Check this: http://lifemantras.wordpress.com/learning-initiative/

Share your ideas for effective Education for all!

Thank you, Happy New Year!

Image source:http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/enlightenment_and_measurement/01.ST.06/img/IM.0111_zl.jpg

15th August is being celebrated not because any of the aforementioned reasons. The first & the foremost being freedom from British rule. Well, yes, in literal terms, this is what it exactly meant to be an independent nation when we won our freedom from the British rule, 60 years ago on exactly the same day of 15th August in 1947.  It was a matter of almost two century long freedom struggle & the saga of thousands of sacrifices from the known names and millions from the unknown faces, who devoted their lives and embraced death happily with such a great pride, grace and dignity. It was one of the most significant days of importance into Indian history & it will always be. Let me ask you something further here; WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION? Believe me, sooner or later you’ll realise the importance of this question. (Here, I hope, religion is understood as a way of living in terms of thoughts & actions & not merely as a communal identity or idiosyncrasy)
*******

Image source:http://www.soyuz-fair.com.ua/picture/air_indiya.jpg

**
Indian stock-exchange is sailing into trillions & Sensex has gone past 15000. A record break GDP of over eight has been observed for last 3 consecutive years & will continue to be so for upcoming years. India is the second largest economy of Asia. Indian markets are flooded with FDI, FII into virtually every segment of market. SEZ, supermarkets, metro rails, malls-multiplexes-chain restaurants, express highways, realty business, phenomenal IT-ITES industry growth, incredible financial sector growth, Pharma-Petro-Metals-Auto industries, higher consumer index are only few of the blazing examples of the extraordinary growth stories of Indian economy in just last one & a half decade. Not to mention the incredible success stories & influence of media, pleasure, entertainment & ‘e’ (Electronic) industry into the remote most parts of this nation. The bottom line is: Indian citizen is breathing into high-tech. 21st century of pleasure, entertainment, infotainment and information-telecommunication driven & governed Indian economy with higher standards of life-style, higher consumer index & higher GDP. IS INDIA REALLY SHINNING?
**

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/india_flood_cp_7982561.jpg

**
Thousands of cases of farmer suicides. Millions of people deprived of their homes due to floods, riots, terrorist attacks. Thousands of people dying of diseases, lack of medical aid & even more than that; predominantly of mal-nourishment & starvation. Tens of millions of people living under the poverty line. Thousands of children still do not reach upto the school going age & rest of the millions of children are deprived of primary education and many of them are dragged into child labour. Everyday news flashes full of bomb blasts, terrorist attacks, murders, scandals, accidents, rapes, thefts, power cuts, corruption, cheating, pollution of air-water & soil, floods, famine, deforestation, epidemics, child abuse, women exploitation, communal &  religious controversies, political-economical-social discriminations and what not ! ARE WE LIVING IN THE REPUBLIC, DEMOCRATIC AND INDEPENDENT NATION CALLED INDIA?
**

http://www.all-india-travel-guide.com/incredible-india-tours/gifs/republic-day-pared-delhe.jpg

**
15h August is a national festival & thus a national holiday. Probably, one more day for enjoyment, one more free-day to relax & have fun. Or, at the most, one more day to show-case our patriotism for which everyone feels all geared up. Floods of “Happy Independence Day-wishes” via mails, forwards, SMSes, mobile/phone calls. Celebrations with tri-colour flags & that too made of polymer material & purchased from a street child-vendor. DO WE KNOW HOW TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY?
**

http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/enlightenment_and_measurement/01.ST.06/img/IM.0111_zl.jpg
** 

In 1757 when East India Company’s ship harboured onto the Indian coast, it was only single company which eventually got hold of the entire Indian sub-continent but today they are plenty of such. On the other hand, Indian companies are marching onto the world market with biggest acquisition deals into many major segments of economy. India is all set to mark its presence in space. It has already proved its presence into nuclear armamental race. But it’s a pity that every growth story is built on the ground of in-justice in terms of basic amenities & the core concerns of human survival and socio-economical developments; be it food, infrastructure, education, water, health-care or even transportation. WHERE ARE WE HEADING?
**

http://www.naclubs.org/main/images/grants0206a.jpg

**
Indian population is seen as a major constraint to the economical development & that is what even today’s educated, well to do, qualified youth has to say, in tandem with the financial, economical & MBA wizards. The most young nation whose 50% population is young has got nothing to channelise the resources. Out of thousands of graduates only 25% technical & 15% overall are capable & suitable as per industrial & market standards. DO WE KNOW HOW TO CHANNELISE OUR YOUTH?
 **

http://p.vtourist.com/1665301-Travel_Picture-Air_show_in_Trieste_2004.jpg 

**
Indian independence did never only mean freedom from the British rule; it meant to possess our own governance, to build our own nation; “The nation of people, by people & for people.” Indian independence means a nation where every Indian is given the freedom to grow with the nation irrespective of cast-creed, religion, language, community, gender, profession, region, culture & irrespective of the political, economical & social status. That’s the meaning of true independence of India. LET’S BRING FORTH THE TRUE MEANING OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE.
**

http://orgs.uno.edu/cisa/Images/indian-flag.jpg

*******
Well, did you remember something that I asked you in the first paragraph? (Please refer to it, if you don’t remember it now). INDIA is my answer to it after humanity and I truly believe that it would be the day of a great significance in the history of India, when even 1% of the population would have the same answer to it. The moment, INDIA becomes your religion, your passion, your commitment; trust me, you belong to the people whom I term as “Truly Independent Indians” and whom I respect, admire & salute for they being the real flag-bearers of this great nation & religion called India. IS YOUR RELIGION ‘INDIA’?

~ Robin Jani (robinjani@gmail.com)
{In the process of becoming a ‘Truly Independent Indian’.}

(I have intentionally avoided not only exact facts and figures but also my opinions, conclusions and answers to the questions in capital letters to almost every segment of this article since I believe the reader of this article is sensitive & intelligent enough to grasp and infer; what is meant & what is not. However, any questions; comments; suggestions regarding the same are most welcomed. ~ Robin Jani.)

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it
does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems
the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,
yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save
when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins,
and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,
and farewells him with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle. Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

But,when you look at the domestic level eServices or say “Made for India” services…Picture is bleak in my opinion.

Take an example of service which is used by global Indians.Go to our international airline website and try to book ticket online.

Now, go to any other global airline’s website and try to book ticket.

Same is for all govt. websites….not up to the mark!

This is call for Indian IT contractors, engineers and digital media….

What is ICT ?

Information and Communication Technologies

The term includes electronic information-processing technologies such as computers and the Internet, as well as fixed-line telecommunications, mobile phones and other wireless communications, networks, broadband, and various specialised application devices ranging from barcode scanners and Braille readers to global positioning systems (GPS). ICT devices can be embedded in other machines and appliances to increase their functionality, from watches and washing machines to cars.

The information we access through digital technologies can promote innovation, increase productivity, and enrich the quality of our lives. Content creation is not only a global business – now it can be anyone’s business.

Investing in ICT can have a powerful effect on productivity in almost every industry, driving innovation, cutting costs, and opening up new opportunities. ICT can boost profits, help small firms overcome limitations of size, and enable even tiny enterprises to establish a global presence. But to take full advantage of the opportunities of ICT, we need to develop the skills of our workforce at every level, from front-line staff to senior management. Investing in management and business capability is a priority. (From Govt. of Newzealand’s Digital Strategy)

ICT also has environmental benefits, helping us achieve our goal of sustainable development. Through ICT we can manage resources better, such as improving the efficiency of energy use and supply, cutting production costs, and reducing our impact on the environment.

Understand ICT-OI

The ITU’s 2007 ICT Opportunity Index, which has benefited from the expertise of several international and research organizations, is based on a carefully selected list of indicators and methodology. It is an important tool to track the digital divide by measuring the relative difference in ICT Opportunity levels among economies and over time. The different sub-indices allow countries to further identify their specific weaknesses and strengths

The four sub-indices are composed of the following indicators:

Network index: fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants, mobile cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants, and international internet bandwidth (kbps per inhabitant).

Skills index: adult literacy rate, and gross school enrolment rates.

Uptake index: computers per 100 inhabitants, Internet users per 100 inhabitants and proportion of households with a TV.

Intensity index: total broadband internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants, international outgoing telephone traffic (minutes) per capita.

Source: ITU

Where India stand in this Index along with BRIC( Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations and USA

BRIC economies are rising and Over the next 50 years, Brazil, Russia, India and China—the BRICs economies—could become a much larger force in the world economy. Goldman Sach maps out GDP growth, income per capita and currency movements in the BRICs economies until 2050.

We as “I” in BRIC are on the suggested rising path but with some low speed in growth.

ICT framework can help in many areas, I could figure out some of them which are important for gowth,

1. ICT-EDU: Education techniques based on ICT
2. ICT-HEALTH:Improved Health services for all using ICT
3. ICT-GOV: Goverment administration by ICT
4. ICT-STRUCT: Speed up in infrastructure development using ICT
5. ICT-TOURISM:International Tourism with the help of ICT
6. ICT-AGRI:Use of ICT in Agriculture
7. ICT-ENERGY: Efficient and innovative ways for energy usage and sources

Now, Question is how to improve ICT infrastructure which can foster our growth at all level of society?

Content

Content is a king for spreading ICT across roots.provide content which interests rural India.Content Language also plays role here.

Softwares

Open source softwares can reduce the cost of ICT projects

Hardware

State of the art hardware deployment is required.

Goverment and private sector role

Goverment policies and private sector’s help in ICT deployment in rural India.

Again,as mentioned by Robin @ On the eve of ‘58th Republic Day of India’ , “1 hour contribution per year or per month or per week or per day” can create difference for providing ICT opportunities to everyone.

1 Hour in Teaching,Learining,Resource sharing…there are unlimited ideas and ways ….depends on you….how do you want to provide “1 hour contribution per year or per month or per week or per day”?

- Nisarg Joshi

(What’s your idea about investing 1 Hr contribution for our developed India dream by 2025? If you think necessary then reply your ideas and planning in comments.)

[Source: http://www.gapminder.org/]

Data comparision makes you aware that there still lot to do on battle field, fighting against some of the grass root issues like malnourishment.

SiliconIndia reports:

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), India has more number of malnourished children that Sub-Saharan Africa.
Survey done by the health ministry, backed by UNICEF, has found that almost 46 percent of children under the age of three are undernourished. About 35 percent of children in Sub-Saharan Africa region are malnourished.
“In terms of the under-nutrition levels, certainly India is at a much higher level than the average Sub-Saharan African country,” Werner Schultink, chief of child development and nutrition for UNICEF in India, reported a national daily.

Read full news here : www.siliconindia.com

Some more facts in video( I liked this video for his presentation style, amazing style to represent statistical data available on net)

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUwS1uAdUcI]

Video Info :With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Prof. Hans Rosling uses software from Gapminder debunks a few myths about the “developing” world. This global health visionary has discovered a powerful new way to communicate complex data about the world; his remarkable interactive graphs help deliver profound insights about global trends and will change forever the way you think about “us” and “them.” Rosling is professor of international health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, and founder of Gapminder, a nonprofit that brings vital global data to life. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA.) More TEDTalks at www.TED.com

- Nisarg Joshi

Manufacturing?

RnD?

KPO?

.

..

…

…..

Lets explore NeXT factor….

eBiz objectives:

• To reduce the time for pre-establishment processes of industrial projects

• To provide simplified forms, procedures and information in a convenient and cost-effective manner

• To enable event-based, online B2G interactions and transactions

• To establish a single-window mechanism integrating the services of central, state and local governments

• To enhance transparency, speed, certainty and responsiveness

• To automate workflow in the regulatory departments

• To reduce the burden of compliance by reducing the number of registers and returns

• To rationalize the inspection regime

• To establish automated systems for online tracking and monitoring of applications, grievance redressal and dispute resolution

Read more about eBiz @ here.

Lets keep watch on this implementation,looks promising and hope will help entrepreneurs’ land.

On this topic that “whether India is on road to become Superpower or this is just one of the few dreams you see and it fades away as time progresses”, there are several ePlaces where good arguments are going on. I read them and thought to put few snippets together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fortune’s Cait Murphy writes:

India the super power ? Think again

• 47 percent of Indian children under the age of five are either malnourished or stunted.
• The adult literacy rate is 61 percent (behind Rwanda and barely ahead of Sudan). Even this is probably overstated, as people are deemed literate who can do little more than sign their name.
• Only 10 percent of the entire Indian labor force works in the formal economy; of these fewer than half are in the private sector.
• The enrollment of six-to-15-year-olds in school has actually declined in the last year. About 40 million children who are supposed to be in school are not.
• About a fifth of the population is chronically hungry; about half of the world’s hungry live in India.
• More than a quarter of the India population lives on less than a dollar a day.
• India has more people with HIV than any other country.

(Sources: UNDP, Unicef, World Food Program; Edward Luce)

The future will not belong to India unless it takes action to embrace it, and that means more than high-profile vanity projects like putting a man on the moon or building the world¹s tallest tower. It means showing that the world’s largest democracy can deliver real progress to the hundreds of millions who have never used the phone, much less the Internet. And in important ways, that just isn’t happening.

India has many reasons to be proud, but considering it remains a world leader in hunger, stunting and HIV, its waxing self-satisfaction seems sadly beside the point.

Read article here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shashank Khare writes @ Haftamag:

The prognosis seems grim. The recent phenomenal growth and international admiration has had the same effect on politicians as cocaine on an addict. Before the stock market tumble lessened the glory, irrationally exuberant leaders of the land had assumed superpower status a foregone conclusion. So much so that attention was refocused on equitably dividing the pie and ‘uplifting’ the downtrodden rather than insuring continued growth. This will not only do nothing to enhance economic potential but will also negatively impact economic efficiency by distorting the market. This heralds a return to the misguided populist policies of Indira Gandhi. No surprise that these policies are being spearheaded by her party where her former cabinet colleagues are important opinion makers.

Read article here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Atanu dey writes about The Indian Elephant:

One can be quite sick and still be on the road to recovery. It’s the positive trend that should give some hope.

Read here.