Civil services prelims 2017 in June, UPSC prepones exam date

The civil services preliminary examination, to select IAS and IPS officers among others, will be held in June instead of August next year.

It is after the gap of three years that Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be conducting the examination in June, rather than August.

The civil services preliminary examination, 2017, is scheduled to be held on June 18, as per the Commissions’ calender for the examination.

The preliminary tests for 2016, 2015 and 2014 were held during the month of August, a senior UPSC official said.

The preliminary exam will be held early in June this year. The decision has been taken to ensure that the entire process of the examination is completed in time,” he said.

The preliminary exam for 2013 was held on May 26 that year.

The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

Source: Hindustan Times, 27-10-2016

Trafficking Bill a step forward but the problem must be tackled at its source

No one can fault the quantum of punishment prescribed in the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016 — rigorous imprisonment of seven to 10 years for traffickers and in the case of the victim being a minor, it could extend to life. This is a great improvement on the penalty under the existing Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956, which ranges from three to six months in prison. In a recent case, a woman from Chhattisgarh was convicted by a court in that state after it was found that she had trafficked 10,000 girls over a period of 10 years. The Bill to be tabled this winter session should deter traffickers to some extent if it is implemented rigorously.

The situation is particularly grim when it comes to the trafficking of minors. From 2011-2013, 10,500 children were found missing from Chhattisgarh alone. Estimates suggest that at least 135,000 children are trafficked each year in India. They are forced into domestic work; criminal gangs force them to beg or are pushed into the commercial sex industry. The main reasons for parents, especially from tribal areas, handing over their children to agents who promise them jobs in cities for paltry sums of money are poverty, poor or complicit law enforcement, civil unrest and lack of awareness. According to National Crime Records Bureau statistics, there has been a 38% increase in trafficking of minors between 2009 and 2013 — but alarmingly, a decline of 45% in convictions. This could mean that the situation is likely to get worse going forward. The problem has to be tackled at source, the catchment areas in which touts prey on vulnerable people. Once a person is trafficked, it becomes difficult to trace both the victim and the trafficker and successfully pursue cases to their logical conclusion.

The ministry of women and child development has two schemes, Ujjawala and Swadhar aimed at the rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of trafficked women and children. But it is hobbled by the fact that government funding for it has been reduced and there are hardly enough shelters for those rescued. Counselling services are few and far between and little thought has been given to how to re-integrate women and children into the mainstream. The many employment agencies which `place’ women and children in so-called jobs could not have done so without the complicity of the police. If stringent checks are maintained on who are eligible to run such agencies, and which cohort they are dealing with, we might make some headway in dealing with the problem before it is too late. The new draft law is a step forward, but it is just one part of the solution.

Hindustan Times, 28-10-2016

Bridging the gap: Tech giants bring the internet to women in rural India

This Diwali is going to be a cracker of a festival for Nisha Chanderwal, a second year BA student.

“I bought a bright red kurta with gold-colour zari dupatta from Snapdeal, my first online purchase,” the 19-year-old resident of Alwar’s Umren village told HT recently.

“No courier service reaches my village. So I gave my aunt’s home address in Alwar. They paid in cash…I paid her when I picked up the parcel,” she added, explaining the circuitous delivery and payment process that is common in rural India.

Nisha is elated for one more reason: She has finally got even with her 20-year-old brother, Ashok. “He has a smartphone, but doesn’t even let me touch it, saying girls should not use the Internet. But now thanks to Google’s Internet Saathi Programme (ISP), I don’t need his phone or his help,” said an elated Nisha.

In July 2015, technology giant Google launched ISP in partnership with Tata Trusts, one of the country’s oldest philanthropic organisations, to bring rural women online in India. Today, the initiative is live in 25,000 villages across 10 states with 1,900 saathis. The final mission is to reach 300,000 villages. Google is adding up to 500 additional ‘saathis’ per week. More than 100,000 women have been trained so far.

Google started this programme because Internet usage by women in rural areas is low.

“Only one in 10 Internet users in rural India is a woman,” Sapna Chadha, marketing head, Google India, told HT. “With ISP, we are creating an enabling environment that empowers them while also bridging the technology gender divide. We believe that easy access to information can transform lives. Our mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible”.

Along with access to information, getting more and more women online has other benefits: “If women are a minority online, they become vulnerable to harassment and violence. Women can’t only be consumers of the Internet but must contribute their views, and make the space equitable,” said Rohini Lakshané of the Bangalore-based The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), which is funded by the Kusuma Trust.

Google and Tata Trusts are leveraging their core strengths for ISP. While Google provides the hardware (phones and tablets), training and Internet connectivity. Tata Trusts does the identification of saathis and the monitoring.

“We tie up with government departments to roll out the project. For example, in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, we are working with the rural livelihood mission. The government helps us to identify villages, set selection criteria and logistics such as venues,” explained Prabhat Pani, project director, Tata Trusts.

The programme first chooses a few women and trains them on how to use a mobile phone, shoot photos and videos and the basics of Internet. Then the women are sent out on bicycles with a smartphone and a tablet to teach others in their villages.

The programme has opened a new world for many. “Google is like a book. You can get whatever information you need. I am illiterate but I use voice search for information,” said Phoolwati, a 45-year-old resident of Nangli Jamawat, Umren.

Her friend Manju is now the village’s undisputed ‘selfie queen’. “I love taking videos and photos,” she said, adding that she also searches for information on MGNREGA or education loans for her children.

According to Google, the new online entrants are searching for news, recipes, designs for clothes, images and information on pilgrimages, farming and cattle-related information and government schemes.

For Google, it makes immense sense to get more people online. “The company is targeting huge and untapped demographics who are entry-level users. Going forward, they will have a huge first-mover advantage if there is scope to monetise Google’s services,” explained Lakshané.

By 2020, about 315 million rural Indians will be connected to the Internet, compared to around 120 million now. That’s about 36% of the country’s online population. By 2020, this share of rural India will jump to 48%, creating a huge opportunity for brands and marketers in places where establishing stores is a challenge,” says a study by the Boston Consulting Group, The Rising Connected Consumer in Rural India.

The first signs of this market potential were evident during the pre-Diwali online festival season sale. E-tailers posted growth in sales compared to last year thanks to growing smartphone penetration in small towns and villages, cheaper data tariffs and free hotspots. While Google did not divulge the exact revenues that it is spending on ISP, Chadha said it has helped the company to understand the needs of users in rural areas and what role the Internet can play.

Along with ISP, Google is also working with the Indian government on two projects that aims to give more people access to the Internet.

First, the Project Loon, which uses high-altitude balloons to create an aerial wireless network with up to 4G speeds for providing Internet access to rural and remote areas.

Second, the company is partnering with RailTel to provide free wi-fi access in stations.

“The ISP has no immediate profits for Google. The average revenue Indian per user is less than say a user in US. But getting more people online helps Google because its search engine is most used,” Praneesh Prakash, policy director, CIS, told HT. “In the long run, the company will earn when people access its services and also from advertising revenue.”

Nevertheless, the ISP is addressing a major problem. “Many are afraid to go online because they don’t know how they can benefit. While the Saathi programme is not a philanthropic effort, it’s good that Google is addressing this issue through its training programmes,” Prakash said.

Source: Hindustan Times, 28-10-2016

No End to HRD Struggle On Deemed Universities

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi:





SC CLOSES CASE HRD ministry has to decide on the course of action on the universities which were found deficient by Tandon panel

In a move that could once again stir the debate around deemed universities, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has sought legal opinion on a recent Supreme court ruling and whether or not it should act on the controversial Tandon committee report that had recommended shutdown of 44 poor quality deemed to be universities in the UPA era.The move comes a month after the SC `closed' the 2006 PIL filed by lawyer Viplav Sharma alleging several flaws in the grant of the deemed university status. With the apex court now having closed the PIL, the HRD ministry and UGC have to decide on the next course of action vis a vis the universities which were found deficient by the Tandon committee.
ET has learnt that the HRD ministry, treading cautiously, has now sought clarity from the Law ministry on what are the implications of the court ruling and whether it requires them to take action on the basis of the Tandon committee report or not.
The quality of deemed varsities has been questioned repeatedly . During the second stint of the Congress-led UPA government, then HRD minister Kapil Sibal ordered a review through the Tandon committee, which found 44 of the 126 deemed universities to be seriously deficient.
. The Tandon committee had found only 38 of the deemed universities worthy of the tag that allows them to confer degrees. It had recommended closure of 44 deemed universities and found the remaining deficient on some counts but could be improved upon in three years.
These institutions challenged the Tandon committee report in court, while some of them opted out of the deemed varsity system and applied for Institute of National Importance status, after which 38 of the 44 varsities have been under the scanner.
A UGC panel set up in 2014 to examine afresh the 44 blacklisted varsities effected a surprising U-turn, saying that no more than seven of them were found to be inadequate on specified standards and should face action.
The National Assessment & Accreditation Council which reviewed these 38 varsities following court orders stated that 17 of the 38 universities had achieved A category status.
Since the issue was sub judice, most of the `blacklisted' deemed universities have not been put through the usual exercise of UGC inspections. A legal opinion would now help clarify how and if the exercise should be resumed or not.

Source: Economic Times, 28-10-2016

Dhanteras Launches A Five-Day Energy Festival
Creation exists in layers. The physical, comprising of the five elements, is only one layer. As you progress in the sadhana or practice of yoga, the various layers of creation unfold in front of you and you realise that the physical, which a majority spend their life and birth pursuing, is just a small aspect of creation, a layer which is directly controlled by the world of ether, which is the subject of yoga.

Most of us have grown up listening to stories from the Ramayana, of the noble Rama, his virtuous wife Sita and devoted brother, Lakshmana.Deepavali, as most understand, is the day when these three persons returned to Ayodhya after completing a 14 year period of exile. How is this perceived in the realm of energy?
Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, is a reflection of the energy of the Preserver (Vishnu), Sita is an incarnation of his force, Goddess Lakshmi and Lakshmana is a reflection of the Sheshnaga, which is where the two energies rest.

These three shaktis manifested in bhooloka, the physical creation, for a purpose, to uphold dharma and to protect creation. All through their lives they did just that, and once the purpose was fulfilled, they returned to Vaikunth ­ first Lakshmana, then Sita and finally , Rama.

Sita spent the later part of her life in the ashram of Rishi Valmiki. Very few know that it was not Rama who asked her to go. In fact, it was Sita who sought his leave, t because her purpose in physical creation was over and she knew spe that if she continued after, it tr would be only for bhog, which would tie them to physical creation, whereas their destination was Vaikunth.So she left. Rama lived off Kusha grass after she left.

The festival of Deepavali starts from Dhanteras and is celebrated over five days, culminating on the day of Bhai Duj. These are extremely potent days for manifestation and sidhhis.

Dhanteras, is the day of Dhanwantari, the physician of the devas, who emerged with an amrit kalash ­ pot of nectar ­ along with Goddess Lakshmi on this day. On this day, sadhana and charity are performed under guru sanidhya by those seeking good health and wealth. Also, a diya is lit on this day for Yama, the Lord of Death, to balance the he three forces.aking The next day , Naraka Chaturdashi, is the day when ee Goddess Lakshmi and Vishnu, in their incarnations as Satyabhama and Krishna, overcame the demon Narakasura. It is the day of Lakshmi sadhana for siddhis or spiritual boons.

Deepavali or Kartik Amavasya is the day to celebrate the siddhis so gained.Lighting of diyas on this day is symbolic of the siddhis with which one illuminates the body to mark the homecoming of Rama, the energy of Vishnu.

Govardhan Puja is associated with the lifting of the Govardhan Parvat by the adolescent Krishna, again, an incarnation of Vishnu, to protect the people. Once again, it is a day when the energy of Vishnu peaks.

Bhai Duj, is associated with the episode of Goddess Lakshmi making Asur Bali her brother, and asking him to release Vishnu whom he had taken to Paatal Lok with him. It is the day of the return of Laxmi and Vishnu.

Vishnu is the preserver, who runs Creation and Lakshmi is his force. The five days thus abound in the experiences and manifestations pertaining to physical creation through right practice of yoga with the guidance of an able guru.

Like advanced nations, India must delink classroom teaching from student learning

The objective is not to teach to the student, which happens through classroom contact, but to make the student learn, which can happen outside classroom contact too.

At every discussion on education and/or innovation, there is a standard refrain. The education system makes students risk-averse and kills innovative thinking. By forcing students to conform to a standardised template, it discourages failure and thereby discourages deviation from the standardised average. Outliers are not encouraged.

The refrain is indeed true. Several ingredients result in the outcome the refrain describes, beginning with entry into the education stream at the pre-school level. Let me focus on only one element of that maze — higher education, and within that, on one small aspect. How many hours per week, on average, does a student spend in attending lectures? The answer will be a function of country, course and level of higher education.

In general, in the US and Western Europe, I suspect the answer is about 15 hours. The catch lies in the expression “attending lectures”, there being a difference between learning hours and classroom hours. The objective is not to teach to the student, which happens through classroom contact, but to make the student learn, which can happen outside classroom contact too. Indeed, the norm in those countries seems to be that for every one hour spent through didactic teaching and classroom contact, the student spends two hours on learning indirectly — 15 hours of classroom teaching thus translates into 45 hours of weekly learning.

In 2015, the UGC announced a choice-based credit system. Though this made higher education options more flexible, it was controversial because of other reasons. This new system has the following definition. “Credit: A unit by which the course work is measured. It determines the number of hours of instruction required per week. One credit is equivalent to one hour of teaching (lecture or tutorial) or two hours of practical work/field work per week.” Credits earned by a student per semester are a summation of lecture plus tutorial plus practical work.

Unless I’ve misunderstood, practical work/field work is meant for science subjects. For social sciences, student learning is still equated with contact with a teacher, albeit lectures plus tutorials. I asked some students of Delhi University about the number of hours of lectures they have per week. I was told, around 28 hours of lectures per week and around 40 hours, inclusive of tutorials and practical work. (Lectures are typically 55 minutes duration, not one hour; I’ve glossed over that minor difference). I suspect 40-45 hours will be the norm throughout much of India. This means either (a) a student has no time to learn on his/her own; or (b) the student spends 120 hours (using that additional multiple of two times) per week on learning.

Since there are only 168 hours in a week, that extreme of 120 hours is impossible. Something like 80 hours is more plausible. The Factories Act (applies to those more than 18) tells us no one should work more than 48 hours a week. Why should that principle not apply to students? Why must we turn them (those who slog for 80 hours) into zombies? The norm will be the student who does not learn on his/her own and therefore, never thinks. If it is (a), the student will invariably reproduce by rote. Therefore, my first proposition is of delinking classroom teaching from student learning, a distinction advanced countries have now accepted. Fifteen hours of classroom teaching is good enough. The second proposition is a stronger one.

What has teacher input got to do with the outcome of student learning? In other spheres, we appreciate the difference between input and outcomes. Why not for higher education? That norm of 40 hours of lectures per week emanates from indicative workloads laid down for teachers. There is a marginal difference between assistant professors, associate professors and professors. Roughly, they have to teach for 15 hours a week. Add an additional 30 hours of tutorials and we have 45 hours. Tutorials also involve physical interface with the teacher. They don’t constitute independent student learning.

Paraphrased, students have 40 (or 45) hours of lectures a week because teachers have to “teach” for 45 hours a week. In the US, credits have their origins in Carnegie Units, pioneered by Carnegie Foundation to determine retirement pensions for professors. At roughly the same time, in 1872, Morris Lyewellyn Cooke wrote a report for Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This was titled Academic and Industrial Efficiency. The intention was to standardise faculty workloads and use this as a measure of delivery of education. There are obvious parallels with factories and industrial production, a bit like Ford Motor Company using mass production to manufacture Model T cars: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.”

But higher education isn’t factory production, or shouldn’t be. To quote Henry Ford again, “I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual… But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one.” Other countries (read Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area 2015) have moved away from such dysfunctional ideas. So should we.

The author is member, NITI Aayog.

Source: Indian Express, 27-10-2016

Half of India’s wildlife in danger of extinction: Living Planet Report 2016

With wildlife disappearing at an “unprecedented” pace across the world, the Living Planet Report 2016 identifies India as an ecological black spot where around half of the wildlife lives in the danger of being wiped out.

The biennial report that tracks over 14,000 vertebrate populations of over 3,700 species from across the world highlights the pressure on water and land India faces because of unsustainable human activities.

Around 70% of surface water is polluted and 60% of ground water will reach critical stage -- where it cannot be replenished -- in the next one decade, the report prepared by World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) with other research institutions said.

The biggest reason for contamination is industrial and municipal waste.

It also pointed out that one-fourth of India’s total land is facing desertification and about a third of land is getting degraded primarily because of depleting forest cover.

“Our consumption patterns and the way we look at our natural world are constantly shaping the future of our planet…We need to come together as a global community and address the threats to biodiversity to protect our environment, as well as our economic and social structures,” said Mr. Ravi Singh, secretary general and CEO, WWF-India.

The Living Planet Index showed that 58% overall decline in vertebrate population abundance between 1970 to 2012. “Population sizes of vertebrate species have, on average, dropped by more than half in little more than 40 years. The data shows an average annual decline of 2% and there is no sign yet that this rate will decrease,” the report said.

It also said that global wildlife populations could decline by an average of 67% between 1970 - 2020, as a result of human activities, it said, adding that the populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have already declined by 58% between 1970 and 2012. This places the world on a trajectory of a potential two-thirds decline within a span of the half-century ending in 2020.

“Wildlife is disappearing within our lifetimes at an unprecedented rate,” said Dr. Marco Lambertini, International Director General, WWF. “This is not just about the wonderful species we all love; biodiversity forms the foundation of healthy forests, rivers and oceans. We have the tools to fix this problem and we need to start using them now if we are serious about preserving a living planet for our own survival and prosperity.”

Wild Asiatic elephants graze in Kaziranga national park, east of Gawahati. (AP Photo)

Looking ahead, 2020 is also a year of great promise as commitments made under the Paris climate deal will kick in, and the first environmental actions under the globe’s new sustainable development plan will come into force.

Source: Hindustan Times, 27-10-2016