan (supposedly an associate of gangster Dawood Ibrahim) allegedly illicitly placed US$8 billion in UBS AB Zurich bank. In his short tenure, Madhu Koda, the then chief minister of Jharkhand allegedly siphoned off about US$1 billion. In 2011, India ranked 95th of of183 countries in transparency international corruption perception index. The major reason behind India’s low scoring is big corruption scandals, like the Commonwealth Games and the 2G telecom scam.

Corruption has destabilized India’s growth and will continue to do so unless some strict action is taken. Private investments in India are slowing down due to corruption prevalent in the country. Some of the foreign companies as well as India have shifted their bases outside India or are planning to go out. Inflation has also become a major problem even after RBI has raised interest several times to curb it. In the recent 2G telecom scam, India’s loss is estimated to be approximately US$39 billion. Unless the markets get the required assurance that allocation of funds will be swift, efficient and fair, the process of investment will be slow. Politicians should also take responsibility in checking corruption in order to avoid debacle like Enron the power sector in Maharashtra. The project which was not deemed economic viable by the World Bank which denied financial help to it was granted permission by India ignoring the protests against unpopular power project. Even the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme (MGNREGA) is not free of corruption as some audit reports that in some states only a small percentage of allocated funds reach to the original workers. Corruption does not only affect the parties involved in the scandal but also public at large. A corrupt official will result in delay of schemes intended for the benefits of general public in pressure of a company or any other person who are seeking to get private benefit from the projects. This will result in vicious circle of poverty as the poor are most affected by corruption.

If India has to fight poverty and achieve a sustainable growth rate, it should take proper anti corruption measures and enforce them strictly. Though corruption cannot be eradicated permanently, proper checks and balances will ensure India’s rise as economic powerhouse and future development.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Article:Economic Growth Of India In 2011

Economic Growth Of India In 2011

India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Indian economy is characterized by population bursts, poverty, unemployment and child labour. These rising issues have become a major concern for the Indian economy but yet have proven to bring a raise in the Indian economy for the 2011 year. This economic burst will not be sustainable for the Indian economy in the approaching years.

Researchers have found that India is becoming a very populous nation. It readily has an increasing birth rate and statistics show that the numbers will keep growing. India’s population is expected to reach 1.5 billion in 2030, accounting Indians’ to occupy 20% of the human population on earth. If the population bursts continue then the economy of India will go downhill. It will have an effect on many factors that play a role in the economy. This will not only make life harder for people who are already on the verge of poverty but make those who are under the poverty line have a harder time surviving.

Poverty is a growing concern in India especially when the nation has been estimated to have a third of the world’s poor. Population bursts are causing poverty in the society, making it harder for families to gain access to their daily necessities. The increase in poverty is the leading cause of children being malnourished and underweight. If this continues than there will not be a future generation to run the Indian economy. Due to the baby boomers and poverty on the line Indians’ are on high demand for jobs.

The unemployment rate is increasing slowly due to the baby boomers. The poor are looking for any job opportunities viable to the. Although, many don’t have the proper education and don’t meet the criteria for the jobs due to not sufficient education, a major issue due to poverty. Indian officials need to make more jobs for the people and offer free education to children throughout middle and high school. At this rate many children will remain uneducated and will be a victim of child labour.

To make the economy boom the nation needs to put a stop towards child labour. It is very unhealthy for these children to work for long periods of times in an unhealthy environment. Just like other nation India needs to set aside money to help under privileged families meet their basic needs. Indians need to pitch in and work together to make the economy grow. On this rate not only will the Indian economy decline but also we will be endangering the future of our young generation. In order to have a sustainable economy we need to stop the population bursts, poverty, unemployment and child labour by educating the citizens of India.

Article:Disputes over National Counter Terrorism Center

Disputes over National Counter Terrorism Center

Ever since the Mumbai blasts of 1993 have occurred the threat of terrorism has grown significantly in India and over the years sporadic events of terror have made news every time an act took place. 26/11 was also one such act but the manner in which it was carried not only reminded us of the growing threat of terror but also managed to expose some serious loopholes that exist in our system of national security. Comprehensive reforms in national security began henceforth and recently one of the primary institutions slated to be setup under such reforms was proposed by union HM P. Chidambaram. It is the national counter terrorism centre (NCTC).

The body of NCTC is made on the similar lines of its US counterpart (with some changes made to suite Indian requirements) whose main objective is to counter any terrorist activity that might take place India. It is being seen as a huge step in dealing with the evil of terrorism.

However the detailed provisions governing the body have raised a lot of questions especially amongst the state govts with allegations like infringement of federal setup. This along with some other disputes are explained as follows-:

CENTRE V/S STATE :
The main cause of the dispute is considered to be section 43(a) of the act which empowers the nctc “to arrest and detain any person if the body feels that the subject is associated with a terror act(even potential)” on its own. This provision has been widely criticized by states (primarily non congress) alleging central domination on state powers and authority. Law and order is a state subject and in this case NCTC will have overriding powers and none of the state police will have the mandate to interfere. Note- although sect 43(b) says that the body will have to submit a reason of arrest to the concerned person as well as intimate the closest police station of the state regarding the arrest.

OVERBURDENED :
The proposed institution of NCTC will have investigation , intelligence and operational powers vested with it. critics say that not only the powers are extraordinary but it is too much for a single body to handle effectively. Intelligence should be the only prerogative of NCTC and the rest should be handled by the already existing setups of police and central agencies.

DRACONIAN IN NATURE :
NCTC has can be considered as POTA with a different name .we all are aware of the human rights violation that had let to repealing of the POTA. Now the NCTC has sought to work on same lines, the only difference being that it is now a more centrally dominated body.

The above mentioned are the major disputes encircling the NCTC ,but it is important to consider a wider picture too . The same old apprehension of federal structure being distorted must not undermine the wider concerns of terrorism which is a serious threat to national security. Political points must not be scored at the cost of ignoring terrorist threats. Moreover the concerns of the states can always be resolved by a dialogue (speedy) but striking down the whole institution as a whole will not be a sagacious step.

The centre can further strengthen its stand by ensuring open and transparent working of the body to an extent that it does not create a terror image amongst its own citizens itself ,which many fear it may. Also the operational and investigative powers should be vested with existing bodies so that NCTC can fully concentrate on its sole objective of integrated intelligence gathering from across the nation rather than creating confusion with other bodies on matters of investigative and operational jurisdiction. A synergy must exist b/w central and state institutions to reap the desired results of this proposed setup.

It must be revisited that India is a union of states and not a federation, which necessitates the centre to play a crucial role in all activities concerned with the welfare of people .NCTC is a need of the hour and rather than looking at narrow concerns of infringement of state rights (which can be resolved by a consensus and also showing some trust in centre) a more important concern of counter terrorism must be addressed after all it is our country as a whole which is a victim of this menace of terrorism and the solution too lies in dealing with it as a unit rather than in fragments.

Today's current affair

Today's news date April 17,2012
The Hindu
Rate cut to boost investment: Pranab.

The Reserve Bank’s decision to cut lending rate by 0.50 per cent will encourage investments, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday, while assuring the government will also take additional steps to boost growth and control price rise.
“The growth, which has weakened in past months, should now improve,and The monetary policy announcements should help in investment revival and contribute to strengthening of business sentiments. In the coming weeks we will take some additional steps to further reinforce focus on growth,”
In its annual monetary policy statement for 2012-13, RBI, after a gap of three years, cut interest rate by 0.50 per cent making credit cheaper.
After clocking over 8 per cent economic growth for two years, India’s GDP expansion is estimated to have declined to 3-year low of 6.9 per cent in 2011-12 on account of high cost of borrowing that slowed investments.
RBI had hiked policy rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 to control persistently high inflation.
It has projected the GDP growth for this fiscal at 7.3 per cent, which is lower than the government estimates of 7.6 per cent for the period.
Mr. Mukherjee said moderation of core inflation rate for four months in a row, coupled with the sharper decline in inflation for manufactured products from 7.6 per cent in December to 4.87 per cent in March, has facilitated the change in monetary policy stance.
“However food and primary inflation has shown signs of hardening. This is a cause for some concern. We intent to continuously monitor the situation and take the required steps to manage the short term supply constraint for those food items which contribute inflation,” he said. The government will do everything possible to maintain price stability. RBI cuts lending rate, loans to become cheaper .
After a gap of three years, Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao on Tuesday slashed short term lending rate by 0.50 per cent to 8 per cent, a move that will reduce the cost of home, auto and corporate loans.
The reduction in the repo rate at which RBI lends to banks, has been prompted by deceleration in growth and softening of inflation.
The cut is aimed at spurring growth to 9 per cent levels, seen before the global financial crisis that began in 2008, Mr. Subbarao said while unveiling the annual credit policy in Mumbai.
“The reduction in the repo rate is based on an assessment of growth having slowed below its post-crisis trend rate, which, in turn, is contributing to the moderation in core inflation,” the Governor said.
RBI has pegged the GDP growth rate for 2012-13 at 7.3 per cent. It is expected to be 6.9 per cent in 2011-12.
After two consecutive cuts since January, the Governor, however, retained the cash reserve ratio at 4.75 per cent.
Mr. Subbarao, however, ruled out further reduction in policy rate in the immediate future citing persistent upside risks to inflation and possible fiscal slippages driven by higher oil subsidies. It expects the inflation to be around 6.5 per cent by March 2013.
“It must be emphasised that the deviation of growth from trend is modest. At the same time, upside risks to inflation persist. These considerations inherently limit the space for further reduction in policy rates,” he said.
The decision is likely to prompt the banks to cut lending rates for home, auto and corporate loans, experts said.
The RBI has raised lending rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 to contain inflation that had been hovering near double-digit.
This had led to clamour by industry to cut rates and spur industrial and economic growth that has slowed down considerably during the past few quarters.
In order to ease tight liquidity situation, Mr. Subbarao announced doubling the borrowing under the Marginal Standing Facility for banks to 2 per cent of their deposits with immediate effect. It also permitted banks to borrow under the MSF even if they have excess government securities holdings.
On the growth front, RBI expects FY’13 to be moderately better than the fiscal gone by. It has pegged GDP growth at 7.3 per cent, which is 0.3 per cent lower than the government projection for 2012-13. Growth in 2011-12 is seen at a 3-year low of 6.9 per cent.
Even though spurring growth has taken the priority at the Mint Road, the RBI continues to be worried about the inflation scenario, calling it as “challenging” due to the sharp spikes in crude prices and food articles in the recent months.
Noting the moderation in manufacturing inflation, the Governor pegged the annual overall inflation target at 6.5 per cent for FY’13 (which is 0.5 per cent lower than its projection for FY’12), saying the price rise will be range-bound through the year.
Inflation was the key driver that guided the Reserve Bank to tighten money supply, and later hold rates during the past 36 months.
The period also saw it inflicting 13 simultaneous hikes, by 3.75 per cent in repo rates over the 19-month period, making it one of the most aggressive central banks in the world.
Apart from hurting investment activity, the rate hikes severely hurt the retail borrowers as higher loan repayments put household budgets for a toss.
The RBI made a conscious effort at placating this class by reiterating that banks should not charge prepayment penalties from home loan borrowers. It also announced to set up a working group to assess the possibility of having long-term fixed interest products which will not be exposed to interest rate changes. Sensex spurts 222 points after RBI rate cut.
The BSE benchmark Sensex spurted by over 222 points in late morning trade on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank cut short-term lending rate to support the economic growth.
The 30-share index spurted by 222.33 points to trade at 17,373.28 soon after the RBI announced cut in short-term lending rate, repo rate, by 0.50 percentage point.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange Nifty index shot up by 67.20 points to 5,293.40 points.
The upsurge was mostly lead by interest rate sensitive stocks such as banking, realty and auto.
Realty major DLF was trading higher by 1.55 per cent at Rs. 202.60, while banking behemoth SBI gained 1.58 per cent to trade at Rs. 2,301.10.
Private lender ICICI Bank rose by 1.13 per cent to Rs. 883.30.
Among the sectoral indices, the BSE realty index gained the most jumping by 1.67 per cent to 1,811.25 points. RBI wants Govt to hike prices of petroleum products.
Making a case for raising prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday said hike in rates of petroleum products is necessary to arrest fiscal slippages.
“Overall from the perspective of vulnerabilities emerging from the fiscal and current account deficits, it is imperative for macroeconomic stability that administered prices of petroleum products are increased to reflect their true costs of production,” RBI Governor D. Subbarao said in the Annual Monetary Policy Statement for 2012-13.
While petrol prices are market-linked, the government fixes the rates of LPG, kerosene and diesel, which results in a large budgetary expenditure on subsidies.
Global crude oil prices have surged since the beginning of 2012 on account of geo-political concerns in the Middle East and abundant global liquidity. The price of Brent crude rose to USD 120 a barrel in mid-April from $111 in January.
RBI said the Budget estimate of oil subsidy is likely to fall “significantly short of the required amount“.
High subsidies are putting pressure on the country’s fiscal deficit, which touched 5.9 per cent of GDP last fiscal and is pegged at 5.1 per cent in 2012--13. India imports about 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement.
The government targets to bring down the subsidy bill to below 2 per cent of GDP this fiscal and 1.75 per cent in the subsequent years. Government has made a provision of Rs 40,000 crore towards fuel subsidy for 2012-13.
“...Several upside risks to the budgeted fiscal deficit remain. Containment of non-plan expenditure within budget estimates for 2012-13 is contingent upon the government’s ability to adhere to its commitment of capping subsidies,” Dr. Subbarao said.
Dr. Subbarao said any slippage in fiscal deficit would have implications for inflation. “Upside risks to inflation persist. These considerations inherently limit the space for further reduction in policy rates,” he said.
Persistent demand pressure emerging from inadequate steps to contain subsidies, as indicated in the recent Union Budget, will further reduce the space for rate cut, he added.
Fuelled by gold demand, crude oil prices and decelerating growth in emerging economies, India’s current account deficit (CAD), widened to 4 per cent of GDP in April-December 2011, up from 3.3 per cent a year ago.
CAD is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange into the country.
In its Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments in 2011-12 report, the RBI had on Monday said, “The policy design to achieve macro-objectives hinges on deregulation and the upward adjustment of oil prices by letting the demand effects work towards diminishing fiscal and external risks”. Tax issue: Vodafone issues notice to Centre.
Vodafone on Tuesday threatened to drag the government to international arbitration over retrospective tax legislation under the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between India and the Netherlands.
Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIHBV) on Tuesday severed a notice of dispute on the Indian government regarding proposals in the Finance Bill 2012 which it claimed violated the international legal protections granted Vodafone and other international investors in India.
In a regulatory filing to the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone has asked the Indian government to abandon or suitably amend the retrospective aspects of the proposed legislation as Vodafone would prefer to reach an amicable solution to this matter.
“However, if the Indian government is not willing to do so, Vodafone will take whatever steps are necessary to protect its shareholders’ interest, including investment treaty arbitration proceedings under the BIT against the Indian government,” the company said.
In the Budget, the government announced a proposal to amend the Income Tax Act to bring overseas deals such as Vodafone’s purchase of Hutchison under tax net after the Supreme Court held that the UK firm was not liable to pay the Rs 11,000 crore in taxes.
This is sought to be done through a retrospective amendment to the Income Tax Act which gives authorities powers to reopens cases as far back as 1962 under the Finance Bill 2012.The Vodafone statement said that the dispute arose from the retrospective tax legislation proposal which, if enacted, would have serious consequences for a wide range of Indian and international businesses, as well as direct and negative consequences for Vodafone.
It said the proposed legislation would also countermand the verdict of the Supreme Court in January 2012, which ruled that Vodafone had no liability to account for withholding tax on its acquisition of indirect interests in Hutchison Essar Limited in 2007.
Under the BIT, Vodafone said the Indian government is obliged among other things to accord fair and equitable treatment to investors, provide full protection and security, not breach the legitimate expectations of investors in making investments, not deny justice or breach previously provided assurances and not take steps to indirectly expropriate the investment.
The statement said Vodafone believes that the retrospective tax proposal amount to a denial of justice and a breach of the Indian government’s obligation under the BIT to accord fair and equitable treatment to investors. ‘Adarsh land belongs to govt., not Army’ ,Court says.
In a huge relief to the Maharashtra government, the judicial commission of inquiry looking into the Adarsh housing scam has held that the land on which the controversial building stands belongs to the State and not the Army.
The two-member panel, which had submitted its interim report to the government last Friday, has also held that the building was not reserved for war heroes and Kargil widows.
The interim report was discussed by the Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday, sources close to the development said, adding it is likely to be tabled in the legislature later in the day.
The commission headed by former Bombay High Court judge J.A. Patil includes former State Chief Secretary P. Subramanian.
The report, according to sources, has thrown light on the issues of ownership of the land on which the 31-storey high-rise stands in upscale Colaba, and if it was reserved for war heroes and Kargil widows.
The allegations in the case are that the land was allotted by the State government to the Adarsh Society though it belonged to the Defence Ministry, and the building came up in violation of several civic and environmental norms.
The State government had approached the commission a few months ago seeking an interim report on the points of title and reservation.
The Maharashtra government had appointed the two-member panel to probe the Adarsh Society scam in January 2011.
The panel has been tasked with probing all aspects of the scam, including ownership of the land and allotment, as well as alleged violations of rules in grant of various clearances to the building. The commission is also looking into violation of coastal zone regulations.
A number of top civil and army officials and politicians, including former chief Minister Ashok Chavan, are alleged to have facilitated clearances for the building and got flats in it as quid pro quo.
Nine of the 14 accused, including two senior IAS officers, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the scam. Upgraded Aakash tablet to be launched next month: Sibal.
A faster and enhanced version of low-cost tablet PC, Aakash, would be launched next month, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said on Tuesday.The second version of Aakash will be launched in May,” Mr. Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of World IT forum 2012 in New Delhi.
The tablet will be produced domestically, and in this regard the government is talking to various manufacturers from across the world.After freezing the technology, we will start manufacturing it. We are calling people from across the world to manufacture it and some people have shown interest,” Mr. Sibal said.
The new tablet would have a better 3200m AH battery with a three-hour backup, a 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor and a capacitive touch screen which would get over the earlier issues observed in the tablets, Mr. Sibal had said earlier.
Recently, Datawind, the maker of Aakash, and Quad Electronics, which is the contract manufacturer of the tablet, have been trading charges against each other.Quad has said it has not been paid for its work by the tablet maker alleging the letter of credit issued by Datawind was dishonoured and it has not received any payment for its work.
However, Datawind has been claiming that all the payments that was due to Quad have been cleared, except for the 600 units that remain unpaid by IIT-Rajasthan.
Opinion :-Three Cheers to Parliament
Give The Professor a Raise

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