Macroscope - February 2012
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Transcript of Macroscope - February 2012
We are proud citizens of the world’s largest democracy. We love to roam
around the country, to speak freely, to live freely and to be protected by
the law; after all we have these rights. But, do we vote? It’s our duty. With the
elections in 5 states being the thought of the month, it will be interesting to note
the number of people who actually cast their votes and participate in the democ-
racy they boast of.
To choose representatives and to have gover-
nance in accordance with our demands and ex-
pectations, we have an opportunity to vote. We
have the right for which a part of the world is un-
dergoing struggle with immense loss of life and
property. But, do we care?
It‘s a fact that voting percentages have not im-
proved with the ageing of our democracy. Youth,
considered to be future of the nation turns out
to be the least interested voter section. It should
be known that hardly 15-20% of people in the
age of 18-19 are registered voters. Of the regis-
tered voters under age of 25, very few participate
in elections by giving a vote.
An irony is that illiterate or less literate people in
villages or towns take part in voting in big num-
bers and educated class of people resists coming out of their houses and stand-
ing in lines for voting. There is a class consciousness these days considering
voting something not meant for urban elites.
The ‘Whatever be’ and ‘I don’t care’ ideology of economically and socially well
off classes is alarming. Low voting percentages of Bombay and Bangaluru in the
general assembly elections should be taken as a matter of shame. People prefer
an outing, a movie, a get together or rest on the holiday than to go out to vote
to choose a government for five years.
For intellects that were impatiently waiting for the literacy rates to go up and
help the Indian democratic system get stronger, the trends unfortunately defies
this belief. In 1951, when the crude literacy rate stood at a meager 16.7%, the
voting percentage was at a fairly good mark with 61.2% in 1952. It came out to
be only 59.7% during general elections 2009 despite Indian literacy rate crossing
75% in 2011 census. The voting percentages reached their peak in general elec-
tions followed by emergency, when people busted out in big numbers.
In quest of reasons for this poor performance, one finds much inefficiency in
part of system in addition to people’s negli-
gence. The first-time voters find the voter regis-
tration process quite cumbersome and the
official working in these departments are still
traditional. While some voters do not find their
names in voting lists, many have repetitive en-
rolling of names. Terror threats and booth cap-
turing are also a major concern for people in
Naxlism affected states and these areas come
out to be least polled areas.
A disrespect and disbelief in political parties and
politicians is the chief reason for an individual to
believe ‘my vote can’t bring a change’. Political
parties so as the civil society have done little to
change this perception. On the other hand, po-
litical class has further weakened the electoral
system by votebank politics. With advent of technology we have also grown less
social in real lives and more on online social networks. Politics, which once used
to be most prominent topic of discussion within a group of people, now is con-
sidered a boring subject to be discussed on social networks and forums.
According to Chief election commissioner in a country like ours, compulsory vot-
ing is not feasible. There can’t be a mechanism possible for penalizing such a big
section of population. The success of recent mass protests in India indicated that
people come together at times of anger and grief. The only way to develop
democracy is to increase people's participation in the electoral process through
education and awareness. Ankit Dwivedi, Journo, 2nd Year
Why do We hesitate to vote
february 2012february 2012
2011 was a difficult year
for India. Economic crises,
socio economic tensions,
public protests against ris-
ing corruption, and un-
abated insurgency in
several states, all cast their
shadow on the nation dur-
ing the year. A ‘revolution
of rising expectations’, fos-
tered by the extraordinary
reach of the
electronic
media and the connectivity provided by new so-
cial networking platforms, kept the government
and public institutions on their toes.
India’s biggest challenge during 2012 is to
achieve and sustain a rapid rate of economic de-
velopment. Economic development comes from
having an economy that can produce the material output re-
quired to achieve desired consumption levels for the people
and one that can generate the productive jobs needed to sat-
isfy the aspirations of the workforce. To reach this level we will
have to ensure rapid growth accompanied by adequate job
creation. Rapid growth is also necessary to generate the rev-
enues we need to finance our social welfare plans for health,
education, and social justice programmes.
Economic development also has a global dimension. Even with
the best domestic effort our dependence on imported energy
and new energy-efficient technologies is expected to increase.
We need assured access to imported energy supplies and also
access to new technologies. This means we need sensible poli-
cies that can promote economic partnership with countries
that have energy resources and better technologies. We also
need a proactive foreign policy, protecting our access to such
resources and to foreign technology. Economic security is no
less important than territorial security.
Another challenge is that of removing widespread poverty and
disease. A very large section of our population still lives in ab-
solute poverty, and in a state of ill-health. This affects the over-
all development of the country adversely. There are many
steps we need to take to address these problems, but the most
important is to empower every citizen with the light of educa-
tion. Inclusive social, economic and political development re-
quires participatory efforts of all citizens, and meaningful
participation is possible only when illiteracy
and ignorance is replaced with education.
There is a silver lining behind all the problems
that India faces. Even as new wave of democ-
racy demanding the empowerment of ordi-
nary people is sweeping the world, India
stands tall as a functioning democracy. We
are a nation of over a billion people, plural,
secular, democratic – with all the great religions of the world
freely practiced here, with so many languages, so many castes
and communities – living together in an open society. This is
an achievement for which every Indian can be proud. Despite
grave provocations from extremists and terrorists, the people
of India have remained united. They have not lost faith in our
plural, secular and inclusive democracy.
The democratic structure of our society and polity provides the
foundation on which all our developmental efforts must be
based. The essence of democratic structure and functioning is
rule of law, under which all citizens are guaranteed equality
before law and equal protection of law. It is therefore essential
that as we take on the challenges before us during 2012, we
must be careful in preserving our most valuable asset-our
democracy.
a practical newsletter by the department of Journalism, maharaja agrasen College, university of delhi
InsIde
PAge 2 - Right infoRmation
about the Right
to infoRmation
PAge 3 - india Chasing the
olympiC dReam
PAge 4 - obama tRies to
outmanoeuvRe
outsouRCing
PAge 5 - Waiting foR a
healthy india
PAge 6 - 2011-the yeaR
that Was
PAge 7 - eleCtion
manifestos: do
they still
matteR
PAge 8 - an adventuRe
at nuh
India’s biggest
challenge during 2012 is
to achieve and
sustain a rapid rate of
economic development
Dr. Sunil Sondhi, Principal
The Year Ahead
delhi has something to cheer about
when it comes to road fatalities.
The lowest number of fatal accidents
and the deaths resulting in such
mishaps on the city roads took place in
2011.While 2017 accidents took place
in 2011, the number of those killed in
these mishaps was 2066. This is the
lowest fatal accident rate since 2005.
At national level, statistics of fatal acci-
dents over the last five years have
shown that while
there has been a
steady increase in
the number of lives
lost in road mishaps
across the nation.
Just a contrast to
the above cheerful
situation, Chennai
registers nearly 62%
increase in road fa-
talities. Eight dis-
tricts of the state,
representing 1/4th
of total number of
districts, account
for 45% of road accidents and fatalities.
Going by the data, the road accidents
and persons killed in the state during
2010-2011, those eight districts –Chen-
nai, Coimbatore, Kancheepuram,
Madurai, Salem, Tirpur, Vellore , and
Villupuram witnessed 29,710 accidents
in 2010 and 25,710 accidents in 2011
against the state’s total number of ac-
cidents of 64,996 and 55,592.
There have been a number of fatalities
in the past year. On March 31, 2011,
two cricket enthusiasts from Delhi
Technical University met a tragic end in
West Delhi.
In another road tragedy Ayazuddin, son
of former Indian cricket captain Mo-
hammad Azharuddin died after being
critically injured in a road accident.
There are many reasons for such disas-
trous accidents to happen, rash driving
being one of them. Overtaking through
left side, riding without helmets and
speeding are
the main
causes for
most accidents
involving two
wheelers.
Avoiding alco-
hol before driv-
ing is surely
one way out. A
far more exten-
sive use of ran-
dom breath
testing accom-
panied by a
high level of
publicity will lead to decrease in num-
ber of accidents. Strategies that in-
crease the use of seat belts or child
restraints will result in fewer injuries.
Stricter enforcement of speed limits,
roadside guard rails and crash cushions
and safer design of the roads and road-
side environment will surely help in
bringing down the fatalities. Besides all
this there has to be awareness among
the public for their own safety.Shivani Bazaz, Journo, 1st Year
It is amazing how a movement in the 1990’s to bring
about transparency in village accounts has led to ar-
guably the most powerful legislation at the hands of the
common man. The Right to Information Act 2005 has
without doubt been the highlight of the first decade of
the 21st century for
India.
The Act was imple-
mented on October
13, 2005 and has
since been instru-
mental in revealing
scores of multi-mil-
lion scams and lash-
ing the executive
machinery to abide
by the law. The RTI
works towards em-
powering the com-
mon man with
information about
the working of the
government machin-
ery. The legislation
functions as the in-
termediary between the tax
payer and the means of expen-
diture adopted by the govern-
ment.Despite its mammoth
reputation, the utility of the Right to Information has
been shrouded with misconceptions. Further, a majority
of the educated are unaware of the remedies that can be
adopted with the help of a simple application costing no
more than `10.
Keeping in mind the vast utility and the even wider igno-
rance of this right, the Student Council, Maharaja Agrasen
College organized a talk on the Right to Information Act
2005 in the first week of February. The talk was aimed at
informing the students of their rights and the limitations
of the RTI Act. The session was conducted by Legal Re-
tainer Central Information Commission, Mr Kushagra
Mishra. An alumnus of Maharaja Agrasen College, Mr
Mishra pursued his Bachelors in Commerce from the col-
lege and studied Law from Law Faculty, University of
Delhi. He also com-
pleted his MBA from
the Indira Gandhi
National Open Uni-
versity.
He divided his talk
into three segments.
In the first portion
he elaborated on
the administrative
framework and the
information dispen-
sation mechanism,
right from the Public
Information Officer
up to the Central In-
formation Commis-
sion.
His second segment
revolved around the
details of the act, he men-
tioned the provisions under
which one can claim the right
over information. Mr Mishra
left no stone unturned and explained the exceptions as
well as the loop holes in the law. He shared his experi-
ences with the students and cited many examples he han-
dled. The third and conclusive faction of his talk was
exclusively for questions. The hall came to life and the
synergy that Mr Mishra shared with the audience was
commendable and all questions ranging from the RTI Act
to other general legal queries were answered with utmost
precision. The talk concluded with applauses and appre-
ciation from all quarters. Twesh Mishra, Journo, 2nd Year
2 february 2012february 2012
Right information about the Right to information
The cacophonous sounds created by the dirty utensils, the hands forever
drenched in water, the occasional festive reward of hand-me-down clothes,
the eager wait for the month end, the never ending money shortages-Kamla’s
life revolves around sweeping the floors and cleaning the dishes in the 7-8 odd
households she works in. From a small town of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, Kamla
came to Delhi in 1998 with her father. On being asked about why she left her
hometown, she retorts- “Gaon me kuch kaam nahi tha karne ke liye, isiliye bapu
yaha le aaye.”
Across India, poor migrants keep streaming into cities like Delhi, Mumbai and
some other big cities many of which are woefully mismanaged and ill-equipped
to handle the influx. Today, India has at least 41 cities with more than one million
people, up from 23 two decades ago.
Half a dozen others will soon join the megacity list. Urban experts say the risk is
now rising that some of these cities could face the same fate as Mumbai and
Kolkata, which became synonymous with poverty and decay in the 1970s and
1980s. Due to the rising migrant population in the cities, the natives of the place
have also started facing stiff competition in terms of fighting harder for a seat
in an educational institution or looking for a job. Most poor migrants coming
into the cities have led to over-crowding, congestion on streets, increased crime
rates, sprouting of a lot of slum areas in the big metropolitans.
The natives of the cities feel frustrated at the advent of the large migrant pop-
ulation everyday into the cities. They feel that the cities are incapable of holding
the current inflow of the migrant population. The cities are not at par in terms
of infrastructure and facilities like health, sanitation, transport, water and hous-
ing needs. On the other hand the rural poor have no other option but to turn to
the cities for income generation. Hence, a strong need to develop the rural areas
of villages and towns is felt to overcome and stop the shift of the people from
villages to cities.
As a solution to this impeding problem, means of generating employment the
rural backdrops of our country can be an effective measure to minimize the pres-
sure on metropolitan cities.
This development will help the poor to find basic infrastructure and employment
opportunities within the vicinity and will stop the process of migration and help
the cities and towns along with villages to prosper together and not one of them
will have to bear the brunt of over population and migration. It is the responsi-
bility of the state to ensure that all the citizens of our nation are provided equal
opportunities to flourish irrespective of demographic constraints.Surbhi Sharma, Journo, 2nd Year
Checking migration to metropolisGenerating employment for villagers is the best way out
Plight of the Indian Roads
the talk by mr. Kushagra mishra on the
Right to information act has certainly
set the standard for all future events.
The 21st century has led to an upsurge in the urge to be informedMalnutrition - For a country like India,
malnutrition is an evil which cannot be ig-
nored. In the 100 focus districts, 42 % of
children under five are underweight and
59% are under-nourished. The Central Gov-
ernment report also showed how child mal-
nutrition starts very early in life. There are
several reasons for malnutrition, the most
prominent reasons are poverty and illiter-
acy. Lack of education is also a prominent
factor, mothers are not aware of the reper-
cussions. 55% never went to school, 84%
don’t know about malnutrition. Only 55%
women took their children to a good doc-
tor. In order to combat such a persistant
hinderance to the development of the na-
tion, education and welfare schemes are
necessary. Ayush Keshri, Journo, 1st Year
social digest
Deforestation - India’s forest cover has
declined by 367 sq.km. between 2007 and
2009. As of 2010, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of United states estimates
India’s forest cover to be about 68 million
hectares i.e. about 20% of country area.
A) Increasing population - The increase in
population ultimately increases the pres-
sure on resources. What is truly required
from us is control in population and adap-
tation of family planning programmes in
urban and rural areas.
B) Pollution - Pollution is also leading to de-
cline in forests cover. The only solution to
tackle this menace is to adopt environment
friendly alternatives.
C) Urbanization - The pressure on rural
backdrops to compete with the urban infra-
structure needs to be regulated if develop-
ment is at the cost of the forests. Sushmita Pant, Journo, 1st Year
January 10th marked the end of the career of one of India’s most prolific
striker’s in the world scene, namely Bhaichung Bhutia. A crowd spawning over
35,000 people came to be witness to a spectacle that is seldom seen in Indian
Football. An international club of repute, Bayern Munich came to play a friendly
in New Delhi with most of its first team players. As recognition of the enormous
contribution of Bhaichung Bhutia towards football, Bayern Munich gifted him
with an honorary jersey of their club with the signatures of all their star players.
Having been Asian champions twice the football scene has seen a slow disinte-
gration. The lack of funds has been a major roadblock in the Indian Football
scene. This is due to the unwillingness of major sponsors to invest in football
due to the fact that India is largely a cricket crazy nation. Another reason for the
steady decline of Indian football can be attributed to the development of tal-
ented players at the grassroots.
The unavailability of any money in football tends to push away a player in the
hope for greener pastures. Also coaching, training and tournaments are way
below international standard, becoming the reason for the reduction in quality
players coming out of the talent pool. The depreciation of Indian football also
can be attributed to the rise of Cricket. India is a superpower in terms of Crick-
eting as a business and quite soon we can expect the bouncy pitches of Perth
to be reduced into the batting pitches of the Feroz Shah Kotla due to all the
money in Cricket being in India. Football has never been given a similar kind of
chance in India also due to the mindset of the common Indian man who is used
to seeing India perform poorly at the International stage in terms of the AFC
Asian Cup and the World Cup qualifiers. But in recent times the general popu-
lation has been witness to an improving football scene in India. Retired players
like Bhaichung Bhutia and I.M Vijayan have passed on the torch to younger play-
ers like Sunil Chettri and C.S Sabeeth. More and more sponsors are willing to in-
vest in football clubs in India and there has been a slow yet steady improvement
at the school and college level of football in India. To enhance the popularity of
Indian Football, the AIFF recently awarded Ten Sports with a contract to telecast
live matches of India’s premier league (I-League).
Some major areas where change would be favorable would be to provide more
and more international exposure to the players in the grassroot as well as senior
level. World class infrastructure could also tilt the balance in favor of Indian foot-
ball. Another area that could be worked upon would be the provision of stan-
dard coaching and training personnel.
Thus we can safely say that Indian Football may not be on terms with the Euro-
pean powerhouses at present but if all goes well then within the next decade
or two India would dominate the football world just as it does in the sport of
Cricket today. Shashank Nair, Journo, 1st Year
Indian Football: The Barren
goal PostAlightning quick pitch accompanied
by a not so fast, green lustrous
outfield was the most likable sight for
a Cricket fan till lunch on first day of the
Perth test until David Warner came to
bat post lunch.
India were wrapped up for a mere 165
and the Perth pitch was promising for
quickies.
But soon the reverie of the Indian pace
contingent-hoping
to bowl out the
A u s s i e s - e n d e d
with Warner find-
ing the fence fre-
quently.Let us
enjoy the Aussie
dominance which
we have seen in
past few weeks or
so.
Aussie cricketers
respect and wor-
ship Bradman more than any God they
do, well Michael Clarke declared the in-
nings when he was batting on 329 only
4 short of Bradman's 334.
Later, Clarke tried hiding his decision in
a win's perspective and said that it was
in the interest of team, those who
know the basics of cricket could judge
well enough (match had ended in 4
days only). These two examples are just
to add weight to the issue and the cur-
rent series is filled with such splendid
performances from Australian side and
dismal shows from Indian men.
This entire series has been a question-
raiser in much sense, why can’t we win
a test match in testing conditions, why
do we fail to face swinging and seaming
deliveries and is IPL making our team
lose the ability to perform well in tests?
Sunil Gavaskar pretty easily rejected
the IPL theory saying that if IPL was the
reason for players not performing well
how Warner could nudge the problems
away from him.
The current series has once again em-
phasized on the suggestions of serious
changes in the selection process and
domestic structure of the cricket in
country. Those
who doubt that
the country’s se-
lection process
has developed
some serious
flaws are getting
voices in their
support. If a
country can win
the World Cup
and lose the
winning streak
and become a minnow in only a span
of 8 months or so, this is threatening
for the development of that game in
country. Indians need to gather things
first and rethink on strategies and plan-
ning; they know they are one of the
best in the business and on their peaks
butcher would be an apt synonym for
them.
Australia meanwhile has made it clear
that they are out of their renovation
phase and they would be the prime
contenders 2015 World Cup, knowing
that they will play in their den.
Over all cricket fraternity and audience
are foreseeing a shift in the power and
Indians by failing to put up a bad show
have given a weight to their view.Abhishek Chaudhary, Journo, 3rd Year
no matter how big a player Sachin Tendulkar is, he
would not be able to represent India at the
Olympics: Dhanraj Pillay
Above mentioned quote clearly indicate the stature
of Olympics in sports arena. An event where athletes
are tested in almost all international disciplines and
those sports which are not there in the Olympics are
working feverishly day and night to get an Olympic
slot-Kabaddi is an exception.
India’s population is expected to overhaul the Chi-
nese population by 2020, but when you compare the
Olympic performance of both the nations, India lags
behind and the margin is unputdownable. It all
started for Indians in 1900 and since 1920 there has
always been an Indian participation in the Olympics.
Hockey-the national game- might have become a na-
tional shame these days with IHF (Indian Hockey Fed-
eration) and HI (Hockey India) fighting over the
representation issue and India failing to qualify for
the 2008 Olympics, but it was responsible for India’s
name on the medal list in 1928. What started in 1928
continued till 1956 without any contention. By 1980
India have won 11 Olympic medals from 12 Olympics
mostly because of the contributions from the Men’s
Hockey team, a rare one or two came from the indi-
viduals category.
In 2008, when the hopes of an Indian name in the
medal tally were nothing more than a reverie, Abhi-
nav Bindra shot at the gold in the ‘10 metre Air-Rifle’
event.
Interestingly, China debut on the medal front in 1984
and in 2008 Beijing Olympics they topped the medal
tally with 51 golds and overall 100 medals. Indians
were content with 3 medals, one gold and two
bronze.
Boxing was like a blessing in disguise for the Indian
contingent during the 2008 Olympics. Earlier an In-
dian boxer in the ring would lead to a big grin on the
opponents face. With people like Vijendra Singh,
Akhil Kumar and many others coming from the boxing
factory of Bhiwani, Indians are in with more than a
chance this time around and at-least 5 medals can
come from the ring. What makes us say is the rules
of boxing, once you make it to the semi-final line up,
a bronze gets assured.
Sushil Kumar won a bronze in Beijing- thanks to the
repechage facility of wrestling making India see a
wrestling medal after Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav.
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won in the Helsinki
Olympics in 1952 and nearly after 56 years the glory
of wrestling returned to India at the Olympics. Sushil
Kumar along with a few others would definitely like
to use the experience of mud on the mat (tradition-
ally wrestling in India is practiced on mud).
Shooters would like to derive some inspirations from
Abhinav Bindra’s previous feat and recent perform-
ances from Gagan Narang and others have injected
enough impetus in the team to hit the bull’s eye. Dou-
ble and single trap shooting events may get an Indian
army men-Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has silver lin-
ing dreams from 2004 Athens Olympics and what
could be better than the repetition or a step ahead
from the previous experience.
Switching over to the court give us a greenish look,
yes the Olympics’ tennis event would be played on
grass courts of Royal England Club-a rare chance for
Olympics. And the world would patiently hold their
breath for sensational serves from Roger Federer and
smashing baseline strokes from Rafael Nadal but an
Indian fan would have his hopes relying on the Indian
Express of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati.
Though the duo is not certain about their future as a
doubles partners as they recently split for the current
professional season. But if they decide to do it once
more for the sake of the Tri-colour, it could well be an
icing on the cake for the Indian dreams, else Bopanna
and others might be good enough but certainly not
the best looking at the standards of the Olympics.
China and U.S will fight it for the top spot, Russians
may follow and other Asian nations like Korea Japan
and Australia-relying on his beloved Michael Phelps-
would make it to the top 10 in the chart. India peep-
ing from behind would hope to hit the double digit
mark. Inputs by : Ayushi Sareen, Journo, 2nd Year
Abhishek Chaudhary, Journo, 3rd Year
india Chasing the olympic dream
tigers in the Kangaroo’s pouch
3february 2012february 2012
india’s population is expected to
overhaul the Chinese population by
2020, but when you compare the
olympic performance of both the
nations, india lags behind
When Barack Obama assumed the Oval office, an omnipresent wave of op-
timism swept through the entire land of dreams, he arose like a Messiah
and promised hope for millions of those who were the causalities of recession.
The sluggish growth rate coupled with record levels of unemployment have left
the average Americans sulking. American lawmakers have also failed to come up
with an effective plan of action to tackle the debt crunch. Obama’s desperate
bailout packages have also failed to resurrect the falling crest of the United States.
The ‘housing’ sector has been one of the biggest victims of the falling purchasing
power of the Americans. A resurgent ‘Occupy Wall
Street’ movement against the ills of capitalism has
sent further shivers down the spines of Wall
Street Capitalists and Capitol Hill itself. However
it isn’t a total rip-off as Obama has tried to get the
economy back on track with exemplary valour.
Amid all this action, a significant development has
occurred. Some say that this is Obama’s way of
mixing legislating with populism. Obama has
maintained all along that he would show no
mercy while dealing with companies that ship jobs
out of America and his warnings have finally cat-
apulted in the form of an Anti-BPO bill.
The Anti- BPO Bill intends to put a brake on the
federal grants and tax concessions being given to
those companies who ship jobs out of America. The protectionist legislation aims
to discourage companies from outsourcing. The bill maintains that a call centre
will have to disclose its location to the customer and on customer’s request they
will also have to divert the call to a call centre based in the United States.
While this populist and protectionist legislation may appear like a ray of hope for
many in America but it has surely set the alarm bells ringing for many offshore
BPO havens, India being one of them. The Indian BPO industry is one of the
biggest in the world, valued at a staggering 11 billion dollars and employees thou-
sands of tech-professionals.
As lawmakers in America try to strangle outsourcing, it will be a great challenge
for the Indian BPO industry to climb past the hurdle and establish itself as the nu-
mero-uno tech-hub of the world so that Bangalore ceases to be called as the ‘Buf-
falo of the East’ and Buffalo assumes the title of ‘Bangalore of the West’.Saif Ahmad Khan, Journo, 1st Year
obama tries to outmanoeuvre
outsourcingThe time when whole world is
passing through economic prob-
lems, Iran-America relations have
reached at such level that their rela-
tions will haunt the world’s economy
in 2012.
America and other European countries
allege Iran of making atomic weapons
under the veil of peaceful use of
atomic energy . As a result of such al-
legations United Nations Security
Council, under the US hegemony, put
4 bound economic sanctions on Iran
.Despite this, Iran con-
tinues to run its nuclear
programme in the name
of electricity generations
and cancer therapy.
But the very recent hap-
penings have made the
situation more critical.
In the later part of De-
cember 2011, Iran hacked the com-
puter system of American Drone
RQ-170 Sentinel and abducted it in her
own territory.
Iran successfully tested a cruise missile
and claimed to have used an indige-
nous nuclear fluid pipe. Later it
warned the western powers of Block-
ing the Strait of Hormuz .It is an en-
trance to the golf in the naval area of
Iran. It is the world’s most important
choke point for oil shipments with 40%
of world’s oil supply.
The beneficiaries to it include India,
China, Greece, Spain, Italy etc. All
these countries are passing through
rough economic phase, so for them it
is like a horrible dream. It is necessary
to look at the possible political reasons
behind such non-negotiable stands of
both the countries-the general elec-
tions in Iran are just 3 months away
and USA will also get its new President
this year.
So this conflict between the Islamic
country and a capitalist country pro-
vides the fertile ground for Muhum-
mad Ahmadinijad and Barack Obama
to make it an issue to cash upon. The
Jewish is something which Obama
would not like to ignore.
And the unpopular regime
of Ahmadinijad would also
like to extract as much emo-
tional support as it can.
This conflict will also harm
the relations of Russia and
China with USA because
both of them have trade re-
lations with Iran. One more thing that
is certain 2012 is change of guard in
Syria, the key strategic partner of Iran.
And in case of American supported
regime in Syria, Iran no longer would
have easy access to allies Hezbollan
Militia in Lebanon and Hamas in Pales-
tine, and this might lead Iran towards
isolation. Economically also, it would
not prove out to be a healthy affair be-
cause much of its revenue comes from
the travelling cost of that route.
At present it is better to carve out a
middle path through negotiations oth-
erwise 2012 will turn out to be the
year of economic and military hard-
ships. Mohit Pasricha, Journo, 2nd Year
UsA, IRAn And 2012
It started for the people, functioned for the opulent and is now being controlled
by the masses. This is the journey of democracy since its conceptualization.
The Arab spring that began in December, 2010 took world by storm. The world
witnessed a revolution which would forever be recalled as an awakening of the
people against their governing systems. The demonstrations that followed lead
to a series of event that ultimately brought people’s rule in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya,
Yemen and civil uprising in Bahrain, Algeria, Kuwait, Morocco, Jordan and Oman.
These states lured for democratic setup.
The democracy as an entity has always had
a connation of a workable system for the
poor who otherwise have not been recog-
nized for ages. Democracy literally means
rule of the people. An incredible invention
of Greeks, democracy has evolved as the
most efficient means of governance in the
global front. World today embrace various
forms of democracy and thrives for a maxi-
mum participation from citizens. However
the present stage of democracy is quite different from what it was. Gone are the
days when citizens could take anything that came from their rules. Dictators are
now being countered by the people. Corrupts are being slacked. Ruthless are
being assassinated.
There is total antagonism for non-democratic setup today. The thirst for a better
world has also encouraged various powerful nation of the world to fight for the
cause of democracy along with people. Year 2011 was remarkable in the history
of world order. Wide spread protests and movements to overthrow autocracy, at
first in Tunisia and then in Egypt is the testimony to the will of the people. The
last in the series of event was the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Gravity of the issue established the fact that people will settle down for nothing
less than self-governance.
The further course of time is undefined. It is however largely predicted that the
authoritative and exploitative rulers will face tough time managing their subjects.
The torch bearers of democracy are underway and dictators are warned to mend
their ways.
Democracy is a never ending and continuously evolving process for better and
more representative world. It has proven its worth time and again. It harbingers
faith in social system. Each one of us has a say in deciding our representative and
the responsibility of our own action. It nurtures vision of a just and an equal
world. Democracy thus remains unparalleled and powerful of all existing world
governing systems. Shweta Kothari, Journo, 2nd Year
since its independence in 1947, Pak-
istan has spent several decades
under military rule (1958 - 1971, 1977
- 1988, and 1999 - 2008). The foremost
reason was the inept and corrupt civil-
ian governments and the prevailing
socio economic conditions. The his-
tory has repeated itself thrice. Of the
64 years of independence over 34
years has been under Military Regimes,
and the remaining 30 years of suppos-
edly civilian rule, the Army
of Pakistan has been call-
ing the shots.
The present ruling coali-
tion government of PPP
(Pakistan Peoples Party) is
headed by Mr. Asif Ali
Zardari the husband of the
slain former Prime Minis-
ter Ms Benazir Bhutto. He
is being assisted by a close
aide Mr. Yusuf Raza Gilani
who is the Prime Minister.
Their problems have been
compounded by the political situation
in neighboring Afghanistan, and in fact
there is a massive spill over of that sit-
uation into their soil due to geopolitical
factors. If one ponders through the list
of civilian rulers of Pakistan since inde-
pendence, just Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
his daughter Ms. Benazir Bhutto and
Mian Nawaz Sharif stand out. There
has been a massive rise in the spread
of terrorism within their country and
the present government has been
inept at handling this due to lack of po-
litical will. Both of them do not have
the personality or capability to handle
these intricate issues.
Of the other political personalities only
Mian Nawaz Sharif of PML (N) and
Tehrik E Insaaf party leader and former
legendary cricketer Mr. Imran Khan
standout. Massive turnouts at his po-
litical rallies have indicated that Mr.
Imran Khan has become quite popular
with the masses. He has a towering
personality and is well admired by the
populace for his cricketing
exploits which are legendary
and his contribution to the
cause of treatment of cancer
in Pakistan. His standout
project Shaukat Khanum
Memorial Cancer Hospital in
Lahore is well accepted by
all echelons of the society.
Coupled to this the vision
which he has expressed in
tackling the complex prob-
lems faced make a lot of log-
ical sense. He has analysed
the problems with surgical precision
and expressed a fierce determination
to provide effective solutions to these
complex issues. The only factor which
goes against him is lack of experience
in political and administrative affairs.
But given his past exploits in sporting
and philanthropic areas, coupled with
fierce determination and indomitable
will , he makes himself a frontrunner to
lead his country through this extremely
difficult phase . Who knows he may
even take Pakistan to a new destiny.Prerana Kapur, Journo, 2nd Year
Is a stable democracy possible in Pakistan?
Pakistan : A Fluid state
4 february 2012february 2012
democracy gets a makeover!
In a country where we stand high on morality, peo-
ple dying of cold on the streets is a sorry state. The
city has only 64 permanent and 54 temporary shel-
ters which can accommodate just over 14,000 peo-
ple. That means there are about 40,000 homeless
people on the streets left to fend for themselves
every night.
The Supreme Court issued a directive to the civic
authorities to prepare the night shelters for the
poor before the temperatures plummet to near
zero. But the authorities seem to be in no urgency
with an extreme slow pace of work. At the peak of
winter, around 4 people die of the winters everyday.
Keeping the conditions of the poor in the winters
in mind, a lot of NGOs and the government to-
gether are working towards making the lives on the
streets a little better. UP government approved
Rs10.84 crores for the homeless and the poor. The
money will be used to provide some relief and blan-
kets to those who cannot afford them. Also, Delhi
Urban Shelter Improvement Board [DUSIB] is build-
ing night shelters to provide refuge to the homeless
in this weather.
It’s initiatives like these which help the destitute
and needy in severe cold but one fact that cannot
be ignored is that the government needs to plan
and come up with facilities like permanent night
shelters and also set up temporary shelters to help
people survive the biting cold.
For India's homeless, many feel lives could easily be
saved if the authorities showed a little more
warmth. Mansi Negi, Journo, 1st Year
Care for the
shivering
Talking about the current scenario
of health in India, one can easily
say that India has come a long way in
tackling diseases. But the reality is that
we have been unable to control the
spread of some fatal diseases like Tu-
berculosis, Malaria etc. Acoording to
the recent datas, Tuberculosis is killing
around 1000 people everyday in India.
As per a report by a 16 member com-
mittee set up by the National Vector
Borne Disease Control Programme to
gauge India’s actual Malaria death bur-
den, the number has arrived to 40,297
as the average deaths per year.
The famous health magazine Lancet
published a report that malaria killed
about 46,800 Indians in 2010. It will be
interesting to note that India had
started a campaign to eliminate the
Anopheles mosquitoes and had suc-
ceded considerably. Lifestyle diseases
such as Diabetes, Hypertension are also
increasing. Dengue has also become a
great challenge for our country.
This troubling trend can be attributed
in part to substandard housing, inade-
quate water, sewage and waste man-
agement systems, a crumbling public
health infrastructure. When Identifying
the challenges for India’s health sector,
rural backdrops are the most adversely
affected. Further implementation of
schemes passed on paper is the need
of the hour. The health condition of the
villages in our country is improving but
the rate of evolution is not satisfactory.
There is a need to assure that the In-
dian populace is aware and catered to
in all aspects of medical assistance.
Despite all the odds a ray of hope ap-
pears when one considers the develop-
ment of medical science in India. The
availability of quality doctors and med-
ical assistance possible at some of the
cheapest rate in the world is the
strength of the health sector. India pro-
vides best-in-class treatment, in some
cases at less than one-tenth the cost in-
curred in the US. India’s private hospi-
tals excel in fields such as cardiology,
joint replacement, orthopaedic sur-
gery, gastroenterology, transplants,
urology etc.
Churning out the best of India’s poten-
tial towards medical assitance to the
rural poor should be a priority. A coun-
try of 1.2 Billion needs to identify the
flaws and continuously strive towards
the eradication of health hazards.
Inputs by : Deeksha Sarin, 1st Year
Compiled by : Prerana Kapur, Journo, 2nd Year
Waiting for a healthy india
as part of the college initiative to help the poor
and needy, the environment society of maharaja
agrasen College, maC-inseRCh organized a two
day camp to collect warm clothes and blankets
along with raising funds in association with the
delhi brotherhood society’s children division
Childline which aims at reaching out to the
marginalized children in need of protection and
care. the camp succeeded in collecting 15
packets of clothes and raising funds to help the
street urchins and daily wage laborers.
tackling pollution : the
need of the hour
In a country that is adamant to make a mark on the international scenario, an
issue that was previously never of much consideration has slowly but steadily
crept into relevance.
The standoff between the West and the East, to be precise between the devel-
oped and developing world on the critical issue of cutting down on greenhouse
gas emissions continues as witnessed at the recently concluded Durban summit.
initiative was taken by an event management firm ‘Midas’ who organized a pres-
entation on the theme of ‘Clean India’ in collaboration with the Union Ministry
of Tourism.
The technologically driven presentation held at India Gate was both soul stirring
and thought provoking. It raised some critical questions in the minds of all those
who were present to attend the august event.
The presentation aimed at bringing a change in the psychology and perception
of Indians on the issue of keeping
their country neat and clean. It fur-
ther aimed to strike a chord with the
masses by passing on the message
that a ‘clean India was the doorstep to
a shining India’.
Ironically the very Indians who spoil
the spiritual cleanliness of their own
country happen to be among the
more disciplined and well behaved lot
in foreign countries. This problem per-
sists because of a prejudice and that
is because of the conditions in which
we are brought up. When we see oth-
ers openly spitting and dumping things
on the road, we perceive it as a sort of
a right guaranteed to us. It was this outlook which the presentation aimed to dis-
mantle. The organizers explained that an aware younger generation is the key en-
tity to future clean India. If a person litters, a younger sibling or relative may undo
what those actions. If such happens regularly, the elder ones would be compelled
to realize their insensitivity towards the environment.
There are other reasons too for the awfully depredated state of cleanliness on
roads and public places in India. One is the administrative laxity or incompetence.
In India, people don’t shy away from spitting because they are sure of walking
away scot-free. Hardly any fines or penalties are imposed on such people.
One can keep educating people about the ill effects of greenhouse gas emissions
and advise them to utilise the public transport system for traveling shorter dis-
tances but cannot expect them to switch over unless one provides them with
world class public transport mechanisms like the Delhi Metro. Similarly, one can-
not expect people not to spit or litter if we do not devise a system which strictly
prohibits them.
The struggle for a clean India needs to be fought with an indomitable spirit by all
sections of society. In order to preserve the rich cultural heritage of our enor-
mously old nation, it is necessary for us to keep India clean.
Shakeb Wajeeh, Journo, 1st Year
The Honorable Supreme Court of India recently
said, "Our heart bleeds when we see homeless
persons sleeping without roof in this winter. You
can't permit your own children to die in winter”. The
court made the remark while referring to media re-
ports and photographs highlighting instances of
scores of people sleeping on the pavements outside
the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sci-
ences(AIIMS).
The aggravated fall in the temperature of Delhi or
any other state for that matter for the last several
days have all the more added to the woes of people.
Icy winds, cold and chilly nights have led to numer-
ous deaths. The death toll keeps on increasing by the
falling degree. No matter how hard the day passes
by but the nights are almost unbearably cold. Shiv-
ering in the middle of the night, with nothing to
cover the body with- is truly a sad state of affairs for
the poor stranded on the roads.
According to a recent Indian government committee
constituted to estimate poverty, nearly 380 million
people of India’s population is poor, and a lot many
unaccounted for- on the roads devoid of the bare ne-
cessities to sustain their life. As wintry nights settle
and frosty waves sweep Delhi, there are over 56,000
homeless people who struggle to battle the bone-
chilling winter. While cold waves are an annual fea-
ture, so are frozen bodies of homeless people.
With north India in the throes of a cold snap, many
are struggling to keep warm from the numbing cold.
Last year, over 200 people died in northern India be-
cause of the cold winter.
5february 2012february 2012
An Environmental Awareness
Presentation at India Gate
11 blue monks this year were
more successful in propagat-
ing their religion
than rectors of
any other reli-
gion. The Indian
cricket team after
a gap of 28 years
lifted the sculp-
ture worshiped by
almost every reli-
gion of the coun-
try. Team India
lead by Mahendra
Singh Dhoni won
the ICC cricket world cup
2011 by defeating Sri Lanka
in the finals at Wankhede
Stadium, Mumbai. Despite of
tough competition put for-
ward by some of
the best teams
across the world
like Australia,
Pakistan, South
Africa, the rela-
tively younger
team India per-
formed valiantly
and won the
world cup.The
team dedicated
the victory to
Sachin Tendulkar and suc-
cessfully made a billion
dreams come true.
The year 2011 was a landmark year if
not for the Indian politicians then defi-
nitely for Anna Hazare. According to
media houses across the world the
movement ‘India Against Corruption’
was the biggest
highlight for
the country this
year. Lead by
Kisan Babu Rao
Hazare and his
team the
movement was
against the pre-
vailing current
scenario of cor-
ruption in the
country. The movement unfolded in a
series of events drawing the attention
of every region of country and every
section of society.
The basic demand of the movement
was a strong Lokpal bill to be tabled in
the parliament. The movement even
witnessed phases of persuasion, allega-
tions and retaliations between govern-
ment and the Team Anna.
The first two phases of the movement
witnessed mass support and the popu-
larity of the
participants of
the movement
overcame all
expected pa-
rameters.
Allegations and
divisions within
Team Anna
soon became
highlights of
news.
The third phase of the movement with
a shifted venue at Mumbai lost it sup-
port at a mass level.The movement
democratically had some pros and cons
but it succeeded in sparking the discus-
sion against corruption from ‘SADAK to
SANSAD’.
indian economyThe Indian economy witnessed remark-
able transformations in this year alone.
The distancing of the Indian economy
from the world, mostly euro-centric
economic turmoil is enough to high-
light the crux of India’s economic pol-
icy. The Indian economy steadily
climbed to regain the 9% growth that it
once commanded but was restricted to
a near 8.5%.
Once a novelty for the Indian market,
FDI or Foreign Direct Investment was
the talk of the nation.
If statistics released by the Reserve
Bank of India are to be believed, a jump
of no less than 77% has been recorded
in the amount of money invested in the
Indian markets via FDI’s.
Rise of democracy in the middle eastThe self immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia soon engulfed a
cartel of dictator regimes in the
heart of the world. The Arab Spring
as it is popularly referred to rein-
stated fear among dictators across
the world. The fight for democracy
has run over 18 nationalities and
has caused over 32,000 casualties.
Noteble developments as a result
of the revolution were the resigna-
tion and eventual trial of Hosni
Mubarak in Egypt and the culmina-
tion of Mummar Gaddafi’s rule over Libya. Though the world is yet to witness the
fruits of this bloody revolution, it is for sure that democracy and equality are in-
dispensible entities for governments in the years to come.
Approximately an year
following the rupee
joining the club of elite
currencies that don a
symbol to represent
them, the Indian rupee
witnessed an all time low in compari-
son to the world scenario.
The rupee was devalued to the point of
`54.47 per $1.
The dreams of Indian economy sur-
passing the west in the years to come
seem to be put away in the cold vault
for now.
The sharp decline in the value of rupee
by an approximate 14% has wide rang-
ing implications ranging from slowed
down stock markets to decreased ex-
port of Indian goods.
The world’s largest census took place in the
world’s largest democracy in the year 2011, the
results were that the growth rate of population
for India in the last decade was 17.64% and fur-
ther Bihar (23.90%) exhibited the highest
decadal growth rate in rural population. It is in-
teresting to note that India’s population in
1901 was about 238.4 million, which has in-
creased by more than four times in 110 years
to reach a population of 1,210 million in 2011.
2011 - The Year That WasYear RapJanuary 24 – Legendary singer of Hin-
dustani classical music, Bharat Ratna
Bhimsen Joshi dies in Pune.
April 24 – Spiritual leader & educator
Sri Sathya Sai Baba, died at Prashanti-
gram at Puttaparthi.
*
June 9 - M. F. Hussain, arguably India's
best-known artist, died in Royal Bromp-
ton Hospital in London, of a heart at-
tack at the age of 95.
*
June 11 – Senior journalist and Investi-
gations Editor with leading Mumbai
tabloid MiD DAY, J Dey was shot dead in
afternoon.
July 13 – 21 persons die as serial bomb
blasts rip through the Opera House, Za-
veri Bazaar, and Dadar West localities in
Mumbai.
*
August 14 - Veteran bollywood star and
Elvis Presley of India Shammi Kapoor
passed away.
*
September 7 - Bomb Blast in Delhi: At
least 10 people were dead and 65 were
brutally injured with the bomb blast in
the Delhi High Court premises.
*
September 18 - 116 people lose their
lives in Sikkim and other parts of North-
eastern states as an earthquake meas-
uring 6.9 on the Richter scale.
*
October 10 - Renowned ghazal singer
Jagjit Singh died at the Lilavati Hospital
in Mumbai.
*
November 23 - India’s leading Indus-
trial house Tata named Cyrus Pallonji
Mistry the successor to Tata Group
Chairman Ratan Tata.
*
December 4 – Legendary Indian actor
Padma Bhusan Dev Anand died.
December 9 - A fire broke out in the
AMRI Hospital in Kolkata in which 91
persons died.
*
December 29 - Rajya Sabha was ad-
journed sine die without voting on the
essential Lokpal Bill.Prashant Jha, Journo, 2nd Year
Twesh Mishra, Journo, 2nd Year
a 100 year young delhiNew Delhi completed 100
years as the capital of
India on December 12 this
year. Exactly a century
ago, King George V ad-
dressed a grand congrega-
tion of royalty and British
soldiers at the Delhi dur-
bar and proclaimed Delhi
as the capital of British
India. Photography and art
exhibitions reviving the
memories of British India
and the evolution of Delhi
as the capital of India
thronged venues across
the city.
Newspapers and maga-
zines published full fea-
tured issues on this theme and praises for Edwin Lutyens,
the architect of Delhi and his farsightedness were the
thought for the month of December.
fight for Corruption free nation
india Counts
Cheaper Rupee
World Cup 2011 : a billion
dreams Coming true
6 february 2012february 2012
This all began with Indira Gandhi’s famous ‘Roti, kapda, makaan’ (bread, cloth,
house). Similarly, a more recent ‘bijli, sadak, pani’ (power, roads, water), elec-
tion manifestoes have been an integral part of the elections campaign. It is a po-
litical party's agenda for action, a public declaration of
the directional changes, new policies and programmes
that the party plans to implement if voted to power. But
most importantly they are useful documents
and can help to hold parties accountable if they
get to run the government.
Parties do spend time and money to prepare
manifestoes and to publicize them. For anyone
interested in public change a election manifesto
is a great starting point to understand the full
canvas of national issues, a manifesto clarifies
the positions of a party. You can often find your-
self agreeing with some views of a party while
disagreeing with others. They are also informa-
tive of what’s missing.
A manifesto should matter to the party, the
competing parties and the voters. Indeed, it should be the basis for
assessing the worth and relevance of different parties. But
the reality is these manifestos do not receive the atten-
tion they deserve as statements of intent by the parties.
With elections in 5 states on the cards, we have the man-
ifestos of some parties making their appearance soon –
and vanishing from memory with equal speed.
Have these manifestoes became the last priority? Or is it
that we still fall prey to religion, caste, and minority, tem-
porary and temporal temptations. We voters generally lack the dissective faculties
to assess the relative merits/defects of the contending or contesting political par-
tyism.
If we closely read a manifesto, they provide a better idea of the issues and prob-
lems that face the country but today they are just ‘policy-lite’ documents. Also
The media treats the release of election manifestos as if they were a non-event,as
if these documents were ritual exercises in political rhetoric and the promises
contained in them nothing but irresponsible populism.
Manifestos will matter only when a party has an ideology and programmes that
are distinctly different from those of others. In this era of alliances and coalitions,
such distinctions are difficult to maintain and easily get blurred.
The pressure for well focused manifestos could have come from the voters. But
given the low levels of knowledge and awareness of
most people, it is unlikely that they will play this role.
The big and complex issues highlighted in a manifesto
may be beyond their comprehension and interest. That
is why manifestos are looked at only by a few intellectu-
als or some in the media.With trust in
politicians at a low ebb, putting for-
ward an election manifesto and being
held to account for its delivery is an es-
sential element in building trust be-
tween the elected and the elector.
Implementation of the election mani-
festos presented to the voters before
the elections must be made either constitutionally or
legally binding on the ruling political party/combina-
tion of ruling political parties which emerges victorious
and comes to power who must also be made accountable to the
public in general and the voters in particular. In other
words, what is now looked upon as a mere moral re-
sponsibility must be made legally enforceable. The
seemingly divine principle that if the party in power fails
to implement the promises, it is up to the people to vote
it out of office in the next elections should prevail rather
than where money, religion, ignorance and economic in-
security are all-pervasive!
The manifestos should be made legal documents and should be published in the
local dailies as well as official gazettes. An independent body should review the
progress made by the constituency and the promises made by the candidate
yearly. This would create more sense of awareness among the people. Election
manifestos deserve to be analyzed and debated by the media.
Rather than Presenting a “rosy picture” in the election manifesto tempting the
electorate with “cozy life” political parties need to be “realistic and pragmatic”,
while preparing their election manifestos and promise only what they can really
do. Nupur Sharma, Journo, 2nd Year
On January 13th 2012, India engineered a historical feat which many would
have termed as ‘impossible’ a couple of years back. The country of 1.2 bil-
lion successfully managed to astonish the whole world by not reporting a single
case of polio over the past twelve months. The World Health Organization hailed
India’s performance as ‘India’s greatest public health achievement.’
In the year 2006, India along with three other countries, namely, Nigeria,
Afghanistan and Pakistan, was included in the list of those countries who mis-
erably failed to curb the transmission of intrinsic polio virus.
The Government of India devised a host of initiatives and came up with spirited
strategies to curb this menace. Children under the age of five years were vacci-
nated at homes, railway stations, bus stands and in some cases even on foot-
paths to ensure their immunization from polio virus.
However, the crusade is far from over. India will have to continue its stellar per-
formance for two more years before it is declared as polio free. The challenges
ahead are complex and astronomical in number. India needs to be highly vigilant
and should stop importation of polio viruses from countries where polio con-
tinues to persist. The existing eradication programs need to be carried out with
the same indomitable spirit to arrive at the goal of a polio free India and to elim-
inate the possibility of resurfacing of the virus.
*Figures based on estimates of
Indian Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization
Subhagata Bhatacharya, Journo, 1st Year
Saif Khan, Journo, 1st Year
a polio free nation
India’s growth story ever since de-
regulation in 1991 has been both
awe-inspiring and meteoric. Within a
period of decade post-globalization,
India along with China was labeled as
‘superpowers’ in the making. However,
two decades have now passed and
things seem widely improved but the
year 2011 saw a slight dip in the growth
rate of India Inc. The
slow down in the Ameri-
can economy as well as
some of the members of
the European Union has
wide ranging implica-
tions on dependent
economies around the
world. A major challenge
for the Indian economy is
the need to generate a
self sustainable economy
and mobilizing the markets to sustain
in the world of crumbling economies.
The government is trying it’s level best
to encourage the government owned
and semi- government companies to
invest more and more but how far it
will help to improve the economy is a
big question. There are umpteen rea-
sons behind the slowing down of the
growth process in India. The first and
the most evident one is policy paralysis,
leading industry players were the first
ones who brought up this issue. To
overcome the problem of policy paral-
ysis, all parties need to be fully commit-
ted to getting the Indian Economy back
on track and for this purpose; a broad
consensus needs to be evolved among
all the stakeholders on key reform is-
sues. Another major headache for the
Indian Economy has been inflation or
price rise. One reason for this has been
the imbalance in demand-supply pro-
portions. Several corporations indulge
in hoarding to artificially force the
prices up in order to register higher
profits. The Government needs to
crackdown upon all those who indulge
in hoarding to keep the prices in check.
Yes, currently the In-
dian economy is un-
dergoing a rosy
phase and inflation
has come down but
a major challenge is
to regulate the enti-
ties so that it does
not overshadow
growth and other
progressive develop-
ments. Secondly, the
Government needs to build an investor
friendly environment, to pave way for
entry of new firms in the industry to in-
crease supply and bring the spiraling
prices down.
India’s industrial output in November
managed to defy all economists by
bouncing back and recording a growth
of 5.9% which is indicative of the fact
that consumer demand hasn’t ceased
to exit despite record interest rate in-
creases by the Central Bank. India is
very much on the path towards inclu-
sive growth and if we are able to resur-
rect certain faulty sectors within a
feasible period of time, the Indian
economy will very soon become an
even more powerful force to reckon
with.Subhagata Bhatacharya, Journo, 1st Year
With elections in 5 states on the
cards, we have the manifestos of
some parties making their
appearance soon and vanishing from
memory with equal speed.
7february 2012february 2012
Indian economy : Hopes and
Challenges
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Polio in India
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Ca
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election Manifestos: do They still Matter
Editor, Zee News Mr. Satish K Singh pre-
ferred an informal discussion and provided
valuable insight as well as guided the stu-
dents on the current scenario of the Indian
media industry. He insisted students to be
aware of current affairs and to have a core
subject of which they attain indepth
knowledge prior to entering the media in-
dustry.
*
Continuing on the special lecture series,
Resident Editor, The Pioneer, Mr Siddharth
Mishra talked about the changing media
scenario and media censorship. He fo-
cused his lecture on the relevance of re-
sponsible journalism and the need for the
regulation of the media industry to pre-
vent it from self annihilation. The students
appreciated the way he presented the re-
alities of the contemporary media.
*
As another addition to the special lecture
series, Mr. Ashwini Kumar, Entertainment
Head, Zee News suggested the advent of
responsible entertainment journalism in
the coming years. He emphasized on the
relevance of morals and ethics while con-
sidering issues that are to be broadcasted
on the television screen.
*
The College celebrated its annual fest, Yu-
vaan a 2 day event which began on 11th
March. This event was a grand success
with students from various colleges partic-
ipating throughout the two days. Debate,
photography, dance, poetry and the fash-
ion show were some of the major compe-
titions. The fest culminated with an
exhilarating performance by Radix the
band.
*
MAC-INSERCH the environment society of
the College was initiated with a tree plan-
tation drive in the college campus. The so-
ciety has been active all year round and
was also successful in organizing a clothes
donation camp in college to assist needy
in the tormenting winter season.
*
Three companies interviewed more than
150 final year students from various
courses through the MAC Placement Cell.
More than 50 students got offer letters
with salary packages ranging from 2.5 to
4.2 lakhs. Dr. Arun Julka, coordinator
Placement Cell would be conducting an-
other such session in February.Barkha Sethi, Journo, 1st year
MAC - InFO
Hardly 100 kilometers from arguably the most progressive
city of a potential world super power, a clearly reciprocal
reality subsists. Barauji, a small village on of Haryana bor-
dering NCR exemplifies the harshest reality of our coun-
try. A stroll around the village is sufficient to identify acute
scarcity of any amenities for
the populace. The district is
clearly dependent on Nuh
the district headquarters of
the Mewat district for all
government and medical re-
quirements. The distance
that one has to travel for ei-
ther medical assistance or
for secondary education has
further stunned the growth
of the area in concern. The
locals were perplexed by the
sudden interest in their lives
by the youngsters that hailed from developed cities. The
young boys were quick to express joy or dissatisfaction,
the girls were further elusive of all interactions. The only
conversation that they indulged in can be surmised with
carefully crafted words and awkward reluctance. The one
Hindi-medium Government School of
Barauji for two villages – Gehbar and
Barauji provides free education till jun-
ior secondary i.e., class eighth. Due to
the absence of the higher school in the
locality the parents send the boys to
Nuh for further education, but same is
not the case of the girls. They are com-
pletely devoid of education after class
eighth. The inability to travel distances
and the oppressive attitude of the men
can be held responsible for the de-
plorable condition of women in the
area.
An adventure cum educational camp was
organized by Maharaja Agrasen College to
the Aravalli Hills, Haryana. The trip aimed
at grooming the students and introducing
them to the rigorous lifestyle adopted
when camping outdoors. The trip was ini-
tiated and was conducted under the su-
pervision of Principal Dr. Sunil Sondhi. The
highlight of the camp besides the adven-
ture activities was introducing students to
the rural backdrops of one of the most
under developed districts in the country.
The camp initiated at Nuh with a group of
59 students and some teachers setting up
their tents under the constant guidance of
Dr. Sondhi. The students were then di-
vided into groups of 10 and at a time 3
groups went together for rock climbing
while the others indulged in trekking. Pro-
fessional rock climbing instructors pro-
vided certified mountaineering
equipments to the students and educated
them on their
usage and safety
measures. A steep
rocky path was cho-
sen to put the ad-
venturers to test.
The groups that
were trekking were
lead by a septuage-
narian local guide
who seemed to
have photographed
every nook and cor-
ner of the moun-
tainous region with
his memory. The
trip to Nuh was a memorable ex-
cursion with all the elements of
the perfect adventure.
A 100 Kilometers from Modernization
An AdVenTURe AT nUH
8 february 2012february 2012
Principal, Dr. Sondhi instructing the students prior to the trekking and
rock climbing expedition
Teachers, Staffers and some locals at the base camp after the trekking session
Rock climbing (above) and returning to the base camp (right)
Dr. Ragi, Interacting with the local school children
Views expressed in the articles are the independent opinions of the writers
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