Current Affairs Essays

Unemployment is a major cause of problem in India. It is a situation in which an individual is ready and willing to work at the prevailing rate of wages but he does not get work. This is a curse because not just the person suffers but the nation as a whole suffers which results in wastage of manpower, reduces national income and contributes to poverty, inequality and growth of anti social elements. In Indian villages more than 80% of labourers are engaged in non-fame sector in cottage and in different types of services. It is estimated that more that 2/3 of rural workers are self- employed. Among the urban unemployed are included those illiterate person who are willing to work in industrial sectors, for e.g. Mining, transport, trade and construction activities. Problem of unemployment in industrial sector has arisen because of rapid increase in population. Besides for the last many years due to expansion of industry in urban area there has been a growing tendency of urbanization. Besides many industries in India have been restoring to labour saving devices as western countries, consequently the volume of unemployment has been growing at the industrial sector. Only such persons can be employed in an industry who possess the relevant skills and training to increase the production of the industry concern quantitatively and qualitatively. The causes of unemployment in India are slow economic growth, rapid growth of population, joint family system, agriculture- a seasonal occupation, decline of cottage and small scale industries, slow progress of industrialization, low savings and investment, caste system, immobility of labour, lack of irrigation facilities, faulty planning and more expansion of universities. Unemployment has been a major problem in India. It has led to frustration among the people. There has been a tremendous problem and as such no solution could be found out. The rapid growth of population has been a major cause of unemployment. The decline of small-scale industries has left many people unemployed. There has been a slow growth of industrialization which led to the slow growth of the industrial sector which further affects the economic sector. The planning procedure in India has been a major cause of unemployment in India. Agriculture is also a seasonal occupation in India. It is only for a few months and the rest of the year the farmer search for different jobs. There has been a slow growth of economic sector which led to the decline in the whole procedure and the economic activities decline at a rapid pace. There has been a low savings and investment. The income is less and the expenditure is more. The rich are getting richer and richer and the poor is getting poorer. There has always been inequality of income and wealth. All these causes led to the problem of unemployment in India. There is no single solution to the problem. Different methods have to be adopted like creating more jobs, controlling population growth, expansion of small scale units, introducing vocational education and allowing the more...

I often wonder who the girl is whose face I examine every morning in the large mirror hanging above my desk. In some ways 1 do feel as if l know her, but only on a superficial level, the same way we think we know the actors in our favourite soap operas. We may know every explicit detail of the lives of the characters, but the true personality of the actor themselves is a huge mystery which we have little or no hope of ever solving. A mirror's sole purpose is to reflect. In my case, though, mirrors seem to reflect my persona rather than my personality. This, thankfully, indicates that the mirror sees only what the rest of the world does, exactly what I want to be seen. The mirror in question is large, clear, and attractively decorated, signifying its importance in my life. This is not to say that most of my spare time is spent gazing lovingly into it, rather that it is with the help of my mirror that I adopt my outward persona every morning. While standing in front of it I transform myself from the plain, boring nobody who I fear more than anyone else in the world to the outgoing, bubbly, mature creature I wish I really was. For me, putting on my make-up is not the simple task my friends seem to regard it as, it is the carefully perfected art of creating my disguise. It is only when I am wearing this disguise that I feel I am a 'normal' person, that 1 fit in with the rest of our critical society. On the rare occasions when I have not adopted my disguise (only when I am in no danger of meeting any acquaintances) I become like a 'MagicEye' picture, you have to look really hard in order to see the complete image. The reason I am so unwilling to remove my mask in public is that, to be quite honest, I am terrified of what is underneath. As a result of Any creating this mask, I have never acquainted myself with my thoughtful, emotional, sensitive character traits which I try so desperately to conceal. I am not sure whether I like that girl very much, and I am too busy trying to hide her to have the time to find out. I have not always been divided like this. When I was younger I - somehow managed to let all the aspects of my character show, resulting in a fairly even mix of the side of me which I hate and the side I promote. I would look in the mirror every morning and see a happy, balanced individual who looked forward to the future and was certain of her course in life. It has only been in the last few years that the change has taken place. Whether it is due to getting older, making new friends, and trying to organise my life, I don't know. Perhaps it is more...

Ring! Ring! Beep! Beep! Everywhere we go, we can hear the sounds of machinery and different contraptions that have developed over thousands of years like the miniature phones - cell phones- that could transmit sound waves and also fast cars that have twin turbo and better engines which could travel at a very fast rate. Furthermore, through technology better medicines are produced each day that fight diseases and viruses thus prolonging the life of every individual. Advanced technology wasn't only a great step towards better lifestyle and medical research but also gave way towards the broadening of knowledge and understanding of the history through better analysis of different data that are taken from fossils and relics of early civilizations. The development of technologies advances rapidly and maybe people could someday invent a time capsule that defies the time of the universe. Computers signify the ever growing and rapid development of technology. The different books published by various intelligent and bright authors reflect the different accomplishments of the present society. Pictures show important and memorable events in the history. Almost every household of the 21st century possesses a computer. This century, which is known as the digital age, have accumulated an advance way of communication through the development of computers and the Internet. A computer is contraptions made of various kinds of microchips connected by different wires and is powered by the electricity. It is composed of four major parts namely: the monitor, the central processing unit also known as the CPU, the keyboard and the mouse. The CPU acts as the brain of the computer, thus, it is here where all the information is stored. The keyboard and the mouse provide connection from the user to the computer. These are used to program different operations for the computer to do. The monitor is where the user could have a visual interaction on what is happening within the computer. Computers are very advantageous in today's busy world. A computer is very helpful in minimizing the time for a paper job to be done. This also is used as a means of communication around the world. These are some of the positive effects this contraption offers. Laziness and impatience are some of its negative effects. People sometimes become too dependable on computers to do their work that results to procrastination. Truly this is a very admirable object that could be brought in the future but every contraption made have their positive and negative effect upon the person using. Books are the major source of knowledge for every individual. Many books are published each day that focuses on different genres. Some books are informative history or math while others are romantic. Through books, and the diligence of writers, much information was recorded. Books play a vital role on research especially for future historians. Through books, people are able to connect with the past, thus learning more about history. Books also reflect man's evolvement intellectually. Surely, book are very reliable source of information for more...

Green Productivity is a holistic strategy whereby nations can leverage the dynamism of productivity to achieve a better quality of life for all people, with social justice and fairness for their citizenry, and enhanced prosperity for their enterprises. Green Productivity has proven to be a practical approach for enterprises and communities. Green Productivity enables them to innovate their business practices while improving environmental performance. Recent application of Green Productivity in communities to foster economic development  and environmental protection shows evidence of success. As Green Productivity offers step-by-step guidance with a portfolio of proven tools, techniques and technologies, it has universal appeal. This is an important attribute of Green Productivity. The starting line was productivity as a cost reduction strategy. By picking up the baton of quality, productivity has metamorphosed to incorporate environmental protection and community enhancement as a means to increase prosperity. Under the umbrella of Green Productivity, innovation, a key engine of economic growth, becomes part of a holistic strategy to move towards a sustainable future. Green Productivity is a strategy for simultaneously enhancing productivity and environmental performance. Its aim is well- rounded socio-economic development that leads to sustained improvement in the quality of human life. It is the combined application of appropriate productivity and environmental management tools, techniques and technologies that reduce the environmental impact of an organisation's activities, products and services while enhancing profitability and competitive advantage. Previous approaches to environmental protection have tended to ignore economic performance. Regulators were tasked with the dubious honour of having to closely monitor those with the deepest pockets and most suspect of the greatest 'wrongdoing' - sparked by the events such as Chernobyl & Bhopal. This surveillance has led to substantial reductions in single point source pollution in most countries. However it has left the seemingly trivial individual contribution of day-to-day inefficiencies in other larger and smaller enterprises and public organisations unattended. Essentially the practice of Green Productivity results in using material resources and energy more efficiently and sustainably - doing better with less. We know spurring innovation for products and services enhances economic development, therefore greening innovative minds enables development with less risk of socio- economic and environmental degradation. According to the World Economic Forum's Year 2000 Report, the ability of a nation to improve its competitiveness is measured by its environmental performance in addition to more traditional economic criteria. Central to improved competitiveness is productivity. This makes the concept of Green Productivity a simple but elegant solution - to make environmental protection a core business attractor instead of an isolated cost contributor. Governments have an important role to play in supporting this transition. Green Productivity builds political will, community confidence and profit-oriented results. There are signals that supporting market driven approaches will pay off. Both governments and private enterprises are interested in moving away from end-of-pipe technologies to prevention of pollution. It is seen as a shift in both the public and private sectors moving their attention regarding environmental policy and management upwards and forward. The strategy and more...

Online gambling has been a growing problem on college campuses. Most dorms are wired, letting students bet in the privacy of their rooms' virtual anonymity. With nothing more than a credit card, the possibility exists for any student athlete to place a wager via the Internet and then attempt to influence the outcome of the contest while participating on the court or playing field. Additionally, students are surrounded with offers to sign up for credit cards from representatives on campuses and solicited with email from Internet sports bookie sites. There is a major issue to be dealt with, which is spreading with little regulatory oversight and no effective screens against participation by the young and the vulnerable. Internet gambling represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activity with more than seven hundred web sites now providing users the opportunity to wager everything from casino games. There are a number of reasons why this booming industry should provoke more concern among policy makers. Online gambling promotes addiction through easy accessibility and presents great potential for criminal abuse. It is widely available to children and teens, increasing the chances that underage players will participate and become hooked. Internet gambling poses particular hazards for adult pathological gamblers and has the potential to increase greatly the number of people with gambling problems. Online gambling provides an opportunity for illegal activity, including money laundering and fraud. In addition, online gambling offers none of the potential economic benefits of casino gambling. There are also other ways to control online gambling, if not to make it fully illegal. The government could somehow control how much one bets by setting limits on people and by keeping track how much is being spent. There a gambler has to register with the online casino, provide bank account information, and fax in several forms of identification. Most of their companies also call patrons to verify the information, and to catch sneaky children who try to register under their parents' names. The online casinos allow customers to set a limit on the amount of money they can wager in a week, month, or year. Raising the limit entails a waiting period. Many people gamble on the Internet every day. Online gambling promotes addiction and presents great potential for criminal abuse. Therefore, online gambling should be made completely illegal or should be controlled in some manner.  

The start of college is a new and different experience for all teenagers. They must learn to adapt to their new surroundings and make new friends, as well as to try to fit in. However, many teens feel they need to drink, smoke and do drugs to be considered cool. In a survey recently conducted on the abuse of alcohol, nicotine, and other harmful drugs, we studied that the maximum number of teenagers involved in smoking, drinking and drugs are in the age group from fourteen to twenty. In today's society, the peer pressure to drink, smoke or use drugs to fit in is all around our youth. On the basis of survey, it was found that these teenagers drink one to two times per week because they enjoy it. They feel that it is also a chance to have fun and hang out with their friends. However, teens say they also do it out of boredom. Often, teens are anxious to find an alternative way to have fun and to escape from the 'boringness' of movies and television. For this reason they jump at the chance to gather in a large group to socialize. They are willing to pay their pocket money for a cup of beer, even if they known that drinking under age is illegal. When there is nothing else to do or nowhere else to go, teenagers will find something to take away their boredom, even though their actions could jeopardize their future and even their lives. Drinking alcohol comes with many responsibilities. These teens define 'responsible drinking' as 'having control of your actions'. In other words, teens drink as long as they know what they are doing. However, are they truly aware of everything that is happening around them? While drinking, teenagers are often put into situations where they act irresponsible. Teenagers are often caught driving while under the influence of alcohol. When teens get into the car, they often do not think about the consequences. There is always that one thought in the back of everyone's mind in this type of situation. They say, 'Nothing' bad is going to happen. Sadly, when something does happen, most of the time the drunk driver is never the one to be injured. It is always the innocent passengers or the victims on the road. Smoking is another large issue within the college community. Many teenagers who smoke have been smoking for a few years and started smoking at an early age. Even though most people do not agree with teens smoking, a good percentage of adults smoke cigarettes. Therefore, the influence to smoke is constantly around teens and young children. They pick up this bad habit and it is all downhill from there. Cigarettes are extremely addictive. On the other hand, some teens also like to smoke socially. This usually occurs at parties or just when they feel like hanging around outside of their dorms. Drug usage is the third huge area of abuse among students in more...

The world has a population of 6 billion. India alone has a population of 1 billion. Despite the fact that India was the first country in the world to have a population policy. But is this mammoth population really caused for alarm? It could be more important to understand the factors that led to this population explosion and the complex links between population growth rates and levels of development. And to acknowledge that India is in the midst of a demographic transition, with fertility rates definitely declining, though not as fast as was expected. In the year 2000, much was made of the fact that as the world's population reached six billion, India's share was a massive one billion. As one writer noted, alarm bells were sounded the world over that the first country in the world to have a population policy had failed miserably in the effort. However, demographers have pointed out that there is really no reason to panic. India is in the middle of what demographers describe as the 'demographic transition'. It has moved from a situation of high birth rate and high death rate to an intermediary stage of high birth rate and low death rate, but is yet to reach a point of stability, with a low birth rate and a low death rate. This intermediary period will naturally see high rates of population growth. Demographers note that the latest census figures show that India has entered the phase of a declining fertility rate, though the actual decline may be less than what was targeted in the preceding years. Even though the IMR has almost halved in 50 years, it is still significantly higher than in developed countries, as well as in countries like Sri Lanka, Cuba and China. Many couples have large families as insurance against multiple infant and child deaths. Thirty-six percent of the population is in the reproductive age group. That proportion will go up before it comes down. Even if these men and women have very small families, the sheer numbers of the next generation will result in a further swelling of the population before it Starts shrinking in future generations. One in two girls marry before they turn 18, which is the minimum legal age of marriage. Many of them start childbearing almost immediately, with second and third children following at intervals of less than 24 months — which in turn reduces each child's chances of survival. India was the first country in the world with a population policy. Though the actual policy was first formulated only in 1976, the subject was discussed in various reports on the health services and taken up in the First Five Year Plan in 1952. When India became independent, population growth was seen as a major impediment to the country's socio- economic development — and population 'control' was seen as integral to the development process. Population growth was seen as an urgent problem related to economic development with limited resources. While an improved standard more...

Many believe that the economic liberalisation process initiated in 1991 would somehow find answers to our governance crisis. Economic reforms, while they are necessary, are by no means sufficient to resolve our national dilemmas. Even if the role of the state is redefined with sharper role in a narrower area, an efficient and just state in a free society is a vital precondition for economic growth and human happiness. Even in a liberalised economic environment, the state still has the duty to discharge vital responsibilities. Public order, crime investigation, speedy justice, good quality school education accessible to all children, universal primary healthcare, maintenance of minimal standards of sanitation and civic amenities, and building of vital infrastructure like roads and facilitating economic growth through other infrastructure development like power and ports - all these are the legitimate functions of the state irrespective of the economic system we choose. This situation is further complicated as these critical sovereign areas of state function are witnessing abuse of power. In the earlier days of the license-quota-permit raj, economic patronage of state was abused for personal gain. Since 1991 the role of Indian state in licensing and other related economic activities has been on the decline. The state has a wide latitude in areas of sovereign functioning like public order, crime control, administration justice, crime investigation and related matters, in the absence of effective institutional checks against abuse of authority. No matter how much we limit the role of state, these are vital areas which will always be within the state sphere and when conditions for good governance are not fulfilled, abuse of power in these areas becomes the norm. Over the past several years there is mounting evidence of such a phenomenon resulting in increased criminalisation of politics, greater politicisation of crime investigation, and increasing nexus between political class, state agencies and organised criminal gangs and operators. In effect, such abuse of power in the critical areas of state functioning leads to complete lawlessness and undermines the firm foundations of our society and civilisation. A rogue state whose legitimacy is in question, whose appetite for ill-gotten funds is uncontrollable, and whose actions are not accountable to the people will continue to use the limited economic decision making power under its control for private gain and personal ends at the cost of public good and economic growth. In fact, it is this failure that explains in a large measure the limited success of economic reforms. In the absence of good governance, economic reform in itself will lead to modest growth at best for some period and the fruits of reform will be transient and self- limiting. Inadequate human development and the failure of our delivery systems have led to appallingly low levels of literacy and skills, poor health coverage and hopelessly inadequate infrastructure. The vast majority of Indians are thus left outside the pale of the productive process of the nation. Besides, even with economic liberalisation the state will continue to play an important role more...

Virtually, the sole purpose of science is to understand the natural processes of the earth and its environment. What is done with such science, of course, is a matter of individual choice. Some such as Hitler decided to use humans as guinea pigs to conduct the kind of experiments on Jews that geneticists are probably secretly performing even today. Others such as Darwin chose to use the ultimate scientific tool, the human mind, to work his way through the maze of possibilities to arrive at the most plausible way in which life on earth originated. For centuries in India, the scientific temper has been encouraged and has, in fact, been equated with philosophy as a pursuit of great worth and respect. We did indeed gift the world the zero. And we did cast steel that did not rust, long years before the rest of the world even considered such a quest desirable. Our art and culture reflects this penchant for discovery and even the Vedas still serve as a guide for those seeking to find meaning and balance in life. Both base their statements on solid facts, gathered over time. Both share a natural curiosity about the earth and neither expects to alter the way the earth moves. The purpose of field biologists should be to faithfully observe, share information, consult and decipher. All too often, however, this process is short-circuited by tangential objectives. Everything on earth seems to mesh together, yet if Darwin were to be believed, it is really an evolving combination of life-forms developing in the manner of an embryo. Every single day, new species are being formed and others die in a symphony of such extraordinary complexity that science has only been able to nibble at the edges of its truth. Some social activists believe that such studies are worthless. That such science is elitist. They are wrong. It must have been someone with a similar temperament who followed langurs around hundreds of years ago, to eat what they ate so as to discover which part of the forest bounty his or her community could safely harvest. Observing and understanding the natural world was at the very root of Ayurveda. In other words, Dr. Ullas K. Karanth might be accused of elitism, but not the tigers, or the deer he studies. Such efforts add to the knowledge base of all human societies and the scientific temper, he displays, should be regarded as one of our prime assets. This move could be a great leap forward for the conservation of hornbills, which are especially vulnerable in northeast India due to the traditional value attached to their feathers, casques, fat and flesh among many tribal groups. Hunting pressure has caused the local extinction of the Great Indian Hornbill in many areas in eastern and central Arunachal Pradesh. Entirely dependent on forest habitat and a key seed disperser, the hornbill is critical to forest survival and restoration. The birds primarily consume Ficus fruit, with small amounts of oily fruit more...

One of the crucial factors, which shaped Indian IT industry in the crucial periods, was the cheap and well skilled resource availability. Nationality no longer defines boundaries. In this industry, enterprise, labour and capital are dispersed across the world. To support this fact we have Nasscom reporting that in 1999- 2000, 284,000 (including those employed by IT users) professionals were working in India of which about 200,000 were working on H-IB visas. But the scenario has changed since 2001, or more correctly after Sept 11. Industry sales growth rate sharply declined to a mere 23.1%. Growth of domestic sales fell even more drastically to 10.7 per cent. One of the main indicators being the complete cessation in campus recruitments both in engineering colleges and B school campuses. If we look back at the IT industry in our country, we may say that it can be broadly divided into three phases. The first one from 1995-99 had been predominated by theY2K problem. In 2000-01, e commerce took over, and thereafter ITES is supposedly the next focus of the industry. It had been enjoying a steady growth ever since the early nineties. Even today, in spite of the drastic fall in the billing rates of lnfosys, rapid fall in the profits of Wipro and Satyam, the turnover and net profit growth rate seems to be above average. The killer USP behind the steady growth of the Indian IT industry is the cost advantage and reputation for quality. Another major advantage is the conversance of Indian software engineers with English unlike their Chinese and Taiwanese competitors. Furthermore the Indian human capital, its skilled and competent pool of engineers, enabled it to make a substantial entry into the software market. The next is the geographical location, being halfway round the world from the US west coast made it the ideal location for firms wanting to work round the clock. But how long can India ride on these advantages? Wage costs are a small component of the industry's revenue — 20-25 per cent, less than its profit margin - and there are many countries where programmers' wages are not much higher than India's. As for case of knowing English being an advantage, while it is true that India's software exports are heavily concentrated in Anglophone markets, so is global software consumption. Programming requires the most elementary English, with a very limited vocabulary and simple syntax. Thus over a period of time these advantages may also be squeezed and Indian companies need to look for other USPs to stay in the global competitive market. What the analysts think is that the current domestic industry needs top focus on some key issues to maintain their position in the global market.  Even though for many years the major target of the Indian companies was to create a global image for themselves, but currently their own bases are threatened. Multinational giants like Accenture and Electronic Data Systems (EDS) are rapidly expanding in India. With the global slowdown, MNC have more...