Indian Programme Research Articles

Overcoming the Challenges of Teacher Education Programmes in India

Teacher education programs in India face numerous challenges that hinder their effectiveness in preparing teachers for the dynamic educational landscape. This abstract provides a comprehensive overview of the key challenges and proposes innovative strategies to overcome them. The challenges include inadequate infrastructure and resources, outdated curriculum and pedagogical approaches, lack of practical training opportunities, low motivation and professionalism among teachers, and limited integration of technology in education. To address these challenges, this article explores a multifaceted approach. It emphasizes the importance of modernizing infrastructure, updating curricula to align with global standards, enhancing practical training through experiential learning, fostering a culture of continuous professional development and accountability, and leveraging technology for effective teaching and learning. By adopting these strategies, teacher education programs in India can evolve into vibrant ecosystems that produce highly skilled and motivated educators capable of meeting the diverse needs of students in the 21st century.

Impact of Long-term Soil and Water Conservation Training for Effective Implementation of Watershed Programmes in India

Responses received from fi eld functionaries who had completed fi ve and a half months of long-term soil and water conservation training at the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation during 2003–2009 were analyzed to determine training impact as well as training needs for eff ective implementation of watershed management Programmes in India. The majority of trainees (81%) had total service experience ranging from 10 to 20 years. Major responsibilities of trainees mainly involved in planning and execution of watershed and soil conservation projects. The topic of structural measures for soil and water conservation in non-arable lands received the highest mean score from trainees (2.57), followed by the application of RS and GIS, map reading, delineation, characterization of watersheds (2.38),water harvesting, storage, and recycling for irrigation planning (2.33). This study further indicates that capacity-building programmes improve not only individual knowledge but also the productivity of their working areas. This fi ndings also identifi ed that lack of appropriate literature on SWC technologies is found as a major technological constraint in order to implement watershed project more eff ectively.

A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme regarding selected Child Welfare Programmes in India among the mothers of under Five Children in selected rural areas at Bangalore

Children's development is an important as the development of material resources and the best way to develop National human resources is to take care of children. The general standard of living, the level of education, and the financial resources of the country are among the factors that determine child welfare standards. India contributes to about 5-6 million child death every year, more than half of the world’s total. Today child malnutrition is prevalent in 7% among the children under the age of five years in China and 28% in sub- Saharan African compared to a prevalence of 43% in India. Undernutrition found mostly in rural area and is concentrated in a relatively small number of districts and villages with 10% of village and districts according for 27-28% of all underweight children. Methods: The research design used in the study was prr-exprimental one group pretest and posttest design. Non probability purposive sampling was used to draw sample. The data was collected from 60 samples by using structured questionnaire. After seven days of Structured Teaching Programme posttest was administered by using same structured questionnaire to find out the effectiveness of the STP on selected child health programmes. Result: The result showed that the mothers of under five children had 68.3% had adequate knowledge 31.7% had adequate knowledge and none of the mother had inadequate knowledge in the posttest after the STP administration. Enhancement was computed by using paired’t 'test at 0.05 level of significance and it was found to be 31.65, indicating that there is a significant improvement in the knowledge of mothers of under five children. Conclusion: The study findings suggested that the Structured Teaching Programme is an effective instructional method in improving the knowledge of the mothers of under five children regarding selected child welfare programmes in India.

An Analysis of Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India with Special Reference to Sustainable Development Goals

The most heated and debated topic not only in India but in entire world is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Poverty is a socio-economic incident and it is closely related with disparity. It adverse effects on human health, efficiency and output, which in turn effect an individual income. Due to poverty, it becomes close to impossible to fulfil even the bare requirements of life viz; food, clothing, shelter, education and health in deprive section of society. If households or individuals are unable to attain subsistence level of such needs than humanity faces pains and agonies (sorrows or miseries). From 1993-94 to 2011-12, national poverty estimates is reduced from 50.1% to 25.7% in rural areas on the contrary in urban areas, its rate of reduction is from 31.8% to 13.7%. In India, poverty rate is declined by 17.89% from 1993 to 2004 and further declined by 41.13% in a period of 2004-2011 (as per Tendulkar Committee estimates). As per SDG India Index Baseline report 2018, 21.92% of India’s population was below poverty line in 2011. This paper discusses that for achievement of sustainable development goals, poverty eradication becomes most basic & essential requirement. In order to achieve Global Goals (SDGs) by 2030 efficiently, there is an urgent need to reduce poverty in India. With an above backdrop, the present paper focuses on the poverty alleviation programmes in India with special regard to Sustainable Development Goals.

Capacity Building through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Teacher Education Programmes in India

Capacity Building through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Teacher Education Programmes in India

Place-Based Preferential Tax Policy and its Spatial Effects: Evidence from India's Program on Industrially Backward Districts

The Government of India initiated a program in 1994 to promote manufacturing in districts designated as backward. The way the backward districts were identified enables us to employ a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impacts of the program. We find that the program’s 5-year tax exemption to manufacturers led to a significant increase in firm entry and employment in relatively better-off backward districts, particularly in light manufacturing industries. However, the program also resulted in negative spillover effects in districts which were neighboring these backward districts and relatively weaker in economic activity. The findings emphasize that the spatial effects of place-based policies deserve greater attention from policy makers.

Innovations in ICT Use in Library and Information Science Education through Distance Mode: An Experience

Library and Information Science Programmes in India - from certificate programme to the research degree programs at doctoral level are being offered by more than one hundred universities/ institutions. Vardhman Mahaveer Open University offers a variety of Library and Information Science Programmes including a Certificate Programme in Digital Libraries (CPDL) and is a leader in the programmes offered in Hindi language. The University has employed various technologies to support learners starting from online admission to making available courses material online. This paper highlights the key features of the CPDL.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES IN INDIA: A JOURNEY FROM INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IRDP) TO NATIONAL RURAL LIVELIHOOD MISSION (NRLM).

28Jul 2017 SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES IN INDIA: A JOURNEY FROM INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IRDP) TO NATIONAL RURAL LIVELIHOOD MISSION (NRLM). Abhisek Mishra. Ph.D. Research Scholar Department of Business Administration, Sambalpur University.

District Development and Diversity Index: A Methodology That Promotes Evaluation and Assessment of Development and Welfare Programmes in India

A common concern in the inclusive development discourses across India has been the lack of civil society and community level activities in the spheres of governance and participation in public spaces amongst the deprived and excluded communities. To address this issue, the author has first computed the ‘district development index’ for all districts of India, as well as ‘diversity’ (of the components of development) indices according to socio-religious community (SRC) groups, especially created from the raw data drawn from Government of India sources. Using these indices, a methodology is developed that supports a ȁresearch-cum-action’ programme that enables better implementation of a number of components of the government’s poverty alleviation initiatives and allows their monitoring and evaluation. The budgetary allocation flows down from the national level to the states and then to the districts; and the districts are the grassroots level budgetary depositories. Through them, funds are carried forward to urban municipalities, village panchayats and to the doorsteps of the communities living in them. Policy engagements of trained civil society and community groups have high potential to be heard, so as to address the issues of social, economic and educational entitlements. This article reports experiences from recent field visits and interactions with selected civil society and community organisations from the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Assam, West Bengal and Karnataka.

Role of Income Generation Programme in Women Empowerment

The connection between poverty and women's lack of power over resources and decision-making has now caught the attention of policymakers in government and mainstream development all over the world. Women empowerment issues perceived nationally or locally are being addressed by both state and non-state agencies. Beside the government intervention, NGOs are implementing various types of Women Empowerment Programmes including IG Programmes. Women Empowerment Programmes in India include livelihood support Programme, rehabilitation and job placement for rescued women, safe motherhood Programme and so forth. In spite of involvement of various NGOs in women empowerment through Income Generation and Skill Development Programmes, the status of women is still not satisfactory in India as various official as well as unofficial reports claim and the outcomes against the stated objectives of the NGOs' Women Empowerment Programmes are often questioned. Therefore, the present study is focused in assessing the impact of IG Programmes run by non-government organizations in empowering women. The researcher hypothesizes that IG Programme with its components viz., skill training, resource inputs of loan and equipment help to increase income to the women through independent business or work in the related field; the increased income lessens their dependence on family heads and enables to spend for personal expenses; gives them certain freedoms as individuals; enables them to contribute to family affairs financially, which creates an environment in the family in favor or the women to accept her views and participation in family matters like education, marriage, purchase etc.

Understanding School Feeding Programmes in India and Tamil Nadu in addressing Classroom Hunger

<div><p><em>Despite primary schooling being universally recognized as a public good, with a direct impact on economic growth, one billion people in the world – on in six – are illiterate, and 104 million of the world’s children were out of school in the year 2013 (United Nations Economic, Social, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] 2013). Over third of the world’s illiterates are in India. India’s population of illiterates is larger than that of any other country in the world – at least 350 million people, according to 2011 Census of India. In other words, more than one in three illiterate persons on the planet is an Indian and India’s population of illiterates in 2010 was larger than the total population of the country in 1947. </em><em>Well-designed and effectively implemented social protection programmes are essential for ensuring access to food and comprehensively addressing the problem of malnutrition. These programmes are non-contributory and sharply targeted programmes that focus on the poor and vulnerable sections of the population. Among many social protection programmes in India there are two broad categories specifically targeted for the poor and closely related to food security and nutrition. These are (i) Public Distribution System and Supplementary Nutrition Programmes and (ii) Rural Wage Employment Programme. The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) are two major initiatives for improving the level of nutrition. </em><em></em></p></div>

Pakistan's Nuclear Program: The Context

The main driver of Pakistan's nuclear weapon program is existing military threat emanating from India's conventional and nuclear military capabilities. Though India often cites Chinese nuclear weapons program as the main driver for its nuclear weapons' pursuits, India's Program was on sound footings well before China's nuclear test in 1964. New Delhi's decision to go nuclear had provided Islamabad a God-sent opportunity to pullout its nuclear Program from the shadow of ambiguity and lay claims over comparable capability and capacity. For Pakistan, there was just one reason for wanting “The Bomb” that Indian Nuclear had to be countered by Pakistani nuclear, for nuclear could only be countered by nuclear. India's nuclear Program is status driven, something it thinks would place it into a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Ironically Pakistan's necessity driven nuclear Program continues to draw ire. While at the same time, India's luxury driven nuclear Program is being afforded further enablers. Pakistan has expressed willingness to join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) simultaneously with India. Furthermore, India's dangerous doctrinal orientations and US$ 120 billion modernization and up-gradation Programs have upped the asymmetry in conventional domain vis-a-vis Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan views deterrence through a comprehensive lens comprising conventional and nuclear capabilities. The international community needs to view Pakistan's nuclear weapon program in the context of the threat it faces. The civilian component of nuclear program is aimed at enabling Pakistan to overcome its energy shortage through nuclear fuel.

Need of Restructuring Teacher Education Programmes in India: An Essence for Globalization

For inculcating quality education the role of teacher is vital. In other words, quality of teaching largely depends on the quality of training received by the teachers. For this, designing curriculum and supportive resources occupies significant role. National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE 1998) identified ten competencies for making teachers professionally competent. These are contextual, conceptual, content, transitional competencies, competencies related to educational activities, developing teaching learning materials, evaluation, management, competencies related to working with parents and with community and other agencies. For fulfilling these competencies, curriculum of the teacher education program need to be reconstructed according to the changing aspects and needs of the society. But the task may face many challenges at the grass root level of the teacher education program in India. Present paper focus on how to redesign teacher education curriculum in India and identifying major difficulties in the light of teacher education programs.

Analyzing personalized policies for online biometric verification.

Motivated by India’s nationwide biometric program for social inclusion, we analyze verification (i.e., one-to-one matching) in the case where we possess similarity scores for 10 fingerprints and two irises between a resident’s biometric images at enrollment and his biometric images during his first verification. At subsequent verifications, we allow individualized strategies based on these 12 scores: we acquire a subset of the 12 images, get new scores for this subset that quantify the similarity to the corresponding enrollment images, and use the likelihood ratio (i.e., the likelihood of observing these scores if the resident is genuine divided by the corresponding likelihood if the resident is an imposter) to decide whether a resident is genuine or an imposter. We also consider two-stage policies, where additional images are acquired in a second stage if the first-stage results are inconclusive. Using performance data from India’s program, we develop a new probabilistic model for the joint distribution of the 12 similarity scores and find near-optimal individualized strategies that minimize the false reject rate (FRR) subject to constraints on the false accept rate (FAR) and mean verification delay for each resident. Our individualized policies achieve the same FRR as a policy that acquires (and optimally fuses) 12 biometrics for each resident, which represents a five (four, respectively) log reduction in FRR relative to fingerprint (iris, respectively) policies previously proposed for India’s biometric program. The mean delay is sec for our proposed policy, compared to 30 sec for a policy that acquires one fingerprint and 107 sec for a policy that acquires all 12 biometrics. This policy acquires iris scans from 32–41% of residents (depending on the FAR) and acquires an average of 1.3 fingerprints per resident.

South-South Cooperation

Purpose– India is described as an emerging donor. Actually India has started providing development assistance to developing countries immediately after independence. The amount of aid was relatively small, but grew over the years to a recognisable size. The purpose of this paper is to review the long experience of India in the framework of development assistance which is laid in the foundational principles of South-South Development Cooperation (SSDC).Design/methodology/approach– Based on secondary data, the paper provides an exhaustive account of India's programme of development assistance, and a critical discussion of issues involved.Findings– The analysis shows that given certain unique features of its aid programme, India has a great potential to emerge as a major donor country, and even to rank among big traditional donor countries. It can also influence the global aid architecture. There are many lessons that others can learn from the “Indian model of aid”. However, there are certain problems and challenges that India has to address for it to become a major international player in the aid business. One of the most important problems refers to the absence of detailed information.Research limitations/implications– The available details on India's assistance are sketchy and confusing; there are no detailed and consolidated statements of assistance; and it is only now a proper formal agency to coordinate all external assistance and to provide effective management in a cohesive manner has been set up.Originality/value– The analytical and critical account of India's aid programme presented here is hoped to provide valuable fresh insights to the whole issue and should be of considerable academic and policy value.

Potential Pitfalls in PPP Policy Application: Lessons Learned from National Highway Development Programmes in India

Successfully implementing public–private partnerships (PPP) depend on the establishment of effective policy and institutional frameworks. While such factors play a significant role, practitioners often face obstacles posed by other less visible, and often indefinable, factors. The purpose of this article is to identify such X factors which had delayed the delivery of the National Highway Development Programmes in India, where well-defined policy and institutional frameworks are in place. This article finds that the entangled nature of inter-agency relationships and the resultant faulty selection of PPP policy options were the root causes of delay, which then invited a chain reaction that slowed down the entire process.

Addiction Research Centres and the Nurturing of Creativity: National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, India—a profile

The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) is a part of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a premier autonomous medical university in India. This article provides an account of its origin and its contribution to the field of substance use disorder at the national and international levels. Since its establishment, the NDDTC has played a major role in the development of various replicable models of care, the training of post-graduate students of psychiatry, research, policy development and planning. An assessment of the magnitude of drug abuse in India began in the early 1990s and this was followed by a National Survey on Extent, Patterns and Trends of Drug Abuse in 2004. Several models of clinical care have been developed for population subgroups in diverse settings. The centre played an important role in producing data and resource material which helped to scale up opioid substitution treatment in India. A nationwide database on the profile of patients seeking treatment (Drug Abuse Monitoring System) at government drug treatment centres has also been created. The centre has provided valuable inputs for the Government of India's programme planning. Besides clinical studies, research has also focused on pre-clinical studies. Capacity-building is an important priority, with training curricula and resource material being developed for doctors and paramedical staff. Many of these training programmes are conducted in collaboration with other institutions in the country. The NDDTC has received funding from several national and international organizations for research and scientific meetings, and, most recently (2012), it has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Substance Abuse.

Elimination of Identity-based Discrimination in Food and Nutrition Programmes in India

India's growth story in recent years is being criticised for its inability to reduce the ever-increasing income inequality and higher incidence of malnutrition among its children, particularly those belonging to marginalised groups such as Scheduled Castes (SCs). This article examines the prevalence of identity-based discrimination in health and nutritional programmes and finds it to be one of the important reasons for the higher incidence of malnutrition among SC children. While examining the guidelines of two major nutritional support programmes – the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the Mid Day Meal (MDM) Scheme – the article argues for making these more caste- and gender-sensitive in order to eliminate discrimination. It offers policy recommendations to address and monitor the discrimination in nutrition programmes. These include greater participation by marginalised groups like SCs in service planning and delivery, ensuring quality and promoting accountability; training and sensitisation of service providers; and the revision of administrative guidelines.

Operationalisation of VRIN Type Resources: Renaissance of Resource Based View: A Study of Implementation of Rural Health Care Programmes in India

The resource based view has emerged as a significant theoretical perspective in terms of contribution to Strategic management literature. It now is trying to emerge as a perspective which is in a position to develop a theory of the firm. Yet, it faces a serious limitation of poor empirical support for its main postulates. The main reason being poor or an inherent difficulty of operationalisation of its main concepts of resources and Sustained competitive advantage. Reviews have suggested certain procedures to be followed for improved operationalisation. This paper takes a view that the key to proper operationalisation of RBV concepts lies in the proper understanding of the definitions of its key concepts. The key lies in defining the specificity of resources and their linkage to performance and therefore Sustained competitive advantage. It also means use of intervening outcome variables which show such a linkage while avoiding use of aggregate performance indicators. Based on a larger dissertation, this paper uses an iterative grounded approach to identify VRIN type resources which enabled units providing rural health care to consistently achieve programme objectives ahead of other similar units. These resources – identified as 'key resources' – were shown to be valuable because they enabled execution of multiple services in different programme activities and were essential for such an execution. They were Rare as the production of such resources was limited and they had no known substitutes except themselves and because of this were inimitable to a large extent. By identifying the logic for proper operationalisation and some key dimensions which enable identification of VRIN type resources, this paper solves a persistent and seemingly intractable issue faced by the Resource based view. In doing so it opens the path for further renaissance of this key perspective.

CIES Bibliography 2010

CIES Bibliography 2010