Editor,
Apropos to the article ” Quality Education- The need of the hour” (ST May 21, 2018) by Rusievan Shangpliang , I completely agree with him regarding the problems faced by students under the semester system as they are not getting enough time to prepare for the examinations. The teachers hardly get 4 months time to complete their syllabus for each semester and even if the syllabus is completed the students requires some more time to prepare for the examinations. With the semester pattern the students are not getting enough time for self study as the examination starts immediately after the completion of their course. The delay in declaration of examination results creates more trouble for students. President Ram Nath Kovind on the 9th convocation of Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Himachal Pradesh said that the goal of education should not be limited to simply getting jobs but it should be such that the students can start their own enterprise by using their skills and learning. Only producing a bunch of graduates every year should not be the goal of education but it needs to cater to the need of students by providing ample skills so they can start up their own enterprise. The students must be nurtured with the qualities of rational and critical thinking. The goal of education is to focus on employability and inclusiveness of all the different sections of our youth. Merely retaining students in educational institutions without providing quality education may increase the literacy percentage of the state but will not really educate them. It’s high time that students are provided space to realise their potential and start up any enterprise they are capable of after they complete their formal education.
Yours etc.,
Anil Singh Roka,
Via email
Cashless economy
Editor,
A cashless economy is one in which all the transactions are digitally or by means of plastic cards. India uses too much cash transactions. The ratio of cash to gross domestic product is one of the highest in the world at 12.42% in 2014, compared with 9.47% in China or 4% in Brazil. Majority of Indians are digitally illiterate (WDR, 2016 Digital Dividends Report). Therefore, RBI has also recently unveiled a document called, “Payments and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2018”- setting out a plan to encourage electronic payments and to enable India to move towards a cashless society or economy in the medium and long term (Source – The Hindu). But the fact is that the common citizen (aam aadmi) poses as a major challenge for India to transition into a cashless economy. Ordinary folks in India find the usage of cards, mobile banking and PoS terminals to be a complex process and insecure too. The majority of the mobile payment service providers are non-compliant with the strict provisions for dealing with sensitive personal data including financial data as mandated by IT Act, 2000 and rules under it. Also the IT Act is not comprehensive. India lacks laws to protect consumers if they lose money. There is also the problem of cyber theft, data theft (for ex: NPCI debit cards data stolen) and lack of trust among customers. Will the bank strategies work after such endless efforts to penetrate into the cashless economy where RTGS, NEFT,PAYTM etc. are not known to the majority of Indians? So are we only allured by slogans such as Incredible India, Digital India etc? Government job applicants, still have to follow the old school method of payment.
There could be more biases if we undertake a deeper study of these challenges. Now the primary concern is whether a small shop owner will be able to adapt to these new technological policies that the government intends to implement in order to turn the Indian economy into a cashless one. For those in large businesses the transformation is not complex because they can adapt to these changes instantly. Although Prime Minister Modi’s initiative to usher in a cashless economy may be novel, it lacks a holistic approach as the common citizen could be in a disastrous situation due to lack of awareness and data theft. On the other hand, it provides a gateway for fast cash transaction which is beneficial for banking and non- banking sectors. Bilateral talks can be a suggestive method in solving the problem but how many of these bilateral talks have we seen or heard where these issues are highlighted. On May 21, 2018 our PM visited Russia for bilateral talks. Does this involve the IT Sector merger or the consolidation of something else which is not a primary concern? Hence the IT & Communications Dept need to collaborate with DIPR Dept to ensure that public awareness is created. The public should demand that India comes out with a strong policy to ensure data privacy and security against hackers that can easily bypass any Govt. website. This issue needs to be addressed by our elected representatives to check whether the digital economy is feasible in our country and how it affects the common citizen.
Yours etc.,
Alert Archie Rymbai
Shillong -14