TEMPORARY TURBULENCE OR A TUMOROUS TRANSITION?

It is more than mere coincidence that all parts of the world are witnessing some sort of regressive events. Characteristics of mid 20th century era have recently manifested themselves in a series of incidents today.

• A racial and anti-foreigner sentiment has encompassed a majority of the Great Britain, resulting in the much dreaded Brexit. 
• Developed economies of Spain and Portugal fail to abide by the norms of the EU. 
• Increasing intolerance even in a 21st century-super power like the USA is evident from the horrendous and unfortunate events at Orlando and Dallas, among many others. No wonder why a significant section of people are in support of an irrational Trump, who practically advocates such sentiment. 
• Ethnic disputes are on the rise once again in many parts of Africa, especially in South Sudan. 
• A dominating and brazen China comes out openly in defiance to the ruling of the Arbitration Court in the Hague, endangering regional unity of South-East Asia.
• While the African nations struggle to stabilize democracy, a well established democracy, Turkey, faces a military coup. 
• Islamic fundamentalism is spreading like a tumour through terrorist outfits who are insanely butchering individuals, killing thousands of innocent masses, plundering cities, destroying heritage and ironically attacking people of their own community too! It is so difficult to fathom how a violent and fanatic group could target the people, following the very religion they seek to establish in the world, that too in their most revered and sacred month! The aims and objectives of these terrorist organisations remain unclear. 

It is not possible for so many events, similar in nature, to happen at the same time due to independent causes. Quite plausibly, there is a latent connection between all of them.

A very important factor here is the growing dependence on internet for both information and entertainment. It is frequently discussed but the impact is under estimated. Children and the youth have access to all kind of information at a very early age and they rely completely on internet for homework and projects. They have stopped having real human interaction and spend hours and hours indoors. Internet can offer only information, not wisdom to use that information fruitfully. A cumulative effect results into lesser usage of brain, inability to differentiate between right and wrong, lesser emotions and a tendency to get easily irritated. They are exposed to so many things at once that they lose interest in small pleasures of life. They then seek to do something new.

Also, a decisive role in human behaviour is played by the online content they are exposed to. Most people are into violent games or TV Series which are instrumental in developing a sadistic attitude in them. They seem to derive pleasure out of violence and killing. For them, killing is not taking lives of innocent people but is a mission in a game to be completed.

Another factor could be the wave of racial extremism. With the spread of globalization, people of many third world countries moved out to the western nations for jobs. Gradually they started eating up the jobs of the natives. This possibly generated a wave of anti-foreigner sentiment . Politicians like Trump and Boris Johnson, probably having no other major agenda to show off on the manifesto, started counting on this sentiment to satiate political interests. The unfortunate outcomes are for everyone to see.

Terrorism, discrimination and violence were prevalent a century back. It is dismaying to witness a reverse motion of development in spite of enhanced technology. When we should expect more tolerance, more harmony and more peace, we are pulling ourselves back into troubled times. Some say, with extremist groups going bankrupt now, we will soon witness some improvement in the situation. The hostile sentiment may not continue for long. But it is for time to tell whether this is just a passing phase or has Pandora's Box just opened?

स्वयं

यह मस्तिष्क भी कितना अद्भुत है,

ब्रह्मांड के अंश से मानवता के सफर का अभियंता है ।

पर कोसों दूर ग्रहों का आकार भांप लेने वाला,

शायद अब तक स्वयं को ही नहीं समझ पाया है।

जीवन को आसान बनाने के यंत्र सोच लिए,

पर खुद ही विचारों की उधेड़बुन में उलझ गया।

इस जटिल शरीर का चालक,

क्यों मन से सरल संबंध नहीं रख पाया?

कैसे समझता मन यह बात,

कि कामयाबी के लिए ज़रूरी, खुद को परखना है।

इसने तो ठोकरें खा कर ही,

सच्चाई को समझना सीखा है ।

विस्मय है इस विडंबना पर,

इस मन और दिमाग के अजीब से टकराव पर।

क्यों शीशे से साफ शब्द जु़बाँ पर नहीं आ पाते,

दुनिया में अर्थ खोजते- खोजते,

क्यों हम स्वयं को ही भूल जाते?

A SICKLY PLOUGH

Consumers are almost always hit by some or the other exorbitantly expensive crop. After onions and tomatoes, it is the turn of the pricey pulses. The successive governments do bring ambitious  programmes and policies to improve the dilapidating state of agriculture but they somehow fail to find their way from paper to soil.

With 58% of the population still engaged in the primary sector, India indeed continues to carry the legacy of an agrarian economy. The contribution of agriculture in the GDP in India is around 18% , which is three times the world average of 6.1%. Approximately 10% of the export value is from the agriculture sector alone. Agricultural production in India is second highest in the world and forms 7.6% of the total agricultural output in the world.

Despite there being such heavy dependence, the sector is in an abysmal state of affairs. Every year, 20 million tonnes of grain is lost to spoilage. This is about half of the total produce of Australia. There were as many as 5,650 farmer suicides in 2014, or an average of 15 suicides per day. China, with a landholding of almost half of that of India's, produced 600 million tonnes of agricultural output, against the 240 million tonnes of India in 2015.

The shortcomings in the agricultural sector are mainly due to:

1. SMALL LAND HOLDINGS: After a farmer's death, is sons inherit the land tract and divide it among themselves. Their progeny further inherits smaller pieces of land and so on. Ultimately, the size of land-holdings gets smaller and smaller. This creates a lot of problems in proper irrigation and a lot of fertile land is wasted in creating boundaries.

2. POOR QUALITY OF SEEDS, FERTILIZERS: Most of the farmers, excluding the ones in regions of the Punjab, Haryana and the like, do not have access to high-quality seeds and fertilizers. As a result, per hectare production is very low and the quality of yield is also not satisfactory. The crops are more vulnerable to pests and since they're not strong enough,they are also likely to be affected even before they mature. Due to lack of fertilizers and pesticides, productivity remains low as quality of soil is not good enough.

3. IMPROPER IRRIGATION: Hardly one-third of India's agricultural land is under irrigation. Till date, most farmers depend on rains for irrigation, which more often than not is erratic. Also, large tracts of Punjab and Haryana have been rendered useless because of excessive irrigation and water logging. Hence, it's essential to maintain just the appropriate amount of irrigation.

4. LACK OF ADEQUATE MECHANIZATION: In many parts of the country, farmers still have to depend on manual labor for ploughing, sowing, irrigation, harvesting, etc. The manual process is in no way as efficient as machines. The mechanization of agriculture is very important to not only reduce the back-breaking work but also to ensure a better produce. 

5. INEFFICIENT AGRICULTURAL MARKET- Due to lack of a transparent and direct connection between buyers and farmers, middlemen tend to eat up the money that should actually be given to farmers. Poorer and unaware farmers are the worst hit. As a result, a majority of farmers do not get the due amount hence no incentive to improve the quality of produce.

6. SCARCE CAPITAL: Barring a few well-off farmers, the farmers in India barely have the finances to increase production. Most of these in fact produce just enough for sustenance. They have no resources to increase land under cultivation or diversify their produce or even buy better quality equipment. Since remote rural areas still do not have access to banks, farmers in those regions have to rely on the local moneylender who uses their helplessness and illiteracy to his monetary advantage. Such moneylenders keep the farmers in debt through fraudulent means and the poor farmer's family is caught in a debt-trap.

In order to enhance the productivity in the sector, not only must the government pay attention to the mentioned problem areas but also make provisions for FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES near the agricultural lands.
Let's consider the example of a fruit crop, apple. Many times due to lack of storage or insufficient sale, many tonnes of apples are ruined and have to be thrown. If there were, say a juice factory or a jam producing factory, much of that stock could be utilized and also ensured a regular side-income for the farmers.

The agricultural sector has potential for generating a much higher revenue. With the intervention of more agriculture-scientists and better measures effectively implemented by the government, we can uplift the status of the poor hardworking farmer and also improve food security.

AWAITING SMART CITIES

Of a staggering 1.3 billion people of India, 32% reside in the urban areas. In the coming 15 years, this ratio will most likely increase to 40% (or 600 million) . The contribution of the urban sector to the GDP is also projected to increase up to 75% by 2030. In order to maximize the potential of this sector, the Government of India has come out with a number of policies and programmes.

One of the strategies adopted is the creation of 'Smart Cities'. 
The goal is to administer a steady city growth and uplift the standard of living. The concept of a smart city is basically a vision to -

-aggregate all kinds of information and communication systems, 
-efficiently manage city's resources; and
-enhance amenities like power supply, water supply, waste management, law enforcement, etc. 


The government has identified a total of 98 cities from all states and union territories. These have fulfilled the criteria for being deemed as potential cities which can be converted to smart cities.
Of these 98 cities, 20 shall undergo the process in the FY 2016-17 and the rest will be divided in groups of 38-40 for each of  FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.

The 98 cities were shortlisted on the basis of the points gained after two stages of evaluation on the following parameters :

1. Existing Level of Services
2. Institutional Systems and Capacities
3. Self-financing
4. Past track record
5. Impact of proposal
6. Cost-effectiveness of Smart City Plan
7. Innovation 

SALIENT 'SMART CITY' FEATURES:

1. Expansion of housing opportunities
2. Improving transport network- increasing public transport facilities, reducing congestion and air pollution
3. Digitization of administration through e-governance
4. 'Smart' solutions for infrastructure- making buildings less prone to disasters, increasing cost-effectiveness
5. Giving an identity to the city based on its prime economic activity (textile, tourism, food, handicraft, dairy,etc.) 

The Cabinet has approved a sum 480 million rupees for development of the Smart Cities and a separate 500 million for rejuvenation of 500 others in the ' Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation' (AMRUT). In the first phase, each of the 20 shortlisted cities will be allotted 2 billion each . The remaining expenses will have to be borne by the respective state governments and the allied corporate entities.

The 'Smart City Mission' is indeed a progressive step in the efficacious utilization of the ever increasing urban populayse. The success, though, lies in resourceful implementation and not mere quixotic declarations. Some of the services to be incorporated in a smart city should also include-

1.Corruption-check bureaus
2. An administrative body dedicated only to education
3. A mechanism to check the real turnout of servicemen employed by Municipal Bodies.
4. An online portal for citizen forums, where citizens can regularly inform the local bodies of any changes required or register complaints.

REMINISCING SCHOOL DAYS

After a rejuvenating break of almost two months, one is back to wake up to incessant honking of school buses, kids foraging in the house for that lost pair of socks, parents frantically running with tffins and water bottles and managing to get the little uniform-clad kids ready just in time.
Sleepy eyes struggle to register the first lesson of the day and those five minutes before the teacher enters prove to be more productive than 60 days for completing holiday homework.

School indeed is the paramount phase in one's academic life.It teaches everything, from the ABCs of the alphabet to the ABCs of life. For that matter, the primary school is of utmost importance. The structure of academics in the years to follow is based on the strength of the fundamentals. Also, values learned during this time are what a student carries for an entire lifetime! Thus, schools must shift from a banal 'academic result oriented' approach to a more 'thought-enabling and morally enhancing' one.

Hence I feel immensely proud of having been a part of such a school for over 12 years! No amount of exposure, learning or even fun equals that we had in school. Clearly, 'our minds were without fear'!

P.S. This is the oldest class photograph I could find. The transition in faces is unbelievable!