HIGHLIGHTED STARK INEQUALITIES AMID LOCKDOWN

The inequalities can be defined as the disparity among the social class, disparity of distribution or opportunities, and lack evenness throughout. It exists in every society or community but the disparity could contrast. In-country like India the neonates are distinguished with their religion and caste from an early age since this affects the intellectuality of that child. Now with this intellect, he/she starts living which in term creates disparity of religion. There are such many types of disparities, one of the main which is crunching in today’s time is the disparity between the destitute and wealthy pupil.

The Indian government has released the stimulus package of 20 Lakh crores freshly which are about ten percent of Indian GDP(Gross Domestic Product). The government states that this package will help to grow and start the stagnant economic activities.  These packages mainly include relief for the industries, MSMEs(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), traders, Power, and Water Boards. There will be the provision of loan facilities and no collateral required for Enterprises depending upon their total turnover and profitability. The package also includes some laudable provisions like providing free ration to the migrant workers for two months, special credit facility to street vendors, loan facility through NABARD to farmers, and many more similar reliefs. Altogether the provided provision in the stimulus package is very much soothing.

The package has put the people of India in a tizzy because the government stated that they had already spent about 9 lakh crore till now. The recent package of governments seems to be nonchalant as poor people are not availing much from it. As per the different reports from the eminent institutions the real package that will be spent by the government directly will account for only about two to three percent of the total GDP. The stimulus package also highlighted stark inequalities as most of the packages will provide relief to the high and middle-income people or to bigger industries but the people under economically weaker sections have totally despaired from it. There has been evidence from the past also that whenever there is pandemic or apocalypse then poor people suffer predominantly as compare to rich.

During the lockdown period, there has been the circulation of many pictures and videos which are very distressing and mournful. The poor are those who had to walk for the miles of a kilometer to return to their home, they are the ones who are now jobless, they are who will suffer for a long period. In contrast rich also got affected by pandemic but they are not comparable to each other because one is suffering at its peak while others at its nadir.

Altogether there have been a grant of many funds to poor people too but the amount never reaches them, there might be the direct benefit transfer system but it does not include crores of people as they have no Aadhar card and bank account with which they can avail the benefits. There has always been a great effort from every government but all are just rhetorical. The government should come on foot and should also focus on the weaker section people because they are the one who holds the country and helps in its functioning. Therefore, the government should work to affirm both the poor and rich people because creating inequalities in terms of providing support always results in debilitation.

COLLEGE/SCHOOL DEMANDING FOR FULL FEES

The pandemic has affected almost everyone and it has also lead to shut down of the schools/colleges. Thousands of lakhs students are studying from home via online classes or recorded classes. During the time of pandemic online classes have proven to be a boon for the students, teachers as well as colleges/schools. Some of the colleges/schools though taking the fees are not providing any sort of online or recorded classes for the students.

School/college fee includes the fee of tuition sports, library, examination, transportation, hostel, etc. But at this time student are only benefited from tuition so other fees which are for different facilities should at least be barred from their overall fees. Even some colleges/schools are taking the rent of hostel which is totally absurd. Where there should be a concession of such things, they are charging for it though students are not there. Even though the fees are already taken by some of the prominent schools/colleges but they have not paid to the teachers. If they are taking the fees then they should pay the fee to the teachers who are teaching at this pandemic situation also.

The demand for total fees by school/college is totally condemnable and it should be triggered and opposed by students. The family of students is also the ones who have been affected by the pandemic and their earnings had also got stuck. It is for sure that the new sessions will go online this whole year so it is obvious that extra facility fees should be cut off from the total fee as students are not using those facilities. The schools/colleges of this time have become business-oriented, they are demanding and pressurizing students to pay fees. Here, at least college/school should provide some time or installment methods to pay the fees that take fees at once for a year.  

“NECKLACE OF DIAMONDS”: A GIFT FROM INDIA TO CHINA

“Necklace of Diamonds” is a theoretical name given to the strategic locations of India in different countries to surround China. It is a similar strategy which is used by China to surround India in Indian ocean and theoretical name for Chinese one is “String of Pearls”. China has taken control over many ports around the Indian ocean at lease from different countries to counter India. So, similarly now India has also done the same but with larger aspects that is India has now surrounded the areas of China from all four sides.

China laid One Belt One Road Initiative and for the same “String of Pearls” is its part but bureaucrats see it as a strategic step by China to combat India in the future. They have developed many ports and military bases at different locations in the India ocean. For example Hambantota port at Sri-Lanka, Kyaukpyu port in Myanmar, Chittagong port in Bangladesh, the Gwadar port in Pakistan, Military base at Djibouti, Africa.  The area of Strait of Hormuz which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that finally leads to the Indian ocean is a strategic location. Middle-East countries are the petroleum oil supplying countries that lie in these regions and they transport it via the Indian ocean to different countries of the world. So, it is very strategic, if China gets control over these areas then during war or at any instance, China can trouble India by creating turmoil in these areas. If India gets cut-off from these region then the supply of petroleum oil will be disturbed, which can lead to a crisis in the country.

It is a nice step taken by India to tackle the strategy of China and it was done over a period of many years and many of the locations were built as soon as China built theirs. For example, Sittwe port in Myanmar, a port at Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Duqm port in Oman, Chabahar port in Iran. India has good diplomatic relations with countries like Madagascar, Maldives, and Bangladesh. In recent times, India has also landed in the South China Sea in the Philippines and Vietnam. Japan and Australia were always sharing good relations with India and Mongolia have also increased relations with India. Now, India is also requesting Sri-Lanka to let India built a port at Colombo which seems to be granted soon then India’s strategy will be fulfilled.

In my perspective, it is a good and applaudable step taken by India. Amidst taking such steps will not withhold China for a long time, there must be some more steps to be taken by India. India should increase its diplomatic relations with more South-Eastern countries. Moreover, India must always be proactive with its neighboring countries and increase more relations with countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN INDIA

Health is the state of being a physical, mental and emotional well being of an individual in which the diseases and ailments are absent. Health care comprises of hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, medical insurances etc. A country’s asset belongs to the well being of its citizens. There is a slogan “ Health is Wealth” meaning if a person is healthy he can work efficiently and productively which ultimately leads help for the development of a country.

In Indian constitution, the health sector comes under the state list and there are different articles related to it which are enlisted in the Indian constitution. The spending on the health sector by India is around 1.3% of the total GDP which is insignificant. There are insufficient hospital beds, 0.7 beds per 1000 population which is far below the global average of 2.6 and WHO’s the benchmark of 3.5. The health sector in India is shoddy due to the following reasons:

1.   An inadequate number of government hospitals.
2.   Staff Shortage in different hospitals.
3.   Dependent on private hospitals.
4.   Negligence of health sector development in rural areas.
5.   Lesser spending by government.
6.   Inadequate Health Insurance schemes.
7.   Inadequate information systems for different health schemes.
8.   Dependent on allopathy medicines.
9.   Out of pocket spent by a person in health is high.
10.   Lack of proper regulations.

The government of India should utilize the GDP amount in health and education more as it is also well stated by the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver”. There has been an improvement in the health sectors in recent years without any questions but there is still a long path that is left to be travelled. The followings can be used as a suggestion for the improvement of the health sector:

1.  Government and state should work on health sector bilaterally and in a speedy manner.
2.  “Make in India” initiative’s help can be taken for the development of health equipment and other auxiliary accoutrements.
3.  The universal health scheme should be implemented as soon as possible.
4.  Establishment of more and more primary and advance health care centres in villages.
5.  Implementation of regulation and restriction on private hospitals.
6.  Proper inspection of government hospitals with efficient attendance system.

COMPULSORY LICENSING OF PATENTS

A patent gives its owner the right to exclude others for making, using, selling, and importing an invention for a time period of 20 years. The patent rights in most of the countries come under the civil law and procedure of granting patent vary from country to country according to national laws and international agreements. In India, the patent law was perfectly implemented after the Patent Act of 1970 which came into force from 1972.

The compulsory licensing of the patent is power when a government allows some third party to manufacture the patented work without the consent of the patentee. In the Doha Declaration of 2001 the changes were made and new clause was added which is TRIPS(Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) vs Public Health under 3(d) section of Intellectual Rights which grants compulsory licensing during the emergency and epidemics.

There are some conditions for Compulsory licensing and can be provided by any government only when the price is unaffordable within the country or when the reasonable requirement of a patented product is not meet to the public demand or when the patent is not working in a particular territory. In India the first time compulsory licensing was provided to Pharma Company named Nexavor in the year 2012. Since 2012  India always uses the compulsory licensing of patents whenever there is a requirement.

In context of India the compulsory licensing of the patent has given immunity and provided many opportunities to India to grow in the Pharma World and at present, we almost send the generic medicine to all countries. This compulsory licensing of Patent by India is supported by many countries where some oppose it too. In present India has been sending many medicines like Hydro-Choloroquin to different countries like the USA, Maldives, Bangladesh, etc. At glance, it is boon for a country like ours so it should be used wisely and carefully.

ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT ABHIYAN

ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT ABHIYAN is a programme initiated by the Government of India. The programme sets one’s sights on the local product as opposed to the foreign product as far as possible. This programme was initiated on  12 May 2020 while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing to the people of India, he quoted it as “VOCAL FOR LOCAL” which means use and support the local products that are manufactured within India and are Indian brands.

The ongoing pandemic has stopped almost all the trade between different countries and moreover has provided the opportunity to every country to get dependent on their own. Seeing that the USA’s dependence on essential medicines and medical equipment in another country has made the situation vulnerable. USA has the second-highest GDP in the world but their dependency on other countries for different products and equipment has made them incapable. So, the Indian government took this initiative to tackle the same.

Indian market is flooded with the Chinese and many other countries product and equipment in plethora.   The decision of ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT ABHIYAN is plausible and it is the right time to act on it as there are no trades going among any countries so the rule of WTO (World Trade Centre)  curtailing the trade from other countries is also avoided at this time.

“In the middle of the difficulty lies opportunity.” By this initiative, India will make the proper use of the pandemic situation and will now focus on “Made in India” products and furthermore it will not only help to boost the economy but will also provide the employment opportunities. There has also been the release of some packages to revive the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) the sector which will help to grow the manufacturing in India.

Y2K BUG: MISHAP BY TECHNOLOGY

Y2K bug, also known as the year 2000 bug or Millennium bug, it was a problem in the coding of the computerized systems that would have been befallen in the Year 2000 AD. The bug was about to bring mayhem in the world as soon as the Year 2000 would start because the computer systems were not programmed  as per the starting in the Year 2000.

The date on computerized systems before 2000 AD was recorded differently, for example, 28, May 1920 was recorded as 28-05-20, on the last two digits of Year, was used. So, if the Year 2000 begun then the systems would have reached in the perplexing situation as it would not be able to differentiate between the Year 2000 and 1900. In the world transportation, industries, banking companies, and all the technology which were computerized would have lost the data and face the problem. For example, if a bank has given the loan to a person in the year 1960 and the loanee had paid all the loans by the end of the year 1996 but as soon as the year 2000 will begin the system will be corrupted and it would show that the loans are still pending and the interest paid would be for 136 years. Similarly, the same situation would have occurred with the Nuclear Power Plants and many other computerized systems as they are recorded with date and time, so if it gets sudden changes than the chance of occurring failure predominate in the system which can cause greater destruction.

The havoc was eschewed after the report came from the journal “COMPUTER WORLD” which stated about it, after which all countries started working together to tackle it. The Indian Software Engineers played a significant role during this problem and it was after this India got recognition for the IT hub.