Education System

15-Sep-2021: Food for Thought

Just watched the OTT serial “Kota Factory”. It’s based on a real life situation of tough competition for entry into prestigious educational institutes.

This stimulated my mind to think that these coaching institutes help the students to pre-learn certain fundamentals of technical institutes as well as screening non-serious candidates. Even candidates themselves realise that they aren’t made for certain situations. Not everyone is suitable for all situations. On the other hand we see a sizable number of school / college dropouts doing extremely well in all spheres of life. Fine, so far so good!

Now let’s just try to see this from a different prospective: Imagine a candidate, say Ashok is very studious and hardworking from a well to do family. He joins a reputed coaching institute and gets a seat in a reputed IIT. He finishes it with distinction and made himself eligible for an IIM. He clears that too in good grade. Now a job, sure he gets a highly paying overseas job for a global assignment.

Over a short period of time, he found no mental satisfaction, and on the other hand he discovered that he is good at writing and gets pleasure out of it. Slowly he developed his writing skills and became famous as a writer. Eventually, he quit his job, came back to India and pursued writing as a full time engagement.

What happened in the process- the technical training went waste, management training too went waste. Of course it helped in the mental & personal development of the individual. But the nation / society didn’t get any return on the educational expenses (scarce resources utilisation) it incurred for this candidate. Another candidate could have been trained in place of him, to serve the nation / society.

For this phenomenon, I have coined a word “CB Syndrome” after a famous fiction writer & columnist. If it stimulates your thinking process, let me know. Thanks!

Income Tax Portal

23-Aug-2021: Just Think it Over

Software Companies in Our Country

It is very sad and more painful to see to our world class software companies can’t manage and fix the Income Tax Portal even after over 11 weeks and over Rs. 185 Crore fees. Another company which provides software to SBI (the biggest public sector bank of our country) periodically calculates wrong interest. I don’t know much about software / programming / coding, but such a situation gives me sorrow, anguish, pain and frustration. Are we so incapable? The CEO of the company must be explaining this to the Finance Minister now as I write this. Best of Luck to us.

I have a suggestion however:

(1) Activate the older Portal for the general public & corporates with immediate effect and allow them to file ITR thru this old portal.

(2) Keep the new one open too, and allow fixing as soon as possible- give them a deadline say 30-Sep-2021.

(3) Stop further payments if any to the software developer till the portal is 99.9% flawless.

(4) Extend the last date of filing ITR to 30-Nov-2021.

These are nothing new and are common sense. But for people at high levels play such a lot of extraordinary sense, that they tend to forget the common sense.

Best Covid Appeal

12-May-2021

*Ugandan President’s address to his nation*. One of the best Covid speeches till now from anyone anywhere in this world.

Uganda President KAGUTA MUSEVENI warns against people misbehaving during this COVID-19 period, *"God has a lot of work, He has the whole world to look after. He cannot just be here in Uganda looking after idiots..."*.

Below is his reported statement.

"In a war situation, nobody asks anyone to stay indoors. *You stay indoors by choice.* In fact, if you have a basement, you hide there for as long as hostilities persist.

During a war, you *don't insist on your freedom*. You willingly give it up in exchange for survival.

During a war, you *don't complain of hunger.* You bear hunger and pray that you live to eat again

During a war, you *don't argue about opening your business*. You close your shop (if you have the time), and run for your life. You pray to outlive the war so that you can return to your business (that's if it has not been looted or destroyed by mortar fire).

During a war, you are *thankful to God for seeing another day in the land of the living*.

During a war, you *don't worry about your children not going to school.* You pray that the government does not forcefully enlist them as soldiers to be trained in the school premises now turned military depot.

*The world is currently in a state of war. A war without guns and bullets. A war without human soldiers. A war without borders. A war without cease-fire agreements. A war without a war room. A war without sacred zones.*

The army in this war is without mercy. It is without any milk of human kindness. It is indiscriminate - it has no respect for children, women, or places of worship. This army is not interested in spoils of war. It has no intention of regime change. It is not concerned about the rich mineral resources underneath the earth. It is not even interested in religious, ethnic or ideological hegemony. Its ambition has nothing to do with racial superiority. *It is an invisible, fleet footed, and ruthlessly effective army.*

Its only agenda is a harvest of death. It is only satiated after turning the world into one big death field. Its capacity to achieve its aim is not in doubt. Without ground, amphibious and aeriel machines, it has bases in almost every country of the world. Its movement is not governed by any war convention or protocol. In short, *it is a law unto itself. It is Corona virus. Also known as COVID-19* (because it announced its destructive presence and intention in the year of our Lord 2019)

Thankfully, this army has a weakness and it can be defeated. It only requires our collective action, discipline and forbearance. *COVID-19 cannot survive social and physical distancing.* It only thrives when you confront it. It loves to be confronted. It capitulates in the face of collective social and physical distancing. It bows before good personal hygiene. It is helpless when you take your destiny in your own hands by keeping them sanitized as often as possible.

*This is not a time to cry about bread and butter like spoilt children.* After all, the Holy book tells us that man shall not live by bread alone. *Let's obey and follow the instructions of the authorities.* Let's flatten the COVID-19 curve. Let's exercise patience. Let's be our brothers' keeper. *In no time, we shall regain our freedom, enterprise and socializing."*

In the midst of EMERGENCY, we practice urgency of service and the urgency of love for others. May God bless us all.

*The most intelligent public speech made during Covid-19.*

World Heritage Day

18-Apr-2021: World Heritage Day 2021:

Every year on April 18, World Heritage Day is celebrated by people across the globe. The day is observed to spread awareness about the preservation of human heritage. It came into being when UNESCO approved April 18 as World Heritage Day to make people aware of the dying cultures of nations. On this day people do different types of activities, including visiting monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables, etc. The UNESCO World Heritage convention released a list of 38 heritage sites in India, and India ranks sixth among the largest number of heritage sites worldwide. Here are the top 15 quotes on World Heritage Day to share with family and friends.

World Heritage Day 2022: Quotes

·         "A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic legacies – all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.” - Steve Berry

·         “A rich cultural heritage depends on the ability of people to maintain their distinctiveness and unique identities”.

·         "Culture is a way of thinking, a set of values, a belief system that influences our behaviour. It’s really a combination of things. It can come from our ethnic background, our religion and society as a whole." – Frank Olivas

·         “Love your monuments, they are part of a rich civilization and speak volumes about a bygone era”.

·         "Maintaining one’s culture, values and traditions is beyond price. "– Getano Lui, jnr

·         “Monuments and heritage sites are the rich essence of diversity and reflection of our culture”.

·         "Monuments are for the living, not the dead. Preserve them, love them and pass it on to generations to understand their importance."

·         "My culture is my identity and personality. It gives me spiritual, intellectual and emotional distinction from others, and I am proud of it" – M.F. Moonzajer

·         “Preserve cultural heritage, it defines the national identity of a country”.

·         "Sometimes it is impossible to know where you are headed without reflecting on where you came from. Understanding your heritage, your roots and your ancestry is an important part of carving out your future."

·         "There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultaion" –Ali Ibn Abu Talib

·         "There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here or there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities and the values they embody." – Richard Moe, National Trust for Historic Preservation

·         "Tourism carries tremendous potential that must be acknowledged as essential for the futures of world heritage. But without proper management, we can easily get out of control." – Bonnie Burnham

·         "What you abandon isn’t what is engraved in stone monuments, however what is woven into the lives of others. Monuments have lives woven into them."

·         “World heritage day aims to identify the beauty of monuments and preserves their identity from the roots”.