Importance of Voting in India Rahul Singh FOLLOW Leading parties have started their promotional programs in order to attract

voters but the people should understand the importance of voting and help in removing different negative factors from our society The five-year term of the present Indian government is coming to an end with the advent of Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly election due to be held in February, 2012. Different parties participating in the assembly elections have started the game of fooling people for gathering their votes. Last year was full of corruption incidents starting from the 2G Spectrum to Commonwealth Games which brought the real picture of the so called Politicians appointed by the people to lay down policies that brings development and improvement in their living standards. The present chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati, leader of Bahujan Samaj Party has been popular among the Dalits of Uttar Pradesh but based on the number of corrupted officers and leaders that have been surrounding this government, it is likely to fall this year.

Corruption will be an important factor for voters to rule out parties which have their leaders involved in illegal ways of gathering money from poor people. But the point is how can a voter decide which party

to select? How to believe that a particular party does not consists of members who are involved in corruption and will perform their duty sincerely? The participants from different parties competing in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections have started promoting about the policies that will be laid by them on the critical issues of education, employment, corruption and money rise. However for a common man it becomes difficult to decide whether these are just promotional offers to get their vote or some changes will really be done to eradicate issues like corruption.

Getting back to the question of how to know whether a party is good or bad? Some people in India vote for a particular party based on its past record while most of them vote on the basis of their caste. The percentage of people turning out to vote has been around 25-35 percent in the past few years. This has been the primary reason for selection of inefficient leaders. People belonging to rural areas having a poor literacy level are attracted by the false illusions and promises made by the leaders of different parties.

This time around instead on reducing the prices of legumes, rice and other food products parties have brought computer and laptops as their weapons for attracting voters. Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh recently announced that if their party is selected then every student that qualifies in the Intermediate exam will be awarded Free Laptops while those qualifying their High School will be given Free Tablet PC. In reply, Bharatiya Janta Party has decided to give free laptops to students passing class 5th and desktops to those who have

qualified their intermediate successfully. Some people find these things amusing but the fact is that a lot of them tend to change their voting decision based on such news. Places where there is no electricity for almost 20 hours a day how will a laptop or even a broadband connection work there remains still unanswered.

This is where India lacks. People get dragged by the imaginary policies laid down by the politicians thinking them as their only medium of removing problems. They need to have a proper understanding about the importance of their vote and guidelines for selecting right candidates. The percentage of people participating in the voting program should increase up to 70-80 percent. This will eventually lead to higher possibility of right candidate selection. Voting based on caste should be totally eliminated and every candidate must be judged based on the qualifications possessed. As a citizen of India, it is your right and duty to select the most potential candidate as your leader who can live up to your expectations.

Rising Price in India MILAN CHATERJEE ARTICLES

Today, India is facing many problems the problem of corruption, the problem of unemployment, the problem of illiteracy, the problem of population, so on and so forth. The problem of rising prices is one of the most important problems that Indian is facing now. This problem is two-fold to check the rising prices and, if possible, to bring the prices down.

The economists are of opinion that growing economy of the country has given rise to the rising prices. Such economy causes inflation. In inflation purchasing power runs ahead of purchasable goods. In other words, in a growing country, the supply of money increase at once but the supply of goods takes time to increase. Again the population has increased. This has further increased inflation. Because of growing population the current corruption is increasing.

There is another cause of rising prices. The production of consumption goods has been very slowly rising. Our plants are also responsible for the present food situation. High targets were set to be achieved in defense and development. Levels of outlay on the development were suggested. No consideration was given to the existing state of economy. The pressure on real resources has been increasing. The gap between the return and investment also has its effect upon the present price situation.

Thirdly, the kind of system of Government such as is ours is liable to inflation. Restraint cannot be exercised in spending. Often it happens that claims have to be met mainly allocating funds.

In the period of rising prices, the rich got richer and poor, poorer. The rich own the means of production. They pay the laborers handsomely. But they take of the left hand what they gave with right hand. The cost of goods swells up. The prices naturally go up. What his master gives him, the market takes.

Rising prices encourage hoarding, profiteering, black marketing and corruption. They discourage export. They cause devaluation of currency. Lastly, they seriously disrupt equitable distribution of wealth.

The problem is very dangerous. It needs measures short and long term, to be adopted. These measures include as appeal mixed up with threat to the sellers, raids on go downs and other hoards of grain, the seizing of black, the cut of Rs 400 crores in central expenditure, the increase in bank rates to 5 %, the opining of fair price shops, the rationing of provisions, the imports of food-grains from some foreign counties, the curbing of unproductive expenditure by the Government, the readjustment in the scale of pay and the emphasis on small plants. The short term measure will help the government to hold the priceline. The long term measures will help the government to withdraw the huge amount of money pumped into circulation during the last year.

Corruption has also given rise to rising prices. Our former Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi had taken it upon himself to root this evil out in his regime. SOLUTION TO PRICE RISE IN INDIA(2)

We have to understand that there is a basic difference between selling a television set or a car and selling essential food items crops, vegetables, eggs, fish, cooking oil, potatoes, onions, etc. The theory of open-market cannot be applied here. The main theory here is: essential food items should reach every people of our country at reasonable prices.

If you open up your grains and vegetable markets to the whole world via exporters adopting free-market policy, then what will happen? All the vegetables will first go outside of India to our neighbouring countries. Then, after a period, when the exporters will see that there will be much more profit if they can send those potatoes in large Cargoships built-in with cold-storages to America and Europe or to some other countries where there is a clear demand for huge quantities of

potatoes, the price of potato will naturally increase in our home market. Not only the price will increase, but there will be a scarcity to meet the local demand for potatoes.

A good example is the large-sized prawn (Galda Chingri). Now-a-days large prawns are not much seen in our local markets, because they have been exported for the past so many years to western countries.

With the invention and wide use of internet-searching and social networking sites, it is just a matter of a click on a computer mouse to know that on which part of our world there is a huge demand for those essential food items, and then, export them. Money transfer via internet is also easy through accounts. Bidding price, fixing the rate, buying, selling items all things are now possible through internet.

There is also a connection between life-style change among the farmers and vegetable selling people in India and the soaring price-rate.

Especially after electricity reached in many villages, and villagers got the taste of cable television networks in their homes or in local clubs, and especially after mobile phones reached their hands, people now know about the world and the society much better than they used to know earlier.

They now see---how the modern civilized town-people wear fancy dresses, what are the fashion trends, what movies have been released in the theatres, the shopping malls, the beauty-tips, home decorating, furnitures, latest models of motorbikes and cars, and Nokia, Samsung, and Apple cell phones, LCD wide-screen television sets, refrigerators, music system, DVD player, cosmetics, costly Ayurvedic beauty creams and treatments supplied and done by few selected outlets of reputed beauty parlours. They have understood the utility of mobile phones.

I still remember the AIRTEL advertisement, where a Bettle-leaf (paan) and cigarette-bidi selling small shop owner brings out his mobile phone from his pocket and talks with it, showing his supremacy over a wellsuited man who was talking over a cell phone in a way, as if only he has the right to use a cell phone. I liked that advertisement very much. But the creator of that advertisement was very much far-sighted people.

And in fact, this phenomenon has spread all over India, coming out of that television screen. Today, even a rickshaw-puller uses a mobile phone. And they recharge those mobile phones monthly or regularly with the money collected from whom? Just think over it. It is from your pocket. It is from my pocket. It is from our pockets.

Day after day they see glossy advertisements of motor-bikes, dresses and all other fancy or convenient items of life on their colour television screens in their little cottages, rented rooms, shanties, or even in their own pukka houses. And seeing those, they also grow desires in their minds that they would also one day buy those items.

So, for that hidden desires, they want to increase their service-charge. A mason worked in our house for Rupees 30 only in 1994. Now in this year-2011, a mason charges Rupees 350 for his work. So, in these 17 years, daily service-charge of a mason has increased more than 11 times. And here also in these unorganized labour sector, the government acts merely as a mute and dumb spectator without authority, without any control over the market, without fixing prices, or without policing the market. Everyone is increasing his service-rate whimsically at his own desire and as he wishes, no one is there to

object against it. They have learnt one thing very clear, and that is: how much price-rate they increase, needy people will always have to come to them for availing their services. Because, if you are a needy person, you cannot be a mason or a labourer yourself---repairing your own building. They know it.

Be it a cook in your house, a servant, a gardener, a labourer, a sweeper, a mason, a plumber, an electrician---or anybody else from the unorganised labour sector, they are now-a-days fixing their charges or salaries and bonuses and terms and conditions on their own. You are BOUND to pay according to their own will and whims, and they will NOT work for you according to your own will---this has become the usual rule of the present day now. In the past, the masons and the labourers came to work at 8 a.m. and stayed upto 4 p.m. Now-a-days they have dictated their terms that they would be available after 9 a.m. and start working after 10 a.m. after their "initial preparations" like smoking bidis, talking, taking rest, drinking tea or tiffins, then they will start. In between their works they will take rest and smoke bidis as often they will wish, you cannot say them anything. It is your good fortune that they have come to work to your home, you only be grateful for that, nothing else, and thereafter pay them 350 rupees. Not only that, if you fix a date with them, only God can say if they will come to work on that day or not. Promoting businesses are florishing all over the city, and this is the reason, that they work for the contractors now, not for you. These days are really tough for the

middle class people to afford maids or cooks at their homes. The office goers are the sufferers for this problem. More sufferers are the agedretired middle class people, who have no young one in their families to work for them, who only depend on their little money left on their savings and pension.

There are another group of people, who are no less dangerous than those greedy sellers and dishonest middlemen of essential commodities who are responsible for price rise. These groups of people are not only responsible for price rise, but they deserve strict social or legal punishment from our society and the government--whichever is more applicable. At least, they should be boycotted socially. Who are they? And why they should be socially boycotted? I am just explaining that right now.

A few days ago I was in the local market, when Hilsa fishes were not imported till then from Bangladesh. Only local Hilsa fishes were then available in the markets. I asked a fish-seller about the rate of a local Hilsa fish. He told me that it was Rupees 500/- a kilogram. I was hesitating to buy a fish with such a high rate. After just a few seconds, a long hand from my back side entered over my shoulder and got hold of

a solid good looking hilsa fish, and without even asking the price rate, told the fish-seller to weigh it and prepare it by cleaning and cutting into pieces. And after that, without even asking a single question, that man paid the hefty amount of price and went away with the fish. I just became a spectator! And not only this man. After some intervals, these types of people appeared in the market and bought items without raising a single question or bidding.

And we are obviously the sufferer for their crimes. Only for those selfish people, only for those selfish buyers, those dishonest traders get inspiration to raise the price rate more and more. It is like blackmarketting of movie tickets. One who black-markets them they are guilty, and one who buys the ticket from those black-marketers they are also equally guilty. Both deserve punishment.

But the peculiar system of our country is: one who sells them, that means, one who is a black-marketeer, he is arrested by the Police, but those who buy tickets from black-marketeers, they are not arrested!

And there are not even any sign boards against those buyers cautioning them that they would be arrested by the police if found buying tickets from black-markets!

Now-a-days, after the invention of DVDs, CD Players, computers and Cable Television Channels, those scenes of black-marketing of movietickets in front of movie theatres has become a thing of the history pages. It now exists only in IPL matches and India-Pakistan cricket matches. But still I have cited the example only as an example.

Now let us again come back to that incident of Hilsa fish. After two days, my mother went to Gariahat market in Kolkata, and a fish-seller told her the price rate of local Hilsa fish Rupees 1000 a kilogram! Everybody knows that Gariahat market is a market where many wealthy people go for marketing. And there are no dearths of such selfish group of buyers in the Gariahat market for whom those greedy dishonest sellers have become very much confident that even after tagging a Hilsa fish with a high price of Rupees 1000/- a kilogram rate, those Baro lok (rich men) buyers will always be on their side---buying

those high-priced items, without even raising a question and without even a single bidding. I think those buyers deserve legal punishment or at least social boycott. Let us name them: Taka-Chhoraano-Babu or "Rupiya Lootaanewala Babu" (Rupee Distributing Aristocrats).

If this trend continues, a time is not far away, when the handy manual weighing instrument (Daari-Pallaa) will become obsolete and an item of history, and will find a place in the glass show-cases of the Indian Museum. Where, the guides will direct their fingers towards those daari-paallaas and tell those visitors that, "Once upon a time, the people of India bought articles from the markets---weighing those in this manual instrument".

Thereafter, whenever you go to a vegetable-seller, he will give you vegetables in a quantity, as he wishes. He will pick up a handful of beans just gripping with his bare palm, and will say: Give me Rupees 100. No weighing, no bidding, no questioning. Buy, if you agree, or get lost to the hell. This will be the attitude.

See, what logic remains there in weighing a vegetable or a fish, when the seller announces a very high price-rate for those items whimsically, as he wishes? What logic remains there in weighting a Hilsa fish when he demands Rupees 1000 a kilogram for it, whereas it should have been fixed at not more than Rupees 200 a kilogram? Are we children that they are playing this P.C. Sorcar magic tricks with us? The great magician shows his magic wand, blows it in the air, and the coin is vanished ! It is like this magic trick that they are vanishing our moneys from our pocket with their magic wands. But their magic wand is not a stick, they are "Daari-Pallaas". They are satisfying us showing that they are very honestly weighing a Hilsa fish in their Daari-Palla. But on the other hand they are vanishing our coins by saying that you have to pay Rupees 1000 for a Kilogram of Hilsa Fish. Really amazing magic !! Those fool buyers don't even understand the trick! They don't even understand that the Daari-Palla has already gone to the show-cases of Indian Museum, but not ceremonially. It has taken rest there in the show-cases of Indian Musium, unwritten. It has indeed gone to the pages of history when the seller demanded Rupees one thousand for a kilogram of Hilsa Fish.

For the last few years I have been watching the cauliflower price rate fixed at Rupees 40 to 50 a piece. Be it winter, be it summer or be it rainy season that price rate remains static for unknown reasons! We

all know that cauliflower is a vegetable of the winter season. When winter comes, its price drops automatically. But for the last few years, I have been watching that some people are playing tricks behind the scenery in the markets so that the price of cauliflower never falls.

I still remember, once in the past, the price of cauliflower dropped to Rupees 2 only for a big-sized piece. Even a time came when the farmers fed their cows those cauliflowers which were unsold due to over-production.

Even just today, a seller wanted Rupees 50 from me for a cauliflower in the local market. Here also, there is no control of authority, no fixing of government rate, no weighing machine. It seems that there is no existence of government in our country. No presence of any marketinspector. Is there any existence of Government post named Market Inspector? Whose duty would be to check the market and find out if anyone selling food items at a higher rate than the price fixed by the government, and serve him notice, or even arrest him for that and produce him before the court? I doubt it. There are no such posts created.

I know there is a post named Food Inspector, whose duty is to tour the markets and collect food samples from the sellers and send those samples to the food testing laboratories to see if anyone selling adulterated food items or weighing in faulty weighing machines. But in my whole life, I have never come across with any such Food Inspectors while I was in market. But that is a different issue. That is an issue of food-adulteration. We are talking about the price-rise and MarketInspector.

Really, it seems that there is no existence of Government anywhere. At midnight hours, private security guards patrol our local area, and we bear their monthly salary collectively. No Government Police is there.

We buy good quality drinking water in cans from drinking-water selling vendors, because the water quality in our tap is not up to the standard to drink. We have filters in our house, but we dont depend on merely

water-filters. Here also, no sign of presence of Government to supply pure drinking water.

We go for treatment to private nursing homes and hospitals, not government hospitals, because we know that government hospitals are just death-beds. Here also there is no sign of Government.

We send our children to standard private schools instead of government schools.

The CESC, is controlled by Sanjiv Goenka Group of Company, and we pay hefty amount of monthly electricity bill for what reason, only they can explain. This electric supply company once was controlled by the government to some extent. So, the govenment here also cleaned their hands from doing their own duty, and evaded their responsibility to supply electricity at reasonable rates.

The initial process of issuing Income Tax PAN Cards are now left on the hand of Unit Trust of India, instead of the Income Tax Department.

The salaries of the Government staff are now distributed by the banks, instead of the Government Department itself.

And there are many other examples of various fields where you will find that there are no signs of any presence of government. It seems that one day, in this way, presence of the Government control will be vanished from the last vital organisation, that is the military. Shall we witness a day when private armies will dominate over the Indian Army in our country? God save us from that dark day.

I am just citing these examples to show that the attitude of our government for a long time was that they were in a mood to evade their responsibilities towards the society and our countrymen, and it seems that they are only interested in getting their monthly salaries. And nothing else. Government staff should know, that they get their salaries from the tax collected from the common people, and the common people have many expectations from them. They expect work and actions from the government and its staff.

But the sad part is the Government and its staff were just feeling happy over handing over the burden of responsibilities on the shoulders of private organisations and private business companies, multi-nationals, and then they were sleeping peacefully in their own beds. Their attitude was like this---"Hey people, secure your area with your own security guards with your own money, buy electricity from the Goenkas, treat your patients in costly private hospitals and get test reports from costly laboratories with your own money, buy better quality water from water-selling vendors, admit your children in high-fi English medium private schools with your own money, travel in private buses and private cars that are moving without even a Government permit, and charging big fares without even giving any tickets, then buy Hilsa at Rupees 1000 a kilogram---who cares? We have left our responsibilities on the shoulders of private business companies, go to them, we have opened our economy and freed our markets, so don't complain to us, go to them, give your taxes in time, give us our salaries

and dearness allowances, and we will sleep peacefully in our homes." This is the responsibility-evading attitude which is responsible for all these chaos going on in the markets. Now, let us see if the present government takes some positive steps on this or not. We hope, the government and its staff acts more actively than ever before, this time. We the common people are always with them and we will definitely extend our support towards them, if they really show their sincerity towards their responsibilities.

We know, there was a ruler named Sher Shah in the history of India who first fixed the government rates of commodities sold in the markets. With the advent of time, many items are now manufactured and sold, and it is very difficult to set up price rates for all those items. But essential food items cannot be compared with all those items. A bringal is a bringal. Rice is rice. And that should be sold in open markets with government fixed price rates. Government should form a committee who will monitor the business trend, ups and downs of the markets and other criteria, and then fix a price rate for all those essential items, and announce those on government website or in television channels and daily newspapers. Or, at least put up the pricerate list in printed form in the notice board of various prominent markets, regularly, so that the people know that what are the current government-fixed price-rates of those items.

And let us now think about what we would do with those TakaChoraano-Babus. A local society may be formed with local people, who will follow those babus in the markets, and if they find out that those babus are buying items at a higher price than the price fixed by the government ----extending their long arms over someones shoulder, then that society members would gather surrounding him, and then convince him that he is doing harm to the society, especially harming the middle class and the poor class by throwing money to buy food items at an unreasonably higher prices fixed by the dishonest traders. This warning will be for the first day. On the next day, if that Babu still repeats the same act, then the society members would raise slogan against him surrounding that babu, the slogans may be like this: Down with the Taka-Chhoraano-Babus", "Down with the enemey of the middle class and poor people", "Down with the babus responsible for price rise", "Go away the buyers, who are harmful for our society, from the market", "Boycott the Taka-Choraano-Babus socially etc.

But this is only the social side. Alone society members cannot continue doing this for long. They too have work in their homes, offices and businesses. And this may even bring clash with the local traders also. If this slogan business continues for long, the local traders may also boycott those society members and even deny selling them articles. But

do not forget, this introduction will serve as an awareness programme among the buyers. But after that little introduction and slogans, the Government should enter the arena stepping here. Plain-dressed Market Inspectors should pick up those Taka-Chhoraano-Babu buyers in police vans in front of all the people, and announce from the loudspeaker fitted on the van that: Anyone buying food items at a higher rated black-market price than those fixed by the Government will be outright arrested and produced in court. And that it is illegal, and a social evil, which encourages dishonest traders and middlemen. If this type of exemplary arrest, fine, or punishment continues, these whimsical things will stop within weeks. And it will also get the common peoples support, no doubt, because every common man is suffering for this.

Remember, no government can work like a dictator without the support of common people and support from various nongovernmental organizations. In this case, our intellectual people and leaders can sit in meetings and talk with the various traders associations, local market leaders, middlemen, brokers, influential sellers, political leaders, farmers etc. and chalk out a plan telling that what the government intends to do, and what they think about those governmental plans, if they have any objection, they can argue that with the governmental authority, and the governmental staff can also try to make out their own points. Thus they will arrive at a decision,

which would be acceptable to all the sides, if not, then to the majority sides.

If we dont do something today, then buying fish at Rupees 1000 a Kilogram will no longer sound like a strange thing in the near future, as it sounds today, and it will indeed be a normal thing in future. Before it happens, let us do something. At least, let us try.

SOLUTION TO PRICE-RISE IN INDIA-3

Now, let us straight come to the hardest point of fixing of prices on the basis of quality, merit, skill and other criterions. I have mentioned above that how the unorganized working class of people are fixing the

terms and conditions of any work to be done on their own whims. But there is one point there, which we should not forget. Even a labourer is a human being, and he too has the same aspirations as you have got, to avail the items, facilities, and benefits of the modern civilization.

Once Gandhiji wrote in his book that he wished a Ram-Rajya (Rule of good governance) where even a barber will get the same salary as any other professional gets. But that, in my view, is not a very practical idea. If you make everything equal believing in that kind of old communist ideas, then there will be no difference between the salary of a barber and a nuclear scientist who work in a complex nuclear plant. If everything becomes equal, then, no good student will think that he will study complex nuclear technology reading big voluminous books and theories of nuclear technology. He will sit beside the road with a razor doing the barber job, or sell vegetables on the footpath. So, a difference in salary will always be there.

But there are other posts and works, where we cannot eliminate the difference totally, but we can minimize those differences in salaries. The question is: between brain-work and physical-work, which one is more important which deserves better salaries? Answering this question is really hard. A clerk works in office or a primary teacher teaches in primary schools, but if you compare their works with a labourer who carries ten bricks on his head at a building construction site or at a brick-field, that work is also not a easy one, it needs hard

labour. But a primary teacher in this present day gets 20 thousand rupees per month of salary, whereas a labourer gets 250 rupees per day, that means, if we suppose that the labourer gets work daily, then in a month he gets 250 x 30 = 7500 Rupees. So, the difference here is : 20000 7500 = 12500 Rupees. Can you answer me this question, why is this difference? A primary teacher teaches few subjects to the children sitting comfortably under an electric fan in a class room or writing something in the black board, and after that he conducts examination and gives marks after evaluating the answer papers. This is his quality of work. And a labourer in the brick-field carries 10 bricks on his head for the whole day under the scorching sun. And he gets twelve thousand rupees less. Why? The primary teacher is not a doctor, not an engineer who has to construct airoplanes or bridges, not even he is a nuclear technologist, still he gets twelve thousand rupees extra for what? These are the fields, where the differences in salaries are to be minimized. That does not mean that you will also increase a labourers salary equating him with a primary teacher. But, you should decrease the salary of those primary teachers. Due to political reasons, year after year their salaries were increased without any viable reasons. And there were no one to object to it. Every one was happy supporting their hike in salaries. But there were no one to raise this basic question that why those primary and secondary teachers should be given such a high salary emptying the government treasuries year after year? Because doing cheap popular politics is very easy, but raising basic question and objection against it is very hard. After all, who wants to take the risk of tying a bell in the neck of the nasty cat? So, be popular, be in favour of the raise of salaries of those primary and secondary or higher secondary teachers, thats easy. Let it happen, what is happening. And

then, when the development work for the public is hampered due to lack of sufficient government funds, tell the people that the central government is not giving us enough money (or some other blames), so we are unable to spend money on development and infrastructure building, because our treasury is now empty after distributing only the salaries to those government staffs and teachers. It seems that that there is an existence of a government in our country which spend only on salaries, not on development and infrastructure building.

But the real question is: who will decide the standard of fixing salaries? It is indeed a problem. In the Government sector, there is a commission named Pay Commission, who after taking the stock of the situation, and after talking in various meetings with many departmental representatives, decides in its report that how much salary will be increased for all those governmental staffs.

But for the unorganized-sector, there is no such body to decide or fix their work-wages. A middleman/contractor/promoting agency business is now developing in major cities of India for supplying labourers, masons, maids, nurses, ayas, security guards, drivers, cooks and such other unorganized workers.There are few associations of those workers, but they are not very active, systematic, or organized in all over India. Most of the time those worker-supplying agencies take the lead, and they demand commission from those workers, if they are placed in work. Otherwise those workers search for work on their own.

Even the labourers and masons have learnt that it is not easier for them to search for work on their own. If they remain outside of any group, lead by any placement-contractor, the contractor will next time boycott him. But what do those contractors do? They stand on the market place or near the hardware shops where people search for labourers or masons. They decide who will go to this home, and who will go to that house. But is this any hard work which needs any commission? Today almost every labourer and masons use mobile phones in the cities of India, and actually they dont even need any contractor for assignment. Their mobile phone number is enough for the assignment. But they dont know the process how they can straightaway contact people for assignment of work without interference of those middlemen or contractors in between. There is none to guide them in this regard. And there is one more problem to it. Even if someone dares to work independently without giving any commission to those contractors, there are some jobs, which need more than one or two labourers. And when those independent-minded workers try to find four or ten more workers to work with him, nobody is courageous enough there in the market-place to agree to go with him stepping outside the boundaryline of his contractor-group. In this way, domination of middlemen or contractors is increasing day by day in the unorganized labour sector. And those middlemen or contractors demand commission from those workers, and day by day their demand goes upward. And who pays the money from his pocket for that? Yes, it is obviously the end-user, which means you, who need them. Those contractors spread this rumour in the market that the rate of labourer and masons are increasing day by day due to extreme price rise of essential commodities. But they will

not tell you, that they want a fat commission from those labourers and masons.

So, the situation is this that not only labourers or masons, but everybody is showing "price-rise" as the reason behind the increase in their own service-wage-rate or selling-rate. If all say this, then whom to blame?

There are salaries which people can only dream about. In some designations, there are salaries something like 70,000 Rupees per month or even more only in government service itself. Can you imagine that in a developing country like India, where there are still people under the poverty-line? While those people were starving in Kalahandi District in Orissa, and are still starving in some parts of our country, and where farmers sometimes commit suicide due to loss in cropproduction, there these selfish people on the top position in government jobs, who have the core responsibilities towards our country and poor people, in fact who are there only for the benefit of the people, they are enjoying a huge 70 or 80 thousand Rupees per month as their salaries? When they accept it, do they for once try to remember that what amount of money does a poor tribal man or woman gets after hard labour all day long, at the end of the day? No, never. Some even prefer to go to dance bars or aristocratic clubs to enjoy life.

A High Court or Supreme Court judge gets that high-amount of salary. It is the justice system that should decide whether such a high-amount salary in government jobs should be in existence or not. But when the judiciary itself is enjoying the same facility, then from whom will you expect that justice?

I am not saying that the work of judging cases are very easy one, in fact, they are specialized job. But that does not mean that there should be so much difference in salaries. A lower division government clerk can get 20000 rupees as monthly salary. If you compare them, the difference is more than fifty thousand rupees, or more.

And in private sector, the salaries are even higher. Well, that can be higher, because it is their own money that they are giving it to their own management staffs or software developers on the top positions, what can the government do on that?

But there should be a balance in salaries involving government staffs. No judge should get more than 35 thousand rupees per month, I think. But here also, there is a problem. If you give them this amount, then they will leave the job and join the bar counsel to work as an advocate, who will earn more than a meager 35 thousand per month salary. I know there are such instances where some judges have left their post to work as advocates to earn more money.

Same is applicable for the doctors also. They will join private nursing homes, private hospitals, and chambers. And there are also known examples where some reputed doctors or surgeons have left their government job to earn more money from the private hospitals. In some cases, they themselves have opened their own chambers or private nursing homes.

So, there are some sectors, where essential service is required from those specialized people by the Government, and if you do not provide them high salaries, they will not work for the government and instead leave the government job to join private hospitals and nursing homes. So, only for those specialized works, the government needs them giving them high salaries, though that is unjustified in primary judgement. But there is no other way.

But not all works are that much specialized. And those staffs would never join a private job, leaving the good security of a government job. There we should minimize the salary-differences. Differences will always be there according to merit, position, quality, and quantity of work, but that will not show up as too extreme a difference as an eyesore.

Salary of Government staff is also related with the collection of sale taxes, income taxes, VAT, and other taxes. When the collection is increased, then the government can spend some more money on their staffs salaries. Once in the past, it was observed that difference in

salary amount of the government staff and the private sector staff was not balanced. The private or corporate-sector enjoys huge salaries, whereas the government-sector people get little amount of monthly salary. After this observation, the Pay Commission tried their best to minimize the difference between the salaries of a corporate-sector employee and a government employee. And it was done through the Revision of Pay and Allowances rules (ROPA).

And after that unequalled-competition with the private-sectors, the State treasuries became almost empty after giving huge amount of salaries to its staff and teachers according to the new ROPA Rules. The simple rule was totally forgotten. The simple rule was: Spend as you Earn. Tax collection was as usual, nothing increased, so nothing earned more by the government. But they spent more on salaries. Government took the popularist way regarding collection of taxes, instead of increasing them. If their intention was to give relief to the people by not increasing the amount of taxes, then on what point of reason did they increase their staff salaries.

Some people say that the State governments and the Central government are different, and that the state governments have no printing-press machines for printing currency notes, so they cannot spend more like the center does spending on their own staff. But is this attitude correct? Be it the central government, or be it the state governments, the aim should be the same, and that is: welfare of the common people. If you are a central government staff that does not mean that you are blue-eyed-aristocrat in this country of millions of

poor people. The aim should be the same, that is restricting unnecessary spending on salaries.

But the ugly picture we saw in the past was that, as and when the central government increased the salaries of teachers, the state government jumped into the unequalled-competition with the central government by raising salaries of all those teachers in a Popularist way only for the political gain.

The funny part in the Government of West Bengal is that the number of teachers are greater than the number of its original state government staffs. It is obvious that why this thing had happened in the past. The past government gave teaching jobs in almost every districts of West Bengal in huge numbers, and they placed their communist cadres there as teachers so that their influence and propaganda prevails at every school, all nearby villages, and at block levels. Before the formation of School Service Commission, if you were not a supporter from the redbrigade, then getting a teaching job in a school was almost impossible in that era. And only for this narrow political gain, year after year, number of teachers increased in schools.

Increase of teachers in schools is not a bad thing for the education system, if the quality of teachers is good. But the real question is not there. The question is: why should a government bear huge amount of spending on salaries for those teachers?

It is true, that the government has some duty towards the education system. Even the American government spend on primary education in their own country. The government can bear a portion of their salaries, and the rest of the amount can be collected by the school authorities from the students as monthly fees, where it is possible. It is also true that there are students from poor families who are below the povertylevel. And they have no extra money to spend on education as students-fees. Exclusively for those poor students, who are really below the poverty-line, there should be a government grant. The Panchayats (Local bodies) can identify those families who are below the poverty-level, and mention it to the school authorities. And the school authorities in turn can write to the government for getting grants for those poor students, and then they will be exempted from giving student-fees. But giving everybody relaxation and exemption from spending on students-fees is not a good policy of the government. This makes the treasury emptier. Those schools should try to stand on their own foot, and not depend heavily on easy incoming government salaries. It is not a duty of the government to run thousands of schools by emptying its treasuries by spending on salaries of those teachers.

It is really a funny thing that the number of West Bengal Government staff is less than the number of teachers whom this government gives monthly salaries and allowances! It seems that this is not a Government of West Bengal. But it seems that this is a Government of Teachers!!

Now whatever has happened, that has happened. But let us try that this menace never occurs again. But I feel sorry that when the present Chief Minister again announces that a more 49,000 teachers will be given appointment soon. What is this? Again that popularist step which is damaging our state treasuries?! This should be stopped at once. No need to show people that you are a very kind Chief Minister and so giving away those jobs. You should first look at the poor condition of your own treasuries.

And why should students only depend on government jobs? Is there nothing left outside the government jobs to earn money? This attitude is harming the Bengali community. They have lost their confidence on self-employment and business only for this one-eyed attitude.

The present West Bengal Chief Minister is looking towards the Central Finance Minister, depending heavily on his assurances that he will give away more central money helping the State Government. But what will happen, if the present central government is removed from the power on the next election? And a hostile government takes hold of the power in its place and overnight changes its attitude and financial decision towards the State of West Bengal saying that they cannot encourage favouritism only in favour of one state that is West Bengal, and neglect others? These things should be kept clear on our mind. A central Finance Minister assures us and on the next day she announces 49,000 new teaching posts, what is this? Is it a circus?

Objectives of Value Education

Educational objectives refer to explicit formulations of the ways in which students are expected to be changed by the educative process. That is, the ways in which they will change in their thinking, their feelings and their actions. Objectives whether of value education or of any other curricular area depend on a variety of factors, psychological, sociological, epistemological.

Objectives of value education in the modern context

Objectives, especially in value education, have a temporal dimension. Traditionally the objectives of value education were based on religion and philosophy. There was no secular value education and very little scope for the development of moral thinking and the capacity for independent moral decision. In the modern world these are varieties of social demands made on the people. A civilised individual must possess certain minimum social skills. He has to establish decent relationship with people with whom he may come across for a short while or for a long duration. He may have to transact business in his private or public capacity. He has to function as a citizen of his state, or his country and of the world, all at the same time playing appropriate roles in each of these contexts. There are also many other demands made on him that need not be enumerated. Value education should therefore, it is

pointed out, prepare an individual to meet these demands. That these cannot be accomplished in the form of a few do's and don'ts of the traditional form is quite evident.

The Working Group on value oriented education has identified five dimensions on value education, these being physical education, emotional education, mental development, aesthetic development and the moral and spiritual domain. The values to be pursued in the moral and spiritual realm, according to them are:

Sincerity, faithfulness, obedience to what one conceives to be the highest, gratitude, honesty, benevolence, generosity, cheerfulness, selflessness, freedom from egoism, equanimity in joy and suffering, in honour and dishonour, success and failure, pursuit of the deepest and the highest of the absolute and ultimate and the progressive expression of this pursuit in thought, feeling and action.

In many countries today the emphasis is on socio-economic reconstruction with the declared intention of a more equitable distribution of the benefits brought about by modernisation. Traditional cultural values have had little time to adjust to certain attributes of modernisation. Planners of value education curriculum then are faced with the problems of identifying values and character traits hat will best equip the individual to take to his place in modern society. The objectives of value education should be such that the curriculum should recognize the tensions that are brought about by the conflicts between

tradition and change. The planned programme should aim at developing a critical value perspective in our pupils that will enable them to employ modern skills for the betterment of mankind while helping them renew their commitment to fundamental traditional values.

Value Education _ Its Content and Learning Resources

Value education cannot be circumscribed by textbook material but should be left to the initiative and inspriation of the teachers in finding the learning resources. However, there are a few ways in which value education can be imparted.

a. Social and ethical values, examples from day-to-day situations, extracts from sayings of great men, incidents and problems which develop value judgement among pupils, dramas, dialogues, simple poems(Kavya Vachana) and scriptures from world religions could form the major part of the content along with the biographies of great men.

b. Personal, neighbourly and community values should be taught in the classroom and thoroguhly discussed with the students.

c. A variety of learning resources can be used for value education ranging from biographies, scriptures, proverbs, hymns and sayings of

great men to current social and political events, stories from religion and mythology, moral dilemmas and schools events.

d. Yoga and other activities that develop self-discipline among students could be included.

e. Group activities like cleaning the school camps, visiting slums, service campus, visits to hospitals, visits to places of worship of different faiths should form part of content in value education. Discourses on the lives of spiritual leaders can bring out values like self-sacrifice, collective happiness, love for truth and ultimate values of life for which the great leaders lived.

f. `Personality Development Retreats' could be held to enable the students to develop self-control, punctuality, sharing and caring respect for other faiths, cooperation and the value of silence(inner peace).

g. Prayer, meditation and `Shramadan' could form part of the content of value education. They can help the students cultivate inner poise and an attitudinal shift, and develop the quality of `dignity of labour'.

h. Observing `Jayanthis' ie., birthdays of great national and spiritual leaders and organizing youth organizations for character development

like Balaka Sangha and Taruna Sangha can go a long way in the inculcation of values in students.

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Is social networking a boon to society? Related Topics: Facebook, Twitter Add a New Topic Add to My Favorites Debate This Topic

Report This Topic 79% Say Yes 21% Say No Boon to the society Everything has a good as well as a bad side but we consider the majority. I think its more useful than useless .It just depends upon the way you utilize.It helps us to interact with different people and put forward our views. It can be used in much better manner. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Yes it is a boon to society Social networking helps us in presenting our ideas, our feelings about various issues on a public platform. We can share our pictures and videos with our loving-ones. It helps us connecting with distant people. We can get new ideas and and knowledge about social, political issues. After lot of work, social networking works as a stress buster. We can get updates about our favourite shows, public figure etc. It is really helpful in connecting the world. :) Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Good Used Boon It helps Us to get Information about current topics new researches new innovations helps interaction know about the world the new celebrity gossips acts as stress busters facilitates sharing

of pictures videos to meet new people to change our mood share our feelings and tell your whole life precious moments. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Yes a boon Helps in interaction . Improves our communication skills .Helps us find our life partners .Social networking sites relates us with many people all around the world .If we use it efficiently it is the best thing about internet. Teenagers spend most of their time on internet . But if we use it properly it is a very good use to us. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Social networking is a boon information. Social sites are a great source of

Social networking sites are a unique world in themselves.

Social networking has led to the emergence of social media that has acted as a trigger in public awareness . Sharing information about oneself has become so easier with the help of the social sites. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply10 Yes it is boon to our society. Many people will say that many people are making fake ids and using but this can be also counted as a boon because people are enhanced and they are capable of solving such

types of problems in future.There fore we can conclude that social networking sites are boon to our society. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Yes it is a boon Yes definitely social media is a boon to the society because it has brought people and sensitivities closer than ever... In the aftermath of any event now, social media is the platform wherein mobilization has become far more easy. Social media was the trigger in the very recent egypt revolution. A tool of the youth, social media has evolved from being just a way of socializing to a way of making a difference. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 A chance to know people!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can know people without using your actual identity.You can know people outside your country and also know about their culture's. It is a boon to society because it helps to socialize.It broadens our mindset and help us to mindset and to share our creative ness with people who can gie us more information about the subject Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Contact with the real world is lost. A cellphone does not bring you close to people but takes you far away from the person sitting next to you! Today people prefer to text or call a person rather than going to meet

them. This increases the distance between people and the device which was supposed to bring people close becomes the key factor that makes them un-social. In parties and get-togethers people are so lost in their phones that they don't mix up with the people present. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply01 It is definitely a boon. Every thing has a good side and a bad side. It completely depends on us how to use it. If used efficiently, it can result in a positive way but if we use it carelessly it can consequently result in bad way so moreover it is a good thing but our minds have tried to make it a bad one. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Of course! It is Nowadays social media plays an important role in teenagers life. The vast majority of teenagers in the United States are daily social media users. There are countless of social networking sites that have created broad connections among teens. For example, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, and the like are used quite frequently. According to Shea Bennett, one out of every seven minutes spent online is on Facebook. But does social media have positive impact on teens? To me the answer is yes. For the vast majority of teens, the overall impact on social media has been positive (Rideout). Social media helps teens stay connected to each other even if they are a thousand miles away, and it keeps us up to date with what's going on around the world and so on. Social media has positive impact on teens in many ways.

Social media helps strengthen relationships among teens. Many people have friends who they have not seen since school, or who have moved away, and they want to stay connected with. They don't have to worry about losing touch, because social media has it covered. Through social media teens can stay connected with friends no matter the distance or time. Just by simply sending a friend request and accepting it, then starting a chat you can be easily be back in touch again. Social networks have provided people with the opportunity to connect with others and build better relationships with friends with whom we are unable to meet personally, and letting them know about our life and take input about their lives and events happening with them (Ali). As an teenager it's also very important to understand what's going on around us rather than just knowing what's going with friends. According to the article "What Facebook and Twitter Mean for News." Nowadays teens receive digital news from social media sites rather than turning on news channel or reading newspaper. 70% of teens receive most of the news stories they read or watch via Facebook or Twitter. It's amazing how fast news spread on social networking sites. According to Amy Mitchell, "Facebook news users get more news from friends and family and see it as news they might well have gotten someplace else if Facebook did not exist. For Twitter users, though, the news links come from a more even mix of family and friends and news organizations. Most of these users also feel that without Twitter, they would have missed this kind of news". Thus, social media results in teens being more well-informed about national and global news than they would be otherwise. Social media has become part of the modern teenage lifestyle. It makes our life so much easier and much more efficient. It has become an

essential part of our communication culture that cannot be taken away easily, because we are so dependent on it. Without social media we wouldn't be able to connect with people the way we do now. Posted by: sailesh_singh10Report Post Like ReplyChallenge00 Yes because it is a goo way to increase friend circle. It has definitely been a boon to society. Over twenty years ago the only way we had to keep in touch with others was by snail mail or phone. Now the majority of households have at least one computer and/or smartphone device. This has allowed for people to stay in touch with family, find old friends that they have lost touch with over the years and even network for their business. Without social networking alot of this may not have been possible.And also it depend on us whether we use it as a boon or bane. Posted by: VC007Report Post Like ReplyChallenge00 Social networking is boon to society. Internet has got many social networking sites as a powerful tool of communication. Social networking keeps us to know the latest events happening around the world. Many top most companies directly approach candidates through social networking sites and offer jobs. We can able to interact with people of authority who might help us in our careers. As Internet provides many free online services, we can connect to our dear ones at all times which will reduce the expenditure of ISD call rates. Internet social networking helping people get married even. And also it helps us

to enhance our communication skills. If we use the technology in proper and right way then we can benefit more from it. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Boon to society The biggest gifts that mankind has got is technology and more so, it is the information technology that has brought this world closer. While growth, development and speed of progress have increased due to this, a special bonding is happening between human beings. This is through the social networking. Well, internet has got many social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut, Twitter etc and this has become the special platform for strangers to become friends or as a powerful tool of communication.

But here is the big question- is social networking really a boon or bane? especially in the case of students and today's generation. Yes, there is no doubt that this helps increase your friends circle, the opportunity to interact with different people and make new friends across the world. But many are asking if the social networking sites are indeed being used for such productive reasons. There has been an increasingly disturbing behaviour found in students and youngsters after their exposure towards such sites.

Their interaction with family members, their concentration towards studies, their interest in outdoor activities have come down drastically. Moreover, youngsters are being lured by conmen and other shady

individuals through these sites and this is leading to grave risk. A recent incident of an IIM student committing suicide after knowing about her boyfriend through a social networking site is a clear example of how extreme things can become.

The experts are suggesting that using of social networking is not wrong but the way it is being used is important. Students and youngsters must be given guidance on what should be the dos and dont's. Also, the students must be educated on the overall developmental activities instead of getting glued to the mobile phones and computers and spending precious time chatting. Students from their end must take initiative to find out how best such sites can be used. So folks, wake up and use technology as a boon and not a bane. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 boon to society? of course social networking is a boon to society. It gives us a platform to share our views, opinions and thoughts. It even helps in Communication skills enhancement. There are no boundaries or borders for a person to connect with other people living even in other continent. It does keep a person updated about he latest happenings in the world. Verily it is a boon for society, if used judiciously. Posted by: azharwaniReport Post Like ReplyChallenge00

Yes because it has brought people together more convenient way. It has definitely been a boon to society. Over twenty years ago the only way we had to keep in touch with others was by snail mail or phone. Now the majority of households have at least one computer and/or smartphone device. This has allowed for people to stay in touch with family, find old friends that they have lost touch with over the years and even network for their business. Without social networking alot of this may not have been possible. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 Yes, but not in Design I love Facebook, the idea of Facebook, anyway. I love the concept of being directly connect with all of your friends and peers, and having that instant access to what's going on in anyone's life at the touch of a button. But, this instant access, this instant gratification is causing everything we've evolved to accept as a society, in terms of socialization, to change. Now, societies evolve, and we're approaching the time when this needs to be addressed, a society where people communicate mind to mind, text to text, instead of eye-to-eye or face-to-face. Boon is a bit harsh, but it IS changing society, for better or for worse. Posted by: OngnissimReport Post Like ReplyChallenge00 absolutely It goes way beyond the original posters points. We socialize with people regardless of international borders. This helps to break down walls that our governments try to build up around us. In fact our

own U.S. government is fighting right now to control the net. The net, and social networking, spells freedom. Posted by: ax123manReport Post Like ReplyChallenge00 A Wonderful Addition to 21st Century Society Yes. Social networking is a boon to present day society. 50 years ago you would have to find a pen pal, pay for postage, and wait the 4-6 days for them to receive mail. Today, you can connect with someone across the country or the world and share experiences. The benefits of social networking outweigh the drawbacks. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 It's bad in some ways. It's really bad... You lose track of time and stuff and everything doesn't seem as important as before. You place more significance on social networking and really it doesn't help at all. It's even worse when you can't control yourself from setting a time limit and stuff and just social network whole day long :( Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00 No, it's not good. Kids and teenagers growing up, have no sense of manners in a public forum. They are also becoming more socially awkward as they hardly interact with people face-to-face. Instead they just text or message someone. This is only going to lead to flaws in the future as we become an un-sociable society.

Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply01 Adverse impact of SNS It takes you away from those right beside you. Teenagers are constantly on their phones even in the presence of elders and guests. Students are constantly checking, updating and communicating through the SNS even during lectures. Even work gets affected as employees have a tendency to check these sites regularly. Usage of these site questions your privacy and even the social movements that have been started over the net are making people less active practically on the roads. Children are going away from their parents and prefer to share their problems and emotions with their friends over SNS rather than with their parents leading to loss of Indian heritage and culture. It also has an adverse impact on the language of the teenagers, resulting in spelling errors, slang usage and poor grammar. Prolonged use can have severe health implications as it may lead to eye problems, back and neck problems and unhealthy behavior in teens like drinking, smoking, abuse, poor sleep patterns, suicide and poor academic performances. It could also lead to an increased aggression amongst the users thus making them less sympathetic towards others' feelings in the non-virtual world thus hampering their interpersonal relationships in real world. Who is to be blamed for all this? Food for thought for you..... Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply10 The security issues physical as well as those related to computers are increasing as the teenagers do not understand the effective usage of

social networking. Raza Lilani Personal lives are getting affected as they have started sharing their personal things on these sites. - On these sites people make friends and spend long hours chatting with them whom they have never seen or met. - Young generations are becoming more and more addicted to these sites. - Somewhere the real social life of people is getting affected very badly as find it more comfortable and find time to chat with a stranger than finding time to meet friends or relatives. - Recently there was a case of a social networking site where a girl attempted suicide after reading a message of her boyfriend. These types are increasing day by day. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply10 Social Networking Not All Good No, social networking is not a boon to society. Teenagers are so busy texting and chatting online anymore that they do not have time for homework and their grades reflect this. In spite of laws making it illegal, many drivers still text as they drive, they just try not to get caught at it. Social networking has replaced real-life activities and family time for many people, most of them teenagers. While these people spend countless hours texting and chatting online, they fail to realize that life is passing them by. Posted by: AnonymousReport Post Like Reply00

by Taboola We Recommend Comments (0) Replies (2) No comments yet. Leave a comment... (Maximum 900 words) Related Opinions Is India a dumping ground for electrical waste? Will iOS 7 save Apple? Is Android on track to become the most popular smartphone system? Is today's youth too dependent on the Internet? Are computers good for society? Are major manufacturers of information-technology hardware still not eco-friendly enough? Is the Internet making us poor? Is television bad for children? Debates Opinions Forums

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Social Networking Boon or Bane to the Society?

Posted by Vaibhav Kalamdani on February 5, 2009

One of the most commonly asked questions today is are you on Facebook? or did you check out the latest pics on my profile? It is amazing how social networks have completely changed peoples habits, becoming a must-visit Web destination for all. In fact, if you find a friend not using any of the popular social networking services, it seems strange. Thoughts like is he/she living in todays world and how can he/she afford to miss such a great thing when the entire world is buzzing around it start coming to your mind the moment you realize your friends absence on the site.

Such is the power of social networking today. And it only seems to grow stronger and stronger in the future. Just recently, Facebook achieved another milestone by completing five successful years over the Web. Started in 2004, Facebook had only a handful of users in its network initially, mostly comprising of Harvard students. However, with time it grew rapidly to become the leading social network throughout the world. So, what led to its success? One of the biggest reasons is wordof-mouth or rather word-of-mouse publicity.

People today cant imagine living without social networking. It has become a daily routine no matter where you are. Also, it is interesting to know how mobile phones are shaping the use of social networks

today. Those who do not get enough time to access their desktops often use a mobile device to stay connected with their friends. Whats even more interesting is that adults are using social networks more than the younger demographic today, something which has never happened before the last year or so.

But there are also people who do not support this growing trend mainly because of its negative impact on the society. The argument is that social networking is slowly taking over face-to-face communication, as people prefer expressing themselves online. Communication has become rapid, but at the cost of personal interaction.

If you observe carefully, the extent of outdoor physical activity has also declined in case of school going children. As social networking becomes a topic of discussion for youngsters, most of them want to be alive and kicking on the network and share their likes and dislikes with people. This has given software developers another reason to come up with innovative applications in tune with the contemporary lifestyle, which is indeed worth appreciating. However, problem arises when youngsters overuse these applications and compromise their social life by constantly updating their profile to let people know how cool they are. This is also one of the main reasons why personal interaction has been affected to a great extent.

The whole discussion here is not to demean social networking. It is doing what it has to do connect people with their loved ones. But

whether to overuse it and affect our social life or not is in our hands. Let technology not master you. Talk to people personally or over phone, get engaged in face-to-face communication and use social networking within limits to balance your life. Social networks are definitely a boon to the society, but too much of it can affect our social progress.

Why to Save A Girl Child - Importance? Written By Unknown at 05:46 World of a girl child is promising but yet very gloomy, it is full of hope but still in hopeless situation. Daughter is the one that knots the whole family together in one. She is the one that makes our life extra special and brings extra sunshine, laughter and happiness to our daily life. A Woman is one that shapes the civilization.

It is very sad that most of the girls that are born in our country are not found in hospital they got missing and are found in the graveyard.

India is a developing country and in recent years its development has grown very dynamically in every field. India is making its name in world with the boom in its economy, technology development, new innovations in the technology and also the infrastructure has improved also, this is making India proud. But still there are some persons or cultures that are biasing against a girl child in their family.

This is the most dangerous social evil that has deep roots in our country. And the shocking fact is that there are high technologies and innovative techniques are available for killing a girl child like ultrasound, scan tests and amniocentesis etc.

What we need now is to know that every family in the country should be educated on the whole country basis that Girl Child is not a sin it is a gift to you given by the God to you, as she has nothing less than boys. Today girls are competing boys in every field and making their name in every field and pushing back every one.

We all are the proud citizens of India. Now is the time to realize our responsibility towards our country and we should make a halt to this evil crime. What can we do to stop this brutal and undesirable practice of mass killing girls in our country? There is a need now only a single determined spark of light can lit the lamp and can make a cause to stop this all nonsense that is going on in our country make an effort from yourself then every one will be effected. Lets make it possible and show the world that we are the child of the great Mother India. So there are

many reason through we should save a girl child and tommarow she will become someone's mother, sister, wife, daughter etc.

US government shutdown: How it will affect India NDTV | Updated On: October 01, 2013 12:19 (IST) submit to reddit email US government shutdown: How it will affect India More From Global Economy

Swiss tax information sharing move to benefit developing nations: World Bank Global M&A deal volume hits $2.3 trillion in 2013 China HSBC flash PMI hits seven month high in October

Shutdown cost 120,000 US jobs, says White House France talks about currency: How the Chinese yuan is threatening the dollar's hegemony US jobs report disappoints, just 148,000 jobs added The White House ordered government agencies to begin shutting down after the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-controlled House refused to back down in a clash over scaling back President Barack Obama's landmark health care law as the price for essential federal funding.

The shutdown threatens to slow growth and spook investors worldwide. While, the shutdown will impact a lot of US citizens, economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram said that as of now, a shutdown of the US government is not likely to have a major impact on the Indian economy. Here's how the shutdown will affect Indians.

1) New visa issuance: Indian IT companies earn a big chunk of their revenues from the US so a prolonged shutdown may affect their business. TV Mohandas Pai of Manipal Global Education told NDTV that if the shutdown in the US goes beyond 15 days, it will impact issue of new visa. However, since the visas are user-funded, they may continue for now. Fresh year for US visas start on October 1, Mr Pai said, so a delay of 10-15 days is ok.

2) Rupee may come under pressure: The Indian rupee has recovered sharply in September, but it could come under pressure according to eminent economist Arvind Virmani. "While this uncertainty lasts in the US, there will be hesitation in giving new orders in investment and exports. This will weaken our exchange rate," Dr Virmani said.

3) Sensex could be volatile: Financial markets could become skittish, Dr Virmani said. Central banks of all countries are aware of it and they will try to not have disruptions including our central bank of India, Dr Virmani added.

4) Global markets: If there is volatility in global markets, it will also affect Indian stocks. The Dow Jones Average in the US fell for the seventh day in eight sessions overnight.

5) Global economy: Dr Virmani said it's unfortunate that every time global economy looks like it will recover, we have this unfortunate thing in the US. It's very sad for everybody, he added.

Story first published on: October 01, 2013 10:29 (IST)

Tags: US Shut down

Here is a look at its impact on India:

NO DIRECT IMPACT FOR NOW: Analysts insist that the shutdown is only partial costing $300 million a day. Essential services, and those departments which earn revenues from customers, will continue to work. The shutdown is mainly going to impact national parks, and departments like internal tax and environmental protection. These do not directly affect India.

VISA ISSUANCES COULD BE HURT: However, if the shutdown continues for over a fortnight, there will be a visible impact. The first to be affected could be visa issuances. This will pinch Indian IT companies, which regularly send employees for work on overseas projects.

MARGINAL OR NO IMPACT ON IT COMPANIES: A prolonged shutdown could impact US business environment. During such times, companies could become hesitant in giving new orders or planning new investments both within and outside the country. A marginal impact is likely on Indian businesses that service the market. US accounts for 60% revenue that Indian IT services firms generate annually. Nasscom, the IT sector industry body, clarified on Tuesday that most Indian companies service private companies in US and not the Federal government.

STREET ON THE EDGE: If the US does not raise its debt ceiling by October 17, it wont be able to borrow money to pay bills that have

already been approved. The US will then default the first time, which will be catastrophic for the world economy. Credit rating agencies have yet to issue any significant warnings that could affect global capital flows. Traders in India would have to be careful and perhaps brace for a volatile stock market trading sessions.

CURRENCY VOLATILITY: Until the US Congress manages to break the dead-lock, financial markets worldwide will be cautious. Money could move out of US treasury and create volatility in financial markets as money is rapidly pulled out and put in markets. This could increase volatility in the currency markets. The Indian rupee is vulnerable in such a situation. It could rally in the short-term and fall when the crisis is resolved.

US shutdown: How it will affect India Suhasini Haidar, CNN-IBN | Posted on Oct 05, 2013 at 01:16pm IST Share The Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law left thousands of federal workers on furlough and museums and national parks across the country closed. The political impasse entered its fifth day on Saturday raking up concerns regarding the impact of the shutdown around the world. The exporters in India are jittery about their future as their exports to the US will take much longer to be

cleared there because the port workers will be part of the shutdown. This would lead to heavy demurrage charges for the exporters. The exports to the US, the Indian currency and the markets are most likely to be affected from the shutdown in the US. India annually exports nearly 36 billion dollars to the US which is about 12 to 14 per cent of it's total export. The second major concern for India is that the rupee that has been strengthening in the past few days after going through a downfall might be affected again if the shut down continues. The markets also might take a hit over the global mood as it had dropped over 600 points when the Syria crisis had come up. The shut down will also have an effect on the Indians who wish to go abroad as the visa process will be delayed. As per the records, over 7,00, 000 people had visited US in 2012. The silver lining for India amidst the US crisis is that the outsourcing industry has no threat from the shutdown because the US administration has made it difficult for federal government contracts to be outsourced.

Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/us-shutdown-how-it-willaffect-india/426568-7.html?utm_source=ref_article

A legendary maths wizard dubbed the world's fastest 'human computer' has died. Shakuntala Devi died age 83, at a Bangalore hospital following respiratory problems on Sunday. Ms Devi was a child prodigy and gained world fame in 1977 when she calculated the 23rd root of a more than 100 digit number in 50 seconds - 12 seconds faster than the best performing computer at that time. Three years later she multiplied two randomly-generated 13 digit numbers in 28 seconds. She was named in the Guinness Book of World Record for her outstanding ability. She had the ability to tell the day of the week of any given date in the last century in seconds. Ms Devi came from a humble family - her father was a circus performer and it was while she was playing cards with him at the age of three that he discovered her calculation abilities. At the age of six, she demonstrated her skills in her first public performance at University of Mysore and two years later, she again proved herself successful as a child prodigy at Annamalai University. 'God's gift. A divine quality,' said Ms Devi once when she was asked about her ability. She also said nobody in her family had shown a head for numbers - she had no formal education. 'Not even remotely, although my father was a stage magician,' she said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2312987/Human-dies-Shakuntala-Devi-Indian-maths-geniusdead-83.html#ixzz2jdWRZ9wg Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook