Northern Ireland has been called one of the most violent regions of this world. The Troubles as they are termed now was a period of heightened tensions and violence beginning in the late 1960s that ‘ended’ with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Seamus Heaney writing from that region has called out the intractable violence that has been a veritable feature of the region. In doing so, the poet recurrently overturns some symbols and metaphors of romantic poetry, most significantly of the nightingales and swallows. In his first poem itself he referenced digging through which he promised his readers that he will dig through his family history, the history of the turbulent region, and of troubles that flared during the 1970s and 80s. The paper then goes on to raise issues on the role of the artist in such a clime, and how to counter violence that seems endemic. He also calls for a middle ground that offers a place for conciliation and peace.
Keywords: Northern Ireland; Seamus Heaney; overturning romantic symbols; role of the artist; countering violence
In 1982, some his poems were included in the Penguin Book of Contemporary British Poetry edited by Blake Morrison and Andrew Motion. To that Heaney wrote a not so flattering rejoinder to them in a poem titled “An Open Letter” (1983): “My anxious muse… has to refuse/ The adjective/ British, no, the name’s not right” (Heaney) [The poem remains an unpublished one in any of his collections]. This is both a rejection of the continuing British suzerainty over Northern Ireland and an assertion of his Irish roots. It is also that, if a poet writes in a certain language, his/her poetry instantly becomes part of its national tradition. Heaney seems to differ. Then again, this is further complicated by the poet choosing to write in English! In an interview with Dennis O’Driscoll, he commented on the force of his writing in English and not in Irish:
The writing current has to flow in your limbs and joints and the linguistic experiences that threw my switches were in English. What happened subsequently was a process of squaring this experiential fact with the cultural and political pieties I grew up with. There were always those old nationalist tests hovering over you: could you be an Irish writer if you wrote in English? Of course, you could, but you were still faced with that screening process (O’Driscoll 73).
In the significant sequence “Singing School”, the poet writes of this ambivalence, a predicament that did not possess easy answers, but posed several other contradictions: “Ulster was British, but with no rights on/ The English lyric: all around us, though/ We hadn’t named it, the ministry of fear” (Heaney Opened Ground 125-126). The poet-persona questions if the region Ulster is indeed British, how come it has no place for the lyric? The people of Ulster seem to be secondary citizens, especially Catholics, rather than a people exercising their free will. The thing that has not been named yet, is the rapid enclosing of Northern Ireland by British paramilitaries, connoting Graham Greene’s work The Ministry of Fear. Perhaps, it could also mean what Michael Parker wrote in his work Seamus Heaney: The Making of the Poet (1993):
…he came to recognize that the ‘gagging’ in the North within both communities, and the unwillingness to confront and speak out against injustices within his own, had been major factors in the explosion of violence (Parker 2).
Seamus Heaney also has a way of overturning some of the symbols of British romantic poetry. The first lines of his beautiful poem “Serenades” from his fourth collection Wintering Out (1972) are worth quoting: “The Irish nightingale/ Is a sedge-warbler,/ A little bird with a big voice/ Kicking up a racket all night (Heaney Opened Ground 72). Though Heaney says it’s just a serenade, these are serious lines. He’s asserting I’m Irish, I’m a nightingale but no I’m not the nightingale of John Keats who sings of summer, sunburnt mirth, and Bacchus. Not only he is incapable of singing hymns but one who not content with keeping himself awake, kicks up a racket and wakes up others. But, why does he want to kick up a racket? Doesn’t he like Keats nightingale sing drowsy songs and go numb? The poet seems to say a firm no. In the next stanzas of the poem he compares his song to “broken voice of a crow,” (75) the “wheeze of bats,” (75) and the hoarse notes of the corncrakes. Perhaps this is the poet’s way of answering the query as to his work being written in English: ‘yes, I will write in the language of my oppressor but I will overturn and transform its images and symbols.’
The very first of his poems’ “Digging” from his first collection Death of a Naturalist (1966) is an illustration of this. In it he promised his readers to use his pen to dig and bring out his family’s history, of his homeland, and of the uneasy relationship between the British and the Irish. He begins with the land because he cannot be a potato planter like his ancestors. He speaks of bogs which reveal the connection of the Irish land to the European continent. In the sixth stanza he says that he carried milk to his father, we find no mention of tea and the leisurely ways of the island that has colonized it. He also makes reference to the violent history of the nation as he says in the very second line, “The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.” And in the last line, which is a repetition of the first two-lined stanza, he almost says it as if he is answering a journalist’s question, “The squat pen rests,/ I’ll dig with it” (Heaney Opened Ground 14-15). There is something very important going on here. It is the use of this particular word ‘squat.’ It is of course a sitting position but also means something else in geographical/ territorial sense. It connotes unlawful occupation of land or territory. The squatting is done through unlawful treaties and phony laws, some thing that is registered in “Act of Union.”
In the beginning of the poem the squat pen rests, that is, the English have occupied and not leaving the Irish lands. It is achieved through the British paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies which regularly foment trouble. Now, of course, it can also mean that Heaney intends to use his pen as a gun, that is, to train his words towards the unlawful occupation. But then, to see this in the light of the last line of the poem in which Heaney says, “I’ll dig with it” (14-15). The gun in the first line is juxtaposed with the digging for potatoes and metaphorically to everything Irish. He’ll unearth not just his family’s past but also the often violent struggles as well. Helen Vendler, one of Heaney’s long-time critics offers this view:
This is to conceive of writing as, like war, politics by other means. It is significant that in this – the first poem in his first book – Heaney rejects the concept of writing as aggression and chooses the spade as his final analogue for his pen: the pen will serve as an instrument of exploration and excavation, yielding warmth (like his grandfather’s turf for fires) and nourishment (like his father’s potatoes) (Vendler 28).
Then again, the poet although abjuring the violence of the gun, in a way is transfixed by the power that comes out if it, both the bullet as well as the power to kill or not unkill, even if it is a horse as in the poem “Turpin Song”: “The horse pistol, we called it:/ Brass inlay smooth in the stock,/ Two hammers cocked like lugs” (Heaney Electric Light 18). In another poem he recalls the exhilaration of the “bullet’s song” (Heaney Seeing Things 75) as he fires it “once and only once” (75) in his life, as it jolts the poet into a “new quickened sense” (75).
“Requiem for the Croppies” an elegiac sonnet from his second collection Door into the Dark (1969) but written quite differently from the sonnets of the English mainland. The poem is an elegy for the Irish rebels who died while fighting the British in 1798. They were inspired by the French Revolution demanding an independent Ireland free of the English rule. The croppies refer to the men who cropped their hair close in the style of the French Republican army. This was a style that was against the wig style, considered aristocratic and supportive of the British rule. Heaney describes the people who marched without training and equipment against a regular army. It was more like hiking than an army marching to the battlefield, with their coats full of barley gains rather than with grenades, ammunition or other weapons. Their weapons were scythes, hardly a match to the heavy cannons of the enemy. The “conclave” which Heaney uses is significant. It is not a conclave where people met to discuss important things or even to elect the Pope, but where thousands were ambushed and slaughtered at Vinegar Hill. And then as a way to complete the cycle of the poem, the barley that the men took with them, got buried with them and in August on the land where thousands were buried “without shroud or coffin” (Heaney Opened Ground 34) there grew barley. Linking the Easter Rising of 1916 with the unsuccessful revolt in 1798, as well as the coming storm of the Troubles, Heaney himself commented:
The oblique implication was that the seeds of violent resistance sowed in the Year of Liberty had flowered in what Yeats called ‘the right rose tree’ of 1916. I did not realise at the time that the original heraldic murderous encounter between Protestant yeoman and Catholic rebel was to be initiated again in the summer of 1969, in Belfast, two months after the book was published (qtd. in Allen 34).
Then he castigates himself for not being part of the rebellion in the fourth poem “Summer 1969” in the series “Singing School.” While the Irish guerilla forces were facing heat from their British counterparts, all Heaney faced is the heat of Madrid. The artist has gone into exile but he cannot fully leave what is happening in his nation. Though he has for companionship James Joyce he can only see and marvel what Goya has painted in his “Shootings of the Third of May.” In this way this poem is an answer to Heaney’s question of the place of the artist in society and more importantly on how they should respond. The poem answers this by affirming the position of Goya. Considered as one of the first paintings of the modern era, the painting “Shootings at the Third of May” depicts a row of soldiers standing with their rifles aiming to shoot down Spanish citizens. The answer through the evocation of the painting of Goya is that… no matter what, it is the responsibility of the artist to portray and document ‘truthfully’ the events that are happening around them, even when they are violent. Lucy McDiarmid argues that this poem might suggest “the possibility that the realm of poetry might be used to oppose the State” (Bloom 43). Thus, Heaney questions himself and provides some answers to the most crucial questions of all… how should an artist respond to violence and civil strife?
“Casualty” offers a much closer view on the question of artists living and writing in a deadened world. The poem is written as an elegy to a family friend of Heaney who was killed in the aftermath of the Bloody Sunday of 1972. This friend questions Heaney on what he is writing in his poems. But then the poet is too shy to talk about his own craft and would rather talk to him on anything but poetry. He calls his writing “tentative art” (Heaney Opened Gound 141) as there are no sides to be taken in the conflict:
We would be on our own
And, always politic
And shy of condescension,
I would manage by some trick
To switch the talk to eels
Or lore of the horse and cart
Or the Provisionals (Heaney Opened Ground 141-142).
“Making Strange” from Station Island (1984) offers a further answer to this nagging question of the artists responsibility and how she/he should respond to things that happen around her/him. Two sides, one of “travelled intelligence” (202) and the other “unshorn and bewildered,” (202) fight for the poet’s voice, but then a third side crops up. This “cunning middle voice” (202) instructs the poet to “be adept and be dialect” (202). In “England’s Difficulty,” the poet imagines himself during war time as German bombs fall on Belfast, forcing him to move “like a double agent” (Heaney Opened Gound 87), as he tries to reach home. The poem ends with the poet-persona crossing checkpoints, uttering secret passwords to make a turn, and congratulating himself. But then, the poet seems to ask why would he have to do all this if he is in his own country?
I lodged with ‘the enemies of Ulster’, the scullions outside the walls. An adept at banter, I crossed the lines with carefully enunciated passwords, manned every speech with checkpoints and reported back to nobody (Heaney Opened Ground 87).
A similar experience is recorded in “The Flight Path” as the sentry questions where he is from, the poet replies that is comes from “far away” (Heaney The Spirit Level 30), the sentry is unaware of that place as he asks “Where’s that?” (30), to that the poet writes in half-mocking tone: “He’d only half-heard what I said and thought/ It was the name of someplace up the country” (30).
Speaking in dialect and a middle voice is the central theme of “Whatever You Say Say Nothing” from his collection North (1975). Why does Heaney would want to give a title like this. At a first reading it looks ironical… how can anyone say something and say nothing. It can mean that someone can speak a lot and still not say anything… that is, talking pointlessly. Does it mean that the poem is pointless? No, on the contrary the title invites us to be more serious about what Heaney is saying in the poem. To go a little deeper, doesn’t the title sound more like an injunction from someone who does not want the speaker to say anything at all… something like a polite way to stop speaking. And then, doesn’t it also mean that the speaker can speak but only on things that are non-controversial. Heaney here interrogates the role of media and almost urges them to provide a fuller and humane narrative rather than writing the usual descriptive phrases like “backlash,” “provisional wing,” and “long-standing hate” (Heaney Opened Ground 121). He questions the language used by the media to denote the conflict by putting these phrases and others in single-inverted quotations. In the third section of the poem, he writes…
O land of password, handgrip, wink and nod,
Of open minds as open as a trap,
….
Where tongues lie coiled, as under flames lie wicks (Heaney Opened Ground 121-122).
Heaney here writes of the mistrust that dominates the relationship between warring groups. The entire scene is one of a military siege where one has to furnish passwords just to stay alive. Even then they are not sure if they’d live as people’s minds have become traps and anybody could betray anybody. Even with all of this going on Heaney says he’ll sing of this:
Yet for all this art and sedentary trade
I am incapable. The famous
…
Northern reticence, the tight gag of place
And times: yes, yes. Of the ‘wee six’ I sing
And Whatever you say, you say nothing (Heaney Opened Ground 121-122).
He says he is incapable of joining the armed resistance but all he has are words and pen through which he’ll sing of the sacrifices that the Irish have made in their long battle for freedom.
In “Route 110”, Heaney is anxious on how to express his anguish about the violence in Irish history. It is complicated, nonetheless, but how best to represent something that cannot be easily done. The poem reaches its crescendo in the section IX, as Heaney recounts those that the violence in Northern Ireland has taken away. Among them are his friends, people he knew from pubs, people who have been killed in reprisals, those that British paramilitary gunned down, and those that history forgets to lay them…
In war graves with full honours, nor in a separate plot
Fired over on anniversaries
By units drilled and spruce and unreconciled (Heaney Human Chain 52).
If history has forgotten people who have given their lives in the struggle for self-determination and freedom, the poet attempts to memorialize them in his poem as they “cannot rest in peace but remain restive, like the unburied dead of Virgil’s Limbo, until their loss is duly acknowledged” (O’Brien 41).
A spirit, perhaps an embodiment of conscience is ever present in his poetry. In “District and Circle” a busker, a fellow artist, nudges him to review his work as a poet, as he travels down the London Underground:
As the music larked and capered
I’d trigger and untrigger a hot coin
Held at the ready, but now my gaze was lowered
For was our traffic not in recognition?
Accorded passage, I would re-pocket and nod,
And he, still eyeing me, would also nod (Heaney District and Circle 21).
The poet wishes to act like a normal person, acknowledge his music and grant him a coin; but the artist in him plays with the coin in his coat pocket as the other artist concedes access. For a moment the poet-persona wishes to hide his identity, but the busker not only recognizes but also quietly questions him, in spirit. Eugene O’Brien argues that:
…it would be impossible not to read the title poem without thinking of the fallout from the American “war on terror” as visited upon London by the 7/7 bombers who killed fifty people and injured more than seven hundred in the Underground’s District and Circle line in 2005 (O’Brien 196).
While a fellow artist like the busker queries his personhood as a poet, another singer from “The Fragment” interrogates… “Since when,” he asked,/ Are the first line and the last line of any poem/ Where the poem begins and ends?” (Heaney Electric Light 47). In a tribute to Ted Hughes in the collection Seeing Things, he commented “I trust contrariness” (Heaney Seeing Things 15), suggesting that it is through a counter-measuring of differences and dialectics that art can be made as well as lives remade. Gates, gate-keeping, of things coming in and going out is also the central theme of “Field of Vision” as the woman in the wheel chair does not carry even “a spare ounce of emotional weight” (Heaney Seeing Things 24).
Conclusion
It was inferred from the above discussion that Heaney had not shied away from responding according to his artistic sensibilities to the Troubles and to his nation’s struggle for independence. From his first published poem on, the poet has been acutely aware that he is writing in a language that is learnt. But then, it was also observed that the poet attempts to overturn some symbols and images from English romantic writers, like the sedge-warbler who cannot sing like a nightingale but ‘sings’ in its own way. The poet abjures violence but wishes for a free and independent Irish nation. It was observed that as an artist he is ambivalent about the positions he has to take, but then he favours the stance of Goya, who seems to represent in whatever way he can, the atrocities and deaths. Heaney over the years also favoured a position that he called ‘travelled intelligence’ as well of ‘fork-tongue’ and ‘governing ones tongue’. He favours a representation and writing that takes in all the complex and complicated histories of his nation as well as of the private sphere as well.
Works Cited
Allen, Michael, editor. Seamus Heaney. St Martin’s Press, 1997.
Andrews, Elmer. The Poetry of Seamus Heaney: All the Realms of Whisper. Macmillan, 1998.
Bloom, Harold, editor. Seamus Heaney. Chelsea House Publishers, 2003.
Crowder, Ashley Bland and Jason David Hall, editor. Seamus Heaney: Poet, Critic, Translator. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Heaney, Seamus. Opened Ground: Poems 1966-1966. Faber and Faber, 1998.
—. Death of a Naturalist. Faber & Faber, 1970.
—. District and Circle. Faber & Faber, 2009.
—. Door into the Dark. Faber & Faber, 2013.
—. Electric Light. Faber & Faber, 2010.
—. Human Chain. Faber & Faber, 2010.
—. North: Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975.
—. Seeing Things: Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014.
—. Station Island. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986
—. The Spirit Level. Faber & Faber, 2009.
—. Wintering Out. Faber & Faber, 2011.
O’Brien, Eugene. The Soul Exceeds Its Circumstances: The Later Poetry of Seamus Heaney. University of Notre Dame Press, 2016.
O’Donoghue, Bernard, editor. The Cambridge Companion to Seamus Heaney. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
O’Driscoll, Dennis. Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney. Faber and Faber, 2009.
Parker, Michael. Seamus Heaney: The Making of the Poet. University of Iowa Press, 1993.
Abstract— The evolution of business landscapes has been profoundly shaped by technological revolutions, from the Industrial Revolution to the current age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Each revolution has significantly altered the way companies operate, innovate, and compete, pushing businesses towards new frontiers of efficiency, growth, and sustainability. This research paper explores the critical success factors in business transformation, focusing on the roles of leadership, organizational culture, and technology adoption. It provides a historical overview of major technological revolutions, analyzing how companies have successfully adapted to these changes while others have failed. The paper highlights contemporary disruptions driven by AI, with companies like OpenAI leading innovation across industries. It also examines the challenges faced by traditional sectors, such as banking, in adopting new technologies like blockchain. Drawing on over twenty scholarly sources, this research identifies key indicators of successful transformation and offers a roadmap for companies aiming to achieve sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Keywords—Business Transformation, Technological Revolutions, Leadership and Vision, C-Level Executives, D-Level Managers, Organizational Culture, Innovation and Agility, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain Technology, Digital Transformation, Sustainability
Business transformation has emerged as a critical imperative for organizations seeking to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape. Driven by continuous technological advancements, shifting consumer expectations, and dynamic competitive environments, business transformation involves the comprehensive rethinking and restructuring of an organization’s strategy, processes, culture, and technological infrastructure. The goal is to achieve sustained growth, improve operational efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge.
Historically, business transformation has been catalyzed by significant technological revolutions. The Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century marked the beginning of mass production and mechanization, reshaping economies and societies. This was followed by the Second Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century, which introduced electricity, the internal combustion engine, and telecommunication technologies, further accelerating industrial and economic growth. The late 20th century witnessed the Digital Revolution, characterized by the advent of computers, the Internet, and mobile communication, which fundamentally transformed how businesses operate and interact with customers.
Today, we find ourselves at the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, often referred to as Industry 4.0, which is characterized by the fusion of digital, physical, and biological worlds. This revolution brings together advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and big data analytics, driving unprecedented levels of automation and connectivity. Alongside this, the rise of blockchain technology is revolutionizing how transactions are secured and verified, offering new paradigms for data transparency and trust. Additionally, emerging developments in quantum computing promise to redefine the limits of computational power, paving the way for breakthroughs in complex problem-solving across various industries.
In this context, business transformation is no longer a one-time initiative but a continuous process of adaptation and innovation. Organizations that successfully navigate these technological waves are able to reinvent their business models, improve customer experiences, and streamline operations. For instance, companies like Amazon have leveraged cloud computing to redefine IT infrastructure management, while Tesla has disrupted the automotive industry through its pioneering efforts in electric vehicles and autonomous driving technologies. Conversely, organizations that fail to adapt to these changes risk obsolescence, as seen in the decline of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers who could not compete with the agility and customer reach of online marketplaces.
The success of business transformation initiatives largely depends on several key factors: leadership, culture, and technology. Leadership plays a pivotal role in setting the vision for transformation and ensuring alignment with strategic goals. C-level executives, particularly Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Information Officers (CIOs), and Chief Digital Officers (CDOs), are instrumental in driving innovation and fostering an environment that supports change. They must champion transformation efforts, allocate necessary resources, and guide their organizations through the complexities of technological adoption.
Equally important is the role of organizational culture. A culture that encourages innovation, continuous learning, and agility can significantly enhance an organization’s ability to respond to market changes and technological advancements. Employee engagement and empowerment are crucial, as the success of transformation initiatives often depends on the willingness and capability of employees to adopt new ways of working. Organizations that cultivate a culture of inclusiveness and open communication are better positioned to harness the creative potential of their workforce and drive successful transformation.
Furthermore, the integration of cutting-edge technologies is central to business transformation. Technologies such as AI and blockchain offer vast potential to automate processes, enhance decision-making, and secure transactions. Organizations must strategically invest in technology that aligns with their business objectives, ensuring that these technologies are not just adopted for their novelty but are integrated into the fabric of their operations to drive tangible business outcomes.
This paper aims to explore the critical success factors in business transformation by examining historical precedents, contemporary examples, and emerging trends. It highlights the importance of leadership, organizational culture, and technology in shaping successful transformation efforts and provides insights into how organizations can navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the ongoing technological revolution. By drawing on a wide range of scholarly sources and case studies, this research provides a roadmap for companies aiming to achieve sustainable growth and maintain competitiveness in a fast-paced, technology-driven world.
II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS
A. The First Industrial Revolution
The First Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century catalyzed a shift from agrarian economies to industrialized production. Innovations such as the steam engine and mechanized textile manufacturing drove mass production and urbanization. Early adopters of these technologies experienced unprecedented growth, while those resistant to change faced obsolescence [1].
B. The Second Industrial Revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution, occurring in the late 19th century, was characterized by the introduction of electricity, steel production, and the internal combustion engine. The rise of assembly line production, as pioneered by companies like Ford, revolutionized industries such as manufacturing and telecommunications, facilitating global market expansion [2], [4].
C. The Digital and Internet Revolution
The Digital Revolution, often referred to as the Third Industrial Revolution, was marked by the advent of computers, the Internet, and mobile communications. Businesses that embraced these changes, such as Amazon and Google, were able to set new standards for digital transformation and customer experience [3]. Companies that failed to adapt were quickly left behind, exemplifying the importance of agility in business transformation [5].
D. The Fourth Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, is driven by advancements in AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data. Industry 4.0 emphasizes the integration of cyber-physical systems and smart manufacturing. Early adopters like Siemens and General Electric have embraced these technologies, leading to higher efficiency levels and innovation [6], [7].
E. AI and Blockchain Revolution
AI and blockchain are transforming industries by enabling automation, predictive analytics, and secure, decentralized transactions. OpenAI’s success with AI-driven tools demonstrates the disruptive potential of these technologies. The financial sector, particularly through the use of blockchain, exemplifies how industries can innovate and streamline operations [8], [9].
F. Green and Sustainability Revolution
The Green Revolution is driven by a growing focus on sustainability and eco-friendly technologies. Tesla’s leadership in electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions demonstrates the opportunities that lie at the intersection of business transformation and sustainability [10].
G. Quantum Computing Revolution
Quantum computing, though still in its early stages, holds the potential to transform industries requiring immense computational power, such as cryptography and material science. As quantum technology advances, industries will need to adapt rapidly to leverage its capabilities [11].
III. SUCCESS FACTORS IN BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Business transformation success hinges on several critical factors that encompass leadership, organizational culture, strategic alignment, technological adoption, and competencies at both technical and functional levels. These factors, when effectively integrated, can drive sustainable growth and innovation, enabling organizations to navigate technological revolutions and maintain a competitive edge.
Fig.1. Business Transformation Success Factors
A. Leadership and Vision
Effective leadership is a cornerstone of successful business transformation. C-level executives, including CEOs, CIOs, and CDOs, are responsible for setting a clear vision that aligns with the organization’s strategic goals and market realities. Leaders must articulate this vision, ensuring that all levels of the organization understand the objectives and their roles in achieving them. They play a pivotal role in fostering a culture of innovation, where employees feel encouraged to contribute ideas and embrace new technologies. Leaders must also manage change effectively, guiding the organization through transitions, overcoming resistance, and ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently to support transformation initiatives [10][18].
Strong leadership also involves the ability to make decisive and timely decisions that capitalize on emerging opportunities. In the context of technological disruption, leaders must possess a forward-looking mindset, staying abreast of industry trends and potential disruptions. Their ability to anticipate market shifts and react quickly is essential in maintaining a competitive advantage. Leaders must champion innovation, driving initiatives that leverage new technologies such as AI and blockchain to optimize operations and enhance customer experiences [19].
B. Organizational Culture and Agility
A successful business transformation requires an organizational culture that supports agility, continuous learning, and innovation. Agility enables organizations to respond swiftly to technological advancements and changing market conditions. Companies that foster a culture of agility can pivot quickly, seize new opportunities, and address challenges effectively. This requires an environment where employees are empowered to take risks, experiment with new ideas, and learn from failures without fear of retribution [12][20].
Cultivating a culture of innovation is equally important. Organizations should encourage cross-functional collaboration, enabling teams to work together, share knowledge, and develop creative solutions. Employee engagement is critical, as engaged employees are more likely to embrace change and contribute to transformation efforts. Providing ongoing training and development opportunities helps employees build the skills needed to adapt to new technologies and processes. This not only enhances technical and functional competencies but also boosts morale and retention [21].
C. Strategic Alignment and Technology Integration
Aligning technological initiatives with overall business strategy is crucial for effective transformation. Strategic alignment ensures that technology investments directly support the organization’s goals, such as improving customer experience, increasing operational efficiency, and entering new markets. Companies must take a holistic approach, integrating technology with business processes and customer interactions to create seamless, efficient, and scalable operations [13][14].
The successful integration of new technologies requires careful planning and execution. Organizations must assess their existing technological infrastructure, identify gaps, and prioritize investments that deliver the most value. This involves not only adopting cutting-edge technologies but also optimizing legacy systems to enhance compatibility and performance. Effective technology integration supports data-driven decision-making, enabling organizations to leverage insights for strategic planning and execution [22].
D. Technical and Functional Competencies
Building technical and functional competencies within the organization is vital for successful business transformation. Technical competencies refer to the skills and knowledge required to understand, implement, and manage new technologies effectively. This includes expertise in areas such as AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. Organizations must invest in training and upskilling their workforce to ensure that employees have the technical proficiency needed to operate in a technology-driven environment [23].
Functional competencies, on the other hand, relate to the ability to apply technical knowledge to specific business functions. This includes skills in project management, process optimization, and customer relationship management. Developing these competencies enables employees to use technology effectively to improve workflows, enhance product quality, and provide better customer service. Organizations that excel in building both technical and functional competencies can drive innovation, streamline operations, and achieve their strategic objectives [24].
E. Managing Teams Effectively
Effective team management is crucial for driving business transformation. This involves assembling diverse, cross-functional teams that bring together different perspectives and expertise. Leaders must foster collaboration and communication within teams, ensuring that members work towards common goals and objectives. Establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability helps streamline workflows and avoid confusion or overlap in tasks [25].
Managing teams effectively also requires motivating and engaging employees. Leaders should recognize and reward contributions, provide constructive feedback, and create an inclusive environment where all team members feel valued. By promoting a sense of ownership and belonging, organizations can enhance employee commitment to transformation initiatives, resulting in higher productivity and better outcomes [26].
F. Speed to Market and Innovation
In the fast-paced business environment, speed is a critical factor in gaining a competitive edge. Organizations must be able to bring innovative products and services to market quickly to capitalize on new opportunities and meet customer demands. This requires streamlined development processes, efficient decision-making, and the ability to rapidly prototype, test, and refine new ideas. Agile methodologies, such as iterative development and continuous integration, can help organizations accelerate product development cycles and reduce time to market [27][28].
Speed to market also involves effectively managing the product lifecycle, from ideation to launch. Organizations need robust processes for market research, product design, testing, and feedback collection. By continuously monitoring market trends and customer preferences, companies can anticipate shifts and adjust their product strategies accordingly. This proactive approach enables organizations to stay ahead of the competition and maintain relevance in their industry [29].
G. Marketing and Customer Engagement
Successfully marketing and bringing new products to customers is a vital component of business transformation. Organizations must develop marketing strategies that effectively communicate the value of their innovations, build brand awareness, and attract customers. This involves leveraging digital marketing tools, social media platforms, and data analytics to reach target audiences and tailor messages to their preferences [30].
Customer engagement is equally important. Organizations must create meaningful interactions with customers, providing personalized experiences that build loyalty and trust. This can be achieved through customer-centric approaches, such as using AI-driven insights to understand customer behavior, preferences, and feedback. By actively engaging with customers, organizations can foster long-term relationships and enhance brand reputation, ultimately driving growth and success [31].
IV. CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
A. OpenAI and the AI Industry
OpenAI has set benchmarks in AI applications by developing technologies like ChatGPT, which have transformed customer service, content creation, and other business functions. OpenAI’s success showcases the potential of AI to drive efficiency and innovation, providing companies with competitive advantages [6].
B. Fintech Disruption in the Banking Industry
Fintech innovations and blockchain technology have disrupted traditional banking by offering more efficient, user-friendly services. Fintech startups, with their agility and technological expertise, have challenged traditional banks, highlighting the importance of embracing digital transformation to remain competitive [7][16].
C. Tesla and the Automotive Industry
Tesla has revolutionized the automotive industry by promoting electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology. Tesla’s focus on sustainability and innovation exemplifies how aligning business transformation with environmental goals can drive success [8].
D. Amazon’s Cloud Computing Revolution
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has transformed IT infrastructure management through scalable, on-demand cloud computing solutions. AWS’s success demonstrates the impact of strategic innovation and technology adoption on market leadership and growth [17].
V. CONCLUSION
Business transformation towards growth and sustainability requires strategic leadership, a culture of innovation, and technological agility. Historical and contemporary examples illustrate that companies must proactively embrace change, leverage new technologies, and align transformation initiatives with strategic goals to remain competitive. Success in business transformation is a collective effort involving leadership, middle management, and every employee. By understanding and applying the key success factors identified in this research, organizations can navigate the complexities of technological evolution and achieve sustainable growth in the future.
VI. RESEARCH LIMITATION
While this research paper provides a comprehensive overview of the critical success factors in business transformation, several limitations should be acknowledged:
A. Scope of Technological Coverage:
The paper focuses primarily on major technological revolutions, including AI, blockchain, and quantum computing, which are currently prominent. Other emerging technologies, such as biotechnology and 5G, were not explored in depth, potentially limiting the comprehensiveness of the analysis.
B. Industry-Specific Analysis:
The paper provides a generalized view of business transformation across various sectors. While examples from industries such as automotive, finance, and cloud computing were highlighted, a deeper industry-specific analysis could provide more tailored insights and reveal sector-specific success factors and challenges.
C. Geographical Focus:
The research predominantly references cases and examples from developed economies, particularly focusing on companies in the United States and Europe. Emerging markets and developing economies might experience different challenges and opportunities in business transformation, which were not extensively covered in this study.
D. Time Frame:
The analysis is based on current and historical trends up to the early 21st century. Rapid advancements in technology and shifts in global economic conditions could alter the landscape of business transformation, meaning that findings could evolve quickly as new developments emerge.
E. Qualitative Nature of Analysis:
The study primarily utilizes qualitative data from existing literature and case studies. While this approach provides valuable insights, incorporating quantitative analysis and empirical data would strengthen the conclusions and provide a more data-driven perspective on business transformation success.
F. Organizational Culture and Employee Engagement:
Although the importance of organizational culture and employee engagement in successful business transformation is acknowledged, the paper does not delve deeply into specific strategies for fostering such a culture or measuring employee engagement quantitatively. Future research could explore these areas in greater detail.
Focus on Large Enterprises: The examples and case studies used in the paper are mostly from large, well-established organizations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face different challenges and may require distinct strategies for business transformation, which are not extensively covered in this paper.
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the researchers, scholars, practitioners, and experts whose invaluable contributions have laid the foundation for this research. Your dedication, insights, and pioneering work have been instrumental in shaping the understanding and knowledge within this field. Without your relentless pursuit of excellence, this research would not have been possible. Thank you for your commitment to advancing the boundaries of knowledge, which continues to inspire and guide future endeavors.
References
[1] E. M. Martinelli, M. C. Farioli, and A. Tunisini, “New companies’ DNA: the heritage of the past industrial revolutions in digital transformation,” J. Manag. Gov., vol. 25, pp. 1079-1106, 2021.
[2] E. Piccinini, A. Hanelt, R. Gregory, and L. Kolbe, “Transforming industrial business: the impact of digital transformation on automotive organizations,” J. Bus. Res., 2015.
[3] V. Venkatraman, The digital matrix: new rules for business transformation through technology. LifeTree Media, 2017.
[4] M. Sullivan and J. Kern, The digital transformation of logistics: Demystifying impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. John Wiley & Sons, 2021.
[5] R. Dornberger and D. Schwaferts, “Digital innovation and digital business transformation in the age of digital change,” in New Trends in Business Information Systems and Technology: Digital Innovation and Digital Business Transformation, 1-13, 2021.
[6] S. Bialkova, “AI transforming business and everyday life,” in The rise of AI user applications: Chatbots integration foundations and trends, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024, pp. 143-165.
[7] Z. Aripin and V. Paramarta, “Between innovation and challenges: utilization of blockchain and cloud platforms in the transformation of banking services in the digital era,” J. Jabar Econ. Soc. Netw. Forum, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 1-16, 2024.
[8] A. L. Müller and R. Pfleger, “Business transformation towards sustainability,” Bus. Res., vol. 7, pp. 313–350, 2014.
[9] D. O. T. Oyekunle and D. Boohene, “Digital transformation potential: The role of artificial intelligence in business,” Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 2024.
[10] M. Christofi, “The role of chief digital officer: Critical insights into an emerging field and road map for future research,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 172, 2024.
[11] J. Gartner and A. Moro, “C-level managers and born-digitals’ scaling: The case of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs),” Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change, vol. 198, 2024.
[12] M. P. R. G. F. Schiavone, “Business model innovation and ambidexterity in Industry 4.0,” J. Bus. Res., 2024.
[13] F. L. Murariu, “Business technology management (BTM) executives, digital transformation, and project governance in public sector,” Doctoral dissertation, Université du Québec en Outaouais, 2024.
[14] L. Reinkemeyer, “Success factors for digital transformation,” in Process Intelligence in Action: Taking Process Mining to the Next Level, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024, pp. 31-36.
[15] N. Zeshung, “Human resource management role in business transformation: The case of General Motors,” Afr. J. Manag. Bus. Res., vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 148-155, 2024.
[16] H. P. Josyula and F. P. T. Expert, “The role of fintech in shaping the future of banking services,” 2024.
[17] J. Khuntia, T. Saldanha, A. Kathuria, and M. R. Tanniru, “Digital service flexibility: a conceptual framework and roadmap for digital business transformation,” Eur. J. Inf. Syst., vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 61-79, 2024.
[18] M. Carter, The Influence of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Performance: The Role of Individual and Organizational Innovation, Journal of Business Research, vol. 109, pp. 163-172, 2024.
[19] D. Wang, K. M. Waldman, and Z. L. Zhang, “Strategic Leadership and Business Transformation in the Age of AI,” Journal of Strategic Information Systems, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 75-87, 2024.
[20] A. Smith and L. O’Neill, “Building an Agile Organization: Strategies for Adaptability and Resilience,” Harvard Business Review, 2024.
[21] S. McKinney, Employee Engagement and the Role of Organizational Culture in Business Transformation, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 35, pp. 41-58, 2024.
[22] J. Brown, “Integration of New Technologies in Business Operations: Best Practices for IT Alignment,” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 45-53, 2024.
[23] R. L. Stevenson, “Technical Skills and Workforce Training for the Digital Economy,” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 333-345, 2024.
[24] E. Martinez, “Functional Competencies for Business Transformation: Aligning Skills with Strategic Goals,” Management Decision, vol. 62, no. 8, pp. 1150-1165, 2024.
[25] T. J. Peters, Effective Team Management for Business Success, Business Horizons, vol. 67, pp. 221-229, 2024.
[26] H. Zhao and X. Li, “Motivating Employees during Business Transformation: The Role of Recognition and Feedback,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 511-527, 2024.
[27] K. Schwab, “Innovation and Speed to Market: Best Practices for Accelerating Product Development,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 201-213, 2024.
[28] M. Turner, “Agile Methodologies and Time to Market: A Case Study Analysis,” Information Systems Journal, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 589-608, 2024.
[29] N. Clark and R. D. Linton, “Lifecycle Management and Market Readiness: Strategic Approaches,” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 39, pp. 365-382, 2024.
[30] J. K. Lee, “Digital Marketing Strategies for Business Transformation: Reaching the Modern Consumer,” Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 57, pp. 85-95, 2024.
[31] L. Watson and A. Kumar, “Customer Engagement and Brand Loyalty in the Age of AI,” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 513-526, 2024.
AUTHOR
Dr. Raj Vayyavur (Senior, IEEE) is a distinguished practitioner, expert, and leader in the IT field with over two decades of experience, currently serving as the Director of Enterprise Architecture at Public Consulting Group (PCG). His extensive expertise covers Enterprise Architecture (EA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Project Portfolio Management, Software Engineering, and IT Management & Governance, and more. Dr. Vayyavur is renowned for his strategic vision, deep technological expertise, and strong business acumen, which he leverages to lead transformative initiatives that align IT strategies with business goals, driving organizational success and delivering measurable outcomes.
A prolific author, Dr. Vayyavur has published numerous research papers on technology, enterprise architecture and project portfolio management, solidifying his position as a thought leader in the field. His work has been featured in leading journals and conferences, where he explores cutting-edge trends and provides actionable insights that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Additionally, Dr. Vayyavur frequently speaks at prestigious forums such as IEEE conferences, sharing his insights on the latest trends in technology and enterprise architecture.
Holding advanced degrees in Computer Science, Business Administration, an MBA, and a Doctorate, Dr. Vayyavur is committed to continuous learning and staying at the forefront of industry developments. His active participation in the IEEE and PMI communities, where he serves as a senior member, reviewer, judge, and chair for various committees, further reflects his dedication to the advancement of the field.
Through his visionary leadership, Dr. Vayyavur has set new standards for technology management, making him a sought-after expert known for driving innovation and excellence in every project he undertakes.
India has a potential demographic dividend, as more than three-thirds of its growing population is in the working-age group of 15-64 years. Historical experience as well as cross-country evidence show that a vibrant, labor-intensive manufacturing sector is a pre-requisite for maximizing a country’s demographic dividend. This paper provides a synthesis of the vast literature related to the subject. The paper does use a fair amount of quotes from the existing studies relating to the subject in an effort to put ‘the right pieces in the right places’. The key conclusion of the paper is that India is far from maximizing its demographic dividend. Therefore, there is much merit in the policy makers considering four sets of economic reforms to boost the labor-intensive segment of India’s manufacturing sector: liberalizing external trade; attracting foreign investment; deregulating domestic labor laws; and keeping up India’s traditional strength in IT-related services.
India has now surpassed China as the most populous country in the world. Moreover, at 68%, India has one of the highest percentage of working-age population — defined as people in the age-group of 15-64 years. The median age of the Indian population is about 28 years, compared to 37 years in China and the United States (US), 45 years in Western Europe, and 49 years in Japan (Business Today 2023, 24 September). Indeed, while the rest of the world is ageing, India is getting younger (Ernst and Young 2023, October).
When a country’s share of working-age population remains high, that country is supposed to be enjoying a ‘demographic dividend’. It is a ‘dividend’ because the much larger supply of its workforce could allow the country’s economy grow faster. However, for the country to maximize the demographic dividend, it has to find productive employment to the increasing number of working-age population (Kapoor 2023, 3 November). “The ‘Asian Miracle’ was built on harnessing this trend: Japan entered this sweet spot in 1964, South Korea in 1967, and China in 1994” (Chakravorti and Dalmia 2023, 6 September).
Demographic dividend is thus a plausibility, not a certainty. Put differently, if the demand for a country’s young and growing workforce does not keep pace with the increasing supply, the country would end up with either higher unemployment rate and/or higher underemployment rate (a scenario in which a person is engaged in a job that is far less commensurate with her/his skills). If that happens, the demographic dividend could turn out to be a demographic disaster.
This paper is a synthesis of issues and challenges that India faces in realizing its demographic dividend. The key contribution of the paper lies in systematically weaving through the storyline that emerges from the existing work and thinking on the subject. While doing so, the paper does use a fair amount of quotes from the existing studies on the subject — in an effort to put ‘the right pieces in the right places’. Section 2 of the paper examines how far India has utilized its demographic dividend. Section 3 comes up with policy options that the policy makers could consider to maximize the demographic dividend in the coming years. Section 4 sums up.
2. India’s Demographic Dividend: The Evidence
India did post admirable economic growth rates in the last decade and a half. Indeed its economy has been one of the fastest growing large economies in the world. However, it seems that the growth in the manufacturing sector has been somewhat tardy to absorb the rapidly growing young workforce. One of the key indicators that could be used to assess how far the country has realized the demographic dividend is trends in the unemployment rate (Figure).
Figure: Recent Trends in Unemployment Rate in India
Source: Forbes India (2024, 8 July) “Unemployment Rate in India: Current Rate, Historical Trends and More”, https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/unemployment-rate-in-india/87441/1 (accessed on 25 August 2024). These rates were estimated by Forbs India using data from India’s Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Unemployment rate is calculated as number of unemployed persons as a percent of civilian labor force.
Trends in the unemployment rate indicate that there is significant scope for maximizing the country’s demographic dividend. This is especially so because unemployment rate among the youth (who are in the age group of 20-24 years) is reported to be a whopping 42% (Bloomberg News 2024, 9 May). It is not surprising that: “While India has experienced growth levels of approximately 8% or higher over 10 nonconsecutive years between 2003 and 2022, its performance in the creation of jobs has been disappointing” (Mitra 2024, 10 January). Reasons for the country not realizing its potential demographic dividend could be many, but the most important one seems to be the inability to develop a labor-intensive manufacturing sector.
Almost a decade ago, a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had highlighted that India’s manufacturing sector has not contributed much to the country’s economic growth and employment generation; in addition, the sector’s share in total merchandise exports has been declining (Joumard et.al., 2015, 8 January). The study also found that even the little employment the manufacturing sector generated has been in the ‘informal sector’ where productivity is low because of the small size of the firms that precludes them from realizing economies of scale.
A 2020 study by the Asian Century Institute did also point out that the weak spot in an otherwise robust economic growth and development India has posted lies in the slow progress in its labor-intensive manufacturing sector. No wonder that the country’s “manufacturing exports have fallen as a share of total exports and their composition has shifted from labor-intensive to high-skill and technology-intensive items. Indeed, for textile, garment and footwear, India has seen its share of world trade decline in recent years, while Bangladesh has almost caught up to India, and Vietnam has well overtaken it” (West 2020,18 February).
The study cautioned that the lack of labor-intensive exports is very costly for India. It pointed out that the country has 11 million youngsters entering the labor market every year. These youngsters could indeed offer the country a demographic dividend, something that Japan, Korea and China enjoyed during their high growth periods. However, India has not been generating enough productive jobs for these youngsters (West 2020,18 February).
More recently, another expert came to similar conclusion: “India’s idiosyncratic structural transformation from agriculture to services — leapfrogging the phase of manufacturing growth — has generated limited opportunities for well-paid employment for those at the lower end of the education and skills ladder” (Kapoor 2023, 3 November). A recent Report by the international Labor Organization put it so aptly “…the Indian economy has managed to surpass expectations in its recovery and is likely to remain the fastest-growing among G20 economies in 2024. However, rapid economic growth has not translated into productive employment and decent work opportunities for the vast majority of India’s labor force” (International Labor Organization 2024, 29 March).
A 2020 Report on India by McKinsey and Company had underscored the need for India to create 90 million new nonfarm jobs in the decade between 2020 and 2030 if the country were to fully utilize its demographic dividend (McKinsey &Company 2020, 26 August). The Report went on to say that “A clarion call is sounding for India to put growth on a sustainably faster track and meet the aspirations of its growing workforce” (McKinsey &Company 2020, 26 August). Similar cautionary notes have been sounded by other experts too (UNFPA 2022, 13 January; Mehrotra 2023, 30 October; Mitra 2024, 10 January; Singh and Sheriff 2024, 1 September)
A 2023 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Report had emphasized that excluding those at school, the number of young people who completed more than upper primary level education increased by 44 million over the eight years before the outbreak of the ‘corona’ pandemic. However, only 10 millions of them could find employment, while the rest of them either struggled to find descent job or remained unemployed (International Monetary Fund 2023, April).
One-third of young Indians is neither pursuing education nor is employed. Moreover, about two-fifths of the country’s youngsters have an education level below the secondary level (Mahapatra 2024,15 April). It seems that “half of urban workers have full-time jobs, while far too much of India’s employment is in low productive informal sectors” (Chakravorti and Dalmia 2023, 6 September). “India needs at least 10-12 million new nonfarm jobs each year to realize its demographic dividend. For the country to generate new jobs of that magnitude, it needs to anchor its economic growth on a vibrant, labor intensive manufacturing sector, just as China and the East Asian countries did in their high-growth phase” (Mehrotra 2023, 30 October).
A recent report by Standard and Poor’s – the global credit rating agency – went on to say that increasing the share of manufacturing in the economy is a major challenge for the country’s policymakers (Standard and Poor’s 2023, 3 August). In a similar vein, a 2023 report by Ernst and Young noted that India’s structural change has been accompanied by a rising share of the surplus labor released by agriculture moving in to service sector rather than to the manufacturing sector (Ernst and Young 2023, October). In 2023, the share of manufacturing in India was 12.8%, compared to some of the other Asian countries – China ( 26.2%), Vietnam (23.9%), and Malaysia (23.0%) (World Bank 2023). In 2022, the share of manufacturing jobs in India stood at 11.7% , compared to figures in, say, China (28.7%), Vietnam (21.7%), and Malaysia (16.7%) (UNIDO 2023).
Other experts too echo this sentiment: “India and Indonesia, two of most promising candidates for transformative industrialization over the coming decades, stand at a critical juncture in their development strategies. Their youthful populations and recent strong economic performance put them in a demographic sweet spot… The attunement of their development strategies to the principles derived from the East Asian experience would position them better both to fulfill their economic potential and avoid the danger that both now face of jobless growth” (Drsysdale and Joshi 2023, 6 November).
It is also important to note that India’s informal manufacturing sector has been inhabited by miniscule enterprises. “The small informal sector firms which employ over 75% of the manufacturing workers cannot compete in world markets. In contrast, China’s manufacturing employment is concentrated in 1000+ worker firms and has much higher productivity. This means that it is necessary to create conditions for small-scale units to evolve into medium and large industries with much higher productivity and wages” (Rao 2024, 2 February).
In 2017, one expert had put it so very aptly: “ One of the most labor-intensive industry is textiles, and India has been a long-term player in this field. So long term and unsuccessful that both Bangladesh and Vietnam, significantly behind us a few years ago, are rapidly catching up. Five years ago, India exported $ 33 billion worth of textiles, with Bangladesh $ 19.1 billion, and Vietnam $16.8 billion. In 2015, Indian textile exports were at $ 37.2 billion, Bangladesh at $ 28.1 billion and Vietnam, $ 27.3 billion” (Bhalla 2017, 28 January). This phenomenon has not changed much since then. In 2022, India’s share in global textile trade was 4.4%, behind China (32.2%), Bangladesh (6.1%), and Vietnam (4. 4%).
All these evidences indicate that India is far from maximizing its demographic dividend. A more positive way of summarizing that assessment is that the country has a huge untapped potential to exploit its demographic dividend. East Asian countries initially and China subsequently grew at exceptionally high rates and at the same time provided productive manufacturing jobs to their workforce. Their remarkable performance was anchored on deeper integration of their economies with the global production networks and supply chains in the manufacturing sector. As a result, their economies were subject to the disciplines of international markets (Madhur 1994, 5 February).
Overall, it looks as if “India and the Indians have made some progress in the seventy-five years after Independence. It looks good but not good enough… the shine from the story fades when India is compared with the East Asian Tigers and China” (Lahiri 2023, p.306). Indeed, following the economic liberalization of China beginning late 1970s, its economy grew at an annual average rate of 10% for three decades (Bloomberg News 2024, 8 April).
Such huge economic expansion made China a magnet for foreign investment. To put it figuratively, every big international company then had to have a ‘China Strategy’. Labor-intensive manufacturing has consistently been the most important route to achieving high economic growth and job creation. “Vietnam’s manufacturing miracle is the most recent evidence to support that establishing large scale manufacturing exporting to the world market can catalyze economic growth and employment generation in a country” (Srinath and Sagar 2023, 3 October).
Indeed, “the space vacated by China was fast being taken over by Bangladesh and Vietnam in case of apparels; Vietnam and Indonesia in case of leather footwear. What was worse, even Indian apparel and leather firms were relocating to Bangladesh, Vietnam, and even Ethiopia” (Kaul 2020, 13 May). All these evidences sound a wakeup call to India.
3. Issues and Policy Options
The historical experience and cross-country empirical evidence presented in the previous section unequivocally show that a vibrant manufacturing sector is the kingpin for a country to realize its demographic dividend. India is now in a favorable position to give a big boost to its labor-intensive segment of its manufacturing sector. The most of important of these favorable factors are two. First, in recent years, the investor sentiment towards China has been deteriorating, as the United States and its allies began following the so called ‘de-risking strategy’. Second, China is slowly but surely moving up the global production networks and supply chains – from being an ‘imitator to an innovator’ (Madhur 2024, February; Madhur, July). India should, therefore, look out for opportunities arising from the relocation of labor-intensive manufacturing away from China.
With the right policies that would subject domestic firms to global competition, it is quite possible for India to develop an efficient manufacturing sector by taking up the labor intensive manufacturing that are being vacated by China. In particular, India’s policy makers need to recognize that the demographic dividend has an expiry date. Indeed, the country’s policymakers owe a huge debt to the younger generation of Indians, if they fail to fully reap the country’s potential demographic dividend. If they fail in this task, the demographic dividend could turn into a demographic disaster.
Encouragingly, The Chief Economic Officer of India’s NITI Ayog (meaning ‘Policy Commission’ if translated into English), Subramanyam put it aptly: “…in the next 15 to 20 years’ time span, India has an opportunity in manufacturing. But the opportunity and the window for India is at best two to three years, because supply chains are unwinding, they’re becoming shorter, and they’re looking for new geographies” (reported in The Economic Times 2023, 8 December).
He went on to add: “India has a two-to-three-year window to capitalize on the global strategy of de-risking from China and the government needs to be very alert to come up with a set of policies that make the shift of businesses to India attractive and easier” (reported in The Economic Times 2023, 8 December). From now on, if the country were to provide productive employment to about 11 million youngsters entering the labor market every year, it is critical that the country’s policy makers focus on increasing the export competitiveness of labor-intensive manufacturing products.
The government recognizes the importance of creating more manufacturing jobs in the country, but its response to the problem tends to be introduction of a new government-sponsored ‘administrative scheme’. In the 2024 Budget, the Union Government introduced three government subsidized schemes under which about 300,000 youths are expected to benefit (Sharma 2024, 23 July). Stripped to its core, the Scheme provides government subsidies to firms for hiring youth who are eligible under the Scheme. The 2024 Budget has allocated Rs.150,000 to finance the subsidy.
This is a good gesture on the part of the government. However, it is important to remember that these three government schemes introduced in 2024 simply add to about 41 somewhat similar schemes that already exist – 40 of them initiated since 2014 (Directorate General of Employment (2024, 19 July). Despite these large number of previous government schemes, there still remains a huge shortage of productive manufacturing jobs
Government sponsored schemes such as these may just about provide a chip on the margins, without addressing the core problem of youth unemployment and shortage of productive manufacturing jobs. Such schemes are typically administrative measures rather than hardcore policy liberalization that the country badly needs to realize its demographic dividend. Creating jobs through government subsidies have more often than not played a minor role in creating productive jobs over the long term. Such schemes involve the government departments administering them taking the economy back to the good old ‘Permit Raj’ system or its variants. Moreover, “given the shortage of resources and administrative capacity, the time is opportune to rethink the role of the State. It should complement the market rather than compete with it” (Rao 2024, 2 February).
Moreover, the policy makers need to recognize the slow pace of productive manufacturing employment in the country is fundamentally a structural problem – which require structural reforms, not piecemeal, temporary, government-subsidy schemes. The government would, therefore, be better off if it could create an enabling business environment for the private manufacturing sector to grow and create productive employment to the country’s growing young population. “While India’s policy environment and business climate have improved in recent years, there is much need for improvement before India can be a major player in Asia’s Global Value Chains” (West 2020, 18 February).To do that, there is an enormous merit in the policymakers considering four sets of economic reforms: liberalizing external trade; attracting foreign investment; deregulating the domestic labor laws; and keeping up India’s strength in IT-related services.
3.1Liberalizing External Trade
“India still retains many restrictions on international trade, despite the impressive trade liberalization from the early 1990s. (West 2020,18 February). “Indian trade policy has long had a protectionist bent. Even the liberalizing reforms of the early 1990s – as important and beneficial as they were – were limited, and vested interests and populist domestic politics continue to trump policies that would be beneficial for India now and into the future” (Batra, 2023, 6 February).
Another expert put it so aptly: “International experience shows that opening up the economy for trade and investment is important to accelerate growth and create employment. Exports have been strong engines in every country that has shown high growth performance such as South Korea, Taiwan and, more recently, China. India has 17% of the world’s population but accounts for just about 2.5% of global exports” (Rao 2024, 2 February).
High import duties are acting as a huge deterrent to the country’s ambitions of “Make in India, Make for World” — a government initiative to make Indian manufacturing globally competitive and enhance exports (Dewan 2023, 20 January). In the past 11 years preceding 2023, India’s trade-weighted average Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate rose from 7.7% to 11.4%, in comparison to a decline in the global average from 7.7% to 6.9% (Pandey (2023, 18 July).
Moreover, India imposes higher import duties on capital and intermediate goods such as machinery and transport equipment than on the end-products – the phenomenon of tariff-inversion (Mitra 2024, 10 January). The 2023-24 Budget continued the trend of raising import duties (International Trade Administration (2024, 12 January). The multiple clearances that enterprises are required to get from government departments adds to the burden of manufacturing enterprises.
As one expert pointed out: India’s high import tariffs on electronic parts and components have hurt assembly and input processing, which was the engine of growth and employment generation in China; similarly 60–125 per cent tariffs on import of automobiles have made the domestic automobile industry enormously inefficient and uncompetitive – another case of missed opportunity in labor-intensive automobile assembly line (Mitra 2024, 10 January).
“India would need to raise its competitiveness in high-potential sectors like electronics and capital goods, chemicals, textiles and apparel, auto and auto components, and pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which contributed to about 56 percent of global trade in 2018. India’s share of exports in these sectors is 1.5 percent of the global total” (McKinsey &Company 2020, 26 August). “Despite our contrarian experience, there has been steadily increasing protectionism since 2017, and this has led to a fall in exports as a percentage of GDP” (Rao 2024, 2 February). In order to change this policy regime, far-reaching policy reforms are badly needed now.
A quintessential part of the required policy reforms should involve dismantling all the hurdles to the country’s external trade and foreign investment. Indeed, at this juncture, policymakers should avoid a ‘piecemeal’ approach to policy reforms; instead, they should adopt a ‘big bang’ approach to its external trade liberalization. The Indian economy needs a long-overdue shake up, if it were to wake up to international competition and fully reap its demographic dividend – no more negative lists of imports, no constraints on exports, and just adopt a low customs duty across all imports, if at all it is required. In other words, India needs a ‘free trade and investment regime’. Let the entire country be a ‘large free economic zone’ for external trade and foreign investment.
“The time is ripe for India to become a major manufacturing player, and the present geopolitical system has given us the right opportunity. Given the sheer size of India, we should ideally be in a position create at least 5 Vietnam’s within India! This will only be possible if we can successfully create a globally competitive ecosystem in manufacturing” (Srinath, Nitya and Ayaan Sagar 2023, 3 October). Another expert nearly echoed that sentiment: “To absorb its large and still-growing labor force into the future, India still needs a strong, broad-based, internationally competitive and dynamic manufacturing sector. For this, trade openness is essential” (Batra, 2023, 6 February).
Vijay Kelkar, a well-known Indian economist was once reported as saying: “If you want to be great economic power, you can’t be protectionist” (Shirali and Mehra 2021, 21 January). Those words are even more important in today’s global setting. Indeed, the policy slogan should be: free up the economy to let the young Indians flourish! Moreover, at this juncture, India could liberalize the its external trade regime from a position of strength, as the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high of about $684 billion (The Economic Times 2024, 7 September). These reserves provide a coverage for about 11 months of the country’s import bill. If policymakers do not implement a big-bang trade liberalization now, posterity would judge them as denying the country’s youngsters productive employment and a descent standard of living!
3.2Attracting Foreign Investment
“Attracting foreign direct investment is often a starting point for participating in global value chains. And while India has been attracting growing amounts of FDI, its restrictions on FDI remain higher than most OECD countries, based on the OECD’s Foreign Direct Investment Regulatory Restrictiveness Index” (West 2020,18 February).
The rapidly changing geopolitical configuration, including the ‘de-risking’ strategy of the U.S and its allies is translating into new business opportunities for India (Chakravorti and Dalmia 2023, 6 September). A good example of this trend was the recent plan of Apple to relocate its iPhone production from China to India (Time Magazine 2023, 2 October). In 2022, about 232 million iPhones that Indian consumers bought were made in a single massive Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou city in China. However, as per Apple’s plan, beginning 2024, the Indian Plant is expected to quadruple its production of iPhones to around 20 million a year, creating about 50,000 jobs.
Similarly, in recent years Boeing India has grown its India team in engineering, research and development, with more than 6000 employes as of December 2023. Indeed, Boeing’s India team has the largest number of employees, more than in any country outside the United States (Bloomberg News 2024, 8 April). The company has also set up a new engineering center in Bengaluru in southern India. The setting up of the center will cost $200 million. In addition, the company has pledged to spend $100 million on infrastructure and training pilots to meet the growing demand for pilots.
Foreign investment such as these should help India reduce its unemployment and at least partially help it reap its demographic dividend. Indeed, India could and should attract many more such big-ticket foreign investments, just as China did during its 3 decades of double-digit annual economic growth. India has a great opportunity to allure many more international companies to relocate their labor-intensive manufacturing production to India. That, in turn, would require India to dismantle most of its hurdles on external trade and foreign investment.
In recent years, India has strengthened its infrastructure and logistics. Reflecting that, “India’s overall logistics performance index (LPI) score has risen from 3.08 in 2014 to 3.40 in 2023, and its global rank has improved from 54th to 38th” (Khurana 2024, 21 March). However, quite a few hurdles such as inadequate handling facilities at ports and delays in customs clearance of imports at times increase India’s overall trade costs. “Becoming a global player means raising standards at home” (Khurana 2024, 21 March).
3.3Deregulating Domestic Labor Laws
“The prevailing factor-market rigidities, generated by existing land and labor laws, prevent the structural change required for economic development and the creation of better jobs” (Mitra 2024, 10 January). Similarly, “The cost of doing business in India has improved, but many challenges remain. Land acquisition can stall construction projects and the courts are slow-moving institutions. Land records may be non-existing or outdated and environmental clearances have created additional barriers. On top of this, contract enforcement remains challenging… A legacy of protectionism still persists” (Chakravorti and Dalmia 2023, 6 September)
It is encouraging that recently the policy makers have specified that to form a trade union in any firm, the majority of the workers have to be represented. This should discourage formation of trade unions which more often than not become ‘vested interest groups’ hindering employment expansion. “Shorter, fixed-term labor contracts and a new web portal for self-reporting of labor law compliance have also been introduced” (Mitra 2024, 10 January). “The reforms initiated by the Union Government to impart flexibility to the labor market by merging 24 laws into four codes should help in the medium and long term. The new Industrial Relations Code allows manufacturing units up to 300 workers to hire and fire without the government approval” (Rao 2024, 2 February).
These are welcome moves from the government, but effective implementation of these measures is as important as their initiation. Moreover, “While the government has offered production subsidies and protective tariffs, many companies have not boosted manufacturing capacity at a rate commensurate with India’s rapid economic growth” (Sharma 2024, 10 September). Indeed, there is enormous merit in policymakers completely abolishing the requirement of government approval for hiring and firing labor, irrespective of the size of labor employed in a firm. In other words, India needs a quick move to ‘constructive destruction’ – it is high time that firms that cannot compete in the world markets should give way to those that can.
Without such a process, the country would continue to have zombie firms hanging in there, neither offering quality products to the consumers nor providing productive employment to the youngsters. “When a firm goes out of business, we feel a certain sorrow about its departure. But a key idea of economics is that birth and death of firms is healthy and desirable. The great economist Joseph Schumpeter termed this process ‘creative destruction’” (Kelkar and Shah 2022, p.104)
3.4Keeping Up the Strength in IT-Related Services
To be sure, none of these policy options should be taken to mean that the country should give up its strength in service sectors related to such Information Technology and Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning–based analytics (McKinsey & Company (2020, 26 August).
As one expert put it so aptly: “India has a lot of extremes. It has the brightest minds, and then the greatest institutes in India that compete with the Ivy League universities, but then on average human capital levels are just not quite comparable to most other countries in the region, let alone higher or more developed countries,” (Alexandra Hermann – Quoted in Bloomberg News 2024, 8 April). The country needs to manage these extremes effectively so that the benefits of its economic diversity helps, rather than hinders economic growth and employment
generation
India’s prowess in AI is not just a temporary phase of excellence. It indeed is “a testament to the nation’s growing availability of talent, ample resources, and sustained government support” (Wheebox 2024). It is estimated that India now has more than 2 million AI professionals. By 2025, that figure is estimated to surge to about 5 million.
India’s commitment to build a talent pool in artificial intelligence is evident from the efforts from institutions ranging from industry to academics. On the part of the government, it has initiated the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM), a flagship program designed to propel skill development in the country. As part of the NSDM, the FutureSkills Prime program is a noteworthy initiative, offering free online AI training courses that seems to have reached millions of youngsters nationwide (Wheebox 2024)
More recently, The United States has come forth to explore the possibility of a joint venture with India on semiconductor supply chain (U.S Department of State 2024, 9 September). Manufacturing of essential products ranging from vehicles to medical devices relies on the strength and resilience of the semiconductor supply chain. This collaboration between the United States and India underscores the potential to expand India’s semiconductor industry to the benefit of both nations. A comprehensive assessment of the feasibility study shall provide the groundwork for this joint venture.
That said, “The shape of tech leadership has evolved from core tech to digital and AI, and now it’s moving into business and functional leadership. The potential value from rewiring enterprises is growing, as are advances in tech. The link between creating tech and creating business value is stronger than ever. To meet the moment, company leaders and tech leaders must capture the rewards of this shift in mindset” (McKinsey & Company 2024, 11 September).
4. Summing Up
India is in its demographic prime. India needs to make sure that its demographic dividend is realized fully, especially if India has to play a major role at the global level. “India’s ambitions of assuming major power status are justified – it is the world’s largest democracy … and has huge economic and political potential. But its ambitions will remain just that – ambitions – if its economic growth doesn’t deliver upon its potential. Fundamental will be an update to trade strategy that encourages, rather than hinders, participation in global value chains and the development of a competitive manufacturing sector” (Batra 2023, 6 February).
Indeed, “We have been through similar surges of Indo-optimism before. But the on-the-ground reality has continued to frustrate even the most ardent of India’s champions. From bold predictions that it would overtake China (an economy still five times larger than India’s), to McKinsey’s 2007 “bird of gold” promise of the Indian consumer that never quite panned out, to deregulation followed by policy reversals and crises of confidence in doing business with India, to devastating periods through the pandemic, the country’s promised inevitable rise has remained elusive” (Chakravorti and Dalmia 2023, 6 September).
Moreover “economic policy lies within the subject of political economy, the dark crossroads where economics and politics meet” (Kelkar and Shah 2022, p.13). “In a democracy, politicians and their parties, who aspire to capture positions of governance and formulate policies, must carry the people along with them. Doubtless, they can sway public opinion to some extent, and some charismatic leaders can do that better others, but within finite and region-specific limitations” (Lahiri 2023, p.41).
“Economics provides the principal rationale for human cooperation. Politics provides the framework within which that cooperation works. Economics and politics are necessarily symbiotic … They are married to each other. But theirs is also a difficult marriage. Managing this productive, yet fraught, relationship requires awareness of these realities” (Wolf 2023, p.13). Effective political leaders would circumvent the political constraint rather succumb to it.
While addressing the G20 meeting in September 2023, PM Modi did so eloquently articulate the need for India to be well integrated with the rest of the world: “our global conduct is rooted in the fundamental principle of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’, which means ‘world is one family’” (Government of India 2023, 8 September). One hopes that he puts this mindset into action.
A clarion call is sounding for India to put growth on a sustainably faster track
Bhalla, Surjit (2017, 28 January) “Budget 2017: Unless Narendra Modi Governemnt Changes its Nehruvian Mindset on Criminal Taxation Level, Growth Will Remain a Pipe-dream”, Indian Express, (accessed on 28 August 2024)
Kelkar, Vijay and Ajay Shah (2022). “In Service of the Republic: The Art and Science of Economic Policy”, Penguin Random House India Private Limited, Kindle Edition (accessed on 10 September 2024)
Madhur, Srinivasa (1994, 5 February) “ Trade and External Sector Reforms in Developing Asia: An Overview”, Economic and Political Weekly; Also available at: https://www.global-pages.me/ (accessed on 2 September 2024)
Madhur, Srinivasa (2024, February) “Twenty-First Century Global Hegemons: Some Empirical Estimates”, Journal of International Politics, 2024:5(1):13-12; Also available at: https://www.global-pages.me/ (accessed 2 September 2024)
Madhur, Srinivasa (2024, July) “ Role of China’s Belt and the Road Initiative in Global Development Finance”, The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development JIRPD: volume 9; Issue 1; Also available at: https://www.global-pages.me/ (accessed 2 September 2024)
accessed on 31 August 2024, (one of the sources for India’s import tariffs)
[1] Srinivasa Madhur is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and International Relations at the Pannasastra University of Cambodia, Phnom Penh and a former Senior Director at Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines. The views expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author and should not in any way be attributed to the Pannasastra University of Cambodia and/or Asian Development Bank. Moreover, the author would like to confirm that no funding was received to finance the paper from any financing agencies and thus no conflict of interest in any form is involved. The contact email of the author is: srinimadhur@gmail.com
Department of building/woodwork technology, school of secondary education (Technical) Federal college of education (Technical) Asaba. *Tel; +2348035998855, email; egasaves@gmail.com
Abstract
Technical education is thought to empower the citizenry, enhance employment and stimulate sustainable development through industrialization or small-scale businesses; thus, reduces poverty, improves quality of life, reduces the frequency of social vices and encourage a culture of peace. However, these have appear to be an illusion in southern Nigeria. This study is on assessment of acquired skills for establishment and effective management of small-scale industries among technical education students in southern Nigeria. Four research questions guide the study with survey research design adopted. The population for the study consists of final year Technical Education Students in Federal Colleges. Purposeful sampling was used. A five-point rating-scale questionnaire was used for data collection. The researchers administered the research instrument and collected the data through the help of three research assistants. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and determine the spread of the responses. The findings of the study reveal inadequacy of skills among the graduating students of the Nigerian Certificate in Technical Education for the establishment and effective management of small-scale industry without additional training. The implication is that the graduates are not likely to participate in the establishment and management of small scale industry except those with special ingenuity. However it was concluded that due to the high level of unemployment in Nigeria, there is a need to prepare the students for both teaching and industry. Thus, the training should cover both areas so that the graduates can have optional career.
Technical education as intended for colleges of education according to Federal Republic Nigeria (2014) is an education obtained at tertiary institution with the goals to contribute to national development through high level of manpower training to produce skills relevant to the needs of the labour market; promote and encourage scholarship, and entrepreneurship among others. Consequently, the graduates are expected to be self-reliance since they are required to be theoretically and practically sound teachers. This means that the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) graduates should be well equipped for paid employment order than teaching or to become self-employed and employers of labour with requisite skills to establish and manage a business or industry effectively. In line with that Omorodion, (2016) opined that the graduate teachers should have the ability to understand basic aspects of their field of study and make life out of it by managing their own businesses.
Small-scale industry which is the focus of this study can be seen as a firm that employs 10-15 workers and does not have a high volume of sales (Ayozie, Oboreh, Umukoro & Anozie, 2013). Ayozie etal (2013) further observed that small-scale industries are generally privately owned and are sole proprietorships, corporations or partnerships. With the acquired skills the graduates are expected to be able to establish their own businesses since skills are the lens through which business opportunity are viewed by an entrepreneur (Ega & Ega 2023). Therefore, with the skills acquired, the NCE graduates should be entrepreneurially able to own or manage small-scale industries. That is hope to mitigate the serious economic and financial crisis that Africa continent had due to unemployment as a result of lack of skills (Ubulom & Enyekit, 2017). This is to improve quality of life, reduce poverty, limit the incidence of social vices due to joblessness and promote a culture of peace, freedom and Democracy (Federal Ministry of Education, 2016).
However, these objectives seem to be an illusion as many of the graduates are unemployed and in standard unproductive. It has been reported that, industrialists are becoming increasingly skeptical of the products from the technical programme in Nigeria (Abdulkadir & Ma’aji, 2014). Consequently, most of the graduates of technical education join the already large number of unemployed youths due to inadequate skills (Dantawaye, 2014). This is attributed to lack of adequate resources to train students in Technical Education to acquire the skills needed by employers of labour by the higher institutions (Akinyele & Bolarinwa, 2018).
Consequently, this study, is concerns with the increasing level of joblessness among graduates of NCE in the Southern Nigeria which appears to be inadequate training and subsequent lack of relevant skills to establish and effectively manage Small Scale Industries. It is on the above framework that this study on assessment of acquired skills by technical education students for establishment and effective management of small-scale enterprises was considered imperative to offer appropriate empirical data for actionable objectives by relevant stakeholders. The study is thus designed to determine the extent of technical, entrepreneurial, management, and human relation skills acquired by technical education students for effective management of small-scale industries.
METHODOLOGY
This study used survey research design in its investigations; Survey research design is most suitable when an investigation is centered on opinions, attitude and perceptions (Omorodion, 2016). Survey research design is considered most appropriate for this study due to the involvement in gathering of opinions data from technical students on their acquired skills.
The study was conducted among the Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) in Southern Nigeria. Southern states comprise South-South, South-East and South-West. The Federal Colleges Education (Technical) selected for the current study include; FCE,(T) Asaba, Delta State for South-South, FCE, (T) Umunze, Anambra State, for South-East and FCE, (T) Akoka-Yaba, Lagos State for South- West. These zones were chosen because there were considered as the industrial hub of the Nigeria yet many youths are unemployed, due to the failure of technical education graduates to embark on the operation of small-scale industries and create jobs (Idowu, 2023).
The population for the study comprises of the final year technical education students in the three colleges of education (technical) selected in southern Nigeria. The population of this study basically consisted of graduating students from the following department; Automobile, Building, Electrical/Electronic, Metalwork and Woodwork technology education from the three colleges. The total population thus are 142 respondents which were purposively sampled. The instrument for data collection was structured based on a five-point rating scale of Very High (VH – 5points), High (H – 4 points), Average (A – 3 points), Low (L – 2 points) and Very Low (VL – 1 point).
Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation determine the respondents’ closeness. Decision on the research questions were based on limit of numbers as presented in Table 1.
Table 2; Questionnaire Decision Rating
Codes
Keys
Range
VH
Very High
4.50-5.00
H
High
3.50-4.49
A
Average
2.50-3.49
P
Poor
1.50-2.49
VP
Very Poor
1.00-1.49
RESULTS
Cluster 1; the extent of acquired technical skills for establishment and effective management of small-scale industry.
Table 2: Means and standard deviations of the respondents on the extent of acquired technical skills.
S/N
ITEM
Very high
High
Average
Poor
Very Poor
Mean
Standard deviation
Decision
1
Knowledge of tools and equipment in my area of specialization for small-scale industry.
32
50
40
12
5
3.66
0.45
High
2
Skills on how to handle relevant tools and equipment in my area of specialization for small-scale industry.
20
35
50
32
10
3.34
0.12
Average
3
Knowledge of relevant materials used in the production or operation in (my area of specialization) small-scale industry.
40
50
30
10
9
3.73
0.53
High
4
Knowledge of the process of production or construction of a product in (my area of specialization) small-scale industry).
40
42
29
21
7
3.63
0.40
High
5
Skills on repair or maintenance of tools and equipment used in (my area of specialization) small-scale industry.
9
35
30
45
20
2.77
0.05
Average
Grand mean
3.37
1.22
Average
Table 1 clearly shows the extent of acquired technical skills rating for effective management of small-scale industries or businesses by the respondents. It expresses that the respondents agreed on having high knowledge of tools/equipment, and of relevant materials used in the production or operation in small-scale industry. Also, the knowledge of the process of production or construction of products in small-scale industry was also rated high. However, the skills in handling relevant tools/equipment and the skills on repairs and maintenance of tools and equipment were rated average. The grand mean of 3.37 so indicated an average value of the acquired technical skills.
Cluster 2: the extent of acquired entrepreneurial skills to establish and effective management of small-scale industry.
Table 3: Means and standard deviations of the respondents on the extent of acquired entrepreneurial skills.
S/N
ITEM
Very high
High
Average
Poor
Very Poor
Mean
Standard deviation
Decision
6
Skills on how to identify business opportunity for small-scale industry in my area of specialization.
26
50
40
20
3
3.55
0.30
High
7
Skills on how to organize business ideas for small-scale industry.in my area of specialization
15
29
60
35
10
3.10
0.01
Average
8
Skills on how to manage risks in small-scale industry in my area of specialization.
10
18
40
60
11
2.68
0.10
Average
9
Skills on how to write and organise plan for small-scale industry in my area of specialization.
7
20
30
58
19
2.55
0.20
Average
10
Skills on how to generate and organise resources for small-scale industry in my area of specialization.
3
10
37
69
20
2.33
0.11
Poor
Grand total
2.84
0.72
Average
Table 3shows clearly the means and standard deviations of the respondents on the extent of acquired entrepreneurial skills to establish and effective management of small-scale industry. The analysis shows that the respondents rated high the Skills on how to identify business opportunity for small-scale industry, while skills on how to oranised resources was rated poor.
However, the other items in the cluster; skills on how to organize business ideas, Skills on how to manage risks in small-scale industry and Skills on how to write and organise plan for small-scale industry were rated average. Again, the grand mean of 2.84 indicated an average value of the acquired entrepreneurial skills.
Cluster 3: The extent of acquired management skills for effective management of small-scale industry.
Table 4: Means and standard deviations of the respondents on the extent of acquired management skills.
S/N
ITEM
Very high
High
Average
Poor
Very Poor
Mean
Standard deviation
Decision
11
Acquired skills in materials management in small-scale industry in my area of specialization.
10
26
55
41
7
2.61
0.15
Average
12
Acquired skills in personnel management in small-scale industry in my area of specialization
0
16
55
41
27
2.43
0.32
Poor
13
Acquired skills in time management in small-scale industry in my area of specialization
10
12
33
67
17
2.50
0.25
Average
14
Acquired skills in tools/ equipment management in small-scale industry in my area of specialization
3
10
30
60
36
2.32
0.68
Poor
15
Acquired skills in financial management in small-scale industry in my area of specialization
9
21
39
61
9
1.83
1.37
Poor
Grand total
2.34
2.77
Poor
The analysis of data presented in Table 4 shows the responses of the respondents on the extent of acquired management skills for effective management of small-scale industry. The respondents rated skills on materials management and skill on time management as average. The other items; skills in personnel management, skills on tools/ equipment management and skills in financial were rated poor. The average mean of 2.34 also shows that the rating of acquired management skills is poor and the discrepancy between the mean respondent is reasonable.
Cluster 4: The extent of acquired human relation skills for effective management of small-scale industry.
Table 5: Means and standard deviations of the respondents on the extent of acquired human relation skills.
S/N
ITEM
Very high
High
Average
Poor
Very Poor
Mean
Standard deviation
Decision
16
Acquired skills on Leadership for the effective management of small-scale industry.
16
28
50
30
15
3.0
0.00
Average
17
Acquired skills on motivation of staff for the effective management of small-scale industry.
4
10
25
60
40
2.12
0.77
Poor
18
Acquired skills on how to work with others or team for the effective management of small-scale industry.
10
40
40
30
19
2.94
0.00
Average
19
Acquired skills on staff training for the effective management of small-scale industry.
30
60
31
10
8
3.67
0.45
High
20
Acquired skills on customer’s satisfactions for the effective management of small-scale industry.
3
14
30
52
40
2.19
0.66
Poor
Grand total
2.78
1.98
Average
The data presented and analysed in Table 5 shows the responses of the respondents on the extent of acquired human relation skills for effective management of small-scale industry: while the skills on staff training was rated high, skills on Leadership and skills on working with others or a team were rated average. However, the skills on motivation of staff and skills on customer’s satisfactions were rated poor. But the grand total mean rate is 2.98 signifying average rating and the standard deviation of 1.98 shows that the disparities between the respondents rating is insignificant.
SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
The following are the summary of the findings of this study;
The acquired technical skills by the graduating students of the Nigeria Certificate in Education is of average.
The acquired entrepreneurial skills among the graduating students of the Nigeria Certificate in Education is also of average.
The acquired management skills among the graduating students of the Nigeria Certificate in Education is poor.
The acquired human relation skills among the graduating students of the Nigeria Certificate in Education is again of average.
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
The capacity to be self-employed or manage a small scale industry the graduates must acquire both sound knowledge and high skills in their area of specializations. Firstly, technical education students should have versatile technical skills at the same time a good entrepreneurship skills to be able to establish their own businesses. That is not all, to sustain the business and work with others, there is the need to have good management skills and human relation skills.
However, the findings of the current study have shown that the acquired technical skills is of average. The details of the findings show that the students are better acquainted with knowledge or information rather than skills. The implication of this is that the graduates are limited in identifying business opportunity since skills is the lens through which entrepreneur could view business opportunity (Ega & Ega, 2023). It may also be difficult for the graduates to assess the risks involved in the business.
This average rating of technical skills could be attributed to respondents training programme (NCE). The NCE by its established objectives is mainly designed to train students to teach technical related subjects in primary and junior secondary schools. Thus the curriculum does not cover in details or prepared them for business hence the average knowledge or the skills. The implication of this is that the graduates can only conveniently teach and may not have the charisma to venture into business without additional training or apprenticeship.
The average acquired entrepreneurial skills recorded again shows that the curriculum required modification to increase their skills on how to expressly identify business opportunity, organise the plan, write business plan, and take risk. Again, it is also very necessary to understand how to gather resources for such business. Entrepreneurial skills is the key to starting any business venture and the lack of it or half-baked of it as in this study will not encourage starting a business.
Management skills is necessary to sustain a small-scale industry. However, the findings of this study has shown that the acquired management skills is poor. This result is thus expected since the graduates are yet to enter into the job market or industry, they do not have the confidence on their ability to manage such industry. They may be having the theoretical knowledge but not practical or field experience. However, Diran (2016) observed that the acquisition of management skills contribute immensely to the effective management of business. Again, Dantawaye, (2014) iterates that management competencies are needed by technical college welding and fabrication graduates for self-employment.
Further, the human relation is another skills necessary to sustain a business in Nigeria. Human relation involve leadership skills, motivation skills, and ability to work with others. Others include skills on staff training and skills on customer’s satisfactions. The absence of these skills will prevent effective management of a business. However, the findings of the current study have rated human relation skills of the graduating students as average. The average rating again could be attributed to inadequate or absence of these special skills training in their curriculum. Although the students industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) is expected to partly take care of this, however, the SIWES is hardly taken seriously by some of the students. Yet according to Chia (2018) possession of human relation skills is very important for enhancement of productivity.
CONCLUSION
The findings of this study reveal inadequacy of skills among graduating students of Nigerian certificate in technical education for the establishment and effective management of small-scale industry without additional training. This is because some basic skills are still lacking in their training. This can be attributed to the emphasis of the programme as focus is mainly for the graduates to teach in the class room. The implication is that the graduates are not likely to participate in the establishment and management of small scale industry except those with special ingenuity.
However, due to the high level of unemployment in Nigeria, there is a need to prepare the students for both teaching and industry. Consequently the training should cover both areas so that the graduates can have optional career, and to do this the curriculum should be reviewed.
REFERENCES
Abdulkadir, M. & Ma’aji, S.A. (2014). Assessment of workshop resources management practices in technical colleges of Niger State. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(1); 1-6.
Ayozie, D. O, Oboreh S.O. Umukoro, F., & Anozie, V. (2013). Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria: the marketing interface. Global journal of management and business research marketing Vol. 13 Issue 9 Version 1.0 year 2013
Dantawaye, J. B, (2014). Management competencies needed by technical college welding and fabrication graduates for self-employment in Kaduna State. Unpublished masters’ thesis submitted to the Department of teacher education- industrial technical education unit, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Diran, M. (2016). Entrepreneurs: perception of skills needed for management of Small-Scale businesses in Okitipupa local government of Ondo State. Unpublished maters’ thesis, submitted to the Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Delta State University, Abraka
Ega, I. J., & Ega, E. F. (2023). Entrepreneurial model for business development from skill to enterprise. In H. S. Nalado, R. O. Igbodo, A. O. Isibor, & A. O. Attah (Eds), Current trends in entrepreneurship (569-575). Rupee-com publisher & coy, Asaba.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2014) National policy on education. Abuja: NERDC
Omorodion, S. O. (2016). Assessment of the level of technological literacy possessed by vocational and technical education students in tertiary institutions. Unpublished masters’ thesis submitted to the department of technology and vocational education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 2016)
Ubulom W. J. & Enyekit, E. ((2017). Evaluation of Facilities Utilized for the Implementation of Business Education Programmes in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State International Journal of Innovative Education Research 5(3):68-76.
In Leah Kaminsky’s The Waiting Room (2015), the spectral presence of the protagonist’s mother and various memory objects serve as powerful symbols for the enduring effects of trauma across generations. This study examines how Kaminsky uses these elements to explore the interplay between past and present, where unresolved grief and historical trauma manifest in both tangible and intangible forms. The ghostly figure of Dina’s mother symbolizes the persistent, haunting memories of the Holocaust, while objects such as cardboard boxes function as conduits for trauma that refuse to fade into history. This research analyses how Kaminsky intertwines spectral figures with memory objects to create a narrative space where the dead and the living coexist, revealing the continuous psychological toll of inherited trauma. The study further investigates how the novel portrays trauma as an omnipresent force that shapes identity, disrupts time, and blurs the boundaries between reality and memory. By delving into the narrative’s unique use of these elements, this paper sheds light on the complexities of post-war trauma and the ways in which literature can articulate the often invisible yet pervasive nature of historical suffering. This approach offers new insights into the representation of trauma in contemporary literature, emphasizing how Kaminsky’s novel contributes to the understanding of the intergenerational transmission of grief.
Trauma leaves a mark far deeper than the physical scars of war, violence, or personal loss. It permeates the psyche, shaping the individual’s relationship with themselves, their family, and the broader world. While the wounds may be invisible, they linger across generations, embedding themselves in objects, memories, and familial bonds. Leah Kaminsky’s novel, The Waiting Room (2015), provides a profound exploration of how trauma transcends time, geography, and even life itself. Set in Israel, where the echoes of past wars reverberate alongside present conflicts, The Waiting Room delves into the life of Dr. Dina Ronen, a woman haunted by her mother’s death during the Holocaust, and her overwhelming fear of passing on that trauma to her son, Shlomi. Trauma fiction has long served as a crucial avenue for exploring not only the psychological aftermath of traumatic events but also their socio-political dimensions. Vickroy (2002) highlights the significance of trauma literature as a vital lens through which readers can access the lived experiences of individuals shaped by ideology and public policy. Through a sociocultural critical analysis, trauma literature provides a deeper understanding of how people navigate oppressive systems and historical contexts that have profoundly impacted their lives. The blending of literary narratives with research from fields such as psychology and history not only enriches our understanding of trauma but also supplements other fields of study, offering a multi-dimensional perspective on the psychological and social aftermath of traumatic events. Horvitz (2000) reinforces this idea, asserting that trauma fiction serves as a means of unmasking the very ideologies and sociopolitical conditions that give rise to traumatic incidents. By exposing these oppressive forces, trauma fiction becomes a powerful tool for both critiquing and challenging systems that produce or legitimize suffering. The combination of these perspectives underscores the power of trauma literature not only to document individual and collective experiences but also to critique the broader forces that shape and sustain those experiences, contributing to a richer and more comprehensive understanding of trauma. In Kaminsky’s The Waiting Room, these ideas are embodied in Dina’s internal and external struggles as she navigates the overwhelming burden of intergenerational trauma. Cathy Caruth, one of the foremost scholars in the field, suggests that “the story of trauma, then, as the narrative of a belated experience, far from telling of an escape from reality—the escape from a death, or from its referential force—rather attests to its endless impact on a life” (1996, p. 7). It implies that trauma does not always manifest immediately after a distressing or violent event. In many cases, people do not fully process or understand what has happened to them until much later. This is why trauma is often described as belated—its emotional, psychological, and sometimes even physical impact can emerge long after the initial event. In this sense, trauma is not just about the past event itself but about how that event continues to affect the person over time. Trauma narratives do not offer an escape from the painful reality of the event; instead, they highlight how the traumatic experience continues to linger and shape the individual’s reality. The traumatic event is not something that the person simply gets over or leaves behind, but rather something that they carry with them, sometimes unconsciously. This further refers to the idea that even if someone survives a traumatic event, the psychological consequences of that event continue to impact the survivor. In other words, while the person may have physically escaped death, they have not escaped the emotional or mental toll it takes. This emphasizes the enduring nature of trauma. The traumatic event keeps surfacing in a person’s life—through flashbacks, nightmares, emotional triggers, or unconscious behaviours—demonstrating that its impact is never fully left behind. Trauma has a ripple effect, shaping the person’s future experiences, relationships, and emotional state in ways that can feel endless. Caruth’s seminal work, Unclaimed Experience (1996), offers a framework for understanding how trauma operates in fiction, particularly through its disruptive effect on narrative temporality. In Kaminsky’s The Waiting Room, this disruption is evident in Dina’s oscillation between past and present, with her mother’s ghost serving as the embodiment of unresolved trauma.
Freud’s theories of trauma provide a compelling lens to understand Dina’s behaviour in The Waiting Room. Freud (1924) posits that trauma victims, in response to memory loss or repressed memories, unconsciously repeat the traumatic event, not as a recollection but as an action. This phenomenon, known as “acting out,” occurs because the victim is unable to process the memory properly, leading them to relive the trauma in various ways without recognizing the repetition. Victims of trauma are often unable to articulate their memories of the traumatic event and instead re-enact the trauma unconsciously. In The Waiting Room, Dina’s constant interaction with objects tied to her mother’s memory, as well as her obsessive anxiety over Shlomi’s safety, can be understood as manifestations of this repetition compulsion. She is trapped in an endless cycle of reliving her mother’s death, unable to break free from the shadow of the Holocaust. In The Waiting Room, Kaminsky engages with Israel’s ongoing history of war and conflict, as well as the cultural weight of the Holocaust. Dina’s personal trauma is deeply intertwined with the collective trauma of the Jewish people, suggesting that her inability to escape her mother’s ghost is symbolic of a larger societal struggle to come to terms with historical atrocities. The novel reveals Dina’s deep-seated anxiety, foreshadowing the persistent presence of trauma in her life. As Kaminsky writes, “…a past she carried along with her everywhere she went; a heavy sack filled with the dead, permanently hoisted over her shoulder” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 32) This encapsulates the key idea that trauma, particularly Holocaust-related trauma, is never truly forgotten; instead, it lingers, reemerging in spectral figures and memory objects that continuously shape Dina’s perception of the present. In The Waiting Room, Dina is a second-generation Holocaust survivor. Although she was not alive during the Holocaust, her mother’s death in a concentration camp casts a long shadow over her life. Dina’s obsessive need to protect Shlomi from the dangers of the world, her inability to let go of objects tied to her mother’s memory, and her constant fear of loss can all be seen as manifestations of intergenerational trauma. This concept is central to Kaminsky’s exploration of how trauma is inherited and how the past continues to shape the present.
In The Waiting Room, the ghost of Dina’s mother looms large, serving as both a literal and metaphorical representation of the trauma that haunts Dina’s life. Kaminsky uses the spectral figure to explore the idea that trauma is not confined to the past but continues to haunt the present, often in ways that are difficult to articulate or understand. Freud’s theory of melancholia, which suggests that individuals who are unable to properly mourn their losses become trapped in a state of perpetual mourning, is particularly relevant here (Freud’s Mourning & Melancholia). Dina’s inability to let go of her mother’s memory mirrors this process of melancholia, as she is unable to move forward and is instead trapped in the cycle of reliving her mother’s death. “In each room of memory lies a corner reserved for her mother’s dead; the family lost in the war” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 83). This line encapsulates the idea that Dina’s mother is not simply a memory but an omnipresent force in her life. The physical spaces Dina inhabits are marked by her mother’s absence, suggesting that the trauma of loss has infiltrated every aspect of her existence. Dina’s mother’s ghost is not just a figure from the past; she is a constant presence, reminding Dina of the trauma she cannot escape. Cultural trauma refers to the collective experience of a traumatic event that affects an entire community or nation. The Holocaust is perhaps the most well-known example of cultural trauma, and it plays a significant role in The Waiting Room. Dina’s trauma is not only personal but also collective, as it is tied to the larger history of Jewish persecution and survival. Dina’s inability to let go of her mother’s memory is symbolic of the larger struggle within Jewish communities to come to terms with the trauma of genocide. Scholars such as Michael Rothberg (2009) have explored how cultural trauma is represented in literature, particularly in relation to memory and identity. Kaminsky’s novel engages with this idea by situating Dina’s personal trauma within the broader context of collective history. Dina’s fear for Shlomi’s safety is not only a reflection of her personal trauma but also of the collective anxiety that permeates in the society. This is particularly evident in Dina’s relationship with Shlomi, as she fears that her trauma will be passed down to him, just as it was passed down to her. “No child deserves to be born with the handicap of having to endure its parent’s pain, carry the madness of a history that belongs to someone else, become infected with the white-hot touch of other people’s wounds” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 131). This line speaks to the overwhelming burden of intergenerational trauma and Dina’s desperate attempts to protect Shlomi from inheriting her suffering. The novel, therefore, serves as both a personal and political commentary on the long-lasting effects of cultural trauma.
In The Waiting Room, objects play a significant role in preserving and transmitting trauma. Dina’s relationship with objects, particularly those tied to her mother, serves as a powerful metaphor for the way trauma is stored in the material world. Objects, in this context, become repositories of memory, carrying the weight of the past and acting as conduits for the transmission of trauma across generations. “Dina lives her life surrounded by cardboard boxes, filled with objects she cannot give away… She hoards. She keeps stuff, collects stuff, is unable to let go of stuff. Boxes she shipped from Melbourne, filled with her parents’ junk that she could never bring herself to throw out…” (Kaminsky, 2015, pp. 28-29). This behaviour is a clear manifestation of Dina’s inability to let go of the past, as she clings to objects that remind her of her mother and the trauma she endured. Freud’s theory of “repetition compulsion” (1924) provides insight into this behaviour, as Dina’s hoarding can be seen as a form of unconscious repetition, a way of keeping her mother’s memory alive while simultaneously preventing herself from moving forward. This is further reflected in the lines, “She has never really unpacked; she lives neither here, nor there. The boxes float above her bed as she sleeps, ready to be filled with dreams and instantly locked away” (Kaminsky, 2015, pg. 29). This suggests that Dina is living in a state of limbo, not fully grounded in her present life nor entirely disconnected from her past. The act of unpacking is often symbolic of settling down and becoming comfortable in a new place, but Dina has not done this. Her failure to unpack indicates her emotional and psychological displacement—she cannot fully commit to her present life because her mind is still tied to unresolved trauma from her past. This liminal space signifies how she is psychologically stuck. The “boxes” (p. 29) symbolize the memories, unresolved emotions, and traumas that she keeps locked away but that still loom over her, even in sleep. They are not grounded or stored somewhere—they hover above her, indicating that they are always present in her subconscious, ready to intrude on her peace. Even when she tries to rest or escape into sleep, the weight of these memories threatens to come crashing down. This line reveals how Dina manages her trauma—she may experience dreams or memories that connect to her unresolved past, but she quickly represses them, locking them away in the metaphorical boxes. This suggests a coping mechanism where she avoids confronting or unpacking her trauma fully. Instead of processing these painful memories, she tucks them away to avoid dealing with them head-on, though they still exist in her psyche, ready to resurface at any moment. This adds to the broader narrative of how past trauma, especially related to war and displacement, continues to affect survivors long after the actual events have ended, shaping their present existence.
The significance of objects in The Waiting Room is further emphasized by the way Dina interacts with them. “She glances at the reflection of a wedding photo hanging on the wall behind her” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 24). The wedding photo symbolizes a moment of joy and stability in Dina’s life. Yet, the fact that she only sees it through a reflection rather than directly signals a disconnect between her present happiness and the burdens of her past. The act of Dina circling her husband during the wedding symbolizes protection and tradition, yet this protection is overshadowed by the historical trauma she has inherited. Her marriage and her present life are haunted by the unresolved legacy of her family’s past. Dina’s understanding of wartime Poland is shaped entirely by the stories her mother told her, yet those stories are so powerful and traumatic that they have created a mental image in Dina’s mind as if she had lived through them herself, which is reflected when Dina says, “…people, buildings and landscapes only appear in varying tints of black and grey, often tinged with a wash of red taken from the bloody palette of her mother’s stories. Dina keeps returning there, even though she’s never set foot near the place” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 24). The black and grey shades reflect a world devoid of life and hope, echoing the Holocaust’s overwhelming darkness, destruction, and death. This colour imagery signifies how the trauma of war has erased all vibrancy from these memories and landscapes, turning everything into a shadowy, mournful world in Dina’s mind. The monochromatic view suggests that Dina’s perception of this place is entirely shaped by tragedy and loss, as conveyed through her mother’s stories. The red symbolizes blood, violence, and death, underscoring the horrifying nature of her mother’s experiences. The “bloody palette” (p. 24) represents the physical and emotional brutality of the Holocaust. This visual description conveys that while Dina never experienced these events, the emotional intensity of her mother’s stories has coloured her imagination with the same fear, pain, and loss that her mother lived through. The red “wash” (p. 24) further emphasizes the inescapable presence of violence in these memories, as if blood has stained the very landscape of her imagination. These memories haunt her, even though they are not technically her own. This reflects Marianne Hirsch’s concept of postmemory, where the second generation inherits the traumatic memories of the first generation and internalizes them so deeply that they feel as though they belong to them (2008).
Storytelling is also portrayed as a haunting element in the novel. It is reflected in the scene when “Dina digs inside her bag trying to find her phone, searching for a lifeline out from the shoemaker’s past. The threads of his story are wrapping around her chest. She takes several slow breaths, trying to connect again to the here-and-now. The screen of her phone is blank…” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 122). Dina’s attempt to find her phone symbolizes her desperate need to escape from the heavy emotional burden that the shoemaker’s story brings. The phone, a tool of modern communication and connection to the present, represents a way for Dina to ground herself in the “here-and-now” (p. 122) and escape from the overwhelming emotions triggered by the shoemaker’s traumatic narrative. The “lifeline” (p. 122) metaphor suggests that she feels trapped and needs a means to pull herself out of the entanglement created by the story. This metaphor vividly captures the suffocating impact that the shoemaker’s story is having on Dina. The “threads” (p. 122) of the story symbolize how trauma—whether experienced directly or through others—can weave itself into one’s mind and emotions, making it difficult to disentangle from it. The physical sensation of the story “wrapping around her chest” (p. 122) suggests emotional constriction, anxiety, and suffocation. It highlights how listening to stories of trauma can evoke a visceral, almost physical reaction in the listener, especially someone like Dina, who is already carrying her own burdens of inherited trauma. The practice of slow breathing suggests mindfulness or grounding, a common technique used to combat anxiety or panic attacks. Dina is actively trying to resist being pulled too deeply into the past and the trauma it represents, attempting to restore her focus on the present. However, this action also shows how difficult it is to remain detached from traumatic stories once they start to pull at emotional threads. The blank phone screen is symbolic of Dina’s current state of disconnection, both from the present and from the people or things that might help her find grounding. Recording memories of the traumatic events in the survivor’s mind has also been studied by Dominic (2001), according to whom trauma survivors continuously carry remnants of their past, describing this as a persistent presence that haunts their minds. He explains that when survivors recount their traumatic experiences, they are mentally transported back to the original event, becoming trapped in that moment once again. In doing so, they do not simply recall the event but are emotionally and mentally re-immersed in the trauma, effectively reenacting the situation as if they are still living through it.
In The Waiting Room, one of the central tensions Dina grapples with is the fear of passing on her trauma to her son, Shlomi. In Dina’s case, her inherited trauma from her parents—survivors of the Holocaust—continues to exert a profound influence on her, and she is deeply fearful that this legacy of suffering will affect her child. This dynamic is particularly evident in Dina’s obsessive anxiety over Shlomi’s safety, as she goes to great lengths to protect him from the dangers of the world. Dina’s protective instincts—rooted in her own unresolved trauma—lead her to create scenarios in her mind where her worst fears, such as Shlomi’s death, come true. This constant state of fear is not only harming Dina but also potentially affecting her relationship with her son, which is reflected in the statement, “She is losing him. For too long she has grasped him tight, trying to keep him safe. But she has been playing out her false tragedies at her son’s expense” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 139), Dina acknowledges that her attempts to keep Shlomi safe have, in some ways, become harmful. The phrase “false tragedies” (p. 139) suggests that Dina is aware she is projecting her traumatic past onto her son, imagining worst-case scenarios that may never occur. However, this realization does not alleviate her anxiety. Instead, it reveals the depth of her trauma, as her efforts to protect Shlomi from danger are shaped by the unresolved fears and insecurities that stem from her own experiences. “She somehow feels Shlomi’s school is the place where her worst fears are about to come true” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 129), Dina’s irrational fear transfers to everyday spaces, like Shlomi’s school. Schools, which should be places of safety and growth, become in Dina’s mind sites of potential catastrophe. This anxiety is an extension of her trauma—she sees danger where there may be none because her traumatic memories are deeply intertwined with fear and loss. The school becomes a metaphor for her inability to escape the past, as Dina sees even the most mundane environments as threatening. This sense of perpetual danger aligns with the theory of hypervigilance, which is typically associated with high levels of anxiety (state and trait) and has been conceptualized to represent a bias in information processing aimed at increasing the chances of survival (Craske et al. 2009; Beck and Clark 1997; Richards et al. 2014). With disordered anxiety/fear, the perception of threat has been shown to be overestimated in comparison to the needs of the environment (Beck and Clark 1997; Rosen and Schulkin 1998). Dina’s fear is no longer bound to the traumatic events of the past but seeps into the present, affecting how she views her son’s future. Her belief that Shlomi’s school is a place where her worst fears will come true shows how trauma reshapes reality, creating constant fear even in ordinary situations. The vivid imagery of birth—of him being jettisoned into the world—conveys Dina’s sense of helplessness. From the very beginning, she associates his birth with danger, and this fear has persisted throughout his life. The term “bloated jellyfish” (Kaminsky, 2015, p. 47) suggests that Dina views both the process of childbirth and the world outside the womb as vulnerable and precarious. Her trauma, inherited from her mother’s Holocaust experiences, has made her hyper-aware of the fragility of life.
In The Waiting Room, Leah Kaminsky masterfully portrays the long-lasting and pervasive effects of trauma, particularly Holocaust trauma, and its deep psychological impact on individuals and families. Dina’s life is defined by her inherited trauma, the echoes of her mother’s Holocaust experiences, and her own struggles to break free from these memories. The novel demonstrates how trauma is not confined to the past—it is an ongoing presence, resurfacing in various forms and influencing not only the survivor but also their children, as seen in Dina’s overwhelming fear for her son, Shlomi. The narrative underscores the cyclical nature of trauma, illustrating how unprocessed and unacknowledged pain can transcend generations. Dina’s anxious attempts to protect her son from an uncertain future stem from the unresolved grief and loss she inherited. This persistent trauma creates a psychosocial crisis—one that is deeply internal, silent, and potentially more destructive than any physical danger, much like a pandemic of the mind and spirit. Such a crisis, left unaddressed, could be as harmful as the global pandemic, if not more so, because it seeps into the very fabric of family life, quietly eroding emotional resilience and well-being. Kaminsky’s portrayal of Dina’s fractured existence, living between the shadows of her mother’s past and the fears for her son’s future, emphasizes the urgent need for addressing trauma before it escalates into a generational psychosocial crisis. The novel calls attention to the dangers of suppressing or ignoring trauma, highlighting the importance of acknowledging and processing these experiences to prevent them from overwhelming individuals and societies. In a world increasingly grappling with the psychological fallout of war, violence, and displacement, Kaminsky’s work serves as a reminder that unresolved trauma can have widespread and devastating consequences, much like an invisible pandemic. Ultimately, The Waiting Room offers a message of both caution and hope. It emphasizes that while trauma may not be entirely escapable, healing is possible through awareness, self-reflection, and, most importantly, through the conscious effort to live in the present. By facing the ghosts of the past, Dina—and by extension, all trauma survivors—can begin to reclaim their future and protect the next generation from carrying the same burdens. Kaminsky’s novel is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the necessity of addressing trauma to avoid the silent, pervasive dangers of a psychosocial crisis.
References
Beck, A. T., & Clark, D. A. (1997). An information processing model of anxiety: Automatic and strategic processes. Behavior, Research, and Therapy, 35, 49–58.
Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed experience: Trauma, Narrative and History. John Hopkins University Press.
Craske, M. G., Rauch, S. L., Ursano, R., Prenoveau, J., Pine, D. S., & Zinbarg, R. E. (2009). What is an anxiety disorder? Depression and Anxiety, 26, 1066–1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20633.
Dominic L. (2001). Writing history, writing trauma. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Freud S. (1924). Neurosis, and psychosis. In Strachey J. (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of sigmund Freud (trans). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Richards, H. J., Benson, V., Donnelly, N., & Hadwin, J. A. (2014). Exploring the function of selective attention and hypervigilance for threat in anxiety. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.10.006.
Rosen, J. B., & Schulkin, J. (1998). From normal fear to pathological anxiety. Psychological Review, 105, 325–350.
Rothberg, M. (2009). Multidirectional Memory: Remembering the Holocaust in the Age of Decolonization. Stanford University Press.
Vickroy L. (2002). Trauma and survival in contemporary fiction. Bibliovault OAI Repository, the University of Chicago Press.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team is one of the most prominent teams in international cricket, known for its rich history, talented players, and passionate fan base. Representing the island nation of Sri Lanka, the team competes in all formats of the game—Test matches, One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 (T20) cricket—under the governance of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the official cricket board.
Historical Background
Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka during British colonial rule in the 19th century. However, it wasn’t until 1981 that Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), which allowed them to participate in Test matches and officially compete on the international stage. Prior to this, they had played cricket at a non-Test level, gaining experience and making their mark in regional tournaments.
Sri Lanka’s rise to prominence in international cricket was relatively swift. In 1982, they played their first-ever Test match against England. Despite being a young team, they gradually developed a reputation for being competitive and skillful. Their breakthrough came in the 1990s, a decade that would see Sri Lanka transform into a cricketing powerhouse.
1996 ICC Cricket World Cup Victory
The defining moment in Sri Lankan cricket history came in 1996, when they won the ICC Cricket World Cup. Under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka defied expectations to win the tournament, defeating some of the most established teams in the world. Their victory in the final against Australia was a testament to the team’s tactical acumen and fighting spirit. Players like Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, and Chaminda Vaas became household names, while the team’s aggressive style of play, especially in the early overs, revolutionized the one-day game.
The 1996 World Cup victory not only brought glory to the team but also had a lasting impact on cricket in Sri Lanka, inspiring generations of cricketers and elevating the status of the sport to a national passion.
Key Achievements and Tournaments
World Cup Participation: After their historic win in 1996, Sri Lanka has consistently been competitive in subsequent World Cups. They reached the finals in 2007 and 2011, narrowly missing out on lifting the trophy again. Both times, they were runners-up to Australia (2007) and India (2011).
ICC T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka has also had significant success in the T20 format. They were runners-up in the 2009 and 2012 T20 World Cups but finally clinched the title in 2014, defeating India in the final. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were key figures in this triumph, leading a new era of Sri Lankan cricket.
Asia Cup: The Sri Lankan team has a proud record in the Asia Cup, a regional tournament featuring the top Asian teams. They have won the tournament multiple times, their most recent victory coming in 2014. Their consistent performance in the Asia Cup underscores their dominance in the region.
Formats and Playing Style
Sri Lanka has shown versatility across all three formats of the game:
Test Cricket: Sri Lanka has produced some of the finest Test cricketers, including Muttiah Muralitharan, who holds the record for the most Test wickets in cricket history. Their Test performances have seen highs, such as series wins against top-tier teams like India, Australia, and England. Batters like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Tillakaratne Dilshan have contributed heavily to the team’s success in Test cricket.
ODIs: Known for their aggressive approach in ODIs, Sri Lanka has been a pioneer in attacking batting in the first 15 overs, thanks to players like Sanath Jayasuriya. They were trendsetters in the ’90s and continue to be a formidable side in limited-overs cricket.
T20 Cricket: Sri Lanka’s adaptability in T20 cricket is well-known. They are known for being able to strike a balance between attacking cricket and strategic bowling, with players like Lasith Malinga, one of the greatest death bowlers in T20 history, leading the charge.
Iconic Players
Over the years, Sri Lanka has produced some of the most iconic cricketers in the world. These players have not only set records but have also redefined the way the game is played.
Muttiah Muralitharan: Widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Muralitharan holds the record for the most wickets in both Test and ODI cricket. His unique bowling action and ability to turn the ball on any surface made him a nightmare for batsmen around the world.
Kumar Sangakkara: A stylish left-handed batsman, Sangakkara is one of the highest run-scorers in international cricket. He was known for his elegant stroke play and consistency across all formats.
Mahela Jayawardene: Another batting maestro, Jayawardene was a key figure in Sri Lanka’s middle order. His calm demeanor and tactical nous helped him lead the team to several memorable victories.
Sanath Jayasuriya: Jayasuriya revolutionized one-day cricket with his explosive batting at the top of the order. He was also a handy left-arm spinner, contributing significantly with the ball.
Lasith Malinga: Known for his slingy bowling action and deadly yorkers, Malinga is regarded as one of the best limited-overs bowlers of all time, particularly excelling in the T20 format.
Challenges and Future Prospects
While Sri Lanka has a glorious history, the team has faced challenges in recent years, including a transition phase where many of their legendary players retired. This has led to a period of rebuilding, with new talents like Kusal Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Pathum Nissanka emerging.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been working hard to nurture young talent through domestic tournaments and development programs. With the right combination of experience and youth, the team aims to regain its place among the top cricketing nations.
Fan Base and Culture
Cricket in Sri Lanka is more than just a sport; it’s a way of life. The passionate fan base, vibrant cricket culture, and unwavering support from the public have always driven the team to greater heights. Stadiums like the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and Galle International Stadium are iconic venues that have witnessed some of the greatest moments in Sri Lankan cricket.
Conclusion
The Sri Lanka national cricket team has a storied legacy that is marked by triumphs, iconic players, and an enduring passion for the sport. From their remarkable World Cup win in 1996 to their consistent performances across all formats, Sri Lanka continues to be a force in international cricket, blending experience with fresh talent as they strive for future success.
Twelfth Grade—often referred to as Grade 12, Senior Year, or 12th Standard in various educational systems—is the final year of secondary or high school education in many countries. It represents a crucial academic stage that prepares students for higher education, vocational training, or direct entry into the workforce. Twelfth grade is characterized by a culmination of years of schooling, where students typically take more specialized courses and prepare for significant exams or certifications.
Structure and Curriculum
In most educational systems, twelfth grade is part of upper secondary education and serves as a transition between high school and post-secondary institutions such as universities, colleges, or vocational schools. The curriculum in twelfth grade is usually tailored to help students focus on areas of interest or career paths they wish to pursue. Subjects tend to be more advanced and specialized compared to previous grades.
Languages: English (often compulsory), other regional or foreign languages.
Social Studies: History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Sociology.
Electives: Depending on the school system, students may choose elective courses such as Art, Music, Physical Education, Computer Science, and Business Studies.
Specialization
In many countries, students are encouraged to specialize in certain areas, choosing either a science, commerce, or arts/humanities stream, depending on their future academic or career aspirations.
Science stream typically includes subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, and Information Technology.
Commerce stream includes subjects like Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics, and sometimes Mathematics.
Arts/Humanities stream often includes History, Political Science, Sociology, Literature, Psychology, and Economics.
Assessments and Examinations
Twelfth grade is often associated with high-stakes exams that determine a student’s eligibility for higher education or specific career paths. These exams vary by country and educational system, but their importance remains significant.
In the United States, students may take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or ACT (American College Testing) for college admissions.
In India, students appear for board exams such as the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) or State Board Examinations.
In the United Kingdom, twelfth-grade students prepare for their A-levels (Advanced Level Examinations).
In countries like Australia, students complete their HSC (Higher School Certificate) or ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank).
In Germany, twelfth graders work towards their Abitur, a qualification required for university entrance.
These exams not only assess students’ knowledge and skills but also play a significant role in university admissions and scholarship opportunities.
Importance of Twelfth Grade
Academic Transition: Twelfth grade acts as a bridge between secondary education and tertiary education. Students are expected to master a higher level of critical thinking, analytical skills, and subject matter expertise to prepare for more specialized academic pursuits in college or university.
College and University Admission: In many countries, the performance in twelfth grade and the corresponding exams directly influence college admissions. Top-performing students may receive scholarships or gain admission to prestigious institutions.
Career Preparation: Twelfth grade is often the time when students finalize their career aspirations. Vocational programs or internships are sometimes offered to provide real-world experience, helping students decide if they wish to pursue immediate employment or further education.
Personal Growth: Beyond academics, the final year of high school is a period of significant personal growth. Students are encouraged to take on leadership roles, participate in extracurricular activities, and develop life skills that will serve them well in their adult lives.
Extracurricular and Leadership Opportunities
In addition to academics, twelfth graders are typically encouraged to engage in extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, volunteering, and the arts. These activities help develop leadership, teamwork, and time management skills, which are essential for future success.
Student Leadership Roles: Twelfth graders often take up leadership positions within their schools, such as being class representatives, student council members, or leaders in sports teams. These roles foster responsibility and provide practical experience in managing tasks and working with peers.
College Applications: Extracurricular involvement is often considered during college admissions processes, especially in countries like the U.S., where colleges look for well-rounded applicants. Achievements in sports, arts, or community service can give students a competitive edge.
Stress and Mental Health
Twelfth grade can be a stressful time for many students due to the pressure to perform well in exams, secure college admissions, and make important life decisions. In response, many schools and educational institutions provide counseling services, mental health resources, and guidance to help students manage stress and plan their futures.
Parents and teachers also play a significant role in providing emotional support during this critical year, ensuring that students remain motivated and mentally healthy.
Graduation and Post-Twelfth Grade Options
The completion of twelfth grade is often marked by a graduation ceremony, symbolizing the end of high school and the beginning of a new chapter in life. Upon graduating, students have several options:
Higher Education: Most students choose to continue their education by attending a college or university, where they pursue undergraduate degrees in various fields of study.
Vocational Training: Some students opt for vocational or technical education to gain practical skills in fields such as engineering, healthcare, or IT. This path allows for quicker entry into the workforce.
Gap Year: In some countries, students may choose to take a gap year to travel, volunteer, or gain work experience before continuing their education.
Direct Entry into the Workforce: Students who do not wish to pursue further education can enter the workforce directly. Some may seek apprenticeships or entry-level jobs in fields like business, retail, or trade.
Conclusion
Twelfth grade is a transformative and pivotal year in a student’s life. It represents the culmination of secondary education, where students not only solidify their academic knowledge but also develop essential life skills that will serve them in higher education and beyond. As they prepare to enter the next phase of their lives, twelfth graders face both challenges and opportunities, making this final year a significant milestone in their educational journey.
References
O’Connor, K. (Ed.). (2009). How to grade for learning, K-12. Corwin Press.
Rock, B. N., & Lauten, G. N. (1996). K-12th grade students as active contributors to research investigations. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 5, 255-266.
Vishwakarma Puja is a significant Hindu festival celebrated annually to honor Lord Vishwakarma, the divine architect and creator of the universe. It is observed on Kanya Sankranti or the day after Ganesh Chaturthi, typically falling in September or October.
Significance:
Lord Vishwakarma is revered as the patron deity of craftsmen, artisans, and architects. He is believed to have created the universe and all living beings, and is often depicted as a powerful and skilled craftsman.
Mythological Background:
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishwakarma was born from the body of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe. He was tasked with creating the heavenly abodes for the gods and goddesses, as well as the weapons and chariots used in battles.
Rituals and Celebrations:
Puja Preparation: Devotees clean and decorate their homes, workshops, and tools with flowers, leaves, and rangoli designs.
Idol Installation: An idol of Lord Vishwakarma is installed in homes, workshops, or community centers.
Worship: Devotees offer prayers, flowers, fruits, and sweets to Lord Vishwakarma.
Yajna: A sacred fire ceremony (yajna) is performed to invoke the blessings of Lord Vishwakarma.
Tool Worship: Artisans and craftsmen worship their tools and equipment, seeking Lord Vishwakarma’s guidance and protection.
Regional Celebrations:
West Bengal: Vishwakarma Puja is a major festival in West Bengal, with elaborate processions and festivities.
Odisha: Devotees offer prayers to Lord Vishwakarma at the famous Konark Sun Temple.
Kerala: Vishwakarma Puja is celebrated with traditional rituals and ceremonies.
Importance:
Vishwakarma Puja holds significance for:
Artisans and Craftsmen: Seeking Lord Vishwakarma’s guidance and protection.
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs: Seeking blessings for success and prosperity.
Workers and Laborers: Seeking protection and safety at work.
Conclusion:
Vishwakarma Puja is a celebration of creativity, skill, and innovation. By honoring Lord Vishwakarma, devotees seek to cultivate these qualities and strive for excellence in their work and personal lives.
Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, inaugurated a one-day workshop on the Institutional Development Plan for Higher Education Institutes. He also released the UGC Compendium of Regulations (1957-2023) as a single, accessible & reliable source of all UGC rules. Shri Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education; Dr. N.S. Kalsi, Former Chairman, NCVET and Chairman of the Committee working on formulating the IDP Guidelines; Shri M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC; Vice-Chancellors, Nodal Officers, and other dignitaries were also present at the event.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, while addressing the audience said the Higher education Institutes of the country will play a crucial role in realising the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of Viksit Bharat by embracing the core values and spirit of NEP 2020.
He also talked about the role of the HEIs in redefining the purpose and structure of education, empowering youth and making them future-ready, doubling the gross enrolment ratio, bringing a vast majority of the population under the higher education net, effectively utilising demographic advantage, achieving academic, research & innovation excellence and also the way forward for transforming 5000 HEIs into centres-of-excellence through holistic and inclusive approaches.
Shri Pradhan also said that education will propel India from being a consuming economy to becoming a producing economy. The institutional development plan should focus on enhancing the competencies of our vast demography, facilitating learner-centric and multidisciplinary education, integrating Bharatiya Bhasha in higher learning, prioritising innovation, entrepreneurship and job-creation as an outcome, capacity building of teachers and achieving the global standard of research & development, he added.
He also said that education must address 21st-century aspirations and create solutions for local and global challenges. The world looks at India’s talent pool for new models and solutions to challenges of our age, he stated He exhorted the academic fraternity to work in a focused and time-bound manner to reinvent their institutions, transforming the higher educational landscape and achieving national priorities.
Speaking on the relevance and importance of the workshop Shri K. Sanjay Murthy elaborated on the ambitious plan the Ministry of Education had presented to the Prime Minister as part of the social group with the vision for the next twenty-five years. Talent and competency would be needed to back up the tremendous work that would take place and the institutions must rise to the demand to meet the talent requirements, he added. He also emphasized the Future of Work and that the IDP must focus on enhancing the quality of the institutes. Introduction of the IDP will also help the institutes to be at par with the universities of the world, he said.
About the Workshop:
The workshop on Institutional Development Plan (IDP) brings together higher education institutions to discuss strategies for institutional growth and development. The compendium will serve as a valuable resource for institutions as they develop and implement their IDP. Over 170 representatives from HEIs across India are participating in this workshop. Aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the IDP provides institutions with a clear roadmap to develop their vision, mission and goals for a future-ready education system.
Through the two thematic sessions, the participants will have the opportunity to learn about governance enablers, financial planning and management, human resources and supportive-facilitative enablers, networking and collaboration enablers, physical enablers, digital enablers, and research and intellectual property enablers, innovative funding models, and curriculum development. Renowned experts from industry, academia, and government will share their insights and experiences on these critical areas.
In each session, different universities will share their best practices for creating their IDP. In a separate Q&A session, Chairman UGC, Former Chairman, NCVET and the speakers from the Panels will address the queries of the participants.
About UGC Compendium:
To provide a single source of reference to all the stakeholders, UGC has prepared a Compendium of all UGC Regulations, Rules and Notifications from 1957-2023. The compendium includes 15 Rules, 87 Regulations, and 28 Notifications covering a wide range of topics, including inspection, the fitness of institutions for grants, return of information, budget and accounts, establishments, affiliation, autonomy, accreditation, admission & fees, specification of degrees, and other miscellaneous matters. The compendium provides a one-stop reference for all regulatory requirements, ensuring that institutions can easily access and comply with UGC guidelines. This is expected to streamline operations and support informed decision-making, creating an environment of compliance and best practices. This compendium having more than 1100 pages, is available in the form of a PDF and e-book on the UGC website.
About IDP:
Institutional Development Plan (IDP) Guidelines were launched by UGC on 6th February 2024. The IDP Guidelines will help institutions make a strategic Institutional Development Plan with the joint participation of Board members, institutional leaders, faculty, students and staff based on which institutions will develop initiatives, assess their progress, and reach the goals set therein.
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu conferred National Awards on teachers from across the country at a function held in New Delhi today (September 5, 2024) on Teachers’ Day. The President conferred the National Teachers’ Award 2024 to 82 selected Awardees.
Addressing the gathering, the President said that teachers have to prepare such citizens who are not only educated but also sensitive, honest and enterprising. She stated that moving ahead in life is success, but the meaning of life lies in working for the welfare of others. We should have compassion. Our conduct should be ethical. A successful life lies in the meaningful life. Teaching these values to the students is the duty of teachers.
The President said that teachers play the most important role in success of any education system. Teaching is not just a job. It is a sacred mission of human development. If a child is not able to perform well, then the education system and teachers have a bigger responsibility. She pointed out that often teachers pay special attention only to those students who perform well in exams. However excellent academic performance is only one dimension of excellence. A child may be a very good sportsperson; some child might have leadership skills; another child enthusiastically participates in social welfare activities. The teacher has to identify the natural talent of each child and bring it out.
The President said that the status of women in any society is an important criterion for its development. She stated that it is the responsibility of teachers and parents to educate children in such a way that they always behave in accordance with the dignity of women. She emphasised that the respect for women should not be only in ‘words’ but also in ‘practice’.
The President said that according to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, if a teacher himself does not continuously acquire knowledge then he/she cannot teach in true sense. She expressed confidence that all the teachers will continue the process of acquiring knowledge. She said that by doing this, their teaching will remain more relevant and interesting.
The President told teachers that the generation of their students will create a developed India. She advised teachers and students to have a global mindset and world-class skills. She stated that great teachers build a great nation. Only teachers with a developed mindset can create citizens who will build a developed nation. She expressed confidence that by inspiring students, our teachers will make India the knowledge hub of the world.
Every year, India celebrates 5th September, the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, as National Teachers’ Day. The purpose of the National Teachers’ Award is to celebrate the unique contribution of teachers in the country and to honour those teachers who, through their commitment and dedication, have not only improved the quality of education but also enriched the lives of their students. Each award carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs. 50,000 and a silver medal.
The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, has selected 50 teachers for this year’s National Teachers’ Awards. They have been selected through a rigorous transparent and online three stage i.e., District, State and National level selection process by the Department of School Education and Literacy. The 50 selected teachers are from 28 States, 3 UTs and 6 Organizations. Out of 50 selected teachers, 34 are males, 16 are female, 2 are differently abled and 1 working with CWSN. In addition, 16 teachers from the Department of Higher Education and 16 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship were also awarded.
NEP 2020 recognizes that motivated, energized and capable faculty is critical for the advancement of the students, institution and profession. It also envisages incentives such as rewards and recognition to cultivate a culture of excellence in the education ecosystem. As such, in the year 2023, it was decided to institute two categories of awards for HEIs and Polytechnics under the umbrella of NAT, hitherto restricted to School teachers only. The 16 select teachers are from Polytechnics, State Universities and Central Higher Education Institutions.
Below is the list of Awardees from the Dept. of School Education & Literacy:
MYNGKEN CHRISTIAN HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, BHOIRYMBONG
MEGHALAYA
36
DR. NANI GOPAL DEBNATH
TEACHER
NETAJI SUBHAS VIDYANIKETAN, NETAJI CHOUMUHANI
TRIPURA
37
DIPEN KHANIKAR
TEACHER
CHI CHIA BOKULONI GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL, NO3
ASSAM
38
DR. ASHA RANI
POST GRADUATE TEACHER
PLUS 2 HIGH SCHOOL CHANDANKIYARI BOKARO
JHARKHAND
39
JINU GEORGE
TEACHER
S.D.V.B.H.S.S, ALAPPUZHA
KERALA
40
K SIVAPRASAD
TEACHER
VPAUPS KUNDURKUNNU, THACHANATTUKARA
KERALA
41
MIDDE SRINIVASA RAO
TEACHER
S.P.S.MUNICIPAL HIGH SCHOOL PLUS, GUDIVADA
ANDHRA PRADESH
42
SURESH KUNATI
TEACHER
ZP HIGH SCHOOL URANDUR
ANDHRA PRADESH
43
PRABHAKAR REDDY PESARA
TEACHER
ZPSS THIRUMALAYAPALEM
TELANGANA
44
THADURI SAMPATH KUMAR
TEACHER
ZPHS DAMMANNAPET
TELANGANA
45
PALLAVI SHARMA
PRINCIPAL
MAMTA MODERN SR. SEC. SCHOOL, VIKASPURI
DELHI
46
CHARU MAINI
PRINCIPAL
DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL SECTOR 48-49, GURUGRAM
HARYANA
47
GOPINATH R
TEACHER
PANCHAYAT UNION MIDDLE SCHOOL – RAJAKUPPAM
TAMIL NADU
48
MURALIDHARAN RAMIYA SETHURAMAN
VOCATIONAL TEACHER
TVS HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, MADURAI
TAMIL NADU
49
MANTAIAH CHINNI BEDKE
TEACHER
Z.P.UPEER PRIMZRY DIGITAL SCHOOL JAJAVANDI
MAHARASHTRA
50
SAGAR CHITTARANJAN BAGADE
TEACHER
SOU S. M. LOHIA HIGHSCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE KOLHAPUR
MAHARASHTRA
Below is the list of Awardees from the Dept. of Higher education:
Sl. No.
Name of the Awardee
Designation
Name & Address of the Institute
State / UT of Org
1
Prof. Anitha Suseelan
Head
School of Architecture at Christ University, Bangalore
Karnataka
2
Prof. Birinchi Kumar Sarma
Professor
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh
3
Dr. C. Jaya Sankar Babu
Associate Professor
Department of Hindi, Puducherry University
Puducherry
4
Dr. A. Gandhimathi
Lecturer
Department of English, Polytechnic College, Salem
Tamil Nadu
5
Prof. Kapil Ahuja
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Indore
Madhya Pradesh
6
Prof. S.R. Keshava
Professor
Department of Economics, Bangalore University
Karnataka
7
Dr. Nandavaram Mrudula Babu
Associate Professor & Head
Department of Telugu, Govt. Degree College for Women, Hyderabad
Telangana
8
Prof. Nidhi Jain
Professor
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
New Delhi
9
Prof. Nilabh Tiwari
Head
Department of Education, Central Sanskrit University
New Delhi
10
Prof. Parmar Ranjitkumar Khimjibhai
Head
Department of Electrical Engineering, Government Polytechnic, Junagadh
Gujarat
11
Prof. Shahanaz Ayub
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jhansi
Uttar Pradesh
12
Prof. Shilpagauri Prasad
Associate Professor
Department of English, Pune District Education Association’s Prof. Ramkrishna More Arts, Commerce and Science College, Pune
Maharashtra
13
Dr. Shimi S.L.
Associate Professor
Electrical Engineering Department, Punjab Engineering College
Chandigarh
14
Prof. A.S. Smiline Girija
Head
Department of Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai
Tamil Nadu
15
Prof. Srinivas Hotha
Professor
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune
Maharashtra
16
Prof. Vinay Sharma
Professor
Department of Management Studies & Joint Professor with the Department of Design, IIT Roorkee
Uttarakhand
Below is the list of Awardees from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:
Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), chaired an international conference titled “Spectrum of Literacy” today at the CIET, NCERT, New Delhi. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, organized this virtual conference as a prelude to International Literacy Day 2024, to be celebrated tomorrow in an event at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, DoSEL; Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of NCERT; Smt. Joyce Poan, Chief of the Education Sector at UNESCO’s Regional Office for South Asia; and other dignitaries attended the conference. It brought together global and national experts, educators, policymakers, and literacy advocates to explore the diverse and evolving dimensions of literacy in today’s world.
Shri Sanjay Kumar in his address mentioned how the definition of literacy now includes Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Literacy, critical life skills, like digital, financial, and legal literacy, etc. Literacy should help people navigate through life, he emphasised. He said that ULLAS is the framework under which we must work to bring down the literacy gap between the urban and rural populations and between males and females. Literacy is to become a powerful force of change and we must carefully negotiate with the strategies and frameworks that underpin our efforts, he said.
Highlighting this year’s theme of International Literacy Day, Promoting Literacy Through Multilingualism, he mentioned that one of the central pillars of the National Education Policy 2020 is multilingualism. Children learn best when they are taught in their Mother Tongue, he added. He underscored the importance of educating women so that their representation increases in the workforce.
Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), delivered the inaugural address and gave a presentation highlighting the role of ULLAS-Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, a program introduced to foster adult literacy across the nation.
The conference featured two engaging sessions titled “Exploring the ‘Spectrum of Literacy’ in India” and “Global Perspectives on Literacy Chaired”. The first session was chaired by Dr. Amarendra P. Behera, Joint Director, CIET, NCERT. The session focused on diverse perspectives on literacy within India. Speakers included Ms. Kesang Sherpa, Member Secretary, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE); Dr. M.K.S. Sundaram, Principal Secretary, Basic Education Department, UP; and Prof. Jai Prakash Dubey, Director, Delhi School of Journalism, University of Delhi.
The second session was chaired by Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Chairman AICTE. This session provided an international perspective on literacy. Renowned global experts such as Mr. Nicholas Jonas from Germany, Prof. Iddo Gal from Israel, and Dr. Anke Grotluschen from Germany discussed critical issues ranging from adult literacy to the impact of artificial intelligence on literacy. Dr. John Benseman provided valuable insights on “Literacy in Social Spaces”. The event concluded with a summary of the steps ahead.
The conference, underscoring the theme “Spectrum of Literacy”, reflected the broad and diverse challenges and opportunities in education globally. It concluded with a call to action to strengthen partnerships and collaborations to build a literate (Jan Jan Saakshar) and inclusive world.
The Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today called upon everyone to resolve today to make at least one person literate. “ When we make someone literate, we liberate him or her, we help that person discover himself or herself, we make him or her feel dignity, we cut down dependence, we generate independence and interdependence. It enables a person to help himself or herself.It is a supreme facet of handholding”, he added
Addressing the International Literacy Day celebrations as Chief Guest at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today the Vice-President underlined, “The joy and happiness you provide by educating a person, whether a man, a woman, a child, or a girl, is beyond measure. You can’t imagine the happiness it will bring you. It will spread in a positive manner. It will be the greatest affirmative action you can take in Human Resource Development”.
In his address, he called upon everyone to promote literacy.He remarked that it is time for us to be in mission mode with commitment and passion to ensure 100% literacy at the earliest but he said he was sure that this is achievable sooner than we think. Let each one make one literate, this will be a key contribution for Viksit Bharat, he said.
He further asserted that “Education is something that no thief can take away from you. No government can snatch it from you. Neither relatives, nor friends can take it away from you. There can be no reduction in it. It will grow and continue to grow as long as you keep sharing it”. He also expressed confidence that if literacy is pursued passionately, India can reclaim its ancient status as a centre of learning, like Nalanda and Takshashila.
Appealing to the states that are yet to adopt the Education Policy (NEP) to rethink, revisit their stance, he emphasised that this policy is a game-changer for the nation. “This National Education Policy empowers our youth to fully exploit their talent and energy, giving due importance to all languages,” he remarked.
Highlighting the special significance of mother tongue, Shri Dhankahr stated that it is the language in which we dream. Shri Dhankhar emphasised on India’s unparalleled linguistic diversity, Shri Dhankhar stated that, “There is no country in the world like India. We are a unique nation when it comes to the richness of language, with several languages”.
Reflecting on his experiences As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he shared that members are given the opportunity to speak in 22 languages. “When I hear them speak in their language, I listen to the translation, but their body language itself tells me what they are saying”, he stated.
He also highlighted the profound significance of Rishi Tradition in Indian culture, and urged everyone to “take resolve to make at least one person literate within six months, so that by the end of the year, we can achieve the goal of educating two individuals.”
Lauding India’s transformative progress over the last decade, Shri Dhankhar emphasised how achievements like electrifying every household, once unimaginable, are now a reality, with future goals focused on self-sufficiency through solar power. He reflected on rural development, highlighting the significant strides like toilets in every household and the impact of widespread digital connectivity. He noted how 4G access in remote villages has revolutionised service delivery, making everyday tasks easier, and eliminating the need for long queues for essential services”.
Cautioning against the people who taint, tarnish and demean our institutions, Shri Dhankhar urged to show path to those misguided souls who are not able to acknowledge the impressive growth of Bharat and are not recognising the ground reality.
Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Education, Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL) and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
The Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education & Literacy, in collaboration with UNESCO, celebrated International Literacy Day 2024. The theme of this year’s event, “Promoting Literacy through Multilingualism,” highlighted the critical role of linguistic diversity in improving literacy levels across India’s diverse communities.
Shri Jayant Chaudhary, while delivering the inaugural address, highlighted the significance of literacy in improving the health situation, empowering women, and increasing GDP. Literacy is not just a developmental goal; it is the very foundation of our character of a developed India, he added.
The Minister highlighted the unique feature of ULLAs, which is a sense of duty, ‘Kartavyabodh’, with the spirit of volunteerism and community participation. He also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 which emphasizes inclusive participation and the use of Indian languages to make progress in various fields. This vision is being realized through the NEP-2020, which seeks to eliminate linguistic barriers and ensure that language does not become a barrier in the educational journey of any learner, Shri Chaudhary said.
Shri Chaudhary emphasized that our efforts towards making everyone literate are part of a global mission. He mentioned, how, in collaboration with UNESCO, the work is going on towards making it in sync with international standards and goals towards a world where every individual has the right to education and the opportunity to reach their full potential. Literacy is not just a national priority; it is a global imperative that will have far-reaching implications for the future, he said.
He urged all States and Union Territories to fully embrace the ULLAAS initiative and work tirelessly towards achieving total literacy by 2030. This is not just a government effort, it is a collective responsibility, he reminded.
Shri Sanjay Kumar in his welcoming address mentioned how the literacy programme is aligned with NEP2020 which aims at achieving 100% literacy. ULLAS symbolizes our relentless pursuit of literacy for all, he said. Towards the students present at the event he highlighted the opportunity the programme presents them to contribute to the country’s literacy mission. He congratulated the UT of Ladakh on achieving full literacy (over 97%). Shri Kumar also mentioned that this year’s theme of the ILD stresses multilingualism and India’s linguistic diversity is one of the greatest assets of the country and by embracing multilingual education it can be made accessible for all. Reaffirming the unwavering determination to achieve 100% literacy he mentioned that along with enhancing literacy this mission is igniting hope, empowering individuals and shaping a bright future for India.
A special film on ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, was launched during the programme, which captured the journey, milestones, and success stories of the program. The film showcased the transformative impact of the initiative in promoting adult literacy across diverse linguistic regions and empowering communities through foundational literacy and digital skills.
The ULLAS DTH Channel, a significant step towards reaching learners across the nation through literacy programs in multiple languages, was also launched today. This initiative will serve as a crucial tool in bridging the literacy gap, particularly for adult learners in remote and underserved regions.
Some volunteer teachers and neo-literate individuals shared their experiences of learning through multilingual education under the ULLAS program. These stories showcased the transformative power of learning in one’s native language and its profound impact on adult learners, empowering them to participate more actively in their communities and the economy.
Cultural performances showcasing India’s linguistic richness at the event reflected the diverse heritage that is the backbone of the nation’s literacy efforts.
International Literacy Day 2024 reinforced the government’s ongoing efforts to promote literacy through multilingual education, aiming to build a more inclusive, literate, and empowered society where linguistic diversity is celebrated and embraced.
Arkade Developers is a well-established real estate development company based in Mumbai, India. Known for its commitment to quality construction, innovative designs, and customer satisfaction, Arkade Developers has carved a niche for itself in the competitive real estate market. The company specializes in the development of residential and commercial properties, with a focus on creating spaces that are not only aesthetically appealing but also highly functional and sustainable.
Overview of Arkade Developers
Founded by Amit Jain, Arkade Developers has been active in the real estate sector for over two decades. The company operates with the vision of building homes and commercial spaces that meet modern-day needs while adhering to the highest standards of construction. With a strong presence in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Arkade Developers has delivered several successful projects that have earned the trust of homebuyers and investors alike.
Key Projects
Arkade Developers is known for creating residential and commercial spaces that reflect luxury, comfort, and sustainability. Some of their notable projects include:
Arkade Earth (Kanjurmarg East): Arkade Earth is a residential project offering 1, 2, and 3 BHK apartments. The project is designed to provide a modern lifestyle, with amenities like landscaped gardens, a clubhouse, a swimming pool, and jogging tracks. The location offers excellent connectivity to key areas in Mumbai, making it a popular choice for homebuyers.
Arkade Crown (Borivali West): Arkade Crown is a luxury residential project located in Borivali West. Known for its spacious apartments and premium amenities, it caters to the needs of urban professionals and families looking for comfortable living spaces in one of Mumbai’s prime suburbs.
Arkade Rise (Mulund West): Arkade Rise is another prominent residential project offering modern apartments with world-class amenities. Its strategic location in Mulund, one of Mumbai’s developing suburbs, provides easy access to commercial hubs, schools, hospitals, and shopping malls.
Arkade Serene (Santacruz West): Arkade Serene is a high-end residential development located in Santacruz West, a sought-after area in Mumbai. The project features luxurious apartments designed for high-net-worth individuals who prioritize comfort, location, and exclusivity.
Arkade Aspire (Goregaon): Arkade Aspire is a well-planned residential project in Goregaon, Mumbai, offering spacious and elegant apartments. This project is equipped with modern amenities, such as a gym, children’s play area, landscaped gardens, and more, making it an attractive option for families and professionals.
Philosophy and Approach
Arkade Developers focuses on delivering projects that combine high-quality construction with thoughtful design. The company believes in creating sustainable developments, ensuring that their projects contribute positively to the environment. They use eco-friendly materials and adopt energy-efficient technologies to minimize the environmental footprint of their developments.
Customer satisfaction is at the core of Arkade Developers’ business philosophy. The company places great emphasis on transparency, timely delivery, and providing value for money. With a dedicated customer service team, Arkade Developers ensures that the homebuying process is smooth and hassle-free for its clients.
Innovation and Technology
Arkade Developers embraces modern construction technologies and innovative architectural designs. They adopt the latest building techniques to ensure durability and safety while maintaining aesthetic appeal. From using advanced construction materials to incorporating smart home technologies, Arkade Developers aims to meet the expectations of the new-age homebuyer.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Arkade Developers is also committed to giving back to society. The company participates in various community-driven initiatives, including environmental conservation, education, and healthcare. They emphasize sustainable development by ensuring that their projects have minimal adverse effects on the environment.
Awards and Recognition
Over the years, Arkade Developers has received multiple awards and accolades for its contributions to the real estate industry. These recognitions reflect the company’s dedication to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
Future Plans
With an ever-growing demand for high-quality housing in Mumbai, Arkade Developers continues to expand its portfolio with new residential and commercial projects. The company’s focus remains on providing homes that meet modern needs while ensuring a strong return on investment for buyers and investors.
Conclusion
Arkade Developers has established itself as a leading player in Mumbai’s real estate market through its focus on quality, innovation, and customer-centric services. With an impressive track record of successful projects and a commitment to sustainable development, Arkade Developers continues to shape the future of urban living in one of India’s most dynamic cities.
Younis Khan is one of the most distinguished and accomplished cricketers in Pakistan’s cricket history. Born on November 29, 1977, in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Younis is renowned for his technical prowess, resilience, and ability to perform under pressure. Over his international career, which spanned from 2000 to 2017, he earned a reputation as one of the finest Test batsmen in the world, known particularly for his consistency and ability to play in challenging conditions.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Younis Khan grew up in a family passionate about cricket. His early cricketing years were spent playing in the streets of Mardan, and later, he moved to Karachi, where his professional career took off. His talent was evident from an early age, and after impressive performances in domestic cricket, he was called up to the Pakistan national team.
International Debut
Younis made his international debut for Pakistan in February 2000 in a One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, and a month later, he played his first Test match against the same opposition. Although he started his career on a relatively low note in ODIs, it was in Test cricket where he truly shone. He scored a century (107 runs) in just his second Test match, signaling his potential as a world-class player.
Rise to Prominence
Younis Khan’s rise in Test cricket was marked by his impeccable technique, strong temperament, and ability to adapt to different playing conditions around the world. Over the years, he became Pakistan’s most reliable middle-order batsman, especially known for his ability to play long innings. Younis played some of his best cricket in foreign conditions, with many of his centuries coming in challenging overseas tours, which earned him great respect globally.
Captaincy and Leading Pakistan to Glory
In 2009, Younis Khan was appointed captain of the Pakistan cricket team, a role that came with immense pressure and expectations. His leadership was instrumental in guiding Pakistan to one of its greatest triumphs—the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in 2009. Under Younis’ leadership, Pakistan won the T20 World Cup, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. This victory was significant as it gave the country a reason to celebrate amidst various challenges and unrest at the time.
Although his captaincy tenure was not without challenges, with ups and downs in the team’s performance and some internal conflicts, Younis’ stature as a player remained untarnished.
Achievements in Test Cricket
Younis Khan’s legacy is most closely associated with his outstanding performances in Test cricket. He is the highest run-scorer for Pakistan in Tests, amassing 10,099 runs in 118 matches at an average of 52.05, with 34 centuries and 33 half-centuries. He remains the only Pakistani player to score over 10,000 runs in Test cricket, a milestone he achieved in 2017 during a series against the West Indies.
One of Younis Khan’s most remarkable achievements came in 2015 when he scored his 30th Test century, surpassing Javed Miandad’s long-standing record of 8,832 runs to become Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket. He also holds the record for most centuries by a Pakistani in Test cricket, with 34 centuries to his name.
His most famous innings includes a triple century (313) against Sri Lanka in 2009, one of the highest individual scores by a Pakistani in Test matches. He was also known for his incredible ability to perform in the fourth innings of Test matches, an area where many batsmen struggle. Younis scored five centuries in the fourth innings, the most by any player in the history of Test cricket.
Versatility and Adaptability
Younis Khan’s success in different conditions is a testament to his versatility and adaptability. He scored runs in every major cricket-playing nation, including difficult tours in Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies. His ability to play both pace and spin with equal competence made him a complete batsman.
He was particularly skilled at playing on difficult, turning tracks in the subcontinent, often rescuing Pakistan from precarious situations with his patience and composure at the crease. His ability to graft innings and build partnerships made him a pivotal figure in Pakistan’s batting lineup for over a decade.
Retirement and Post-Retirement Role
Younis Khan retired from international cricket in 2017 after Pakistan’s historic Test series win against the West Indies. His farewell was emotional, as he left the game as one of Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketers. His retirement marked the end of an era, leaving a significant void in Pakistan’s batting lineup.
After retirement, Younis Khan remained actively involved in the development of cricket in Pakistan. He took up coaching roles, notably becoming the batting coach for the Pakistan national team in 2020. His experience and knowledge of the game are seen as valuable assets for grooming young cricketers in the country. Additionally, he has been involved in various philanthropic and sports development initiatives.
Legacy and Impact
Younis Khan’s contributions to Pakistan cricket extend beyond his statistics. He is admired for his professionalism, dedication to fitness, and his exemplary work ethic. His ability to inspire and mentor younger players has made him a respected figure in Pakistan cricket circles.
One of Younis’ defining characteristics has been his humility and down-to-earth personality. Despite his numerous achievements, he always remained grounded, often crediting his success to the team and the support of his fans.
Honors and Awards
Younis Khan received numerous awards throughout his career. He was awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian honors, including the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, in recognition of his services to cricket. His name is etched in cricket history as one of Pakistan’s all-time greats, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of cricketers.
Personal Life
Younis Khan is known to be a private person when it comes to his personal life. He has a wife, Amna, and they have children together. Younis has often credited his family for being his support system throughout his career, especially during tough times.
In summary, Younis Khan’s cricketing journey is one of hard work, perseverance, and excellence. He is remembered as one of Pakistan’s finest players, a cricketing legend who set new standards for Pakistan’s future generations of cricketers.
National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM): Empowering Rural India
The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) is a flagship program of the Indian government aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability among rural communities. Launched in 2011, NRLM seeks to promote sustainable livelihoods, social empowerment, and inclusive growth in rural areas.
Objectives:
Promote livelihoods: Enhance income and employment opportunities for rural households.
Social empowerment: Build capacities and confidence among rural communities, especially women.
Inclusive growth: Foster inclusive growth, reducing poverty and vulnerability.
Key Features:
Community-led approach: Empowers rural communities to take ownership of their development.
Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Supports SHGs, promoting savings, credit, and entrepreneurship.
Capacity building: Trains community members in skills, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Financial inclusion: Facilitates access to financial services, reducing dependence on informal lenders.
Livelihoods promotion: Supports agriculture, animal husbandry, and non-farm activities.
Strategies:
Intensive Block-level Approach: Focuses on intensive capacity building and livelihoods promotion in selected blocks.
Partnerships and collaborations: Fosters partnerships with NGOs, banks, and private sector entities.
Technology-enabled solutions: Leverages technology for capacity building, financial inclusion, and livelihoods promotion.
Benefits:
Improved livelihoods: Enhanced income and employment opportunities for rural households.
Social empowerment: Increased confidence and capacities among rural communities, especially women.
Financial inclusion: Reduced dependence on informal lenders, improved access to financial services.
Inclusive growth: Reduced poverty and vulnerability, promoting inclusive growth.
Challenges and Future Directions:
Scalability and sustainability: Scaling up NRLM’s impact while ensuring sustainability.
Diversification of livelihoods: Promoting diversified livelihoods, reducing dependence on agriculture.
Technology integration: Leveraging technology to enhance NRLM’s impact and reach.
Convergence with other initiatives: Integrating NRLM with other government initiatives for greater impact.
In conclusion, NRLM has been a pioneering initiative in empowering rural India, promoting sustainable livelihoods, social empowerment, and inclusive growth. As the program continues to evolve, addressing challenges and building on successes will be crucial to achieving its vision of a poverty-free, vibrant rural India.
Eduindex News 
You must be logged in to post a comment.