Preparing Youth for the VUCA World we live in

Singapore, South Korea and Israel are some of the countries with policy to get male citizens to serve a period of compulsory service in the uniformed services. In Israel its mandatory for women too. Most of the young adults in these countries serve two to three years around the age of 18 as trainees. Apart from obvious benefits of military training, these youth have been observed to pick up the traits of Tenacity of Purpose in Performing Missions and Drive to Victory, Responsibility, Credibility, Professionalism, Discipline, Comradeship, and Sense of Mission. Any country with youth imbibed with such wonderful traits is better prepared for the VUCA world we live in, and are going to be successful against all odds, which we have seen in these countries.

While choosing between a government job that offers stability or a private job that opens avenues of opportunities, may still be a question haunting many young minds, one fact remains that now job security carries insignificant meaning as the enterprising young lot spends time and effort to explore career avenues with acquired substance in the form of money, experience, exposure and performance. Youth is engaging in highly competitive and rewarding work culture and atmosphere caring a little for post retirement benefits, as can be seen in the rising craze for startups, unicorns, innovations, sports etc.

Till now, the main advantages driving the youth from especially middle and lower economic strata of the society for the central government Jobs are- relatively good salary based upon the profile of the job and qualifications of the claimants, allowances, job and social security, insurance cover, leaves, vacations, housing benefits, health and other benefits. However, things have changed with scores of funding opportunities available.

Hence, ‘Agnipath’- an attractive and transformative defence recruitment scheme of the Government of India has been designed to give lakhs of youth of the country, not just one career avenue or chance but quite a few. Being an essential part of the future-ready soldier, they are set to stand out in crowd and after four years of service with their changed attitude, skills, discipline, sense of timing and responsibilities. The new system is sure to attract even those who want to stay with the armed forces only for a few years out of the love for the nation and then want to do something else of their choice with a different aptitude, attitude and perspective towards life, society and nation building. One can also expect a lot of defence-related startups mushrooming 3-4 years from now across the country, taking the defence ecosystem to hit new heights.

The new scheme envisions creating a youthful profile of the Armed forces with newer technologies with being able to use the whole range of weapons and communication devices used across the world by the most advanced armies of the world. Strengthening the very connect between society and the military does serve many a purpose and the government wants to bring the armed forces closer to the people in general. 75% of the Agniveers going to the society after serving 4 years in the army, will also take with themselves the ideals and ideas for the country and society, discipline, serving tendencies, physical, mental and emotional prowess that the armed forces stand for.

The definition of Employment is changing tones at a dynamic rate across the globe. Youth across the world has left the conventional way of finding a set-patterned occupation behind and is engaging in opportunities which are tech-oriented, varied and skill-based in a global setting where different sectors are both inter-mingled and unexplored. India is one of the countries where the pace of change is much higher because of regional, cultural and religious diversity. Unlike earlier, when only academic qualifications and government jobs occupied the center stage, now, major thrust is laid on certain essential skills like ambition, entrepreneurial mindset even in a job, willingness to continuously learn and evolve, soft-skills and communication, ability to listen and assert, confidence, perseverance and risk taking ability among others to succeed in both life and profession.

Poverty Alleviation gotten right this time

The former deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram’s famous speech on hunger and poverty alleviation still resounds in many minds. One can judge his thrust by his words, when in an interview with All India Radio, he had said-(translated) “Any government who reigns here, whether socialist, communist, capitalist, or authoritarian, should first ensure that no one sleeps without food, each person has at least a shirt and a pair of shoes, and only then work on other things and plans. Quoting Swami Vivekananda, he further said – for those starving, one who provides food becomes like a God and freedom carries no meaning. Hence, our first objective is to provide food to one and all, then only that person can be free.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is one such welfare programme launched to alleviate the pain and sufferings caused by Covid-19 pandemic and to feed the country’s poorest citizens by providing grains through the PDS system. The government has spent Rs. 2.60 lakh crore so far and another Rs. 80,000 crore will be spent over the coming months till September 2022. According to a report by the dept. of Food and Public Distribution, the initiative stands out as the largest food assistance
program anywhere in the world during the pandemic in terms of the number of people covered, which is more than 10% of the world
population. Along with food assurance, financial benefits and healthcare expenditure are also being taken care of by the government, and continuous efforts are leading to positive results as far as poverty-reduction is concerned.

Financial inclusion plan like Jan Dhan, accidental insurance at the premium of Re. 1 per month and life insurance also at the same premium providing a cover of Rs. 2 lakh have proved vital. Over 12 crore people have been enrolled under PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana- the life insurance scheme and over 28 crore people have been enrolled under PM Suraksha Bima Yojana- the accident insurance scheme. Ayushman Bharat provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year to about 18 crore families. So far, over 3 crore treatments under this scheme have saved over Rs. 37,600 crore for the poor. The Jan Aushadhi scheme further helps the poor when it comes to bearing the cost of medicines. With a network of over 8,700 stores across the country, under the Jan Aushadhi Scheme, medicines are sold at 50-90% lesser than market prices, saving over Rs. 10,000 crore for the people since 2019.

Due to many inter-connected new steps & initiatives, India has seen a sharp decline in extreme poverty in recent years, prompting even the top multilateral organizations like World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) appreciating India’s efforts towards reducing extreme poverty. A World Bank working paper has extolled the efforts of the Government of India with regard to extreme poverty in both rural and urban areas. The paper says that extreme poverty fell by 12.3% points to 10.2% in 2019, from 22.5% in 2011. According to the same paper, extreme poverty in rural areas dropped by 14.7% points, while in urban areas it fell by 7.9% points. Whereas, IMF’s paper says- PM Narendra Modi’s food security scheme proved crucial in keeping the extreme poverty levels checked in India even during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The IMF working paper furthers- the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, which is at less than 1%, did not go up despite the excruciating Covid-19 pandemic, attributing this achievement of the Government of India to free food grains provided under PM Modi’s Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana during pandemic. The paper says, a government which is serious about poverty alleviation, must do two things- first, a programme should be in place to ensure that the poor are lifted out of poverty and second – providing a social security net that protects the poor from falling back into poverty. Interestingly, both these factors are well taken care of in India’s current poverty alleviation approach.

Agnipath: Securing the Saviours

Geography is important for Indian defence. Indian Peninsula is a distinct landmass. The country lays beautifully divided by the Tropic of Cancer in almost two equal halves with one part land-locked and embroidered with some of the greatest mountain ranges of the World, while the other lies submerged in water surrounded by 3 different oceans. As India rises as one of the promising Asian Superpowers and one among global leaders at large, having a strong defence ecosystem occupies a center-stage in terms of peace, security and geopolitics. India’s massive efforts to bolster its defence manufacturing capabilities, increase defence acquirements, enhanced patrolling, radar and exercises, changes in defence training and recruitments, encouragement to domestic defence manufacturers, allocation of increased defence funds, etc. are all for the bigger picture and future readiness.

Implementation of ‘Agnipath’- an attractive and transformative defence recruitment scheme of the Government of India, may prove to be a game changer for the Indian defence system. Now, soldiers recruited in the defence forces under this recruitment policy, will be termed as ‘Agniveers’ – a distinct rank in the Armed Forces, different from any other existing ranks. Under the new scheme, government is trying to create a youthful profile of the Armed forces. This way the newly recruited youth would be better able to be trained with newer technologies, which has enough prospects to transform the armed forces into youthful, techno- savvy and modern because even an infantry soldier now needs to be technologically advanced to use the whole range of weapons and communication devices. The scheme envisages to reduce the average age profile of Indian Armed forces by about 4-5 years.

‘Agniveer’ is going to be a part of the future-ready soldier and after 4 years of service, they will stand out in crowd with their attitude, skills, discipline and sense of timing and responsibilities. Under the new system, those wishing to work in the army for only a few years, can do so with a different aptitude and attitude towards life, society and nation building. Now aspirants between the ages of 17.5 years and 21 years will be eligible to apply and the recruitment standards will remain the same, with recruitment rallies to be organised twice a year. This scheme is set to give a better opportunity to the youth who choose to serve the nation as their full time job.

One of the reasons behind this revolutionary move may be an attempt to reduce the growing pension payout. But strengthening the connection between society and the military and instilling nationalism among the youth by providing an opportunity to fulfill their aspiration of serving in the Armed Forces, is of much more significance. Further, Agniveers will be given an attractive customised monthly package along with ‘Risk and Hardship’ allowances as applicable in the three services. After completion of the engagement period of 4 years, Agniveers will be accorded with the one time ‘SevaNidhi’ package.

Agniveers, selected for enrolment in the Indian Armed Forces as regular cadre, would be required to serve for the engagement period of minimum 15 years and he/she will be governed by the existing terms and conditions of service of Junior Commissioned Officers/other ranks in Indian Army and their equivalent in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force and that of Non Combatant enrolled in the Indian Air Force. 46,000 Agniveers are likely to be recruited under the first phase of recruitment.

Once selected, the aspirants will go through training for six months and then they will be deployed for three and a half years. During this period, they will be provided an attractive monthly package of Rs 30,000 per month with upgradation upto Rs 40,000 per month in 4th year. Importantly, during this period, 30% of their salary will be set aside under a ‘Seva Nidhi’ programme, and the government will contribute an equal amount every month along with providing accrue interest. At the end of the four-year period, Agniveer will be accorded Rs 11.71 lakh as a lump sum amount, which will be tax-free. Additionally, they will also get a Rs 48 lakh life insurance cover for the four years.

Sporting New Attitude towards Sports

India’s relatively better performance at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics showcased that sports in India is no longer dominated by Cricket alone. Seven medals in the Olympics and 19 in Paralympics demonstrate amply that there is a lot of potential for other sports in the nation. Government support and schemes like TOPS have ensured that the nation can achieve new heights. These successes seem to have ushered in new and big development in the Indian Games and sports Arena.

Playing any sport at the highest level becomes very expensive, requiring a sense of financial security to perform at the peak. Hence, youngsters from the middle class and the poor strata of the society, who constitute majority of the youth, were earlier found to be averse to sports as parents too often discouraged them from professionally pursuing sports. Hence, financial assistance is a major part of the sports promotion programmes, under which Rs. 6.28 lakh is allocated for each residential athlete training at the accredited academies as per the annual Khelo India scholarship scheme. It includes an out of the pocket allowance of Rs 1.20 lakh. The government is setting up 1,000 Khelo India centres, which will further give a big boost to sports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought a crucial mindset change and introduced numerous policies that have allowed innumerable youngsters to fulfill their dream of pursuing sports as a career. In Tokyo Olympics, 2020, India won 7 Medals total, 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze medals, registering the best ever performance at the Olympics. In Paralympics too, India won a record 19 medals with 5 Gold, 8 Silver and 6 Bronze medals. The number of medals won in this edition of the Paralympics is higher than India’s medals in all previous editions put together. Further, at the recently concluded Thomas Cup, the Indian Men’s Badminton team defeated 14-time title holder Indonesia to lift the winning trophy. PM Modi’s heartwarming interaction with the champions of the sports person also enthuse them a lot, showing India’s sports profile rising consistently across different sports, which is not merely a coincidence.

For the TOPS programme (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) the government specifically aims to identify athletes with great potential and enable customised and high-quality training and facilities for them, so that their focus remains on excellence in the arena rather than on fighting to get facilities unlike earlier. Under the scheme, the government takes full responsibility for foreign training of athletes, which includes their lodging, nutrition, equipment and international competitions in foreign countries besides a monthly stipend of Rs. 50,000 for each athlete.

Khelo India programme has been a huge success when it comes to harnessing the untapped potential of scores of youth especially from the rural and semi-urban areas. The programme comprises a clutch of schemes that form an important initiative to encourage sportspersons right from the grassroots. It aims at infusing sports culture and achieving sporting excellence. The Khelo India programme includes playfield development, community coaching development, promotion of community sports, the establishment of a strong sports competition structure at both school and university levels and filling up critical gaps in sports infrastructure including the creation of hubs of sports excellence in universities.

As India pulls its socks by way of providing sports infrastructure at the grassroots level to help athletes to become professional, seeds are sown seeds of a bright sports future for the country. The post-COVID world, where health and fitness is getting prioritised above everything, sports and games too are set to achieve record highs and new pursuers across the globe like never before. A strong preparation and setting up world-class infrastructure to cater to future sports stars becomes all relevant in such times.

India has made extensive efforts in recent years to transform the creative energy of the youth in the country, which have also resulted in grabbing gold in international sports and a well noticeable shift in the career preference of the youth and priorities of the parents. Plans like Khelo India scheme, TOPS, assistance to National Sports Federations, special awards to winners in international sports events and their coaches, national sports awards, pension to meritorious sports persons, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Sports Welfare Fund, National Sports Development Fund and running sports training centres through Sports Authority of India are fast changing the sports scenario.

Preserving languages – use it or lose it

Extinction of a Language is not merely phrases and letters lost in the mists of time, but a form of cultural suicide as with a language gone, mankind loses out on great skills, learnings, wisdom, ideas, innovations, artistry, and first-hand ancestral experiences and inventions. In a remarkable development, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution on multilingualism. The resolution promoted the UN’s Department of Global Communications to use both official and non-official languages, including Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu, in its communications.

This could become a reality given India’s efforts since 2018 to get these languages to have a stature that they deserve, putting special focus on the use of Hindi at the United Nations. “Hindi @ UN’ project was launched in 2018 with an objective to enhance the public outreach of the United Nations in the Hindi language, and to spread greater awareness about global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking populations around the world,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.

Language is the most potent and important invention of ingenious mankind. Languages are the tool to code the stories of human endeavours evolving over edges and are the best source of scientific and practical knowledge, wisdom, values and awareness of surroundings. The diversity of languages around the globe beautifully signify the versatility, uniqueness and robustness of human societies. India is blessed with a heritage which nurtures diversity and its languages.

Diversity is what defines nature and human diversity leads to more holistic growth. Even same kind of crops, if planted on the same land over and over again, makes the land unfit for agriculture and nonnutritive. Connected with the world by three oceans and more through the passes of mountains, the Indian Peninsula has welcomed foreign establishments, cultures, rules, leaders and faiths, adding more to India’s diverse heritage and cultural wealth. India is a kaleidoscope of umpteen varieties of cultures, food, traditions, artistry, religious beliefs and languages, products of the long history and unique geography of this land. Such a distinctive mix makes India’s diversity unparallelled in the world. Over the millenniums, the laws of diversity have permeated into the very core of the nature of the Indian subcontinent.

Today, more than 19,500 languages or dialects (analysis of a census released in 2018) that are spoken in India as mother tongues, help it to think and act for all, strategically, economically, socially, geo-politically and spiritually. This official addition of Hindi and Bengali at UN also makes perfect sense in a world where after Mandarin, Spanish & English, Hindi stands at the 4th-most widely spoken language globally (~4.429% of World pop.) followed by Bengali which ranks 5 in the list (~4.00% of World pop.). Also, for now, a UN News-Hindi audio bulletin (UN Radio) has also begun to be released every week.

The key to keeping languages alive is either through practice, or preservation or both. While Digital recording and incorporation of many local languages across the world are helping to preserve lingual remains, manual revisiting can also lead to revival of these languages which can be done through speaking, using it as medium of education, encouraging and promoting more and more of literature work and Media Content in these languages, etc. Hyperlocal Journalism through digital means can greatly result in quick upturn.