Centre to hike fellowships for research scholars

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced the highest-ever hike in fellowships for research scholars across the country. The hike, which will be effective October 1, will make fellowship amounts go up by at least 50%. More than 70,000 scholars will benefit from this hike.

According to the new guidelines, the junior research fellowship has been increased from 16,000 to 25,000. The senior research fellowship has increased from 18,000 to 28,000, research associate-1 from 22,000 to 36,000, research associate-2 from 23,000 to 38,000 and research associate-3 from 24,000 to 40,000.

Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna Dr CN R Rao said, “I am delighted. I congratulate the minister for this.”

An open letter to authorities by the Research Scholars’ Forum of India had said that the stipend for research students in India was very low compared to other countries at the forefront in science and technology.

Over the past few months, nearly 20000 research scholars from across the country had staged silent demonstrations.

Source::: Hindustan Times, (Mumbai Edition), 22.10.2014, p.10,   http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

‘Education is the best way to overcome social barriers’

Professor Abdul Shaban of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was a member of the chief minister’s study group which went into the backwardness of Muslims in Maharashtra. Speaking to dna’s Dhaval Kulkarni, Shaban stresses the need to “look at the grievances (of the Muslims) and take pro-active steps to bring the community to the larger fold of society”. Excerpts:

What are the reasons for backwardness among Muslims? Internal and external. Lack of education, opportunity and infrastructure are internal reasons, while external ones include counting them as aliens when there is a problem. The community has to understand that education is perhaps the best way to overcome social and developmental barriers. I am happy that there has been some realisation on this front in the last 10 years. Work participation rate in women is very low. However, the low participation rate in women can also be seen in developed states like Punjab and in the Rajput community. Lack of education among Muslim women and dominance of Muslim men in jobs like mechanical work and carpentry ensure that women can’t work in urban areas. The middle- and upper-class Muslims, who form around 15% of the community’s population, search for jobs like teaching and medicine for women. The report spells out the need for reforms in antiquated personal laws. Many reformers have objected to triple talaq and nikah halala. When a community feels threatened at a psychological level, it closets itself. So, issues like the status of women and caste get marginalised. There is now a need to take up issues related to women and reforms (in personal laws). (Regarding triple talaq) many are searching for solutions within and outside the sharia. It takes a larger consciousness level to accept suggestions for solutions outside the sharia. Many things needed by the community are present in the Sharia. (Triple and arbitrary talaq) was not the tradition of the Prophet and was adopted later on. There must be a debate and the community must adopt the best laws as per the need of the hour. Coming to Islam, women have traditionally more rights than others. Other religions have seen reforms like the right to property for Hindu women. However, only 1- 2% Muslims have granted property rights to women. What about the demand for a uniform civil code (UCC)? This is like asking a premature baby what it needs to have. There is a difference between a criminal procedure code and laws related to personal life, inheritance and marriage. Society is heterogeneous and many groups are embedded in cultural issues. (On the UCC) we have perhaps not evolved to a level where we can sort and keep the best. The fear in the community is this will be used to impose western (values) or (values) from the dominant group’s religion. Let’s work hard and if all groups and people develop, this question will be irrelevant. If you want to bring it, do it only for disputes. More than the UCC, the pressing issue is security of people. Why doesn’t the dominant community demand an anti-riot act? The government granted reservations for Muslims. What more should be done? There are many softer issues, particularly housing. People will not be able to come out of their problems if they are ghettoised. Mixed housing should be created based on a system of FSI, tax sops and benefits for developers and a cultural diversity index should be implemented.

Source::: DNA, 17.10.2014, p.07, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=71951&boxid=34967&ed_date=2014-10-17&ed_code=820009&ed_page=9

India hungrier than Lanka, Nepal





55th On Hunger Index, Status Still `Serious'

India has made some progress in reducing poverty level, but still ranks behind neighbouring Nepal and Sri Lanka on the Global Hunger Index and its hunger status remains classified as “serious“.India was at 63rd position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) last year. The 55th position in 2014 is better than Pakistan (ranked 57) and Bangladesh (57), but trails Nepal (44) and Sri Lanka (39).
“Progress in dealing with underweight helped India’s 2014 GHI score fall to 17.8 points,” the GHI report said.
The International Food Policy Research Institute and NGOs Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide have jointly prepared the report.While India is no longer in the “alarming“ category , its hunger status is still classified as “serious“. India has made progress in reducing underweight among children under five in the past few years, but “much work still needs to be done“ so that a greater share of the population will enjoy nutrition security , it said.
This year marks the end of a “data drought“, the report said, adding India has determined its first new provisional national underweight estimate in eight years. At 30.7%, it points to real progress compared with the last estimate of 43.5% in 2005-2006, it said. “As a consequence, India no longer ranks second to last on underweight in children, but 120th among 128 countries with data on child under-nutrition from 2009­2013,“ it added. Highlighting the efforts made to address underweights, it said since the last under-nutrition data became available, India had rolled out and expanded several programmes targeting a mix of direct and indirect causes of under-nutrition.
Nutrition-specific interventions that were scaled up after 2006 include a final push to expand the integrated child development services and the launch of the rural health mission.

Source:::: The Times of India, 14.10.2014, p.12, 

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=India-hungrier-than-Lanka-Nepal-14102014012021