I want to be a changepreneur”

 

Kartikeya Goel’s mission to give back to society has resulted in three platforms that help empower the underprivileged and youth

“It’s important to have big dreams but it’s also very important to work hard,” says Delhi-based Kartikeya Goel. “Just having a passion is not enough.”

Eighteen-year-old Kartikeya has founded three organisations: Assist that gives underprivileged kids the opportunity to play basketball; an e-commerce platform Karfa to help artisans; the National Youth Parliament Organisation that gives young people a voice.

Excerpts from a chat with the changepreneur, as he calls himself:

What made you start Assist?

In 2016, while playing at a stadium, I saw many underprivileged kids watching us. When I wondered why they weren’t participating, my coach said, ‘because they don’t have the equipment to play.’ He also pointed out that they could only give a few subsidised rates.

At home, I had a small basketball court on the terrace. So I started training the children of our domestic help. Over two months, there was a major change in their lifestyle, behaviour and discipline. That’s what sports does to you.

Then, in 2018, I went to the IMG Academy to train and my coach asked me to start a project through which I could help the community. So I came up with Assist. Just because they belong to a certain section in society, their basic right to play sports or enjoy their life shouldn’t be denied.

You have been vocal about your journey with ADHD. How has it impacted your life?

In India, mental health is a huge problem. People don’t want to talk about it. I was diagnosed when I was young and, for me, to study in school was always a problem. My situation has improved because of playing sports, which really helps.

What was the reason to start Karfa?

I have always liked fashion and preferred to read Vogue over my school books. I also noticed that the prices of artisanal products differed at, say, a Santiniketan mela or Suraj Niketan mela and when sold commercially in a store. So I thought, why not create an e-commerce platform where the products can be sold without middle-men. The idea was to create a free and fair market for artisans.

Your most recent project is NYPO, through which you are holding the Budget Dialogues 2021. Why are the youth’s opinions important?

In Budget Dialogues, we have children from across India participating. We will compile all the budgets presented by children for various ministries and send them to various parliamentarians and to the PMO.

The youth makes up about 30% of the country but we don’t participate in the budgeting decisions even though we are affected by it. Talking about the government’s various acts or bills is not enough. I think it is important to take the youth’s opinions on board.

What are your plans for the future?

I will be attending Babson College in Boston, the U.S. and all my projects can be carried forward. I would like to start an Assist collaboration with the college and take Karfa to the Lewis Institute of Social Innovation to get it incubated. I also hope to take NYPO to the US as it is a political organisation. Small steps in the future and I hope we can do good things.

Source: The Hindu, 21/01/21

IGNOU launches MA in folklore and culture studies through ODL mode

 

The candidates with a minimum bachelor's degree can apply for the programme. Interested candidates can apply for till March 15

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) today launched a post graduate (MA) programme in folklore and culture studies from January 2021 academic session. The course is being offered by School of Inter-Disciplinary and Trans-Disciplinary Studies at IGNOU through open distance learning (ODL) mode.

According to IGNOU, the programme aims to find out the relation between folk culture and context through various frameworks borrowed from disciplines such as literature, history, sociology, anthropology, folklore studies and emerging disciplines such as culture studies.

The course will focus on time, geography, space and literature of the folklore and culture of the world in general, and of country in particular. The programme coordinator is professor Nandini Sahu.

The candidates with a minimum bachelor’s degree can apply for the programme. Interested candidates can apply for till March 15.

Source: Indian Express, 11/03/21

UPSC Prelims 2021: Top preparation tips for history

 The UPSC Prelims are scheduled for 27th June. Here is how to strategise your history preparation for the exams.Let’s face it: History isn’t a very popular subject among students, thanks to its vastness. However, it is a very important subject while it comes to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Prelim and Main exams. In fact, almost 15 percent of the questions in the 1st paper (General Studies) of UPSC Prelims, are from history, art and culture.

A civil service aspirant is going to be one of the top administrators of the country and a sound knowledge of national and world history is a must for taking critical administerial decision. That is precisely the reason behind the importance of this subject in civil services exams. So, whether you like it or not, you have to study history thoroughly if you want to come out with flying colours in the UPSC exams. In these exams, the syllabus for this subject is divided into three segments: Ancient India, Medieval India and Modern India. As the date for UPSC Prelims comes closer (27th June), you need to put your act together and brace up for a lot of hard work to ace the exam. As you burn the midnight oil to become the best administrator, follow our history preparation plan to boost your UPSC score.

Ancient India: What to focus on

The 8th Century AD marks the end of ancient period and it includes eras like Stone Age, Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age, Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age, Indus Valley Civilisation, Vedic Period. Here is what you need to concentrate on:

• Stone Age, Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age, Neolithic Age and Chalcolithic Age: Important incidents

• Indus Valley Civilisation: Socio-economic cultural aspects, scripts, art and construction

• Vedic Period: Religion, politics, economics, literature and philosophy

Medieval India: What to focus on

Medieval Indian History spans from 8th to 18th century AD. The UPSC exam papers don’t pay much importance to this segment. However, you can’t skip it altogether. Limit your preparation to the following areas:

• Socio-economic and political regimen during the Sultanate, Mughal and Vijayanagar Empire

• Sufi and Bhakti religious movements, their sequence and socio-economic impact

• Art and culture of the period

Modern India: What to focus on

This segment covers the time period from the rise of foreign power in India to the country’s struggle for freedom. Majority of the history questions in UPSC prelims come from this section. While studying modern Indian history, organise the topics chronologically and unit-wise. Special emphasis should be laid on:

• The rise of East India Company

• Surrender of Indian provinces to the British and the country’s reactions against it

• Economic policies adopted by the British administration

• Key incidents of the Indian freedom struggle

• Socio-cultural effects of the freedom struggle

• Political and administrative policies of the British administration: Permanent settlement, acts, reports, and committees set up during this time.

Refer to the right books

This is crucial for your success in the UPSC prelims exams. These suggestions will be helpful for you.

Ancient India

• NCERT Class VI: Ancient India (Old Version)

• NCERT Class XI: Ancient India (Old Version)

Medieval India

• NCERT Class VII, XI: Medieval India (Old)

• NCERT Class IX: Story of Civilization Part-I (old edition)

• NCERT Class X: Story of Civilization Part-II (old edition)

Modern India

• India’s Ancient Past: R.D. Sharma

• Indian Art and Culture: Nitin Singhania

• India’s Struggle for Independence: Bipan Chandra

Learn to memorise the facts and dates

Make short notes of the facts, names, places and dates that you struggle to remember. Go through the notes time and again. This will enhance your recall capacity.

Make history interesting

As a civil service aspirant, you always run against time. But taking short breaks can improve your productivity if use them judiciously. Once in a while, make time for watching a periodic movie based on any topic included in your UPSC history syllabus, or read a historical fiction. Browsing through the biographies of historical personalities is also a good idea. All these can go a long way in helping you grasp history as a subject.

Source:Hindustan Times,  10/03/21

Quote of the Day March 10, 2021

 

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all”
Dale Carnegie

“दुनिया की महत्त्वपूर्ण वस्तुओं में से ज्यादातर उन व्यक्तियों द्वारा प्राप्त की गई हैं जिन्होंने बिलकुल आशा नहीं होते हुए भी प्रयास करना नहीं बंद किया।”
डेल कार्नेगी

Current Affairs – March 10, 2021

 

India

ISRO develops radar for joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA

ISRO has completed development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capable of producing extremely high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with the US space agency NASA. NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation. NASA and ISRO signed a partnership on September 30, 2014 to collaborate on and launch NISAR. The mission is targeted to launch in early 2022 from ISRO Sriharikota spaceport.

PM inaugurates 1.8 km “Maitri Setu” between India and Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9, 2021 inaugurated the “Maitri Setu” between India and Bangladesh with Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina. The “Maitri Setu” has been built over the Feni river, which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh. The 1.9-km-long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh. PM also laid the foundation stone for setting up an Integrated Check Post at Sabroom.

PM releases manuscript with commentaries on shlokas of Srimad Bhagavad Gita

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Manuscript with commentaries by 21 scholars on slokas of Srimad Bhagavadgita in New Delhi on March 9, 2021. The Manuscript has been published by Dharmarth Trust, Jammu and Kashmir.

PMs of India, Japan discuss Myanmar, Quad; South China Sea situation

The PMs of India and Japan on March 9, 2021 discussed the Myanmar situation besides situation in East and South China Sea, China’s Coast Guard Law and the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga shared the view to steadily advance both Japan-India bilateral cooperation and Japan-Australia-India-U.S. quadrilateral cooperation.

BJP’s Trivendra Singh Rawat resigns as Uttarakhand CM

Trivendra Singh Rawat on March 8, 2021 resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand, a year before the hill state is scheduled to go to polls. Rawat, who became the CM after the BJP swept the assembly elections in early 2017, tendered his resignation after meeting Governor Baby Rani Maurya.

Delhi government to open special women mohalla clinics

The Delhi government on March 9, 2021 announced that special women mohalla clinics will be opened across the city in the next financial year to offer free gynaecological and other medical care services to them within walking distance from their homes. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, made the announcement while presenting the government’s annual budget for year 2021-22.

Seamless Indo-Bangladesh connectivity to increase national incomes: World Bank

Seamless transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to increase national income by as much as 17 percent in Bangladesh and 8 percent in India, according to a new World Bank report. Titled “Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia”, the report analyses the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA); com­pares it with international best practices; and identifies its strengths as well as gaps for seamless regional connectivity.

Economy & Corporate

DoT launches online certification course on 5G Technology for Government Officers

Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Anshu Prakash on March 9, 2021 inaugurated an online certification course on 5G Technology for Government Officers through Video Conferencing. National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), the premier training institute of (DoT), is conducting the first of its kind 36-hour (12 week) online 5G Certification Course to train and certify Government Officers. To start with, this 36-hour certificate course on 5G has been made available to Officers.

NITI Aayog and RMI release report ‘Mobilising Electric Vehicle Financing in India’

NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) India released a new report ‘Mobilising Electric Vehicle Financing in India’, which highlights the role of finance in the India’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and analyses that the transition will require a cumulative capital investment of USD 266 billion (Rs 19.7 lakh crore) in EVs, charging infrastructure, and batteries over the next decade. The report also identifies a market size of USD 50 billion (Rs 3.7 lakh crore) for the financing of EVs in 2030—about 80% of the current size of India’s retail vehicle finance industry, worth USD 60 billion (Rs 4.5 lakh crore) today.

NITI Aayog, DEA organise national-level virtual workshop on asset monetization

NITI Aayog, along with the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), organized a national-level virtual workshop on asset monetization on March 9, 2021. Chaired by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the workshop engaged with the Chief Secretaries of States and Administrators of Union Territories. The workshop elaborated on the strategic context of core and non-core asset monetization, along with detailed discussions on the need for and modality of such monetization.

Pallav Mohapatra appointed Chief of Asset Reconstruction Co India Ltd (ARCIL)

Former Central Bank of India CEO Pallav Mohapatra has been appointed as chief of Asset Reconstruction Co India Ltd (ARCIL) with effect from March 8. Founded in 2002, ARCIL is India’s oldest asset reconstruction company. It currently manages assets of Rs. 12,000 crores. Its total employees are 230. Its shareholders include Avenue Capital, SBI, IDBI, ICICI, PNB and also GIC Singapore.

CAG G. C. Murmu appointed Chairman of panel of external auditors of UN

Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu has been again appointed as the chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations for 2021. Besides India, the panel consists of 12 countries, namely Germany, Chile, China, United Kingdom, France, Philippines, Switzerland, Italy, Ghana, Indonesia, Canada and Russia. As the Chairman, the CAG plays a key role in achieving the panel’s objective of greater degree of collaboration and coordination and exchange of information on audit methods and findings among the panel members.

World

Pregnancy could get women fired in 38 nations: World Bank Chief Economist

There are still almost 40 countries where women can be fired from their jobs simply for getting pregnant, World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said in a discussion on how the pandemic is making it even harder for women to escape poverty. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Reinhart said the economic fallout from Covid-19 had been “very regressive,” hitting the most vulnerable hardest, including women.

Sports

Koneru Humpy wins BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award for 2020

Chess player Koneru Humpy has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award (ISWOTY) for 2020, following a public vote. Former long jumper Anju Bobby George was given the Lifetime Achievement award for her contribution to Indian sport. Emerging Player of the Year award was won by with Manu Bhaker.

Aligarh Muslim University to set up centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy

 The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has proposed to set up a Centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy with the aim to provide a platform for inter-religious studies and dialogues at national and international levels, The centre will re-examine the core issues of Islamic Philosophy in its historic-cultural context. It will also revisit the classical Islamic tests to provide a deeper understanding of Islamic thought, culture and civilisation.

“We aim to bring a clear picture of Islam and its relevance in all times. AMU is perhaps the only seat of learning that has three disciplines of Philosophy, namely Indian, Islamic and Western Philosophy,” Prof. Latif Shah Hussain Kazmi, Chairman, Department of Philosophy, said. The objective is to propagate secular, humanist, pluralist and liberal ethos of Islam, added Kazmi.

The proposal to set up the Centre of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy has been passed unanimously at the Ordinary Meeting of the Academic Council. “We hope for a better mutual understanding among all religions, a sense of brotherhood with the teaching of the saints,” Kazmi added.

The proposed centre also has plans to conduct research in the fields of Sufism, comparative study of Sufism and mystic traditions in other religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism, etc. “We will encourage research on the various dimensions of Sufism and Islamic Philosophy and the ways of enhancing religious understanding in our country,” he said.

The centre also plans to organise inter-faith dialogues, seminars, conferences and extension lectures on Sufism, mysticism and bhakti movement etc.

The concept note of the centre envisages that Islamic Philosophy has remained for long spells of time under a shadow of doubt, criticism and uncertainty. Some thinkers, mostly orientalists, denied its very existence. Those philosophers who tended to deny the very existence of an Islamic Philosophy in view of their social and religious prejudices, misunderstood the very vision and mission of Islam. They consequently maintained that the teachings of Islam are opposed to all free discussion and rational investigation. The only fruits that Islam, according to these philosophers, has borne for its followers have been intellectual despotism, irrationalism and dogmatism, the concept note states.

“The centre would serve as the platform for advanced learning and research investigating the philosophical doctrines of the great Islamic philosophers such as Ab Bakr al Razi, Suhravardi,al Farabi etc. Their philosophical contributions in Islamic framework need to be revisited, explored and re-examined in the light of contemporary philosophical discourse.” Prof. Kazmi said.

“Throughout centuries, Sufis travelled across Asia, Africa and Europe. They lived with or co-existed with Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucionists, Christians and Pagans. They were at peace with all of them. These men of God mingled with all human beings irrespective of caste, creed, gender, colour, race and culture,” he said.

According to the plan, the centre “will focus on classical, medieval and modern framework that needs to be synthesised into a horizontal framework with science and modern social scientific studies”. The centre will offer diploma as well as Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degree in Sufism and Islamic philosophy

Source: Indian Express, 10/03/21

IIT-Delhi to provide digital support to students from economically weaker backgrounds

 IIT-Delhi and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) have collaborated to provide digital support to students from economically weaker backgrounds and help them complete their education amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the institute, the remaining semester two of 2019-20 and the upcoming semester one and semester two of 2020-21 will be held online.

As part of the initiative, IIT-Delhi will provide devices like laptop, smartphone, tablet and high-speed internet connection. To bolster this effort, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation will fund the initiative. Prof V Ramgopal Rao, director, IIT Delhi, said, “IIT Delhi, as a student-friendly institution, believes that students in need must get all the necessary support. In several discussions in the Covid-19 working group and other forums, it was proposed that we support as many students as possible to overcome the challenges they face due to the pandemic.”

Geeta Goel, country director, India, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation said lack of access to a device can be the biggest hindrance to continued learning. “Our partnership with IIT Delhi is anchored around our core principle of everyone deserves opportunity, and that resources should not limit the success of students who have displayed academic excellence and tremendous grit in securing their seats at a premier institute like IIT Delhi,” she said.Elaborating upon this initiative, Prof Reetika Khera, associate dean, students welfare, IIT-Delhi said Covid-19 has placed students under all kinds of pressures ranging from “lack of personal space, strain on their mental and physical well-being, economic distress to personal losses.” Collaborations like this will help in bridging the digital divide, she said.

Source: Indian Express, 9/03/21