Though official documents state otherwise, there is little evidence, to claim that India has pursued a sustainable inclusive growth strategy, as the Five Year Plan formulation is not integrated with respect to participation in economic activity, income generation and welfare improvement. India has a long way to go even to conceptualise such a process, let alone its realisation, says Dr. M.H. Suryanarayana. India has formulated two successive five year plans ‘Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth’ and completed one. These Plan strategies are based on neither a clear-cut concept nor any perspective. The reference is to the recent Eleventh and…
Author: oiop
‘HAAT’ usually means a weekly market place which is held in a village. Though named ‘Dilli Haat’, this market is neither temporary nor just an ordinary market place. Artisans and craftsmen from all over India are encouraged to demonstrate their skills and display their wares throughout the year at this open air complex spread over 6 acres of land. Situated at Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi, Dilli Haat has 62 stalls located in its complex. These stalls are allocated to a craftsman for 15 days after which a new seller occupies the stall. This not only allows a large number…
THE striated heron (also known as the Green-backed heron) uses a bait to lure its prey. The bird places a feather, leaf or a live insect on the surface of the water and waits motionless on an overhanging bush just above the water. As soon as a fish or a crab approaches the bait, the heron pounces on the prey and devours it. Sometimes it stirs up the water with its feet to bring small marine creatures to the surface. The striated heron lives close to mangroves, estuaries, mudflats and coral reefs and is distributed widely around the world.
The Raja-Rishi (1813-1846) When King Balarama Varma, the ruler of the State of Travancore, passed away in 1813, leaving a pregnant wife and no male heir, the British government wanted to annex the princely state. In case there was no male heir to succeed, the State would lapse to the British Government as per the Doctrine of Succession. Sir Thomas Munro, the Resident of the court, was in favour of the pricely rule. Though a Britisher, he was a great devotee of Lord Padmanabha Swamy, the state deity of Travancore. He prayed to the Lord that the queen should be…
We need to wait and see how the new Government in 2014 will coordinate both public and private sector allocation across the ‘districts’ as opposed to ‘states’ in order to minimise the differences in key infrastructure facilities between the waning and the accelerating regions within a state. Therein lies our success, writes Dr. Buddhadeb Ghosh. Infrastructure is another name of social capital consisting of special categories of inputs external to the decision-making units (DMU), which contribute to socioeconomic development both by increasing productivity and by providing facilities thereby enhancing the quality of life and efficacy of labour as well as…
Homosexuality is not a mere aping of the West but is evident in Indian mythology, history, literature and culture, writes Shoma A. Chatterji, in the wake of the recent Supreme Court judgment upholding IPC Section 377 that criminalises homosexual act. The Supreme Court of India on 11 December 2013 set aside the 2009 landmark judgement of the Delhi High Court in Naz Foundation v. NCT case, which had held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is unconstitutional because it criminalised consensual sexual acts between adults. The verdict resulted in the decriminalisation of homosexual acts involving consenting adults,…
The Indian government conferred its highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on eminent chemical scientist, C.N.R. Rao. When and where was he born? Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao was born in Bangalore on June 30, 1934. From a young age, he became interested in science, especially after Nobel Laureate C.V. Raman visited his school. After reading The Nature of the Chemical Bond, a book written by Linus Pauling (founder of molecular biology and quantum chemistry), he decided that he would take up chemistry. What is his area of research? Rao started with spectroscopy before becoming interested in materials sciences and superconductivity.…
In this concluding article on Hindustani Classical Music, Latha Venkatraman profiles three gharanas that continue to enrich Indian classical music and enthrall audience not just in India but worldwide. Patiala Gharana The very mention of Patiala gharana will bring to mind a towering personality in the field of Hindustani classical music – Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. This gharana was founded by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Ali Baksh Khan. Foremost among their disciples were brothers Ali Baksh Khan and Kale Khan. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is the son of Ali Baksh Khan. Patiala gharana became quite well-known primarily because…
Bhavya Ashwin Mehta is pursuing Chartered Accountancy. Passionate about service to society, Bhavya is the founder and Managing Trustee of Deeds Of Kindness Trust, a Borivali-based organisation that reaches out to people in need. He aspires to be an IAS officer so that he can bring about a change in the country. In his free time, he keeps researching on issues such as water harvesting, fuel saving and more. I was always socially aware and liked to reach out wherever possible to help in any way. But the 26/11 attacks changed the way I looked at life. It was at…
Indian agriculture accounts for almost 14% of the total GDP and around 60 percent of our total population is still directly or otherwise involved in the agrarian systems. In such a scenario, India’s peasantry will have to be given its due place within the system, if the dream of inclusive growth has to be realised, writes Prof. Ajay Dandekar. Princes and Lords may flourish or may fade, A breath can make them, as a breath has made; But a bold peasantry, a country’s pride Once destroyed can never be supplied. – Oliver Goldsmith I was employed as an agriculture labourer…