Give a Fish or Teach Fishing?

Image Credit: DDU-GKY, MoRD, GoI https://youtu.be/f4aXjRaXBG0

“Give the man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”

- Chinese Proverb

The Monkey had been a bit occupied and hence the long break. Anyway, today we will try to have a global outlook and its impact specific for the monkey’s motherland, India.

The global community is looking at a structural economic change in the current decade, a paradigm shift from the earlier existed uni-centric, high-income country focussed policy discourse to more broad and inclusive approach that takes along the middle and low-income countries for a sustainable global development. The key factor in this change has been majorly because of the vast availability of human capital in middle and low income countries. The major lacunae that exist in these countries is that the engagement of the working-age population in formal sectors of employment has been paltry, thereby reducing the conversion of their capabilities and capacities to tangible results, at a bare minimum. This in-turn is a direct result of poor employability and lack of skilling of the job-seeking population as the needs of the industry is often not met by the unskilled and/or untrained job-seekers. If this trend continues, the results could be catastrophic, including that of large scale disguised unemployment, misuse and under-use of human capital, and at the worst- unemployment.

The need of the hour is skilling the job-seekers, especially the under-privileged and not-formally educated or drop-outs. The skilling process has to be an inclusive one, that matches the capabilities and aspirations of the job-seekers with that of the requirement of the industries. This would also require large-scale investments for increasing the access for skill development programs, widening the scope of these programs and ensure that even the most under-privileged has access to them. Along with these approaches, the skill development practices has to go hand-in-hand with increasing the employability of the job-seeker through soft-skill developments, training in use of technology and increasing the adaptability and retentivity of the aspirant.

The unique aspect of skill development is that we “teach the man to fish rather than giving him a fish”, making him more resilient to the global economic shocks and threats, which otherwise could affect him adversely. Ensuring that a person is skilled gives him an added advantage of availability of informed choices, better career progression and thereby a secured future, not just to him/her, but also his/her family. Also, the earlier male-dominated spheres of industrial work can now be extended to the empowered womenfolk, another advantage that skill development can provide. On similar notes, the emerging sector of service-oriented industries or the tertiary sector, demands a high level of skilling.

India, the country which I am a native of, has the second largest population in the world, more than 1.2 billion, out of which close to 50% are below the age of 25 and 65% below the age of 35 and the average age of an Indian is close to 29 years. These figures themselves gives a shout-out on how this country is brimming with human capital. However, it is to be noted that only 2.3% of the total workforce in India has received formal training for their job-roles, a very dismal figure indeed. It is assumable that if this situation continues we are looking forward to a waste of human capital of more than 600 million people, given the fact that the Indian youth is changing its mindset from farm-based revenue to industry based jobs. The risk that the country is handling is big and this is the right time for a well-calculated investment, which would result in inclusive development of the country, better economic and social prospectus for the citizens and economic growth for the nation as such.

The country has already set foot in the right direction and the government is apparently serious about it, citing the formation of a Ministry, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE),  engaging the private sector through the National Skill Development Corporation on a Public-Private-Partnership mode, and engaging its other Ministries including that of the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the heavy-weight Skill India campaign.

But a few years have passed since all these have happened. Are we heading due-north? The monkey doubts. The promises and expectations have been high as it would have been with any other campaign, but they are far from being delivered. The possible reasons for this is the lack of quality infrastructure, trained professionals to impart the skilling and at-times though very rare, administrative red-tapism. We probably need a few course corrections and the time has arrived to press the pedal, long-hard-and-steady. Along with training them, it emphasise should also be on ensuring proper Assessment and Certification for these trainees, adding value to their portfolio, an incredible tool for their career progression.

The monkey would conclude by saying that “It is important to teach them fishing, but equally important to give the right tool to fish”.

What is more worthy? Human Being or Being Human?

The God's Own Country

As a native of Kerala, what I missed last Saturday was the enthusiasm that every Mallu (slang for Keralite- native of Kerala, Kerala- A State in Southern most part of India a.k.a. “God’s Own Country”) used to have at least one day of the year. Yes, it was our most celebrated festival, Onam. A festival which is a big cohesive force in the social fabric of Kerala. Since my childhood I have always related Onam to prosperity, thanks to much quoted phrase in Malayalam - “Kaanam vittum Onam unnanam”, meaning “You should celebrate Onam even if you have to sell your property for it”. But last Saturday, for the first time in my 25 years of life so far (verified by my Appa who is 30 years elder to me) I saw an Onam that was not celebrated (even all official celebrations by the State government were cancelled) and the credit goes to the incessant downpours that ravaged the State a week ago.

So, as a couple of Internet searches would tell you, the State of Kerala (12 out of the total 14 Districts)  had faced the century’s worst flood- lives lost: 300+, displaced: close to 0.9 million, homes collapsed: close to 0.3 million, financial loss: ₹ 20,000+ Crores (+296 Million $), possible threat of epidemics and health threats. The State was not much focused by the national media, for reasons still unknown (not discussed even if known). However, the beings of God’s Own Country rose to the occasion with an unprecedented determination, covering all the three Rs of disaster management: Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitate.

Leaving aside all the political discussions that you might be well aware: The ruling Left Allies v/s the Opposition of Socialist Congress regarding the preparedness, the State government v/s the Central government regarding the scanty fund allocations, the local media v/s the national media regarding the poor initial coverage, ohh.. the list might not end as it has hit the minds of people; for those who have a home to run with these political discussions (TRPs you know- the more you shout in your channel, the more you get views. Eh?!). The monkey isn’t interested in them.

What the monkey is interested in is:

1. The true face of humanity: People from all walks of life came in together with a single objective: save those who are bearing the brunt of rains. You could see the Army, the Airforce, the Navy, the Paramilitary forces, bureaucrats, politicians, professionals, students and practically everyone joining their hands together. They together rescued people, gave them shelter and provisions and is still helping them to rebuild their lives.
2. The true face of governance: “Heroes are made, not born.” I feel that both the governments at Central and State level rose to the occasion, coordinating the rescue attempts, sending in troops where required, prioritising needs and providing relief. This was definitely a test of time for those in power, and I am of the opinion that they did succeed in winning hearts.
3. The true face of camaraderie and brotherhood: The people shed off their differences- of caste, creed, religion, sex, political opinions and what not. We could see people offering donations from Pakistan, the governments of UAE and Maldives, my other compatriots in India who might not be otherwise bothered about the tiny State in the bottom. Every one contributed (or are still contributing ) their parts to provide for the State they might be otherwise unaware about.

In a nutshell as the title suggests, what does it matter? Human Being or Being Human? The taxonomy of the word “Homo Sapiens” (the species that we belong to, the advanced apes) would mean literally in Latin as “Wise Men” (of course women too! No gender discrimination). Yes, the Kerala Floods have made a lot of us prove our belongingness to a specie, the Homo Sapiens, or the Wise Men. I hope the answer is now clear: Being Human matters rather than being a Human Being.

PS: Kerala is still miles away from getting on back on its own feet. But, it is the God's Own Country and Gods never appear themselves, they appear in people.

The Weird Name: The Monkey's Eye

PROLOGUE

The Monkey's Eye

The first thing that any blogger would be really concerned before even starting the creation of his/her  blog will be about the blog's name. Of course, what he/she is going to write in that html linked interactive page is more important, but let us accept this: Finding a group of words that suits your intention gives you utmost satisfaction. 

So, why did I choose this weird name- "The Monkey's Eye"? Let me tell you a story:

While doing my Post-Graduation in one of the least preferred subjects in one of the most preferred Institutions of India, my homeland, one of my professors (who later turned out to be my academic guide for thesis) asked us, a bunch of fresh minds that, which view we would prefer- The Bird's Eye view or The Worm's Eye view? We had people raising hands for both- which would mean that there were people who prefer the macroscopic view and the microscopic view- something I would say, is of the scale- Black and White. 

But some of us were hesitant to raise the hand, not because we were unsure which view we preferred, but only a genuine concern about the impression that we would make in the Professor if we raised hands for the one which he doesn't prefer.  He, a retired bureaucrat, did sense this dilemma, and gave us a third option- "The Monkey's Eye view". Surprisingly a majority of the class preferred this. Those who were initially preferring either of the former, also shifted to this view. Why? 

1. The monkey can look up when required and can look down when she is required to.
2. The monkey usually sits on the tree- she can see both upwards and downwards, practically simultaneously.
3. The monkey has mobility- she can climb down from the tree, feel the soil, walk around and climb back on the tree.
4. She can climb higher and higher- to the highest of trees and taste fruits from there
5. Her view is neither "White" nor "Black". It is "Grey".

In short, the monkey has mobility, freedom and all that comes with them!

So, this blog is going to be like the monkey's view; we will look at things at macroscopic level- as and when required; we will look at things at microscopic level- again, as and when required. And of course, we will talk about the grey parts, that the larger mass is missing to notice.

PS:

For all those inquisitive minds on my Subject and Institute: 

1. Subject: M.Tech. in Technology and Development, Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA)
2. Institute: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay