Socio-economics Problems

National Education Policy of 1986 focused on making primary education compulsory for every child across the country. The government of India has appointed K. Kasturirangan committee to prepare new National Education Policy in 2017.

The First Five Year Plan was released after India’s independence in between 1951-1956 . At that time, the leaders decided to focus on empowering the biggest economic sector in India- agriculture. The main focus of this plan was on the primary sector.

September 8^th was declared as the World Literacy Day by United Nations Organization. 1990 was celebrated as the International Literacy Year.

Sati was a terrible social practice where a widow was burnt alive with her husband’s body. This practice was abolished by the Act of 1829 by the then Governor General Lord William Bentinck.

Mother Tongue

Explanation: Using Mother Tongue as the medium of instruction is the best way to reach out to the children. Using a foreign language is difficult for both a student and a teacher.

United Nations Organization

Explanation: UNO declared 1990 as the Literacy Year to emphasize the importance as well as for education across the world.

Factories and mines

Explanation: Employing children in such hazardous environments is very unjust as well as dangerous to the lives of the children.

1856

Explanation: The Widow Remarriage Act 1856 was passed to stop the evil social practice of isolating a widow in the society.

1. Sarada Act – 1929

Sarada act- Sarada Act is also known as child marriage restraint act passed on 28 September 1929 fixed the age of marriage for girls and boys.

2. Equal Remuneration Act - 1976

Equal Remuneration Act 1976 provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women and help prevent gender discrimination.

3. Black Board Operation - 1987

Operation Black Board is a centrally sponsored scheme started in 1987. The objective of this scheme was to provide all essential institutional equipment and instructional materials to all primary schools.

4. 20 Points Programme - Mrs. Indira Gandhi

20 point programme was initially launched by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. The basic objective of this programme was to eradicate poverty and to improve the quality of life of the poor and the underprivileged population of the country.

Illiteracy means the inability to read and write. According to the government of India, the definition is- the total percentage of the population of an area at a particular time aged 7 years or above can read and write with understanding. It is also called the effective literacy rate.

Explanation: Illiteracy is a major obstacle in the development of any region or any country because, without literacy, proper education is not possible.

Various measures by Government for women:

1. Abolition of Sati (1829)

2. Widow Remarriage Act (856)

3. Ban of child marriage (1929)

4. Hindu Succession Act (1956)

5. Equal Remuneration Act (1976) etc.

Explanation: Government has taken various measures to end discrimination against women both socially and economically. It has also abolished crimes like Sati and child marriage.

Poverty is an economic and social problem where a section of the society cannot meet its daily requirements like food and shelter due to lack of money. Poverty is of two type-

1. Absolute poverty- it is synonymous with destitution when people can't compete for their basic needs or can't buy basic resources like food, clothes to survive it.

2. Relative poverty- relative poverty occurs when some people do not enjoy a certain level of living standards as enjoyed by the bulk of the population.

Poverty in India is most widespread in the rural areas due to lack of basic facilities like education and health services which hinders their development.

Measures by Government to end unemployment:

1. National Rural Employment Programme 1980 was introduced to remove the high rate of unemployment in rural areas.

2. Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme 1983 was to give paid work to at least one member of landless families.

3. Training for Rural Youth Employment Programme 1979 aimed at making the rural youth capable of self-employment.

Explanation: Government has introduced many schemes and programmes over the years to systematically end unemployment in India, especially in rural areas.

Social problems faced by India:

1. Illiteracy: Lack of education in India, especially in the rural areas, becomes a problem in their economic and social development. For decades, many regions in India have remained illiterate. The government has introduced various measures like the National Education Policy of 1986, but still, we lack in the education field.

2. Child Labour: Children below 14 years of age are many times sent to work rather than learn or play. People are most of the times, forced by their poverty to do so. The government has abolished the employment of children in the factories and mines, but still laws and rules are not followed by citizens properly.

3. Injustice against women: Being a patriarchal society, women have faced many problems like Sati, female infanticide, dowry demands, denial of education, etc. The government has passed many laws in favour of women like the abolition of Sati and child marriage, equal pay for equal work, widow remarriage, etc but still a lot left to do.

Causes for population explosion:

1. High birth rate and low death rate due to better health services.

2. Epidemic disease has been treated and removed.

3. Infant mortality rate has steadily declined over the years.

4. There is a belief among the poor that more children would bring more income to the family.

Steps taken by the government:

1. Introduction to family planning and increasing its awareness.

2. Increasing female education to empower women.

3. Legal measures against child marriage and polygamy to remove any such injustice.

4. Certain incentives on the local and state level have been provided to encourage having small families with one or two children.

Questionnaire which students can use while performing the activity:

a) What is your main livelihood?

b) How much do you earn in a month?

c) Did you ever receive an education? Do your children go to school?

d) Do you get good health facilities?

e) Do you have any savings?

f) Who is the most educated person in your village?

g) What do you think is the best job for a girl?

h) What help have you received from the government?

i) Do you have any dreams?

Some measures:

1. Providing guarantee of jobs after school education.

2. Giving minimum allowance to families of one or two children who are below the poverty line.

3. More powers have to be given to the local government to ensure development at grass root levels.

4. Increasing the efficiency of government schools with strict routine checks so that the poor have more faith in education.

There are many ways in which marginalized groups face discrimination and injustice in India. Some common incidents of injustice against marginalized communities:

1. Lynching of Muslims

2. Protests for Reservations

3. Poverty of Farmers

4. Employment insecurities of workers

5. Militant activities in Kashmir and North-East

REPORT:

They work for long hours like 8 to 10 hours on a regular basis. Inequality of wages is a big problem for workers. Most of the construction site jobs are in the unorganized sectors. So there is very less regulation of how much is paid to each worker. The Indian Government passed a law that made it mandatory for giving equal pay for equal work. However, the practice of lesser pay to women still continues in India. As the workers are desperate for any income, they do not have the option to protest. Much of their concerns are ignored by the upcoming governments. Although the situation has improved over the years, equality in payment is still lagging. Owner pays a wage to them on a daily basis.

Population Explosion as a Boon:

Any country’s development relies a lot on its human resources. Without human resources, it is difficult to progress. A country needs both unskilled and skilled labour for complete development. India, being the second most populated country has vast potential for human resource. The more the population, the more is the scope for utilization of human resources. Instead of developing one sector, many sectors can develop simultaneously as there is manpower for the same. Population explosion becomes a boon as it pushes development in such cases.

Population Explosion as a Curse:

In a country like India, it is very difficult to implement all the welfare programmes to the grass root levels. As a result, the rich become richer while the poor become poorer. The middle class benefits the most, but the poorest are left out. Population increase in such a case becomes a burden because there is no utilization of human resources. On the other hand, there is increased pressure on limited resources. Many times, it can lead to crimes. Population explosion becomes a curse in such cases as it holds back the development of a society.