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Essay, METHOD, , SKILL, , IDEA, , MAINS WRITING APPROACH, , ACADEMIC, APPROACH, (×), , SKILLS, PRESENTATION, , ADMINISTRATIVE, APPROACH, , (a) Constructive Evolution (jpukRed EkwY;kadu), (b) Critical Observation(vkykspukRed EkwY;kadu), (c)Latest Information (uohure tkudkjh), (d) Original View (ekSfydrk), (e) Conclusion (fu"d "kZ), HINTS OF ESSAY WRITING, 1. Do not start writing at once. Think out carefully for five minutes or so what are you going to say., 2. Set down the various ideas that come to you., 3. Arrange your ideas neither you cannot write a good essay without a plan., 4. Use simple words and short sentence., 5. Be Natural., HOW TO WRITE, 1. COLLECTION OF MATERIAL : Your first task is to collect your material., 2. ARRANGEMENT OF MATERIAL : The next step is to arrange your stock of ideas and facts in logical, order according to a definite plan., 3. OUTLINE: Before beginning to write an essay, you should make a brief outline of the main heads, under which you will arrange your ideas., 4. PARAGRAPH: Divide your essay into paragraph., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 1

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Essay Writing, , Writing, Thought, Cultural, Political, , 4, 3, 2, 1, , At first you should make an out line, Essays:- A Written composition containing an expression of one is personal experiences., , INTANGIBLE PART (THE HEART) OF AN ESSAY, Ideas/ Thoughts are what that make an essay ‘readable’. I may, at this juncture, bombard you with a good, many high­sounding statements about thoughts like “Thoughts make a man”, “Thoughts are one’s most, invaluable possession” or “Thoughts are the reflection of Divine in a human being”. But always remember,, that you are a student. You are not an expert or an authority on a given subject with years of sedulous, research and voracious reading. So, you cannot be ‘original’ on a topic or write something that is ‘revealing’, or expository., The examiner too, does not expect something like this from you. Her expectation is not the sublimity of the, thought but clarity of the presentation and a logical spanning of the topic on your part. You must realise at this, juncture that the ideas that you are presenting, will more or less be presented by all those candidates who, write on the same topic. So in thoughts you are standing on the same footing with others., Now, think the situation from the perspective of the examiner. You may not have the experience but no one,, even if she is an examiner who has a moral duty to read your written piece, would like to read the same ideas, again and again (in different answer­sheets). After a while, she will develop an apathy or aversion to those, ideas and scoring will suffer., The bottom line is that if your essay engages the examiner and she feels like reading your essay, you are, going to score very high. For this, you need to be different from the majority. Now, if you cannot differ in, your thoughts, where can you be? Think!), 2, , Dharmendra Kumar

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PRESENTATION (THE SOUL) OF AN ESSAY, You can be different in presentation of the essay. The presentation of the essay consists of the two parts ­, language and organisation. ­, 1. Language:, Here also, it is a fact that you are not an academician, or an expert, or a media person who, by virtue, of their long experience or requirement of the job, have to work out to find exactness of expression and, thus, add to their repeated precise words, jargons and sedulously develop syntactical pin pointedness., You are a learner at this stage. Hence, the expectations of the examiner from you are not many. Here, is what she expects your language to have:, It should be, by and large, grammatically correct. I’ve used the phrase “by and large” on purpose. You, are never expected to write error free language and that too when you have not much time in your hand, to revise. A few mistakes here and there are pardonable, but only “a few” and “here and there”., However, if almost all sentences contain one error or the other, it will be fit to be disqualified all, together., In language if you concentrate (while practicing home) on..............,  Present Indefinite in terms of use of is/are and use of s/es in verbs with singular subjects,,  Past Indefinite in terms of use of was/were, and,  Pronoun, to agree properly for the noun used, ………Your language can be correct grammatically to an extent., These are very basic advice. You need to write and read and correct your language regularly at home, to get a correct language outflow in the examination. A correct language is a must to save you from, disqualification but a correct language is not a guarantee of a good score, as your graduation or requisite, degree is. If you have the required qualification, only then shall you be allowed to sit for the examination,, but your degree is not a guarantee of your selection., Classification of Essays, Essay may be classified as Descriptive Essays, Narrative Essays, Reflective Essays and Imaginative Essays., 1., , Descriptive Essays: It consists of a description of some persons, places or things. Here we express, in words what the eyes see and ears hear. We describe a scene, an object or person we have met, eg., animals, plants, towns, countries and phenomena of nature and incidents., Narrative Essays: A narrative essay consists mainly of the narration of some event or series of events., The event should be treated as a subject for thought and comment, and so the essay should be more or, less reflective. Narrative essays may be of historical stories of legends, biographies, an account of a, natural disaster, a journey or voyage, a story real or imaginary., , 3., , Reflective Essays: A reflection is a thought on some subject, or on an idea­arising in the mind. So, a, reflective essay consists of reflections of thought on some topic which is generally of an abstract, nature eg. Habits, qualities such as truthfulness, heroism, patriotism, or social, political and domestic, topic such as riches and poverty, liberty, family life, education and so on. In treating such themes, you, should try to reason and support your views with facts and arguments., , 4., , Imaginative Essays: Essays on subjects such as feeling and experience of a sailor wrecked on, deserted island may be called imaginative essays. In’ this category, you may be asked to write an essay,, on the topic or situations of which you have not had any experience in real life eg. “if were a Prime, Minister’, ‘The Autobiography of a River”,’India After 200 Years’ etc., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 3

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ORGANISATION, An essay has three parts, (1) Introduction, (2) Body, (3) Conclusion, Introduction is a most vital and essential part of an essay. It is the beginning of an essay. Introduction is, reflective of the whole essay. All points which you are going to discuss in the body should be logically, incorporated in this part so that after going through the introductory part of your essay, examiner can guess, what you are going to write in the body and conclusion., A good introduction is neither too long nor too short. You may start your introduction from anywhere or, anything that you feel interesting. But the last sentence of the paragraph (called thesis statement) must, make it clear to the reader what stand you are going to take. That will arouse expectation in his mind which, you satisfy in the main body., Body is a second part of a three­tier essay. All the points that are mentioned in introduction should be, discussed and well supported with arguments one by one in different paragraphs. In this section, there is a, scope for showing off your writing skill, imaginative skill, reasoning power, command of language etc. The, paragraphs constituting the body of the essay are vitally connected with each other­ one paragraph leading, into the other. Every paragraph is a string of sentences so that we can say that ‘the sentences from the, bases while the paragraphs make up the superstructure, so that the whole essay becomes a finished piece of, literary architecture.’, Conclusion of an essay is also very important. Conclusion should not be repeated with the points, examples,, agreement etc that are covered in body. Points should of suggestive nature i.e. you may take liberty to give, some current suggestions. The conclusion must give an impression that it is natural and inevitable., We can say that the structure of the essay is just like that of a building. It must have (a) Introduction just, like the porch of building, (b) Body corresponding the main building, and (c) conclusion resembling the, finished­touch given the building. The whole building, though made up of part is one structure. Similarly,, unity is the grand characteristic of the essay. All the three parts being united into one organic whole. The, whole essay is but a string of paragraphs., You must remember that conclusion as happens in a movie, is not the climax of the story but a brief, ‘recapitulation’ of your thesis. The structure of the essay is thus: thesis – arguments –thesis. Just remind the, reader where you started. Conclusion is just an emphasis your commitment. Never add any new point in the, conclusion, nor do bother about the length of the paragraph., , 4, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Declining child sex ratio / Gender imbalances &, Census 2011., Equality between women and men is a matter of human right and a condition for social justice and is, also a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development and peace" (UN)., In India the child sex ratio is declining and it is a matter of serious concern. From the census 2011. it, is clear that the child sex ratio is declining since independence and now it has reached to the lowest (914/, 1000 male Chile) level. Thus , it is a cause for alarm and also occasion for serious policy rethink., Despite legal provisions, incentive based schemes and media messages the child sex ratio is declining, both in urban & rural areas., , Gender composition reflects natality, mortality and/migration character of a given population. Distribution, pattern of male and female in a population affects relative roles and economic relationships. In india sex, ratio has increased to 940 which was 933 in 2001. But in Rural sector it has marginally increased to 947 from, 946. The major change was observed in urban areas where sex ratio has increased by 26 to 826 currently., Although overall sex ratio presents encouraging trends across the country encompassing 29 states and union, Territories, the same is not true in the case of the girl child in the age group 0­6 years, which declined from, 927 to 914 in 2011., , The main causes of decline in child sex ratio are traditional cultural attitudes, patriarchal prejudice,, social­economic pressures and misuse of modern medical techniques. The low status of women in India, is also responsible for this decline. In addition , the lack of old ­ age social security i.e., son preference,, property rights, inheritance lows, increasing violence against women etc are other factors that play a major, role in declining of child sex ratio., , Therefore, appropriate measures must be taken by the government as well as society to check this, decline in child sex ratio. For this, a comprehension national policy on the sex ratio is must. It is the right of, females to be born and duty of society to protect and preserve a gender balance thus it is clear that if we, want India to develop as a whole, female foeticide must be checked and gender balance should be, achieved., , 6, , Dharmendra Kumar

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2, , (Like arrest, which is given, to police), , Coordination, - NCTC, Terrorism - Diverse forms, , Need of the hour, NCTC, State should assure that it will enhance their governance system., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 7

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NCTC / Center - state disputes over NCTC, India is a vast country both geographically & demographically, which makes it quite easy for the terrorists to, operate with ease. Moreover, due to increase in terrorists activities now a days, there is a need to set up, organizations which could help the security agencies of the country to act against such terrorist activities, effectively. For this, NCTC is introduced by the government., NCTC is a premier organization designed to deliver an edge to the government in its fight against terrorism., It was to work under intelligence Bureau , and is armed with powers like making arrests to carry out its, functions smoothly. However the coming of NCTC has caused quite a stir in the governance sphere in India., Many states have accused that the powers given to NCTC are an encroachment on the powers and a clear, violation the demarcation of powers between centre & state given under the constitution of India. Also,, there is no need of NCTC because the existing agencies are adequate to fight terrorism., Thus, there is a need to examine as to why there is need of NCTC. In the present Indian system, all the, police agencies are assigned the role of law enforcement, crime control & crime investigation. While, the intelligence agencies are already burdened with the herculean task of gathering , analyzing and developing, the field inputs. Hence, the present structure has a scope for a specializing agency in fighting terrorism. So,, the formation of NCTC is a step towards fulfilling that need., Among the contentions of the states the most prominent is that it is a device indented for encroaching, upon state's power by the centre. They cite the provisions in which NCTC is given the power to make arrest, in any state, which is the power enjoyed by the police of the respected state. However it is to be understood, that the NCTC will not be making any arbitrary arrests. All its activities will be regulated by the provisions, of the criminal procedure code(CRPC) and Indian penal Code (IPS)., Coming to the role of NCTC, it will be the only organization that will specifically play the pivotal role of, fighting terrorism India has always been very prone to terrorism, but what has troubled authorities is the, diverse and varied form of terrorism. whether it be the ULFA or BODO, separatist movements in northeast,, khalistan movements in punjab or hired foreign mercenaries in kashmir. All have their different reasons of, origin and required different types of approach for solving them. And Indian agencies had to learn by trial, and error in the process wasting precious lives and resources. Thus having a specific organization, wholly, dedicated to the aim of fighting terrorism will be a big help. Not only that terrorism in 21st century has, developed different dimensions like cyber terrorism and sleeper cell terrorism. Now­a­days increasing numbers, of states have established their own counter­terrorism organization like mumbai ATS, UPSTF, Delhi STF, etc. In this case, NCTC will become a mother organization and help in better coordination of these organizations, and increase in their potential Creation of NCTC will be followed by establishment of a database listing all, the details about terrorists. Thus it will help in stopping all the terrorist activities by identifying their working, method and also stop further attacks by blocking them. Moreover it will also help in better co­ordination, between intelligence and police agencies and will also relives the pressure from the police so that they could, solely focus on the role of guarding society and law enforcement. Keeping all these in mind, it can surely be, said that NCTC is the need of the hour and the states should rest assured that it will only facilitate their, governance not encroach upon their working., , 8, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Increasing Energy demands in, India or Energy security, , 3, , India - different sources of energy, , Coal, Major source., , Hydroelectric Solar energy Nuclear energy Wind energy, power plants, Gujarat., kudankulam Tamil Nadu. (T.N), Tarapur etc.. Maharashtra, , as country progresses, energy need also increases., India - Thorium - great reserves + energy in abundant quantity + ecologically safe nuclear energy. Than coal etc., India can ensure energy security, , by making, Overcoming, better use of, internal aggressions, existing resource like - kudankulam, nuclear protests., , checking power, good relation with, theft+ making, other countries for, people aware, nuclear fuel supply., about saving power., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 9

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Increasing Energy Demand in India, Energy is the most fundamental requirement of every nation as it progresses through the ladder of, development. Of course, once it reaches a relative degree of development, the energy demand becomes, more stable. There is a distinct and categorical correlation between the energy consumption and income of, a nation each reinforcing the other. Every step into progress comes with an addition of demand for energy­, cars, ships and aircraft to move, hospitals to give quality healthcare, education, as it follows the model of e­, connectivity, production of more and better goods, irrigation for better farming., In india, the electricity is being generated from different sources such as using coal, hydro electric, power plants, solar Energy, wind power, Nuclear Fuels etc. But more than 50% of electricity is being, generated from coal. Also in India power generated through nuclear power plants such as kudamkulam,, Tarapur and kakrapur, wind power plants such as Muppandal, Tamil Nadu and recently Gujarat government, started 500MW solar power plant., Apart from this india buys electricity from countries like Bhutan and Nepal. It is easily understood that as, country progresses, its energy needs also increases., In addition to that, Thorium is slightly lighter than Uranium and available in the purer form. It is, believed that the amount of energy contained in the Thorium resources is more than the combined total, energy that is left out in petroleum, coal, other fossil fuels and Uranium. So being largest owner of Thorium, and also being amongst the nations which will see highest surge in power demand with its growth, India has, an opportunity to pursue its existing nuclear program with more focus on R & D using thorium as a long­, term option. Also there is comparatively less impact on ecology when India adapts to Nuclear energy, rather than depending more on coal., So it is clearly understood that India will have more electricity need in 2013 than 2012 and India will, be a electricity surplus country in 2013 provided it better make use of the existing resources and more, focus on overcoming the internal aggressions such as kudankulam Nuclear power plant and by maintaining, good relationship with other nations because India is more dependent on other countries like France, US,, Germany, Australia for the nuclear fuel. In India, power theft is a very big concern because nearly 20­30%, of the electricity is wasted by power theft. So this must be prohibited at any cost. Also government should, make people aware about the necessity of saving power for the future., , 10, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Right to Education (RTE) or Inclusive education (or), Are socially mixed schools solution for educational inequity, , IMP Role, , It forces private schools to reserve 25% of seats, for poor children., For Rendering schools as a site of social Transformation., RTE, , How much successful in getting inclusive education - Proper implementation, is required., , Govt. Schools, , neglect of, education, parameters, , Lack of, investment in, infrastructure, , Private schools, use modern, educational tools, Computers, sports, etc., + Teaching Quality, , This asymmetry is bridged by RTE., Socially mixed Schools, IMPORTANCE, , helps in removing, inequality in our, education system., , to achieve, inclusive, education, , to establish social, equality as poor &, rich children study, together, , Social integration dignifies, is achieved, manual labor, which is still, an aversion, to upper &, middle class., , Conclude - Inclusive education leads to nation building with a bright hope of social equality, & social integration., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 11

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Right to Education or Are Socially mixed schools, solution for educational inequity or Inclusive education, Right to education act plays an important role to enable the poor or disadvantaged children to get a good, quality schooling of eight years. Also, the act mandates aided and non­aided private schools to reserve. 25, percent of the seats for disadvantaged children. thus it is a landmark act that creates an opportunity for, rendering school a site of social transformation., But now, the question arises will the act present a real possibility for building up inclusive and socially, mixed schools. while these is no guarante for inevitable progress, there is a real possibility here. As government, and municipal schools have a long history of neglect and lack of investment in infrastructure , while affluent, private schools use the most modern educational tools and teaching methods. It is worth pointing that the, RTE rules have provisions to help bridge this asymmetry. More over , the act enables the monitoring of the, implementation of law through national commission for the protection of child rights., Above all, the right to education to poor children can help to remove inequality in our education, system and achieve the inclusive education. the presence of less privileged children in school and their, active participation in school activities could actually be part of the "Solution" toward "Social inequality"., Now, we can say that despite of diversities that define indian society , the socially mixed schools can, play a vital role in achieving social integration as well as educational equity in Indian schools. Also, a school, with children from different social and occupational groups could provide an antidote to a still strong aversions, to manual labour among the upper and middle classes, and a belief in the inferiority of manual occupations, Thus, it is obvious that society mixed schools not only help in achieving inclusive education but can, also establish social equality and dignity of manual labour in indian society also RTE act has the potential to, create a generation of Indians who are equipped to participate in nation building irrespective of their social, status. Thus, socially mixed schools are a great reform measure for Indian schools., , AN ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED, , Whatsapp, , 12, , Dharmendra Kumar

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CENSORSHIP ON NETWORKING WEBSITE, Networking Websites - Social websites (Virtual world), (Face book / twitters etc.), All meet virtually / talk / discuss / comment, about every aspect of human life, Whole world to talk to - gives freedom to everyone to, express., Is Censorship Justified ?, Present scenario - Every Public act / Govt. / ideas are evaluated Publically on these, website - Not ethically good but practically necessary. Makes, the people / Govt. more responsible about their acts publically., So,, of Censorship - Declined to a right of speech / right of life / violation of fundamental, rights., Democracy is Violated, but Censor - Necessary, Since it is used worldwide, by all - rich / poor / old / young / sensitive / harsh male / female., , A close look / censor of posts, on these websites is needed., , A lot of illegitimate posts are, also on these websites which, should not be publicly worse., i.e., If an illegitimate poster is, banned on physical walls, then, why not ban. on these websites., , But, Censhorship is necessary - as mentioned earlier but care must be taken, - originality / facts don't get lost., either freedom of expression, 'Excess of everything is bad"., or censorship., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 13

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Censorship on Networking website, Networking website a place where all meet virtually and talk, discuss, comment about almost everything a, human kind talk about. Networking website have undergone a drastic change in terms of personality as well, as soul from the times they have been introduced. Well this is wonderful as well as ironical that a mere, website being given attributes as personality and soul. But this is the practical picture of networking website, in the market today., Networking website have laid down the platform which can be used for arrival and departure of, anyone's train. In simpler words, we have the whole world to talk to, discuss with, question on, appreciate,, change, know of and what not on these networking website., This was the gist of networking websites. Now the concern is to discuss and justify/ question the, censorship on networking websites. To everyone's surprise, censorship on networking websites does exist, since the time they were introduced but not in the terms of what it is for news today. Censorship of these, website is strongly necessitated for it is used world widely by all people be them, young, old, rich, poor, male,, female, sensitive, harsh, all in all by a variety of people. As per a survey made by an American newspaper,, if the posts of these websites are not closely watched and censored as per need arises, there shall be, thousands of illegitimates posts on the walls of these websites which are not supposed to be there publicly, similar to the banning of illegitimate poster on the physical walls., To present situation condemning publicly the acts of people / group of people/govt though not ethically, good but practically necessary. Unless they shall know that are wrong, they are bound to be wrong in future, as well. Today is the era when you forbid a thing and you have to explain the whole world around your that, very action. Besides, people are determined to know that if found guilty of hiding one's selfish deeds behind, that there will be a mass condemn for that., The censorship in news right now was very much similar to the case where you are declined to the, right of speech and right to life as well. If in a DEMOCRATIC country, there is such a violation of fundamental, rights and people have no say, the downfall can be easily foreseen. However coming back to censorship on, networking websites in general, as mentioned earlier that it is necessary. But the care must be taken that, originality and facts don't get lost during this fragmentation. It can create revolution in its own way, it should, be allowed to. Because change in itself is generally a betterment. To ensure its a betterment, yes there, should be censorship., All in all, 'EXCESS OF EVERYTHING is BAD', then it is either censorship or freedom of speech., Hoping to have both be in sync., , 14, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Environmental impacts on economic development, or Effects of climate change on Indian Economy, Economy, , Environment, , Interdependent / Need each other., Development ignores Environment, Environmental Degradation, Floods / Droughts / Monsoon /, Imbalance, , Development is a double-edged Sword, Industrial Revolution, , Damage Economies, , Industrial Development, , National, Local, Regional, , Modern Industries, (Power / Production / Science & Technology - Revolution), Environmental Degradation, Marine, - Pollution, Land, , acid rain ozone depletion, GLOBAL WARMING, , atmospheric, , -, , GHG - CO2, - N 2O, Deforestation, Desertification, - NH4, Hazardous wastes, - Fluorinated gases, Climate change / Biodivessity decline, , Adverse environmental Conditions Leads to, , Developmental Challenges, , Institutional failures, , eg. recent blackout in North India., - Warm weather, - Monsoon Failure, - Hydroelectric Power shortage, - absence of grid discipline., Social + Economic Inequalites, Since poor suffers most., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 15

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How to maintain balance between Economic development and environment, , Climate change policies, , Sustainable development, , India : National action, plan on climate change, , "Climate Resilience" into, Decision Making, , Convergence of, Capacity to respond, effectively to climate change., , Economic development, Thus,"Green Development", = 'It will allow future, generations to have a, quality of Life.", , Social, equity, , Environmental, Protection, , Thus, adopting Green Development, , Safeguard, the economy, from climate, shocks, , Protect the, poorest, , Provide balance between, economy & environment, , increased awareness / technological innovation towards, cleaner & greener economic development., , SUSTAINABALiTY Can be achieved., , AN ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED, , 16, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Environmental impacts on economic development, OR Effects of climate change on Indian Economy, Environment and economy are interdependent and need each other. Development that ignores its impact on, the environment will destroy the environment that sustains life forms. Today, adverse weather conditions, around the world, such as floods in china, the changing pattern of the monsoons in India, devastating, droughts in U.S. and resulting damage to local, national and regional economies reminds us that climate, change is an issue of profound importance for economic development., Economic development can be traced back to the industrial revolution and to the industrial development, in the modern world. It has led to a revolution in the field of production. Power, science and technology. but, along with these benefits development has also bought the bad effects of environmental degradation thus, development may be defined as a double ­ edged sword, which has for reaching effects on the environment, . The ill effects of development are atmospheric pollution, marine pollution decertification , deforestation ,, Hazardous wastes, climate change, and decline in biodivessity also, It has led to acid rain, global warming,, ozone depletion due to increase of green house gases (Carbon­di­oxide, Nitrogen oxides, fluorinated, hydrocarbons etc.) in the atmosphere., In turn, these adverse environmental conditions are resulting in developmental challenges and, institutional failures. For instance, the blackouts that recently disrupted power supply of north India are due, to increase in demand because of warm weather, shortages in hydroelectric power, failure of the monsoon, and the absence of grid discipline Also, climate change conjoins with deep social & economic inequalities, since the poor suffers most in any disaster., Thus, to maintain a balance between economy and environment it is essential that climate change, policies should be given importance in every developmental activities also, the need of the hour is "Sustainable, development" which will allow all future generations to have a potential average quality of life that is at least, as high as that which is being enjoyed by the current generation. Sustainable development means convergence, between the three pillars i.e., economic development, social equity and environmental protection., In accordance with it India, has also provided a guided national climate policy in 2008 known as, "National Action plan on climate change. Aslo to decrease emissions of harmful gases we should incorporate, increasing climate resilience into decision­making. Climate resilience refers to the capacity to respond, effectively to climate change. This would safeguard the economy from climate shocks and also protect the, poorest and most vulnerable. In agriculture, phase out producer subsidies for fertilizers, which reduce sustain, ability and increase emissions. Also, present system of tube will agriculture promotes technological as well, as institutional pressures by forcing crises in the electricity sector, reducing availability of ground water for, emergencies and increasing emissions. Thus, we find that although there is inverse relationship between, development and economy the developing countries of today have a unique opportunity to preserve the, environment by adopting methods of sustainable development. Also they can avoid some mistakes from, earlier growth experiences. Now, with increased awareness of environmental hazards and the development, of new technologies in recent years that are cleaner than ever before, we can hope that balance between, economy & development might be achieved., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 17

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Honour killing in India, , 7, , Honour / Honor (US) killing = Customary killing, murder of a family member / social group by other members due to, belief that victim has brought dishonor to the family / Community., , mostly against women / girls., Honour Killing, Heinous crime, marriage between same gotra, " DISHONOUR" due to, marriage outside the caste., , Honour killing, "Girl + son-in-law, killed", , Mental / physical harassment of victim., Different from dowry deaths, Mostly women Commits suicide, "Mental killing", , Honour killing : Reasons., Sociologist, , "Rigid Indian Caste system", Mentality of people - marriage between same gotra prohibited, Rural + Urban areas., , Solution, awareness, about removal, of caste system., , 18, , Mentality of people should be changed, Parents should accept their children is wishes regarding marriage, as it is they who have to lead a life with their partners., Strict Laws be needed., , Dharmendra Kumar

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Honour killing in India, An honour killing or honour killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a member of a family or, social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community), that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. honour killing are directed mostly, against women and girls.The perceived dishonour is normally the result of one of the following behaviors,or, the suspicion of such behaviors., Recently , there has been a spate of honour killings in the country and this has led the government to, decide what laws should be put in place to stop this heinous crime. Also whether the hindu marriage Act, should be reformed or not is being debated. So what is the definition of honour killing and what leads families, to commit this heinous crime so that they can protect their family honour ? Is this practice prevalent only in, India or is it prevalent in other parts of the world also ? What are the misconceptions regarding honour killing, and what are the solutions to stop this crime from spreading ? These are the questions that .... In my opinion, honour killing is defined as a death that is awarded to a woman of the family for marrying against the, parent's wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying withing the same gotra outside, one's caste or marrying a cousin from a different caste. Honour killing is different from the dowry deaths, that are also a very common practice in India as, in the case of dowry deaths,the perpetrators of that action, claim that they have not been given enough material rewards for accepting the woman into the family. In, that case there is a lot of harassment from the in­laws and more times than one, it has been noted that the, wife commits suicide rather than being killed by the in­laws, though it has to be said that she has been, mentally killed, if not physically., Now, there are various reasons why people or family members decide to kill the daughter in the name, of preserving their family honour. The most obvious reason for this practice to continue in India, at a much, faster and almost daily basis, is because of the fact that the caste system continues to be at its rigid best and, because people from the rural areas refuse to change their attitude to marriage. According to them, if any, daughter dares to disobey her parents on the issue of marriage and decides to marry a man of her wishes but, from another gotra or outside her caste, it would bring disrepute to the family honour and hence they decide, to give the ultimate sentence, that is death, to the daughter. Now as has become the norm, the son­in­law is, killed as well. Sociologists believe that the reason why honour 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 is them, commit this heinous crime. The other reason 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 honour killings is because the formal governance has not been able to reach the, rural areas and as a result. Thus, this practices continues though it should have been removed by now., There are various misconceptions regarding the practice of honour killing. The first misconception, about honour 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 what we cannot isolate honour 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., What can we do 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., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 19

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8, Quote:- 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. - J.L. Nehru., Status of women : Multidimensional changes, Pre-vedic period, , Post - vedic /, Medieval period, , 20th century &, Modern Era, , high status, No restrictions, , again emerging strongly, , "PARIAH", , Golden era Scholars / diligent/, politician etc., No gender discrimination., , Social restrictions, Muslim invasions led, to benighted customs, - Sati Pratha, Purda,, Child marriage, ban, on widow remarriage., , Social Reformers, - Raja Ram Mohan, Roy, I.C. vidyasagar etc., women empowerment, , feminine form - "Bharat Mata"., Today - India, , Imp. govt. posts / corporate / Professional, field - women work.., Some social evils, , Dowry System, Female infanticide,, domestic violence against women., Gender discrimination, Social, , Educational, , Economic, Patriarchal Customs / Son Preference., Constitution of India., Domestic violence act, Today - India, National Commission on women., Women Reservation bill in Parliament, - 24 Jan - National Girl child day. + thus - General., 20, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Rural areas, , Thus - General awareness about Human, Rights for Female, , Education, health, , Urban areas, , Career, , Women Empowerment., , Rebuild the society, , Developed Nation, , Vivekananda - Countries & Nations which do not respect, women have never become great nor will, ever be in future., , AN ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED, , Whatsapp, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 21

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Status of women (or) Women Empowerment, "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., Status of women has undergone multidimensional changes with the passage of time. strikingly in an, alternate fashion. They enjoyed a revered status in pre­vedic period, as pariah during post­vedic/medieval, period and again emerged strongly in the twentieth century which is still on its journey to be completed., Pre­vedic period was golden era for the women because at that time they were devoid of any sort of, restrictions or benighted customs, they were scholars, diligent, politician, etc, without being discriminated on, the gender basis, however, some non­social impediments started arousing by the end of pre­vedic period and, at the inception of post­vedic period., The first­most accused has been claimed to be the doctrine of "Manusmriti" which advocated the deprived and, jeopardized living for the women followed by the Islamic invasion of Babur and the mughal empire who further, added the suppression of women's rights in the society. The benighted customs like sati, child marriage, ban on, widow remarriage, Devdassis, purdah, etc, were quite prevalent in the medieval period., The deterioration of women's status persisted and remained isolated for a long time when social reformers, started campaigning for their social upliftment during the British Rule. Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar chandra, Vidya Sagar, Jyotirao Phule, were the names of such social reformers who made strong contributions in, breaking the shackles of static and prevalent customs responsible for the deterioration of women's status in the, society and further incepted the doctrine for their empowerment and reformation to set their status not less, than any other human species., In india, today, women appear to rule the roost. India as a nation is revered in a feminine from i.e. 'the, Bharat Mata', the first citizen of our country presently is a women, 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 etc. 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 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 well­being., 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. 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. 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 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 24th January as the national girl child day., 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 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"., 22, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Black Money in India, Black money is cash earned from underground economic activity. It is earned through illegal activity and, as, such, is not taxed. Recipients of black money must hide it, spend it only in the underground economy, or, attempt to give it the acceptance of legitimacy through illegal money laundering. The very possible sources, of black money include drug trafficking, weapons trading, terrorism, and prostitution, selling counterfeit or, stolen goods and selling pirated versions of copyrighted items such as software and musical recordings. The, emergence of the black sector or black economy started during the Second World War when due to shortages, experienced in certain essential goods, controls and rationing had to be introduced. In the post­independence, period, the magnitude of the black sector has grown and proliferated to such an extent that it has begun to, play a dominant role in moulding state policies, in changing the structure and composition of output, in, promoting a class which derives its maximum source of power from black money. The conspicuous, consumption of the new “black” rich, their vulgar display of pomp and opulence, their unlimited accessibility, to finance, their nest­eggs in various places and countries, their influence in important places, all these are, now common knowledge., There are several factors responsible for the generation of black money. The first and the foremost is, individuals expect a higher net rate of return than the legally permissible rate of return. Parting away from, the hard earned money is a disheartening factor which leads to the evasion of tax and hence the black, money. The most grueling factor is the donation given to the political parties by the business houses. Ever, since the government decided to ban donations to political parties in 1968, it promoted businessman to fund, political parties, especially the ruling party, with the help of black money. Ostensibly, this decision was taken, to reduce the influence of big business on the electoral process, but in practice what happened was precisely, the opposite. Businessmen everywhere have by now learnt that they should pay a certain charge out of the, black money to the offers of political parties and then be sure that the political leaders will only bark but not, bite. Whereas the government has an armor­y of tax laws pertaining to income tax, sales tax, stamp duties,, excise duty etc, their enforcement is very weak due to widespread corruption in these departments., Transparency International (IT) has been preparing Corruption Perception Index (CPI). It was noted, that India’s rank in CPI slipped to 71 among 102 countries surveyed. A close perusal of the data reveals that, India has been at the bottom and ranked as a highly corrupt country and that no serious effort has been made, by the government to improve its position in CPI. In short corruption raises the cost of development; it, breeds inefficiency in departments to produce inferior quality of goods­ roads, water works, substandard, houses built by the PWD, etc. it also reduces the realization in the form of tax revenue to the government, and thus it lowers the capacity of the government and thus it lowers the capacity of the government to, reduce budget deficits. It is equally true that corruption creates black or parallel economy, but black money, has its own dynamism to perpetuate corruption., In 1997­98 while presenting the budget Mr. P. Chidambaram announced a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme, (VDS). The scheme is very simple. Irrespective of the year or nature of the source of funds, the amount, disclosed either as cash, securities or assets, whether held in India or abroad would be charged to tax at 30, percent for individuals and 35 percent for corporations. The VDS used both the carrot and the stick to, persuade tax evaders to disclose income., , Cooperative Banks in India, The organizational set up of the cooperative banking system in India is based on the credit needs of, agriculturists. It consists of three tiers for the short­ term and medium­term credit. They are Primary, Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies at the village level, Central Cooperative Banks at the district level, and State Cooperative Banks at the state level. For meeting the long­term credit needs, there are the Land, Development Banks., Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, also known as Agricultural Cooperative Societies, are meant to, develop the spirit of mutual help and cooperation among their members, besides meeting their credit and, other needs. The main objectives of PACS are to provide short­term and medium­term credit, to foster the, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 23

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habit of saving and to distribute fertilizers and seeds, etc. The membership of a PACS is confined to persons, belonging to a village or a group of villages where every person is known to other person. Ten or more, persons of a locality can form a PACS. Any person can become its member by purchasing a minimum, number of shares. The management of PACS is on democratic lines. Each member has the right to cast only, one vote, irrespective of the number of shares held by him. The performance of PACS in the issue of loans, has no doubt been commendable, but they suffer from some serious weaknesses. They have failed to, mobilize deposits and the recovery of loans advanced has been disappointing. The majority of them are, non­viable, and the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and J & K have not taken steps to reorganize them., The Central Cooperative Banks are federations of primary agricultural credit societies in a particular, district. That is why they are also known as District Central Cooperative Banks. They are of two types., One, whose membership is confined to PACS, which is known as Banking Union and such banking unions, exist in Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan,. Two, those having mixed membership, consisting, of both PACS and individuals. Such banks exist in the majority of states in India. The CCBs give credit to, PACS without any security. They also give credit to individual customers on the security of gold, etc. The, CCBs are managed by a Board of Directors who are elected on the principle of one member one vote., CCBs give loans to their PACS to meet their financial needs. Short­term loans are provided for agricultural, operations for a period not exceeding 12 months. The CCBs suffer from a number of weaknesses. There is, the lack of coordination between PACS and CCBs. They lack efficient and sufficient staff to examine the, credit­worthiness of PACS., The State Cooperative Banks are federations of District Central Cooperative Banks. They are Apex, Banks in the three tier cooperative structure in India. Each State has one SCB. The SCBs coordinate the, activities of PACS and CCBs in the state. They also arrange funds for the entire credit structure of the, state. They control the activities of the CCBs and they act as an important link between the Indian money, market and the cooperative sector. A SCB is managed by a General Body which holds its meeting once a, year. It is formed by the representatives of PACS, CCBs and individuals., , E-Banking, E­banking or electronic banking refers to all types of banking transactions performed electronically, without, visiting a brick­and­mortar bank. Terms such as PC banking, internet banking or online banking are sometimes, used synonymously. For customers this means performing actions such as paying bills, checking balances on, their accounts, transferring funds and purchasing financial instruments remotely, using a personal computer., Most high street banks today offer some ­ banking services while still refraining physical offices. Their, clients usually open an account at a physical branch and then use online banking for regular transactions., However, there are also internet­only banks, which do not have any branches customers can go to. In some, cases, such banks offer their services across national borders., Online banking was first introduced in the early 1980s, when four New York Banks­ Citibank, Chase, Manhattan, Chemical and Manufacturers Hanover­ offered home banking services. The systems were, quite difficult to use and did not prove to be very popular., In order to use E­banking, customers need to have access to personal computer and internet connection., For customers, convenience is probably the main advantage because it allows them to access their accounts, whenever they want and perform transactions from the comfort of their home. For banks E­Banking means, lower operating costs because they need fewer branches and staff. But foe customers, it takes time to learn, how to use E­Banking facilities, and more importantly, to trust their bank’s website and stop worrying about, security issues. In June 2009, according to a survey 47% of Americans now bank online. In U.K. it is 30%., In the same survey it was found that E­Banking was more popular among higher income households. In the, Indian economic scenario the newly established private sector and foreign banks have already sharpened, their competitive edge whereas the public sector banks are still trying to mitigate the gap between the, technological penetrations in the rural areas and mounting pressure of competition. The lack of regulatory, 24, , Dharmendra Kumar

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frameworks, trust, security and privacy standards impede progress in implementing E­Banking initiatives on, a larger scale., In India there is a risk of the emergence of a ‘digital divide’ as the poor are excluded from the use of, the internet and so from the financial system. A handful of foreign banks operating in India first offered E­, Banking services to their customers such as ATMs, computerized monthly statements; secure online operations, etc. whereas public sector banks have to deal with the large volumes without the help of technically trained, personnel., The E­banking revolution has fundamentally changed the business of banking by scaling borders and, bringing about new opportunities. It must be noted, however that while E­Banking provides many benefits to, customers and banks it also aggravates traditional banking risks. For the security issues involved in E­, banking their board of directors and senior management should regularly review and approve by aspects of, the security control process. The top management should ensure that their staff members have the relevant, technological expertise to assess potential change in risks. For this, they should accord a high priority to, investment in staff training and technological infrastructure., , Globalisation and Its Impact of India, Globalisation is the process of integrating various economies of the world without any hindrances in the free, flow of goods, services, technology, capital and labour. It is the new buzz world that has dominated the world, since the nineties of the last century with end of the cold war. The advocates of globalization, more especially, from developed countries, limit the definition of globalization to only three components, unhindered trade, flows, capital flows and technology flows. They insist on developing countries to accept their definition of, globalization and conduct the debate on globalization within the parameters set by them. However, several, economists in the developing world believe that this definition is incomplete and in case the ultimate aim of, globalization is to look upon the world as a ‘global’ village, then the fourth component, unrestricted movement, of labour cannot be left out., The reason of its advocacy has many advantages for the economy. Globalization will promote direct, foreign investment and, thus, it enables developing countries to raise capital without any hassle of international, debt. It enables developing countries to make use of technology developed by advanced countries without, investments in Research and Development. It also widens the access of developing countries to export their, produce in the developed countries. In the same manner it enables the consumers of developing countries to, obtain quality consumer goods, especially consumer durable goods, at relatively much lower prices. Last but, not the least it reduces the costs of transport and communication and reduces the tariff as well., India has benefitted a lot during the process of globalization but considering its size of population, South, Korea, Mexico and China have gained much more than what India did. Globalizers advocated the acceptance, of the new strategy of liberalization and globalization on the plea that India will be able to access foreign, markets more efficiently. After seeing the calendar of imports and exports trend in India we came across, the hard reality that foreigners have been able to penetrate the Indian market more effectively than Indians, have been able to access foreign markets., The government of India has taken initiatives to attract FDI inflows in India whereas certain Indian, firms have been undertaking investment projects in other countries. This has resulted in money outflow from, the country leading to FDI outflows. Regarding China, the situation has been very different; they have tried, and kept the outflow at a relatively lower level than India. The employment situation in India has worsened, in the era of globalization. This was largely the consequence of neglect of agriculture and shedding the load, of excess employment in the public sector by imposing a continuous ban on recruitment and not filling up, even the positions vacated by retirement of public sector employers. Cheap imports lead to the closure of a, large number of vulnerable small enterprises; they have adversely affected the unorganized sector as well, as the agriculture. The upshot is that as a consequence of globalization the poor, the asserters and unskilled, workers were the losers, and the rich endowed with capital and human capabilities have been the winners., This is particularly true of employment in firms acting as sub­contractors to Multinational Corporations, (MNC) even in labour intensive industries such as garments and footwear. To protect fundamental rights, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 25

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of the workers, international action is necessary. Developed countries are using globalization to their, advantage., , Inflation in India, Inflation is an increase in the general level of prices in an economy that sustained over a period of time. It, leads to an annual increment in the prices which may be small or gradual, or large and accelerating. In India, the last five decades have seen some sporadic highs and lows occasionally or else the average rate of, inflation has been sticking to somewhere around 7.99 percent., Inflation is part of the normal economic phenomena of any country, but any increase in inflation above a, predetermined level is a cause of concern as it leads to the fall in the purchasing power of the consumers in, the country and worsens the economic, social and political condition in a country. Inflation in India is measured, on the basis of the CPI and WPI which includes the commodities basket consumed by an average consumer., The basket consists of our consumption habit, the need of the poorest in the country. The basket keeps on, being revised seeing the change in the consumption tendency. The weight of the food products in the basket, used to calculate the WPI was reduced last years to 24.3% from 26.9%. In India the method for calculating, inflation, the WPI, is different from the rest of the world. Each week, the wholesale price of a set of 435, goods is calculated by the Indian government but these wholesale prices are much lower as consumer ends, up paying the actual prices., When most of India’s growing population is living close to or below the poverty line it is said that it acts, as a ‘poor man’s tax’. The effect of inflation is amplified when food prices rise, since food consists more, than half of the expenditure of this group., From 1969 until 2010, the average inflation rate in India was 7.99 percent reaching an historical high of, 34.68 percent in September 1974 and a record low of­ 11.31 percent in May of 1976. Going by the current, experience of 5­6 months of double digit inflation as high, it has been traced that nine such episodes has, embarked the economic history of India in the last 56 years. Out of these nine episodes, double digit inflation, lasting beyond a year occurred on five occasions. The most prolonged one lasted for 30 months during, October 1972 to March 1975. The last such high inflation was in the mid 1990s which lasted 15 months, between March 1994 and May 1995., Inflation in India and all around the world is a result of government and central bank (RBI) monetarist, policies of printing money to get economies out of recession. Printing money is not wealth creation. It, actually destroys wealth. It results in capital consumption which reduces the possibilities of higher economic, growth in future. We need to understand that consumption never drives any economy. Economies grow, because of savings, capital accumulation and production. Without production, consumption is impossible., Continuous effort of this can lead in to another great depression in the offing., , Innovative Banking, Public sector banks in India in recent years have been engaged in innovative banking. The RBI has given, them freedom to innovate in the promotion of a variety of financial services such as merchant banking,, leasing, venture capital, mutual funds, factoring, housing, etc. Merchant banking includes such services as, management of public issues, loan syndication, financial and management consultancy, project counseling,, mergers and acquisitions, management of non­resident investments, etc. The credit for starting merchant, banking in India goes to foreign banks like Grind lays Bank, Citibank, etc. At present, a number of public, sector banks are performing merchant banking services which are the subsidiaries of banks. Some of these, are SBI Capital Markets Limited, Bank of Baroda Merchant Bank Division, Can bank ., Financial Services Ltd., All bank Finance Ltd., Union Bank of India Merchant Bank Division, PNB Capital, Services Ltd., BOI Finance Ltd., etc. Leasing is an instrument of corporate finance whereby industries, enter into a contractual arrangement with a leasing company to use an asset (i.e. plant, equipment,, transportation facilities or any other services) in return for rent for an agreed period of time. Leasing, companies also provide finance to industries. Equipment leasing and financial leasing in India have been in, the hands of private companies since 1973. It is only recently with the establishment of merchant banking, 26, , Dharmendra Kumar

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subsidiaries that public sector banks have made their entry into the leasing business. As at the end of June, 1991, there were nine equipment leasing­cum­merchant banking subsidiaries set up by Indian banks. But, they have yet to make a niche for themselves in a very competitive leasing market where about 400 private, leasing companies are operating., Venture capital relates to finance provided to small/ medium business units promoted by firms or individuals, having sound project ideas. These projects involve new technology or products but the promoter lacks, financial resources to promote his project. Venture capital provided by banks or financial institutions imply, equity investment in the initial stages of the company. Financial institutions like ICICI, IDBI, UTI and IFCI, have been the pioneers in promoting venture capital finance in India. Of the banks, SBI Capital Markets, Limited has been in the forefront in providing assistance to industries under its Equity Support and Venture, Capital Schemes. Mutual funds mobilize savings from the public and invest them in different types of securities, in the stock markets and thus help both the investor and the industry. Mutual funds earn interest, dividend, and capital gains from such investments and distribute them to small investors as return. Thus they provide, safety, liquidity and growth to investors. They provide stability to share prices by buying them when they are, falling and selling them when they are rising. They provide safety and income to investors and resources to, entrepreneurs for the growth of industry. The UTI was the first mutual fund set up in India in 1964. In recent, years a number of public sector banks have set up mutual funds as their subsidiaries. These banks are Indian, Bank, Bank of India, SBI, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, etc. The SBI group also launched the India, Magnum Fund in 1989, a maiden offshore fund which was privately placed with institutional investors and, others primarily in the USA., , Recent Trends in Banking System, The Indian banking system after independence has passed through distinct phases of development. During, the first phase stretching up to the nationalization of 14 banks in 1969, Indian banks followed almost tradi­, tional banking with small time innovations. During the second phase beginning from July 1969, the emphasis, had been on the diversification of the banking system in terms of expansion of branches, deposits and ad­, vances on the one hand, and on the other hand on social banking. This phase is still continuing. Simultaneously, the third phase of innovative banking has started which consists of merchant banking, leasing, mutual funds,, venture capital, factoring, housing finance, deposit insurance etc. During the post­nationalization period, In­, dian banks have been assigned the role of catalyst agents for achieving rapid economic growth accompanied, by higher income and removal of poverty. The first step towards realization of this objective was the change, in the style of banking operations from “wholesale” or “elitist” banking to “retail” or “mass” banking. The, phenomenal expansion of bank branches, lead bank scheme, service area approach, advance to priority, sectors, etc. is some of the programs which try to fulfill the goal of social banking., In the post­nationalization period, commercial banks have made tremendous progress in the field of, branch expansion. The branch expansion policy of banks has two main objectives: first, to narrow down, regional imbalances; and second, to provide more banking facilities in rural and semi­urban areas. The RBI, formulates branch licensing and branch expansion policy for the commercial banks, generally for three, years. In June 2003 there were 66,514 bank branches in the country of which 49 percent were in rural areas, as compared with 32.5 percent in June 1969. As a result of rapid pace of branch expansion since 1969, the, average population served per branch office was 65,000 at the time of bank nationalization which came, down to 16,000 as at the end of June 2003. But there are still some inter­state disparities in the spread of, banking, particularly in the Eastern, North­eastern and Central regions., The Lead Bank Scheme was introduced by the Reserve Bank in December 1969 as an adjunct to the, branch expansion program of commercial banks. Its main objective was to ensure the flow of bank credit to, priority sector and to coordinate the activities of the various agencies, such as banks and developmental, agencies of Government at various levels. To assess the impact of credit from banks on the overall economic, development of the rural sector in general and agricultural productivity and production in particular, the RBI, asked the Chief Executives of the public sector banks to carry out field visits in rural areas of different, districts all over the country. They visited 88 districts in 21 States in November 1987. They discussed the, findings of these visits in a seminar convened by the RBI in January 1988 and recommended that the time, was importunate to adopt a system in which each bank could concentrate in a specified area to develop, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 27

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productive lending. The LAB (Local Area Bank) scheme owes its origin to the complaints of many State, governments that public sector banks were extorting the rural areas of all their money. The aim is to set up, LABs in the private sector in district towns to cater to the credit needs of the local people and to provide, efficient and competitive financial intermediation services in their area of operation. These banks will promote, rural savings and provide credit to viable economic activities in local areas. They are expected to bridge the, gaps in credit availability and enhance the institutional credit framework in rural and semi­urban areas., , Regional Rural Banks and Nabard, “In India four sets of cooperative credit institutions have been providing farm credit. These have been the, Primary Agricultural Societies and other primary level farm credit societies and Land Development Banks, which deal directly with the farm­borrowers. There are also State Cooperative banks and Central Cooperative, Banks which extend only indirect finance. Both before and after Independence, these institutions failed to, meet the farm credit requirements, and the farmers had to depend primarily on the moneylenders. The, involvement of commercial banks in rural banking began with the nationalization of Imperial Bank of India, into State Bank of India in 1955. The SBI started providing finance to agriculture through cooperative banks,, land mortgage banks and cooperative processing and marketing societies in 1956., The idea of establishing Regional Rural Banks was mooted in the Twenty Point Economic Programme, of July 1975 to cater to the credit needs of rural people. The Government of India appointed the Narasimham, Committee in July 1975 to set up the new institution in order to provide employment to the rural educated, youth and to bring down the cost of rural banks by recruiting their staff on the same scale of pay and, allowances as for the employees of State Government or local bodies. The major objectives of the RRBs, are to develop the rural economy by providing credit and other facilities for agriculture, trade, commerce,, industry and other productive activities in the rural areas, particularly to the small and marginal farmers,, agricultural laborers, artisans and small entrepreneurs. A Regional Rural Bank is sponsored by a commercial, bank. For this purpose, the sponsor bank requests the Central Government which issues a notification after, consulting the concerned State Government. Normally, a RRB covers one district but it is also permitted to, open its branches in other districts. So far the maximum coverage has been eight districts, as in the case of, Manipur Regional Rural Bank which covers the entire State of Manipur., The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) was established on 12 July, 1982 by the Government of India by merging the Agricultural Credit Department of the RBI, the Agricultural, Refinance and Development Corporation, the National Agricultural Credit Fund and the National Agricultural, Credit Fund of the RBI. The NABARD is an apex development bank which provides help for agricultural, and rural development. Its objectives are to give undivided attention and purposeful direction to integrated, rural development, to act as a centre piece for the entire rural credit system at the national level and a, provider of supplemental funding to rural credit institutions. The functions of NABARD have been divided, into three categories. They are Credit Distribution, Development and Regulatory. It provides short term, credit to State Cooperative Banks, Regional Rural Banks, and other financial institutions approved by the, RBI. The NABARD coordinates the rural credit institutions and takes measures towards institution building, to improve the capacity of credit delivery system. It also inspects the working of RRBs and cooperative, banks of all types except the primary cooperative banks., , Retail Banking, Retail banking refers to provision of banking services of individuals and small business where the financial, institutions are dealing with large number of low value transactions. This is in contrast to wholesale banking, where the customers are large, often multinational companies, governments and government enterprise, and, the financial institution deal in small numbers of high value transactions. The concept is not new to banks but, is now viewed as an important and attractive market segment that offers opportunities for growth and, profits. Retail banking and retail lending are often used as synonymous but in fact, the later is just the part of, retail banking. In retail banking all the needs of individual customers are taken care of in well­integrated, manner., Banks are among the main participants of the financial system in India. Banking offers several facilities, 28, , Dharmendra Kumar

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and opportunities. Banks in India were started on the British pattern in the beginning of the 19th century; the, East India Company established 3 banks, The Bank of Bengal, The Bank of Bombay and The Bank of, Madras. These three banks were known as presidency banks. In 1920 these three banks were amalgamated, and The Imperial Bank of India was formed. In those days, all the banks were joint banks and a large, number of them were small and weak. At the time of the 2nd world about 1500 joint stock banks were, operating in India out of which 1400 were non­ scheduled banks. Bad and dishonest management managed, quite a few of them and there were a number of bank failures. Hence the government had to step in and the, banking company’s Act was enacted which led to the elimination of the weak banks that were not in a, position to fulfill the various requirements of the Act. Today banks are broadly classified into two groups, namely, scheduled banks and nonscheduled banks. Retail banking has immense opportunities in a growing, economy like India. As the growth story gets unfolded in India, retail banking is going to emerge a major, driver. The rise of Indian middle class is an important contributory factor in this regard. The percentage of, middle to high­income Indians households is expected to continue rising. The younger population not only, wields increasing purchasing power, but as far as acquiring personal debt is concerned, they are perhaps, more comfortable than previous generations., Retail banking calls for huge investments in technology. Whether it is setting up of a customer relationship, management system or establishing loan process automation or providing anytime, anywhere convenience, to the vast number of customers or establishing channel/product/customer profitability, technology plays a, pivotal role., It is of utmost importance that the culture and practices of an institution support its stated goals. Having, decided to take a plunge into retail banking, banks need to have a well defined business strategy. This would, mean a story commitment at all levels, intensive training of the rank and file, putting in place a proper, incentive scheme, etc., As of now, action that is taking place on the retail front is by and large confined to metros and cities., There is still a vast market available in rural India, which remains to be trapped. Multinational corporations,, as manufacturers and distributors, have already taken the lead in showing the Way by coming out with, exquisite products, packaging and promotions, keeping the rural customer in mind., , Role of Foreign Aid in Indian Economic Development, The concept of foreign aid developed in the growing economies when the resources available to the countries, were not enough to support the sustainable development required to develop the economical, social,, technological, medical, banking and educational health of the countries. If a backward and underdeveloped, country is interested in rapid economic development, it will have to import machinery, technical knowhow,, spare parts and even raw materials. Most countries of the world which embarked on the road to economic, development had to depend on foreign capital to some extent. The degree of dependence, however, varied, with the extent to which domestic resources could be mobilized, the state of the domestic economy in, respect of technical progress, the attitude of the respective governments etc. Sometimes it may be difficult, to mobilize domestic savings for the financing of projects that are badly needed for economic development., In the early stages of development, the capital market is itself underdeveloped. During the period in which, the capital market is in the process of development, foreign capital is essential as a temporary measure., Foreign capital can enter India in the form of direct investments. In the recent past we have different, foreign collaborations which are another form of foreign capital. There are three types of foreign collaborations­, joint participation between private parties, between foreign firms and Indian government and between foreign, governments and Indian governments. Since 1946, the World Bank and its affiliates have been important, suppliers of capital to India. International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the, World Bank have been the major sources of external assistance to India in recent years. India has also been, tapping export credit agencies like the US Exim Bank, the Japanese Exim Bank, etc. to obtain a major, portion of the commercial borrowing from the capital market. But there are various difficulties and constraints, that arise as a result of foreign aid. The most serious of these problems is the heavy and continuing dependence, of India on other countries, especially the USA., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 29

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India has not been able to resist the pressure these donor countries have been exerting on the economic, policies of India, not to speak of her foreign policy. The US government used stoppage of aid as a threat to, the Indian government in the Indo­Pakistan conflict in December 1971. Forcing India to accept Dunkel, proposals is the most recent onslaught on USA on the Indian government., The extent to which foreign aid can contribute to the development of the productive capacity of the, country depends on the judicious use of foreign aid; the effort and the total disposal resources of the recipient, country. Besides, foreign aid creates growth potential far beyond the point where it is applied. Foreign aid, has played an important role in the creation of capacity and expansion of the steel industry in India. Today, India has flexed his muscles of the petro­chemical and electronics industries only because of the foreign aid, provided by West Germany, USSR and UK., But recently a controversy has been going on in the country that the figures about the magnitude of, external debt provided in the official economic surveys of the government of India varied significantly from, the figures provided by the World Bank Debt Tables. There was also a marked difference between the, figures compiled by the GOI and the RBI as well. The data prior to 1988­89 took into account only medium, and long­term loans and excluded short­term loans. Logic, therefore, demands that such loans are also, international liability and country has to pay interest on short­term deposits no less than on long­term ones so, it should be taken into account and work out on the differences., , Money Power in Politics, None of the Indian political parties, including the Congress Party is in a position to risk a loss of votes. And, yet there are scattered all over the country sizeable pockets of voters who can turn the scale in the elections., These pockets are dominated by powerful or important men of local influence. Many of such men who are, local bosses and who are in the good books of one party or the other are criminally self­seeking. And yet, they are protected by the party seated in power through their help. One of these local bosses was openly, carrying on illicit distillation and making heaps of money by illegal sale of liquor. A raid party headed by an, excise officer who went to arrest him was mercilessly beaten up and the government car carrying the party, irreparably damaged by this hired goondas. But nothing was done to him because he had a few thousand, votes at his command. Such men rule our politics from behind the scene., Another such outlaw was the leader of a gang of dacoits and murderers. He had several thousand, votes and voters under his influence. His men robbed a government official whom they threatened to kill., The Home Minister of the State knew all about the case, but it was hushed up. Politics by the backdoor, again., A more intriguing, not less distressing, case of politics by the backdoor is of those MA or Law students, who feel in the closing years of their University life that no jobs or careers are likely to come their way. They, become student leaders and student politicians and are in league with one opposition party or the other. The, leaders of these parties hold out to them vague hopes of election to legislatures or of jobs if and when they, would come into power. Some teachers also fall in leagues with opposition parties. These student leaders, with secret support of disgruntled teachers are encouraged by the opposition parties to create troubles in, schools, colleges and universities resulting in untold harm to students and damage to public property. In most, instances it is not a case of agitation for a demand, but a case of demand for an agitation. All this so that, some students may get a chance of entering politics by clandestine method., Certain foreign imperialist power are also interested in interfering with Indian politics surreptitiously. It, is high time that the Indian public should remember that there are Indian political parties with high­sounding, claims for protecting Hindu interests and Hindu culture, Muslim interest and Muslim culture. These parties, are given huge sums of money for fomenting Hindu­Muslim riots, and keeping up communal tension, for, creating language riots, for keeping the people’s attention narrowed down to kathas and kirtans, milads, and urses and for organising and holding havens and yajnas resulting in the waste of crores of rupees., Millions of rupees are offered by these foreign powers to buy and indirectly control our universities, our, legislature and even our ministers. This is another danger to politics which also works stealthily by the, backdoor. We have to be on our guard not only against politics by the front door but also against politics by, the backdoor., 30, , Dharmendra Kumar

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IF I Were A Millionaire?, Is it safe to trust a young person who is still teenager with a million rupees? It is true Akbar the Great, ascended the throne when he was only about thirteen years old; and William Pitt became Prime Minister of, England when he was only about twenty three years; and in either case the picture was that of kingdom, trusted to a school­boy’s care. Both Akbar and Pitt succeeded in carrying out the tasks entrusted to them., But they are exceptional instances. Generally speaking a teenager must have old head on young shoulders, in order to make sensible use of such a huge sum of money as ten lakhs of rupees. I should be happy to own, such a tempting amount of money and yet I would be a little nervous and afraid to have this huge sum of, money. It will put to test all my sense of right and wrong, of propriety and impropriety., I would, in the first instance, safely invest this amount in State Bank of India or in Government securities., I would give myself the best education which the income from this amount will enable me to have. I would, buy the best dictionaries, encyclopedias, reference books, books of general knowledge maps and atlases,, etc. Then I would buy about five hundred famous books of the world or their reliable English translations. I, would thus become well supplied and well equipped for the pursuit of higher studies. Of course I would also, buy a good number of purely entertaining books for light reading., I would persuade the most learned and best teacher of a university or a degree college either to live, with me or let me live with him or I shall pay him nearly one thousand rupees a month’s so that under his care, and as a result of his constant companionship my mind and knowledge might grow., Having completed my academic education, I propose to receive, preferably in a foreign country, the, best training as a printer and publisher. I would, then, settle down finally as a publisher of high class general, books of literature in the mother tongue., I would select the ablest and the best writers who would translate the best foreign books into one or, more Indian languages and I would pay them handsomely. I will also publish in the Indian languages original, books of a high quality. I would include in my scheme the publication of healthy popular literature at cheap, prices., Publication is at present in the hands of merely commercial minded people, with a few rare exceptions., I wish to be one of these rare exceptions. Rome was not built in a day, nor can a great publishing house be, built in a day or even in a lifetime. So I will have a board of directors who will continue the world of my, publishing house long after I am no more. Thus within a century or so, my dream, that my publishing house, may with the original working capital of rupees ten lakhs be able to give India about ten or twenty thousand, books with solid and substantial cultural value, would come true. This is my idea of leading a useful and, happy life and of serving my countrymen if I am lucky enough to come into big money., There can be other likely schemes, which either to change my mind or to plan and think on different, lines, I might put through. I can only mention them without enlarging on them: co­operative farming and, agriculture, opening and running a better school or college than the average Indian school or college,, scholarships to really promising Indian students for study and training abroad, providing medical aid and, hospitals in the remote parts of India, founding a factory for the manufacture of news print in India, thus, saving foreign exchange, floating a company for the manufacture of cheap motor cars. These are alternative, schemes. And given a capital of ten lakh rupees plus initiative and resourcefulness any one of these schemes, can be made to yield excellent results. But I must repeat that while there are ways and ways of putting a, million rupees to fruitful use, the scheme nearest to my heart is to establish a publishing house for the spread, of knowledge and healthy literature. Let others who have the necessary capital do the other jobs. One man,, one job., , City Life versus Village Life, A thousand years ago the number of cities in India was much less than their number today. With the coming, of the Muslims the number of our cities began to multiply, because the Muslims brought with them many arts, and crafts which could best flourish in cities. Later, the coming of the English resulted in the growth of such, cities as Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Karachi, Ahmedabad on the plains of India. And on the hills were built, summer capitals such as Simla, Nainital, Darjeeling, Ooty and other hill stations like Mussooree, Shillong,, Dalhousie, etc., Still seventy­five per cent of our countrymen live in villages. During the Hindu and Muslim periods of, Indian history village life in India was much happier than during the British period. Poverty took the place of, prosperity. Many village industries languished and died, such as spinning, weaving, basket­making, mattress­, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 31

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making, etc. Irrigation was woefully neglected. Litigation increased at an alarming rate. Benevolent landlordism, gave place to selfish, cruel and exploiting landlordism. Village life is still suffering from the evil effects of the, British period., But apart from the policies and practices of rulers and governments village life has its advantages and, disadvantages. On the credit side may be mentioned the nearness to and the direct contact with nature, which villagers enjoy. Village life is free from the hustle and bustle of city life. The life of most villagers has, a certain simplicity and innocence rarely to be found in the lives of city­dwellers. On the debit side we can, mention the fact that the mental horizon of the villager is very limited. He is indifferent to national and, international events. His mind is half asleep all the while. His interests are narrow. He can hardly free, himself from ignorance, superstition and the tyranny of custom. Personality cannot be developed if one has, to live all one’s life in a village., City life, likewise, has its good and bad points. City people are mentally more alert and alive than village, people. There is more colour and variety in city life. City people respond and react to events in the country, and the world outside. The study of science, knowledge of engineering and technology, even agricultural, research, knowledge of administration at all levels, higher studies in all branches of knowledge are available, in cities rather than in the villages. There are more entertainments for city people than for village people. But, city dwellers have to pay a price for these advantages. Their contact with earth and with nature is insufficient., The simplicity and the contentment of village people is not to be found among city dwellers. Often haste,, hurry, restlessness, nervous strain, loneliness, a feeling of being ill at ease mark the life of city dwellers., There is ample room for improving both our city life and our village life., , The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword, This reminds us of another saying: “Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war”. War forms less, than one hundredth part of history. The Mahabharata was did not last long. But the epic the Mahabharata,, which is a gift to mankind of the pen and not of the sword, has been the source of inspiration and guidance, to millions of people throughout the ages., Every government has an army and a police force. But these do not mould or influence public opinion,, which is mightier than the army and the police force. And public opinion gathers force and direction through, the newspaper and through books. War itself is backed up by propaganda campaigns. The main instrument, of war campaign is the press., Bernard Shaw very highly praised Trotsky’s History of Russian Revolution, in the course of which,, he said, “any fool could make history but only a few can write history”. It is reported that during Hitler’s, attack on Russia, sometime the Russians had to retreat in haste leaving their kits behind. In those kits the, Germans found not cheap literature, but high class books. This discovery caused the German general to say, that it would be impossible to conquer these people. This proves that the pen lends its might even to the, sword., Uncle Tom’s Cabin resulted in the abolition of slavery. Many works of Dickens caused several cruel, practices to be abolished. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Ananda Math contains the great “Bande Mataram”, song, which shook India from end to end and which is one of our national anthems. The French Revolution, owed its inspiration to the writings of Rousseau and Voltaire. Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution,, was inspired by Marx’s Capital. During the freedom struggle in­lndia, Mahatma Gandhi’s articles were a, force to reckon with. Who remembers today Napoleon’s Russian campaign? But Tolstoy’s immortal novel, War and Peace, and Hardy’s drama, The Dynasts move and inspire millions. Homer’s epics are far greater, than the events of the Trojan War., Englishmen and Scotsmen fought many border wars for centuries. Even the intervals of truce between, them were periods of armed neutrality. The poems and novels of Sir Walter Scott helped to unite the English, and Scots into one nation. In India many Sanskrit books and Tulsi Das’s Rama Charit Manasa united the, Vaishnavites and the Shaivites. It should be clear by now that the fores and armies of peace led by thinkers, and writers are far mightier than the forces and armies of war led by the sword. We can fittingly conclude, this essay with the following lines of an English poet, yet we are the makers and shakers Of the world, forever it seems. Wars are fought and forgotten. Literature is written and remembered for ever., 32, , Dharmendra Kumar

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United We Stand, Divided We Fall, Beliefs are not harmless things. Beliefs can be fatal. Some fifteen per cent influential and powerful Hindus, believed that eighty­five per cent Hindus were Shudras, untouchables and chandals. What was the result?, Living under a false sense of security these handful of Hindus represented by Brahmans and Kshatriyas, themselves became the most degraded and degenerate classes of Hindus. The rest of the down­trodden and, exploited Hindus had already lost their manhood. So when a handful of Muslims invaded India the whole, Hindudom fell at their feet. This was the fatal consequence of belief in the Varnashrama system and the, caste system., It is a fatal belief for any people and any government to think that because they are nearly eighty­five, or eighty­six per cent of a country’s population and because they have political power, economic power and, military power, they can crush and keep under subjection in a state of humiliation or drive out the, apparently helpless minority of the fifteen per cent of the population. History has an account to settle with, the Hindus and the Muslims of India and of Pakistan. How that account can be settled will depend on the, manner and the spirit in which the minorities are treated by the majority community, both in India and in, Pakistan., Political and other organisations which do not believe in the equality of all Indians and in progressive, national integration will first of all break up Hindu unity itself. Look at the disorder and bloodshed caused by the, attempt to impose Hindi on South India. Hindu communal political parties, though they hide themselves behind, nationalistic names and banners, are in reality enemies of Hindus themselves belonging to the poorer classes., That is to say they are enemies to ninety per cent of Hindus. Posing themselves as champions of Hindu, interests, they are attempting to support the Varnashrama system and the caste system, which have proved, fatal not only for the poorer Hindus but for the whole of India as mentioned at the outset of this essay., Unity of the Indian people is indivisible. The idea of Hindu supremacy or Hindu Rashtra will not result, in Indian unity. It­will make about more than fifteen crores Indians sworn enemies of India. It will undermine, or destroy the loyalty of Muslims in the police force in the three wings of the army, in civil services and in, other walks of life. It will blow up India. This belief is also giving a chance to foreign imperialist powers to, play off Hindus against Muslims, to bring about subversion, sabotage and disorder throughout India, to, weaken and undermine our Five­ year Plans, to bribe and buy our legislators and ministers, and to paralyses, the entire national life of India., Hinduism and Hindu culture can be proud of themselves only if in a free India the minorities feel equally, proud of India and are allowed and encouraged to feel so. The minority need protection and special provisions, for their growth and prosperity. To suppress them or to alienate them or to compel them to feel that they are, second class citizens living at the mercy of the Hindus is to play in the hands of the enemies of India and to, invite disaster. Indian unity can never mean only Hindu unity. The Indian Rashtra should never mean Hindu, Rashtra. A minority of seven or eight crores driven to desperation can bring about India’s downfall. We, cannot afford to forget that united we stand, divided we fall. Having the opposite belief has already done, tragic harm to India and Indians. Wrong political beliefs of communally­minded Indian political parties are a, danger signal to the whole of India., , Necessity Is the Mother Of Invention, Till nearly two hundred years ago Europe could boast of only a few inventions which gave it an advantage, over Asia and Africa. We may recall such inventions as the printing press, the spinning jenny and perhaps, one or two others. India, China and Persia produced a greater variety of goods than Europe. Gradually, Europe began to forge ahead of Asia and Africa. America was yet very new in the field., When we say that necessity is the mother of invention, we should qualify this statement by another, statement. We should say that the quality or efficiency of inventions is conditioned and determined by the, kind and amount of skill and technical know­how. Truly speaking the age of inventions began with power­, driven machinery. England led the way. The Industrial Revolution in England was succeeded by an Industrial, Revolution all over Europe, which acquired new heights and dimensions in America., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 33

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A question arises. Most necessities are universal human necessities. We read of famines over vast, regions in the Hindu and Muslim periods of Indian history. And we also read that while as a result of famines, thousands of people were dying in several regions, grain was rotting in other regions not far away. Only the, railway train could provide for or make possible cheap and quick transport of foodstuff from a region of, plenty to a famine­stricken area. The people needed clothes, which could be quickly and cheaply supplied by, the sewing machines. These are only a few outstanding examples of necessity. And yet neither India nor, any other Asiatic or African country was able to invent the steam engine or the sewing machine. Necessity, could not prove to be the mother of invention in countries of ancient civilizations like India, Greece and, Persia. Today the whole of Asia and Africa are using several hundred inventions, none of which are of, Asiatic or African origin., No, necessity cannot be the mother of invention unless there are technological institutes, scientific, research institutes, and various kinds of engineering colleges, costly laboratories and high class education in, theoretical and applied science. Given these, necessity is almost sure to prove to be the mother of invention., We in India feel the pressing necessity for the abolition of poverty, of unemployment or, under­employment, for the eradication of disease, for power supply and for so many other things to meet the, necessities of our national life. Scientific and technological training and equipment are only basic requirements, to solve our national problems. Capital formation and planning are equally indispensable conditions. Only, when these conditions are fulfilled and also international cooperation is forthcoming can we have those, inventions which will meet our necessities. Necessity does not become automatically the mother of invention., We do not invent even artificial manures and modern methods and implements of agriculture so sorely, needed by the whole nation., , Role Of The Opposition In A Democracy, England is the oldest democracy in the modern world. Yet the British Parliament for a pretty long period in, its history had no well­organized or well­ knit Opposition, however, during the course of history England, came to have two effective political parties, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, with the Liberal, Party having all but faded out after the Second World War., We Indians, however, are naturally more intimately concerned with the healthiness or otherwise of the, party­system in India. We did not have the circumstances and the set­up which resulted in the evolution of, a healthy party­system and a healthy role of the opposition in the British Parliament. The late Pt. Jawahar, Lal Nehru discerningly remarked that many of the troubles of the party­system in India and many of the, difficulties facing the healthy growth of political life in India were traceable to the fact that whereas in, England democracy was preceded by the Industrial Revolution, in India full­fledged democracy with adult, franchise has not been preceded by an Indian Industrial Revolution. We have started from scratch. Almost, universal illiteracy and universal grinding poverty and squalor, parochialism, unhealthy revivalism,­ regionalism,, racism, casteism, linguism and many mutually conflicting kids of groupism, all these expressively called the, fissiparousness which characterises Indian life, are the built­in difficulties and obstacles in the way of a, cohesive social and political life of India. They are compelled to have mostly semi­literate legislators and, ministers with no or almost no political training or tradition and with the unhealthiest ideology and motivation., Both the rightists and the leftists are split up. The conflicts and the contradictions and the poor­mindedness, or the political imbecility among politicians have resulted in the phenomenon of the birth of many so­called, political parties which are nothing more, nothing less and nothing else than ramshackled, mushroomed political, malformations. Membership of legislatures is not looked upon as an opportunity to serve people but as an, opportunity for self­advancement, favoritism, opportunism, adventurism and nepotism. Corruption has been, rife., The truly fruitful role of the Opposition is simply not understood either by the leadership or the rank and, file of our legislators. Men of means belonging to any party which has a genuine and healthy political, ideology are very few in number. Few parliaments and legislatures in the world have such a large percentage, of semi­educated and selfish, self­seeking opportunists as the Indian legislatures and the Indian Parliament., Nearly every one of them is for sale and has a price. The only role which the Opposition seems to have, selected for itself is to topple by hook or crook the party in power forming the government. This is the very, 34, , Dharmendra Kumar

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negation of the true role of Opposition Certain common aims should guide and inspire both the party in, power and the party in opposition. These are the welfare and the un­interrupted ordered progress and, development of the country. A source of great mischief and great harm is the incitement to school, college, and university students to sabotage or bring to a standstill the work in educational institutions. The Services,, the Police and Army should be free from politics. It is true that in politically mature countries there is vested, interest and there are poorer classes. But both are equally interested in law and order. Not only this, the, richer sections spend millions voluntarily on welfare activities. These public­ spirited activities make for, decency and stability in the governance of a country. Any stick is not considered good enough to beat the, government with. There are vast areas and a thousand details which are common grounds between Opposition, and the Government. The differences and the conflicts between the government or the party in power and, the Opposition are matters of few details. Here the differences and the conflicts may be irreconcilable. But, the Opposition should try to create an effective public opinion so that it may succeed in influencing the party, in power. This influence should not be guided by real or so called regional, communal or sectional interests., Let us take a few instances. Let us take first unemployment or inadequate remuneration for work by, unskilled labourers, skilled labourers and a similar state prevailing among the unemployed or the poorly paid, educated classes. Here the government and the Opposition by natural consultation should have common, aims and objects. Price­rise, food and medicine adulteration, corruption in the police and other departments,, as also waste and incompetence should be matters of equal concern to both the government and the Opposition., There should be the right alignment of forces and a polarization of the Right and the Left. Our legislators are, by and large very poor debaters. Dignified and telling criticism of policies and measures are disappointingly, rare among our legislators. It will be a healthy sign if the masses and the voters have the maximum, understanding of measures which are beneficial or harmful. Democracy in modern times requires an enlightened, social and political public conscience. Taking the law in one’s hand defying the Constitution, misbehaving in, various ways inside and outside the legislatures, letting loose forces of lawlessness, arousing unhealthy, communal passions, regional passions, lowering and degrading the level of political differences, real or, supposed, are not the roles of the Opposition., We have yet to grow politically, educationally, morally, in order that a healthy Opposition as well as a, healthy sense of governmental responsibility comes to us Democracy is not something readymade. It has to, grow by trial­and­error. Meanwhile let every legislator and every political party develop a sense of, responsibility. Let the lesson be driven home that opposition for opposition’s sake is most emphatically not, the proper role of the Opposition. Jumping from argument to action and subversive at that, does not befit the, Opposition. As Lord Morley says, “The spirit in which you hold an opinion is far more important than the, truth or otherwise of our opinion.” Our legislators, both in the government and in the Opposition, but particularly, in the Opposition, must realize that there is such a thing as the art and the science of differing with the other, fellow and of agreeing to differ. Constructive criticism and not blind agitation is the proper role of the, Opposition in parliamentary democracy. Strikes, ‘bandhs’ and similar disorderly demonstrations should not, be resorted to at the slightest provocation. Let the Opposition constantly bear in mind that, if not today,, tomorrow they may be called upon to form the Government., , Reservation, Reservation is one of the most burning issues these days. In our country where everybody is equal in the, eyes of law theoretically reservations enable legal partiality. Reservation refers to an arrangement which, entails special relaxation or special services to be rendered to all the members belonging to a particular, section of the society on the basis of caste, creed, gender, physical status marital status etc. Be it an, educational institute or any job opportunity, reservation prevails everywhere. Even in public transport some, seats are reserved for ladies and this shows the omnipresence of reservation., While on the one hand, our Constitution talks of equality of the citizens of India irrespective of their, gender, caste, creed etc., on the other, it has given legal status to reservation which is some way or the other, partiality. This contradictory voice of our Constitution leaves us with the question what is the need for, reservation. In fact, when we dive into the depth of the matter, we see that it is not the contradictory voice, of Constitution; rather, the provision for reservations is made for the practical enforcement of the principle, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 35

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of equality supported by our Constitution. By the means of reservation our Constitution tries to bridge and, ultimately, fills the gap between the strong and weak sections of our society. Through reservation it tries to, provide opportunities to those sections of the society which, for some or the other reasons, have been, deprived of the same for an indefinite period of time and thus had been out of the scope of development., Reservation, therefore, is protective and positive discrimination in favour of the downtrodden and unprivileged, section of our society. This definitely goes with the socialistic pattern of governance, mentioned in our, Preamble as well as in the Directive Principles of the Constitution., To assist the weaker section of society, reservation is given on various grounds! for example, on the basis, of gender, on the basis of caste one belongs to, on the basis of physical ability, on the basis of marital status etc., Special bogies for ladies in train, ladies seats in public transport, separate ticket window for ladies, 33% reservation, in electoral seats for women etc., are the examples of reservation based on gender. There is a certain percentage, of reservation for the person belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and other backward classes in, every public sector educational institutes, job opportunities etc. This is an example of reservation based on, caste. Likewise, the physically disabled, the widows, the divorcees also get reservation in some cases., Undoubtedly, reservation assists in the balanced growth of the society. But it is not free from shortcomings., It causes dissatisfaction and unrest amongst the unreserved section leading to communal tension and affects, national unity and integrity of our country adversely. Secondly, many a time it so happens that a meritorious, individual belonging to the reserved category is underestimated and his most deserving success is perceived, to be gained through reservation. This brings frustration among the reserved section also. Furthermore,, reservation has lost its ultimate goal i.e. balanced social set­up. It has now become a tool in the hands of, politicians to manipulate the vote bank., To conclude, in spite of several shortcomings reservations are still necessary to set up a balanced social, growth mechanism. Major steps, like change of basis for reservation from caste to income level, should be, taken so as to make it more effective in realizing its real goal., A philosopher once aptly opined, “Religion is mass opium” An intoxicating substance drugs up an, individual, but something ­ as is the case with religion ­ that whips up emotion engrips the multitude. Reservation, has meted out the same treatment at the hands of vote­seeking and self­gratifying politicians who have, presented it as an end­to­all­problems remedy for the backward class. Naturally, in the hype something that, started out with a pious purpose of mainstreaming the left­out under a definite time­frame not only lost the, sense of probity but became a eternal whip on the mainstream population. We need to purge the system, from this scourge., , Social Media Activism, When twitter became the principle catalyst of the Arab Movement, when Internet and Blog caused the, downfall of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt ushering in free and fair elections in the latter, when, social media became the principal carrier of anti­establishment in Burma, Thailand and China, the world, came to realise the power of the Net (also called alternative media) and the unprecedented scale of information, dissemination that it can bring about. Of late, social media activism is being taken seriously, Media is called, the “Fourth Estate” because it works as a watchdog that checks and balances the three organs of governance, ­ the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, the mode of function of social media is somewhat, different from the traditional media., Social media is all about the trend. It dwells heavily on something that is trendy i.e., it has caught the, attention of the people at present. It is not for a prolonged discussion on some serious issues facing the, country or the world. So Anna’s anti corruption movement would be the prime focus on a social media but, for a while. Then, the attention of this media would turn to something that is trendy., This is because social media is the forum for expression not discussion and analysis. This is precisely, because the Net world is inhabited, more often than not, not by serious journalists (guided by media ethics, and accountability) but youth of the urban and semi­urban areas whose principal focus is to get heard, not, delve deep. I think, social media activists want “to say and listen” and as soon as everybody is saying the, same (even if a denouement has not been written), they come up with something that again sets a new, trend., 36, , Dharmendra Kumar

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That’s why, in serious journalistic parlance, alternative media’s believability and credibility is always in, question. Egged on by the prime motive to be heard, the former has assigned itself the nature of “opposing, everything”. This is precisely why social media is characterised by radical content, eye­catching form and, innovative presentation. The activists believe that only by diverging from the ‘normal’ will they get audience., Very often, we get some denigrating or preposterous content that goes against the very premise of serious, journalism. Longevity of the issue also suffers. Despite these handicaps, there is no denying that social, media by virtue of its wide reach and prompt connectivity, has opened a powerful avenue for information, dissemination. And if the information is emotional and radical, it is bound to cause flutter. Ask the Arab, World., In India, this social media has a great possibility. Given the laggard nature of the reach of connectivity,, we apologetically say that the Net has reached only to 10% of its citizens. Even at that figure we can say, that we can get our voice heard by more than 12 crore people instantaneously. Is that a small figure?, Democracy rests on information and even in the largest democracy and the second most populous country, of the world, that figure is no joke. Undoubtedly, we cannot shrug off the impact of the social media. The, incumbent government knows it clearly and hence we often come across imposing Internet censorship., As the country progresses and the reach of the Internet expands, we may safely visualise the impact, extending both horizontally and vertically. The hard fact is that we cannot change the character of the, dwellers there and they will keep follow the ‘trend’, will keep voicing their short­lived views, will not discuss, anything serious for long, and will keep their journalistic duty confined to likes and dislikes, tweets and, retweets and updates. But it can be an effective medium of sensitizing people on some burning causes. The, only thing that we must target is the greater integration of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube into, spreading messages of social import. Yet, for serious discussion and analysis, people will turn to traditional, media., , Accountability of Media in Democracy, “I would rather have a completely free press with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom, than a suppressed or a regulated one.” Jawaharlal Nehru, 1950., It is not for nothing that the media is called the “Fourth Estate” It is precisely because it is the watchdog, that checks and balances the power of the other three Estates ­ the legislature, the executive and the, judiciary of democracy. In that sense, the media plays a vital role in the smooth functioning of the democracy, and like Nehru any lover of democracy would think on the same line., In democracy information, like anywhere else, is power. It sensitizes, mobilises and sometimes disenchants, opinion. And the media, as gatherer and disseminator of information, holds the power. In the past we have, seen the media functioning as the creator and destroyer. It is said that Hitler’s rise to power was nothing but, a shrewd manipulation of the media. Today, in a democracy, politicians, film stars and all that hog the, limelight know that power and that’s why, they try to pamper it to refurbish their image., In view of its vital place and wielding power in democracy, the media is expected to play its role, impartially without fear or favour. It is expected to educate public opinion by airing free and accurate, information. It is believed to eradicate wrong impression and reduce tensions by talking matter­of­fact. It, must have a healthy regard for truth and ethical practices. They must act as a bridge between the people, and the establishment., But it is equally true that power corrupts. If an organ commands such a power, there are all the more, chances of its being led astray. The much debated “paid news” phenomenon that was raised in the Parliament, was a case in point of the media’s losing accountability. Further, if we see senior journalists and media, proprietors occupying seats in the Rajya Sabha we cannot help drawing conclusion of the media compromising, on its ethics. This is an age of cut­throat competition and media world is no exception. In order to attract, opinions and thereby raising its ratings, we often find the media resorting to sensation and yellow journalism., It is, more often than not, seen working either in collusion with or in illogical opposition to political establishment., And in all these cases true­reporting suffers which, in turn, weakens democracy. And then arises the, question of the media accountability. With power comes responsibility and this, in turn, necessitates, accountability., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 37

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But with the media, as against the other areas of public activities, accountability is to be reached, completely differently. While with a public servant or a common man the norms fostering accountability, have been laid down in legal manual whose violation invites penal action, with the media this accountability, is, by and large, to be self­imposed as its deviation from accountability and ethics does not constitute illegal, behaviour. Only recently, a legal proceeding has been resorted to against two senior editors of a channel, because there was allegedly some concrete evidence of an illegal behaviour. But, this may be an exception,, not a rule., Hence the accountability of the media must come by itself as a professional need. The need of the, professional behaviour demands the media not to function as a mouthpiece of a few; rather it should, perform the duty to getting close to the truth and reporting it with the concern and interest of the people, as its top most priority. It should voluntarily see to it that bare facts reach to the people so that the latter, make wise and informed decision for the healthy functioning of the democracy. However, at the same, time, it should provide information in a manner that does not disturb the social fabric or create unrest, among people., , Female Foeticide, Aadhi Aabadi this is the name given to the female population of our country. But statistics does not reflect, the same. The census 2011, though shows a marginal pick up in sex ratio i.e., from 933 in 2001 to 940 in, 2011, it is alarming with the figures which shows constant and colossal drop, from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001, and 914 in 2011 in the sex ratio among children in the age group of 0­6, In normal society ­ where discrimination against women does not exist ­ the juvenile sex ratio is expected, to be higher than the sex ratio at birth as female babies have better chances of survival than male babies., But in a country like ours, where great patriarchal dominance exists, millions of girls struggle with acute, gender discrimination as a part of their day to day experience. The existing patriarchal system leads to, unequal status of women which in turn, leads to exploitation of the other, oppression, deprivation and destitution., They face domestic violence not only for being a girl but also for giving birth to a girl child. Among all, atrocities they face the highest form of violence against them is to deny life in womb because of gender., Keeping in view the large scale at which female foeticide occurs in India, referring it as “massacre in, womb” won’t be wrong., Though our Constitution guarantees women equality of opportunity and wage and disallows gender, bias, our society intractably continues to be a slave to son preference with the wrong notion that male child, is a source of bread earning and security in twilight years and female child is an economic liability. The, prevalence of dowry system is responsible for this to a large extent. Also, religious dogmas such as son, granting emancipation and being a ticket to heaven after death, backed by the major religions of our country, leave nothing in worsening the situation. As a result the birth of male child is greeted with jubilation and that, of a girl child with derision. This leads to less care for girl child in the pre­natal and infancy stage which, results into female foeticide and infanticide., Poverty and illiteracy were thought to be the prime reasons behind this but the steady decline in sex, ratio, more in urban than in rural leads to the conclusion that marked improvement in economy and literacy, rates do not seem to have any reciprocal effect on the sex ratio. Rather, the availability of new technology, and its easy access for the urban wealthy and the educated have worsened the situation. Pre­natal technologies, which are to be used to detect genetic abnormalities are being misused in India for determining the sex of the, unborn child and subsequently for sex selection. If this declining trend in child sex ratio continues for another, 20­30 years the number of marriageable females will be far less than that of males. This will bring back the, old practice of giving and taking bride price into fashion. Polyandry may also emerge, subsequently disrupting, the social set­up. The imbalance in sex ratio may increase violence, including rape, against women. With, many men remaining unmarried prostitution will increase substantially., Despite legislations, like Pre­conception and Pre­natal diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of selection), Act which mandates regulation of sale of technology, the registration of diagnostic centers, the monitoring of, 38, , Dharmendra Kumar

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personnel, procedure and protocols and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which regulates the, performance of abortion ­ sex selection could not be abetted. Violations go unpunished with a very few, cases being booked and a zero conviction rate., Viewing the sex ratio as an individual or medical issue and suggesting medical or legal intervention to, end the practice reflects poor understanding of the problem. The main problem is not merely a medical one, but the one with socio cultural implications. The problem is with our level of sensitivity. The question it leaves, is, How dare we refer to our society as modern where such inhumane activities go unquestioned, rather, unnoticed? How dare we forgive ourselves for such massacre in womb? How dare we take pride in talking, about right to equality where right to life is denied?, The paramount need of the hour is sensitizing society to look at the girl child as a boon. It is possible by, ensuring women empowerment and also making women economically independent. Better education, health,, services, nutritious food for mother and infant and self employment of women will go a long way to ensure, empowerment of women. We need to change our mindset, which has been conditioned according to patriarchal, pattern of society for a long time, to help create a safer and better tomorrow for the girl child., , Rural Migration, Rural migration may be defined as a phenomenon that describes physical movement of people from their, villages to urban areas in search of a better livelihood. It is a sign of wide disparity in economic and social, conditions between the place of origin and destination., Employment opportunities are shrinking in villages due to increase in population, decline in handicraft, stagnant, agricultural economy and absence of industrial growth in rural areas resulting into large scale migration. The, demographic pressure coupled with famine, flood and starvation occurring due to failure or excess of monsoon are, the potent causes of migration. Not only the matter of food but several other factors also have paved way for rural, migration, e.g., attitudinal changes arising out of change in lifestyle and growth of modern civilization, heavy, incidences of epidemics like cholera, smallpox etc, high infant mortality, absence of well developed financial, support system etc., Availability of better infrastructure, educational and medical facilities are also some of the pull factors, attracting rural migration. Furthermore, the influence of kinship acts as one of the most powerful factors to, motivate the near and dear friends and relatives to come to the place where such laborers are working and, earning through their efforts., Large number of people, mostly young move away from rural areas to urban centers due to any of the, aforesaid reasons. These emigrants add to their own miseries by living on pavements or in slums and, meanwhile add to the miseries of the cities by taxing the already inadequate city services and by adding to, the unemployed and unskilled workforce of the city. The villagers tend to migrate along with their families, hoping that they might be able to employ their children in cities. This not only leads to dropping the education, of the child but also exposes the child to the hazards of child labour. Several children turn into rag pickers and, families have to live in inhuman conditions in urban areas., Though the story of migration has its own tales of sorrow, some analysts advocate internal mobility as, a necessity for lifting people out of poverty. Migrants usually keep their alliance with the place of origin., They usually carry knowledge which they impart to the native population by way of discussion and participation, in various activities. Their sense of importance of education which they realize and develop in their surrounding,, their liberal attitude regarding the traditional social system, all these things directly contribute to the development, of rural areas. Almost all the migrants contribute to the development of rural areas either economically or, socially or both. Thus rural to urban migration seems to be an important factor in the social and economic, development of rural areas., Migration remains to be a barometer of changing socio economic and political condition. Income, differentials are taken as the motivating factor in moving people from the low income areas to relatively high, income areas but the willingness to accept a lower wage in the village reflects the cost of migration as well, as the exploitative condition that laborers face as migrants. It also shows that if the disparity in distribution of, resources is lessened and infrastructure, both physical and financial, is developed even to some extent, migration can be decreased to a large extent. The need of the hour is to create more employment opportunities, by way of developing new avenues such as agro food processing, agro tourism etc., and also paying due, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 39

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attention to the cottage industries and promotion of handicraft business., It may be concluded that to tackle the problem of rural migration it is important to tackle the poverty of, villages rather than the poverty of villagers. The key is now to ensure and guarantee employment for the, rural poor by giving utmost priority to generation of diversified livelihood opportunities as well as financial, infrastructure in rural India in sustainable manner., , Environmental Pollution, Man’s achievements in technology are indeed remarkable. But sadly they have contributed to spoiling the, environment that sustains life. Man has changed the ecological balance at all levels. The term pollution, refers to undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air, water and soil that, may harm our life and living conditions., There are several types of pollution caused by man under the following heads :, (a) Air pollution, (b) water pollution, (c) Soil pollution, (d) noise pollution, (e) Nuclear and chemical pollution, Air pollution may be defined as a release of any foreign material or gases in the atmosphere. They may, prove harmful to man, animals and vegetation. Heat produced in various industries and domestic fires are, responsible for the spread of carbon di­oxide, sulphur di­oxide, smoke and many other harmful gases. Main, pollutants produced by motor vehicles are lead compounds carbon­ di­oxide, carbon mono­oxide and oxides, of nitrogen. Smoke particles released in atmosphere result in air pollution. Green house effect is the main, cause of deforestation. The rising level of gases in the atmosphere has had an impact on world’s climate as, well. The green house effect could lead to increase in global temperature of mean 3°C., Water pollution is caused by the presence of some inorganic & organic foreign substances in the water, that tend to degrade its quality. Lead pollutant causes congenital deformities and symptoms of many incurable, diseases. Cad­mium is responsible for kidney damage. Mercury in water results in large scale killing of fish, & other animals. Untreated sewage discharged into the rivers pollutes the water. Waste from atomic reactors, and agricultural waste material is very serious cause of water pollution., The major sources of soil pollution are the industries such as pulp and paper mills, oil refineries, chemical, and fertilizer pollutants. Modern agriculture primarily depends upon chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, etc. Most of these are stable chemicals and remain present in the soil for a long period. These not only kill, the living organisms present on the surface of the soil but also reach even the deeper layers through tilling, and irrigation of the land., In the mad rush for progress modern civilization has also caused noise pollution. Noise above 85­90, decibels is considered dangerous. According to western scientists noise pollution will be the biggest killer and, the number one cause of diseases in the 21st century. The use of high sounding generators, release of undesirable, gases and amount of noise in our metropolitan cities has raised volume of noise up to 100.10 decibels., Ozone layer around the earth serves as an important purpose. It absorbs the harmful ultra­violet rays, coming from the sun. But the reduction of this vital layer should be the cause of serious worry for the people., Nuclear race is the most dangerous cause of destruction of mankind. Radiation caused by nuclear and, chemical pollution has endangered human existence. The depletion of Ozone layer, the green house effect,, acid rain, drought, floods, deforestation­all these natural phenomena reflect human interference., Man inherited beautiful earth. With the power of God in his hand he has destroyed healthy living, conditions. Man must understand the judicious use of natural resources. He must be discriminating in choice, between industrial progress and quality of life., , Corruption in Public life, Independence ushered an era of development in the history of our nation. Large dams, steel plants multipurpose, projects and large scale public sector undertakings came into being. As a result huge funds were needed., Huge amount of money fell into the hands of politicians, their henchmen and middle men. This created, countless opportunities for corruption. But a common man in the street did not know what was happening in, the corridors of power., 40, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Contracts and licenses were sanctioned to the relatives, friends & those close to the ruling party. The, dream of freedom had started turning sour when politicians shunned morality in public life. In fact value, based politics was given a good bye. The bureaucracy joined in merry making and minted money at their, will. Those who were willing to do the bidding of the politicians grew richer. Prime lands in the Capital were, allotted to them. In fact the looting and plundering started the day India won freedom. The so called freedom, fighters turned into vultures living on the flesh of a poor man., When the attention of the first Prime Minister J.L. Nehru was drawn to the misdeeds of the politicians, and bureaucrats he brushed aside the hard fact. He had just to say, that corruption is a worldwide phenomenon., What a pity! A nation at birth was mired in the muddy waters of corruption., Apart from these political & economic changes, even the changed social values also contributed to the, rampant corruption in the country. Lure for money, status and achievement of ends at every cost are some, of the factors responsible for spreading corruption., The worst kind of corruption has been in the form of scandals & defence scams. It is the most shameful, aspect of our national character. Bofors scandal still remains unsolved. In response to this scandal the, present opposition parties have invented coffin scandals to denigrate the ruling party., In fact corruption is a multifaceted problem giving rise to numberless social, economic political & moral, crises in the society. Today politics is a lucrative career. Individuals take to politics as a profitable career to, secure easy money. However, politics without ethics is a disaster. Today’s leaders are hypocrites and have, betrayed the country and the people. Immorality in politics has become so pervasive that a common man has, no social security, medical facilities, efficient public transport system and freedom from exploitation. Can, this situation be rectified?, Where does the solution lie? Just as a country gets the government it deserves, similarly every country, gets the leaders it deserves. After all the leaders is a part of our own society. Therefore, silence and, indifference of the people would silently encourage corruption. They should rise to the occasion & demand, a probe into their financial transactions that have made them billion­aires. The system can be cleansed not, by half hearted means. Each political party, leader, bureaucrat business man should be forced to give account, for their financial status. Those found guilty should be legally punished and voted out of power. Let public, should be the arbiter of the destiny of the people., It is ostensible that no political leader is willing to show political will to bring the investigations to logical, end. They can talk and indulge in breast beating but not expose the facts of corruption. The fact deserves, the attention of the people as to how all the political parties got united in objecting to the verdict of the, Supreme Court. They objected to filing the detail of their assets, sources of incomes & their criminal records, at the time of filing nominations. Worse Judiciary itself is in collusion with corrupt politicians & bureancrates., Criminals in public life are ruling the roost. In present circumstance no light is visible at the end of tunnel., , Information Technology, Application of the steam engine in industry and transportation in the middle of the 18th century transformed, agricultural England into industrial nation. In the same manner since 1950 computer has transformed America, from industrial society to information society. In both the cases there was global impact of two major events., The second half of the 20th century has witnessed tremendous technological advancement that has, revolutionised the daily life of even a common man. One of the turning points in the history of modern, scientific development has been the invention and the use of the computers., Networking is the latest development in the field of computers. Net work is a system where computers, are electronically linked to one another through a cable or a satellite. At the tap of a keyboard you can get a lot, of information on retailed data outlets regarding almost everything. Some of the examples of networking are—, video, E­mail, E­commerce, tele­conferencing etc. The latest exciting concept is a part played by multi media., Multi­media are a forum that helps in inter action or inter activity between the video­ audio and graphics., The idea of an information super highway connecting homes across the globe is not New. Multinational, companies view it as a means of creating a global village. Computers and tele communication are combined, together to form the information super highways. The super highway is now a reality. This has come to be, known as internet, the major source of providing & receiving information wherever you are. However, since, 1993 with the introduction of multi­media one can display pictures, sound and video on internet. The multimedia, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 41

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site is called “world wide web (w.w.w) or simply the web. This new site came to be called cyberspace., Cyber­space is a computer generated landscape which is actually not there. In fact it is something created, with the help of multi­media, computers & telecommunication., The most important feature of internetworking is that it is a De­massified concept. On your will you, can have the information you like. It is a means of learning and education. One can turn into a publisher,, speaker, hold meetings with the staff, bring about newspaper editions unload information etc., However, modern revolution in technology has also given rise to crime, pornography and other undesirable, information. It is said to disturb young minds emotionally, physically and spiritually. Therefore, many countries, have started making laws against the indecent display of subject on the internet. The USA has started, conviction under Communication Decency Act. India is very much alive to the realty. It has already banned, TB6 channel. To protect computer networks from cyber crime Indian Govt. passed Information Technology, act in Oct 2000. The main objection to I.T. Act arises from ground reality. In case a customer happens to, have a chance access to obscene web site, how is cyber cafe owner to blame? The act does not clearly, define the term offence in the context of the internet working. Then there is a big problem of software, piracy in India. The software companies in the country have to suffer huge loss. However, National Association, of software and service companies have recently setup India’s first piracy act., In July 2000, the Prime Minister Vajpayee announced the opening of National long distance telecom, market. Under this point communication plan relating to information technology, no taxes will be imposed by, center or state. There is no doubt that India has strong potentiality of becoming a powerful InfoTech industry., There is no doubt that India is on the way to becoming a super power in InfoTech sector. So in InfoTech field, there are countless opportunities for education, employment and business. This age may be better called the, age of InfoTech., , (i) Judicial Activism, (ii) Public Interest Litigation, Article 50 of the constitution stipulates that the state shall Endeavour to separate the judiciary from the, executive in the public service of the state. It implies that the judiciary should be kept independent of the, influence of the executive. As the things have turned out Public Interest Litigation has taken upon itself the, role of the executive. It goes to the credit of former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati (retired in 1986), that the term judicial activism gained currency. It was he who would act on the receipt of post­cards or, letters containing complaint from the members of weaker sections. It is how Public Interest Litigation came, to stay as a relief to those who could not get justice for years. In his own words the significance of PIL is, well defined, “This was to vindicate the rights of weaker sections because I found that justice was totally, denied to them by our legal system.” In our country there are about 3 crore civil cases pending in various, courts—2.5 crore cases in lower courts, 50 lakh cases in High courts and 17 thousand cases in the Supreme, court. The poor section of our society is the worst affected.”, Judicial activism steps in when the attempts of the aggrieved fails to secure justice from any other, source. In fact PIL has been in practice since 1977. The Supreme court exercised pressure on Govt. bodies, to stop infringement of human rights, investigated the custodial deaths and other related matters., In recent years PIL has broadened the sphere of judicial activity. Anyone can bring a public grievance, direct to the notice of the Supreme court. The record of the Supreme court in the field of PIL is very, impressive because it has been able to solve a number of problems related to bonded labour, ecology pollution,, corruption in high places etc. In a case filed by a lawyer in 1995 Chandra Swami was prohibited from going, abroad. Corruption in the allotment of Govt. houses, LPG outlets and patrol pump’s were brought to the, notice of the Supreme court. As a result of this 72 VIPs were served notices for eviction. Minister for, petroleum was indicted of favoritism and nepotism. Many units in and around Delhi releasing effluents in the, Yamuna were ordered closed by the Supreme court. The DTC buses older more than eight years were, ordered off the roads with a view to checking the menace of pollution., However, the most important case under PIL relates to ‘Hawala Scandal’. A Sessions Judge was, hauled before the court on the initiative of a PIL activist. Sessions Judge P.K. Biswas was accused of, forging evidence for air dropping of arms in District Purulia in west Bengal. The National Social Watch, Coalition (NSWC) of civil society organisations state in their 2003 report that the balance of force is shifting, to the judiciary because of laxity on the part of legislature and the executive., 42, , Dharmendra Kumar

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The spurt in judicial activism has raised the question how far the court can encroach on the rights of, both the executive and the legislature. The Judiciary is accused of taking upon itself the role of govt. PIL has, indeed been degraded by unscrupulous elements for a verity of things. People are approaching the Supreme, Court for violation of human rights in the case of terrorists and criminals. Most of the social activists take to, PIL for the sake of their own publicity. In fact PIL movement started for helping the poor to vindicate the, rights of the weaker section. However, one thing is certain. Instead of criticising the role of judiciary let the, govt. at the centre and state level show efficiency and solves the problems of the people expeditiously at, administrative level. It will not be out of place to state that the active role of the judiciary should awaken the, administrative bodies to shed their laxity and casual approach to the problems of the poor and common, citizens. They have to shun the attitude of “playing on the fiddle while Rome is burring., , Unemployment in India, Unemployment refers to a situation when a person is able but does not get opportunity to work. The most, significant point to note is that the nature of occupational structure of the country has remained agriculture., Therefore, our unemployment problem is different from that of the industrially advanced countries. More, than 60% of Indian labour force does not belong to the category of wage earners. Only 39% of our labour, force in comparison to 86% in case of industrialised countries is wage earners. Therefore, the type of, unemployment prevailing in India is disguised unemployment. Then ours is traditionally a rural economy and, the features of our employment are both unemployment & under employment., As a result the educated middle class is acutely afflicted with this problem. The causes of unemployment, can be attributed to the traditional kind of education and lack of development of vocational education system., We are still following the old system of education introduced by Macauley to train Babus for the rulers., Again industrial development has not kept pace with educational facilities. At the same time the growth, of agriculture sector has remained sluggish. Therefore, the migration of rural population to cities in search of, jobs is on the increase. We have also not been able to develop labour intensive techniques where by the, unemployed educated youth could get suitable jobs. Further the process of computerisation both in private, and public sectors has rendered most of the employed persons redundant. The attraction of educated rural, youth to the city life has also added to the gravity of the situation. One of the causes of unemployment for, young person’s is also stated to be young women taking up jobs, thus reducing the chances of employment, for young men., The govt, of India has adopted several specific measures to tackle the vexing unemployment problem, in the country. Almost all the five year plans have given top priority to the creation of greater employment, opportunities but no effective results have come out. Jawahar Razgar Yojna has been in operation since, 1989. National Rural Employment Programme and Rural Landless Em­ployment Guarantee Programmes, were merged with JRY. The target group of JRY is those living below poverty line. Along with this, Training, of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM) is also in operation to prepare the youth for self employment., The urban counterpart of JRY is Nehru Rozgar Yojna. The target group of the NRY is the urban poor living, below the poverty line. In this manner Indian Govt. has. Launched many such plans for the unemployed, youth., India has to tackle this problem both on rural and urban fronts. One must be clear that unless rural, economy is reformed & developed unemployment problem in India cannot be solved. Right from the beginning, our villages should have been paid attention since 75% of our population lives in villages. There is a vast, scope for rural development. The promotion of rural social activities can only stop the migration of rural, population to the cities in search of jobs. The promotion of rural social activities such as education, housing, and health services should be effectively undertaken. Agro based industries should be developed. Above all, our educational system needs drastic changes so that it may encourage really deserving students to go in for, higher studies., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 43

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Swami Vivekananda My favourite Spiritual leader, Born on Jan. 12, 1863 Narendra Nath was one of those few divinely inspired souls who tried to revive the, lost glory, values & traditions of ancient India. First they were suppressed by the Muslim rulers & then, British masters. In almost one thousand year of slavery Indians had lost esteem and self respect. It is no, exaggeration to say that he emerged as a pole star to guide the stranded Indians to their destiny., As a founder of Rama Krishna Mission, Narendra Nath was christened as Swami Vivekananda, one of, the greatest religious reformers of India. Charisma reflected on his face spoke of his inner strength and, purity of his soul. As a humanist, reformist and harbinger of Vedantic revolution his place in the history of our, country is irreplaceable., Swami Vivekananda acquired initiation into spiritual world at the feet of Swami Ram Krishan Parmahans., He was for the youth. He inspired the youth with positive outlook and taught them to have iron muscles and, nerves of steel. It is possible only by following the ideals of the Upanishads. The positive outlook can be, developed only by native wisdom of ancient India. However, his own speeches and writings can inspire the, youth of the country that has fallen prey to­ wily politicians. Most of them in the garb of freedom fighters, have climbed up the zenith of their political careers by spilling the blood of innocent citizens and by exploiting, their credulity., In modern context charismatic & sagacious leaders like Swami Vivekananda can mould the destiny of, India. Under his leadership and guidance the youth can redeem their honour. Emancipation from the shackles, of communalist and casteist leaders can be achieved by exposing their ulterior motives. The relevance of, Swamiji today is greater than what it would have been a few years ago. He made us realise, what kind of, India we need., Swami Vivekananda brought out the validity of vedantic philosophy in application to life. He worshipped, God not for his own Moksha in parochial terms of Hindu Religion. The realisation of divinity within oneself, makes one Karma Yogi, lover of humanity & compassionate to every living human being. His thundering words, ‘Brother & sisters’ at Parliament of Religions at Chicago on llth Sept., 1893 resounded & spread all over, America. Their echo does not seem to have died down nor will it ever die down. It is the voice that every, human being ever longs to listen to. Tagore rightly said about Swamiji. “to know Vivakananda is to know India”., He was a great awakener of India at a time when the spirit of every Indian was at the lowest ebb., As a champion of women’s cause his unforgettable words should never be lost on those who think, them inferior human beings “If you do not raise the women who are the living embodiment of Divine Mother,, do not think you have any other way to rise.”, In the last one can say that Swami Vivekanand represented the best both of East and West. As a, paragon of synthesis of East & West Swami Vivekanand identified himself with universal outlook—The, world as one family.’ What a pity he passed away in the prime of his life at the age of 40 on 4th July 1902., His date of birth 12th January is rightly dedicated as Youth Day to keep his memory perpetual in every, Indian heart., , Discipline in Public life, Discipline is one of those values in life that give direction to life and it adds joy and harmony to life. Discipline, in life guides us to do the right things and helps us to be morally upright. Discipline is one of those ideals, which a family, a society and a country expects us to follow in the larger interest of life., Institutions of family, society and religion were evolved by man to bring about discipline to anarchist, conditions in the society. Without the evolution of these institutions, it is hard to think of discipline. In fact,, discipline is a core of law and order in society that leads to the development of civilisation in the larger, interest of society. A life without discipline will become chaotic and disastrous because indisciplined life, poses a great threat to law and order in society., 44, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Discipline for countries like India is the most immediate pre­requisite to economic, social and political, progress. In the present context indiscipline is all pervasive in society. Negligence in the performance of, duty by paid public servants, teachers, and doctors should make us sit up and do some serious heart searching., The steady decline in discipline among elected representatives of people is deplorable fact of our public life., They use their rights more to flout the principles of discipline than to follow the path of dharma that leads to, the performance of duty. Unprincipled alignments, defections, floor crossings are painful reminder of the, near collapse of discipline in public life., There is total loss of value based life. Responsibility towards one’s goal of life is lacking in every field., A responsible person would follow disciplined way of life and he will be prompted to be careful, reliable and, efficient. Responsi­bility means involvement in dutiful way of life for the betterment of humanity. It is no, exaggeration to say that discipline comprises many ingredients of life., Brotherhood is a common bond of discipline among human beings. Disciplined life can be led only if, we recognise the rights of others and follow our duties. Care for our surroundings, environment comprising, air, water, soil, animal world etc. Is part and parcel of discipline in public life? Concern for environment is, indispensable ingredient of discipline because it prompts us to lead life within norms laid down by society., Further, sympathy makes us to share the afflictions and distress of others. In other words feelings of sympathy, inculcate love for others that is anti­thesis of violence and indiscipline in life., In a sum, a civlilized society expects all of us to abide by simple rules of peaceful living lest the feelings, of our fellow beings should be hurt. Therefore, discipline is a comprehensive form of life—it touches all, aspects of human life. Accordingly the need of discipline is imperative in a civilized society., Now the most important point is that discipline is relevant to every field of life, be it family, school,, society or public life. Lack of discipline in any institution leads to disorder and violent attitude on the part of, people. Administration in society breaks down & there is shift in moral values. Unethical practices take root, in society. Every one is a sufferer. There is no substitute for discipline in life. In fact discipline implies order, in public life—that is the summum bonum of life., , Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana, Mr. Modi’s Ministry came up with yet another ambitious approach launched in Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, scheme which is the dire need of the hour. The scheme started with Rs.100 crore initial corpus funds and is, likely to move ahead with its well thought­out plan and direction. The welfare measures voiced are for, protecting and planning the lives of the down trodden daughters of this country. The union minister Mr. Arun, Jaitily stated there are various areas of women and child which need to be addressed immediately. The idea, is to create awareness about gender equality and extend medical aid for various ailments for women and, child. He felt school syllabus has to create topics which helps the child to feel there is gender equality. It is, stated that the funding for all these activities will be done by Nirbhaya fund. It is also proposed to start a, special small savings scheme for the education of the girl child with a fund of Rs. 14,389 crores. Also there, is a proposal to Rs. 150 crores on the safety of women in urban and large cities., However, the initiative though good has been largely criticized by many people. It is not enough to allot, funds and schemes.”More importantly we need to rearrange and amend the laws and punish those vigorously, who interfere with the peaceful existence of the girls in the society. Sabu George, who is working for more, than 30 years towards this, is under the impression that money allotment is never the solution, it’s high time, we see to it the law is punishing the culprits very severely. “We need to have a strong law­ meant to punish, those engaged in the practice of sex determination and sex selective abortion­ Pre Conception and Pre, Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act. The government has to ensure that they talk tough so that doctors do not, indulge in this malpractice,” George said., According to Subash Mendapurkar of the Society for Social Uplift, through rural action, there is a need, to connect with the communities first, right from the gram panchayat level to ensure gender equality. He has, been working on the issue of the girl child especially in Himachal Pradesh. He pointed out that there has, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 45

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been a marginal increase in the child sex ratio. “What we need to do is provide an enabling environment for, our girls and educate and inform person’s right at the grass root level that there should be no gender bias”,, he said., Kiran Moghe, President of the State All India Democratic Women As­sociation however was critical, of budgetary allocation of Rs 200 crore for the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue and a mere Rs 100 crore to, save the girl child. “Need I say more,” she said adding that the increase in number of violations against the, girl child was on the rise. “There also is a need to launch more dedicated efforts than just allocating monetary, incentives,” she said., Gender respect should be taught at the school level more so from the home level by the parents. Also, we need to address the associated problems in bringing up the girt child, her marriage expenses and, discrimination in the society. If these are addressed properly there is no issue which will discriminate the girl, from the boy in the society. We need not campaign door to door about the girl child and her safety. Let us all, not forget that we live in a country where state of Kerala and its law extends the best of status to its girls., Also we should remember there are families, brothers and fathers who care exclusively for their girl children., They need to be rewarded, applauded and be taken as role models in the society. The girl child issue has to, be attacked more smartly and encourage the future parents with a positive note., Among the list of immediate issues, few are very important, they are,, 1. Education for women, 2. Health issues, 3. Campaigns on sensitization towards women and children, 4. Women safety cells, 5. Safety of women on public Transport system, 6. Cyber crime cells, 7. Crisis management centre’s, 8. Government and private hospitals for women., 9. Awards for best parents, Samaritans in the society, 10. Awards for daring girls standing up as role models in the society, The government has to initiate various schemes, take necessary pre­cautions, along with that it has to, show new direction to the young generation. We need to understand solution lies just beside the problem,, smile is in the mile. Let us help India walk that extra MILE’S with a smile in the eyes of a girl child., , Jan Dhan Yojana, Jan dhan yojana is the ambitious .scheme of Honourable Prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi which will, strengthen India through collecting revenues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014 launched, highly motivated Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which was significant project of NDA, government to open at least one bank account to every family. Cabinet ministry of Mr. Narendra Modi, opened Pradhan Mantri Jan­Dhan Yojana all over India and it is predicted that this effective scheme may, prove to be beneficial for country., External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched the scheme in Bhopal, while the scheme was launched by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, in Nagpur, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Chennai, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Anantha Kumarin Bangalore and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram, Vilas Paswan in Patna., Major objective of Jan-Dhan Yojana: The Jan­Dhan Yojana is aimed to provide basic banking, accounts with a debit card with inbuilt accident insurance. The Government plans to open at least one crore, bank accounts on the first day itself. Other State Governments also flagged­off this scheme. Prime Minister, also revealed a logo and a Mission Document on Financial Inclusion. He also dedicated the mobile banking, facility on the basic mobile phone to the nation. Its main features include Rs 5,000 overdraft facility for, Aadhar­linked accounts, RuPay Debit Card with inbuilt Rs 1 lakh accident insurance cover and minimum, monthly remuneration of Rs 5,000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link between the, 46, , Dharmendra Kumar

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account holders and the bank. The banking network is all set to open bank accounts of the uncovered, households in both rural and urban areas., This effective scheme has a national mission on financial inclusion in order to cover all households in, the country with banking facilities and having a bank account for each household. The scheme has an, objective to provide two accounts to 7.5 crore identified households by August 2018. PMJDY works on the, principles of Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas., Main features of PMJDY: The first phase of the mission, which started on 28 August 2014, would, end in August next year. The second phase will began from 2015 till 2018 that will cover aspects such as, micro insurance and pension schemes like ‘Swavalamban’. Rs. 5,000 overdraft facility for Aadhar­linked, accounts. The National Payments Corporation of India has tied up with HDFC Ergo to provide the 1 Lakh, initial cover while the additional 1 Lakh cover would be provided by the four state owned general insurers, New India Assurance, National Insurance. United India Insurance and Oriental insurance Company. There, is minimum monthly remuneration of Rs 5.000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link, between the account holders and the bank., PMJDY is more effective schemes as compared to other schemes launched by earlier UPA Govt., Professionals stated that previous scheme did not focus on households and urban financial. They maintained, that there was a cumbersome Know Your Customer (KYC) formality, restricting account opening. Jan­, Dhan Yojana scheme will allow government to return people’s money to them. The main purpose of the, scheme is ‘Mera Khata Bhagyavidhata’, which means ‘my account is divine’. Once you become an account, holder, you will get Rs 1 lakh insurance immediately without filling any separate form. And if you run the, account properly for six months by withdrawing and depositing money at regular intervals, then a loan of Rs, 5 000 will be made available to you, said Swaraj. The scheme will be beneficial for the poor. Every family, will have its own bank account. It will help in saving money and keeping it safe and secure. Various political, leaders appreciated this scheme. Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the scheme will be followed by economic, banking literacy and education, There are many advantages of Jan Dhan Yojana. The account holders will be provided a zero­balance, savings account with a RuPay debit card. Account holder will get a kit containing cheque book, financial, literacy and pass book. However this would vary from bank to bank and account usage. Person will also get, Aadhar number immidiately. The account holder will also be provided life insurance cover of INR 30,000, (for accounts opened before January 26, 2015) and an accidental insurance cover of INR 1 lakh. By 2018,, it is likely that all account holders under the PMJDY scheme will have access to an Aadhaar­linked bank, account with overdraft facility up to INR 5,000. By allowing direct money transfer into bank accounts, the, scheme is likely to cut down on corruption. The Prime Minister also said that by providing debit cards that, can be swiped the scheme shall reduce the dependence on credit cards, thereby promoting savings., Documents required for account opening: Address proof either current or permanent. If address, changes then person needs to submit fresh address proof to the bank. You can read more about the recent, know your customer (KYC) norms changed by RBI. For persons with no valid documents, the account can, still be opened by providing self­attested photographs, signature/ thumb print in front of bank official. Such, account is called Small Account, Read more about this here. However this small account would be valid only, for one year posts that person will have to provide official valid documents which include: Passport, Driving, License, ‘PAN card, Voter JD card, Aadhar card, or Ration card and two passport size photographs., There are some drawbacks of this scheme. Experts stated that Jan Dhan Yojana is questionable viability, of banking, insurance accounts, Priority versus freebies banking and it may burden on the taxpayer., Lastly, it can be said that The pradhan Mantri jan dhan Yojana is devised to assist peopel of india,, especially the poor section by provinding a bank account, credit facility, insurance cover and debit card. In, the long run. the scheme will also permit the poorer sections to avail themselves of subsidies and overdraft, facilities through thier bank accounts, which are intended to eliminate money­lenders, commission agents, and corruption. According to PM Modi, this scheme will boos everyone’s confidence. Jan Dhan Yojana, creates record and Bank accounts will enhance the economy. Jan Dhan yojna will stop monetary untouchability., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 47

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Internet: The New Revolution, The word ‘Internet’ flashes many images upon the canvas of the human mind. The dominant one may be, hundreds or thousands of computers and computer networks connected with each other exchanging, information. This is the hardware aspect of internet. Its application aspect is the multitude of different, services interval offers, by E­mail and others. Yet another image is that of everyone doing their own thing., Through internet, any type of information can be exchanged like text, audio­video signals on data, etc. Every, country has an information network through which it is connected to internet., Internet is mostly used for Electronic mail, i.e. E­mail Messages can be sent to anyone connected to, internet. This also helps in development of software data base, which is the base of internet. With the, development of multimedia, the interest of people in internet has increased. Through the use of internet and, joining of computer, telephone and electronic techniques and development of optical fiber, it is now easy to, store and exchange text, sounds and pictures. So, internet is a network of computers joined by optical fibers,, through which it is possible to send messages, sounds, text and pictures with the speed of light., Internet arrived in India on 15th August 1995. For the three years from 1995­1998, government had the, monopoly of providing internet services but in 1998 it allowed private companies to provide this service to, people. Internet is most beneficial for businessmen, doctors, teachers and scientists., Internet is very useful for common people. By sitting at home, a person can send letters and cards to the, members of the family and friends. They can chat with the like­minded people on any particular topic. Students, can get information on subject’s ort internet for their studies. Even they can browse through books on internet., Visiting different websites on internet is known as surfing. Nowadays, one can do anything on internet. One, can do even marketing by sitting at home. There are thousands of cyber­shops and internet sites which sell, from flowers to even foods on net. A person can watch movies, television, listen songs and radio, etc., Thus, internet is fast becoming a part of our daily lifestyle. In cybercafés, one can pay money and surf, the net. Nowadays, internet service providers are also providing internet services through cable lines, which, are faster to access. But it is the businessmen who are using the internet most and making it more popular., The fast and economically reliable way of accessing internet has given a new direction to international, business. All the business transactions and purchases that are going on the net is known as e­commerce., The biggest advantage of doing business on net is that the businessman do not have to sit for the whole time, on the shop., Internet has revolutionized every field. Its surprising growth seems to continue in the years to come, because it provides great benefit and convenience to the users., , Information Technology, What does the term ‘Information Technology’ really mean? Information technology is that technology by, which the information is processed, communicated, exhibited and retrieved in a fast, error­free and in a, proper­ way. Information technology is a technology in which both telecommunication and computer, technologies work together to provide information., Today’s world is the world of information and telecommunication. Everyday new technology and, inventions are being made in the area of information, processing and travelling. There is hardly any area, which had not been affected by this. Due to all this, the word distance sounds ironical in present day context., The whole world has become a small place today. Any information can be exchanged by people in few, seconds and that, too, in proper and effective way without any loss of data while it is being processed. On, the one hand, all these different ways of tele­communication and information exchange have highlighted the, necessity for multipurpose development and growth of information technology and on the other, the easy, access and use of it has boosted the network of information exchange. All this has been possible through, information technology like telephone, fax, telex, computers, internet, e­mail, photocopier, printer, scanner,, cellular phones, pagers, videophone, digital camera, multimedia, etc., 48, , Dharmendra Kumar

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These technologies are becoming a part and parcel of our lives and are transforming lifestyles and, habits of people all over the world., The use of computers has increased by leaps and bounds worldwide. Internet and multimedia have, now become playthings for children. The internet has revolutionized every field of the world. The government, has allowed private companies to provide internet services to people in order to boost up information technology., The internet has put an unprecedented amount of buying and selling power in the hands of all those within a, keystroke distance of a computer. Never in the history of commerce have solitary buyers and sellers been, able to engage so effortlessly in commerce on all points whether one is a scrap dealer or a collector with an, obsession for antiques, the internet is a solution., Digital technology is playing a vital role in our day­to­day life. In supermarkets it helps for faster, processing of films. In the field of agriculture, a digital moisture meter records the moisture in the soil and, tells when harvesting should start. For people, who are suffering from hearing loss, digital technology is of, great help. It processes sounds that reduce noise, improves clarity of speech and controls unwanted loudness., The government of India is very keen to achieve a great deal in the field of information technology. The, Indian Institutes of Information Technology are being set up at various places in the country. Now we can, hope that India will become an information technology superpower in near future., , Mobile Phone: A Boon to Modern Civilization, We are living in an electronic age. The whole world is taking a new turn with every fraction of time. It has, given birth to globalization. The world has been contracted and concised at a tip. There are a lot of new, means of communication which have made our life so simple and easy going. Mobile phone can be seen as, the most used present day phenomenon in this fast growing time. Mobile phone is a revolutionary step in the, field of tele­communication. We had the days when the telephones only served the purpose of communication, through sound. Mobile phone has completely changed the concept of the telephoning. Now a phone is not, only a mere phone but it is a lot in itself., A mobile phone works on a unique networked system which needs no wiring, no fixation and no, botheration. Originally it was used in cars, airlines, and passenger trains but increasingly it is becoming, ubiquitous. It is basically low­power radio telephone. In this magical system calls go through radio transmitters, that are located within small geographical unit which are known as cells. Since each cell’s signals are too, weak to interfere with those of other cells operating on the same frequencies and more channels can be, used than would be possible with high power radio frequency transmission. Narrow­band frequency modulation, (FM) is the most common mode of transmission, each message is assigned a carrier, unique to the cell from, which it is transmitted. The cellular phone was first tested in 1978. The cellular market in Britain alone had, grown at a rapid rate to 8.5 million users by 1997. In Japan it is as high as one mobile phone per ten people., However, when the number of cellular’s users had increased many new subscribers are low users. In the, United Kingdom cable operators are giving some five lakh extra subscribers per month. Presently China, tops the list of the mobile user countries. India does not lag behind. It is fast approaching to equalize or even, supersede the status of China., When we think over the advantage of a cellular phone in comparison to the old rigid telephones, we can, say that the greatest advantage of the cellular phone is that it can be used anywhere, anytime. It can send a, message, store a date. It can be used as computer and a whole world in one’s hand. As for the instant, information, nature of a cellular phone it has an advantage in life controlled by the information that continues, changing by a minute unit of an advanced information­oriented society. Exchange of information has become, do at sight by what was telephoned anywhere. By it, update speed of the whole information has become, fast. No doubt, it has changed the whole scenario of the world., The cellular phone or the mobile phone has become necessity for today’s world. But the new generation, is misusing it by distorting its uses. Some innocent people are being exploited through it. MMS, video clippings,, picture messaging are some of the ways which are being misused. There should be strict legal procedure, against such distortion of this cellular age., One cannot deny the change in life with the change of time but when this change is over­exposed it is, called pollution.” We must balance these two phenomena in order to create a healthy world., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 49

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Criminalisation of Politics, Politics is the most common phenomenon in the world today. Politics is the concept which provides the, manner and the rules to govern a state and country. Its approach is to provide good governance. The, persons who are related to this phenomenon are known as politicians. They are supposed to be the persons, with all the qualities needed for the good governance but the present scenario has completely been changed., Now the person who are in the politics appear to be the criminals. They have a number of criminal cases, under trial against themselves. Still they rule the state and the country they are being elected as public, representatives for Assembly and Parliament. Whether they win or snatch victory in elections no one can, say. It seems that politics has become synonym for crime., Criminalisation is a term which comes of the world ‘crime’ which appears to be very unpleasant and, devouring politics in the name which is given to the art of governance. While on one hand crime is an, unlawful act of handling anything, politics is the legal way which takes or deals anything socially. Thus, these, two terms are quite contrary to each other but in the present scenario they appear to be synonymous to each, other particularly in India., Criminalisation of politics means moulding politics in a criminal shape. This trend has been growing fast, since a few decades in our country. Our Constitution provides that the representatives elected by the citizens, of our country will govern it. The representatives should be ideal and they should have the qualities of a, social servant. They must think and work for the welfare of the people at large in the interest of the nation., Our constitution ensures a Socialist, Secular State and equality, fraternity among its citizens. Our country, has a democratic set­up which is by the people, for the people and of the people. It means the peoples’, representatives should always be conscious of the good governance so that the ideals of constitution must be, achieved., For a few decades there has many changes in our politics. Good governance is not the prime concern, of the governing people. They are guided by their own interests and whims. Persons belonging to criminal, background are becoming our representatives. A new trend of giving tickets to the confirmed criminals and, history sheeters or even to the persons behind the bars has grown very rapidly. More than that the situation, appears to be more alarming when we find such persons being elected for the State Assembly or Parliament., Elections are won not by right but by might. It seems that we are living in a ‘jungle raj’ where there is no law., Though democracy implies ‘rule of law’ and the holding of free election to ascertain the will of the, people. But it has been much vitiated. The criminalisation of Indian politics and consequent cult of gun has, created great threat to the life of the common people. The great leaders of all political parties and intellectuals, deliver eloquent speeches expressing their abhor­rence at the infiltration of criminals into the electoral area., Stress is laid on eliminating the use of muscle power in the electoral process. Yet, the majority of the parties, remain satisfied with expressing such pious sentiments. No one is seriously concerned to check this process, of criminalisation. The House of State Assemblies and Parliament always witness with the abuses and, quarrels among its members., This criminalisation has moved all the ideals of democracy. No one can say what will be the end of this, alarming situation. It becomes the duty of the genuine mind in this critical situation to make efforts to save, our democracy from this menace. If the criminals continue to flourish in this way, nothing will remain intact., No one will be spared even the creators of this situation. Hence everyone must take it seriously., , Disaster Management, God has created this universe which includes earth, water, sky, nature and deep down the earth surface., There are men and nature the two most vital components of this universe. Man can do wonders. Nature has, everything already done. Man creates the things which are said to be artificial. They are not permanent. But, nature has created the things which are permanent No one can alter in the design of nature. Man has no, control over it. Nature has its own way. Sometimes it is soothing, sometimes it is ferocious. Whenever it, turns to be in its bad temper it can bring devastation. It is known as disaster., Man has always been threatened by the fury of nature from the very beginning of his existence on this, 50, , Dharmendra Kumar

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earth. Sometimes disasters like earthquakes occur repeatedly with serious impact on all spheres of life. Be, it earthquake in Gujarat in 2001 and Lattur in 1993 or cyclone of Orissa in 1999 or Tsunami in 2004, they, cause immense loss of human life and leave a trail of humar tragedy that the society is yet to recover from., Natural disasters are the manifestation of nature and they can take place; anywhere anytime.Most of, the natural events are cyclic and predictable, such as the coming of yearly floods. In such a case people, adapt themselves to the changing conditions. People living in a river­flood plain usually leave it when the, water level is high and they come back to their homes whose the flood water recedes. But if there is any, change in the normal pattern either in the timing of the flood or the fury of flood we see devastating effect, on the life and property of the people. Similarly earthquakes, cyclones Tsunamis, are dramatic and very, damaging in their results., Although natural calamities cannot be averted but many suitable mea­sures can be taken to lessen the, impact of these disasters. Disaster manager struggle to mitigate their effects on human lives and material, losses. The most vulnerable sections in these disasters are the poor. Hence it is necessary to mobilise them, towards preparedness. Quick and timely response is the essence in providing immediate relief and rescue, operations, to save human lives and mitigate miseries as soon as possible. The response mechanism envisages, that on receiving signals of a disaster happening or likely to happen, all activities related with the mitigation, process are activated without loss of time., Disaster management is a collective and co­ordinate effort. A number of activities need to be undertaken, in the event of disaster. These include co­ordination, command and control, rapid assessment of damage,, restoration of power, tele­communication and surface transport, deployment of search and rescue teams,, medicals and Para­medical teams, arrangements for drinking water and food material, setting up of temporary, shelters, sanitation and hygiene identification and earmarking of resources, last but not the least, maintenance, of law and order is equally important., It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to be in a state of preparedness and provide, relief to the people affected in a disaster. But in case of severe calamity the Central Government supplements, their efforts by providing logistic and financial support. The Central Government has set up a National, Centre for Disaster Management., Community participation in rescue and relief operations and reconstruction after a disaster is always, essential. And it is a good sign that everyone starts feeling the gravity of the situation and comes forward, with a helping hand., , Politics of Religion, The term ‘religion’ applies to the belief and way how and to whom one worships. Its origin dates back to the, origin of mankind. It means to say that it grew along with the growth of human being. Primarily there have, been four major religions—Hindu, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism. All these religions take human being to its, salvation. The followers of these different religions follow different Gods and different ways of their worship., With the growth of humanity, a number of other sub­religions have been born. But one thing is very clear that, followers of all the religions believe in a super power and they try to get its blessing. Its means that religion, is the super concept that relates the physic to the metaphysic. But there has been a very dangerous turn in, the ideal of religion. Politics has intrued in religion and religion is being used for politics., According to the constitution India is a secular country which provides; to all its citizens the freedom of, faith and worship in their own way. But in the present scenario this religious freedom is being misused., Religious appeals are made by the leaders for seeming more and more votes. Religious feelings of the, people are aroused for political gain. The demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya is one of the, examples of the misuse of religion As a result there were communal riots all over the country. It were as if, people had lost their mental balance and were out to destroy their religions rivals. It was forgotten at that, time that India is a land of many religious and all religions are given equal respect and weight. However the, issue was handed over to the Supreme Court and the Government is bound to follow its judgement., As our life has completely been politicalised, religion has taken a prominent place in every field of our, life. Politics is the way through which we occupy the government, rule the country and establish contacts, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 51

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with the mass, on the other hand religion is the most sensitive way through which we take ourselves to a, completely different world which is transcendental While politics is completely a physical phenomenon, related to this world religion is completely a metaphysical phenomenon which has in no way any relation to, this world. It means both stand apart. But in the present context of our way of life both have been intermingled, which has created a chaotic situation and we are completely confused., This chaotic situation is the outcome of selfish attitude of the poli­ticians. Today politicians are not, concerned with the welfare of the nation Instead they think only for the next election. Hence they try to, create there­ vote banks in either way. For this they apply every possibility and make all efforts to win over, the majority of the people in their favour. They use money, caste­factor, regionalism, lingualism etc. for this, purpose. They have not spared the pious religion. Time to time religious issues are raised to blackmail the, sentiment of the people following the particular religion. There are a number of examples which our country, has witnessed in recent years Advani’s Somnath Yatra, Godhra Carnage, Mumbai bomb­blast, 1984 riots,, operation blue­star, demolition of Babri Masjid are some of the well­known incidents which have hunted our, minds and we are compelled to think over the misuse of religion for vested interest of a few misguided, leaders or people or political parties. Very recently we have witnessed the hue and cry over the arrest of, Jayendra Saraswati the Shankaracharya of Kanchikamkoti Pith He has been the prime suspect of a murder, of one of his assistants. Some of the leaders have raised their voice of protest against it. How much are, these protesters justified in protecting an accused of murder? Should such persons not be treated like other, criminals? It is a time of retrospection to think over the minsuse of religion for such purposes. Religion, should not be the way to get votes. It should be kept apart from politics. It should not be corrpted politics., , Pollution: The Greatest Threat to Our Life, Pollution is a world problem. Today, whatever little oxygen we inhale, is polluted. No doubt, most of our, progress and development is the result of industrial growth and technological advancement of which we feel, proud. But it has its evil effect too i.e. pollution. By pollution we mean to destroy the purity of a thing. It is, generally used for natural environment i.e. land, water, air. Pollution makes the environment unfit for living., It becomes a health hazard. It brings many diseases, hence it must be checked soon., Land pollution is caused due to dumping and disposal of wastes, application of agro­chemicals in the, soil. Deforestation also leads to land pollution. Hence it is necessary to start tree plantation as a social, service and national programme. It is the only way which can save humanity., In India, wastes of oil, refineries and atomic plants are dumped into the rivers or seas which posesserious, threat to the health of the people living in its surrounding areas or far away. Consequently, fresh water, resources are depleting very fast and water­borne diseases are on the increase., Air pollution is one of the major ecological problems man is facing today. It is the most dangerous form, of pollution because we cannot control the air we breathe. Air pollution is prominent in the big cities like, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, etc. where the smoke is emitted from the chimneys of mills, kilns and, factories and diesel smoke from buses, cars, aeroplanes, motor­cars and scooters. Thus, air becomes polluted, and we are bound to enhale such polluted air., Noise pollution is no less dangerous. The problem with noise is not only that it is unwanted, but also that, it negatively affects human health and well­being. Problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high, blood­pressure, sleep loss, distraction and lost productivity and a general reduction in the quality of life and, opportunities for tranquility. Water pollution has caused many health problems. It has many sources. The, most polluting of them are the city sewage and industrial waste dis­charged into the river. The facilities to, treat wastewater are not adequate in the city in India. Presently only about 10% of the wastewater generated, are treated. The rest is discharge as it is into our water bodies. Due to this, pollutants enter groundwater,, rivers and other water bodies. Such contaminated water is used in our households. As a result we come in, the grip of number of diseases. Agricultural runoff rivers, is another major water pollutant as it contains, fertilizers and pesticides., Pollution of any type is the greatest threat to our life because it causes many fatal diseases like diarrhoea,, cholera, tuberculosis, asthama and even cancer. Hence pollution control measures must be used., 52, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Deforestation should be totally stopped. Various measures may be adopted to control pollution. To trap, smoke particles chambers should be made. Lottj smoke stakes should be built. Gases should be discharged, through exhaust pipes higher in the air. Chemical industries should not be allowed to be set upon the banks, of rivers. Waste materials should be subjected to anti­pollution treatment. Noise pollution must be made a, punishable o fence Growing population on a fast rate is also responsible for the problem of pollution Hence, it must be controlled by spreading awareness among common people. Pollution is harmful for all and therefore, joint effort should be made to sweep away all kinds of pollution., , Politics of Reservation, Reservation is the term which is applied for the process of reserving one’s interest. Sometimes you get a, berth or seat reserved in train or bus; sometimes you get a place reserved anywhere. Sometimes you have, something reserved for yow the implication is the same. Reservation gives you a special authority or possession, for the thing you have got reserved. After Independence the world’s largest democracy i.e. India accepted, this term in its Constitution in a very significant manner. Every community has divided itself in two prominent, categories. First the privileged and the second the unprivileged or under­privileged. India has also followed, this system of society right from very ancient period. Naturally there has always been a great rift between, these two sections.­ After Independence the wise politicians thought over this rift very deeply. They adopted, the policy of reservation for the next twenty years in order to provide a special facility to the underprivileged, and depressed class of the society to bring them in the mainstream., In the long twenty years our politicians became very mature and un­derstood that the reserved class of, people could be a great vote­bank for any political party. So the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, reinstated this policy for the next twenty years. Now reservation was no longer an effort to uplift the, depressed classes but it became a weapon of the politicians to encash their vote­banks. This malicious, attitude reached its culmination when the then Prime Minister V.P. Singh in 1991 adopted the decision of, Mandal Commission. It provoked a mass outrage among the students and the young generation. Now merit, was not the criterian for getting a job. But now being a reserved class was at the prime stage. The reservation, of seats in job crossed the limit set by the Supreme Court which does not recommend it beyond 50% of the, total seat. Anyway it was not completely a success and V.P. Singh had to go., Again in 2006 Arjun Singh, now the HRD Minister declared to impose the policy of reservation in such, a manner that it surpassed even the Mandal Commission. Again it created mass outrage. Students from all, communities came out to protest this malicious vote­politics. This time this policy has been declared to be, implemented even in the AIIMS, IITs, and IIMs which were not included in V.P. Singh plan. Now these, premiere institutes will have seats reserved for the most undeserving candidates who are in no way capable, of doing the job. The UPA Government is silent upon the declaration of the HRD Minister. No opposition, party dare to oppose this declaration or imposition because they think that they will lose their vote bank., Whatever be the motive of the HRD Minister or the present politicians of our nation one thing is very, much clear they are in no­thinking for the sound future generation because the quality of education will, certainly fall in the high­class premiere institutions like IIMs, IITs and AIIMS. The rich can go to the, universities abroad but what will happen to the middle class students. No one can answer it properly. It is the, time for the well wishers of the nation to think over the grim future of India. The so­called nation­bunders, should spare their time to think what they want and how they can make a good nation with the machinery, standing upon a reserved platform. This reservation has become a great curse for our nation., , Role of Students in the Development of a Nation, Man is a social animal. He cannot live alone. Society provides all comforts and amenities of life. Hence, every individual has an obligation towards the society. Students, in particular can do a lot in this regard., India is a developing country. Students can prove themselves very helpful in the noble work of its, development. Illiteracy is a curse for any nation. And it is unfortunate that most of our villages are illiterate., They even do not know whatever is happening around them. The youth can help the rural people in many, ways, by spreading education among them, by developing adult education and by removing ignorance from, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 53

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their life. They can inspire them to keep small family by highlighting its benefits. They can persuade them to, follow Family Planning, the mystery of all comforts. They can teach them to live in co­operation and work, for their betterment., Students are the backbone of any society and the nation. In times of emergencies like war, famine,, floods, droughts etc. a country has to meet various demands to face the situation. In such emergencies,, students can be of great help. The youth of the society has unlimited viguor and vitality. Their potentialities, must not be spoiled in negative direction. Instead they must be utilised in some noble cause. The society and, the nation have immense faith in its youth power. Hence, it is the duty of the youth to tackle every problem, efficiently. They can bring smile on million’s faces., Students can do something for the defense of their country. They can get training in first­aid, fire­, fighting, air­raid precautions, use of rifles and nursing etc. They can help in maintaining internal peace and, harmony, the only hope of humanity., Our society has been suffering from a great evil called dowry. Here also the youth can prove themselves, very helpful. They should take oath to be get married without dowry. In addition to this we are facing many, other problems like child marriage, gambling, drinking, smoking, corruption, superstition and so on. At every, sphere, only youth can do something positive by dint of their charismatic personalities, wonderful stamina, and exceptional sacrifice. They can remove all these evils in a less time., But it is unfortunate that the youth power today has got diverted. Every now and then we come through, such incidents in which the youth power is involved in this or that. It is really a blot on the society. Hence, it, is important to guide these misguided young people by inspiring them to do something great to achieve, something different. Their conscience must be awakened so that they may be good human beings to discharge, their duties in the best possible way. They have potential in them. They must recognise in, weigh it and utilize, it in right way., , National Integration, Mahatma Gandhi once said, “We have to produce a society of those people profess different religions, but, they live like brothers.” In fact, this statement of Mahatma Gandhi has the essence of national integration ir, India, where people of different religions live together., The British rulers sowed the seeds of hatred among the people of different religions in India, because, they believed in the policy of “Divid; and Rule”. The British government in India encouraged Muslim League, to demand Pakistan on the basis of separate religion and separate nation, But the Constitution of free India lays down that India is a secular state which means that people of, different religions have full freedom worship in this country and they live like brothers., National Integration means that we should have a true spirit of patriotism in our hearts. We should think, that we are Indians first and members of a particular religion afterwards. We should consider ourselves part, and parcel of our country. We should always remember the following words of Swami Ram Tirath :, ‘The land of India is my own body. The Ocean is my feet and the Himalayas are my head. From, my hair flows the Ganga and from my head comes the Brahmaputra The Vindhyachal is girt round my, loins.”, We stand in the need of true patriotism. If all of us become true patriots there will be no communal, riots, in this holy land of India. But alas, these riots have been raising their ugly head from time to time in free, India We were justified when we blamed the British rulers in India for encouraging communal riots in this, country. But there is no justification for communal riots even after getting our independence., The recent communal riots in Assam, Gujarat, U.P., Delhi and Punjab are a blot on the fair name of our, holy country. It is a matter of shame and sorrow that even the Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab, who till now had, been living brothers, have fallen a prey to communal riots after tragic killing of Smt. India Gandhi. The need, of the hour is that all Punjab should consider one another as brothers and live peacefully as such., India is a vast country, where many languages are spoken by people This causes a great hindrance in, the way of national integration. The people of a country remain united if there is a single language spoken by, its entire people. Hindi can become such a national language but people of the South do not own it as their, national language., Anyhow, efforts should be made by the Government of India that all people in the country may own, Hindi as their national language even if they use English as link language., 54, , Dharmendra Kumar

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The Future of Democracy in India, Democracy is a form of Government. It has been described in different ways by different thinkers. Abraham, Linlcon, the President of U.S.A., called democracy, the government of people, by the people, for the people., According to Mahatma Gandhi that form of Government is democracy in which the weakest has the same, opportunity as the strongest., Since India’s new Constitution came into operation, we have had twelve general elections. These, elections are held on the basis of universal adult franchise. They show our people’s faith in democracy., Democracy in India is quite young., Indian democracy still suffers from many ills. They are likely to continue for some time before they are, completely removed. The greatest ill of our democracy at a large number of people in India are illiterate., They do not understand the functioning of democratic institutions. They are not aware of the great value of, vote. These illiterate people are easily deceived by cheap propaganda. Empty slogans and attractive promises, mislead them. Cunning politicians misguide them by their fall talks for their personal interests. They exploit, their ignorance and illiteracy for their selfish ends., Among many weaknesses of our new democracy another is that people have not been able to overcome, the feelings of casteism and communalism and regionalism. In the days of propaganda of elections, castes, considerations are put before illiterate people to get their votes. So communal feelings play very important, role in the election and selection of candidates in different constituencies. Here the leaders arouse communal, feelings in ignorant people., The third weakness of Indian democracy is the influence of money in the elections. Hence in our, country elections have become very costly. All the political parties spend large amount of money on elections., In every election huge amount of money is spent like water on the different items of propaganda to influence, the voters., Recently we have seen the downfall of democracy in the East and West and also in our neighbourhood., These instances had created alarm and people thought that perhaps India was also going the same way., In the light of our previous elections we can conclude that the function of democratic institutions in our, country has been satisfactory so far. There is a good scope for improvement., , Co-education, Co­education is a system of education in which boys and girls learn together in the same school or college at, the same time. In India this system has become very popular nowadays. Needless to say that it is not a new, thing for us. It has been in practice from a long time, though not like today. But with the coming of Muslims, in India, co­education came to an end because of the Purdha system of which the Muslims were the great, advocates., Time is changing very fast and with the change of age and expansion of education co­education is no, longer a taboo now. What to talk of big towns and cities, even in villages and small town’s boys and girls, study together without any problem. Actually the idea of common people has sharply changed. They are no, longer narrow­minded. Apart from this, there are many advantages of co­education and people are very, much aware of it. Hence, it has come into practice on a large scale in India., When boys and girls interact with each other right from the childhood. the fear, craze and mystery of, the opposite sex automatically removed from the mind. They observe the changes that come in each other’, body and mind with ages as a normal course of growing up. Moreover, they learn to understand each other’s, individuality, behaviour and way of thinking. Setting, moving, talking, studying and eating together removes, many complexes and makes the person’s approach more rounded and wholesome., Co­education teaches both boys and girls to be tolerant and respectful of competitions with each other., It teaches the students to face the realities of life. Education, in the real sense, is not limited to knowledge, imparted by books it is a continuous process of learning more from our environment, society and changes, around us. With the opening up of new vistas of learning, and new opportunities of career, it has been, understood that men and women contribute equally in every field of society. Hence there must not be any, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 55

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hesitation in facing each other, instead it is better to solve any problem contributing equal efforts. In this way, this education system develops a wonderful mutual understanding between both the sexes. After all they, have to live together in life. Then why should be an unnatural separation of sexes in our schools and, colleges?, We should feel proud that Smt. Vijay Laxmi Pandit was first woman to preside UNO. Smt. Raj Kumari,, Amrit Kaur also presided WHO of UNO in India. Not only this, there were many more like Sucheta, Kriplani, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu etc. who worked together with men under the leadership of Gandhiji, and did a lot to win India’s freedom., Last but not the least, co­education is rather economical. It is difficult to run separate girl schools or, colleges at every place. Hence, there is no harm in giving education to boys and girls in the same institution, in the same environment. This system no doubt, builds a solid base of education., , Child Labour, Child Labour is a serious problem in many parts of the world. Its presence in hazardous industries is a gross, violation of human rights. If children are not dying in explosions, they are dying a slow but sure death in the, glass, brass­ware, lock, slate, balloon, brick­kiln and other industries., Not only are children working in hazardous industries, they are also engaged in the most hazardous, processes in industries which adults do not want to touch. In the glass industry, children are primarily, engaged in removing molten glass from the furnaces. Since the furnaces are designed for adults, the child’s, face is almost touching the wall of the furnace. It is not all. Accidents happen all the time and most of them, go unreported., Child labour and its problems are intimately related to the extreme poverty. These children belong to, the families of total have­nots who do not have any other means to raise their income except the human, asset it invest in a bid to supplement it. These children as such contribute to the pool of income of the family, to fulfil their needs. But parents cannot be allowed to justify sending their children to work in such industries, on the grounds of poverty. A massive contryriwide campaign is needed to be launched stating clearly the, punitive action which would be taken if children were found to be employed. Exploitation of children as, social problem has only recently begun to agitate the international conscience. Germany and USA have now, refused to allow import of items—such as Indian carpets, which are made by small children., In India, the children’s cause has been taken up by the Delhi­based Centre of Concern For Child, Labour (CCFCL), which also has field units in Bhopal, Aligarh and Sonabhadra, CCFCL, provides relief and, rehabilitation to child workers, networks with non­governmental organisations and the governmental, organisations and the government to improve child welfare programmes, generates public awareness and, hold educational programmes for child workers., The Bangalore­based Concern for Working Children (CWC) runs Gramashrama, a unique project to, curb migration of child labourers from villages to cities. The project covers 52 villages in Karnataka, CWC, also runs a shelter for homeless working children in Bangalore. But their effort are not enough. There is still, much to do in this direction., School represents the most important means of drawing children away from the labour market. School, provides children with guidance and opportunity to understand their role in society. Therefore many insist on, immediately abolishing child labour and requiring children to go to school., In India, the existing, Employment of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 provides, for prohibition of child labour in hazardous industries and regulates their employment in the non­hazardous, industries. The state governments have been told to determine hazardous and non­hazardous industries but, they have not been able to do so as yet. The child labour act is applicable up to 14 years of age. But the, reality is that in many industries the child labour have been shown higher than the actual age. Consequently, millions of small children are languishing in slavery in various industries. Child labour must be stopped at any, cost. The gravity of this issue should cause concern to us and the world at large., , 56, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Fight against AIDS, The last two decades (1981­1999) witnessed the emergence of a new fatal disease in short called “AIDS”., The Acquired Immuno Defic ency Syndromes virus infects the blood stream through sexual HIV bv transfusion, of blood from a person positive to HIV, sharing taction needle with AIDS positive person or from the, infected mo her si bloodHo the child during pregnancy period. Once this deadly virus (HIV) enters the blood, of a man or woman, he or she is bound to die, At the beginning of disease no one knew what was destroying the immune systems to otherwise, healthy men. But after some times it was detected as a newly discovered “retrovirus”. It was eventually, called the “human immuno­deficiency virus” or HIV. The scientists, after long researches, mapped out the, genes of HIV and discovered which parts of this gene are constant and which are variable. They have, researched how the virus replicates inside the body and how different types of cells can act as reservoirs., They have explored the various ways HIV attacks and destroys CD4 cells, the white blood cells critical, to the body’s immune system. A normal man has a large number of CD4 cells in his blood while people with, HIV infection lose all of their CD4 cells over time, as their ability to produce them diminishes., But for all the advances in the basic science of this virus, there is still no cure or vaccine for HIV. A, number of lingering mysteries about the virus confound the efforts of researchers, clinicians and the people, with AIDS. HIV has a latency period. It lasts from a few months to ten years., The researchers FDA (Food and Drug Administration of US) have prepared two drugs that combat the, virus itself; another set of five drugs which treat infections brought on by a weakened immune. But these, medicines are simply an eye­wash. There is no authentic drug or vaccine which can completely cure this, deadly disease. The only effective cure is ‘prevention’. More and more people should be made aware of the, preventive measures to be taken. What is necessary is that people should be persuaded to use condoms and, sterilized syringes as far as possible. The government should train health workers who would educate the, people through media publicity, photo­films and animating documentary video films about the possible impact, of this century’s most horrible disease. The focus should be shifted to the prevention of the spread of the, human immune­deficiency virus that causes AIDS., , Work is Worship, ‘Work is Worship’. This is a very old proverb which means there is no better way to worship God except to, be hard working. And this is fully justified what man has achieved during the course of his development is a, result of hard work over long periods of time, He owes all his greatness to hard work Hence, it is the root of, all success., There is no alternative of hard work. Today man has conquered nature, he has set foot on the moon, he, has travelled in the space, he has invented so many life­saving drugs­all became possible because he never, avoided work. We see wonderful progress in field of agriculture and industry. The methods of agriculture, have been improved which has resulted in the growth of production. Now the farmers are enjoying better, days than what they had to face previously. This is again the result of hard work. Indeed work is worship, ‘There is an old proverb, ‘God helps those who help themselves. God also gets impressed and helps and, cooperates only those who are hardworking and sincere. God does not love being worshipped by a person, each second. He wants that a person works hard. So, it is not praiseworthy if we worship God all the time, and do no work at all. There are people who believe that it is luck that plays super role in anybody’s life., Hence, they avoid work and wait for the miracles, which according to them must occur in their life and, consequently they would get all those things which they wish for but the reality is that no such miracle, happens particularly when we don’t work. By working day and night only one can hope for miracles. So, we, must think that God has made us with some purpose and for achieving this purpose. He has sent us into the, world­the world of work. Now, it is our humble duty to utilize each and every minute in the best possible, way. We have to utilize our potentialities to the full so that we may be counted among the successful men of, the world., Here we should be alert that when we say that ‘work is worship we mean work which is useful and, wholesome for the society. Work which is harmful for society can never be praiseworthy. Hence, our, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 57

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potentialities should be utilized in constructive work, not in manufacturing some poisonous drugs, or making, destructive weapons or planning some conspiracy or waging wars or doing anti­social activities. They can, never be blessing for mankind nor they can make God happy., Our work must be creative and it must have some humble base. Only then we can say work is worship, otherwise it will be devil’s worship., India has a rich heritage of hard working people such as Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal, Nehru, Sardar Patel etc. We should take lesson from them and work for the benefit of the nation at large., , Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone, Mans does not live by bread alone’ is an old saying which simply defines that man needs much more than, bread itself. Here the word ‘bread’ stands for the primary or basic needs of life. In order to live man needs, food, clothes and shelter. But these are not enough. Man’s life is not for fulfilling only these three needs. He, has more and more wants in life and for achieving them lie does strenuous Labour Day and night. He makes, impossible possible. It is here, that we find the difference between man and animal. Animals also have these, needs, and they can live if these needs are fulfilled. But man cannot., He is different from the animals in having a mind and a soul as well. He has intellectual, emotional and, spiritual needs which must be fulfilled instantly otherwise he will be half­dead. He can live without bread for a day, or two but not without satisfying his needs related to mind and soul. He requires mental food in addition to bread., He wants to study good books sometimes for pleasure and sometimes for gathering knowledge on different, subjects. He needs newspapers daily to know what is happening around him. He craves aesthetic satisfaction and, finds immense pleasure in art and literature. There are scientists who work twenty­four hours to achieve their, goals. They cannot live without their scientific studies. A well known instance from Newton’s life can easily, explain what really a man wants. While doing experiments in his laboratory Newton became so engrossed that he, boiled his keys instead of eggs. He could live without eggs but not without his experiments, because they were his, mental food., Man has a heart which makes him emotional. He loves others and in turn wants to be loved. He craves, for a family with a wife and children and maintains good relations with his kith and kin. He needs true, friends. He wants to share his joys and sorrows with his family members, relatives and friends., Man has some spiritual needs too. He has a soul and he wishes to satisfy it by doing some noble deeds., He extends a helping hand to those who are in distress. He wants to lead a virtuous life. He prays to God for, the welfare of the whole, humanity. He has his conscience which he keeps awake all the time and tries to, bring spiritual development, the essence of true happiness., Thus man has numerous needs apart from his daily bread. Unless there needs are fulfilled he is not, happy. He would like to die even though enough bread is available., , Health is Wealth, Good health is a boon. It is the real jewel of life, the most precious possession of man. If a man losses his, health, the world losses all its charms for him. A good wealth of health can be obtained in a number of ways., It needs regular exercise, good food, good thoughts, and cleanliness. A healthy person does not spend money, on medicines and visiting doctors. Just opposite, a sluggish person is another form of hell of diseases., The simplest and most traditional definition of health is that it is the freedom of sickness and diseases., According to World Health Organisation (WHO), a branch of the United Nations, health is physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease. Next to life itself, good health is the most, precious gift and is necessary for a purposeful existence., ‘Sound mind in a sound body’ is an old saying. Healthy persons can work for long hours without getting, tired. They can enjoy all the pleasures of life, whereas unhealthy persons can’t. The world has no charm for, them. They are always worried due to their physical complications. Wealth has no importance for them., To keep good health no money is needed. It can be achieved only through our efforts and proper health, care. We can maintain good health only if we are aware of various factors which affect our health. There, are certain things which are essential for keeping our body free from diseases. Nutritious food comes first., We should take only that food which has nutritious value. Some regularities in life are also important for good, 58, , Dharmendra Kumar

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health. We should get up early in the morning, go out for a walk, breathe in fresh air to keep our lungs clean, and in good order, and take brisk walk, move arms while walking. Maintaining clean habits is also important, in this regard. If we don’t take bath regularly, don’t wear clean clothes, don’t eat fresh food, we may, develop physical complications in the long run. Hence regularities, good habits and cleanliness have great, value in maintaining good health. Balancing sleep and rest are also useful in this regard., We know that a great deal of the waste matter in our bodies escaped by “means of the skin, which, contains many millions of tiny drainpipes called ‘pores’. If we neglect keeping our bodies clean, these pores, get choked up and the waste matter cannot escape. Hence we must keep this important point in our mind, and do accordingly., Laughter is the best medicine of good health. So, we should keep calm by overcoming anger, greed,, fear, envy and enmity. Life of a healthy man is his long lasting wealth. It makes him able to enjoy life to the, full. Those who are wealthy may not always be healthy but the healthy people are always wealthy., , Where There is a Will There is a Way, Life is an art A mountain of troubles In your trouble don’t cry You should only try and try Struggle hard And, conquer the sky with your skill and power of will. The above lines depict the reality of life. Life is beautiful, if we know the art of living but it is ugly in case we don’t know that art. It is full of ups and downs, it has less, joys and more sorrows but we are not here to blame for it. It is a set up fixed by Almightily and we have to, adjust ourselves in this set up. We have to pave our way to go far away. But this we can’t do unless we have, strong will power and firm determination., The two qualities—strong will power and firm determination—play a key role in an individual’s life., One who possesses these qualities is sure to find a way out of all difficulties. To such a man, nothing is, impossible. This is what the proverb means. Hence, we never get tensed by the troubles that come in our, way one after another in this form or that. We have to fix our eyes on our ultimate goal. Once we achieve, success, we will definitely forget the struggle and pain which tried to disturb us every now and then., Our history is rich with such persons whose strong will power brought them immense success. We, have C.N. Janki, a handicapped girl, who successfully crossed the English Channel in spite of all odds. Again, we have Sudha Chandran whose determination to achieve something different in the world of dance was, not shattered a bit even though she lost­ her legs. She danced and danced beautifully on her artificial legs, and wondered the whole world. All,the obstacles bowed down infront of her will power. We must not forget, Eklavya of Mahabharat who completed his education with the help of the statue of Guru Dronacharya, because Dronacharya refused to teach him. By sheer will power and determination he got mastery in the art, of archery. These examples clearly show that if there is a will, we will definitely find a way. Nothing is, difficult nor impossible if we try having enough power of will., It is a fact that success does not go to those who never struggle, who never embrace hardships. Only, dream can be of no use. We have to act according to our dream, our ambitions regardless of troubles or, obstacles. We should always keep it in mind that the success achieved through obstacle has an essence of, sweetness. Failures may come in between but men of strong will power are not afraid of them. They try and, try and finally win the final goal. Luck or opportunity never bothers those who are firmly set on getting, ahead. So, don’t believe in fate, don’t get disturbed by obstacles, only do work and everything will be yours., , A Stitch in Time Saves Nine, ‘A stitch in Time Saves Nine’ is a well­known proverb and is most widely used. It means that a cloth which, is torn must be stitched at once. The delay may increase the size of the torn portion and consequently many, more stitches may be required. But this is not the only meaning that the above proverb explains. It has, hidden many more meanings in itself. We can also say that evil should be nipped in the bud to avoid future, troubles. If it is not put down in the very beginning, iT may become out of control and may prove disastrous., Hence, the proverb has much truth and wisdom and we should not ignore them otherwise our life may be, hell., In our day­today life the truth of the proverb will be cleared. Just take the example of a small child. The, child is innocent. He does not know what is good and what is bad. Hence he may acquire bad habits along, with good ones in the process of growth. Now it becomes the duty of the parents to check the evils then and, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 59

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there. If the parents overtook them thinking that their child is very small they would grow and would give rise, to many other evil habits. If a growing child steals something in the school and brings it at home, he should, be at once taken to otherwise the habit of stealing will take its root with the growth of the child. And then it, will be difficult for the parents to uproot that evil. Similarly if a child tells a lie, his parents, without waiting for, another lie, must put down this bad habit on the very moment. This is the right way and by going through right, way we will never be in the grip of any trouble. Hence we must keep it in mind that time is the most, important factor and if we fail to do any work at the right time, it may be very troublesome for us., We can prove the truth of the proverb through the well­known story of the boy who acquires the bad, habit of stealing due to his mother’s carelessness. His mother, overpowered by greed, never discouraged, him for this evil act and became happy to get valuable things one after another. As a result petty thefts soon, led on to much greater thefts and ultimately he was sentenced to be hanged till he was dead on the charge, of dacoity and murder. But before going to be hanged, he wished to say a few words to his mother. When his, mother came he pretended as if he wanted to whisper something in her ears. But when she came nearer, he, cut off her ears and cold her that it was she who made him embrace such a disgraceful death. If she had, taught him a lesson of good habits, he would have never become a dacoit and murderer., Nowadays we see many evils have got their roots in the society. As a result there are cases of murder,, kidnapping, chain­snatching, smuggling, etc. These activities are in existence because they were not nipped, in the very beginning., , Capital Punishment, To execute some of criminals will not make our lives more secure than before. People are facing a number, of crimes such as robbery and assault on the streets which are putting our live into more risks. Since it, started to be debated by the lawmaker’s wether it is essential or not, capital punishment has been removed, from a large number of countries criminal codes during last few decades. United Nations takes the main role, in Europe. However, some countries such as Iran, China and a part of United States still put capital punishment, into practice., As dying is one of the most common fears of people, it can be claimed that death penalty can be, considered as an exemplary for the individuals who cause crimes of violence in the society. On the other, hand it can be argued that governments are taking these steps in to a favour by putting them into jails and, providing food and place them live instead of executing. They also say that the economy of the nations is, effected in the negative way. The Indian Panel code recognizes capital punishment under eight sections for, different offences. At present Capital Punishment in our country is given for seven crimes. These are, murder, dacoity coupled with murder, war against the state, false evidence which results in capital punishments, to innocent persons, instigating a minor or an insane person to commit suicide and leaking out secrets to, other countries. Serious crimes need capital punishment so that the offender is unable to get involved in the, crime in future. However if they want to stop the acts of violation in the future then it would be better to, forget him and judge him for a change., Capital Punishment is the most irreparable crime government perpetrates without consequence, and it, must be abolished. “We’re only human we all make mistakes,” is a commonly used phrase, but it is tried and, true. Human as a species are famous for their mistakes, however, in the cast of the death penalty, error, blames to dangerous risk. The innocent lives that have been taken with the approvals of our own government, should be enough to abolish capital punishment. As humans we are an inevitable of error, however, when a, life is at stake, error is not an option The death penalty is murder by government. As a nation, we have prided, ourselves in our government ot its justice and truth. However, can we continue to call our government fair if, we do not hold it to the same rules we ignore for its people? Murder by a citizen will have consequences but, a government approved murder is not only acceptable, but enforceable. Above all, capital punishment is, immoral and a violation of natural rights. It is wrong for everyone involved the prosecuted innocent criminals,, victim families and our nations., , 60, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Emerging Youth Power, The greatest wealth and strength of any nation is its youth. The future of a nation lies in the hand of its, prosperity. The quality of its youth determines the kinds of future, the nation will have therefore, if we are to, ensure a bright future from country first need to strengthen and empower our youth, The youth of any nation, and society are its potential energy They are the powerhouse and storehouse of infinite energy. The emerging, youth face can be righted only by mentioning a few names of which every single Indian is proud of so many, youth icors, heores and heroines wh have left their imprints on the sands of time and have led then country, forward., In fact, we owe our present to the youth of the previous generation who forsook then everything even, their lives for the freedom of their motherland. Youth’s power was seen during the JP Movement when the, powerful congress party got badly defeated. Recently youths united over the issue of corruptions and supported, Anna’s Anti Corruption Movement the entire nation and even the whole world would never forget the role, of youths in Daminis case in Delhi in which the government was forced to make amendment in the constitution., Needless to quote other examples of youths role as no field is untouched by them. Either be is a college, general election of state assemblies and parliament and issues of general public interests everywhere youths, have proved their strong and decisive role. Also in foreign countries youth have shown their presence for, which we feel pride. Youth culture shapes globalization. They are often viewed as the emerging markets, over world and winning their loyalty is key 1 any business. In the political circles. The youth vote bank was, turned the tide on leadership in many parts of the world., On the other hand, where mediated, unemployed and brain washed, this very energy of the youth can, tip over the other side and become distinctive and dangerous for the society. Crime is on high end violence, is threshing in today time. If we look at the data, we realize that our with a sense of right and wrong and good, and bad. This is because, as a nation, we have failed in our duty of capturing thier energy and moulding it in, a right direction. Due to increrasing unemployment we have been unable to keep our youth busy in construct, work we fail to in realizing their dreams and hence they get lost and go in wrong direction. Frustration and, alienation lead to drug abuses, drug peddling and many social crimes. The result is that nothing inspires our, youth except shortcuts to making money, to achieve success and realizing the dreams. In lack of power, facilities and better opportunities our youths Cab abroad and get settled. Let us fight on constructively using, the power the youth for the betterment of the nation., , Globalisation and Pollution, Globalisation is universal phenomenon which was introduced with the aim of integrating social economies, and cultures through a common link of trading policies, technology and communication. With the advent of, globalisation though the standard of economy has improved, it also brought many new issues into concern., Brain Drain, Pollution and spread of diseases are the major problems the world is facing today. For a large, extend the factor behind this is globalisation. Each day we are hearing new forms of pollution and hundreds, of people are being victim of this. Due to decline in the number of trees, the temperature of earth is going, high. This phenomenon is termed as global warming. Temperature rise causes the polar ice to melt and, increase of sea level. This is major threeat to the entire living world., The next problem to be taken into account is the industrial waste. Each industry releases a hue amount, of harmful waste material every day. People either dump the wastes into the sea or river or in some land, mostly banks of rivers. As a result the land water is being polluted. Many of the water resources have been, contaminated and become unfit for drinking. Even the fishes are dying off in mass amount. If the pace of, globalisation continues, we will have to witness dramatic environmental changes. So we will have to adopt, certain eco­friendly techniques to bring down the bad effects of globalisation. Some programmes have been, introduced like vanmahotsava and montreal Protocol. Vanmahotsava aims for planting more number of, trees and creating awareness about the importance of trees and forest in the proper environmental balance., There has also been an increase in the rate of pollution at an alarming rate in the past decade. It can be, said that as the rate of globalisation increases, the rate of pollution also increases. Due to globalization to, competition among nations to become the super power has become prominent at a very high rate. This has, led to the fast development of nations. The degradation of ecological system can be defined as pollute. As, the world progresses it is destroying the wonderful flora and fauna that exists directly and indirectly. There, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 61

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has also been an enormous increase in the air pollution, through increase in vehicular movement, poisonous, gases let out from industries as waste gases and through many other ways harm is being caused to the, nature. The damage due to destruction has already started sharing. This is seen in the form of global, warming. But this is only the starting of damage. If we continue in this way we have to be ready to witness, a lot more changes and that will be for the worst., Globalisation is not harmful; it is one of the best ways to improve the country, if followed in a proper and, systematic way. We should try to improve our country but utilizing the facilities of the other developed, counteries and our resources in a well planned manner, so that the future generations also have the resources, to utilize., , Smart Classes: The new face of Education, Smart classes have become very popular in the field of eduction today. Due to its great impact and benefit,, most of the educational institutions have adopted it so far. A growing number of schools and coaching, institutions are turning to the smart classes. They are promoting their students to bring with them to school, an instrument or device that can augment classroom learning. Teachers ask their students to use smartphones, to look up a vocabulary word, take a photo of an assignment written on the board and text themselves, homework with reminder. Teachers use countless apps, many of them free, to better connect students with, coursework on a platform they’re familiar with. Some experts say that student can better internalize their, session when they’re them on their own personal samrtphones or tablets. The education today has become, something the students and teachers walk around with in their pocket. In a nutshell, smart classes have, become the new face of education., Smart class is a comprehensive designated to assist teacher in meeting with their day to day classroom, challenges. It helps teachers enhancing student’s academic performance with simple practical and meaningful, use of technology. Smart class provides teacher with instant access to mull timed content and instruction, materials mapped exactly to the specific curriculum guidelines for use in class. It also enables teachers to, instantly asses and evaluates the learning achieved by their students in class with innovative use of technology., It helps teacher to ensure that every child in the class is learning given the wide diversity of learning styles, in the classroom. It is highly efficient in maintaining students’ interest and engagement in learning inside the, classroom., Smart class simplifies the problems of teaching abstract curriculum concepts that are difficult for students, to visualize or relate to through the provision of three­dimensional, interactive multimedia modules. The well­, designed module allows the students to vocalize the concept much better than static images and instruction and, hence improve learning greatly. Smart class focuses particularly on the possibility of recent forms of technology., Often known as information communication technology (ICT). ICT refers to technologies that provide access, to information through telecommunications like radios, mobile phones, laptops tablets etc., We conclude ultimately that if smartly and statically deployed, modern information and communications, technology hold great promise m helping bring quality learning to some of the worlds poorest and hardest to, reach community. In the small village of Habisibed in Pakistan’s Punjab Province, a young girl in using her, mobile phone to send an sms in urdu to her teacher. In response, she receives messages from the teacher,, which she diligently copies by hand in her notebook to practice her writing skills. The girl is part of a mob, link­VNESEO program to increase legacy skills among girls in Pakistan., It has been observed that smart class concept is growing rapidly from developed counties to developing, nations not only in urban areas but also in remote villages., , Growing Population: A Problem at Par, India is a country of vast area. Our country is facing many serious problems. We daily read of famines,, floods and earthquakes. The government is doing its best to solve these problems., Of all the present problems the most dangerous is the population problem. Here there is population, explosion. The economists estimate about population is very discouraging. According to them, India’s population, 62, , Dharmendra Kumar

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is multiplying very rapidly. If this population continues increasing at this high rate, it will be about 903 millions, at the end of the 20th century. The situation would be of more explosive than that created by atom bombs., It is, therefore, clear that some form of birth­control on the growing population is very essential., Our planners have thought over this problem seriously. Allocation of funds for welfare in Five Year, Plans have been increasing. In the first Five Year Plan Rs. 5 lakhs were kept for population control. But in, the Fourth Plan Rs. 100 corers were kept for family welfare. The centers are associated with some hospitals, of locality. The red­triangle is the symbol of family welfare centre. In the rural areas there is a Family, Planning Centre on every eighty thousand population. Mobile service units are provided. For every fifty, thousand population there is one Mobile Unit. Various contraceptives and other facilities are provided., Family Planning is being encouraged. Posters connected with family planning are seen on walls, buses, etc. Propaganda is made through news­papers, radio films and television., However, the progress in the field is very slow. While the population is increasing very rapidly. It is not, only the duty of the government to make plans and schemes but the people should also feel the seriousness, of the problem. They should co­operate with the Government. They should make it their holy duty to exercise, some control over it., Once our late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi had said, “With our limited resources we must ensure, that in every home every child is a wanted child and has the rightful share of health, education and employment.”, , Future of English in India Or Place of English in, Modern India, English is a foreign language. But it is an international language because it is spoken and written in many, countries of the world. Before 1947, it was the official language of the world. After Second World War it lost, its past prestige., However, still English is an important language of the world, it has its importance in Science, Industry, and Politics. So people learn it. The people who want to go to foreign countries for further studies m, literature or in any other subject, learn it. This language is the medium through which people of the world, understand one another. Thus English has the prestige of international language., Here is a great controversy whether English should continue in free India or not. The two views give, their own arguments in for and against the existence of English in India., Some people oppose English, on the following grounds. First, English is the language of the English. It, was brought into India by the British rulers. Now we are free. Our freedom is meaningless so far we have, not our own language as national language. We no more want cheap clerk like the English masters., Secondly, English is a difficult language to learn. Most of the time of the students goes to the learning, of English explanations, essays, grammar and translation. Students are frightened — of it., Thirdly, a language is a medium to express oneself and be understood. When we have already a rich, language like Hindi, why is English imposed on us ?, Fourthly a free country must have its own national language. Without ts own national language no, country in the world has ever progressed. We have the example of Japan before us., Fifthly, the Indian languages cannot have free development unless English is abolished. Some people, support English on the following grounds:, First, India is a developing country. It is necessary to change economic social and political life of the, people. For this purpose English is necessary to understand the books on different subjects., Secondly, our foreign policy is based on peaceful co­existence. Some good medium is necessary for, the exchange of ideas. Hence, English I is necessary as it is widely used in the world., Thirdly, the literature of English is full of scientific and technical development. We have to take its help., Fourthly, English is an international language., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 63

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We conclude that both the views carry weight. But English is a foreign language. Still we see it, plays significant role in the development of our personality. It has occupied the place of a major language, in every field of our life. Without English we cannot know anything property. It should be treated as, Linguafranca of our country. It should be learnt with interests Future is of English., , Clean India Drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swach Bharat sanitation programme on October 2, 2014. It, was a befitting tribute to the Father of the Nation who was concerned about sanitation issues. The proposed, sanitation programme will reframe the social and economic face of India and prove to be a great game, changer. Sanitation has a direct link with the spread of communicable diseases which are prevalent in India., As a matter of fact, the initiative “Health for All by 2000 A.D.” flopped because an effective sanitation, programme was not launched simultaneously. The basic cause of frequent epidemics in India is insanitation., The country can attain Health for All by October 2, 2019, if the programme is implemented in totality., Quality of Life, Living in an insanitary environment, like poverty, degrades the quality of human life and it is a curse and a, social stigma as well. Therefore, the accomplishment of the total Sanitation Programme (TSP) will improve, the living standard of the poorest of the poor on the one hand and improve the Human Development Index, (HDI) of India on the other. Presently, India is positioned 134 in the UN’s HDI. Poverty is less painful if one, gets a chance to live in a sanitary environment. In fact, a sanitary environment is the basic necessity of, human life like air, water and food for its aesthetic and psychological development. That is why we say,, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. If India ensures total sanitation by 2019, our stock will rise in the comity, of nations., According to the proposed Swachh Bharat scheme, the government will build individual toilets in 1.04 crore, households and 5 lakh community/public toilets in urban areas. Around 8.8 crore toilets will be built in rural, areas and a majority of these are to be provided in individual households. The total sanitation programme, includes programmes that are to be executed under the umbrella programme., Steps Towards Total Sanitation, Provision of 100 per cent sewerage and a drainage system in all urban towns together with annocuous, disposal or recycling of the finally treated effluent for irrigation with a total ban on discharge into the drains, or rivers. An effective sewerage and drainage system forms the backbone of urban sanitation., There is need for 100 per cent solid waste management, both in urban and rural areas and recycling of, the final waste product. Around 100 per cent coverage of rural households and slum areas with sanitary, latrines. All the open areas in urban and rural communities will be either paved or grassed. All the streets to, be paved with concrete blocks or paver blocks. There should be zero tolerance to dumping or littering of, solid waste matter (mostly paper and plastic matter) in open spaces, both in urban and rural areas. It should, be the same for stagnation of sullage or any other waste water in urban or rural areas. There should be daily, sweeping of streets, roads or public places both in rural and urban areas. The vacant plots should be provided, with boundary walls and kept neat, clean and green., Each element is more important than the other. The accomplishment of this programme by 2019 is a, onerous task and will require huge amount of funds. Execution of the TSP will be done by the state agencies., The Central Government will only facilitate and monitor the progress of the programme with partial funding., Therefore, it will be appropriate if the Centre prepares a blueprint and then calls a meeting of state chief, ministers to hand over the blueprint to them to prepare rough cost estimates. Considering the amazonian size, of the project, it will be essential to set up a separate ministry to prepare a financial and administrative model, and give a go­ahead to the states to implement this programme by October, 2019., The campaign faces formidable financial and implementation challenges. Financially, the government, will easily need 2­3% of GDP annually till the target date. There are only four avenues to mobilising such, vast resources: increases in revenues made possible by accelerated growth; cuts in middle­class subsidies, such as for cooking gas; elimination of enormous leakages in the myriad social schemes by replacing them, 64, , Dharmendra Kumar

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with cash transfers; and accelerated disinvestment including outright privatisation. All roads to Swachh, Bharat pass through the thicket of reforms., Pursuit of Swachh Bharat also requires strengthening public health services. Services such as good, drainage systems, absence of swamps and ponds that are home to stagnant water, and the supply of safe, drinking water—all of which reduce exposure to and spread of diseases—are classic examples of public, goods and require effective government intervention. Swachh Bharat would do well to encourage each, state to restart a separate public health department, accountable for the delivery of public health services., , Niti Aayog, The government on January 1, 2015 replaced the 65­year­old Planning Commission—a relic of the Socialist, era—with a Niti Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India, marking a major shift in policy making, by involving states. The Aayog will recommend a national agenda, including strategic and technical advice, on elements of policy and economic matters. It will also develop mechanisms for village­level plans and, aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. To be headed by PM Narendra Modi, the new, body will have a governing council comprising CMs of all states and Lt Governors of Union Territories and, will work towards fostering co­operative federalism for providing a national agenda to the Centre and, states. The membership of states has rendered the National Development Council, a body of CMs that, approves five­year Plans, defunct. Former secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation, (DRDO) VK Saraswat and economist Bibek Debroy are appointed as full­time members. The Aayog will, have finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh, railway minister Suresh Prabhu and, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh as ex­officio members. Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Thawar, Chand Gehlot and Smriti Irani are special invitees to the panel., Birth of a New System, Prime Minister Modi has declared that his government will dissolve the Planning Commission in his, first Independence Day speech in 2014. He substantiated his decision with former PM Manmohan Singh’s, opinion, who felt India has lacked foresight after introducing reforms. He has put forward a new idea called, ‘Cooperative Federalism’., The NDA government has started its discussion with experts, right after it came into power. The first, Independent Evolution Office (IEO) Assessment Report was submitted to the PM on May 29, three days, after he was sworn in. The report had categorically recommended the replacement of Planning Commission, with a Control Commission., The NDA government has minimised the funds and functions of Planning Commission as a first step, towards its annihilation. It directed the important central ministries and departments to submit their planned, budget estimation to the Central Government directly. On January 1, 2015 the new body named NITI Aayog, has replaced the Planning Commission with immediate effect., Structure of NITI Aayog, The NITI Aayog was established by a resolution of the central government. It will be governed by the, Governing Council and will have a team chaired by the Prime Minister., Governing Council: Governing Council is the highest body of NITI Aayog. It consists of following members:, 1. Prime Minister of India as the Chairperson, 2. A Vice­Chairperson and a CEO, nominated by the Prime Minister, 3. The Chief Ministers of all the states and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories, 4. Members: Two (Full­time), 5. Part­time members: Maximum of two from leading universities research organizations and other, relevant institutions in an ex­officio capacity. Part­ time members will be on a rotational basis, 6. Ex Officio members: Maximum of four members of the Union Council of Ministers to be, nominated by the Prime Minister, Aims and Objectives, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 65

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NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process by, consulting the states, Centre and different stakeholders. Its aims and objectives are as following:, •, , The top­down centre­to­state one­way flow of policy, that was the hallmark of the Planning Commission, era, is now sought to be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states., , •, , NITI Aayog will emerge as a think­tank that will provide Governments at the central and state level, with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy., , •, , The body will also seek to put an end to slow implementation of policy, by fostering better Inter­, Ministry coordination and better Centre­State coordination. It will help evolve a shared vision of national, development priorities and foster cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make a strong, nation., , •, , The NITI Aayog will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate, these progressively at higher levels of government. It will ensure special attention to the sections of, society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress., , •, , The NITI Aayog will create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a, collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners. It will offer a, platform for resolution of inter­sectoral and inter­departmental issues in order to accelerate the, implementation of the development agenda., , In addition, the NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on, technology upgradation and capacity building., , Smart Cities In India, A ‘smart city’ is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real, estate, communications and market viability It is a city where information technology is the principal infra­, structure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms, involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres. Though this may sound, futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the ‘smart cities’ movement unfolds in India., In a smart city, economic development and activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of, being based on success­ oriented market drivers such as supply and demand. They benefit everybody,, including citizens, businesses, the government and the environment., The concept of smart cities originated at the time when the entire world was facing one of the worst, economic crises. In 2008, IBM began work on a ‘smarter cities’ concept as part of its Smarter Planet, initiative. By the beginning of 2009, the concept had captivated the imagination of various nations across the, globe., Countries like South Korea, UAE and China began to invest heavily into their research and formation., Today, a number of excellent precedents exist that India can emulate, such as those in Vienna, Aarhus,, Amsterdam, Cairo, Lyon, Malaga, Malta, the Songdo International Business District near Seoul, Verona, etc., The cities with ongoing or proposed smart cities include Kochi in Kerala, Ahmedabad in Gujarat,, Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Manesar in Delhi NCR. Khushkera in Rajasthan, Krishnapatnam in Andhra, Pradesh, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu and Tumkur in Karnataka. Many of these cities will include special investment, regions or special economic zones with modified regulations and tax structures to make it attractive for, foreign investment. This is essential because much of the funding for these projects will have to come from, private developers and from abroad., The concept is not without challenges, especially in India. For instance, the success of such a city, depends on residents, entrepreneurs and visitors becoming actively involved in energy saving and, implementation of new technologies. There are many ways to make residential, commercial and public, spaces sustainable by ways of technology, but a high percentage of the total energy use is still in the hands, 66, , Dharmendra Kumar

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of end users and their behaviour. Also, there is the time factor—such cities can potentially take anything, between 20 and 30 years to build., What is the Scope of Smart Cities in India?, India is drawing on the development of smart cities at the global level. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, vision ‘Digital India’, has a plan to build 100 smart cities across the country. Modi in his speech said, “Cities, in the past were built on riverbanks. They are now built along highways. But in the future, they will be built, based on availability of optical fiber networks and next­generation infrastructure.”, Digital India envisages making India a leader in digitally delivering services in the health, education,, banking sectors. Modi announced an investment of $1.2 billion in smart cities with more funding coming, from private sectors and abroad., What Needs to be Done?, The smart city project needs to be designed wisely, considering the local population as the key point. Also, it, has to be careful as to not widen the already present gulf between the rural and the urban class. A nation, should progress taking all its citizens along, irrespective of class differences, and catering to everyone’s, need equally., As much as the vision of smart cities is incredible and rational, its implementation on India at the given, socio­economic condition, might be a bit difficult. However, as a fast developing economy, the country needs, to keep up with the global standards. Hence, the execution of this plan could make India take a major leap, in the race of development., Across the world, the stride of migration from rural to urban areas is increasing. By 2050, about 70 per, cent of the population will be living in cities, and India is no exception. It will need about 500 new cities to, accommodate the influx., Interestingly, urbanisation in India has for the longest time been viewed as a by­product of failed, regional planning. Though it is inevitable, and will only change when the benefits of urbanisation overtake the, costs involved, it is an opportunity for achieving faster growth., With increasing urbanisation and the load on rural land, the government has now realised the need for, cities that can cope with the challenges of urban living and also be magnets for investment. The announcement, of ‘100 smart cities’ falls in line with this vision., , Start-up India Programme, “Start­up India program” announced by the PM on his Independence Day speech in 2015 is a program to, provide financial support to young entrepreneurs to kick start their initiatives. The main objective of this, programme is to provide financial support to atleast 1.25 lakhs start­ups via 1.25 lakh bank branches in India., With an objective to encourage self­employment and job opportunities, governments time and again encourage, entrepreneurs., The entrepreneurial spirit of the underprivileged is often nipped in the bud due to lack of finances. To, tackle this, the Govt of India has announced “Start­up India” program. The program calls upon 1.25 lac bank, branches in the country to finance start­ups by at least one tribal and dalit entrepreneur and one woman, entrepreneur., Advantages of the Scheme:, 1., , Social empowerment: Dalits, tribals and women are still the most discriminated population in India., The scheme would enable them to strengthen their social position by building capacity in them., , 2., , Fillip to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: The program will incentivise the financially excluded, people to open accounts under PMJDY to avail credit facility., , 3., , India is facing crunch of entrepreneurs now. The scheme would help in increasing the number., , Criticisms of the Scheme, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 67

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1., , A blow to Indradhanush program: The program will conflict with the recent attempts to deal with, the bad assets of the Public sector banks., , 2., , Increase apathy to the poor: The program will add to the reluctance of banks officials to admit, the poor as their clients as has been happening under PMJDY., , 3., , A kind of affirmative action: The program ignores the poor lying outside the targetted population., , 4., , Against the spirit of economic reforms: The govt should restrict itself to providing conducive, business environment., , The initiative of Start­up India to lead to Stand­up India is a good one but needs modification given the rising, bad assets of banks. The dalits, tribals and women will not come forward with their ideas unless they are, socially empowered which will come only when they are looked up with respect in the society. This can, better happen through education., The Start­up programme to boost new means of production as well as employment is a welcome step., In addition to raising productivity and employment elasticity of growth, the start­ups will provide consumers, with better services, competitive products for export, taxes to the state and innovation to people at large., However, there are certain steps that need to be taken for this programme to be a success:, 1., , Start­up programme can deliver best results when proper implementation of Skill India as well as, Digital India takes place., , 2., , Regulation of this sector must be inter­ministerial with proper coordination framework., , 3., , Industry­educational institution collaboration needs to be ramped up as students in top­notch universities, are eager as well as able to drive innovations., , 4., , There is a need for diversification of start­ups to leverage potential of youth in sectors other than IT, and software., , 5., , Overall financial health of banks and corporates must be good so as to promote the start­ups as credit, is needed for almost every start­up., , If all these are taken care of, Start­up India can surely be a road to Stepup India. Such a programme, if, implemented has the following positive implications:, 1., , It will be a support for the young Indian entrepreneurs who migrate to other countries like the USA to, find angel investors, to fund their projects., , 2., , It will boost the research programmes in India. Not only the research, such a programme will also, result in shaping the research output into a successful product in the global market, which is missing, now in India., , 3., , Already Indians are at the top most levels of big MNCs such as Google and Microsoft. Such a financial, initiative with expert guidance from people like Sam Pitroda and Sundar Pichai would definitely yield, good results., , Overall “Start up India” is a good programme which can revolutionise Indian economy and even may result, in an “Indian google”, “Indian apple” or Indian Microsoft., , Political And Administrative Corruption And the, Role Of Judiciary, The direct connection of politics is with the welfare of the nation and service of the masses. The meaning of, administration is an establishment in which, people should be able to lead their lives by being happy, fearless, and terror­free. Due to the changing scenario of the administrative mechanism, most of the nations of the, world have adopted democracy by accepting as an ideal form of administrative mechanism. In 1947, after, the Indian independence, our leaders also prepared a Constitution to adopt a democratic system in India., 68, , Dharmendra Kumar

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During the first 20 years (after independence), the formal of democratic administration continued to the, satisfac­tion of all. We had got rid of the cruel rule of the British. That is why, there was a craze to manage, the nation in a proper manner. Many good leaders — among whom, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Shyama, Prasad Mukherji, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Dr Ambedkar and Babu Jagjivan Ram were the prominent ones —, wanted to take the nation in a new direction. But how long could a generation, worn out by age and the, freedom struggle, continue? Slowly, the generation of freedom fight­ers faded into the oblivion and the new, generation, which had never fought any battle for independence, came to the forefront by winning elections., Such people, who should have been in jail due to their antisocial and antinational activities, move about freely, and in luxury. These very people deceive the public through the political tools after they assume power., If we leave political leaders aside and have a look at administrative corruption, then we find that the, police are at the forefront of corruption. Even the officials of the largest administrative service (IAS) are, also not out of the gamut of corrupt practices and bribery. Ego problems and immoral habits are also acquired, by them. Masses follow the king; this is an age old tradition. If leaders are indecorous, evil­minded and take, bribe, then how can the staff working under them be ex­pected to follow moral code of conduct? Cases of, corruption have also been revealed in the purchase deals related to needs of the army. The “Tehelka Expose”, is the latest example of this kind. A corrupt leader is afraid of another corrupt leader; he thinks that if he, unveils the misdeeds of the other leader, then others would reveal his own misdeeds. So, a secret agreement, is effected between the two leaders, which means that neither of them would speak of the misdeed of the, other. Under such adverse circumstances, the masses look forward to the actions of the judiciary. The role, of our judiciary has remained some doubt, with only a few exceptions. That is the reason why the criminal­, minded politicians are not afraid of any other institution but only the judiciary. These people create a drama, of being the representatives of the masses and thus, they not only misguide the masses, but also design, machinations to tame the judiciary. Some time ago, the issue of establishing the supremacy of the Prime, Minister in the appointment of the Judges of the Supreme Court and high courts was raised by the Law, Minister., It is now that the government has approved an amendment to the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968 to create, the National Judiciary Council that can investigate complaints against judges of high courts and supreme, court. The amendment also seeks to introduce a code of ethics for the judiciary. The council has been given, the power to ask the convict to put in his resignation papers. The proposed council will not cover the Chief, Justice of India; he will head this body. There will be four other members ­all judges. Two senior most judges, of the supreme court and two chief justices of High Courts will be the members of the council that will hear, com­plaints against High Court judges. However, when the council has to hear against an apex court judge,, four supreme court judges in order of seneority will be its members. Inquiry against a judge can be held if, either the upper house or the lower house takes the initiative. The committee will submit its report to the, house that has taken the initiative. The lower court judges will not be covered under this Act. The State high, courts and the Supreme Court of India are those institutions whose decisions become precedents. The lower, courts give their judgements in the context of these decisions. So, the roles of these higher courts are also, very important and responsible. If, because of any reason or due to lack of a proper evidence, a criminal, does not get punishment for his crime, or if he does not get punishment in proportion to his crime, then the, situation becomes much more horrible. That is because the confidence of actual criminals is increased. That, is why, our courts should mete out such types of punishment to criminals as would create a sensation in the, crime world. Then no person would muster courage to commit crimes in future. The role of the judiciary in, eliminating’political and administrative corruption is very vital and corruption can be checked only through, the awareness and media­tion of the judiciary., , Role Of Women In India’s Development, From pastoral society to contemporary information and global society, the role of women has changed, drastically. The role of a typical ‘Grihani’ who catered to all the requirements of the household including the, rearing and upbringing of chil­dren has been played quite efficiently. The continuity of changes in socio­, eco­nomic and psycho­cultural aspects of human living has influenced the role of women., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 69

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During the Ancient times, Sita, Ahilya, Draupadi, Parvati and other women or goddesses became our, idols due to their great sacrifices and virtues. During the medieval age in India, Meerabai, Chand Bibi, Razia, Sultana, Padmini, Noor Jehan, Mumtaz Mehal, Jeeja Bai and Panna Dhai were the leading ladies who, actively contributed in the social and political development of India. They tried to trans­form the contemporary, Indian society through their virtues and actions. During the modern times, women of India also contributed, towards the struggle for Indian independence. These included Bhikaji Cama, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu,, Annie Besant, Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, Begum Hazrat Mahal and Kasturba Gandhi. They also tried to transform, the masses and enlighten them in social terms. Some of them fought against the Sati system too., With the process of industrialization, modernization and globalization showing its deep impact on the, human society all over the world, the role and responsibili­ties of women has attained new definition and, perspective. Further, this has also led to addition of responsibilities and dened the role of women who also, shares the financial responsibilities., The educational and occupational patterns have also changed and widened with women entering the, domains, which till decade back was considered to be dominated by men. There has been an encouraging, rise in the percentage of women joining service sector specially Banking and IT., Women have played a silent, self­effacing role to sustain Indian civilization down the ages. They have, made their influence felt in all walks of life but retained the feminine graces­motherliness, wife’s fidelity,, kinship bonds, cultural norms and the cherished “home sweet home” instict., , Standardization Of Indian Rupee, July 15, 2010 is a historic day in the economic life of the country. On this day we have adopted a new symbol, of Indian currancy, it is just after five centuries when emperor Shershah Suri first issued the rupiah. The new, symbol blends the Devnagri “Ra” with roman “R” and signifies India’s emergence as a growing economic, power. It is a moment of national pride and global recognition. After the Tricolour, it is another significant, symbol of Indian oneness. Hitherto denoted by “Rs” or INR, the Indian currency has got a new face that, “reflects and captures Indian ethos and culture”. Since the currencies of countries like Pakistan, Nepal,, Indonesia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka are also designated as the rupee or the rupiah, the new symbol will make, India a part of an elite global club. India’s is the fifth currency to have this distinctive mark after the US, dollar, euro, pound and yen that currently have their own symbols., The sign of the currency has been designed by the Chennai­born Dharmalingam Udaya Kumar, who, was set to take over as an Assistant Professor at the IIT, Guwahati. The new rupee sign will require, software and telecom firms to grant it entry in all future computer keyboards and mobile phones., Among currencies with distinctive identities, only the pound sterling has its symbol printed on the notes., Unicode is an international standard that allows text data to be interchanged globally without conflict. After, incorporation in the global and Indian codes, the symbol would be used by all individuals and entities within, and outside the country., It will feature on computer keyboards and softwares for worldwide use. The symbol, which reflects, the Indian ethos and culture, would help distinguish the currency from the rupee or rupiah of other countries, like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In addition to this, state governments would be asked to, proactively promote the use of the new symbol., All individuals and entities within and outside India would use the symbol after its incorporation in, Unicode Standard, ISO/IEC 10646 and IS 13194., The advent of the new symbol is with a political angle. It is definitely, on the largest democracy of the, world. As compared to other Asian powers, especially China, India’s strength lies in its democracy. This, new symbol is also considered a step towards internationalization of Indian rupee., The US dollar, the British pound, the euro and the Japanese yen are widely traded currencies, while the, Indian rupee is only partially convertible. Moreover, majority of world’s currencies are also floating. Convertible, currencies are defined as currencies that are readily bought, sold and converted without the permission from, a central bank or government entity. The Indian rupee is only partially convertible as the central bank, controls the international investments flowing in and out of the country., With a new symbol, the issue of full capital account convertibility would be revived again. The recent, 70, , Dharmendra Kumar

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global financial crisis proved the strength of our economy, and it is not far away when Indian rupee is fully, convertible to other currencies. After that it will become easy to open an account in the foreign bank in their, own territory. It will promote exchange of currencies at large amount. Shopping in foreign market and e­, commerce became easy. In domestic market dollar value will decrease and it promotes our trade., The government decision to have a new symbol for Indian currency is a symbolic presentation of its, new found self­confidence in its own ability to transform the economy—not only domestic but global. India, acquired some positive feedback even during big recession which made the nation’s confidence high. It is, also clear from the global appeal to the Indian prime minister to cater help in solving global financial crisis, during G­20 meet., , The ERA of Cyber crimes, Cyber Crimes are committed mainly on those computers that are connected to Internet. A computer, which, is connected to Internet, can be used to surf through the information and facts loaded on other computers,, which are also connected to Internet. If we get some codes, which help us to get the secret information of, a particular website, then we can manipulate the data and information loaded on that website., These codes or passwords are not difficult to get. Eccentric young boys, computer programmers and, greedy computer users get these codes to manipulate the information loaded on websites. In order to carry, out such activities, software programme are needed. After getting the password (or code) of a website,, people exchange money or information by manipulating that website. This is known as Cyber Crime in, technical language., Crimes like this can be of several types. Firstly, any person can send ugly and obscene messages, through the E­mail service. Due to this action, the receiver of the E­mail message receives a setback., Secondly, if a person, who knows only a little bit of computers, can spread Internet viruses on the Net., Normally, E­mail services are used to carry out such heinous tasks. Viruses enter that computer to which,, these E­mail messages are sent; thus they destroy that computer. Both the machine and its information can, be seriously decimated. Only recently, the Phillippines Police had arrested the creator of the virus “I Love, You”. This young man had jammed the computer systems of the American Department of Defence by, spreading this virus on Internet. Thirdly, persons with malafide intentions col­lect information about the, numbers or access codes of bank accounts. They get the money transferred from these banks into their own, bank accounts and the banks in question are do not even know about these transactions. There is only the, need tor some deftness and the criminals walk away with millions. Fourthly, some persons wreak havoc on, the websites owned by the private sector firms. They send viruses on such websites collect highly sensitive, information from the same or use the tools of defamation and try to foil the image of any person or firm on, a website. Fifthly the system of electronic signature is in vogue on the Net. Some eccentric people steal the, electronic signatures of others and use them to earn money. Such types of crimes take place in transactions, related to E­cash and global business operations., It has become very important to check cyber crimes, because in the times to come, all the activities, would be carried out through Internet. Some crazy criminals or youth make Internet a toy in their hands and, surf through it all the times to achieve their base ends. They had better become alert because IT Act (2000), has been passed to deal with cyber criminals. Under the aegis of this Act, there is a provi­sion to give harsh, punishment to cyber criminals. Even in the United States, where cyber crimes are high in number, such, tough laws have already been made. Cyber crimes are like a blot on the mankind. If these were to continue,, then man would not be able to make progress in the arena of Information Technology. In the times to come,, computers, Internet and electronic techniques would rule the roost. Cyber crimes would successfully make, these (three) their easy targets. The governments of nations, people connected with the field of Information, Technology and the private sector firms are responsible for controlling such crimes., Cyber laws is that branch of law, which checks cyber crimes and regulates Infor­mation Technology., In this context, the President of India has given his consent to the first cyber law of the country—, In0.00000formation Technology Act, 2000. The objective of this Act is to give legal recognition to electronic, data interchanges or trans­actions done through electronic communication modes. In its other objectives,, some others are — use of alternatives of paper­based communication and information gathering, making, electronic filing of documents easier in government organisations and making amendments in Indian Evidence, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 71

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Act (1872), Bankers’ Book Evidence Act (1891) and RBI Act (1934). The objective of this Act is to provide, such a type of infrastructure with which, the legal sanctity may be main­tained in the context of activities, being carried out through the modes of electronic processing. According to the provisions of this Act, E­mail, would be deemed a legal form of communication and it would also be recognised by courts. On the basis of, the legal framework given by the Act, firms can now continue E­mail activities. It can be hoped that this law, would play an important role in checking cyber crimes., , Education In India, In India, nearly 27 per cent of people are illiterate. This high proportion of illiterate masses is contributing, towards the slowdown in our economy, social up liftmen and prosperity of the nation. Since independence,, we have been facing social backwardness due to the fact that our masses are unable to read, write or, compre­hend the abstracts of any technology. Social backwardness leads to economic backwardness., Economic backwardness, in turn, puts the nation at the bottom of the list of prosperous nations., National Policy on Education (NPE) was declared by the government in 1992 this policy aimed to, educate the masses on a large scale and also introduced the ten­plus­two­plus­three system of education., But it is regrettable to observe that despite the sincerity of the State and funds ploughed into the educational, system Indian masses could not be educated to respectable levels., In the Western nations, educational system is highly pragmatic and vocation oriented. The students are, educated to gain employment or become entrepreneurs their abilities are identified during the schooling, years. The Western nations do not churn out graduates (who would only become clerks). Rather, they, produce enlightened individuals (who would like to do something concrete in their lives). This feature is, missing in Indian educational system. We churn out graduates and post graduates in almost every field of, human Endeavour. But most of them fail to deliver when they face life in its most raw form., Further, our villagers lack basic education and do not know even to write or read English is the universal, language and our masses eschew the same by stating that it is not a native language of India. Our rural folk, are also not aware about health career opportunities for children, sports, leisure and enhancement of mental, abili­ties. They are caught up in a vicious cycle of shortages and darkness. As such they are not able to grow, in economic and intellectual terms., Poor educational levels directly affect the economic growth mechanisms of our nation. The productivity, of illiterate and semi­illiterate people remains low More­over; illiterate people pose serious problems in the, social spheres as well because their thinking and I.Q. levels do not help them solve problems. The European, nations, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the nations of North America, have attained high literacy levels. Therefore their economic and social prosperity has been very steep during, the past forty years However, in India; even the educated people have not been able to do productive work, for improving their own lives or those of their families or society., Indian population is more than 1210 million now. Most of the rural masses and nearly 20 per cent of, urban dwellers are illiterate. They do not have any guidelines for the future. The government, the NGOs and, the teachers (at all the levels) could initiate a national campaign to eliminate illiteracy from India. This is a, herculean task and needs efforts on a war footing. The current policies and programmes have not been able, to deliver results, especially in case of primary education and edu­cation of the rural masses. There is a need, for new concepts and a new impetus to these already adopted policies. The world is quite ahead of us in, terms of education. We have to catch up with other nations at a quick pace lest our posterity should suffer., Further, most of brilliant students leave India on the pretext of higher or technical education. They, never come back and the nation suffers as they could have contributed in her development. The discredit for, this phenomenon also goes to the poor educational system of our country. Funds and grants for schools,, technical institutions and universities must be increased. Primary Education, National Lit­eracy Mission,, Vidya Vahini and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are the schemes, being supported by the government, for imparting, education of good quality to all the students. The government has increased the total outlay of post­matriculation, scholarships from? 72 crore to more than ? 150 crore. Elementary education had received more than 5,000, crore during the year 2012­2013. The government plans to increase literacy rate to 90 per cent by the year, 2015. In sum, the government and educational institutions must make efforts in order to educate all the, people so that they could meet the challenges of this century., 72, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Unemployment Problem, If a nation has unemployed people, she would never be able to meet the demands of the future. And that is, exactly true in the case of India. At the end of 2011, there were 8.16 crore registered unemployed persons, in India. This figure of unemployed is much higher as the aforesard figure refers only to the statistics of, employment exchanges of India., Our young boys and girls migrate to cities from rural and semi­rural areas of India. They look for, greener pastures, which, sadly, elude most of them. They end up doing menial jobs and ultimately, walk out, on their employers. So, they take to roads and move about in a perplexed state, without knowing what lies, ahead. The frustration of the youth is manifested in terms of addiction to drugs, tantrums at home and, movements in bad company. Such boys and girls fall in an abyss and coming out of it is not possible for them., The family suffers and so do the society and the nation., Indian economy is no longer a mirror of a “Welfare State.” In any Government budget, no any sops to, the middle­income and lower­income groups are offered. Naturally, the State wants the young and the old to, be on their own without any support from the national exchequer. But the youth do not get jobs to sustain, themselves in a free market economy and this adds to their woes. The rural masses engage themselves in, agriculture and related industries. They are semi­employed or under­employed, which is a harmful trend., The urban youth do not find jobs at all. So, they live like parasites on their families, unable to make a mark in, their lives., Our educational system can also be blamed for this national catastrophe. We are churning out degree­, holders and diploma­holders at a more rapid pace than the pace at which, we are producing in our factories., The industrial establishments cannot absorb all the graduates. Further, they are not trained to execute those, jobs for which, they apply and therefore, they are rejected. Finally, technical jobs demand technical training, and a logical bent of mind. Our youth lack these two vital inputs for generating concrete outputs in industries., Government jobs are few in number and the number of applicants is too large to be accommodated in the, PSUs. Further, there are reservations for STs, OBCs, STs etc. The candidates from open merit lists are normally, not selected and those candi­dates are taken who are unable to deliver even in secure jobs. The office jobs do not, pay much and so, they are unable to make compromises. The result is that the youth of today are not able to adjust, themselves in any type of jobs, which are offered to them., Population pressures, urban congestion and callous attitude of private firms have aggravated the, unemployment problem. The government has tried to solve this problem through Gandhian principles. But, the actions and strategies of all the governments have failed to control the rising number of unemployed, persons in India. It is sad to note that even senior managers, executives and doctors are unemployed in the, country, a trend that might trigger a social upheaval in the times to come. If these trends are not reversed,, the problem of unemployment might assume dangerous proportions., The solutions are many but problem lies in implementation. Further, there is a lack of resources as well., However, the economy is looking up new. The industrial growth rate is eising. There are new jobs in IT,, Internet and computers. Students should take up vocational courses in computers, engineering and Para­, medical professions in order to get settled at an early date. The private firms should train the newcomers for, delivering outputs, which are specifically suitable for their commercial needs. The youth and the unemployed, should not resort to strikes and lockouts. Violence would not help them get jobs. The educational system, ought to be overhauled in favour of vocation­oriented systems. The youth must hone the skills for those jobs,, which are currently in demand in the workplaces. Further, all the young people are not likely to get jobs., Some of them must start small enter­prises of their own. Government gives technical assistance and loans, to such persons as would like to start small industries. If they work hard, they could get involved in, manufacturing, trading, services or even exports. The possibilities for the young go­getters are endless., They would also help the country by employing some people in their enterprises. Nowadays, computer, software, fashion designing, textiles and clothing, computer hardware, flower nurseries, chemicals, technical, repair jobs, hospitality industry, music industry, television software, media (print and electronic), advertising, and Internet are some promising fields in which, our youth could launch successful small businesses. If the, youth of today think in this direction, instead of looking for jobs, the problem of unemployment would be, solved within a decade. Similar trends have been observed in the USA and the European nations as well., Unemployment problem is a joint responsibility of the government, trade and industry. The future of our, youth would depend directly upon the solution of this problem., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 73

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Internet, Internet is the logical conglomeration of computer systems that are spread around the world. It has been, created with the help of optical cable networks, modem devices, telephone lines, LAN and WAN networks, and satellites. Information is displayed on various web sites on Internet. This information is related to almost, every area of human Endeavour, including environment, space and facts related to the cosmos., In Internet jargon, if a person opens Internet web sites on his computer (or surfs through the web sites),, then he is called Netizen. Presently, there are nearly 45, 00,000 Internet connections in India. But vis­a­vis, 1.5 million connections operating in the West, this number is very timid. Internet is a boon for a nation like, India. It helps us exchange vital information and data and our readers know that in the present information, technology age, information is everything. Almost all the governments of the world, private firms, non­, government organisation and professionals either want to get their web sites developed or surf through, various Internet web sites. Many of them have got their web sites developed and also got them uploaded on, this wonderful information superhighway. Not only this, there are web sites of many newspapers, magazines, and technical journals as well., This method of information exchange is very efficient and fast. E­mail can be used by Netizens to send, information to any part of the world. Voice, data, video information and information in the form of text can, be sent from one computer to another with ease. Besides, Internet has put man on the peak of the business, world. This concept is called Electronic Commerce (E­com). Electronic Commerce is related to the exchange, of goods and services through the Net and in this system, money is not physically transferred. It is transferred, through a new system, which is called Electronic Cash (E­cash). We can buy and sell practically anything, through Internet; exchange of data for engineering projects is also included in this system there are three, levels of connectivity of Internet. The first level is T1 in which, the user can only see the information/data, put on various web sites. The second level is T2 in which, he can create his own web sites as well as collect, information from the Net. The third level is T3 in which, he himself becomes a part of the Internet System., Nowadays, VSNL, Mantra Online and Satyam Online are the three major Internet Service Providers (ISPs)., Many other firms are entering the vast markets related to Internet services. VSNL has been privatised now., Internet affects all the areas of human Endeavour. It has been successful in earning valuable achievements, in fields like education, entertainment, sports and games, science and technology, Electronic Commerce and, social interactions (like marriage alliances). This world has already taken the shape of a small village. The, prices of Internet services are falling. Internet connectivity can be obtained by paying just Rs. 525 on an, annual basis. But in addition to this, we would need a computer (Pentium­800 system), software for running, programs of Internet, one telephone line and a modem device. The government has provided local dial­up, service in all the districts of the country. A user, who is located within the 100­kilometer radius of an ISP, can, use Internet services through a local telephone line. In order to surf through Internet, we have to connect our, computer system to the main information gateway of the ISP through a telephone line and modem. We use, Internet navigation software to surf through Internet. These programs are provided by Microsoft Corporation, (Internet Explorer) or Netscape (Netscape Navigator). Dialing is automatic over the telephone and if a, connection is made, then we arrive at the main menu of the ISP. We can surf through any web site if we, feed its correct URL on the computer’s screen at the command line. We can surf through various web sites,, send and receive E­mail, read magazines and even listen to music. There is also a lot of garbage—like, information on the Net, which is related to obscene photographs and movies. It is sad to hotel that the youth, of today do not use Internet for educational purposes, or for enhancing their professional capabilities. This, tendency ought to be given a U­turn., In sum, Internet would become a dominant force in the areas related to professional, social, business, and entertainment activities of all the people in this century., , Make In India Campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Make in India’ campaign at a high­profile event on September, 25, 2014. Unveiling the campaign PM Modi said FDI should be understood as ‘First Develop India’ along, with ‘Foreign Direct Investment’ while encouraging investors not to just look at India as merely a market but, also as an opportunity. The Prime Minister pointed out that it was crucial to increase the purchasing power, 74, , Dharmendra Kumar

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of the common man to boost demand and thus spur development., Key thrust of the programme would be on cutting down in delays in manufacturing projects clearance,, develop adequate infrastructure and make it easier for companies to do business in India. The 25 key, sectors identified under the programme include automobiles, auto components, bio­technology, chemicals,, defence manufacturing, electronic systems, food processing, leather, mining, oil & gas, railways, ports and, textile., The national programme aims at time­bound project clearances through a single online portal which, will be further supported by the eight­member team dedicated to answering investor queries within 48 hours, and addressing key issues including labour laws, skill development and infrastructure., The objective of the mega programme is to ensure that manufacturing sector which contributes around, 15% of the country’s Gross Domestic Products is increased to 25% in next few years., However, for making India an investment hub, the first and foremost important step would be to create, efficient administrative machinery which would cut down on delays in project clearances. Economists say, that India has been very stringent when it comes to giving procedural and regulatory clearances. Besides a, time bound clearance from all regulatory authority would create a conducive environment for business., Delay in getting regulatory clearances lead to rise in cost of production. A leading multinational automobile, major said, “Costs of production in India increase because of various government policies, procedures,, regulations and the way some of the laws are implemented.” The quicker the government addresses these, challenges its better for the industry to set up facilities in the country., For providing better infrastructure for the industry, there has been a big constraint in term of land, acquisition. Often land acquisition for the industrial purpose run into trouble at the local level., Economists have noted that with the globalization becoming a reality, Indian manufacturers will have to, compete with the best and cheapest the rest of the world has to offer even in the domestic market., They urged for providing tax concessions to any industry which would set up manufacturing facility in, the country. Besides a critical aspect is the country’s huge small and medium­sized industries which could, play a big role in making the country take the next big leap in manufacturing., Besides the skill development, labour law flexibility is a key element for the success of this campaign, for increasing manufacturing in the country. Economists say that “labour law flexibility does not imply ‘hire, and fire’ policy, it’s about providing a sound social safety net to workers.”, Notwithstanding the challenges faced in making India a manufacturing hub, the country is poised to, reap rich dividend for being one of the youngest nations in the world. According to reports by 2020, India is, set to become the world’s youngest country with 64% of its population in the working age group., Although a sound beginning has been made for the Make in India campaign, now the ball is in the, government’s court to ensure its success., , Importance of cottage and village industries in, Indian economy, During the ancient times and before the advent of the industrial revolution, the cottage and village industries, of India were in their advanced stage of develop­ment. The products made in these industries were very, popular in the world mar­kets and there was a huge demand for them. In the Asian and European markets,, these goods used to sell like hot cakes and in Arab countries, people were crazy for Indian products. The, consumption level of Indian products was very high in China, Japan, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sri Lanka etc., The elite class was fond of these goods within the country too. These industries had also got the protection, of kings and emperors.., During the time of British rule over India, these industries did not get any type of encouragement or, protection. Factories were established in the country. Goods imports from abroad commenced. The goods, manufactured in factories were com­paratively cheaper. Imported goods were also cheap. After the elimination, of local kingdoms, there were no admirers left to value the products manufactured in cottage and village, industries. Even the British rulers adopted an attitude of cal­lousness (to begin with) and enmity (at later, stages). The result of these happen­ings was the initiation of destruction of cottage and village industries., The goods manufactured in these industries could not compete with those manufactured in mills and factories, on the price and quality fronts. Hence, slowly these industries headed towards their ultimate decay. If the, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 75

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cottage and village industries of India are given encouragement and protection, then the following benefits, can accrue: (1) the 70 per cent of population of the nation can get work for the idle time period (6 months)., This would lead to a major contribution towards national productivity. The economic condition of villages, would improve. The incomes of rural families would increase and their living standards would be enhanced., (2) Those, which flee their villages to look for jobs in cities, would not have to do so. The problems that are, created due to the arrival of such people (like over­crowded cities, construction of slums, rise in the number, of unemployed etc) would be easily solved. As a result, the conditions of cities would not deteriorate. (3), Due to growth of these indus­tries, the economic disparity would reduce. The hiatus between the rich and, the poor would be reduced. Poor people would rise above the poverty line. (4) The rural areas would be, developed through these industries and the problem of unbalanced development would be solved to some, extent. Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was a strong supporter of cottage and village industries. His, opin­ion was that the only solution for solving the problems of India and transforming villages was (the, establishment and growth of) cottage and village industries. Be° cause of his efforts, these industries got a, new lease of life. The government also made efforts for their growth. But this programme has not been able, to get that much of support and protection as was expected to be given to it for its new life and growth., A suggestion can be given in this context—loans should be arranged for these industries on a priority, basis. Fraudulent activities are undertaken even during the supply of raw materials and these supplies are, not given in full quantities at the right times. In this context, the system should be made efficient. The, cooperative committees, set up to sell the goods manufactured in these industries, must be made more active, and motivation of working with a feeling of service must be inculcated in them. At some places, these, industries have to face the problems related to electricity supply. These industries should be given electricity, supply on a priority basis. In addition to this, the government’s procurement of these goods should be increased, to encourage thehi. It is important to get advance estimates of the quantities of products made by these, industries so that such products may not remain unsold. Besides, the government must know what the, problems that are still bothering these industries are. After this, it is important to make efforts to elimi­nate, these problems by giving them priorities., In this context, two important suggestions are: (a) efforts should be made on the government level to, export the goods manufactured in these industries; the gov­ernment must take a decisive first step to find, export markets for this purpose; and (b) a centre should be established in each district to help these industries;, the same centre should be directly responsible for meeting all the requirements of such in­dustries; the same, centre should execute. The tasks related to raw material sup­plies, sale of finished machines and fulfillment, of their needs related to loan pro­curement. In this manner, the problems of these industries would be, removed to a large extent:, , The Black Shadow of Black Money, Money earned through illegal means or by way of covert activities is called Black Money. This money, remains deposited with people. As it is earned through corrupt methods and income tax is not paid on it, it is, very important to hide it. In the public jargon, it is also called “dirty money”. The chief sources of black, money are thefts and misappropriations in income tax, excise duty, property tax, death tax and customs duty., Money earned through smuggling is also deemed black money. Money earned through the activities of, black­marketing is also falls under this category. Funds received through the acts of bribery are also a part, of black money. We have defined the sources of black money in the preceding text. On the basis of these, sources, one can easily conclude who are the people who could be having black money. In the category of, such people, industrialists, owners of factories, traders, shopkeepers (both wholesalers and retailers), owners, of buildings, land­lords, and individuals engaged in businesses of imports and exports, politicians and government, officials on high posts. But this list is not exhaustive; many more names can be added to it., Today, the activity of collecting and hoarding black money is flowering at a very fast pace. According, to the broad estimates of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, people in India have black, money deposits of Rs 37,000 crore with them. Remember that this amount can be larger than this figurer, too, it is based on an estimate because those who have black money do not give its accounts to anyone. The, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also estimated the amount of black money of many nations. It has, been stated in its estimate that the amount of black money is 50 per cent of her Gross Domestic Product, (GDP). According, to the estimate of IMF, the amount of black money in India ranges from Rs. 80,000 crore, to Rs. 90,000 crore., 76, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Why is the business of black money growing by leaps and bounds in our country? Some genuine, reasons in this context are as follows: (1) Lust for money, (2) Too much of materialism, (3) Weak laws, (4), Complex procedures to earn money with honesty (5) Awareness of the fact that money can buy everything, and all types of good or bad deeds can be got done from any person through its use., The fact that this has become an incurable disease is not a hyperbole. However, some suggestions can, be given to check the spread and effect of black money: (1) The government should control its expenses and, these should be monitored, (2) High­deficit budgets should not be made, (3) Expenses being incurred on the, government projects should be strictly monitored, (4) In the government adminis­tration, the self­discretionary, rights of senior officials in Industrial licensing de­partment, income tax department, company law department, or any other depart­ment should be either made defunct or minimised. Bias, corruption and black money are, created because of the perpetuation of these very rights. (5) The taxation system should be pragmatic; the, rates should not be very high because if they are moderate, people would not resort to acts of tax evasion., (6) The departments that collect taxes should be efficient and honest. (7) There should be a provision for, harsh punishment for the acts of tax­evasion. (8) In the Institutions like state legis­latures, government, departments, financial institutions, judiciary, etc., the work should be of high quality. All their tasks should be, done at the right time and the administrative machinery should be transparent (which means that actions and, data should not be kept secret). If this is done, then the possibilities of corrupt practices and bias behaviours, would be lessened. We can expect that the produc­tion of black money would be at least reduced due to the, aforesaid remedies., , Right to Information, The term ‘inform’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘inform are’, which means giving shape to something., Information adds something new to our awareness and removes the vagueness of our ideas. It equips us, with necessary knowledge to help us in our pursuits. Be it material or spiritual. This can be a handy tool in, bringing abo­’it transparency and accountability in public life thus serving a larger interest., Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights to free speech and, expression. The prerequisite for enjoying this right is knowledge and information. The absence of authentic, information on matters of public inter­est leads to administrative corruption and decadence, which India is, witnessing on a scale so large that it has become one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This is, hampering development and growth of the country. The only way to tackle this problem is to equip citizens, with Right to Information so that the bureaucracy, police and local government bodies become more responsive, and accountable., The Right to Information has, in fact, received judicial recognition as a part of the fundamental right to, free speech and expression in a Supreme Court judgment in 1975. Again in 1982, the court declared that the, concept of an open government is the direct emanation from the right to know which seems to be implicit in, the right of free speech and expression guaranteed under article 19 (1) (a). An open government is the new, democratic culture of an open society towards which every liberal democracy is moving and our country, should be no exception. In a country like India, right to know becomes a necessity for the poor, ignorant and, illiterate masses. Information is indispensable for the functioning of a true democracy., Despite such pronouncements, the Indian government did little to confer on its citizens this inalienable, right. It is only after decades of concerted campaigning by several grass­root organizations, NGOs and, noted activists like Aruna Roy, Prashant Bhushan, Bharat Dog ra etc. that the government finally relented, and enacted the Right to Information Act 2005. The salient features of the law are as follows:, The Act confers a right to “information” rather than just “records” or “documents”. Information has, broadly defined to permit the inspection of public works includ­ing taking samples of materials. The definition, also includes “information relat­ing to a private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any, law”., The Act explicitly states that it “shall be a constant Endeavour...to provide as much information Suo, moto so that the public have minimum resort [to the Act]”., Public Information Officers (PIOs) are required to be appointed “in all administra­tive units/office...as, may be necessary to provide information to persons request­ing it”. Assistant PIOs are also to be appointed, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 77

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at each sub­divisional or sub­ district level, and these Assistants are tasked with receiving applications and, passing them on to the relevant PIO. These provisions combined are designed to bring access closer to the, people, by ensuring that applicants can submit requests in their local area, rather than having to rely on the, post or travel to the city., A time limit of thirty days for normal applications and 40 days where a third party submissions is to be, called for has been set. In a novel approach, these time limits are reduced to a mere 48 hours where the, information sought “concerns the life and liberty of a person”., All of the exemptions under the Act (except the exemption for information which is subject to copyright), are subject to a public interest override, whereby informa­tion may be disclosed “if public interest in disclosure, outweighs the harm to the protected interests”., Every PIO can be fined ? 250 per day up to a maximum of ? 25,000 for not accepting application;, delaying information release without reasonable cause; denying information in bad faith; knowingly giving, incomplete, incorrect, mis­leading information; destroying information that has been requested and obstruct­ing, furnishing of information in any manner., Despite such progressive provisions, the Act still retains a number of restrictive measures, which could, be abused to deny information. A proviso is added that decisions of the Council of Ministers, their reasons, and the materials on the basis of which the decisions were made will be published after a decision is taken, and the matter is complete. This would only defeat the very purpose of the law, as it would never be possible, to know the conduct of the ministers and the interests they may be serving. A range of Central intelligence, and security agencies are specifically and entirely exempted from the Act., Third parties are permitted to make representations where a PIO intends to disclo­sure information, supplied by the third party and “treated as confidential by the third party”. There is some concern that this, provision could be abused in practice to improperly delay responses to requests, particularly because the Act, defined third parties to include other public authorities., The final form of the Act removed references to imprisonment for serious acts of non­compliance with, the Act. It is notable in this respect that while the Act now allows for a fine for “denying information [in bad, faith; knowingly giving incom­plete, incorrect, misleading information; destroying information that has been, requested and obstructing furnishing of information in any manner”. It is not clear how this provision will, apply in practice., The original Bill required that Information Commissioners would be selected by a Committee comprising, the Prime Minister, leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of India. The Bill was amended, however, to, replace the Chief Justice by a Cabinet Minister chosen by the PM. This would render the selection process, partisan., Whatever may be the shortcomings of the law, it’s undoubtedly, a landmark legis­lation of modern, India. Its avowed aim is to bring about transparency in adminis­tration and public life that would ultimately, lead to openness, accountability and integrity. Going by the way the citizens have started using this law to, expose corruption in government departments, it can be concluded that it would certainly help achieve that, aim., , Creating New States, Introduction, Demands for separate states continue to be the focus of several political organisations which see sovereignty, as the solution to ethnic, regional or cultural differences as witnessed by the demands for creation of at least, 10 new states over the years. Not to mention such movements generally owe their career to the short­, sightedness and the static approach of the political class., At the forefront again, the agitation for the separate state of Telangana not only reflects the deeper, structural problems facing India since the reorganisation of states way back in 1956, but also the ambivalence, at the Centre., Why the demand for new states ?, 78, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Sanjeer Alam, visiting associate fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi,, writes (www.tebelka.com, July 11, 2011) that administrative boundaries in any country are never static., They change in the course of time and in response to changing demographic social, economic and political, conditions. In India, the journey of carving out as many as 28 states so far suggests at least two things: (i) the, aspirations of people channel out in complex ways. So, drawing or redrawing of politico­administrative, boundaries should be sensitive to such complexities; and (ii) even if certain demands have enough justification, and usefulness, the political class will not move until the push comes to shove., While scholars and experts other many reasons as to why people demand new states, some of the, significant ones may be listed as follows:, i., , Severe intra­state disparities usually lead to the demand for new states ­ as it happened in the case of, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in 2000., , ii., , Often, political parties cash in on people’s aspirations for growth and development which the existing, government infrastructure has been unable to satisfy. Such vested interests coupled with the dissatisfaction, at the local level finally find a voice in the demand of a new state., , iii., , Most states are marked by huge socio­cultural and economic differences. People largely come together, owing to a feeling of commonness’ based on various grounds ­ be it caste, creed, language, culture,, ethnicity, or even economic disparity., , iv., , The plurality of administrative units is to ensure administrative efficiency and good governance. India, is too big in size both in terms of area and population, which obviously necessitates a periodic exercise, of redrawing politico­administrative boundaries., , The question, here, is whether newer states would be better off splitting from their parent states?, While smaller states do not necessarily mean socio­economic betterment, evidence suggests that they are, indeed governed better. More significantly, some states remain so large they have become difficult to govern,, leaving politically marginalised regions out of the country’s economic boom., Case for the making of seprate states, There is some evidence which suggest that the newer states have indeed fared better:, The Eleventh Plan document provides some data which supports that the smaller newly carved states, ­ specifically Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh ­ grew faster (9.31 percent and 7.35 percent during 2004­05, and 2008­09 respectively) than their parent states (growth rate of Uttar Pradesh was 6.29 percent and, Madhya Pradesh grew at 4.89 percent during the same five­year period)., , , Carving out new states would mean the creation of new capital cities (e.g. Ranchi, Raipur, Dehra Dun,, etc.) and the associated infrastructure. It is widely understood that capital cities attract investments for, various services and agglomeration economies, notably infrastructure of national/ international standards, such as highways, mass transport, high tele­ density, international airport, relatively large international, community and culture, and world­renowned cultural institutions and universities., , , , As per several studies the government frequently allocates more local public services in favour of, capital cities, because that is also where decision makers live ­ this can also be attributed as a reason, for the demand of new states (with its new capital). Furthermore, ensuing infrastructure can lead to, rise in property value along with new demand for construction activity ­ which in turn has multiplier, effect on the local economy., , , , Interestingly, according to a World Bank’s Investment Climate Survey (ICS) in India, conducted in, 2000, 2002 and 2005, 44 percent firms were located in capital cities. However, recent research on, location choice in India’s cities (along with those in China and Brazil) shows that Indian firms refrained, from locating in capital cities (especially the large ones, with a population of over three million). This is, surprising given the many advantages of capital cities which are also the favourite of policy­makers in, terms of infrastructure and other public services. Arguably this was due to the rising cost of land, and, taxes which drove firms away from the capital cities. In this way they tried to create value of their real, estate at less costly places ­ most of them purchased or built their own office complexes in place of, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 79

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taking them on rent ­ basically, the surplus space were rented out by them. Thus, this phenomenon is, not unexplained., , , Here, it is important to note that capital cities make for an important cause of disparity as areas, surrounding the same are often neglected. Hence, there are proposals to convert India’s large (capital), and metropolitan cities (e.g. Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad) as, union territories and grant them partial statehood as in the case of Delhi. Needless to say, new states, need a new bureaucracy­ creating a large number of jobs wherein politicians and bureaucrats are, appointed., , , , If an existing state shows clear inequality based on predominant economic activities of its people, then, it appears to be doing injustice to its entire population. Thus, there arises the need for a new state on the, basis of this economic homogeneity. For example, in the case of the earlier state of Uttar Pradesh, (UP), the entire state ­ except for that region which is now the state of Uttaranchal ­ was a predominantly, agricultural economy. UP always remained involved in the making of better and better agricultural, policies while the specific developmental requirements of this part of the state were neglected. Once, the region became a new state, now its government can do more justice to this economic question., , , , Geographical factors may also make for a valid reason to create a new state. However, this may be, born of the need for economic homogeneity., , , , While newer states respond better to planned development, it was not always the case owing to paucity, of means create and mobilise the resources for the desired economic development. Yet, after the 13th, Finance Commission tagged the success of a state with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the resource, mobilisation problem was solved to a certain extent., , Case Against The Making Of Sepratge States, And then again, there are several problems related to the creation of new states:, , , , , That the smaller states are successful in developing their regions cannot be guaranteed. This also, depends upon the extent of decentralisation. For instance, if a small state ­ after breaking away from a, larger one ­ is unable to devolve enough funds and physical resources to its far­ flung areas, it is equally, unable to maintain its roads, schools, colleges, hospitals, irrigation facilities, etc. As a result, the population, in its remote areas may feel as neglected as before., A very strong point against the idea of creating new states is that such decisions lead to the demand for, and creation of other newer states ­ making for a vicious circle. This can pose a socio­political threat if, the country is ruled by a coalition government which may be easily bargained by the small coalition, partners of regional nature., , , , It is believed that a new state has more right to financial support from the centre, thus surplus funds, flow into the state. However, this is not always true. In the. 13th Finance Commission devolution, formula, for instance, the fiscal capacity distance­ the distance of its estimated per capita revenue from, the estimated per capita revenue ­ has the greatest weight age (47.5 percent), followed by population, (25 percent). . The distance so computed for all states, barring Haryana (ranking second in terms of, Indias per capita income) and Goa, defines the per capita revenue entitlement of each state based on, fiscal distance. Thus, there is no particular proof that the share of newer, smaller states increases, because of its division from the parent state., , , , The earlier point also implies that additional states may not always mean additional claims to central, finances/resources. If a state’s fiscal distance is greater than that of Haryana, its access to higher, share or resources and additional grants would be marginal., , , , The logic of economic or cultural homogeneity is also not unchallenged if states are created on these, bases. In fact, thus far in India, linguistic homogeneity has proven to be ineffective when it comes to, keeping the states integrated (e.g. Bihar, UP and Madhya Pradesh)., , 80, , Dharmendra Kumar

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In Conclusion, In recent times, a majority of experts believe economic factors to be at the heart of the demand for, new states in resurgent India. ‘Small is beautiful’ to manage is often cited in favour of creating new states, ­ the USA has one­third the population of India, but has 50 states, in contrast to ours which only has 28. Yet,, there is a difference ­ these new states of USA were completely new additions and not created from within, the existing states as is the case in India. Not to say that creating new states has been no guarantee for their, economic development ­ India can only hope for it., In view of this scenario, a more long­lasting solution is called for ­ like opting for viable and effective, policies to reduce regional and intra­state disparities within the existing framework of governance, rather, than creating new political entities (new states). Some steps in this direction may be cited as follows:,  The process of planning in the country needs to take into account a realistic picture of the prevailing, regional disparities.,  Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) should be made more effective by decentralising the very process, of planning ­people at the local levels should be thus empowered to determine and those factors that, bring about their own development.,  Existing states, gram sabhas, municipalities and corporations should be given more financial space, (autonomy) with in­built provisions of accountability.,  The Right to Information Act should be made an effective tool in the hands of the people so that there, is a decentralised check and control upon the executives working at different levels of the political, strata., , , The question of governance (rightly considered as a factor of development in the Tenth Plan) must be, answered effectively and immediately. In its absence even a newly created state would be unable to, better the economic situation of the people., , , , The menace of corruption in the delivery system of the public services should be checked in a full­, proof manner ­ the Unique Identification Number (commonly known as the Aadhar programme) is a, highly commendable step towards the same., , , , The institution of Lokayukta should be made more effective with a similar arrangement put into place, also at the centre., , , , When it comes to promoting the process of economic reforms, care should be taken to ensure that, the weaker states are not marginalised while attracting private sector investment. For this, special, arrangement and modules may be prepared by the centre with active participation from the concerned, states., , , , It is high time that India’s political entities together with the political elite come to develop a working, understanding among them when it comes to the issue of progress — making development a politically, neutral subject., , , , Emergence of a new pol itics which will be based on the issue of development is need of the hour —, after more than six decades of democracy, and it is time India displayed political maturity in this regard., , Globalisation and Cyber Crime, Crime, A news headline in March 2013 read, ‘Rs 50 lakh stolen by cyber criminal from the bank account of a US­, based Director of the ICICI Bank’. The largest and number one private sector bank of India is not able to, protect even the account of one its Directors from cyber risks. This not only shows the level of risks within, one of the best equipped banks in the world, it also points out the helplessness of these institutions. Information, technology has undoubtedly increased the speed, the precision, and the volume of growth and business, today, but the hazards of cyber threats are extremely high. Right from the treasury to defence, no department, of the most advanced country, the US, is safe from cyber threats today! What can be said about the risks in, developing countries?, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 81

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Defined simply, ‘cyber crime’ is the use of computer as an instrument to further illegal ends, such as, committing fraud, trafficking in child pornography and intellectual property, stealing identities, or violating, privacy. Use of the internet has become wider and deeper as the computer has become central to commerce,, entertainment, and government. Owing to the early and widespread adoption of computers and the internet,, most of the earliest victims and villains of cyber crime were in the US. But by the 21st century, hardly a, hamlet remained anywhere in the world that had not been touched by cyber crime of one sort or another ­, the menace has spread everywhere., There are now different names for different cyber crimes, such as Computer Network Intrusions,, Password Sniffers. Industrial Espionage, Cyber Fraud, Cyber Stalking, Computer sabotage, Identify Theft,, Spam, Phishing, Password Cracking, Hacking, Cyber Squatting, Software Piracy, Digital Bulling, Cyber, Terrorism, to name the important ones., Extent of The Menace, The creation of new technologies brings forth new criminal opportunities but few new types of crime. What, distinguishes cyber crime from traditional criminal activity? Obviously, one difference is the use of digital, computer, but technology alone is insufficient for any distinction that might exist between different realms of, criminal activity. Criminals do not need a computer to commit fraud, traffic in child pornography and intellectual, property, steal an identity, or violate someone’s privacy. All those activities existed before the ‘cyber’ prefix, became ubiquitous. Cyber crime, especially involving the internet, represents an extension of existing criminal, behaviour alongside some novel illegal activities. As the process of globalisation has increased the levels and, dimensions at which the nations of the world are interacting today, the threats of this crime have also, multiplied in dimension. It seems as if greater globalisation leads to greater hazards of cyber crimes., Cyber crime, in most cases, is an attack on information about individuals, corporations, or governments, ­ the attacks are not on a physical body, they take place on the personal or corporate virtual body, which is, a set of information about people and institutions on the ‘net’. In the digital age, our virtual identities are, essential elements of everyday life ­ we are a bundle of numbers and identifiers in multiple computer, databases owned by governments and corporations. This crime highlights the centrality of networked computers, in our lives, as well as the fragility of such facts as identities., Its non­local character is the most specific character of this crime ­ actions of crime can occur in, jurisdictions separated by vast distances. This poses severe problems for law enforcement since previously, local or even national crimes now require international cooperation. If a person accesses a child pornography, site on a computer in a country that does not ban child pornography, is that individual committing a crime in, a nation where such material is illegal? Where exactly does cyber crime take place? Cyberspace is simply, a richer version of the space where a telephone conversation takes place, somewhere between the two, people having the conversation. As a planet­spanning network, the internet others the criminals multiple, hiding places in the real world as well as in the network itself. However, just as individuals walking on the, ground leave marks that a skilled tracker can follow, cyber criminals also do leave clues about their identity, and location, despite their best efforts to cover their tracks. In order to follow such clues across national, boundaries, though, international cyber crime treaties must be ratified., Checking The Menace, As the nature of this crime crosses physical boundaries of the nations, it is strongly felt that till there is an, effective and consorted international co­operation, checking the menace of this crime will not be possible., One nation, whatever is the level of its digital preparedness, cannot stop such crimes from happening., The first set of initiatives towards international co­operation came from the western countries who, were the main victims of this crime. In 1996, the Council of Europe, together with government representatives, from the United States, Canada, and Japan, drafted a preliminary international treaty covering computer, crime. Around the world, civil liberties’ groups immediately protested provisions in the treaty requiring internet, service providers (ISPs) to store information on their customers’ transactions and to turn this information, over on demand. Work on the treaty proceeded nevertheless, and on November 23, 2001, the Council of, Europe Cyber Crime Convention (CECC) was signed by 30 nation states. Additional protocols, covering, terrorist activities and racist and xenophobic cyber crimes were proposed in 2002., 82, , Dharmendra Kumar

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At the international level, many attempts have been made under the overarching United Nation, Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) but they have tilled now been inconclusive. In, late 2010, the UN rejected a Russia­ backed proposal for a treaty on cyber crime, despite widespread, agreement that closer international co­operation is vital in a world more closely connected by global computer, networks. Nations had a consensus on the point that there has been growth in legitimate cross­border, computing, such as cloud computing, etc. which has been accompanied by growth in cross­border crime, which calls for international laws to be brought up to speed. Talks at the UN were unable to reconcile, differences between developing countries and the most advanced capitalist countries, led by the EU, US,, and Canada. A UN advisory committee would consider conducting a study on cyber crime, legislation, and, law enforcement. The process might bring opposing countries closer together and lead, in some years, to, proposals that may open a way to preparatory talks for a global agreement. However, such talks might take, years., The Government of India, in order to check the crime, has also adopted some of the clauses of the, UNICITRAL and passed the Information Technology Act, 2000. This Act has been framed for according, legal recognition to the authentication of information exchanged in respect of commercial transactions, conducted by means of Electronic Communication Technology. The Act, besides defining cyber crimes into, two categories of liabilities ­ civil and criminal ­ has given legal recognition to:, i., , Digital Signatures, which include acceptance in lieu of hand written signatures, , ii., , Electronic Records, which include retention, attribution, acknowledgment and dispatch, and security, , iii., , Creation of an infrastructure for issuance and regulation of digital signature certificates, , iv., , Creation of a cyber regulations appellate tribunal, , v., , Amendments in existing laws to give recognition to electronic documents, , vi., , Offences and penalties for cyber crimes, , As India is moving towards greater computerisation and putting more and more functions on the internet,, from administration to surveillance to developmental programmes (the idea Aadhar­linked delivery of benefits, to the beneficiaries), the threats of cyber crime are increasing day by day. Before things take an ugly turn,, the country needs to put in place an effective mechanism to check and prevent the rising menace of cyber, crime. India has already started work on a dedicated network for the country which will not be dependent on, the ‘world wide web’ [www] ­ the National Knowledge Network. However, this network does not provide, India ‘immunity’ from cyber attacks from external sources, as this network has to be linked in any case to, the ‘world wide web’ to get connected with the world out there. Yes, it will provide a high degree of, independence to the country in the case of attack on the ‘www’ itself ­ as the concern of a possible terror, attack on it has increased in recent times., , Economic Reforms in India, Introduction, It was in 1991 that the actual era of liberalisation and economic reforms begain in India. The reforms and the, process of liberalisation continue to be a topic intensely debated in all forms of the media. Yet the average, Indian is generally at a loss about the pros and cons of the reform process. Popularly, economic reform, denotes the process by which a government prescribes declining role for state and expanding role for the, private sector in an economy. Technically speaking, even if the process prescribes the opposite criteria, it, will still be called economic reform. In an economy, it is safer to view economic reform as a policy shift ­, from one to another alternative development strategy. Economists attribute the differences in the, performance of economies to the differences in the strategies they follow. These strategies of development, are evolved over a longer period of trial and error by the different countries under the influences of their, different sets of ideologies ­ from Capitalism (of the USA and other West European countries since 1777), to State Economy (of the ex­USSR, from 1916 spreading to East European countries and attaining its purest, form as seen in the Peoples Republic of China in 1959) and Mixed Economy (of France, India and many, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 83

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other countries beginning 1944— 45). These experiments in the area of differing systems of economy were, nothing but differing ways of defining the role of state in the economy., By 1999 (World Development Report1999, World Bank), the Mixed Economy model was beginning, to look as the best alternative. Since then, all the major world economies have adopted one form or \ the, other of this ‘mixed economy model. As per the World Bank, the mix of market and state in an economy is, a matter decided by the concerned economy depending upon its socio­economic conditions ­ meaning, there, is no definite formula for a mixed economy. Around 1985, a new idea the Washington Consensus was, taking shape (named after the US capital where it was decided by the World Bank, USA and the UK)., Basically, it was a proposition to unleash the power and potential of the private sector into the economies, and cut down the economic role of the state. The first phase of economic reforms around the world took, place under the influence of this ideology through the IMF/WB ­ seen in the ex­USSR under Gorbachev’s, rule, and in India under the Rajiv Gandhi government. Soon, this reform process would be taken over by the, provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from 1995., 1991: The Beginning, On 23 July 1991, India launched a process of economic reforms in response to a fiscal and balance­of­, payment (BoP) crisis. The reforms were historic and went on to change the very face and the nature of its, economy. While the reforms and related programmes are still under way ­ albeit with changing emphasis, and dimension ­ their pace has been criticised as becoming slower since end­May 2004 when the UPA, (United Progressive Alliance) government came to power. Back in the mid­1980s, the governments had, taken recourse to a spate of economic reforms of the same nature. While the reforms of the 1980s witnessed, rather limited deregulation and ‘halting liberalisation’ of only a few aspects of the existing control regime,, those of the early 1990s spread to industries, trade, investment and later even to agriculture and were much, wider and deeper. Though the government announced liberal policies during the ‘economic reforms’ of the, 1980s, these actually came into effect only in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, the reforms influenced by the, famous Washington Consensus ideology had a crippling impact on the Indian economy. The entire 7th Plan, (1985­90) promoted further relaxation of market regulations with heavy external borrowings to increase the, country’s exports (as the thrust of the policy reform). Though this thrust increased the growth rate led by, higher industrial growth rate (riding on costly imports supported by foreign borrowings which the, industries world not be able to pay back and service), it also led to a substantial increase in foreign debt, that played a major role in the 1991 BoP crisis. The crisis was immediated by the First Gulf War (1991), which had a two­ pronged negative impact on India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves. First, the war, escalated the oil prices, forcing India to use its forex reserves in a comparatively shorter period; and second,, the private remittances from, Indians working in the Gulf region (and their emergency evacuation) declined, rapidly. Furthermore, the BoP crisis reflected deeper problems such as rising foreign debt, a fiscal deficit of, over 8 percent of the GDP and a hyper­inflation (over 13 percent)., The minority government of the time took a highly bold and controversial step in the form of the, economic reforms ­ criticised throughout the 1990s by one and all, be it the opposition in the parliament,, Communist parties, industrial and business houses, the media, the experts or the masses. By now, however,, since many have accrued the benefits of these reforms, the criticism has somewhat lessened; but the reform, process is still considered to be anti­poor and pro­rich by the masses ­ the very people who decide the, political mandate. However, one belief­ that the benefits of these reforms are not trickling down to the, masses (the aam aadami) at the desired pace ­ is shared by all. The need of the hour is to take on ‘distributive, growth for which the government did strive in the name of’ inclusive growth. Today, though, almost everybody, is convinced that the reform process has led the economy to a higher growth path., Reform Measures, India’s economic reform programme comprised two broad categories of measures: Macroeconomic stabili, sation measures, It includes all those economic policies which intended to boost the aggregate demand in the economy, ­ be it domestic or external. For the enhanced domestic demand, the focus has to be increasing the purchasing, power of the masses which entails an emphasis on the creation of the gainful and quality employment, opportunities., 84, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Structural reform measures, It includes all the policy reforms which have been initiated by the government to boost the aggregate, supply of goods and services in the economy. It naturally entails unshackling the economy so that it may, search for its own potential of enhanced productivity and production., For the purchasing capacity of the people to be increased, Indian economy needs increased income, which comes from the increased levels of the production activities. Income so increased is later distributed, among the people whose purchasing power is thus increased ­ whilst also initiating a set of suitable, macroeconomic policies. As production is done by the producers (i.e. the capitalists), prima facie the structural, reforms measures look ‘pro­rich’ and pro­ industrialist’ or ‘pro­capitalist’. And, ignorant people easily get, swayed bv the logic of fallacy that everything that is pro­rich is necessarily anti­poor. Yet, this was not the, case with the process of economic reforms which provided higher growth (i.e. income) and helped realize, that the Indian economy is able to achieve higher purchasing power for the masses. However, increased, income takes time to reach everybody. And, if the economy lacks political stability this process takes even, longer owing to short­term goals set by the instable and frequently changing governments ­ as was the exact, case with India., Not surprisingly, today there is a general feeling among the masses that the reforms are not made for, them; at least the quarter of the Indian population (the poor people) thinks so., , Liberalistaion, Privatisation, Globalistation (LPG), The economic reforms in India were to be completed via three other processes namely, liberalisation,, privatisation and globalisation (LPG) ­ three processes that also specify the characteristics of the reform, process India initiated. Precisely seen, liberalisation shows the direction of reform, privatisation shows the, path of reform, and globalisation indicates the ultimate goal of India’s reform., Liberalisation, The term liberalisation has its origin in the political ideology of ‘liberalism’ which had taken shape in early 19th, century (it developed basically in the previous three centuries). The term is sometimes portrayed as a metaideology capable of embracing a broad range of rival values and beliefs. This ideology was the product of the, breakdown of feudalism and the growth of a market or capitalist society that came in its place ­ an ideology that, was further made popular by Adam Smith (a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy) and, was identified as the very principle of laissez-faire., The term liberalisation has the same connotation in economics as its root ‘liberalism’. Liberalisation, can be loosely defined as the pro­market or pro­ capitalistic inclination in the economic policies of an economy., While it was evident in Euro­America in 1970s and particularly in the 1980s, the most suitable example of, this process could be the China of the mid­1980s when it announced its ‘open door policy’. Though China, lacks (even today) some trademark traits of liberalism — such as individualism, liberty, democratic system,, etc. — it was still called a liberalising economy. Taking an example from the history of the world economy, ­ placing the USA of the early 20th century and the communist China on the two poles of the scale — then, USA represents the best example of a liberal economy and China, the best example of ‘lilliberal’ economy., With the USA at the south of the pole and China at the north, any policy movement towards the south may, be considered as liberalisation. Contrary to it, a similar movement from the south to the north will be known, as ‘illiberalisation’. In other words. liberalisation is the process with decreasing traits of State Economy and, increasing traits of market economy. Technically speaking, though, both processes will be categorised as, economic reform, given that the term ‘reform” does not specify any direction (in that sense it is neutral)., However, it is also correct that every reform around the world has had a direction ranging from orthodoxy­, to non­orthodoxy. It means, in the Indian case, the term liberalisation indicates the direction of the economic, reforms ­ with decreasing involvement of the state or the planned or the command economy and increasing, symptoms of the free market or capitalistic economy. While it is a run towards capitalism, it is neither just, state nor only the market type, but a mix of both at the same time. Naturally then, India is attempting to strike, its own balance of the ‘state­market mix’. Meaning, even if economic reforms tend towards market economy,, India can never be branded as making a blind­run for capitalism. In the former years however, since the, economy was more like the state economy, India opted for a greater degree of mix of the market. A point to, be noted is that, in the long­run, liberalism could curtail the authority of the parliament., Privatisation, The decades of the 1980s and 1990s witnessed a ‘rolling back’ of the state by the governments,, especially in the UK under the inspiration of the New Right priorities and beliefs. The policies through which, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 85

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this was done included deregulation, privatisation and introduction of market reforms in the public services., Privatisation at that time was a process by which state assets were transferred to the private sector. This, use of the term can be traced back to the times when the East European nations and later the developing, democratic nations opted for privatisation ­ a period when the term developed several connotations and, meanings, some of which can be listed as follows:, i., Privatisation, lexically and in its purest sense, means de-nationalisation i.e. transfer of state ownership, of the assets to the private sector to the tune of 100 percent. It was only once that such bold moves, took place anywhere in the world and without any political fallout ­ in the UK of early 1980s under the, Thatcher regime. This route of privatisation has since then been avoided by almost all democratic, systems. In the mid­1990s some west European nations ­ Italy, Spain and France, besides the USA ­, opted for such moves. India, however, never adopted that kind of privatisation., ii., , Privatisation has stood for the process of disinvestment across the world, to further include the sale of, shares of the state­owned enterprises to the private sector. Disinvestment is de­nationalisation of less, than 100 percent ownership transfer from the state to the private sector. If the government sells an, asset to the tune of only 49 percent, then the ownership retained with the state through it, is considered, privatisation. Privatisation is also when the sale of shares of the state­owned assets has been to the, tune of 51 percent, and the ownership is really transferred to the private sector., , iii., , The third and the last sense in which the term privatisation has been used, around the world, is very, wide. Basically, all the economic policies which directly or indirectly seem to promote the expansion of, the private sector or the market (economy) have been termed by the experts and the governments as, the process of privatisation. De­licencing and dereservatrion of industries, even cuts in subsidies,, permission for foreign investment, etc. are some examples of privatisation in India., , In the Indian context, liberalisation may be connected to privatisation. Liberalisation indicates the direction, of reform in India i.e. its inclination towards market dominance: But how can this be achieved? Basically,, privatisation will be the path to reform. Quite simply, everything which includes promotion to the ‘market’, will be on the path of the reform process in India., Globalisation, Though the process of globalisation has always been used in the economic sense, it has always taken, political and cultural dimensions. Economic changes, once they occur, have several socio­political, manifestations. Globalisation is generally termed as ‘an increase in economic integration among nations’., Even before several nation­ states were born, countries around the world had opted for a closer integration, of their economies. This globalisation lasted from 1800 to almost 1930, interrupted by the Great Depression, and the two World Wars which led to retrenchment and several trade barriers that were erected since early, 1930s., The concept was popularised again, after the Wars, by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and, Development (OECD) in the mid­1980s. OECD, in its earlier deliberation had defined globalisation in a very, narrow and business­like sense ­ ‘any cross­border investment by an OECD company outside its country of, origin for its benefit is globalisation’. After the OECD Summit, developed economies of the world pushed for, a move to replace the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) by the WTO ­ an event better, known as the starting point of the Uruguay Round of the GATT deliberations which ended in Marrakesh, (1994) with the birth of the WTO. In the meantime, OECD had officially defined globalisation (1995): ‘a, shift from a world of distinct national economies to a global economy in which production is internationalised, and financial capital flows freely and instantly between countries’., For the WTO, the official meaning of globalisation is a movement of the economies of the world, towards ‘unrestricted cross­border movements of goods and services, capital and the labour force’. It, simply means that for those economies that are signatories to the process of globalisation (i.e. signatories to, the WTO) there will be no concept of foreign or indigenous goods and services, capital and labour. The, world is in a way becoming flat and a level-playing field will emerge in due course of time., For many political scientists (a dominant force in today’s world), globalisation is the emergence of a, situation where in people’s lives are increasingly shaped by the events that occur at a great distance from, 86, , Dharmendra Kumar

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them and the decisions pertaining to which are thereby not taken by their conscious selves. One section of, experts believe that globalisation subordinates the state while the other section argues that, by way of, globalisation, the local, the national and global events constandy interact without any subordination of one by, the other. In this sense, globalisation, highlights the deepening as well as broadening of the political process., Among the founding members of the WTO, India was more or less obliged promote the process of, globalisation, although its economic reforms began with no such obligation. That India’s globalisation began, since the very beginning of its reforms process in 1991 is a different story., India, with it’s the three simultaneous processes (LPG), launched its reform programme. While this, process of liberalisation marked a move towards market economy, privatisation was the path/route through, which it would travel to realise the country’s ultimate goal i.e. globalisation., Here, it should be noted that the Indian idea of globalisation is highly embedded with the concept of, welfare state ­ to which there is emphatic reference in the country’s day­to­day public policy. The world,, including the IMF, the WB and the developed nations, have now increasingly shown their recognition of the, fact that the official goal of globalisation of the world economies would not take place without giving the, poor of the world a standard level of living. So then, even if resulting globalisation does not include almost, one­fifth of the world population of the poor, will it still be called development?, , Generation of Economic Reforms, Though there was no such announcement or proposal when India launched its reforms in 1991, in the, coming years, the government announced many generations of reforms. Till date, India has witnessed a total, of three generations of reforms while experts have gone on to suggest the fourth as well. The components, of various generations of reforms may be substantiated to properly understand the very characteristics and, nature of the reform process in India, as follows:, First Generation (1991-2000), It was in 2000­01 that the government, for the first time, announced the need for the second generation, of economic reforms which were than lunched in the same year. Those reforms which had been initiated by, then 1991­2000) were referred to as the first generation reforms. The broad coordinates of the first generation, of reforms may be underlined as follows:, Promotion of the private sector, This included various important and liberalising policy decisions i.e. de­ reservation and de­licensing of, industries; abolition of the MRTP limit; abolition of the compulsion of the phased­production and conversion, of loans into shares; simplifying environmental laws for the establishment of the industries; etc., Public sector reforms, This included the major steps taken to make the public sector undertakings profitable, efficient, their, disinvestment (token), their corporatisation, etc., External sector reforms, These included polices such as abolishing quantitative restrictions on imports; switching to the floating, currency regime of exchange rate; announcing full current account convertibility; reforms in the capital, account; allowing foreign investment (direct as well as indirect), promulgating a liberal foreign exchange, management Act (the FEMA replacing the FERA), etc., Financial sector reforms, This included several reform initiatives in the areas of banking sector, capital market, insurance, mutual, funds, etc., Tax reforms, This included all the policy initiatives directed at simplifying, broad­basing, modernising, checking evasion,, etc., Ensuing the first generation of reforms was a major re­direction reforms to the economy ­ the ‘command’, type of economy moved strongly towards a market­driven economy, and the private sector (domestic as, well as foreign) was to now have greater participation in the future., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 87

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Second Generation (2000-01 onwards), Launched by the government in 2000­01, these reforms basically replaced those launched in the early, 1990s which were not going as per plan. Known as second generation economic reforms, they were not, only deeper and more delicate but also required greater political will­power on part of the government. The, major components of these reforms are as follows:, Factor market reforms, Deemed by experts as the very ‘backbone’ for the success of the reform process in India, these, reforms included the dismantling of the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) considering the government, had fixed/regulated the prices of many products in the economy (such as petroleum, sugar, fertilisers, drugs,, etc.) Though a major section of the products under APM were produced by the private sector, they were, sold on the basis of market principles which hindered the profitability of manufacturers as well as sellers, and, ultimately, the expansion of the concerned industries leading to a demand­supply gap as the perennial, problem. Now, these products were to be brought into the market fold under the market reforms., In the petroleum segment, only kerosene oil and LPG (liquid petroleum gas) remain under APM, while, petrol, diesel, and lubricants have been phased out of the category. Similarly, income tax paying families, cannot avail any subsidy on sugar from TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System, launched in 1997) on, subsidies. Among fertilisers, only urea remained under APM while many drugs have also been phased out of, the mechanism., This Indian economy is now reaping the dividends of opening up the petroleum sector for private, investment, cutting down the burden of levy on sugar, etc. However, the process of Factor Market Reforms, (FMRs) is still not complete in India and is going on. Cutting down subsidies on the essential goods is a, socio­political question in India. Till market­based purchasing power is not delivered to the all the consumers,, it would be impossible to complete FMRs. Meanwhile, by minimising the cost of subsidies and eliminating, corruption from its system of delivery, the government is linking the Aadhar Number to the beneficiaries., Public sector reforms, The second generation of reforms in the public sector especially emphasises areas like greater functional, autonomy; freer leverage to the capital market; international tie­ups and Greenfield ventures, disinvestment, (strategic); etc., Reforms in government and public institutions, This includes all those moves that help convert the role of the government from the ‘controller’ to the, ‘facilitator’., Legal sector reforms, Although reforms in the legal sector started in the first generation itself, they were now to be deepened, and newer areas were to be included ­ such as abolishing outdated and contradictory laws, reforms in the, Indian Penal Code, CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973), Labour Laws, Companies Laws, and enacting, suitable legal provisions for new areas like Cyber Laws, etc., Reforms in the critical areas, Second generation reforms also commit to suitable reforms in the infrastructure sector (i.e. power,, roads, etc., especially since reforms in the telecom sector had been encouraging), agriculture, agricultural, extension, education and the healthcare, etc. These areas have been deemed as ‘critical areas’ by the, government (Economic Survey, 2000­01)., Reforms in critical areas have two segments: (i) The first segment is similar to the Factor Market, Reforms (i.e. 1st and 2nd generation reforms); and (ii) The second segment has a broader dimension to, include corporate farming, R&D in the agriculture sector (which till date was basically taken care of by the, government and now needed active participation of the private sector), inclusive education and healthcare., Listed here are some other important areas emphasised in the second generation reforms:, a., , Role of the state in the reform process: For the first time, the state was assigned the important role, of starting all new reforms, with the centre playing a supportive role., , b., , Fiscal consolidation: Although a major coordinate of India’s reforms since 1991 itself, this area received, Constitutional commitment and responsibility. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, , 88, , Dharmendra Kumar

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2003 (FRBM) passed by the centre was followed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994 (FRA) enacted, by the states. Thus began an era of new commitments to the fiscal prudence in the country., c., , Greater tax devolution to the states: While this trend began in the mid­1990s itself, it was only after, the second generation reforms that a visible change was seen in the central policies favouring greater, fiscal leverage to the states. Even the process of tax reforms took on the same dimension. Similarly, the, Finance Commissions as well as the Planning Commission began taking greater fiscal care of the, states. And, for the first time, the states were to have net revenue surplus collections in the fiscal, 2007­08., , d., , Focussing the social sector: The social sector (especially healthcare and education) received increased, attention by the government with manifold increase in the respective allocations as well as show of a, greater compliance to the performance of the programmes., We see mixed results of the second general reforms though the reforms continue., , The Third Generation, Announcement of the third generation of reforms were made along the margins of the 10th Plan (2002­07)., This generation of reform was committed to the cause of fully functional Panchyati Raj Institutions (PRIs),, so that the benefits of the economic reforms, in general, could reach the grassroots level., Though the constitutional arrangements for a decentralised developmental process were already effected, in the early 1990s, it was in the early 2000s that the government was convinced about the need of the, ‘inclusive growth and development’. However, till the time that people were not involved in the process of, development, development would lack the ‘inclusion’ factor. Then, the 11th Plan went on to ratify the same, sentiments (though the political combination at the centre had changed)., The Fourth Generation, Not yet official in India, this generation of reform basically refers to how some experts in early 2002, referred to a fully ‘information technology­enabled’ India. They hypothesized a two­way connection between, the country’s economic reforms and its information technology (IT) sector — with each one reinforcing the, other., If we look at the current GOI policies it seems as if the government has accepted the idea of this, generation—for example the currently launched scheme of ‘Direct Benefit Transfer’ of subsidies to the, beneficiaries is fully ‘IT­ enabled’— this is based on the ‘Aadhar’ number­linked bank account of the, beneficiaries (the DBT has been launched on Pilot basis in 2012­13)., THE CURRENT SCENARIO, Following the 2007 sub­prime crisis of the USA which triggered a global financial turmoil, most countries, have been watchful about the process of economic reforms. There has been scathing criticism by experts, and media alike when it comes to the neo­liberalism promoted by the Washington Consensus and the ensuing, economic mayhem. Yet, going back to state dominance in the economy is not the suitable solution either. So,, if developing countries are to make their economic reforms work, then they must rely on a shared ideological, commitment that emerges from within, not one that is imposed from without. Because if ideology is forced, upon a nation, then it is only a matter of time before people become suspicious of its intentions and impatient, with its results., For now, the central and most pressing challenge for economies of the world is to foster a widely, shared commitment to a set of policies that may take years to reach fruition. India too, while it has come a, long way since its 1991 reforms, needs an all­round improvement in investment i n and delivery of public, services. Naturallly then, the new focus of economic reforms has to be the empowerment of the public, sector to do what it is supposed to do: public services., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 89

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Food Security in India, Introuduction, As defined by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the International Labour, Organisation among other international bodies, ‘ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and, economic access to basic food is the situation of food security’. To the extent that physical access is, concerned, it may be checked mathematically by comparing the population and food growth rates of a, particular country. Meaning, if there is a lag in the production of food, that particular country is not secure in, terms of food. Yet, the issue of economic access to food is slightly more complex. If the entire population, does not have the reach or access to food (whatever may be the reason), it also means that the country, lacks food security. In the last five years, India’s food grain (i.e. staples such as wheat, rice, jowar, bajra,, maize and pulses) has witnessed a growth rate of around 1.00 percent while the population growth stands at, 1.67 percent ­ showing clear lag in physical food security. As far as economic access to food is concerned,, India has seen great variations. In fact, surveys have indicated that almost half of the Indian; population, lacks food security today, and the country needs more than 275 million tonnes of foodgrains if each of its, citizens was to eat! Not only that, India ought to maintain a buffer stock of over 22 million tonne and almost, 10 million tonne of food­grain to meet its mandatory export requirement., Largely, it is distribution­related problems that have hampered people’s reach to food (in fact this is also, why the country has not faced enough heat on the physical scarcity front). Yet, at the time when all Indians, will be provided food it will also be when food­grain scarcity becomes a serious problem for the country. In, all probability, this situation may arise if and when the National Food Security Act makes it obligatory for the, State to supply food to all ­ perhaps India may also need to import foodgrains. As per the recent ICAR and, Planning Commission projections, India would need to produce over 340 million tonnes of foodgrains by, 2020 in view of its population growth and, more significantly, increased purchasing power of its people (a, clear indication of increased demand). Not to mention, all this would have to be achieved in the backdrop of, weather anomalies and reducing availability of land and water (for irrigation)., THE PHILOSOPHY OF FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA, To understand the present day challenges to food security in India it is essential to understand the country’s, basic philosophy towards food security. Based on the three phases of food policies witnessed by the country,, the philosophy can be defined as follows:, 1. The First Phase: This continued for the first three decades after independence. The main aim and the, struggle, herein, were to produce as much foodgrains as required by the Indian population for a healthy, supply of food i.e. to achieve physical access to food. The idea of Green Revolution (GR), adopted, towards the end of this phase, lend India the confidence to realise its objective. At the end of 1980s,, India had attained self­sufficiency regarding foodgrains., 2. The Second Phase: At a time when India was celebrating the success of its first phase, it was confronted, by a new challenge i.e. achieving economic access to food. The situation worsened and, by early, 2000, the country was posed with a paradox: it had more than three times the buffer stock of food­, grains in the central pool but, in several States, people were dying due to food scarcity. Truly a mockery, of the logic behind maintaining a buffer stock in the first place, not to mention of the success of GR and, the concept of India being a welfare state! The Supreme Court intervened after a public interest, litigation (PIL) was filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a national level Food for, Work programme was established (the same is now merged with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural, Employment Guarantee Scheme). Furthermore, in order to uphold the court ruling (to prevent food­, grains from being damaged), the government had to resort to exporting wheat at a very low price so as, to manage market price for food­ grains! It was in this way that India emerged as the seventh largest, exporter of wheat in 2002! Ironically, India was exporting that share of wheat which many an Indian, citizen could not consume owing to lack of economic access to the same., With regards to GR, since the inputs were costlier, the output would naturally be costlier as well. So, in, order to fight this dilemma, there ought to have been the support of a time­bound and target­oriented macro­, economic policy which would deliver comparative increase in the purchasing capacity of the masses (to, make the food affordable for them). Here, India failed miserably: instead the crisis was badly managed, through ever­increasing subsidies which ultimately affected government expenditure in terms of agricultural, 90, , Dharmendra Kumar

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infrastructure. Even after providing higher food subsidies, some people were unable to purchase food and, were left with no option but to die of hunger! And, adding further to this already compounded problem of the, Indian economy was the political pressure of making regular revisions in the Minimum Support Prices, (MSP) of food­grains ­ to think farmers were still complaining that farming was a non­remunerative profession!, As far as phase two is concerned, India still trying to solve the crisis through a twin approach: first, by, creating maximum gainful employment and second by cutting the cost of food­grains (by adopting the, biotechnological means advocated by the Second Green Revolution)., Here, it must be noted that, for India, the happiness brought about by food self­sufficiency was temporary, at best. By the mid­1990s, the country’s food­ grain production was lagging far behind the rise in its population, ­ meaning. Indias fight to achieve physical reach to the required quantity food­grains was not over yet., 3., , The Third Phase: By the end of 1980s, experts began questioning the very way in which the world, was carrying on with different modes of production. Among them were the varied agricultural activities, which were now heavily based on industries (be it chemical fertilisers, pesticides farming equipment, or, irrigation means). So much that most developed economies had declared their agriculture to be an, industry in itself. It was time to look back and introspect. By early 1990s several countries began opting, for ecologically­friendly methods and techniques to develop industrial, agricultural and services’ sector., By now, even the much­hyped Green Revolution had been declared ecologically untenable and the, world was headed towards organic farming, green farming, and other sustainable means of production., , It had been proven that GR practices had given rise to many farming related problems in particular ­, such as degrading soil quality, falling water table, polluted water and air, etc. ­ and had affected people’s, health in general (excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc. had raised the toxic levels, in Indias food chain to such an extent that, according to some critics, nothing produced was fit for human, consumption!). Such agricultural practices were in no way sustainable. It meant that India not only faced the, twin challenges of achieving physical and economic access to food but also the new challenge of not realising, the same at the cost of precious ecology and biodiversity! Indeed, India needed a new kind of green revolution, which could deliver both the physical, the economic as well as the ecological access to food — in other, words, the country needed the Second Green Revolution, which could perhaps be an all­in­one approach to, agriculture., The Current Scenario, India’s agriculture sector is by far the largest employer amongst all the three major sectors, employing, almost 58.2 percent of the available workforce. Yet, at the same time, agriculture is the smallest sect oral, contributor to the GDP (only 14.1 percent as per the Economic Survey 2012—13). It is ironical that the most, fundamental requirement of human beings — food — and which also comprises the bulk of India’s agricultural, produce, is largely considered to be an unrewarding sector. Eight out of every ten impoverished (below, poverty line or BPL) families of the nation reside in villages. Furthermore, the livelihood of three out of every, four Indian rural dweller depends on agriculture. Any return on investment in agriculture would be at least, four times as effective when it comes to alleviating poverty compared to any other sector. More importantly,, transformation in the agriculture sector would directly impact about 500 million Indians., In a world with expanding population and shrinking resources, agriculture is the greatest opportunity for, India, an opportunity the country cannot afford to miss. India possesses 52 percent of cultivable land compared, to the 11 percent world average, giving it an almost five­fold advantage. The country has the largest number, of livestock in the world. Moreover, India enjoys all of the 15 major climates and as many as 46 out of the 60, soil types which exist in the world. With 20 agro­climatic regions and 10 bio­diversity zones, Indian agriculture, is geared for diversity in crops. In addition, there are large sunshine hours and long day length ­ making for, some of the most ideal conditions for year round cultivation., The need of the hour, then, is to re­engineer agriculture from subsistence to vibrant growth and from a, low value proposition to an efficient economic engine. As per the National Council for Applied Economic, Research (NCAER) report, all agricultural products are to emerge as the biggest trading items in the coming, years. Food­grains alone will contribute to a trade worth $300 billion by the next decade! Surely it is high, time that required attention was given to this sector not only to achieve self­sufficiency and security in terms, of food but also to create a surplus so that exports can lend an added boost to individual incomes and to the, Indian economy at large., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 91

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The Alternative, The challenge before India is to make agriculture more efficient, productive, and remunerative as well as a, respectable profession. In this regard, while the government is taking major steps, the results are yet to be, seen at the ground­ level in a big way. Some of the more important steps and incentives in this direction, may be cited as follows:, The New Agriculture Policy (NAP) in 2000 deemed agriculture as an industry. Meaning, agriculture, would now beget the same treatment as any industry would in the country ­ with agricultural products, becoming goods for the market. However, considering that the poor lack equitable purchasing power, the, Indian government has had to intervene to regulate the price mechanism of these goods. Moreover, compared, to other industries, agriculture has yet to witness large scale investments ­ investment, here, is only at the, individual level (farmers). In that, the sector needs big limited liability companies to take care of the, investment aspect if it were to emerge as a full­fledged industry., And, in a bid to facilitate the industrial level investment in this sector, NAP also allowed corporate and, contract farming. Yet, while the idea of corporate farming (wherein land is owned by a corporate house, instead of by small farmers) has failed to gain ground due to various reasons, the possibilities of contract, farming are still at a nascent stage. The main reason why corporate farming is becoming popular is the fact, that in India land is not just a means to earn livelihood but it transcends its economic value to define the social, standing of an individual ­ nobody wants to sell the land that defines his/her status in society! Non­availability, of other avenues of gainful employment ­ for those who are not farming ­ is yet another reason for the, failure of agriculture to acquire the standing of an industry., Labour Laws can prove to be conducive to both corporate and contract farming (meaning, it was now, possible to hire and fire labour). However, at a more practical level, India has been unable to implement such, a policy so far., The National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (1999) was implemented to cover all agricultural aspects, much like industrial goods. It was followed by the Seed Insurance Scheme, which too could not garner the, expected support owing to lack of awareness among farmers and the regressive nature of industrial­level, farming. Today, India provides a complete insurance package to the farming sector, covering all the risks, ranging from production to storage to marketing.,  In 2002, the Indian government announced that agriculture would be the prime moving force of the, economy (in place of industry, as was the case since 1948). This meant that agriculture would now, receive the same attention as industry had until now. Here again, the major hurdle lay in channelising, that level of investment to this sector ­ which could be made possible only through private investment, since the government was already warding off the extreme challenge of reducing various agricultural, subsidies.,  Several programmes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Micro Management of Agriculture, etc., being run today by the government aim at increasing public investment in the sector and with encouraging, results. However, they are yet to generate that level of funds which are needed to strengthen the, sector.,  Agricultural extension (R&D) is another area which needs to be redefined with increased private, sector participation. Unless the corporate private sector enters the agriculture sector, the extension, services will not be able to attract any effective private investment.,  Preparation in terms of cutting down subsidies provided for various agriculture inputs e.g. fertilisers,, power, irrigation, etc. on the one hand, and trying to boost the purchasing capacity of the masses via, different employment generation programmes and schemes on the other., Significantly, while India was fighting its three­pronged battle in the area of attaining food security, a, new development at the world level had posed another challenge on its agriculture front ­ the threat of, globalisation. There emeraged the twin challenge of warding off world competition in the area of price and, quality of agricultural produce, and maintaining internal price stability and self­sufficiency of food for its poor, masses. India now needs to take on this new challenge in two ways: (i) by utilising the WTO provision for, developing countries to support their subsistence agriculture through selective and suitable trade controls, while also allowing for imports of agricultural items; and (ii) by taking effective steps to commercialise and, industrialise the agriculture sector., 92, , Dharmendra Kumar

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The Second Green Revolution, Introduction, The second green revolution ­ also referred to as the evergreen revolution’ or sustainable green revolution ­, marked the onset of eco­friendly means of cultivation, which included agricultural practices such as:, i., Using bio­fertilisers instead of chemical fertilisers;, ii. Using bio­pesticides instead of chemical pesticides; and, iii. Conserving water, adopting balanced cropping patterns and proper crop combinations, etc. In recent, times, the developed economies across the world are taking on more such agricultural practices popularly, referred to as organic farming., , The Second Green Revolution In India, In India, the second green revolution (SGR) is not only a concept but a programme as well., Recommended in the mid­1990s by agro­scientists ­ and especially the then Indian President Dr. Kalam ­ it, was a means of bringing about sustainable agriculture in contrast to the then ongoing green revolution, practices. Going beyond green farmi g Dr. Kalam’s idea of SGR encompassed other facets of agriculture, like crop management, cost reduction, value addition, processing and marketing., In January 2004, the Indian goverment had announced the Second Green Rewdurionwith an initial, fund allocation of INR 50,000 aore. A major agricultural programme, it covered almost every problem area, of Indian agriculture and had all the potential of solving longstanding issues. In a way it was a complete, agricultural policy based on the concept of sustainable development, and was equally well­equipped to fight, the challenges posed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Thus, SGR was capable of steering Indian, agriculture to emerge as a winner in the globalising world. However, given that there was a change in the, government at the Centre during the same time this programme came into being, its complete details were, not made available. While the present government has not directly referred to this programme, in practice it, appears to be promoting the same idea and cause even more vigorously. Not surprisingly then, even the, Indian President has been repeatedly emphassing the need for a second green revolution. In the hight of, government announcements and propositions made by experts, the concept of SGR in India can be broadly, summed up with following three coordinates:, Increasing agricultural production, This includes four major aspects, as follows:, (a) Unlike the Green Revolution which was limited to only five foodgrains (wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and, maize), SGR included all aspects of agriculture ­ cereals, cash crops, dairy farming, animal husbandry, (cattle, pig, poultry, etc.), aquaculture, sericulture, etc. Rightly called the Rainbow Revolution, it is, arguably the most ambitious plan ever formalised in Indias agricultural sector., (b) SGR comprehensively deals with appropriate cropping patterns, crop diversification, crop management,, plant protection, monitoring per­ harvest as well as post­harvest loss in agriculture produce, integrated, pest management, soil conservation, etc., (c) Initiation of sustainable practices in agricultural instrumental factors of sustainable agriculture to be, utilised., (d) It is important to note that India cannot afford to adopt only green farming or organic farming as a way, of sustainable agricultural development. Replacing chemical inputs with organic ones can very possibly, lead to falling production; whereas costlier organic inputs may make agricultural produce economically, inaccessible for the country’s vast poor population (as had happened in the case of GR). In that, cost, cutting remains an integral part of this revolution ­ an important reason why agro­scientists highly, recommend the use of biotechnology which can not only lend newer dimensions to Indian agriculture,, but can also help optimise agricultural cost and production via research and development (R&D). In, short, India is aware that without the active support of biotechnology, sustainable agricultural development, may seen to be an elitist preoccupation., Value addition, For decades, Indian agriculture has overlooked the criterion of value addition. Be it farmers or traders,, there has been a tendency to dispose of agricultural goods in their most primary form. Thus, while SGR will, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 93

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help realise the untapped potential of Indian agriculture to create gainful employment, it will also lay increased, emphasis upon agro­based industries such as food­processing, drinks and beverages, etc., Strengthening infrastructural and institutional aspects, The last coordinate of SGR is related to the aspects of the timely and adequate infrastructural/institutional, support which are instrumental to its success:, (a) Strengthening the credit­delivery aspect in the agriculture sector — both at the micro as well as the, macro (for corporate farming) levels., (b) Setting up storage facilities for agricultural produce (India’s being one of the weakest in the world)., This includes creating adequate capacity in terms of dry godowns and cold storages ­ the latter being, an altogether neglected area. Although the Indian Railways has recently made an initiative by way of, refrigerated station wagons, agriculture basically needs private sector participation for the growth of, this segment., (c) Setting up transport connectivity especially in terms of super­highways and rural connectivity, programmes. High priority areas for the government today, this area also calls for private sector, participation at a more macro level (beyond urban areas)., (d) Developing telecommunication with all modern means is another necessary pre­condition for the timely, development of India’s agriculture sector and for the empowerment of the Indian farmer., (e) Preparing irrigation methods at the grassroots level (a feature of the current Bharat Nirman programme)., This becomes especially important in recent times with the climate becoming more and more prone to, displaying its vagaries., (f) Establishing an adequate marketing network for agricultural products. This aspect can not only make, agriculture profitable for farmers and traders alike, but can also help internationalise (globalise) India’s, agricultural sector., (g) Increasing the scope of insurance in Indian agriculture, so as to lend proper care and support farming, and farmers. While all agricultural activities and products have been covered under the National, Agricultural Insurance Scheme, 1999, it has very low penetration largely due to lack of awareness, among the farmers/beneficiaries. However, the government is now trying to do the same with appropriate, insurance sector reforms, and by spreading awareness among the varied beneficiaries. Significantly,, while insurance cover is available for crops and seeds in the present scenario, there is a proposal to, cover even the marketing risk involved in agriculture. If we make some statements about SGR they, must be balanced and devoid of any exaggeration.,  ‘SGR can solve the whole gamut of problems related to Indian food philosophy.’,  ‘SGR will give agriculture and rural development the due they deserve.’,  ‘SGR will enable Indian agriculture to face the challenges posed by WTO and emerge as a net gainer, in the process of globalisation.’,  ‘SGR is the best route to reach economic reforms ­ thus far considered anti­poor, anti­agriculture and anti­, rural areas ­ to the masses and help them benefit from the same.’, , , ‘SGR is the best way to make people realise that India’s economic reforms have a human face and are, essential for rich and the poor alike.’, , , , ‘SGR undoubtedly makes for the best and most comprehensive agriculture policy of India.’, , In recent times, there has been a noticeable change in the governmental approach in favour of the, agriculture sector — especially SGR. This is clearly visible from the streamlining of the New Agricultural, Policy (2000), the Union Budget, Foreign Trade Policy, and the Credit and Monetary Policy in accordance, with the future requirements of SGR., , Impact of Second Green Revolution, Built into the Second Revaluation is every prospect of overhauling India’s agriculture sector, bringing, with it a positive, Multi­dimensional impact on the economy at large. Some of these favorable aspects of, SGR can be listed as follows., 1., 94, , I as agricultural production will increase, India will achieve the desired food security as its masses will, gain physical access to food., , Dharmendra Kumar

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2., , Every Indian will also have economic access to food brought about by measures to increase production,, add value, and cut cost (i.e. cheaper agricultural produce) brought about by newer means such as, genetically modified foods (GMFs)., , 3., , I As this is a sustainable kind of agricultural revolution, India will also be able to make its agriculture, sector ecologically safe., , 4., , The surplus agricultural produce will enter the world market, enabling the agricultural sector to reap the, benefits of globalisation. Thus, farmers, rural areas and agri­business will realise the benefits of economic, reforms., , 5., , SGR will help create sources of gainful employment in agriculture ­ a sector on which more than 58, percent of the population depends for its livelihood. It will serve to alleviate poverty, bridge economic, inequality, boost rural development, and solve the curse of unemployment among other things., , 6., , SGR — with its means to create better produce and production — will help eliminate hunger and, malnutrition in India., , 7., , India will no more be an example of ‘market failure’ ­ the market; will succeed by way of increased, purchasing power and economic parity ­ is it directly or indirectly., , 8., , The living standard of the population will improve, resulting in overall development of the nation. This, would, in turn, improve India’s rank on the human development index (HDI)., , In summary, SGR will bring about numerous positive effects on the economy as a whole and in the, agriculture sector in particular., Second Green Revolution Strategy Adpoted in the 11th Plan, The urgent need to take agriculture to a higher trajectory of 4 percent annual growth can be met only with, an improvement in the scale as well as quality of agricultural reforms undertaken by the various states and, agencies at the various levels. These reforms must aim at the efficient use of resources as well as conservation, of soil, water and ecology on a sustainable basis. Such a holistic framework must also incorporate the, financing of rural infrastructure such as water, roads and power., The approach paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan (which is being follow ed by the 12th plain, too) has, highlighted a holistic framework and suggested the following strategies to raise agricultural output:, (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), , Double the rate of growth in terms of irrigated areas;, Improve water management, rainwater harvesting and watershed development., Reclaim degraded land and focus on soil quality;, Bridge the knowledge gap through effective extension;, Diversify into high value outputs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, herb and ;spices, medicinal plants, bamboo,, bio­diesel ­ along with adequate meesures to ensure food security;, (f) Promote the scope of animal husbandry and fishery;, (g) Provide easy access to financial credit at affordable rate;, (h) Improve the incentive structure and functioning of markets; and, (i) Refocus on the issues of land reforms., While the National Commission on Farmers has already laid the foundation for such a framework, the, formulation of related programmes as well as their implementation in the states must be based on unique, regional contexts incorporating agro­climatic conditions and availability of appropriate R&D backed by, timely and adequate extension and finance., In a somewhat similar initiative ­ vis­a­vis the Indian government’s promotion of sustainable agriculture, ­ even the government of Punjab launched a second push to Agriculture in 2004. This post­Green Revolution, programme includes the introduction of new technology in agriculture (green farming techniques use of, biotechnology, etc. encompassing the idea of sustainable development) besides crop diversification, promotion, of dairy farming and bee­keeping floriculture, horticulture, modernising agriculture markets and aspects of, related value addition., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 95

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Contemporary Challenges, Although sustainable agriculture is relevant to the current economic and Environmental scenario and should, be put into practice without delay, it faces, , Some of the following challenges:, Making farmers aware of the benefits of SGR and demerits of GR is not as simple a task as it seems., Even for those farmers who have opted for SGR, the major problem they face is in terms of the, availability of related inputs., iii. Making the inputs for green farming available to farmers throughout the country calls for huge capital, as well as an elaborate distribution network, iv. There is also the fear (among experts) of a notable decrease in the present level of production given, how organic inputs (especially fertilisers) are less concentrated than the chemical ones., v. Transition from the prevalent method of chemical inputs to the organic inputs may not be smooth., vi. Enabling individual farmers to meet the requirements of capital, tools and other modern methods of, farming in the absence of proper education, capital and entrepreneurship., vii. Promoting corporate and contract farming in a country where land is not, Only a means to earn livelihood but also symbolises the socio­economic status of the landowner., viii. Enhancing food production in keeping with India’s needs and without losing time. However, with the, enactment of the National Food Security Act, the country’s food requirement is poised to witness a, huge increase., Given how all these lacunae are yet to be addressed (by the government and the masses alike), the, transition from chemical­based farming to organic farming may not be an easy task for India. What is indeed, promising, though, is that the government is maximising its efforts in this regard., i., ii., , Technology, Service Delivery and Inclusive Growth, Introduction, Independent India inherited a large population of poor people that was unable to meet even the basic, requirements of life. Like many other third world nations faced with the same situation, governments in India, too took on the responsibility of providing the basic/essential goods and services to such people ­ and thus, originated the public delivery system’ (PDS) with the primary purpose of supplying of food grain, kerosene, oil, and sugar to the poor. Over the years, governments began to supply more such essential items which, were earlier outside the domain of the PDS, for example, LPG, fertilisers, healthcare, drinking and irrigation, water, etc. In the coming years, however, the supplies which were earlier meant for all the poor were, focused on those living below the poverty line (BPL) In turn, the poverty line was demarcated and revised, by the government from time to time ­ the main reason being the rising burden of subsidies involved in the, PDS. This is how the circle of subsidies began in the country, with even more drawbacks _ seeping into the, very process of government delivery system’ ­ such as misrepresentation, mishandling, leakages, corruption, and bungling by the suppliers, etc., While India’s growth story has been universally praised in the last few decades, it has not exactly been, inclusive. This has been highlighted not only in the successive Human Development Reports (of the UNDP), but also in our own National Human Development Report. Perhaps this explains the marked shift in India’s, government policies of recent times ­ all the Five Year Plans since the 10th Plan have ‘inclusive growth as, their main focus. However, given that the level of poverty is still high, the question of government delivery’, becomes even more important now ­ the poor are dependent on only one source for their essentials., Furthermore, every misplaced delivery or leakage will have its direct negative impact on the country’s vast, poor population. Today, when the economy is moving more towards the market owing to the economic, reforms, the role and importance of India’s public service delivery becomes even more important., Thus, in India, the idea of ‘inclusive growth’ heavily depends on the functioning of the government, delivery systems. In other words, we may conclude that today the goal of inclusive growth in the country, 96, , Dharmendra Kumar

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depends on the proper functioning of the PDS, and it is high time that the government takes effective steps, in strengthening the same. Significantly, now the Government of India (GoI) has employed the latest technology, ­ information technology to be precise ­ with a view to empower the people with the ‘Aadhar’ card so as to, vastly improve the public distribution., , Technology As The Saviour, The idea of using technology for perfecting the delivery system is a new one ­ articulated by the, government recently, though originally mooted out by the Planning Commission. Delivery of various services, ­ goods as well as many others — has been a perennial issue of criticism in India. While experts and policy, makers have always been debating about it, the governments at the Centre or in the states were unable to, effectively deal with the crises despite the numerous attempts made in that direction. Dealing with this issue, has always complex and cumbersome, especially in terms of the following aspects:, i., , The actual number of people in need of public supplies is not known;, , ii., , Many poor people remain deprived of supplies;, , iii., , Population which is not poor is also getting free public delivery;, , iv., , There are leakages in the delivery of services/subsidies;, , v., , Rampant corruption has seeped into the delivery system; etc., , Through ‘Aadhar’ Gol first decided to enlist the entire population of the country, and the enrolment, responsibilities are being taken care of by two national bodies ­ the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority, of India) and the NPR (National Population Register) ­ each covering half of the country’s population. The, process of enumeration is fully electronic and the basic idea behind such a vast project is to establish the, exact identity of every individual who is also a citizen of India, through a unique number called ‘Aadhar’., This will aid and ease the process of service delivery in many ways, some of which may be listed as follows:, , , Authentication will become easier;, , , , It will check duplication;, , , , It will check deprivation (as poor not getting the public service);, , , , Subsidies can be right targeted (those who are not poor can be easily kept out);, , , , It will check the leakages in subsidies, too (as the Aadhar’ number will be linked to the ‘smart card’ or, the bank accounts of the beneficiaries for delivery); etc., , For instance, the recently launched ‘Direct Benefit Transfer’ scheme is based on Aadhar. Providing a, parallel boost to the government will be the ‘Socio­Economic and Caste Census’ which will also serve many, other needs of the country’s socio­economic planning., , Way Of Inclusive Growth, The idea of using technology­linked services like Aadhaar has a huge potential when it comes to, improving operations and delivery of services — making for an enabling route to promote inclusive growth., Its potential applications in various significant public service delivery and social sector programs can be seen, as follows:, PDS, India’s PDS, with a network of 4.78 lac fair price shops (FPS), is perhaps the largest retail system of, its type in the world. The PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the state governments., Aadhaar will further enable the subsidy to directly reach the target households which can then purchase, their food from any PDS store or maybe even non­PDS shops. The PDS system stands to benefit from, Aadhaar in several ways as follows:, i., , Better identification of the beneficiaries and their respective mobility;, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 97

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ii., , Authentication of the foodgrain off­take;, , iii., , Detection of the duplicate beneficiaries (known as ‘ghost detection’);, , iv., , Cross­check of the physical delivery;, , v., , Leakages in the supply network; and, , vi., , Availability of data and feedback for reform in the PDS., , The same IT­enabled idea of Aadhar-linked beneficiary bank accounts may be used by the governments, to check the deficiencies in the delivery of MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment, Guarantee) wages, NRHM (National Rural Health Mission), education, etc. In the coming years, the, government may also consider providing universal healthcare (as has been proposed by the 12th Plan) and, it will be an equally huge task to select, authenticate and finally assure that the health benefits supplied by the, government actually reach the respective beneficiaries. Again, Aadhar can play a pivotal role in bringing, this idea to fruition., Presumably, the recent Food Security Ordinance promulgated by the GoI may use the data collected by, the UIDAI and the NPR to reach the people who come under the category. Here, too, the Aadhar-linked, bank accounts of the beneficiaries will be the bedrock of the scheme which guarantees them food., Even if the government proposes to directly transfer the subsidy in cash, the IT­ enabled Aadhar will, still guide it significantly., , Conclusion, For almost one­fourth of India’s total population (i.e., the poor people), the government delivery system, remains the lone support system for essential supplies. This means that if the country does not perfect its, system of public delivery, the living standards of these people will be hit directly. Presently, only technology, seems to be emerging as the saviour in this regard — otherwise India will be largely unable to share the, fruits of its growth and development with its poor population. Undoubtedly, technology directed towards, strengthening PDS can work miracles by way of promoting the idea of inclusive growth., , AN ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED, , 98, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Civil Services Mains Examination 2013, Instructions:, 1., , Please read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions:, , 2., , All questions are to be attempted., , 3., , The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it. Answers must be written in, ENGLISH only., Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to., Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question­cum­Answer Booklet must be clearly, struck off, , 4., 5., , Grammar, (a) Use each of the following words to make sentences that bring out their meaning clearly. Do not, change the form of the words, (No marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences.), (10 marks), Desultory: There was a desultory shooting in the streets of the capital on yesterday night, but feeling is, calming down., Grapevine: To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially., Holistic: The government of India should use an innovative, holistic approach to heal cancer survivors., Insidious: Although the medicine made Gabriel feel better at first, its effect was insidious and only lasted a, short time., Intransigence: When it comes to the safety of my children, I must always take an intransigent position to, protect them., Paradigm: It gives us a paradigm to explain the mental state of a group of individuals., Susceptible: Farming in the basin has always been susceptible to unpredictable weather and seasonal, conditions., Ubiquitous: With broadband becoming ubiquitous, internet video is the hottest new thing and YouTube is the, place to check it out., Voracious: His appetite for knowledge has made him a voracious reader., Venerable: The older any religious tradition or mode of worship is, the more venerable is it, the richer in, divine ideas., (b), Antonym (5 Marks), Ans: Amateur: professional, Modesty: arrogance, Shallow: Deep, profound, Conceited: Modest, Atheist: Theist, (a) Correct the following sentences without changing their meaning. Please do not make, unnecessary changes in the original sentence. 10 marks, (a), One must do what he thinks best., Ans: One must do what one thinks best., (b), He will surely not do that, did he?, Ans: He will surely not do that, won't he?, (c), Can I leave the room now, Sir?, Ans: Could I leave the room now, Sir?, (d), My neighbour, along with two friends, were pushing his car which is stalled., Ans: My neighbour, along with two friends, was pushing his car which is stalled., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 99

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(e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), , (b), (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (j), (k), , (c), (a), (b), (c), (d), , I thought to help him, but he did not welcome my suggestion., Ans: I thought of helping him, but he did not welcome my suggestion., When I was a child, I enjoyed to eat ice cream in the bench., Ans: When I was a child, I used to enjoy eating ice cream in the bench., The Principal, along with the teachers, are planning to apply for a leave., Ans: The Principal, along with the teachers, is planning to apply for a leave., Do you have an idea who is that man?, Ans: Do you have an idea of that man?, Unemployment as well as poverty influence the votes., Ans: Unemployment as well as poverty influences the votes., When I woke up, the man already disappeared after committing murder in the running train., Ans: When I woke up, the man had already disappeared after committing murder in the running, train., Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without changing the meaning, (total 10 marks), No one dares to criticize her for what she says. (Rewrite the sentence starting with 'No matter), Ans: No matter what she says, no one dares to criticize her., Radha was the eldest. She had to look after her parents. (Combine to form a single sentence), Ans: Being the eldest Radha had to look after her parents., She decorated the room. The purpose was to make it look beautiful. (Combine using 'so that'), Ans: She decorated the room so that it look beautiful., "What a beautiful day!" said the young tourist. (Change the narration), Ans: The young tourist exclaimed with joy that the day was beautiful., The one­man committee determined there was no need to take action.(Rewrite using passive structure), Ans: It was determined by the one­man committee that there was no need to take action., The proud father remarked, 'What a wonderful batsman my son is!" (Change into indirect speech), Ans: The proud father remarked that his son was a wonderful batsman., My mother remarked, "Aren't the children lovely?" (Change into indirect speech), Ans: My mother remarked that the children were lovely., Cricket fans filled the streets during the World Cup. (Rewrite using passive structure), Ans: The streets were filled with cricket fans during the world cup., It would be wonderful if we could go to Shimla. (Change into an exclamatory sentence using 'how'), Ans: How wonderful it would be, if we could go to Shimla!, I could have finished the work. But I would have had to go out early. (Combine into one sentence, beginning with 'Had'), Ans: Had I finished the work, I would have had to go early., Rewrite the following sentences using 'it' at the beginning of the sentence: 5marks, Impressing Ramesh Mohan would be a piece of cake., Ans: It would be a piece of cake to impress Ramesh Mohan., Visiting old people in hospitals is a very good idea., Ans: It is a very good idea to visit old people in hospitals., To smoke 20 cigarettes a day is bad for your health., Ans: It is bad for your health to smoke 20 cigarettes a day., Chatting with strangers on the computer can be very dangerous., Ans: It can be very dangerous to chat with strangers on the computer., , 100, , Dharmendra Kumar

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(e), (d), 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., (e), 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., , My father says, keeping the computer on all day is a waste of electricity., Ans: It is a wastage of electricity to keep the computer on all day, says my father., Fill in the blanks using one of the following linkers: 1x5=5 (in case, but, even though, so,, provided, as), Even though.........he was late for the meeting, his boss didn't get angry., .........As.........he was late for the meeting, his boss became angry., I'll not get angry, provided.........you are not late for the meeting., I started early .........but.........I was still late for the meeting., I'll give you her telephone number .........in case.........you have problems finding her place., Fill in the blanks (5m), My teacher said that I need to practise.........(practice, practise) more., The hot weather affects.........(affects, effects) people in different ways., Wouldn't it be nice if we had to work only on alternate.........(alternative, alternate) days?, Our politicians are known to .........evade.........(avoid, evade) taxes., The Principal .........compliment.........(complimented, complemented) the students on their fine, performance., , Essay (100 marks), Write short essays in about 300 words on each of the following (50 x 2 =100 marks), (a) We Indians are hypocrites, Ans: A person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not, actually possess is called hypocrite, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs., We learn about civics and citizenship, and yet are often asked­and ask ourselves­why we have such a strong, sense of family, but such a poor sense of a larger community: How can our homes be so clean, and our, streets so littered with garbage?, Clearly, there are thousands of Indians who would justifiably take offence at being called hypocrites, and for, good reason. But they are a minority in today's India., Every day, in every sphere­business, politics, social work or sports­ across the length and breadth of this, country, millions of Indians indulge in acts of hypocrisy that collectively add up to an epidemic., And yet, it seems that there was some noble past, a link between thought and action, where values were, cherished. The signs are there: in the sublime music, in our dance forms, in the incredibly sophisticated, material about human spirituality, and so on. So, how can a country with so much collective wisdom and, spirituality be broken in so apparent a fashion?, It feels that we got massively unhinged somewhere along the way. What is left today is only a frustrating, graffiti of greatness: each artifact by itself a tantalizing glimpse into a life that was, but somehow dismembered,, leaving more questions than answers., We have lost a sense of individual agency in our thoughts and actions. Like children of overachieving parents,, we seem overwhelmed by the legacy of great ideas in our society. It's almost like we need to exfoliate these, oppressive layers of crusted wisdom that have settled upon our consciousness, and discover our own morality, for ourselves. It's time to see the relationship between values, thoughts and actions and agitate over the, inconsistencies that we see in ourselves. To acknowledge that words like "honesty" and "caring" and "respect", are most powerful when displayed in action, not recited by rote., Getting rid of these layers takes an enormous amount of introspection, a ruthless sense of honesty, and the, courage to act upon the schisms when we encounter them. These will be painful., But if we had the perspective to consider our actions, and the courage to correct ourselves, we could rekindle, the greatness that our society seems to have once had. And maybe rediscover our moral compass, one, person at a time., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 101

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(b) Fitness and healthcare - latest fad in urban India, Ans: In India, fitness and health care is becoming a serious business and the growing popularity. There have, always been fitness fanatics and motorcycle­riding, bicep­flaunting men but it's refreshing to see fitness, being brought into the urban mainstream., Of course there is the risk of this going too far and leading to a generation of young women dealing with, eating disorders and body image issues in a quest to look like Bollywood stars., But right now, it's nice to see full gyms and studios and endorphin­fuelled people streaming out of them. In all, the big cities now, there are countless gyms and studios catering to all different fitness, financial, and glamour, levels. There are kick­boxing, spinning, aerobics, pilates, mixed martial arts (MMA) classes and more. There, are outdoor running, biking, and hiking groups. There's something for everyone. Today, fitness industry accounts, to over $24 billion franchise industry which is waiting to be expanded and exploited to achieve the complete, potential., The fitness world is popular enough for plenty of options but small enough for quality to be maintained., While embracing the latest fitness fads, it's important to keep in mind that these routines have helped preserve, the health of generations over centuries., The past few years have seen increased health awareness in India. Today's urban Indians, especially, are not, only better informed, but actively making the choice to embrace good health and fitness., But ironically, for a country with diverse healing traditions, the thrust is often skewed in favour of patronizing, Western imports such as new­fangled diets or five­star gyms., At the same time, some very traditional health­enhancing routines continue to be widely practiced too., , Comprehension, Read carefully the passage given below and write your answers to the questions that follow in, clear, correct, and concise language of your own. (50 marks), In barely one generation, we've moved from exulting in the time­saving devices that have so expanded our, lives, to trying to get away from them ­ often, in order to make more time. The more ways we have to, connect, the more of us seem desperate to unplug. Like a teenager, we appear to have gone from knowing, nothing about the world to knowing too much, all but overnight., The average person spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of the screen. The average teenager, spends or receives 75 text messages a day. Since luxury, as any economist will tell you, is a function of, scarcity, the children of tomorrow will crave nothing more than freedom, if only for a short while, from all the, blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty, and too full all at, once. The urgency of slowing down ­ to find the time and space to think ­ is nothing new, of course, and wiser, souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment, the less time and energy we, have to place it in some larger context. Even half a century ago, Marshall McLuhan warned, "When things, come at you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself.", Yet few of those voices can be heard these days, precisely because 'breaking news' is coming through, perpetually on the news channels, and Meena is posting images of her summer vacation and the phone is, ringing. We barely have enough time to see how little time we have. And the more that floods in on us, the, less of ourselves we have to give to every snippet., We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but less and less to say. Partly because, we are so busy communicating. And ­ as he might also have said ­ we are rushing to meet so many deadlines, that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines. So what to do? The central paradox of the, machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us, how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual. All the, data in the world cannot teach us how to sift through data; images don't show us how to process images. The, only way to do justice to our onscreen lives is by summoning exactly the emotional and moral clarity that, cannot be found on any screen., , 102, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Maybe that is why more and more people, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to, yoga or meditation, or tai chi; these are not New Age fads so much as ways to connect with what could be, called the wisdom of old age. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in a quiet, rural setting, subjects "exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition., Their brains become both calmer and sharper." More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on, neural processes that are "inherently slow". The very ones our high­speed lives have little time for. ( 1 0 × 5, = 50 Marks), (a) According to the author, what is likely to become a scarcity in the future?, Ans: Information technology is now ubiquitous in the lives of people across the globe. New forms of these, technologies are working their way into every aspect of daily life. Therefore we hardly find time for ourselves., There may be a time in the future when we would hardly have any space for thoughts and emotions., Empathy will be mere a word in the dictionary. In fact information technology has facilitated 24*7 "connect", with people we want to keep in touch. Cell phones and Internet are the solution for many issues, but, at the, same time, have reduced our privacy. Mental peace is increasingly becoming elusive. Electronic gadgets, take people's focus away from more important things, such as nature and health. And this is what we would, crave for in future., (b) What ability have people lost thanks to the constant inflow of data?, Ans: In this age of electronics and computers people are constantly exposed to high­tech machines, data and, deadlines imposed on them by the multinational work culture. This machine­culture has made them work like, machine devoid of power of reasoning. Therefore modern­day men have become just like a slave. They, hardly take pain to think what they are doing is benefitting who and what. Mankind has invented these, machines but unfortunately they have hardly any time to think over how to make most out of it. Rather, these, machines are making most out of the mankind. Power of judgement, scrutiny, search and probe is missing, and people are behaving like robot. These abilities have to be rediscovered or reignited., (c) Why does the author say, We have more and more ways to communicate, but less and less to, say?, Ans: Revolution in the field of information technology is an open secret. There is an availability of various, ways and means in the form electronic gadgets that enable us to keep in touch with our friends and foes. And, the result is constant flow of text messages, emails and the likes. Virtual connect has become quite common, and the real connect is missing. Therefore, there is a dearth of content that is to be conveyed. We even hardly, understand what exactly we should communicate even there is an occasion when we have real connect with, our kith and kin., (d) Why are people taking an active interest in old-age fads?, Ans: Technologies are working their way into every aspect of daily life. Fast paced life and work load with, deadlines take heavy toll of physical and mental health. We have made our lives dependable on these gadgets, which we use every day at the cost of mental peace. Mental peace is more of a power that one will obtain, once they converge their mind towards something powerful. Realization that something is missing is the first, step to discovery. Yoga is considered a mind­body type of complementary and alternative medicine practice., Yoga and meditation (sometimes called old age fad) bring together physical and mental disciplines to achieve, peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety. Therefore most of the, people are getting attracted towards these old ­age fads., (e) Why is modern man unable to empathize with others?, Ans: Being able to empathize means to be capable of identifying and understanding another person's feelings,, without experiencing them for you at that particular moment. It is the ability to literally experience the world, from another person's perspective; to walk in their shoes, to view life from their living conditions and to feel, what it feels like to be that person. It depends upon one's emotional intelligence. In other words one can, empathize with others only if one is able to understand one's feelings and emotions. But thanks to this digital, age, man has become machine with no sense of reasoning and logic or emotions. He just dances to tune of, modern day maladies. That is why he unable to empathize with others., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 103

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Precis (75 marks), Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Please do not suggest a, title. (60 marks), Honesty in business dealings or in other areas is not the only measures of morals and values. The strength of, character of a person is also measured by uncompromising aversion to cowardice, intrigue, envy, ambiguity,, falsehood, disloyalty, treachery, in short, all undignified actions. There are, in reality, few human beings, endowed with a truly spotless character. This is because an almost immaculate character does not exist until, the last lives in human form. Educated individuals are not necessarily endowed with good morals and values., In fact, some of them use education and their intellect as a tool for deceit. However, the advantages and the, need for education and culture cannot be denied. They contribute largely for the development of intellectual, ability and the power to reason, which are the means by which the spirit analyses, compares, infers and, arrives at conclusions in the search for truth about the meaning of life. The most precious assets of the soul, are its morals and values, but they are not easy to build. The character of each person requires longer periods, of thoughtfulness, reasoning and the practice of those values, during many reincarnations, in the course of, which, ideas sink in under life experiences. It is only after enduring much disillusionment, grief, injustice and, ingratitude for many successive corporeal lives, that a person will be able to measure, in the innermost, recesses of his soul, the extent of human moral misery. Then, disgusted, he rebels against it and opens the, door to a more ethical and honourable life. Thus, having known and experienced suffering, the spirit, in, countless reincarnations, gradually frees itself from evil actions and, through enlightenment and conviction, follows the rigid tracks of a flawless conduct. It is of great significance to talk about morals and values but it, is also crucial to define the lines of character that everyone should consider in their lives. Some of the most, important ones are: good judgement, fairness, common sense, punctuality, loyalty, courage, magnanimity,, dignity, gratitude, politeness, faithfulness, moderation, truthfulness, self­respect, respect for others, etc. All, these qualities, if properly cultivated, compose a prime set of dignifying virtues which accounts for a refined, character. For example, we all make mistakes and to err is human. However, once an honest person is, advised and becomes convinced of his mistake, he should admit it and try not to repeat it. Unfortunately it is, common practice to conceal one's mistakes, instead of avoiding them. This is very detrimental to spiritual, growth. Most people seldom use impartiality and justice in the innermost evaluation of their own actions., Even those who are too harsh in the judgement of other people's actions, for whom they always have words, of criticism and reproach, do not escape the usual tendency. When their own faults are concerned, they find, a full, lenient, absolvent justification. In this way, not only it denotes lack of character, but mistakes often end, up incorporated to human habits. By acting this way, an individual loses his self­respect and his sense of, character and dignity and becomes corrupted. What everyone should do, is to face up his mistakes and avoid, new mistakes, by improving his sense of morals and values, with the help of his will­power. (537 words), Ans: Moral and code of conduct are of high importance in determining the nature of a society or a culture. In, other words, it determines if a society corrupt or corruption free., Morals define personal character and refer to the beliefs that a person practices when he interacts in personal, and social relationships. The conduct exhibited by the person in personal­social behaviors gives a correct, evaluation of his morals. Morals identify the way a person lives., Morals more strongly are based on social values of good and bad. A person with good morals is involved in, good deeds and always knows it inside. Most of the times, it is experiences and the way a person is brought, up that decide his actions and hence his morality and ethics., If we want to see a corruption free society where all humans can live safe, we have to look into what and, how we do. We have to take the responsibility of making our society and in turn our earth a beautiful place, where all humans can live a life of respect and dignity with no fears in their mind. (190 words), Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Please do not suggest a, title. (40 marks), Ans: People write and publish autobiographies and autobiographical sketches for a number of reasons. One, of these reasons is to put on record the events of a famous or influential career. But not all autobiographies,, 104, , Dharmendra Kumar

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not even the autobiographies most frequently and widely read, are by famous or extraordinary men. Another, reason is to hand on to others, wisdom won through experience and hard labour. Yet many fine autobiographers, seem to have little concern to teach or to persuade. A third reason is to distill from past experience events,, persons, and situations which hold a firm place in memory, and to put true values on them. In this sense,, autobiography is, as Somerset Maugham has said, a 'summing­up', and its first utility is to its author himself., Whatever its purpose or the fame of the man who writes it, autobiography is a thing created out of the, recollections of life. It is not life itself. Whether it be valuable or useless depends upon whether it is well­ or, ill­ made. Good autobiographies can be mined from inconspicuous lives., For autobiography is the inclusive and summary form of what we call 'themes of experience1. It may contain, reminiscences, descriptions of places, of animals, of people, the identification of characteristic preferences, and prejudices, and other matters as well. It has the traits of all these minor forms., An autobiography is objectively true, but is not indiscriminately inclusive. It presents a selection of detailed, episodes with sufficient fullness to preserve their essential qualities. It is usually written within the framework, defused by a consistent point of view. It presents its subject in more than two dimensions, fusing the person, and his actions with setting, manner and purpose. One further trait of autobiographical writing raises a few, special problems: by its nature autobiography tempts its author to proceed chronologically. The events sort, themselves by the calendar, and it is a natural impulse of every autobiographer to begin with the words "I was, born on ....", Strict chronological arrangement poses a discipline of some force. It is by no means easy to "begin at the, beginning, go until you come to the end, and then stop." Considerations other than the calendar have a way of, forcing their way to notice. With due care, however, a chronological autobiography can be accomplished., It is important to remember that chronology is not the only principle by which autobiography can be organized., Benjamin Franklin, whose procedure in his autobiography is basically chronological, does not hesitate to, recognize the Philadelphia girl who laughed at him as the very one who subsequently became his wife., Joseph Conrad prefers the pattern of walking tour to that of the calendar, and his richly imaginative account, is stored with pertinent associations of the past with the present and future. Often, to the autobiographer, it, seems that life does not pass so much as it accumulates. Qualities emerge as identities independent of time., For this reason, we should not as we write feel compelled to maintain a steady rate of advance through the, time marks of our stories. Like Hazlitt on his journey, we linger over a choice adventure or a valued friend,, and then, if we choose, we skip a few years to catch up. (541 words), Ans: Unlike a biography, which is a true account of someone else's life, an autobiography is a writer's own, account of his or her life. This literary genre, usually appearing in book form, is in the nonfiction category., An autobiographical essay is a brief account of the writer's life told from the writer's own point of view., Writing it in the first person 'I' makes it easier for the writer to interject reflections, thought, and perspective, in his or her accounts., Autobiographical essays can be an abbreviated summary of the entire life, but they usually focus on a certain, moment, experience, or accomplishment. The purpose of the essay is to educate, entertain, or demonstrate, lessons learned retrospectively., The autobiographical essay is expected to be an accurate portrayal of and by the writer. Though they are, nonfiction, the essays are still expected to be creative and expressive in order to make sure readers remain, interested. Readers will only care about the writer's life if the writer makes it sound relevant and establishes, their emotional investment. (173 words), , Dharmendra Kumar, , 105

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Civil Services Mains Examination 2014, Instructions:, 1., , Please read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions :, , 2., , All questions are to be attempted., , 3., , The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it. Answers must be written in, ENGLISH only., , 4., , Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to., , 5., , Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question­cum­Answer Booklet must be clearly, struck off, , Grammar, Rewrite the following sentences after making necessary corrections. Please do not make, unnecessary changes in the original sentence., (1), , School is very near my home., Ans: School is very near to my house., , (2), , They never fail who die in great cause., Ans: They never fail who die for a great cause., , (3), , It rained an hour before., Ans: It rained an hour ago., , (4), , He wrote a most complete account of his travels., Ans: He wrote a complete account of his rivals., , (5), , Either of these three answers is incorrect., Ans: Either of his two answers is correct., , (6), , You will be late until you hurry., Ans: You will be late unless you hurry., , (7), , He is seldom or ever absent from school., Ans: He is seldom or never absent from school., , (8), , The colours so passed off one another that she could not distinguish them., Ans: The colours so passed through one another that she could not distinguish them., , (9), , The general as well as his soldiers were killed in the battle., Ans: The general as well as as his soldier was killed in the battle., , (10), , The boat was drowned., Ans: The boat was sunk., , Fill in the blanks (15 marks), Type-A: Supply the missing word, 1., , If you see him give him the message., , 2., , I hope to reach the station before an hour at the outside., , 3., , Besides Rustam and Sohrab, there were three other boys present., , 4., , Invalids are not capable of continued exertion., , 5., , Since he had not paid his bills, his electricity was cutoff., , Type-B: Use the correct forms of the verbs in brackets, 1., , His company is greatly sought after, (seek), , 2., , His courage forsook him. (forsake), , 106, , Dharmendra Kumar

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3., , The terrified people flew to the mountains, (flee), , 4., , The police left no stone unturned to trace the culprits, (leave), , 5., , The robber struck him a blow on the head, (strike), , Type-C: Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blank:, 1., , He got a deadly blow from his enemy, (deadly/deathly), , 2., , The deliverance of his speech was very lucid and natural, (delivery/deliverance), , 3., , I do not know how to express my gratitude; you have been beneficent to me. (beneficial/beneficent), , 4., , My friend will accompany me to the hospital, (accompany/escort), , 5., , We sat in the shade of a tree and relaxed a while, (shadow/shade), , 5., , Antonyms (5 marks), , 1., , Ability­ Disability, , 2., , Precise­ General, , 3., , Constructive­ Destructive, , 4., , Extravagant­ Thrifty, , 5., , Pretentious­ Genuine, , Sentence re-writing 10 marks, Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without changing the meaning., 1 × 10 = 10 marks, (1), , He finished his exercise and put away his books. (Change into simple), Ans: Having finished his exercise he put away his books., , (2), , In the event of his being late, he will be punished. (Change into compound), Ans: He must not be late or he will be punished., , (3), , He said to me, "I have often told you not to play with fire." (Change into indirect speech), Ans: He reminded me that he had often told me not to play with fire., , (4), , He said that he had come to see them. (Change into direct speech), Ans: He said to me, "I have come to see you"., , (5), , He drove too fast for the police to catch. (Remove 'too'), Ans: He drove so fast that police could not catch him., , (6), , The audience loudly cheered the Mayor's speech. (Change into passive voice), Ans: The Mayor's speech was loudly cheered., , (7), , A reward was given to him by the Governor. (Change into active voice), Ans: The Governor gave him a reward., , (8), , Sita is not one of the cleverest girls in the class. (Change into comparative degree), Ans: Sita is not cleverer than some other girls in the class., , (9), , I was doubtful whether it was you. (Change into negative form), Ans: I was not sure that it was you., , (10), , It is sad to think that youth should pass away. (Change into exclamatory sentence), Ans: Alas! That youth should pass away., , Sentence formation (10 marks), Type-A:Use each of the following words to make a sentence that brings out their meaning clearly., Do not change the form of the words. (No marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences), 1 × 5 =5 marks, 1., , Gratitude: Some research suggests focusing on gratitude can increase happiness., , 2., , Flavour: The inner leaf juices are bitter and cannot have profitable flavour., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 107

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3., , Explosion: There are many reasons for the information explosion., , 4., , Dismal: The state of science education in some countries is truly dismal., , 5., , Clumsy: Some look elegant, while others look awkward and clumsy., , Type-B: Use these phrases in sentences of your own to bring out their meaning clearly. Do not, change the form of the words. (1 × 5 = 5 marks), 1., , According to: According to the constitution India is a union of states., , 2., , All of a sudden: He started shouting all of a sudden., , 3., , Ready money: What made you want to look up ready money?, , 4., , A burning question: The population of India is a burning question these days., , 5., , Ins and outs: I don't understand the ins and outs of politics., , Essay (100 marks), Write an essay in about 600 words on any one topic, (i) What kind of crisis is India facing - moral or economic?, Ans: Everyone is aware and accepts the fact that India is undergoing crisis and it is affecting the citizens of, the country indirectly. We are facing a down surge on our economy as well as the moral grounds, but the, topic under discussion is whether the crisis situation that India is undergoing is due to the loss of morality or, the fall of the economy. We have different groups of people who believe the moral and economic crisis. We, can check through a few points in favour of both the concerns that have hit our country., The unstable Governance so far had been one of the main reasons for the economic crisis in the country., Lack of strong supporting policies to strengthen the international trade relations is quite evident. The fear of, privatisation is a resultant of the economic crisis. We are slowly getting back into the age of modern slavery, by welcoming the MNC culture., While corruption is an important issue the more important issue plaguing the nation is lack of employment, opportunities. In the pre 1991 economic regime the priorities were subsidised food to the poor, creating, employment opportunities through public or private sector, giving enough subsidies to the farm sector to avoid, shortage of food grains etc. The progress was not spectacular but was very slow and steady. Post 1991 the, economic growth has gone up many times and this year even 7% growth is considered lower because the, expectations are 9­10%. It is true that higher economic growth is required if the nation has to prosper., However a 7% growth is not to be scoffed at considering most economies in the world are registering 3­4%., The problem facing India is the content of the 7% growth. Not enough employment is being created and even, the farm land which is acquired by displacing hundreds of farmers is unable to create enough employment., But the main crisis today is of morals. In the freedom struggle people with a steady income in their profession, gave up their jobs and joined Mahatma Gandhi in spite of personal loss to themselves. It was all missionary, zeal. Today hardly anybody who is reasonably successful in his vocation would like to leave that and join, politics and public life. The result is all the political parties are saddled with people for whom politics is their, main business. Anna Hazare cannot succeed by getting a Lokpal appointed because the ultimate power is, with representatives of people and unless the moral status improves we will always have a second class, Government and not a first class one. In the Western countries also there is corruption. But the public at large, is not affected because the police, the courts, schools, hospitals etc. do not extort money from the poor man., Corruption is confined to the higher echelons., Till politicians are blatantly corrupt, the bureaucrats right from the secretary level to the clerks make money, and a corrupt politician cannot obviously act against them. If all this continues as it is, democracy itself will be, in danger., 108, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Moral and ethics have become epics in India. With the westernization, the present generation is flown like a, dry leaf in the direction of wind. We can hardly find people who value our customs and traditions which are, the basis of India. We are slowly forgetting the human values and humanity has lost its voice in front of the, monetary gains., We can precisely say that India is passing through a tough time right now. Both moral and economic crisis has, hit India to its severity. Instead of wasting our time debating which one is more fatal, we need to gear up and, restrict the spread of its fatal flaws further. We also need to concentrate to rectify the wear and tear these, crises have caused on the pride and reputation of our beloved nation., (ii) Participating in sports helps develop good character., Ans: The method for learning principles of good character varies for each person. A child may pursue, science, music or writing, depending on her interest level. Each of these subjects provides opportunities for, learning perseverance, commitment and discipline, but perhaps playing a sport more than any other activity, gives a child the tools she needs to understand human relationships and a model for positive behavior in, society. As a character­ builder, a sport tests the link between principles and action in a safe setting that sets, the stage for a child's decisions throughout her lifetime., The principles of good character include honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness,, self­control and prudence. These principles become characteristics when people practice them, which is the, role sports play. A sport provides a setting for children, and adults, to practice principles that help them, develop good character in a fun and controlled environment., A sport is a fun activity, but in the United States competition is an often insidious influence that shifts the, emphasis from playing the game to winning. A child may feel pressured to perform to develop high social, standing among peers or parents. The job of maintaining healthy focus on learning, understanding and enjoyment, ultimately lies with the supervising coach and parents., An adult cannot expect a child to understand the complexities of moral choices because he does not yet, possess the ability to recognize ethical dilemmas and the potential decisions relevant to resolving them. A, coach or a parent is charged with the responsibility of monitoring behavior, spotting dilemmas and facilitating, positive outcomes. She also must ensure the players understand the expectations and reinforce and develop, the presiding culture in a positive and consistent way., A teen who participates in sports in high school reduces her risk for taking illegal drugs and attempting, suicide. The researchers conclude that because suicide attempts often accompany social marginalization, the, involvement and belonging sports provide helps teenagers learn how to become a member of a community, following principles of good character., Sports and games are very important for human body and health. Health is wealth and if a person loses health, then he will surely be left behind in mental work. We know that sound body has sound mind. Sports and, games play an important role in the development of people, especially youngsters and school going children., Team sports demonstrate children and youngsters that how to set goals and how to work together to achieve, these goals. Sport also teaches youngster how to work together and have to show discipline. Children who do, not participate in sports cannot learn sportsmanship and how to get along well with others. Children who, participate in sports show better academies skills than those who don't participate., Accordingly, children who do not engage in sports are more likely to do abominable in school. Children who, do not take part in sports are less likely set goals for themselves. Sports also keep children and youngsters to, away from being take part in bad activities like smoking, drinking, and using drugs. Sportsmen always stay, away from smoking, drinking and using drugs., Furthermore, games and sports teach them the great qualities of self control, discipline and sportsmanship., This is the thing which makes children and youngster physically fit as well as mentally alert in all the fields., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 109

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(iii) Should students be allowed to grade their teachers?, Ans: There are two different views regarding students being allowed to grade their teachers. First, students, should be able to grade their teachers because when they are graded they want to grade right. Even teachers, need to know how they are doing. If students are able to grade their teachers the teachers can look back on, this and focus on what is failing in their teaching career and work to make it better. Students have the best, firsthand feedback on how teachers are doing and if they are making high school an uncomfortable,, inappropriate, or overly difficult experience. Every student's got that teacher that they just absolutely hate., But some are of view that students should not be eligible to rank their educator. Most students are immature, and will rank their educator on their own moronic opinions on their educator's educational system. Many will, abuse this privilege for their own injurious purposes, such as less homework or cellular devices in class. This, will disrupt the learning environment for serious students trying to have a better future., The process of education is complicated for both students and teachers, because the young people have to, work hard in order to gain new information and the teachers are responsible for the improvement of the, effectiveness of this process. Naturally, people cannot be perfect and everyone is an individual who has his, own strong and weak sides, approaches towards education and presentation of the material. Every teacher, is different and suggests his own methods of education which can be treated by students differently. Students, understand that the educational process is a serious problem and that its quality depends on the teacher., Teachers are different: there novice and inexperienced teachers and the reputed and honoured ones who are, supposed to be the experts in this field. In order to improve the educational process students ask to be, allowed to grade their teachers and this question has its supporters and opponents., To begin with, it is quite reasonable to grade a teacher, because one cannot evaluate his work himself, objectively. Third people can do it much better. Then, students mention the mistakes of a teacher, especially, if he is inexperienced and cannot organize the educational process correctly. In this case it is wise to provide, the teacher with the piece of advice concerning the methods of studying and approach towards the process, of education. Next, constant grading is a stimulus for a teacher to improve his knowledge and professional, skills. Being controlled by the students he starts to deepen his knowledge on the discipline all the time, improving the quality of the classes with interesting material., However, the problem has its drawbacks. For example, a student is not so experienced to be able to evaluate, the work of the teacher professionally. One cannot criticize a person higher in rank without the possession of, the appropriate knowledge and skills. Secondly, many students will use grading for their own benefit evaluating, the teacher's work as 'poor' just because he is demanding and strict, as every student dreams to work little, and receive only high marks., So, the problem is serious and controversial and students can be given a certain right to grade their teachers, but this ability should be seriously limited., (iv) Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted., Ans: Some things we can measure. Some things we can't. And just because we can measure something, doesn't make it more real or significant. Something that counts is equal to something that has meaning. It is, impossible to count all the possible variables of 'everything' that have meaning. That is even if you can define, what has meaning., The phrase "what counts can't be counted" suggests that it is impossible to measure what is important. This, statement is an extremal version of "not everything that counts can be counted." The latter phrase states that, it is difficult to measure what is important and measurements are likely to be incomplete., It is not true that 'not everything that can be counted' has meaning. Everything can be counted. By the, measure of simply existing it can be subjected to computation. It only requires one of them to be counted., First, not everything that counts can be counted. What this means is that many of the things that add business, value in social media cannot be easily counted., We know that there is value in brand awareness ­ that is what most TV and Billboard advertising aims at ­ yet, 110, , Dharmendra Kumar

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we can't directly tie that back to sales. Many studies show that the more we are exposed to a brand, business,, product or person the more we like them (assuming that the experience isn't negative) and the more likely we, are to choose them when making a purchase. Even though we can't measure the sales from brand awareness, activities, we know that they lead to purchases., The reason is that most people don't make an immediate decision upon hearing about something or seeing it., Purchasing is a process and the things that build awareness; trust and ultimately equity can be difficult to, measure, although they are factors that lead to an eventual purchase. Consider another example. A customer, tweets about a positive experience "I love company X ­ they are amazing and have top notch customer, service." Did anyone immediately click on the link and buy the product? Probably not. Over time however, it, may lead to purchases., To conclude life is about the things that are sometimes not obvious or apparent as well as the things that are, in plain view. You may think something is important when it really isn't (not everything that can be counted, counts). Sometimes it's the things that are not tangible (emotions, etc.) that have real meaning in your life (not, everything that counts can be counted)., , Comprehension, Read carefully the passage below and write your answers to the questions that follow in clear,, correct and concise language:, (5×15=75), A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and living conditions are threatening for, plant and A complete reading program, therefore, should include four factors: at least one good book each, week, a newspaper or news magazine, magazines of comment and interpretation, and book reviews. If you, keep feeding your intelligence with these four foods, you can be sure that your brain cells will be properly, nourished. To this must be added the digestive process that comes from your own thinking and from discussion, with individuals or groups., It is often desirable to make books that you own personally part of your mind by underlining or by marking in, the margin the more important statements. This will help you to understand the book as you first read it,, because out of the mass of details you must have selected the essential ideas. It will help you to remember, better the gist of the book, since the physical act of underlining, with your eyes on the page, tends to put the, thought more firmly into your brain cells. It will save time whenever you need to refer to the book., Above all, never forget that creative intelligence is correlation of facts and ideas, not mere memorizing. What, counts is what you can do with your knowledge, by linking it with other things you have studied or observed., If you read Plutarch's life of Julius Caeser, think how his rise to political power paralleled the technique of, Adolf Hitler, or that of your local political boss. If you read a play by Shakespeare, think how his portrayal of, the characters helps you to understand someone you know. In everything you read, keep at the back of your, mind what it means to your life here and now, how it supports or challenges the things you were taught in, school, in church and at home, and how the wisdom you get from books can guide you in your thinking, in your, career, in your voting as a citizen and in your personal morals., Questions from the passage:, (i) What are the four things required for a complete reading program and why?, Ans: Good reading reflects the sense of liberal­educated mind. It is of immense value. Therefore a reading, program should be prepared taking in to consideration the fact that it is going to affect your whole personality., That is why one should be very careful while going for a reading program which may prove to be vital in due, course if properly chosen. In fact, a good reading program should consists of good books which should be, read with consistency. Secondly, newspaper is of utmost importance if one has to catch up with everything, that is happening round the world. To exercise one's brain one must include a magagine of interpretation and, some book reviews in one's reading program to assert one's analytical skills also., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 111

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(ii) What else is required to feed your intelligence?, Ans: Thinking and discussion with peer groups may of great help in satiating one's intellectual urge. The, activity in which people talk about something and tell each other their ideas or opinions is called discussion in, the real sense of the term. While thinking an individual, in reaction to a range of stimuli, starts a process that, modifies or strengthens their world view, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and behaviours. And this is also one of, the best ways to feed intelligence., (iii) Why does the writer recommend underlining or marking in the margin the more important, statements?, Ans: In fact, the physical act of writing, with one's own hand, brings words and sentences more sharply, before one's mind and preserves them better in your memory. To set down one's reaction to important words, and sentences one has read, and the questions they have raised in one's mind, is to preserve those reactions, and sharpen those questions. Recording questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in one's, mind; reducing a complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right, through the book is what the writer reccomends and this really helps understand the gist of the book. Perhaps, this is the reason writer wants the reader to underline importants facts and ideas contained in the book., (iv) What use can you put your knowledge to?, Ans: Knowledge refers not to the information, not to the process of transmitting messages, but to the, contents the knowledge conveyed by it. This knowledge can be used to understand the persons, things and, phenomena present in one's surroundings, It may help in linking cause and effects of everything that is worth, emulating. In a nutshell it may help expedite in translating one's thought in to action required by the, circumstances., (v) How can what you learn from books help you in your life?, Ans: Knowledge gained from books can help us in ways more than one. It helps us understand the situation, and meet the challenges of life. One can use and apply the wisdom so gained in tackling different situations, in life. Contents and ideas in books are valuable for understanding human life in this world and for living that, life well. Wisdom we get from books can guide us in your thinking, in our career, in our voting as a citizen and, in your personal morals., , Precis (75 marks), Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Do not give a title to it. The, precis should be written in your own language, If this century has, in the famous phrase, made the world safe for democracy, the next challenge is to make, a world safe for diversity. It is in India's interest to ensure that the world as a whole must reflect the idea that, is already familiar to all Indians ­ that it shouldn't matter what the colour of your skin is, the kind of food you, eat, the sounds you make when you speak, the God you choose to worship (or not), so long as you want to, play by the same rules as everybody else, and dream the same dreams. It is not essential in a democratic, world to agree all the time, as long as we agree on the ground rules of how we will disagree. These are the, global principles we must strive to uphold if we are to be able to continue to uphold them securely at home., We want a world that gives us the conditions of peace and security that will permit us to grow and flourish,, safe from foreign depredations but open to external opportunities. Whether global institutions adapt and, revive will be determined by whether those in charge are capable of showing the necessary leadership. Right, now many of us would suggest that there is a global governance deficit. Reversing it would require strong, leadership in the international community by a number of powers, including the emerging ones. India is an, obvious contender to provide some of that leadership. India should aim not just at being powerful ­ it should, set new standards for what the powerful must do., This is a huge challenge, and one to which India must rise. An analogy from another field is not encouraging;, many would argue that India has not acquitted itself well when given the chance to have global impact in one, domain ­ that of the sport of cricket, where India accounts for more than 80 percent of the game's revenues, 112, , Dharmendra Kumar

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and perhaps 90 percent of its viewership, giving it an impact on the sport that no country can rival. Clearly,, international opinion does not believe that in its domination of world cricket, India has set new standards for, what the powerful must do. Broadening the analogy to global geopolitics, one could well say : India, your, world needs you., So India must play its due part in the stewardship of the global commons (including everything from the, management of the Internet to the rules governing the exploitation of outer space). We can do it. India is, turning increasingly outward as a result of our new economic profile on the global stage, our more dispersed, interests around the world, and the reality that other countries, in our neighbourhood as well as in Africa, are, looking to us for support and security. India has the ability and the vision to promote global partnerships, across the broad range of its interests; it only needs to act., The world economic crisis should give us an opportunity to promote economic integration with our neighbours, in the subcontinent who look to the growing Indian market to sell their goods and maintain their own growth., But as long as South Asia remains divided by futile rivalries, and some continue to believe that terrorism can, be a useful instrument of their strategic doctrines that is bound to remain a distant prospect. We in South Asia, need to look to the future, to an interrelated future on our subcontinent, where geography becomes an, instrument of opportunity in a mutual growth story, where history binds rather than divides, where trade and, cross­border links flourish and bring prosperity to all our people. (603 words), In global affairs India can play in addressing many issues such as: India as a driver for peace in the region and, the world; second, India as a champion of human rights; and third, India as a leader on clean development, that is clean sustainable development. Those are three issues that cover all the spectrums of human beings., In this century India has a great deal to contribute and stands to benefit enormously., The world is looking to India to help advance peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia. A secure regional, environment will also help India reach its ambitious development goals. Regional stability requires engagement, and collaboration. As the world's largest democracy, India has important lessons in South Asia and for others, also., Across the region, political leaders must put aside long­standing grievances and seek new ways to peacefully, end old disputes in South Asia. India's leaders to remain invested in helping Afghanistan to develop, including, through education exchanges. Afghanistan's security challenges cannot be solved only through military efforts., A political process focused on peace and reconciliation is essential and it needs regional support like from, India., India should work with its neighbours on the Strategy's four pillars: addressing conditions that allow terrorism, to spread; preventing and combating it; building States' capacity; and ensuring respect for human rights and, the rule of law., , AN ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED, , Whatsapp, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 113

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Civil Services Mains Examination 2015, Instructions:, 1., , Please read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions:, , 2., , All questions are to be attempted., , 3., , The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it. Answers must be written in, ENGLISH only., , 4., , Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to., , 5., , Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question­cum­Answer Booklet must be clearly, struck off, , Grammar, (a) Rewrite the following sentences after making necessary changes in the original corrections., Do not make unnecessary changes in the original sentence(10 marks), i., , He enjoyed during the holidays, Ans: He enjoyed holidays., , ii., , Whoever works hard he will win, Ans: Whoever works hard, will win., , iii., , The man who knocked at the door was stranger., Ans: The manwho knocked at the door was a stranger, , iv., , I asked my colleague when was he going to his home town, Ans: I asked my colleague when he was going to his home town., , v., , Besides clothes, the shopkeeper deals with cosmetics too., Ans: Besides clothes, the shopkeeper deals with cosmetics too., , vi., , He is desirous for joining the army., Ans: He is desirous of joining the army., , vii., , The judge said that the truth always triumphed., Ans: The judge said, "The truth always triumphs.", , viii., , One should help his friend in difficulty., Ans: One should help one's friend in difficulty., , ix., , Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman India has produced, isn't it?, Ans: Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman has produced, hasn't he., , x., , More you read less you understand., Ans: The more you read the less you understand., , (b) Supply the missing words : 1x5=5, 1., , Mr. Sharma is senior........to........Mr. Verma., , 2., , He is ........too........poor to afford travelling by air., , 3., , More than 160 million people suffer........from........malaria, , 4., , Beware........of........pickpockets., , 5., , Time and ........tide........wait for none., , (c) Use the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets, , 1x5=5, , 1., , Your friends........waited........for you for over an hour, (wait), , 2., , It is not worth........paying........so much money for this concert (pay), , 114, , Dharmendra Kumar

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3., , When I reached the station, the train........had left........(leave), , 4., , I........saw........the TajMahal last month, (visit), , 5., , The criminal........attacked........the victim with a blunt object, (attack), , (d) Write the antonyms of the following:, I., , Arrival­ Departure, , II., , Introvert­ Extrovert, , III., , Ascend­ descend, , IV., , Save­ lose, , V., , Mortal­ Immortal, , (a) Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without changing the meaning :, 1×10 =10 marks, 1., , He is too arrogant to listen to advice (Change into a complex sentence), Ans­ He is so arrogant that he can not listen to the advice., , 2., , He said to me, "What is your name? (Change into indirect speech), Ans­ He told me that what was my name., , 3., , My mother asked me if I had finished my breakfast (Change into direct speech), Ans­ My mother said to me, "Have you finished your breakfast.", , 4., , The people will make him president (Change into passive voice), Ans­ He will be made president., , 5., , My pocket has been picked (Change into active voice), Ans­ Someone has picked my pocket., , 6., , He confessed that he was guilty (Change into a simple sentence), Ans­ He accepted his guilt., , 7., , He ran fast to reach the bus stop (Change into an interrogative sentence), Ans­ Did he run fact to reach the bus?, , 8., , To the best of my knowledge, he is a vegetarian (Begin the sentence : As far as ...), Ans­ As far as my knowledge is concerned, he is a vegetarian., , 9., , A.R. Rehman is a versatile music composer (Supply an appropriate tag question), Ans­ A. R. Rehman is a versatile composer, isn't he?, , 10., , It is a pity that a noble person should Suffer (Change into an exclamatory sentence), Ans: How pity is it to see a noble person suffering., , (b)Use the following words to make sentences that bring out their meaning clearly. Do not change, the form of the words. (No marks will he given for vague and ambiguous sentences.), I., , Drought­ South Bihar is very much prone to drought situations., , II., , Profitable­ Affiliate marketing is a profitable business., , III., , Plunge­ My friend plunged me in to trouble., , IV., , Deformity­ Bone deformity is quite common in old age., , V., , Restraint­ One should show restraint while dealing with fire., , (c) Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blanks :, 1., , Slow and........steady........wins the race, (study/steady), , 2., , The farm scientists have discovered a new.....device.....to combat soil erosion (device/devise), , 3., , Going back on your word is a ........breach........of trust (breach/break), , 4., , A ........fleet........of car was following the minister, (fleet/float, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 115

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5., , The businessman tried to ........strike........ a deal inspector, (strike/stroke), , (d) Use these idioms/phrases their meaning clearly. Do not change the form of the words:l×5=5, I., , in spite of­ In spite of illness he attended the class., , II., , a bed of roses­Life is not a bed of roses., , III., , cold war­ The relation between USA and Russia is back to normalcy as there is no cold war between, the two nations., , IV., , to rule with an iron hand­ Hitler knew how to rule with an iron hand., , V., , to make haste­It is always risky to make haste., , Essay (100 marks), Write an essay in about 600 words on any one topic, A. Impact of politics on society, Ans: Politics is ethics applied to a group of people. Politics tells you how a society must be set up and how, one should act within a society. The decision­making process about how a society should be ruled is known, as politics. This process can involve elected politicians in a democracy, or the unelected members of ruling, elite. Political decisions affect people's daily lives in two very important ways. They decide how much money, the state will take from people in the form of taxes to spend on public projects such as healthcare, education,, or defense. Political decisions also make the laws that affect people's lives., Political ideas alone do not change society, but when enough people with the same ideas form a party, they, can influence how society changes. Sometimes the process of change can be gradual; sometimes it comes, from violent revolution, fueled by new political ideas. This happened in countries such as the United States,, France, and Czarist Russia and India., There are two main types of government: democratic and authoritarian. In democratic societies, adults have, a role in shaping how their country is run, by voting in free elections for a political party. This is part of their, civil rights., Citizens of democratic societies expect equal participation in political, social, and economic life. These freedoms, are called civil rights. They are meant to guarantee that society is fair to everyone., Sometimes laws that represent the will of the majority can restrict the freedom of others and exclude minorities, from full political and social participation and threaten the idea of democracy. Civil rights protect the freedoms, of all people within society., Politics is the vehicle by which progress and change for the people occurs. The purpose of government is to, meet the needs of the people. While we are all tired of the old style of politics, much good has been, accomplished., Mahatma Gandhi once said that a few drops of dirty water don't make the ocean dirty, and that pertains, perfectly to politics. There are good people working to make a difference for their fellow citizens and we, shouldn't lose hope because of a few politicians are corrupt., We must never lose hope in the great endeavor that is politics. The purpose of politics is to better the lives of, the people and to give up on politics could have extremely negative results for our society., Politics involves making common decisions for a group of people. It is the activity by which differing interests, within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion to their importance to, the welfare and survival of the whole community. Politics is the conciliation of diverse interests in society., Politics is a particular way of reconciling differences: it is a civilizing activity. Political predicaments arise, when decisions have to be made and alternative solutions are mutually exclusive., Politics is essential for the overall good of human societies, as it is the manner in which a society chooses its, leaders and makes decisions about national policy, allowing every citizen to be actively involved. Politics has, been pilloried for its evocative imagery of meaningless debate and conflict. However, many do not realize, 116, , Dharmendra Kumar

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that such conflict is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy., It is natural and obligatory that a democratic nation is divided along political or ideological lines, ripe for, conflict, because this is the manner in which an active citizenry manifests itself. Active citizens are persons, from diverse walks of life, like students, teachers, road sweepers, and stock brokers who engage in popular, discourse, keeping abreast of alternative views. When a nation is divided, an action by a political faction will, elicit a reaction by another faction., A contestation of opinions across the spectrum of individual perspectives results in an equilibrium of potent, and countervailing forces which regulate and balance each other. This equilibrium guarantees that every, strata of society is represented in the national discourse on issues of sensitive character, such as homosexual, rights, healthcare, and welfare. Conflict ensures that every citizen plays his part in building the nation by, fighting for his beliefs and values and paying his dues ­ time and effort ­ towards the privilege of being a, citizen of his nation., B. E-commerce: a win-win situation for all, Ans: E­commerce is a win­win situation for the consumer and the product/service provider. The various, advantages E­Commerce offers to them can easily be elicited. The distinct advantages e­commerce can, offer to the consumers include but are not confined to them only., Consumers have a much wider choice available on the cyber market. They bear lower costs for products due, to increased on­line competition among sellers. Because of wide­scale information dissemination, consumers, can compare products, features, prices and even look up reviews before they select what they want. They, enjoy wider access to assistance and to advice from experts and peers. They enjoy saving in shopping time, and money. Consumers also avail of fast services and delivery of products and services. They also have the, convenience of having their orders delivered right to the door step. Finally, consumers are driven to e­, shopping in hordes as even branded goods cost less on the Net., It also brings advantages to the suppliers and companies. It minimizes inventory cost. E­commerce venture, need not maintain huge inventories or expensive retail showrooms. Their marketing and sales force is a, fraction of that of traditional mortar­based businesses. E­commerce can minimize inventory costs by adopting, just­in­time (JIT) system enhancing the firm's ability to forecast demand more accurately. It can improve, customer services. It has been found that providing both customer and after­sale services account for up to, 10 per cent of the operating costs. By putting these services on­line under e­commerce, these costs get, reduced, on the one hand, and simultaneously the quality of services also gets improved, on the other., High quality customer relationship called" "customization" is crucial for retaining custom­ers in the e­commerce, environment. That is the reason why customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become the buzzword, which everybody is talking of now. E­commerce provides ample opportunity for CRM solution and, in turn, in, establishing better relationship with the customers., It becomes absolutely necessary for the company to enhance customer loyalty. Otherwise the customer, who, is full of choices, can jump from one website to another. If company is to stay in business then it will have to, deliver the products or services to customers as they want, when they want, and how they want., It reduces distribution costs as well. The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) based on Organization for, Economic Co­operation and Development (OECD) study has revealed that the time needed to process an, order declined abruptly by a minimum of 50 per cent to a maximum of 96 per cent. It is really amazing., It helps business globalize. E­commerce by minimizing costs enables companies especially small ones to, make information on its products and services available to all the potential customers spread over worldwide., This is well confirmed by Amazon. Com. founded by Jeff Bezos, the largest bookstore in the net by taking, away a large amount of sales from the traditional booksellers. In India, the experience of reinfusion­on­the­, net presents the similar case., It helps market products more quickly. By taking the entire product design process online, drawing partners, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 117

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and customers into the process and removing the traditional communication barriers, companies can bring, products and services to market far more quickly., Internet commerce solutions allow customer to reduce the costs of sales and open new markets, speed and, simplify order accuracy, approval, and processing, tracking and delivery and improve decision making, leverage, existing investments in infrastructure, business systems and repositions and link manufacturers with suppliers, on the same network. But there is another side of the coin also. Some businesses are less suitable for, electronic commerce. Such businesses may be involved in the selling of items which are perishable or high­, cost, or which require inspection before purchasing., Most of the disadvantages of electronic commerce today, however, stem from the newness and rapidly, developing pace of the underlying technologies. These disadvantages will disappear as electronic commerce, matures and becomes more available to and accepted by the general population. But still E­Commerce offers, more than it harms., C. Harassment of women at workplaces, Ans: Harassment is one of the biggest problems facing our schools, sporting events, and businesses today. It, is very rare that a significant amount of time goes by without some kind of reminder that harassment is a, social problem. Harassment is a growing problem in government agencies, schools, sporting associations, and, the many businesses of the world; however, many corporations are now adopting new anti­harassment, policies to try to counteract this growing problem., The definition of harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate sexual attention. Harassment can take place, in many forms which can include touching, looks, comments, or gestures. A key part of sexual harassment is, that it is one sided and unwanted. There is a great difference between harassment and romance or friendship,, since those are mutual feelings of two people. Often harassment makes the victim feel guilty, but it is important, for the victim to remember that it is not their fault; the fault lies totally on the person who is the harasser., Harassment is a major problem in public schools, colleges, and universities. Surveys on college campuses, show the number of respondents reporting to have been sexually harassed ranges from 40­70 percent., However, contradictory to popular beliefs, only two percent of campus harassment cases involve a professor, demanding sex in return for a good grade. Most cases involve male and female students. Junior high and, middle schools have shown the biggest problems with sexual harassment mainly because of their immaturity, and out­of­control hormones. As for in the high schools, usually students don't think anything about it when, harassment happens, but many schools are now cracking down on it., From time immemorial, workplace relationships have been controlled by the rules and regulations of the, employer. Workplace relationships can result in cases of sexual harassment, conflict of interest and hostile, work environment. Workplace relationships usually lead to favoritism. This results to a hostile work environment, and discrimination. Not until recently, workplace relationships have been allowed but under strict policy, guidelines. The employees sign forms pertaining interpersonal relationship. This therefore, protects the integrity, of the company increase a case occurs., Sexual harassment occurs when sexual contact is the only form the employee can get his or her benefits., This includes salary, promotion and continual of employment in the company. A sexual harassment complaint, can only be valid if the offense is severe and influential to the working condition of the victim. The sexual, harassment case report must have purposely interfered with the person's thinking, performance and working, environment., With people increase in awareness of their rights, from sexual harassment in the workplace and exercising, the rights makes it very important for employers to understand the terms "Sexual Harassment". The employers, have also known the company's legal liabilities and steps taken to prevent sexual harassment measures., Sexual harassment can be prevented in the workplace. This is by employers creating a workplace where all, the employees treat each other with respect, understand and embrace their differences., Sexual harassment does not discriminate white or blue collar employments. This vice happens in all companies., The best method to deal with it is the immediate report of any form of sexual harassment to as per the chain, 118, , Dharmendra Kumar

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of command. Sexual harassment is not allowed by the law as the same laws that disallow gender discrimination, also forbid sexual harassment. Sexual harassment affects the victim's psychology greatly., Workplace relationships can go sour, leading to a harassment claim from the bitter individual. This is a liability, to the company. Therefore, companies must enforce strict measures and policies as pertaining workplace, relationships. This is because workplace relationships can have an impact on the company. Although workplace, relationships have been allowed, professionalism within the workplace must be maintained by the couple., D. Does the Indian cinema reflect social reality?, Ans: Much like literature, art and music ­ films are also an important tool used by historians to study the, evolution of contemporary society. A film is largely similar to a time capsule that can capture the essence and, the mindset of the society at the time in which the film was made. Today, there are scholars who specialize, in the study of contexts within films and there are even museums, libraries and entire universities that aim at, understanding the pulse of a society through its Cinema. The evolution of the Indian mindset post the year of, independence can easily be analyzed through the films that each decade has churned out. Not just in terms of, technological advancement, music and fashion ­ but in terms of the very plot and dialogue of the film., After gaining independence, cinema was an important tool used by the Indian intelligentsia for the purpose of, setting an ideal and a goal. Films of the '50s portrayed exactly what the society of the time wanted India to, become. However, upon recognizing the flaws inherent in Indian culture, films such as Neecha Nagar and, Do Bigha Zameen were made. These films aimed to address the various societal handicaps of India and, convey the message that the path towards progress lay in overcoming these obstacles and working together, (irrespective of caste and creed) to build a strong nation. The film Neecha Nagar addressed the issue of the, class divide in India and introduced the idea of the nobility of the poor (this was one of the very first films that, utilized the 'rich, arrogant industrialist' and 'poor, noble peasant (stereotypes)., The film Do Bigha Zameen, despite being a deeply pessimistic film, dealt with the theme of the zamindari, system and the resultant loss of land with breathtaking panache. It effectively portrayed the evils of feudalism, and the deep sorrow that is experienced by the peasant. Upon analyzing the great films of this decade, one, comes to realize the fact that the movies effectively convey the idealism, hopes and budding dreams of a, newborn nation. The next significant era that must be understood while studying the Indian Film Industry is, that of the '70s. While it is easy to typecast the films of this era into the categories of 'Zeenat Aman', 'RD, Burman' and 'Flower Power in truth, there is a lot more to the films of this decade, contexts and subtexts are, safely buried between very fine lines., The '80s passed in a whirlwind of horrifically bad fashion and ridiculously poofy hairstyles. The next era of, importance is that of the '90s. There was a lot more to this era than merely the debuts of the three Khans., If one compares a film of the early '90s to that of the late '90s, it would seem that the films belong to entirely, different millenniums. The early '90s saw Karisma Kapoor (post her much needed eyebrow­wax) gyrating, with Govinda to raunchy songs. The late '90s saw the very same Karisma Kapoor (now with two seperate, eyebrows) ­ looking incredibly svelte and dancing a sophisticated jazz routine with Shah Rukh Khan in Dil To, Pagal Hai. It is easy to discern through these films that somewhere in the '90s, India had undergone a major, economic revolution. With globalization and the opening up of markets, a new class had emerged in India., This class (in the context of film history) is referred to as the multiplex class. Urban, educated and earning, very well ­ the palate of this variety of a movie goer would not be satisfied with the fare that the filmmakers, were churning out in order to keep their village audiences happy. Classy and intellectual movies were the, need of the hour. Our filmmakers promptly rose to the challenge ­ and how! And then, we come to our, decade, the decade that has probably made the least amount of impact on Indian movie history. The rise of, consumerism is evident in the films of our time ­ especially with the aggressive marketing and advertising that, is done through films., While looking back at the movies of our decade, future historians will be able to draw the following two, conclusions. The first being the Indian obsession with money (clearly reflected in the mindless and often, unnecessary use of cars and gadgets). The second being the Indian hypocritical love for skin (read item, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 119

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songs). The occasional films such as Taare Zameen Par and Parzania are reassuring as they highlight the, fact that there is hope for the future of our film Industry even in the midst of the ongoing 'dark age'., , Comprehension, Read carefully the passage below and write your answers to the questions that follow in clear,, correct and concise language:, (5x15=75), A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and living conditions are threatening for, plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the vulnerable surface of the ground to the processes of, denudation. About one­third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi­arid Deserts are usually hot and, barren places; yet they are also beautiful. A few plants, rocks and dusty red­brown soil make up the ingredients, of most North American deserts where there is sufficient food and water for certain animals to survive., Deserts cover more than one­fifth of the Earth's land and they are found on every continent. A place that, receives less than 10 inches of rain per year is normally considered a desert. They are part of a wider, classification of regions called "dry land". These areas exist under a moisture deficit, which means they, repeatedly lose more moisture through evaporation than they receive from annual precipitation., Deserts are biologically rich habitats with a vast array of animals and plants that have adapted to harsh, conditions there. Some deserts' plants that have adapted to harsh conditions there. Some deserts are among, the planet s last remaining areas of total wilderness. Yet more than one billion people, one­sixth of the Earth's, population, actually live in the desert regions., Despite the common notion of deserts as dry and hot, there are cold deserts as well. One famous dry and hot, place in the world with no visible rock or plant and barely any water is the Sahara desert. It is the largest hot, desert in the world that reaches temperatures of up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Some deserts, are very cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the desert on the continent of Antarctica. Only about 10, percent of deserts are covered by sand dunes. The driest deserts get less than half an inch of precipitation, each year and that is from condensed fog Desert animals have adapted ways to help them keep cool and The, Animal when the going gets tough. Camels also have thick hair in their ears for keeping out sand; they also, sport closable nostrils, an eye membrane, and wide feet that act like snow­shoes in the land. Desert plants, may have to go without fresh water for years at a time. Some plants have adapted to the arid climate by, growing long roots that tap water from deep underground. Other plants, such as cacti, have special means, conserving years old., Some of the world's semi­arid regions are turning into deserts at an alarming rate. This process, known as, desertification, is not caused by drought, but usually arises from the demands of human population that settles, the soil by the hooves of livestock may degrade the soil and encourage (erosion warming deserts. Higher, temperature may produce an increasing number of wildfires eliminating slow ­growing trees and shrubs and, replacing them with fast­growing grasses, 1. Explain what you understand by barren and dry land., Ans: Barren and dry lands are commonly known as deserts. But such lands are also beautiful. Here little, precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. Plants and animals, found here are adapted to harsh conditions., A desert is a region of land that is very dry because it receives low amounts of precipitation, often has little, coverage by plants, and in which streams dry up unless they are supplied by water from outside the area., Deserts can also be described as areas where more water is lost by evaporation than falls as precipitation., Deserts generally receive less than 250 mm (10 in) of precipitation each year. Deserts are sometimes classified, as "hot" or "cold", "semiarid" or "coastal., There are some plants, however, that adapt to the almost waterless conditions of the desert. They contain, valuable mineral deposits that were formed in the arid environment or that were exposed by erosion. Because, 120, , Dharmendra Kumar

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deserts are dry, they are ideal places for human artifacts and fossils to be preserved. Deserts are also fragile, environments. Among deserts some are cold and some are hot and not suitable for inhabitation., 2. What do you understand by rich habitats?, Ans: Places having several plants and animals are called rich habitats. In fact such habitats full of trees and, shrubs and all kinds of animals. Such habitats are ecological or environmental areas that are inhabited by a, particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism., Rich habitats are also a source for a wide range of resources that can be exploited for economic profit. There, is also economic value in rich natural habitats., 3. How have desert animals and plants in arid climate adapted themselves to the use of less water., Ans: To survive, desert plants have adapted to the extremes of heat and aridity by using both physical and, behavioral mechanisms, much like desert animals., Some plants have adapted by altering their physical structure .They usually have special means of storing and, conserving water. They often have few or no leaves, which reduce transpiration., Some plants that have adapted to arid environments by growing extremely long roots, allowing them to, acquire, moisture at or near the water table., Other desert plants, using behavioral adaptations, have developed a lifestyle in conformance with the seasons, of greatest moisture and/or coolest temperatures., Desert perennials often survive by remaining dormant during dry periods of the year, then springing to life, when water becomes available., 4. Describe the process of desertification., Ans: Although desertification can occur naturally due to extreme droughts, there are many situations where, the process of desertification has been caused or accelerated by human activities. Humans often divert, rivers from their natural path in order to use the water for agriculture., If plants are removed, the soil will have nothing protecting it, and it will be more susceptible to erosion by, wind. This will reduce fertility of the land because the top layer of soil that will be blown away by wind is, often the richest in nutrients. Once this top layer of soil is removed, the land will no longer be fertile and will, be unable to support the growth of vegetation. Eventually, the land will become so dry and devoid of vegetation, that it will be classified as a desert., 5. What are the camel's two most visible features that make it perfect for deserts?, Ans: Camel humps are a major adaptation of a animal that helps them be suited for a desert environment., This makes them the most popular and dependable desert animal. However, other adaptations of the camel, to a desert environment are also beneficial., Camels have long eyelashes that help protect the eyes from the sun and the blowing sand. While some say, there are two rows of eyelashes, others believe that one row is eyebrows while the other a row of eyelashes., They can close their nostrils completely so that no sand particles enter the nose. Moreover a camel's hump, is for storage, but unlike common belief that it stores water; a hump actually stores fat tissues. When there is, scarcity of food the fat is metabolised to provide energy., , Precis (75 marks), Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Do not give a title to it. The, precis should be written in your own language, The means may be equated to a seed, the end to a tree; and there is just the same inviolable connection, between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree. I am not likely to obtain the result, flowing from the worship of God by laying myself prostrate before Satan. If, therefore, anyone were to say;, 'I want to worship God; it does not matter that I do so by means Satan', it would be set down as ignorant folly., We reap exactly as we sow., If I want to deprive you of your watch, I shall certainly have to fight for it; if I want to buy your watch, I shall, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 121

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have to pay you for it; and if I want it as a gift, I shall have to plead for it; and according to the means I, employ, the watch is a stolen property, different results from three different means. Will you still say that, means do not matter?, Let us proceed a little further. A well­armed anger argue that you want to punish that rogue the good of your, neighbours; you have collected a number of armed men, you want to take his house by assault; he is duly, informed of it, he runs away; he, too is increased. He collects his brother­robbers, and sends you a defiant, message that he will commit robbery in broad daylight. You are strong, you donot fear him. You're prepared, to receive him. Meanwhile, the robber pesters complain before you. You reply that you are doing all their, sake, you don't mind that your own goods have been stolen. Your neighbours reply that robber never pestered, them before, and that he commenced his depredations only after you declared hostilities against hi. You're, between Scylla and Charybdis. You're full of pity for the poor men. What they say is true. What are you to, do? You'll be disgraced if you now leave the robber alone. You, therefore, tell the poor men: 'Never mind., Come, my wealth is yours. I will give you arms. I will train you how to use them; you should belabour the, rogue; don't you leave him alone.' And so the battle grows. The robbers increase in numbers; your neighbours, have deliberately put themselves to inconvenience. Thus the result of wanting to take revenge upon the, robber is that you have disturbed your own peace; you are in perpetual fear of being robbed and assaulted;, your courage has given place to cowardice. If you patiently examine the argument, you will see that I have, not overdrawn the picture. This is one of the means., Now let us examine the other. You set this armed robber down as an ignorant brother, you intend to reason, with him at a suitable opportunity; you argue that he is? After all, a fellow man; you do not know what, prompted him to steal. You, therefore, decide that when you can, you will destroy the man's motive for, stealing. Whilst you are thus reasoning with yourself, the man comes again to steal. Instead of being angry, with him, you take pity on him. Henceforth, you keep your doors and windows open, you change your, sleeping place, and you keep your things in a manner most accessible to him. The robber comes again and is, confused as ail this is new to him; nevertheless, he takes away your things. But his mind is agitated. He, enquires about you in the village, he comes to learn about your broad and loving heart; he repents, he begs, your pardon, returns you your things, and leaves off the stealing habit. He becomes your servant, and you find, tor him honourable employment. This is the second method., Thus, you see, different means have brought about totally different results. I do not wish to deduce from this, that robbers will act in the above manner or that all will have the same pity and love like you. I only wish to, show that fair means alone can produce fair results, and that, at least in the majority of cases, if not indeed in, all, the force of love and pity is infinitely greater than the force of arms. There is harm in the exercise of, force, never in that of pity., Ans: The purpose of taking this example is to show that at least in the majority of the cases, the force of love, and pity is infinitely is greater than the force of arms. There is harm in the exercise of brute force. But there, is no such harm in the pity. During all this process of solving issues through nonviolent technique, one has to, remember that "he is expected not to be angry with one who has injured him. He will not wish him harm; he, will wish him well; he will not wear at him; he will not cause him physical hurt. He will put up with all the, injury to which he is subjected by the wrong does" It is with an open mind that one will enter in to a dialogue, and debate with the enemy. One will restrain from saying or doing anything that is likely to hurt the opponent, in thought, word or deed., In fact the problem solver begins by envisioning the end, or ultimate goal, and then determines the best, strategy for attaining the goal in his current situation. And the best strategy is to resort to proper and authentic, means to get the desired end. The goal so achieved will be long­lasting. Use of force does not lead us, anywhere. Rather it may backfire. Pity on the other hand is something sacred as it does not boomerang and, its impact may last long., , 122, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Civil Services Mains Examination 2016, Instructions:, 1., , Please read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions :, , 2., , All questions are to be attempted., , 3., , The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it. Answers must be written in, ENGLISH only., , 4., , Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to., , 5., , Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question­cum­Answer Booklet must be clearly, struck off, , Grammar, (a) Rewrite the following sentences after making necessary changes in the original corrections., Do not make unnecessary changes in the original sentence, (10 marks), (i), , I request your favour to grant me leave., Ans: I request you to grant me leave., , (ii), , He lived there for a day., Ans: He stayed there for a day., , (iii), , He is the fastest runner and he came last., Ans: He is the fastest runner but he came last., , (iv), , They know each other since January., Ans: They have known each other since January., , (v), , All the patients have been admitted and received attention., Ans: All the patients have been admitted and have received attention., , (vi), , They didn't see any movies since March., Ans: They have not seen any movies since March., , (vii), , We shall go on a tour as soon as the schools will close., Ans: We shall go on a tour as soon as the school closes., , (viii), , Each of the answers was not correct., Ans: None of the answers was correct., , (ix), , If we had had money we would go shopping., Ans: If we had had money, we would have gone for shopping., , (x), , I wanted that he should get leave., Ans: I wanted him to get leave., , (b) Supply the missing words : 1×5=5, (i), , The scene.............us is magnificent. Isn't it?, Ans: In front of, , (ii), , .............your proposals, we shall meet later., Ans: Delay, , (iii), , You can't climb.............that high roof., Ans: Up, , (iv), , He pushed his way.............the crowd of people., Ans: Through, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 123

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(v), , She.............in with the wrong group of friends in her teens., Ans: Was, , 4. (c) Use the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets lx5-5, (i), , All our plans of starting a new venture.............up in smoke, (end), Ans: Ended, , (ii), , Men of straw are not.............in the society, (respect), Ans: Respected, , (iii), , He got angry before I.............a word, (say), Ans: Say, , (iv), , Later on he.............his mistake (realize), Ans: Realized, , (v), , Television is a powerful means of.............knowledge, (diffuse), Ans: Diffusing, , 4., , (d) Write the antonyms of the following: l×5=5, , (i), , Awkward, Ans: Decent, , (ii), , Diligently, Ans: Unscrupulously, , (iii), , Persist, Ans: Discontinue, , (iv), , Traitor, Ans: Loyalist, , (v), , Enrich, Ans: Impoverish, , (a) Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without changing the meaning :, l×10 =10 marks, (i), , I have many debts to repay. (Change into a complex sentence), Ans: I have many debts that I have to repay., , (ii), , He hasn't been informed (Change into active voice), Ans: Someone has not informed him., , (iii), , He wanted to get a raise. He had to study Accounting. (Use "in order to"), Ans: He had to study accounting in order to get a raise., , (iv), , He didn't complain at all. He was kind. (Rewrite the sentence staring with 'It'), Ans: It was kind of him not making complain., , (v), , Arvind said, "I must write it". (Change into indirect speech), Ans: Arvind said that he had to write it., , (vi), , I didn't meet the government official from France. I didn't meet his friend too. (Rewrite using, 'neither....nor') Ans: Neither did I meet the government official from France nor his friend too., , (vii), , He didn't describe it well. He was very excited (Use 'too'), Ans: He was too excited to describe it well., , (viii), , People respect politicians only when they change their ways. (Rewrite the sentence using 'unless'), Ans: People don't respect politicians unless they change., , (ix), , We seldom see them nowadays (Supply an appropriate question tag), Ans: We seldom see them nowadays, do we?, , 124, , Dharmendra Kumar

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(x), , The girl worked hard but she didn't succeed. (Change into a simple sentence), Ans: In spite of her hard work, the girl didn't succeed., , (b) Use the following words to make sentences that bring out their meaning clearly. Do not change, the form of the words. (No marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences.) 1×5=5, (i), , Nebulous­Nebulous assurances of future cooperation are worthless., , (ii), , Expeditious­Expeditious development of Digital India Program is praiseworthy., , (iii), , Contiguous­ Bihar and Jharkhand are contiguous states and therefore people from both states interact, frequently., , (iiii), , Fastidious­I love the way you take charge; your confidence and the way you're so fastidious about, everything., , (iv), , Proscribe­In our country, there are laws which proscribe discrimination based on race and gender., , (c) Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blanks: 1×5=5, (i), , We are.............to learn that the President has given his assent to the act (gratified/grateful), Ans: Grateful, , (ii), , He did not make a single.............to the examination results in his speech, (illusion/ allusion), Ans: Allusion, , (iii), , Make a.............selection of the books in this library, (judicial/judicious), Ans: Judicious, , (iv), , The sight of home gave the boys the.........to walk fast, (impetus/impetuous), Ans: Impetus, , (v), , The lawyer used many.........arguments which did not deceive the Judge, (specious/spacious), Ans: Specious, , (d) Use these idioms/phrases in sentences of your own to bring out their meaning clearly. Do not, change the form of the words. 1×5=5, (i), , With impunity­ The diplomat parked in illegal parking spaces with impunity., , (ii), , Under a cloud­Someone stole some money at work, and now everyone is under a cloud of suspicion., , (iii), , Loaves and fishes­ Sanjay hasn't helped us with this project at all, but you know he'll be there for the, loaves and fishes if we win the contest., , (iv), , A leap in the dark­I had very little information about the company, so writing to them was a bit of a, leap in the dark., , (v), , Yeoman service­His trusty sword did him yeoman's service., , Essay (100 marks), (a) Majoritarianism conflicting with constitutional spirit, an unhealthy trend in Indian democracy., Ans: The concept of majoritarianism asserts that a majority of the population is entitled to a certain degree, of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. This traditional view has, come under growing criticism and democracies have increasingly included constraints in what the parliamentary, majority can do, in order to protect citizens' fundamental rights., This should not be confused with the concept of a majoritarian electoral system, which is a simple electoral, system that usually gives a majority of seats to the party with a plurality of votes. A parliament elected by this, method may be called a majoritarian parliament (e.g., the Parliament of India)., It is easy enough to begin any discussion on this matter with the Constitution of India as anchor, for subject to, certain limitations it grants a right to freedom of speech and expression. But, we would do well to set aside, the document for a moment, and think about what rights a democracy, properly understood, must guarantee., Our tendency, unfortunately, is too often think of democracy as a form of majoritarianism, where the will of, the greatest number ought to always prevail; we, therefore, seek to balance an individual's right with the, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 125

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supposed interests of the larger society. If restricting certain speech would make the majority of us happy,, then such societal happiness, it is argued, would constitute good reason for restricting such speech. But this, model for framing the purport of our moral rights, as the legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin, among others,, argued, is fundamentally flawed. It does not comprehend what democracy, which at its heart is an interpretive, concept, really means., If democracy were to be a truly legitimate form of government, it must contain certain inherent value; and, since it is difficult to argue that majoritarianism has any such value over and above its ability to institutionalise, the larger goals of a legitimate government, we must reject any definition of democracy that rests purely on, the rule of the majority. In other words, democracy cannot be considered an end by itself, but must represent, a means to attain justice. In order to be genuinely participatory, democracy must entail more than just a, commitment to elections; it must treat certain fundamental rights as distinct and incapable of being transgressed, purely on the caprice of the majority., Our greatest failing as a nation is to allow whimsical decisions of the majority to override the most fundamental, moral rights that we enjoy as citizens. When the Indian Constitution says, as it does in Article 19(l)(a), that, citizens have a right to freedom of speech and expression, it is memorializing a particular moral right. The, limitations that it places on this right through Article 19(2) by allowing the State to make reasonable restrictions, in the interests, among other things, of public order, decency or morality, are therefore to be invoked only, when compelling reason is presented. The question is: what constitutes compelling reason?, The grounds that the Constitution of India provides in Article 19(2), as its text says, ought to be reasonable., And what is reasonable is to be tested not on the threshold of majoritarian will, but on larger, scrupulous, standards. For example, it would be reasonable to constrain speech if it is absolutely apparent that such, speech would incite the committing of an offence. Such a test was, in fact, devised by the U.S. Supreme, Court in the famous Brandenburg v. Ohio case: it is only speech that incites "imminent lawless action," the, court held, which is constitutionally unprotected., (b) Indian girl child, still a victim of exploitation, Ans: India has one of the fastest growing youth populations in the world. Girls below 19 years of age, comprise one­quarter of India's rapidly growing population. In spite of India's reputation for respecting women,, to an extent to treat her as a goddess, the moment a baby is born, the first thing comes to mind is "boy or girl?", as the differences are beyond just being biological. This article examines the significance of various, psychological constructs and psychosocial issues that are important in the life of a "girl" baby born in our, country., India is a country of demographic diversity. There exist differences in the lifestyles of people of different, regions, communities, cultural backgrounds, urban­rural habitats, etc. Similarly, the psychological development, of a child differs in various contexts. In India, the birth of a boy is a time for celebration, while the birth of a, girl ­ especially a second or subsequent daughter ­ is often perceived as crisis.Three­quarters of the population, of India still resides in rural areas where the problems related to girl child are predominant. Contrary to this,, female foeticide seems to be more in urban areas owing to the technical advances. Despite the hue and cry, about women liberation, the 2011 census gives the shocking sex ratio of 900:1000 among urban population, showing the ground reality., Here in India as the girl starts growing, she gradually gets exposed to a set of rules, defining appropriate, feminine behaviour in a given culture, which is known as "gender norm." She likes playing with dolls rather, than trucks, and starts mimicking the role of a mother. Up to this stage, girl's understanding of gender is still, limited and based on very concrete rules like girls having long hair or wearing frocks/skirts. As she grows, further, gender constancy brings an understanding that even changing the outward physical appearance of a, person does not change their underlying sex category., Though the process of gender socialization begins when children develop a gender identity, at the age of 21/, 2, ­3 years, actual gender­typing does not begin until children achieve gender constancy at age seven. At that, point, children begin to actively select from their environment the behaviour that they see as consistent with, 126, , Dharmendra Kumar

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their gender. The basic idea is that once a girl sees herself and others as gendered, she gets self­motivated to, engage in feminine behaviour, and to model herself on other people she identifies as women in her environment., In India, early marriage of girls has received religious and social sanctions. Despite the laws increasing the, legal age of marriage to 18 for girls, there are strong cultural pressures on parents to marry daughters early., In the existing social scenario in India, vulnerability is a product of inequality, low status, and discrimination,, and of the patriarchal authority unleashed on children, especially the girl child., India has one of the fastest growing youth populations in the world. Girls below 19 years of age comprise, one­ quarter of India's rapidly growing population. Unfortunately, the majority are out of school and have, limited choices available for the future. They are caught in the cycle of early marriage, repeated pregnancy,, and poverty. Industrialization, liberalization, and urbanization, and female foeticide have brought about some, obvious changes in stereotyped concepts of masculinity and femininity, affecting household composition,, residence patterns, specific kinship relationships, and male and female attitudes and behavior. Family and, society together can lead girls toward the positive psychology of increasing optimism, strong social connections,, and healthy self­confidence., (c) Industrialization should not affect but contribute to agricultural growth in India, Ans: Industrialization is considered to be one of the indicators of development of a country. It grants the, country the status of a power to reckon with, making its presence felt in the global economic platform., Throughout the year much preparation runs in the background to ensure that the country has an industrial, output to boast about at the end of the fiscal year. But in their attempts to expand industries at a manic pace,, the government seems to have forgotten, deliberately or otherwise, that about 80% of our population is, dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Recent figures have shown that India's agricultural growth rate, in 2010 was a meager 5%. That means unlike the industrial sector the agricultural sector cannot satisfy the, current market demands as the government is keener to improve only industries., When the government decides to implement any large­scale industrialization project without thinking twice as, to whether it will actually benefit the people who're its supposed beneficiaries, it is these very people who end, up suffering and losing the most. Most of these industries are often planned in the underdeveloped parts of, the country where the people have been thriving on agriculture for several generations. When industrialization, takes place without a proper understanding of the needs of these people, it benefits only a handful, namely the, companies, the investors and the government., And in most cases, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes the government knows that unplanned, industrialization will lead to chaos but in order to woo corporate houses and get them to make maximum, investments in the country, they take away the lands of these farmers. The government in this case knows, that the farmers have no basic knowledge of how an industry works and how they will be benefitted from the, whole exercise. It takes advantage of their illiteracy and inexperience in dealing with crafty politicians and, bureaucrats and feeds them all sorts of lies and false promises of more development and job opportunities to, get them to sell their lands to the companies., Sometimes the farmers don't even get to do paperwork but have their lands unlawfully snatched away. Those, displaced don't get their promised jobs in the newly constructed factories because, let's face it, these farmers, have almost zero industrial skills and education. They can till lands like no other but to teach them to use, complicated machines will take time. So the industries prefer employing people who have prior knowledge of, working in factories to hiring these inexperienced farmers. And hence the country descends into anarchy, when industrial development takes place with no measures for ensuring rehabilitation and securing job, opportunities for the farmers., The recent spate of violence in Ratnagiri over the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant project and the protests and, resulting massacre in Nandigram and Singur indicate people's frustration and anger at having their agricultural, lands taken away for non­agricultural purposes. In Jaitapur, the government wants to build a 9900 MW, nuclear power plant and claims that hundreds of thousands of Indian homes will be lit up as a result. But the, villagers fear that the earthquake prone Madban plateau where the project will be built is a dangerous place, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 127

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for a nuclear power plant construction as the government has taken no steps to ensure proper disposal of, nuclear waste or protection against any nuclear disaster., Another region which is a political minefield in this country is the mineral­rich state of Orissa. Companies like, TATA, Jindal, Posco, Vedanta Group, Arcelor Mittal etc. are big players here, especially in the mining and, minerals industries. The land allotted to their projects is in the forests and agricultural belt. But the region is, mostly inhabited by tribal people whose main source of income is the forests., The government claims that there are no official records that prove that the lands are actually the tribal, people's property. There is no line of communication between the government and the tribals. Hence these, people find their forests and homes massacred in the name of development. The government or the corporate, houses turn a deaf ear to their plights., Agitations are being staged in different parts of the world and social activists are joining them too. The, government is also taking recourse to violent measures to force them into submission. One of the major, grievances of the people who are helping the Naxalites in their battle against the Union of India or directly, taking part in it is the government indifference to their misery and forceful conversion of agricultural land into, industrial land., If industrialization is meant for greater development then why do these people go against it? It's because in, India, industrialization mostly takes place in an unplanned way with no thought given to sustainable development., The government's only concern is improving the country's GDP. It feels that industries are needed to meet, the growing demands of the burgeoning population. But it forgets that these farmers are also a part of this, population and their needs cannot be overlooked in the name of greater good. Loss of agricultural land might, lead to food inflation which is rampant in many industrially developed countries., Industrialization is no doubt very important but if poor farmers tend to get excluded from the group of, beneficiaries then it ceases to lose its significance., (d) Mass media has great responsibility in transforming the society, Ans: Mass media is a tremendous source of information for individuals as well as society. The media play a, central role in informing the public about what happens in the world, particularly in those areas in which, audiences do not possess direct knowledge or experience. Let us examine the impact the media has in the, construction of public belief and attitudes and its relationship to social change. Drawing on findings from a, range of empirical studies, we look at the impact of media coverage in areas such as disability, climate, change and economic development. Findings across these areas show the way in which the media shape, public debate in terms of setting agendas and focusing public interest on particular subjects., It is one of the most powerful tools of communication in the developing countries, as well as in the developed, countries. It can aid in promoting the right things at a right point of time, or can make use of any situation to, create disturbance around the people or in the society. Media helps to provide a strong message to the world, about what is right or wrong., Media is present all around us. For example, when we watch the Television; listen to the radio; read books,, newspapers, magazines, journals; etc. The world is making a steady progress towards a better future every, day. But still, people are bound by the social problems and issues directly or indirectly are "affected by the, people,of the people and for the people.", The mass media helps people to remain informed and updated about the various news, events, social activities,, lifestyle, entertainment, and advertisements irrespective of the geographical barriers. For example, while, sitting in India, one can get all latest news and events of UK, or USA. Like, even while sitting miles away, one, got the breaking news of Barack Obama winning the Presidential election. He became the first African, American to hold the office., Mass media have made profound impact on societies and their culture. It ceases the boundaries of different, societies among the individuals and creates 'Globalization.' The globalization is a decent case to delineate the, friendship of media, since people can witness what is happening in different nations or how they dress up and, what their way of life is. Subsequently, they typically mirror what others do., 128, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Furthermore, media are a storehouse of information. It educates individuals about day to day occasions or, new revelations. This data some of the time is utilized to change individuals' sentiment. For instance, in race, of president, the devotee of candidates publicize in media such as, TV or the web for them, and ingest, consideration regarding choose any individual that they need. Thus, it can be concluded mass media have a, powerful influence in shaping a persons' lives., However, mass media can have both positive and negative impact on the lives and on the minds of the people., It depends on the mindset of the people, as to which side they look for., , Comprehension, Read carefully the passage below and write your answers to the questions that follow in clear,, correct and concise language: (5×15=75), The thought of Yong Bengal (Pearychand Mitra, one of the circle, called it in 1877 "Young Calcutta') flowed, through the fourth decade of the 19th century, arising in the late twenties and ebbing away after the mid­, forties. Its inspire was Derozio (1809­31). competent scholar, gifted writer, radical thinker, and the most, famous of our teachers in the new education. It will be unusual to link with Young Bengal as second name,, that of David Hare (1755­1841) who seems so different from Derozio in so many ways. Hare was indeed no, professional instructor or intellectual, no man of letters or of academic learning. He had neither the brilliance, nor the way wardress of his contemporary; unlike him he had become in diet and habits almost a half­Hindu., Yet between the two may be detected an underlying resemblance which furnishes a key to a proper estimation, of Young Bengal., Common to both was the passionate conviction that for India nothing was more essential than "a dissemination, of European learning and science among her people." Both encouraged freedom of thinking and discussion, and inspired a courage and personal integrity in their followers "to throw off the fetters of that antiquated, bigotry which still clung to their countrymen." And unlike other leaders around them, both were 'godless', secularists with little faith in denominations or religious instruction, and yet staunch idealists. Nor can one, forget that in the hour of trial Hare tried to stand by Derozio and his maligned pupils about whom he declared­, "your countrymen look upon you as­their reformers and instructors"; while the Derozians were the first to, honour Hare publicly, and after his death they were in the forefront in the endeavour to perpetuate his, memory, in the unique First of June anniversaries for 25 years without a break., Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was a Calcutta Eurasian of Portuguese­Indian ancestry, the son of an officer in, an English mercantile firm. (In the Hindu College Records of 1831, the name is occasionally spelt as De, Rozio; Max Muller wrote D. Rozario), He was educated in one of the pioneer English­teaching private, schools of the early 19th century, run by the Scotsman Drummond in the Dharmatala area. Drummond was, a scholar­poet, and as a notorious free­thinker an exile from his native land. It may safely be conjectured that, Derozio derived from Drummond his taste in literature and philosophy, his love of Burns, his faith in the, French Revolution and English Radicalism., Derozio's youthful critique on Kant was considered as something which "would not disgrace even gifted, philosophers", his translation of a French essay on Moral Philosophy was printed posthumously. The fame, already won secured him, an appointment as teacher to the senior classes in the Hindu College before he had, ended his 'teens'., Derozio's personality brought "a new era in the annals of the College", the youthful teacher drawing the, senior boys "like a magnet" round him. According to his biographer "neither before, nor since his day has any, teacher, within the walls of any native educational establishment in India, ever exercised such an influence, over his pupils'" Not alone in the classrooms, but outside the hours as well, he strove with success "to broaden, and deepen the knowledge of his pupils" in Western thought and literature, the new fountain which emancipated, and intoxicated. The College students clustered round him and very many of them carried down to their last days, the deep impress stamped on them by their Master. This was the cementing link which held together the Young, Bengal group, the memory which made a close­knit fellowship of affection and friendship even in later life., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 129

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Unlike most teachers, Derozio encouraged his students to debate freely and question authority. He urged, them to think for themselves, "to be in no ways influenced by any of the idols mentioned by Bacon­to live and, die for truth." One of his pupils, Radhanath Sikdar, said of him: "he has been the cause and the sole cause of, that spirit of enquiry after truth, and that contempt of vice­which cannot but be beneficial to India'" Another,, Ramgopal Ghosh, held up the motto: "He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool, and he who, does not is a slave.", (a) Which was the period when the thought of Yong Bengal, the youthful band of reformers flourished, in Bengal? Who were the two main teachers of the new education and in what ways were they, different from each other?, Ans: It was in the fourth decade of the 19 th century that a band of youthful reformers led by Henry Vivian, Derozio and david hare flourished in Bengal. In fact these two teachers inspired their pupil as to how to break, the shackles of bondage. More than that, they also taught their pupils the significance of logic and reason and, for that matter the importance of western learning and science., Though both these teachers had common goal but they had many things uncommon between them. Derozio, was a scholar but it was not the case with David hare. Moreover Derozio was an intellectual as well as a, teacher also. David Hare though interested in the spread of English education in India, was not a teacher by, profession. Unlike Derozio he was not a scholar and brilliant which stood him in a different stead., (b) What was common to both these teachers? How did they support each other?, Ans: There were many things common between Derozio and David Hare. Both believed in the fact that, English education and science was essential for Indians. Both of them loved freedom of thinking and were of, opinion that discussion is the key to get a way out. Being a true lover of freedom and liberty they left no stone, unturned to teach their followers that Indians should overthrow the foreign rule and for that personal conviction, and integrity is essential. Both of them were idealists and hardly believed in the god though Derozio never, called himself atheist. David Hare, the founder of Hindu college could easily facilitate the required environment, for the Derozio to instill among his students the power of reason and logic so that they understand the, meaning of education and the vices of foreign rule., (c) Comment on the education of Derozio. Did Drummond have any influence on him? Justify your, answer., Ans: Derozio began his education at age 6, and went to the school at Dhurmatollah, which was headed by, David Drummond, a Scottish man respected for his candour and keen interest in modes of thought, rather, than petty considerations for grammar. Drummond, influenced tremendously by the likes of David Hume,, taught the children at his school freedom of thought and skeptical inquiry. When one considers Derozio's later, career as a teacher himself, it becomes very apparent where his style of teaching came from. Drummond,, sensing in Derozio a keen promise, nurtured his intellect as best he could, providing him with classics of, English literature and poetry, which Derozio took to most fervently. Though proficient enough in mathematics,, Derozio's true love was English poetry. This formed the basis for his most famous poem, The Fakeer of, Jungheera., (d) What kind of influence did Derozio have on his pupils i.e., the Young Bengal group?, Ans: Derozio is known for the brilliance of his teaching as well as his unorthodox teaching methods. He, made his students read a wide variety of texts, from Homer's Iliad to Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man., Through an Academic Association which he set up, Derozio encouraged free discussion and debate on, ideas? Such discussions, notably critical of established religions, continued long after college hours. Somewhere, along the line, students picked up from their mentor the habit of eating what were for them forbidden foods, such as pork and beef, and drinking beer. Hindu College students adopted two precepts, derived from Derozio., The first was: 'He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot reason is a fool, and he who does not reason, is a slave.' The second: 'Cast off your prejudices, and be free in your thought and actions. Break down, everything old and rear in its stead what is new.', 130, , Dharmendra Kumar

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(e) 'He has been the cause and the sole cause of the spirit of enquiry after truth.' Explain the, significance of the statement by Radhanath Sikdar., Ans: The statement made by RadhaNath Sikdar implies the fact that it was Derozio who introduced the, 'Advancement of Learning' in his new way of teaching in India. Thus, 'he at once drew to himself like a, magnet a group of young pupils in the upper classes who began to adore him and drink deep in the stream of, free thought'. These followers of Derozio are known as 'Young Bengal', later 'Derozians'. Derozio encouraged, them to debate freely and to doubt everything. He asked them not to accept anything without questioning that, subject. Derozio was a competent scholar, gifted writer and radical thinker. Derozio developed the zeal of, free thought among his pupils. This legacy of freedom of thought and expression is the soul of Renaissance, which was carried over by his followers and later reformers like Raja ram Mohan Roy and others., , Precis (75 marks), Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Do not give a title to it. The, precis should be written in your own language. 75, India is essentially a land of knowledge and it must rediscover itself in this aspect. Once this rediscovery is, done, it will not require much struggle to achieve the quality of life, strength and sovereignty of a developed, nation., Knowledge has many forms and it is available at many places. It is acquired through education, information,, intelligence and experience. It is available in academic institutions, with teachers, in libraries, in research, papers, seminar proceedings and in various organizations and workplaces with workers, managers, in drawings,, in process sheets and on the shop floors. Knowledge, though closely linked to education, comes equally from, learning skills such as those possessed by our artists, craftsmen, hakims, vaidyas, philosophers and saints, as, also our housewives. Knowledge plays a very important role in their performance and output too. Our, heritage and history, the rituals, epics and traditions that from part of our consciousness are also vast resources, of knowledge as are our libraries and universities. There is an abundance of unorthodox, earthy wisdom in, our villages. There are hidden treasures of knowledge in our environment, in the oceans, bio reserves and, deserts, in the plant and animal life. Every state in our country has a unique core competence for a knowledge, society., Knowledge has always been the prime mover of prosperity and power. The acquisition of knowledge has, therefore been the thrust area throughout the world. Additionally, in India, there has been a culture of sharing, it, not only through the traditions of guru­shishya but also by its spread to neighbouring countries through, travellers who came to Nalanda and other universities drawn by their reputation as centres of learning. India, is endowed with natural and competitive advantages as also certain distinctive competencies, But these are, scattered in isolated pockets and the awareness of these is inadequate. During the last century the world has, changed from being an agricultural society, in which manual labor was the critical factor, to an industrial, society where the management of technology, capital and labor provide the competitive advantage. In the, twenty­first century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the primary production resource instead, of capital and labour. Efficient utilization of this existing knowledge base can create wealth for us in the form, of better health, education and other indicators of progress. The ability to create and maintain the knowledge, infrastructure, to enhance skills and increase productivity through the exploitation of advances in various, fields will be the key factors in deciding the prosperity of this society., The knowledge society has two very important components driven by societal transformation and wealth, generation. The societal transformation is in respect of education, heal there, agriculture and governance., These will lead to employment generation, high productivity and rural prosperity., The task of wealth generation for the nation has to be woven around national competencies. The TIFAC task, team has identified core areas that will spearhead our march towards becoming a knowledge society. The, areas are: information technology, biotechnology, space technology, weather forecasting disaster management,, telemedicine and tele­education, technologies utilizing traditional knowledge, service sector and infotainment, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 131

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which is the emerging area resulting from convergence of information and entertainment. These core, technologies, fortunately can be interwoven by IT, a sector that took off only due to the enterprising spirit of, the young., Thus there are multiple technologies and appropriate management structures that have to work together to, generate a knowledge society. With India carving a niche for itself in information technology, the country is, uniquely placed to fully capitalize on the opportunity to quickly transform itself into a knowledge society., The Planning Commission has taken a lead in generating a road map for transforming India into a knowledge, society., Evolving suitable policy and administrative procedures, changes in regulatory methods, identification of partners, and most important, creation of young and dynamic leaders are the components that have to be put in place., In order to generate wealth, which is the second component for establishing a knowledge society, it is essential, that simultaneously a citizen­centric approach to shaping of business policy, user­driven technology generation, and intensified industry­lab­academia linkages have also to be established., A knowledge society has a two­dimensional objective of societal transformation and wealth generation, and, a third dimension emerges if India is to transform itself into a knowledge superpower. This is knowledge, protection and it entails a tremendous responsibility. It is very important that our communication network and, information generators are protected from electronic attacks through surveillance and monitoring. There, should be a focused approach to intellectual property rights and related issues, and our ancient knowledge, and culture too are part of our resource base and need to be protected as such. (776 words), Ans: India has been the land of knowledge. Here knowledge is defined as information and understanding, about a subject which a person has or which all people have. Knowledge can be found in books, information, systems, data systems, organizations, in the new media, in social activities, in cognitive structures, in all kind, of products and in social systems. Every day we combine, generate, protect, create, transfer, codify and save, knowledge. Knowledge based society is a society whose processes and practices are based on the production,, distribution, and use of knowledge. The formation of a knowledge­based society is a global process, and, elements of a knowledge­based society develop in a country regardless of its capabilities and resources., India is not an exception to it. Knowledge has become a vital commodity to countries, businesses and individuals, in the 21st century ­ age of the knowledge based society., When a society becomes knowledge­based, it faces challenges on a variety of levels. How and why knowledge, is produced and shared, where it is produced, how knowledge spillovers affect new knowledge creation and, parameters of use, changes in strategic decision making in knowledge­based environments and how public, policy of planning commission can and should adapt all are crucial issues. The challenges for society are, formidable and will require substantial information, knowledge, wisdom, and above all collaboration between, the scientific community, policy makers and the public. The enthusiasm of our policy makers is promoting, efforts to create new knowledge societies., Tangible evidence suggests that knowledge and information are capable of helping nation to achieve, developmental goals. To capitalize on the knowledge revolution to improve their competitiveness and welfare,, developing countries need to build on their strengths and carefully plan appropriate investments in human, capital, effective institutions, and enterprises. In a new knowledge­based society, all citizens must have, access to an inexpensive, world­class communications infrastructure and a wide range of services. Every, citizen must be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in this new information society. (245), , 132, , Dharmendra Kumar

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Civil Services Mains Examination 2017, Instructions:, 1., , Please read each of the following instructions carefully before attempting questions :, , 2., , All questions are to be attempted., , 3., , The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it. Answers must be written in ENGLISH, only., , 4., , Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to., , 5., , Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question­cum­Answer Booklet must be clearly struck, off, , Grammar, (a) Rewrite the following sentences after making necessary corrections. Do not make unnecessary, changes in the original sentence : (1×10=10), (i), , The older the wine, better it tastes., Ans: The older the wine the better it tastes., , (ii), , You cannot cross the bridge until you do not come to it., Ans: You cannot cross the bridge until you come to it., , (iii), , He asked me what was my profession., Ans: He asked me what my profession was., , (iv), , Give me a pencil to write., Ans: Give me a pencil to write., , (v), , Netaji is one of the bravest patriot of the country., Ans: Netaji is one of the bravest patriots of the country., , (vi), , I met an one­eyed beggar in the street., Ans: I met a one­eyed beggar in the street., , (vii), , The traders dealing with garments are jittery about the impact of GST., Ans: The garment traders dealing with GST are jittery about its impact., , (viii), , His efficiency soon made him the boss's blue­eyes boy., Ans: His efficiency soon made him the boss's blue eyed boy., , (ix), , She does not know cooking, doesn't she?, Ans: She does not know cooking, does she?, , (x), , No sooner the bell rang than the children rushed out of their classrooms., Ans: No sooner did the bell ring than the children rushed out of their classrooms., , (b), , Supply the missing words :, , (1×5=5), , (i), , The quarrel was unnecessary as they were making a...........out of a molehill., Ans: Mountain, , (ii), , Let us ring...........the New Year with gaiety., Ans: In, , (iii), , The custom of SATI was done away...........during the British period., Ans: With, , (iv), , One should not always blow one's own............, Ans: Horn, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 133

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(v), , I cried myself...........to make him hear., Ans: Out, , (c), , Use the correct forms of the verbs in brackets: (1×5 = 5), , (i), , Bread and butter...........his usual breakfast, (be), Ans: is, , (ii), , Some of the protestors were...........by bullets, (hit), Ans: Hit, , (iii), , When I came out of the building I saw that it............ (rain), Ans: Was raining, , (iv), , Floods...........if it continues to rain, (occur), Ans: Will occur, , (v), , I...........for you since 10 o'clock, (wait), Ans: Have been waiting, , (d), , Write the antonyms of the following: (1×5 = 5), , (i), , Amateur, Ans: Expert, , (ii), , Heavenly, Ans: Terrestrial, , (iii), , Perfect, Ans: Imperfect, , (iv), , Variable, Ans: Constant, , (v), , Vertical, Ans: Horizontal, , (a) Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without changing the meaning: (1×10=10), (i), , The truth of the matter is too obvious to require any proof. (Remove 'too'), Ans: The truth of the matter is so obvious that it does not require any proof., , (ii), , Radhika says, "I have pain in my knee." (Change into indirect speech), Ans: Radhika said that she had pain in her leg., , (iii), , He is not hungry. He is not thirsty. (Combine the sentences using neither... nor), Ans: He is neither hungry nor thirsty, , (iv), , Give him a glass of water. (Change into passive voice), Ans: He should be given a glass of water., , (v), , The prisoner was set free by the court. (Change into active voice), Ans: The court set the prisoner free., , (vi), , He was ill. He came to school. (Rewrite as one sentence beginning with 'despite'), Ans: Despite illness he came to school., , (vii), , When the sun rises, the birds leave their nests. (Change into a compound sentence), Ans: As soon as the sun rises the birds leave their nests., , (viii), , Those who come late shall be punished. (Change into simple sentence), Ans: Late comer shall be punished., , (ix), , Both his parents died in a train accident, ? (Add a question tag), Ans: Both his parents died in a train accident, did they?, , 134, , Dharmendra Kumar

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(x), , Gold is the costliest metal. (Use comparative degree), Ans: No other metal is costlier than the gold., , (b) Use the following words to make sentences that bring out their meaning clearly. Do not change, the form of the words (No marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences): (1×5=5), (i), , Evidence, Ans: There is no evidence in support of the claim made by the four senior judges of the supreme, court that the chief justice of India works arbitrarily., , (ii), , Condemnation, Ans: There was strong international condemnation of the terrorist attack., , (iii), , Constitute, Ans: The government is planning to constitute a committee to monitor the swachha Bharat Mission., , (iv), , Territorial, Ans: Territorial dispute has become a common phenomena in India particularly among contiguous states., , (v), , Unseemly, Ans: Every face bore almost the same smile, expressing unseemly thoughts about the women., , (c), , Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blanks : (1x5=5), , (i), , He ran like a.............through the forest. (doe / dough), Ans: (i) Doe, , (ii), , The teacher encouraged the students to understand things and not learn by.......(wrote /rote), Ans: (ii) Rote, , (iii), , Indians were determined to throw away the.............of foreign rule. (yolk / yoke), Ans: (iii) Yoke, , (iv), , After his morning prayers, the priest remained.............for the rest the day. (idle / idol), Ans: (iv) Idle, , (v), , The hunter killed the bird sitting on the............. (bow / bough), Ans: (v) Bough, , (d) Use the following idioms / phrases in sentences of your own to bring out their meaning clearly., Do change the form of the words : (1x5=5), (i), , Wild goose chase, Ans: Physicists searching for the hypothetical particle may be on a wild goose chase., , (ii), , Crocodile tears, Ans: (ii) They weep crocodile tears for the poor and disadvantaged, but are basically happy with, things as they are., , (iii), , Sea change, Ans: (iii) There is a sea change visible in India after the new economic reforms., , (iv), , Fool's paradise, Ans: (iv) Lalu Prasad yadav is living in fool's paradise that will get bail but actually he would never, get that., , (v), , On cloud nine, Ans: (v) After getting married with bollywod actress Anushka, Virat Kohli is on cloud nine., , Essay (100 marks), 1. (a) Recent Economic Reforms in India, Ans: With so many events happening throughout the year, Indian economy has seen some major ups and, downs. From the demonetisation shock to the landmark GST passage, recent economic reforms are significant, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 135

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and are of far reaching importance. In the most surprising and unspeculated move of 2016, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on November 8 announced the decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes in a bid, to crack down on black money.The government issued new Rs 500 and introduced Rs 2,000 note as, replacement., In the following weeks RBI introduced several rules in relation to withdrawal limit, deposits and exchange., Countless black money was retrieved, raids were conducted and even national banks were scrutinised., It has been the boldest reform and the government claims that it definitely will bring long­term benefits at the, cost of short­term setbacks., Again in a unanimous decision on August 4, 2016, the Rajya Sabha approved the crucial 122nd Constitutional, amendment to turn the Goods and Services Tax Bill into a law. The bill got 203 votes in favour and none, against after years of debate and deliberation. This marked the biggest tax reform in Indian history since, Independence as it brought all indirect taxes under one uniform tax system., Following its passage, the Centre set up a GST Council that focused on other aspects of the tax such as, exemptions, threshold compounding and control. On November 4, the GST Council finally agreed on a multi­, layered rate structure as 0 per cent, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent, a departure from, popular international practice of having one rate of tax for all goods and services., The departure of the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan created a buzz in the media with BJP member Subramanian, Swamy's tweets only adding to the stir. In a series of twitter mentions and comments, Swamy said Rajan was, "mentally not fully Indian" for his decisions as RBI Governor and that he raised interest rates making it hard, for small and medium industries to take loans., Meanwhile, Raghuram Rajan's Chicago University colleague and co­author, Luigi Zingales said that the, Reserve Bank of India Governor was being attacked for "fighting the inefficiency of the banking system" and, for taking on the crony capitalists in the country., In a first, the Government set up a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), a 6­member panel, to raise transparency, in rate­setting decisions of the Central bank by featuring 3 members from the RBI (including the Governor), and three members selected by the Government., The government's decision to create the MPC was taken because the RBI had to consider multiple factors, such as inflation, growth, employment, banking stability and exchange rate stability to make a rate decision., Moreover, the RBI had to juggle the Government's demand for lower rates and consumer's agitation over, high inflation and ended up focusing on different issues at different points of time.Therefore, the MPC seeks, to achieve monetary policies taking into account fiscal indicators as well., Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had taken a tough approach to clean up the bad loans that have, plagued the Indian banking sector saying that the Central bank should've carried out this task earlier., In October, the newly appointed RBI chief Urjit Patel said the RBI would be firm but pragmatic in dealing, with bank Non Performing Assets (NPAs) so that the economy does not face lack of credit to support, growth. And thus, the deadline to clean up the banks' balance sheet is March 2017., In June 2016, the Centre introduced the new civil aviation policy, a first integrated policy for the aviation, sector since Independence. The policy included subsidised airfares, capping excess baggage and cancellation, charges and promoting regional connectivity., In October, the Government launched its UDAN scheme, acronym for Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik, that will, make flying affordable for common man. Indian Railways have already conducted trial runs of the super­fast, Talgo train to save on travel time and solar­powered coaches under its go green initiative are just to name a few., On November 24, the Indian rupee fell to a fresh life­time low of 68.86 against the dollar over sustained, foreign capital outflows., With expectations of protectionist policies by President­elect Donald Trump, US bond yields began rising that, fuelled a rally in the US greenback. This had urged investors to withdraw from emerging markets like India, towards the US dollar., 136, , Dharmendra Kumar

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The government also decided that Union Budget will be presented on the first working day of February next, year in a departure from the colonial practice of being presented on the last working day of February., Additionally, the Government will not present a separate railway budget but will in fact include it in the main, budget, ending a 92­year­old British­era practice., In February 2016, India overtook China as the fastest growing major economy in the world amid a failing, global economy. In May, India's GDP grew 7.5 per cent year­on­year between January and March, faster, than.the previous quarter's 7.3 per cent., In June, India's GDP grew further to 7.6 per cent, retaining the fastest growing economy title. In the following, months even as India's GDP dipped to 7.1 per cent it still managed to stay ahead of China's 6.7 per cent, growth., (b) Threats to Environment, Ans: It's a prime opportunity to take a closer look at the serious environmental issues we're facing and the, solutions that need to be put in place to alleviate them. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's getting increasingly, difficult to ignore the damage we've done to the environment, especially when the effects have been hitting, so close to home., Climate change, Extreme weather, Deforestation, FSC Certified Wood, Pollution, Great Pacific Garbage, Patch, recycling, Biodiversity, oceanic dead zones, bee population, rising sea levels, overpopulation,, environmental destruction are some of the major environmental challenges. Climate change is first and, foremost an issue because people can't even agree on whether or not it's an issue in the first place. Before, we even get into the solutions, we all (regardless of political party) need to come to the realization that yes,, climate change is real and yes, it is affecting us in ways that we can see and feel. If we still believe that the, freakish weather and heat waves we've been experiencing have nothing to do with climate change, you, might want to ask your neighbor what he or she thinks because the majority of Americans say they believe, global warming is causing these incidents., It has been noticed that the weather's been hotter than usual, or everyone might have noticed a drought in, your area or conversely, unusual storms. Furthermore, even small temperature changes are causing crops to, die, decreasing the amount of food available. On top of all that, higher temps are causing the polar icecaps to, melt, flooding certain areas and leading to an imbalance for wildlife. So we know the threat is real, but what, can we do to prevent climate change from being exacerbated even more?, We mentioned planting more forests above, and sadly at a time when we need more forests, trees are being, uprooted at an alarming rate. Deforestation is a rapidly­growing problem in areas like Africa, Central and, South America. Not only does this mean less trees, less cleansing oxygen, and the displacement of the, wildlife, deforestation means a dangerous decrease in a natural fighter of global warming ­ the #1 threat to, our Earth right now. Removing trees also leads to much drier climates, as trees extract groundwater to, release into the air., Pollution comes in many forms and no matter where we live, we have seen some form of it. From litter on, streets to the smog that lingers over LA to the plastic trash that floats in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the, visible signs of pollution are more than evident. The main reason for why pollution has gotten so out of control, is that our desire for more "stuff" has led to our old stuff being thrown away at an alarming and unnecessary, rate. For more information on this, watch Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff. This need for manufactured items, also leads to the air and water pollution emitted from factories, which in many countries are highly unregulated., Looking at the bigger picture, government oversight and sloppy industrial practices on the part of big companies, has also exacerbated our pollution problem., Each species has a role in our planet, and when one dies out, it can have catastrophic effects on the rest of, us. We don't want to get all "Butterfly Effect" on us but even a population dwindling can cause major, problems for the human race. For example, with their role of pollination, the decline of the bee population has, a direct effect on both the environment and food production. Currently, many other animals are in danger of, becoming extinct, either from being forced out of their habitats by man or by climate change., , Dharmendra Kumar, , 137

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Climate change also contributes to another dangerous problem ­ melting polar ice­caps, which in turn causes, rising sea levels. According to the NRCD, average temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast, they are elsewhere and the ice is melting and rupturing. NASA satellite images reveal that the area of our, permanent ice cover is shrinking at a rate of 9% every decade. At that rate, the Arctic could be totally ice­, free in the summer season within decades., Along the coasts of heavily populated communities, scientists have found more and more dead zones ­ areas, where depleted oxygen levels cannot support marine life. 146 dead zones were found in the world's oceans,, caused by high levels of chemicals in the waters. North America's Gulf Coast has a high concentration of, dead zones, which causes fish to become unable to reproduce., It's usually true that the more the merrier, but not when the human population is growing to a point that our, society and systems can't handle. Last year, the world population hit a whopping 7 billion, and while we, welcome the newcomers with open arms, we also want to make sure that we don't continue to put a strain on, our water, food, well­being, space and sanity., (c) Social Media-Uses and Abuses, Ans: We can access information in better way. People who have a childhood and pubescent life minus the, internet are faced with the difficulty of getting access to vital information and knowledge they need for, education. With the birth of the internet, every single bit of information or knowledge a child or teen needs to, learn is compiled in a very large library called the World Wide Web. With social networking, research is a, thousand times easier and getting the information you want may be done in minutes. Social networking, provides interactive involvement with other peoples. Long ago, most children and teens were limited to, joining community, neighborhood, and school groups. They were not that exposed to events and happenings, outside their community. But with social networking and the internet in general, correspondence to virtually, anyone from anywhere is possible Interactive involvement even reaches as far putting children and teens, under the spotlight for discussing and participating in online and social networking forums for issues that, concern them., It helps in improving the world awareness. It is quite usual to think that children and teens are not that keen, to knowing issues that shape the world. Politics, social problems, population, health, and the economy are, things that the younger populace lacks interest in. But because of social networking, they have no choice but, to face the world's problems and share their opinions. The good thing about this is that their voices are given, weight in issues where adults are traditionally the prominent protagonists. With all this positive effects social, networking also lead to the hazards and adverse effects of it and are as follows. Even though social networking, sites keep people connected and have many other great uses, there are also some disadvantages and ways, these sites can be misused. However, social networking sites have become an established part of everyday, life for many people, and they aren't going away anytime soon. Therefore, it's very important to acknowledge, the problems that have accompanied this huge increase in popularity. Below is a list of several misuses and, disadvantages that can be associated with blogs, chat rooms, virtual worlds, and specific social networking, sites like Facebook., One basic problem that can come with the use of social networking sites is the loss of individual privacy. This, is because all social networking sites involve placing personal information on the internet, and it's possible for, people in almost all corners of the world to see that information. There are privacy settings for these sites, but, many young people can be careless about this. In addition, information placed on the internet creates a, "digital footprint" that can't be erased as easily as words simply written on a piece of paper. Many young, people don't make good choices about what to include on their profiles., A very serious problem which is related to loss of privacy is sexual predation on social networking sites., Because they don't always think before they post, students sometimes upload scandalous pictures of themselves, onto their profiles., A cyberbully is someone who abuses another person through the internet or other technology. Social networking, sites are often breeding grounds for such abuse. This is because it's so quick and easy to post a mean, 138, , Dharmendra Kumar

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comment, send an intimidating message, start a nasty rumor, or upload embarrassing photos. Students don't, think twice about their actions because the time between planning a prank and actually going through with it, is greatly decreased on a social networking site., Another problem with social networking sites is that they can be very addicting and take up a lot of students', time. That time could be used for more productive activities. Homework aside, students could be doing many, other productive activities like reading or being more physically active. Instead, they are sitting in front of, computer screens to look at social networking sites ­ for around an hour on average every day., It seems to be contradictory that people would lose social skills because of social networking sites. However,, some people perceive this as another disadvantage. Many of today's students feel more comfortable chatting, with a person online than talking in a verbal conversation. Also, almost anything you can do in real life can be, done online in virtual realities like Second Life. There have even been many virtual marriages within this, community. Sometimes people start to prefer their fake online lives to their actual lives, and this is when, social networking sites start to negatively affect social skills. Some argue that there is even a mental disease, that should officially be labeled "Internet Addiction Disorder.", (d) Caring for the Aged, Ans: Elderly is a reference to old people who have crossed middle age. This is a reference to the characteristic, of old age as an adjective. The old age is an integral part of human life. It is the evening of life. It is, unavoidable, unwelcomed and problem ridden phase of life. It is interesting that everyone wants to live a long, life but not to be old. It is ironical that however undesirable it is old age has to come. We are all compelled to, face the pain and pleasures of life. Old age complete the life pattern. It has its own pleasures though different, from the pleasures of youth., A good deed is never lost. He who sows courtesy reaps friendship and he who plants kindness gathers love., Life is often about being taken care of. The lessons are often about nurturing, care and compassion. Many, people do not want to take care of the elderly especially when they are ill as they generally have lots of, emotional and physical problems required a lot of care. Giving the best possible care and understanding their, changing needs should be the goal of caring for the elderly. Of course, it is not easy to take care but it is, definitely hard to let someone we love slip away. Most people take care of the elderly, maybe knowing that, they have to or that there just is no one else to do it. Caring for the elderly requires a lot of patient, empathy, and understanding. It is kindness that makes us take care of the elderly. We learn a lot from taking care and, spending time with them. We gain experience as older people have a wealth of experience. We gain wisdom, and knowledge as they have a lot more than any of us. Their experience that life takes them through yields, a lot of wisdom. We experience gratitude. It brings a smile on our face and most likely on theirs as well. We, get to learn about morals, principles and value that we can develop on as we live on. We learn as they teach, how to love, to care, to give, to forgive, to accept, to support and face life. We get an insight into a set of rules, and regulation which we can outline for ourselves as we live., Caregiving often leads us into a world of love we possibly didn't know. We all need love no matter how old we, are, who we've become, who we are with, what we do. Taking care of the elderly gives us an insight to, unconditional love and help us love them in the same manner. It shows us that this kind of love does not exist, anywhere else. It help us develop more compassion, empathy, courtesy and helps us build stronger and a, more meaningful relationship and friendship., The additional time that we care gives us a wonderful opportunity to create laughter and conversation with, the elderly people who are lonely. We learn that elderly people can be grouchy because of worries and, unwanted tension. Talking to the elderly gives them peace of mind and sense of security. It helps them by, taking away their despair, depression, loneliness and so on. We can never understand how much it means to, them to have someone by their side and care for them, however their eyes speaks of gratitude, love and, happiness and it lifts their spirit., Care giving or taking care of the elderly improves our self­knowledge and our identity. It develops potential, and renews our self­esteem. It rewards us in ways we cannot see however providing the basis for our self­, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 139

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development. It also enhances our quality of being humane as humanity also plays a crucial role in taking care, of the elderly. Most people do as it is the right thing to do. Caring should not only be due to humanity however, it should come from our heart. After all, we are all bound to complete the cycle of life and face the old age,, we'd all want someone to care for us., , Comprehension, 2. Read carefully the passage given below and write your answers to the questions that follow in, clear, correct and concise language:, (15×5=75 Marks), Man, since antiquity, has been an inveterate traveller. Only the motivations for travel have changed. In, ancient times, the main motivations for travel were trade, pilgrimage and conquest. It is not often realised, how extensive were the contacts among the people several thousand years ago. For instance, there was, considerable interchange of ideas and knowledge between India and West Asia and the Graeco­Roman, civilization., Travel became the means of acquiring culture in Europe. The tradition of the Grand Tour which started in the, 17th century was more firmly established in the 18th and the 19th centuries by the emergence of an affluent, mercantile' class. After the Second World War, Europe lay in ruins. The Marshall plan which was introduced, by the United States for the revival of the economies of Europe countries made tourism as one of its planks., It provided large amount of money for the reconstruction of hotels and tourism infrastructure of Western, Europe. What was more significant was that for the first time tourism was viewed as an engine for economic, development. This made the Governments start assuming responsibility for the promotion of tourism., Three technological inventions have fuelled the growth of travel on a large scale in successive periods. First,, steam engine which made travel by rail and steamship possible before 1914; then the internal combustion, engine which popularized travel by automobile in the inter­War years and lastly, the jet propulsion engine, which has led to the international tourist explosion of the post­War era., The Government of India also took note of the new phenomenon of tourism and its economic implications. In, 1947, the private sector consisted of a number of hotels and travel agencies in the cities mainly owned and, operated by foreign interests. As it happened in other industries after Independence, the control of many of, these hotels passed into the hands of Indian entrepreneurs. At the same time, a number of new indigenously, owned and operated travel agencies and hotels started being set up. In the last 50 years, the Indian travel, industry has shown remarkable enterprise. Some of the leading Indian hotel groups and travel agencies have, branched out overseas and their performance is highly regarded in the international tourism, markets., The tourism revolution which started in full measure 50 years ago has not run its course. There are several, reasons for taking a long­term optimistic view of tourism. First, the increase in leisure time in industrialised, societies; paid holiday which were introduced as a social welfare measure have now become an accepted, feature not only in industrialised countries but also in many developing countries. The length of paid holidays, has increased. The working week, both in public and private sectors, has come down to 40 hours, spread over, 5 days. Evidently Governments will have to concern themselves with the quality of use of leisure. Tourism, has become a preeminent form of recreation for the younger people. This is reflected in the increase in travel, in the age group of 18 to 25 years. Second, the rise in literacy and educational standards. Third, better health, care has made it possible for retired persons, above 60 years, to undertake travel for pleasure. Fourth, the, increase in discretionary incomes in real terms in the last twenty years, partly due to two income families with, fewer children. Tourism is highly susceptible to income elasticity. Many research studies have established, that increase in income level in real terms results in increase in propensity for travel. And lastly, taking a, vacation, generally twice a years, has become a way of life in modern societies., 2. (a) What, according to the author, were the main motivations for travel in ancient times?, Ans: Initially humans travelled for conquest, pilgrimage and trade. Nomadic tribes needed vast areas of land, to support even a small group of people. A single tribe would have needed hundreds of square miles to, 140, , Dharmendra Kumar

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support them through the year and humans were as territorial in prehistory as they are now. Tribes poaching, neighbours hunting grounds could expect a violent response. If the population increased (and it did) and new, tribes were formed, they would need to roam to find new lands able to support them, meaning that every, generation saw humans covering the planet in an expanding bubble as they looked for new sources of food, and resources to make tools. So trade developed between distant places. And religious curiosity also compelled, them to go here and there., (b) What was the state of tourism in Europe and the United States?, Ans: The state of tourism was better in Britain before the Second World War and in America. But Second, World War ruined Europe and obviously Britain was its major victim. Just to support Britain and other, European countries America unveiled Marshall Plan and it kick started the economy of Europe. For the, revival of the economy tourism now became inevitable for Britain., Therefore Government of Britain started promoting tourism and it wanted to develop economic infrastructure, to develop and support economy. But more than that three things brought a revolution in the area of tourism., These included Jet propulsion engine, Steam engine and internal combustion engine which made it possible, for America and Britain to indulge in several activities concerning tourism., (c) What part did technology play in the growth of tourism?, Ans: (Technology played a major role in promoting tourism. It proved to be shot in the arm for tourism. First, breakthrough was the invention of steam engine. It made it possible to travel by ship and train. Secondly, the, invention of internal combustion engine now made it possible to move by automobile. Thirdly the coming up, of jet engine literally revolutionized the tourism as people could fly and travel by air., (d) How does the author describe the state of tourism in the post-Independence India?, Ans: Tourism became a prominent feature in post independence India. Earlier many hotels and travel agencies, were set up in India owned by private sector but motivated by foreign interests. Later tourism attracted other, industries also. Indigenous travel agencies were set up by Indian entrepreneurs. Moreover branches of these, agencies were opened abroad also. Thus in the last 50 years tourism industry in India have flourished like, anything. In fact india has become the destination of tourism world over and it has proved to be a remarkable, achievement for India., (e) Why does the author think that there is a bright future for tourism in modern societies?, Ans: The author is very optimistic about the future of tourism in modern society. There are several valid, reasons for this hope. First, people have much leisure time. Secondly the concept of paid holidays is becoming, popular not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Length of paid holidays is being, increased day by day. Moreover the working week is now not tiresome and it has come down to 40. Among, younger lot travel and tourism has become almost a craze and literacy and education has an added advantage as, it has also spurred the tourism activities particularly among youths. The popularity of nuclear family, rising income, and the concept of recreation are some the other factors that silver linings for the future growth of tourism., , Precis (75 marks), 3., Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length. Do not give a title, to it. The precis should be written in your own language : (75 Marks), The work of a lawyer or a politician must contain in a more delectable form a great deal of the same pleasure, that is to be derived from playing bridge. Here, of course, there is not only the exercise of skill but the, outwitting of a skilled opponent. Even where this competitive element is absent, however, the performance of, difficult feats is agreeable. A man who can do stunts in an aeroplane finds the pleasure so great that for the, sake of it he is willing to risk his life. I imagine that an able surgeon, in spite of the painful circumstances in, which his work is done, derives satisfaction from the exquisite precision of his operations. All skilled work, can be pleasurable, provided the skill required is either variable or capable of indefinite improvement. If these, condition are absent, it will cease to be interesting when a man has acquired his maximum skill. A man who, runs three­mile races will cease to find pleasure in this occupation when he passes the age at which he can, , Dharmendra Kumar, , 141

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beat his own previous record. Fortunately there is a very considerable amount of work in which new, circumstances call for new skill and a man can go in improving, at any rate until he has reached middle age., In some kinds of skilled work, such as politics, for example, it seems that men are at their best between sixty, and seventy, the reason being that in such occupations a wide experience of other men is essential. For this, reason, successful politicians are apt to be happier at the age of seventy than any other men of equal age., Their only competitors in this respect are the men who are the heads of big businesses., There is, however, another element possessed by the best work, which is even more important as a source of, happiness than is the exercise of skill. This is the element of constructiveness. In some work, though by no, means in most, something is built up which remains as a monument when the work is completed. We may, distinguish, construction from destruction by the following criterion. In construction, the initial stage of affairs, is comparatively haphazard, while the final state of affairs embodies a purpose; in destruction, the reverse is, the case: the initial state of affairs embodies a purpose, while the final stat of affairs is haphazard, that is to, say, all that is intended by the destroyer is to produce a state of affairs which does not embody a certain, purpose. Destruction, is of course necessary very often as a preliminary to subsequent construction; in that, case it is part of a whole which is constructive. But not infrequently a man will engage in activities of which, the purpose is destructive without regard to any construction that may come after. Frequently he will conceal, this from himself by the belief that he is only sweeping away in order to build afresh, but is generally possible, to unmask this pretence, when it is pretence, by asking him what the subsequent construction is to be. On this, subject it will be found that he will speak vaguely and without enthusiasm, whereas on the preliminary, destruction he has spoken precisely and with zest. This applies to not a few revolutionaries and militarists and, other apostles of violence., They are actuated, usually without their own knowledge, by hatred; the destruction of what they hate is their, real purpose, and they are comparatively indifferent to the question of what is to come after it. Now I cannot, deny that in the work of destruction as in the work of construction there may be joy. It is a fiercer joy, perhaps, at moments more intense, but it is less profoundly satisfying, since the result is one which little satisfaction is, to be found. You kill your enemy, and when he us dead your occupation is gone, and the satisfaction that you, derive from victory quickly fades. The work of construction, on the other hand, when completed, is delightful, to contemplate, and moreover is never so fully completed that there is nothing further to do about is. The most, satisfactory purposes are those that lead on indefinitely from one success to another without ever coming to, a dead end; and in this respect it will be found that construction is a greater source of happiness than, destruction., (735 words), Ans: This is a very common pattern that most of us have ­ we try to find happiness in people and things, around us, instead of finding it within. And of course, the pleasure we get from these things is not constant,, only temporary, and so our happiness goes up and down depending on whether these things are giving us, pleasure right now or not. Again, there's nothing wrong with working, nor is there anything wrong with doing, work we enjoy or even love. We do it, and we get satisfaction from it. But we should pay attention to what, happens when we are not working ­ is there a feeling of withdrawal, do we crave going back to it, is it the, place where we are seeking happiness? If so, then we will only be happy when we are working, and unhappy, when we are not working., To find out where else we can go for happiness, we have to look at what might be more constant ­ external, sources of happiness aren't constant, and will be available some times and not available other times., So what's more constant? And they are awesome. We should learn how to find the power of their awesomeness, in every moment, and how this one skill will change everything. Moreover positive thought and constructive, approach always give us happiness and satisfaction. It hardly matters what exactly we do. We may get more, satisfaction in construction work than we get in white collar jobs., , 142, , Dharmendra Kumar