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Can Environment Protection and Economic Development go together? – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 3)

 

Can Environment Protection and Economic Development go together?

By Bandeep Rabha

 

Introduction:

Man has always maintained a cordial relationship with the nature from the ancient times. The Indian culture has always revered trees as a symbol of divinity. Infact, Lord Krishna identified himself as Ashwatha, or the peepal tree. By the beginning of 19^th century the developed countries began exploiting natural resources in excuse of economic development and this resulted in rapid degradation of the environment. At present the developing countries like China and India are also contributing hugely to environmental degradation.

Environment and Economic Development:

The natural environment plays a very important role in our economy, as a direct input into production and through many other services. For the rapid development of the country, projects like power plants, mines etc. needs to be implemented which are the core inputs for all other industries. Natural resources such as minerals and fossil fuels acts as raw material inputs to them. Other services of environment which enable economic activity are sequestering carbon, filtering air and water pollution, protecting against flood risk and soil formation. It is also vital for our wellbeing providing us with recreational opportunities, improving our health and much more.

Economic growth, in turn, is important for the prosperity and wellbeing of the economy and its citizens – in both advanced economies and in developing nations. For developing countries like China and India where substantial chunk of population could hardly meet its daily need, economic development is only pill which could pull these people from the quagmire of poverty. It is also important factor for improvements in health, education and overall quality of life.

Effects of Economic Development on Environment:

While economic development has many benefits – raising standards of living and improving quality of life across the world – it has also resulted in the depletion of natural resources and the degradation of ecosystems. There has been much debate over whether or not it is possible to achieve economic growth without unsustainably degrading the environment and a growing realisation that economic growth rate at the current rate of depletion and degradation of environmental assets cannot continue indefinitely.

The ruthless development increased the percentage of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere which led to the rise in the long term mean temperature of the earth often called as global warming.  The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

The global warming has increased the frequency of extreme weathers conditions like droughts, floods, cyclones etc. which would ultimately affect the crop production in almost all countries.  Since agriculture sustains the life of the poorer sections of the society, changing weather pattern is putting their existence as well as food security at stake.

Way Forward:

The only option left for the humans is to tread on the path of sustainable development which improves life of a person without adversely affecting the environment surrounding him. As once Mahatma Gandhi has said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not enough for any man’s greed”, sustainable development also calls for the development in perpetuity which is not possible if the environment is ignored.

[ 510 Words ]

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Can India reap the benefit of its demographic dividend – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 2)

 

Can India reap the benefit of its demographic dividend?

By Parashar Talukdar

 

Meaning– Demographic Dividend means rise in the economic growth rate due to rising share of working age population. It is said to be occurring when the working age population is high and the dependency ratio of children and elderly population is low. In the deveped countries, like China, US and Japan, where this average age of working class is increasing, India is getting youthful day by day.

Pattern in India– Reports say that about 30% of the country’s population are in the age group 0-14 years. The elderly people (60 or more years) population is low (8%). The working age group (15-55 years) population is about 62%. In 2036, India can boast of highest working population of 65%. However, this pattern is not same in all the states. The states in the north is found to be more youthful than the states of South and West.

Benefits of India’s Democratic Dividend- According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the window of democratic dividend opportunity in India is available for 5 decades, from 2005-2006 to 2055-56. This is the most precious aspect of  India. So this is a high time for us to engage our youths to productive works. Besides , the youths joining Defence forces can make India strong. Even with all the drawbacks we have, this particular Indian aspect is going to prove in making India the world leader in the the comming years.

Planning a required to reap the benefits- With the rise of young population, there is a rise in unemployment parallely. As the Agriculture and the Services sector are already saturated with work force, very few opportunities are available there. The vast proportion of educated unemployed should be shifted to the manufacture sector.

The youth should get skill development training. Already the incumbent Government has launched Skill- India campaign. Under this campaign various schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana, DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, Financial Assistance for Skill Training of PwD etc.

Through the Make in India campaign, our PM has welcome foreign investors to invest in India. It is not expensive for them because they can easily find cheap labour force. In Assam, Advantage Assam campaign fulfill he similar purpose. With schemes like Start up India, Stand up India, scope has been provided to young entrepreneurs. In order to finance them, MUDRA Bank was established.

The Demographic Dividend is also the backbone of our Defence mechanism. In the comming years, India need to channelise more and more youths to the defence services.

Way Ahead – India still need some effective planning to realise it’s Demographic Dividend. The focus in the states where the window of Demographic Dividend is closing soon should be to adopt.

[ 450 Words ]

 

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Can India reap the benefit of its demographic dividend – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 2)

 

Can India reap the benefit of its demographic dividend

By Mohammed Wahidul Islam

 

Introduction: India, the largest democracy in the world also houses the greatest demographic  dividend than any other country today. While other countries and its neighbours will be ageing, India shall continue to stride forward with its colossal demographic dividend which shall bear witness to India’s growth and prosperity. When the menace of surmounting rate of the old-age group continues to drag others, India on the other hand can boast of her vigour and virility which comes from its young work force and the its growing populace who have many springs to by-stand and bear witness to India’s magnification in various dimensions.

Issue at hand: “Will India have a gigantic populace of young hands, and surpass other nations in that respect”, however isn’t quite  the question. The question  is “What can India gain from its genetic pool of virile manpower?”  To answer the question, one must try to comprehend the country first hand, right from its corals to its snow-caps, its economic line-up, work cultures, regional practices et al.

Economic prowess being the criteria of success in the present state of affairs, a nation is known from its GDP, Currency Reserves, Trade footprint, Capital market etc. A huge manpower fuels all of them and India is blessed to have a demographic dividend amongst its populace. At this backdrop, rising unemployment, agricultural distress, lack of opportunities, poverty, health issues stares in the face. Despite her demographic dividend, such struggles keeps it from reaching its true potential, from doing what it is supposed to do and from delivering results. Then again the never ending political drama doesn’t allow representatives any respite to pay even a cursory glance towards much dramatic issues like this one. Also there are loopholes in administrative discipline in implementing different policies meant for providing respite and measures. Barring all such perils, there must be ways out to conclude them and give our ailing demographic dividend some air to breathe, to yield their ground.

Way forward: Being a magnanimous issue that it truly is, coming up with measures is a hard-hitting process. Below are some plausible points which are definitely achievable with firm hand :

1. Reconstructing agro-economic crisis—Since agriculture has taken a nosedive, its viability has lost ground amongst its patronisers. This outwards trend from agriculture to other options is lethal for an economy like ours. Although a lot has been done on its revival through a plethora of schemes and policies, still younger workforce are purging out from it. Its policy implementation be stressed upon
2. Combating Unemployment— Creating an attractive start-up ambiance with lenient angel-tax regulations, trouble-free loans, curbing red-tapism, so on and so forth shall not only engage a huge section of the demographic dividend for opting it, but shall also bring in immense capital inflows to fill our coffers. Win-win situation.
3. Inclusive development— more banking facilities in remote pockets, engaging rural youth in the run-up to economic growth, building not just ‘Smart Cities’ but ‘Smart Villages’ too, bringing industrial augmentation in villages amongst others could ensure that our marginalised manpower is covered.
4. Vocational Education and workplace counselling— Increased emphasis on theoretical knowledge has shown pragmatic aspect of education a backseat. The industrial appetite for efficient professionals can only be met from a blend of regular curriculum with vocational courses reinforced with industrial counselling.
5. Political Stability— democratic societies bloom in peaceful waters. Stability of government ensures that labour laws are up to standard, wages are uniform, etc.

Conclusion: India’s demographic dividend is a resource bestowed upon her that has the calibre to skyrocket it into the largest economy in a brief span. But friction creating forces must be dealt with. For that robust means must be employed to cater to the demand for an environment conducive to their growth. Thus it can be concluded in affirmative that certainly, India can reap the benefits of her demographic dividend without a shadow of doubt.

[ 650 Words ]

 

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Significance of social media in today’s life – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 1)

 

Significance of social media in today’s life

By Rekha Kalita

 

“Connectivity is a human right”-Mark Zuckerberg

Today it has become almost impossible to visualise a world without internet. Social media is a internet based technology that give platform to share ideas, thoughts and information by building virtual networks and communities. It has a broad canvas right from Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. It has brought a tremendous revolution in terms of connectivity. The information on any topic is just a click away. Infact, social media has changed the way people interact and carry on with their everyday life.

Social media has touched every aspects of human life and society. It reduced the geographical barriers and helped to form communities of like minded people from every corner of the world. It almost replaced the other modes of communication existed before. It helped to keep up with the global trends. Social media has emerged as a marker of social status with people increasingly sharing their personal information, pictures, videos etc.

” Social media has played a key role in democratizing our discourse”- Narendra Modi

Social media is being hugely used as a tool for political campaigning and advertising, for seeking support for political movement , for transparency and accountability of government etc. For example: social media had a big role in winning elections for Narendra Modi (2014), Barack Obama (2008), mobilizing support for Arab Spring (2010) etc.

” The great thing about social media was how it gave a voice to voiceless people” JonRanson

Social media helped in creating awareness about several social issues. For example fight for LGBTQ rights. #metoo Campaign on social media against sexual harassment and assault specially in work place shows how it give platform to raise voice against injustice and inequality. Social media is being used judiciously to start and expand online business by many people. Various companies use social media to recruit new employee ,  advertised their products etc.

In raising awareness about environment and Environment protection the role of social media cannot be neglected.

Social media today has emerged as a double edged sword. On one hand it has transformed the way we think, believe and act but on the other hand the dark side of the virtual world also dangerously mushroomed since its inception.

The privacy of users on social media is at great threat. Fake news are misleading people. Social media is used successfully by various terrorist groups to expand their network, recruit people, distribute their literature etc.

Social media addiction not only consume lots of productive time but also created the problem of social and anxiety like FOMO (fear of missing out). It is too easy to get jealous of others on social media

Increasing screen time. too much typing etc. also take a toll on physical health of the users. Social media has emerged as an avenue for Cyber crimes like cyber bullying , stalking identity theft, piracy etc.

Our life has become more convenient because of social media. However,  there is always advantages and disadvantages for a thing. We have to aware of how we use them. Our smart choice can make the world a better place to live.

[ 520 Words ]

 

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