women empowerment in india~!

Since the older times, women have been treated as second rate citizens of all across the globe. The situation is almost the same everywhere-irrespective of the developed country or the developing country-caste, community, colour or creed a position which is comparable in many ways, with that of racial minorities. Women have been relegated to secondary position despite the fact that they numerically constitute about half the world population today.

This situation has caused immense loss to their self-dignity as human beings and also their independent entities, associated with men, apart from other matter, in context with intellectual and professional capability.

In the very beginning of civilization, women enjoyed a respectable position in society-at par with men. They actively participated in social, religious affairs as well as in warfare. The social, religious ceremonies were considered incomplete unless women participated in them. However, it was their physical constitution which acted as hurdles on the way to doing their various different difficult tasks.

Gradually, they became dependent on men for food, protection for their other necessities. It was due to the strong built-up of men they risked their lives in course of hunting and food collection. It is really ironical that superiority is not accorded to the fair sex who are responsible for carrying forward lives on this planet but to men who have muscle power with the help of which they can subjugate others.

Later, woman became the epitome of procreation, and was very often associated and identified with Earth, which supported lives with all her resources. This thought inspired in men a feeling of respect and regard which was reflected in their worship of women as goddesses. Despite this elevated position that she enjoyed, and are still enjoying in the form of being worshipped as goddesses Durga, Kali, Lakshami, Saraswati, etc. However, a woman is fated to be subjected, owned, and exploited like the very nature, whose magical fertility she embodies.

During the course of social development, the position of women also changed. When society was formed, patriarchy was established. Gradually, males became dominant in society. They were to write the codes for all times and obviously women were given a subordinate position. A prominent feature of hegemonic ideologies is the projection of the dominant viewpoint as universally true.

Patriarchy, as an ideological assumption, works on the same principle. And, yet, even in ages of strict dominance by males, society has thrown up women of calibre, who could match, even surpass, the skills of men. They made great progress in various fields of life and gained significant achievements as teachers, doctors, engineers, scientists, explorers, soldiers and pilots. This achievement is really plausible because they have been achieved in a highly adverse situation and at the cost of severe social criticism, indeed even ostracism.

The need for women’s empowerment arises from the subordinate position they have been accorded for a long time. The empowerment has been felt as a tool to bring about changes in their socio-economic condition. It has been felt on the part of nation as well as individual that no society can progress till women, a major constituent of society, lag behind.

Empowerment of women needs to begin with her participation in different spheres of life. Education is a great determinant in this regard. To achieve empowerment women have to be educated to be aware of their rights and privileges in a modern society. It is education which can bring about awareness in them related to their social status, injustice and differentiation meted out to them. Besides, economic independence is a major factor which can contribute in empowering women. India in the very beginning realised this need.

The architect of Indian Constitution was of the opinion that unless and until women are empowered, nothing was going to bring about any change in their destiny. At that time, the women, in the name of sansakaras were tied up with the bondage of superstitions, which they had to carry till the last breath of their lives. They were considered just a matter of joy and a source of amusement. She was, according the Hindu Shashtra, the bonded slave of her father when she was young, to her husband when she was middle-aged and to her son when a mother. Of course, all the epigrams, aphorisms, proverbs, platitudes and truism have been naked truth about the stature of women in India.

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It does not mean that efforts have not been made to bring dignity in the life of women. There has been a long tradition of social reforms by our saints and social reformers which include: Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Jyotiba Phule, to name a few, who tried their best to bring changes in the life of women.

Their efforts, however, bore fruit to some extent, but did not make too much difference to the lots of the masses.
In this direction, Dr. Ambedkar tried to break down the barriers in the way of advancement of women in India. He laid down the foundation of concrete and sincere efforts by codifying the Common Civil Code for the Hindus and the principle is capable of extension to other sections of the Indian society. Besides, he also made provision in the Constitution to ensure a dignified social status to women. He, by codifying Hindu Law in respect of marriage, divorce and succession rationalised and restored the dignity of women.

In addition to this, the Sharda Act is also worth mentioning. It has set the seal of authority upon the piece of social reforms, which the heads of orthodoxy were imposing and impending. The Hindu Code Bill, which covers issues such as right to property, order of succession to property, maintenance, marriage, divorce, adoption, minority and guardianship, constitutes part of social engineering via law. Needless to say, it was a revolutionary measure.

It was really a first step towards the recognition and empowerment of women in India. This gives a woman right to property, which undoubtedly strengthens her social position. Despite all these political measures, women’s empowerment remains a distant dream in India. In fact, political empowerment is a key to development in this society. It is a must for an all- around development of women. It is the need of the hour to ensure her participation in the decision-making at home, in community and at the national level. It is for the fulfillment of this need that the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Parliament by the BJP Government. But since then, ruling parties changed in power but the Bill could not see the light of the day.

The political parties do not seem to be honest in their perspectives. But before political empowerment, we must concentrate on imparting social education because without academic and social education, the political empowerment has failed to bring desired result as we have seen in case of 33 per cent reservation in local bodies ensured by the historic 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. The uneducated women are quite unaware of their rights and privileges and are therefore subject to exploitation at the hands of government machinery, as well by family members.

Therefore, our efforts should be directed towards the all- around development of each and every section of Indian women, not confining the benefit to a particular section of women in society, by giving them their due share. It is a must to protect their chastity, modesty and dignity and ensure their dignified position in society. Without removing social stigma, enduring progress and development could not be achieved. For this, the governmental and non-governmental organisations including media should come forward and play an active role in creating awareness in society.

The task is not too difficult to achieve. The honesty and sincerity on the part of those involved is a must. If the lots of women change, definitely it will have a positive impact on society. Hence, the women’s empowerment is the need of the hour.

fuel cost big problem in india ~!

Why Petrol Price is Rising in India?

India is the world’s fourth largest consumer of energy but with low per capita energy consumption. With the ever increasing number of private vehicles, an overall domestic consumption of petrol and petroleum product is on rise in India. There was a registered growth of 5% of the same in the year 2011-12 and to meet the increasing demand, government has to import more and more petrol. If spending of the country as a whole is considered then 80-90% is done to pay the import bills on petroleum products, which is accounted as country’s expenditure. Hence more demand of petrol than supply is a leading factor of its rising price in India.

But rise in petrol price in turn has a rippling effect. As all the commodities are transported across India on vehicles that run on petrol or diesel, so increase in petrol price results in price rise of these commodities as well. The greatest sufferer of all this is a common man. He is already bearing the pressure of inflation and any increase in petrol price will further reduce his actual household income. Today every Indian spends almost half of his income on food items. If the petrol price in India keeps on increasing then every food item will get costlier. It will result in less of savings and more of expenditure. This in turn will affect the real estate, banking and other sectors in India. Eventually, more and more people will be pushed towards poverty line.

Not only this but the condition of Indian currency is also not favorable at present. India is going through currency crisis where value of Indian Rupee is falling to US Dollar. That is why Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) are paying more for the same quantity of crude oil. Due to this, OMCs have lost near about 4,300 crores in the past six months for selling petrol at low cost.Why India needs to import oil? India does not have enough of oil to meet the growing demand of oil. Near about 1.4 million barrels of diesels are used per day in India especially by farmers, trucks and industry. So to meet the growing demand, most of the oil is imported from other countries resulting more expenditure. It has been seen that petrol price has increased about 10 times within the period of three years and still rising. Ultimate result of price hike of petrol is inflation.

The price of petrol used to be stable in India but with the deregulation of petrol in 2010, Oil Marketing Companies can increase the petrol price if large variation in cost is observed by these companies. Oil marketing companies do so by linking the domestic price of petrol to international market rates.

Depreciating rupee is one of the major reasons of the increase in petrol price in India. So we must understand that why rupee is depreciating like a free fall. Economists believe that current euro crisis is one of the fundamental reasons of depreciating rupee. But if this is the main reason then why other currencies like Pound, Brazilian Real, etc are not getting affected to that extent. In fact Yen has moved up against dollar.

So there must be some other reasons as well. Ever increasing fiscal deficit (difference between revenue and expenditure) is one of the factors leading to currency crisis in India. We spend more than what we earn. For the year 2011-2012, fiscal deficit was Rs 5,21,980 and for the year 2012-2013 target was to have it at Rs 5,13,590 crores. Major reasons leading to this fiscal deficit is the financial funding or subsidy offered on petroleum, food and fertilizer. Cost of subsidy on oil for the year 2012-2013 is estimated to be Rs 43,580 crores and when the loss suffered by OMCs is also added to it, the total amount stands at Rs 1,14,000 crores.

If the price of oil products is not increased, India will keep on facing this deficit. Price increase will decrease the demand which in turn need fewer dollars for oil import. Trade deficit will also be lowered down leading to lesser pressure on rupee-dollar rate. Not only petrol price but the price of diesel, LPG and kerosene will also be increased to have more prominent impact. This will improve the fiscal deficit of the government and lead to economic growth.Present earning of government is less than its expenditure which means that fiscal deficit of government is increasing. Moreover, fiscal deficit is linked with trade deficit which means more import than export. Major portion of India’s import is oil. Since import of oil is always paid in dollars, so importers need to buy dollar by paying rupees. Present currency crisis means more rupees have to be given for the same dollars leading to more rupees in the market. Applying demand and supply theory, rupee is continuously losing value and OMC’s have to pay more for the same amount of oil imports.

On the other hand, price rise of petrol can be controlled if the government reduces its revenue from the taxes on petroleum. 35% of government’s income is generated through petroleum taxes and as there is no other substitute to this so probably this won’t be done by the government. Hence petrol price for sure will increase. But indeed Government has to take strong decision as increasing prices will solve one problem but leads to many other such as poverty, inflating, high cost of living, frustration etc.

How the petrol price is calculated?

Petrol price is calculated on the basis of worldwide supply and demand factors. Foreign suppliers sell crude oil to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in India at benchmark prices. Delivery price at the refinery and Brent crude’s daily price are considered to calculate actual cost of petrol in India.

One barrel of crude oil contains about 160 litres of oil priced in US dollars. To calculate price, US dollars are converted to Indian rupee and then divided by 160.

After buying, crude oil is transported to refineries in India. India at present has about 20 refineries. Crude oil is then separated into various products like petrol, diesel, coal tar, etc in distillation towers of these refineries. Cost of distillation and refining is added to the price of petrol. Also crude custom levy and charges from ports to the refinery is added.

Separated petrol is now ready to be stored in the storage tanks of the oil companies. Oil companies now pay to the refineries and to this added the cost of transporting petrol from refinery to OMC’s tanks. So the actual price of petrol that a consumer pays includes all the above mentioned cost plus commission of a dealer, VAT, excise duty, total duties and taxes.

Thus petrol price is the cost price that includes procuring, refining and marketing plus taxes that include central and state taxes

indian farmer problem ~!

So in this essay, we are talking about various problems faced by Indian Agriculture Industry, farmers and we will also try to give possible solutions which can be implemented not only by government but by farmers and their children. We haven’t given a separate script for a speech on agriculture but we have given you enough information which can help you to prepare your speech or help you in writing a paragraph or article. We just gave you an opening and closing paragraph for speech. So, shall we start?

Problems & Solutions for Indian Agriculture

India is now known as IT services Hub and our government is trying to make it a manufacturing hub in future. India was recognized for its agriculture industry for a long time but agriculture is losing its importance in modern India. India has 70% its population dependent on agriculture and related in jobs or industry. History of Indian agriculture dated back to Indus Valley civilization, a lot of festivals like Holi/Baisakhi were based on significant agricultural events. Cotton, Sugar, Rice, wheat are one the mostly exported crops from India. At present India is producing a good amount of grains, rice, wheat vegetables to complete Indian population need. Agriculture and related industry support a big chunk of Indian GDP, but still, there are a lot of problems present in the Indian agriculture industry.

Urban Migration

Millions of farmers leaving farming and villages in search of better opportunities in cities. But, unfortunately, they end up in contractors trap. They don’t get paid on time and if they get the wages on time, with that miniscule amount of money they can hardly feed themselves. They hardly left with any money to send back to home. They can’t afford basic facilities, they leave in very bad conditions. These farmers flock to cities because they don’t find farming, agriculture job rewarding. They don’t get much-needed finance, they are upgraded with modern farming techniques and knowledge of possible opportunities.

There is a solution to this problem, the government needs to create rural jobs, promote processed food industry; On other hand, farmers need to upgrade their skills. There is dire need of change in the thinking of farmers and their children. The government should focus on rural youth, they need to teach new farming techniques and skills. The government needs to promote processed food industry and encourage rural entrepreneurship. Once this young blood understands the power of agriculture and if they see a ray of hope they will stay back and earn good form farming. The government also need to cut-off various stages of middle men who exploit poor, hardworking farmers. When rural people find that government is thinking about them, it will encourage them to stay back, fight the battle.

Farmer Suicide

This is one of biggest threat and problem in Indian agriculture. A lot of farmers from affluent states like Maharashtra etc committing suicide. The main reason for suicide is debt, they are not able to pay back their agriculture loan, and it gets piled up season after season.

In June 2017, Maharashtra farmers gone on strike, they appealed for loan waiver. Within few days this campaign spread to other Indian states like Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan etc. Ultimately, Maharashtra government agreed to waive off agriculture loan. But this strike spiked the price for more than a week. It’s been said that these strikes were a political gambit from opposition parties, it is not new in Indian political history. Politicians use problems of poor farmers to play their shrewd political games. Only farmers burn their fingers in all this. Farmers need to understand these political games, they should try not to be a puppet of political parties.

Waiving off the loans is not the solution to this farmer suicide problem, but can be a short term relief to farmers. There should be an equal contribution from state government and farmers. Farmers need to learn to manage finances, they should learn to take advantages of various schemes. Along with money, farmers need to diversify their hard work. They need to find the smart ways to do things. Along with farming, they should look for processed food products making options, e.g. Sun dried tomatoes and vegetables. As per climate suitability, they can go for expensive crops like red, yellow capsicum, mushroom, strawberries and other expensive fruits, flower crops. They can also take options like fish farming, land locked states should promote fish farming, local fresh produce can get a good price.

Soil test one more good initiative started by Modi government, farmers need to take advantage of it. Most of the time Indian farmer take one type of crop only. With soil test farmer will know what crop will be best suited for their farm’s soil. Uria and other chemical based fertilizers are short term solution and it is expensive too. Farmers should try for bio-fertilisers, compost fertilizers etc. Knowledge of these techniques already available at local level. This will help nature and farmers too. 

Better Finance Options and Financial Literacy

Till 2017, a huge section of small farmers was not enjoying modern banking facilities. Thanks to PM Modi‘s efforts, which open millions of zero rupee bank accounts. Here, banks or finance companies who give loans to farmer also need to bear some responsibility. They should promote and teach farmer about how to manage their finances, help them to opt for various government schemes. That way they will get their loan paid back and then farmers don’t need to kill themselves due to piled up loans.

Better Storage Facilities

Due to lack of storage facilities, a huge amount of goods get wasted. The government needs to open up more storages, clean mandais for farmers. Same way cold storages are required for dairy products, sea food, meat etc.

Latest Methods, Technology, and Equipment

Most of the Indian farmers still used an age old farming techniques. The government needs to promote new farming techniques like vertical farming, green house, and other innovative technique. Israel is famous for its agricultural innovation. In PM Modi’s first ever Israel visit this was an official agenda, this shows a good sign for Indian agriculture. But these techniques, required modern equipment need to be promoted, taught at grass root level.

Urban Indians demanding more and more organic products, there is a demand. Farmers need to learn organic farming techniques to cash on this opportunities.

Monsoon Dependency

Indian agriculture is highly dependent on monsoon. Though western, north-eastern and northern part of India get a good rain, major parts of Deccan plateau don’t get enough rain water for all year round crops. There is a dire need of interconnected rivers and canal systems. India has a good number of dams, but that precious stored water needs to be used wisely. Along with that, not only farmers we all need to adapt to rain water harvesting and PaanLot system.

Campaigns / Media / Celebrities / Politicians

Aamir Khan’s Satyame Jayate making history in Maharashtra. They have a Water Cup competition where villages from drought prone areas of Maharashtra use age old PaanLot technique to hold water. It helps to raise water table levels, which rejuvenates rivers, lakes, wells and minimize soil erosion.

Telangana Chief Minister started a challenging campaign called “Haritha Haram” under which they are trying to plant millions of saplings over the years. It will increase the Telangana’s green coverage, and ultimately it will help the nature.

These two cases can become a role model for Indian agriculture related campaigns. In these project famous celebrities, politicians took primary part, they were leading it from the front. Same time paper media, television media covered it very well. Such programs and many other should get celebrity and politician support, then the miracle can happen.

water problem in india ~!

Fresh Water Problem In India Environmental Sciences Essay

Water covers nearly 70 percent of the surface of Earth, and only 1 percent of this water is available for human needs. The amount of fresh water sources provided by the nature decreases and that leads to droughts and famines causing death and destruction. Today there are a lot of villages and towns facing an intense drinking water crisis. Even in cities with huge water supply plants there is not sufficient water and their supply is often limited to a very short period of the day. A water shortage of distressing proportions is going to blow up. Fresh drink water isn’t an infinite resource. Freshwater sources have decreased by half in the world. India suffers from water shortage for agriculture and drinking but the fact that a lot of great rivers, some of them timeless rivers, run through some parts of India. India has the largest amount of annual groundwater than of any country worldwide. The causes of water shortages can be attributed to larger than expected population increases, agriculture, pollution, the decreases of wells capacity, domestic and industrial water requirements.it also has some effects like starving and water wars.

The capacity of wells in India decreases. According to Roberts (1956), Rainfall generally provides enough water for wells to meet usual requirements but it isn’t enough of India usage. In dry seasons well water decreases so less water is available which warns the Indians in shape of periods of low in pressure in division lines on compressed days. In long dry periods these division lines problems appear many times, with low inefficiency of well supply. On the other hand, another water sources like rivers are prepared to be used in the periods of low water flow. If water flow is normal or high the surface water source can supply more than the needs. So India can use rivers as a source instead of wells.

Sources of pollution in India. According to Anitei (2007), In addition to India usages of water is more than the water provided by rain, Excessive use of water for agriculture, industries and domestic uses is leading to water pollution, because such excess water is transformed into saline water, sewage which have a lot of toxic and poisons materials that is harmful for animals, plants and human and causes a lot of diseases. India also polluting the water sources it have. Most of the pesticides and fertilizers that used in agriculture, industrial plants wastes, and the unhealthy use of water, finally escape into the water supply systems.

The huge increasing of population in India. India has made developments over the past 10 years to water to be available and have high quality for uses of drinking water systems. India has a huge population that has stressed planned water system and village areas are ignored. In addition, high growth rate in India's cultured areas has stretched government solutions. Water shortage in India is expected to be worse because of the massive rates of population that is expected to be increased to 1.6 billion in 2050. In that time global water shortage is expected to become a main reason for national conflicts in the future, and the warning for India is no different.

Starving is an important effect of population increase. The increasing in population, every year food demands in India will exceed 250 million tons.  The total requirement for grains will increase to 375 million tons including grain to feed cattle. Population increasing also means an increasing is in needed in food supply. This needs more water, and agriculture should agree with the food demands of the industry. Although the rain fall drop was doubled in the last 10 years, Indian people suffer from water shortage that leads to a less food produced by farms which affects the equilibrium of food and population increase. Lot of people die every year due to less water and also less food most of them are the poor people who can’t buy water like some other people.

Water war is a horrible effect of water shortage. History is full of with water wars, from squabbles between farms beside each other to wars decided by decrease or poisoning the water sources. The water shortage leads to cold situations and wars. For a lot of countries water is some kind of treasure. A major condition is the division of water coming from India Rivers. About 40% of worldwide population lives on rivers in many countries, like India and each country try to use water as much as possible. The increasing water need will just make this problem worse. India one of the countries that its’ people fight for water.

Solutions. According to Pune (2011), Control of water pollution.  India should apply the rule of rewards and punishments that should be introduced for convincing people to make good use of the fresh water.  Emptying of sewage into water distribution systems and rivers has to be banned and recycling of used water should be made. Another Solution is to Increase the fresh water storage capacity by making more distillation tanks and to build a small and medium size dams so rivers can produce more surface water. Building a lot of dams also will help in saving water in huge tanks to be used in drying seasons, (Pune, 2011).

At last, India should make best use of the available technologies and resources to save the existing water resources, In order to meet the crisis between water supply and demand make good attention should be given to the reasons and solutions of fresh water shortage. India government also should use the rewards and punishment way to encourage wise use of water, will help to save water.

population in india ~!

Population Explosion in India: Meaning, Causes, Effects, and Control Mesures

Introduction: Population explosion is not only a problem in India; it has reached a menacing proportion all over the world, especially in the poorer countries.

The population of India was around 361 million during the census of 1951. It reached over 1.21 billion during the census of 2011.

Some statistics relating to population growth indicate that by 2022, the population of India is likely to pass the 1.5 billion mark. Thus, there is no denying that India is currently experiencing a population explosion.

The developed countries in the West or in countries like Japan which are rich enough to employ all their people according to their abilities the growth of population may prove to be a boon, for the rapid growth of industries and national wealth always need greater workforce to implement the programs of development in ever-expanding spheres. However, a developing country like India, where the resources and employment opportunities are limited, the rapid increase in population during the post-independent has negatively affected its economy.

Meaning

Population Explosion refers the sudden and rapid rise in the size of population, especially human population. It is an unchecked growth of human population caused as a result of:

• increased birth rate,
• decreased infant mortality rate, and
• improved life expectancy.

A drastic growth in population beyond normal limits is called population explosion. It is more prominent in under-developed and developing countries than in developed countries.

Population explosion mainly refers to the surge in population post-World War II. However, in context to India, it refers to the rapid increase in population in post-Independent era.

Causes

The causes of population explosion are as follows:

• Accelerating birthrate: Due to lack of awareness about the positive impact of using birth-control method, there has been a steady growth in birthrate.
• Decrease in infant mortality rate: An improvement in medical science and technology, wide usage of preventive drugs (vaccines), has reduced the infant mortality rate. There has been great improvement in medical and health-care facilities during the past few decades.
• Increase in life expectancy: Due to improved living conditions, better hygiene and sanitation habits, better nutrition, health education, etc. the average life expectancy of human population has improved significantly. Steady supply of good quality food make sure that the population is well nourished. Populations grow when they are adequately nourished.
• Increased immigration: An increase in immigration often contributes towards population explosion, particularly in developed countries. It happens when a large number arrive at an already populated place with the intention to reside permanently.
• Less space than required: In urban cities, it is often found that there is very less scope for making available extra space to absorb the additional population. In such cases, a large population is seen packed into a smaller space.

Effects

The effects of population explosion in India are as follows:

Over-population: Population explosion may lead to overpopulation, i.e., a condition where population surges to a level that the earth cannot accommodate comfortably, and poses a threat to the environment.

Unemployment: In developing countries like India, with a backward economy and little scope for fruitful employment, millions of people find no work to do. The unemployed, having nothing to do and without an ensured living, are left frustrated and demoralize, losing their faith in life itself. As it happens in India and several underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa, the unemployed threatens the very process of development and plunge the country in gloom. It is only natural. Those who are born with two hands consider it a curse when they are denied the simple right to work and earn a living. While their numbers go on multiplying and the growth rate becomes menacing, the fruits of development are found to be too inadequate to bridge the yawning gulf.

Poverty: High birth rate, both historically and statistically, is associated with poverty and low standard of living. It may be noted that poverty is both the cause and effect of population explosion. Due to poverty, there has been massive growth of population. On the other hand, the large masses of people live in poverty due to overpopulation.

It may sound queer, but the law is that the poorer a country the greater is the growth rate of its population. India, caught in the morass of her age-old poverty, finds herself in the midst of a population explosion. The population that was less than 400 million in the forties was found to be about 1.21 billion in 2011 census. As a result of this even the six plans completed by now have so far failed to cope with the enormous problem of unemployment.

Whatever our plans might have achieved in some sixty-five years is found to be too little to eradicate poverty. More than seventy percent of Indians live in villages and most of them languish in their dark, dreary nooks; the fruits of our plans have not quite reached them. Many of them have no occupation. Due to lack of awareness, poor people fail to check population growth. In the towns too the poorer sections always have bigger families, while the rich and well-off sections live comfortably with small families. The poor in India are ignorant and superstitious, and so they do not see the advantages of planned family. Many of them never think of going against the law of nature and the will of their God; so they never refrain from breeding children, though they know that they cannot even feed them and keep them away from the curse of poverty and ignorance. Perhaps the sickening monotony of living in their world of despair leads them to torment their women with a vengeance and seek as much pleasure as they can. These poor people do not have the education necessary for planning their present with a view to ensuring a better future. This is why while their hope wears off they leap in the dark and break their neck, making things grimmer for their world. The millions of famished, under-nourished and naked children everywhere in India show the chaos this country is in.

Illiteracy: The resources available are fixed. In theory and in practice, the total available resources are shared by the people using them. Population explosion is the key reason for illiteracy in India. People prefer engage their children in economic activities, rather than providing them education.

Poor Health: If people do not get adequate food and nutrition, then they may suffer from poor health.

Economy: People need food, clothes, shelter, and occupation to make their living. The demand for consumption should never exceed the production or resource limit. The economy of any country is negatively impacted, if there is massive population explosion beyond the tolerance limit.

Pollution and Global warming: Too much population causes too much pressure on earth. There arises excessive demand for finished products leading to over-industrialization and over-utilization of resources. The industrial discharges, and fumes are the chief causes for water and air pollution. Further, the poisonous gases released because of burning of fossil fuels in factories is widely responsible for Global warming.

Control Measures / Initiatives

The government cannot ignore or shelve the problem of population explosion, for it is a rot and entire development of the country depends on how effectively it is stemmed. This awareness made our governments, both at the centre and in the states, to think about the adopt official programme to educate public opinion and reduce the birth rate so that the population can fit in well with the evolving pattern of developing economy.

The Family Planning as an official programme was launched with much fanfare in 1952. The government is still trying to educate the people. All government agencies and institutions mobilized all their resources to attain the goal of planned families. The propaganda machinery was geared up with the help of public media. The people were reminded of the advantages of small families, of healthy and happy children and of the need for eradicating the age-old poverty. The parents were persuaded to go in for sterilization after the births of two children, for the contraceptive were not always found to be safe and full-proof. Many parents, especially the educated, came forward to see things in the new light and were amenable to persuasion. However, many others resisted, at places quite violently, and refused to see reason. The government was very serious about making the programme a success. The state governments also came forward to help the center in its bid to achieve success. Cheap contraceptives were distributed in even the remotest villages, sex education was popularized, vasectomy operations were conducted and abortion was legalized.

However, even then family planning has a lot more to achieve, for the population in India has already become about 121 billion and at this rate of growth it may very soon become 150 billion and then 200 billion and so on.

The problem of population can be solved only by creating awareness and educating the people to control birthrates. The advantages of adopting to various birth control methods should be properly explained to common people.

EDUCATION system in india~!

Education is an important activity in society, it gives an opportunity to man to understand the world around him and his place in it In ancient times man was completely at the mercy of nature which was a complete mystery to him.

The dark forces of nature were beyond the comprehension of man and to console himself he had to depend upon the existence of supernatural powers and this led to the growth of religion and superstition.

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The invention of tools, domestication of animals and growth of agriculture led to organization of society and along with this, developed social sciences.

Thus, in education we combine the study of natural laws with the laws governing the development of society- Knowledge and understanding come to us through the study of natural sciences (chemistry, physics, biology, etc.) and the social sciences (history, political science, etc.).

The acquisition, interlinking and the transmission of this knowledge and understanding is the primary function of education.

Ideally speaking, it is through education that members of society, particularly the youth, come to understand the working of society. Education should enable the youth to improve the working of the society.

Seen in this light, the purpose of education is not just to help students acquire degree and obtain jobs. If the society is not organized properly, jobs become difficult to acquire, degrees lose their meaning and education becomes a national waste as it is happening in many countries in the world today.Education, properly speaking, should develop a spirit of inquiry and rational thinking in the youth so as to enable them to understand the society and change it wherever it is found lacking.Ever since India attained Independence in 1947, we have been following, for inexplicable reasons, Lord Macaulay’s system of education. This system has since lost its relevance to the changed socio-economic scenario in the country.As is well known, Lord Macaulay was an ardent champion of the British Raj. Therefore, it was natural for him to devise an educational system for India which would not foster real awareness and education.

It aimed at producing loyal, committed ‘babes’ to eater to the clerical needs of the British colonial Government of India.

But it was essential for the Indian administrators to change this educational system. A different system more suited to the requirements of an independent progressive India has to be evolved.

From time to time, seminars or symposia were held to discuss the question of educational reforms and suggest an ideal educational system. However, nothing much could be achieved in this behalf.

Syllabi continued to be theoretical in nature, and irrelevant to the socio-cultural and economic contexts. Teaching methods and system of examination continued to be obsolete.

The result was that our educational institutions and universities, Instead of being citadels of learning and enlightenment, became dens of unrest and frustration.

Our students became irresponsible and directionless mob, out to destroy the very fabric of society. Instead of contributing to the progress of the nation, they became, to a large extent, a burden on the nation’s economy and society.

The first policy document on education was adopted in 1968, by the Government after Independence.

The National Education Policy, 1968 aimed to promote national progress, a sense of common citizenship and culture, and to strengthen national integration.

It called for radical reconstruction of the educational system and for greater attention to science and technology, the cultivation of moral values and closer relation between education and the life of the people.

However, even the Government admits that the general formulations incorporated in the 1968 policy did not get translated into a detailed strategy of implementation.

Some achievements since 1968 listed by the Government are: (a) acceptance of a common structure of education throughout the country and the introduction of the 10 plus 2 plus 3 system by most States; (b) laying down of common system of studies for boys and girls; (c) incorporation of science and mathematics as compulsory subjects; (d) restructuring of the courses at under-graduate level; (e) setting up of centres of advanced studies for post-graduate education and research.

A new draft National Policy on Education was approved by Parliament (n May 1986. The ‘Programme of Action’ to implement the new policy was adopted by the Government in August 1986.

The new education policy is broadly based on a document called “A challenge of education a perspective” laid by the then Education Minister in Parliament on 20 August 1985.

Education in India, says the new education policy document, stands at cross-roads today. Neither normal expansion nor the existing pace and nature of improvement can meet the needs of the situation.

The catalytic action of education in the complex and dynamic process of our country needs to be planned meticulouslyand executed with great sensitivity life in the coming decades, it points out, is likely to bring new tensions together with unprecedented opportunities.

“To enable the people to benefit in the new environment will require new designs of human resource development. The coming generations should have the ability to internalize new ideas constantly and creatively.

They have to be imbued with a strong commitment to human values and social justice. All these call for better education, stresses the document.

The new Education Policy, 1936 calls for a National System of Education in which all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, should have access to education of a comparable quality.

The system will be based on a national curricular framework which contains a common core along with other components that are flexible. In higher education, technical education in particular, steps will be taken to facilitate inter regional mobility by providing equal access to every Indian of requisite merit, regardless of his origins.

The policy gives importance to removal of women’s illiteracy and obstacles inhibiting their access to, and retention in, elementary education.

Major emphasis will be laid on women’s participation in vocational, technical and professional education at different levels.

The central focus of the policy in the educational development of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in their equalization with the non-SC and ST population at all stages and levels of education, in all areas and in all the four dimensions rural male, rural female, urban male and urban female.

The policy also aims to integrate the physically and mentally handicapped with the general community as equal partners, to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to face life with courage and confidence.

The policy outlines a vast programme of adult and continuing education through establishing centers of continuing education in rural and urban areas; post-secondary education institution; wider promotion of books, etc., radio, television and films; distance learning programmes; need and interest based vocational training programmes, etc.

The new thrust in elementary education emphasizes two aspects; (1) universal enrolment and universal retention of children up to 14 years of age; and (2) a substantial improvement in the quality of education.

The policy pledges to provide essential facilities in primary schools, including at least two reasonable large rooms usable in all weathers, and necessary toys, blackboards, maps, charts and other learning material.

At least two teachers, one of them a woman, should be there in every school, the number increasing to one teacher per class as early as possible. To this end, the ‘Operation Blackboard’ has been launched all over the country to improve primary schools.

The policy also introduces a non-formal form of education for school dropouts, for children from habitations without schools, working children and girls who cannot attend whole day school.

In order to provide good quality modern education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas, the government launched in 1985-86 a scheme to establish Navodaya Vidyaiaya on an average one in each district.

These vidyalayas are fully residential and co­educational and provide education in the streams of Humanities, Commerce, Science and Vocational up to +2 levels and are affiliated to CBSE. There are at present 359 sanctioned Vidyalayas in the country operating in 30 State/ UTs.

The National policy on Education (NPE), 1986 accorded high priority to vocationalisaiion of education at the secondary stage.

The NPE as revised in 1992 set the target of achieving diversion of 10 percent of the students at the +2 level to the vocational stream by 1995 and 25 percent by 2000 AD. A Joint Council for Vocational Education (JCVE) was set up in April 1990 for policy formulation and coordination at the national level.

In the field of higher education, provision will be made for minimum facilities and admission into colleges and universities and will be regulated according to capacity.

Courses and programmes will be redesigned and the present affiliation system will be replaced by a freer and more creative association of universities and colleges. Research will get more support.

The Open University system has been initiated to augment opportunities for higher education. The Indira Gandhi National Open University established in 1985 will be strengthened.

The policy provides for declining degrees from jots for which university degree need not be a necessary qualification.

Its implementation will lead to a refashioning of job-specific courses and afford greater justice to those candidates who, despite being equipped for a given job, are unable to get it because of an unnecessary preference for graduates, the document explains.

In the area of Technical and Management Education the policy maintains that reorganization should take into account the anticipated scenario by the turn of the century, with specific reference to the like changes in the economy, social environment, production and management processes, the rapid expansion of knowledge and the great advances in science and technology.

Step will be taken to make technical and management education cost-effective. The Computer Literacy and Studies’ in Schools has been made a centrally-sponsored scheme from 1993-94.

The curricula and processes of education will be enriched by cultural content in as many ways as possible. Children will be enabled to develop sensitivity to beauty, harmony and refinement.

Linkages will be established between the university system and institutions of higher learning in art, archaeology, oriental studies, etc.

As regards languages, the language policy of the Education policy of 1968 will be implemented more ‘energetically and purposefully’ the document says. The new policy also promises to make efforts to secure easy accessibility to books for all segment of the population.

The policy envisages reorganization of the methods of recruiting teachers to ensure merit, objectivity and conformity with spatial and functional requirement. The new programmes of teacher-education will emphasize continuing education.

District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) will be set it to organize pre- service and in service courses for elementary school teachers and for the personnel working in non-formal and adult education.

Selected Secondary Teacher Training Colleges will be upgraded to complement the work of the State Council of Education Research and Training.

To give the policy a practical shape, lot of funds would be required. The policy says that resources will be raised by mobilizing donations, asking the beneficiary communities to maintain school buildings and supplies of some consumables, raising fees at higher levels, and by effecting saving by efficient use of facilities.

Institutions involved in research and development of technical and scientific manpower should also mobilize funds by leaving cuss or charge on the user agencies, including Government departments and entrepreneurs.

The Government and the community in general will find funds for programmes: universalisation of elementary education liquidating illiteracy, etc.

The Government’ stagy to make the new system work consists of (a) better legal to, and the g-eater accountability of, teacher; (b) provision of improved students’ services, and insistence on observance of acceptable norms of behaviour; (c) provision of threshold facilities to institutions; and (d) creation of a system of performance appraisals of institutions according to standards and norms set at the National or state levels.

The new policy has been criticized on the grounds that

(i) The new thrust in the field of universalisation of education is non-formal education. Non formal education, educationist point out, can never be equivalent to regular schooling. This will create a dual education system.

(ii) Navodaya Schools will create further disparities.

(iii) The new policy suffers from an elitist bias as it also promotes privatization of education. As a result, one who is able to pay more will get better education as compared to a common person.

(iv) Education is sought to be commercialized Reeducation of subsidies will mean that students will have to finance their own education.