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<ul><li>The <keyword id="84486" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="All-INdia-radio">All India Radio</keyword> (AIR) will launch a radio programme focussed to train students in English. </li><li>The programme titled ‘Aao Angrezi Seekhein’ will be aired from 1 September at 11 am. </li><li> It will have 15 minutes learning sessions and will broadcast a total of 120 episodes. </li><li>According to a BBC survey, merely 10% of the total population in India is fluent in English.</li></ul>The All India Radio (AIR) will launch a radio programme to train students in English. The programme called ‘Aao Angrezi Seekhein’ (Come let's learn English) will be aired from 1 September at 11 am. The radio broadcast is initiated by the UN International Children's Fund (UNICEF), <keyword id="54028" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sarva-Shiksha-Abhiyan">Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan</keyword> (SSA), and the Uttar Pradesh government. It aims to enhance pronunciation and speaking skills of students, with 15 minute sessions. It will broadcast a total of 120 episodes. According to a<a href="http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/08/11/thoughts/english-language-cannot-be-taught-it-must-be-learnt"> BBC survey</a>, merely 10% of the total population in India is fluent in English. However, with the government stepping up efforts to reform education and extend it to minority sections, it is expected to rise four times by 2030. To start with, the programme will be launched from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) for students of classes V to VIII. "Teachers and Block Education officers have been directed to ensure the availability of a radio and their proper functioning before September 1,” IANS reported citing Basic Education Department officials. Meanwhile, state governments have also asked shiksha adhikaris (education officers) to conduct quiz contests and essay writing competition every three months. On similar lines, Google <a href="https://www.livemint.com/education/news/elsa-launches-in-india-to-improve-english-speaking-skills-of-indians-1565008057037.html">launched an English Language Speech Assistant (ELSA)</a> application in India recently to improve English speaking skills. It is focussed on training students in <keyword id="477335" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="grammar">grammar</keyword>. “ELSA is trying to fill the heavily ignored but essential gap of correct pronunciation and accent,” Mint reporting citing Ankit Raj, who is a part of ELSA India. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/amazon-alexa-is-being-used-in-maharashtra-schools-for-teaching-assistance/articleshow/70156968.cms">Good Morning Alexa: Students of Maharashtra village are taught by Amazon's virtual assistant</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/muzamil-anwar-iim-ahmedabad-alumni-wants-to-coach-students-of-war-hit-kargil-students-crack-cat-exam/articleshow/70340045.cms">This IIM alumni wants to coach students of war-hit Kargil crack CAT exam</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-introduces-scholarships-for-indian-expatriates-to-pursue-higher-education/articleshow/69686277.cms">Scholarships for Indian students in 66 countries to pursue higher education</a>

This is All India Radio, and let us now start learning English

New Delhi, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> on Monday recounted the journey of Parliament right from the framing and adoption of the <keyword id="18821055" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="constitution-in-1950" source="Orion">Constitution in 1950</keyword> to the abrogation of Article 370 while addressing the special session.As the operations of Parliament are set to begin from the new building from Tuesday (September 19), PM Modi, while recalling his emotional moments when he first arrived in <keyword id="116809" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament-house" source="Orion">Parliament House</keyword> as an MP in 2014, during his 50 minute address, recounted several historic moments which have been witnessed by Parliament in the last 75 years. "It is the occasion of the past meeting the present," the Prime Minister said, while addressing the Lok Sabha on the last day of functioning in the old building. He informed the House that in the current 17th Lok Sabha, there is the oldest MP in Samajwadi Party's Shafiqur Rehman Barq, who is 93 yearsold, while in Chandramani Murmu of the Biju Janata Dal, the House has the youngest MP at 30 years. The Prime Minister recalled that right from first PM <keyword id="6360386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jawaharlal-nehru" source="Orion">Jawaharlal Nehru</keyword>'s iconic "Tryst with Destiny" speech, which he delivered on the eve of Independence in the Central Hall, to Manmohan Singh, Parliament has seen the contributions of 14 Prime Ministers (including himself). Parliament has also seen the sorrow of three Prime Ministers having passed away during their tenures, namely Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. The Parliament, he informed, also saw sittings of the Constituent Assembly for two years and 11 months, which framed and adopted the Constitution. PM Modi also recounted the contribution of all the 17 Speakers, who have led the proceedings of the Lower House with dignity and ensured order, right from first Speaker Ganesh Mavalankar to the current incumbent Om Birla. "Their conduct over the years has been a point of reference," the Prime Minister said. PM Modi also lauded the framing of the nation's first water policy and industrial policy by B.R. Ambedkar and Shyama Prasad Mookerji under first Cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. Right from the resolution of 1965 Indo-Pak war, to Bangladesh's war of Liberation to the Green Revolution, the Parliament has been a witness to several historical moments. "It is a House where a party with four MPs has been in the opposition while a party with 100 MPs has represented the treasury benches," the Prime Minister said. The PM also recalled the moment when bombs thrown by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt in Parliament had awakened the British Empire. The formation of three states, namely Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, was also witnessed by this Parliament. However, Modi rued the fact that the division of Andhra Pradesh with the creation of Telangana, which was also witnessed in Lok Sabha, was not an occasion of celebration, as it resulted in a lot of acrimony. He also remembered the attack on Parliament, which he said, was an attack on the spirit of India. Highlighting the momentous occasions witnessed in Parliament, PM Modi said that right from abrogation of Article 370, to adoption of the GST regime, to the liberalisation policy which was unleashed by former Prime Minister Narsimha Rao, to the dubious occasion when the cash for vote incident rocked Parliament, the Lower House has seen it all. He also recalled the speeches of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the Lok Sabha and the policies introduced by him like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, to the creation of the ministries of Northeast and tribal affairs.

Modi recalls Nehru's 'Tryst with Destiny' speech and other moments on last day at old Parliament House

New Delhi, Jan 31 () Expenses of a student on books, stationery and uniform in rural India on an average are over 10 percentage points higher than those in urban areas, although participation in <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="education">education</keyword> system has seen improvement at all levels, according to the <keyword id="6354872" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Economic-survey">Economic Survey</keyword>. As per the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>, the absence of suitable financial support system and high burden of course fee, especially in higher education, pushes the poor and underprivileged out of the education system. Citing data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) report on 'Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India 2017-18', the survey said that in 2017-18, there were about 13.6 per cent persons of age 3 to 35 years who were never enrolled in the education system.
 "The reasons they cite for not enrolling were 'not interested in education' and 'financial constraints'," it said.
 Among those who were enrolled, drop-out rate was as high as 10 per cent at primary level, 17.5 per cent at upper primary/middle, and 19.8 per cent at secondary level, the survey added.
 Highlighting the challenges for 'Education for All' initiative, the survey said the composition of various components of expenditure on education indicates that the course fees, which is 50.8 per cent at all India level, among others contributes about half of the average expenditure of a basic course.
 Course fees include tuition, examination, developmental fees and other compulsory payments.
 The proportion of course fee is also high in rural and urban areas, it added.
 "The second largest component of average expenditure on education by student is books, stationery and uniform where an average student in the rural areas is surprisingly spending more than 10 percentage points as compared to urban areas," the survey said.
 It also pointed out that students pursuing education in private aided institutions are spending significantly higher as compared to government institutions across rural-urban India.
 Quoting the NSS report, the survey said in 2017-18, the average expenditure of an average student in government institutions pursuing secondary education was Rs 4,078 whereas the same for a student in private aided institution was Rs 12,487.
 When it comes to graduation, the expenditure for an average student in government institutions was at Rs 10,501, while in private aided institutions it was Rs 16,769.
 The survey said "due to absence of competition in government schools/institutions, quality of education in government schools/institutions is low. As a result, more and more students prefer to enrol themselves in private institutions".
 It cited initiatives such as Samagra Shiksha started in 2018-19, which subsumes three erstwhile centrally sponsored schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE), as steps taken to provide quality education in government schools and institutions in affordable and competitive manner. RKL RVK

Rural students spend more than urban counterpart on books, stationery, uniform: Eco Survey

<keyword id="47831" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="school-education">School education</keyword> is likely to be the focus of <keyword id="6599769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Budget-2017">Budget 2017</keyword>, where allocation for the <keyword id="6361862" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="education-sector">education sector</keyword> is expected to rise by 10-12% this year, almost double of what it was last year. 
 
It is being speculated that a major part of the increased allocation will be for improving education quality and outcome in schools. 
 
Here's what you can expect for educations sector in the upcoming Budget 2017: 
 
 - Setting up of Global Research Interactive Network 
 
This is for bringing foreign academic talent to the country and $3 billion dollar will be leveraged for investing in upgradation of the research infrastructure in the country to help spawn world-class universities. 
 
- 20 world class universities 
Prakash Javadekar recently said the guidelines which will be declared in the government policy very soon. 
 
- Forming micro level Indian associations 
This is to facilitate government communication with Indian students studying in countries such as the United Kingdom and to build public and private partnerships with Ministry of External Affairs for Indian students abroad. 
 
- Diversion of central funds from flagship education schemes to new initiatives 
The ministry is also exploring whether it can reduce the central government allocation to flagship education schemes such as the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid-day Meal scheme while increasing it for new initiatives focused on quality improvement and assessment. While the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or SSA (drive for the universalization of education) and the midday school meal scheme will continue to get sizable allocations, the Union budget is likely to emphasize the quality of outcome in schools. 
 
- Allocations to become performance-based 
Allocations or at least part of the allocations, may become performance-based (with academic outcomes being a measure of performance).

School education focus of Budget 2017: Here's everything that Modi govt may gift the Education Sector in the coming days

In a bid to end rural <keyword id="45057" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Poverty">poverty</keyword>, top bureaucrats of the central government have recommended ways to overcome the hurdles of infrastructure, healthcare, employment and education in rural and backward area. These steps include creating a national pool of doctors for short-term voluntary postings in tribal areas and building comfortable and secure infrastructure at sub-division level to retain staffers at field level, as per a news report by The Economic Times. 
 The 46 secretaries to the <keyword id="6377129" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-Of-India">Government of India</keyword> have recently submitted a report on ground-level conditions after visiting their first place of posting in January on orders from <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword>. 
 
The 'Report of visit of secretaries to their first place of posting' " which was reviewed by The Economic Times " has listed a range of infrastructure, sanitation and employment problems at the ground level, indicating years of bureaucratic neglect and administrative inefficiency. 
 
Pointing to the abysmal healthcare facilities at ground level, the report recommends creating a "voluntary national pool of doctors, both retired and serving, who should be willing to go to backward tribal areas for a short period of say, three to six months, after which, they could return to their place of posting". 
The report also suggests the management of solid waste should be incorporated under the 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan'. The <keyword id="6447470" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-secretary">home secretary</keyword>, in his report, called for strengthening the Pradhan Mantrai Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by expanding its ambit to include eligible habitations based on 2011 census, instead of the 2001 census. 
 
A key area of concern pointed out in the report is the inadequate presence of cutting edge staff at field level, which impacts efficiency of public service delivery. Secretaries pointed to near 30% vacancies at the collectorate level and also across departments, schoolteachers and doctors. The recommendations also include stationing at least one <keyword id="200707" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-representative">government representative</keyword> at each village, which will help in execution of multiple central schemes running at the block or village level like say the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the <keyword id="6383794" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-Rural-Health-Mission">National Rural Health Mission</keyword>. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Babus now have a solution to rid India of its most serious problem-Poverty

<ul><li>The time following the <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> has been difficult for the <keyword id="550921" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="stationary">stationary</keyword> industry, since educational institutes and offices have remained closed. </li><li><keyword id="477533" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tanveer-Khan">Tanveer Khan</keyword>, Director, Marketing at <keyword id="6330680" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="BIC-Cello">BIC Cello</keyword> India tells us how the brand has been making smart portfolio choices and focusing on expanding its presence online to ensure its products can reach it consumers, at home.</li></ul>Last year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced the lockdown, none of us would have thought that we would still be dealing with the pandemic, more than a year later. The last one year has been challenging for businesses across segments and the stationery segment is no different. With the closure of schools, colleges and offices, and the rapid digitalization of courses, the industry was hit hard. According to Technavio, the global <keyword id="11135608" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-stationery-retailing">consumer stationery retailing</keyword> market is expected to grow by $6.35 billion during 2020-2024. However, according to experts in India, the industry has witnessed a decline of around 35%, owing to the closure of educational institutions across the country. During a normal year, the industry witnesses a peak in demand during the months that schools re-open, the beginning of financial years and even during the festive months. However, last year things were subdued and despite the hope that this year will be better, the increasing Covid numbers tell us that we are still a substantial amount of time away from normalcy. So how is BIC Cello, a prominent player in the stationary segment dealing with the situation? We spoke to Tanveer Khan, Director, Marketing at BIC Cello India, to find some answers. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) With students not going to school for close to a year now, how have things changed for you as a brand?" text="Q) With students not going to school for close to a year now, how have things changed for you as a brand?">Q) With students not going to school for close to a year now, how have things changed for you as a brand?</cmsannotation> The interim closure of educational institutions has not only impacted the education sector but other ancillary businesses including the stationery segment. The industry witnessed a decline of approx. 35% in 2020 versus 2019 in Traditional Trade sales. We also noticed a similar trend for our core business i.e., writing instruments. However, because of growing internet penetration and shift to digital mediums, we registered an increase in demand for our writing instruments, arts and craft product segments on all key e-commerce platforms. From a business standpoint, we anticipate recovery in traditional trade in the second half of 2021 with gradual opening of schools, colleges and offices. Overall, with an increased focus on education and a growing young population, the outlook remains strong for the stationery segment in India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Did you have to completely rethink how you approached consumers in the last one year and increase more presence online rather than offline?" text="Q) Did you have to completely rethink how you approached consumers in the last one year and increase more presence online rather than offline?">Q) Did you have to completely rethink how you approached consumers in the last one year and increase more presence online rather than offline?</cmsannotation> The biggest takeaway for us from 2020 was the importance of having a balanced portfolio that reaches consumers through multiple channels. Building a robust omni-channel presence which leverages our full portfolio has been part of BIC Cello’s strategy and 2020 only accelerated our actions in this direction. We increased our investments substantially to engage with e-commerce consumers last year. We will continue to focus on strengthening our omni-channel marketing this year and provide consumers with a seamless experience no matter where they are. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Schools, colleges, and offices being shut also meant both children and adults had more time at home. Did you see that result in an increased demand for certain segments of products for you, like DIY, arts and crafts etc?" text="Q) Schools, colleges, and offices being shut also meant both children and adults had more time at home. Did you see that result in an increased demand for certain segments of products for you, like DIY, arts and crafts etc?">Q) Schools, colleges, and offices being shut also meant both children and adults had more time at home. Did you see that result in an increased demand for certain segments of products for you, like DIY, arts and crafts etc?</cmsannotation> The pandemic and the resultant lockdown have been difficult for everyone. More so for parents, who have been scrambling for resources to keep their kids engaged in productive activities. As part of a recent survey that we had conducted in December 2020, we found that the average spending on school supplies shot up from Rs 8,000 to 20,000 or more, primarily due to investment in electronic items, while a significant dip of Rs 5,000 seen in stationery. Staying at home has given children time to pause, refuel and spend quality time with their parents. They are expressing themselves creatively through offline activities, such as colouring and drawing along with their parents. An interesting trend to note here is that colouring was not only limited to younger kids, but children across all ages and a segment of adult audience also took to colouring to engage themselves. At BIC Cello, we are proud to provide families and children with essential tools they need for learning, working and self-expression, and we hope we can continue to help spark a little joy and imagination during these difficult times. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What has your strategy in 2021 been, in terms of ensuring that the business impact of another lockdown like this is minimal?" text="Q) What has your strategy in 2021 been, in terms of ensuring that the business impact of another lockdown like this is minimal?">Q) What has your strategy in 2021 been, in terms of ensuring that the business impact of another lockdown like this is minimal?</cmsannotation> We have been able to accelerate growth in our arts and colouring segment along with e-commerce business. We turned to moment marketing and trending conversations to get our message across our audiences. 2020 was all about molding the brand to create relevant conversations around different occasions to engage our consumers. For instance, we created content on our colouring range – ColourUp on digital and social platforms, giving a chance for our audience to engage with the brand from the comfort of their homes. We also shared topical content and provided people with ideas on how to keep children busy by giving wings to their imagination with our art and craft range. We teamed up with Disney’s ‘Imagine That’ last year, where Harun Robert, who is popularly known as Rob, (anchor) showed children interesting and exciting ways to create things creatively with Cello ColourUp Colouring range. Having said this, we have been working towards building a robust e-commerce portfolio by introducing new products across segments. Lastly, we have been monitoring the situation on-ground and working with our trade partners in ensure right assortment availability across channels. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What has your broader marketing strategy been? How have you made sure you come to your consumer's minds whenever they think stationery?" text="Q) What has your broader marketing strategy been? How have you made sure you come to your consumer's minds whenever they think stationery?">Q) What has your broader marketing strategy been? How have you made sure you come to your consumer's minds whenever they think stationery?</cmsannotation> At BIC Cello, our marketing strategies have been simple. We want our products and our communication to connect and resonate with our consumers. To be able to achieve this, we follow a two-pronged approach: Segment Focus –Our robust portfolio has a wide range of stationery products which include ball pens, gel pens, fountain pens, roller pens, permanent markers, whiteboard markers, colour markers, office &amp; school stationery, and diverse coloring range which we launched recently. Product innovation and a diverse portfolio that answers consumer needs are key to building a strong brand. BIC-Cello products play a key role in the development of students’ intellect and creativity. We engage with our consumers on key occasions such as exam time, summer break, back to school, etc. to help them develop their skills and creativity. While we are market leaders in the pen segment, we will continue to develop &amp; expand our colouring and marking range to strengthen the Joy Of Expression. Channel Focus– Trade: When it comes to trade channels, we aim to Build a robust omni-channel presence which leverages our portfolio. This involves innovating and promoting the right assortment with the right visibility across all channels like Traditional Trade, Modern Mass, eCom, etc. Media: We command the highest level of consumer awareness in the stationery segment which is a reflection of our ability to smartly use various media channels. We choose media channels as per the objective of the activity we want to carry out. We use mass media channels, like TV, outdoor, etc., for generating awareness for new products/segments. We use digital channels, to increase our brand consideration and engage with consumers in a meaningful way throughout the year. Content Focus -Strong engagement is driven by integrating meaningful content &amp; product performance. For example, for Cello ColourUp colouring range, our social handles push a lot of content around unique ways to engage &amp; inspire children through DIY activities. We focus on educating consumers on the importance of creating the right environment for children, using crayonsto spur creativity and improve motor skills, that will fuel their cognitive development. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) How have consumer preferences evolved and how have you as a brand made sure you could adapt to these changes?" text="Q) How have consumer preferences evolved and how have you as a brand made sure you could adapt to these changes?">Q) How have consumer preferences evolved and how have you as a brand made sure you could adapt to these changes?</cmsannotation> We observed radical shifts in consumer behavior last year. To understand the changes better, we conducted an in-depth survey across India to assess the impact of the pandemic on parents and their children’s education. The survey results revealed interesting insights on how Indian parents coped up with their new role as home-tutors as well as their key concerns right from increased costs of school supplies to managing children's screen time.Staying at home gave parents a lot of quality time to spend with their children. A large fraction of parents admitted that screen time has significantly increased for their kids and that they were trying to engage their children more with offline activities, such as coloring, to help them express their creativity. Additionally, the rise in digital content and influencer marketing around stationery products has led to more awareness and understanding of exciting options available in the market. Gone are the days where stationery was viewed as a functional and low involvement category. Today, our audiences are choosing stationery as a style and personality statement and are open to experimentation with brands of high price-points. Therefore, our focus is to further develop our digital footprint and continuously engage with our audience, to further ideas on learning &amp; creativity using our stationery range. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What kind of investments are you thinking of making this year on marketing?" text="Q) What kind of investments are you thinking of making this year on marketing?">Q) What kind of investments are you thinking of making this year on marketing?</cmsannotation> At BIC Cello, our media channel investment has always been a healthy mix of TV, print, outdoor,online and digital mediums. Because of the impact of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns, we have calibrated our media investments vs previous years, we will move away from outdoor spends such as billboards, metro and bus station advertising and switch to channels to reach our consumers at home. The pandemic has impacted consumer sentiments negatively, it has set the base for creating inspiring, meaningful and purpose-led communication with consumers. Our communication approach is to make more creative and engaging content which will allow us to make deeper connections with our consumers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Going ahead, what will your key focus areas be to make sure you are able to capture a larger market share?" text="Q) Going ahead, what will your key focus areas be to make sure you are able to capture a larger market share?">Q) Going ahead, what will your key focus areas be to make sure you are able to capture a larger market share?</cmsannotation> We believe our omni-channel approach, supported by meaningful portfolio choices, will help us gain share. We are the leaders in the pens segment, and we aim to expand our leadership to other stationery segments. Consumers have adopted digital as a communication channel and e-commerce as a preferred channel for purchase. These will continue to be a key focus area. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In the global scheme of things, how important is the Indian market for BIC Cello and what kind of investments can we expect in the country?" text="Q) In the global scheme of things, how important is the Indian market for BIC Cello and what kind of investments can we expect in the country?">Q) In the global scheme of things, how important is the Indian market for BIC Cello and what kind of investments can we expect in the country?</cmsannotation> India is a critical and exciting market for us at BIC. India’s growing education sector offers tremendous growth potential for the local stationery market. India has nearly 300 million students, which is equivalent to a country altogether. These includes school-going children, graduate and post-graduate students using stationery equipment. The increasing number of schools and offices, coupled with improved standard of living, will result in more people purchasing stationery products and it will aid the shift from buying cheap poor performing stationery products to higher priced good quality products. With impetus by the Government of India through policies like National Policy on Education and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, I can firmly say that this sector will see a sustained growth in the coming years. BIC Cello will continue to build in market capabilities in India, we are evaluating enhanced levels of investments behind both customers and the consumers.

How BIC Cello is focusing on omni-channel marketing and meaningful portfolio choices to gain market share

"Education which does not help common mass of people to equip themselves is it worth of name?.." Finance Minister <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword> quoted Swami Vivekanandav in the Parliament, before making some of the biggest Budget announcements India has received in education sector so far. 
 
While highlighting Modi government's "Transform, Energize and Clean India" mission for Budget 2017-18, the Finance Minister said,"Quality education will energize our youth." 
 
He proposed the introduction of a system of measuring annual learning. Emphasis, he said, will be given to science education in schools. 
 
To free CBSE and other agencies of administrative responsibilities, he announced a National Testing agency to conduct all examinations in higher education. 
 
Additionally, in a major push to Make In India, Jaitley announced 100 international skill centres across India to help youth who are seeking jobs overseas. 
 
3479 educationally backward blocks will be given focus. A Swayam platform will be launched with atleast 350 online courses and it will be made available through DTH. 
 
Other key highlights concerning education, youth, women and minorities: 
 
Youth 
- Legislative reforms to simplify existing labour laws 
- ​Stress on vocational training for youth - Two new <keyword id="40458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="AIIMS">AIIMS</keyword> to be set up in Jharkhand and Gujarat 
- Stepped up allocation for welfare of women and child at 1,82,000 crore 
-​ One stop convergence support system for skill employment etc for rural women 
 
Women and Children 
- Model Shops and Establishment Bill to open up additional opportunities for employment of women 
- For welfare of women and children, allocation stepped up from Rs 1,56,528 cr to Rs 1,84,632 cr in 17-18 - Rs 500 cr allocated to set up <keyword id="4126560" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mahila-shakti-kendras">Mahila Shakti Kendras</keyword> 
- Allocation raised from Rs 1.56 lakh cr to Rs 1.84 lakh cr for women and child welfare. 
- Hiked Allocation For Women Skill Development to Rs 1.84 lakh cr 
- Total allocation to women and children related schemes to rise from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 1.84 lakh crore 
 
Minorities - SC/ST 
- 35% increase in funds allocation for schedule castes to Rs 52,393 crore. 
- Allocation for minorities stepped up 4195 cr. 
- Outcome based monitoring by NITI Aayog introduced. 
 The Finance Minister said,"Providing quality education is very crucial to the children who are on their way to create India’s core working population in the next 10 years. This development in their formative years can help the country in the years to come. <keyword id="6599769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Budget-2017">Budget 2017</keyword> is an opportunity for the government to concentrate on the improvement of school education for children who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools. The Centre’s commitment to education has always been high on intent but low in practice." 
 
The Budget 2016-17 allocated Rs 1,51,581 crore for social sector including education and health care. The then budget included 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas to be opened, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to increasing focus on quality of education, regulatory architecture to be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions, set up of higher education financing agency with initial capital base of 1000 Crores and the digital depository for school leaving certificates, college degrees, academic awards &amp; mark sheets to be set-up.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley makes biggest announcements for Education Sector in India

Nearly ten months after the Prime Minister Narendra <keyword id="6354642" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Modi">Modi</keyword> assumed office, his ambitious projects meant for the betterment of the society seems to be ‘full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’. As per a news report by The Economic Times, Modi’s much hyped <keyword id="6361202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat">Swachh Bharat</keyword> scheme has suffered a <keyword id="841422" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="budget-cut">budget cut</keyword> of Rs 635 crore across the country for the fiscal year 2015-16. 
 
However, this move might mean a better execution of the projects. With less funds involved and better grounding of the projects, this might mean less misuse of the funds at various levels. 
 
Erstwhile Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh’s Integrated Child Development Scheme for undernourished children in anganwadis has also been cut by a whopping cut of Rs 9,858 crore, which is less than half of last year's budget of Rs 17,858 crore. 
 
According to the financial daily, the Modi government has also cut funds to the Rashtirya Grameen Drinking Water Scheme that sees a slash of Rs 8,390 crore. 
 
Even the allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) has come down drastically from Rs 9,193.75 crore last year to just Rs 2,000 crore. SSA has garnered a mounting success over the years in most parts of the country where school drop outs were on rise. 
While the Congress in opposition has managed to activate the blame mode towards the ruling BJP, political experts opine that this would enhance the investment in infrastructures, agriculture and agribusiness, research and innovation, upgradation of industries, foreign investment, secondary education and vocational training . 
 
Political analyst Harish Ramaswamy has told the financial daily that the allocations were "more practical and pragmatic" this time, as states often did not utilise the funds that were allotted to them. 
 
(Image: India Times)

Modi’s pet scheme, ‘Swachha Bharat’ now lacks funds!

In the era of personalised learning, <keyword id="2375313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="assessments">assessments</keyword> cannot be generic Assessments are almost always replete with measurements, whether they are used to test knowledge, competency, or the aptitude of an individual. Putting a numerical value is a credible and convenient way of gauging students’ learning progress and doing a comparative analysis among them. However, the efficacy of assessments itself remains ambiguous. The same test papers are designed for all students in a particular class; it fails to take into account the varying needs and capabilities of each. Therefore, an above average student might get bored attempting questions too easy for him, or a student who is lagging behind, might become frustrated attempting questions too difficult. Thus, instead of promoting learning in children, this futile exercise demotivates them, straying their attention and interest. In the era of personalised learning, where learning is tailored as per the requirement of each student, personalised assessments could not have possibly stayed far behind. Hence, the difficulty level of questions should be in tandem with the abilities of the students, thus keeping them motivated, which is essential to attain better learning outcomes. <keyword id="1738699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Item-Response-Theory">Item Response Theory</keyword> Comes to the Rescue Philosophically enrooted in the Classical Test Theory (CTT), Item Response Theory (IRT) makes up for the former’s limitations. Unlike IRT, which analyses student’s capability in solving each question, CTT presents the entire score that a student has managed to score in an exam. Scoring in CTT is based on predefined weightage, and does not take into account the difficulty level of each question. CTT works fine for average students, but not for the weak and strong ones. Put simply, (IRT analyses the response to a particular item, i.e., question, to decide the student’s latent ability. The motive of the theory is to provide a framework to analyse how well tests work, and also how well a single question in a test paper works. How does IRT Work? Looking into the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (<keyword id="78186" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GMAT">GMAT</keyword>) pattern of exams, which use the IRT model, would give us a better understanding of this methodology. First, the aspirants are asked a mid-level question and based on their response to it, the difficulty level of the next question and the subsequent ones are modified. Questions are asked based on the estimated ability of the candidate; hence, fewer questions suffice in assessing a candidate’s capability. The process of gathering group-level data on wide level items is called matrix sampling, which saves students the fatigue from answering a lot more questions. The pattern of test adapts itself based on the responses of the candidate. What’s so Great About It? The IRT model estimates the likelihood or probability of different responses to items by individuals. The three parameters of IRT to analyse the huge chunk of data set are: 1. Discrimination parameter, which measures the differentiation of a top participant from a weak one on the basis of each item 2. Difficulty parameter, which decides which level of question is best suited to the needs and ability of each student 3. Pseudo-guessing parameter, which accounts for the effects of guessing the probability of a correct response in a multiple-choice question. Initiatives so Far One of the first ed-techs to adopt IRT for the K-12 sector, Next <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Education">Education</keyword> makes use of the huge data of LearnNext, the self-learning digital solution with millions of registered students, to correctly estimate the aforementioned parameters with great accuracy. We aim to provide them a model which would help them to test themselves and progress in their learning goals in the least time possible. The Union government has also taken heed of the technological advancements and initiated constructive measures. The Department of Educational Measurement and Evaluation of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been conducting achievement surveys in the country under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to measure the learning outcomes. Recently, it has decided to use IRT for developing multiple booklets to analyse the data, and report the outcomes. The scope for improvising IRT is immense. Research and innovation would go a long way. (This article is authored by Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO &amp; Co-founder, Next Education India Pvt. Ltd)

Here’s how item response theory is revolutionising assessments in exams such as GMAT

I sat on a chair with a paper in my hand trying to help the girl solve a Class II level double digit multiplication problem. She was shy and did not say much. She tried solving it on the sheet but there was no progress. I gave her hints, patiently waited for her to respond to that. But after a couple of minutes she gave up. Her father kept a close watch on the proceedings, slightly amused at my attempts to draw her attention towards the task at hand. I could see her mother standing at the other end of the kutcha house not very pleased with her daughter’s performance. She had been very proud of the fact that her daughter was in Class VIII in the local government school. Very few girls in the village went to school at this age. This was Chitgunwa, a small village near Jhansi where I had been assigned to conduct a survey on the level of public <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword>. 
 As India gets ready for the <keyword id="3206186" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget-2016">Union Budget 2016</keyword> amidst all the chaos that has preceded the Parliament session, it is necessary to look at budget from the perspective of that girl child or more importantly her mother. As a student of a business school, I am tempted to write on a number of issues pertaining to Indian fiscal policy which affects the business environment of the country or the startup ecosystem in India. But let me take a different route and list down few areas where adequate budgetary intervention could help the mother and her daughter regain their confidence in the system. 
 
Education is one of the key requirements to convert India’s demography into productive human capital. While enough emphasis has been laid on the access of education resulting in Gross Enrolment Ratio of 104.3% , the quality of education remains dismal. India has been consistently spending close to 4-5% of the total budget on education , but the proportion spent on primary education has been falling since last three years (Exhibit 1). The budgetary allocation for Mid-Day Meal Programme was reduced from INR 13,215 cr (2014-15) to INR 9,236 cr (2015-16) . The spend on the quality of education which includes ‘activities to improve learning, such as learning enhancement programmes and innovation grants’ in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and teacher training is also extremely low (Exhibit 2). 
 
India needs a budget where adequate allocation is made to improve the quality of primary education. The first step would be determining the nature and magnitude of quality improvement required. This can be achieved through regular and sound measurement of outcomes. Another area which requires greater budgetary intervention is teacher training. Average teacher training spend was less than an appalling 3% of the elementary education budget over the past 6 years. This needs to change. India’s primary education curriculum has been severely criticised as being over ambitious and unrealistic. This must be reviewed through a comprehensive research exercise. The curriculum must have both academic and vocational components which could address the economics of retention in secondary and higher education. There must be emphasis on innovation and reasoning which could go a long way in eliminating 140 characters of opinion building process. The government started the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” scheme through a corpus fund of INR 100cr .There is also a Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme to save for girl child’s education. But we need to do more. A comprehensive action plan with regular evaluation of the outcomes will go a long way in proper implementation of the schemes. This must be backed with adequate financial support through the budgetary allocation. 
 The other area which would matter for the mother and her daughter would be access to <keyword id="6354525" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Healthcare">healthcare</keyword> and sanitation. The previous budget was disappointing in terms of allocation to the health sector. Public spending on health sector is paltry 1.3% of the total <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> in India . The budget for Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was slashed by almost 50% last year3. India also tops the global list with 318 deaths per 1000 children under 5 years of age due to diarrhoea and pneumonia . This is unacceptable for a country that is looking to embark on a path of sustained growth. The government must realize the importance of public healthcare spending and act accordingly. 
 
The focus should be on preventive healthcare as it serves the twin purpose of decreasing the government spending on secondary and tertiary care and the out of the pocket expenditure which results in severe health shocks leading to acute financial distress. India ranks third in the world in the out of the pocket spending on healthcare. The government’s flagship programme Swacch Bharat was criticised by CAG recently for failing to achieve the desired targets due to weak implementation. “Audit clearly reveals the failure of the sanitation programmes in achieving the envisaged target” it pointed out. In FY 2015-2016 INR 3,265 cr was allocated for Swacch Bharat Mission which was 27% hike from the previous year . Although allocations had increased, a large sum of money remained unspent. There are issues at multiple levels – evaluating a scheme on the number of toilets built is flawed. The CAG report mentions “more than 30% of individual household latrines remain non-functional”10. Building toilets is not the solution until focus is shifted on solid waste management system and treatment plants. It is vital to understand the link between front end (toilets) and back end (collection and treatment) so that appropriate resource allocation can be made in the upcoming budget. 
 
India stands at a very crucial juncture in its journey. It has been doing well on certain fronts but a lot more needs to be done. A budget which brings the focus back on education and health is what will make this growth story truly sustainable. 
 
(The article has been authored by Rishabh Raj, Post Graduate student at IIM Bangalore. A Graduate from IIT Kanpur, he has worked for two years in a management consulting firm and one year in the public policy space under a Member of Parliament)

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