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eMudhra simplifying digital certifications

digital certifications
Arvind Srinivasan
Arvind Srinivasan
SVP – Strategic Initiatives and Global Markets
eMudhra

eMudhra Limited is a licensed Certifying Authority under the Information Technology Act of India issuing digital signature certificates in India since 2008, says Arvind Srinivasan, SVP – Strategic Initiatives and Global Markets, eMudhra, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

With the incidents of ‘documentation frauds’ being on the rise in the education sector in India and abroad, how do you think digital diplomas can play a role in curbing it?

I think Digital Diplomas (or eDiplomas) play a significant role in curbing document fraud (Specifically, diploma fraud) in India and abroad. Typically, diplomas have been solely physical documents without any on-the-fly digital verification mechanism. As a result, relying parties have had to rely solely on physical print security features in authenticating a diploma. This poses a key challenge, especially when ‘diploma mills’ get their hands on the same stock paper, and sophisticated equipment required to print sensitive documents like diplomas.

Our solution merges the physical diploma with a digital authentication medium by leveraging on PKI (or Digital Signatures). Digital Diplomas issued by our system are verifiable in digital formats and physical formats (through a digitally signed QR code) whereby relying parties can establish whether the document in their hand, regardless of whether it is the original or a photocopy, is actually authentic! This is done by validating the digital signature and corresponding data embedded in the form of a QR code on a physical code or done automatically in adobe PDF reader.

How do you think digital diplomas will turn into the future of education industry?

Digital Diplomas will play a significant role in the future of the education industry. There is a sentiment attached to receiving a printed diploma on stage at the graduation ceremony. For this reason, I do not anticipate that physical diplomas will become obsolete any time soon. However, what I do predict is that down the road, such physical diplomas, will be; a) embedded with a security and trust seal that helps receiving parties establish the authenticity and integrity of the document and b) accompanied by a digital form of the document which can be easily submitted to relying parties whereby such relying parties can establish the authenticity and integrity of the document easily and in real-time. In essence, in the near future, Digital Diplomas will play an ancillary role in the Diploma issuance process. However, over time, it could very well be the norm.

What all technologies are used in developing a digital diploma?

eMudhra Digital Diploma is powered by our paperless office solution, emSigner. From a technology perspective, the backbone of the solution relies on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). Public Key Infrastructure itself relies on asymmetric cryptography. PKI forms the backbone for Digital Signatures globally. The technology helps to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and legal non-repudiation (when issued by a Certifying Authority) of documents that are digitally signed.

Is a digital diploma equally valid as a traditional diploma?

Yes. A digitally signed document holds the same validity as a traditional diploma with wet signatures. Under the IT Act of India, 2000, Digital signatures hold the same weight in the court of law as physical signatures. In India specifically, there is a Certifying Authority ecosystem regulated by the Controller of Certifying Authorities which issues such digital signature certificates upon conducting thorough KYC checks as per prescribed mechanisms. eMudhra is a licensed Certifying Authority in India and works with various Certifying Authorities across the globe.

What do you think are the challenges/barriers in adopting digital diploma? Why do you think all the educational institutions are not adopting it?

At the moment, it is a question of novelty. While there are no legal or technical barriers in adopting the technology, it is still a nascent concept that has just been introduced in the market. I think that the primary challenge as of today is the awareness of such a technology with the ability to cater to some very relevant and current problems. Further, I think it is important that the technology be packaged tightly with the diploma printing houses to ensure that the university experience is seamless.

We are actively working to address these challenges in India and ensure that Digital Diplomas becomes part of the future of Education in India. In fact, we have already seen success with this approach in Colombia, South America.

Over time, I am quite sure that many educational institutions will adopt the solution for its obvious benefits.

How is eMudhra’s product guaranteeing complete security for the digital diploma?

At eMudhra, Security is at the forefront of what we do. We are a niche company focused on cryptography and leveraging the benefits of sophisticated cryptographic algorithms to enhance security across our offerings. Our eDiploma is a PKI driven solution that ensures integrity of signed documents, tamper-proof audit trails, confidentiality of document content through encrypted storage, and more. From hosting, all the way through to user actions, we ensure that security is built into the process. Where required, we even complement our eDiploma offering with Multi Factor Authentication to ensure rightful access to documents.

Have you tied up with any universities or colleges to implement this?

Yes, though not in India. We are actively in talks with universities and print houses in India to effectively go to market in India. However, we have approximately 7 university clients in Latinm America who are currently using our solution for the purpose of issuing digital diplomas. Our eDiploma solution is used not only to mitigate diploma fraud but also increase efficiency of diploma signing and removing the necessity of the dean, chancellor, and others having to personally sign thousands of documents yearly!

PMKVY: Over 37 lakh candidates trained so far

PMKVY

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-20, 37.32 lakh (approximately) candidates have been trained so far revealed Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

According to Pradhan, 25.25 have been trained under Short Term Training (STT), 11.27 lakh under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and 80,000 under special projects in various sectors across the country also till 24 January, 2019.

Also Read: NSDC: Imparting Skills to Propel Economic Growth

Government of India has launched “Skill Loan Scheme” with a view to support youth by providing a loan facility to individuals who intend to take up skill development courses as per the Skill Loan eligibility criteria. Skill Loan Scheme is applicable to all the member banks of Indian Bank Association (IBA) and any other bank and financial institution including Micro Finance Institution regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Bank of India being the lead bank of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has been the first bank to notify and implement such a Skill Loan Scheme. The Loans are available in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 1,50,000.

As per the information collected from Indian Banks' Association (IBA), during the financial year 2017-18, a total amount of Rs 29.06 crore was disbursed against 3,551 number of accounts. Further, during the FY 2018-19 (till Dec’18) a total amount of Rs 19.46 crore was disbursed against 2,429 accounts.

CBSE to provide level playing field to students through TETRA software

CBSE to provide level playing field to students through TETRA software

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been using TETRA software digital technology to create as much of a level playing field for students in exams.

The software can be used for moderation of marks in case of an unfair degree of ambiguity or difficulty in any question paper. It will help the students who feel unduly penalised by a disproportionately difficult question paper or a stray ambiguous question, a senior official said.

According to the official, “The software was last year used for studying the trends of marks being obtained by the students across the regions. The software displays the live trend of average marks scored across the centres.”

“We analyse the trend of marks being obtained by students across the regions and centres. Whenever we spot any deviation from the norm, we call up that centre and probe if there were complaints about the question paper,” the senior CBSE official stated.

“We look for complaints regarding any ambiguity or difficulty in the question paper. A team then sees if and how much moderation is needed to account for these difficulties,” the official added.

The CBSE had also used the TETRA software last year when it weathered opprobrium from all quarters after the Maths and Economics papers for class 10 and class 12, respectively were leaked.

Telecom Management providing an edge to professionals

Telecom Management

A niche course is a specialised course that focuses on a particular area of operation or a sector. The curriculum exclusively and exhaustively focuses on a specific or rising field of business while incorporating the basic topics of general MBA, writes Biju G Pillai, Director-IT, Sri Balaji Society.

There is no doubt that MBA is one of the most popular postgraduate programmes in India. Lakhs of MBA aspirants enrol in this programme every year, with a hope to land a dream job and fast-track their career. Unfortunately, the number of MBA students that pass out every year surpass the number of jobs that exist. It is a clear-cut case of demand-supply gap.

Also ReadIs MBA still a sought after course?

So, the pertinent question is how MBA students can gain a competitive edge in the job market? The answer lies in finding a niche. Traditionally, most MBA institutes offer specialisations in finance, marketing, human resources, IT and operations. While these courses are still very much relevant even today, the inclination of both students as well as employers has begun to tilt towards niche courses. The examples of some of the niche courses are rural management, real estate, energy and environment and disaster management. Another sought-after niche course is telecom management. It is emerging as a differentiator in the MBA specialisations.

MBA in Telecom Management – A Shining Star in Niche Courses

The Indian telecom sector is the second largest in the world. Owing to the growing subscriber base, conducive business environment and fair regulatory framework, the telecom sector has witnessed a phenomenal growth in last few years. In fact, it is estimated that this sector would become USD 26.38 billion market by 2020 and add more than 10 million jobs in the next five years.

This is a clear indication that the demand for skilled resources will continue to soar. The industry would need specialised telecom managers who understand the telecom sector in and out, possess technical as well as soft-skill sets and apply the MBA learning on the ground reality with sharp business acumen.

Also ReadWhat India needs: MBA or M Tech?

So, there is no doubt that MBA in telecom management is emerging as a shining star in the niche courses. This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the telecom sector with core concepts of MBA ingrained as the foundation. Essentially, it will focus on developing the techno-managerial skill of students.

MBA in telecom management is a two-year programme. The course curriculum comprises telecom and information technologies, fintech, analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), digital marketing, mobile applications, cyber security, service marketing management, communication systems operations, and related fields. Since telecom technology evolves continuously, the curriculum is also updated regularly to keep pace with the changing needs of the sector. Hence, the course always stays relevant to meet the industry demands.

Career Prospects

There are varied and several career opportunities across different verticals in the telecom sector after completing MBA in this field. The leading public and private telecom companies, internet service providers, value-added service providers, satellite and cable networks, optical fibre manufacturers and mobile device manufacturers are hiring MBAs in telecom management to manage their operations and technologies.

These days, several start-ups have also emerged in the telecom space to provide disruptive and innovative solutions. India being the third largest ecosystem in India offers numerous career opportunities the telecom sector too. So, students who want to build a telecom career in start-ups can also consider MBA in this field.

Telecom management students can become professionals in domains such as product development and management, sales and distribution, telecom regulation, network designing, mobile applications development, pricing, broadband connections, infrastructure hardware manufacturing, internet services providers, international voice trading and many more.

Since telecom technologies remain the same across the world, there are also bright career prospects in the international arena. The global exposure in this field can be a useful addition to a telecom management professional’s resume.

Freshers can get a good start in the telecom industry and gradually rise up the career ladder based on their experience and knowledge. The experienced professionals can establish their foothold in the leadership roles. It is highly recommended that telecom management professionals continuously update their technical skills through refresher courses even after completing MBA to stay abreast with the latest developments in the industry.

Eligibility

The primary eligibility for pursuing MBA in telecom management is graduation from any recognised university or institution of national importance with a minimum of 50 percent marks or equivalent grade. Students who have completed graduation in engineering in IT, computers or electronic should especially consider MBA in telecom management to boost their career.

Pay Scale

Telecom management students can expect packages up to Rs7-9 lakhs per annum. As the experience level rises, the salaries can go up to Rs 10 lakh. The professionals with 10 or more years of experience can get Rs 20-30 lakh package. The pay scale can vary from one organisation to another. If the professional is working in a multinational or off-shore company, then the pay package can go even higher.

The Indian telecom sector has a huge potential for growth. With the increase in demand for existing and new technologies, skilling will play a crucial role for telecom companies to remain competitive in the market. They would be looking for candidates who can bring an amalgamation of technical, managerial and soft skills on board. Hence, the telecom industry is likely to increase their hiring in the coming years. There couldn’t be a more fruitful time than now for students to enrol in MBA in telecom management course.

CLAT to be conducted online if applications increase

CLAT 2019

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), 2019, after three years, will now be conducted in online mode. Started in 2008, Clat was conducted in online mode from 2015-2018.

“Issues such as limited infrastructure and inadequate access to technology in rural areas made it difficult to conduct the test online and therefore, the consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) in October 2018 decided to conduct CLAT in offline mode,” says Srikrishna Deva Rao, vice-chancellor of NLU, Orissa and convenor of CLAT 2019.

For the offline CLAT 2019 exam, 21 NLUs will be the test centres along with other institutes across regions, which will be decided by the respective vice-chancellors. “The offline test will provide wider access to aspirants from rural areas and avoid other technical glitches encountered in last year’s CLAT exam,” says Rao.

The CLAT will now be conducted by the executive committee of the consortium headquartered in Bengaluru. The consortium comprises three NLUs, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore; National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) Hyderabad; and NLIU, Bhopal, as its ex officio members.

“The decision of having a centralised way instead of one NLU conducting the test on rotation basis will not only bring transparency in the admission process but will also enhance quality in legal education,” Rao adds.

“The decision of consortium to conduct CLAT 2019 in offline mode was made in the light of the fact that the number of students appearing in the entrance test is not large as IIT JEE or NEET. However, consortium is open to going for an online test in future once the number of applicants increases,” he further said.

According to Rao, “CLAT is not an easy exam, but is not unachievable either, and practice of logical reasoning; legal aptitude and current affairs will provide an edge to the students. Equal importance must be given to all the segments. As the questions in each segment vary, students must focus on time management.”

Implementation of EWS quota likely to cost Rs 5,600 crore to Government

Implementation of EWS quota likely to Rs 5,600 crore to Government

Implementation of 10 percent quota for EWS in all centrally-funded educational institutions including central universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IIITs will cost Rs 5,600 crore collectively (approximately) to the Government.

All institutes are required to add nearly 2.1 lakh seats in next two years. Around 1.2 lakh seats are to be added in the new academic session commencing from July this year and another 95,000 next year.

The Central Government has instructed the universities and institutions to increase their intake over two years without reducing the present number of seats for SC, ST, OBC and general category students.

As per the implementation plan shared by all central institutions, the biggest chunk of Rs 2,682 crore hasbeen sought by central universities, followed by the IITs (Rs 1,094 crore), and the NITs (Rs 1,001 crore).

Also ReadGujarat becomes first state to implement 10 percent EWS quota

Of this, Rs 3,830 crore has been sought for building new infrastructure, Rs 723 crore for salaries on account of hiring more teachers, and the remaining for fellowships meant for the added intake.

Initially, Ministry of Human Resource Development prepared an estimate of around Rs 4,200 crore for implementing EWS reservation which was is much lesser than the institutions’ estimate.

As per the plans shared by the educational institutions, the collective increased intake of IITs is 6,708 seats of which 2,388 seats will be added this year, and remaining next year. Similarly, the IIMs will add 620 seats in July and 743 in 2020 whereas central universities will increase total intake by 47,223 over two years.

Over 379K new jobs in government departments

jobs

As debate intensifies over rising unemployment in the country, the Modi government claims to have generated over 379,000 jobs between 2017 and 2019 in its various establishments, according to the Interim Budget for 2019-20.

The government said it has generated 251,279 jobs in central government establishments between 2017 and 2018. This is estimated to go up by 379,544 to reach 36,15,770 on March 1, 2019, shows an analysis of documents of the Interim Budget, presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on February 1.

The data assumes significance as the Congress and other opposition parties have been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over rising unemployment. The government has rejected the charges.

Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address to Parliament on Thursday, Modi cited data from provident fund, National Pension System (NPS), Income Tax filings and sale of vehicles among others to say millions of new jobs were created in the formal and unorganised sectors, including transport, hotels and infrastructure.

Most of the recruitment was done by the Ministry of Railways, police forces and the direct and indirect tax departments.

The Budget documents give a sector-wise break-up on how the jobs were added in central government establishments.

It said Indian Railways will generate the highest number of jobs – 98,999 by March 1, 2019, against its actual strength of 12,70,714 in March 2017.

There will be 79,353 additional jobs in police departments by March 1, 2019, up from the actual strength of 10,52,351 as on March 1, 2017.

Similarly, jobs in direct tax departments will touch an estimated 80,143 by next month as against 50,208 in March 2017.

In indirect tax departments, the government said there were 53,394 employees in March 2017. This went up to 92,842 in March 2018. It also gave the same figure (92,842) as the estimated strength of indirect tax establishment as on March 1, 2019.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will have 2,363 more personnel by March 1 this year against its actual strength of 1,174 in March 2017, the document shows.

Similarly, for the Department of Posts, it said there will be 4,21,068 personnel on March 1, 2019, as against its actual strength of 41,88,18 in March 2017.

Indian education sector in last 70 years: An outlook

India is a country that is aspirational, young and dynamic. Last 70 years have transformed the country into one of the fastest growing economies with maximum world youth residing and learning, writes Loluck Baby, Career Coach, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for Elets News Network (ENN).

Loluck Baby, Career Coach, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Loluck Baby, Career Coach, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

While all the countries who got independence from the British rule struggled to keep the democratic framework alive, India stood out and created the world’s biggest democracy with a well-written constitution. Thanks to our ancestors who envisioned the importance of having such a robust and inclusive constitution to run a country which speaks more than 400 languages, thousands of castes and tens of religion and culture.

Education is our fundamental right. All State and Central Governments have always given high-level of importance to education. Our statement believed that Education is the only tool that can drive the country out of exploitation and poverty. From a country with 19 percent literacy in 1951 to a country with around 75 percent literacy in 2011 (As per Census 2011) is a great achievement, that too with the population of 1.2 billion. Though, we have reasons to blame our successive government for not doing many things, we can also be proud of what we have achieved in the last 70 years.

India has created a massive and robust education system, which ensures gender equality, give preference to the neglected communities and appreciate the talented students. Whether it is NCERT or state boards, despite all the issues and challenges, the organisations worked well to produce quality manpower that has driven the economy forward. One of the major export we have is our talented youth, In the 1980s we considered it as “Brain Drain”. But I consider it as “Brain gain”. In this 21stcentury, we have created a soft power with our Indian youth running all the major corporate houses in the world. All these talents are produced by the Indian Education System.

One of the key organisations in India that has transformed the education sector in villages is Anganwadis. In 1975, after the creation of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the world’s biggest community initiatives,  this institution has played the effective role as “Poor Man kindergarten” and nutritious food source for children and mothers in particular.

The vision set by our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Education minister was the base of our well developed and robust system. Our First Education Minister Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was a combination of religious scholar and modern science and technology enthusiast who believed in quality education as the way for India to move forward and to be a successful country. In 1951, IIT Kharagpur was established and since thenthe country has developed 23 IITs and 20 IIMs, which became the education hub for developing industry leaders not only in India, around the world.

Growth in the public Education system

In last 70 years, our public education system has grown muchfolds, with the help of government, private and NGO partnerships. In 1951, our school enrolment was less than 40 percent whereas in 2001, we have achieved 100 percent of school enrolment. In 1951, we were having less than 2.4 lakhs primary school whereas in 2018 we have more than 15 lakhs schools. After the introduction of Mid-day meal in 1995, the school dropout has drastically reduced. The role of the NGOs, missionaries, communities and the private sector in developing the general education cannot be neglected. Every successive state and central government supported the contribution in a very active way to accelerate the growth of the nation. When it comes to Universities, from 27 universities in 1951, currently, India has 829 universities and the number is growing fast.

Status of Technical education

India has become a production house of technical graduates. Every year we are producing 1.5 million engineers. We are producing the brightest scholars of the planet from IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IISC and IIMs. Apart from these premier institutions, there are colleges run by State Governments and private institutions, which are producing more than enough technical graduates for the country. India has become a hub of software, because of the quality technical graduates coming out of all these institutions. As part of the National Education Policy of 1986, we started promoting Vocational Education in secondary school, which has created a major industrial workforce in the country that attracted the global manufacturing giants to set up the production plants in India.

Women Education

One of the priorities of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was the encouragement of women education. He firmly believed that unless we empower women of this nation, we will never be able to achieve the goals envisioned by our father of the nation. Even after much effort, our women literacy rate till 2001 was only 52 percent. In 2011, it has grown to 66 percent, but the growth rate was slow. Cultural and social ignorance about the importance of women education is the prime reason for this slow growth. We need to have a strong focus on women education in villages to attain the full potential of our growth and to stop women exploitation.

Looking back to what we have achieved in terms of education, I feel the country should be proud of what we have done in last 70 years, at the same time, we should introspect and correct the short falls in medium and long term. Moreover, as part of the 21st century when the world is moving towards the Industrial Revolution 4.0 based on technology, we have to prepare our children for this by adopting the best practices in education and constantly improving the research and development in education. That’s the only way for us to keep up the race to be one of the leading Scountries in the world.

What lies ahead for India’s Education System in its 8th Decade as a Sovereign Modern State?

As India celebrates the conclusion of seven decades of experience of passing through and executing its powers and freedoms as a Sovereign State again for the first time in modern times, there is much anticipation of what lies ahead for its Collective as a Society with a Pluralistic Population that is very diverse in Cultures, Religions, Languages, writes Prof Y V Satya Kumar, Former Dean-Academic Planning & Quality Assurance, Rayat-Bahra University, for Elets News Network (ENN).

Prof Y V Satya Kumar, Former Dean-Academic Planning & Quality Assurance, Rayat-Bahra University
Prof Y V Satya Kumar, Former Dean-Academic Planning & Quality Assurance, Rayat-Bahra University

The broader societal trends, inter-continental connections, cultural shifts, social platform evolution, rapid pace of industrialization, requirements of Industry 4.0, liberalization of economy are impacting the development positively; however the challenges of erosion of values, neglect of ethics, politicization of bureaucratic processes, compromises for fiscal gains are counteracting substantially the gains made by the former developments.  The result is the bulk of the Population as a whole is becoming a mute spectator and a passive participant to the slide, while a not an insignificant segment of Population is an active contributor to the negative overall flow of direction.  This is where the Human endeavours and specializations of Education, Justice and Spirituality/Religion can again play a reformative, remedial and restorative role ona broader scale.

Education by its very nature applies to all shades of the Society, Justice domain tackles only the small segment of Violators that are brought to bear its force, whereas Spirituality/Religion affects everyone somewhat differently depending upon the precepts of these Communities with different Belief Systems.  As one can see the best bet for India is to ensure an Education System that is free of biases, compromises, adaptation of latest knowledge domains, while catering to expectations of an ever-changing Student Population that is glued into and tagged onto the happenings around the World from an early age due to prevalent use of Internet, Smart Phones, Google and Wikipedia.

Two Key Challenges facing India’s Education System

Teachers are by their profession responsible more than just finishing the lessons that get assessed in mid-term and end-term examinations and ensuring their students’ advancement or graduation takes place. They also have a duty to equip their Students for making right decisions in life and in their careers when confronted with difficult and opposing choices. Hence, it is as important for India’s Education System to incorporate soft skills and life skills that help one balance their self-interests with common interests of those impacted by any one’s decisions in a fair manner.

India is routinely confronted for last 2-3 decades with ever-growing trend of massive diversions from public funds in almost all sectors of Economy, some-to-total dilution of stated or intended purpose of many organisations in private ownership or operational control and politicisation of organisations either from external influences or internal aggregations. If India is to achieve its ambition of being taken seriously around the World and to be at the Head of the Table on broad-based merit besides its ballooning Population, first it has to understand Quality cannot come despite these ever-present lacunae.

Societal Quality is the result of a sustained collective dedication and efforts through connection and identification by all in different segments to one’s assigned or purported role.  Compromising that responsibility for the sake of immediate and gratuitous gain can only stop if the inner fulcrum or inner compass is in autonomous mode in every one.  This overall shift can only happen if the Students, Parents, Teachers, Administrators and Academic Entrepreneurs embrace their respective natural and responsible role wholeheartedly and sweep away those persistent negative, self-serving and regressive mind-sets from within the Education System first.  This comprehensive reformation may also help India stem ever-increasing exodus of millions of its home-grown talent to foreign shores in Americas, Europe and Australia and East Asia as has been happening for last 3 decades.

Another important Challenge facing India is to balance its responsibility for access, equity to its Education by all those within its border. Hence, the model adapted by its Framers of Constitution and Founders of Reservations (also known as Set-asides) to advance the deserving among its deprived has over the years been hijacked by various political and social groups to ensure that merit now is given the last gag so much that Set-asides have gone up to 75 percent or more in some pockets of geography.  The thinking that somehow the set asides would be  a panacea for all social ills is mired in myth due to somewhat ingrained divisions of alignments along caste and religion. However, a dispassionate view of Urban Population and Student Population would lead one to see significant similarities in aspirations and life styles of all those from different Communities. Hence, the time is ripe to ensure that Set Asides or Reservation as a model for Societal Common Good is reassessed and other multi-approach forms of Affirmative Action to help Individuals and Collectives that are deprived, dispossessed and deserving get a helping hand in Education, Jobs, Social Welfare are developed and implemented.

The social divisions and inequities seem not to be blurred by Reservations, but seem to be increasingly enhanced as a result. It is time for India to come up with a better model after Reservations have served it for last several decades after independence to improve access and equity to resources and benefit.  The Social Awareness Campaigns in Neighbourhoods especially in Rural and Semi-urban Areas where such strong mind-sets of division prevail can be other mechanisms to integrate and improve economics and livelihoods across segments of population.  For this it is important for Social Sciences and Management Academics and Researchers to innovate and improve models of differential ad-hoc provisions, sharing and endowments by the affluent and implement these new mechanisms across populations, corporates and organizations.  This could help India hold onto its meritorious instead of hastening their exit.

India’s System cannot be changed by Lawmakers and Bureaucracy alone and quickly if the Population does not participate and adapt their expected roles by self-critiques and self-regulation to ensure better models and better mechanisms are evolved and implemented.  For this there may be a bit of self-sacrifice but compared to the time of Pre-Independence it is a small Cost for the immense benefits that await.  Education System is the first actor that has to fully accept and live its societal role better by preparing a well-rounded and better Citizenry.

Rajasthan Govt appoints Dr R Venkateswaran as new Principal Secretary for School Education

Dr R Venkateswaran

In a recent major reshuffle in the bureaucracy, the Government of Rajasthan has appointed Dr R Venkateswaran as the new Principal Secretary for the School Education, Language & Library, and Panchayati Raj (Elementary Education).

He earlier was serving as Principal Secretary, Animal husbandry, Fisheries & Gopalan Department, Government of Rajasthan. Venkateswaran has replaced Bhaskar Sawant who has been transferred to Urban Development & Housing Department.

Dr R Venkateswaran is an Indian Administrative Service officer, with more than 20 years of varied experience in departments like home, local self government department, rural development, social welfare etc under Government of Rajasthan. He was also the Mission Director for JnNURM in the State.

He was closely involved in the formulation of Rajasthan’s Industrial Policy. As the director of Small Savings Department, he was instrumental in launching of many attractive schemes for the investors and the helped the State to achieve highest ever savings.

He was awarded the JRD Tata National Health award for distinguished service in Churu district. Under his leadership the district of Jalore got the Satyen Maitra National Award for Total Literacy.

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