How to prepare for IELTS and get desired score

For undergraduate and graduate courses, the minimum scores range from 6 to 7, whereas there are also some elite institutions that demand 7.5. Know how to get your desired score.

Most Indians dream of pursuing higher education abroad or working in foreign locations. However, doing so is not that easy as it sounds. One of the most common criterias that several institutions or organisations ask from foreign candidates is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tag, in the absence of which individuals would not be permitted to operate overseas. IELTS is a standardised proficiency test that analyses and evaluates a candidate’s command over the English language and this is why scoring well in this test becomes essential for anyone who wishes to study or work outside their home countries.

IELTS is a two hour and 45-minute test that includes four sections: listening, reading, writing and speaking. Candidates can score within a range of 1 to 9 in each of these sections – meaning nobody passes or fails this test. However, candidates must know that the minimum scores set by different institutions may vary. For undergraduate and graduate courses, the minimum scores range from 6 to 7, whereas there are also some elite institutions that demand 7.5. Candidates have the choice to either give the test on paper or computer.

So how one can prepare for IELTS? Here are some tried and tested techniques:

Timed Practice: Firstly, it is always advised to take the test early. Doing so will not only allow you to experience the test but also give you a clear picture of where do you land at the moment. This will help you plan and prepare better to score well in the available time slot.

Enhancing Listening Skills: The best practice to enhance your listening skills is developing a habit of listening to English podcasts and radio stations instead of songs. Start following and listening to the top English speakers regularly until you become familiar with their accent and understanding their pronunciation becomes a hassle-free task.

Go natural with the accent: In doing so, make sure you never imitate their accent. Remember it never works in the real world. Invigilators can quickly notice if you copy anybody’s accent and will immediately deduct marks for such blunders. A natural accent is, therefore, highly recommended to score above 6 in this section. One should instead focus on improving fundamental skills such as sentence formation, grammar, punctuation, etc.

Develop reading skills: For the next section, a regular reading practice is strongly recommended. Read more and more newspapers, magazines or novels, either in print or online. The more you read the more your vocabulary will advance and this will have a direct positive impact on your writing skills as well. This way, you will be able to use rich and better words in the writing section of the test.

Strengthen writing skills: To hone your writing skills, you may start with drafting essays under strict time limits. Give mock tests and keep writing in your downtime. In fact, write on any topic that interests you – be it politics, sports, storytelling, anything; this will help you develop a knack around writing on different topics and eventually enhance and add pace to your writing.

Practice pronunciation and fluency: The last section is speaking, where you will be given a good five to six minutes to describe yourself. It may include speaking about your hobbies or any particular topic that the interviewer may ask for. For this, start having conversations with friends and family members in English. Although being a Hindi speaking Indian, it may feel awkward initially, slowly and surely you will develop fluency, enough to score well in this section. While speaking in front of the invigilator, remember not to be too loud or even low. Speak at a moderate speed to allow the person to easily comprehend the words coming out of your mouth.
There is a huge collection of study materials available on the internet and offered by coaching institutes such as the British Council, which is certainly useful to train and prepare yourself for IELTS. Other alternatives for IELTS are also available for aspirants who wish to pursue higher education from foreign universities – for instance, DuoLingo and TOFEL.

So what are you waiting for? Follow these tips to improve your English linguistic skills and earn a graduate degree from your dream institution.

— The author is director ESS Global

Source: Indian Express, 7/03/2020

Let’s focus on broadening scope of data collection to make statistical system more comprehensive

Volatility of oil prices and structural changes in the economy make the forecasting of inflation and GDP a difficult job indeed. However, we should supplement our existing measurement practices with “big data” to make our statistical system robust.

Last week was not kind to global markets as fears of the coronavirus turning into a world-wide pandemic affected markets adversely, India included (it was also impacted by news of Yes Bank). During all this, the latest GDP data witnessed significant revisions that have gone largely unnoticed. In the last few years there has been a lot of noise regarding the data revisions. While part of it requires closer examination, we must be fair to our statistical system as such revisions are, in large part, due diligence and happen globally.

Let us first look at the history of GDP data revisions. The first table shows the extent of GDP data revisions since FY15, when the new series was introduced. The first column in the table explains the simultaneous revisions that have taken place over the years. The NSO releases the first estimates of any fiscal year in January, revises it in February and then again in May.

Simultaneously, it revises the previous year estimates in February, alongside the February data release. The primary criticism, apparently, with the current year’s fiscal data is that the revisions in February for 2019-20 and the 4th revision in 2018-19 are almost identical, implying that the sanctity of 5 per cent growth was statistically protected.

Let us examine, based purely on data, the criticism of such revisions. First, there is precedence to the first and second quarter revisions for the current financial year that happen in February. For example, while in the current fiscal, the cumulative downward revision was close to Rs 30,000 crore, in FY19, there was even a greater upward revision of roughly Rs 86,000 crore in February.

Second, is there precedence of such large first-time revisions? Yes, there has been since 2014-15. In 2018-19, the first-time data was revised by a sharp Rs 1.43 lakh crore, while in 2017-18, it was revised by an even larger Rs 1.69 lakh crore.

Third, the simultaneous revisions are mostly in the same direction, though different in magnitude, and hence it is unfair to say that the 2018-19 data was revised downwards to protect the 2019-20 numbers.

The problem has been that the global and domestic uncertainties in 2017-18 and 2018-19 have been so swift that it has been virtually impossible to predict the outcome initially. While in 2017-18, the final estimates were progressively higher, in 2018-19, while the interim estimates were higher, they wereWe would like to point out here the example of US Fed that had also missed the possibility of the US economy bouncing back in 2018 on the back of tax cuts when in 2015 it had projected the economy to expand by only 2 per cent, only to change it to 3 per cent in 2018 (almost at par with scale of revisions in India).

It is common for such unconditional bias to arise due to the fact that the statistical reporting agency produces releases according to an asymmetric loss function. For example, there may be a preference for an optimistic/pessimistic release in the first stage, followed by a more pessimistic/optimistic one in the later stage. Intuitively, one might argue that the cost of a downward readjustment of the preliminary data is higher than the cost of an upward adjustment. This asymmetric loss function is not so relevant at the reporting stage, but at the forecasting stage. A statistical reporting agency like the NSO simply does not have all the data at hand and has to forecast the values of the yet to be collected data. It is at that moment that the asymmetric loss function comes into play. So, we must be careful about interpreting data revisions by the NSO by attributing ulterior motives as we more often tend to do.

However, we must also add that unlike countries across the world, India is still significantly lagging in its use of data analysis. Some of the current methodology of data collection is based mostly on thin surveys and is not supported by data available in the public domain that are more comprehensive, less biased and real-time in nature, based on digital footprints. The end result is that we end up publishing survey results that are misleading.

Thus, we must develop an ecosystem that is high quality, timely and accessible. Big data and artificial intelligence are key elements in such a process. Big data helps acquire real-time information at a granular level and makes data more accessible, scalable and fine-tuned.

For example, a US inflation report released in April 2019 offered an interesting take on how the use of big data was revolutionising data collection. Instead of sending people out to stores to check prices, as it has done for decades (and also practised in India), the US Bureau of Labour Statistics gathered data for the price of apparels directly from a big department store. With the switch, the largest monthly drop in apparel prices on record was witnessed. In similar vein, for India, the inclusion of items available for online sale could even further compress the headline consumer price index. drastically scaled down later as the impact of the NBFC crisis began to unfold.

The use of payments data can also help track economic activity, as is being done in Italy. Different aggregates of the payment system in Italy, jointly with other indicators, are usually adopted in GDP forecasting, and can provide additional information content. Using a similar corollary for India, proper use of GST data will reveal the sectors that are giving maximum revenue, that are showing month-on-month increase, and can help make predictions of net revenue growth, while also helping in fraud detection. Further, as India is a consumption-oriented economy, we must explore measuring GDP using the GST data.

In India, currently survey results are giving contrasting results. For example, the weighting pattern of food items in CPI at 45.86 per cent is based on the 2011-12 consumer expenditure survey (CES). This is significantly different from the share of food and beverages (27.6 per cent) in the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) published by the national account statistics (NAS). If we approximate the CPI with the NAS food weights, the headline CPI drops to 7.6 per cent from 5.5 per cent in the latest inflation print.

Recent independent research also shows significant divergence between the consumer price index for industrial workers and the consumer price index (urban) in recent times, when in terms of the composition of the basket and the target population, the two are quite similar.

But to be fair to both the RBI and the NSO, the volatility of oil prices and structural changes in the economy make the forecasting of inflation and GDP a difficult job indeed. however, we should supplement our existing measurement practices with “big data” to make our statistical system more comprehensive and robust.

This article first appeared in the print edition on March 9, 2020 under the title ‘Don’t blame it on NSO’. 

Source: Indian Express, 9/03/2020

Students for life: Two elderly women among Nari Shakti awardees

Bhageerathi, hailing from Kollam district, is the oldest student in the country. She along with another Kerala woman Karthiyayini Amma, aged 98, has won the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019.

At 105, Bhageerathi Amma must have her hands full cuddling for her 12 great-grandchildren, not to mention supervising her 16 grandchildren and six children, she has not let her hunger for education die even at this ripe age.

Bhageerathi, hailing from Kollam district, is the oldest student in the country. She along with another Kerala woman Karthiyayini Amma, aged 98, has won the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019.

Due to advanced age, the centenarian failed to travel to Delhi to receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, though Karthiyayini received hers and was visibly ecstatic.

Karthiyayini, hailing from Alappuzha district, also has six children like Bhageerathi.

It was due to efforts made under Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) that these two ‘students’ got this award. An official attached to the KSLMA project said that Karthiyayini was too excited on meeting the President.

“Union Ministry for Women and Child Development officials, who announced these awards, told Bhageerathi that they will come in person and give her the award at her home, soon,” said the KSLMA official.

He said that the two women had passed two examinations conducted by the KSLMA as part of adult literacy.

“Karthiyayini secured 98 marks out of 100 in ‘Aksharalaksham’ examination. This is a simple literacy programme conducted by us. Bhageerathi passed her Level 4 equivalency exams, thus becoming the oldest student in the country,” added the official.

Vasanthkumar, a neighbour of Bhageerathi, told IANS: “She stays with her youngest daughter and is fully aware of what’s happening around. Now, she says she wishes to study further and appear in the next level of her literacy programme. As and when she is ready, a teacher will visit her house to teach her.”

Source: Hindustan Times, 8/03/2020

Change the system, not women, for gender parity, writes UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres

Our world is in trouble, and gender equality is a part of the answer. Man-made problems have human-led solutions. Gender equality is a means of redefining and transforming power that will yield benefits for all.

Gender equality offers solutions to some of the most intractable problems of our age.

Everywhere, women are worse off than men — simply because they are women. The reality for women from minorities, older women, those with disabilities, and women migrants and refugees is even worse.

While we have seen enormous progress on women’s rights over recent decades, from the abolition of discriminatory laws to increased numbers of girls in school, we now face a powerful pushback. Legal protections against rape and domestic abuse are being diluted in some countries, while policies that penalise women, from austerity to coercive reproduction, are being introduced in others. Women’s reproductive rights are under threat from all sides.

All this is because gender equality is fundamentally a question of power. Centuries of discrimination and deep-rooted patriarchy have created a gender power gap in our economies, our political systems and our corporations. The evidence is everywhere.

Women are still excluded from the top table, from governments to corporate boards to award ceremonies. Women leaders and public figures face harassment, threats and abuse online and off. The gender pay gap is just a symptom of the gender power gap.

Even neutral data that informs decision-making from urban planning to drug testing is often based on a “default male”; men are seen as standard while women are an exception.

Women and girls also contend with centuries of misogyny and the erasure of their achievements. They are ridiculed as hysterical or hormonal; they are routinely judged on their looks; they are subjected to endless myths and taboos about their natural bodily functions; they are confronted by everyday sexism, mansplaining and victim-blaming.

Take inequality. Women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The latest research by the World Economic Forum says it will take 257 years to close this gap.

Digital technology is another case in point. The lack of gender balance in universities, start-ups and Silicon Valleys of our world is deeply worrying. These tech hubs are shaping the societies and economies of the future; we cannot allow them to entrench and exacerbate male dominance.

Or take the wars that are ravaging our world. There is a straight line between violence against women, civil oppression and conflict. How a society treats the female half of its population is a significant indicator of how it will treat others. Even in peaceful societies, many women are in deadly danger in their own homes.

There is even a gender gap in our response to the climate crisis. Initiatives to reduce and recycle are overwhelmingly marketed at women, while men are more likely to put their faith in untested technological fixes. And women economists and parliamentarians are more likely than men to support pro-environmental policies.

Finally, political representation is the clearest evidence of the gender power gap. Women are outnumbered by an average of 3 to 1 in parliaments around the world, but their presence is strongly correlated with innovation and investment in health and education. It is no coincidence that the governments that are redefining economic success to include well-being and sustainability are led by women.

Our world is in trouble, and gender equality is a part of the answer. Man-made problems have human-led solutions. Gender equality is a means of redefining and transforming power that will yield benefits for all.

It is time to stop trying to change women, and to start changing the systems that prevent them from achieving their potential.

Antonio Gutteres is secretary-general, United Nations

Source: Hindustan Times, 8/03/2020

Gates Protect Us

Traditionally, a city guarded itself by installing a fortified gate at its entrance. The gate kept out foes and let in friends and so was an important security support that allowed inhabitants of the city to live in safety as a community. The gate represented the power of the city and stood for justice and security, much the same way as a country protects its borders today. As individuals, we tend to ‘shut’ our ‘gates’ in defence, when we feel threatened or when we face a difficult situation. When we do open up, we find that it lets in a great deal of freshness and warmth, allowing for forging lasting and fulfilling relationships. A gate can, however, become an obstruction when we shut ourselves in or do not allow others to touch us or our lives in any way. When we cut ourselves off from societal interaction, we could be paving the way to stagnation and inner death, starved of stimulation and engagement. Sometimes we become like impregnable fortresses because we guard the gates of our hearts fiercely. We may have been hurt in life may not be willing to risk getting into relationships again. How relevant are gates in today’s information-communications rich world, accelerated by the Internet and other technology? Gates are relevant, in a symbolic sense. When we shut out what is vulgar, demeaning and demotivating, we are, in fact, using a gate to protect ourselves. When we lay ourselves open to the beauty of the world around us, the freshness of new experiences and what is good and noble, we are, by granting ourselves and others unrestricted access, gaining new experiences of strength, faith and love.

Source: Economic Times, 9/03/2020

Quote of the Day

March 6, 2020

“Don't look for God in the sky; look within your own body.”

‐ Osho Rajneesh

“ईश्वर को आसमान में न ढूंढें; अपने भीतर ढूंढें।”

‐ ओशो रजनीश

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

Vol. 55, Issue No. 9, 29 Feb, 2020

Editorials

Politics of Communal Violence in Delhi

Strategic Embrace and Global Right-wing Embers

From the Editor's Desk

Caste Atrocities and Social Media

Gopal Guru

From 50 Years Ago

From 50 Years Ago: Details that Matter

Strategic Affairs

The Portentous India–Pakistan Escalation Dynamic

Ali Ahmed

Commentary

National Medical Commission Act - A Cure Worse than the Malady

Vikas Bajpai

Fighting Polio, Courting Death - Attacks on Female Frontline Health Workers in Pakistan

Namrata R Ganneri

Budget 2020-21

Fiscal Restraint Trumps Fiscal Stimulus

Sudipto Mundle, Ajaya Sahu

Financial Sector in the Budget - Skating on Thin Ice?

Partha Ray, Parthapratim Pal

Tax System Changes in the Budget - Confusing Signals

M Govinda Rao

Fiscal Consolidation Ex Post the ‘Escape Clause’

Lekha Chakraborty

Union Budget and the Trade Sector

Biswajit Dhar, Ramaa Arun Kumar

A Low Growth, No Employment and No Hope Budget for ‘Aspirational India’

K P Kannan

Goal Setting for Indian Agriculture

Ashok Gulati, Pritha Banerjee

Book Reviews

Democracy and the Act of Voting

Anusha, Shefali Manhas

African Engagement with the Global Economy

Jayati Ghosh

Perspectives

Unequal Access to Political Parties in India

Prakash Sarangi

Special Articles

The Complexities of Liberation from Caste - Manual Scavenging in Maharashtra

Shaileshkumar Darokar

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Letters

PMFBY—An Assessment

Kushankur Dey

Communal Clashes in Delhi

Rajesh Raj

Curbing Violence against Women

Abhay Bang

Engage Articles

Deconstructing Science and the Scientific Outlook

Maithreyi Krishnaraj

Reimagining Counselling in the Juvenile Justice System

Pupul Dutta Prasad