Just yesterday I was talking to my maid about health and education. I came to know that she has studied till grade 8. She could not continue further because of the untimely death of her father. As I asked her about her health, she told me that she does not suffer from any common illness as such. Though her children have a tendency to catch cold every now and then , and as a result are often down with cough and cold. She said they visit a private dispensary in their own area where doctor's fees and medicines are charged at a nominal rate, whenever any member of her family falls sick. She has 2 kids, 1 of which goes to the DPS, R.K.Puram which has been established for children coming from lower economic strata. She is planning to get her younger kid admitted to the same school as well. She spends approximately Rs 4500/- annually on the education of the one child who is studying at the moment (the figure includes expenditure on fees, books and uniform as well). Her child does not get a mid-day meal at school. When asked why she wants her children to get educated, she gives the usual answer that as she herself could not continue her studies and as a result she is having to work as a domestic help, she does not want her children to have a similar life as hers. She wants them to live a good quality of life and have an adequate standard of living.

One-third of the world's poor live in India: Questionable fact?

According to one of World Banks recent surveys, India is the home for one-third poor of the world. Not shocking at all, something we have always been hearing. Perhaps well-justified too. But lets just astray a bit from the ever-easily-relentable facts.
First of all it intrigues me to see why the world bank regularly publishes reports about only India, and why not say USA where 45% of the population has no access to medical services due to high insurance costs and have an alarming unemployment rate. Are'nt they supposed to be the first world ? How can the poverty policies and indices of 1st and 3rd world countries be compared? I dont think it is justifiable to compare the income parity of two worlds. A country which spends in Dollar and the one which spends in Rupee cannot be compared. (a) We cannot compare Burger with Roti/Sabzi. The people who design the poverty policies are the ones who are aware of the cost of Burger, but not of Roti/Sabzi. Staple food of different countries are different. (b) A person can get a KG of rice for Rs.10 in India under PDS. (c) A person can make a call for Re.1 throughout India. (d) A person can travel in a city bus of Delhi for 30KM in Rs.10. (e) Rail Tickets are one of the cheapest in world in India. Comparing First and Third World (as they fancy calling) is not reasonable at all.
Also, agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. 70% of the population depends on agriculture in some way or the other. Agriculture, on the other hand depends on monsoons, which are always unpredictable. So there is no steady income or something which we can call as a monthly salary to many. Therefore there is a meandering gap between the costs of living of the urban and the rural India. In that case how can we reach a simplification stating that 1/3rd of world's poors are in India?
As far as the corrective measure goes, there can be no excuse to the widespread corruption in India and the ever explodong population. These two are the major causes that are appearing as hydra-headed hinderances in India's development. But surely, the fact that we are, till date, are being able to feed 1/6th of the total population of the world is in itself a wonder that we cannot afford to ignore.

The fact that river Kosi has changed its course and wreaking havok in Bihar is a great instance of the recent daibolic changes taking place in our environmental cycle. Thanks to the deeds of mankind for a (would be transcient) survival. It is estimated that around 20 lakh people could get swept away by the water. A recent research says that the average temperature of India would increase by 4 degrees by 2050 as a result of global warming. This would melt the Himalayas and most of the country would be under water. How many such examples would mankind like to set before it realises that it is fighting a lost battle against nature? Burning one's own bridges never helps.

Mid-day meals scheme

I feel Mid-day meal, as a policy, is decent and a result of logical thinking. But again it is suffering, or I can say that it has not been able to hit the bull's eye, ie, EDUCATION. For sure, it has been a way of luring rural poor kids to come in the expectation of food (and also their parents who would send their children thinking that it would solve their problem of providing at least a single meal) and in turn return with perhaps 'some' knowledge and education. The idea has been perfectly fine (not to mention the great debate on whether the parents send their kids just for the food or because of a genuine desire to get them educated).
But whether it has been able to produce significant results- that probably is doubtful. It surely involves flaws in implementation on part of govt, as the teachers who are supposed to teach have to play the role of all rounders, in the sense that they need to be concerned with all the purchases of food, maintaining infinite accounts, which may seem to be a cakewalk when one reads it on a sheet of paper, but in reality it is impossible for an individual to perform multi-tasking at such a level. It simply is like an exculpating catalyst that is present in all our govt schemes and the way they are carried out. It leads to more emphasis on the meals than education, as at the end of the day the teacher ends up doing everything but teaching and educating.

Tree Plntation Assignment

As a part of a tree plantation assignment and also as a hobby, I planted a neem tree recently in the area surrounding my home. I also planted small flower plants like rose, etc in my garden. First of all I dug out lots of soil, then i took the small plant and kept it in the area dug. Then i simple covered it back with all the soil and finished by watering it. The act of planting has always made me feel good. I somehow feel a plant is like our baby. We plant the baby plant and see it grow in front of our eyes, as days roll by and as IT IS REGULARLY WATERED AND TAKEN CARE OF ( which is essentially important). It also gives me a sense of satisfaction that each plant, in some way or the other, would help maintain a balance in our environment. So, in all, its a worth while experience.

Independence Day celebration; as it is to me...

Last week, we all celebrated Independence Day. I am sure each Indian would have celebrated the day in their own different manner. I, for instance, spent the day in a very simple way. I went to my Grandparents who are in Gurgaon and stayed there with them and spent quality time with my family. Being able to squeeze time out for our loved ones, i feel, is one of the colours of independence in today's man-eat-man world. For me, loving and caring for each one is the true essence of independence.

Developmental reporting is something, I feel, in todays times is becoming next to obsolete. One grabs a newspaper and finds probably very few stories that deal with issues on development like women, environment, power, children, etc. If we talk about environment, today most journalists , i presume, do not have the least bit of knowledge on the working relation between water, water conservation, rain water harvesting, soil, forest and various other entities of nature that are connected together and works in an environmental cycle. Mediamen today lack the essential understanding of all the aspects that leads to development. Even the coverage (or 'no-coverage') of developmental issues like land, etc are negligible. Issues on land are covered, in majority of cases, only if the state in question is Left ruled. Otherwise, national newspapers hardly have any mention of such stories.
I would just say that in the light of day, the present condition of developmental reporting in India is extrmely sad.

Recently i was reading about a health club called Kalyani started by the women of Kunra, a small village in Raipur district of Chattisgarh. Apparantly, the club came into being after the women got highly influenced by the Doordarshan based show called Kalyani which discussed a plethora of issues related to health. The women initially contacted the producer of the show, who suggested them to start a health club. It brought about a remarkable change in the way it helped in the decline of diarrhea which was a major illness among children. It also helped to generate awareness on malaria and polio vaccination. Kalyani is also making attempts to educate people on issues like HIV and Aids.
Kalyani, the show, is broadcast in nine states and it helps creating health awareness about malaria, tuberculosis, tobacco, reproductive health, sanitation, hygiene and HIV/AIDS. The programme is produced in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Family Welfare and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
This forces me to think about how much visual media can contribute in waking people up for various causes, as it is rightly called a 'television engendered development'. Another point made by the whole programme is again something that we have been hearing for as long long as we can remember- development catalysed by women.