Disaster relief as a tool of outreach

After a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 7, killing at least 35,000 people as per available statistics, India promptly dispatched a relief and rescue team. Reacting within a few hours under Operation Dosti, India was among the first countries to respond to the earthquake.

 After a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 7, killing at least 35,000 people as per available statistics, India promptly dispatched a relief and rescue team. Reacting within a few hours under Operation Dosti, India was among the first countries to respond to the earthquake. Among the foreign policy responses India has devised over a period, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief has emerged as the most effective tool to make an effective intervention in support of life.

As is known, the region is prone to natural disasters, especially cyclones and floods. According to the Asian Development Bank, “People in Asia and the Pacific were displaced more than 225 million times due to disasters triggered by natural hazards from 2010 to 2021, accounting for more than three-quarters of the global number.” These statistics seriously reflect the challenges that confront the region. The ability to reach first in times of natural disasters, given the geographical location of India in the South Asian region, has been branded by various political leaders in New Delhi, defining its role as a “net security provider”.

India’s role in disaster relief has evolved over the years. To make its outreach effective and swift, India established the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in 2005, which stands on four pillars: Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness and Response. Though a recommendation to form such a mechanism had been made by a government-appointed high-powered committee in 1999, the Indian Ocean Tsunami perhaps awakened India to its capacity and ability to respond.

India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was established in 2008 as a dedicated force trained in disaster response. It has 15 battalions drawn from various paramilitary forces which are trained for the purpose. It has been at the forefront of India’s effort to reach out to countries that are facing an immense humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters. India has always responded to crises in the neighbourhood and beyond. However, only recently have the efforts become more efficient and better structured. The need for agencies like the NDRF was felt long back to enable India to respond swiftly to natural disasters within the country and in the immediate neighbourhood. The Indian Ocean Tsunami was the first major response of India in operationalising effective relief. India conducted relief and rescue operations by sending its navy when a powerful tsunami hit Sri Lanka and the Maldives in December 2004; it also extended support when Cyclone Sidr battered Bangladesh’s coast in 2007. In 2008, it extended help when Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar though the military junta carried out the aid distribution.

India was the first country to dispatch the INS Sukanya and the INS Deepak with 1,200 tonnes of drinking water when a fire broke out at the water treatment plant in Male, resulting in a drinking water crisis in 2014. It became one of the first countries to reach Nepal during the 2015 earthquake when an NDRF team got there right after the disaster. Apart from extending help during natural disasters, India has provided relief to the Rohingya refugees and the local population under Operation Insaniyat.

Evacuation is another important aspect of India’s increasing profile for providing humanitarian assistance. It evacuated Indian nationals as well as 960 foreigners from 41 countries when civil war broke out in Yemen in April 2015 under Operation Rahat. Within six hours, India sent a rescue team and relief to Nepal in April 2015 under Operation Maitri led by the Indian Army.

Not only has India augmented its ability to emerge as a first responder, it has also established an early warning system to predict natural disasters, including tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. In 2014, it provided $1 million to a trust fund to establish an early warning system as part of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System. The Indian-funded South Asia satellite that India launched helps in enhancing communication technology and disaster information transfer. Recently, the World Meteorological Department entrusted India with the responsibility of coordinating, developing and implementing the Regional Centre of South Asia Flash Flood Guidance System. India has been using it since 2020 to warn its neighbours of impending flash floods.

Capacity building of the neighbours is one of the priorities for India, apart from holding joint exercises to build interoperability. The South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercises is one of them. India has several regional and international cooperation activities to carry its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission forward. However, it needs to engage more deeply in capacity building through training and joint exercises. There are the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) disaster management exercises which are hosted by India, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) exercises.

India, which defines its role as a first responder in the neighbourhood, has been efficient in reaching out in times of natural disasters. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it stood true to its role when it dispatched vaccines to countries in the neighbourhood. However, it could not live up to the expectation it had generated through its vaccine maitri outreach when it faced a severe second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and stopped exporting vaccines. This created a crisis as neighbours scrambled for vaccines, which certainly created a dent in India’s credibility as a first responder.

To succeed in this role, India needs to engage in capacity building and joint exercises and work on interoperability between agencies. As disaster relief also requires engagement with locals, multi agency participation at the bilateral level is important. The 2022-23 budget of the External Affairs Ministry has earmarked INR 50 million for Disaster Relief under the heading Aid to Countries. Though this budget allocation appears minuscule, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief even featuring in the budget of the External Affairs Ministry shows that they have emerged as an important foreign policy instrument for India.

Smruti Pattanaik

Source: The Statesman, 17/02/23

Quote of the Day February 16, 2023

 

“As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself.”
Adelle

“मेरे विचार से आप प्रतिदिन दो में से कोई एक काम करते हैं: स्वास्थ्य वर्धन करना या अपने शरीर में रोग पैदा करना।”
एडेल्लेय

ERC gives consolidator grants worth €657 million to excellent researchers

 A total of 321 researchers have won the 2022 European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants. The funding, worth €657 million, is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. It will help excellent scientists, who have 7 to 12 years’ experience after their PhDs, to pursue their most promising ideas.

The grants will be invested in scientific projects spanning all disciplines of research, from engineering to life sciences and even humanities. For example, a neurologist in Denmark will look for a personalised treatment for chronic pain; a researcher in France will explore fibrous materials as a green alternative to fossil-based plastics; and a bioarcheologist in Lithuania will study what influenced the adoption and abandonment of crops over time, to improve present-day food security, biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change.

The laureates of this grant competition proposed to carry out their projects at universities and research centres in 18 EU member states, plus other countries associated with Horizon Europe. Among the EU countries, the highest number of grants will be located in Germany (62 projects), France (41) and Spain (24).

Nationals of 37 countries are among the winners of this call, notably Germans (52 researchers), Italians (32), French (31) and British (31). This call attracted 2,222 applicants, while the proposals were reviewed by panels of renowned researchers from across the world. The grants will create around 1,950 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and other staff at the host institutions.

Prof Maria Leptin, president, ERC, said, “ERC Consolidator grants support researchers at a crucial time of their careers, strengthening their independence, reinforcing their teams, and helping them establish themselves as leaders in their fields. Above all, this backing gives them a chance to pursue their scientific dreams.”

The statistics and final list of successful candidates are provisional. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) allows for associating the UK to the current EU research and innovation funding programme, Horizon Europe, subject to the adoption of a Protocol. As this Protocol has not been adopted so far, the UK is still considered ‘non-associated’ to Horizon Europe. Therefore, the successful proposals of applicants based in a country in the process of associating to Horizon Europe will be eligible for funding only if the relevant Horizon Europe association agreement applies by the time of the signature of the grant agreement. However, successful applicants from UK host institutions can still be funded, provided they move to a host institution in an eligible country

Current Affairs-February 16, 2023

 

INDIA

• In Tripura, voting begins to elect a new 60-Member Legislative Assembly.
• India and Spain agree to collaborate on digital infrastructure, climate action and sustainable development
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the mega National Tribal Festival – Aadi Mahotsav.
• Cabinet approves construction of Shinku La Tunnel to provide all-weather connectivity in Ladakh
• PM Modi to virtually inaugurate Jal Jan Abhiyan in Sirohi district of Rajasthan
• India earmarks 75 per cent of capital procurement budget for domestic industry
• Two-day Global Tech Summit to begin in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to provide maintenance and overhaul support for MQ-9B drone engines in India.

ECONOMY

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announces 2nd global hackathon- HARBINGER 2023.
• West Bengal state government announces its state budget for the year 2023-24; broadens welfare schemes.
• Foodgrain production is estimated to be over 3,235 lakh tonnes in agricultural year 2022-23: Second advance estimates.

WORLD

• Death toll in Turkey and Syria climbs to more than 41,000 after devastating earthquakes.
• South Korea has said that a North Korean food crisis appears to be worsening.
• Pakistan government introduces bill to raise Rs 170 billion in taxes

SPORTS

• Women’s T20 World Cup: India beat West Indies by 6 wickets.
• Akshdeep Singh and Priyanka Goswami win National Race Walking Championships.
• Indian men’s cricket team tops in all three formats for the first time

P.G. Prospects at TISS : Entrance - Extempore - Interview Tips

 Tata Institute of Social Sciences is offering 57+ PG Degree programmes from its Mumbai, Tuljapur, Guwahati, and Hyderabad campuses. The postgraduate programmes range from Social Work with Criminology and Justice Disability Studies and Action, Dalit and Tribal Studies, Mental Health, Women Centred Practice, Counseling, Children and Family, Community Organisation and Development Practices, Livelihood and Social Entrepreneurship, Public Health, Rural Development; Climate Change and Environment oriented programmes like Environment Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, Ecology-Environment-Sustainable Development; Public Health courses in Hospital Administration, Social Epidemiology, Health Administration; Public Policy oriented programmes like Public Policy and Governance, Cities and Governance, Natural Resources and Governance, Urban Policy and Governance, Regulatory Policy and Governance, Water Policy and Governance; Mental Health specialisations in Applied Psychology (Counseling and Clinical), Global Mental Health, Animal Assisted Therapy; Human Resource Management and Social Entrepreneurship; Peace and Conflict Studies; Development Studies, Women Studies; Education; Sociology and Social Anthropology; Disaster Management; Media and Cultural Studies et al.

Placements : Government schemes, missions, ministries and departments like NITI Aayog, Ministry of Social Empowerment and Justice, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Kudumbashree, Telangana State Development Authority; Multilaterals like UNICEF, WHO, UNDP; CSR verticals of PSUs like NTPC, Oil India, GAIL; large corporations like Reliance Foundation, Piramal Foundation, Zydus Cadilla; consulting firms like KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, EY; tech companies like Uber, Indigene, Infosys; Healthcare organisations like Cloud Nine Hospitals, Apollo Group of Hospitals; social enterprises and grassroot level organisations like PRADAN, Save The Children, PRAYAS, Naz Foundation, Oxfam International, Apni Shala and many impact driven initiatives have hired graduates from TISS for internships during the course and final job placements after graduation. As per data submitted by TISS with National Institute of Ranking Framework (Ministry of Education) the median salary of PG Programmes is Rs 6 Lakhs per annum across the aforementioned courses. Starting salaries offered in recent years have gone up to Rs 20 - 23 Lakhs per annum depending on the job profile and competence of the graduates. Young Professionals, Program Managers, Monitoring and Evaluation, CSR Executive, Quality Assurance Manager, Policy Advocate and Researcher are few of the many job profiles offered during campus placements. A significant number of graduates apply for further education like pursuing PhD every year at TISS.

Selection Procedure : The application for PG Programmes at TISS usually go live from the first week of December till the end of January next year. Candidates can apply for a maximum of three programmes across any of the two campuses indicating the order of preference. TISS shortlists candidates initially through TISSNET (TISS National Entrance Test) conducted in 40 different towns/cities. The shortlisted candidates have to appear for Online Assessments (OA) comprising an Online Extempore and Online Personal Interview specific to the programmes they have been shortlisted for the final selection.

TISSNET Structure : TISSNET is a computer based MCQ test of 100 minutes duration with no negative marking applicable for single or multiple preferences of programmes submitted by candidates during their application. The medium of TISSNET is English.

The basic structure of TISSNET is:

40 Questions on General Awareness: Questions are asked from Politics, Social Studies, Science & Technology, Environment, Sports, Art & Culture, Indian History to assess awareness about current affairs, developmental, socio-political issues. Sectional cut-off for General Awareness (GA) is applied for qualifying the

TISS-NET. Candidates not scoring the minimum cut-off mark for the General Awareness as above will not be qualified for TISS NET irrespective of the aggregate score

Sectional Cut Off (SCO) applied : GN, EWS, KM, and AF – 35% i.e. 14 Marks; PWD and OBC(NC) – 30% i.e. 12 Marks; SC and ST– No sectional cut-off applied

30 Questions on Mathematics and Logical Reasoning: Basic Arithmetic, Basic Geometry, Basic Trigonometry, Basic Statistics, Number Series, Data interpretation, Logical reasoning with a preparation level up to Class X

30 Questions on English Proficiency : The broad type of questions are asked from Word choice/sentence correction, Odd-one-out, Analogies, Synonyms & Antonyms, Grammar, Verbal reasoning, Reading comprehension with a preparation level up to Class X

TISSNET Tips : Aspirants need to optimise their preparation by filtering out current affairs and static GK contexts using the lens of intersectionalities like gender, caste, religion; livelihood and entrepreneurship schemes, environmental awareness, sustainable and inclusive policies, disasters, historical reforms etc.

Analytical and Problem Solving skills feature amongst the top requirements in employability and TISSNET tests a candidate’s basic comfort in reading and interpreting charts and tables with fundamental calculations on percentage, profit and loss, ratio proportion, probability, geometry and logical reasoning questions on games and puzzles, arrangements, direction sense, syllogisms to highlight a few. The ability to apply working English with grammatically correct constructions is a core focus in the English proficiency section. Agreement of the subject to the verb, tenses, correct usage of articles, prepositions, singular and plural verbs, contextual reasoning out synonyms and antonyms and the ability to summarise and synthesise comprehension passages are the usual pattern noticed in previous years. NCERT updated text books for General Awareness and Mathematics, Government of India and affiliate Ministry websites are useful sources of learning resources. Grammar books Wren and Martin, “Word Power Made Easy” by Norman Lewis help in formulating approaches to prepare well for the English proficiency questions.

Online Assessment Tips : A candidate’s compatibility with the shortlisted programme(s) is assessed with an extempore topic that they are required to reflect upon for 2 - 3 minutes followed by 15 - 20 minutes of interview by a three panel member of the TISS faculty. It’s important to highlight that knowing the prospect of programmes and their learning outcomes forms the framework to prepare for TISS Online Assessments. Exposure that can be integrated, lived experiences, attitude, mindset are few of the many attributes that the TISS faculty welcomes in a candidate to be exhibited during the interactive rounds.

TISSNET 2023 will be held on 25 February from 2pm - 3:40pm.

About the author: Sauraveswar Sen (12+ years of experience) is the founder of Catalyst Learning Services based in Kolkata. He is a mentor for placements at TISS, St Xavier’s College Mumbai, University of Calcutta and several institutes of eminence.

Source: Telegraph, 11/02/23

People’s document

 “Manavta ki jaan hai, Samata pehchan hai, Bharat ki shaan hai, Samvidhan hai vo, Bharat ka Samvidhan hai (The Constitution is the essence of humanity, an identity of equality, and the pride of India).” With this catchy song, youth artist groups led by Aakash Parmar in Thane, Maharashtra, are using music and other art forms to popularise the values of the Constitution.

The accessibility of the Indian Constitution has been a contested issue. This is because the Constitution has been restricted to the legal elite. Yet, communities are owning it and making it accessible using innovative means. For instance, Maharashtra, with its glorious legacy of emancipation nurtured by B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule and others, has inspired citizen-led groups to engage with the Constitution by invoking indigenous histories and glories. As the historian, Ernest Renan, has argued, a heroic past and great men form the social capital on which the idea of the nation is based. By invoking the teachings of Ambedkar and Phule to engage the masses with such constitutional values as equality, fraternity and dignity, these groups are using the past to create a constitutionally aware citizenry. These initiatives reaffirm the claim made by the scholar, Arvind Narrain, in his book on India’s undeclared emergency that India’s tradition of resistance is rooted in its culture.

The movement of constitutional literacy is not limited to the indigenous method only. Youth groups are using the method employed by the Brazilian radical revolutionary artist, Augusto Boal, who devised the idea of the theatre of the oppressed. A unique feature of this art form is that it puts spectator and performer on an equal footing. This theatrical art form is used by youth groups in Mumbai led by Priyapal to propagate the essence of Constitutional values. The group uses forum theatre, a technique of the theatre of the oppressed, whereby the voiceless are given a voice. Mob lynching, domestic violence, the right to choose a partner are some of the themes that have been explored to reflect the values enshrined in the Constitution.

The engagement with the Constitution has emerged as an effective tool to shape and assert the idea of citizenry. Thus, citizen-driven initiatives are engaging with academic, artistic and creative means to sustain and cultivate the constitutional culture. One such approach across Maharashtra is the community outreach on the Constitution that has forged the idea of Samvidhan Pracharak (Constitution Facilitator). These pracharaks facilitate conversations on the Constitution in the layman’s language. Spread over 20 districts of Maharashtra, Samvidhan Pracharaks have trained more than 3,000 volunteers across the state. These groups, led by Nagesh Jadhav, Sandeep Akhade and Nilesh, say that they engage with diverse sections of society in creative but specific ways. For instance, ‘Children’s Café’ and ‘Coffee with Constitution’ are specially designed programmes to include children and the youth in literacy programmes on the Constitution.

These groups are also crafting a new language for the ordinary people for their engagement with the Constitution. Scholars have argued that knowledge of the Constitution prepares citizens not only for a participatory role but also enables them to defend the Constitution against attacks. In his book, A People’s Constitution: The Everyday Life of Law in the Indian Republic, Rohit De revealed that the constitutional culture was shaped by ordinary people who posed faith in the nation’s first document.

This collective cultivation of adopting constitutional values is a sign that it is the people who own the Constitution. As India celebrates the 74th anniversary of the enactment of the Constitution, these efforts are a beacon of hope.

Rajesh Ranjan 

Source: Telegraph, 15/02/23

Quote of the Day February 15, 2023

 

“Every morning I spend fifteen minutes filling my mind full of God; and so there's no room left for worry thoughts.”
Howard Chandler Christy

“हर सुबह मैं पंद्रह मिनट अपने मस्तिष्क में प्रभु की भावनाओं को समाहित करता हूं; और इस प्रकार से चिंता के लिए इसमें कोई स्थान रिक्त नहीं रहता है।”
हॉवर्ड शैंडलर क्रिस्टी