Blazing a trail

This generation of youngsters is changing the world in small and personal ways. Some young achievers and their amazing feats.

We frequently hear stories of youngsters who achieve the seemingly impossible. Knowing exactly how they’ve managed to achieve what they did is truly inspiring. Here are some achievers who, through their actions, have carved a niche for themselves in society.

Braigo creator: Shubam Banerjee

Lego has been a part of our childhood. Those colourful little blocks were what made us proud, pretend engineers and filled us with a sense of purpose. We’ve built cars, houses, spaceships, and everything else we can possibly imagine, until we grew older and decided we had outgrown it. However, with Shubam Banerjee, it is a different story altogether. He never stopped playing with his Lego. This 13-year-old from San Jose, U.S. built the Braigo, a spinoff from Braille and Lego, in a bid to change lives. Banerjeecame across a flyer seeking donations for an organisation that helped the visually-impaired and he wanted to do something for them. He looked up details on the internet and realised Braille printers were expensive. Armed with a Lego model Mindstorms EV3, he fitted the blocks together, made a printing unit which he hooked to a robot, and voila, the Braigo was born. It costs $350, much less than a regular Braille printer would.

Whizkid alert: Rueben Paul

This eight-year-old who is not old enough to open a Facebook or Twitter account is an expert on cyber security. He started learning about computer languages when he was barely seven and went on to design his own computer projects. He’s also the CEO of his start-up, Prudent Gaming. What’s more, so well-versed is Rueben in the nuances of cyber security that he was invited to address a conference earlier this year along with Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, Home Ministry Joint Secretary, Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, and others.

Smooth sailing: Chitresh Tatha

At 12 years, Chitresh has figured out he is supposed to be sailing the high seas. This young lad from Tamil Nadu is the youngest sailor from the country to participate in the Asian Games that was held at Incheon, South Korea this year. His interest in sailing was ignited when he saw his sister, Meghna, sailing in the Laser Radial category and decided to try his hand. He fell hook, line and sinker for the sport and since then, there’s been no looking back. He has been sailing since he was eight, training under coach Pete Conway and assistant coach Umesh Naiksatam from the Yachting Association of India.He sails in the Optimist Dinghy category and also won the gold medal in the India International Regatta (Under-12) last year.

Scaling heights: Malavath Poorna

On May 25 this year, Malavath Poorna became the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest. Poorna, who achieved the feat along with Sadhanapally Anand Kumar (18), are students of the AP Social Welfare Residential Education Institutions Society (APSWREIS). An exultant Poorna said, “The world is very small.” She left a picture of B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, on the Everest along with a national flag and a flag of her school. It took Poorna a course in mountaineering and arduous preparation for 52 days to climb her way to fame and success.

Reaching out: D.R. Prathyusha

Natural disasters always evoke sympthy. The devastation in the wake of disaster, both in terms of life and property, is huge. Families are separated while many others are displaced. But how many of us go beyond feeling upset and do something concrete to help the distressed? That’s where D.R. Pratyusha, a Std. XI student of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, made a difference. While most people expressed empathy to those affected in the Jammu and Kashmir floods, Pratyusha from Kuwait voluntarily collected and contributed around 1,000 Kuwait dinars to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund after listening to the Prime Minister’s appeal for assistance to the flood victims.

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Harnessing Information Technology for Good Governance

Globally governments have to communicate regularly with citizens. Efficient and effective communication was, is and will remain as one of the key vehicles to achieve good governance for any government.

Instruments like drums were a medium that governments used to reach out to people, that have been now replaced by internet and data. The power of internet and information technology has helped hasten the speed of communication, resulting in information reaching out to the targeted group seamlessly.

          Information Technology has ensured that a policy decision taken by the government can be quickly executed and implemented at multiple locations, across the length and breadth of the country. It also ensures transparency, accountability—while assuring quick and effective responsiveness of government, to citizens’ problems and suggestions.

          A SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of Information Technology’s role in improved governance, throws light on the benefits, citizen enjoy from good governance. It also indicates that India as a country has not yet fully benefitted, from the power of IT in achieving good governance. There are only islands of success.

          But the success stories, howsoever modest, have demonstrated that each one of them carry a huge potential, for it to be replicated in a large scale, across state and nation—to achieve good governance.

          Take the example of Government of Chhattisgarh that has used ICT based module to reform, to improve its Public Distribution System (PDS) that also ensures a transparent and accountable delivery mechanism.

          To address the leakages in PDS, the State of Chhattisgarh implemented an end-to-end information technology solution in 2007. Operations at every level of the scheme - from procurement of produce, to storage and transportation to state warehouses and Fair Priced Shops- have been computerized.

          There is continuous monitoring of operations at all levels via reports uploaded onto the web in real time. Web management has led to enhanced accountability of operations. The online platform provides an account of commodity stocks which helps decision makers in utilizing the inventory of commodities with greater efficiency.

          A unique feature of PDS in Chhattisgarh is the innovative citizen interface portal through which citizens can track the movement of PDS commodities and also register their grievances.

          The ICT solution being used in Chhattisgarh is showing very encouraging results and states like Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have showed interest in rolling out a similar procedure

          Then there is Karnataka State Government that has successfully eradicated corruption in getting land records. Bhoomi is the Land Records computerization effort by the Government of Karnataka. Work on the project launched in 1999. In 2001, the first online services were provided to the citizens and other stakeholders of the project Bhoomi has not only sustained its commendable levels of service achieved in 2006, but has also made very significant progress. Currently, as many as two and half crores of property records are being issued to citizens every year, under the Bhoomi programme.

          The Record of Rights (ROR) is now made available at the doorsteps of farmers also through as many as 800 tele-centres, in addition to the erstwhile centres at the taluka level. The process has now been extended to the village as a unit from the erstwhile sub-taluka level unit.

Similarly the Gujarat Government’s e-Dhara, (renames e-Jamin) the computerized system of land records has been a tremendous success. All 225 Talukas of 26 districts are connected by Gujarat state wide area network (GSWAN). The number of property records issued from e-Dhara has gone up from 1.58 crores to more than 3 crore per year as per the last estimates.

          In 2007-08, these RORs started getting issued from e-Gram centres at village panchayats and people did not have to go to Talukas. Through centralization of all the 227 land record databases, which was effected in 2010, the RORs can now be delivered from anywhere.

          e-Dhara incorporated a feature to capture photographs and finger-prints of owners to enable secured transactions under registration. Finger Print Scanners have been provided at the Taluka level for verification by the Deputy Mamlatdar. These and other measures have increased the security of data manifold.

          In 2011, all transactions were centralized by bringing data from all the 227 e-Dhara centres to a central server. This increased central control over data.  The project is also financially self sustaining, by generating about Rs. 2 crore per month from the fees charged for the RoR copies being issued from the e-Jamine system.

          The above three cases illustrate how good governance can be achieved and also sustainable, with help of Information technology.

          A number of government services that were plagued with corruption delay and were out of reach for people, are now operating successfully, after IT was introduced. Securing a passport and driving licence were a major project for an individual.  The use of IT in booking of railway tickets has ensured more transparency and comfort for the traveler.

          The emphasis laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15 this year, ensures that more success stories of good governance using IT are assured, when he said, “E-governance is easy governance, effective governance and also economic governance. E-governance paves the way for good governance.”

          Good governance is not an exclusive agenda of a political party, a leader or one state in India. It is the way that everyone responsible for governance has to deliver. It is an assurance to the people who have chosen their representative, to make policies and also execute them, efficiently.

          Various leaders, political, spiritual, academic and corporate have spoken about the need to have good governance, as an essential tool for development of a nation.  Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must become the change we want to see.” This is the message for all those who wish to achieve good governance.

          Information Technology is a powerful tool that this generation of policy makers and executers are blessed with. The opportunity to use it for good governance exists, so does the danger of losing it. It will be an interesting journey, amidst fast growing number of mobile devices, broadband, new operating systems and ingenious applications. Each of them is a platform to achieve good governance.

social empowerment

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (YEAR END REVIEW-2014 of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities) Launch of Modern AIDS and Assistive Devices & Commencement of New Schemes

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability) is entrusted with the empowerment of the Persons with Disabilities.  The main activity of the Department are: 1.      Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (ADIP) Scheme Under the ADIP Scheme, grant-in-aid is released to various implementing agencies (National Institutes/ Composite Regional Centres/Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India(ALIMCO)/District Disability Rehabilitation Centres/State Handicapped Development Corporations/other local bodies/ NGOs) to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances to promote  physical, social and psychological rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities by reducing the effects of disabilities and at the same time enhance their economic potential.   Revision of ADIP Scheme The ADIP scheme has been revised w.e.f. 1.4.2014. The salient features of the revised ADIP Scheme are as indicated below:-  (i)                 Enhancement of income eligibility ceiling for 100% concession from the existing Rs. 6,500/- per month to Rs. 15,000/- per month and for a 50% concession from Rs. 15001/- to Rs. 20,000/- per month. (ii)        To provide accessible mobile phone to visually impaired students of the age of 18 years and above only, once in five years and to provide laptop, Braille Note Taker and Brailler to school going disabled students (10th and above), once in 10 years. (iii)       Cost ceiling for aids/appliances revised from Rs. 6000/- to Rs. 10,000/- for single disability and from Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 12,000/- for Students with Disabilities. (iv)       Ceiling of cost of medical/surgical correction which presently ranges from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 3,000/- revised as under:- (a)                From Rs.500/- to Rs.1,000/- for hearing and speech impaired. (b)               From Rs.1,000/- to Rs.2,000/- for visually disabled. (c)                From Rs.3,000/- to Rs.5,000/- for orthopedically disabled.  (v)        Enhancing  the extent of subsidy for motorized tricycles and wheelchairs from the present Rs. 6,000/- to Rs. 25,000/- for severely disabled and for locomotor disabilities such as Quadriplegic (SCI), Muscular Dystrophy, Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Hemiplegia and any other person with similar conditions where either three/four limbs or one half of the body are severely impaired.  This will be provided to the persons of age of 18 years and above, once in 10 years. vi)        Provision for cochlear implant for 500 children per year with Hearing disability under the scheme, with a ceiling of Rs. 6.00 lakh per unit.   Income ceiling for the beneficiaries will be the same i.e., up to Rs. 15,000/- per month for 100% concession and from    Rs. 15001/- to Rs. 20,000/- per month for  50% concession. vii)       Implementing agencies shall use 5% of the grant-in-aid as administrative/overhead expenses for conducting awareness, assessment and follow-up camps. The Budget Allocation for the year 2014-15 is Rs. 110.00 crore. 2.                  Scheme for Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 (SIPDA) i)                    Financial assistance is provided under the Scheme to State Govt. and institutions/organisations run by the Central and State Governments for various activities for implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act, mainly for providing barrier free environment in Universities, Public Buildings, State Government Secretariat, office of State Commissioner for Disabilities etc.,  to make Government websites at the State and District levels accessible to PwDs, to establish early diagnostic and intervention centres at District Headquarters/other places having Government Medical Colleges, Skill development programmes for PwDs, construction of special recreation centres for PwDs where the appropriate Governments/local authorities have their own land.  The Budget Allocation for the year 2014-15 is Rs. 80.00 crore.  3.                  Setting up of National Institute for Inclusive and Universal Design Ministry propose to establish National Institute for Inclusive and Universal Design on the Inclusive Agenda of Universal Design which will focus on Environmental access by everyone, though assigning higher importance to access by people with Disabilities 4.                  Setting up of Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre(ISLRTC) v  Ministry proposes to set up Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLRTC) under the aegis of Department of Disability Affairs. v  The Institute will lead the way in academic development, training and propagation of Indian Sign Language. 5.                  State Spinal Injury Centres v Department is in process of formulation of a Scheme of setting up of State Spinal Injury Centre for which an outlay of Rs. 20 crore has been earmarked under the 12th Five Year Plan. v The focus of the State Spinal Injury Centres shall be mainly on the comprehensive management of Spinal Injuries.  6.         Establishment of Centre for Disability Sports v  Centre for Disability Sports is proposed to be established for which Rs. 20.00 crore is earmarked for 12th Plan period. v  Action has been initiated to engage a consultant for preparation of Detailed Project Report. v  Ministry also proposes to establish Regional Centres. 7.                  Directory of Aids & Assistive Devices The Department in collaboration with TIFAC, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology, initiated a web portal for meeting the accessible needs relating  to aids and appliances for persons with disabilities.  The web portal has been launched by the Hon’ble President on 3rd December 2014. 8.                  Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 has been in force for over 17 years. In order to harmonize the provisions of this Act in Line with the United Nation Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Act has been reviewed and a new Bill namely Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 was finalized after extensive consultations with the Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments/UTs and various stakeholders. Accordingly, the Department moved a Cabinet Note on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013 to replace the existing Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 on 11.12.2013. The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 12.12.2013 approved the RPwD Bill. Subsequently, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6th February 2014 and it was referred to Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee for examination. The Parliamentary Standing Committee. 9.                  International Cooperation UNESCO organised an International Conference " From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Persons with Disabilities) in New Delhi from 24th - 26th  November, 2014 in association with this Department and Ministry of Human Resource Development. The Conference deliberated on various key issues such as challenges faced by persons with disabilities to access information and knowledge, technological solutions available to provide equitable access etc. The Department supported the conference not only from logistical point of view but also in the form of participation in exhibition, chairing/participating in different session of the conference 10.              District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs)             To create infrastructure and capacity building at District level for providing comprehensive rehabilitation services to the persons with disabilities at the grass root level and for facilitating at the district level for awareness generation, training rehabilitation professionals theMinistry provides assistance for setting up District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs)  in underserved districts of the country.  Until March, 2010, 199 DDRCs have been sanctioned.  Out of this 185 such DDRCs are functional as on date.             In the budget speech of the Finance Minister for 2010-11, it was announced that 100 new DDRCs would be opened during the remaining period of XI Five Year Plan.  Accordingly 100 under-served districts in 20 States were identified and concerned State Governments requested to send proposals for setting up new DDRCs.              The National Programme for prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis (JE)/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the country prepared by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare covers 60 priority districts of 5 States and inter alia approved setting up of 15 new DDRCs in the remaining high priority districts of 4 States.   Out of 15 new DDRCs 11 have been set up.  As on date 247 DDRCs have been set up.  11.              Main activities of National Institutes o Foundation stone laying of a building of Special Education and Disability Studies in premises of National Institute for the Visually Handicapped on 14.11.2014. o Foundation stone laying of a  New Girls Hostel in the National Institute for Rehabilitation Training & Research (NIRTAR), Cuttack (Odisha) on 25.08.2014 v  Foundation stone laying for Hydrotherapy pool and athletic track was held on 26.9.2014 at National Institute for Empowerment of Person with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai. v  Inauguration of 150 bed girls hostel at a cost of Rs.4.70 crores at SVNIRTAR, Cuttak on 25.08.2014 v  Foundation stone laying of new building of Rehabilitation  Centre (RC) at o Srinagar on 18.06.2014 at a cost of Rs.3.00 crore. v  Inauguration of Academic Block at National Institute for Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), Secunderabad at a cost of Rs.5.00 crore on 13.06.2014. v  Foundation Stone laying of Sensory park at NIMH, Secunderabad at a cost of Rs.15.00 lakh on 13.06.2014. v  Modernization of 10 existing and establishment of 15 new Braille Presses to augment production of Braille pages. v  A total of 2252 PwDs have been imparted vocational training through the o NHFDC and the National Institutes under the Department. v  National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun successfully o accomplished the task of publishing “Doctor Baba Saheb Ambedkar: Writing and Speeches” in Braille assigned by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on 29.10.2014 in a function organized to release the four volumes of the series by the Hon’ble Cabinet Minister, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. v  Department of Disabilities Affairs has approved the Dynamic Assured Career Progression Scheme (DACP) for the Medical Doctors working in the National Institutes. The implementation of the DACP Scheme will take effect from 21.10.2008. v  All National Institutes have been implementing Swatch Bharat Mission launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 2.10.2014 v  National Institute for Empowerment of Person with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai released book on Deaf Blindness on 26.9.2014 v  Hon’ble Minister inaugurated Disabled Friendly Website of SVNIRTAR in the National Institute for Rehabilitation Training & Research (NIRTAR), Cuttack (Odhisa) on 25.08.2014. v  National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun has organized two Job Fairs – one at Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh on 21.05.2014 and another at Dehradun in Uttrakhand on 28.06.2014. In this Job Fairs ten Private Companies participated. A total of 455 persons with Disabilities participated in the Job Fair and 74 persons with Disabilities got job with the Participating Companies. v  National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun had developed Braille Course for Nepali, Garo and Khasi Languages under the North East Project. v  Pt. Deendayal Upadhayay Institue for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi organized a job fair in collaboration with Sarthak, a Delhi based NGO on 19.6.2014 with a dual objective of sensitizing professionals about the capabilities of Persons with Disabilities and short listing eligible/potential persons with Disabilities for suitable placements. v  Prime Minister Skill Development Programme being implemented through 50 NGOs across country by National Institute for Empowerment of Person with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai. v  The Ministry in collaboration with UNESCO through its National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai organized the International Conference on Role of ICT for Persons with Disabilities and Screening of Films related to Disability  at Vigyan Bhawan,N. Delhi from 24th –26th November, 2014. v  Hon’ble Minister SJ&E inaugurated the two days International Conference on Multiple Disabilities organized by National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai held at Vigyan Bhawan on 29.10.2014. Representatives of United Kingdom, Russia, United States of America, South Africa and Brazil  participated. v  A three day National Conference is proposed to be organized in the Month of January, 2015 for the North-Eastern States on “Cross Disability Management”,by Rehabilitation Council of India. ·         Swami Vivekanand National Institute for Rehabilitation Training and Research,(SVNIRTAR), Cuttack has initiated action to modernize the existing Operation Theatre to Modular Operation Theatre under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding from REC. ·         Skill development for 15000 PwDs have been targeted under vocational training to be conducted by NHFDC and National Institutes. 12.       Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) The Department of Disability Affairs is implementing a flagship Scheme, namely, Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) under which this Department has been providing grant-in-aid to non-governmental organizations (NGOs)   for projects relating to rehabilitation of persons with disabilities including Vocational Training aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal, physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels. There are 18 model projects under the Scheme. There are 66 manpower categories comprising 48 technical, 4 technical (part-time), and 14 non-technical categories. Following programmes are funded (upto 90% of the project cost) under DDRS for providing a wide range of services to children/persons with disability: (a) programmes for pre-school and early intervention (b) special education, (c) vocational training and placement  (d) community based rehabilitation  (e) manpower development  (f) psycho-social rehabilitation of persons with mental illness  (g) rehabilitation of leprosy-cured persons, etc. Under this Scheme in the year 2013-14 the total no. of Proposals sanctioned 978 for an amount of Rs. 63.64 crore. During the Current financial year 2014-15 a total of Rs. 27.05 crore has sanctioned as on 23.12.2014. 13.       Scholarship Schemes of the Department During the year 2014, the following three new scholarship schemes have been launched by Department of Disability Affairs for the benefit of the students with disabilities: 1)        National Overseas Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, 2)        & 3) Pre-Matric Scholarship and Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, The brief features of the schemes are given below: (1) National Overseas Scholarship for Students with Disabilities                         The scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for Students with Disabilities has been launched with the objectives of  providing  financial assistance to the students with disabilities for pursuing studies abroad at the level of Masters’ Degree and Ph.D. Twenty (20) scholarships are to be awarded every year out of which six are reserved for women candidates. The scholarship amount includes Maintenance Allowance, Contingency Allowance, Tuition Fees, and Cost of Air Passage etc. In addition to the above, there is a provision of “Passage Grants” to two Students with Disabilities every year.  Only those Students with Disabilities  who are in receipt of a merit scholarship for Post GraduateStudies, Research or Training abroad (excluding attending seminars, workshops, conferences), from aforeign government/ organization or under any other scheme, where the cost of passage is not provided,shall be eligible. The Passage Grant includes to-and-fro air-fare from home-station to the Institute abroad by economy class through Air India. Applications have been called for and the process of selection is under way.  (2)&(3) Pre-Matric Scholarship and Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities This scheme has been launched by the Department of Disability Affairs in October, 2014. The objectives of the schemes are to provide financial assistance to the parents of students with disabilities for studying in the pre-matric level and post-matric level. The financial assistance includes scholarship, book grant, escort/reader allowance, etc. Number of scholarships to be granted every year is 46,000 for pre-matric level and 16,650 for post-matric level. Selection of the beneficiaries under these two scholarship schemes is on the basis of merit after the recommendation of the Governments of State or Union Territories.  These schemes will be implemented on-line basis through a web-portal which is yet to be ready. The web portal is being prepared by NIC and Deptt. of Electronics & Information Technology. 14.       Awareness Generation & Publicity Scheme  This scheme has been launched in September, 2014 and is operational from the current Financial Year 2014-15 onward. The scheme aims to give publicity to the schemes/programmes of the Government through electronic, print, film media etc., educate the PwDs and civil society about legal rights of PwDs, sensitize the employers on special needs of PwDs, promote awareness and sensitize society on causes leading to disability  etc.  2.         (A)   The following types of organization are eligible :- (i)       Self-help groups (ii)      Advocacy and self-advocacy organizations. (iii)     Parents & Community Organizations working for  mobilization and bring about change in social attitude (iv)     Psychological and emotional support service (v)      Community based rehabilitation organizations (vi)     Organizations working for stress management and social isolation eradication (vii)    Organizations working for labour market programmes,    vocational training, social insurance, providing support services to PwDs.             (B)     Organization seeking grant should be a not for profit organization with 3 years standing as a society or a Public Trust and with good track record. 3.       The quantum of financial assistance and the content may be considered by the committee constituting of the following  (i) Joint Secretary (Awareness Generation & Publicity), Department of Disability Affairs(DDA) (ii)  Representative of Integrated Finance Division(DDA) (iii) Representative of DAVP (iv) A special invitee from amongst PwDs / representative groups/ organizations working in the field of disability (v)  Director / DS (Awareness Generation & Publicity) 4.         Components admissible for assistance under the scheme includes setting up of a help line for online counselling of the PwDs, content development, publications and new media, organizing national events, participation in the international initiatives or to support various schemes organized by NGOs or self-help groups, volunteer service / outreach programme for sensitizing commercial establishment and employers, recreation and tourism, participation in community radio, media activities.  5.         The budgetary provision during XII Five Year Plan for the scheme is  Rs. 50 crore. During current Financial Year, the budgetary provision under the Scheme is Rs. 3.00 crore.  So far, two meetings of the  Committee  for Grants under Awareness Generation and Publicity Scheme have been held where 43 proposals  have been considered under the scheme

Bringing Tokyo closer to New Delhi

The possibilities for cooperation between India and Japan are boundless, but despite lofty rhetoric and past commitments, bilateral relations have remained underdeveloped

When Rabindranath Tagore visited Japan in 1916, he concluded that “the welcome which flowed towards me, with such outburst of sincerity, was owing to the fact that Japan felt the nearness of India to herself.” Almost a 100 years later, Narendra Modi echoed this sentiment during his first official visit as Prime Minister to Tokyo in September 2014: “I am …touched by the warmth and enthusiasm that I have experienced in meeting a wide cross-section of people here,” he said. “I am excited about the boundless possibilities for our cooperation.”

As two of the world’s largest economies and democracies with common and complementary interests and no historical disputes, the possibilities for cooperation between India and Japan are indeed boundless. Yet, despite lofty rhetoric and past commitments in this vein, bilateral relations have remained underdeveloped. Given the growing political momentum in the relationship, thanks in part to the personal friendship between Prime Ministers Modi and Shinzo Abe, the time is ripe for converting words into action and charting a substantive agenda for progress on a variety of fronts including economics, security, energy and climate change, and global governance.

The opportunities are clear, but bear repeating. On the economic front, Japan boasts a capital-rich economy with an ageing population that is likely to prolong an already decades-long economic malaise. Meanwhile, India’s economy remains in need of foreign investment while its population is likely to have a glut of working-age youth in the coming years. Although Japan has pledged to invest $35 billion in India over the next five years, and is the largest provider of official development assistance to India, there is still space to expand the economic relationship.

Security front

On the security front, both countries face the challenge of maintaining (or in the case of Japan, re-establishing) positive relations with China while also having to hedge against its growing assertiveness, particularly on territorial matters. To this end, Japan and India have held naval exercises in the Indian Ocean to enhance their maritime interoperability, and both countries maintain a strategic dialogue on existing and emerging challenges in the Asia Pacific. Even though the India-Japan strategic relationship was first called a Global Partnership in 2000 before it was upgraded to a Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006 and finally a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014, the relationship has remained more symbolic than substantive.

Energy security is another area of common interest. Japan’s reliance on energy imports has increased sharply since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi incident — domestically generated nuclear power has gone from providing 26 per cent of Japan’s energy needs to zero as all nuclear plants remain closed. Japan also has much to share with India in terms of clean energy technologies and globally recognised benchmarks on energy efficiency standards. On issues of global governance, Japan and India both desire the reform of international institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which is currently dominated by its permanent members. In the area of international development, as India transitions from being a net recipient of foreign aid to a net provider, there are significant opportunities to learn from Japan’s decades-long experience of delivering economic assistance in Asia and Africa.

Compared to the opportunities inherent in contemporary India-Japan relations, the challenges to deeper bilateral cooperation are less talked about. It is worth examining why, for example, despite strong economic complementarities, trade between the two countries has remained underwhelming (India’s share of Japan’s trade lags far behind much of Asia), or why security cooperation has not extended beyond naval exercises despite growing concerns about China’s assertiveness. Similarly, despite intensive lobbying by both countries separately and as part of the G-4 group in the United Nations, UNSC reform remains as elusive as it has ever been.

Overcoming obstacles 

The India-Japan relationship does not suffer from a want of imagination. Rather, the obstacles on both sides can be grouped into three relatively mundane categories: bureaucratic, cultural, and strategic. Bureaucratic complexity is the most commonly cited problem, not just by Tokyo but also by Delhi. Despite strong political will on both sides, the slow-moving machineries of the two states have yet to become intimately acquainted. For example, Japanese economic officials, who are keen to begin a programme of transferring clean technologies to India in exchange for carbon credits, remain unsure of which Indian agency — between the ministries of external affairs, environment, coal, and renewable energy — might have the most authority on this file.

“The obstacles between India and Japan can be grouped into three relatively mundane categories: bureaucratic, cultural and strategic ”

Cultural factors coupled with poor communication have also been a major impediment. India’s efforts at securing the supply of Japan’s world class US-2 amphibious aircraft and at concluding a civilian nuclear deal, similar to those with the United States and Russia, have yielded limited results due to Japan’s unique legal and normative approaches to militarism and the use of force since World War II. Similarly, Japanese companies struggle to decipher and navigate India’s business culture and regulatory environment, a skill that their Korean counterparts have mastered over the last two decades. Finally, more commonplace reasons of strategy also keep India and Japan from deeper cooperation. Both countries have an interest in countering China’s rise without provoking conflict or any form of escalation. Consequently, neither is willing to commit to the types of security cooperation that one might find in other strategic relationships like the U.S.-Japan alliance. For its part, Beijing keeps a close eye on evolving India-Japan ties and aims in the long term to prevent an excessively warm embrace between two of its rivals.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, in order to convert their statements and declarations into action, India and Japan need to reorient and streamline their bureaucratic engagements (the new Japan cell in the Indian Prime Minister’s office is a welcome step), develop creative second-best strategies that account for cultural differences and blind spots, and devise ways in which they might grow the relationship while maintaining steady engagement with Beijing. Numerous initiatives to move the bilateral relationship forward are on the docket, but their implementation will require real effort and will depend on more than the goodwill between the two Prime Ministers.

Rebels without a cause,bodoland

The National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) does not seem to have any clear and tangible goal apart from that of spreading mayhem and terror

The massacre of innocent men, women and children in Sonitpur and Kokrajar districts of Assam is a familiar, cynical, bloody cycle of violence that is never far away; it is a testament to the simmering cauldron of suspicion, fear and hate stalking the Assam valley and hills. Can there be any ‘reason’ that can even begin to justify such murders of children, some of them barely a few months old?

The butchery indicates a set of well-planned and coordinated operations that clearly caught law enforcement agencies and the State government by surprise. The marauders had been under pressure for some time, with police forces inflicting recent losses on them in Sonitpur district. A breakaway group of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) named after its elusive leader, I.K. Songbijit, is the group responsible for the killings, State police and administrators say. The faction is opposed to talks between the larger NDFB group and the Indian government but does not seem to have any clear and tangible goal apart from that of spreading mayhem and terror.

It recently told the local media that it would show that it is capable of tough retaliation if the pressure continued. But the use of weapons against women and children in the northeastern region is not new or limited; such abuse and brutality has been extensive not just in Assam, but also its neighbouring States. In Meghalaya for instance, earlier this year, a Garo armed group shot dead a young woman in front of her children. There are allegations of abuse against armed groups in Nagaland and Manipur as well.

What has also made such groups difficult to tackle is the fact that they camp on the forested and lightly patrolled border tracts of Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, according to officials. The latter was the camping ground, until 2003, of three major armed groups — NDFB, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation — which were using it to organise attacks and recruit members in Assam. That year, they were attacked, devastated and driven out by the Royal Bhutanese Army. There have been reports that some groups have relocated to these thickly forested and sparsely populated areas.

No rationale

It is not just a sense of tragedy that embraces us, but of despair too, when we look at these murders in our own land by rebels without a cause. These murders are without rationale in many ways — but in some perhaps there is a morbid design: for one, to destabilise the state by creating a backlash by the targeted community against Bodos. Thus the armed group would be in fact harming their own people if not their cause, but this does not seem to bother the killers or their leaders or organisers. The Ranjan Daimary group, whose leader was handed over to Indian authorities by the Bangladesh government under Sheik Hasina Wajed in 2009, as were the ULFA and Manipuri leaders of secessionist movements, has indicated a willingness to talk. Daimary is out on bail and there is a ceasefire.

An earlier armed group, the Bodo Security Force, gave up the struggle and entered the peace process and participative democracy under the banner Bodoland People’s Party (BPP). Although it holds political power in the Bodoland Territorial Council districts of western Assam, the BPP has been accused by its opponents of involvement in extensive violence and intimidation as well as extortion, like all other militant groups there.

Yet, despite public opposition to the BPP from non-Bodo groups, the Tarun Gogoi government had kept it as a coalition partner. The public anger against the BPP peaked during the 2014 general election which propelled Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party to power at the Centre, and in ‘Bodoland’, a non-Bodo candidate who was once a prominent former leader of the ULFA, crushed all candidates, including the official BPP nominee.

But the Songbijit faction has rebuffed efforts to reach out to it and never clearly declared its aims and objectives. This could lead to major law and order problems in the State and its many diverse and divided ethnic and linguistic groups which both the State government and the Centre could find difficult to tackle. The Bodos have often been seen as a privileged ethnic group. One should note that in the Bodo-run districts of Assam in a chunk of the Western parts of the State, Bodo militant groups have wielded the stick against other communities and have not faced any substantial repercussions, despite the extensive violence of the summer of 2012 when over four lakh people were displaced and nearly 100 killed in attacks targeting Muslims of Bengali origin.

A Member of Legislative Assembly of the ruling Bodoland People’s Front was arrested for alleged involvement in those attacks. In early May 2014, women and children from the minority community were again victims of murderous assaults by the same Songbijit group.

Poor government response

The impunity with which the killings have taken place raises two fundamental questions: Has the State government failed to fulfill its first responsibility of providing security to ordinary people? And are its forces, especially the police and civil administration in the districts, capable of launching the strikes and counter-strikes which must defang the killers?

Clearly, the State government has not done enough. The reasons for this are varied: a lack of sustained political pressure to tackle the challenge, as well as the diversion of focus as a result of the fierce challenge to the Chief Minister’s rule by his one-time lieutenant, former Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma — a crisis that had crippled the State administration for the best part of this year. In addition, effective measures were not taken against the organised violence in the Bodo districts over several years; a climate of laxity and impunity had crept in, only to be shaken by occasional bursts of acute violence and a deep sense of insecurity, fear and suspicion.

As far as the State’s police machinery is concerned, it has numerous effective, thoughtful and efficient officers, including at the field level. But the size of the force is inadequate to deal with the challenges it faces: its numbers and firepower need to be increased as they are spread too far, too thin, otherwise. Also, the state becomes dependent on central paramilitary forces and the Army, which cannot be sustained but for brief periods of time.

We saw such acts a few days ago in Peshawar, Pakistan, where over 100 children were gunned down by extremists. These are crimes against humanity which can neither be condoned nor justified. Not only are they barbaric but they deserve the strongest possible response from the state. This must be accompanied by the continuing determined effort by civil society and moderates at all levels to maintain peace and not fall into the trap of the killers.

Today, the Bodo political leadership cannot watch in silence any more, especially the former armed groups and their leaders: they are on trial here as is everyone else. The issues are not just of land or political or economic power, but of simple survival and learning to live with one another in a complex State with its 20-odd ethnic groups, many minorities, few majorities and over 50 languages.