Over-dependence on Technology will advance Human Development

Ramesh lives in a small village where there are no good colleges near to him to complete his graduation in Physics and move towards his goal of becoming a successful scientist. However he does not lose hope and enrols himself to a course in an open university and downloads all the study materials and course books from the internet, thus helping him to study despite the inadequate facilities near to his home.
The example of Ramesh clearly shows how technology can be immensely helpful in the overall human development. With the use of technology, humans can achieve the impossible and the unimaginable.
Technology is basically the application of science into making products that helps the human in his day to day life. Technology has become an integral part of human lives from waking up in the morning from an alarm clock to the use of air conditioners in cooling of our body at night; humans are using technology in their overall development.
In the field of education, humans are now increasingly dependent on technology. Internet is one large storehouse of knowledge that has replaced the traditional role of books in imparting knowledge. This has led to wide information dissemination and reach of education in areas where traditional methods would have never gone or would take too much time to reach e.g. in villages and hilly areas.
Similarly in the field of health, a large number of diseases can easily be detected at an early stage due to various technological innovations like x Rays, MRI etc. Technology is also used in child birth where traditional methods had failed e.g. Test tube babies.
In the field of Space, technology has been immensely helpful in exploration of new planets and solving the mysteries of outer space. We have so many artificial satellites going for exploring new planets for presence of extra-terrestrial life. India’s very own Mangalyaan went to Mars and many new facts about the planet were discovered. All these discoveries could have been possible only due to the use of technology.
The area of agriculture is the one which has immensely benefitted from the use and dependence of technology. The inventions of High Yielding Varieties of crops are the answer to feeding the growing population of the world. New technologies in the field of irrigation like drip irrigation will not only increase the yield of the crop but will also save water.  New machinery in agricultures like threshers, tractors has gone a long way in reducing human labour and increasing the productivity. More and more mechanised agriculture will lead to higher productivity and surplus production and help in tackling the problem of malnutrition as well. Thus technology has played an immense role in the sphere of agriculture in enhancing human development.
The way of human and material transportation has drastically improved because of technology. With the inventions of airplanes, trains, cars etc. the human life has become quite mobile. With enhanced speed, the world has truly become a global village. The faster movement of goods like perishable food material has enhanced the food security of the world. Thus technology has greatly helped in development of human life.
Technology has also been used to save the ecology and create a better environment for all the creatures. Genetic initiatives like seed bank or the use of cameras in keeping a look on the endangered species are some of the areas where technology is being used to make this world suitable for all living beings.
Hence we see a lot of overdependence of technology by humans and technology today has become an integral part of human society. But every coin has two sides. On one side although technology has benefitted humans to a large extent, there have been cases where overdependence on technology has caused harm to human lives as well.
The very common cause of obesity in humans today is attributed to technology. It has made humans lazier and forcing us to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Due to this, humans are at a risk of developing many diseases. The use of mobile phones and other gadgets have been known to cause cancer and hearing problems. Similarly over use of laptops and computers are causing posture problems in humans today with loss in eyesight due to excess radiations.
Environment is perhaps one of the most widely affected areas from the use of technology. The widespread industries are spewing out harmful gases warming the Earth and melting glaciers causing rising sea levels and erratic climate pattern which has affected humans worldwide especially the poor.
The use of technology has also caused a lot of man-made disasters and has affected people worldwide. The construction of dams on rivers has known to cause earthquake and are even causes of flood in case of heavy rainfalls. The nuclear disaster in Russia is also an example of how technology can sometimes go terribly wrong.
Most worrisome use of technology is being portrayed in the times of wars. The dropping of atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima is a perfect example of how technology can be very easily used to wipe out the entire humankind from the planet. With growing number of terrorist organisation in the world like ISIS, technology in wrong hands could certainly not be beneficial for human development.
Technology affects each and every human being and in different ways. On one hand, it is bringing the world closer through faster means of communication; it is also making the individual isolated. People do not want to talk to their neighbours because they are too busy in their social media lives.  On one hand it is curing a large number of diseases, it is also the frequent cause of many diseases. On hand, it can remove poverty through better use of resources and education access at an affordable cost, on the other hand it may increase the poverty gap if the access of technology is confined to a few individual.
Hence dependence on technology may be a good thing as it may lead to human development and better lifestyle, the overdependence may lead to more problems than it solves. It entirely depends on the individual, how he wishes to use the technology. It can be used to create fighter jets and bombs which can take lives of innocent people, or it can be used to create satellites and probes to study outer planets for finding life there as Ramesh wanted to do by becoming a scientist.

Kashmir Vs Balochistan

Problems in Kashmir and Balochistan are not exactly similar although they do originate at the time of Independence of both the country. Some major similarities are as follows:

- Both the regions are underdeveloped despite Balochistan having huge mineral reserves and Kashmir having huge potential for hydroelectricity and tourism

- Both the areas suffer from violent insurgencies

- Human rights have been violated in both the regions

- Unemployment of youth is a serious concern in both the regions

Difference in Situation

- Kashmir was assimilated in India when its ruler signed Instrument of Accession with India. However in the case of Balochistan, it was forcefully annexed by Pakistani Military when its ruler had specifically signed the treaty for an indpendent state with Pakistan

- Constitutional Measures like Art. 370, the demographics of Kashmir has been preserved while in Balochistan, with massive killings and repopulation measure, the demographics has changed entirely.

- Problems in Kashmir mainly started with sponsored terrorism from neighborhood areas while in Balochistan it is mainly due to unfair treatment it has received from Pakistan.

- Kashmir is more of an International issue due to rising protests from Pakistan side while Balochistan is often seen as an internal issue of Pakistan.

Thus the problems of both the regions may appear to be same but there are some major differences which needs to dealt separately.

Rising Engineers Vs Declining Doctors

The number of Engineers in the country have been on the rise in the country while the number of doctors have been declining. Some of the main reasons could be as follows:

- Mushrooming of Large number of Engineering colleges in the country which has led to huge increase in the total number of Engineers graduating everyday

- Less number of Govt Medical Colleges in the country

- High Capitation fees for admission in Private medical college as compared to private engineering colleges

- Traditional gender roles in which girls are suitable to become doctors but they do not get adequate study facilities. Thus they fail to become doctors

- Course duration of MBBS is longer as compared to a B. Tech course which leads to students being attracted towards Engineering Courses

- Wide variety of courses available in Engineering courses from Computer science, IT, Mechanical etc while the undergraduate course in Medicine does not offer such specialisation and becomes monotonous for a medicine student

The Implication for such a rise are as follows:

Negative Effect

- The status of healthcare and medicine in the country is decreasing as there are shortages of doctors. Rural areas are the worst hit as doctors do not want to practice medicine in such areas

- Most of the engineers graduating, do not posses required skills to be recruited by a company. Hence unemployment is on the rise.

- The salary given to engineers are less due to huge supply
Positive Effects:

- India has become an IT hub due to high number of IT professionals.

- Engineers are using their technical knowledge to open start ups and generating employment opportunities.

However a balance should be maintained in the number of Doctors and Engineers graduating as both technical and medical skills are essential for any developing country.

Culture Vs Environment

Any mass congregation of people has an adverse impact on the overall ecology of the area. Events like World Cultural Festivals, Kumbh Mela or even the Olympics lead to a huge pressure on the biodiversity of the area. Some of the major effects are
- Loss of Biodiversity due to clearing of trees and shrubs to make way for the event
- Polluting of Water bodies and Riverine Ecosystem as these events are generally neat the water source
- Disturbance of the flow of rivers channels due to construction of roads, pontoon bridges near the river body.
- Immense stress on the fragile floodplain due to large concentration of people and infrastructure
- Change in the level of flood plain of the river.
- Land Degradation caused due to anthropological activities in such areas.
Although these events are a part and parcel of human lives, extreme care should be taken in assessing the impact of the organizing such events. Proper local environment impact should be taken into account before permitting such events and stricter rules and regulations should be imposed in the sites to limit the pollution caused by people in these fragile ecosystem.

Dalit Movement in the Present Times

Dalit Movements have been quite frequent and widespread since time immemorial in the Indian subcontinent. The major thrust to the Dalit movement was given by Dr Ambedkar through his Mahad Satyagarha which mainly involved the issues of Temple Entry and access to drinking water from common well. Although the movement has come a long way in achieving its goals. there are still some of the issues which need to be addressed today which are manifested through present Dalit movements, some of the important features which we see are as follows:

- Demand for Equality and Social Justice
- Present day Dalit Movements are leaderless
- Pockets of Movement in specific parts of the country with varying issues like Social Justice, Discrimination in Educational Institution etc.
- It is mainly led by the educated section of the society

Most of the demands today are for social justice and equality of status in the society. However, there have been constitutional reforms in the country which has led to the abolition of derogatory practices like Untouchability, yet we see it in many forms in the Hinterlands of the country. Hence the demands of the dalits are justified. However along with social justice, political and economic justice should also be included in the demands for complete upliftment of the class.

15th Aug vs 26th January

India gained independence from British Rule on 15th Aug 1947. But why was 15th Aug chosen as the date on which the British would leave the Indian Colony

- British PM Clement Atlee decided that the complete transfer of Power would be done by June 1948

- Lord Mountbatten decided to leave India on 15th Aug as this was the day Japan surrendered in 1945 in WW2

- The date also coincides with the South Korean Independence day from the Japanese Power

However the date of 26th Jan is much more auspicious to the National freedom struggle as compared to 15th Aug as it was on this day that the resolution of Poorna Swaraj was passed in the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress which holds an important milestone in the freedom struggle.

Had the British accepted to grant Independence to India on 26th jan 1948, with proper planning and execution, the horror of bloodbath and lives of many innocent people could have been saved.

Inflationary Target Monitory Policy

The government has decided to constitute a monetary policy committee with an aim to target the inflation making the RBI responsible to keep inflation in the band of 4%+-2%. The pros and cons of Inflation targeting Monetary policy is as follows

Pros:
- Stable inflationary rates will lead to price stability
- Inflationary Shocks are reduced
- Pro poor policy implementation
- Easily Measurable and Quantifiable

Cons:
- May Reduce investment in the country
- Inflation may be due to Supply shock reasons or may be seasonal. Hence may not give the correct picture

In a developing country like India it is very important to control inflation as an uncontrolled price rise may lead to widespread hunger and social discomfort. Having said that, it is also necessary to keep the policy rates to be in brackets which will promote investment and job opportunities in the country. Hence a balanced approach is necessary and the government's decision to constitute a monetary policy committee is a welcoming step in such regards