News Kashmir Magazine

Major feat for grasroot governance in JK

Grassroots Government is of vital importance for any place.  Jammu and Kashmir region is seeing grassroots governance in full flow after many years.

In one of the largest reformative measures started few months back, J&K Administration has nearly completed appointing about 10000 educated and young persons belonging to different villages of the UT on the significant grassroots level posts of Lumbedars and Village Guards (Chowkidars).

As a matter of fact, the information was revealed in a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and attended by DG, CID; Commissioner Secretary GAD; Commissioner Secretary IT & Information; Divisional Commissioners; Secretary PD&MD; Secretary, Revenue and all Deputy Commissioners of the UT either physically or virtually.

Dr Mehta applauded both the Divisional and District Administration for achieving this feat in a record time. He impressed upon the authorities to ensure that a training schedule is framed for these youngsters in order to sensitize them about their vital role as the grassroots level, frontline workers who have to work for the welfare and well-being of their villages.

He enjoined upon them that all these youngsters deserves to be given due respect and recognition as they would act as a bridge between the common masses and higher authorities. He advised them to create a WhatsApp group of these basic workers so that there is continuous communication between them and the District and Divisional Administration.

One hopes grassroots governance in Jammu and Kashmir would continue to thrive.

Improving education in Kashmir 

Education is the cornerstone of development. Jammu and Kashmir academic scenarios needed a much overhaul to make it reformative.

The pathbreaking interventions and concrete efforts by the government are transforming the educational scenario of Jammu and Kashmir.

The School Education Department has taken up several initiatives like reducing dropout ratio, increasing enrolment rate and others.

The whole nation is witnessing significant transformation in the education system with implementation of new National Education Policy. The policy has put special emphasis on engagement and involvement in both classroom as well as field study.

Notably, Mentorship Programme: Student Teacher Engagement for Educational Reinforcement (STEER) will revolutionize the school education system by identifying learning gaps and understanding the constraints being faced by the children, their capabilities besides providing the teachers an opportunity to bring changes in their teaching methods.

It is great development that 

Under this mentorship program, more than 21,000 schools have been covered and five lakh students have been mapped. Moreover, 40,000 teachers have been trained to mentor the students in 1:10 ratio.

Further, efforts are being made to improve the quality of school education and employment-oriented higher education through

the National Education Policy. Necessary changes have been made in the education system to cater to the human resource requirement of the fourth industrial revolution and digital economy of the twenty-first century.

Under the policy, Higher Education Council will ensure that colleges and universities become hub of research and innovation and contribute in developing a highly skilled national human capital.

The need of the hour is to make the education system of Jammu and Kashmir more sync with the needs of present times.

International Women’s Day 2023

The International Women’s Day marked every year on 8 March is an important celebration.

International Women’s Day, also known as IWD for short, grew out of the labour movement to become a recognised annual event by the United Nations (UN).

The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day.

The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin, communist activist and advocate for women’s rights. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her suggestion unanimously.

It was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we’re technically celebrating the 111th International Women’s Day.

The theme of this year’s women’s day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. It is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), i.e. “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.

Keeping the theme of this year in mind, we need to bear in mind that 37% of women do not use the internet. 259 million fewer women have access to the Internet than men, even though they account for nearly half the world’s population.

If women are unable to access the Internet and do not feel safe online, they are unable to develop the necessary digital skills to engage in digital spaces, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one.

Lead Poisoning 

Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over months or years. Even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems. Children younger than 6 years are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.

Lead poisoning is not a new concern. For more than a century, scientists have been aware that the naturally occurring metal has no biological function that can benefit the human body, but can cause devastating physical and developmental impacts.

However, despite the awareness, lead toxicity continues to be a public health concern. Half the children in India report high blood lead levels, reveals a 2020 report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Pure Earth, a US-based environmental health non-profit. The report says 275 million children in India record blood lead levels of beyond the tolerable limit of 5 µg/dL. Of these, 64.3 million children’s blood lead levels exceed 10 µg/dL.

Adults are also affected by lead toxicity. In July 2022, Union government think tank NITI Aayog and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) conducted a meta analysis of 89 datasets from 36 studies between 1970 and 2014; its results validate the UNICEF-Pure Earth report.

In terms of average blood lead levels among the population, some 23 states exceed the 5 µg/dL margin; levels in the remaining 13 states and Union Territories cannot be determined as there is a lack of research and screening mechanisms to collect data.

We need to bear in mind that Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time. Human exposure is usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.

Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.

There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.

Historic 2023 Budget 

Hidtoric 2023 Union Budget was announced recently. 

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fifth Budget today (February 1, 2023). This is the last full-fledged budget of the second Narendra Modi government ahead of the general elections in 2024.

Tabling the Budget 2023, FM Sitharaman said: “This is the first budget in Amrit Kaal, this budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in previous budget and the blueprint laid for India@100, we envision a prosperous and inclusive India in which the fruits of development reach all.”

“The Indian economy is on the right track, heading to a bright future. Our focus on reforms and sound policies resulting in Jan Bhagidari helped us in trying times, our rising global profile is due to several accomplishments,” she added.

The highlights of Budget include : 

The Indian economy is on the right track, heading to a bright future. Our focus on reforms and sound policies resulting in Jan Bhagidari helped us in trying times, our rising global profile is due to several accomplishments,” said FN Nirmala Sitharaman.

“The world has recognized India as a bright star, our growth for current year is estimated at 7.0%, this is the highest among all major economies, in spite of massive global slowdown caused by pandemic and the war”.

7 Priorities of Budget 2023- Inclusive development, Reachinglast mile, Infrastructure and investment, unleashing potential, Green growth,Youth Power, Financial Sector and Finance Minister.

Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture to be built as open source, open standard, interoperable public good. Will enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions & help improved access to farm inputs, market intel, support for agri industry, startups.

One hopes that Union Budget 2023 proves a good omen for the country .

India World Leader in Population

India is the largest democracy of world.

According to projections from the World Population Review (WPR), India’s population was 141.7 crore as of the end of 2022. That’s a little more than 50 lakh more than the 141.2 crore declared by China on January 17, when there was the first fall since the 1960s, according to official announcements.

India, a country where 50 percent of the population is under 30, is anticipated to have the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The milestone was supposed to be reached later this year, according to the UN. According to WPR, India’s population increased to 142.3 crore people as of January 18. WPR predicts that, though India’s population growth has slowed, it will still climb until at least 2050.

The most recent figure for India is 142.8 crore, according to a different estimate from the research platform Macrotrends. After postponing population surveys due to pandemic disruptions in 2021, the nation did not release its once-every-ten-year census statistics.

On the otherhand, The country has made huge strides in improving energy access, but needs to continue to develop the energy network and diversify its fuel mix.

The country’s path to decarbonization could be a net-positive one if it turns to low- and no-emissions technologies.

Also considering our growing population, The Indian economy is likely to reach the $26 trillion mark by 2047, the 100th year of the country’s independence, according to an EY report. 

It also said that the per capita income is also expected to increase to $15,000, putting the country among the ranks of developed economies.

The hope on ground is that we control rising population and also look into means of giving quality life to entire population.

Historic and appreciable work by PIB Fact Check 

Fake news is a cancer, which has potential to harm our entire society as it creates chaos and commotion.

In a historic and great development, recently the PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting busted six YouTube channels which were working in a coordinated manner and spreading false information in India. The Fact Check Unit released six separate Twitter threads having over 100 fact-checks to counter the fake news spread by these channels. This is the second such action from the Unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting where entire channels have been busted.

The six YouTube channels were found to be operating as part of a coordinated disinformation network, had nearly 20 lakh subscribers and their videos have been watched over 51 crore times.

The YouTube channels exposed by the PIB Fact Check unit spread fake news about the elections, proceedings in the Supreme Court and Parliament of India, functioning of the Government of India, etc. Examples include false claims regarding ban on Electronic Voting Machines, and false statements attributed to senior Constitutional functionaries including the Hon’ble President of India, Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.

The channels are part of a fake news economy that thrives on monetization of fake news. The channels use fake, clickbait and sensational thumbnails and images of television news anchors of TV Channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic and drive traffic to their channels in order to monetize the videos published by them.

This is the second such action by PIB Fact Check Unit. In an earlier major action, on 20th December, 2022, the Unit had exposed three channels peddling fake news. One hopes that Fake news in India would be soon a thing of past. 

Indian textile sector challenges 

Textile sector is key component of global and Indian economy. 

India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, dating back to several centuries. The industry is extremely varied, with hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, with the capital-intensive sophisticated mills sector at the other end. The fundamental strength of the textile industry in India is its strong production base of a wide range of fibre/yarns from natural fibres like cotton, jute, silk and wool, to synthetic/man-made fibres like polyester, viscose, nylon and acrylic.

As a matter of fact, The textile sector is one of the critical sectors of the Indian economy, accounting for more than two per cent of the total GDP and more than 12 per cent of the manufacturing sector gross domestic product (GDP). The sector is also the second largest provider of employment in India, after agriculture. It provides employment to an estimated 45 million people directly and to another 60 million indirectly through allied activities. Not only is the textile sector highly labour intensive, it also employs unskilled and semi-skilled labour force and is also an important source of employment for women.

But since sometimes the textile  sector in India has been facing challenges. Domestic production has turned sluggish in recent months. While exports have suffered owing to preferential tariff treatment towards countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, cheap imports from China and some other countries in certain segments are hurting the domestic industry.

The government is committed to increasing textile exports from India, from the current USD 44.4 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years. This will require addressing the challenges faced by the sector to ensure an efficient and dynamic textile sector.

One hopes we give due to our textile sector .

Upgrading Coal for masses

Coal is an important fuel . It’s improved quality is key to national growth.

The Ministry of Coal and the coal companies have taken various measures to achieve the objective of supply of quality coal to all consumers. Coal companies are to endeavour to achieve 100% quality satisfaction. There has been substantial improvement in conformity to declared grade of coal supply from Coal India Ltd  (CIL) sources. The grade conformity has jumped to 69% in 2022-23 (till Nov’ 22) as against 51% in 2017-18.

Steps taken for improvement in quality are periodic re-gradation of coal mines, introduction of improved mining technology like surface miners, supply of washed coal, first mile connectivity for direct conveying of coal on Belt from Coal surface/face to Rapid loading Silo, installation of Auto Analyzers etc. Different officials/agencies are entrusted with the job of ensuring supply of coal in conformity to the declared grades. Primary reason for grade variation is the inherent heterogeneous nature of Indian coal itself meaning, calorific value of coal extracted within the same seam at different points tends to vary.

Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), a subordinate office under the Ministry regularly assess and declare coal mines grades including undertaking annual coal mine/loading points grade declaration exercises. For enhanced customer satisfaction, special emphasis has been given to Quality Management of coal from mine to dispatch point. Now, all the consumers of CIL have the option for quality assessment of the supplies through independent third-party sampling agencies (TPSA). These accredited third-party agencies have been engaged to ascertain Coal Quality from loaded coal wagons/lorries as per prescribed norms under BIS standards. 

One hopes we as a country become global leaders as far as producing quality Coal is concerned.

Upgrading Coal for masses

Coal is an important fuel . It’s improved quality is key to national growth.

The Ministry of Coal and the coal companies have taken various measures to achieve the objective of supply of quality coal to all consumers. Coal companies are to endeavour to achieve 100% quality satisfaction. There has been substantial improvement in conformity to declared grade of coal supply from Coal India Ltd  (CIL) sources. The grade conformity has jumped to 69% in 2022-23 (till Nov’ 22) as against 51% in 2017-18.

Steps taken for improvement in quality are periodic re-gradation of coal mines, introduction of improved mining technology like surface miners, supply of washed coal, first mile connectivity for direct conveying of coal on Belt from Coal surface/face to Rapid loading Silo, installation of Auto Analyzers etc. Different officials/agencies are entrusted with the job of ensuring supply of coal in conformity to the declared grades. Primary reason for grade variation is the inherent heterogeneous nature of Indian coal itself meaning, calorific value of coal extracted within the same seam at different points tends to vary.

Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), a subordinate office under the Ministry regularly assess and declare coal mines grades including undertaking annual coal mine/loading points grade declaration exercises. For enhanced customer satisfaction, special emphasis has been given to Quality Management of coal from mine to dispatch point. Now, all the consumers of CIL have the option for quality assessment of the supplies through independent third-party sampling agencies (TPSA). These accredited third-party agencies have been engaged to ascertain Coal Quality from loaded coal wagons/lorries as per prescribed norms under BIS standards. 

One hopes we as a country become global leaders as far as producing quality Coal is concerned.

Nuclear Power Importance 

Nuclear power is a resource of utmost importance in present era to meet growing energy needs.

Nuclear energy protects air quality by producing massive amounts of carbon-free electricity. It powers communities in different countries of world  and contributes to many non-electric applications, ranging from the medical field to space exploration.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh recently  said, Government proposes to set up more nuclear power plants for augmenting production of clean energy.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in addition to the eleven (11) reactors (8700 MW) under construction, the Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.

The government has also accorded in principle approval for five new sites for setting up nuclear power plants in the future.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the tariffs of electricity generated by nuclear power are comparable to those of contemporary conventional base load generators like thermal power. The present installed nuclear power capacity comprises of 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW. In addition, one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has also been connected to the grid.

Nuclear power is the most low-carbon energy sources. It also has one of the smallest carbon footprints. It’s one of the answers to the energy gap. It’s essential to our response to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

One hopes India as a Country would continue to focus on nuclear power .