Digital Penetration

Telecommunication revolution since late 90’s has opened a vast vista of digital expansion in Indian society eg online education, e commerce, video conferencing, social networking, e-governance.

However rather than being a bridge between India and Bharat the digital divide had further accentuated the traditional inequalities of class caste and gender

Reason:

1. Low digital penetration in rural area: cost, infrastructure

2. Low literacy and even poorer digital literacy

3. Abject poverty: where one third below poverty line food is prime necessity

4. Fragmented and haphazard government policy so far

5. Government alone stakeholder: given magnitude of task private and Ngo participation is must

6. Linguistic barrier: not much content in local language

7. Older generation not tech savvy

8. Outdated school curriculum and lack infrastructure and fund

9. Absence of large scale media campaign to drive home point the benefits of technology

Indian growth story has bypassed majority of population who are not part of present knowledge society. The Government need to expeditious implementation of NOFN project improving digital literacy (Digital India mission). Update curriculum in government school. Involve more stakeholders like Ngo and Private sector. CSR funding towards digital literacy mission. Expedite content development in local language. Frugal innovation to reduce cost of hardware. Solar powered cells to overcome energy crisis in far off places. Special attention to vulnerable groups linguistic minorities, women , old , Sc and ST.

Ensure that Digital mission is not an end in itself rather it empowers people, change their life, deepen democratic
participation, and project India as true knowledge society.

दिल्ली 2

प्यार किस्सों की तरह नहीं होता न... या शायद होता है. न मिलने में  जो मज़ा है शायद मिलने में नहीं... 

DPP

Indian industry has given a mixed response to the new guidelines approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) as part of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016. While some in the industry welcomed the greater role for the private sector and the focus on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), some major industry players seemed disappointed with the guidelines.

The DAC, headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, on Monday approved some key changesto the Defence Procurement Procedure while deferring decisions on other issues such as strategic partnerships and procedures for blacklisting companies.

“Overall, the sense one gets from the announcement is that the government intended to push forward ‘Make in India’. However, one has to see the fine print. We will have to wait for the DPP to come out,” said Amit Cowshish, former Financial Advisor (Acquisition) in the Defence Ministry and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.

Anurag Garg, director of PwC’s strategy and defence vertical, said that the new DPP was significantly better off than the last DPP, given the positive shifts meant to ensure movement at a good pace by putting timelines of 24 months between the prototype developed and the Request For Proposal (RFP) stage.

‘Protracted processes’

However, the CEO of one of the largest private industrial groups of the country launched a scathing attack on the policy, stating that the DPP seemed to be the product of “babus and some retired babus,” and there was very little reflection of the problems faced by the industry. A senior executive of another Indian company concurred with it, stating, “The problem is not of new procedures. It is about processes. They are too protracted.”

On the other hand, there was a positive response to the proposed new category of Indigenous Design Development Manufacturing (IDDM) and government funding for design and development. “We welcome the IDDM category in the DPP as it will back companies like us who have proven competencies in indigenous design, development and manufacturing,” said Puneet Kaura, MD and CEO, Samtel Avionics.

The new guidelines have put a major focus on the MSME sector to stimulate domestic innovation. The DPP talks about creating a new category for MSMEs as well as funding of up to Rs.10 crore for design and development.

G.Raj Narayan, Founder and MD, Radel Group, said the funding mechanism proposed for the MSMEs and the ranking system were excellent moves.

MUDRA YOJANA

This refers to ‘Of Rs 71,000 crore in Mudra loans, government credit Rs 2,000 crore’ (The Indian Express, January 12, http://iexp.in /Qqt218688). The report by Sunny Verma tried to paint Mudra as being only a “rebranding” exercise and portrayed the government’s contribution as just Rs 2,000 crore out of the Rs 71,000 crore that has been lent under the programme. Mudra is a redesign of policy in order to re-target the audience, restructure processes and, most importantly, rejuvenate the mission of lending to the small, poor budding entrepreneur.

In order to understand the objection to the report, we need to answer three basic questions on the Mudra Yojana. First, why was Mudra launched? The programme was launched to give access to cheap credit to poor and small fledgling businesspersons. Even after 67 years of independence, a large section of the unorganised sector had no access to formal credit and used to have to rely on money lenders, who charge exorbitant rates of interest.

Yes, schemes for this class did exist before as well — but poor design and a lack of awareness ensured that the target audience did not receive the intended benefits. There was no nationwide initiative, and lending was left to the discretion of individual banks. Even loans of less than Rs 10 lakh were not readily available or forthcoming. Second, what did Mudra do? For starters, the government has made sure that the poor are not subjected to the requirements of collateral and guarantor to get credit. This has made the entire process for getting a loan easier, so that the poor don’t have to face as many roadblocks.

The government has classified loans into three groups — Shishu, Tarun and Kishor — to cater to the different needs of different sections of entrepreneurs. There have been other qualitative improvements as well: Mudra debit cards are issued to borrowers. Using these, they can withdraw the loan from any ATM in India, as and when they need the money. Debtors can also now repay the loan at any time and at any ATM in India. Provisions have been made to make possible daily withdrawals or repayments.

The interest on Mudra loans is calculated on a daily basis. When all this is taken into account, it becomes clear that the programme is a boon for small businesspersons. Third, and last, how has Mudra made a difference? The massive awareness and huge demand for Mudra loans is a result of the government’s efforts. While certain similar schemes have been announced before, there was no awareness around them.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/mudra-yojana-a-boon-for-small-players/#sthash.5grqzvZA.dpuf

दिल्ली 1

मैं सोचता हूँ महानगरों में इश्क़ होता कैसे होगा? कंक्रीट के जंगल में धड़कनें सुनाई पड़ती होंगी या भूल-भुलैया में कहीं खो न जाते होंगे दिल?
'आर्गेनिक फ़ूड' के नाम पे धोखा खा रहे लोग इश्क़ के नाम पे भी तो नहीं खा रहे? यहां इश्क़ मंहगी कारों में सवार ही क्यों आता है?
सुना है एयर में बहुत पोलूशन है इस शहर में... और इश्क़ में...?
‪#‎दिल्लीमेरीजां‬

The murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar: a fascist attack on rationalism | Anant Phadke

The brutal assassination of Dr Narendra Dabholkar in Pune has been a big blow to the progressive social movement in Maharashtra. A medical practitioner turned activist, Dr Dabholkar was renowned for his more than two-decade-long crusade in the state against superstitions and his efforts to promote broader social reform. However, his untiring campaign, from 1995 onwards, for the enactment of an "anti-superstition/anti-black magic bill" in the state made him the object of hatred for obscurantist forces. This fanatical hatred and the increasing intolerance and aggressiveness of these fascist forces led to his murder on August 20, 2013.

Background of involvement in broader social reforms

Dr Dabholkar was born in Satara, then a small town, in 1945. His family was an illustrious and highly educated one, and many of its members have been renowned for their work in the fields of education and social reform. It is no wonder that in his college days, Narendra was attracted by socialist, egalitarian ideals and in the early 1970s, joined the Samajwadi Yuva Dal, a left-wing outfit of young socialists. During that time, among the causes championed by the new generation of socialists in Maharashtra was the anti-casteist movement. Dr Dabholkar became involved in the Ek gav, ek panavatha (One village, one water source) movement led by Dr Baba Adhav, as well as the movement for renaming Marathwada University as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University. He continued to be involved in the anti-casteist movement till his death. Recently, he had taken the initiative to mobilise public opinion against the stranglehold of caste panchayats, an issue which came into sharp focus following the brutal killing in Nashik of a woman by her own father, whose action was motivated by fear of the caste panchayat's reaction to his daughter's inter-caste marriage.

Together with his wife, Dr Dabholkar practised medicine for 10 years, but from 1982 onwards he became a full-time activist. He was instrumental in galvanising a team of socially conscious theatre artistes, including the renowned Shreeram Lagoo, Nilu Phule, Rohini Hattangadi and Sadashiv Amrapurkar, to organise 25 performances of a Marathi play in different parts of Maharashtra with the aim of creating a fund through the sale of tickets and through donations. This fund, the "Samajik Krutadnyata Nidhi" (Social Gratitude Fund) initially amounted to around Rs 2.5 million and has now grown to over Rs 10 million. Currently, the fund is being used to support 45 full-time social activists in Maharashtra. One important contribution which helped enhance this fund came from schoolchildren, who donated Rs 5 each by skipping a meal! Dr Dabholkar was also the secretary of the India Committee of the Maharashtra Foundation's annual awards, instituted by progressive Indians in the USA to felicitate social activists, literary persons, artistes, etc. In 1998, Dr Dabholkar became the editor of Sadhana, a progressive, socialist weekly magazine in Marathi, founded by Sane Guruji 60 years ago.

Though he gave up clinical practice in 1982, Dr Dabholkar continued to tackle health issues at the social level. For example, as a doctor, he used to give public lectures to unravel before lay people the truth behind the claims made by Babas about 'cures' from certain medical disorders. He also drew attention to the godmen's exploitation of people with psychiatric problems, besides exposing the fraudulent medical practices of quacks. One of his last contributions was a complaint against a fraudulent doctor, which he followed up to the level of the health ministry. In July 2009, he was invited to preside over the first ever Patients' Rights Convention, organised in Pune by the Jan Aarogya Abhiyaan.

Dr Dabholkar was involved, to a considerable extent, in the movement against addictions, and led campaigns against local liquor dons in various places. He also organised protests against the Maharashtra government's liquor policy. A few years ago, he launched a campaign against the policy of granting permission for the establishment of factories that produce liquor from jowar, the staple food grain in villages in Maharashtra. He was a founder-member of a de-addiction centre, Parivartan, in Satara. This centre can admit up to 25 patients at a time. The de-addiction work is being continued by his son, Hameed, a Satara-based psychiatrist, and his colleagues. Incidentally, Dabholkar named his son Hameed in memory of his close friend, Hameed Dalwai, a renowned social reformer in the Muslim community who died prematurely. This was indeed a very unusual, bold step to take, given the overall sociocultural milieu, which coloured the attitudes of even those in the progressive circles.

Though Dr Dabholkar was better known for his crusade against superstition, he was also deeply interested in ushering in broader social reform.

A "rationalist" with a difference

In 1989, Dr Dabholkar founded the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) (1), or the Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith. MANS, which with about 180 branches, is one of the most active progressive organisations in Maharashtra. Its monthly magazine has 15000 subscribers, the largest number among the progressive magazines in Maharashtra. MANS's objectives, as articulated in its literature, are not limited to opposing superstitions and rituals which exploit and harm people. They also include cultivating a scientific attitude, skepticism, humanism, critical thinking and rationalistic moral values among the people to create a just society. Dr Dabholkar used to emphasise that MANS is part of the broader progressive, left movement.

MANS declared an award of Rs 2.1 million to anybody who could prove his/her capacity to perform "heavenly" miracles. Nobody has been able to win it! MANS confronted many babas, buas, tantriks, etc and has led agitations against several forms of superstition. This included debunking the myths propagated by self-styled godmen and godwomen. MANS also spearheaded the Shani Shinganapur movement, the aim of which was to make it possible for women to enter temples they are forbidden to enter. Dr Dabholkar, however, was not a "rationalist" in the sense that Abraham Kovoor was. He felt very strongly that superstition had its roots in socioeconomic factors and would not disappear through mere criticism of godmen and superstition. Unlike some other rationalists, he did not preach atheism or ridicule gods, though he was in favour of a critique of religion.

Tireless campaign for a law to curb exploitative, barbaric "black magic"

Dr Dabholkar led MANS to tirelessly campaign for 18 long years for the introduction of an anti-superstition bill, which, as he used to emphasise, sought to prohibit exploitation in the name of religion through fraud and barbaric practices. Following modifications, this Bill has been christened the "Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill." The modifications and rephrasing were undertaken to dispel the fear fuelled by false propaganda that the Bill is against the Hindu religion. Dabholkar used to point out that the Bill did not contain a single word about any religion. The Bill pertains to fraudulent and exploitative practices such as performing karni, bhanamati or magical rites in the name of supernatural powers; offering ash, talismans, charms, etc for the purpose of exorcism and to drive out evil spirits or ghosts; punishing or beating mentally ill patients in the belief that they are possessed by evil spirits; and so on (2).

Dr Dabholkar fostered the first draft of the Bill way back in 1990, after which MANS began to campaign for it. In 1995, it was tabled as a non-official bill and was supported by the Congress party during the regime of the BJP-led government. A coalition government with the Congress as the major partner came to power in Maharashtra in 1999 and since then, every chief minister promised help in getting the Bill passed. However, the move was invariably stalled for one reason or the other. On August 15, 2003, the government proclaimed in the newspapers that "Maharashtra would be the first state in India to enact a law against black magic." However, this did not materialise. The saffron brigade indulged in typical double-speak. On the one hand, some of them indulged in downright false propaganda and rabid, frontal opposition to the Bill. On the other, the BJP took the official stand that it is not opposed to the Bill, but is opposed only to some its provisions. This BJP stand continued despite a host of changes in the text of the Bill in view of the fears expressed about misuse of some provisions.

The political bankruptcy of the ruling parties has been quite a revelation. Their leaders have, time and again, promised to enact this legislation, but succumbed to pressure from the rightist forces and postponed taking a definite stand. Perhaps they fear alienating the socially reactionary or misguided people in their vote bank. Second, their leadership has faced opposition from its rank and file in this matter. Godmen have a following among a large number of politicians in the dominant parties. Even though the Bill does not target these godmen directly, a section of politicians fears any move that would affect the cults of godmen in any way. The latest draft of July 2013 was prepared after extensive consultations, including consultations with the representatives of warkaris (the disciples of the saints in Maharashtra, several hundreds of thousands of whom visit the Vitthal Temple in Pandharpur every year). During the meeting with the chief minister on July 30, 2013, these representatives gave their consent to the latest draft of the Bill, which incorporated their suggestions.

Against the background of an all-pervasive degeneration of the social and political culture, and the increasingly intolerant stand of the rightist elements, some fanatic was able to carry out this murder. It is anybody's guess whether this murder has any link with Modi's ascendancy. Is it a sign that religious fanatics and propagandists are afraid that the work of MANS is weakening the stranglehold of religious superstitions on the minds of ordinary people? Dr Dabholkar was known to be an extremely soft-spoken, mature social worker who believed in dialogue. He would never lose his temper and would not personally hurt or provoke anybody during debates. He attributed his capacity to take things in his stride to his involvement in sports in his younger days. He was an excellent kabaddi player and had once been a member of the national kabaddi team. He had won several gold medals and the coveted Chatrapati Kreeda Puraskar. His murder was a purely ideological, political, dastardly act.

Dr Dabholkar had reportedly received threats from caste panchayats as he had called them unconstitutional and anti-democratic. Hard-line organisations such as the Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti and Sanatan Sanstha have openly denounced the Bill as anti-Hindu and launched a vitriolic attack against it through their mouthpieces. Against this background, it is likely that the actual assassination may have been carried out by professional killers hired by vested interests.

It is heartening that people across the whole spectrum of democratic, progressive and leftist forces have vociferously condemned this murder, and that the youth formed a significant proportion of those who took to the streets in protest. In Pune, in response to the all-party call for a bandh on August 21, a significant section of traders voluntarily downed their shutters – a rare occurrence. It was this widespread protest and anger that prompted the Chief Minister to issue an ordinance to make the Bill an Act (2). The ordinance will have to be adopted by both houses of the Maharashtra legislature within six months. It is extremely tragic that one of the finest progressive reformers in the state had to sacrifice his life for the cause of a bill which aims to prohibit criminality in the name of religion.

Dr Dabholkar was known to be an extremely efficient, excellent organiser. He needed to spend no more than two days a week in Pune to edit the weekly, Sadhana. Five years ago, he had given a young editor, Mr Vinod Shirsath, the charge of executive editor and with time, the weekly grew in stature and financial stability. This speaks volumes of Dr Dabholkar's organisational capacity. He was a very effective public speaker without being aggressive or shrill. His arguments were clear and concise. For 30 years, he stayed at his home in Satara only two days a week, spending the rest of the time touring the state extensively. A CD containing 10 lectures by Dr Dabholkar on issues such as superstitions, god, religion, science and a scientific temper has become very popular in Maharashtra.

The second generation of leaders that Dr Dabholkar fostered has resolutely decided to continue the campaign for the enactment and implementation of the Bill, as well as the fight against superstition in general. However, we have lost one of the finest progressive leader-activists in Maharashtra—an irreparable loss.

Source: http://www.issuesinmedicalethics.org/index.php/ijme/article/view/561/1442

पूरे का पूरा आकाश घुमा कर : गुलज़ार

पूरे का पूरा आकाश घुमा कर बाज़ी देखी मैने,
पूरे का पूरा आकाश घुमा कर बाज़ी देखी मैने

काले घर में सूरज चलके, तुमने शायद सोचा था
मेरे सब मोहरे पिट जायेंगे.
मैने एक चराग जलाकर रोशनी कर ली,
अपना रस्ता खोल लिया

तुमने एक समन्दर हाथ में लेकर मुझपे ढेल दिया,
मैने नोह की कश्ति उस के ऊपर रख दी

काल चला तुमने और मेरी जानिब देखा,
काल चला तुमने और मेरी जानिब देखा
मैने काल को तोड़कर,
लम्हा लम्हा जीना सीख लिया

मेरी खुदी को मारना चाहा
तुमने चन्द चमत्कारों से
मेरी खुदी को मारना चाहा तुमने
चन्द चमत्कारों से
और मेरे एक प्यादे ने चलते चलते
तेरा चांद का मोहरा मार लिया

मौत की शह देकर तुमने समझा था अब
तो मात हुई
मौत की शह देकर तुमने समझा था अब
तो मात हुई
मैने जिस्म का खोल उतारकर सौंप
दिया,
और रूह बचा ली

पूरे का पूरा आकाश घुमा कर अब
तुम देखो बाज़ी...

त्रिवेणियाँ : गुलज़ार

१.
मां ने जिस चांद सी दुल्हन की दुआ दी थी मुझे
आज की रात वह फ़ुटपाथ से देखा मैंने

रात भर रोटी नज़र आया है वो चांद मुझे

२.
सारा दिन बैठा,मैं हाथ में लेकर खा़ली कासा(भिक्षापात्र)
रात जो गुज़री,चांद की कौड़ी डाल गई उसमें

सूदखो़र सूरज कल मुझसे ये भी ले जायेगा।

३.
सामने आये मेरे,देखा मुझे,बात भी की
मुस्कराए भी,पुरानी किसी पहचान की ख़ातिर

कल का अख़बार था,बस देख लिया,रख भी दिया।

४.
शोला सा गुज़रता है मेरे जिस्म से होकर
किस लौ से उतारा है खुदावंद ने तुम को

तिनकों का मेरा घर है,कभी आओ तो क्या हो?

'५.
ज़मीं भी उसकी,ज़मी की नेमतें उसकी
ये सब उसी का है,घर भी,ये घर के बंदे भी

खुदा से कहिये,कभी वो भी अपने घर आयें!

६.
लोग मेलों में भी गुम हो कर मिले हैं बारहा
दास्तानों के किसी दिलचस्प से इक मोड़ पर

यूँ हमेशा के लिये भी क्या बिछड़ता है कोई?

७.
आप की खा़तिर अगर हम लूट भी लें आसमाँ
क्या मिलेगा चंद चमकीले से शीशे तोड़ के!

चाँद चुभ जायेगा उंगली में तो खू़न आ जायेगा

८.
पौ फूटी है और किरणों से काँच बजे हैं
घर जाने का वक्‍़त हुआ है,पाँच बजे हैं

सारी शब घड़ियाल ने चौकीदारी की है!

९.
बे लगाम उड़ती हैं कुछ ख्‍़वाहिशें ऐसे दिल में
‘मेक्सीकन’ फ़िल्मों में कुछ दौड़ते घोड़े जैसे।

थान पर बाँधी नहीं जातीं सभी ख्‍़वाहिशें मुझ से।

१०.
तमाम सफ़हे किताबों के फड़फडा़ने लगे
हवा धकेल के दरवाजा़ आ गई घर में!

कभी हवा की तरह तुम भी आया जाया करो!!

११.
कभी कभी बाजा़र में यूँ भी हो जाता है
क़ीमत ठीक थी,जेब में इतने दाम नहीं थे

ऐसे ही इक बार मैं तुम को हार आया था।

१२.
वह मेरे साथ ही था दूर तक मगर इक दिन
जो मुड़ के देखा तो वह दोस्त मेरे साथ न था

फटी हो जेब तो कुछ सिक्के खो भी जाते हैं।

१३.
वह जिस साँस का रिश्ता बंधा हुआ था मेरा
दबा के दाँत तले साँस काट दी उसने

कटी पतंग का मांझा मुहल्ले भर में लुटा!

१४.
कुछ मेरे यार थे रहते थे मेरे साथ हमेशा
कोई साथ आया था,उन्हें ले गया,फिर नहीं लौटे

शेल्फ़ से निकली किताबों की जगह ख़ाली पड़ी है!

१५.
इतनी लम्बी अंगड़ाई ली लड़की ने
शोले जैसे सूरज पर जा हाथ लगा

छाले जैसा चांद पडा़ है उंगली पर!

१६.
बुड़ बुड़ करते लफ्‍़ज़ों को चिमटी से पकड़ो
फेंको और मसल दो पैर की ऐड़ी से ।

अफ़वाहों को खूँ पीने की आदत है।

१७.
चूड़ी के टुकड़े थे,पैर में चुभते ही खूँ बह निकला
नंगे पाँव खेल रहा था,लड़का अपने आँगन में

बाप ने कल दारू पी के माँ की बाँह मरोड़ी थी!

१८.
चाँद के माथे पर बचपन की चोट के दाग़ नज़र आते हैं
रोड़े, पत्थर और गु़ल्लों से दिन भर खेला करता था

बहुत कहा आवारा उल्काओं की संगत ठीक नहीं!

१९.
कोई सूरत भी मुझे पूरी नज़र आती नहीं
आँख के शीशे मेरे चुटख़े हुये हैं कब से

टुकड़ों टुकड़ों में सभी लोग मिले हैं मुझ को!

२०.
कोने वाली सीट पे अब दो और ही कोई बैठते हैं
पिछले चन्द महीनों से अब वो भी लड़ते रहते हैं

क्लर्क हैं दोनों,लगता है अब शादी करने वाले हैं

२१.
कुछ इस तरह ख्‍़याल तेरा जल उठा कि बस
जैसे दीया-सलाई जली हो अँधेरे में

अब फूंक भी दो,वरना ये उंगली जलाएगा!

२२.
कांटे वाली तार पे किसने गीले कपड़े टांगे हैं
ख़ून टपकता रहता है और नाली में बह जाता है

क्यों इस फौ़जी की बेवा हर रोज़ ये वर्दी धोती है।

२३.
आओ ज़बानें बाँट लें अब अपनी अपनी हम
न तुम सुनोगे बात, ना हमको समझना है।

दो अनपढ़ों कि कितनी मोहब्बत है अदब से

२४.
नाप के वक्‍़त भरा जाता है ,रेत घड़ी में-
इक तरफ़ खा़ली हो जबफिर से उलट देते हैं उसको

उम्र जब ख़त्म हो ,क्या मुझ को वो उल्टा नहीं सकता?

२५.
तुम्हारे होंठ बहुत खु़श्क खु़श्क रहते हैं
इन्हीं लबों पे कभी ताज़ा शे’र मिलते थे

ये तुमने होंठों पे अफसाने रख लिये कब से?

EL NINO, LA NINA

WHAT IS EL NINO: Unusual warm water appears in Eastern Pacific Ocean off Peruvian Coast.
Drought situation in Australia, Southeast Asia and Africa. Floods in Brazil and USA Midwest.

WHAT IS LA NINA: Unusual cold water appears in Eastern Pacific Ocean off Peruvian Coast.

EFFECTS ON AGRICULTURE MARKET

EL NINO:
1) America Continent
a) Lower corn yields, harvest of summer crops delayed due to increased rainfall
b) Frequent rains reduce tilling and yiled of winter wheat
c) Yield of winter vegetables such as tomato, bell pepper,sweet corn are lower
d) Fungal and bacterial diseases pose higher risks

2) Drought conditions in South Aisa
a) Reduce coconut and palm yields, higher and more volatile prices for these products
b) production of bananas and plantains for local consumption could be adversely affected by prolonged drought
c) Commodities prices rise especially sugar, pulses and edible oil.
d) livestock and the fisheries are affected severely by the drought.

LA NINA:
1) American Continent
a) Cold water from Peruvian coast brings nutrients (up-welling) leads to improved fishing
b) Wheat Yields and corn yields are higher
c) Less Fungal and Bacterial diseases
d) Pasture crops yield is lowered

2) Intensified Monsoon in South Asian region, increases overall crop production

Li-Fi: A green avatar of Wi-Fi

Li-Fi is not expected to completely replace Wi-Fi, but the two technologies could be used complementarily to create more efficient, green and future-proof access networks.

Li-Fi, or light fidelity, invented by German physicist and professor Harald Haas, is a wireless technology that makes use of visible light in place of radio waves to transmit data at terabits per second speeds—more than 100 times the speed of Wi-Fi.

Though it was discovered in the last decade, proofs of concept to test commercial utilization started emerging only in 2015. To start with, it is being tested for indoor usage, i.e., in offices and establishments, but it is also sure to go outdoor in a big way by making use of existing infrastructure used for street and traffic lights, which are already moving towards LED lamps.

Li-Fi offers great promise to overcome the existing limitations of Wi-Fi by providing for data-heavy communication in short ranges. Since it does not pollute, it can be called a green technology for device-to-device communication in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Move towards greener wireless communication

A technical solution for wireless pollution, power shortages and unavailability at outdoor locations should meet the 3L criteria: low interference, low power and low maintenance.

In addition, it has to support the three Hs of high data rates, high reliability and high affordability. Since Li-Fi relies on visual light and not radio waves as the carrier, it has potential for the first two Hs, but the last one—high affordability—may be achieved only when volumes increase, as it has in the case of Wi-Fi.

The above characteristics can be met by an all-IP (packetized) Li-Fi system utilizing existing LED lamps which are ruggedized, have a high MTBF (mean time between failure) and consume less power, therefore replacing conventional lamps on existing structures in both indoor as well as outdoor without need for any additional power supply.

To make LED lamps capable of working as an access point as in Wi-Fi, a kind of media converter is required to convert the electrical data signal into photons (light), and a light detector which converts light into electricity is required on the receiving device end.

Potential applications

Li-Fi is still in its infancy, but some fields where it seems eminently usable are street and traffic lights. Traffic lights can communicate to the vehicles and with each other. Vehicles having LED-based headlights and tail lamps can communicate with each other and prevent accidents by exchanging information. Also, through the use of Li-Fi, traffic control can be made intelligent and real-time adaptable. Actually, each traffic and street light post can be converted into access points to convert roadsides into wireless hot spots.

Visible light being safer, they can also be used in places where radio waves can’t be used such as petrochemical and nuclear plants and hospitals. Similarly, in aircraft, where most of the control communication is performed through radio waves, there are restrictions on passenger communication using the same media, which can be easily handled through use of Li-Fi.

Li-Fi can also easily work underwater, where Wi-Fi fails completely, thereby throwing open endless opportunities for military and navigational operations. Still, the technology comes with some limitations.

As visual light can’t pass through opaque objects and needs line of sight for communication, its range will remain very restricted to start with. Also, it is likely to face interference from external light sources, such as sunlight and bulbs, and obstructions in the path of transmission, and hence may cause interruptions in communication.

Also, initially, there will be high installation costs of visual light communication systems as an add-on to lighting systems. Li-Fi receiving devices will require adapters to transmit data back to the transmitter.

Challenges and opportunity in India

The lack of ubiquitous broadband access, which thereby restricts data access, and chaotic traffic management leading to traffic jams and pollution are just two of the many problems in India. Li-Fi has scope to help with both. By converting traffic lights into LED-based access points, traffic management can be made intelligent, adaptive and real-time—and so, more efficient and effective. In the same way, street lights can also be converted into Li-Fi access points, making them broadband access transmitters to mobile Li-Fi enabled smartphones, converting areas into seamless hot spots.

The main challenge is to create a Li-Fi ecosystem, which will need the conversion of existing smartphones into Li-Fi enabled ones by the use of a converter/adapter. Also, an integrated chip that has both light-to-electrical conversion and data-processing capability (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) combined into one needs to be developed and manufactured in the millions. This is one opportunity where the country can capture the initial lead advantage, making up for earlier missed cases.

If Li-Fi can be put into practical use, every LED lamp (indoor as well as outdoor) can be converted into something like a hot spot to transmit data to every mobile device to achieve universal broadband communication between devices. Also, it presents another unique possibility: transmitting power wirelessly, wherein the smartphone will not only receive data through Li-Fi, but will also receive power to charge itself.

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/tFei3PUmaFtGO3T2hDSciN/LiFi-A-green-avatar-of-WiFi.html