Category: Uncategorized

TWEAKING PROTEINS IN STAPLE FOODS COULD HELP FEED A WARMING WORLD 

Enzymes that control a plant’s response to lower oxygen levels could be manipulated to make vital crops resistant to the impacts of flooding triggered by climate change, new research shows.

Co-author Dr Mark White in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney said: “Climate change is a major global issue, not least for its impact on food security. We hope these findings can help produce flood-tolerant crops to help mitigate the devasting social and economic impact of extreme weather events on food production.”

The research, largely done at the University of Oxford, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Climate change has increased the number and intensity of global flooding events, threatening food security through significant crop loss. Plants, including staple crops such as rice, wheat and barley, can survive temporary periods of flooding by activating energy pathways that don’t rely on air in response to the low oxygen conditions in water.

These responses are controlled by oxygen-sensing enzymes called the Plant Cysteine Oxidases (PCOs), which use oxygen to regulate the stability of proteins that control gene activity.

The research describes the molecular structures of the PCOs for the first time, identifying chemical features that are required for enzyme activity.

“The results provide a platform for future efforts to manipulate the enzyme function in an attempt to create flood-resistant crops that can mitigate the impact of extreme weather events,” Dr White said.

Dr White joined the University of Sydney last year as an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award recipient. He was previously a postdoctoral researcher at Novo Nordisk, Denmark, and worked at the University of Oxford’s Chemistry Research Laboratory with Dr Emily Flashman, lead researcher on the Plant Cysteine Oxidases paper published.

This work was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Research Council New Investigator Grant, the European Research Council and the Italian Ministry of Education University and Research.

WEAVING STORIES OF PROSPERITY

In a country of billions, what has emerged out of the recent health conundrum is the need to be “atmanirbhar”, an emotion that surpasses the human need for acquisitions. Thus, the meteoric rise of the “Made in India” sentiment has captured both the hearts and minds of conscious millennials.

Not surprising then that handlooms are the flavour of the season. After all, the sector employs almost 3.5 million people with each region paying homage to its innate culture through the fabric of freedom. The movement has been gaining popularity over many years, but a noticeable momentum began four years ago, when Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani #iwearhandloom became a sensation on the twitter, where hand spun was celebrated with pride. This renewed the pledge to support and resuscitate the industry, as the blue hand woven silk sari from Bihar, she wore, went viral.

The results were both ingenious and innovative with not just design intervention with the help of leading style gurus, but also a government grant to the textile ministry for providing financial assistance to languishing weavers.

The key is in establishing, a direct connect between retailers and weavers to eliminate the middleman, urging e-commerce giants to pitch in.

The textile industry is dominated by women as they constitute almost 72 per cent and the Textile Minister has offered various schemes like the National Handloom Development Programme to empower them.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi besides being an avid supporter of textiles has reiterated the need for foreign investment to create employment as well as skill development. Almost 30 million farmers are part of producing 60 per cent natural fibres in India which is the need of the hour to help boost the GDP. Most importantly, sustainability is setting the new world order.

HANDLOOMS IN YOUNGSTERS’ WARDROBES

India’s population, out of which 50 per cent is below 25, and more than 65 per cent below 35, has embraced this innate message. Whether it is schools or colleges, handlooms have succeeded in marking their presence in youngster’s wardrobes. With a little help from designers who have adopted clusters for Ikkat, Chanderi, Maheshwari among others, or even the rise of Baneras as a hot spot is the sign of the popularity of going eco-friendly. It is frankly, the new cool.

What has further generated interest is the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy, Pragati Maidan, which not just holds meaningful talks on handlooms along with a showcase, but also in-depth, short-term courses for the discerning few who would like to equip themselves with knowledge about handloom/craft and Indian textile traditions.

As we grasp with new realities, the education sector has made strides in incorporating this aesthetic in their curriculum by taking fashion students on trips to clusters. This has opened a plethora of opportunities for them when they enter the real world as they stitch together endearing stories of Indian crafts through their design prowess.

The Fashion Design Council of India, has taken many steps to support handlooms. They initiated on Instagram a series titled “Celebrating the Maker” last month where designers paid homage to handloom weavers that they have been associated with.

Another major thrust has been witnessed at the India Fashion Week where handlooms have been given a place of pride and for many years along with Ministry of Textiles, many programs with designers and clusters have been initiated.

The FDCI board has decided from the Covid trust fund they will allocate an amount to buying unsold stocks from weavers. The weavers will be identified by DC handlooms, under the Ministry of Textiles as well as handloom designers.

SHIROMANI AKALI DAL SHOULDN’T TAKE A POSTION ON ORDINANCES  

It’s a matter of unfathomable dismay that Sukhbir Singh Badal President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) in his recent virtual press conference at Chandigarh, while advancing his arguments  in favor of  the Agri ordinances , promulgated by the president of India, was repeatedly showing with euphoric excitement a letter written to him by the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, claiming that this letter is the final adjudicator on the Agri Ordinances, notwithstanding the negative implications of the ordinances, already notified in the Gazette of India. 

During this public narrative Sukhbir Singh Badal patently exposed his deficient intelligence quotient, in projecting the value of a letter written by a Minister to an MP in comparison to the legal inference of the Ordinances promulgated by the President of India and duly notified in the Gazette of India.

I wonder how he gives much more significance to a simple letter rather than understanding the devastating implications of the Agri Ordinances, causing unimaginable socio-economic consequences to the farming community. If things are seemingly beyond his comprehension to understand the far-reaching demeanor of Agri Ordinances for the farmers then he should better desist from taking any position on the ordinances. And if he understands the nuance then he is cleverly skirting the apparently conspicuous and operative anti-farmer orientations, reflected in the clauses of the ordinances.

STOP BEFOOLING PEOPLE

I’m really amazed at his phenomenally adroit cunningness with which he is defending the anti-farmers ordinances, so unassumingly; against which all the Kisan organizations of Punjab, are up in arm, ever since these ordinances have been promulgated on June 5, 2020. I personally feel that Sukhbir Singh Badal is not that boob, as he is pretending to be, he is probably acting as such, just to please his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who has consciously voted in favor of all the three anti-farmers ordinances while the ordinances were being approved by the cabinet.

Otherwise being Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, twice and Member of Parliament for the second term; he should know the nuance and legal acceptance of the ordinances, notified as lawful statutes in the Gazette of India.  Consequently, a simple letter written by Union Agriculture Minister Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar  in no way  qualifies at all the legal validity and it neither has any consequential applicability nor it any way reverses the devastating far-reaching consequence  by any implication against the farmers.

Therefore, Sukhbir Singh Badal should stop befooling the farmers by using this insignificant piece of communication  which at best could be defined as a document of treacherous betrayal of the farmers interests  which justify the ‘willful deceit’ ; the so-called rubbish deserve to be consigned to the garbage assemblage.

Battery Swapping for Electric Vehicles was proposed in India about three and half years back. The argument was simple. Battery is the primary cost in an Electric Vehicle (EV), amounting to 30% to 50% of the EV cost. Without a battery an EV costs no more than existing petrol Vehicles. But add battery, vehicle costs go up and become unaffordable. Battery is the container of energy (electricity) that powers the vehicle, just like the fuel-tank is a container for petrol. But while a fuel-tank is inexpensive, a battery is not. What if a customer does not buy a battery, but instead just picks up a charged battery when needed and returns the discharged one?

The customer pays for using a battery and not its high upfront cost. India has done this before. We subscribe to LPG gas-cylinders services for cooking but do not own and buy the cylinders. We get the filled cylinder, use it and then replace the empty cylinder with a filled one. This model has worked well, created large employment and India avoided the costlier and difficult option of attempting to get the piped-gas to every home. Now LPG gas-cylinders reach the remote villages, covering 96.9% of households. Imagine the gas-pipes reaching there!

For battery swapping to work, an EV customer would take services of an Energy Operator (EO), who would purchase the batteries, charge them and offer them to vehicle owners (VO) for swapping, at multiple convenient locations. When a customer is about to run out of battery, he/she would go to these outlets and simply exchange the discharged battery with a charged one. This would simply take 2 to 5 minutes. The VO would need to sign-up with a specific EO for the battery swapping services. To ensure that there is no misuse or theft of swapped batteries, they would be designed to be electronically locked and chargeable only by the specific EO and useable only in the vehicle to which it is assigned temporarily. The EO would make this operation a viable business by charging for swapping battery just like a petrol-pump charges for filling petrol.

SWAP-BATTERY TO COST LESS THAN THE PETROL PRICE

The charges will be based on the cost of the battery, cost of charging and the cost of running a swapping operation such that the EO becomes a profitable business. The swap-battery cost per km for a VO would be less than the petrol cost per km for a similar vehicle. The VO therefore is a big winner and would be more ready to switch from petrol vehicle to EV. Since there could be multiple EOs providing battery swapping service, the VO would have the ability to switch to an EO who provides the best value for money.

Much of this (the logistics and economics) was worked out three and half years back. But many thought the idea was too radical and other countries in the world had not yet adopted it. Arguments for India to lead and not always follow the world, or that the country needed a lower-cost approach than the West, to make EVs affordable did not cut much ice. Some auto-manufacturers also were not on-board. While some did not want electric vehicles to be supported by the Government, others did not want to unbundle batteries from the vehicle as it affects their margins.

There were however some early adopters, especially the fleet operators, who understood the proposition and started swapping batteries and using EVs at scale. They had been urging the Government to legalise the sale of EVs without batteries, and though it took time, the Government did realise that this unique approach would benefit India and its customers. It has therefore legalised this month the sale of an EV without a battery. This is a big boost to the adoption of EVs in India. India has finally decided to lead!

Of course, one still needs to tie up a few loose ends. The Government and the industry need to figure out how to pass FAMEII subsidies provided for EVs to the EO, who will now invest in EV batteries and chargers. It would help if each class of vehicle adopts a standard connector, form-factor of battery and the communication protocols between EV, swappable battery and the Charger. But these are doable tasks. The bold step taken by the Government has enabled India to get ahead with EVs. It should now quickly follow with clear mechanism of passing FAME subsidy to OEMs of EV and to the EOs to scale up battery swapping in India.

OLD HERITAGE LEADS TO IMMERSIVE TOURISM

“Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat” scheme has paired seemingly contrasting states and cultures of Kerala in the extreme South and Himachal Pradesh cradled in Himalayas. Both have a divine connect with Kerala being “gods own country” and Himachal being the “abode of the Gods”, aptly embodying the ‘Unity in Diversity of Incredible India.’

Both States are tourist hubs; less urbanised; highest literacy; environmentally sensitive; governance models; organic lifestyles; social harmony and deep rooted culture. Indus valley (2250 to 1750 B.C) relics are found in Himachal foothills and numerous tribes shaped its prehistoric cultural ethos. Kulu district, renowned for international Dussehra festival, is the fabled Kulanthapita, “end of the habitable world”! Its capital Manali is named after Sanatan Hindu lawgiver Manu derived from ‘Manu-Alaya’ or “abode of Manu’. Kerala, home to coconut groves swaying in sea breezes comes from ‘Kera’ meaning coconut tree and ‘Alam’ embodying land tracing its non-prehistoric cultural genesis to the 3^rdc AD historical Thamizhagom region influenced by the Chera, Chola, and Pandya Tamil culture and 2000 year old Sangam Literature.

Five distinct trails categorise Himachali culture with some features mirroring Kerala

EPIC RAMAYAN AND MAHABHARAT STORY TRAIL 

It is evident in the 1553 AD Hidimba temple in Manali. Atop Jakhu, one of the seven Shimla hills, is the temple where Hanumanji rested while searching for sanjivni booti. The 8^th c AD single rock cut marvel Masroor Temple in Kangra distt nicknamed “Ellora of the Hills” dates to pandavas. Kerala’s famous Kathakali dance or “story play”, derives themes from Indian Epics performed by male dancers donning elaborate masks and make up.

THE BRITISH RAJ TRAIL 

Native to Shimla which remained the British summer capital since 1864 after Murree (Pakistan). The partition of India was signed in the magnificent Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS 1888) epitomizing Scottish architecture;  Shimla Ridge has  is the second oldest christ church(1846-57) in North India seen in the Amitabh film  “Black”. The State library in mock Tudor architecture flanks it. Manor house of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur hosted Gandhiji often during his 1921-46 visits to Shimla. The gravestones of church St John In the Wilderness (1852) in Dharamsala all tell their own story! In Palayur, Kerala the ancient 52 AD St Thomas, Syro-Malabar Catholic church was established by St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.

HOME TO THE DALAI LAMA

Since 1959 THE BUDDHIST TRAIL in HP runs across the cold deserts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti  tentatively listed on the UNESCO World Heritage sites. This imposing rugged landscape boasts of Tabo (996AD) monastery, Ajanta of the hills for preserving nine underground mandalas of paintings & stuccos. Kye (11^th c AD) and Dhankar monasteries in formidable terrain are near staging points of the ancient trade Silk Route at Baralacha and Chhatru. Further south Rampur still trades local wares annually in the NovemberLavi Mela. Ritual Chham masked dance is performed by monks of Buddhist monasteries. This finds a strange parallel in the famed kathakali masked dance of Kerala.

Lari near Tabo monastery has 3500 years old Petroglyphs Spiti rock scattered over 19 sq km. Carvings depict swastika symbol and a bird now extinct. Nearby lie naturally preserved remains of a Buddhist monk called mummy of GIU buried in a 1938 landslide and discovered during road construction work. Strangely Buddhism and Jainism have co-existed and enriched Kerala culture too for nearly eight centuries.

THE TRIBAL TRAIL

Uncannily Kanam is a small place in Kottayam district of Kerala and is also a quaint monastery near Kaza in Himachal. Ancient millennial old Tibetan texts are preserved in Kaanam library.  A Hungarian monk visiting Kanam monastery in mid 19^th century made it his home. Since then Hungarian tourists to Himachal make a beeline to remote Kanam.

THE PAHAARI TRAIL 

Culture changes at 10 kms as native Himachali dialects and lifestyles of baghati, hinduri, mahasuvi, kulluvi, trigarth, chhoti kashi, sirmauri resonate in the Culture department compilation of seven vanishing Pahari scriptswith beautiful  Tankri, Chandrawani, Bhatakshri, Sharda, Brahmi, Pawuchi and Pangwani calligraphy. Pawuchi and Pangwani are secret scripts used since centuries to encrypt accounts and predict futures using Sancha or laal kitaab. Practitioners would roll indigenous twin owl bone crafted dominoes called paasas(used by Shakuni in Mahabharat) to locate fortune paragraphs akin to legendary Bhrigu Samita of Hoshiarpur. To revive quaint sancha as livelihood Culture department positioned Sancha readers strategically in 2019 Shimla International Literature Festival (SILF) earning them Rs 5000/- per day.

NO LINKAGE WITH LEARNING

Punjab government has started distribution of 1,73,823 smart phones to students of government schools who are studying in class XII. With this decision, state government is acting towards its government school children like a nouveau riche half literate doting father who pays scant attention towards a child’s demand for books and happily arranges all smart gadgets in the name of so called smart learning.

If government wants to give young students smart phone for entertainment, it is welcome, but it should not happen in the name of learning. This is a cruel joke on sincere parents. For a school student, a smart phone is one of the biggest hurdles in learning. How this hurdle began to be touted as compulsory condition for learning is only a matter of further investigation. Smart phone is more for social media connectivity and less for social connectivity. Social media runs on the principle of attention economy and it is a constant highway of trolls, prejudices, post-truth world information and many more dangers which cause a great disruption in the process of student’s learning, so smart phones are a recipe for long term damage to the learning.  

NEED FOR INFORMATION GATE-KEEPING

A school is with a boundary. A class room is also with a boundary. A text book or any book has a boundary. It is these boundaries that control the traffic of world around the students. Learning requires discipline which was made possible by boundaries. Plato learnt this lesson after the death of Socrates that teaching philosophy at market square can be dangerous. Why does Punjab government want to place its students at the meeting square of information highway?

Corona is one time disruption. No disruption in the history of civilization has acted as permanent disruption. It seems that government is planning to make current temporary arrangement in to a permanent setup where students shall get connected with the world of learning only through smart phone . Information gate keeping is one of the most important task in information technology. With smart phones in the hands of teen age children, what kind of information gate keeping is possible there? Let us dismantle all brick and mortar world of learning and all regulations regarding curriculum committees, school boards, experts etc, if the smart phone has to be placed at the centre of world of learning.

TECHNOLOGY INDUCED DUMBNESS

International studies have made it clear that Google affects memory (recall and retention) and it is called of Googling of memory. It is also found that AI driven predictive spelling affects one’s writing skills. Screen reading is a long term damage to cognition process. It will affect their concentration. Smart phone may have some use for a mature person. But teen age students passing through the most sensitive phase of physical changes and psychological challenges are certainly not fit candidates for smart phones. All these things apart, government knows better. History of colonialism makes it amply clear that government acts according to what it thinks best. Like our previous colonial masters, it has  every right to show contemptuous disregard for voices from below.

During these corona times let’s not ignore cardiac ailments. Many elderlies in India suffer from Aortic Stenosis. This is a heart condition in which aortic valve of heart that pumps blood to whole body gets severely narrowed.

Aortic valve is a tri-leaflet like structure situated just at the origin of aorta from left ventricle of heart, which controls blood supply to whole of the body. Aortic valve stenosis is basically thickening and narrowing of aortic valve with advancing age.

When it reaches the stage of critical narrowing, heart is unable to pump blood to whole body resulting in easy fatigability, breathlessness, chest pain and sometimes syncope (transient loss of consciousness). It progresses through the stages when there are no symptoms in spite of severe narrowing to a stage when symptoms in form of chest pain, breathlessness and syncope start occurring.

For decades, the treatment for this type of condition was open heart surgical aortic valve replacement. It was a natural choice as no other option was available. For elderly patients and those who are not suitable or are at higher risk for surgery the only option left was medical management and wait for death. In about one third of patients suffering from this disease, the strain of surgical operation made the procedure out of question. This surgery is not suitable for many elderly patients and in those who have other co-morbidities. This was an unsatisfactory situation of not being able to offer any effective therapy to these patients.

The reason for narrowing of aortic valve is mainly age-related degeneration. Other reasons can be some abnormalities in structure of valve which are present since birth, there is mild narrowing which gradually progresses with advancing age. This condition is called bicuspid aortic valve, when there are only two cusps in place of usual three. Other causes can be some infective process involving the valve leading to thickening and narrowing of valve.

In stage of severe narrowing, but with no symptoms 80% patients remain alive after 1 year and 55% are alive after 5 years, risk of sudden death is about 1.5% per year. When even mild symptoms start to appear only 35% will remain alive after 5 years.

THERAPEUTIC OPTION TO INOPERABLE AND HIGH RISK FOR SURGERY PATIENTS

Trans catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or Trans catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has offered a solution to this dilemma by providing an effective therapeutic option to inoperable and high risk for surgery patients. The first ever successful TAVI in human being was done in 2002 by Prof Alain Cribier. Since then this procedure has made remarkable progress, and reached a level of offering a suitable alternative to surgery in select group of patients.

In the beginning TAVI got approval only for high risk and inoperable patients. In 2016 it got approval for intermediate risk and now it has proven its worth in terms of efficacy even in lower risk for surgery patients. It means that TAVI has become treatment of choice in inoperable, high risk and intermediate risk patients and a suitable alternative in low risk patients.

TAVI usually involves going through one of the arteries in groin as in angiography done earlier. Now most of angiography and angioplasty procedures are done through radial artery from wrist. The introducer sheath used in TAVI procedure is quite large bore as one has to take valve through it. It started with a much bigger sheath size in beginning but with gradual advancements in valve it has been gradually brought to much smaller size.
After the procedure hole in groin artery is closed with internal suture devices only, earlier it had to be cut open through surgery. Patients are usually discharged on 3rd day of the procedure.

Aortic stenosis is the most common form of valve problem in elderly and if left untreated is often fatal. Timely intervention to replace valve can improve symptoms and prolong life. With advancements in medical technologies and introduction of TAVI the non-surgical technique for aortic valve replacement, there is definite ray of hope for inoperable, elderly and debilitated patients and a suitable non-surgical alternative in other patients who are being planned for surgical aortic valve replacement.

THERMAL POWER GENERATION PLANT IN BATHINDA ALREADY SHUT, OTHER TWO ALSO ON VERGE

Close on the heels of the permanent closure of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant at Bathinda, Punjab’s other two thermal plants at Ropar and LehraMohabbat are also on the verge of closure. The combined plant load factor (PLF) of these plants, whichis a measure of how much the plants have remained in operation is  only12.73 percent for FY 19-20 compared to national average of 50.24 percent. The same was 22.37 percent for FY 18-19.Other states are performing much better than Punjab in this aspect. As per the data of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the PLF of state thermal plants for UP is 57.98%, Rajasthan 53.16%, Haryana 29.42%, Gujarat 39.80%, Andhra Pradesh 55.90% and for Maharashtra it is 51.44%. Not surprisingly, the state sector of Punjab could produce only 1967 million units (MU) of electricity last year compared to 31178MU in Rajasthan,27852MU in U.P, 7030MU in Haryana, 24598MU in Andhra Pradesh and 48239MU in Maharashtra.

The situation has become so alarming that the share of state sector thermal generation to the total energy of the state is a meagre three percent against national average of 24.74 percent. The operating four units at Ropar have outlived their useful life of 25 years and as per the guidelines of CEA, these could be phased out anytime now. Ironically though, the first unit of the Guru Nanak Dev thermal Plant was commissioned in the year 1974, a year before the National Thermal Power Corporation of Govt. of India was established in the year 1975. Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant at Ropar achieved PLF of 91.11 percent in the year 2009-10 and Guru Har Gobind Thermal Plant at LehraMohabbat achieved PLF of 94.31 percent for the year 2011-12.

REASONS FOR LOW PLANT LOAD FACTOR

Things started to change dramatically from FY 14-15 onwards, after the two private thermal plants at Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo started producing cheaper electricity due to their lower fuel cost. The state thermal plants operating on sub critical technology could not match the efficiency of the super critical plants of the private sector. Another factor which comes into play is the typical load profile of Punjab which varies between 5000-6000 MW in winter to 12000-13000 MW during the summer. The plants are strictly operated on the merit order dispatch principle i.e. the plants with lower fuel costs are operated on priority over the plants having higher fuel costs.The per unit fuel cost of the Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo plant is Re. 3.08 and Re. 3.52 respectively, which is lower compared to Re. 3.92 and Re. 4.53 for the Ropar and Lehra plants. Owing to their higher fuel costs, the utilization of the state plants remains low.

COSTLIER ELECTRICITY

Purchase of electricity now constitutes almost eighty percent of the energy requirement of the state. It was was around forty seven percent up to FY 13-14 and is increasing with each passing year. PSPCL purchased electricity worth Rs. 10771 cr. from the private thermal plants of the state this year but the worrying factor is that, there has been an unprecedented rise of 27.69 percent in the cost per unit from Rs. 4.76 during FY 18-19 to Rs. 6.08 during FY 19-20.At the same time, PLF of own plants is going down every year which is causing electricity produced from these plants costlier. The cost of generation from the Lehra and Ropar plant for FY 19-20 is Rs. 9.97 and 8.66 per unit respectively.The higher cost is because of fixed cost to the tune of 700 cr. incurred for power not produced at own plants.

Steep hike in cost of power purchase from the private plants coupled with the financial impact due to the extremely low PLF of state plants are contributing towards making electricity costlier in the state and consumers have to bear this extra burden.

Another factor which has also contributed to the rising cost of electricity is that the extraction of cheap and good quality coal from own mine at Pachhwara has been stopped altogether from March,2015 onwards.

GENESIS OF THE PROBLEM

In total disregard to the advice of the experts, the then political leadership awarded both the plants to the private sector during the period 2007-2009 and this is the prime reason for the present state of affairs. Had a more balanced approach been adopted then and one of these thermal plants executed under the state sector, things would now have been better for the state. Unlike other states of the country, Punjab ignored its state sector completely and went in for total privatization of the capacity addition in generation of electricity.

WAY FORWARD

Revival of the state sector generation holds the key to the solution of the problem. However, capacity addition by installing anynew coal based units seem to be impossible considering the fact that future belongs to the renewable sources of energy. Therefore, the only option available for the state is to explore the possibility of acquiring and taking over the private sector plants operating in the state.This shall help in saving of fixed charges to the private plants which have more than doubled from  Rs. 686 cr. in FY 18-19 to Rs. 1445 cr. in FY 19-20.The extraction of coal from own mine allocated exclusively for use at state sector plants  should be restarted without any further delay. The mine has an annual mining capacity of extraction of 7 million tonnes of coal, which if used could save Rs. 600 every yearannually  towardscheaper cost of generation of electricity.

Govt. of Punjab has given relief to PSPCL by taking over debt of Rs. 15628 cr. under the UDAY scheme and resultantly, the outstanding loan of PSPCL now stands at 17214 cr. ending March,20 compared to Rs. 31614 cr. last year. Gains shall also accrue to the utility from the sale proceeds of the land and machinery of the Bathinda plant. This allows extra elbow room to the utility, if it decides to undertake investments in acquiring new generation assets.

Utilisation of idle but trained manpower available at the state plants, use of cheaper coal from own mine, technological upgradation of the state sector by acquiring supercritical plant and optimum utilization of the finances could be the game changer in the power sector of the state.

CONCLUSION: NEED TO REVIVE STATE OWN GENERATION

If the state sector generation is not revived, the state shall permanently loose skill to construct and operate thermal units. More importantly,the state may also loose ownership of the Pachhwaracoal  mine which is a rich source of cheap and good quality coal for generating cheaper electricity. Electricity is the driving force for the economy of the state. Therefore, all the available options for making it cheaper should be fully harnessed.

New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a radical document. The challenge is how to implement it, and how the Punjab government can implement it while following an independent line in the best interest of people of state.
Committee for Implementation
Punjab government must constitute a committee to suggest effective implementation of NEP 2020. NEP offers many good things in principle but devil lies in details.
Higher education commission of India (HECI) and Need for Education Federalism UGC and AICTE shall become thing of past. HECI shall be single regulator for all kind of universities and colleges. Only BCI (for Law) and MCI (for Medical) shall remain relevant in respective field.
Currently UGC’s position on final term exams and states opposition fore-grounded one fact that states have little say in education
federalism. Now when HECI comes into power, states must ensure that they have some permanent say in HECI. It should be remembered that HECI shall be more powerful body than UGC.
End of discipline based Apartheid
NEP recommends bulldozing the walls between disciplines and demolishing all hierarchies among academic, vocational and extra-curricular. In a way, it announces the end of educational varna asharam which treated students of science, commerce and arts differently and treated vocational as inferior to academic, which treated curricular as superior to extra curricular.NEP is going to be a great leveler, if implemented with care and planning.
From Static to Mobile, From Rigid to Flexible
Flexibility in attaining higher education is the key focus of NEP. Punjab specially needs this flexibility because youth here do not believe in spending long continuous years at campus after 10+2. Multiple entry and exit points (certificate after one year, diploma after two, degree after three, hons. after four)and Academic Bank of Credits shall make it possible to leave and join campus at will and earn one’s degree in more flexible way. Now the challenge before Punjab shall be to implement it because here academic bureaucracy is highly rigid in its approach.

FOUR YEAR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Introduction of four year degree program as suggested by NEP shall be especially helpful to Punjabi youth who wish to study abroad. International system does not recognize three year degree in a favourable manner.
Multi-discipline and end of the labels
NEP encourages specialized universities (agriculture, technical, sports, law) to adopt multidisciplinary approach and offer subjects other than their core areas. Universities confined to STEM should go STEAM way. This will be a challenge in Punjab because specialized universities have been living in a cocooned culture. It will be a great service to the students as we see that students studying engineering are making great achievements in art, literature, journalism, startups etc. The challenge shall be to make sure that students do not become victim to the apathy, authorities usually display towards any change.
Punjab and the Challenge of Gross Enrolment Ratio
NEP plans to increase GER in higher education up to 50% in next 15 years. It will be a challenge for Punjab due to IELTS culture. At the same time, Punjab needs to seriously address the issue of less number of graduates in rural population and especially among Dalit sections. Punjab with its 3.02% graduates in rural population (18-23 years) is far behind:
Uttrakhand (5.84)
Himachal (5.21)
Haryana (4.14)
Jammu and Kashmir (3.24)
(Source: Socio-economic census 2015)
Gender Inclusion Fund
NEP announces GIF. Punjab can use this fund to encourage enrolment of girls, especially rural Dalit farm workers and small peasant, landless farmers and other economic marginal sections.
Death Knell for Affiliating Colleges
NEP announces that affiliating colleges are going to be a thing of past in next 15 years. There will be either constituent colleges, or degree granting autonomous colleges. Right now we have autonomous colleges in Punjab( Khalsa College ASR etc.) but these are not degree granting colleges. How Punjab dismantles its affiliating college system in the next 15 years,  is the main challenge. Majority of aided colleges and self financed colleges shall not be able to stay in business after 2035. Punjab shall face a double challenge. Unviable colleges shall closes down and at the same time there will be need to increase GER upto 50%.
Vocational Education no more an inferior choice
NEP announces that vocational education shall be integral part of mainstream education. In this case, Polytechnics and ITIs  can become
more relevant service providers to students of degree colleges and secondary schools.
Indian Knowledge System
NEP announces special focus on Indian knowledge system. Students of science must learn Indian languages so that they can make use of old manuscripts describing the knowledge of medicine, veterinary science, agriculture, architecture, chemistry etc. Dr. Leitner’s book A history
of Indigenous Education in Punjab (Education under Maharaja Ranjit Singh) is much discussed document in Pakistan but policy makers in
India are totally silent on this work.  Patiala state archives and other manuscript collections should not be left at the mercy of few historians. These archives have a treasure trove for traditional knowledge systems. Punjab government must form a separate committee to explore how Indian knowledge system available in Gurmukhi can be utilized in this case.
End of Bureaucratic/ academic Self isolation in Education
In the end, this policy announces that the days of water tight compartmentalization are over. Teachers must leave their comfort zone
of teaching one or two papers for the life time. Bureaucracy must also stop acting like a feudal lord acting in one’s fief. There is no coordination between Punjab school education department and Punjab higher education department. While Captain Amarinder Singh wrote a letter to  the PM that Punjab can not  conduct online exam for few thousand final semester students due to digital divide, secretary, school education was conducting online bi-monthly exams for one million  school students. In a way, secretary school education was dismissing CM’s argument with his practice. In Punjab, the hand handling higher education does not know, what the hand handling school education is doing and vice versa is also true. NEP requires greater coordination across compartments. This will be a key challenge for Punjab.
Centre has made the policy. Cabinet has passed it. Now Punjab government must start brain storming over its implementation. History will remember how Punjab responded to such historical changes.

After the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued revised guidelines on final year exams on July 6, 2020, the state governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha, Delhi and Punjab became more vocal about the interest of students.UGC recommended online, offline, blended line exams and these states dismissed feasibility of all lines at all.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh wrote a letter to the prime minister Narendra Modi and students started #SayNoToUGCGuidelines and #StudentLivesMatter.

Captain Amarinder Singh’s letter to the prime minister was candid enough to admit that online examinations are not an easy option for students of Punjab, majority of whom are at the end of digital divide. He also demanded that “UGC may be asked to reiterate its earlier issued guidelines of April 29, 2020, wherein it had been clearly mentioned that the guidelines were advisory in nature and each state/university would chart out its own plan of action taking in to consideration the issues pertaining to Covid-19 pandemic.”

CM Punjab was not alone to voice such concerns. Governor West Bengal also decided to talk to UGC and MHRD. Shrillest voices came from Maharashtra.

But, MHRD and UGC declared that they are not going to change stated stance on final year/semester examinations. The ministry and the regulatory body believed that no degree is valid without final exams. Exams bring credibility, uniformity and scholarships. Their officials stated that the UGC guidelines are mandatory for states. They said that no degree is valid without the approval of UGC. The only response UGC has shown towards states’ concern is that it has allowed them a more flexible schedule and choice of examination mode but again made it clear that no degree can be awarded without final year exams.

States, on the other hand are concerned about the health of their students. They don’t afford to expose their youth to health risk while conducting exams.

MHRD and UGC are more concerned about the sanctity of final year exams, to be conducted before or after September 30.

States say that things don’t seem to improve by September 30. Online exams are not an option for the states, offline exams shall pose health risk. The universities must be allowed to devise their own ways of assessing their students without exams, before awarding them degrees. Paying heed to the concerns of states and stakeholders, MHRD has decided to meet state education secretaries and health authorities to discuss the matter.

DEGREES WITHOUT EXAMS ARE NOT DOLES

UGC and MHRD believe that awarding degrees to final year/semester students is like give them doles. They will get what they have not earned. It is not true. Final year students have earned marks/credits in all previous semesters. This is how they became part of final semester. Final semester was taught only for two and half months at campuses. There are number of ways for assessing their performance for this unfortunately truncated semester. The unending confusion that final year exams will happen or will not happen has exposed them to enough mental stress and now they are sitting with crossed fingers and staring at the challenges post COVID life is going to pose. Only a few state governments are voicing their concerns.

UGC AND EDUCATION FEDERALISM

Do the states have any say, when the question of following or not following UGC guidelines arises? Is there any mechanism at UGC which gives voice to the states? Do we have a mechanism to negotiate the changing character of education federalism, like we have for fiscal federalism? In a way, UGC stance that its guidelines are binding upon the states, has fore-grounded the need for greater stakes of states in the process of decision making by UGC. UGC must be responsive to different needs of different states. Are states left with some kind of decision making powers in higher education or not, is another pertinent question. The answer lies in the manner, how MHRD and UGC shall address concerns raised by states regarding final exams.