Career Counseling

Career counseling, also known as career guidance, is counseling designed to help with choosing, changing, or leaving a career and is available at any stage in life. One’s career is often one of the most important aspects of adulthood, and embarking on a new career, whether for the first time, the second time, or any time thereafter, can be aย stressfulย event, especially when economic difficulties such as recession are a factor. Aย career counselorย can help by outlining and discussing one’s potential career options.

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Career Counseling

View of surveyor working in field through blades of grass

Career counseling, also known as career guidance, is counseling designed to help with choosing, changing, or leaving a career and is available at any stage in life. One’s career is often one of the most important aspects of adulthood, and embarking on a new career, whether for the first time, the second time, or any time thereafter, can be a stressful event, especially when economic difficulties such as recession are a factor. A career counselor can help by outlining and discussing one’s potential career options.

WHAT IS CAREER COUNSELING?

Most Americans will spend a third of their lives at work, but a 2014 study showed that only 52.3% of Americans report being satisfied with their jobs.ย Job stressย may lead toย anxietyย orย depression, so finding a fulfilling career is considered to be important to mental well-being. When choosing the most fitting career or finding a new job when one proves unsatisfying or frustrating, the services of a career counselor may be helpful.A career counselor could be a therapist, life coach, or a volunteer from the business world but will generally be trained to provide career information resources, discuss career development, and administer and interpret aptitude and ability assessments. Students might see aย guidance counselorย in high school before applying to college and then again in college before choosing or changing majors, but career counseling can help anyone who wishes to change careers, leave work altogether, or explore ways to be more satisfied with a current career.

CHOOSING A CAREER

Choosing a career is an important task, but it may also be a difficult one. It may not be easy to decide what type of job will be the best fit, and since career counseling helps people assess their skills, needs, and desires in order to find a career that works for them, this type of counseling is considered to be an important step to take before deciding on a permanent career. Researching a wide variety of potential careers may be overwhelming, and information on the skill sets and education needed for a particular position may be contradictory or difficult to find. A career counselor will often be able to provide valuable information in these areas and others.

Some of the following questions may be helpful for narrowing one’s focus when considering a career change:

  • What do I enjoy doing?
  • What kinds of activities are fun and fulfilling for me?
  • What am I good at?
  • What is my skill set?
  • What qualifications do I have, such as a degree or experience?
  • How much money do I need to make to feel satisfied?
  • What jobs are available in the place(s) Iโ€™d like to live?
  • Do I want to travel?
  • What are myย values?
  • Is it important to me to be of service to others?
  • Am I looking for intensely challenging work or something relatively easy?
  • Am I willing to do what others tell me without question, or would I rather make most decisions on my own?
  • To what degree do I need stability and security?

HOW CAREER COUNSELING CAN HELP

In a career counseling session, the counselor will help a person explore skills and strengths, consider education levels and give advice about continuing education, and determine interests and personality type. Counselors may also administer anย IQ testย or an aptitude test. Theย Myers-Briggs Type Indicatorย has also been shown to be useful at helping individuals determine possible careers based on personality traits.

Some potential topics of discussion in career counseling:

  • Particular skills or talents. In which careers might they be useful?
  • The educational commitment required of various careers.
  • The potential earnings of various careers.
  • The daily working environment. Some people enjoy working in an office, while others might be more successful in a fast-paced or outdoor environment.
  • The opportunities for change or advancement in a particular career. Some careers are more flexible than others. Lawyers and doctors, for example, may shift their focus or area of specialty but will generally remain lawyers and doctors. Other careers or education paths might more allow mobility between positions in a given field.
  • The necessary skills/education for a desired career.

Who is a Career Counselor?

The Career Services staff member assisting you holds a masters degree and has expertise in career development theory, counseling techniques, administration and interpretation of assessments, and career information resources. Career Counselors have masters degrees in Counseling or Career Counseling.

Your job search/ career attainment process is also a critical aspect of your career development, and therefore, Job Search Advising and Career Counseling are intertwined. Your Career Counselor is also fully trained to assist with all aspects of your job search.

Job Specification

Job specification is the Qualities required by the person to perform the job. Job specification is the Education qualification, Experience, Skills, Knowledge and Required skills to complete the particular job . All this skills are required to complete the job.

Trend ‘Web-Series’

What is a Web Series?

A web series is a series of episodes designed like Television series except for the matter that its shown on the web. Normally, TV daily soaps run for months or years but a web series have small number of series of episodes that could end in a day or maybe in two to three days. It depends on the person who is watching. Some prefer in binge watching the episodes which means the practice of watching multiple episodes of a series in rapid succession. Where else some people prefer watching it at their free time.

Webseries tells you a story that are released over time in order. Its not like the episodes of daily soaps that requires dramas to entertain the audience. All you need is a creative content for the show to reach out the target audience.

The first web series in India that created a lot of buzz amongst the youths was ‘Permanent Roommates’ in 2015. Since then, there has been a rise on the Web series platform with various different shows or series.

Web series can be watched on your smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets and even on Televisions. It can be scripted or non scripted videos or series of episodes.

The budget of the web series is normally less compared to the TV or films shootings. The web series can be made by anyone who has a great content and a creative ones which the audience would love to watch and also something new and exciting one.

The best part about web series is that you can show whatever content you want to and there are no restrictions or violations against it whereas on the other hand, TV shows or Films are violated for the content to a certain extent.

Over the few years, different genre of web series have been created and released on different platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee 5, Alt Balaji, etc. People typically spend time in watching the series for 4 to 5 hours or sometimes even more than that. Web series can be watched on the online platforms through WIFI or cellular data on your smartphones or tablets.

Web series can be in different genres like romance, drama, mysteries, horrors, suspenses, thrillers, crimes, etc. The contents can be made available in different languages like English, Hindi, German, Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and many more.

A great content is all you need and ofcourse the ‘Camera’ for creating a Web Series.

Pros:

– Web series can be watched anywhere at anytime and at anyplace.

– Webseries can be watched alone with no disturbance.

– Web series can be watched in your free time to avoid boredom.

– Web series can be enjoyed without any censored content.

-Web series can be watched on different online platforms.

– You need to subscribe and login your details to watch your favorite series on the online platforms.

Cons:

– Due to the uncensored content, web series can’t be watched with families.

– People with busy schedules cannot enjoy web series as it requires free time.

– You need to do payments for your subscription.

The current scenario:

Today, Webseries have took over the Television daily soaps among the youths and certain age groups who like to watch series on the Web. Not completely but more than TV shows, the youth prefers to binge watch the different series as per their likings that are released on different online platforms.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, Alt Balaji, Zee 5, Voot Select are few of the online platforms that are the most trending. The nation lockdown has made people sit at their homes due to which some are working from wfh and some are free. As more and more people have free time, generally youths are spending more time in binge watching the trending series which are going on releasing and entertaining and keeping themselves busy in this lockdown.

Depending on the preferences or depending on the trending series people make time and binge watch it. Nowadays, youths have no topics to talk about except for one i.e CoVid-19. So, they do discuss about the series that are trending or the ones which they have watched amongst their friends and yes resulting in ‘word of mouth’ publicity which helps the series to grow and be trending.

Television soaps are rarely watched by the youths due to the upgrowing webseries industry. Not completely neglected by youths but yes they do enjoy watching series on the web more than Television daily soaps.

Well, that doesn’t mean that TV daily soaps are not in demand or will be going off air in the upcoming years. No, not at all.

Web series have created a trend in the market. The nation- wide lockdown increased the number of viewers of web series more rapidly and is trending today than compared to earlier as TV daily soaps weren’t available with new episodes or dramas.

Everyone wants something new always due to which the web series have started getting maximum number of viewerships as new series are being released till date.

Web series or TV daily soaps , all we need is entertainment, creative and different stories. The people who prefer series over the TV daily soaps will continue to watch series and vice-versa. And the people who love watching web series and TV soaps will always continue doing that.

Racism:

Introduction:

Racism is the belief which consist of a idea that for instance a particular people of colour is superior or inferior from another, that someoneโ€™s social and moral traits or values are not determined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. This is a kind of separatism which is to be believed that one person is different from another for instance white and black people and it is to be believed that they should be remained segregated and apart from each other.

Racism has existed throughout human history that means it is present in the society for a long time and it define the hate which is present in the superior and inferior group of people which are being differentiated on this basis. It can be on the basis of skin colour, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person and because this nature it has influenced my wars, slavery and the formation of nations and legal codes.

What is racism?

Racism is a belief of the superiority of one race to another. It means discrimination, prejudice or antagonism against people because they belong of a different race or ethnicity. Racism also describes the differentiation on the basis of social, legal, cultural, economic and political aspects which impacts in increase of this idea. Though in terms of political aspects, leaders always used racism to gain votes and rule and they also make this issue so big so that their actions seens all right.

During the past 500-1000 years of history, racism has always impacted on non- westerners by westerners which has a significant impact on the history of racism for example, Asians and Africans. This belief was not originated automatically. This issue is a result of many years of torture, humiliation and physical and mental violence. This issue started when Portuguese sailors has explored Africa in 15th and 16th Century. African was very wealthy and powerful back then and Portuguese considered then as serious rivals. Over time when African started deteriorate and they were no longer match to advance technologies of Europe, and then the major European powers has began to plunder the continent and forcibly remove its inhabitants to work as slave labourers in new colonies across the Atlantic, Africans came to be seen as a deficient species. Here we are describing the time of slave trade, willingness of some Africans were selling other Africans to European slave traders on the idea of savagery, which was based on the belief that the dark people were all kinsmen.

Features of Racism:

One of the important features of racism is centralisation towards black or immigrant groups. Jews were usually seen as Anti-Semites as sub humans but also superhuman as devilishly cunning, skilled and powerful. Black people and others were seen as subhuman more like beasts of the society.

Conclusion:

All of these arguments are based on a false understanding of race; in fact, contemporary scientists are not agreed on whether race is a valid way to classify people. What may seem to be significant “racial” differences to some people โ€” skin colour, hair, facial shape โ€” are not of much scientific significance. In fact, genetic differences within a so-called race may be greater than those between races. One philosopher writes: “There are few genetic characteristics to be found in the population of England that are not found in similar proportions in Zaire or in Chinaโ€ฆ.those differences that most deeply affect us in our dealings with each other are not to any significant degree biologically determined.

Importance Of Staying Positive

In a world full of “glass half empty”, it is important for us to be the “glass half full”. Some people are happy even when their situations are challenging. And some people, no matter how comfortable they are, they always feel like they are still lacking something in their lives, which ultimately makes them sad.

Human is a materialistic being. After s/he gains one thing, they get their eyes set on another. Humans always want more than what they have. For some, it works as an extrinsic motivation which may or may not be healthy for them.

Some believe that if you persistently think of wanting something, you will just magically get it without putting actual efforts. And when they don’t get it, for obvious reasons, they blame their ‘destiny’. But let’s not talk about these people. Let’s look into the lives of people who are genuinely happy and satisfied with their lives.

These people are quite rarely found in our society. Such people aren’t running after materialistic things. They love to live in the moment and make the best out of a situation. Even when all odds are against them, they manage to find one positive thing that keeps them going.

For example, I was out for a morning run in our community park when it suddenly started pouring. It was around 6:30 in the morning. Everyone took shelter under a tree a or nearby shed. I too, went under a shed to protect myself from the rain. That’s when my eyes landed on an old couple who looked around the age of early 60s. They were still out there and we’re now soaking wet. All their clothes stuck to their bodies and their shoes looked wet too. But, they were laughing and smiling. If I can recall correctly, they were even dancing merrily. A guy beside me, around my age, yelled at them telling them to take shelter from the rain. They just looked at him and laughed. A woman in late 30s mumbled ‘Great. Now I am going to get late. The road is going to be filled with water. Ugh.. What am I going to do..’

That’s when I saw the old couple again as they continued laughing and enjoying the weather. Since I was on school break I decided to see why they were so happy. I myself got out of the shed and the moment I did that my clothes turned wet. But then I realized something. The water felt nice against my body and brought coolness inside me. I suddenly started enjoing the rain and started walking around.

Now that I think about it, I too got scolded by my mother for getting wet in the rain. And I think I even caught the flu. But those moments when I was enjoying the rain, I never regretted them. Since then, I understood that if we spend our entire lives worrying about one thing or the other, we will never really get to live in the moment.

Yes, I know it’s easier said than done. Everyone’s situations are different. Everyone’s lives are stressed. Especially in these times. But if we try to look at the brighter side of the picture, it might just help us learn to cope with the current situation. It won’t be easy. Because the glass right now looks half empty. But with practising, we can start looking at things in a somewhat positive light!

Vikas Dubey Encounter & U.P Police

Was Vikas Dubeyโ€™s house demolition legal? Was Dubey killed in fake encounter?

Rule of Law states that even in case of worst Human Being or Dreaded Criminal, he should not be eliminated and given due process of natural justice. Principle of Human Rights- Every person shall have right to fair trial and should be assumed innocent until proven guilty, i.e. AUDI ALTERM PARTEM.

Five of Dubeyโ€™s men have been killed in encounter since July 3, 2020. Now in this present case, how Vikas Dubey travelled from Faridabad to Ujjain through Kota and how he is roaming in Ujjainโ€™s temple fearlessly to offer prayer in temple, where he got arrested by U.P police, confessing โ€œMai Hoon Vikas Dubey Kanpur Walaโ€. Whole story seems to be concocted one. U.P Govt. here might have thought of being exposed by Dubey as he has insider connection with various high-profile ministers, Police officers and other personnel. They were left with single option of encounter to refrain Dubey from recording his statement.

Here arises Dozens of questions regarding Dubeyโ€™s Encounter?

  1. In Toll Plazaโ€™s CCTV footage, we can see Dubey in Safari, however he was encountered while fleeing in another car of police personnel. How cars got switched?
  2. That vehicle was lying conveniently on its side with all the doors being closed and not much damage to road with open fields on each of its sides. How person can escape in open field?
  3. Press/Media was following the cavalcade it seems Press was threated and might be halted in between state highway?
  4. In ordinary crimes, criminals are handcuffed so they canโ€™t escape, in present scenario Dubey being dreaded criminal was not handcuffed by the police. Why?

These are just kind of factual errors. Moreover, encounter seems to be scripted badly.

U.P is a state where encounters are celebrated. If we look few years back, one police office was heavily applauded for the encounter he had done, he sat in chariot decorated with flowers and took round of city.

Words of Chief Minister regarding Encounter-

OUTLOOK JOURNAL (9th Oct, 2019)

CM announces, โ€œAgar Apradh Karenge to Thok Dieye Jayengeโ€ the state police without any doubt, becomes trigger happy. Moreover Swatch Bharat Abhiyan was replaced with Swatch Badmas Abhiyan.

Supreme Courtโ€™s Judgement:

โ€œIt is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he is a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police have to arrest the accused and put them up for trial. This court has repeatedly admonished trigger happy police personnel, who liquidate criminals and project the incident as an encounter. Such killings must be deprecated. They are not recognized as legal by our criminal justice administration system. They amount to state sponsored terrorism.โ€

# When Police kills a Criminal it’s called an ‘Encounter’. When a Criminal kills police it’s called ‘Murder’

Few things that readers should understand:

1. It’s Time for major Criminal Laws reforms in the country

2. Who will judge the Police?

3. Has it become so easy to by-pass Court system?

4. Is calling every high profile case as Encounter in the garb of socio-media justice lawful?

5. A person who is one of the most wanted Criminal after a failed escape surrenders to police

6. Will he try to run away and endanger his own life?

7. For someone as smart as Vikas Dubey@Vikas Pandit that’s a really stupid way to die. Isn’t it?

8. How far would he have run away on foot with an army of armed police persons surrounding him?

9. Police training requires a fair warning and thereafter shooting at non-fatal body parts only to disable a person

10. Killing someone and claiming self-defense in the given scenario comes across as foul play

11. The real question is who is a Criminal?

12. The criminal himself or the police. Both Breaking Laws and not respecting any Due Process

We need to ask ourselves:

“Are we safe when Police is stepping out of the domain of Policing and entering the domain of Judiciary?”

Science Vs Religion

The relationship between science and religion has been a complicated one for a very long time. Science and religion are without a doubt mutually incompatible. In the seventeenth century, the doctrine of the motion of the earth was condemned by a Catholic tribunal. A hundred years ago the extension of time demanded by geological science distressed religious people, Protestant and Catholic. And to-day the doctrine of evolution is an equal stumbling block.

While in the late nineteenth century, after the publication of Darwin’s book on evolution. In the wake of the stir over Darwin’s idea that humans were descended from apes, some people on both sides tried to paint the other side as the enemy. Although at the time there were many people who believed in both science and religion, did not see a conflict between the two worlds, the hostilities view became deeply barricaded in many people’s minds, and it has continued to influence thinking throughout the twentieth century.

Although, there are many people of faiths and levels of scientific expertise who see no difference at all between science and religion. They just acknowledge that the two establishments deal with different domains of human expertise. Science investigates the natural world, while religion deals with the spiritual and supernatural hence, the two can be interconnected. It should also be taken into account that to be a scientist one does not have to be an atheist. There was a survey conducted in 2005 at top research universities, and it was found that more than 48% of the research fellows had some religious affiliations and more than 75% believed that religion conveys important revelations.

To sum up the debate between science and religion, it would be wise enough to say that the two have always had an edgy relationship. Even though most people have no problem accepting the norms of the two sides, there are political and media developments that have driven a wedge between the two sides.

Although the most balanced view is from `Abdu’l-Bahรก, son of the founder of the Baha’i faith:

Religion without science is superstition and science without religion is materialism.”

Taking Advantage of The Internet

Growing up we have always been told that you must pay a price for anything you use, that nothing is free of cost. But then came the Internet in our lives, where several services were available for free. Surely, you would think that you pay the price of your privacy or data for getting things for free on Internet but let’s just get above our marketing and social media websites and talk about services which the Internet provides us free of cost and we should surely be taking advantage of that. So, let us talk about a few such websites-

  • The Gutenberg Project– If you are looking for free eBooks, Gutenberg is the place to be. While Google Books is a project that digitizes all of the books, you will never really be able to read these books for free. Whereas, Project Gutenberg encourages free reproduction and distribution of eBooks. there are also a few copyrighted texts that it distributes with permission.
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  • Photopea- Isn’t it annoying that whenever you visit a site to get the simplest work done and they ask for you to sign-up? Well, Photopea is one such site where you can get your job done without the hassle of signing up. Photopea is a replica of Photoshop, which gives you access to all the basic features for free.
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  • 10-Minute Mail-If you are signing up for a site that requires you to enter an e-mail id for verification, 10minutes mail got you covered. It gives you a fully functional e-mail id, with access to an inbox for 10 whole minutes.
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  • Documentary Heaven- For all those who love watching documentaries, Documentary Heaven gets you hundreds and thousands of documentaries available for streaming free of cost. Just go to the website and search for the documentary according to your favorite topic and you’ll get access to many documentaries available.
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  • Internet Archive -Internet Archive is a non-profit library where you can get millions of books, movies, music, websites, software, and more for free of course. Its archive contains around 330 billion web pages, 20 million books, and texts, 4.5 million audio recordings, 4 million videos, 3 million images, and over 200,000 software programs.
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  • Desmos-If you love maths or even hate it, desmos is the place to be. Desmos provides access to their free suite of math software tools, including Graphic Calculator and Scientific calculator which is used worldwide by students and teachers. From evaluating complex equations to plotting graphs, graph functions, and much more is made simple through desmos. It certainly provides a structure where you will instantly fall in love with maths.
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The Digital Cocaine

Cocaine is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system, it powerfully affects the body and the mind. Using cocaine can damage brain cells, even after a few times of heavy use. Like other stimulants, cocaine gives you a rush of energy, which boosts your alertness, leaving you feeling a โ€œhighโ€ from the drug.

While Cocaine can be in the form of powder or crack, a very prevalent sort of cocaine is the digital form which we commonly know as SOCIAL MEDIA. Just like cocaine, the use of social media realizes dopamine which travels through the brain and causes moments of happiness and satisfaction, these tiny moments of satisfaction leads to excessive use and thus leading to addiction.

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Not only teens but grown-ups too use social media as a virtual scrapbook to document every detail of their life as they are living it. From multiple points of view, internet-based life has improved our lives by interacting and motivating individuals. Be that as it may, there is a clouded side also. Besides all the contrary posts via Social media, the cyberbullying, and the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) that exists, ongoing studies show that over the top online networking utilize prompts helpless dynamic, yet individuals who utilize web-based life perpetually frequently have mentalities, behaviors, and practices that impersonate those of an addiction fanatic.

Researchers at Michigan State University conducted a study where the participants completed a common psychological task known as the Iowa Gambling Task, which helps gauge value-based decision-making skills. During the task, the goal is for the participants to collect as much money as possible. The researchers found that those participants who spent more time on social media were likely to have less money at the end of the task. Meanwhile, those who spent less time on social media finished the task with more money. Because this type of deficit in decision-making skills often goes hand-in-hand with drug addiction as well as gambling addiction, the researchers likened the results of excessive social media use to aspects of addiction.

When some people are unable to check their social media accounts, it causes them to break out in cold sweat, they get anxious and nervous. Such situations are often referred to as social media anxiety disorder, by therapists, which is similar to social anxiety disorder.

It is important to see the initial signs of social addiction, just like any other addiction, this could also be kept under control. Just like any other addiction, this digital addiction could be lethal to human mind if not curbed on time.

Online Education: The new face of education

With the growing global pandemic, the trend of online learning has surged significantly, as people are looking for ways to be productive while staying at home. There was already strong global growth in top-ranking professional skills such as languages, designing, IT and software, marketing, and much more, but with the COVID pandemic, online learning becomes an important part of our day to day life. Classroom learning got restricted to e-learning.

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Now, many see online classes as an alternative to classroom learning and there of course are many pros that come with it whereas some see online classes as a hassle and nothing less.

Online classes give the student the flexibility to be present in a class from the comfort of their homes, the students have the freedom to be anywhere and just log in for their classes as per their convenience. There is no hassle of getting ready to go to school or college, which takes up a considerable amount of time.

Not only does online classes minimize being exposed to people and the flexibility of learning, online classes gives students access to recorded database of the material which they can go back to anytime for revision.

But with all the advantages come the disadvantages, the biggest one being the lack of one-to-one interaction. Traditional, classroom learning gives students access to their tutor in a physical form, and asking questions, clearing out the queries becomes much easier.

Online learning does provide comfort learning but takes a lot of self-discipline too, but slowly and steadily e-learning could become the new face of learning and education.

What is Job Description

Job description is the Role or the Duty of the employee that need to done or performed by him. Job description says what employee need to do after joining the work. Job Description explains areas of operation, Responsibilities, Whom to Report and Who are all the subordinates, What are all the work need to be done. Job description will give complete details about the work, Role and Responsibilities of the employee.

Quarantine period

With the on-going global pandemic, people have become stuck in their homes. Many people are not able to go to work and are finding it hard to deal with the financial loss. This quarantine has also taken a toll on many people’s mental health. Honestly, I was scared when I realized that I will have to stay in my home and this might become the new normal for a long time. But this time made me learn a lot of lessons.

I learned to be more grateful towards even the littlest moments of my life. I used to obsess over a lot of materialistic stuff but I have realized that there is so much more to be grateful for.

I started spending more time with my family which not only strengthened our family bond but also created a healthy atmosphere where we can talk and have fun. We are so used to being attached to our screens that we often forget that we need to actually learn to socialize without the use of it. Sitting with my family has made me open up more and have also considerably decreased the amount of time I spent using social media.

Introspection

I get a lot of time to reconnect with myself. This makes me more self-aware and I am able to point out my strengths as well as weaknesses. I have started enjoying my quite time.

Hobbies

I have tried to make use of this period to do something productive and tried to develop new skills, painting has been a recent hobby of mine. There are many more activities that people can do indoors and still make it fun. People can switch to dance, indoor workout, cooking, learning languages, reading books and catching up on the shows that they previously missed because of their busy schedules.

Reconnecting with old friends

Since it’s not possible to meet friends, gadgets come in handy. Face-timing your friends or even calling them up can also be a good use of one’s time.

Rest and Relaxation

As much as it is good to use your time to do something productive, rest and letting yourself relax is equally important. We work in our lives almost every day to meet the needs. This free time should not be another stress trigger for you. One should not feel overburdened with work. Take some time for yourself and grow at your own place.

Hopefully, everyone finds a way to deal with this quarantine period and come out as a better person at the end of it.

To Travel Is To Live


THE WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE”

It sucks to be stuck in a rut. Travel helps us to comprehend the importance of life and it helps us become better individuals. Each time we travel, we see the world with new eyes. The best thing about traveling is that it gives you plenty of stories to talk about. I would rather share stories about my travels than telling people what is going on in my day to day life.

Drinking your morning coffee at the same office cubicle and staring at your screen at your nine-to-five every day is not the way one should be living. Travel at least to the point where you can say that you have finally found yourself and sipping your coffee at h same place, in front of the same screen seems meaningful.

Travel is full of moments of joy and challenges. Overcoming the challenges gives you some of the greatest joys of all. Explore yourself, explore this world, face the challenges, you never thought you could face, overcome your fears, and see how beautiful the world is.

Travel is not just a vacation or getting away thing, it helped us find our purpose and put the focus on our lives. The more we got lost in our travels, the richer our lives became.

Domestic violence

โ€œI am living in hell from one day to the next. But there is nothing I can do to escape. I donโ€™t know where I would go if I did. I feel utterly powerless, and that feeling is my prison. I entered of my own free will, I locked the door, and I threw away the keyโ€
Above words of Haruki Murakami precisely echo the sentiments of millions of souls suffering the agony of tourture and harrassment in the hands of their loved ones. Domestic Violence is a multifaceted problem. It roots from our verandah and branches out nationally and globally. There is hardly any village, hardly any city, hardly any country which is free from this social evil.
But the question arises: โ€œWhat is domestic violence?โ€ We all know the answer: the violence against women done by her husband in perticular or any male in general is known as domestic violence. Wrong! Domestic Violence is not limited to violence against women alone. It is a much broader concept. Shortly put, Domestic Violence is any form of violence which is born inside the four walls of the house. It has nothing to do with the gender of the victim or the victimizer. Any act of violence and torture whether physical or emotional, against anyone whether male or female inflicted by their intimate partners or any other member of the family is Domestic Violence.
Letโ€™s take the case of this young woman for example which was highlighted by the Deccan Herald. A young married woman sought refuge in her motherโ€™s home in Delhi to save herself from the verbal and physical abuse of her spouse. Just after that the country wide lockdown was imposed so she was not able to return to her husbandโ€™s home for long. She felt safe here but not for long as her brother saw her to be an extra burden on the family in the time of financial crisis and in a fit of anger and frustration beat her black and blue. Another famous case is of former stuntman of the โ€˜James Bond movieโ€™, Eddie Kidd. According to a report Eddie was subject of constant physical torture by his wife Samantha for years. After the imprisonment of his wife Eddie narrated his plight while talking to an English Newspaper. He said that Samantha had a drinking problem and she used to punch him and slap him in front of their house help. Eddie was rendered unable to walk after a work mishap and hence became the recipient of verbal, physical and emotional abuse in the household.Both of the above-mentioned cases tell us about the universality, genderlessness and seriousness of the problem.
Letโ€™s talk about the present scenario for example, the pandemic and the lockdown. There has been a soaring increase in the rate of domestic violence during the lockdown period globally. According to WHO data, the cases of domestic violence reported in Jingzhou (Hubei), tripled during lockdown as compared to the number of last year. There is a report by National Commission of Women (NCW) released in mid April 2020, which claims that there has been an increase of 100% in the cases of domestic violence against women during the period of lockdown. This is the data of domestic violence against women specifically in lockdown. But, we know that the problem is neither limited to lockdown nor to women alone. So where is the data of men you ask? Well there are none available. Yes you read it right!

Domestic Abuse against men is not legally recognised by Indian Law. The gender biased law only sees men as the abuser and not the abused. The cases of domestic violence against men have risen as alarmingly as womenโ€™s in recent years; maybe more because we have no systematic data. Most of the cases go unreported because most men suffer from the additional stigma of public humiliation if matter is highlighted. Moreover, the form of violence is different than the one we have presumed in our minds. Many victims told that they were beaten by the male members of the wifeโ€™s family or were pressurized by the wife in ways unimaginable which left them traumatized both physically and emotionally.
Society is a coin and male and female are the two faces of the coin. Evils like domestic violence are heinous crimes not against sexes but against humanity as a whole. It is inopportune that such a nefarious atrocity exists in our society and we are responsible for it. As civilized humans it is our duty to raise our voices against the malpractices of our surroundings. We need to be more sensitive as citizens, more observant as neighbours, more vigilant as colleagues. We need to stop stigmatizing and stereotyping the people around us. We canโ€™t shrek our responsibility by saying โ€œHow can we interfere in someone elseโ€™s private affairsโ€œ. It is time to intervene. There are numerous laws to correct this felony and to safeguard the victims. Both the central and Government along with NGOs are working to eradicate it. But, our support and encouragement is needed. We need to strengthen the law, reduce the loopholes and extend a helping hand to protect the victims. The need of the hour is to remove the spectacles of prejudice and ignorance and to come together as a society.

Succession Planning

” Succession Planning helps build the bench of strength of an organisation to ensure the long-term health, growth and stability.” – Teala Wilson

Succession Planning is a very important part of the talent management process. Succession Planning has many benefits in an organisation in current scenario. It helps in ensuring the continued success of an organisation. But before moving further we should first understand that what is succession planning? Succession Planning is the process of identifying and developing new leader who can replace the old leaders and can fill each key role within the company. It can also be described as having the right people with right skills and experience in the right job at right time. It is an ongoing process of identifying future leaders in an organisation and making them capable enough so that they can fill the key or important position within the organisation.

Succession Planning establishes a balance between individuals and organisation as succession planning not only helps in achieving organisational goals and needs but also the growing recognition that your employee need. As we know recognition and rewards are the things which each and every employee or person wants in his or her life and if they get it they would work hard to retain the same. It helps in maintaining organisational performance during uncertain times. Assume if an employee retires so it won’t be possible to hire someone immediately, in this situation succession planning helps a lot. One more example is if an employee decides to leave your organisation and take another job, it is a form of voluntary separation. So, companies need to be prepared for such situations. To handle this type of situation the organisation need to train its staff that can back-up current employees and can act smoothly. Succession Planning also helps the employee so that they can realise their career plans for the future. It also helps in enhancing the employee’s morale and to motivate them so that they can perform better on their job. Succession Planning also helps in cutting cost of recruitment. Some of the impact of Succession Planning are –

  • Leadership- Succession Planning helps in providing continuous leadership. Organisation select leader from the current employees who are more likely to adhere to their mission and manage new challenges.
  • Reputation- It helps in enhancing reputation of the organisation. As if an employee and those outside the organisation get to know that this organisation uses succession planning process within their organisation this will build confidence in them. As this will show that the organisation is well-organized and ready for future. This process will also show that the organisation helps its employees to choose their potential career path and achieve the same.
  • Eliminates Confusion- Succession Planning helps in eliminating confusion as to who will fill the key or critical position of the organisation when the employer is no longer available to make decisions.
  • Builds Confidence- Succession Planning helps in building confidence among employees. It also helps in bringing a sense of security.
  • Saving Time- Succession Planning helps in saving time as the organisation has already planned to promote and train people within the organisation which means that less time is spent on recruiting from external sources.

Last But Not the Least

So lastly, Succession Planning is a critical but an important part of the talent management process and should be done nicely to reduce cost and time and to increase efficiency and confidence.

Consulting Doctor Google

According to Wiktionary, Dr. Google is a term when the Internet is used to seek out medical advice. Most of the time when we are feeling under the weather, how often do we land up going through the Internet, trying to Google our symptoms rather than going to an actual doctor?

More often this self-diagnosis through the Internet turns out to be scarier than it should be. For instance, your search for a simple headache you’ve been having, and Dr. Google will point you towards several scary diagnoses like a tumor, aneurysm, or a brain bleed. Simple fatigue can be self-diagnosed as underlying cancer. Self-diagnosing your symptoms using Google can sometimes mask a potentially dangerous disease. So, apart from the inaccurate diagnosis given by several medical websites on the internet, what is worse is the risk of mistreating a potentially dangerous disease.

There is an actual term “Cyberchondria” which refers to a person’s anxiety about their health that is created or exacerbated by using the internet to search for medical information. You just look for any symptom online and it is definitely linked with some form of tumor or cancer, and then psychology comes in play and it can make you feel sicker than you are, which feeds your anxiety.

One thing that we should realize is that Internet is a free space where anyone can post anything, there is no credibility of most of the content being posted so even if you think that it’s just a simple rash and you can get medication through Dr. Google think twice because a real doctor goes through rigorous years of study and only then they are qualified enough to examine you.

The bottom line is that you can not replace a professional medical help with Google search, by doing so you are just putting yourself at risk.

Indian Education Future

India is known for a quiet a few things through out the world. For example indiaโ€™s information technology one of the leading factor in shaping the future of the world.
Similarly India has also emerged as an important player in the field of outsourcing . Indiaโ€™s economy is the 5th largest in the world with a GDP of $2.94 trillion, overtaking the UK and France in 2019 to take the fifth spot.There are a number of reasons for such dramatic success of India but the most important one is the education system of india as two third of Indiaโ€™s GDP is due to the skilled jobs created in tertiary sector. And in order to predict the future of india it is necessary to determine the future of the education system of India. Therefore this article will be discussing the promising future offered in education as well as the dark abyss that the country must overcome to walk on the boulevard of development.

As Robert Kiyosaki once said โ€œThe best way to predict the future is to study the past, or prognosticate.โ€ it is essential to learn about the past of education in India and how it has changed up till now. Since independence providing education to all has been the major goal of the government. During 1952-2014 the percentage of total government expenditure increased from 7.92 to 16 %
But the increase in education exoentiure has not been uniform and there has been irregular rise and fall. However the total educational expenditure including the private expenditure by individuals and charitable institutions has been quite much.

Indian government is trying there best to make the promising dream offered by the education system come true and due to this there are a number of positive changes that are expected to take place in the near future. Firstly education for all ,that is, 100 per cent literacy might just not be a distant dream and can become a realty as free and compulsory education is already a fundamental right and in addition to this government sanctioned a large outlay for the promotion of higher education and new loan schemes for students. Secondly, education might change into e-education, that is, technology will innovate the present education system. For example-Examination patterns will change completely with increased use of online quizzes and group discussions, classes would be more computer based and become more paperless. Thirdly there would be more subjects to chose from and education system would be more flexible as with more subjects to chose from students can actually study subjects according to there interest.

However for these to positive changes to take place the government needs to overcome a lot of challenges. Like the Indian education system is like a pyramid indicating lesser and lesser number of people for higher level of education. Therefore the government needs to increase allocation for higher education and also improve the standard of higher education institutions, so that students are imparted employable skills in such institutions. Similarly there is huge difference in educational opportunities across states. The per capita educational expenditure differs considerably across states from as high as โ‚น34651 in Himachal Pradesh to as low as โ‚น4088 in Bihar. This leads to differences in educational opportunities and attainments across states.

Soil Pollution

Soil pollution refers to the contamination of soil with anomalous concentrations of toxic substances. It is a serious environmental concern since it harbours many health hazards. For example, exposure to soil containing high concentrations of benzene increases the risk of contracting leukaemia. An image detailing the discolouration of soil due to soil pollution is provided below.

Soil Pollution

It is important to understand that all soils contain compounds that are harmful/toxic to human beings and other living organisms. However, the concentration of such substances in unpolluted soil is low enough that they do not pose any threat to the surrounding ecosystem. When the concentration of one or more such toxic substances is high enough to cause damage to living organisms, the soil is said to be contaminated.

The root cause of soil pollution is often one of the following:

  • Agriculture (excessive/improper use of pesticides)
  • Excessive industrial activity
  • Poor management or inefficient disposal of waste

The challenges faced in soil remediation (decontamination of soil) are closely related to the extent of soil pollution. The greater the contamination, the greater the requirement of resources for remediation.

What are the Pollutants that Contaminate Soil?

Some of the most hazardous soil pollutants are xenobiotics โ€“ substances that are not naturally found in nature and are synthesized by human beings. The term โ€˜xenobioticโ€™ has Greek roots โ€“ โ€˜Xenosโ€™ (foreigner), and โ€˜Biosโ€™ (life). Several xenobiotics are known to be carcinogens. An illustration detailing major soil pollutants is provided below.

Soil Pollutants

The different types of pollutants that are found in contaminated soil are listed in this subsection.

Heavy Metals

The presence of heavy metals (such as lead and mercury, in abnormally high concentrations) in soils can cause it to become highly toxic to human beings. Some metals that can be classified as soil pollutants are tabulated below.

Toxic Metals that Cause Soil Pollution
ArsenicMercuryLead
AntimonyZincNickel
CadmiumSeleniumBeryllium
ThalliumChromiumCopper

These metals can originate from several sources such as mining activities, agricultural activities, electronic waste (e-waste), and medical waste.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (often abbreviated to PAHs) are organic compounds that:

  1. Contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms.
  2. Contain more than one aromatic ring in their chemical structures.

Common examples of PAHs include naphthalene, anthracene, and phenalene. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been linked to several forms of cancer. These organic compounds can also cause cardiovascular diseases in humans.

Soil pollution due to PAHs can be sourced to coke (coal) processing, vehicle emissions, cigarette smoke, and the extraction of shale oil.

Industrial Waste

The discharge of industrial waste into soils can result in soil pollution. Some common soil pollutants that can be sourced to industrial waste are listed below.

  • Chlorinated industrial solvents
  • Dioxins produced from the manufacture of pesticides and the incineration of waste.
  • Plasticizers/dispersants
  • Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

The petroleum industry creates many petroleum hydrocarbon waste products. Some of these wastes, such as benzene and methylbenzene, are known to be carcinogenic in nature.

Pesticides

Pesticides are substances (or mixtures of substances) that are used to kill or inhibit the growth of pests. Common types of pesticides used in agriculture include:

  • Herbicides โ€“ used to kill/control weeds and other unwanted plants.
  • Insecticides โ€“ used to kill insects.
  • Fungicides โ€“ used to kill parasitic fungi or inhibit their growth.

However, the unintentional diffusion of pesticides into the environment (commonly known as โ€˜pesticide driftโ€™) poses a variety of environmental concerns such as water pollution and soil pollution. Some important soil contaminants found in pesticides are listed below.

Herbicides

  • Triazines
  • Carbamates
  • Amides
  • Phenoxyalkyl acids
  • Aliphatic acids

Insecticides

  • Organophosphates
  • Chlorinated hydrocarbons
  • Arsenic-containing compounds
  • Pyrethrum

Fungicides

These chemicals pose several health risks to humans. Examples of health hazards related to pesticides include diseases of the central nervous system, immune system diseases, cancer, and birth defects.

What are the Processes that Cause Soil Pollution?

Soil pollution can be broadly classified into two categories โ€“

  • Naturally caused soil pollution
  • Anthropogenic soil pollution (caused by human activity)

Natural Pollution of Soil

In some extremely rare processes, some pollutants are naturally accumulated in soils. This can occur due to the differential deposition of soil by the atmosphere. Another manner in which this type of soil pollution can occur is via the transportation of soil pollutants with precipitation water.

An example of natural soil pollution is the accumulation of compounds containing the perchlorate anion (ClO4โ€“) in some dry, arid ecosystems. It is important to note that some contaminants can be naturally produced in the soil under the effect of certain environmental conditions. For example, perchlorates can be formed in soils containing chlorine and certain metals during a thunderstorm.

Anthropogenic Soil Pollution

Anthropogenic Soil Pollution

Almost all cases of soil pollution are anthropogenic in nature. A variety of human activities can lead to the contamination of soil. Some such processes are listed below.

  • The demolition of old buildings can involve the contamination of nearby soil with asbestos.
  • Usage of lead-based paint during construction activities can also pollute the soil with hazardous concentrations of lead.
  • Spillage of petrol and diesel during transportation can contaminate soils with the hydrocarbons found in petroleum.
  • Activities associated with metal casting factories (foundries) often cause the dispersion of metallic contaminants into the nearby soils.
  • Underground mining activities can cause the contamination of land with heavy metals.
  • Improper disposal of highly toxic industrial/chemical waste can severely pollute the soil. For example, the storage of toxic wastes in landfills can result in the seepage of the waste into the soil. This waste can go on to pollute groundwater as well.
  • Chemical pesticides contain several hazardous substances. Excessive and inefficient use of chemical pesticides can result in severe soil pollution.
  • Sewage produced in urbanized areas can also contaminate soil (if not disposed of correctly). These wastes may also contain several carcinogenic substances.

Other forms of waste that can pollute soil include nuclear waste, e-waste, and coal ash.

What are the Negative Consequences of Soil Pollution?

Soil pollution harbours a broad spectrum of negative consequences that affect plants, animals, humans, and the ecosystem as a whole. Since children are more susceptible to diseases, polluted soil poses a greater threat to them. Some important effects of soil pollution are detailed in this subsection.

Effects on Human Beings

Soil contaminants can exist in all three phases (solid, liquid, and gaseous). Therefore, these contaminants can find their way into the human body via several channels such as direct contact with the skin or through the inhalation of contaminated soil dust.

The short term effects of human exposure to polluted soil include:

  • Headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
  • Coughing, pain in the chest, and wheezing.
  • Irritation of the skin and the eyes.
  • Fatigue and weakness.

A variety of long-term ailments have been linked to soil pollution. Some such diseases are listed below.

  • Exposure to high levels of lead can result in permanent damage to the nervous system. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead.
  • Depression of the CNS (Central Nervous System).
  • Damage to vital organs such as the kidney and the liver.
  • Higher risk of developing cancer.

It can be noted that many soil pollutants such as petroleum hydrocarbons and industrial solvents have been linked to congenital disorders in humans. Thus, soil pollution can have several negative effects on human health.

Effects on Plants and Animals

Since soil pollution is often accompanied by a decrease in the availability of nutrients, plant life ceases to thrive in such soils. Soils contaminated with inorganic aluminium can prove toxic to plants. Also, this type of pollution often increases the salinity of the soil, making it inhospitable for the growth of plant life.

Plants that are grown in polluted soil may accumulate high concentrations of soil pollutants through a process known as bioaccumulation. When these plants are consumed by herbivores, all the accumulated pollutants are passed up the food chain. This can result in the loss/extinction of many desirable animal species. Also, these pollutants can eventually make their way to the top of the food chain and manifest as diseases in human beings.

Effects on the Ecosystem

  • Since the volatile contaminants in the soil can be carried away into the atmosphere by winds or can seep into underground water reserves, soil pollution can be a direct contributor to air and water pollution.
  • It can also contribute towards acid rain (by releasing huge quantities of ammonia into the atmosphere).
  • Acidic soils are inhospitable to several microorganisms that improve soil texture and help in the decomposition of organic matter. Thus, the negative effects of soil pollution also impact soil quality and texture.
  • Crop yield is greatly affected by this form of pollution. In China, over 12 million tons of grain (worth approximately 2.6 billion USD) is found to be unfit for human consumption due to contamination with heavy metals (as per studies conducted by the China Dialogue).

How can Soil Pollution be Controlled?

Several technologies have been developed to tackle soil remediation. Some important strategies followed for the decontamination of polluted soil are listed below.

  • Excavation and subsequent transportation of polluted soils to remote, uninhabited locations.
  • Extraction of pollutants via thermal remediation โ€“ the temperature is raised in order to force the contaminants into the vapour phase, after which they can be collected through vapour extraction.
  • Bioremediation or phytoremediation involves the use of microorganisms and plants for the decontamination of soil.
  • Mycoremediation involves the use of fungi for the accumulation of heavy metal contaminants.

Solar Power- India’s new potential

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said, as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India campaign, the countryโ€™s aim is to end its dependence on import of all equipment, including solar panels.

Dedicating the 750 megawatt (MW) solar project at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh to the nation, Modi said India wonโ€™t be able to fully use its solar power potential, unless the country doesnโ€™t develop better solar panel, battery and storage manufacturing capacity.

This assumes importance given that green energy projects now account for more than a fifth of Indiaโ€™s installed power generation capacity. India has 34.6 gigawatt (GW) of solar power, with an aim to have 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022.

The fast-growing domestic market for solar components is dominated by Chinese companies due to their competitive pricing. India imported $2.16 billion worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, panels, and modules in 2018-19.

Modi said that several steps are being taken to increase domestic manufacturing, and it has been decided that governmentโ€™s departments and institutions will only buy domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.

India is working on a wider power sector decoupling from China, with New Delhi planning to enforce a list of approved manufacturers for government-supported schemes in the clean energy sector, including projects from where electricity distribution companies procure electricity for supply to their consumers and wants states to follow suit.

The surge in imports led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in its previous term to impose a safeguard duty from 30 July 2018 on solar cells and modules imported from China and Malaysia that ended in July. Post that, a basic customs duty (BCD) on all imported solar cells, modules and inverters was imposed, that will make their import from China expensive.

Going forward, India plans to impose more tariff and non-tariff barriers to check imports from China as part of its economic strategy in the backdrop of tensions along the India-China border. A case in point being Indiaโ€™ plan to impose BCD on wafers and ingots that go into the manufacturing of solar cells and modules.

Modi said for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat, self-reliance on electricity is very important.

India is evolving a strategy of not using Chinese equipment and technology in the power sector, and subsidising finance for promoting local power equipment usage and prior-permission requirements for imports from countries with which it has a conflict. The plan also involves procuring equipment and material locally and increase domestic capacity.

India is among the top five countries in the world in terms of solar power generation, Modi said and added that this form of energy power is โ€œsure, pure and secure”.

India has become one of the top renewable energy producers globally, with ambitious capacity expansion plans to achieve 175GW by 2022 and 500GW by 2030, as part of its climate commitments. This has bolstered Indiaโ€™s image as a clean energy champion at a time the world is grappling with climate change concerns.

Modi also spoke about India being the most attractive market for clean energy and being viewed as a model for transition towards clean energy.

Indiaโ€™s solar power tariffs hit a record low of โ‚น2.36 per unit during a bid conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) last week. The auctions were dominated by foreign firms with the lowest bid placed by Spainโ€™ Solarpack Corporaciรณn Tecnolรณgica, S.A., followed by Italy’s Enel Group, Canadaโ€™ AMP Solar Group, Franceโ€™ EDEN Renewables and Ib Vogt Singapore Pte ltd placing the second lowest tariff bid of 2.37 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). UKโ€™s CDC Group-backed Ayana Renewable Power and Goldman Sachs backed ReNew Power placed the third lowest bid of Rs2 .37 per unit each. The previously recorded lowest solar bid was of โ‚น2.44 per unit in May 2017.

โ€œToday Rewa has actually written history,” Modi said.

Spread over 1,590 acres, the Rewa solar park settled the debate on competitive tariffs from green energy sources in India by landing a then record low-winning bid of Rs2.97 per unit in the country through intelligent risk distribution.

By breaking the electricity grid parity barrier in February 2017, the project brought home the point that solar energy is no longer a green fad but a game changer in Indiaโ€™s energy mix.

Modi also spoke about Indiaโ€™ global electricity grid planโ€” โ€˜One Sun One World One Gridโ€™โ€”- that seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others and Indiaโ€™ aim of becoming an electricity exporter.

Indiaโ€™s global grid plans have gained traction in the backdrop of Chinaโ€™s attempt to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative that seeks to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids across Asia, Africa and Europe, and the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate deal.

How the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Changed the Default Policies

Introduction to the Code

India had the highest economic growth rates after the internet boom in the year 2000. A huge amount of investments were pouring inside the country as big companies saw it as a vast market and wanted to put solid footing in India. Companies had over-leveraged themselves in fear of losing lucrative opportunities. During the financial year of 2007-08, the Global Financial Crisis hit, and the high growth levels stopped. It led to low revenues, and subsequently, the high inflation levels caused RBI to increase the interest rates. This all led to the creation of an enormous number of NPAs in the financial sector. 

The government introduced the 12 Debt resolution mechanisms, but it was a failure in the end as all the laws failed to curb NPA’s. The borrowers used the loose provisions of law and created ambiguity in the judicial proceedings. They kept delaying it, and even when the cases were resolved, the creditors ended up taking massive cuts in debt recovery. 

The Ministry of Finance, in the year 2015, estimated that it would take 326 years to complete the backlogs. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was enacted in the year 2016 to tackle problems relating to insolvent companies and their closure. Many public sector banks, operational creditors, and financial institutions were facing challenges. The Code aimed to tackle the bad loans which were affecting the banks due to these insolvent companies. The Code has introduced a time-bound process under which insolvency will take place. Enactment of the Code has helped many employees working in these companies in India. They are now able to claim their dues quickly with the help of the National Company Tribunal (NCLT) established under this Code. IBC, after its enactment has successfully stopped many companies from defaulting their loans. The Code improved India’s ranking in “Ease of Doing Business” drastically. Currently, India stands at the 66th position. Before this Code was enacted, India’s ranking was 133. 

Objective and Purpose of the Code

  • Resolve Conflicts between the creditors and the debtor โ€“ The Code defines procedural certainty and the process of negotiation. The Code works in a way that reduces the problems of common property. This Code reduces the information asymmetry for all the economic participants.
  • The Code provides flexibility to the parties to reach the most efficient solution to achieve the maximum value during negotiation.
  • A platform for negotiation between the creditors and the external financers are created through this Code to create the possibility of rearrangements.
  • To amend the laws relating to the reorganization and insolvency resolution of the partnership firms, individuals, and corporate firms. 
  • A time limit is to be set in which the insolvency proceedings will be completed i.e., 180 days.
  • To raise the value of the assets of the interested parties.
  • This Code works in increasing the global ranking of the world in doing ease of business. 
  • The Code will help in promoting entrepreneurship. 
  • The Code establishes an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to act as a regulatory body. 
  • The Code proposes to regulate the insolvency professionals and professional insolvency agencies. The role of these agencies would be to develop professional standards and work as a disciplinary committee. 
  • Three types of resolution professionals are set up under the Code i.e., the Interim Resolution Professional, Final Resolution Professional, and the Liquidator.
  • Information Utilities has been set up under the Code. The work of these information utilities is to various types of data from the listed companies and also the data of the creditor’s companies. 
  • Individual Insolvency database is to be set up to provide information about the insolvency status of individuals.
  • An Adjudicating authority is set up to exercise the cases over a debtor. 

Relevant Social & Political Scenario at the time of enactment

At the time when the Code was passed in the parliament, big defaulters like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi’s defaults were putting pressure upon the public sector banks of India. There was no unified law against these defaulters. The rules which dealt with defaulters came under the likes of the Indian Contract Act, the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, (SICA), the Securitizations, and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002. The Code aims to bring all the laws under one roof to provide ease to the primary creditors. The then Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley said that “A systemic vacuum exists with regard to bankruptcy situations in financial firms. This Code will provide a specialized resolution mechanism to deal with bankruptcy situations in banks, insurance firms and financial sector entities. This Code, together with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015, when enacted, will provide a comprehensive resolution mechanism for our economy”. However, at the time of enforcement of the Code, there were no special provisions for cross-border insolvency. 

Amendments

1. The Code went under a lot of changes since its inception; the first change came with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Act), 2017. Partnership firms, a proprietorship firm, individuals, and personal guarantors will be included under the heads “applicability” With this amendment, frivolous applications made by the personal guarantor will be avoided after the moratorium period is declared. Section 29A is inserted in the Code which lists the persons who cannot submit a resolution plan. It includes the undischarged insolvent, person convicted of an offence, disqualified from the post of director, account is NPA, a willful defaulter etc. If a person is NPA, if he pays his/her dues within 30 days, then they can submit the resolution plan. 

2. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance Bill was introduced in the year 2018. The objective of the Ordinance Bill was to strengthen the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIPR). The Ordinance states that “to balance the interests of various stakeholders in the Code, especially the interests of home buyers and micro, small and medium enterprises, promoting resolution over the liquidation of corporate debtor by lowering the voting threshold of the committee of creditors and streamlining provisions relating to the eligibility of resolution applicants.” 

 One significant change brought with this Ordinance was the inclusion of “Home Buyers” under the definition clause of Financial Creditors. The home buyers will be able to recover the amount paid as advanced through this addition. Another significant addition to this Act was that CIPR can now be initiated by the guardian, administrator, and the executor of the financial creditor. 

 A “Committee of Creditors” will be formed that will consist of all the “financial Creditors.” They will majorly work as a body to make routine decisions regarding the CIPR. 

3. Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 โ€“ The approval of the Competition Commission of India is required to finalize the resolution plan set by the financial creditors. This will reduce the chances of extending the time of the CIPR, i.e., 90 days of extension. 

4. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill), 2019 โ€“ The amendment proposes to strengthen the time-limit provisions in the Act. Secondly, a specific minimum payout is defined for the operational creditors for any resolution plan. Thirdly, it provides the manner in which the group of financial creditors should vote. 

JOBS

The work that you do regularly to earn money.

A job ,employment ,work or occupation is a person role of society .morespecifically .A job is an activity. Often regular and often performed in exchange for payment .many people have multiple jobs.A person can being a job by becoming an employee, volunteering,starting a business ,or becoming a parent.

A job is homogeneous tasks related by similarity of functions. When performed by an employee in an exchange for pay, A job consists of duties, responsibilities and task

BENEFITS OF JOB you have an identity ,not just a name ,image credit. The paycheck. The joy of being independent. Adding the new one to your slam book polishes to your skills. Have happy retirement let your personal life breathe let you enjoy some extra perks . It gives you money and purpose.

The job is just not about working for few hours. It’s more than that,working ,improving you as the person ,learning the skills will make certainly help u in full filling your purpose.no matter how small your work is ,remember that u are adding value to the organization and ultimately to the world. Having the job will give you the satisfaction. Happiness of maximization of wealth.

DISADVANTAGES OF JOB

wastage of time and effort . Employees take time . Leads to a whole lots of stress . It doesn’t check the time wasted. Zero results.

can be costly and time consuming. Could end up with dusgruntied employees.

Some jobs name are.

teacher. Doctor. Lawyer. Artist. Scientists. Etc.

Culture of Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh, also known as the state of Rising Sun, is a state of India. It is located in the North-eastern region of the country and is one of the seven sister state. It shares borders with Assam and Nagaland to the south. The state also shares international borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east and disrupted borders with China in the north.

The state has long been recognised as a region of Indian subcontinent and finds its mentions in ancient Hindu literature like in Kalika Purana and the epic poems of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The state was a part of Assam until it was made a Union Territory in 1972 and in 1987 it was made an Indian state.

The land of rising sun, Arunachal Pradesh, is characterized by mountainous ranges and sub mountainous ranges along the northern part. This state is truly diverse in terms of its culture. Arunachal Pradesh has 26 major tribes and multiple sub-tribes. People of Arunachal Pradesh speak over 50 dialects. Arunachal Pradesh is a green gold. Because of the variation in altitude and climatic condition, it has tropical, subtropical and temperate forest.

Tribes and Religion

Arunachal Pradesh has a truly varied culture with 26 major tribes and multiple sub-tribes. Each tribe is characterized by its own unique set of culture and traditions.
โ€ข The first group of people in Arunachal Pradesh is made of Monpas and Sherdukpens of Tawang and West Kamang district. The following Lamaistic tradition of Mahayana Buddhism.
โ€ข The second group are the worshipers of Sun and Moon God, and comprises of Adis, Akas, Apatanis, Bhagnis, Mijis, Mishmis, Nishis and Thongsas.
โ€ข The third group consist of Octes and Wanchos tribal communities of Tirap district. They are followers of Vaishnavism and maintain strict village society which is ruled by hereditary chief.

The people of the state mostly practices indigenous religion which is highly inclines towards nature. However Christianity too in practiced by 30% of the population. Certain amount of the state population practice Hinduism. Tibetan Buddhist is practiced in certain parts of the states which is adjacent to Tibet. The central faith along the Burmese border is Theravada Buddhism.

Art and Dance

The state of Arunachal Pradesh possesses great craftsmanship skills. From weaving to painting, carpet making to pottery, wood carving to ornament making, basketry to cane and bamboo work and many more, the local man are skilled for all. The women on the other hand expertise on handloom and handicraft making.

Dance and music are important part of life of Arunachal tribes. Various dance forms are seen in different part of Arunachal Pradesh. They can broadly be divided into four different categories, namely, festival dance, ritual dance, recreational dance and dance drama. Most of the dances are accompanied by chorus songs.

Festivals

The people of Arunachal Pradesh celebrate a string of festivals, and the reason ranges from religious to socio cultural to agricultural. Since agriculture is the main occupation, there are many festival celebrated for good harvest. Some predominant festival of the state include Losar, Solung, Boori- Boot, Mopin, Dree, Nyokum, Reh, Si-Donyi etc.

Print vs Digital: Reading in the Modern Era

Much has changed with the advent of technology and globalization in our societies. This change comes in all kinds of forms, from how we dress and eat to how we study and engage. Reading is an arena where this is very evident. Our reading habits have changed drastically with the inflow of gadgets and technologies that transform the reading experience. It has also affected how we engage with what we are reading, our attention span, and the ability to grasp and recollect the things we read. While many prefer older ways of reading like directly from a book or newspaper, more people are turning to the digitalized spaces to read what they are interested in.

The print versus the digital media has always been an ongoing tug of war. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but as time moves on, one is bound to see a shift in reading habits, when a generation that grew up with technology starts becoming the main consumers of the market. Reading printed copies of books and newspapers are many a time described as a wholesome activity with no โ€˜modernโ€™ interruptions. It allows the individual to engage with something tactile, a book with pages they can feel, touch, and turn. It also allows one to mark passages with pencil and scribble down notes on the sides. And how can one let go of the sensory experience, the smell of old books, and the satisfaction of putting it down after finishing it or running your hands through the worn pages? Researches also opine that one is prone to remember better when one reads something in print rather than from a screen.

person reading on book
Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com

However, with the evolving ways of being and living in a technological era, change is inevitable. Today it is not uncommon to read entire books online or as a pdf on a computer. Books are available in these formats for sale as well as for free on some sites. Gadgets like the Amazon Kindle have furthered this field by offering a digital device that can store a large amount of information and books which you can access at all times. It is like carrying around thousands of books in your pocket and very efficient in that sense. It is also a very convenient and cost-effective investment. Books online tend to be much cheaper than paperbacks or hard copies. So, investing in a kindle and buying and reading books online turn out to be much more economical than spending on printed material. As a betterment from the app, kindle as a device also does not have any screen glare which makes the experience of sight exactly how it is as that of a book. ย It also allows you to highlight, bookmark, and add notes. However, the aesthetic experience that paperbacks afford is almost non-existent here.

In the end, it comes down to what you and your preferences are. Older generations tend to prefer reading print, but also a huge part of the current generations lean towards print as well when given a choice between the two because of the experience of holding a book in your hand and reading. However, we should never discount the conveniences that digital reading affords, especially in such a fast-paced world. Understanding the limitations of both while embracing what is best suited to your situation in life, without discounting either completely, is the only way to go about it. Mixing both as and when required in order to gain the most out of it and learn better should be our goal. And one can keep wondering if reading as a phenomenon refers to only the act of reading or if it denotes the entire sensory experience.

How has the Pandemic affected the Supply Chain?

COVID-19: Is Your Hospital's Supply Chain Ready for Coronavirus?

Current scenario

The impact of Covid-19 across the world has been completely devastating. The nations across the world have taken steps out of ordinary. From putting ban on travel, closing borders, stopping business to complete national lockdown, the economic growth has downgraded tremendously. Several attempts have been made to โ€œflattening the curveโ€ which involves reducing the number of new COVID-19 cases on day to day basis.

For a country like India with high population density, it becomes necessary for the Government to take up vital steps to protect its citizens as high population attracts the virus to spread easily and rapidly. Therefore, keeping in mind, the limited infrastructure, the Government had to completely lockdown the nation from March 25. The lockdown was supposed to last for only 21 days but has been extended till further instructions. The impact of this has already begun by troubling the Indian economy resulting in slow growth and shrinking consumption.

Impact on supply chains

Even before the spread of Covid-19 across the globe and nationwide lockdown, there seemed to be a ripple effect on the global flow of trade due to disruption in China. Due to this many companies had started working to thin the supply chain from China. Because of Covid-19, the vulnerabilities of costs have been exposed and โ€œjust in timeโ€ deliveries with emphasis laid on minimization has led to decrease in inventory buffers and has left very small or rather no room for adequate buffers

However in India still there are certain industries which are heavily dependent on Chinese imports. Some of these industries are that of pharmaceuticals where about 70 per cent of pharmaceutical ingredients are imported from China for the requirement of industry. Automobiles which adds up to 10-30 per cent of imported raw materials from China for the base parts. The renewable energy sector especially Solar in the area of solar is heavily dependent on China for Solar panels which is 80 per cent of our renewable sectorโ€™s requirement.

Managing the crisis

To combat the current crisis, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed restrictions on the export of 13 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and 13 formulations made from these ingredients. Major actions were taken to quickly initiate customs clearances of imports from China.

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) advised its members not to rely on Chinese products by diverging the source of raw materials as the supply from China has been cut off due to the pandemic. According to AEPC Chairman A. Sakthivel the industry body has approached the government on the matter who in turn has asked the Indian embassies to find the alternate sources of suppliers for India.

Due to crisis many companies want to move at least a part of their supply chains locally which would increase investment in Indiaโ€™s local industries and help to overcome economy in crisis. The Indian Government has decided to promote domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in the country which will promote Bulk Drug Parks with investment ofย โ‚น3,000 crore in the next 5 years. This is a wake-up call for India to develop its own local sourcing units and adopt alternative strategies for reducing the dependency on China.

References:

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/covid-19-exposes-indian-industrys-supply-chain-vulnerabilities/article31224928.ece

How can Emotional Responses to the Pandemic be addressed?

Spread of the Coronavirus Emoji

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was a huge shock to governments, administrative agencies, businesses and ordinary people. In addition to the imminent threat to public health, the pandemic is causing tremendous economic and social stress. Following measures can slow the spread of flu:

Large rallies can be canceled, schools can be dismissed and business hours shortened. Workers may stay at home and continue their jobs using computers and telephones. People with flu can be told to stay home, along with their families. You may need to reorganize your life to provide for your loved ones or get treatment.

Several companies have introduced contingency plans. Employees can function online, or adapt to significant organizational changes. Systems are in place and the enterprise continues. You may have also provided advice to your workers on how to better adapt to work from home or on self-care ideas. However, we are seeing gradually one missing piece of the solution that can undo all the rest that has been achieved.

While there is plenty of information on how we can adapt and care for ourselves, there is much less information on how we can feel and think about changes. The key component in crisis psychology is called โ€œnormalization”. Whenever something occurs that’s distressing, unplanned or affects the people we ‘re close to, most individuals will develop an unpleasant, disturbing and potentially overwhelming reaction. When we feel that we are unable to control the outcome and our standard lifestyle is threatened or impeded, then that is particularly challenging.

The ongoing COVID-19 disease outbreak means that treatment for our mental health and wellness is just as important as our physical health. At the center of handling crisis emotional health, we ‘re learning the same stuff from people:

I feel restless constantly and can’t settle. I think sometimes that I’m not in charge of my brain.”

Normalization describes that this is how the body and brain respond. In terms, it would make sense for people to connect to. It should be providing advice on what people could do to help calm the reaction. It should encourage people to generate action plans that give them a sense of control, as they now have a clear idea of their reaction and action justification. Unless we normalize the emotional reaction, it is very unlikely that we will involve people in activities that will help them take good care of themselves and adapt to what is going on.

As part of the pandemic response, health care providers have a significant role to play in resolving such emotional outcomes. Emergencies in public health can affect the health, safety and well-being of both individuals causing, for example, feelings of inadequacy, confusion, emotional isolation and communities due to economic losses, closures of work and schools, inadequate medical response resources and poor distribution of necessities. These effects can transform into a range of emotional reactions, such as distress or mental illnesses, undesirable lifestyles, such as increased use of substances, and lack of compliance with public health directives like home restraint and vaccination in people contracting the disease and in the general population.

Health problems from natural causes such as life-threatening viral infection would not match the new trauma criteria required for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) diagnosis, but other psychopathologies, such as mood and anxiety disorders, may try to emulate.

Many people are even more vulnerable to the psychosocial impact of pandemics than others. In specific, individuals who catch the virus, those at increased risk for it, including the elderly, people with weakened immune function, as well as people with medical history, mental health, or drug use issues, are at increased risk of adverse psychosocial consequences. Medical professionals are also especially prone to emotional distress in the current pandemic, considering their risk of virus transmission, worries about infecting and caring for their loved ones, scarcity of personal protective equipment (PPE), extended working hours, and participation in the allocation of resources that are emotionally and morally complicated.

 Besides the stresses inherent in the disease itself, guidelines on mass home containment, including residence-at-home orders, quarantine, and isolation, are unfamiliar to individuals and raise questions about how they may respond individually and collectively. A recent analysis of psychological impact in samples of quarantined individuals and health care providers could be instructive; it reported various emotional outcomes, including stress, depression, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, uncertainty, rage, annoyance, boredom and quarantine-related stigma, some of which remained after the quarantine was ended.

In the existing pandemic, huge areas of the population’s home confining for indefinite periods, differences between the stay-at-home orders issued by different states and countries, and mixed information from government and public health organizations will most probably amplify distress. COVID-19 will provide behavioral evaluation and tracking of associated stressors such as exposure to infected sites, infected family members, loss of loved ones, and physical distance, secondary adversities such as economic loss, psychosocial consequences such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, increased use of drugs, and domestic violence.

 Bearing in mind the worsening economic crisis and various uncertainties surrounding this virus outbreak, suicidal thoughts could arise and require urgent consultation with a mental health professional or referrals for potential psychiatric emergency hospital treatment. Medical professionals may give strategies for handling and dealing with stress, such as organizing and maintaining habits, connecting patients to social and mental health resources, and encourage patients to receive appropriate mental health treatment when required. Because media reports can be emotionally distressing, contact with news related to the pandemic should be regulated and reduced.

Since parents frequently ignore the distress of their children, open discussions should be urged to address the reactions and concerns of the children. Self-care for services, such as mental health care providers, includes being educated about the disease and risks, checking one’s own stress reactions, and seeking additional help with personal and professional commitments and concerns โ€” including, where indicated, professional mental health interventions. Health care facilities would need to tackle the burden on individual providers and overall operations by tracking reactions and results, changing assignments and schedules, adjusting priorities, and developing structures to provide supportive care where appropriate.

Separating from others could be stressful if a healthcare provider thinks you may have been exposed to COVID-19, even if you are not getting sick. After quarantine everyone feels different. Emotional responses to quarantine probably include:

  1. Mixed emotions like post quarantine relief.
  2. Fear and worry about your own health, and your loved ones’ health.
  3. Stress from the perspective of observing yourself or being watched by others about COVID-19 signs and symptoms.
  4. Sorrow, frustration, or disappointment, as friends or loved ones, have irrational fears of contracting the disease from contact with you, even though you were determined not to be infectious.
  5. Guilt over not being capable of performing normal duties of job or parenting throughout quarantine.
  6. Many improvements to the physical or mental wellness.

ย In view of the fact that most COVID-19 cases will be reported and handled by staff with almost no mental health experience in health care settings, it is important that psychosocial issues identification and treatment be implemented in those situations. Ideally, incorporation of mental health issues into COVID-19 treatment should be discussed at the organizational level by state and local planning; processes for recognizing, referring and managing serious psychosocial consequences; and the capacity to communicate with specialists will be assured. Health sector executives, emergency workers and health care providers should be provided with information and training on psychosocial issues. The sectors in mental health and emergency management will work together to identify, create and analyze evidence-based services regarding mental health crises and referrals in mental health and certain population’s needs. Risk-communication initiatives will predict the dynamics of evolving problems such as guidelines on prevention, accessibility and acceptability of vaccinations, and require pandemic-related evidence-based approaches and tackle a variety of psychosocial concerns. Healthcare professionals should assist in developing messages which respected leaders should deliver.

The Covid-19 pandemic has disturbing consequences for emotional and social functioning of a person and collective health. Beyond delivering medical services, already strained health care professionals have a significant role to play in tracking psychosocial needs and offering psychosocial support to their patients, health care professionals, and the public โ€” activities that should be incorporated into general pandemic health care. We see people affected from all walks of life, with especially big numbers among those working in the medical field or as first people on the scene along with other essential workers. Our hearts are going out to those heroes. Furthermore, residents of nursing homes and even prisoners are also at higher risk due to health factors and proximity to each other.

Crisis incidents can cause a lot of shock โ€“ and then emotional distress, which can take time to subside. Once we know our emotional responses and accept them, we are much more likely to take steps that can help.

corona virus vaccine

As expected in recent news , corona virus vaccination can be launched on 15 august 2020 but now the vaccine for COVID-19 can be expected only by early next year, a parliamentary panel was informed on Friday. The House panel of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate heard presentations by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the principal scientific adviser to the government on Centre’s preparedness for COVID-19.

Sources said that the panel was informed that a COVID-19 vaccine could be available only by early next year. The panel which is chaired by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, saw six other members in attendence for the meeting.

This was the first meeting of the panel since the country wide lockdown to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak was imposed on March 25.

On July 2, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in a statement had announced that it would partner with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) to fast-track clinical trials of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID Vaccine).

In an official statement, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava stated that ICMR aims to launch the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by August 15.

  • COVAXIN has become the first vaccine candidate developed in India to receive the DCGI nod to conduct phase 1 and 2 clinical trials
  • The ICMRโ€™s August 15 deadline for the Indiaโ€™s first indigenous coronavirus vaccine has created confusion among experts.
  •  A safe and effective vaccine is the best way to control and finally end the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. With more than 200 candidates being developed across the world, vaccine development is moving at unprecedented speed. Joining the global race to create a safe vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Indian researchers will soon start testing the countryโ€™s first indigenous coronavirus vaccine candidate, COVAXIN, on 1,100 people in two phases – phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. Developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV), the experimental inactivated vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-COV-2 virus isolated by ICMR-NIV, Pune. COVAXIN has demonstrated safety and immune response in preclinical studies.
  • The world urgently needs a COVID-19 vaccine, which will help prevent and reduce the risk of infection, as well as resultant complications. However, thereโ€™s also a growing momentum of skeptics raising doubts about future vaccine programmes against other infectious diseases – with safety being a major concern. As COVID-19 continues to spread, pathways of vaccine development are changing in ways as researchers race against time to create a safe jab by shortening process time from the usual 15- to 20-year timeline to one that might be as short as one year. Perhaps, the ICMRโ€™s 40-day target to launch Bharat Biotechโ€™s COVID-19 vaccine by August 15 has caused alarm among scientists and some in the medical fraternity. While the research body has clarified that the date was โ€˜not a deadlineโ€™, several experts have warned against any hasty solution that may compromise standards of scientific rigour.
  •  Experts, familiar with vaccine trials, including the AIIMS Director, New Delhi, have already said that such deadlines may not be met, given the vaccine is yet to undergo the phase 2/ 3 trials and still there are a few more stages to go through before it could get FDA regulatory approval for production, which in itself is a time-consuming task.

So, even if clinical trials vaccine is in accelerated mode all the world ( multi-centric trials), the whole process of vaccine approval by FDA to vaccine production and coming to market for effective distribution will not be before August 2021.

  • Right now we are in a situation, where desperate time needs desperate measures – and at the fastest speed, it takes 12 to 18 months. Post-approval by the FDA, it should take around 1 – 1.5 years for the massive production of billions of vaccine doses.
  • Hence, on the safer side, it looks like August 2021 for a viable COVID vaccine to enter the market.

So, we should maintain the precautions, use of face mask, hand sanitizer and social distancing now is the only medicine of covid-19 till covid-19 vaccine launch.

skill india mission

 Skill India Mission is a government scheme launched in 2015. It is an umbrella scheme that has many skilling schemes and programmes under it. The chief objective is to empower the youth of the country with adequate skill sets that will enable their employment in relevant sectors and also improve productivity. 

Skill India Objectives

The chief objective of the Skill India Mission is to provide market-relevant skills training to more than 40 crore young people in the country by the year 2022.

  • The mission intends to create opportunities and space for the development of talents in Indian youth.
  • It aims to develop those sectors which have been put under skill development for the last many years, and also to recognize new sectors for skill development.

Other objectives are:

  1. Closing the gap between skill required by the industry and skills people possess for employment generation.
  2. Reducing poverty in the country.
  3. Increasing the competitiveness of Indian businesses.
  4. Ensuring that skill training imparted is relevant and of quality.
  5. Preparing Indians to take on the world manpower/resources market.
  6. Diversifying the existing skill development programmes to meet todayโ€™s challenges.
  7. Building actual competencies rather than giving people mere qualifications.
  8. Offering opportunities for lifelong learning for developing skills.
  9. Augmenting better and active engagement of social partners and building a strong public-private partnership in skill development.
  10. Mobilising adequate investments for financing skills development sustainable.

Features of Skill India

There are many features to the Skill India Mission that make it different from the previous skill development missions.

  • The focus is on improving the employability of the youth so that they get employment and also enhances entrepreneurship among them.
  • The mission offers training, guidance and support for all traditional types of employment like weavers, cobblers, carpenters, welders, masons, blacksmiths, nurses, etc.
  • New domains will also be emphasised on such as real estate, transportation, construction, gem industry, textiles, banking, jewellery designing, tourism and other sectors where the level of skill is inadequate.
  • Training imparted would be of international standards so that Indiaโ€™s youth get jobs not only in India but also abroad where there is demand.
  • An important feature is the creation of a new hallmark โ€˜Rural India Skillโ€™.
  • Customised need-based programmes would be started for specific age groups in communication, life and positive thinking skills, language skills, behavioural skills, management skills, etc.
  • The course methodology would also not be unconventional and would be innovative. It would involve games, brainstorming sessions, group discussions, case studies and so on.

Why does India need a skills development programme?

As of a 2014 report, Indiaโ€™s formally skilled workforce is just 2%. Additionally, there is a huge problem of employability among the educated workforce of the country. Lack of vocational or professional skills makes it difficult for the youth to adapt to changing demands and technologies of the marketplace. The high level of unemployment is due to the failure to get jobs and also due to a lack of competency and training.

  • A study by the Skill Development Council (NSDC) indicates that there will be a need for around 12 crores skilled manpower by 2022 across 24 key sectors.
  • Casual workers, who constitute about 90% of the labour force, are poorly skilled as they do not get adequate training. Current vocational training programmes do not meet their demands.
  • There is a problem of social acceptability when it comes to vocational education. Vocational courses are looked down upon and this needs to change.
  • Changing technology is a big challenge and opportunity for the labour force. Employees will have to constantly upgrade their skills if they are to remain relevant in the job market.
  • There is a problem with the lack of infrastructure in the current training institutes.
  • Another problem is the poor quality of trainers available. Students trained by such trainers are not employable in the industry.
  • There is a big issue with the standardisation of skills in the country. New schemes are designed to resolve this issue by having nationwide standards that also stand up to international benchmarks.

Skilling is important because of the following factors:

  1. Demographic dividend: Most major economies of the world have an ageing population. India, with a favourable demographic dividend, can grab this opportunity and serve the manpower market. But, for this adequate skilling is to be provided to up the employability. To capitalise on this, there is only a narrow demographic window, that of a few decades.
  2. The percentage of the workforce receiving skill training is only 10% in India which is very small compared to other countries โ€“ Germany (75%), Japan (80%), South Korea (96%).
  3. Sectoral mobilisation: As productivity improves in agriculture due to increased mechanisation, there will be fewer people required in the farming sector. There will thus be a shift from this sector to other secondary and tertiary activities.

National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

The chief objective of this policy is to match the challenge of skilling at scale with speed, standard (quality) and sustainability. It aims to offer an umbrella framework to all skilling activities carried out within India, to align them to common standards and connect skilling with demand centres. In addition to laying down the objectives and expected outcomes, the policy also identifies the overall institutional framework which will act as a means to achieve the expected results. 

Skill Loan Scheme

Under this scheme, loans ranging from Rs.5000 to Rs. 1.5 lakhs will be provided for those seeking to attend skill development programmes. The idea behind the scheme is to remove financial hurdles for people who want to upgrade their skills and learn new skills.

Conclusion

Though skill training in the country has improved in recent years, the absence of job linkages is only aggravating the problem of unemployment. The newly appointed Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has echoed a similar concern. โ€œWe have to think big way, a lot of technologies are coming, conventional jobs are squeezed, new verticals are emerging, what are they, they have to be informed to employable youths which all big jobs are there.โ€

Skill development starts with identifying future job prospects and segmenting it according to the need and feasibility of training candidates. The PPP model of operation of SSCs presents a great chance of bringing industry best practices in learning and development into such training modules. Private players can use technology to automate, improve and scale training and certification approach of skill-based training. By creating better linkages between the many stakeholders in the process and establishing key deliverables and a clear chain of accountability would help make such training programs more effective. Working towards increasing the accessibility of such training programs, in parallel, should also be looked at. A recently proposed move of making such training more district centric is a step towards that direction.

As India aims to have one of the strongest economic growth stories in the 21st century, it becomes vital for it ensure it growing workforce is capable to handle the incoming disruptions and find suitable jobs. And a core part of this is to tackle the problem of unskilled labor in India and fix its skilling initiatives, today rather than tomorrow.

Types of Education

What is education?

In general terms, it is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Four types of Education:

Indigenous education

1. Indigenous Education- It focuses on spreading knowledge of cultural beliefs, rules and customs and its oral transmission from one generation to another. Indigenous education can be seen as a response to a strong wave of globalization. This type of education is more accepted and valued in some systems than in others, but in African context it is seen as a vital part of protecting and maintaining a nationโ€™s cultural spirit.

Formal education

2. Formal Education- As a prototype of the picture we have of education, is set in a formal, school environment with professional teachers, who follow a specific and planned teaching program. This program concentrates on specific skills, knowledge and education goals. Formal education is in most countries fully-funded by the state and in Nigeria there are different levels of formal education system: kindergarten, primary, secondary (divided in junior and senior secondary school) and tertiary education. Children would spend 6 years in a primary school, 3 in a junior secondary and 3 in senior secondary school, and at the end 4 years in a tertiary institution i.e. institution of the third level education such as university.

Informal education

3. Informal Education- As the name says, takes place in an informal setting and is a lifelong process. People learn from each other in everyday situations about various topic. This can be illustrated as a parent teaching his/her child how to determinate sides of the world or how to cook a family meal. There are no specific teaching/learning methods when it comes to informal education and a person can gain informal knowledge by visiting museums, reading books in library or being a part of a local community.

Non- formal education

4.Non-formal Education- This form mostly focuses on specific needs and goals of a group. Students of the non-formal education can be from different age and this system and its program, although pre-planned, takes place outside the institutional system. Non-formal education aims often adult literacy problems and other continuing education and skill programs such as, for example, swimming lessons for children. Methods used in non-formal education are very flexible and can last for different period of times, depending on the goals and the student group.

Through different types and methods it is easy to use childrenโ€™s natural curiosity. And although different, every type of education is a part of a puzzle, which leads to youth having good career opportunities and living conditions in the future.

Vikas Dubey Encounter

Someone said it right “Whatย you sow, so you reap”.ย This is very true when it comes to the latest encounter of criminal Vikas Dubey in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He had a criminal record of killing 8 policemen recently who went to arrest him instead were killed. He also has a record of almost 60 criminal cases against him including murders. The most daring and high profile one was the one in which he killed a BJP MLA inside a police station 20 years ago and was acquitted for lack of evidence.

 

The world around us is surrounded by various criminals and sometimes people at top positions are involved in the domain directly or indirectly. The manipulate and monopolize the truth and hence elevate the culture of the wrong being. Since so many people are involved, the network of such criminals gets more power and they try to spread their wings by doing more criminal activities. The large network also allows them to be convicted and arrested. Many of the murderers and criminals in the past have been released due to a lack of evidence when the truth was known.

What can you do with a law degree? | Times Higher Education (THE)

In the case of Vikas Dubey, the person was doing wrongful activities for a long time but the killing of 8 policemen recently led to his encounter as the case became high profile and came to media. Some rumors and reports indicated that once he will be arrested, there are chances that he will be killed sooner. The law doesn’t take account of the killing of criminals at the point unless he/she has created harm and is trying to escape.ย 

Now, this encounter seems like a typical Bollywood movie scene where the vehicle in which criminal was taken was rammed and in the process, the criminal tried to escape and police had to kill him on the spot has led to debate whether what happened is correct or not. If police can kill a person in such encounters, won’t all rapists who have clear records of what they did was incorrect be killed at that time? Won’t terrorists be hanged at the moment? Won’t other criminals who have the record against them be killed similarly in nearby future taking the shortcut?ย 

There is no doubt in the fact that criminal and legal cases in India take time and the best advice anyone gives is to settle the case outside the court as it is more convenient and saves a lot of time of all the parties involved. To kill a criminal on the spot saves a lot of time and effort in keeping him alive. When Kasab, one of the terrorists was taken into custody, there was a lot of money spent each day to keep him alive. But sometimes, it is also needed to keep them alive to get more information about how they have managed to do all these activities in the past and to know more about who else was involved with them.

A lone wolf is dangerous but a pack of the wolf can certainly create more problems in the jungle. Similarly, it is important to follow the legal steps and guidelines so that along with one criminal, the network-attached is also exposed and punished by the law.ย 

Is Branding a recent phenomenon?

Letโ€™s get to our journey by knowing – what is brand? The notion behind brand and branding? What purpose does it accomplish?

Branding is the utmost central task for marketers and corporations, as itโ€™s vital for continued existence. Corporates term brand as a โ€œlens through which the consumer assesses their products and an image of a firmโ€. Brand associations epitomize the attribute of goods and services in the cognizance of customers. Numerous analyses confirm that brands are not anew created model. Itโ€™s historic.

If truth be told, branding has survived for ages and can be sketched to the time of Harrapan civilization. We all know language was developed for two things during that days- First, for religious communication and second, for business trade and practices (Barter system). In the trade and practices, people use to keep record by sketching symbols or signs or any icons. Many historians named it โ€œan early brandโ€. They are also called โ€œProto-Brandโ€.

In 2000 BC, Indus valley civilization was rising. They used seals and it was used as brand to differentiate the culture. The seals were used in trading by merchants. The seals were attached with goods before dispatching. The Greek market revolution round the 6th century BCE, has led an entrepreneurial culture. There the pottery industries give a visual of artistic designs and branding, which potters used in arts. It gives an image of value and power of Greece culture. What is brand? Brand is a name, sign, symbols, picture, etc. which helps in identifying the goods and services provided by different sellers. Any product become a brand when some dimensions are added to it to differentiate the product in some way from other similar products. The dimensions can be rational, functional, tangible, emotional, symbolic or, intangible. Anything can become a brand โ€“ A service (Life Insurance Corporation), A product (Samsung, Dell, Apple), A store (Big Bazaar, Shoppers stop). Brand has an attribute which help in maintaining- high quality level, associated feelings, is worth the price it commands, evoke the feeling of confidence and pride amongst the users.

THE ASSASSINATION OF A GREAT LADY

Through the centuries the world has seen many acts of hooliganism and inhuman acts. Men like Abraham Lincoln fell victims to the bullets of assassins. The twentieth century has also its quota of assassinations. Since the death of Mahatma Gandhi, the country never experienced such a tragedy as that which took place on October 31,1984. It was the assassination of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

When Mrs. Indira Gandhi reeled and writhed on the ground riddled with bullets from the guns of her own security gaurds it marked the beginning of the end of a great era. An epoch making personality left the scene which she had dominated like a colossus. It was a tragedy beyond description. It was an end as sudden as it was tragic, an end to a glorious career, but the misery and pity of it was that such a life should come about in this way in Blood. The greater tragedy it was that she was gunned down by her own trusted security gaurds in her own house. The gardener had destroyed his own garden.undefined

Mrs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her security guards as she was leaving her residence to appear in a television documentary, then being produced by the world – famous actor and director, Mr. Peter Ustinov. She was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Research where a team of a dozen doctors fought a vain battle with death to save her. On the next day her mortal remains were moved to Teen Murthi Bhavan to lie in State to enable people to pay their last homage to the departed leader. An unending stream of people, tears streaming down their cheeks, filed past the body. But for the tragedy in it, the proof of the people ‘s love for the loyalty to Mrs. Indira Gandhi would have been a marvellous spectacle. On November 3, 1984, Mrs. Indira Gandhi left her residence on her last trek along a route lined by lakhs of people among whom, four thousand and more Army personnel maintained order and discipline. At 16-30 hours the mortal remains of the immortal Mrs. Indira Gandhi, one of the greatest fighters for freedom and one of the greatest figures of the 20th century world was consigned to the sacred flames, the funeral pyre lit by her son, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister.

No adjectives would do any justice to the greatness of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Coming on the Indian Political scene even before her tenth year – when most children of her age would have been at their pranks- she had her political tutelage under her illustrious father, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. From that period till she shed her blood in her own house, gunned down by traitors there was no looking back for her. To list her achievements or to mention her many meritorious qualities would require volumes. But among her achievements could be mentioned a few like the bold step of nationalising banks, her heroic leadership and exhibition of indomitable will in the war with Pakistan when she was dubbed THE DURGA and her 20- point programme aiming at the amelioration of the poor and the downtrodden. More than all these, her personal approach to problems of men and matters and her secular outlook and attempts to carry the people with her irrespective of considerations of caste, creed or religion gave her the stature that she retained till the end. Her incessant mission of striving for international peace and understanding could find proof in her work as the Chairperson of the NAM. The only homage that the people of India can pay her are not mere tears, but their practical action in eschewing violence and in striving to complete the various tasks that she had been prevented from performing by the cruel hand of death.

Migraine Vs. Headache

When there is pressure or pain in the head, it can be difficult to tell whether the individual is experiencing a typical headache or a migraine. Differentiating a migraine headache from a traditional headache, and vice versa, is important.

What Is A Headache?
Headaches are unpleasant pains in your head that can cause pressure and aching. The pain can range from mild to severe, and they usually occur on both sides of your head. Some specific areas where headaches can occur include the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. A headache can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a week. Triggers for this headache type include stress, muscle strain, and anxiety.


What is migraine?
These headaches are intense or severe and often have other symptoms in addition to head pain. Symptoms associated with a migraine headache include:
โ€ข Nausea
โ€ข Pain behind one eye or ear
โ€ข Pain in the temples
โ€ข Seeing spots or flashing lights
โ€ข Sensitivity to light and/or sound
โ€ข Temporary vision loss
โ€ข Vomiting
When compared with tension or other headache types, migraine headache pain can be moderate to severe. Some people may experience headaches so severe they seek care at an emergency room. Migraine headaches will typically affect only one side of the head. However, it is possible to have a migraine headache that affects both sides of the head. Other differences include the painโ€™s quality: A migraine headache will cause intense pain that may be throbbing and will make performing daily tasks very difficult.
Migraine headaches are typically divided into two categories: migraine with aura and migraine without aura. An โ€œauraโ€ refers to sensations a person experiences before they get a migraine. The sensations typically occur anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes before an attack. These can include:
โ€ข feeling less mentally alert or having trouble thinking
โ€ข seeing flashing lights or unusual lines
โ€ข feeling tingling or numbness in the face or hands
โ€ข having an unusual sense of smell, taste, or touch
Some migraine sufferers may experience symptoms a day or two before the actual migraine occurs. Known as the โ€œprodromeโ€ phase, these subtler signs can include:
โ€ข Constipation
โ€ข Depression
โ€ข frequent yawning
โ€ข irritability
โ€ข Neck stiffness
โ€ข unusual food cravings

Treating Migraine

Prevention tips
Prevention is often the best treatment for migraine headaches. Examples of preventive methods your doctor may prescribe include:
โ€ข making changes to your diet, such as eliminating foods and substances known to cause headaches, like alcohol and caffeine
โ€ข taking prescription medications, such as antidepressants, blood pressure lowering medicines, antiseptic medicines, or CGRP antagonists
โ€ข taking steps to reduce stress

Importance of training for the employee

To get started with the any work as a employee the company or the employer will give the training to the employee. As employee has skills but training will helps make that skills sharpen and gives more new skills to the employee. Training may be inform of on the job training and off the job training. On the job means training will be given along with doing the work.off the job training means training will be given in the form of class room lecture,online training etc. Totally training is important to get started with any new work it will give new skills and makes the existing more sharpen.

New Media And Reporting Gender Based Violence

Trigger Warning: Mention of Rape and Sexual Assault

New Media has also changed the style of journalism, such as the rise of online journalism, where facts, information, and reports are produced and distributed through the internet. News in the New Media era is enabled to spread more widely and rapidly. News content is now enriched by lots of digital elements such as images, embed videos, comment box. These elements make the information presented becomes more attractive. One of the salient characters of online journalism is its dependency on speed in delivering information. When we talk about the emerging trends in media, we cannot afford to overlook the role of online media in changing the scenario in the context of women’s issues. The content that the online media produces reflects the pattern of value the society. The prevailing attitude of society gets revealed through the way subjects dealing with women are treated by the media (Arpita Sharma, 2012). 

Media has the choice of acting as both, a protagonist and as a perpetrator-it can either reinforce the gender-based discrimination by portraying sensational and stereotypical images of women or it can provide balanced reportage that empowers women and not degrades them while exposing acts of gender-based violence. Rape cases and sexual assault cases are not a recent trend in the society but sensitive reportage and wide coverage by media while also bringing these issues forefront are relatively very new. 

Gender-based violence or GBV is violence that is directed against a person because of their gender. Both women and men experience GBV but the majority of victims are women and girls. GBV and violence against women are terms that are synonymous as it is widely acknowledged that most gender-based violence is inflicted on women and girls, by men. The issue of GBV reaches every corner of the world. The numbers of women and girls affected by this problem are shocking. According to the World Health Organizationโ€™s data from 2013, one in every three women has been beaten, compelled into sex or are abused. One in five women is sexually abused as a child, according to a 2014 report.

In coverage of GVB, several stereotypes are often perpetuated by the new media. These include that rape is similar to sex, that the assailant is motivated by female lust, that the assailant is perverted, crazy or a monster, that the woman provokes rape or assault, and that only women are only victims. Scholars have found that these stereotypes and myths are pervasive in media coverage of rape and assault cases. Not only the language and the framing of the headlines but also the visuals used in the articles regarding GVB play an important role in the general perception of these issues.

In Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (UNESCO, 2012), under Category B- Gender Portrayal In Media Content, B1.5- Strategic Objective 5 states the indicators for the coverage of gender-based violence. Three of them are-

  1. Use of non-judgmental language, distinguishing between consensual sexual activity and criminal acts, and taking care not to blame the victim/survivor for the crime 

2. Use of the term โ€˜survivorโ€™ rather than โ€˜victimโ€™ unless the violence-affected person uses the latter term or has not survived 

3. Use of background information and statistics to present gender-based violence as a societal problem rather than as an individual, personal tragedy 

Terms such as โ€˜victimโ€™ or โ€˜survivorโ€™ are often used to describe individuals who undergo these experiences. The term โ€˜victimโ€™ reiterates feelings of helplessness and lack of female agency, while the term survivor connotes a sense of strength and resilience. However, the affected person should have a say in what to refer them as. The โ€˜victimโ€™ terminology limits individual self-agency and identity. It is important to note that experiences of violence do not define the individual, but rather are a piece of a larger self-identity. Such labels focus on experiences of violence and presuppose an individualโ€™s inability to change or undergo any personal development to transform their identity into a peaceful, empowered personality. 

Images of sexual violence in the media often depicts women as covering their face, being silenced by looming hands, teary faces, large shadows near the woman, are some of the visual examples. These images not only fuel the stereotypes of women as helpless and weak, but also these images are also extremely triggering for the survivors of sexual assault and rape. 

When media reports women who have been assaulted or raped as nothing but victims, society can disengage and fail to take the issue as a broader societal issue and fail to take responsibility for any individual or group action to change it. It is crucial then for journalists to report on GBV in an informed way and to have a good theoretical understanding of the roots of these gender based violenceโ€™s and what needs to change in society. Otherwise, they can do harm by perpetuating patriarchal stereotypes and falsehoods. 

Different Job Expectations for different jobs

The mentality that ‘ a job is for life ‘no longer exists in professional world. Many people today consider the chance of changing jobs, while others prefer not to. Changing employer also means a duration of uncertainty, where one may have to worry about moving back home, or temporarily lose a stable source of income. Staying in one position means these challenges are avoided.

6 Skills Needed for All Jobs

Another advantage of not changing occupation is that one is able to acquire a great deal of experience and knowledge in one’s specific career, thus increasing job security. The corporation of one may recognize their loyalty and reward their service. On the other hand, those who regularly change jobs may be interpreted as unreliable, sorely missing experience and business owners may be reluctant to hire and invest in training.

Nevertheless, there are reasons in favour of changing work regularly. One is because the employment prospects of an employee are enhanced. Working in several different jobs often indicates that the person has more skill sets. These workers are seen as more diverse and resilient. The advantage of constantly moving work is that you rarely get caught in a rut. One can also think employers generally don’t tend to reward loyalty or commitment very much. Increased salaries and promotion are often easier to achieve through changing jobs.

Employees demand bonuses and pay hikes if they believe they warrant them. Many people tend to constantly shift employers in order to achieve this while others stay in one job in the same business. Nowadays that is a typical question. One firmly believes both situations have both advantages and disadvantages.

Second, if people have the same job with the same business, then they accumulate a lot of experience that is eventually counted for promoting and this contributes to a pay hike. In addition, it provides security and also shows loyalty to a company for increasing responsibility for this scenario. Therefore, the employer acknowledges the employee as a trustworthy individual and provides other incentives including bonuses for international jobs. On the other hand, it is a slow process of career growth to continue a job in the same company for a longer time. A lot of people also get tedious about the same work throughout the career.

Second, switching from one job to another will bring challenging surroundings, whether or not they continue in the same company. We get chances of getting new social connections when doing so, learning various skills in the work.

New pictures come to the screen through continuous adjustments. So, the individual will eventually be fresher into the new career. But if the transition takes place between different firms with the same job leads to a fast career development. More people generally become interested in following this process. The one major downside is that there’ll be more wage hikes.

Lastly, It is strongly believed that continuous job change brings rapid career growth. While remaining in a single job in the same organization prevents personal concerns such as changing home, increasing children’s schooling, transitioning to new world etc.

Longer Working Hours and Increase in Stress Levels

The ever-increasing work overload, the burden of relentless deadlines, the technical dependency on employment, and the desire of people to succeed in the workplace have changed the concept of professional life, and most workers need higher and longer hours of work every day. We will examine the reasons behind this work pressure and long working hours in this essay, and suggest some ways employers can help improve the condition.

9 Simple Ways to Deal With Stress at Work

It is a reality that work days are getting longer and that the strain at work these days is becoming more extreme. There are different reasons that escalated the mess and there are certain things that employers can do to help their staff. Those are explored in depth in the accompanying article.

Competitive rivalry on the job market is one of the reasons why work these days has become so stressful. Employers still have chances to recruit new hires to replace someone, which is why somebody who has already been employed needs to work hard to keep his career. This instinctively has cognitive negative effects on the employees. Employees have to work longer hours to meet their specific goals as the invisible threat of firing is there. Another reason to make the workplace so stressful is to increasing competition caused by globalisation.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries need to compete with other multinationals and firms where the labour price is cheaper. The consequence of this on staff is that if the company they work for fails they realize they will be made redundant. This compel the employees not only to work longer hours but also endure from work-related stress and unpredictability. Many days, managers are setting expectations for the workers of most companies and most of the expectations are hard to accomplish. Employees are often expected to work over 10 hours a day, often even on days off. Ultimately, the aspirations of the employees from the workplaces have hit a higher level and people are able to risk their personal life for the sake of promotions. This change in mind configuration has also been due to the rising burden on the job.

Despite the higher competition in business, employers should maintain a better working environment that supports their workers socially and financially in order to sustain in the long run. Without interactions and committed workers and company cannot thrive and the fear of change cannot guarantee a safe workforce. Employers should only allow workers to work the normal hours and work overtime where necessary. Employers should also motivate better performing people and give them awards for their performance. The workers should be permitted to take breaks and should not suffer from anxiety of losing jobs. Finally, employers should be friendly to the employees and have meetings to listen to their problem. If the employer can convince the workers that they are able to support each other and protect their jobs, so they can expect stronger production from the workers.

To sum up, it’s a fact that these days, work is more stressful and it takes longer hours. There are several steps employers might do to fix the issue, and one of them is supplying workers with gym facilities to reduce their anxiety levels. Another thing is that employers could also recruit unpaid internships to assist employees, as the working hours would be reduced.

IQ Versus EQ

IQ (Intelligence quotient or Cognitive intelligence)

IQ, or intelligence quotient, is an inborn ability and it measures the general intelligence. They can learn, understand and implement knowledge, perform logical reasoning and abstract thinking. IQ is the intellectual ability to manage ideas, knowledge and thoughts.IQ represents abilities such as: Visual and spatial processing , Knowledge of the world ,Working memory , Quantitative & logical reasoning.

EQ ( Emotional Intelligence)

EQ isโ€ฆ  Self Awareness ,  Self Confidence , Interpersonal Skills and  Social Competence

EQ is the ability to manage relationships with other people.EQ is centered on abilities such as:

  • Identifying emotions
  • Controlling one’s own emotions
  • Perceiving how others feel
  • Using emotions to facilitate social communication
  • Using Empathy โ€“ to relate to others

EQ refers to an individual’s level of emotional intelligence, which is represented by scores obtained in a standardized test. It is a learned and improved ability.

Measurement of EQ

Meanwhile, EQ assessments test different aspects of emotional intelligence: emotional literacy, empathy, intrinsic motivation and how we navigate emotions. Some school counsellors may suggest an EQ test for a child who is struggling socially, to determine which skills to work on.Just like with IQ scores, an EQ score of 100 is considered average; 115 is awesome, but 85 indicates there are some challenges.

There are a number of instruments that seek to โ€œmeasureโ€ emotional intelligence, including the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test or MSCEIT.

Unlike IQ, which is static, EQ can increase. But to really develop and master those skills, a child may need explicit teaching and practice.

  

5 Components of Emotional Quotient

When considering emotional intelligence, we look both internally and externally. EQ considers how we think about ourselves and how we think about and act toward others.The three internal hallmarks of emotional intelligence pertinent to self are:

  • Self-awarenessย is theย the ability to identify your own emotions and their impact.
  • Self-regulationย is the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods to suspend judgement and think before acting. In practice, it is your ability to influence your emotional clarity.
  • Motivationย is to go beyond the external drive for knowledge to pursue goals with energy and persistence.

Externally, EQ is a measure of what goes on between you and others.

  • Social-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others and react appropriately Social-regulation is your ability to influence the emotional clarity of others through a proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. relationship management (the ability to influence and connect with others).

Emotional intelligence is measured using 5-major components and 15-subcomponents:1. Intrapersonal Skills (ability to understand and apply personal emotions) – Self Regard ,Emotional Self Awareness ,Assertiveness , Independence ,SelfActualization

ย 2. Interpersonal Skills (people skills) – ย Empathy ,Social Responsibility ,Interpersonal Relationships ,3. Stress Management (ability to handle challenges) – ย Stress Tolerance , Impulse Control

4. Adaptability (Ability to react quickly, appropriately, and efficiently to change) – Reality Testing , flexibility ,Problem Solving,5. General Mood – Optimism To a great extent, each of the five domains represents sets of habit and responses that are learned, and so can be improved with appropriate effort

Exemplary qualities of people with high EQ

They are called as โ€œpeople smartโ€ for their extra-ordinary interpersonal skills and are good communicators.The emotionally intelligent child is also one who can verbalise her own emotions accurately, regulate them and control reactions to them( think of ways to defuse her feelings rather than throw a book against the wall.) A child with a high EQ can also handle more complex social situations and build meaningful friendships, in part because of that ability to relate to or empathize with peers.

As a kid grows into a teen and then an adult, EQ becomes tied to internal motivation , governs how emotions impact decision making, to make her cope with stress, solve problems and pursue goals.

Many companies hire for entry-level positions based on IQ, then promote people based on EQ. You need to have a brilliant IQ to be a good engineer, but to be a leader of engineers, your EQ matters more than your IQ.People with high emotional intelligence are likely to be doing well, to be effective at work, to have strong relationships, good health and a high quality of life.

What matters is how youโ€™re able to โ€œconnect with, understand and inspire other peopleโ€. He believes emotional intelligence enables you to demonstrate humility, making people naturally inclined to help you succeed. It also fosters resilience and grit, which empower you to overcome fear of failure and take risks for future success.

When you have the IQ to make good intellectual decisions and the EQ to build relationships with those around you, the sky is the limit.Leaders, Captains, Managers and people with social challenges tend to be more emotionally intelligent. high-EQ students are more co-operative and make better leaders in the classroom. get along with people in progressively collaborative workplaces.

Raise your EQ?

 EQ can be raised by recognizing  and naming the emotions we feel , understand why you feel that way , and distinguish between feelings and actions . It can also done by motivating oneself when considering how to productively harness your feelings, practice some emotional self-control  ,recognizing emotions in others and sensitive to other peopleโ€™s feelings and listen well.

It is a good practice to manage emotions and accept your feelings, but find a balance between over-sensitivity or over-expression and emotional suppression .While handling relationships – Being perceptive, applying conflict management skills instead of ignoring conflict, and being considerate and cooperative . Lighten up the situation by learning to see the humor in difficult situations and use it to smooth over differences. It can be done by resolving conflict positively by choosing your arguments, staying focused in the present, and be prepared to forgive or end conflicts that canโ€™t be resolved.

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?

Some strategies for teaching emotional intelligence include offering character education, modeling positive behaviors, encouraging people to think about how others are feeling, and finding ways to be more empathetic toward others.

Emotional literacy is the term used to describe the naming and managing feelings and learning to respond to othersโ€™ emotions appropriately.โ€œKids learn to understand the social world through storytellingโ€”it helps them relate to a situation and learn how to handle events and emotions,โ€ itโ€™s learning to be aware of their own feelings, to express those feelings, to be able to get along with other kids, ย to be responsibleโ€

Modelling EQ begins at home

Parents begin teaching emotional literacy to their kids from infancy. โ€œOne of the things thatโ€™s really important in the early years is for children to be able to understand how theyโ€™re feeling and to be able to put words to those feelings rather than acting out,โ€ says Chapman.

Emotional intelligence can be developed over time, free of age limit, with the condition that it is provided the necessary attention and effort to it. It is vital for overall success and is a flexible skill set that can be nurtured, it seems prudent for parents to teach emotional literacy to children from infancy.

The final words :

Researchers have shown that our success at work or in life depends on Emotional Intelligence 80% and only20% of intellect.IQ makes up only 20 percent of the factors that determine life success, while other forces, such as EQ, wealth, temperament, family education levels and pure luck make up the balance. That means cognitive skillsโ€”verbal comprehension, memory, reasoning and processing speedโ€”will help academically, but they will only get a person so far in life. To really go the distance, those IQ traits should be rounded out with social-emotional skills like motivation, perseverance, impulse control and coping mechanisms .

To gain extensive knowledge about this topic, please check the following link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence

cryptocurrency

What is cryptocurrency – the cryptocurrency is the digital assets based on a network that is the distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralization structure allows them to exists outside the control of government and central authorities. A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. Their are market ranking, and more. which in one of the-

1. Bitcoin is the crypto business take off the industries till waiting for regulation. Bitcoin rises during pandemic situation of 14% to performing assets of 2020 again.

The internet, when it rose to global consciousness and became an over get in amount of harbinger and industry, created enormous value in disrupting existing practices and building chapter, more accurate and efficient systems, Its advent promised much in term of decentralization and democratizing access to information, value service. It promised to remove barrier and middlemen, vastly reduce operational and logistic costs in so many ways.

In this article, i will explain the three main types of coins in cryptocurrency are the Bitcoin, Altcoins and Tokens. By the end of this guide and as well the before going to learning about the type of cryptocurrency. it’s important to understand what cryptocurrency is If you already feel too.

BITCOIN ECONOMY WORK – The bitcoin generate by the users transfer. The latest disruption, blockchain, and with it, the rise of cryptocurrencies show the way to the next stage , by creating decentralization computer or etc application.

2. RIPPLE(XRP) – Ripple was released in 2012 that acts as both cryptocurrency and digital payment network for financial transaction. It is a global set network that is designed to create a fast as well secure also.

3. LITECOIN – light coin was launched by 2011 as alternatively bitcoin. like other cryptocurrency litecoin is open source payment network that is completely not center authorities.

4. Ethereum – this is created by the in the 2015. Ethereum cryptocurrency that is an a open source based on a blockchain technology while tracking ownership of a digital currency transaction, the blockchain are also focus on the running by the programming codes on any decentralization applications.

5. Zcash – this was a digital currency and that was a build on the original bitcoin code and it was build a decentralization blockchain. A core chain feature and different of zcash is an emphasis on privacy. While not a function available to investors on equity Trusts. Zcash without the closing the sender, receiver the amount.

6. Stellar Lumen – steller lumen as an intermediate currency that was facilitates currency exchange. stellar a user allow a user send any currency they own to someone in different currency. Jed McCaleb founded the open source network steller creat the network native currency in 2014.

There was a time when you could the number and types of cryptocurrency on one hand. The today’s are their was no possible longer. The cryptocurrency market has grown, grown some more.

The available of over the internet of 19 August over by the $550 billion of the value wiped off cryptocurrency since their record just changes that’s why the cryptocurrency is used by more applications.

Free Spine for those who don’t have one!

DOWRY: A CURSE FOR SOCIETY

CHRISTIAN 26/175, Born again, Fair, Good looking, Software, Tamil, Chennai. Now in the USA. Seeking fair, good looking, working girl, Contact 98XXXXXXXX.

On Prima facie, this matrimonial advertisement published in a daily national newspaper bears testimony to the fact that marriage in Indian society has undergone a transformation. But while going deep into the root of the matter, we find out that no matter how marriage proposals have undergone a transformation, from arranged one to advertisement to the online matrimonial application, dowry system which is not seen in any of the forms but is still under the practice of ‘give and take.’ In many societies, the union of souls is not the sole criterion for marriage, rather dowry plays the role of ‘requisite criteria.’

So what is dowry? Dowry is the money, goods or estate that a woman brings to a marriage. In a court judgement โ€œThe Dowry Prohibition Act 1961โ€™โ€™ legal definition of dowry is defined as:-
“Dowry” in the sense of the expression contemplated by Dowry Prohibition Act is a demand for property or valuable security having an inextricable nexus with the marriage, i.e., it is a consideration from the side of the bride’s parents or relatives to the groom or his parents and/or guardian for the agreement to wed the bride-to-be.

Although Dowry is illegal in India by the Dowry Prevention Act 1961, it is still prevalent and widely practised in many societies.
Pertaining to the history of the dowry system in India different scholars claim different things based on interpretation of ancient Sanskrit fiction and inconsistent smritis from India. The Shastras, the reservoirs of Indian culture and heritage is replete with references to the practices of dowry. The marriage hymns of Rigveda and Atharveda are its instances. The Smritis have recognized the right forms of marriage. It was only in Brahmin marriage and the gifts to be given in dowry were left entirely at the discretion by the brideโ€™s father.
Al-Biruni further claims that a daughter, in 11th century India had legal right to inherit from her father, but only a fourth part of her brother. The daughter took this inheritance amount with her when she is married, claimed Al-Biruni, and she had no rights to take income from her parents after her marriage or to any additional inheritance after her father’s death. If her father died before her marriage, her guardian would first pay off her father’s debt, then allocate a fourth of the remaining wealth to her upkeep till she is ready to wed, and then give the rest to her to take along with herself after her marriage. (source: Wikipedia)

The idea behind the dowry system was very clear. Bridesโ€™ parents used to give money, land, assets, to the bride as a gift or blessing. But when British Rule came into the picture, they restricted women to own any property. Women were not allowed to buy any property, land, or assets. This leaves women dependent upon their husbands and in-laws, who keep the dowry when she marries. In 1956, India gave equal legal status to daughters and sons among Hindu, Sikh and Jain families, under the Hindu Succession Act (India grants its Muslim population the Sharia derived personal status laws). Despite the new inheritance law, dowry has continued as a process whereby parental property is distributed to a daughter at her marriage.

CURRENT SCENARIO
The magnitude of the problem of dowry today is to be assessed not only on the basis of money/goods, land etc given by brides family but also on grounds of reported cases of different forms of violence on a bride. These outbreaks of violence vary from burning of brides, cruelty, domestic violence against women, abetment to suicide, dowry murder, female infanticide and many more.
Although there are laws and acts which makes practising dowry illegal.


THE DOWRY PROTECTION ACT 1961
This legislation came into force from 1 July 1961. This act prohibits the practice, request, payment or acceptance of a dowry by either party to a marriage. This law also punishes demanding and advertising dowry. Any violation of the act leads to imprisonment up to 5 years plus fine of up to Rs 15000 or the value of the dowry given, whichever is true.

There are also sections in IPC that deal with dowry like:-
Section 304B
It is related to dowry deaths
Stipulates that death of a woman within 7 years of her marriage by burns or bodily injury with evidence of cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relatives in connection with dowry demand is โ€˜dowry deathโ€™ and punishable with imprisonment for not less than 7 years.

Section 406
Related to the recovery of streedhan (It is what a woman claim as her own property within a marital household. It may include jewellery, gifts, and dowry articles.)
It is Non-bailable and cognizable offence.

Section 498A
For any act of cruelty, imprisonment of husband or his relative for up to 3 years plus fine.
It is also Non-bailable and Non-compoundable(once a case is lodged there canโ€™t be a compromise)

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005
It was passed in order to provide a civil law remedy for the protection of women from domestic violence in India.
It encompasses all forms of physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse and forms a subset of the anti-dowry laws to the extent it is one of the reasons for domestic violence.

Despite such stringent laws and acts which are in force, Dowry practice is prevailing. In 2019, 913 cases pertaining to dowry deaths have been reported. And this is the number of reported cases. In Bengaluru, only the number of cases filed under the Dowry Prohibition Act witnessed a rise from 690 in 2018 to 739 in 2019.

Consequences of the dowry system
This system of dowry has solidified its root in our society that it is seen as a form of prestige in Indian marriages. The more dowry means more respect to the grooms family. Dowry or the amount of money given as dowry is proportional to the groomโ€™s income. It is very clear that dowry is creating violence. Apart from this, sometimes bridesโ€™ parents have to lend money to give a huge amount of money demanded as dowry by the groom’s side. There are other ill consequences also like:-
Low Women Literacy:- In many cases girls are not allowed to pursue higher education after 12th or graduation because of the ill mentality that they have to take care of the family after marriage and from where the capital is going to be arranged for her marriage if all savings will be invested in her education.
Female Foeticide:- In the avarice of dowry, and because our society gives more preference to the boys, female foeticide takes place. Although Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal gender screening or testing are illegal in India by Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994.
Gender Discrimination:- Dowry coupled with female foeticide is the leading reason to gender discrimination and low sex ratio in India.
Violence against women:- Domestic violence, marital rape, physical and verbal abuse, torturing of women etc. There are many forms of violence which took place and still unreported either due to lack of knowledge or suppressed voices because few women try to save the sanctity of marriage which never really existed.

It should also be noted here that there are also false cases of harassments reported and these laws and acts are being misused as it happened in case of Nisha Sharma Dowry case in which IPC 498A was misused. But this does not show that every case or violence pertaining to dowry is false or fabricated.

So, Dowry is the tool of harassment and inhuman expression out of the coalescence of processes and relationship which are degrading women turning them into commodities. The central message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that โ€œall human beings are born free and equal in dignity and honourโ€ only echoes a hollow concern. Be it in democracy or dictatorship, war or peace, womenโ€™s rights have been violated daily, systematically. Their freedom, dignity and parity are persistently compromised by law and customs.

WAY FORWARD
The dowry system developed from Indiaโ€™s inheritance laws in which it is the mentality of people that Dowry is a form of inheritance which the bride brings along with her to the groom family. Law and acts should be made enforceable on the ground, not on paper only.
All groom need to take a step up and say โ€œNOโ€ to dowry as they can be a milestone in abolishing this dowry system. Boys need to convince their parents that they will not take dowry. They should have the confidence to earn for their living.
Parents must educate their daughters so that they can have dignity and become self-dependent or start earning which will make them financially stable and courageous. A well-educated girl will also be able to compete against any turmoil or raise her voice against the mishaps.
All the expenses of marriage must be shared by both families according to their own capability.
People must give encouragement to simple marriages without taking/giving dowry.
Dowry is a social stigma that can be removed with all our contributions and awareness. It will take time to abolish but it can happen if preferred.

There is a very well known quote- โ€œThere is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of a woman is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.
There is no hope for that family or country where there is no estimation of women, where they live in sadness. For this reason, they have to be raised first.โ€
โ€“ Swami Vivekanand.

Toxic positivity

You must have heard people telling you to stay positive when you are going through hard times or maybe you must have heard yourself giving advice to others about how staying positive can help them. Being positive is essential to get through life but too much of it can sometimes do more damage than good. Excessive of anything can be harmful. As much as everyone believes in the undeniable power of positivity, it can take a toxic turn when we try to use it to hide the negative situations. It is a very normal human experience to face the hardships along with the good stuff but trying to negate your true feelings goes against any sort of development.

Over sweetening of positivity comes at a price of hiding one’s true emotions. Since it is always encouraged to stay positive and be happy all the time, we miss the fact that feeling sad is one of the most basic human emotions and should not be sidelined under false happiness. This only builds guilt towards one’s own emotions. Being on the receiving end of someone’s feel good quotes can be annoying at times. Sometimes you just want to and need to face the reality. This should also hold true when you are the one giving advice to someone. You telling someone to think positive doesn’t help anyone. It just creates resentment and feels as if you are minimizing someone’s experiences. Telling someone to look at the brighter side of the situation should also not be your first response when someone confides in you. Try to be emotionally supportive.

It is also apparently believed that there is some shame attached to feeling certain emotions or letting them out in the form of crying. The only reply we get is to man up and stop being a crybaby. In order to avoid this, we end up braving and portraying a false front. Suppressing or hiding these emotions lead to more stress and can erupt in a harmful manner. It makes one end up creating a fake persona for themselves. It creates pressure to be or act in a certain way around some particular people.

In order to lose this toxic positive attitude, try listening to people’s emotions and feelings rather than brushing them off. Tell them that even though you may not be able to provide solution for their problems, you will still be with them or even ask them what they need.

Being a healthy person requires being conscious of one’s emotions as well as others. Being overly positive can be harmful to you as well as to those around you. So cut the chain of toxic positivity but don’t dwell in sadness either. Set healthy boundaries for yourself and don’t let anyone, including yourself belittle your experiences.

Air Pollution and COVID-19

The nationwide LOCK-DOWN due to the pandemic has led to a drastic decline of NO2 emissions and reduced air pollution levels. Itโ€™s important that this is maintained even after the LOCK-DOWN lifts

In the middle of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, an inimitable positive has been the significant global decrease in air pollution levels. Primarily, experts have measured nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of the six major air pollutants (in addition to particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ground-level ozone, and lead). NO2 has, like most other gases, natural and human sources.

Natural sources include lightning, oceans, and volcanoes. But, in urban regions, natural sources of NO2 account for a small fraction of the total NO2 levels; as per a 2005 report by Australiaโ€™s Department of the Environment and Heritage, natural sources of NO2 only account for 1 per cent of overall NO2 levels in cities. Human activity is almost entirely accountable for NO2 emissions in urban regions, with road transport being the chief cause. Planes, power plants and ships, all of which burn fossil fuels, are also notable human sources of NO2. Given this, itโ€™s unsurprising that during the stringent global lock-downs, NO2 levels have dropped significantly in urban areas, especially in Indiaโ€™s densely populated cities.

Satellite imagery from the European Space Agencyโ€™s Copernicus Sentinel 5P satellite measure NO2 levels globally. These measurements correctly reflect emissions sources, because unlike other gases that can travel a considerable distance from where theyโ€™re emitted, NO2 has a short lifespan and dies before it can move very far. In other words, if the Sentinel 5P satellite captures a hotspot of NO2 over Delhi, itโ€™s highly likely it was emitted from within Delhiโ€™s vicinity. Satellite imagery is, therefore, a highly authentic tool for measuring NO2 emissions, specially if data with high levels of cloud coverage is precluded.

The global decreases in NO2 levels were first seen in China, where levels plummeted dramatically following the strict quarantine measures enforced in late January. As countries in Europe and North America followed Chinaโ€™s lead in late February and March, akin trends have been observed globally. Indiaโ€™s nationwide lockdown, in particular, has had remarkable effects on air pollution levels. With citizens quarantined at home, road transportation and power plant operations have come to a grinding halt, and pollution levels across the country, especially in typically smoggy cities, have fallen to dramatic lows.

Dramatic decrease

In Delhiโ€™s metropolitan area, pollution levels have dropped most dramatically; NO2 levels from March 25 (the day quarantine began) to May 2 have averaged 90 ยตmol/m2 compared to 162 ยตmol/m2 from March 1 to March 24. In 2019, NO2 levels from March 25 to May 2 were also over this yearโ€™s levels, averaging 158 ยตmol/m2.

In Greater Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, akin trend has been observed as NO2 levels from March 25 to May 2 averaged 77 ยตmol/m2 compared to 117 ยตmol/m2 from March 1 to March 24.

In almost all other big Indian cities, similar drops in NO2 levels are evident, highlighting the national scale of Indiaโ€™s lockdown.

The country-wide drop in NO2 emissions during this lockdown has significant immediate consequences. Exposure to high levels of NO2 has substantial detrimental effects on human health. Short-term exposure to high levels of NO2 can result in worsened coughing, aggravation of existing respiratory diseases (asthma), and hospitalization, while longer-term exposure can lead to the development of asthma and increase oneโ€™s susceptibility to respiratory diseases.

Many researchers have hypothesized that the drop in air pollution levels may presently be saving a notable amount of lives, not only by reducing individualsโ€™ vulnerability to Covid-19, but also by averting some of the worldโ€™s seven million annual deaths due to air pollution exposure. Yet, the dangerously high levels of NO2 in many urban areas before Covid-19 has probably resulted in far more virus deaths compared to the lives saved by this current drop in emissions. The pandemic and the subsequent decreases in air pollution levels due to the quarantine have illuminated a severe issue regarding ongoing high levels of air pollution.

Going forward

The terrifying reality is that despite human activity essentially coming to a complete standstill, current estimates suggest that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels will only decrease by roughly 5.5 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. To put this in perspective, to meet the goal of limiting the global increase in temperature to 1.5oC, which many experts agree would stave off the worst effects of climate change, global CO2 emissions would need to decrease by 7.6 per cent each year. Similarly, air pollution and NO2 levels are expected to rise to their normal unhealthy levels when quarantines are lifted.

Itโ€™s crucial that when Indiaโ€™s lockdown inevitably ends, and people return to their normal routines, they arenโ€™t forced to revert to their old behaviors. To make the current drops in air pollution levels long lasting, serious policy change needs to be passed. The reduction in road transport and the corresponding decrease in air pollution have illuminated that gas-powered cars are key drivers of air pollution. Electrifying transport, expanding public transportation, building more bike lanes, and finding other ways to incentivise people to ditch their cars would dramatically reduce Indiaโ€™s emissions from its primary human source of air pollution. Itโ€™s also important that these electric vehicles, and Indiaโ€™s cities more widely, are powered by clean sources of energy rather than fossil fuels.

Itโ€™s ironic that this devastating respiratory virus has illuminated another respiratory crisis.

Northeast: The unexplored beauty

Northeast is the collective name of the easternmost states of India. It comprises of 8 culturally and ecologically rich states. It comprises of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. These states are also know as ‘The seven sisters’ and Sikkim being the only brother.
If you are a travel geek, visit to the Northeast must top your bucket list. Each state is very different from each other, yet so similar. Each state can mesmerise you with its beauty. This part of India is so raw and pure, in comparison to the rest of the country and this makes it even more special.
Introduction to each state
โ€ข Arunachal Pradesh
The land of rising sun, Arunachal Pradesh, is characterized by mountainous ranges and sub mountainous ranges along the northern part. This state is truly diverse in terms of its culture. Arunachal Pradesh has 26 major tribes and multiple sub-tribes. People of Arunachal Pradesh speak over 50 dialects. Arunachal Pradesh is a green gold. Because of the variation in altitude and climatic condition, it has tropical, subtropical and temperate forest.

โ€ข Assam
Assam is a northeastern state popular for its wildlife, archaeological site and tea plantation. Assam is also known for its temples, especially the Kamakhya Temple. The worldโ€™s largest river island, Majuli, and the smallest river island, Umananda, are both located in this state. The culture of Assam is a rich and exotic tapestry. Natives of this state are known as Asomiya (Assamese) and it is also the state language of Assam. Weaving is an important part of Assamese culture. Gamocha is one of most easily recognisable cultural symbol, besides many.

โ€ข Manipur
Manipur is situated in the eastern frontier of India. Physically Manipur comprises of two parts, hills and valleys. The valley is centred surrounded by hills on all sides. The state has a forest canopy ranging from thickly dense forest to moderately dense forest to open forest. The cultural expression and art form of this state is famous worldwide. Manipuri dance whether folk or classical, is distinct from any other form.

โ€ข Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a hilly state in northeast India. This area is geographically rich, with mountains, stretches of valley and Highland plateau. Mawsynram, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya is the wettest place of earth. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya is known as the rock capital of India. The forest in Meghalaya are among the richest botanical habitat in Asia. Meghalaya’s forest host 660 species of birds.

โ€ข Mizoram
The state with highest literacy rate in Northeast is Mizoram. Among the northeastern states, it is the southern most landlocked state. Mizoram is the state of rolling hills, valleys, rivers and lakes. Traditional festivals in this region revolve around jhum cultivation. This state has several dance forms, including, Cheraw, Khuallam, Chheihlam, Chai.

โ€ข Nagaland
Nagaland is largely a mountainous state. It is 16th state of India on 1st December 1963. The state has a monsoon climate with high humidity levels. Nagaland, just like all other northeastern state, is high in flora and fauna. Mithun is the state animal and has also adopted as the official seal of the Government of Nagaland. Music and dance is an intrinsic part of Naga life. The Hornbill festival celebrated in Kohima, capital of Nagaland, is famous worldwide.

โ€ข Sikkim
Sikkim is the only northeastern state which is not a part of ‘seven sisters’. It host Kanchenjunga, the highest peak of India and third highest in the world. Sikkim climate ranges from sub tropical in the south to tundra in the north. Sikkim is one of the few states of India to receive snow fall. The state is situated in the ecological hotspot of the Lower Himalayas, one of the only three ecoregions of India.

โ€ข Tripura
Tripura is the third most smallest state in the country. The state is characterized by hill ranges, valleys and plains. Tripura has a typical savanna climate. Unakoti in Tripura is popular worldwide. Multiple folklore are famous about Unakoti.

Latest Government Schemes

Hey Readers, let’s go through some of the schemes launched by the Government of India in the year 2020. The main purpose of these schemes is to address the social and economic welfare of the society.

  1. Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyanย 

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was announced in four tranches by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May 2020. It aims to take India in the position of becoming self-reliant. The economic stimulus relief package announced by the government is touted to be worth Rs.20 Lakh crores. This amount is almost 10% of India’s GDP. This includes the already announced Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package, as the PMGKY, for the poor to overcome difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed to check its spread.

This scheme was based on 5 pillars that included economy, infrastructure, demographics, technology and demand. The relief package emphasized on land, labour, laws and liquidity.

For more details about the relief package, you can go to: https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/atmanirbhar-bharat-abhiyan/.

2.ย Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana

This a Central Sector Scheme which is administered by the Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmersโ€™ Welfare and Government of India in partnership with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

LIC is the Pension Fund Manager for PM Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana that provides an assured monthly pension of Rs. 3000/- to all the farmers after the age of 60 years. This scheme was introduced with an aim to secure the lives of around 3 crores small and marginal farmers in India.

3. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

The Scheme is available to people in the age group 18 to 70 years with a bank account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit on or before 31st May for the coverage period 1st June to 31st May on an annual renewal basis. Aadhar would be the primary KYC for the bank account. The risk coverage under the scheme is Rs. 2 lakh for accidental death and full disability and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability.

The premium of Rs.12 per annum is to be deducted from the account holderโ€™s bank account through โ€˜auto-debitโ€™ facility in one instalment. The scheme is being offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies or any other General Insurance Company who are willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose. As on 31st March, 2019, cumulative gross enrolment reported by Banks subject to verification of eligibility, etc. is over 15.47 crore under PMSBY. A total of 40,749 Claims were registered under PMSBY of which 32,176 have been disbursed.

For more information, refer to: https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes

4. Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

APY was launched on 9th May, 2015 by the Prime Minister. APY is open to all saving bank/post office saving bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen. ย Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 or Rs. 5,000 at the age of 60 years. Under APY, the monthly pension would be available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber.

Vitriolage

Kitna achha hota agar acid bikta hi nai, bikta hi nai to phir fikta bhi nai!!” – Chhapak


This famous dialogue from a Bollywood movie clearly depicts the pain and hopelessness of a victim when she was being attacked for nothing but denial. It clearly shows how insensitive and callous we have become as a society.

Acid attack is one of the most gruesome and brutal crime. Most of the acid attack victims are women. Men have also been the preys, but they’re minimal in numbers compared to the women. Section 326A & 326B in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) lays down the punishment for acid attacks. The minimum punishment is 10 years’ imprisonment which can be extended up to life imprisonment along with a penalty. But this punishment is not enough for such criminal minds who think it is okay to distribute, torture or kill an innocent person if she is refusing his so-called lusty love, or they can’t digest a marriage refusal. Conflicts regarding property or land disputes have also been reported as reasons for acid attacks. Attacks against individuals are also based on their religion and religious beliefs or socio-political activities.

The crime data for 2018 from the National Crime Bureau (NCRB) exhibits, the cases of acid attacks are constantly being transferred and delayed even though there are fast-track courts to handle these cases but unfortunately they do not seem fast enough!

Why do they take months and years to pronounce a decision?
Why can’t they declare the verdict in such cases as soon as possible? So that the attackers at least fear the law before committing such heinous crime.

If nearly 90% of cases in a year are being transferred for trial to the following year, how can a survivor get justice or can even hope for it?
This is shown by the data; in Indian courts, 523 cases were slated for trial in 2018 which are adding to the 407 cases in 2016 and 442 in 2017. Many such cases of acid attacks occur but never get filed because in multiple cases, settlements are done outside the courts or several other factors come into play like class, caste, power, religion, etc.

The percentage of cases that the courts cleared out of the cases that went for the trial, was 6.6% (27 cases out of 407) in 2016; 9.9% (44 cases out of 442) in 2017 and 6.11% (32 cases out of 523) in 2018 respectively.
The total number of cases of acid attacks that police investigated dropped consistently- 196 cases in 2016, 182 in 2017 and 150 in 2018.
While the attempt to commit such sin has increased in the last three years. The growth of the conviction rate is almost negligible. 2.45 per cent cases in 2016, 3.39 per cent in 2017 and 3.36 per cent in 2018 respectively.
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have been reporting the most number of acid attack cases in between 2016 and 2018 as per the NCRB data.

India, the country with the most number of acid attacks has the least number of convictions, even less than 5%. At least one case of acid attack takes place daily in India.
Supreme Court has ordered all the state governments to regulate the sale of acid in an attempt to stop or at least reduce these crimes. The court said that acid should not be sold to anyone below the age of 18, and that too only to the person who shows a valid identity card. And if anyone doesn’t follow the rules it will be a non-bailable offence. But all these rules and regulations are found to be just in paper. Anyone can still walk into a store and purchases a bottle of acid. The non-bailable charges also have loopholes through which the attackers get through easily and roam around freely while the victims undergo reconstructive surgeries and are bound to visit hospitals after hospitals.
The pathetic thing is that with a bottle of liquid that would cost a demon just Rs.10, he can degrade anyone’s life within seconds.

‘Scotland of the East’

Situated in one of the Seven Sisters Of India (seven states), Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya state in countryโ€™s northeastern region. There are as a matter of fact numerous similarities between this place and Scotland, and this is reason why Shillong is called Scotland of the East. Moreover to prove that the naming is indeed done appropriately, here are a few points that justify it.

Though, each place has it’s own unique charm, but letโ€™s just have some fun wondering about the similarities for the time being.

1. FIRST, the striking similarity between landscapes is actually a major reason behind the naming

Glen etive in Scottish Highlands

Shillongโ€™s terrain is adorned with rolling and sky soaring hills bestowed with lush greenery. Most times, you can browse through pictures of both Scotland and Shillong, and you will actually get your mind baffled wondering which photograph is of which place! On a cloudy day the mist-laden pasturage look nothing less than a paradise.

2. The meandering roads amidst valleys make way for that ultimate road trip youโ€™ve been dreaming of

Shillong Pass

The road to Mawlynnong, Cherrapunji, and the curvaceous road of the Shillong Bypass surely do allure just experienced drivers. Youโ€™d anyway rather sit at the backseat, so you can keek out of the window, let your hair flutter with the breeze, as the Himalayas unfold mesmerizing panorama before you.

3. Everyday is fun with cultural extravaganza

Culture in Shillong

The rich, colorful culture of Shillong makes it stick out. Just like the Scottish people, the tribes feel delight in presenting folk performances, and itโ€™s fascinating to sit back and witness. You can also be a part of the act and join them as they are on it, but make sure youโ€™re not spoiling the fun for others too. If not performances, youโ€™ll be bewitched by handicrafts, tribal attires, and of course traditions. For a culture vulture, the perfect way to get an understanding of localsโ€™ lifestyle is by staying in homestays.

4. The Scottish Highlands and the hills of Shillong razzle-dazzle with roaring waterfalls

Waterfall in Shillong

When youโ€™re travelling through the valleys of Scotland and Shillong, be prepared to come upon random glistening waterfalls, especially if youโ€™re visiting in the monsoon season.

5. The lakes of Scotland and Shillong hold stunning resemblance

Lake in Shillong

Alongside roaring waterfalls, Shillong and Scotland are embellished with lakes that are encircled with rolling hills. You can sit by for some time, or espouse this beautiful moment by boating on the lake. Keep aside any electrical device for a little while and just inhale the enticement in front of your eyes.

6. Many regions are undisturbed by heavy tourist crowd

Mist in Shillong

Even though Shillong in Meghalaya is a major tourist attraction in Northeast India, but you will come across a commendable balance when it comes to crowded attractions. There are numerous places in this place where you can pitch in your tent and connect with nature. Such is the natural beauty of this place.

7. The music festival scenario in Shillong is equally spellbinding as the Scottish one!

Music festival in Shillong

Scotland might be hosting some stunning music festivals, but believe me, Shillong will have your jaws drop too! The NH7 Weekender is a music festival which is one of Indiaโ€™s most awaited events. Famed artists like A.R Rahman, Steven Wilson, Farhan Akhtar and Fear Factory have performed in the festival.

We can come up with many similarities between Scotland and Shillong to justify its naming, but we believe, that the beauty of this beautiful Indian hill-station is one-of-a-kind, and that it cannot be compared with any other place in the world.

Introduction to share market

Share market is the market place where the shares of different companies will be listed and purchased and sold among different buyers and sellers.companies will bring their shares to the stock market through the IPO which means Initial Public Offering where company will first time sells its shares to the open public. When company need additional capital or Fund required then company will go for the IPO so the share will be listed. If the companies share is listed then only public can purchase that particular companies share in share market. Share market has its own time and working days which is depend on different countries. In working days only one can purchase and sell the shares.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS(SDG) OF INDIA

India, home to one-sixth of all humanity, holds the key to the success of the 2030 Agenda. India in its second VNR has made a paradigm shift to a โ€œwhole-of-societyโ€ approach with Government of India engaging sub-national and local governments, civil society organizations, local communities, people in vulnerable situations and the private sector.

Indiaโ€™s commitment to the SDGs is reflected in its convergence with the national development agenda as reflected in the motto of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas (Collective Efforts for Inclusive Growth). Based on the evidence from the SDG India Index, which measures progress at the subnational level, the country has developed a robust SDG localization model centered on adoption, implementation and monitoring at the State and district levels.

The following narrative further encapsulates Indiaโ€™s progress across the SDGs.

Sashakt Bharat – Sabal Bharat (Empowered and Resilient India): India has successfully lifted more than 271 million people out of multidimensional poverty through economic growth and empowerment. Enhanced access to nutrition, child health, education, sanitation, drinking water, electricity and housing, has led to reduced inequalities especially among people in vulnerable situations.

Swachh Bharat – Swasth Bharat (Clean and Healthy India): Through a nationwide initiative triggered by the Clean India Campaign and the National Nutrition Mission, India achieved 100% rural sanitation and sharp reduction in stunting and child and maternal mortality rates. Universal health coverage has been institutionalized through Ayushmaan Bharat, the worldโ€™s largest health protection scheme which provides an annual cover of USD 7,000 to 100 million families, covering nearly 500 million individuals.

India is at the forefront in the call for joint global action to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has extended medical assistance to several countries and has operationalized the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund with an initial contribution of USD 10 million. Domestically, Indiaโ€™s response to the COVID-19 pandemic includes an initial USD 22.5 billion economic stimulus package, comprehensive health coverage for front-line workers and direct cash transfers for the most vulnerable.

Samagra Bharat – Saksham Bharat (Inclusive and Entrepreneurial India): Social inclusion is pursued through universalizing access to nutrition, health, education, social protection, and developing capabilities for entrepreneurship and employment. Financial inclusion through Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity โ€“ near universal access to bank accounts aided by the Jan Dhan Yojana (National Financial Inclusion Scheme); Aadhaar card (National unique identity number) for over 90% of the population; and expansive access to mobile phones, has propelled new avenues of credit, insurance, and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to the poor, including to over 200 million women, thereby accelerating their economic empowerment.

Satat Bharat โ€“ Sanatan Bharat (Sustainable India): Indiaโ€™s climate action strategies call for clean and efficient energy systems, disaster resilient infrastructure, and planned eco-restoration. Acting on its nationally-determined contributions, India has electrified 100% of its villages, reduced 38 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually through energy efficient appliances, provided clean cooking fuel to 80 million poor households, and set a target to install 450GW of renewable energy and restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Globally, India stands third in renewable power, fourth in wind power, and fifth in solar power. India launched the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the International Solar Alliance to leverage global partnerships for climate action and disaster resilience.

Sampanna Bharat- Samriddh Bharat (Prosperous and Vibrant India): India is one of the fastest growing emerging market economies with a young population and burgeoning innovation and business ecosystem. With a GDP of USD 2.72 trillion in 2018-19, India strives to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025, and pursue an inclusive and sustainable growth trajectory by stimulating manufacturing, building infrastructure, spurring investments, fostering technological innovation, and boosting entrepreneurship.

In the spirit of South-South Cooperation, for realizing the 2030 Agenda, India supports developing countries through the USD 150 million India-UN Development Partnership Fund. In this spirit of regional and global partnerships, and the countryโ€™s commitment to โ€˜leave no one behindโ€™, India steps into the Decade of Action, drawing confidence from its experience in addressing challenges. Government of India will continue to work collaboratively with all domestic and global stakeholders to accelerate efforts for a sustainable planet for future generations.

Anorexia Nervosa

‘Hey, you have lost a lot of weight suddenly. Are you alright?’ You might have seen someone saying this to a girl/boy who really did lose a lot of weight suddenly. They look weak and skinny and often come across as short tempered. This is a common symptom of a disorder named anorexia nervosa.

It is an eating disorder causing people to obsess about weight and what they eat. Anorexia is characterised by a distorted body image, with an unwarranted fear of being overweight. Basically such people constantly obsess over their weight. This usually happens during adolescence. This is because during this time period, teenagers go through puberty. This means they feel the need of constantly looking pretty. This also usually happens to girls as the social norm is set as such that the skinnier you are, the prettier you look. No doubt this social norm is now dramatically rejected as people are more accepting of all kinds of body types.

Anorexia nervosa is a dangerous disorder. It’s like having a voice in your head constantly telling you that you look fat and should lose more weight. This is dangerous because people suffering from anorexia nervous are repulsed by the idea of eating. They literally don’t like eating. To the point they isolate themselves from their friends and family so that they don’t have to eat.

They not only despise eating, they exercise aggressively and push their limits to the store extent that they endanger their own lives. They constantly work out and drink water when they feel hungry. Whenever they do eat, they feel guilty and put off all the calories by working out more than ever.

Other symptoms of this disorder includes dizziness, dehydration and feeling cold all the time. Girls often miss their menstrual cycle. People often become short tempered or moody. They also become more anxious and apprehensive about basically everything.

They are often constipated and force themselves to vomit from time to time. Their nails become brittle and hair become dry, thin and fall out occasionally. Most dangerous of all is that they become malnourished and their heart beats slower than usual. They refuse getting treated because they constantly feel that they will become ‘fat’ or overweight. They might also suffer from depression.

Now that we know about this disorder, one must look out for all of these symptoms as we might just be able to help them. People suffering from anorexia nervosa need their family and friends even though they might avoid them. It is important for their family and friends to make them realize that life is more than just body types and weight. If they are not happy even after losing all that weight, losing weight is not the true path of becoming happy. They need to realize that their family and friends love them for who they are. Yes, it will be very hard for everyone around them. Especially the parents. But this is the time we must remember that we are the only ones who can bring their child back. Proper professional help should be taken and apart from that through therapy and proper healthy diet, they can always come back to their real home.

The only way to gain true happiness is through self care and self love. They need to realize no matter how skinny they become, if they don’t love themselves for who they are, all this trouble can never be worth it! Loving yourself is more important than anything. Accepting your body type is one step of becoming happy.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY(CSR) IN INDIA

Now Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is well accepted among shareholders as well as with various other stakeholders of society in India. The term CSR is new normal for Indian organisations. CSR tends to focus on what is done with profits after they are made. Larger corporations understand that CSR is an integral part of business framework for sustainable development. Companies also consider that CSR is an approach towards sustainable development and focus on the triple bottom line of Economic, Environmental and Social performance.

In India, the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is widely being used even though related concepts and terms, such as business responsibility, sustainable development, philanthropy, sustainability, corporate citizenship, responsible business, triple bottom line, shared value, value creation, business ethics, socio-economic responsibility, bottom of pyramid, stakeholder management, corporate responsibility, and corporate social performance.

The CSR activities of Indian companies are in line with the provisions of Section 135 with Schedule VII to the Companies Act, 2013. The CSR initiatives of companies thrust on creating value in the lives of the communities around its areas of business and manufacturing operations.

CSR has become an effective tool to work in the line of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a strong focus on social performance indicated in the CSR projects of the organizations. The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Most of the businesses consider community as one of its apex stakeholders and believes in inclusive growth. This year most of the organisations continued its CSR initiatives in the realm of Education, Health, Livelihood, Rural Development and Social Entrepreneurship.

Organisationโ€™s diverse projects and operations touch lives of people in many ways and create value by helping in overall and holistic development of communities within multiple geographies. Through its various initiatives, Companies endeavour to play a relevant role by serving communities and projects that address gaps in basic societal requirements.

Conscious business decisions by the Companies have directly and indirectly created value for multiple stakeholders and helped in improving lives of the people and species. Businesses in India believed in creating societal value by providing affordable products and services which have assisted in the growth of relevant and allied industries. Across all its areas of operations of Business, there are inherent linkages and interconnections with the immediate and long term societal impact.

Most of the business have a practice of reporting the CSR performance not only in Annual Report but also in dedicated Annual CSR Report and Sustainable Development Report. These reports are externally verified and are in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and Business Responsibility Report, mandated by the law and competent authorities.

CSR initiatives are conceptualized and implemented through Corporate Foundations, Non-Government Organisation (NGOs) and Agencies and not-for-profit organisations. Most of the organisations worked on 4P model (Public-Private-People-Partnership) for empowering communities and stakeholders. Businesses have positively impacted lives particularly of several hundreds of thousand underprivileged people through various CSR activities and approaches.

It has been observed that for Indian Companies, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with the employees, their families, the local community, experts and the society at large to improve lives in ways that are good for business and for its development.

In the broad manner, CSR segment of the organisation is guided by the Board of Governance, Business DNA, CSR and Sustainability Mission of the Companies. In compliance with the provisions of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 with the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, Companies have taken measures and steps to ensure improvement and betterment.

Most of the businesses seek to continue its contribution to the society through its distinct value proposition that meets the needs of millions of people, enhancing their lives through education, healthcare, improving quality of living by providing attitude, means and enabling livelihoods by creating employment opportunities through and for the Business, By the Business and Beyond the Business.

For the Business, value is being created for the society through business including employment generation, market growth and opportunity creation. By the Business- value is also being created through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions across different operating facilities with appropriate linkages to local communities in which businesses operate and Beyond Business- value is being created through interventions for the societies in diverse geographies across India through creation of demand and services.

At public sector business organisations in India, CSR has been also looked upon as closely linked with the principle of sustainable economic development, which demand that organisations should make decisions and act based not only on financial factors but also on immediate and long term social and environmental consequences of their operations and activities.

Businesses in India have been sensitive towards the concerns of society and is committed to operating its core business in a socially responsible way by taking into consideration the wider interests of the community and the environment.

Seven pillars of CSR strategy

1. Need of partnership in CSR

2. Cross learning

3. Supplementing and nurturing CSR

4. Per beneficiary cost reduction and maximizing the impact while reaching more people

5. Knowledge management and documentation

6. Use and reuse of resources for better CSR

7. Capacity building of the CSR workforce and re-skilling

Need of partnership in CSR

Business organisations now recognise Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a great opportunity to significantly strengthen their businesses โ€“ while building, strengthening and renewing human, social and natural resources and wealth. Finding the right kind of partners is absolutely important to the success of a CSR strategy. We are in connected world.

All issues are connected to the other issues, perspective and environment. Working alone is good but working together is great. Working alone yields lesser benefits as compared to the working together always. CSR world should explore togetherness by partnering with other entities. Togetherness in addressing the social and environmental issues is good for all. CSR world should encourage partnership to execute the mega social projects.

To fulfil the corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals businesses have to realise and act in partnership. Formation of partnerships has played a very significant role in progress and prosperity across the world. Partnership brings companies, businesses, people and society together and then pool their resources together in order to achieve the set goals. Partnerships is CSR is need of hour. Partnership opens doors for cross learning of knowledge and experiences.

Cross learning in CSR

Cross learning is key to CSR strategies. Learning improves performance and minimise risks. Effective partnership among likeminded organisations for CSR execution ensures cross learning in Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR leaders from different organisations must visit specific CSR locations of other organisation where CSR projects are being implemented and meanwhile they should meet the beneficiaries to gain new insights. CSR leaders must build a deep understanding of the socio-economic issues and they must be open enough to understand issues both from a business and a societal perspective. Learning from others in CSR can save time and resources. Concentrate on your CSR efforts but same time CSR leaders must learn from variety of successful CSR programmes. The greatest opportunities will come from areas where the business significantly interacts with society. Cross learning in CSR is immensely helpful in supplementing and nurturing CSR programme and projects.

Supplementing and nurturing CSR

Good CSR strategy and projects must be encouraged and supplemented. Opportunities for complementing and supplementing ongoing social projects and initiatives, programmes must be explored. Supplementing CSR emphasises on the sustainability of projects and programmes to ensure they remain relevant and viable even upon disengagement at the end of the project period. Every organisation explore possibilities for collaborating and co-operating with other corporations in order to synergise its efforts and increase both financial and social resources as well as outcomes and impact. Businesses may consider in supplementing even in smaller well defined CSR projects. Supplementing the CSR projects by the smaller or larger organisations matter in order to ensure optimal utilisation of the CSR budget and resources.

Per beneficiary cost reduction in CSR

Per beneficiary cost reduction and maximizing the impact while reaching more beneficiaries in CSR is key to success. Business organisations have a variety of motives for being attentive to CSR and run a CSR projects. Leaders can increase impact and reduce costs when they understand the role of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) in driving CSR Performance (CP). Business should think of reaching more people by using less money and resources. Reduction in per beneficiary cost can be achieved by the partnership, collaboration, cross learning and reuse of resources.

Knowledge management and documentation

CSR reporting practices strengthen organizations. The process of documenting and communicating CSR practices provides benefits to corporations, including the ability to formalize their position on CSR, identify organisational strengths and weaknesses, and manage stakeholder relationships and expectations. In India, any shortfall in spending in CSR shall be explained in the financial statements and the Board of Directors shall state the amount unspent and reasons for not spending that amount. As per the CSR Law, the CSR Committee of organisation shall institute a transparent monitoring mechanism for implementation of the CSR projects or programs or activities undertaken by the company.

Documentation, reporting and communication of the CSR performance in crucial to the CSR strategy.  Documentation of the CSR must be organised and structured and should be accessible. Companies can explore the new way of documentation, reporting and communications.

Use and reuse of resources for better CSR

Effective use and reuse of resources can improve the CSR performance. Awareness on use and reuse of resources among across the stakeholders can help in achieving the desired goals of CSR sustainability. Sustainable CSR can be achieved through community and beneficiaries engagement. CSR is a process oriented task.

Recycling and reuse often are the easiest places to start. CSR leaders should take the essential steps to recycle the commonly recyclable materials, and look for easy opportunities to replace disposable or recyclable items with reusable ones. CSR leaders also should look for partners to help with more challenging to recycle or exotic materials, as well as for opportunities to introduce reusable packaging. And of course, look upstream to design new idea, services and programmes.

Capacity building of the CSR workforce and re-skilling

In the fast changing world, capacity building of CSR workforce and re-skilling them are always relevant and are key to CSR performance. Human resource are fundamental requirement. CSR leaders must empower their subordinates by providing them right attitude, knowledge, information and trainings. Same time, CSR managers also be open to learn new things. Developing soft skill, professional skill, project management skill and leadership skill among CSR workforce is continuous process. Rigorous training, development and re-skilling of the CSR manners can save time, efforts and resources.

What Are the Effects of Water Pollution

Causes and consequences of water pollution

On human health

To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest to the most polluting industries.

Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways. Thousands of people across the United States are sickened every year by Legionnairesโ€™ disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water sources like cooling towers and piped water), with cases cropping up from Californiaโ€™s Disneyland to Manhattanโ€™s Upper East Side.

A woman using bottled water to wash her three-week-old son at their home in Flint, MichiganTodd McInturf/The Detroit News/AP

Meanwhile, the plight of residents in Flint, Michiganโ€”where cost-cutting measures and aging water infrastructure created the recent lead contamination crisisโ€”offers a stark look at how dangerous chemical and other industrial pollutants in our water can be. The problem goes far beyond Flint and involves much more than lead, as a wide range of chemical pollutantsโ€”from heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury to pesticides and nitrate fertilizersโ€”are getting into our water supplies. Once theyโ€™re ingested, these toxins can cause a host of health issues, from cancer to hormone disruption to altered brain function. Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk.

Even swimming can pose a risk. Every year, 3.5 million Americans contract health issues such as skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and hepatitis from sewage-laden coastal waters, according to EPA estimates.

On the environment

In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungiโ€”all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.

When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water. This dearth of oxygen, known asย eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create โ€œdead zones,โ€ where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, theseย harmful algal bloomsย can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.

Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic lifeโ€”most often reducing an organismโ€™s life span and ability to reproduceโ€”and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. Thatโ€™s how tuna and other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.

Marine ecosystems are also threatened by marine debris, which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Discarded fishing gear and other types of debris are responsible for harming more than 200 different species of marine life.

Meanwhile, ocean acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks, clownfish, and other marine life.

What Can You Do to Prevent Water Pollution?

With your actions

Itโ€™s easy to tsk-tsk the oil company with a leaking tanker, but weโ€™re all accountable to some degree for todayโ€™s water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:

With your voice

One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to speak out in support of the Clean Water Rule, which clarifies the Clean Water Actโ€™s scope and protects the drinking water of one in three Americans.

Tell the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and your local elected officials that you support the Clean Water Rule. Also, learn how you and those around you can get involved in the policymaking process. Our public waterways serve every American. We should all have a say in how theyโ€™re protected.

Water Pollution

The worldโ€™s water resources are under increasing threat from the impacts of climate change, population growth, and pollution. As the global population grows, a persistent challenge is how to access enough water to meet humanityโ€™s needs while also preserving the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. The Pacific Institute works on water resource issues around the globe, collaborating with stakeholders to ensure communities and nature have the water they need to thrive now and in the future.

Internationally, the Institute promotes source water protection and โ€œgreen infrastructureโ€ solutions in order to increase the climate resiliency of water systems and improve ecosystem function. The Institute collects, catalogues, and shares good practice examples of nature-based solutions; catalyzes investment in green infrastructure projects; and connects stakeholders with a common interest in advancing nature-based solutions.

In California, the Institute has played an active role at the Salton Sea for more than two decades, emphasizing the importance of the sea and the negative consequences of failing to act on its behalf. The Institute has produced leading reports on the sea, developed restoration concepts, participated on the stateโ€™s Salton Sea Advisory Committee, and continues to work actively with state agencies and local stakeholders to get real habitat constructed on the ground to benefit at-risk species and to diminish the amount of dust blowing off of the seaโ€™s exposed lakebed.

The Institute has engaged inย Colorado Riverย research and decision-making for more than twenty years, from early reports on climate change impacts on the basin, to a 1996 report on sustainable use of the river, to policy proposals for surplus and shortage criteria and the ongoing Basin Study. We have developed pragmatic, feasible solutions to the problems that challenge the river, for the people, fish, and wildlife that depend upon it. Our Colorado River work has also included place-specific research and restoration proposals for the Salton Sea, the Laguna Reach, and the limitrophe reach of the River.

What Is Water Pollution?

Water pollution occurs when harmful substancesโ€”often chemicals or microorganismsโ€”contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.

What Are the Causes of Water Pollution?

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a โ€œuniversal solvent,โ€ water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. Itโ€™s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. Itโ€™s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution.

Categories of Water Pollution

Groundwater

When rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an aquifer (basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwaterโ€”one of our least visible but most important natural resources. Nearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater, pumped to the earthโ€™s surface, for drinking water. For some folks in rural areas, itโ€™s their only freshwater source. Groundwater gets polluted when contaminantsโ€”from pesticides and fertilizers to waste leached from landfills and septic systemsโ€”make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use. Ridding groundwater of contaminants can be difficult to impossible, as well as costly. Once polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread contamination far from the original polluting source as it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.

Surface water

Covering aboutย 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is, from sources other than the ocean) accounts forย more than 60 percentย of the water delivered to American homes. But a significant pool of that water is in peril. According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,ย nearly half of our rivers and streamsย andย more than one-third of our lakesย are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking.ย Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become aย major pollutantย due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff. Municipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fair share of toxins as well. Thereโ€™s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.

Ocean water

Eighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) originates on landโ€”whether along the coast or far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from farms, factories, and cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel out to sea. Meanwhile, marine debrisโ€”particularly plasticโ€”is blown in by the wind or washed in via storm drains and sewers. Our seas are also sometimes spoiled by oil spills and leaksโ€”big and smallโ€”and are consistently soaking up carbon pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions.

Point source

When contamination originates from a single source, itโ€™s called point source pollution. Examples include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal dumping. The EPA regulates point source pollution by establishing limits on what can be discharged by a facility directly into a body of water. While point source pollution originates from a specific place, it can affect miles of waterways and ocean.

Nonpoint source

Nonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources. These may include agricultural or stormwater runoff or debris blown into waterways from land. Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of water pollution in U.S. waters, but itโ€™s difficult to regulate, since thereโ€™s no single, identifiable culprit.

Transboundary

It goes without saying that water pollution canโ€™t be contained by a line on a map. Transboundary pollution is the result of contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another. Contamination can result from a disasterโ€”like an oil spillโ€”or the slow, downriver creep of industrial, agricultural, or municipal discharge.

The Most Common Types of Water Contamination

Agricultural

Toxic green algae in Copco Reservoir, northern CaliforniaAurora Photos/Alamy

Not only is the agricultural sector the biggest consumer of global freshwater resources, with farming and livestock production using about 70 percent of the earthโ€™s surface water supplies, but itโ€™s also a serious water polluter. Around the world, agriculture is the leading cause of water degradation. In the United States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams, the second-biggest source in wetlands, and the third main source in lakes. Itโ€™s also a major contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater. Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock operations wash nutrients and pathogensโ€”such bacteria and virusesโ€”into our waterways. Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-one threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife.

Sewage and wastewater

Used water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes stormwater runoff, which occurs when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals, and debris from impermeable surfaces into our waterways

More than 80 percent of the worldโ€™s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations; in some least-developed countries, the figure tops 95 percent. In the United States, wastewater treatment facilities process about 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day. These facilities reduce the amount of pollutants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage, as well as heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste, before discharging the treated waters back into waterways. Thatโ€™s when all goes well. But according to EPA estimates, our nationโ€™s aging and easily overwhelmed sewage treatment systems also release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.

Oil pollution

Big spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority of oil pollution in our seas, including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of cars and trucks every day. Moreover, nearly half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into marine environments each year comes not from tanker spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities. At sea, tanker spills account for about 10 percent of the oil in waters around the world, while regular operations of the shipping industryโ€”through both legal and illegal dischargesโ€”contribute about one-third. Oil is also naturally released from under the ocean floor through fractures known as seeps.

Radioactive substances

Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the environment. Itโ€™s generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and medicine. Radioactive waste can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making disposal a major challenge. Consider the decommissioned Hanford nuclear weapons production site in Washington, where the cleanup of 56 million gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than $100 billion and last through 2060. Accidentally released or improperly disposed of contaminants threaten groundwater, surface water, and marine resources.

Training

“Training helps teach the vision and mission, but employees must put the training into action for it to have meaning.” – Shep Hyken

The above quote really has a deep meaning as it is an important element for an employee and his organisation. It constitutes a basic concept in human resource development. Before starting further first we should know what is training? According to Edwin Filippo- ” Training is the act of increasing the skills of an employee for doing a particular job.” In layman terms training is a learning process which gives an opportunity to the employees to develop their skills, knowledge and competency as per their job requirements. It is a very useful tool as it brings an employee into a position where they can perform their jobs correctly, efficiently and confidently.

Generally training is not a continuous process, it is periodical and given in specified time. Training is given by an expert or professional in related field or job. Training helps an employee to keep themselves updated in this dynamic environment. Training programs is generally provided to the employees so that they can improve their quality of work. Training bridges the gap between job need and employees skills. Training is a task oriented activity as it helps in improving the performance of an employee. Training is about acquiring competencies to cope with the variety of complex and difficult situation. It is a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery as it leads to growth and development. It helps your employees to explore and realise their potential and talent. Through this training program one is able to identify his strength and weaknesses and it also helps in clearing there doubts and misconception which will help them to know their hidden abilities. It helps in establishing relationship between theory and practice as it develops the ability to translate acquired concepts, principles, knowledge and skills into action and through this way we can build a relationship between the two. Training is very important in an employee’s life as through training he or she will be able to know and learn so many new things like it will develop new skills in an employee, it helps in improving employee’s performance, it increases engagement as we know that an engaged employee has an increased level of productivity, it improves employee retention and growth as the process of training involves cost and thus it motivates the employee who undergoes training, consistency in training- as creating consistency within an organisation is difficult but training helps reduce a disparity between your teams, it helps in tracking employee skills, training is necessary when the existing employee is promoted to the higher level in the organisation as it requires some new skills and knowledge according to job requirements and so on the list of importance of training is never ending. As good things has never ending positive results. Training also helps in motivating the employee and helps in gaining organisational excellence. It also helps in preventing employee attrition as training program provides them a sense of satisfaction as they think that there organisation invest in them by this training session.

Last But Not the Least

“Our strength comes from our people.” Training is a very important HR function as it helps in the growth of an employee as well as the organisation.

ENVIRONMENT

Environment is the surrounding in which an organization operates ,including air,water,land,natural resources flaura ,fauna,human beings and there interrelation .

the natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally ,meaning in this case not artificial .the term is not often applied to the earth or some parts of earth.

Components of environment. Environment mainly consists of atmosphere ,hydrosphere ,lithosphere and biosphere .but it can be roughly divided into 2 parts such as micro environments and macro environments. It can be divided into two types such as physical and biotic environments.

Some important components of environment. Atmosphere. The atmosphere is the protective blanket of gases which is surrounded the earth .it protect the earth from the hostile environment of outer space .

Hydrosphere the hydrosphere is a collective term given to all different forms of water.it includes all type of water resources such as oceans ,sea ,river,lakes ,streams,and groundwater .

Biosphere the biosphere refers to the realms of living organisms and there interactions with the environment .the biosphere is very large and complex and is divided into smaller units is called ecosystems.

Environment is a place where different things are such a swampy or hot environment it can be living or non living things. It includes physical, chemical and other natural forces ………..since everything is a part of of environment of something else .the word environment is used to talk about many things.

human impact on the environment .human impacts of physical environment in many way .overpollution,pollution, burning fossil fuels ,and deforestation .changes like these have triggered climate change,soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water.

How do our activities affect the environment human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in earth’s atmosphere in the amount of greenhouse gases aerosols and cloudiness .the largest known contribution comes from the burning fossil fuels ,which realised carbon dioxide gas at the atmosphere.

the simple things you can do to help protect the earth . Reduce,reuse,and recycle volunteer conserve water plant a tree use long lasting lights bulbs etc.

The Problem with Online Education in India

With Covid-19 disrupting all the hitherto establish modes of living, studying, and working in our society, more activities are being moved online. This is aimed at continuing our stream of activities but in a different mode so as to ensure that no business or endeavour is fatally suffering from this pandemic. While this might not be fully possible for every aspect of existence, it is a method to try and maintain a semblance of normalcy in our everyday activities. Most IT companies have moved completely online and allow all their workers to work from home. Restaurants and hotels rely highly on apps that deliver food to continue their business, and even education is now gearing to completely move online. This seems well and good at first glance but the question of whether this can ever be successful in a country like India is a serious one.

woman working at home using her laptop
Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

Our country is a developing one, where the majority of the population still lives in rural areas and the internet is not a luxury that everyone can afford nor have access to. While the need to continue education is important, one might ask at what cost this is being done. Even when we talk about work from home, we are all aware that a very narrow part of the population has this privilege. Daily wage workers do not get to work from home and they have no option but to risk their lives in the midst of the pandemic if the government itself fails to take care of them. Small scale industries and shops all close down. We have a massive economic crisis on our hands but alongside this, we need to understand that there will be a widening of the educational gap, a crisis whose effects we will start to fully comprehend in a couple of months.

Most middle-class and upper-class households are able to comply with the needs of online learning since they own laptops and smartphones. They also have enough money for data and internet connections. However, it is still a stark reality that education in rural India and amongst lower-class households is extremely limited owing to factors of economy and access, as well as gender and caste. India supposedly houses 430 million persons below the age of 18 many of whom come from rural settings. Only 47% of households in India have electricity for more than 12 hours a day according to a survey that the Ministry of Rural Development conducted in 2017-18. It is an eye-opener to the urban citizen that only 24% of Indians own a smartphone. And one must remember that in a household with more than one child, there has to be multiple gadgets for all of them to receive their education.

66% of Indiaโ€™s population lives in villages and an extremely minuscule portion of them will even be able to attend classes of any sort. The development of our country and much of its economy is reliant on these villages but if we forget them in this hour of need, the consequences will be hazardous for the whole country. If we do not take aggressive measures to tackle these problems and provide materials resources to those in need so that their children can access classes, the current online education system will create a massive digital divide that will cause a majority of the Indian population to suffer. It will impair their access to a better life and opportunity, any attempt to get on par with their privileged peers would largely result in failure and this will drive many to lives of low economic value, toil, suffering, and access. This will be carried forward into their coming generations. Unless addressed, it will lead to a systemic denial of the fundamental right to education and opportunity, and hence, while attending our own online lectures, we should take this very seriously and implement measures to better this situation in every possible way. This is not the only problem that online education creates but it is by far the most important.

Delhi the city of pandavas

Delhi, the capital of India has a strong historical background. It was ruled by some of the most powerful emperors in Indian history.

The history of the city is as old as the epic Mahabharata. The town was known as Indraprastha, where Pandavas used to live. In due course eight more cities came alive adjacent to Indraprastha: Lal Kot, Siri, Dinpanah, Quila Rai Pithora, Ferozabad, Jahanpanah, Tughlakabad and Shahjahanabad.

History

indraprastha is not only known from the Mahabharata. It is also mentioned as “Indapatta” or “Indapattana” in Pali-language Buddhist texts, where it is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, situated on the Yamuna River. The Buddhist literature also mentions Hatthinipura (Hastinapura) and several smaller towns and villages of the Kuru kingdom. Indraprastha may have been known to the Greco-Roman world as well: it is thought to be mentioned in Ptolemy‘s Geography dating from the 2nd century CE as the city “Indabara”, possibly derived from the Prakrit form “Indabatta”, and which was probably in the vicinity of Delhi.

Partition


After their Uncle King Dhritarashtra partitioned the Kingdom of Hastinapur (which was rightfully Yudhishtir’s) into two in order to stem the rivalry between the Pandava brothers and the Kauravas .

Mahabharata is about the Kauravas and the Pandavas, two groups of relatives engaged in a long conflict with each other. It refers to Indraprastha as a major city that was the capital of the Pandava Kingdom from about 1400 BC. Indraprastha is considered to have been the first significant settlement in the Delhi area, which has since hosted a succession of kingdoms and giant civilisations. At some point, Indraprastha fell from grace, either conquered or abandoned. The ASI believes that Purana Qila may have been built on top of these ruins.

How much years did pandavas ruled on indraprastha?

Indraprastha, The capital of the Pandavas (the Pandus) whence they ruled for 36 years.

It lay to the west of Yamuna river, in modern-day Delhi territory.

How did pandavas built the indraprastha?

 Pandavas cleared this forest to construct their capital city called Indraprastha. This forest was earlier inhabited by Naga tribes led by a king named Takshaka.

Arjuna and Krishna cleared this forest by setting up a fire. The inhabitants of this forest were Killed or displaced. This was the root cause of the enmity of the Naga Takshaka towards the Kuru kings who ruled from Indraprastha and Hastinapura.

The Mahabharata states that Indra was the protecting deity (deva) of Khandava forest, which is why the region was known as Indraprastha.

When the forest was being burned, Indra attacked Arjuna with his bolt (vajra), injuring him.

But Arjuna defeated all gods, Gandharvas and demons in that fierce battle and burnt entire forest.

chhapadeshwar Mahadev Mandir in Kharkhoda, Haryana was the part of Khandav Van.

Khanda village named after Khandava Forest.

Later Lord Indra sent Mayasur and Vishvakarman  to Build a Superlative City that would be so Beautiful and Magnificent that it would compete with Lord Indraโ€™s Heavenly abode – Hence it was called as โ€œMayanagariโ€ or a Magical city as Maya an Asur had built it with several Magical Tricks and Treats in Architecture and construction.

Who ruled on indraprastha after the defeat of kauravas and pandavas?

The death of several rulers and kings in the war resulted in several successions, of which two notable ones being the crowning of Yudhishthira as the king of Hastinapura and declaration of Yuyutsu as the subordinate king to Yudhishthira for the kingdom of Indraprastha. Evidently, the central power in the Gangetic plain had now shifted from the Kurus to the Panchalas. The states of Hastinapur and Indraprastha were reunified and were governed by the Pandavas.

Now, where the indraprastha situated in delhi and on what place?

ย It is often thought to have been located in the region of present-dayย New Delhi, particularly the Old Fort (Purana Qila), although this has not been conclusively confirmed. The city is sometimes also known asย Khandavaprasthaย orย Khandava Forest, the name of a forest region on the banks ofย Yamunaย river.

PARENTAL PRESSURE

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One of the currently discussed topic in society is about parent children relationship. Family is the basis of all economic activities. Bonds can be a blessing and also a curse.

Parents always prefer their children to perform well. They often dream of their children attending the best of universities and then securing a most respectful job in society. They work hard to earn money to take care of their children. Now, students are experiencing tremendous pressure to keep their grades to a near-perfect level. The sources of pressure are both internal and external. This pressure sometimes lead them to commit suicides as a solution for every problems. Many awareness classes are organized in schools and colleges. But every year thousands are committing suicides. Literacy or illiteracy is not a matter of choice.

Parents tend to apply pressure because they are worried about whether or not their child will be successful and also if they are a good enough parent. Marks are always considered as a parameter for judging their children. So, they pressure children to get full marks. High parental aspiration led to increased academic achievement, but only when it did not overly exceed realistic expectation. When aspiration exceeded expectation the children ‘s achievement decreased proportionately.

Too much pressure damages a child’s self esteem and can lead to severe consequences,including depression. It can lead to stress causing headaches, stomachaches, neck aches, lack of sleep and even anxiety attacks.

Parental pressure creates a sense of worthlessness which was discovered to be one of the chief reasons why teenage suicide rates increased from the 1950’s, according to a study done at the University of St Thomas.

What parents can do?

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  1. Managing children’s frequent tantrums – Not to react immediately to the situation, Calm oneself before reacting.
  2. Tackling disobedient children-Disobedient children do not want to stamp their autonomy on the household.Try to hear their side of the story and once they are done put across your opinions.
  3. Mediating in sibling rivalry – Understand the psychology of the children and discipline them separately without judging who is right and who is wrong.
  4. Stopping children from telling white lies – They often lie to their parents to turn adverse situation in their favour.
  5. Removing study related fears.
  6. Don’t criticize in each and every act.
  7. Avoid spending too much time talking about hardwork.
  8. Don’t focus on how they need to win or be the best.

Encouragement coming from parents can be a child’s stepping stone to success. They are key player in children ‘s life to learn confidence, hardwork and excellence. It is the responsibility of each parent to teach their child to accept failure withoutllosing heart. Failure is a cue to seek opportunity and not an occasion for mourning. Make sure that child is happy with what they are pursuing and don’t let them miss out on opportunities to learn from their own life experiences. Every person in the world are unique. Home is supposed to be a sanctuary for the whole family not a place where kids come to get probed, lectured and controlled. Create a restful home full of divergent opinions, healthy debates and spontaneous self expression.

Anxiety

Everyone has anxiety, but chronic anxiety can interfere with the quality of life. It can also cause severe damage to our physical health. Anxiety is a normal part of life. For example, feeling anxious before entering the exam centre or a job interview. In general terms, anxiety increases breathing and heartbeat, concentrating blood flow to our brain, where we need it. If it gets too intense, however, people might start to feel lightheaded or likely to be in a state of trance. An excessive or persistent state of anxiety can have a devastating impact both on our physical and mental health. Anxiety disorder can happen at any stage of life, but they usually begin by middle age. Women are more likely to have an anxiety disorder than men. Stressful life experiences may increase risk for an anxiety disorder, too. Symptoms may begin immediately or years later. Having a serious medical condition or a substance use disorder can also lead to an anxiety disorder.


There are several types of Anxiety Disorders. They include :


Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Generalized anxiety disorder is marked by excessive anxiety for no logical reason. GAD is diagnosed when extreme worry about a variety of things lasts six months or longer. If you have a mild case, youโ€™re probably able to complete your normal day-to-day activities. More severe cases may have a profound impact on your life.

Social Anxiety Disorder
This disorder involves a paralyzing fear of social situations and of being judged or humiliated by others. This severe social phobia can leave one feeling ashamed and alone.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This develops after witnessing or experiencing something traumatic. Symptoms can begin immediately or be delayed for years. Common causes include war, natural disasters, or a physical attack. PTSD episodes may be triggered without warning.

Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
People with OCD may feel overwhelmed with the desire to perform particular rituals (compulsions) over and over again, or experience intrusive and unwanted thoughts that can be distressing (obsessions).
Common compulsions include habitual hand-washing, counting, or checking something. Common obsessions include concerns about cleanliness, aggressive impulses, and need for symmetry.


Phobias
These include fear of tight spaces (claustrophobia), fear of heights (acrophobia), and many others. You may have a powerful urge to avoid the feared object or situation.


Panic Disorder
This causes panic attacks, spontaneous feelings of anxiety, terror, or impending doom. Physical symptoms include heart palpitations, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

Anxiety disorder can cause other symptoms, including:
โ€ข headaches
โ€ข muscle tension
โ€ข insomnia
โ€ข depression
โ€ข social isolation

‘The New Normal’

Lockdown In India: India has been in a complete lockdown system due to the global pandemic issue since March 2020. It was the only way of staying safe at our homes and maintaining social distancing. However, all essential services,essential commodities and medicines were available. Banks, ATMs, grocery shops, petrol pumps, hospitals were not included in the lockdown. The night curfew was initiated by the Government that no movement of people from 7pm to 7am shall take place except for essential items.

The global pandemic changed the daily lifestyles of people, the work scenarios, the Indian economy, the Entertainment Industry, and so on.

Nothing like this was expected that the world would be in such a dilemma.The entire world has been affected by the global pandemic issue. Be it the economy, the business and industry sectors, the health sectors, the agriculture and law sectors, small scale and large scale sectors,railways and metros,aviations,etc.

The poor and daily wages workers have been hit tremendously by this pandemic. They are the ones suffering a lot today. Even the unemployed are facing problems and a number of employees have lost their jobs already. The ones still working in their work spaces are constantly in fear of the safety of themselves and the others.

This pandemic has changed a lot of things over the past few months. Each and every person is suffering due to the sudden issue be it through mentally or financially.

Even after the complete lockdown system initiated by the Govt. of India for literally three months, the number of cases of covid-19 has been going on tremendously increasing day by day. There is no number of decrease in the cases till date.

The nation followed complete lockdown for more than two months except for essential items. Initially, the domestic flights were resumed from May 25th with guidelines that has to be followed for travelling. The Railways then decided to start to operate the Shramik Special trains from May 1st to transport the stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists.

The centre then decided to start lifting few restrictions on things in lockdown as Unlock 1.0 phase from the 8th of June. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi Ji however gave the authorities to the States and Union Territories to decide about what should be made opened and not in their respective states.

In the Unlock 1.0 phase malls, hotels and restaurants for takeaway and home delivery, and places of worship for the public were made opened. However, social distancing and proper safety measures had to be followed. The containment zones were in complete lockdown as earlier. People stepped out of the houses as soon as they heard about the Unlock 1.0 phase thus increasing the risk of themselves and others.

Amid the rise in the cases of the coronavirus after the Unlock 1.0 phase, the Government directed the State & Union Territories to ensure mandatory basis that no movement of people except for essential things would be allowed from 9pm to 5am throughout the whole nation. Indian Railways decided to operate 15 pairs of Special AC trains from 12th of May and 200 time-tabled trains from the 1st of June.

On July 1st, the nation entered into the Unlock 2.0 Phase with relaxations in night curfew, provision for more domestic flights and trains and clearance for more than five people in a shop. However, schools, colleges and other educational institutions are closed till July 31st. At present, offices are too opened with all the safety measures that has to be followed. Some offices still prefer work from home (wfh) for their safety. Works which can’t be done from wfh are resumed.

Shootings have also been resumed for daily soaps and TV Stars are practicing all the social distancing and are following safety measures while they are on the sets and all the reality shows would be getting back with new episodes from 13th of july.

Looking at the increasing number in the cases day by day, the nation would be entering in the Unlock 3.0 phase from July 31st.

The fact:

Currently, as we have entered unlock phases of lockdown people have accepted and are trying to make it a habit of wearing masks and scarfs before stepping out of their homes. Maintaining social distancing and using a hand sanitizer as and when required. All the precautions and safety measures have been followed by every person.

Markets have realised that masks are now an essentials things and also trendy and therefore, producing different brands and patterns of masks to the customers. This is an amazing business which is in actual demand and has already started making profits.

People are trying to accept ‘the new normal’ or you can say ‘the new usual.’ Earlier hand sanitizers were not in much demand the way it is now. Without masks, its impossible to think of going out right now today. And you think we have to follow this only for some months?

No, we have to follow and adapt this new normal not only till the number of cases gets reduced to ‘0’ which we all are hoping but also for some years for future prevention. It is true that we are not safe anymore. We can’t freely go out or hang out like earlier we used to do. We can’t do social gatherings or get together at some one’s home. We can’t chill with our friends or spend time with them at our homes. We can’t go to theatres for watching movies or go shopping with our friends. We can’t chill at the malls, or public places like earlier. This is the reality. We can’t touch anywhere or anyone without having the fear of risk right now or for few years till everything settles down completely.

I am just stating the facts. No one knows when exactly we all will be free and will be back to our normal life. Everyone is waiting for that one day when we hear the news that coronavirus (covid-19) is reduced and no more cases have been detected.

Hence, today looking at the current situation I do feel its not safe to step out of the houses without wearing our masks for coming years. This is the new normal that we have to abide by and just like we can’t leave our smartphones at homes, the same way we can’t leave our masks today before stepping out of our homes for anything.

Well, who imagined a world full of people wearing masks one day? But here we are today.

Masks are the new normal.

Brief Summary of Indo-China conflict and the role US has played over the years

Due to the clash between soldiers of both the countries โ€“ India and China around Pangong Lake in Ladakh, one thing is clear that nobody knows whatโ€™s coming up next. Once Indiaโ€™s friendship with China seemed natural as the country has put socialist principles in its national constitution and prided on taking a neutral stand during the cold war. Under its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, India was interested in broadening ties with other socialist nations, including Russia & China. But factors more powerful than the ideologies knocked off the relationship leading to tensions and war-like situations today.

At first, the relationship was all smiles based on five principles enunciated under the Panchsheel Agreement: mutual non-aggression, mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful coexistence and equality and mutual benefit. A slogan also went out,ย โ€œHindi Chini Bhai-Bhaiโ€– India and China are brothers.

But soon, India and China started to disagree on the border between the two nations. All thanks in part to the legacy of certain colonial boundaries. The Ardagh- Johnson Line was drawn by British India that showed Aksai Chin inside Jammu& Kashmir in India. This didnโ€™t go down well with China as they never accepted this border. Instead, they argued for Macartney-MacDonald Line, a later boundary that gave it more territory.

There were talks in India in 1960 between Nehru and Zhou Enlai, the Chinese Premier to address border issues but no solutions came up. Keen to maintain the strategic relationship between the two countries, India hosted Dalai Lama when he fled and kept funding resistance movements in Tibet.

The brotherhood died after the two nations went to war. The events of 1962 are broadly seen as humiliating domestically for India.

Even more critical to understand India- China relationship is an alliance between Pakistan & China. As both have border issues with India, a common goal emerged. In recent years, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his predecessors have maintained deeper ties with China through initiatives such as Chinese funding for Gwadar port, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and other economic initiatives. Because of this, Pakistanโ€™s cooperation with the US has also crumbled up under pressure. If another Cold War happens, it already seems Pakistan has chosen its side.

This has helped India to strengthen its relationship with the US. India choosing free markets was a drastic change for the nation, and a shift to the Western economic sphere soon followed. As India started seeing high rates of growth, it started becoming Chinaโ€™s competitor. India also managed to tighten relations with American allies such as Vietnam and Japan.

Today, the United States plays a key role in the Indo-China relationship. In recent times, India has sought to strengthen ties with the US, powered by fear of Chinese political and economic influence in the region. Even since the Chinese have got more aggressive in the Indian Ocean, India is seeking an ally in the US to bolster deterrence.

All this clearly shows we are a long way in Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai.