Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Odisha: IIT alumni sets up dairy farm to help people in his native village

An alumni of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has set up a dairy farm in his native village in Kendrapara district from where locals can buy pure milk at a cheaper rate than the market price.

Taking a break from busy schedule of his job at KIIT university in Bhubaneswar, Nihar Ranjan Beura (50) visits his native village at Dumuka under Marshaghai tehsil on weekends to look after the farm that has 32 hybrid high-yielding cows.

“The objective to set up a dairy farm was to make available pure milk to my native villagers at reasonable price. Besides I have been able to provide employment to at least ten families in the farm”, Beura said.

The farm is being run on no-loss-no-profit basis. The return from the milk sold is spent on rearing the cows, he said. The project is now two-year-old. I may have earned lots of money in overseas jobs. But the success of the project has given me immense pleasure.

Nihar babu seems to set an example to others that one has to give back to his or her motherland”, said a local Abanti Behera.

After finishing his schooling from a high school in Marsaghai and Intermediate Science in Kendrapara college, Nihar did MTech in Industrial Engineering and Management from IIT, Kharagapur.

“I was only one year old when my father Sunakar and my five year old elder brother perished in the 1967 cyclone. My mother Sunandabala who became widow at the age of 25 was a source of inspiration for me”, he said.

“Some time back, I was struck by how little it had changed in the village. In my childhood, my mother used to eke out our living by selling milk from our four cows. I decided to rear cows in our village. I purchased 35 jersey cows three years back by spending around Rs eight lakh. I spent Rs 10 lakh to build cattle shed. Now the cows give about 300 liters of milk daily. 12 families of our village eke out their livings by working in the dairy farm. Three acre land close to the dairy farm has been developed for fodder farming. The fodder leads to increase in milk yield,” said Nihar.

Nihar said he also organises yoga, meditation and spiritual events in my village. My goal was to help my people. I spend weekends in my village to do all the works, he said.

“I quit highly paid job in the US and other countries and decided to settle at Odisha. With my present job, I have been able to pursue rural development in my village,” he said.

“Career counselling by Nihar Sir is of immense help to the poor students of our area. It gives the much-needed exposure to local college students”, said a village boy who studies in a local college.

Source: Hindustan Times, 30/08/2016

ROW OVER SELF-PLAGIARISM - BARC scientist `copied own work for journal articles'

Munish Pandey

Fellow scientists furious as NK Sahoo, who allegedly lifted portions from his papers 15 times, is promoted

A senior scientist with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) copied por tions from his own scholarly papers 15 times while submitting new articles to jour nals, staff at the premier facility have alleged in a complaint.Despite the blatant `self-plagiarism', Dr NK Sahoo was promoted in May and last week his title was changed from outstanding scientist to distinguished one, according to Bhabha Atomic Research Officers' Association, which has been outraged by his elevation.
Dr Sahoo, who is due to retire in 2018, is currently the associate director of group (physics).
The association, which includes scientists, has urged BARC director Dr KN Vyas to initiate action against him and threatened to take the matter to the prime minister's office if no steps are taken. Mirror has a copy of the letter.
BARC was set up under the department of atomic energy, which reports directly to the prime minister.
The scientific community attaches a lot of prestige to getting one's work published in journals. Most researchers list their published studies in the CV, which helps them gain prominence among peers and even plays a part in speeding up promotions in government organisations.
There is a debate about whether self-plagiarism amounts to dis honest and unethical behaviour.But most reputed scientific journals accept only “original work“, meaning it should not be copied or recycled from any source, even one's own previous studies.
“Dr Sahoo reused portions from five sets of his research papers 15 times while submitting new articles to journals.Two of his papers that appeared in two journals are exactly the same barring the title,“ a member of the association said.“There have been 15 instances of self-plagiarism, yet he has been promoted.“
Dr Sahoo refused to comment on the allegations. “I am not aware of this [the complaint],“ he said.
Another member of Bhabha Atomic Research Officers' Association said a member of the centre's editorial board noticed striking similarities in Dr Sahoo's published articles.
“It is a matter of great concern and hurting that in May, you appointed a scientist who is a habitual offender of self-plagiarism as associate director of a group,“ Dr AP Mishra, secretary of the association, has said in the complaint to BARC director.
“ We a r e a t t a c h i n g i n Annexure-1 a list of references of his several journal papers. It is beyond all doubts that self-plagiarism is deemed as an act of cheating and fraud, and condemned internationally.“
BARC scientists have questioned the apparent reluctance to take action against Dr Sahoo.“When there are national and international movements against plagiarism, should BARC keep silence?“ the letter asks.
A researcher at the centre said Dr Sahoo failed to specify in his articles for journals that he had used portions from his previous papers. “Whenever an author submits a draft to a journal for publication, heshe has to give a declaration that the work is original and it has not been published before. Even if someone wants to cite some fig ures from hisher previous work in the new article, the person has to make a disclosure,“ the researcher said.
“Dr Sahoo did not make any declarations in his 15 papers, which have similar parts and figures.“
BARC spokesperson refused to comment on the complaint, while Dr Vyas could not be contacted.
SCIENCE OF CHEATING
In June, President Pranab Mukherjee gave nod to sack Pondicherry University vice chancellor Chandra Krishna murthy for plagiarism and mis representation of facts while applying for the post In July, the central government senior scientist Swaranjit Singh from the Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, follow ing allegations that he had fab ricated data for his articles pub lished in a US journal

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 30/08/2016

How to Deal with Death

JAMUNA RANGACHARI

Isn't it amazing that we never think of death as a real possibility in our own lives? Coping with death -whether dealing with the possibility of one's own death or that of a loved one -remains one of the greatest challenges of our lives.Spiritual masters and philosophers since long have said and written much on how to reach and remain in a state of acceptance. The following story of a grieving woman and Buddha's advice to her illustrates the fact that death is universal and unavoidable, and so should be accepted as being an inevitable part of life.
A woman grieving the loss of her son asks the Buddha to bring him back to life. The Buddha asks her to bring a single mustard seed from a house where there has never been any death. Failing to find a single home where there had been no death, the inconsolable mother now accepts her loss. Realising that the world is impermanent and seeking an end to the cycle of suffering, she joined Buddha's order and diligently followed his teaching. Hence, coping with her loss was the first step on her spiritual journey .
Most rituals associated with death are designed to enable us to reach a state of acceptance, of coming to terms with death as a natural, inevitable event.Whatever our belief system, it is clear that by focusing on helping the departed soul, our grief vanishes slowly but steadily . In doing so, we would perhaps move closer to understanding the impermanence of life.A medieval book on the craft of dying says, “Learn to die and thou shalt learn how to live.“

FOCUSSING ON FINANCIAL INCLUSION - Tata, Nilekani & Kelkar to Target Bottom of Pyramid

Mumbai:

Our Bureau

Float tech-savvy Avanti Finance to offer tiny loans to poor

Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata, former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani are teaming up to start a technology-enabled financial inclusion vehicle, Avanti Finance, which will provide tiny loans to poor ignored by other lenders.The aim is to knit together several related threads:
The social sector presence of Tata Trusts and other like-minded partners
The JAM trinity comprising the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the Aadhaar system and mobile phones
The Unified Payment Interface, or UPI, that's just debuted
Upcoming payments bank ecosystem Since stepping down as chairman of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata has invested in more than 25 firms. Ratan Tata has invested in several firms, including unicorns such as Ola, Paytm and Snapdeal. He has also set up a venture fund -RNT Capital Advisers.
“Avanti will be a platform to impact the poor through credit at individual and community levels to create an improvement in their livelihoods and standard of living, ushering prosperity,“ Tata said.
Infosys cofounder Nilekani, who led the team that established the Aadhaar unique identity system, recently invested in Mumbai-based Sedemac Mechatronics as well as Bengaluru-based 10i Commerce Services.
Avanti's promoters believe institutional inequalities and information asymmetries are depriving the poor of access to affordable credit, they said in a release.In the past few years, the poor have had low delinquency rates compared with any other segment but are charged the highest interest.
Financial inclusion is a key thrust area for the government and the Reserve Bank of India aimed at opening up access to financial services for vast sections of the population.
To this end, they have initiated several programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and payments banks, which are in the process of being set up. India also has an ecosystem of microfinance institutions that offer tiny loans to the poor, although their presence is not uniform across the country.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has so far covered over 99.7% households and offers formal banking services to them. Nearly 24 crore accounts have been opened by banks in the past one-and-ahalf years which now have a deposit base of over `. 41,789 crore.
Both Tata and Nilekani will invest from their philanthropic capital and any gains will be reinvested in such causes. Avanti will apply for registration to the Reserve Bank of India soon and will start operations before March 2017.
“My participation in Avanti is more driven by social motivation rather than anything else -with a view to serve the underserved and unserved and make the Tata Trusts and other like-minded partners' philanthropy more effective,“ Nilekani said. “Technology is an important differentiator and allows us to make a difference in many ways than one.“
“It is a very important step because the Indian mass still does not have access to financial institutions,“ said Sreedhar Prasad, partner, ecommerce and startups, KPMG India.
“Small finance banks take time to set up, is very large in India. Any lending product for masses is a huge opportunity. Seamless operationalisation and collection would be key, since demand will not be a problem,“ he adds.

Source: Economic Times, 30-08-2016

Monday, August 29, 2016

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

Vol. 51, Issue No. 35, 27 Aug, 2016

Editorials

Dangerous Gamble on Balochistan

More Power to Abuse

Enemies of the People?

From 50 Years Ago

50 Years of EPW

Strategic Affairs

War and What To Do About It

Ali Ahmed

Commentary

Draft Policy On Education 2016

Education in Disarray

T S R Subramanian

'Skill India' or Deskilling India

Anil Sadgopal

Higher Education

Satish Deshpande

The Question of Language in Education

Ayesha Kidwai

School Education

Disha Nawani

New Education Policy and the Continuing Contentions

L N Venkataraman

Book Reviews

Poems of the First Buddhist Women

Kumkum Roy

In Search of a Saviour

Satyaki Roy

Insight

Crimes against Humanity

Iymon Majid, Mudasir Amin

Special Articles

India's 'Poverty of Numbers'

Gaurav Nayyar, Rohini Nayyar

Economic Policy Uncertainty and Growth in India

Sanjai Bhagat, Pulak Ghosh, Srinivasan Rangan

Postscript

Healing Touch

Bharat H Desai, Balraj K Sidhu

Orchids, Strawberries and Yak Butter Tea

E K Santha

A Ghazal for Gaza

Maaz bin Bilal

Last Lines

Current Statistics

Appointments/Programmes/Announcements

Letters

This Is Financial Inclusion

N P Mohapatra

Chant of the Masked

Rajarshi Dasgupta

Scepticism in Economic Enquiry

Benito G Lyndon

EPW at 50

K Sheshu Babu, Janmejaya Mishra

Web Exclusives

The Process of Undermining Pakistan's Military Hegemony May Have Begun

S Akbar Zaidi

Restraint & Forgiveness

SUDHAMAHI REGUNATHAN

Ahimsa is at the core of all Jain thought and philosophy . It is not limited to human life, but extends to all that surrounds us. Jainas believe that even waterbodies and air are living entities. To minimise the violence they cause to such organisms, they have fashioned a lifestyle which includes covering their mouth when they speak, using only boiled water, sweeping the floor before they tread on it and so on.To maximise the elements of non-violence, they discovered that it is important to be an aparigrahi also. An aparigrahi is one who has given up his possessions. When it rains, monks and nuns do not go out in the rain for fear of harming organisms living in water. The four months of the rainy season, the chaturmas, are spent in one place. An ascetic is required to select his place of stay with the onset of the monsoon. If he is unable to identify a suitable place, he is given an allowance of up to 50 days after the onset of the rains. On the 50th day he has to set up camp wherever he is.This day is known as Samvatsari. Samvatsarik or Samvatsari means every year on this day the festival of Paryushana is celebrated.Paryushana highlights the message that all living beings share a similar desire to live. It is a mark of respect to them and the earth. In terms of ascetic practice, this period marks a period of contemplation and inner journey .

Meet Vivek Choudhary, IIM-L student who topped CS exam 2016

Vivek Choudhary, a first-year student at IIM Lucknow, has secured the top rank in the examination of The Institute of Company Secretaries India (ICSI) that declared the results of its executive and professional programme on Thursday.

The company secretaries examination were held in June 2016.

“The feeling of seeing the word ‘Pass’ on the mark sheet is a very big achievement in itself as it is one of the most competitive examinations of the country. I did not expect to get any rank. I was really not bothered to check the rank. For me, becoming a company secretary itself was a huge success,” Choudhary said.

The 21-year-old commerce graduate from Kolkata’s St Xaviers’ College said he got the news about his rank from one of his friends who checked the results on the website.

“At first, I could not believe him. Then I personally checked the website to confirm, and to my surprise, I was there on the top. The rank glorified it and gave me a very big reason to celebrate,” Choudhary, who is from Haryana and has been living in Kolkata for the last 10 years, said.“My first call was to my mother as she has been a constant support and a source of inspiration to me. My parents are my ideals as they have given me guidance at every point of time in my life. Whatever I have achieved today is because of their blessings,” he said.When asked how difficult the examination was, his reply was immediate. “Unlike most professional courses, CS has a very comprehensive syllabus. There are nine subjects, multiple laws and thousands of provisions which sometimes get on your head. But all that is required to ace this challenge is a commitment, hard work, focus and a lot of sacrifices in terms of social media, parties, etc.”

He said CAT or CS are different ballgames. “CAT tests analytical, qualitative and logical skills while CS deals with applications in various domains of business, like law, taxation, and governance. Both are highly competitive but comparing them is not justified,” he said.

For now, he wants to become an investment banker. “But that is not my ultimate goal in life. My dream is to contribute towards the development of the society through education. I believe education is the guiding light for improved standards of living. If I am asked to define my ultimate goal concisely, it would be to bring out a revolution in education,” he said.

For Choudhary his alma mater, Don Bosco School in Liluah, changed him as a person – from an introvert to a man of values who understands the importance of interpersonal relations. “While in Class 9, I developed an interest in commerce as a subject and decided to choose it as my career option,” he said.

A finance enthusiast, Choudhary is also pursuing chartered accountancy and chartered secretary courses to shape up his professional and technical knowledge.

A movie buff, Choudhary watches one every weekend and is also associated with Dasnagar Freedom Welfare Foundation, an NGO that helps underprivileged children, for the past one-and-a-half year.

“I had taken up the responsibility of garnering sufficient funds for the organisation by actively organising its periodic events and I also taught and mentored five such students,” Choudhary, who also loves to play badminton, said.

Source: Hindustan Times, 29-8-2016

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