Blogs
16th January 2024
Introduction:
Drones have gained significant attention since their inception due to the immense potential they offer. They are increasingly being used for social purposes, particularly in rural areas. Since drones are capable of reaching remote locations and have various other functionalities, they are being explored for applications in healthcare and agriculture in India, offering innovative solutions to improve access to medical care and enhance farming practices.
NIPUN Bharat Mission Sets the Stage for Attaining Universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Skills among Young Children
25th November 2023
The early years of a child is a crucial period as they have a long-term repercussion. This is because the growth of a child, both physical and mental, is very fast during this stage. The evolution of cognitive faculties in these years implies that an effective foundation is laid for a fruitful academic life. This is where foundational learning becomes vital. The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training defines foundational learning as “Basic learning that supports further learning and that is intended to provide learning opportunities for the development of proficiency in one or more languages as well as in some form of mathematics or mathematical literacy.”
Millets Gaining Prominence in the Country
Team Social Xleration, 26th October 2023
Millets are an important crop group, which have been grown for many millennia. A staple food item for many communities globally especially in Asia and Africa, they are laced with high nutritional value. Known to be cultivated in more than 130 countries, the major millet varieties include sorghum, pearl millet, and finger millet. This year has particularly brought this crop under the limelight as recognizing its beneficial value, the United Nations designated 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM) based on India’s proposal. India produces 170 lakh tons of millet annually. This makes up for 80 percent of overall production in Asia and 20 percent of the world’s production.
Farming Sector Witnessing a Gradual Growth of Weather Forecasting Services
Team Social Xleration, 28th September 2023
Weather forecasting is a critical element in today’s farming and is required by farmers for multifarious reasons for productive and remunerative agriculture. This is becoming more crucial in light of the persistent effects of climate changes that we are experiencing and extreme weather events such as intense bouts of rainfall over a short duration. Such factors pose serious concerns for farmers. Weather forecasting involves predicting the climatic conditions in the near future based on the location and time.
Enhancing Accessibility: A Look at Various Assistive Technologies for Visually Impaired in India
Team Social Xleration, 22nd August 2023
A report by the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) reveals that 12 million people suffer from visual impairment in India. They make up the one-third population of the global population of 39 million who suffer from vision impairment. Owing to their condition, they struggle when it comes to education, healthcare, and employment. So, a range of assistive technologies has come up to make their life easier. It is important to make these technologies accessible to them so that they function better in their day-to-day lives. Let us look at a few of such notable technologies.
The Rich Legacy of the Traditional Water Conservation Methods in the Western Himalayan Region of India
Team Social Xleration, 4th July 2023
With its indispensability in almost all the facets of human existence, water occupies a central place in human life. The water conservation practices are a very old concept in India. Archeologists have found the evidence of water conservation in form of reservoirs as far back as Indus valley civilization. Each region in India typically employs distinct approaches for conserving and accumulating water. In the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, there are many such water harvesting systems. These are also prevalent in the region of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. This piece captures such systems in the states of western Himalayan region.
How ChatGPT Can Contribute to Non-Profits’ Productivity
Team Social Xleration, 18th April 2023
Since ChatGPT got introduced in late 2022, not a day passes by without news of the different uses and capabilities of this Artificial Intelligence Technology, which has been developed by OpenAI. The long form of this acronym is ‘chatbot powered by GPT-3’, which is a natural language processing technology that enables machines to understand human language. A recent article describes it as a technology, which is based on transformer architecture and is trained on a massive corpus of data, allowing it to generate human-like text in real-time.
CSR and the Development of Slums in India
Team Social Xleration, 18th January 2023
Slums are a pervasive feature of the majority of Indian cities. The fast pace of urbanization, the concentration of jobs in cities, and the lack of affordable houses have driven scores of people to slums. The Census of India 2011 defines slums as “residential areas where dwellings are unfit for human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, light, or sanitation facilities or any combination of these factors which are detrimental to the safety and health”.
Research and Startups at Government Institutions and Incubators Steadily Drawing CSR Funds in India
Team Social Xleration, 15th November 2022
Introduction
Since the passage of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) provisions under the Companies Act 2013 in the year 2014 by the Parliament, the CSR canvass in the country has been progressively expanding. This is an outcome of the Government of India allowing companies to invest their CSR funds in additional areas hitherto uncovered by the Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013, which lists the various categories and activities under which the companies can invest their CSR grants. This is done to cover more areas that deserve attention and CSR funds as well as to provide further flexibility and clarity to companies to invest in other causes which may be of interest to them and have a better fit with their business goals.
Environmentally-Conscious Initiatives Are Turning Plastic Wastes into Fabrics for Eco-Friendly Fashion
Team Social Xleration, 18th August 2022
Context
While plastics are a part of our day-to-day life, yet, there is a greater realization of the high level of adverse impacts that they have on human beings. The amount of plastic that is recycled or incinerated in waste-to-energy facilities is very small. Much of the plastics land up in landfills, where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose and release potentially harmful materials into the soil and water. Studies have revealed that consuming plastic could cause cancer, changes in hormone levels, and cardiac damage. Moreover, since most of it ends up in oceans, it poses a grave threat to marine life as well. In this context, the recycling of plastics becomes highly vital. A few companies have come up with a unique solution to this problem by recycling plastic waste into fabrics for apparel production. This write-up provides information on various such initiatives.
Start-ups take the Recycling Route to Combat the Perils of Wastes
Team Social Xleration, 8th July 2022
Introduction
The current waste scenario in India is a major concern for the country. This is especially true for urban areas, where a sizeable number of people lead a high consumption lifestyle leading to a large amount of waste generation. It is reported that urban India currently produces 62 million tonnes of waste (MSW) each year, and it is anticipated that this number will increase to 165 million tonnes by the year 2030. Annually, 43 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are collected, but only 11.9 million tonnes are processed before being buried in landfills. In this scenario, there is an urgent and inescapable need to recycle the waste generated in the country. Waste management lessens waste’s negative effects on the environment, human health, and so on.
Online Marketing Thrust for Women SHGs Made Products
Team Social Xleration, 18th February 2022
Introduction
A self-help group (SHG) is a homogenous association comprising 10 to 20 members, who come together to help themselves and fellow members. They meet frequently and pool small savings regularly and extend loans within their group. Today, a majority of the SHGs in the country are women-based and are helping them develop a voice and self-sufficiency. The history of the SHGs in the country goes back to organizations such as MYRADA and SEWA creating and encouraging these groups. The SHGs also execute an important role of fostering entrepreneurship through bank linkages to enable members to avail loans for starting entrepreneurial activities. Today, many women SHGs are involved in developing various products as a measure for income generation.
Women Farmer Producer Organizations Make Stride in Different Parts of the Country
Team Social Xleration, 25th October 2021
Introduction
The importance of women farmers in Indian agriculture cannot be overstated. It is a known fact that women end up spending more time on the fields than their male counterparts as they are involved in numerous farming activities of growing nurseries, transplanting, weeding, sorting amongst others. However, despite a high level of toil, they end up not getting just rewards as they are excluded from land titles and decision-making. Lower exposure to the markets is a major impediment and reason for the precarious position of the Indian women farmers since the power of what to buy and whom and how much to sell remains with men. An effective solution to this concern is the promotion and adoption of aggregation methods of women-based Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) which can enhance their capacities and create strong market linkages.
Pressing Need to Scale-up Female Farmers’ Friendly Tools in India
Team Social Xleration, 24th September 2021
The Context
Women in Rural India are a major and important part of the agricultural system. According to Oxfam India, 85 percent of rural women in India are involved in agriculture. However, despite being a major contributor to the agricultural output, the farm system is highly tilted against women. They just own 13 percent of the land. Besides property rights, the discrimination extends to farm work, which is full of drudgery for the women. The majority of farm work done by women requires frequent bending, which causes considerable pain in the legs, neck, hands, and back.
Artificial Intelligence Gradually Taking Root in the Development Sector in India
Team Social Xleration, 26th August 2021
Introduction
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by their very nature are people-centric organizations that come in contact with and work with a vast number of people. Thus, they are always dealing with loads of data, which the majority of them are still not able to effectively utilize to gather fresh insights and further augment their work. This lacuna is being addressed by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology by various NGOs in the country. Many NGOs have partnered with tech solution providers and enablers to commence AI-centred projects that use data analytics extensively to move up the effectiveness trajectory. This piece explores various such initiatives.
Crucial to Support Adolescents Cope with the Mental Impacts of Covid-19
Team Social Xleration, 12th July 2021
Covid-19 is once in a century occurrence that has caused havoc not only across the length and breadth of India but has spread its tentacles across the globe. The first wave was bad enough but the second wave in the country has been even harsher. While all the age groups have been hit hard by this unseen global nemesis, the adolescents who are in the early years of their lives are particularly perplexed as they find their normal lives go completely topsy-turvy.
Time to Ramp Up Efforts to Mainstream Social Emotional Learning Skills
Team Social Xleration, 21st April 2021
With greater realization, today, social and emotional factors are recognized as two important and influential intrinsic human factors that influence a large number of aspects of a person’s life. Hence, it is necessary to leverage these two facets effectively. This is accomplished through instilling and growth of social and emotional skills, which is why the idea of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is so important.
Greater Efforts Required to Address the Concerns of People with Disabilities
Team Social Xleration, 22nd February 2021
Disability is a major social concern for any society and it still remains so with various societies still at different points in terms of integration of its people with disabilities completely into their social fabric. In India, over time, multiple endeavors have been made to assuage the concerns of people with disabilities and amalgamate them into the mainstream. However, there is a multitude of challenges encompassing social, economic, and medical issues that continue to dodge people with disabilities. Therefore, more concerted and continual efforts in this regard are needed.
Non-tech Educational Solutions Come Forth during the Pandemic for Students with No Net Access
Team Social Xleration, 30th December 2020
As the country picks up pieces and gets back to the normal from the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we witnessed some great use of imagination to ensure that life continued even in the abnormal times. This is also true of school education in India, especially the rural regions. While the majority of the schools in India largely remain shut, the education and teaching community in many places came up with creative non-tech learning methods to surmount the challenge of low internet penetration.