Youth UNESCO Definition: Best understand as a period of transition from the dependence on childhood to adulthood's independence and awareness of our independence as a member of a community. Youth is a more fluid category rather than a fixed age group. Youth being enthusiastic, vibrant, innovative and dynamic in nature is the most important section of the population. They are the most valuable segment of the population and are not a ready laboratory to test the finished products of the state apparatus. Rather, they are the variables that should be utilized for creating new opportunities based on the skills of contemporary relevance. The youth of the nation are the trustees of prosperity. Youth force is dynamic in nature as most skills and orientations are acquired in this age. The youth can act ideally as a bridge between two generations. It is an age cohort that, if explained properly, can understand the need of flexibility in order to smoothen its own growth and development...

Source:  https://www.eci.gov.in/ General Election, the biggest Democratic 'Festival' (comes every five year) was ended on 19.05.2019. This festival was observed in 543 constituencies across 29 states and 7 Union Territories (UTs), spread over a month, in seven phases. About 900 million citizens were eligible to vote in one of the seven phases depending on the region. More than 350 political parties of various sizes and ideologies contested to win the trust of the people and vie to win seats in Lok Sabha. The finale (counting of votes) will be concluded on 23 May, 2019. Some of the important national issues (according to me) on which General Election - 2019 was fought on are as follows: National Security India in the recent times have been struggling with the problem of terrorism. Action against terrorism and extremism was the main focus by the majority of the political parties. The issue of lousy procurement policies in defense and declining defense budget was als...

I have already written a post on Media and its role in a Democracy , in which I concluded that unbiased media is a must for Democracy to operate efficiently (a very well known fact) . Now we are going to analyse how the highly skewed or biased media intentionally or unintentionally can change the course of natural flow of any news, or change the flow of news in a particular direction. It is wrong to say that every-time every-thing has to be unbiased, because its not. The closest thing to unbiased I have witnessed is the scientific studies which are designed to be void of all emotional associations while presenting data and information. To be human is to have biases as we all individuals have our prejudices, preferences and positions; to write or think without reflecting them in some way or the other is nearly impossible. In media sector, however, we have to try. Media person or journalists should be factual and as fair as the facts allow them to be. Well-executed journalism allows...

Pulwama Terror attack. Photo: PTI A convoy of  Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was targeted by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants (claimed the responsibility of the attack) with a car bomb in Awanripora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday, February 14, 2019. This is a worst-ever terror attack on the security forces in the state in the last few years. At least 38 security personnel were martyred and three were missing. This dastardly attack was strongly condemned by the Indian government and has given a stern message to isolate Pakistan globally. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on Friday 15, 2019 pledged that perpetrators of the cowardly attack will "pay a heavy price for it". Now, all the government machinery is focusing on Pulwana attack and have no intention to forgive Pakistan. The Central Reserve Police Force in its statement said, "We will not forget, We will not forgive-We salute our martyrs of attack and stand with the families ...

Democracy is a system of government in which all the citizens/ people exercise their power by voting their representatives. Thus, public opinion is an important aspect. The people, in turn, could have the government accountable and change it, if they knew what it is/ was doing. So, there is a need to inform the people of them so that there is a check on the government. There are three main pillars of Democracy - Executive, Legislature and Judiciary - on which it stands. But there is the fourth one, which is kind of hidden, Media which keeps eyes and ears on these three, and informs the people about their policies and actions. Media plays a crucial role in shaping a healthy democracy. Media makes people aware of various social, political and economic activities happening around the country and the world. It is like a mirror, which shows us or strives to show us the bare truth and harsh realities of life. Media came into existence in 1780 with the introduction of a newspape...

Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs, Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, presented his maiden budget; last budget for NDA before the general election. This budget seems to be attracting the poor and middle-class section of the society, who feel betrayed by the present government. New  Announcements : Several New Schemes and other announcements were there in this interim budget. Pradhan Mantri KIsan SAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): Ahead of the Lok Sabha election present government is trying to woo the farming community by announcing ₹ 6,000 per annum direct cash transfer for farmers owning land less than two hectares. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme: Mega pension scheme for workers in the organised and unorganised sectors who have a monthly income below ₹ 15,000, after 60 years of age. Setting up of  Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog to improve sustainable genetic upgrading of cow resources, and to enhance production and productivity of cows!...

The threat of -       a) Growing Automation,       b) The widening divide of wealth between the rich and the poor (concentration of wealth),       c) Reducing/Limited Formal sector jobs,       d) Informal sector jobs with no instability, and       e) Limited skilling and re-skilling of people pushed the world to consider different income redistribution concepts in the past few years. And one of the concepts that have received the most attention is the idea of Universal Basic Income or UBI. It is not a new idea, this idea of state-run Basic Income dates back to the early 16th century when Sir Thomas More argued in Utopia that every person should receive a guaranteed income, which was seconded by many scholars in coming years. Universal Basic Income, or UBI, is a model for providing all citizens of a country with a given sum of money, regardless of their income, resources or employment status. The purpos...

Agriculture is a backbone of any economy, and it is the activity by which food is produced by the optimal use of territorial resources such as land and water. Agriculture in simple terms can be defined as "the cultivation and/ or production of crop plants or livestock products" . A growing global population and changing diet are driving up the demand for food. Production is struggling to keep up as crop yields level off in many parts of the world, ocean health declines, and natural resources - including soil, water and biodiversity - are stretched dangerously thin. The food security challenge will only become more difficult, as the world will need more food for the growing population. This rising concern of food security coupled with output productivity of lands and crop yields made scientist think something about smart agriculture/ climate-smart agriculture. Climate-smart Agriculture   is a revolution in the agriculture industry that helps to guide actions required to...

The history of the world, human history to be precise, is very long and composed of events and details which anyone could remember. Fewer and fewer details are available when we go back in history. Here we are not talking about the history which is not written or vaguely written or rarely/ not available to us. In the earlier centuries, the inventions of agriculture, fire, megalithic construction and speech became the foundation of human life, as well as the development of arts and sciences. With the 'rediscovery' of Classical learning, the invention of new economic models (like mercantilism) and increased contact around the globe started to shape the world it is today. Early modernity will see the creation of the nation-state, the rise of capitalism and colonialism and the beginning of industrialization. The World at the end of 19th c. The fruits of capital intensive and cheap-labor-driven industrialization were enormous for nations who can do it. Some impacts are: ...

A great tragedy brings the worst of enemies together, and the current rape cases (Kathua Rape-Murder case and Unnao Rape case) have proven this once again. Today, one might be happy, to see that the varied section of society coming together and protesting to get justice for the rape victims. But I feel ashamed to see that protests were also happening, in parallel, to support the rapist not by the public but by the ministers whom public chooses as their representatives (what were they trying to prove!? ). While a murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim, a rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female. Now and then the newspaper reports a rape case, and according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in majority of the case the accused is known to the victim ( click here  for statewise breakdown). It appears that the rapists are not scared of laws. Prominent leaders and experts have blamed women’s clothing as one of the major factor for increasing rape c...

Before we delve into cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, there are some fundamental concepts which needs understanding. What is Cryptocurrency? A digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange. Cryptocurrencies are classified as a subset of digital currencies and are also classified as a subset of alternative currencies and virtual currencies. Cryptocurrency is used cryptography to- Control creation of additional units Secure its transactions Verify the transfer units (These are the functions that fiat currencies do through the main stream channel) What is Digital Currency (or Digital Money or Electronic Money or Electronic Currency)? Any currency that is present only in a digital form but not in the physical form (like notes and coins) is a digital currency. It will be like physical money with instantaneous transaction and borderless transfer of ownership e.g. cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies. Digital currencies can be used to buy physical goods a...

National capitals are supposed to be the best cities that nations showcase to the world. But India cannot claim to such a glory as the toxic conditions in National Capital Region (NCR) is creating quite a menace. The entire region is covered in smoke, smog and pollution. This seems to have become a depressingly annual ritual for the Indian capital - a pollution blanket in winter, turning the city into so called "Gas-Chamber". A mix of various local factors, and huge scale crop residue burning in neighboring states, creates a situation dangerous enough for citizens' health and life. The level of carcinogenic pollutants in Delhi's air was roughly 10 times the reading in the Beijing, a city which is more globally infamous for its pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI), in November 2017, in Delhi was 900+ while it was little over 100 in Beijing. Many experts are calling this situation of Delhi as a major public health emergency. The AQI in Delhi deteriorated since No...

The long burning issue of Rohingya Muslim has suddenly became the center point of political discussions in India, many petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court (by the Rohingyas themselves). Indian government is insisting on deportation of Rohingya linking this decision with the National Security. But the core issue with the deportation is that Myanmar does not consider Rohigyas as their citizens, but consider them as immigrants. (For more on Rohingya read my earlier blog  here ). Repercussion of violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar (Western part) are felt around the world,  particularly in the neighboring countries like Bangladesh, India and other South East Asian nations. Due to the ongoing tension in Myanmar many Rohingya people fled Myanmar and over 40,000 made their way to India, many of whom are registered with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), and stay in refugee camps. The U nion Minster of state for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju called them i...