“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
Charles Darwin
“ऐसा व्यक्ति जो एक घंटे का समय बरबाद करता है, उसने जीवन के मूल्य को समझा ही नहीं है।”
चार्ल्स डारविन
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
Charles Darwin
“ऐसा व्यक्ति जो एक घंटे का समय बरबाद करता है, उसने जीवन के मूल्य को समझा ही नहीं है।”
चार्ल्स डारविन
The Mizoram government has taken a significant step towards addressing the challenges faced by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Manipur. Under the leadership of Lalchamliana, the High-Level Committee on IDPs has been established. Additionally, an executive committee has been formed to implement decisions related to the IDPs. These initiatives aim to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to those affected by ethnic clashes.
Lalchamliana, the Minister for Home and Disaster Management, is heading the High-Level Committee on IDPs in Mizoram. The executive committee, with H. Lalengmawia as the member secretary, is responsible for the implementation of decisions pertaining to the IDPs. The primary objective of these committees is to ensure effective measures for the well-being of the IDPs.
Mizoram currently provides shelter to more than 40,000 refugees from Myanmar who fled their country due to the military junta. Additionally, there are 772 refugees from Bangladesh who have sought refuge in Mizoram, escaping the crackdown by the Bangladesh army. Moreover, almost 9,000 IDPs from Manipur are facing ethnic clashes and are in need of support and assistance.
The executive committee, in collaboration with various departments, is working towards providing relief and humanitarian assistance to the IDPs from Manipur in Mizoram. Liaison with concerned departments ensures the effective implementation of relief measures and addresses the urgent needs of the affected population.
The Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee, representing major churches, plays a crucial role in supporting the efforts of the committees. Their involvement ensures a collaborative approach in addressing the challenges faced by the IDPs and provides additional support in humanitarian initiatives.
The High-Level Committee on IDPs is entrusted with overseeing and supervising the provision of relief and basic humanitarian assistance. Through these committees, the Mizoram government aims to ensure that the IDPs receive the necessary support, including access to food, shelter, healthcare, and other essential services.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2023 were recently released by Minister of State for Education and External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. These rankings serve as a significant benchmark to assess the quality and performance of educational institutions across the country.
The NIRF rankings encompass four major categories: Overall, Colleges, Universities, and Research Institutions. The rankings aim to provide valuable insights into the progress and performance of institutions in terms of academic excellence, research output, and overall institutional quality. These rankings are available on the official website of NIRF at nirfindia.org.
In its eighth edition, the NIRF rankings have expanded from four to twelve categories, including eight subject-specific rankings. This expansion allows for a more comprehensive assessment of institutions across various domains. The subject domains now include Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Architecture and Planning, Dental, and a new addition—Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
In the overall category, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras secured the top position, maintaining its success from the previous year. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru emerged as the leading university, reaffirming its commitment to academic excellence. Additionally, IISc Bangalore was recognized as the second-best institution in the overall category.
In the university rankings, IISc Bengaluru retained its top position, showcasing its consistent commitment to research and academic prowess. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) secured the second and third spots, respectively, highlighting their contributions to the academic landscape of the country.
When it comes to engineering institutes, IIT Madras emerged as the top performer for the second consecutive year. IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Roorkee followed closely, showcasing their exceptional contributions to engineering education and research.
In the field of management, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad secured the top spot, demonstrating its excellence in producing business leaders. IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Delhi were also recognized for their outstanding contributions to management education.
The NIRF rankings also acknowledge the top performers in other domains such as Pharmacy, Colleges, Medical, Research Institutions, Innovation, Law, Architecture, Dental, and Agriculture and Allied Sectors. These rankings shed light on the institutions that have excelled in their respective fields and contribute significantly to the growth of those domains.
The NIRF rankings play a crucial role in evaluating and improving the quality of higher education in India. By providing a comprehensive assessment and comparison of institutions, the rankings help students make informed decisions about their academic pursuits. The NIRF rankings align with the government’s efforts to enhance the quality and accessibility of education across the nation.
With the expansion of categories and a growing number of participating institutions, the NIRF rankings continue to evolve and become more inclusive. They serve as a reliable guide for students, parents, and educational stakeholders, enabling them to identify and appreciate the best institutions in India.
The world is challenged by many existential threats. Some of them are old, some more recent, and some hanging over a not-so-distant future. If one considers all the threats together, the forecast indeed induces a sense of foreboding. All the cheers of good tidings cannot overcome the possibility of a grim future. All these threats are human-made — unintended consequences of our intense desire for material consumption and comfort.
The first threat is an old one, that of nuclear weapons being used in an arena of war, leading to mass destruction. More countries than ever before are armed with growing numbers of deadly weapons. In most of these nations, the political leadership does not signal the maturity and responsibility that the ownership of these weapons demands. There are many related worries. Rogue terrorists could make nuclear weapons themselves, a task that is possible and relatively cheap. What is even more terrifying is the knowledge that not all nuclear weapons manufactured are accurately accounted for. Although no mishap has occurred so far, this does not mean that a disaster is impossible. Geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, between Russia and Ukraine, between North Korea and the United States of America are all flashpoints that might ignite without much warning.
The potential of nuclear disaster is aggravated by the fact that nations are moving away from global collaborations and cooperation to more inward-looking ideologies where the fear of and hatred for the foreigner and the immigrant are deeply entrenched. Fanned by political hot air from authoritarian leaders, this crude brand of nationalism survives and flourishes. Tension about the backlash of retreat from the globalisation of the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of this century does not mean a return to the world of the 1980s. That is not possible anymore. Consumers have exhibited a huge appetite for goods and services from all over the world. New international supply chains had made that possible to a large extent. Now, with the growing political preference for protectionism, the supply chains are broken, while domestic production systems have not re-adjusted yet. Hence, costs of production have risen fast, as have inflationary pressures across the globe. Output growth is sluggish, with strong recessionary tendencies being witnessed even in some strong economies of the world.The global economic disorder,along with a disrupted financial system, is here to stay, at least for some time.
The magic of economic growth and material prosperity has accelerated the use of fossil fuels, resulting in ever-increasing carbon emissions. The unstoppable increase in emissions has brought the threat of climate change closer and closer. Now, most serious climate scientists believe that the average temperature rise is likely to be closer to 2° Celsius than 1.5° Celsius. At the moment, even a rise of 3° Celsius by the end of the century cannot be ruled out. The signs of climate change and the attendant unpredictable and unusual weather events have clearly shown that climate tipping points are much closer than we thought. Climate change is, arguably, the most important one of the long list of environmental threats looming on the horizon. The great growth story has resulted in a great acceleration in the use and depletion of critical natural resources such as fresh water, soil nutrients, forest cover, biodiversity, minerals and ocean ecosystems through acidification. Despite a long list of international meetings and agreements on the reduction of carbon emissions, there has been no success. As of now, the way the nations of the world are behaving, the targets of the Paris Agreement will remain unfulfilled. Economic development is unsustainable.
Last, but not the least, is the threat that appears as a seductive solution to many of humanity’s problems of health, education and effective governance — the threat from the new technologies of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has often been claimed with the wisdom of hindsight that new technologies are initially always suspected of displacing human beings from their jobs. However, all new technology has ultimately resulted in creating more jobs and made human life a little less troublesome. This time, the emerging technology is qualitatively different from the older technologies, including the first wave of the information and communication technology revolution. These new technologies can make a device take its own decisions, not necessarily sticking to the set of instructions given to it at the time of training. In this way, it takes something away from human beings. Moreover, the new technologies can be creative and generate new ideas on their own. Unlike the entire gamut of machines that humans have known and used since the Stone Age, the new ones will have autonomy and agency. Hence, they will ultimately be able to learn and act on their own. They will dominate humans according to the laws of evolution and might ultimately displace us from being the most influential species on planet earth. The comparison of their intelligence and our own, according to some scientists, would be the difference between our brains and that of a frog’s. And we do not show a great deal of respect for the cerebral ability of frogs.
As these threats keep growing in magnitude over time, the cocktail effect can be quite deadly. All these threats increase vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities, in turn, create insecurities. First of all, there will be a steady rise in insecurities of all sorts that will become manifest in everyday life. Insecurity about the loss of economic stability, insecurity about lethal diseases, about natural disasters like floods and fires, insecurity about displacement and, above all, insecurity about bodily suffering and death. Despite the staggering rise in global inequalities in income and wealth over the last 100 years, these insecurities will be felt by the rich and the poor alike. The rich might be able to defend themselves a little while longer than the poor, but ultimately the bell will toll for them too.
Human behaviour tends to be very defensive when faced with a variety of threats. Thinking tends to become short-term and self-centred with a focus on survival. An alternative behavioural response is to believe that the threats are overstated and not immediate in nature. Then people have a marked tendency to ignore them altogether or assign unusually low probabilities of their occurrence. In the political arena, such threats are used to exploit the vulnerabilities and insecurities that arise. People look for distraction or salvation from threats. A political saviour who can distract attention, in whatever fashion, from the perils of the here and now would be considered a messiah. A charismatic false prophet who can make people forget their real condition could swiftly rise to the helm of power. People also wilfully accept greater control and authoritarianism, thereby relegating the responsibility over their own lives. The whole culture of fear and anxiety discourages the need to think freely. The authoritarian repressions of dialogue and dissent are not objected to. Most refuse to believe the terrible news. Instead, in the brave new world of forgetfulness, they wear a smile on their faces, and a badge of their leader on their chests.
Anup Sinha
Source: The Telegraph India