Changing the Face of Higher Education

ICT interventions are required to reach out to the masses and provide learning opportunities to the deprived, says Praveen Prakash, Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and Mission Director, National Mission on Education through ICT. In an interaction with ENN, he says the real challenge now lies in enabling and empowering teachers in adopting a technology- enabled environment and making them adept in the emerging modes of technology-based delivery. Excerpts from the interview

What are the challenges of higher education and how can ICT interventions help?

The biggest challenge faced in higher education today is the provision of quality higher education to the masses in a cost-effective manner. For the 26 million that go to college today, we have 675 degree-awarding institutions and 37,204 colleges. In all developed countries, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education is above 40 per cent and the global average is 23 per cent, whereas in India it is only 22 per cent. By 2020, the government envisions to enhance it to 30 per cent. This would mean an extra 40 million going to colleges. The biggest challenge is to provide for those 30 per cent who will need another 700 universities and 40 to 50 thousand colleges in the future. With limited resources, existing ‘brick and mortar’ campuses alone cannot cope up with the current and future demand for higher education. Therefore, ICT interventions are required to reach out to the masses and provide learning opportunities to those who are otherwise deprived.

How do you visualise the transformation that ICT-enabled education will bring in the education system?

ICT-enabled education is rapidly changing the face of higher education as it attracts students of all ages and provides training and learning opportunities just-in-time. It has the potential to overcome barriers of physical distance and time, lower institutional or organ- isational costs and increase student enrollment. It offers flexibility to learners through access to courses at any time or place, promotes individualised learning, and provides educational opportunities to those who are unable to attend class either because of constraints of time or distance or due to other socio-economic reasons.

What is the role of National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) in this context?

The National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) was launched on February 3, 2009 at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to leverage the potential of ICT in the teaching and learning process and is envisioned to be a major intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education. NMEICT is a landmark initiative to address all the education and learningrelated needs of students, teachers and lifelong learners. Three major components of the Mission are broadband connectivity to all higher education institutions, providing low cost access devices and developing high quality e-content across disciplines.

What are the major initiatives of the Mission?

Under the NKN/NMEICT schemes, the Mission aims to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 26,000 colleges and 2,000 polytechnics in the country including each of the departments of 419 universities/deemed universities and institutions of national importance as a part of its motto to provide connectivity up to the last mile. The Mission also aims to provide Internet access to every learner and teacher as an academic right. The Mission has funded the development of Ultra Low Cost Computing Devices to enable students, wherever they may be, access to educational content. MHRD, through the NMEICT, has launched an affordable tablet ‘AAKASH’ for use as an educational tool. In the first phase, 1,00,000 tablets have been procured to be deployed in engineering colleges.
E-content creation has been undertaken on a massive scale by many institutions and universities. NPTEL is a joint initiative of IITs and IISc funded by this Mission to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country by providing free online courseware. The project is now in the second phase of development where more than 990 courses in 23 disciplines in engineering and science are getting generated. Other major initiatives of e-content generation have been taken up by CEC for 68 subjects at UG-level courses and UGC for PG-level courses in 77 subjects. Apart from this, many other institutions are generating e-content in specialised subject areas. All the courseware is to be made available as Open Educational Resources (OER) under the Creative Commons CC-BY license for the benefit of the learner and teacher community in the country.
On the virtual reality front, interesting projects have been initiated under NMEICT such as virtual labs, E – Yantra: Robot-enhanced teaching of subjects in engineering colleges and haptic devices for vocational education. Teacher’s training is another important component of NMEICT. Under the ‘Talk to a Teacher’ project sanctioned to IIT, Bombay, A-VIEW developed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is being used as the collaboration tool for the National Teacher Empowerment Program. It is a programme to train thousands of college teachers across the nation. More than 36,000 teach- ers have already been trained under this programme.

“An important area that requires urgent intervention is to put in place a policy acceptable to all stakeholders for integrating technology-enabled learning as a part of curriculum and recognising degrees/ diplomas earned through the online or blended mode.”

The initiatives of the Mission sound impressive. What plans do you have to ensure optimum utilisation of these NMEICT products and services?

Significant progress has been made by the NMEICT in developing low-cost access devices and software applications for ICT-based education, generating e-content across disciplines and providing connectivity to colleges and universities. The challenge now lies in embedding the technologies in the teaching-learning processes. For this, two major initiatives are coming up to ensure maximum utilisation of the NMEICT products and services.
The first initiative is developing a National e-Library which will be aggregating all the e-content being developed under the Mission and providing personalised services to the learner as per their educational requirement. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is a phenomenon gathering momentum over the past few years that integrates the connectivity of social networking, the facilitation of an acknowledged expert in a field of study and a collection of freely accessible online resources. The second major initiative is in this direction. Under the Mission, work is on to set up MOOCs for different discipline areas such as engineering and technology, social sci- ences, humanities and fine arts, medical sciences and agriculture. Initially these courses are to be offered as open courses with the option for request for certificate of participation. In the long run, the plan is to roll them out as Virtual University platforms providing online degrees and diplomas.

What are the challenges you envisage in the implementation of ICT-enabled education in our country?

The major challenge of the Mission is to enable and empower teachers in adopting a technology-enabled environment, supporting them in acquiring skills in e-content development and make them adept in emerging modes of technology-based delivery. Another important area that requires urgent intervention is to put in place a policy acceptable to all stakeholders for integrating technology-enabled learning as a part of curriculum and recognising degrees/ diplomas earned through the online or blended mode.

Current Challenges are Accessibility, Quality and Equality’

It is only through education that minorities can join the mainstream, believes Justice M S A Siddiqui, Chairman, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. In an interview to ENN, he says that the salvation of minority communities lies in acquiring strong knowledge economies powered by information technology, innovation and education

It has been a decade since the National Commission for National Minority Educational Institutions was established. Was the mandate of safeguarding the educational rights of the minorities a challenge? What are the achievements so far?

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act 2004 was established for safeguarding the educational rights of minorities enshrined in the Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. This Act has created a new dispensation for expeditious disposal of cases relating to grant of affiliation by the affiliating universities, grant of minority status, certificates to minority educational institutions, violations and deprivations of educational rights of minorities enshrined in Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. This Commission has been vested with judicial powers and the authority to adjudicate all matters enumerated under the Act without being bogged down by the technicalities of the code of civil procedure. This Commission has successfully achieved its objectives. We have issued approximately 10,000 minority status certificates to minority educational institutions. We have also made certain recommendations to the state governments concerned for safeguarding the educational rights of minorities guaranteed under the Constitution. Some of the state governments have assured us that orders passed by this Commission shall be implemented. This Commission has created a sense of confidence among the minorities about protection of their constitutional rights.

What are the benefits that an institution can avail after getting minority status under the NCMEI?

In a landmark judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in T M A Pai Foundation versus State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court has interpreted the expression ‘administer’. They have held that this expression, that they can also administer educational institutions of their choice, comprises the following rights:
the Right to Education Act does not ap- The first right is that a minority educational institute can constitute its own governing body or managing committee without any interference from the government. Secondly, a minority educational institution can raise a reasonable fee structure for its institution. The third right, which is a very important one, is that a minority educational institution can select and appoint teaching and non-teaching staff of its institution, subject to the condition that the qualification of eligibility therefore shall be prescribed by the government. That is the only area of interference and that too is in the interest of academic excellence, which is permissible according to the said judgment of the Supreme Court. The fourth is that they can admit 100 per cent students from their own community. But if the institution is receiving any financial aid from the state, then Article 29(2) obligates it to admit non-minority students also to a reasonable extent. The fifth right is that they can take disciplinary action against any member of their staff. So, these are the benefits which are guaranteed to a minority institution. In addition, the Supreme Court has recently held that the Right to Education Act does not apply to minority educational institutions governed under Article 30 (1) of the Constitution. A minority educational institution is also exempted from the policy of reservation in admission and employment. So, these are the benefits which a minority educational institution is entitled to, provided it has been declared so either by the legislature, the Parliament, the central or state govern- ments or by this Commission. Except them, there is no authority to declare a minority educational institution.

“This Commission has successfully achieved its objectives. We have issued approximately 10,000 minority status certificates to minority educational institutions”

So far as the state of UP is concerned, a division bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that the state government does not have the power to declare a minority institution as a minority educational institution because that jurisdiction rests with the Civil court. Now, this Commission is a quasi-judicial body and it enjoys all trappings of a court. Therefore, this Commission is competent to declare and determine the minority status of a minority institution. These benefits are available only if the institution has been declared as a minority educational institution. If a member of the minority community has established an institution, it cannot be presumed that it is a minority educational institution unless it has been declared so by the competent authority. Then what are the indicia of proof for getting a minority educational institution status? First is that it must be established by one of the members of the notified minority communities. Six communities have been notified as a minority community – Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Jains. Now, these institutions are established either by a society or by a trust. The Supreme Court has held that the Memorandum of Association of the Society or the Deed of Trust must reflect that the beneficiaries of the institution are members of that community which has established it. If that does not reflect, then the institution will be treated as a secular institution and not a minority institution.

Which, according to you, are the current challenge areas that need immediate attention?

The current challenges are accessibility, quality and equality. The Muslim community, according to the Sachar Committee, is virtually scratching the bottom of the educational barrel of the country. So, they need special attention because they can join the mainstream only through education. I have been telling the minorities that our salvation lies in acquiring the strong knowledge economies powered by information technology, innovation and education. Now, due to financial crunch, the Muslim community has no access to higher education. The need of the hour is enhancement of quality in education. In some southern states, the Muslim community has established good institutions. But, in other parts of the country, their educational institutions are found lacking in quality. Minorities should have access to quality education and equal opportunities must be available to them to get the benefits of quality education.
As far as the Centre and state governments are concerned, they are actually trying to help the minorities in general, and Muslims in particular, to improve their quality of education. Recently, in the Presidential Address, you may have noted that the government wants to modernise Madrasa education. It should be taken to be as the government intends to introduce modern education in Madrasas because a Madrasa cannot be modernised. Only modern education like computers, mathematics and science labs can be introduced. Both the Centre and state governments are very positive in their approach in this regard 

Source .http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/08/current-challenges-are-accessibility-quality-and-equality

Source:

Benefits of RGNF Scheme Elude SC, ST Students

Thousands of students from the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) are yet to reap the benefits of the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship (RGNF) scheme. More than 2,500 SC and ST students from the 2013-14 batch are still waiting for the monetary assistance that was promised under the scheme offered by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Under RGNF, students who belong to SC and ST group are provided financial assistance to pursue regular and full time MPhil and PhD degrees in science, humanities, social science and engineering and technology. Eligible students are entitled to a financial assistance of Rs 16,000 per month.

Alleging high-handedness on part of the University Grants Commission (UGC), students say that repeated attempts to get in touch with the officials have gone unheard. UGC, the apex body for higher education in India, is responsible for the disbursal of funds under this scheme.

Ministry officials too say that they have been unable to release the required funds because the UGC is yet to provide them with the utilisation certificates of the previous batch for RGNF. On the other hand, UGC says that RGNF being a government scholarship, the ministry should not break the continuity.

As per the scheme, 2,000 slots for SC candidates and 667 slots for ST candidates are available every year.

Source: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/08/benefits-of-rgnf-scheme-elude-sc-st-students/

Aug 29 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Land raised walking fish explain evolution

Pune Mirror Bureau punemirror.feedback@gmail.com TWEET @ThePuneMirror





A study that forced a `walking' fish to live on land for a year caused anatomical changes that helped it walk better. The changes may explain how our fish ancestors adapted to walking

A bout 400 million years ago a group of fish began exploring land and evolved into tetrapods ­ today's amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. But just how these ancient fish used their fishy bodies and fins in a terrestrial environment and what evolutionary processes were at play remain scientific mysteries.Researchers at McGill University published in the journal Nature, turned to a living fish, called Polypterus, to help show what might have happened when fish first attempted to walk out of the water. Polypterus is an African fish that can breathe air, `walk' on land, and looks much like those ancient fishes that evolved into tetrapods. The team of researchers raised juvenile Polypterus on land for nearly a year, with an aim to revealing how these `terrestrialised' fish looked and moved differently. “Stressful environmental conditions can often reveal otherwise cryptic anatomical and behavioural variation, a form of developmental plasticity“, says Emily Standen, a former McGill student who led the project, now at the University of Ottawa.
“We wanted to use this mechanism to see what new anatomies and behaviours we could trigger in these fish and see if they match what we know of the fossil record.“
REMARKABLE ANATOMICAL CHANGES The fish showed significant anatomical and behavioural changes. The terrestrialised fish walked more effectively by placing their fins closer to their bodies, lifted their heads higher, and kept their fins from slipping as much as fish that were raised in water.
“Anatomically, their pectoral skeleton changed to became more elongate with stronger attachments across their chest, possibly to increase support during walking, and a reduced contact with the skull to potentially al low greater headneck motion,“ says Trina Du, a PhD student and study collaborator.
“Because many of the anatomical changes mirror the fossil record, we can hypothesise that the behavioural changes we see also reflect what may have occurred when fossil fish first walked with their fins on land“, says Hans Larsson, Canada Research Chair in Macroevolution at McGill and an Associate Professor at the Redpath Museum.
UNIQUE EXPERIMENT
The terrestrialised Polypterus experiment is unique and provides new ideas for how fossil fishes may have used their fins in a terrestrial environment and what evolutionary processes were at play.
Larsson adds, “This is the first example we know of that demonstrates developmental plasticity may have facilitated a large-scale evolutionary transition, by first accessing new anatomies and behaviours that could later be genetically fixed by natural selection“.

Aug 29 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

ET EXCLUSIVE - `If India Unleashes its Full Potential, It can Grow Faster than China'

Partha Ghosh & Ravi Teja Sharma

New Delhi:





Boston Consulting Group chairman Hans-Paul Bürkner is hopeful about Modi govt but is concerned about regulatory hurdles

The next 10 years could be India's decade and it is likely to beat even China in terms of growth, Boston Consulting Group chairman Hans-Paul Bürkner said.“I think there is no reason why India should not go back to 7% growth. I think if India unleashes its full potential, it can grow faster than China. China's growth rate will still be 6.5-7%, which is still very good,“ he said.
But India needs to open up its economy . “It requires significant investments in people, education skills, infrastructure and significant deregulation. It is a much-regulated market and its bureaucracy pushes papers around without really getting to decisions, which frustrates a lot of people,“ Bürkner, 61, said in an exclusive interview with ET. He hoped that the new regime under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will work towards changing this perception.
The Indian government has been making policy changes, pushing to get projects stuck in red tape moving again and trying to boost investor sentiment as it seeks to revive an economy that has slumped to decadal low rates of growth.
Bürkner said this decade would also see the rise of global Indian companies as they cross borders for acquisitions. On the other hand, a lot of companies globally are also waiting to enter India to tap into its demand as well as for its people. “We see more and more R&D centres, IT centres, and also more factories here. Ultimately, people want to build businesses here to export from India,“ he said.
These companies, however, are concerned about regulatory and other obstacles such as labour laws in India. “It is not always easy to set up a factory here. The infrastructure in some ways is an obstacle, there are lots of regulations,“ he said.
While Bürkner was enthused by the prime minister's recent announcements about a vision for local manufacturing in India and a stress on the `make-in-India' tag, he pointed out that getting permissions to set up businesses in India are a bit of a concern.
“To establish things here you need to have land, permissions from various agencies. If you have to deal with local, state and federal agencies, and there are dozens of them, and if everybody creates problems then that will be a challenge,“ he said. “And so are the labour laws. They need to become flexible.“
BCG works with several governments and on many socially relevant initiatives through its social impact initiative. At the global level, it works with the World Food Programme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, Teach for All and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and also with several government bodies.
In India, for instance, it is working with the Haryana government on a transformation programme to improve the quality of teaching in 50,000 government schools in the state and had earlier helped reform the public distribution system (PDS) system in Odisha.
Bürkner said Modi has laid much emphasis on education and skill development, which is very important. “It's not just formal education, but vocational skills as well. We also need a lot of mechanics, electricians, plumbers and carpenters,“ he said.
Through its partnerships, BCG, he said, helps improve the quality of education and understands what works in different areas. In Haryana, the partnership with the government is not just an intervention at the school level -it is a complete system-wide transformation that looks at starting with the principal secretary , to the performance management down to change management, pedagogy changes.
It also ran pilot programmes in Odisha in partnership with the World Food Programme to improve the PDS that was riddled with leakages. “We created a holistic model after studying different issues and submitted it to the ministry of food, which then asked states to implement suitable parts,“ he said. BCG estimates that with these best practices, there was a potential to save anywhere between . 8,000 crore to ` ` . 10,000 crore in the country.

Aug 29 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Deferred Placements Buoy Student-Bizmen

Sreeradha Basu

Mumbai:





Clutch of IITs working on allowing Plan-B for graduating students who choose entrepreneurship over a career

Giving in to popular demand from graduating students smitten with entrepreneurship, a clutch of IITs across the country has decided to offer ‘deferred placements’ to students who would rather float a new business than sit for a job interview now.As many as 13 students from the Class of 2015 at IIT-Bombay have applied for deferred placements this year to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. Of these, eight are planning for-profit ventures and five are going for social ventures. The institute is likely to choose 10 from among the 13. It had toyed with deferred placements last year when only one student applied, but the idea has found takers only this year.
IIT-Madras, also encouraged by student demand, is rolling out deferred placements for the first time this year. IIT-Kanpur has also been considering the same. IITGuwahati General Secretary (placement cell) Manish Arora expects at least 7-8 students to opt for deferred placements this year compared with 2-4 last year. Deferred placements, as the name suggests, enables students to defer placements by a year or two to start their own ventures.They can come back and seek campus placement if their ventures fail.
They are quite popular at top IIMs, but are gaining traction in IITs only this year.
Such initiatives help spur the appetite for entrepreneurship and risk-taking among young graduates at the country's premier engi neering institutes.
Students are excited about entrepreneurship even though the job market is picking up once again.
This year, companies such as Goldman Sachs, Amazon and eBay are offering salaries that are 20% to 40% higher than last year.
“The number of students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial activities post graduation has gone up tremendously,” says Mohak Mehta, placement manager at IIT-Bombay. “By opting for deferred placement, a student is assured of a Plan B which acts as a safety net in case he fails to succeed in his venture.” Malegaon boy Abhijit Patil needed the deferred placement option to convince his parents to let him give entrepreneurship a shot. IITBombay’s Patil and his two friends run a 3D printing and scanning business. Patil and his partners have been conducting workshops and providing 3D printing services to IIT-B professors and students for the past few months, and have already broken even on their initial investment of about ` . 4 lakh.
“I come from a small town and both my parents are teachers, so entrepreneurship after engineering college isn't the most common route,“ he says. “Knowing that I had the option to come back for placements gave me -and my parents -the courage.“ At least 15-20 students at IIT-Madras are interested in startups, says Vishranth Suresh, academic affairs secretary .“We have had 7-8 students whose ventures didn't take off as expected. They had approached us to sit for placements later. We didn't have a policy in place then, which is why we want one now,“ he says.
At IIT-Bombay , Mahesh Rathore and Greeshma Unnikrishnan, both second-year MTech students, plan to produce novel biomedical devices. Dual-degree student Vaibhav Antil and six friends are working on a modern approach to the traditional Jukebox.

Aug 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

YOUR MONEY - Indian healthcare charts a global path

Aparna Ramalingam

Chennai:





Medical tourism from India to the West, a preserve of the affluent for years, is now accessible to the affluent middle-class, thanks to new high value covers designed by health insurers.For a premium ranging from Rs five lakh to Rs 13 lakh, an individual can get health insurance cover for as high as Rs 25 crore which covers treatment overseas. What's more, companies are willing to tailor this according to the paying capacity , while buyers can get a cover of Rs 25 crore.While recent trend has seen an increase in the number of foreign nationals coming to India for lower cost treatment, there are some proce dures in which healthcare in the West still have an edge due to technolgical advancements. “Such policies are extremely useful for mass affluent and high networth Indians who have to be frequently out of the country on work or business related matters. They have access to glob al health care in Indian currency,“ Rahul Aggarwal, chief executive officer of insurance advisory , Optima Insurance Brokers said.
Max Bupa's new heartbeat health insurance plan, offers Rs 1 crore cover for cashless treatment abroad of nine critical illnesses including cancer, heart attack, organ transplant, stroke, brain surgery . Claimants can access Bupa International's network of hospitals across 190 countries. “In case of a medical emergency abroad, Bupa International will pro vide medical evacuation assistance ,“ Manasije Mishra, chief executive officer, Max Bupa said.
“People who can afford are willing to travel to a global centre of excellence to access the latest medical technology,“ said Sandeep Patel, md & CEO, Cigna TTK Health Insurance . Cigna TTK covers 30 critical illnesses under its global cover with the sum insured ranging from one lakh to Rs 25 crore.
The in-build overseas cover has some advantages over an overseas travel policy .“An overseas travel health care plan entails filling up proposal forms again and elements like pre existing illness and the associated waiting period come into play when such pol icies are issued.,“ said Dr Renuka Kanvinde, associate vice president, health insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. She added that many senior level executives and HNIs who travel frequently now opt for a seamless health cover. The company is currently working on an offering for the uber rich.
Public sector New India Assurance too is mulling a global health cover targeting the HNI segment. “We will be launching a global health cover for the HNI segment within the next four to six months.The product will be designed as a stand alone offering as well as an add on to existing health plans“ G Srinivasan, CMD New India Assurance said.

Aug 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Researchers find gene to help crops beat drought

Washington PTI





With scientists worldwide looking for ways to produce more food with less water, researchers have identified a thermostat-like gene that could help engineer drought-resistant crops.The gene, called OSCA1, encodes a protein in the cell membrane of plants that senses changes in water availability and adjusts the plant’s water conservation machinery accordingly. “It’s similar to a thermostat,” said Zhen-Ming Pei, an associate professor of biology at Duke University.
The findings could make it easier to feed the world’s growing population in the face of climate change, researchers said. Drought is the major cause of crop losses worldwide. A dry spell at a crucial stage of the growing season can cut some crop yields in half.
The gene was identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small unassuming plant related to cabbage and canola that is the lab rat of plant research.
The findings could lead to new ways to help plants thrive when water is scarce. The research appears in the science journal Nature.

Aug 29 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Big bang start: Record 1.5cr accounts opened in a day

New Delhi: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Govt Kicks Off Mega Financial Inclusion Plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched one of the biggest inclusion programmes, calling for an end to “financial untouchability“ and urged banks to connect every person across the country .Spreading the banking net wide is one of the key policy focus areas of the Modi administration and the launch of the scheme within 100 days of the government signals its commitment to take on the challenge of executing mega programmes.The Jan Dhan Yojana, the massive financial inclusion drive, aims to open 7.5 crore bank accounts and provide banking facility to the vast segment of the population which still remains cut off from the financial system.Under the scheme, a person opening an account will get a Rupay debit card, a Rs 1 lakh accident insurance policy as well as a Rs 30,000 life insurance cover.
The facility of an overdraft would be added to the accounts after keeping a watch on the credit history and operation of the accounts for six months.The Centre had to defer the facility as banks had expressed concern over the move. Minimum pension of `1,000month
The Centre has decided to implement two crucial decisions -minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 and a higher wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 for social security schemes run by retirement fund manager EPFO -from September 1.
f Mahatma Gandhi worked to I remove social untouchability, if we want to get rid of poverty, then we have to first get rid of financial untouchability ,“ PM Narendra Modi said in an extempore speech which drew loud applause. “We have to connect every person with the financial system. And for that this programme has been given impetus,“ he said, adding, “when a bank account is opened, it's a step towards joining economic mainstream.“
Modi took the opportunity to drive home broader message behind the programme to fight poverty . Using anecdotes from his life, the PM highlighted the importance of savings, financial discipline, shoring up governance and managing big ticket government programmes. Cabinet ministers and chief ministers fanned out across India on Thursday to launch the programme simultaneously from 600 locations.More than 77,000 camps were set up by banks to open accounts and finance minister Arun Jaitley announced that the government will achieve the target of opening 7.5 crore accounts before January 26, 2015, well ahead of the earlier schedule of August 15, 2015.
The PM said the nationwide success of the enrolment drive on Thursday would give confidence not just to the officials of the finance ministry and the banking sector, but also to those across the government, that they can achieve goals they set for themselves.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

Social Change

Table of Contents

June 2014; 44 (2)

Articles

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  • Aswini Kumar Mishra

  Safety Net Measures for Unorganised Workers in India: Critical Gaps and Challenges

  Social Change June 2014 44: 179-203, doi:10.1177/0049085714526278
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  • Abhijit Guha

  Generating Public Consciousness around Land Acquisition for Private Industries

  Social Change June 2014 44: 205-228, doi:10.1177/0049085714525499
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  • Sonali Mukherjee

  Mining and Women: The Case of the Maria of Chhattisgarh

  Social Change June 2014 44: 229-247, doi:10.1177/0049085714525500
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  • Yogesh Kumar and
   
  • Shyam Singh

  MDGs and Post-2015 Development Agenda: Prospects for Indian Civil Society

  Social Change June 2014 44: 249-261, doi:10.1177/0049085714525502
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  • Sowmya Dechamma C.C.

  University of Hyderabad Student Union Elections 2012: An Analysis in the Light of Lyngdoh Committee Recommendations

  Social Change June 2014 44: 263-274, doi:10.1177/0049085714525508
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  • Vinay Kumar Srivastava

  On Sanitation: A Memory Ethnography

  Social Change June 2014 44: 275-290, doi:10.1177/0049085714525509
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Commentaries

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  • Bijay Upadhyaya

  Narayanpatna Land Struggle: A Conversation with Gananath Patra

  Social Change June 2014 44: 291-300, doi:10.1177/0049085714525510
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  • Council for Social Development

  A Citizens’ Agenda for Change

  Social Change June 2014 44: 301-308, doi:10.1177/0049085714525512
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Book Reviews

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  • Josy Joseph

  Book Review: Ayesha Ray, The Soldier and the State in India: Nuclear Weapons, Counterinsurgency, and the Transformation of Indian Civil–Military Relations

  Social Change June 2014 44: 309-311, doi:10.1177/0049085714525514
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  • Chandan Kumar Sharma

  Book Review: Deepak K. Mishra, Vandana Upadhyay and Atul Sarma, Unfolding Crisis in Assam’s Tea Plantations: Employment and Occupational Mobility

  Social Change June 2014 44: 311-314, doi:10.1177/0049085714525515
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  • Anamika Priyadarshini

  Book Review: Subhadra Mitra Channa and Kamal K. Mishra (Eds), Gendering Material Culture: Representation and Practice

  Social Change June 2014 44: 314-319, doi:10.1177/0049085714525518
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  • Arathi P.M.

  Book Review: Kirti Singh, Separated and Divorced Women in India: Economic Rights and Entitlements

  Social Change June 2014 44: 319-323, doi:10.1177/0049085714525519
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  • Vijayalakshmi Balakrishnan

  Book Review: Subhada Maitra and Shekhar Seshadri (Eds), Play: Experiential Methodologies in Developmental and Therapeutic Settings

  Social Change June 2014 44: 323-324, doi:10.1177/0049085714525520
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  • Ashok K. Pankaj

  Book Review: Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen, An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions

  Social Change June 2014 44: 325-328, doi:10.1177/0049085714525522
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  • Purtika Kalra

  Book Review: Anupam Hazra, India’s Social Sector & Millennium Development Goals

  Social Change June 2014 44: 329-331, doi:10.1177/0049085714525523
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