Day: September 12, 2020

Rainwater Harvesting : A Technique of great help to Indian Farmers

Article by – Shishir Tripathi
Intern at Hariyali Foundation
In collaboration with
Educational News

The Indian economy is basically an ‘Agrarian Economy’ that implies that most of the country’s working population depend upon agriculture for their livelihood. Relying upon the figures, it’s noticeable that almost 60-65% of the Indian workforce is engaged in agriculture. Being an occupation for such a large group of people in the country, agriculture in India still has a lot of problems and challenges in it.


The primary problem is the problem of irrigation. The villages and farms located near river banks and big canals are the ones who hardly face this problem of irrigation. As of June 25, 2019, nearly 65% of the country’s reservoirs were running dry. One of the worst affected areas has been the west-central state of Maharashtra, where six of the 17 reservoirs are dried out.


There are not just big farmers in the country of India. Here in India, there are tenants who work on the farms of others and those farmers too who have just a very small patch of land which they cultivate for their livelihood. Small farmers in India don’t have financial resources to get access to techniques like Drip Irrigation, availability of own tube wells, etc. Many a times, it happens that the farmers have to either take loans from moneylenders at high rates or just leave the farms parched.

The partial solution to the problem of water scarcity and the irrigation is Rainwater Harvesting. Rainwater Harvesting is simply the process of collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off freely into drains. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer or a reservoir with percolation.


Now moving ahead from the ideal definition stated from Wikipedia, in reality people just have to go for a roof like system above their houses and the roofs of their dried tube wells. In this system of Rainwater harvesting, the water from the first rain showers is drained of and the rest of the water is collected. The water gets collected in a big tank throughout the rainy season and is used afterwards.


The rainwater being the purest form of water can even be used for purposes of drinking, cooking, bathing, etc. Some people collect the rainwater in underground built tanks of depth 10 -12 feet and in hotter regions like Rajasthan people collect rainwater in big rooms adjacent to the living rooms. As the water filled tanks (rooms) are just attached to the normal living rooms, it gets so cooler and pleasant in hot summers. Big tanks can be built later in future after seeing the amount of rain in the first year of trying rainwater harvesting. Farmers can use the same water for irrigation purposes too.

Though, some crops require more water but the technique of rainwater harvesting will really help the farmers to a very great extent. Government should think about providing some subsidies to the poor farmers for building some tanks like this for saving the precious rain water.

First of all it will be an ecofriendly technique and secondly a cost saving technique too.
People living in the regions of North – East have adopted the similar technique for saving water. There are pipes built from bamboo that are used to supply water from one place to another. The tanks are built at the bottom of the hills; these are community tanks built by all the villagers together. The walls and the floors of the tanks are plastered with paddy husk to avoid seepage of water and later whenever the tank gets empty the soil and the silt at the base is used as manure by the farmers.


Similar Environment friendly techniques are needed to be promoted and implemented in other parts of India so that the farmers should not suffer from problems like scarcity of water. And also there should be techniques for the storage of water that gets logged in towns and villages. The same water should be treated and used for recharging the ground water resources which are getting empty by each passing day.


Therefore, the shift towards eco-friendly techniques like Rainwater Harvesting will give sustained prosperity in the field of Agriculture.

Non Cooperation Movement

On 5 September 1920 Mahatma Gandhi began a non-cooperation movement to gain sovereignty and complete independence, with the withdrawal of the Indian National Congress (INC) for British reforms after the Rowlatt Act of 20 March 1919 and the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh of 13 April 1919.

In March 1919, the Rowlatt Act abolished the defendant’s rights in the course of sedition proceedings, was regarded by Indians as “a national revolution” and by the British as a “threat.” Though Gandhi had only a couple of years later never been quoted and declared void, it led him to think of the concept of satyagraha (truth), which he considered to be synonyms of freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru, for whom the massacre also shared “the conviction that nothing less than freedom is appropriate,” approved this idea in the following month.

Planning Gandhi’s anti-cooperation movement was that all Indians, including the UK industry and education institutions, should be convinced to withhold their labour from any practises that “sustained the British government and the economy in India.” Besides the “self-reliance,” the Gandhi movement demanded the restoration in Turkey of Khilafat and an end to its intouchability by spinning Khadi, the purchase of Indian-made products only and the abolition of English clothing. The public held meetings and protests, and on 6 December 1921, Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru, his aunt, were first arrested.

As Nehru described in his autobiography, it ended “suddenly” in February of 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident, one of the movements of Indian independence from British rule. The Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement preceded independence movements.

The movement for non-cooperation was a response to British Indian government repressive actions, such as the Rowlatt Act and the Amritsar massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. There had come a huge crowd to protest at the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and of Dr. Satyapal in Jallianwala Bagh, near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The people were shot by soldiers under Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer and thousands of protestors were killed and wounded. Thousands of troubles and further deaths were triggered by the police by the uproar of the slaughter. In India, the massacre became Britain’s most notorious occurrence.

The uprising has stunned British authorities and has inspired millions of Indian nationalists to do so massively. Unity has been integrated and many Indian colleges and schools have been created. Indian commodities have been promoted. In Chauri Khaura, the small city of Gorakhpur District , Uttar Pradesh, a massacre took place on 4 February 1922. Some volunteers picketing a liquor store were targeted by a police officer. There went to the chowky police a whole crowd of farmers gathered there. The mob shot the police showki, and inside it about 22 police men.

Gandhi thought the rebellion was turning away and frustrated that the rebellion had lost its non-violent form. He did not want the protest to degenerate into a brutality contest, with police and wrathful groups fighting one another, victimising civilians amongst them. The Indian public was appealed by Gandhi to resist, spent 3 weeks and rejected the campaign against cooperation. He thought that there should be a resting time after a period of hardship in which they could regain their strength and grow stronger and stronger. This argument, though not stated, was withdrawn after a year or two from any movement led by Gandhi.

Owing to the Chauri Chaura incident, the non-cooperation campaign was withdrawn. Although the national uprising was stopped by himself, Gandhi was arrested on 10 March 1922. On 18 March 1922, for publishing seditious material, he was imprisoned for six years. This caused the movement to be suppressed and its leaders imprisoned.

Cartoons: a pleasant memory of childhood

Cartoons are essential part of every childhood. They are, certainly, the most popular entertainment for children, but also much more than that.Since the emergence of cartoon films over a century ago, several generations of children have grown up watching animated films. A multitude of girls have fantasized about being princesses and boys have imagined themselves to be valiant knights after watching classic animated tales . Cartoons end up bringing our minds at peace. There have been many amazing cartoon shows that we all have grown up watching since childhood, ranging from “The Simpsons” to “Oswald” to present day’s “Motu Patlu” .With the help of cartoons kids can learn about the world around us, about new emotions, life issues and other important things.

Younger children learn new sounds, shapes and colours with the help of cartoons; they also get in contact with music in a different way.As children grow up, we use cartoons to show them how things function in real life, explain them more about feelings and relationships in a way they can understand. We also show them how to deal with certain situations and people. Cartoons contain some valuable life lessons. 

Millions of adults around the globe are still watching cartoons, as it is the best way to avoid the stress of everyday life. This phenomenon is called “kidult” (kid+adult), which refers to adults who have habits of consumption of teenagers. Before, being a kidult was frowne upon, but now it’s seen as something fun.

Generally, if an adult watches a cartoon, he is laughed at by his family or friends and asked if he is a kid. Society deems adults who watch cartoons as childish and immature but cartoons are the best stress reliever. If you are completely stressed out, switch on your TV and watch some Tom and Jerry. Within a matter of minutes, you will feel relaxed.

Even some of the studies show that watching cartoons are also good for your brain which releases endorphins while laughing.
Laughter is a good stress buster and a confidence builder. It also boosts immunity and causes the release of endorphins that cause us to have positive feelings.Being an adult implies having responsibilities and sometimes it is good to watch a cartoon that entertains and make us laugh. In a cartoon, everything is possible, therefore everything is more fun. In addition, there are many cartoons that surprise and leave wise teachings to their followers, like the Japanese anime Dragon Ball Z which invites their fans to conquer their own fears in the face of adversity. The anime was created to instill in the children moral values that will serve them for a lifetime. At present, Dragon Ball Z has millions of followers around the world, who appreciate every teaching they receive.Cartoons can be energizing along with being entertaining. You watch an episode of The Powerpuff Girls and tell me you don’t feel like going out to kick some ass and take names.

When an adult watches cartoons, he feels that he regains his childhood, being able to relive the best moments. Sometimes because he had a beautiful childhood or because he has a difficult childhood. Either way, he wants to go back in time. When one is a child, one identifies with the characters of the cartoons. 

These cartoons makes us laugh and the tension is relieved within no time. Unknowingly the smile appears on our face releasing all the tensed muscles and cheers our moods.Cartoons are the stress busters.They are watched and enjoyed by all ages. In the present days of stand up comedies where we forcibly laugh or TRP based news broadcasts, unfruitful panel discussions, these cartoons which are as old as 50 years keeps us happy no matter what is the age.

It’s okay to be not okay sometimes!…


I was scrolling on my Instagram page and I received a message from a follower. He was a complete stranger to me. He started with a hi and then asked how are you. I straight out bashed him saying why are you asking me this. I don’t even know you. I shouted at him for no reason. Later I felt bad myself and apologised him. This continued with me all day long. Whenever my friend or family tries to talk with me, I was just shouting on them. Later my girl asked me what happened to me. But I replied with nothing. She kept on asking me again and again and it ended up I shouting and fighting with her. Later I went to my room, locked myself and I started crying. I didn’t even know why I was feeling so frustrated but I was feeling very low.
Have you guys ever felt like that? I bet most of you must’ve gone through this. As a human, there are always plenty of thoughts wandering in our mind. It might be positive or negative. But our brain keeps on doing its job of thinking and thus feelings like happiness or sadness grow in us. Sometimes so many things are going on in the back of our mind and the funny thing is we don’t even realise how they are affecting our regular emotions. It’s the time when we feel low without any reason. We keep on searching for a reason but fail to find one. This thing makes us more frustrated and then we shout and fight with our closed ones for no reason. Even we feel that we are doing wrong but our brain doesn’t help us in this.
So what to do in such case? Just give yourself some time. Sit back and relax. Now there and many techniques we can apply to get out of it. It’s up to you which applies to you and which not. We should go and sit in a silent and peaceful place. Some might find an isolated room and meditate there. Mediation could be the key 9 out of 10 times. Whenever we feel like surrounded by negatives thoughts, just meditate. You may not find any good results at first but if we continue it for long, we’ll definitely find good results. Another thing we can do is do what you love to do the most. Yes, I’m talking about your hobbies. Hobbies are one of the best stressbusters. Make time for your hobbies in such case. Draw a sketch, sing a song, write a poem, dance on your favourite song. Do whatever which will help you burst your stress. Another thing we can do is talk to kids. It’s my personal favourite. Kids are simply the angels sent by god. Talk to them, play with them. You won’t remember you were sad after a few minutes.
Actually we humans have so many emotions such as anger, love, hate, smiles, fear and many more. Usually, our mind forgets good things easily. But bad memories are preserved by it. These bad memories or the moments where we got hurt by our loved ones keep on playing in the back of our mind. This finally leads to the feeling of not feeling okay. Give it back to them at the only moment. If you’re angry with someone, go fight them, do whatever but sort it out. If somebody hurts you badly, go tell them. Tell them what they mean to you and how they hurt you. If you’ve some bad memories with someone in the past or you feel guilty, just forgive yourself and let it go. It’s the fact that we cannot undo things that happened in the past, maybe good or bad. Then, why do we need to carry the baggage for our life? Let it go. Don’t let things bothering you occupy your headspace. Make space for things which helps you grow, which will keep you happy and maintain peace. But we keep on searching for the cause and get only frustration in return. But if we divert ourselves with the above measures, we can be back to the actual okay state.

A regenerative ,off the grid residential community.

Can you imagine living in a home that is powered by nature! a home built with natural materials, surrounded by nature next to a large sea like fresh water lake . We are a 20 acre off grid community with total 220 homes all powered by nature for people who have the luxury of working from home . Revillage is a experimental off grid residential community/society built to streamline nature to power individual homes to harvest electricity,water ,food and treat waste water for a carbon neutral off grid lifestyle away from pollution in the heart of nature. Our community is with built with the motto of living big in a tiny earthship home to live a waste free life in harmony with nature .

Photo by Olga Lioncat on Pexels.com

We are a off the grid residential community located next to a 32 square kilometer rain harvested lake and a beautiful river named Barmani that also flows into the lake next to our community. The pristine nature on and around our community is vibrant full of sounds of nature,colors of nature and lots of wild life.The nature and thousands of trees in our community along with the lake and river is the most important central aspect of our residential community.We have zero noise pollution,light pollution,water pollution or soil pollution as we are surrounded by waitron two side and forest and farms on the other two sides.We have a protected animal santuary about 30 kilometers away that is home to a rare endangered spices of wild ass. Revillage is home to over 100 spices of birds due to the vast amount of rainwater,river and trees.

Our community is designed and built around nature.Our design team has incorporated nature into homes to power homes individually using only natural resources and being completely off the grid. Our community is spread on 60 acres on a single strech with 40 acres dedicated to growing food for the homes on our community without using any pesticides or harmful chemicals. We have designed and built our community for folks who want to live a 100% off the grid life connected with nature. Our community has total 220 homes spread on 20 acres with many ammenites and a large with a supermarket.

All our homes are designed and built to independently sustain the homeowners and give back free electricity,free water ,free food . Our homes are built like Earthships connected to a larger eco system provided by nature surrounding us and we have implemented permaculture design systems in each home along with solar power grid,rain water harvesting system with a independent waste water treatment plant in each home. Each home on our community is built like a independent earthship designed and built to harvest the power of nature without any external help from the grid and sustain the homeowners without any electric bills,water bill, 50-80% less food bills and almost zero waste disposal bills.

Our architectural design team has taken a big inspiration from legendary architect Michael Reynolds who has designed and built over 2000 earthship homes. All our homes are built with natural materials with massive amount of thermal mass like a cave and each of our home is fitted with a solar system,water harvesting system,food production area and with a grey water treatment plant for a completely off grid lifestyle. Thermal mass helps home keep cool during summer and cosy during winters reducing the amount of electricity needed during summer, we have also incorporated passive cooling system in each home for enhancing the level of comfort with using any artificial cooling systems. Revillage community and each home is designed and built to connect with nature to allow nature back in our lives.

Ecology

Revillage community is designed in synk nature. Our community located 28 kilometers next to protected wild life animal santuary and surrounded by protected forest area with wildlife and natural resources . The lake is located 700 meters away and the river is merely 650-700 meters away allowing dense vegetation to grow due to the regenerative aspects of lake.The eco system around us is not polluted and our off grid principles of providing each of our homes with a built in waste water treatment plant is to protect the eco system. Our homes are built with nature in mind to neutralize our carbon foot print, we have designed with a waste free approach to preserve the eco system and built our homes that do not pollute the environment. Bees and butterfies have made our community their home and we have built homes in area that is not disturbing nature to reduce negative impact on our surrounding eco system. Each home is designed with indoor kitchen vegetation area and outdoor gardening area .

Water

Our community is located next to a 32 square kilometer lake which is mainly a rain harvested lake connected with a larger lake a few kilometers north. The lake is very large and 28 feet deep as it has been measured and our community sits at the opening of the lake giving us unlimited access to rain harvested water 365 days a year. The lake is also fed by a river named Barman and the river is seasonal for about 6 to 8 months .River Barman is located 700 meters near our community and the river bed is beautiful with fish with her crystal clear pure water. We also have many natural springs due to the lake and the river and the quality of spring water on our main spring well is simply the best of nature. Spring well located near our community is proving us water to irrigate thousands of trees on our community and farms next our community. We have incorporated rainwater harvesting tanks in each home to keep our eco system un touched and allow our community to mostly reliant on rainwater and for drinking our community has spring water. We have included independent rainwater harvesting systems to protect natural water systems in our eco system and not let our community become a burden on the delicate eco system that our community is built on. Our community has borewells that are connected to storm water lines and with each home having a independent system our community is water surplus. Our community has also built a small canal connecting the lake to our community farming area to be able to very safely claim that our community is prepared for hundreds of years without any water problems.

Energy

Each of the home on our community is designed and built to reduce carbon for print on the eco system and each home is powered by a independent solar system generating 100% of the electricity required by the home . Our smaller home is powered by a 4 kv solar panels, a 20 kv invertor and 32 kv of battery/power storage to run all home appliances just like a regular home . Our larger home has 6 kv solar panels, a 36 kv invertor with 42kv of lead acid batter back up/ power storage . Our community is designed and built to be off the grid and produce all power needed with the help of solar energy available in abundance at our community 365 days a year.

Food

Our community is located in a water surplus area due to the lake and the river and natural springs. Our community has leased a 40 acre farm of our next door farmer for 25 years to grow 70-100% food for our community members . The farm is home to very fertile land and over 60 different variety of vegetables,herbs,roots,greens,grains,pulse,beans and variety of crops have been grown and harvested over 30 years . This farm is very fertile and has been used to grow crops without most pesticides or chemicals. Industrial agriculture causes lots of pollution and does not help farmers so we have incorporated a functional farm for 25 years equiped with net houses to grow all food or 60-80% food production in our community. We have used permaculture as design language to grow food which allows us to grow food without any pestisides or chemicals in a natural organic manner.Our community does not believe in growing GMO food as we believe in eating natural vegetables and food that are pure.All homeowners are required to get a approval of our community before planting any seeds to ensure that our community do not have any GMO food growing in our natural eco system. We grow amazing greens needed for salads such as lettus ,arugula

Waste

Our community has been built on principles of regeneration. Each home on our community is designed and built with a independent grey water treatment plant. This ensures that all grey water from showers,kitchen,washing clothes,sink is collected in a tank and turned into clean water which is used to water the landscape and vegetaion. Each home also has a independent septic tank for the toilet and we have not added any composting systems to treat waste from septic tank as Indian culture and traditions have prevented us from using human waste. Each home will be provided three bins for day to day waste management, green bin for food waste which will be used in making compost and two bins for paper waste, plastic waste. Plastic waste will be sold to recycle junkyard and some paper waste will also be sold which can not be used to make compost.

Culture

We believe in nature and investing all our resources in harnessing as well as preserving nature and the eco system surrounding Revillage .Every aspect of our community has been designed and built to enhance nature and built our community with nature. Our primary community culture is based on the approach of waste free living in peace and harmony with nature. Our off grid community is best suited for vegans or vegetarian people and our community culture is founded on principles of preserving nature. Our community is founded on principles of co existing with nature and the lake next to our community is a ideal for many gentle ,safe water sports and exercises such as swimming, kayaking,rowing, paddle boarding, fishing . A friend of Revillage Phillippe is a kiteboarding teacher who loves the lake for kiteboarding as the wind speed is ideal almost 7-8 months in a year for kiteboarding. Phillipe has a small kiteboarding school to teach and certify anyone that qualifies to learn kiteboarding which is regarded as an extreme water sport. Our community is very grateful to Phillipe who has helped us start a kiteboarding school and introduce us to the amazing extreme sport of Kiteboarding which is based on wind,water,gravity,gear . The lake and water sports are another aspect of nature which we have incorporated as part of our culture at Revillage to enrich our community without causing pollution. We have incorporated a vulgarly large art gallery which will be used as a design studio for artist to conduct art residencies at our village. The art gallery is built large to hold art exhibits at the end of each art residency and we have dedicated 10 homes that won’t be sold to host artist all year and conduct art residencies for musicians and artist .The art produced will be sold at the art gallery and profits will be shared by our community and the artist .Our community has a concert area for musicians and performance artist visiting our community and to invite and conduct private concerts for our community to celebrate birthdays,anniversaries. We have a indoor game room,a large library with a massive collection of design magazines from all over the world,new papers and troves of books to read.Our community have a 100 seater indoor theatre to conduct classical music concerts,movies and all our our ammonites are powered by solar power.

Livability

We are located 174 kilometers or 2.5 hours of driving distance from Ahmedabad international airport. Our village is just about 17 kilometers off the national 4 lane highway connecting Ahmedabad to Kandla port, 24 hour taxi service is available at Ahmedabad airport or at Revillage and the nearest train station is about 20 kilometers away in small town called Halvad which is ultra safe and peaceful. Our community is streamlined to access nature to harness enegry,water ,grow food and treat waste water making our homes free from bills and waste free with a carbon neutral foot print. All homes on our community are designed and built with thermal mass to keep the homes very comfortable and built with 90 % natural materials for a earthy natural life inside each home.

Infrastructure
All of the infrastructure is made from natural sandstone, river sand,clay,lime and only 10% of materials used for construction are of un natural origin. All the homes and ammenities are designed and built with independent solar harvesting,water harvesting,waste water treatment to reply and streamline nature for all energy, water and waste management. All homes and infrastructure is built with extra thermal mass for added comfort and cave life strength making the home fully pandemic proof and 100% off grid. Our homes do not have any electric meters and homes are not allowed to own any electric meter from the grid to maintain the our off grid standards to fight pollution. We have added a supermarket to add a degree of comfort for all homeowners which will serve only our community on weekdays and during weekends be open to villagers around who also want to buy things which otherwise not available. The supermarket is meant to help local villagers and our community feel very comfortable with peace of mind.

Economy

Revillage is a off the grid community will total of 270 homes out of which 50 homes will be owned by Revillage community and not be sold. The cost to design and built these 50 homes is ditributed in 220 homes as part of cost to built this economic ammenity for Revillage community . 10 homes are reserved to conduct art residency for developing art work which will be sold at our community art gallery and cafe also owned by revillage .The remaining 40 homes will be listed on airbnb to generate a daily income for revillage community which will help cover all expenses of our community and generate some profits which will be saved to repair,replace batteries of the 270 off grid homes and pay salries to workers who grow food for our community on our leased 40 acre farm . The 40 homes will also be rented out to host TTP yoga retreats,workshops,art residencies during winter and summer holidays providing homeowners a opportunity to attend workshops and explore different forms of arts. The revenue generated from 40 homes should be sufficient to cover all expenses to maintain revillage and all the 220 homes so the home owners of revillage don’t have to worry about paying maintainance charges related to cost of growing food ,cost to maintain, replace and repair solar system and cost to maintain the community or their homes .

Programmer and programs

The purpose of a computer programmer is to design and develop applications to perform the needs of a consumer. This occupation is essential to modern day life due to all of the computers that are in use today. Computer programming is a fulfilling career goal because of the ability to be on the cutting edge of technology, design software for computers, and have a wide range of benefits. Computer programming consists of many duties. Duties of a computer programmer include but are not limited to: debugging programs, converting project specifications and procedures to a logical visual map, repairing existing programs, writing documentation about current programs, and many more. The career I choose to research is computer programming. Computer programmers write and maintain detailed instructions used to create software. These instructions, also called code, are made up of different languages that a computer can recognize. Because there are many language a programmer always needs to be able to learn new things. Computers have always been a hobby for me and satisfy many needs that I require in a career.‌In order to be a successful programmer, there are many skills you must possess. The most important skill is logic. Because of all the detail and explicit instructions required to program software a person must be able to think logically. ‌As baby-boomers begin to retire and the younger generation of citizens are required to fill up the job market, jobs must adapt to suit the interests of more a youthful workforce. Already, most new jobs now require some degree of computer literacy, as software like word-processing, email, web-browsing and business applications becomes a staple in our lives. It has become a large economical force creating this software in recent years, and the youth, who have embraced this new technology, are fully open to these positions. Computer programmers are so in demand, that there are not enough qualified workers to fill the open positions. They have certainly become a dominant force in industry.‌Programmers often are grouped into two broad types: applications programmers and systems programmers. Applications programmers usually focus on business, engineering, or science. They write software to handle a specific job, such as a program to track inventory, within an organization. They may also revise existing packaged software. Systems programmers, on the other hand, maintain and control computer systems software, such as operating systems, networked systems and database systems.

There are many benefits for choosing programming line:–

Creativity

There are no limits to the things that you can create when you have the ability to write computer software. You can automate manual tasks, make things faster and easier for users or solve almost any problem. It gives you the ability to create something that you can be proud of.

Problem Solving

Programming sharpens your problem-solving skills. You take in the description of a larger problem and break it down into smaller pieces. Then you can begin to chip away at the larger solution one piece at a time until you’ve finished the puzzle. The problem-solving skills you learn by programming will transcend to every aspect of your life.

Work Remotely

Since computers are connected by networks, and now even most things live in the cloud, you don’t have to be tied to a specific location. You can do your job just as effectively in a location of your choosing – not just a generic office setting.

Constantly Evolving Skill Set

Technology changes almost daily and this is especially true for programming. New languages and development environments are always coming out that can make your experience better and more efficient. You have the opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of technology out of necessity.

Opportunities

Experienced programmers are hard to come by and command good salaries because of the level of training and education needed. As a programmer, new opportunities are always being created by the advancement of technology. Use these opportunities to your advantage and push your career to the next level.

Having everything in order just makes life simpler, and there are few occupations more organized than programmers. Basically, this stems from the focus many programmers put on efficiency.After that, it’s pretty simple to translate these skills into your everyday life.

Technology affects the way individuals communicate, learn, and think. It helps society and determines how people interact with each other on a daily basis.It’s made learning more interactive and collaborative, this helps people better engage with the material that they are learning and have trouble with.

An amazing benefit of software is that it can be freely distributed to everyone, thanks to open-source contributors,” Rihet says. “This fact truly empowers people.” When tools to build revenue and solve business problems are available to everyone—it can level the playing field.

Healthcare tends to be a pretty high priority when you consider how to improve people’s lives.

One of the most exciting facets of computer science is its power to improve and accelerate every other field. “Data science and artificial intelligence (AI) as subsets of computer science allow people and organizations to accelerate and ‘prepackage thought.’ In this way, computer science and artificial intelligence can make any other discipline many, many times better.”

Genomics and personalized medicine are an excellent example of how computer science-driven technologies are accelerating healthcare progress.

Whether you’re taking a class online, researching for a paper or sharing work via the cloud, computer science pros have helped make this possible.

E-learning platforms and applications give students new tools to problem-solve and study, which has changed the academic world. The ability to take classes online is also a huge benefit for the world—as it creates access to education for students whose locations, abilities or finances were a barrier.

Though it’s not always hands-on, almost every aspect of society—from family-owned businesses needing digital protection to homeless shelters needing a way to streamline their volunteer base—relies on the innovations spurred by computer science professionals.

“Computer science is a noble profession without which today’s world would come to a complete halt,” Nand says. When it comes to finding a career that allows you to positively benefit the world around you, look no further than computer science!

I myself choose to be a programmer and i mam looking forward to give society some useful things with my programs and software. I think this will make some contribution to make our country technologically strong.

Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922)

Pandita Ramabai trained for no profession in particular. Her learning was in an unconventional manner within the premises of her home.  Her background, life choices, her personality and career, her beliefs, captured her into the public gaze, making her the most “controversial” Indian woman of her times.

Ramabai argued that the caste-based difference coupled with gender-based difference deeply affected Indian women. The Arya Mahila Sabha was regarded as an institution set up to do away with the domination of men. Ramabai argued that according to social practices women had to obey men, or be treated like their slaves. It was believed that Ramabai only exhorted women to free themselves from the tyranny of men at these meetings in the Arya Mahila Sabhas, causing horror to the orthodox community, both men and women.

Ramabai understood that the patriarchal ideology of the society placed women in the domestic sphere restricting her to sexual reproductive and home-making roles. Her book, ‘The High caste Hindu Women’, previewed the treatment given to the Hindu women throughout life and is regarded as the first feminist manifesto with an agenda of women’s emancipation and women’s empowerment.

Women were not allowed to receive education and were completely dependent on their male supporters. Widow Remarriage was prohibited in society and women were forced to live a solitary life. While women were forced to commit for lifetime but the males were allowed to practice bigamy or polygamy. Furthermore, Huge age gaps between partners were a common norm and various types of physical and sexual violence was committed against women and were not even recognized by society.

She represents her views over religion which according to her had two distinct nature of law- the masculine and the feminine. Both had their own peculiar duties, privileges and honor. She criticized Manu severely and argued that the manu-smritis account of women’s nature and character depicted was largely responsible for their seclusion and suppression. It was Manu’s law which deprived women of all their freedom. She argued that the chief needs for Hindu women are self-reliance, education, and native women teachers and doctors. She gave the proposal for female inspectors for girls’ schools as she observed that male inspectors would intimidate the women.

Pandita Ramabai supported the concept of professional education to be imparted to women in the country. It was not only their right but also the need of the society. She was particularly focused for women to attain education in medicine. She demanded civic rights for women widows, deserted wives and sexually assaulted wives, after coming in contact with women like Lucy Stene, Elisabeth Standon, Suzanne Anthony and the women of US in general, Ramabai argued it’s important for women to realize their own worth and strength. Ramabai stressed on the need of a homogeneous society for any kind of successful movement. Her stay in America made her realize the importance of having a civil and educated society. For her, American model of liberal democracy was the real model that needed to be followed socially, practically and economically. Ramabai was indeed a champion of women’s rights.

Power and Violence

The relationship between violence and politics has always been very problematic and complex. As it is often said- world history is the history of violence. The number of wars that have been fought, the level of violence that has been perpetrated is unthinkable and often the greatest wars that have ever been fought were for political power. However, it cannot be denied that the relationship between violence and power must be re-evaluated in the post-industrial, post ideological and a highly integrated world.

So, what is it about today’s times that violence and politics have almost become impossible to separate? To begin with ultimate hope of the liberals that democracy will reduce violence hasn’t been realised. The paradox here is very hard to overlook as in an era of unprecedented democratization and economic growth, we have also witnessed an unprecedented increase in violence. But why this paradox? It was expected that democracy will give people a safe outlet to voice their opinions. As more and more people get involved in politics, there will be lesser need for them to express their grievances through unconstitutional means. To answer this question, thinkers like Jack Snyder pointed out that as more people took part in politics, ethnic conflict within the country became even more probable. This argument is in line with the fact that although the number of interstate wars have reduced since the second world war, the number of civil wars and ethnic conflicts have increased manifold. While talking about intrastate conflicts, violence during the time of regime transition needs a special mention. In many countries’ violence becomes an integral part of regime transition. While the formal symbols of democracy remain, most countries are threatened by corruption, political pacts etc.

Violence persists in well-established and economically advanced democracies as well. Such violence highlights general trends of internal violence as well as particular national histories. We have seen in many third world nations where severity of violence has diverted a transition away from democracy towards a new form of authoritarianism.

There is also violence in other political arenas which may not be directly related to the state. There is an obvious relationship between economics and violence. Violence has become embedded in the class and market relations among social groups and in the societal effects on global economic trends. In many countries economic polices also trigger violence among classes. Not only economics and states, violence has also become an intrinsic characteristic of inter-societal relations. Such violence maybe caused by state power and policy or as a reaction to it but often takes on its own momentum. Social groups often use violence in their interaction with the state.

Even though governments may often act as major perpetrators of violence, living in a state we are all dependent upon the government to make laws and thus, it is also important for the government to find solution to the problem of increasing violence. It must try to achieve the wider aim of disassociating violence from politics as much as possible no matter how Utopian the idea might seem.

TEENAGE DEPRESSION

Teenage depression is increasing briskly and often being treated erroneously. This is a major problem because depression has fatal effects on adolescents. It was stated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, that depression is experience by 20% of people during their teen years. Each year, there are stories of thousands of adolescents committing suicide. There are also various causes of depression which lead to disastrous effects that might impair a teenager’s life. Every human being can infrequently feel down, yet depression is a constant feeling which is considered to be a mental disorder. There are two major diverse forms of depression; major and minor depression. Major depression affects one’s life from functioning normally. For instance, it affects a person’s daily routine as it also affects one’s capability to sleep, eat, and enjoy delightful events. The question ascends why depression is common in one’s teenage years. One of the main causes of teenage depression is extreme trauma.

In other words, teenagers are depressed when they are sexually, mentally, or physically abused. Moreover, trauma might also occur to those who lost a parent, someone they love, or faced medical illness. An example of traumatic event, a teenage girl lost her father in a motorcycle accident which made her suffer and eventually became depressed. Another determinant why teenagers suffer from depression is because of the inherited traits. In other words, teenagers can suffer from depression if they have a family member who suffered or still suffers from depression. Depression is known to be mental disorder; this is why it can be inherited like any other disease. Teens might not face traumatic events to suffer from depression; moreover, teens might suffer from depression only because they inherited it from their parents.The last common cause of teenage depression is caused due to family circumstances. What happens when one’s inspirational and motivational force collapses? Parents have a powerful impact on their teenagers; moreover, they motivate and inspire them. However, when parents argue and start fighting a lot in front of their teenagers, it causes depression. Teenagers feel depressed because they start thinking if their parents will get divorced or not. Moreover, parents’ arguing might change the teenagers’ perspective about marriage and love which can cause temporary depression. When parents separate, most of teenagers’ lives start disintegrating. Separation causes depression because teenagers have lived their whole lives with both of their parents and now they are forced to see them drifting apart. Parental separation and family issues cause stress for teenagers which eventually lead to depression. Adolescents can harm themselves when they feel depressed; they want to feel anything other than being depressed. Moreover, they can be violent and nervy because when teenagers are depressed they feel worthless. Finally, teenagers who suffer from depression are likely to think about committing suicide. Thinking about suicide also leads to self-harm and violence. Teenagers who cannot handle family problems probably will run away from their homes because they want to escape from what is causing their depression. Teenage depression has several consequences. Some of these consequences are severe, harmful and fatal. These effects show that actions have to be taken to prevent such disorder in a teenager’s life. Depression might alter teenagers’ lives; therefore it has to be treated effectively in order to prevent serious effect.

WHY DIY

Today’s generation is consumed by the overwhelming innovation of technology. It’s good to unplug once in a while, and go back to the basics. Ironically, DIY has become more popular because of the videos posted online. Many of us want to try doing things on our own – somehow, it feels refreshing and even reduces stress and anxiety. First things first, most people who work on their gardens or crafts tend to use this time to relax and unwind. By giving in to your hobbies and interests, you feel relaxed and less anxious about things. Your time spent doing something you like, be it gardening, or crafting, gives you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness.



Indeed, simple things bring so much pleasure. Just think of how good it feels to finish that DIY bookshelf you’ve been putting on hold for a while, or finally putting together DIY decors for your living room, or even creating that homemade scrub you have been dying to try. Most DIY tutorials make use of stuff that you already have at home, which means you don’t necessarily have to splurge or spend too much for that make up organizer that you want to make. You can use what you already have, or what’s even better, you can upcycle your clothes and other stuff to make them look like brand new or just give them a fresh new look. DIY encourages you to recycle and upcycle stuff, which eventually makes you appreciate the practical side of life. It’s a definite win-win if you ask me. It’s important to be practical nowadays, especially that our economy is not what it used to be. Saving extra bucks every now and then seems like a good. Giving yourself time to focus on something through a practical activity is a good exercise for the brain because it allows you to come up with new ideas, and bring out your creative streak. So, DIY activities and projects basically inspire you to become creative. Being able to accept, even embrace, your mistakes is far from easy. In school, we learn that mistakes translate into bad grades. This unfortunate lesson gets burned into our brains, and we go through life shunning challenges that might end in failure. But DIYers not only accept the inevitability of mistakes, they welcome them, because they know that mistakes are a source of inspiration and the most effective way to learn. Another important part of DIY tasks is the availability of the materials to be used. There is an abundant market to choose from whenever you need something for DIY jobs, especially now that this is becoming more popular. You can also rent most of them from tools hire companies. You can never produce the optimum results without the right tools. While buying them can be a great form of investment, hiring tools is a great option especially for one-time jobs. Never worry about storage or depreciating values as you can easily drop it back to the company when you do not need them anymore. From impact drills to saws and grinders to floor sanders for hire, these tools can easily be rented out for the duration of your use.

17 dangerous apps removed from Google Play Store, delete them instantly from phone

Priya Yadav,

During the second week of July and September, Google removed 17 apps from the Play Store. These apps were malware-infected. In July, the tech giant has banned 11 while 6 apps from the Play Store a few days ago. Now, these 17 apps are not available on Google and they cannot be downloaded.

The 17 apps that were removed from the Play Store were all affected by a new variant of malware called Joker. Researchers at Check Point detected these malware apps in July. According to reports, Google has been tracking these apps since 2017.
After these 11 apps were removed from the Play Store, Joker malware came in the form of 6 other apps on the Google Play Store in a new form. Now, these 6 apps are also removed. According to cybersecurity firm Pradeo, these 6 apps have been downloaded nearly 2 million times before they were removed from the Play Store.
The apps which are removed are:-
com.imagecompress.android, com.contact.withme.texts, com.hmvoice.friendsms,
com.relax.relaxation.androidsms, com.cheery.message.sendsms,
com.peason.lovinglovemessage,
com.file.recovefiles,
com.LPlocker.lockapps,
com.remindme.alram,
com.training.memorygame,
Safety AppLock,
Convenient Scanner 2,
Push Message- Texting & SMS,
Emoji Wallpaper,
Separate Doc Scanner,
Fingertip GameBox,
These 17 apps are no longer available on the Play Store. And if any of these apps is present in your smartphone, then delete it immediately.

The Joker malware that infects these apps is a malicious bot that has been categorized as fleeceware. The main function of this malware is to collect clicks and intercept SMS so that users can be subscribed to paid premium services without their knowledge. The Joker uses little code and it leaves no mark, making it difficult to detect.

Serological Testing at CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow for antibodies against Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2)

CSIR-CDRI (Central Drug Research Institute) is carrying out a research study that involves testing of people for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The serological testing is conducted from 9th-11th September. For the past 7 months we are in the midst of a pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection with more than 45 lakh individuals being infected with the virus which has resulted in more than 76,270 deaths in India.

Dr. Susanta Kar and Dr. Amit Lahiri, the nodal scientists from CSIR-CDRI, said that the diagnostic tests performed in India have been largely limited to people showing symptoms and those who have come in close contact with these individuals. Most importantly, community testing has not been initiated yet. From the reports available from various countries it can be perceived that there are many more asymptomatic cases who have not been tested. Thus, the burden of the disease could be larger.

Dr. Kar and Dr. Lahiri also stated that, a person infected with the disease will generate antibodies which is expected to protect them for further infection. However, since this is a novel virus, the duration of protection from antibodies is not known. It is therefore important to perform a long-term pan-India surveillance using serology-based assays to not only estimate the burden of the infection, but also assess thetitres of the antibodies by collecting samples at fixed intervals. This will also help us to identify people who can also donate their plasma to the terminally ill COVID patients.

Prof. Tapas K Kundu, The Director CSIR-CDRI, said that the establishment of such a cohort with longitudinal biological sampling will also align with the framework of the National Health Mission and will facilitate the development of national reference standards to aid clinical decision making as well as national healthcare policy decisions. It will also help address several unanswered questions on the infection caused by novel Corona virus.

The test is VOLUNTARY and free of cost and is open to all CSIR staff and students. Blood samples will be collected from those who are willing to participate in the CDRI dispensary under the supervision of resident doctors Dr. Shalini Gupta and Dr. Vivek Bhosale. The presence or absence of anti-SARS-CoV2 antibody titers in CSIR staff and students will then be assessed using ELISA based assay at CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi. Other biochemical parameters also will be measured to ascertain correlation between Cardio-metabolic risk factors and the possibility of recurrent infection. This project will align well with the CSIR’s Indigenous program “Phenome India – A long-term longitudinal observational cohort study of health outcomes”

Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production and Use-Based Index

The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) are released on 12th of every month (or previous working day if 12th is a holiday) with a six weeks lag and compiled with data received from source agencies, who in turn receive the data from the producing factories/ establishments.

Photo by dinesh boaz on Pexels.com

2.        In view of the preventive measures and announcement of nation-wide lockdown by the Government to contain spread of COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of the industrial sector establishments were not operating from the end of March, 2020 onwards. This has had an impact on the items being produced by the establishments during the period of lockdown. With the lifting of restrictions in the subsequent periods, industrial activity is resuming. The Index for the month of July 2020 stands at 118.1 as compared to 54.0, 89.5 and 108.9 for April 2020, May 2020 and June 2020.

3.        For the month of July 2020, the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP)with base 2011-12 stands at 118.1. The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of July 2020 stand at 87.2, 118.8 and 166.3 respectively (Statement I).The Quick Estimates will undergo revision in subsequent releases as per the revision policy of IIP.

5.        As per Use-based classification, the indices stand at 114.1 for Primary Goods, 70.9 for Capital Goods, 122.9 for Intermediate Goods and 125.2 for Infrastructure/ Construction Goods (Statement III) for the month of July 2020.  Further, the indices for Consumer durables and Consumer non-durables stand at 99.5 and 156.4 respectively for the month of July 2020.

6.        Statements giving Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production for the month of July 2020 at Sectoral, 2-digit level of National Industrial Classification (NIC-2008) and byUse-based classification are given at Statements I, II and III respectively. A Statement IV giving month-wise indices since April 2020, by industry groups (as per 2-digit level of National Industrial Classification-2008) and sectors, is also given for users to appreciate the changes in the industrial sector.

7.        Along with the Quick Estimates of IIP for the month of July 2020, the indices for June 2020 have undergone the first revision and those for April 2020 have undergone the final revision in the light of the updated data received from the source agencies. The Quick Estimates for July 2020 have been compiled at a weighted response rate of 87 percent, the first revision for June 2020 at a weighted response rate of 93 percent and the final revision for April 2020 at a weighted response rate of 94 percent.

Declaration of Results of Ranking of States: 2019, on support to Startup Ecosystems

The Results of the second edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems were released by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways Shri Piyush Goyal today, through a virtual felicitation ceremonyin the presence ofMinister of State for Commerce & Industry & Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Shri Som Parkash.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) conducted the second edition of the States’ Startup Ranking Exercise, with the key objective to foster competitiveness and propel States and Union Territories to work proactively towards uplifting the startup ecosystem.  It has been implemented as a capacity development exercise to encourage mutual learning among all states and to provide support in policy formulation and implementation.

The States’ Startup Ranking Framework 2019 has 7 broad reform area, consisting of 30 action points ranging from Institutional Support, Easing Compliances, Relaxation in Public Procurement norms, Incubation support, Seed Funding Support, Venture Funding Support, and Awareness & Outreach. To establish uniformity and ensure standardization in the ranking process, States and UTs have been divided into two groups.While UTs except Delhi and all States in North East India except Assam are placed in Category ‘Y’. All other States and UT of Delhi are in Category ‘X’.

A total of 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated in the exercise. Evaluation Committees comprising independent experts carried out a detailed assessment of responses across various parameters. Many parameters involved getting feedback from beneficiaries which was gathered through more than 60,000 calls made in 11 different languages to empathetically connect with beneficiaries to ascertain the real situation at the implementation levels.

For the purposes of Ranking, States are classified into 5 Categories: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Startup Ecosystems. Within each category, entities are placed alphabetically. States are also recognised as Leaders in 7 reform areas of support to startups. Results are attached at Annexure.

The felicitation ceremony was accompanied by the release of a National Report which highlights the vision, trajectory, methodology and the future roadmap of the States Ranking Exercise. A State Specific Report for each of the 25 participating entities has also been released, containing a comprehensive analysis of respective ecosystem, which highlights strengths and priority areas for future.

A ‘Compendium of Good Practices’ adopted by various States in supporting startups has also been released. It identifies 166 good practices, which may be directly used by States to identify and implement newer initiatives.

The National Report and Specific Reports for all participating States and Union Territories launched during the session can be downloaded from the Startup India Portal.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Startups have Out-of-the-box thinking, and are solution oriented, who look at new and new ideas. He said that the Prime Minister has been fully appreciative and supportive of promoting entrepreneurs who are important from the point of job creation, expanding economic activity and for the prosperity of people.

The Minister said that centre and states, coming together in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and competition to promote startups, is really an important development. Describing the startups as the store-house of talent, knowledge and ideas, Shri Goyal said that the ranking will not help the states and UTs, but also the entrepreneurs, and will help in expansion of the startups and launching of new ventures. He also highlighted the fact that women entrepreneurs are actively into the startups, and this breaking of stereo-typing is an encouraging sign.

Shri Goyal expressed happiness on the fact that like the centre’s fund of funds for startups, states are also working on the similar lines. He called upon the High networth individuals, venture capitalists and other funds to also come forward for financing the startup ventures. The Minister recommended that startups should come up with imaginative, relevant and innovative products, undertake reengineering and reform of processes, and orient their ideas to be people-centric. He said that Covid pandemic should not be seen as a problem or challenge but as an opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate India. During COVID period, our Startups have come up with brilliant ideas & solutions to the many problems that the country & the world face.

Shri H.S.Puri said that societies that have developed across the globe, have developed ecosystems for encouraging entrepreneurships, and collaborative solution development. He said that strong ecosystem for startup is necessary for the country to reach the levels of $5tn economy by 2024. He expressed happiness that the mindset of our people is changing from the job seekers to job providers.

Shri Som Parkash said that the ranking will encourage our young entrepreneurs who have skills and ideas to start their businesses. He said that the country has become 3rd largest ecosystem in the world.

Secretary, DPIIT Dr Guruprasad Mahapatra said that the startup ecosystem in the country has led to creation of over 4 lakh jobs. He said that the ranking is an example of cooperative federalism, which will help in capacity building in the states.

Union Minister Dr.Jitendra Singh calls for Public Awareness campaigns on RTI

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that RTI is fully functional in Jammu and Kashmir and there is a pressing need to create public awareness about the functioning of the RTI Act. After a meeting with senior most Information Commissioner Shri D.P.Sinha, who is officiating as CIC, the Union Minister has urged the Civil Society to come forward in a big way in this noble mission, so that the Central Information Commission is not overloaded with frivolous and non-essential queries.He suggested that the Information Authorities should ponder not to entertain the avoidable RTIs and stressed that almost all information is available in public domain today.

Dr.Jitendra Singh said that it goes to the credit of the Commission and its functionaries that inthe midst of the pandemic on 15th May this year, the Central Information Commission started entertaining, hearing and disposing of RTIs from the newly created Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, through virtual means.The Minister also informed that any citizen of India can now file RTI pertaining to matters related to J&K and Ladakh, which was reserved to only Citizens of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, before the Reorganisation Act of 2019.It is pertinent to mention here that consequent to the passing of J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, the J&K Right to Information Act 2009 and the Rules there under were repealed and Right to Information Act 2005 and the Rules there under were enforced from 31.10.2019. This measure was widely hailed by people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Administration of the UT.

Dr.Jitendra Singh said that ever since Modi Government came into power in 2014, Transparency and Citizen-Centricity became the hallmark of the Governance Model. He said that in the last six years, every conscious decision was taken to strengthen the Independence and Resources of the Information Commissions and all vacancies were filled as fast as possible.

Shri Sinha pointed out that various steps taken to facilitate the CIC hearing during the lockdown and partial lockdown included video conferencing, audio conferencing, facilitation of return submission, uploading of the contact details of Deputy Registrars on the website, issue of notices by e-post wherever required, online registration and scrutiny of fresh cases etc. He also informed the Minister that the Commission had effectively continued its interactive and outreach activities including video conference with civil society representatives and with members of National Federation of Information Commissions in India.