Friday, August 17, 2018

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a highly respected politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of India. This biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Quick Facts


Birthday: December 25, 1924


Nationality: Indian


Famous: Quotes By Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Ministers


Sun Sign: Capricorn


Died At Age: 93


Born in: Gwalior


Famous as: Former Prime Minister of India


Height: 1.68 m


political ideology: Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–present)


father: Krishna Bihari Vajpayee


mother: Krishna Devi


siblings: Prem


religion: Hinduism


Died on: August 16, 2018


place of death: New Delhi


Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a highly respected veteran politician who had served as the Prime Minister of India in three non-consecutive terms. He was a member of the Indian Parliament for almost five decades; in fact he was the only parliamentarian who had been elected from four different states at different times, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. He made his foray into politics during the pre-independence era when he took part in the Quit India Movement which led to his arrest and imprisonment. A true patriot, he was one of the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, an Indian nationalist party. A multi-faceted personality, he was a very skilled poet with several published poems. Also well known is his love for his native language Hindi—he was the first person to deliver a speech in Hindi at the U.N. General assembly. He was very famous for his oratory skills and held several prestigious positions in Indian politics before being elected the Prime minister. His first stint as the Prime Minister of India lasted for just 13 days. He was again sworn in for the second time after a couple of years. This time too, his government lasted for just over a year. His third stint as the Prime Minister was his most successful one and he served a full term of five years in this position


Childhood & Early Life










  • Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born into a middle-class family in Gwalior. His father was Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, a school teacher and poet, and his mother was Krishna Devi.







  • He attended the Saraswati Shishu Mandir and later went to Victoria College from where he graduated with distinction in Hindi, English and Sanskrit.







  • He enrolled at DAV College, Kanpur to complete his post graduation and earned his M.A. in Political science.







  • He was a patriot at heart and participated in India’s struggle for freedom even as a student and edited several nationalist Hindi newspapers.














Political Career








  • He became associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a right-wing political party founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951. He became a loyal follower of Mookerjee and supported him during his fast-unto-death in Kashmir in 1954.







  • Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Balrampur (U.P.) in 1957. He proved himself to be an excellent orator and gave powerful speeches.







  • He was made the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 after the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya. Over the next few years he worked tirelessly with Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and Lal Krishna Advani to make the Jana Sangh a prominent presence in Indian politics.







  • In 1977, the BJS was united with the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Socialist Party to form the Janata Party. After the victory of the Janata Party in the general elections, Vajpayee became the Minister of External Affairs in Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government.







  • The Janata Party was dissolved following Morarji Desai’s resignation as Prime Minister in 1979. Vajpayee, in collaboration with Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980 and became the party’s first president.







  • After the 1984 elections, when BJP was reduced to two seats, Vajpayee worked tirelessly to build the party and in the next parliamentary elections in 1989 BJP won 88 seats.







  • By 1991, BJP had emerged as the principal opposition party and the party won 120 seats in 1991 parliamentary elections.













  • He became the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in 1993 and in November 1995 at a BJP conference in Mumbai, he was declared as the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP.













Career as the Prime Minister








  • The BJP emerged the single largest party in Lok Sabha in the 1996 general elections. Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister in May 1996. However, he resigned after 13 days since BJP could not obtain a majority.







  • He was again sworn in as the Prime Minister in 1998 after BJP emerged as the single largest party and formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with other political parties. This government lasted for a little over a year when fresh elections were held.







  • It was during his tenure that India conducted underground nuclear tests in Pokhran in May 1998, just a month after the government came into power. These tests were regarded a national milestone.







  • The Kargil War between India and Pakistan took place between May and July 1999. By the end of the war, the Indian Army and Air force had recaptured the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani militants. The Kargil victory cemented the reputation of Vajpayee as a strong and able leader of the nation.







  • The BJP-led NDA again emerged as the largest political alliance in the 1999 general elections in the wake of the Kargil War victory. Vajpayee was made the Prime Minister for the third time in October 1999.











  • He introduced many economic and infrastructural reforms like strengthening of private sectors, encouraging private research and development, bringing about privatization of certain government owned corporations, etc. His major projects were National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.







  • U.S. President Bill Clinton paid a state visit to India in March 2000. Clinton’s visit to India was viewed as very significant in improving the foreign trade and economic relations between the two nations.







  • Vajpayee’s privatization campaigns were criticized by trade unions and government employees as excessive privatization was not in their favour.







  • In 2001, he invited the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to India with a view to improve Indo-Pak relations. However, this attempt could not achieve much success for India.







  • He launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001, with the aim of universalization of elementary education.







  • The Parliament House in New Delhi was attacked in December 2001 by Pakistan trained terrorists. Investigations pointed to a conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. For a long time the threat of a full-fledged war between the two nations loomed. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) was enacted in the aftermath of the attack.







  • The Vajpayee government implemented several economic reforms during 2002-03 which resulted in a record growth rate of 6-7% in the GDP. The international image of India also improving due to the rapid developments that took place in the country during this perios.











  • Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister in 2004 after Congress emerged as the single largest party in the general elections.







  • He announced his retirement from active politics in 2005 and didn’t contest the 2009 parliamentary elections.








Major Works








  • Nuclear tests conducted in 1998 during his reign unambiguously established India as a nuclear state and the country was able to develop a minimum credible deterrent to ward off threats to its security.







  • The National Highways Develop Project (NHDP) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) were two projects that were very close to his heart. NHDP involves connecting the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. PMGSY is a nationwide plan to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.







  • He is highly respected for the economic reforms and privatization policies he brought about during his tenure as the Prime Minister of India. His diplomacy and leadership while handling political issues during the Kargil War and terrorist attacks further strengthened his image as a wise and capable leader of India.













Awards & Achievements








  • He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India in 1992 for his distinguished contribution in public affairs.









  • He was honored with Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994.







  • In 2014, he was honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.










Personal Life & Legacy






  • Vajpayee remained a bachelor all his life. He had adopted Namita Bhattacharya, the daughter of BN Kaul and Rajkumari Kaul, and was very close to his friends and relatives.







  • He had a deep love for Hindi and wrote several poems in the language.







  • He had a long history of illness. He underwent knee replacement surgery in 2001. A stroke in the year 2009 impaired his speech. In the last few years of his life, he was largely confined to a wheelchair and failed to recognise people. He suffered from dementia and diabetes. He had not attended any public event in the last few years of his life.







  • On June 11, 2018, he was admitted to hospital due to critical health condition. He passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, after a prolonged illness.










Trivia






  • Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called him the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics.









  • Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh and Mohd. Rafi were his favourite singers.







  • This towering political personality was the only parliamentarian to have been elected from four different states at different times namely UP, MP, Gujarat and Delhi.







 

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Story-Elephant and the tailor




One evening the tailor was in a mischievous mood. When the elephant greeted him and stretched its trunk to collect the banana, he playfully pricked the elephant with a needle.

Click Here and Read The Story

Urbanisation and its Hazards

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Introduction

Increase in the volume of total population in urban areas is called Urbanization. Rising population in urban areas creates rise in the demand of basic amenities such as food, health, transport and shelter in such areas. This contributes to the development of land for housing, economic support institutions, commercialization, transport and so on.

Problems Due to Urbanization

Given below are the problems that we face due to Urbanization:

  • Overcrowding


Overcrowding means over population in the urban areas due to migration. Cities where the population is rising every single day are getting overcrowded. This is the current situation in all the big cities in India. Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi are some of the examples of overcrowded cities.

  • Housing


When the population increases, the demand for housing also increases. The factors that are mainly responsible for the lack of housing facilities are lack of financial resources, poverty and unemployment.

  • Unemployment


The chief cause of unemployment is over population in the urban areas due to migration of people from rural locations to these areas. The growth in economic opportunities fails to keep pace with growth in urban population.

  • Slum Areas


The unplanned growth in the urban areas is growing the spread of slums. Rise in slum settlements in India is a striking feature. Urbanization, poverty and overpopulation, has increased the growth of slums as high rate of land and property in urban areas is beyond the reach of rural migrants and urban poor.

  • Transport


Large use of vehicles for transport has increased traffic congestion making the movement slow and difficult.

  • Urban Crime


With the rise in urban population there is rise in poverty and unemployment. Due to poverty there is rise in crimes like theft, pick pocketing, cheating and murders.

  • Air Pollution


Urbanization is a major cause of air pollution and global warming. Industries release greenhouse gases causing rise in the temperature of the earth and creating air pollution. Larger use of vehicles release gases by fuel combustion. Large amount of garbage from the landfills is burnt causing air pollution.

  • Water


Water is the most important element of nature to sustain life. Due to overcrowding in the cities the supply of water is falling short compared to the demand.

  • Trash Disposal


As the number of citizens grow in urban areas the problem of trash disposal rises. The large quantity of garbage in the cities increases severe health issues. In most of the areas in cities there is no garbage disposal facility. When the landfills get full innumerable poisons leak around its surroundings, inviting diseases, like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc. Air travel also carries bacteria from one person to another spreading disease even more.

Ways to Keep Urbanization in Check

Here are some ways to keep Urbanization in check:

  • Employment


The chief reason of Urbanization is the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment opportunities. Developing agricultural and rural industries will provide employment opportunities in rural areas.

  • Infrastructural Development in Rural Areas


Construction of roads, buildings, hospitals, parks, educational centres, etc. is vital for rural development. This will help rural people get better education and health care locally and also provide more job opportunities. Government should develop transport networks and related infrastructure.

  • Overall Development


Industrial and private sector development in rural areas is necessary. The focus of government should be nationwide Urbanization. Planning and investment in Urbanization of rural areas is essential.

  • Population Control


Over population is also a chief cause for Urbanization. Educating people about family planning and creating awareness among the rural communities is crucial.

  • Global Warming


One of the major problems of Urbanization rapidly rising is global warming. Use of renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, hydropower should be encouraged. Investments in energy efficient industries and technologies will lead to clean economy. Reforestation instead of deforestation should be promoted.

Conclusion

Urbanization is on a rapid increase in our country. While it is good that our country is progressing and that more and more people want to lead a modern life, get better education and good employment opportunities, Urbanization can have negative repercussions as well. It is thus essential to control Urbanization.

Short Essay on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

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The term FDI is an abbreviation for “Foreign Direct Investment” and refers to the direct investment that any foreign company makes in another country, by the act of buying that company or by expanding some existing business in the country.

The ways of making foreign investment include, setting up an associate of the company in the foreign country, acquiring shares of the company or via a merger etc. Unlike, the indirect investments where the institutions abroad invest in the equities listed on a nation’s stock exchange, direct investment allows entities a higher degree of control over the company wherein it invests. A larger amount of FDI is a characteristic of an open economy which has good prospects of growth.

From the view point of the accounts of a country, FDI also refers to the net incoming investment (incoming-outgoing investment) in acquisition of minimum management interest of 10% or more of voting stock in the economy where the investment is being done.

Every country has its own set of FDI rules that decide the way he foreign country can conduct business. A foreign company interested in investing in an Indian company can take two routes-automatic and government route. In case of automatics route, no prior approval from Government of India or RBI is required to invest in sectors/ activities that are defined in consolidated FDI policy. Activities, other than those covered in FDI policy require government approval which involves decision by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Department of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Finance.

The key benefit of FDI is the foreign capital and funds that it brings to the country where the investment is made. Besides, it enables the exchange of skill sets, information and expertise, job opportunities and also leads to an increase in the productivity levels. Many Asian progressive economies like China, South Korea have experienced booms in their economies due to higher proportion of foreign direct investment in their economies. From economic perspective, the FDI can be defined as the measure of foreign ownership of domestic productive assets including factories, organizations, land etc.

With internet having changed the rules of businesses across the world, FDI no longer demands huge capital and physical investment. Advent of small internet start-ups which require lesser investment and economies becoming knowledge oriented that lay emphasis on human capital instead of manual labor has altered the FDI operations largely. FDI has already captured the advanced economies of the developed nations like U.S. and is currently moving towards the developing nations where the FDI flows are growing better.

FDI is being looked upon as a way to internationalize and have global presence for many industries and companies. This also provides an excellent tool to the government to check the local production and also trade to be carried on freely without any barriers. With FDI coming, setting up of locally based sales offices ensures that companies are able to approach the customer directly

All about bitcoins

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“Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative.”

How do people use bitcoins?



It is an electronic or digital currency that works on a peer-to-peer basis. This means that it is decentralised and has no central authority controlling it. Like currency notes, it can be sent from one person to another, but without a central bank or the government attempting to track it. The system depends on cryptography to control the creation of the currency. While no one authority controls the generation of the coins or tracks them, the system itself is designed in such a way that the network maintains a foolproof system of the record of every transaction as well as tracking issuance of the currency.

The beauty of this cryptocurrency is that if you receive a bitcoin from another, you can be as sure of the payment as you would on receiving physical currency notes, with the same anonymity ascribed to it. No one need know if your neighbour spent 2 bitcoins this morning to buy gold, but the transaction is recorded for posterity.

This anonymity is lacking in other forms of digital payment such as online banking or e-wallets.

Who can you send bitcoins to?



You can send bitcoins digitally to anyone who has a bitcoin address anywhere in the globe. One person could have multiple addresses for different purposes – personal, business and the like.

Receivers can get to spend them within minutes of receiving the coins. Once given away, like currency, there is no getting them back, unless the receiver decides to give them to you. A bitcoin is not printed currency but is a non-repudiable record of every transaction that it has been through. All this is part of a huge ledger called the blockchain.

Where do you get bitcoins?



Bitcoins are available in bitcoin exchanges. You could also purchase bitcoins from other users. A bitcoin exchange traded fund could be another source in the near future. You can become a bitcoin miner by investing in software and hardware. More the power of the hardware that helps with encryption technology, higher the probability of your earning bitcoins.

Unocoin is a Bengaluru-based company that allows users to buy, sell, store or use bitcoins. While bitcoin usage is certainly not mainstream, there are said to be more than 500 merchants who accept bitcoins for payment in India.

How is a new bitcoin generated?



A bitcoin is generated when an entity, i.e. a person or a business, uses software power to solve a mathematical puzzle that makes the blockchain more secure. The difficulty level of solving the problem is high enough to ensure that it takes time to do it.

Beware of tall promises


Even if you become a bitcoin miner, there is no guarantee that you would be able to mine a certain number of bitcoins. Any scheme related to bitcoins promising a fixed return is likely a tall promise best avoided.

Can you own 50 million bitcoins in, say, 2 years from now?



Unlike currency notes that can be printed by a central bank for an unlimited value, there are only so many bitcoins that can be produced. The blockchain system is designed such that at its maximum only 21 million bitcoins can be produced and in circulation. The number cannot exceed this cap. As of February, about 15.2 million bitcoins have been mined (or produced). That is about 75% of the total cap already in circulation.

Current estimates are that the last bitcoin that will ever be mined will come into existence in 2040.

What is the value of one bitcoin today?



One bitcoin is worth roughly about $1,200 now. An early investor in Snapchat has been quoted on the Web as saying that by 2030, the value could be as high as $500,000. One of the reasons that could prompt you to buy a bitcoin today is not so much to use it for payment online but as an investment.

Urban legend has it that someone who was doing a thesis on cryptocurrency bought 5,000 bitcoins for $27 in 2009. Do the math for the value today!

And unlike traditional currency that is inflationary in nature, the bitcoin is a deflationary currency. In other words, if there are only so many bitcoins in use, and the demand for those rises, the value of a bitcoin would, logically, rise.

How does the payment system work?



When you send a bitcoin to a receiver, the transaction is included in the blockchain and broadcast to the network. The blockchain ensures that the same bitcoin is not spent twice by the same user. A computer network validates the transaction using algorithms so that the transaction becomes unalterable. Once validated, the transaction is added to others to create a block of data for the ledger.

Positives and negatives of cryptocurrency

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Cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital currency transferred directly between users and a public ledger confirms all transactions. The digital payment system used for the transaction employ cryptographic algorithm and functions to ensure anonymity of the users, security of the transactions, and integrity of the payment systems. Instead of trust, the principle of the authenticity of transactions is cryptographic proof. Though seen as a disruption for traditional banking and financial institutions, it has gained significant traction over the last decade. Bitcoin, created in 2009, was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, several companies have created numerous cryptocurrencies. At present, 969 cryptocurrencies exist across the globe, with a total market capitalization of 116 billion USD. While still not understood by most people, the governments and banks have become aware of its pros and cons.

Essay-on-cryptocurrency

Positives of cryptocurrency:


Cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity because of following reasons.

Cost-effective

The transaction cost is low, approximately 1% of the transaction amount. In addition, cryptocurrency eliminates the third-party clearinghouses, thus, cut down the cost and time delay. All the transaction over cryptocurrency platforms, whether domestic or international, are equal. Also, they constitute single valuation across the globe.

An alternative to fiat currency

Governments have strict regulation over the banking systems, monetary and fiscal policies, national currencies, and international money transfers. In contrast to this, cryptocurrencies offer the users a reliable means of money exchange outside the direct control of national or private banking systems.

Privacy and account protection

Governments have the authority to seize a bank account following a fraud or a suspicious activity. But it isn’t possible while using cryptocurrency transaction system, as it conceals the identity, information, and details of the parties to the transaction. Thus, cryptocurrency provides immunity to a citizen against freezing or seizing a bank account.

Low restrictions

To open an account for international usage, a bank validates the address, income, and identification of a person. Also, different banks can have different criteria for providing same facilities. But cryptocurrency users don’t require any disclosure or proof of income, address, or an identity. In addition, one can join it for free. This way, cryptocurrency lowers numerous barriers, that a person encounters in a traditional banking system.

Accessible and secure

An individual can send and receive a cryptocurrency from any part of the world irrespective of traditional barriers such as national borders and banking regulations. In addition, no individual can manipulate it because it is cryptographically secure and doesn’t contain users’ personal information.

Negatives of cryptocurrency:


Consequences of cryptocurrency usage have arisen the tension among various governments and regulators.

Web crimes

The companies, which backs cryptocurrency encounters a common problem of hacking. Recently, one such company, Tether, lost bitcoins worth millions of US dollars. These instances show that cryptocurrency lacks security factors compared to fiat money.

Online black market

Drug trade of dark markets, nowadays, uses cryptocurrency for illegal supplies. The United States consider bitcoins as virtual assets. In such countries, the law enforcement agencies find it difficult to put a stop to the online drug trade or utilization of bitcoins earned from these trades. Improper regulation of cryptocurrency enhances online illegal trade.

Economy instability

Cryptocurrencies exchange takes place over the Internet and hence, is outside the government financial institutions. Due to this, they have the unique potential of challenging the existing system of currency and payments.

Inexperience

Economies across the world have been using fiat currency for ages. Today, every nation knows about the causes of slowdown, recession, stagnation, stagflation, and growth. Because, in past, one or more nation has experienced it and they can predict the capability of an economy according to the current situation. But, cryptocurrencies are still wrangling at the experimental stage. Such inexperience induces difficulty for the government to make provisions for cryptocurrency regulation.

Low usage

The lack of awareness among common people has resulted in the limited number of transactions using cryptocurrency. Owing to its unpredictable valuation, a small number of businesses use them. At the same time, where people easily adapt the physical form of money, the acceptance of cryptocurrency among masses is a major problem.

Many western countries treat cryptocurrency as property and impose capital gains tax on it.  In addition, governments should encourage the development of supervision ecosystem that assists in tracking illegal activities. To banish the limitations of cryptocurrency, one realistic approach is using it along with fiat money. The fiat currency can make use in paying for basic goods and services, where cryptocurrency can find the use for business purposes. And the further success of the cryptocurrencies depends upon the devised regulatory frameworks.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan Essay

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Introduction

Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is an initiative program run by the Indian government to equally serve the differently-able people of the country. This program is launched to make disabled-friendly buildings and other public places. It was launched on 3rd December in 2015 in New Delhi. This program is dedicated to the disabled community, that’s why it was launched especially on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Targets of this Campaign

This campaign targets to provide easy access for disabled people in the public places. As per the census of 2011, around 21 M Indians (2.21% of total population) are suffering from disability. Approximately fifty percent of the government buildings and twenty five percent of the government public transport vehicles are targeted to make them disabled friendly all over India till the end of 2016 or mid of 2017. Further developments with bigger targets regarding this programme will be continued in the following years. By 2018, almost overall environment will become more comprehensive for the people with disabilities. It has been estimated that by July 2016, international airports and railway stations in the country (coming under A1, A and B categories) will be completely ready for the use of disabled. It will offer them equal opportunities like other normal public.

There is plan to develop online websites and mobile apps, so that common public can upload their views regarding accessibility of any government building. Visually impaired disabled people will have access to special set-top boxes which will make their TV watching more convenient and easy. It has also been planned by next 5 years to train almost 200 disabled persons to speak in sign languages (a system of communication which uses visual gestures and signs to teach deaf people) through the government channels on TV. It targets private companies also to fulfill the ‘accessibility index’ standard for the differently-abled.

Conclusion

Private companies from different sectors (like textiles, manufacturing, etc) will be rated (one to ten) according to their investment in providing training and quality of facilities to differently able employees for their career growth. It is a big step taken by the government to bring disabled people also to the industry which has dual benefits like career growth of disabled and economic growth of country.

 
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