Indian Toys For Global Children

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In the address of Mann ki Baat on Sunday 30th August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about how India could become a hub of toy production. Talking of developing new toys for the children, he said that toys not only augment activity, they also give flight to our aspirations. Toys, not only entertain, they also build the mind and foster an intent too, he said.

Prime Minister further said that in the National Education Policy, a lot of attention has been given on the impact of toys on different aspects of children's lives. He said there are several skilled artisans who possess expertise in making good toys and some parts of the country like Channapatna in Ramnagaram in Karnataka, Kondaplli in Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tami Nadu, Dhubari in Assam, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are also developing as Toy clusters. 

Talking of business opportunities that the toy industry offers, he said that while Global Toy Industry is worth more than 7 lakh crore rupees, India currently has a very little share in it. He exhorted the entrepreneurs to team up for toys, saying it is the time to get vocal for local toys.

Prime Minister Modi has rightly called for making India a hub for toy manufacturing. China, at the moment, commands the global toy market. With our resolve to be 'atmanirbhar' we should ensure that we do not import toys and, instead, work for exporting toys to the global market.

 

Every village of ours has a game of their own, which are very local. Entrepreneurs can explore possibilities of developing toys based on these exclusive games played in our villages. 

While venturing in the manufacturing of toys, we must ensure good and safe quality standards, not only for global market but also for local use.

Let us work for a good share of the 7 lakh crore global market. Indian toys for global children should by our 'mantra'.

Optical Fibre Connectivity To All 6 Lakh+ Villages Will Be A Game Changer

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In the Independence Day address to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he talked of a number of welfare measures and development programs that will be undertaken. However, I feel the most important of the announcements was that of connecting all the six lakh plus villages with fibre optical cable. The opportunities this move will provide are manifold.

It will uplift the economy, specially of rural India, tremendously. The income of farmers will rise as they will be able to use the eNAM platform provided by the government in a better way and even reach the consumer directly. Imagine the vegetables that a farmer grows can reach his customer directly, fresh every morning, once internet facilities are available.

Retail shops will open in villages which would help in reaching the products that were not available till now to the villagers. Common Service Centres will open in all villages and provide the residents many facilities, for which they had to run to block or district headquarters.

 In the last six months we have seen growth of online education in the cities because of Covid_19 pandemic. Educational institutions have closed and no one knows when they will open. There are reports that the rural children are not getting the full advantage of digital education that the schools are providing. They do not have smart phones and the connectivity issues are there. Some have come out with 2G solutions, but still the connectivity is an issue. The education of rural children is suffering. It is feared that when the schools reopen, maybe we will see a good number of students dropping out. In these six months the parents have engaged the children in some work giving them a little extra income. And when the schools reopen (when?) they will be reluctant to join back. We will have to start another campaign of “Chalo School”.

 in such a scenario the broadband connectivity through optical fibre would become a game changer, even for education.

Jobs will be created in lakhs, not only in the cities but also in rural India. The best outcome will be that the local youth will not have to migrate to cities to look for jobs. This will even help in reducing the burden on urban centres manifold. The amount saved from creating infrastructure in cities can then be diverted to be invested in rural area.

 The Prime Minister has given a deadline of a thousand days for achieving this connectivity to each village. We have so many villages in remote, hilly and other difficult areas. It is a mammoth task, but with the determination and will power of all, we are on our way to create a New Bharat.

Disposal Of Used PPE Kits

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Only last month there was a news of over a crore PPE kits and two crore N95 masks being given to states by the Central Government. (Read this news : http://bharatmahan.in/positive-news/more-2-cr-n95-masks-1-cr-ppes-distributed-free-cost-central). It is also reported that we are making three lakh PPE kits and the same number of N95 masks every day. Add to this the numbers that are imported and also being made in the unorganised sector that are not accounted for.

It is good that we have become 'atmanirbhar' in these two products. We have even started exporting them.

However, it seems we have not given much attention to the disposal of this bio-medical waste which is so hazardous. 

As it is, our records in the disposal of bio-medical waste has nothing to boast about. Now, with the added burden of PPE kits and masks, amidst the COVID_19 crisis, the concerned departments have to immediately swing into super-active mode. All must appreciate the danger we are facing. Number of Covid positive cases are rising every day at great speed. We have been improving in the facilities of its treatment with hundreds of hospitals now taking care. Even testing facilities have shown a dramatic increase. All this has led to more use of PPE kits and masks.

Only two days back it was reported in a Mumbai newspaper how this waste is piling up in hospitals. According to this report, in this city alone, there is an increase of bio-medical waste to the tune of ten thousand kgs a day. Similar is the case all over the country.

Who knows, among the thousands of new positive Covid cases detected daily, some would have been affected by this waste.

The Health Ministry, Environment Ministry and the Prime MInister's Office need a lot to do and address this issue on war footing. Even Niti Aayog could step in. Our IITs, ICMR and the like are developing new techniques to treat and test but they should also look into the aspect of bio-medical waste disposal.

To make 'SwasthaBharat' a reality let us start taking action now.

Acquiring Knowledge

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This is in continuation to my post yesterday - "Knowledge With Communication Skills Is A Sure Winner".

Today I am writing only on knowledge. 

Knowledge is not only what you acquire in the school or college. It is also what you acquire at home from your parents and relatives. It is also what you acquire from friends during your interactions with them. You also acquire knowledge later from the print and electronic media, books, social media, etc. And most importantly knowledge comes from life experiences. However, to acquire all this knowledge you have to keep your antenna wide open to accept all the transmission that is taking place. And once you accept, it is up to you to select what you have to delete and what you have to save.

In school or college it is observed that one accepts only those portions that helps in scoring high in the examinations. In school high score is needed to get admission in the college and in the college high score is needed to get a good job. Must also appreciate that, not necessarily there will be a difference in the knowledge of a student scoring 95% above and one scoring 90% above. May be on the particular exam day the student, though knowing all, could not answer for one reason or the other. Once this is achieved, the admission to higher institute or securing a job, no one asks you as to how much you scored in your final examinations. It is then that overall knowledge is, what gives one a real lead over others in life. 

In this overall knowledge is included what you acquire from your parents, relatives and friends, as mentioned initially. In real life it is your attitude, your behaviour, your empathy towards someone who needs support etc. which will take you to great heights.

One must remember that acquiring knowledge is a continuous process. There is no end to learning. Who knew that an engineering graduate who topped the university twenty years back, will have to relearn the technology offered today. Or take the current example of a teacher, following the pandemic. Did any teacher foresee that instead of teaching in the class with a black board, online teaching will have to be done. Same goes in every field. If one does not update with the current trends there are much chances of such persons becoming redundant. 

Acquiring the right knowledge will be key to success.

Knowledge With Communication Skills Is A Sure Winner

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Was hearing a podcast* in which the host Kartikeyan Khator and Abhimanyu Gupta were in conversation with Kim Kaupe (co-founder of The Superfan Company, New York | Shark Tank Starrer | Forbes 30 under 30). In this Kim Kaupe, in the end, mentioned of 'Knowledge being the new currency'. I fully agree with Kim. However, would like to add that with knowledge one must have good communication skills. 

Neither just knowledge nor just communication skill is enough to take you to great heights. There would be many with so much of knowledge, but they lag behind if they do not have a good knack to take their message across. Be it our 'dharam gurus', our political leaders or management experts, one will see that those with good communication skills and grasp over their subject, are the ones to whom one listens, who become icons. 

On the other side if you see a great orator talking rubbish, talking without knowledge of the subject, you for sure will not listen to him/her again. 

If one has both these traits, there is nothing to stop the person from reaching great heights.

Time we realised the importance and start making special efforts to acquire these qualities. And make sure that the children at home, from early age, are guided through to learn these to be a winner always.

 (*To listen to the full half an hour podcast click https://bit.ly/chunderkhator_ep3 )