Friday, May 2, 2025
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Editor’s Pick

Political Controversies at Beijing 2022 Olympics
Editor's PickPoliticsSportsWorld
Dhruv Nilkanth , TheRise.co.in

Political Controversies at Beijing 2022 Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics concluded recently in Beijing. What made the 2022 Winter Games stand out was that the political aspect of the games was talked about exponentially more than the sporting aspects. The 2022 Beijing Olympics might have been the most tainted game in the history of the Winter edition. There was already a trend of increasing controversies and the political nature of the competition, but the latest set of events in China might have set the tone for years to come. Politicization, environmental problems, doping, decreasing viewership, fewer hosting candidates, increasing criticism, and many more problems cloud the future of the world’s oldest and grandest sporting phenomenon.

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Assessing COVID Impact on Women SHGs of Odisha
Editor's PickSociety
Omkar Mohanty , TheRise.co.in

Impact of COVID-19 on Women Self Help Groups of Odisha

This International Women’s Day, we look at the impact of COVID-19 Women Self-Help Groups of Odisha. While several studies have been done highlighting the role of WSHGs in providing support and sustaining livelihoods during the tough times of the pandemic, not much has been looked upon with regards to the impact on these WSHGs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic seems to have altered many facets of the lives of the WSHG members. However, a majority of them are optimistic about their activities and income returning to pre-pandemic levels in the near future.

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Lessons for Taiwan from Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Neeraj Singh Manhas

The Lessons for Taiwan from Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict, there is an increasing suspicion that Beijing would follow Moscow’s lead and attempt to conquer Taiwan militarily. Ukraine’s experience should instil a stronger sense of urgency in Taiwan regarding the need to overcome bureaucratic and partisan impediments to coalescing around a military plan that is fit for Taiwan’s security environment and resource restrictions. This is an opportunity for Taiwan’s current and future leaders to instil confidence in the country’s future.

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Why Indians go abroad for Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar , Sameer Ahmad Khan

Why do Indians Go Abroad for Higher Education?

Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Prime Minister of India has revived a concern that needs to be taken seriously and urgently. It is imperative for the higher education policy planners, administrators, and regulators to take proactive measures to ensure quality higher education at an affordable cost within the country across the broad spectrum of higher education, including but not limited to only medical education.

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Russia-Ukraine Crisis: The Impact on India
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Neeraj Singh Manhas

Russia-Ukraine Crisis: The Impact on India

The ongoing Ukraine Crisis has transported India back to the Cold War era when it was expected to choose a side. However, given India’s growing stature in international affairs and its dynamics with the two countries, maintaining the same strategic autonomy as last time will be nearly impossible. While a Russia-China-India axis in the present scenario is next to impossible, jumping on the Washington wagon has its own set of ill consequences for India vis-à-vis Moscow. It is in India’s best interests for the Ukraine crisis to be de-escalated as soon as possible.

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Olympics and International Relations Interwtwined
Editor's PickPoliticsSportsWorld
Dhruv Nilkanth , TheRise.co.in

Olympics and International Relations: Uncovering an Intertwined Relationship

*This is Part Two of the Two-Part Article Series on the Olympics and International Politics.* The Olympics are more than just a stage for international politics. They are a true reflection of the world order and what goes on in it. Hosting an edition of the Olympics is the most beneficial way of gaining soft power for any country. During the Cold War, the Olympics was not only a competition for power and a symbol of pride for the two countries, but also a representation of their global dominance. While the Olympics have been the victim of international political impact multiple times throughout their history, they keep showing their ability to overcome those challenges and continue to bring the international community together to promote sports with the objective of peace.

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The Political Nature of the Olympics
Editor's PickPoliticsSportsWorld
Dhruv Nilkanth , TheRise.co.in

The Political Nature of the Olympics: Protests, Boycotts and Violence at the Games

A few countries, including the United States of America, have decided to stage a diplomatic boycott of the ongoing 2022 Beijing Olympics. The Olympics and politics have had a complex relationship even in the past. Almost every Olympics has had one or multiple instances of politicisation. In Olympic history, multiple countries have boycotted the games to express dissent on the basis of international conflicts and issues. The Olympic games also have had their fair share of violence, resulting in human and infrastructural casualties over the years.

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Swachh Bharat Open Defecation Free
Editor's PickSociety
Abhay Chawla

Shift Focus Away From Latrine Construction to Achieve an Open Defecation Free India: Swachh Bharat

*This is Part Two of the Two-Part Article Series on India’s ODF Challenge.* Human behavior is dependent on culture, with culture adapting to available resources along with cost and benefit of using a technology. In spite of 22 years having elapsed since the Total Sanitation Project started, India is still struggling with open defecation. The focus on the technology of individual household latrines construction seems to be misplaced. The talking points of the Indian Sanitation Campaigns have been handed down by the western agencies which were initially in the sanitation campaign and the message has remained constant. To achieve an open defecation free country, India must look at the state of its communities across the country rather than impose a ‘one-nation, one-fit’ solution or a western model. The only way ahead is to focus on health and hygiene by focusing on the accessibility and availability of water and soaps, and not on latrines.

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Tax Free Economy Black Money
EconomyEditor's Pick
Furqan Qamar , Taufeeque Ahmad Siddiqui

A Tax-Free Economy to Tackle the Menace of Black Money?

Recently, Rajya Sabha MP and economist Dr. Subramanian Swamy made a bold suggestion that Income Tax be abolished to boost the economy and that the revenue loss to the public exchequer could be easily recovered through other sources. Although a good number of economists may agree that taxation is the major culprit for creating black money, they are likely to shun the idea of abolishing taxes to tackle the menace of black money, due to their orientation and training in public finance which sees taxes inevitable. Yet, a few economists should at least explore this as a possibility by factoring in all the enormities and complexities that the idea entails.

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Strategies of better online assessment
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Challenges and Strategies of Better Online Assessment

The preparedness of the country’s education system and its stakeholders for resorting to the online mode in an efficacious manner is still reeling under the question mark of feasibility. Reducing the weightage of final examinations or the end-of-course examinations and increasing the weightage of continuous assessment will envisage good quality student assessment. The open-book type unproctored examinations hold the potential to resolve the institutional problems of likely use of unfair practices in online examinations. The teacher engagement, too, increases in, both, the continuous assessment of students and the open-book examination.

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Swacch Bharat Latrine Construction
Editor's PickSociety
Abhay Chawla

Why Swachh Bharat’s Latrine Construction Focus Will Not Achieve An ODF India? – Introspecting Constraints

Human behavior is dependent on culture, with culture adapting to available resources along with the cost and benefit of using a technology. In spite of 22 years having elapsed since the Total Sanitation Project started, India is still struggling with open defecation. The focus on the technology of individual household latrines construction seems to be misplaced. The talking points of the Indian Sanitation Campaigns have been handed down by the western agencies which were initially involved either in funding or handholding during the initial start of the sanitation campaign and the message has remained constant and the focus again seems to be on latrine construction rather than on health and hygiene. The local population, which is supposed to take benefit of a particular development, is not being considered as a stakeholder by the Government of the country

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Challenges of New Regulatory Framework
Editor's PickEducationPublic Policy
Furqan Qamar

Challenges of Designing a New Regulatory Framework in Higher Education

While everyone has been recommending, since 2007, for an all-embracing single regulatory body to take care of all higher educational institutions and programmes, none has been able to provide details of deficiencies that have made the existing regulatory bodies dysfunctional. In the meantime, the idea of the single regulator has seen some major dilution. The first anniversary of NEP 2020 was celebrated with gusto, but there is still no sight of the single regulatory authority, even though the Finance Minister announced in the budget speech of 2021-22 that the new regulatory body shall be set up during that financial year itself. It must, therefore, be a real challenge to design a single regulatory body for higher education, which must meet the NKC’s idea of saving higher education from being ‘over-regulated and under governed” or the Kasturirangan Committee’s desire to evolve “light but tight” regulatory framework.

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Motivation for Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Motivation for Higher Education

Higher education, for many, is an investment in hope for the future and it is incumbent upon the nation to ensure that it does not get turned into despair. Yet, higher education is generally confined to a minuscule proportion of the students mostly comprising the social and economic elites who have already accumulated enough resources. The mass of the highly educated talent pool that the country has is an invaluable resource that may be garnered as the demographic dividend, making it imperative to gainfully employ them to save ourselves from the onslaught of the demographic disaster.

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Next Tech is Lifetech
Editor's PickEducation
P. B. Sharma

The Next Tech is Lifetech

This is perhaps the right time to look back at The Science of Life, a 1931 publication by the renowned biologists GP Wells, HG Wells, and Julian Huxley and look deep into the body machine and understand how this magnificent intelligent design works with a perfect synergy between rasayan, the chemistry and the jivavigyana, the biology, and allows the microbial kingdom to enjoy its fruits and produce the nutrients and proteins in the functioning of the metabolism. All our technology innovations should, now, be aligned towards our strengthening of the ‘Lifetech’ to make science and technology in the true sense, a valid means for living a life of bliss, happiness, and good health

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Importance of Teachers in Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Appreciating the Importance of Teachers in Higher Education

People often fail to realize that teachers in higher education require time and space to contemplate, reflect and think on a number of issues relating to their teaching and research. Generation of ideas, formulation of the hypotheses,  methodology, and models are not mechanical processes. They need deep thinking and deep work. In the best universities of the world, teachers are supported a great deal through their teaching and research assistants and also some additional staff to help them prepare proposals for research fundings. Sadly, most universities in the country hardly have such a system. At the best, they have only a common room for all teachers hardly suited to do any serious work.

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Brain Drain In India
Editor's PickEducationIndiaSociety
Furqan Qamar

Brain Drain: An Apparent Loss to the Nation May Prove Lasting Gain to the Profession

According to an old adage, says that as soon as a student gets into an IIT his soul emigrates to the US; and the moment he graduates, his body too migrates to join the soul. The phenomenon is not confined to the domain of engineering and technology alone. The situation with the Indian scientists and academicians is no different. Many of those who went abroad for higher education and chose to make a career there, were recognized for their accomplishments and rewarded with coveted positions. How come most of the Indian Nobel Prize winners and Fields Medal awardees are those who left the country and were able to make their marks on foreign soil? They might appear a loss to the nation but are a gain to the profession that they wish to pursue and excel!

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Higher Education in Public & Private Sector
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Withering Public Sector and Bourgeoning Private Sector in Higher Education

The blossoming of few private sector HEIs as evident from their good rankings and sizeable share among top ranking institutions establishes that self-financed institutions too can achieve excellence, provided there is a strong will. Flourishing private sector HEIs is a positive sign in overall higher education; nevertheless, the shrinking number of public sector HEIs in the top 100 ranks is concerning because of the inadequacy of quality output from the public sector HEIs established and run by taxpayers money.

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Internationalization of Indian Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Internationalization of Indian Higher Education

Indian higher education is widely recognized and respected across the globe despite none of its higher education institutions being in the top 100 of World University Rankings. The paucity of suitable infrastructure and physical facilities along with the self-imposed rigidity in the processes of teaching, learning, admission, evaluation, etc. is responsible for discouraging the foreign operations by Indian universities. Given the international reputation of Indian higher education and the comparative cost advantage that they enjoy, it should not be difficult for universities and colleges to attract students from developing and less developed countries. This will require certain policy initiatives on the part of the government as well as at the end of individual universities and colleges. Fortunately, NEP 2020 supports and promotes the idea.

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Making Ph.D. Mandatory for Assistant Professors
Editor's PickEducation
Ashok Kumar

Should Ph. D. be Mandatory for Assistant Professors in the University?

For a person in academia as a teacher, a Ph.D. is essential as it expands our knowledge base and keeps the learning loop continue unhindered. Ph. D. is not just a degree. While doing Ph. D. one learns how to address problems, how to behave with colleagues and how to remain calm in odd situations. Making Ph.D. mandatory for the post of Assistant Professor will only reinforce the fact that teaching is not an easy job and only dedicated candidates must enter the field. However, we should first check the mushrooming of fake Ph.D. degrees for quality assurance.

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IN SEARCH OF ALLIES
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Alan Callow

In Search of Allies: Washington and the World

The high-profile statements of the White House administration about the reorientation of the foreign policy course from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific region have now become a reality and are reflected in the fact that Washington has focused on the formation of military-political blocs among the countries of the region. However, the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan has raised great doubts about the reliability of US security guarantees for its allies. India is not sure of Washington’s support in the event of another escalation of the Indian-Chinese border conflict. Moreover, Beijing has become the largest market for Australia and the largest exporter of goods to the UK. It is also the main trading partner, both for Tokyo and Seoul.

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Metamorphosing Industry requires engineers
CareerEditor's PickEducationSci-Tech
Onkar Singh

Metamorphosing Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 Requires Engineers From All Domains

Why do engineering aspirants opt only for Computer Science and Engineering when the future Industry 5.0 shall require engineers and technologists from all disciplines to sustain and upgrade civilization?
The future lies in the application of digital know-how to the existing and upcoming systems from various domains.  
The cross-fertilization of a variety of concepts may call for technical professionals possessing a broader range of expertise which is enabled by the new policy framework. This enjoins technical professionals from every engineering discipline with vital competencies, and the same can not be merely taken care of by computer and IT-related professionals alone.

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Private Participation in Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Private Participation in Higher Education

Private Participation in Higher Education is imminent but may not be sufficient to promote Access, Equity, and Quality in Higher Education. It is reassuring that NEP 2020 recognises the public education system as the foundation of a vibrant democratic society, and the way it is run must be transformed and invigorated in order to achieve the highest levels of educational outcomes for the nation”. The policy also argues for “increased access, equity, and inclusion through a range of measures, including greater opportunities for outstanding public education”. It is now time to walk the talk.

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Supreme Court on Access to Education
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Equitable and Accessible Education in COVID-hit India: A Mirage?

Supreme Court has remarked limitations of students from poor sections of society in access to online education and exhorted for corrections. Juxtaposing Indian socio-economic conditions with the education model of the nations having significantly strong IT infrastructure and much better capabilities as compared to India is irrational. The penury coercing the poor to the extent of leaving the mainstream education has not only flouted the constitutional provisions regarding the right to education but also forbidden the talented ones to chip in for the good of humanity and civilization. In a country with around 1.3 billion population of varying economic stature, it is inevitable to holistically assess the feasibility of the so-called new normal of education, i.e., online education and blended mode of education before starting it.

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Examinations An Exercise in Futility
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Examinations: An Exercise in Futility and Barrier to Academic Reforms

The present system of examination, rather than facilitating learning, acts as a barrier in broad-basing the curricula, introducing modularity, and offering wider choices because they pose a logistical nightmare in terms of examination and evaluation. Studies after studies, in India and abroad, have proved that such an examination system is not capable of assessing the talents, abilities, and potentials of students. As NEP 2020 is being celebrated annually to showcase its speedy implementation, it appears desirable to draw the attention of the academic community to this critical aspect of higher education at this juncture.

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Indian distressful examinations Introspection
CareerEditor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

The Great Indian Distressful Examinations: An Introspection

The apprehensions to fail in examinations usher students to a distressful state. The education system should strategize to avert the fear psychosis in students in respect to any examination. The examination is not the end of the road. Instead, it is an opportunity of knowing the individual’s capabilities even through failure and move on to the other possible avenues for a successful life. Holistic improvement in the quality of primary education and secondary education holds the key to keep students away from any distress.

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self financed private universities and affordability
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Self-Financed Private Universities: Implications on Affordable Quality Higher Education

Private higher education may have gained traction in the country since the mid-nineties, but it is as old as the history of modern higher education itself. ‘Private tendencies’ have also been penetrating deep into the ‘public higher education’. The situation urgently calls for minimally invasive ways and means of ensuring affordable access to quality higher education for all segments of the society

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In Defence of Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

In Defence of Higher Education

Higher education can, indeed, be censured for expanding rather too rapidly, but it was in response to the call of the industry and to alley their apprehension that the country shall not have enough graduates to match their requirements to sustain their growth momentum. If the jobs are still not in the offing for the graduates, it is because enough jobs are not being created to match the growth in higher education.

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Regulations Impede Excellence in Higher Education
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Excess Impedes Excellence: Empirical Evidence for Regulation in Higher Education

Quality of higher education in India seems to be inversely proportional to the intensity of regulation. Does empirical data support this proposition?
It is not only the newly-launched NIRF but also the time-tested NAAC grades which amply prove that stringent regulatory regimes have not necessarily promoted excellence in higher education. Relaxing the regulatory environment seems imminent for promoting excellence in higher education.

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Geopolitical analysis of Afghanistan
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Sohail Mahmood

United States, NATO, and the Taliban: Analysis of the Politics

So far, no government has recognized the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan. The US is no more a global hegemon. It has declined relative to other powers, like China. The US and NATO must, thus, prefer acting pragmatically rather than ideologically. Convergence of national interests of the US and Pakistan in stabilizing Afghanistan may improve their relations. Meanwhile, Biden must stay the course and completely pull out American military forces by the August 31 deadline.

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Cost of education is deepening divide
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Quality Education: A Luxury or A Fundamental Right?

The increasing costs of education have presented us with a pressing question: Is quality education still a tool to reduce disparity, or has it transformed into a luxury deepening the already-existing divide in our society? Any deprivation emanating from the constantly increasing cost of education at any level in the public sector and private sector institutions may create a deepening divide in terms of knowledge, skills, competence, and capabilities. Large number of students dropping out of the formal education system due to extreme and stingy frugality may turn into imperious problems in sustaining social harmony. NEP 2020 has come as a blessing in disguise with the decree of universalization of education while ensuring access, equity, quality, affordability, and accountability.

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FLUCTUATING PETROLEUM PRICES IMPACT ECONOMY
EconomyEditor's Pick
Shreya Devarajan , TheRise.co.in

The Great Indian Economy: Ravaged by COVID-19, Ruined by Petroleum Prices and Policies:

The economy has suffered immensely due to the price rise in essential oil and fuel. The economic slowdown put the economy under downward pressure leading to cutting down on the consumption of essential commodities. The policy needs to be more resilient to curb the ravages of unprecedented events. Let us see how the fluctuating petroleum prices are impacting the economy.

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First Anniversary of NEP 2020
Editor's PickEducationIndia
Onkar Singh

Anniversary of NEP 2020: Education needs intensive care

On the commemoration of the first anniversary of NEP 2020, it will be prudent on the part of the regulators to revisit the progress made in the on-ground implementation of provisions of NEP 2020 and reschedule the milestones laid in it, else the disorderliness created through it may disarray the existing education system as well. The predominant disruptions caused by the pandemic and the pragmatic view on the desired transformations ought to be taken into consideration before a realizable road map is relaid.  

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Afghanistan A new opportunity for Quad
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Neeraj Singh Manhas

Afghanistan: A New Opportunity for the Quad?

The Quad’s Indo-Pacific policy is not limited to China’s containment or the promotion of a free and open Indo-Pacific, since there are several additional areas of concern, most notably in Central Asia. US army withdrawal provides a chance to engage the Quad partners in discussions on Afghan policy and to explore alternatives to existing peacekeeping arrangements. The Quad’s participation in Afghanistan will not only rebalance power in the wider Indo-Pacific region, but will also close a crucial continental chasm in the area’s conceptualization.

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Why Indian startups fail
EconomyEditor's Pick
Devvrat Sharma , TheRise.co.in

Zomato Goes Public, Paytm in the Queue. Yet, 90% Indian Startups Fail within 5 Years. Why?

The recent IPO of Zomato is just one case in the larger canvass of the Indian startups going public. Another Indian startup, Paytm, is eyeing the largest Indian IPO of Rs. 16,600 crore. However, India’s startup ecosystem is lagging behind in terms of the conversion rate of startups into unicorns. Here, we analyse the internal and external factors that play role in the survival of start-ups in India, the various government policies in place for providing them with a supportive environment, the reasons for the failure of Indian startups and required measures to ensure their viability in the long run.

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End of Oli Era
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Neeraj Singh Manhas

End of Oli Era: A New Start for Indo-Nepal Relations

For the second time in five months, the Supreme Court of Nepal reversed President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) of Nepal. This time, it further ordered President Bhandari to appoint Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister by July 13, 2021. The ensuing end of the KP Sharma Oli era is likely to provide a renewed impetus to the relations between India and Nepal.

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Taliban at the Door of Kabul
Editor's PickPoliticsWorld
Neeraj Singh Manhas

Afghanistan Surge: Taliban at the Door of Kabul As US Troops Withdraw

On July 2, 2021, Friday, the US forces quietly vacated the Bagram airfield, considered to be the epicentre of its campaign to remove the Taliban and capture the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, after nearly two decades. This effectively brings an end to the Afghan ‘forever war’, the longest war fought in US history. As foreign troops retreat, the Taliban forces are sweeping across Afghanistan. The possibility of civil war looms over the country as the region has been pushed into turmoil after the withdrawal of western forces. Twenty years down the line, are we back to square one?

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Blended learning in higher education
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Blended Learning in Indian Higher Education: How Feasible is it?

Accolades to University Grants Commission (UGC) for out of the box thinking in allowing the higher education institutions (HEIs) to teach up to 40% syllabus of each course (other than SWAYAM courses) through online mode and remaining 60% of the syllabus in the offline mode along with their examinations in the respective mode.
Holistic and collective brainstorming across the HEIs is required before exercising the major shift from the conventional face-to-face teaching approach lest blended learning may have limited cosmetic value.

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Comparing Startup of India US China
BusinessEconomyEditor's Pick
Devvrat Sharma , TheRise.co.in

Indian Startup Ecosystem Third Largest, Behind China & US: A Comparison of Three Growth Engines

The global race to become the most developed nation starts from the roots: the start-ups. India, China and the US are in the middle of intense competition to become production leaders with the former two growing at unprecedented rates. This article throws light on the policies implemented by these nations to achieve this growth and how they differ amongst them. It also looks at the upcoming markets which are expected to see an inflow of a great number of start-ups in the future.

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Protect the Protectors of Ecological Wealth
Editor's PickEnvironmentHealthIndia
Oishimaya Sen Nag

Protect the Protectors of Indian Ecological Wealth

The second wave of the pandemic has claimed many of these valuable employees of the IFS ranging in rank from senior officers to daily wagers. But unfortunately, although the forest departments of several protected areas have requested the administration to include foresters in the list of frontline workers, no action has been taken in this regard. Lack of concern towards the health of foresters reflects general apathy of policymakers. As a progressive nation, it is our duty to address the issues and protect the protectors of our ecological wealth.

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Understanding Indian Startup Ecosystem
BusinessEconomyEditor's Pick
Devvrat Sharma , TheRise.co.in

Understanding Indian Startup Ecosystem

This article closely analyses the Indian start-up ecosystem and how these start-ups are distributed throughout the states of the country. It further observes which sectors see the most rush of new start-ups and what are the reasons why start-ups prefer some states over others. Lastly, it throws light on the sources of investments these start-ups receive and how this picture is also changing amidst an increase in tensions with neighbouring China.

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Course Correction Needed in BJP
Editor's PickIndiaPolitics
B. S. Ashish

Is Course Correction Needed in the Election Engine of BJP? – Part 2

This is a two-part primer. Part 2 covers the main takeaways for BJP from the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. This part elaborates on the positives of the election outcome for BJP; along with analysing how BJP could’ve improved its performance in these states by critiquing its key decisions related to candidature, manifesto promises and strategies.

BJP’s religious politics worked best in West Bengal; hardly worked in Tamil Nadu while it never worked in Kerala.

With 2024 LS elections not far away, if BJP doesn’t take efforts to break-free from its stereotype of being a Right-Wing nationalist party trying to homogenize India under Hinduism using Hindutva, as openly advocated by senior party leaders like Dr Subramanian Swamy, there is a significant chance for an All-India Mahagathbandhan to steal the incumbency from NDA!

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Steering the Education Wheel
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar , Reem Qamar

Students Steering the Education Wheel through Stormy Virus

How did the Students Cope with the Disruptions in Learning and Life Around Them?
It has been more than a year since campuses were compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic to close their doors to their students and resort to remote teaching. Since few universities and even fewer colleges had a Learning Management System (LMS) in vogue, choices of the tool, technology, medium, and platform were largely left to the teachers to manage to the best of their abilities. The result was a wide variety of ways in which the teaching-learning processes were carried on. Students, though more tech-savvy and better equipped to guide the transition, hardly had a say in the matter and they remained largely at the receiving end. Not only did their chosen and settled ways of learning get disrupted, their lives and the lives of people around them too got tossed into the turbulence

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The Song of Urban Forest
Editor's PickEnvironment
Tarun

The Song of Urban Forest

When will the birds in the backyard sing again, louder than our morning alarms, the bees do the bumble dance, and the vision of the landscape change with the greens around? We must be willing to give them a chance, not in the hit of a moment, not as a ‘cool’ thing to do but as a necessary step to build a better today and resilient future. Do we have the boldness to leap?

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Calibrate Education in Corona Aftermath
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Calibrate Crappy Education in COVID Aftermath

The regulators of education for all levels should inevitably ponder upon the concerned stakeholders and palliate the damage incurred to the younger generation of the country which is blessed with a 37-year advantage of demographic dividend. The opportunity loss on account of youth remaining disengaged from their pursuits of getting educated well warrants strategizing for immediate correction.

Let’s deliberate and discuss extensively to create a well-laid framework based on the holistic considerations for negotiating the past, present, and future disruptions in the education system lest it is late again.

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Rethink and Reform the Examination System
Editor's PickEducation
Furqan Qamar

Time to Rethink and Reform the Examination System

Alas, the colonial mindset of subjecting their subjects to the supervision and control of their masters has only deepened, as far as the education, examination, and evaluation systems are concerned. Isn’t it desirable or isn’t it the time to reform these terminal examinations to the teacher-based and school-supervised comprehensive continuous internal assessment – an idea that has been in discussion for decades?

The pandemic situation has been quite frightening this time. This indeed limits the choices to a compromised solution – a truncated examination, sufficiently delayed to allay the imminent threat of the pandemic. Whatever is decided by or for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), most state boards are likely to follow the suit.

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positivity rate or positivity drive
Editor's PickIndiaPolitics
Prateek Yadav

New India: What to focus on – ‘Positivity Rate’ or ‘Positivity Drive’?

Rather than crediting all positives to the regime, and all negatives to the ‘enemies of the state’, we, as a democracy and as ideological inheritors of our freedom fighters, have the moral responsibility of taking the society forward while accounting for the positives as well as the negatives of all the governments democratically elected by us – we, the people!

If the reality is ‘negative’ news, let’s face it. If the reality is ‘positive’ news, let’s rejoice in it! But, let’s not ‘build’ positive news by concealing the reality!

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Schools becoming Garden of Selfish Giant
Editor's PickEducation
Dr. Saswati Paik

When Schools look like the ‘Garden of Selfish Giant’!

The battle against COVID-19 is the battle of the entire human society. We have already wasted enough time understanding the meaning of “disruption in schooling” and how it matters to children and society. Building up resilience to address contextual issues is the need of the hour. Else, the schools may experience the abandoned look of winter just like the garden of “Selfish Giant”, even in the next spring!

The pandemic is a wake-up call for us to plan for better planning for our schools, and the future of our country.

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The Dead cannot cry out for Justice
Editor's PickIndiaSociety
Nandini C Sen

The Dead Cannot Cry Out for Justice

Death robs you of dignity but in this case, it robbed you of personhood – you were just a statistic in the hospital register or the crematoriums, and the illusion of governance that had existed till now showed itself for the sham it was.

The “System’ has gone into hibernation fulfilling a dream for an “atmanirbhar” Bharat. “Don’t expect hand-holding folks, go deal with the Pandemic yourself. Manage your own oxygen and hospital beds and if you fail, don’t act like a cry baby. Just die quietly and be done with it” the ‘System’ seems to be telling us in no uncertain terms. Add to this, the fancy house the ‘System’ is building -it will see the demolition of our colonial past and will usher in the legacy of the great majoritarian premier. If this isn’t good news, what is? Haters and corrupt foreign media might talk about the stench of death all around but who cares for them anyway? You and I can only hope that the palace has enough mirrors where the “System” can see itself stark naked just for once.

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India's Treatment of the dead
Editor's PickHuman RightsIndia
Prateek Yadav

India’s Treatment of the Dead: Shame on Humanity or Shame on Governance?

How come our society has stooped down to such levels? Is this incident a rare outlier in our so-called ‘culturally rich and diverse society’ or is it a feeling being identified by many? Are social conventions above the survival of a human?
It is indeed an appalling reality of our civilisation which we need to face point-blank keeping aside the so-called excuse of ‘negativity all around in pandemic era’.
The earliest realization of the fact that the large size of India’s population is reeling under penury is the only way to catalyse the government for strategizing jobs/source of livelihood to every hand.

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Engineering without Science and Mathematics will be a disaster
Editor's PickEducation
P. B. Sharma

Engineering without Science and Mathematics: A Disaster for India

The regulators are perhaps perturbed at the decline in admissions and to boost the admissions, a radical decision to make engineering open to all irrespective of the prior knowledge of science and mathematics at senior secondary levels has been taken. Engineering without Science and Mathematics will be a disaster for India and is not the way to save technical education nor is good for the future.

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Anti or Pro incumbency in Bihar
Editor's PickIndiaPolitics
TheRise.co.in

Bihar Elections 2020: Anti-incumbency or Pro-incumbency?

The state, with more than 12 crore population, has the credit of influencing national politics significantly in the past. Thus, the outcome of Bihar state elections is likely to have serious implications on the future political moves in the Hindi heartland of India. With all political parties pursuing the voters through numerous tactics and tantrums, the canvassing for the first round of polling has come to an end. Nonetheless, it is not discernible to categorically conclude the swinging mood of the voters.

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Will Hathras become eye opener
Editor's PickFemaleSociety
Nandini C Sen

A Spine-Chilling Moment for India: Will Hathras become an eye-opener?

The brutality of the Hathras rape was mind-boggling. The questions that beg asking are these: Could the behaviour of the police have been the same if the girl belonged to an upper class and caste? Would the media have maintained a dogged silence for 2 weeks if this had happened in a metropolis? And would those in power remain silent if the incident had happened in a state ruled by the Opposition?

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The Astonishing Relevance of Cinema
CultureEditor's PickEntertainment
Nandini Sen

The Astonishing Relevance of Cinema: Five 20th Century Classics that Need to be Watched

There are certain films whose relevance transcends the boundaries of time and age. By embracing the leitmotifs of human struggle across the ages, such films appear to be true witnesses of the past and foretellers of the future all at once. Here is a list of five cinematic masterpieces that are startlingly relevant as the tumultuous first quarter of the 21st century nears its end.

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Rebooting Infrastructure: National Infrastructure Pipeline Dashboard
BusinessEconomyEditor's Pick
Balasubramanian Chandrasekhar

Rebooting Infrastructure: National Infrastructure Pipeline Dashboard

Rebooting Infrastructure by NIP Dashboard holds promises as in monetizing infrastructural assets, public trust plays a crucial role. The dashboard shall also let the people of the country know how many projects are being implemented. Such a social audit mechanism increases efficiency & promotes a culture of accountability in the functioning of the government.

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Poetry as a Tool of Dissent in Modern Day
Editor's PickPolitics
Nandini Sen

Poetry as a Tool of Dissent in Modern-Day Authoritarian Regimes

The recitation of poems and songs at the anti-CAA protests was in keeping with the near-universal practice of deploying poetry to question, challenge, and condemn. Poetry is commonly seen as a tool of dissent in Modern Day Authoritarian Regime in countries like China, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Ironically, all over the world, the violent governments that invest millions of dollars in arms and ammunition are precisely the ones hurt most by the weapon of poetry!

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Do cent percent marks evince cent percent learning?
Editor's PickEducation
Onkar Singh

Do cent percent marks evince cent percent learning? – A Vantage point

It dates back to a century earlier when some examiner commented on the academic performance of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, that the examinee is better than the examiner. A more or less similar situation is evinced again in the results through 100 % marks obtained in the recent results announced by the examining boards at the secondary level. However, the award of cent percent marks is seen for the last few years. It is not to cast aspersions on the individual children scoring cent percent marks, but the scenario of examinees scoring full marks requires introspection. The moot point is “Does cent percent marks evince cent percent learning?”

The marks obtained should always allude to the scope of further improvement by the students.

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Ensuring Education in Post-Pandemic Era
Editor's PickEducation
TheRise.co.in

Ensuring Education to Poor in Post-Pandemic Era

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought miseries to humanity across the world. Like every affected country, India also undertook measures to contain the spread of the pandemic. The lockdown was enforced in the country to terminate the chain of contagion, but it had certain consequences. The economic activities became standstill for quite a long period. Among various happenings, the most concerning was the psychological impact and absence of work that drove the majority of the workforce back to their native places. With the increasing unemployment and reduced earnings, ensuring education in the post-pandemic era will be a big challenge.

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