Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. The book presents a nightmarish vision of a future society.

In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Brave New World at number 5 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.In 2003, Robert McCrum, writing for The Observer, included Brave New World chronologically at number 53 in “the top 100 greatest novels of all time”, and the novel was listed at number 87 on The Big Read survey by the BBC. Despite this, Brave New World has frequently been banned and challenged since its original publication. It has landed on the American Library Association list of top 100 banned and challenged books of the decade since the association began the list in 1990.

Summary

This is a story about a world where people are born in test tubes and their lives are predetermined by their social status. Mothers, fathers, children, and other social relationships do not exist, and all of the primary human needs are met by forced or fabricated social experiences.

The Alphas, the top social class, are the most brilliant and enjoy more of life, whereas the lower classes, who have been genetically stunted in a lab, perform the society’s less important chores. To further assure their future social rank, each generation of children is created in batches via cloning and suggestive conditioning.

Bernard, a government psychologist in London, is an Alpha, but he’s physically small and doesn’t like society’s artificial social aspects, such as unrestricted sex and soma, a drug that makes people feel drunkenly good.

Bernard is sent to New Mexico as a psychologist to study a “savage” reservation, a place where the “old” society still exists. He brings Lenina, a young and attractive woman, with him, and the two of them enter the reservation together. There, Bernard meets Linda, a lady who grew up in London but was abandoned in the reservation several years ago. It is also discovered that, Linda had a son named John.

This is problematic because the father is Bernard’s boss, the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, and Bernard’s society does not accept procreation through natural means. Instead, Bernard decides to bring Linda and John back to London.

Bernard, who is normally quiet, becomes outgoing, as his fame for bringing back John, “The Savage”, grows. However, when John fails to show up for a social event, his social status returns to one of an outcast.

After his mother’s death, John understands that something is wrong with society. He attracts the attention of the Controller, the regional leader of Western Europe, and then John and the Controller talk.

The Controller explains how and why things are the way they are. That the coexistence of truth and happiness is a balancing act and that they have chosen a life of extreme happiness with very little truth.

Bernard is sent to an island with other freethinkers like himself, and John decides to move to the countryside and live alone. In the end, after being made a spectacle, John hangs himself out of shame.

Review

There’s a lot to say about this story, but what draws my interest is the concept of predisposing individuals for a specific course before they’re even born, similar to putting them on a train track. We learn in the story that lower-level individuals learn what is comfortable to them early on so that when they grow up and have to do menial duties, they are not angry because they have been conditioned to believe that what they are doing is good. In other words, a social ceiling has been created for them.

What’s even more interesting is that the same thing could be happening today. For example, if a person is raised in a high-status social network, he or she is bound to stay in that high-status social network. Similarly, someone who grew up in a poor social network is more likely to stay in that network. Of course, these paths aren’t cast in stone, and there’s always the possibility of deviations, but for the most part, one’s environment has a significant impact on the type of person they become and the decisions they make.

What’s exciting to see are individuals, through their own talents or luck, who shift their social circumstances and assimilate themselves into other social networks. In essence, they are shifting the direction of their tracks and arriving at new destinations.

TEENS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

It should come as no surprise that the pressure to be available 24/7 on social media is a very real challenge for today’s teenagers. Aside from the fact that their grasp of and dependence on social media far exceeds that of many adults, they also are using social media at much greater rates too.

In fact, a report by Common Sense Media found that 75% of American teenagers have social media profiles. Social media is a daily part of life for the vast majority of teens.

THE TEEN BRAIN AND SOCIAL MEDIA:

For many teens, social media can become almost addictive. In a study researchers found that certain regions of teen brains became activated by “likes” on social media, sometimes causing them to want to use social media more.

During the study, researchers used an fMRI scanner to image the brains of 32 teenagers as they used a fictitious social media app resembling Instagram. The teenagers were shown more than 140 images where “likes” were believed to be from their peers. However, the likes were actually assigned by the research team.

As a result, the brain scans revealed that in addition to a number of regions, the nucleus accumbens, part of the brain’s reward circuitry, was especially active when they saw a large number of likes on their own photos. According to researchers, this area of the brain is the same region that responds when we see pictures of people we love or when we win money.

In another part of the study, researchers could see a correlation between social media and peer influence. Participants in the study were shown both neutral photos and risky photos. What they found is that the type of image had no impact on the number of likes given by teens in the study.

Instead, they were likely to hit “like” on the popular photos regardless of what they showed. Researchers believe this behaviour shows that peers can have both a positive and negative influence on others while using social media.

MENTAL HEALTH:

Undoubtedly, social networking plays a vital role in broadening teen social connections and helping them learn valuable technical skills. But what impact is all of this social networking having on young teen minds? Most reports indicate that the impact can be significant.

Not only are teens’ developing brains vulnerable to so much time online, but because they often have difficulty self-regulating their screen time, their risks can increase with the more time they spend. Additionally, they are more susceptible to peer pressure, cyberbullying and sexting—all activities involving digital communication—making navigating the online social world treacherous at times.

DEPRESSION:

Researchers are just beginning to establish a link between depression and social media. While they have not actually discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between social media and depression, they have discovered that social media use can be associated with an intensification of the symptoms of depression, including a decrease in social activity and an increase in loneliness.

ANXIETY:

Teens often feel emotionally invested in their social media accounts. Not only do they feel pressure to respond quickly online, but they also feel pressure to have perfect photos and well-written posts, all of which can cause a great deal of anxiety. In fact, some studies have found that the larger a teen’s social circle online the more anxiety they feel about keeping up with everything online.

Additionally, if teens commit a faux pas online, this also can be an extreme source of anxiety. Many teens, especially girls, are prone to worry about what others might think of them and how they will respond when they see them next. Then factor in cyberbullying and other cruel online behaviours and you can see why social media can be a toxic source of anxiety for many teens

SLEEP DEPRIVATION :

Sometimes teens spend so many hours on social media that they begin to lose valuable sleep. Consequently, this sleep loss can lead to moodiness, a drop in grades, lack of physical activity, and overeating, as well as exacerbate existing problems like depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In fact, research shows a strong link between increased screen time and the development of ADHD-related symptoms, such as difficulty with focusing, emotional regulation, poor attention, hyperactivity, and getting enough sleep.

Additionally, a survey of 900 teens between the ages of 12 and 15 about their social media use and its impact on sleep. What they found was that one-fifth of the teens said they “almost always” wake up during the night and log in to social media.

The study also revealed that girls were significantly more likely than boys to wake up and check social media on their phones. In addition to reporting feeling tired all the time, they also reported being less happy on average than teens whose sleep was not disturbed by social media.

What’s more, teens need more sleep than adults do, a minimum of eight to 10 hours per night compared with seven or more for adults. So, logging into social media in the middle of the night can be detrimental to their physical health as well.

For instance, aside from feeling tired and irritable, lack of sleep can make accidents more likely and lower the immune system and make it harder for teens to fight infections.

Envy

Envy- while normal emotions—can wreak havoc on teen brains if they dwell on comparing themselves to their peers. They may fixate on what someone else has or experienced, that they themselves have not. Due to the way accounts are curated, it can appear to the reader that other people lead more exciting lives than they do, which only feeds feelings of inadequacy.

Unfortunately, what teens often do not realise is that people tend to only post their “highlight reel” on social media and often keep the mundane or difficult experiences off the Internet. As a result, another person’s life may look perfect online, but offline they have struggles just like anyone else.

Still, it is easy for a teen to play the comparison game and start thinking that everyone is happier or better off than they are. As a result, this can feed into depression, loneliness, anger, and a variety of other issues.

What’s more, envy, if not dealt with, sometimes may lead to bullying and mean behaviour. Some teens, particularly those that feel bad about themselves, target others because they are jealous of the target’s clothes, body, boyfriend, successes, or any number of other things.

COMMUNICATION ISSUES:

While social media is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, it also is not the same as face-to-face communication. For instance, a teen cannot see a person’s facial expressions or hear their tone of voice online. As a result, it is very easy for misunderstandings to occur, especially when people try to be funny or sarcastic online.

Many teens spend so much time online checking statuses and likes that they may forget to interact with the people right in front of them. For this reason, friendships and dating relationships can suffer when social media takes centre stage in a person’s life. As a result, teens risk having relationships that are not deep or authentic.

Teens who place a priority on social media will often focus on the pictures they take that show how much fun they are having rather than actually focusing on having fun. The end result is that their relationships and life satisfaction may suffer.

CONCLUSION:

Because so much brain development takes place during the teen years, it is important that parents understand the impact that social media use can have on their kids. For this reason, it is important to establish guidelines for social media use. While many kids do have unrestricted access to their phones and other devices, setting limits may be helpful for your child.

It is also important for families to have regular discussions on safe use of social media. When families navigate the world of social media together, a teen’s online world becomes much more manageable.

Schemes for Upliftment of Minorities

The Government has implemented various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every section of the society including minorities especially the economically weaker and deprived sections of the society with schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana, etc. Ministry of Minority Affairs also implements programmes/ schemes for socio-economic and educational empowerment of the six (6) centrally notified minority communities namely Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, Parsis and Jains. The schemes/programmes implemented by the Ministry in brief are as under:

(A): Educational Empowerment Schemes:

(1) Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme- Scholarship is provided to minority students from Class I to X, out of which 30% scholarship are earmarked for girls.

Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme- Scholarship is provided to minority students from Class XI to PhD., out of which 30% scholarship are earmarked for girls.

Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme- Scholarship is provided to minority students for Professional and Technical courses, at Under Graduate and Post Graduate level, out of which 30% scholarship are earmarked for girls.

All the three Scholarship schemes are on boarded on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) and the scholarship amount is disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

(2) Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme – Under the scheme fellowship in the form of financial assistance is provided to minority candidates who clear the UGC-NET or Joint CSIRUGC-NET examination.

(3) Naya Savera – Free Coaching and Allied Scheme – The Scheme aims to provide free coaching to students/candidates belonging to minority communities for qualifying in entrance examinations of technical/ medical professional courses and various Competitive examinations.

(4) Padho Pardesh – Under the scheme interest subsidy is provided to students of minority communities on educational loans, for overseas higher studies.

(5) Nai Udaan – Support is provided to minority candidates clearing Preliminary examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), State Public Service Commission (PSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) etc.

(B): Employment Oriented Schemes:

(6) Seekho Aur Kamao – Skill development scheme for youth of 14 – 35 years age group and aiming at providing employment and employment opportunities, improving the employability of existing workers, school dropouts etc.

(7) USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) – An effective platform to provide self-employment, market and opportunity to traditional artisans and craft persons from the minority communities. Hunar Haats are being organised across the country to provide employment opportunities and markets to artisans/craftsmen.

(8) Nai Manzil – A scheme for formal school education & skilling of school dropouts or educated in community educational institutions like Madrasas.

(9) Nai Roshni – Leadership development of women belonging to minority communities and non-minority communities (not exceeding 25% of each batch).

(C): Special Schemes

(10) Jiyo Parsi – Scheme for containing population decline of Parsis in India.

(11) Hamari Dharohar- A scheme to preserve rich heritage of minority communities of India under the overall concept of Indian culture.

(D): Infrastructure Development Programme:

(12) Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) – The scheme aims to provide basic infrastructure such as Schools, Colleges, ITIs, Polytechnics, Hostels, Sadbhav Mandap, Skill Development Centres, Drinking water and Sanitation facilities, Health Projects including hospitals, Sport facilities, Smart classrooms, Aanganwadi Centers etc. in deprived areas of the country. The scheme is implemented in the identified areas having minimum of 25% minority population and backwardness parameters below the national average in respect of socio economic or basic amenities or both.

(13) Also, Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) implements education and skill related schemes as follows:- (a) Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for Meritorious Girls belonging to the economically weaker sections of Minorities (b) Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme started in 2017-18 for providing short term job oriented skill development training to youth (c) Grant-in-aid to NGOs for infrastructure development of educational institutions.

(14) Equity to National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) for providing concessional loans to minorities for self-employment and income generating ventures.

The details of the schemes mentioned at S. No.(1) to (12) are available on the website of this Ministry (www.minorityaffairs.gov.in) and those at serial No.(13) and (14) are available on the website of MAEF (www.maef.nic.in) and NMDFC (www.nmdfc.org) respectively.

During the last three financial years w.e.f 2018-19 to 2020-21 an amount of Rs. 13113.47 Crore (Revised Estimate) has been allocated for implementation of various schemes of the Ministry.

During last three financial years an amount of Rs. 6547.88 Crore has been sanctioned for providing scholarship to more than 1.96 Crore Minority students under Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Merit-cum-means and Begum Hazrat Mahal scholarship schemes.

There is no State-wise fund allocation under above mentioned schemes. However, an amount of Rs. 13113.47 Crore (Revised Estimate) has been allocated during the last three financial years i.e 2018-19 to 2020-21 out of which an amount of Rs. 12083.76 Crore has been utilised for the above mentioned schemes etc, benefitting more than 2 Crore beneficiaries from various states including the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The Budget Estimates (BE) of the Ministry for financial year 2022-23 is Rs.5020.50 Crore against BE of Rs. 4810.77 crore for the current financial year i.e 2021-22.

Mandatory Enrollment of Graduates at Employment Exchange

Government does not have any proposal to make it mandatory for graduates to register at employment exchange at districts across the country. The registration at employment exchanges across the country for availing employment related services is voluntary.

The Ministry is implementing National Career Service (NCS) Project to provide a variety of career related services viz. job search and matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, etc. The services are available online on the National Career Service Portal (www.ncs.gov.in).

Dhakis of West Bengal: Where They Come From and Where They Go

*Dhakis* playing *dhaks* in a **Durga Puja** pandal

Introduction

India is a country of rich cultural diversity and the essence of festivity for each Indian state is unique on its own. The main festival of the Indian state of West Bengal is Durga Puja, which is held during the auspicious Aashwin Durga Navtras in the months of September-October. During the festival the Mother Goddess is welcomed to her home on Earth with 9 long days of celebrations and joy. As a ritual of the festivity both her arrival and departure are rung by hundreds of thousands of “Dhaks” played by the professional drummers, locally called as “Dhakis”.

What “Dhaks” Are: How They Are Made

The word “Dhak” comes from the Austric word “Dhaka” included in the Sanskrit language. The word later became a part of the Bengali script. The dhak is a big membranophone instrument that originally belongs to South Asia. The dhak has become an integral aspect of the widely loved Bengali festival of Durga Puja, other Bengali rituals and festivities. It would have no festive aura if not for the maddening rhythm of the dhak. The dhak is beaten with two sticks loudly to infuse the frenzied beats into the listeners. These beats are enough to raise the spirits and conjure up the feel of the Durga Puja. Without the instrument, the heavily celebrated festival would have felt sombre.

The sound of the dhak depends on a lot of factors like the shape. The shape varies from almost cylindrical to barrel-like. On one hand, the outer portion of the wood is shaved off and carved to create the barrel shaped instrument. On the other hand, the inner side of it is made to be absolutely hollow.The two ends of the dhak are wrapped up with goat skin on the top and calf skin at the bottom. It is said that using these two types of hides bring out the perfect sound texture of the dhak. The manner of stretching the skin over the mouth of the dhak and lacing it is also an important factor in the kind of sound that will be produced. The more the strings on the side of the dhak are pulled the higher the pitch of the dhak gets. The two sticks that are used to beat the dhak are carefully chiseled and formed out of thin cane or bamboo. Because of the drying session of the wooden structure and the intricate handwork and decoration, it takes around one month to reach the perfection in making the instrument.

Who “Dhakis” Are: The Heritage follows

‘‘Dhakis’’ are integral to almost all festivities in Bengal but the art of playing the huge barrel-shaped membranophone instrument is considered as a staple of Bengal’s most celebrated Durga Puja. Most of the ‘dhakis’ or men who play the ‘dhak’ hail from humble rural backgrounds of Murshidabad, Hooghly, Malda, Bankura and Purulia districts of the state. Just like playing any other instrument that is highly associated with a centuries-old cultural heritage, the art of playing dhak, or the business of dhakis are often found to be ancestral and moving in the families since ages. The art of playing such instrument is considered as a living witness, bearing the tradition of the state of West Bengal. The art of playing dhak is passed on from one generation to the next though this art is gradually dying out and losing its focus. One of the reasons for this is the uncertain informal nature of this profession. They still teach the children to play the dhak is to preserve the culture and heritage.

Each part of Durga Puja rituals has a different and unique tune and beat of the dhak right from the arrival of the idols till their immersion. It is played when the idol enters the pandal and even when it exits the pandal on the last day of puja, Dashami. In fact, it is the deafening sound of the dhak that fills the air of immense celebration during the ‘Sandhya Arati’ on Ashtami. This ceremony is absolutely incomplete without the beats of the dhak. Along with that, the ‘Dhunuchi Nach’ is also an essential part where the dhak provides the musical rhythm to which people dance with the ‘dhunuchi’. Another popular tradition is the ‘Dhaker Lorai’ or ‘Fight between Dhaks’ where the grandeur is revealed the best when dhakis play in groups. It is usually a fascinating experience for the audience to see the feathered drums being played by the dhakis dancing to the music produced. Finally, on Dashami, the majestic beats of the dhak helps lift the air of sadness and gloom during the vermilion ritual and ultimately, the immersion.

Female artists too have now taken up the responsibility to revive the age old art of playing the dhak. In such a male-dominated profession where carrying the dhak is a major issue, women have proved themselves to be no less than their male counterparts. Teams of women dhakis are finding fame and getting established slowly in their fields.

COVID-19 and The Livelihood of Dhakis

The Impact The drop in the number of Durga Pujas in and outside Bengal amid the novel coronavirus outbreak has taken the rhythm out of the lives of many dhakis (traditional drummers) who look forward to this festive season as their main source of earnings in the year. Every year, the dhakis from different districts and villages of Bengal use to appear at Sealdah station premises before Durga puja. The dhakis used to play the drums in front of Sealdah station every year before puja. From there, various puja committees used to take them in the puja pandals to play the ‘dhak’. But for the past two years the situation is very different, as Puja Committees and Organizers are tight in budget and have to follow a lot of restrictions . Moreover, thousands of dhakis from Bengal districts like East Burdwan, Birbhum, Purulia, Bankura and Hooghly would in other years travel to states such as Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh to perform at Durga Puja pandals and get higher pay than what they would have got in their home state. But, COVID-19 has restricted that option too for these drummers in past years.

*Dhakis* at **Sealdah station, Kolkata**

Where Are They At Now: How We Can Help

Acknowledging the fact that, playing dhak couldn’t be considered as a stable profession and is more inclined to be an occasional source of performing art and earning money, most of the dhakis are often associated with other rural jobs like farming, weaving, fishing to support their livelihood. During Pandemic, the dhakis hope that though they could not travel outside Bengal, they were still lucky if they got calls from Bengal puja organisers. When budgets are low, organisers play recorded beats of the dhaki in pandals. However, several organisers in Bengal have decided to go ahead with dhakis to add the traditional fervour to festivities with the state government offering a dole of Rs 50,000 to each puja committee.

A group of *Women Dhakis* in front of **Goddess Durga idols**

Conclusion

Just like of everyday’s, MachhBhaat, Bengal ’s essence of festivity is incomplete without the rhythmic beats of Dhaks. Along with everyone one of us, they are also looking forward for a better situation in the upcoming years, while we can celebrate together the joys of life without fearing for the safety of our health . With the constant effort of the Government and the citizens together , hope we are going to reach that phase very soon.

River Cities Alliance

The River Cities Alliance (RCA) has been launched with the objective to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best practices and supporting innovation. The alliance has been launched initially with 30 cities namely Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Srinagar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Farrukhabad, Mirzapur, Mathura, Bijnor, Ayodhya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Howrah, Jangipur, Hugli-Chinsurah, Behrampore, Maheshtala, Aurangabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Pune, Udaipur and Vijaywada.

The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time.

State Governments are implementing Action Plans for restoration of water quality of the identified polluted river stretches. The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central level by the Central Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

In addition, under Namami Gange Programme, the progress and activities are reviewed regularly by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), State Governments and District Ganga Committees.

RCA is envisaged as a facilitatory platform for initiating river-sensitive planning and development. Namami Gange through its integrated and comprehensive framework has been working towards rejuvenating Ganga river basin. As cities start to implement the river-sensitive development agenda, the River Cities Alliance will support them to learn from each other and inspire others to take up progressive action on this front.

For adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valley thereof, the Parliament has enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956. When any request under the said Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central Government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the said water dispute. Currently, 5 such water disputes Tribunals are active, the details of which are given at Annexure. In addition, Inter State Water disputes has been raised by Government of Bihar in respect of Tilaiya-Dhadhar Diversion scheme concerning States of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and by Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) in respect of use, distribution and control of Pennaiyar river and its tributaries concerning States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and UT of Puducherry.

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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ANNEXURE

Status of active Inter-State Water Disputes Tribunals relating to the sharing of
river water

S. No	Name of Tribunal	States concerned	Date of constitution	Present Status
1.	Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal – II(KWDT-II)	Karnataka, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra	April, 2004	Report and decision given on 30.12.2010. Further report given by the Tribunal on 29.11.2013. However, as per Supreme Court Order dated 16.9.2011, till further order, decision taken by the Tribunal on references filed by States and Central Government shall not be published in the official Gazette. As such, matter is sub-judice. Term of the Tribunal was extended for a period of two years w.e.f. 1st August, 2014 to address the terms of reference as contained in section 89 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. Thereafter, the term of the Tribunal has been extended six times for period of one year latest being w.e.f. 01.08.2021.
2.	Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal	Odisha and Chhattisgarh	12th March, 2018	The Government of Odisha had filed a complaint dated 19.11.2016 with the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 read with Inter-State River Water Dispute Rules, 1959. The Central Government has constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal vide Notification dated 12.03.2018. Subsequently, the reference was made to the Tribunal under Section 5(1) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 17.04.2018. The matter is thus under adjudication in the Tribunal. The Central Government, vide Notification dated 3rd June, 2021 has extended the tenure of the Tribunal for a period of two years upto 11th March, 2023 or till the submission of report, whichever is earlier.
3.	Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MW DT)	Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra	16th November, 2010 However, vide notification dated 13.11.2014 date of reckoning of the constitution of the Tribunal is w.e.f. 21.08.2013	The MWDT submitted its report under Section 5(2) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 to the Central Government on 14.08.2018. Further references under Section 5(3) have been filed by the party States and the Central Government before the Tribunal. The matter is subjudice. The term of the Tribunal has been extended for a further period of one year w.e.f. 20.08.2021 to submit its Further Report under Section 5(3) of ISRWD Act, 1956. The Central Government has notified the Award and Final Decision of the MWDT given on 14.08.2018 in the Gazette of India vide notification No. S.O. 888(E). dated 27.02.2020.
4.	Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal (RB WT)	Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan	April, 1986	Report and decision under section 5(2) given in April, 1987. Clarification/explanation sought from the Tribunal under File No.H-11016/134/2021-BM Section-MOWR I/53475/2021 25 Section 5(3) of the said Act by the party States. Presidential Reference 1 of 2004 was made on the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has pronounced the judgement on Presidential Reference in negative. Further, Government of Haryana has filed IA No. 6 of 2016 in OS No. 6 of 1996 in the matter. The matter is subjudice.
5.	Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (VW DT)	Andhra Pradesh & Odisha	February, 2010 However, as per the Supreme Court order the date of reckoning of the constitution of the Tribunal is w.e.f. 17.9.2012	The Tribunal has submitted its report to the Central Government under Section 5(2) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 13.09.2017. Further, State of Odisha and the Central Government filed reference under Section 5(3) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 11.12.2017 and 12.12.2017 respectively. The State of Odisha has also filed I.A. No.1 of 2019 before the Tribunal and the Tribunal gave its judgement in the matter on 23.09.2019. Subsequently, the State of Odisha has filed SLPC(C) No.27930/2019 before the Supreme Court against Order dated 23.09.2019 which is subjudice. Now, the Tribunal has furnished its Further Report dated 21.06.2021 under section 5(3) of the ISRWD Act.

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Toycathon aims to tapIndia’s one billion USD toy market

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Union Minister WCD and Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani jointly launched Toycathon-2021 today. Shri Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE and Dr Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MoEwere present on the launch event of Toycathon-2021. The Union Ministers also jointly launched the Toycathon Portal on the occasion. This Toycathon is aimed to conceptualize innovative toys based on the Indian value system which will inculcate the positive behaviour and good value among the children.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pokhriyalsaid that Toycathon is being organized to develop India as the global Toy manufacturing hub. He said size of toy market in India is about one billion USD but unfortunately 80% of the toys are imported. The launch of Toycathon today, is an endeavor by the government to create an ecosystem for the domestic Toy industry and the local manufacturers, tapping the untapped resources and utilizing theirpotential. Recalling the vision of Prime MinisterShri Narendra Modi of 5 trillion-dollar economy and considering the huge potential of our toy market, he exhorted all to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ in Toy industry. He further stated that National Education Policy-2020also lays emphasis on innovation and research in learning, starting from the primary education. Aligned with the goals of National Education Policy, the Toycathonaims to capture innovative prowess of 33 crores students across the country, he added.

Addressing a press conference Smt. Smriti Z Irani stated that India imports 80 per cent of toys and the government is working towards promoting the indigenous toy industry for making the country self-reliant in this sector. She said that the collaboration with Ministry of Education paves the way for the students, faculties from all schools, colleges and universities of the country to answer to the clarion call of Atmanirbhar Bharat though this Toycathon. Appreciating the initiative, the Minister said, “This is the first time when school children will innovate, design and conceptualize toys also for especially abled ‘divyang children’. The Minister informed that students and faculty members participating in Toycathon can get prizes upto 50 lakhs.Commerce Ministry and MSME Ministry have taken various steps to protect the toy manufacturing industry and to make it competitive and to create awareness about safe toys which are not harmful chemically, Ministry of Education and Ministry of WCD will adopt special measures, she said.

About Toycathon 2021:

Taking a giant leap in the path of becoming ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Ministry of Textile, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of I&B and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched Toycathon-2021.

This is a special kind of hackathon where students and teachers from schools and colleges, design experts, toy experts and startups will get together to crowd source ideas for developing toys and games that are based on Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, and Indian value systems.While this will greatly help India develop into a global hub for toys and games, it will also help our children to understand the ethos and values of Indian culture as envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020.

The Toycathon is based on nine themes viz. Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang ; Fitness and sport; Out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys

The Toycathon will have 3 variants of tracks of Junior Level, Senior Level and Start up Leveland will allow participation of students and teachers from schools, colleges and universitiesapart from startups and toy experts. Participants will have two options for ideasubmission; they can either submit ideas for the published problem statements or undernovel toy concepts category. This is the high time we utilize brightest creative minds andcarve out games based on our Indian culture, tradition and heritage and stories of ancientIndia showcasingthe beliefs and traditions of people.

For participation in Toycathon 2021, please visit https://toycathon.mic.gov.in.The Proposals can be submitted online from 5th January to 20th January, 2021.

Click here to access the PPT on Toycathon-2021

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