GDP is the monetary value of the final goods and services produced in a period of time.

The Gross Domestic Product does not calculate the loss incurred during the period of time in which it is calculated.Now, this loss can range from damage caused to the ecosystem to decline in the living standards of people. In these cases, there is a possibility that the amount of loss is higher than the growth rate.

Economic growth cannot be an answer to every crisis. The United States of America is known to be the world’s largest economy with a total growth of $21 trillion. The country now is facing huge climatic irregularities. Thanks to global warming, a phenomenon which President Donald Trump denies to believe in.

Closer to home in India, the capital city Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh faced extreme climatic conditions earlier this month.

Often in a bid to achieve high rates of GDP, we forget the damage we cause to the environment which in turn can cause damage to human life, resulting in huge losses which we do not calculate while calculating the Gross Domestic Product.

With growing industrialization, the damage on our ecosystem is increasing too. Each day there are new industries popping up. These industries cause environmental damage by not sticking to the norms. The waste that comes out of these industries affects the air we breathe and the water we drink. Last year people of Thootukudi led a mass protest against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper smelting plant. From time and again the Smelting plant had been violating the environmental norms which gradually started to affect people’s lives. On the 100th day of the protest, the police opened fire to control the situation. 14 people lost their lives. This incident is an example of how a  man contributes in environmental destruction.

A balance in the ecosystem needs to be maintained for which one needs to understand the reactions that an action causes. In terms of education, there is a lot that needs to be done in India. The slow pace of qualitative improvement in this field is an outcome of less investment. If we look at the condition of education in India today, all does not look very fine. The Right to Education Act(2009) has been there since a long time now, but how far has it been fruitful still remains a question. The 13^th Annual status of education report (ASER) published by NGO Pratham in 2018, gives figures on how Indian schools are doing. The report states that there are over 90000 government schools are run by a single teacher. 72.8% of students of class VIII read at class II level. This figure has surely come down from 74.6% in 2014, yet the progress is slow. According to The Lancet, a British Journal, India ranks at 66 out of 100 for its quality of education.

The 2018 World Happiness index saw India drop down 11 places. It ranked 122 in 2017. It now ranks at 133. In comparison to other SAARC countries, India, the world’s largest democracy is below them. Pakistan is at 75, Nepal at 101 and Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at 97,115,116 respectively. Ironically, India went up 23 places in the ease of doing business index in 2018. It went up from 100 to now at 77. Inequality, life expectancy, GDP per capita, social freedom, generosity, public trust (i.e. a lack of corruption in government and business) and social support are the parameters that are considered to calculate the Happiness index.

Development needs to be in terms of overall growth. Monetary growth is usually an outcome of extreme greed and ignorance. If we continue to consider GDP as an indicator of growth, things might turn ugly in the near future. Irregularities in climate, extinction of indigenous animals, and rise in diseases are signs for us to understand that our ways and methods are wrong and that serious interrogation is required. To say that a good GDP is a sign of a developed country is a myth.

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A few days back while I was listening to a laudable speaker I became aware of the importance of certain issues that I had known earlier but it had never provoked me to think of them. This realization turned out to fascinate me and provoke me into writing this article. The speaker mainly spoke of how youngsters did not realize the value of the priceless gifts that God gave – an intact body, a strong mind and valuable time.  Referring to the lives of Stephen Hawking and Nick Vujicic, he reminded to us that we were free of any bodily restriction and that we had to use our mind in the best way possible without wasting any of the precious time that was predisposed to us.

Apart from the gifts that we already possess, Col.Ramulu, the guest speaker spoke of the constant complaints that the youth today made with regard to the lack of jobs.  This statement took me to the recent ‘Pakoda Controversy’ that the newspapers and the news channels in our country spoke of, day in and day out for a good number of days. Before going any further about what Col.Ramulu spoke of we should probably go through some statistics.

At present, there are over 1 lac jobs that are vacant under the Central Government. Apart from this, there are also job openings every now and then for various banks. A number of private companies also contribute to job creation in India. The division of vacancies under various central government sectors can be seen on https://www.ncs.gov.in/Pages/default.aspx

Hence, one conclusion that can be made is that there are jobs but unemployment is still a growing issue in the country. Our country is in a situation where even after having completed graduation and post-graduation, people do not have jobs. Now, this is an issue of major concern. Instead of blaming the government and politicising the issue, we need to understand as to why we are facing the problem. The number of job vacancies that are already there could not be sufficient given to the vast population of the country. But then is population the only reason? I don’t think so.

 Lack of Skills:

By now it can be clearly understood that having a degree is not sufficient to get a job.  There is a possibility that the job seekers lack the essential skills that could earn a job for them.

In one of the episodes of ‘Daily News Analysis’, Mr.Sudhir Choudhary, while speaking of the worst conditions of unemployment, refers to a situation in Uttar Pradesh, where a group of young graduates, postgraduates and engineers were cleaning a drainage as a part of the physical test for a job in the municipality. A bunch of youngsters educated in the field of arts, science and technology could surely have come up with a system to clean the drainages mechanically rather than manually. But that wasn’t the case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7kXtlQq0Yk

Education System:

Developing particular skills starts from educational institutions. Since childhood, the number of career options that we are aware of is quite a few. We grow up with people talking of a career as an engineer and if you are willing enough to be patient, you can opt for medicine or Chartered Accountancy too. If you are more concerned about job security, you should probably write Government Recruitment tests.  Over the recent years, MBA, fashion designing, journalism, Youtubing etc has started to gain recognition. Even today there are so many career options we are not aware of.  How can skills be developed without knowing what interests a person? Most of us follow or are made to follow the paths that have already been taken. Most of us do not even make an effort to explore to make a choice from the thousands of options that we have.

Lack of Focus:

If you are lucky enough to have found your interest and passion and yet you cannot find a job for yourself, you need to think seriously and start focussing on achieving your goals.

In an interview, when asked about the unemployment issue prevailing in India, Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam had said that ‘the youth in India should become job providers and not job seekers.’ With the above-mentioned problems, it can get difficult to motivate the youth to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Sadly, media today has emphasized more on broadcasting who blames whom for the situation we are in, rather than trying to educate people of the reasons and possible solutions for such a situation. Media has the power and capability to educate the people and influence them to change their perspectives.

At the end of the day, by blaming the government the problem shall not fade away. It is the need of the hour that people learn to become independent and hunt for what their true passion and interests are rather than deciding on what shall get them a high-paid job or an easily- achievable job.

From what Col.Ramulu spoke, one thing that I could conclude is, make yourself so efficient that the jobs come to your doorstep instead of you running after them.

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There was an era in the history of India when the citizens of the country faced continuous famine. Food grains were imported from other countries at extremely high prices until the policy of Green Revolution was introduced in India. After the ushering of the policy we witnessed a great raise in the field of agriculture in India. We became one of the key producers and exporters in the world.

Though India has made a commendable comeback in the agriculture sector, there is still a lot of scope for the agriculture in India to reach higher figures of farm output. The figures are not satisfactory because India accounts to 250 million tonnes of food grain production in comparison to 571 million tonnes production in China (Figures from the year 2011-2012). The reason why comparison between these two countries is used is because of the commonalities that these two countries share with regard to agriculture. India and China both have experienced agrarian crisis almost during the same time in history. Both the countries have large population size and similar food consuming habits.

Though India has a glorious history in agriculture, one question still remains debated time and again.  Why are the farmers of India so agitated?  Why are so many farmers killing themselves? Is there any problem in the system that is further causing complications in agriculture? Can farm loan waiver solve problems permanently?

There are a number of problems that the country is facing with regard to agriculture and the farmers in the country.

Lack of sound education which often leads to the farmers being cheated:

Most of the farmers in our country do not have a proper education background. This leads to the farmers not getting to know of the important agricultural policies. We are aware of the fact that our country has witnessed a growing rate in corruption. With issues regarding to agriculture and farmers, the prevailing illiteracy amongst the farmers can make them clear targets and susceptible to being cheated.
Lack of proper research and development in the country:

According to various reports, though India has a number of agriculture scientists there is no proper work being done in developing the current agriculture scenario through research.  India is said to spend lesser than China and Brazil for research and development. This can be considered as one of the main reasons for crisis in the agriculture sector. The lack of research, results in the farmers not being updated on the methods and technology that is being used in the agriculture sector in other countries.

Lack of storage facilities:

There is an urgent need for the building of proper storage facilities in India. Lack of proper storage facilities is one of the many reasons for low profits. Due to improper storage facilities, the farmer is forced to sell the seed at the market price. The the farmer cannot wait for the price to rise because doing so can risk in rotting of the harvest.
Irrigation issues:

2/3 of the agriculture land in India is dependent on the monsoons for the irrigation of the soil. Given to the growing global warming in the country, rains are unpredictable and unstable. Only 1/3 of the agriculture lands have the facility of being irrigated through canals and lakes. Due to increased water pollution, there is also a fear of soil erosion which can result in further infecting the crops.
Improper agricultural marketing:

The production after the harvest needs an ample amount of marketing to get the right prices. Clearly, this is not the case in India. The farmer is forced to sell the produce to the moneylender or middleman because of the interest he needs to pay for having taken a loan for the capital. In such situations, the middlemen tend to sell the produce at a very cheap rate, without giving the farmer an opportunity to make a proper profit or even to get the correct price of the produce.
With so many issues erupting from time to time, we can clearly understand the reasons as to why the farmers are committing suicides.  From sowing the seeds to harvesting the crop, a farmer encounters with so many issues.  There are a number of policies that have been introduced to make things easier for farmers, but due to illiteracy, the information does not really reach the farmers.

Over the past months, we have observed that the farmers have begun to agitate against the situations they have been forced to face.  They demand for a loan waiver by their respective state governments. How far can waiving a loan solve the current agrarian crisis?

Loan waivers shall solve the issues for a limited period of time, after which the farmers will have to face similar issues. The problems need to be fixed from within the roots so that they do not repeat. Until farmers receive loan waivers, the main problem will remain ignored and hence complicate the issue further.

India is known as an agrarian country that feeds its 1.3 billion people and also exports the food grains all over the world. It has so many accomplishments even after so many internal issues.  Had these issues never existed, the achievements of the agriculture sector of India would’ve been worth  giving a thought.

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JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

The words stated above have been taken from the Preamble of The Indian Constitution. Over the recent times, with the events that have been happening across the country, we the citizens of India have been forced to think of how true to the meaning are most of these words that have so nicely been scripted in the preamble of our constitution.

The fact that India is a Sovereign and Socialist country is undeniable, but coming to the point where India is described as being Secular,this  needs to be pondered upon. India is a country that has a melange of religions, traditions and cultures. Are all the religions in the country treated at par, is the question at this juncture.

India- A Secular Country?

The disparities and conflicts between the Hindus and the Muslims that were perpetrated by the British for their own benefits ages ago have left scars that deny to vanish from the present day India. Instead these religious differences have grown over time and caused serious damage to the citizens and the image of our country.

From the recent incidents that have come to light regarding the extremist behaviour of some of the Hindu groups,  showcase the  evident growth of differences between both the major religions of the world.

When a Muslim man from Rajasthan is hacked and burnt alive for an alleged affair with a Hindu lady, the question if India is really a secular country arises. Afrazul was an old man who left his family at the age of 14 for earning bread. When one day a villager thrashes up the old man and burns him alive over a love-jihad rumour, the world for the family of the murdered turns into a nightmare.

In another of such incidents when another old man is violently lynched and killed over a rumour spread that he had stolen and slaughtered the calf of a neighbour, brings us to the same question.  Do we really live in a secular country?

The most striking factor of both these incidents is that the crime was committed based on a rumour and in both the cases the criminals haven’t been condemned.

Have the sufferers got the Justice yet?

Be it given to the delay in the investigations made by the Investigative teams or to any other factor, Justice has either been delayed or has denied to those who wanted justice more desperately than any monetary assistance.

Out of the 20 accused that were arrested over a number of charges in the Dadri lynching case, 14 have got the bail.  one key accused Vishal Rana,  the son of a local BJP worker Sanjay Rana,  has been let out on bail too.

This brings us to another thought. Why do sons of politicians get so many advantages even after committing heinous crimes? They say law is equal for everyone. Is that really the case?
Why are we silenced when we have the liberty to speak our heart and mind?

They have been a number of incidents that came to light when people have been killed for speaking the truth, putting forth an opinion or to bring a change.

Narendra Dhabolkar, M.M. Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh, Ram Chandra Chatrapathi have been some of the people who were killed for putting out their opinions and who tried to bring a change.

There are a number of other people who are targeted and silenced for questioning the acts of our politicians and government.

Is everyone in India treated equal?

This is one question that has been long debated given to the fact that so many people fight for reservations in India. Reservation was started in India in order to give opportunities to the down-trodden and help them lead a proper and happy life.

But with how the things have been going on, it seems as though some day almost every caste would come on to the roads and agitate to get reservations.

Reservations were started to promote education and literacy. But now, we live in an era where politicians use these reservations as a tool to win elections.

One of the key points of the manifesto of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Andhra Pradesh was to give reservations to the Kapu community that constitute up to 27% population of Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, TDP won the elections and Chandra Babu Naidu became the Chief Minister. Until November, 2017 the Kapu community and the kapus agitated and kept reminding the chief minister of his promises. On December 1st, the chief Minister promised to put forth the bill regarding the reservations in the Parliament. We need to keep in mind the fact that the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh could be held anytime between 2018 and 2019.

Reservations have clearly become an active part of the vote bank politics too.In another of such incidents of the vote bank politics, the Congress have added a point in their manifesto to provide reservation quota for the Patidars.

If reservations help those who need it the most, there are the best assistance. But then, when those who don’t need reservations get to enjoy all the benefits, there seems to be no hint of equality among the people.

The article has not been written to target any political party or the government. It is based on sheer facts and how certain incidents that occur in our country raise questions to the Constitution of India and also the constitution does not just belong to the politicians, it belongs to all those people who are the citizens of the country and hence it is important for each of us to check ourselves to see what sort of an example  we set.

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Usually we mistake educated to being literate. So, what do we mean when we say that a person is educated? Do we mean to say that a person can read and write? Partly, yes. But then a person who does not have knowledge regarding anything but can read and write, will that person be called educated as well? The person shall be called a literate.  UNESCO defines literacy as an ability to read and write.  Whereas education is the process of learning, understanding and differentiating between things.

It is essential that we understand that being literate does not make a person educated. But then, literacy can surely be helpful in educating oneself.

Often we hear a lot of statements regarding the education system in India. They say the system has become obsolete, it needs to be changed. But then is our system really bad? On thinking about it and after a little research it can be concluded that it is indeed the people that run the system who need to change. The education system in India is as good as the systems followed by other countries. In fact, a number of institutions have been globally acclaimed. So, what is the problem?

To understand the problem regarding education in India, we need to understand the psychologies of the people who run it and of those who follow it.

We first need to understand that India has been a country that took time to believe in the boon of education. Especially the advantages of educating girls was not accepted and this problem still prevails in our country. Making the whole country believe that education was important was one difficult task. To motivate people to send their children to school, the Government brought along a lot of initiatives in the education system. One of the most important initiative being free education for the underprivileged and disadvantaged.

After so many efforts, today we can clearly make the difference. Every parent wants to get their child to get educated. And it is because of the strong efforts that India holds a Literacy Rate of 74.04% (According to census of 2011). The youth literacy rate, measured within the age group of 15 to 24, is 81.1% (84.4% among males and 74.4% among females), while 86% of boys and 72% of girls are literate in the 10-19 age group.

Teachers are the key players in making the education system function efficiently. The problem that is faced in this regard is that teachers are not valued. Teachers are hired on the basis of their experience and not on their skill. If a student succeeds or does good in the exams only then is a teacher’s effort appreciated. Hence their skills are not respected and as a result of this many do not choose the profession of teaching. What is education without a teacher?

The Indian education system is often criticised as using the method ofrote learning for students, so that they can qualify examinations with proper grades. If education is meant to nurture children with knowledge and teachers are meant to impart this knowledge then it is important that this knowledge reaches children. Education loses its meaning when it is practiced just for the sake of grades. Hence, it is necessary that the students in their primary classes are moulded in a way that they consider studying as play and not as pressure. It is understandable that with students getting promoted to higher classes, education gets tougher. But then when they have already understood the importance of education in their early stages, they wouldn’t deny from working hard to achieve their academic grades.

Education helps in creating a proper career. It helps in choosing a career for ourselves. Do we have the knowledge of enough career options that we can choose from? Now, that remains an unanswered question. Careers in technology and Science are most appreciated and acclaimed in India. Does that mean that there are no other options that students can choose from? They’re a number of options to choose from most of these being unknown or not recommended.

Education is often seen as a way to promote businesses. One can understand this by going through the number of engineering colleges India has. When there is business, automatically corruption seeps through. Educational institutions are often used as a means to achieve political gains. How far that is right, is left to the readers to understand.

Loopholes are an undoubted part of every system. But then it is the responsibility of the makers and the members to realize their motives and goals. Education was made compulsory in India to bring economic development. Literacy and education did boost economic growth but then the motive of imparting knowledge through education is not being fulfilled.

None but only the conscience of the members of this system can motivate them to work for the upliftment of the society. Hence, it is left to their conscience to decide if they are educated or not. If they are educated, they wouldn’t hamper the interests of the students and the society. Like mentioned earlier, education is what lets the person to differentiate from good and bad.

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The Allahabad High Court on 12th October 2017 gave its verdict on the AarushiTalwar murder case in favour of the Talwar couple. It declared that due to lack of evidence the couplewould  be given a benefit of doubt and that they should be acquitted. Nine years have gone by, but the CBI hasn’t yet zeroed on who actually killed the 14-year old.

A number of cases like those of the murder of Ayesha Miran in the year 2007, NarendraDhabolkar in the year 2013, the mysterious death of SunandaPushkar, the murder of  GovindPansare in the year 2015, Sister Abhaya in the year 2015 still remain unsolved.

In some of the murder cases including that of rationalists like NarendraDhabolkar and GovindPansare, the investigation agencies had offered a reward in cash prize for those who would bring any information regarding the murderers. This could be an issue of major concern now. Are these investigation agencies trying to get their work done by offering bribe in the form of rewards?

The delay made by these investigation agencies could be because of a number of reasons, but then at the end of the day, justice delayed is justice denied.

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