Why do party balloons rise in air? How high can they go? When do they drift to the ground?

How much water do plants lose? Do they lose it only as water vapour? Can they regulate water-loss? 

Which chemical bonds are stronger — covalent or ionic? How can we tell? 

Can we grow a dense forest of native species in congested urban spaces or degraded land? How long would this take?

Who were the first people to measure the size of the earth? How did they do it? 

Join us in exploring these questions in our new section — Ask a Question. 

Cities are often seen as incubators for enterprise and innovation. However, in this urbanisation era, we seem to suffer from a lack of imagination on how to handle the many environmental problems associated with expanding cities. This is especially true in the case of the peri-urban interface (PUI), a geographical and conceptual landscape with which the city core often has a contentious relationship. In this chapter, we look at the complex linkages between water and waste in the PUIs of two metropolitan cities: Bengaluru and Kolkata. We look at two water systems: Kannuru lake in Bengaluru and Kolkata’s wetlands. Kannuru is a freshwater lake that supported traditional livelihoods and subsistence use by local communities, while Kolkata’s peri-urban wetlands not only served as the city’s natural sewage treatment plant but also enabled agriculture and aquaculture. Urbanization has adversely impacted both these water systems. Kannuru lake is threatened by a landfill on its periphery, while sewage-based farming and fisheries in Kolkata’s wetlands have been impacted by changes in land use and composition of sewage. We unravel the complexity in the waste-water relationship, where waste is seen as a pollutant in one and as a nutrient in the other. We attempt to understand how we can re-envision waste and water linkages in the PUIs of expanding cities if India needs to move towards a sustainable future.

When the life-altering COVID-19 first struck, teachers and students alike had to re-organise themselves; teachers in their pedagogical methodologies, students in their learning capabilities. Overnight, everyone went digital – smartphones, computers and TV screens became the printed page and everyone learned as they went along. 

This issue of the Learning Curve is devoted to the questions everyone had to face during the period of school closures: what can we do to mitigate the difficulties of adjustment that primary school children will undoubtedly face on their return to school? The most heartening aspect of the articles in the issue is the tremendous resilience and innovativeness displayed by everyone concerned in adapting to school closures.

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर का दसवाँ अंक कक्षा शिक्षण की प्रक्रियाओं पर केन्द्रित है। इसमें एक लेख जेण्डर के मुद्दे पर हुई रोचक बातचीत पर आधारित है। एक अन्य लेख, बच्चे कक्षा में अपने विचार स्वतंत्रता के साथ रखें और शिक्षक संवेदना के साथ बच्चों को अपनी भाषा में विचार अभिव्यक्त करने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करें, के मक़सद को सामने लाता है। कुछ लेख बच्चों की किताबों के उपयोग के महत्त्व को उजागर करते हैं और बताते हैं कि ​‘लिखना’ क्यों और कैसे अपने विचारों को अभिव्यक्त करने का ज़रिया है, न कि शब्दों के पुनरुत्पादन का अभ्यास मात्र। विज्ञान की कक्षा में समूह शिक्षण पर लेख उन सम्भावनाओं को उभारता है कि शिक्षक कैसे और क्या समझ बनाए और ध्यान रखे कि पीयर शिक्षण को प्रभावी और सही मायने में सहभागी बनाया जा सके। 

सामाजिक विज्ञान पर लेख इस विषय की प्रकृति पर चर्चा करता है और कक्षाओं में पढ़ाए जाने वाले सामाजिक अध्ययन और बच्चों के सामने आने वाले मुद्दों के बीच अलगाव को उजागर करता है। कोविड महामारी के दौरान रोजमर्रा की चिंताओं का अभाव और भी अधिक स्पष्ट प्रतीत होता है जब कक्षाएँ, बच्चों और उनके परिवार की चिंताओं की ज़िम्मेदारी नहीं ले पाती हैं।

Issue 10 of Pathshala Bheetar aur Bahar focus on classroom processes. There is an article on an interesting conversation around the issue of Gender, an article on freedom of expression in a classroom, teacher being sensitive and encouraging children expressing their thoughts in their own language. There are articles that bring out the importance of the use of children books, illustrates how writing is about expressing and is not a mere letter reproducing exercise. The article on peer-instruction in a science class brings out the possibilities that the teacher needs to have and the care that must be exercised in making peer-learning effective and truly participative. 

The article on social science discusses its nature and brings out the disconnection between the social studies taught in the classrooms and the issues that confront children. The absence of day-to-day concerns seems even more stark during the COVID pandemic as the classrooms cannot take up the concerns of children and their families.

These are just a few examples of the variety of articles and the issues raised in them. 

At Right Angles, pen, paper and armchair – what more do you need for these rainy days? The November 2021 issue will keep you absorbed for days. Keep reading!

We cannot achieve the demographic dividend unless we create jobs for millions of youth. There are multiple forces – thirteen of them identified in this report — working against employment growth in India from both supply side and the demand side. It is proven that large enterprises create very few jobs. Even these few jobs are created for educated youth. Only Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) can create large number of jobs across India for workers with wide range of skills and education. Out of a total of just over 63 million enterprises in the MSME sector, 62 million are informal micro and very small enterprises (MSEs). Of these, single worker firms (own-account) are 40 million, firms with 2 to 5 workers are 22 million and firms with more than 5 but less than 10 are estimated at 1 million. 107.6 million workers (97% of all employment in the MSME sector) are in this MSE segment. These MSEs, surprisingly, are more rural than urban — 51% are in rural India. Women-owned firms accounted for 20 % of all enterprises, 16 % of all workers and 9 % of aggregate value-added. There is a huge potential to grow these women owned enterprises. MSEs are the most important segment of the Indian Economy if we want to achieve GDP and Employment growth. Moreover, many of these enterprises are closely aligned with households, particularly in location and ownership. These enterprises play a pivotal role in linking the formal and the informal sector through value chains. We don’t need more micro-enterprises or more single-person firms. Instead, we need to scale-up these existing MSEs. How can we do this? By creating a support system which will make these MSEs go digital, grow in scale and increase their productivity. This will automatically create jobs The Udyog Sahayak Enterprise Network (USENET) proposed in this report is that support system. Why a support system? Because it is not possible to educate millions of the MSE entrepreneurs to become digital experts. Why now? Because India and the world are going digital. In the digital marketplace small can compete better and grow.

Download Policy Proposal Here.

Read media coverage here.

Realising India’s demographic dividend requires a focused policy approach for employment generation. Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) can create millions of jobs, across India, for workers with wide range of skills and education. Out of a total of just over 63 million enterprises in the MSME sector, 62 million are informal micro and very small enterprises (MSEs). We do not need more micro-enterprises. Instead we need to help existing MSEs to grow in size. We can do this by creating a support system which enables them to go digital, avail of government schemes, adopt new technologies, and increase productivity. This will create millions of new jobs.

This report is a first of its kind collaboration between Azim Premji University, FICCI, and TISS-Mumbai. It proposes the creation of an Udyog Sahayak Enterprise Network (USENET) at the national level. USENET is a support system for MSEs that will improve Ease of Doing Business for micro and small entrepreneurs. Udyog Sahayak Enterprises will take servcies such as digitisation and formalisation, availing of government loans, subsidies or other benefits, ensuring compliance with local, regional, and national regulation, aiding partnership with digital marketing platforms and digital payment platforms, to the MSEs at their doorstep.

Media Coverage

Press Coverage USENET Report Release
The Times of India: Support system to up ease of doing business
The Economic Times: Azim Premji University, FICCI, TISS, roll out plan for employmenet generation in MSME sector
ETAuto: Policy proposal for employment generation, scale-up in MSME sector
Business Today: FICCI, Azim Premji University recommend 18 lakh Udyog Sahayak Enterprises network to assist MSEs

The Hindu: Draft policy to help grow nano, micro enterprises
The Hindu Businessline: ​‘Set up USENET centres micro, small enterprises’ 

The New Indian Express: Micro firms can create 10.3 million jobs: Report
The Statesman: Azim Premji University, FICCI and TISS form policy proposal for employment generation for MSMEs
Telangana Today: USENET could help MSMEs scale up
The New Indian Express – Edex Live: This network for MSEscan help create 56 million new jobs in 10 years. Here’s how
UNI: Azim Premji University, FICCI, TISS come out with new USENET policy for creating one crore job
The Hans India: Azim Premji varsity, FICCI, TISS roll out plan to generate jobs in MSME sector
SME Times: Report proposes ease of doing biz for MSEs
Nagaland Post: Policy proposal to scale up MSME sector

पाठशाला भीतर और बाहर के अंक 9 में बच्चों को पढ़ना-लिखना सिखाने की शुरुआत और आगे इसका विस्तार कैसे किया जा सकता है इस पर लेख हैं। कुछ अन्य लेख गणित शिक्षण से जुड़ी मान्यताओं, और ये मान्यताएँ शिक्षण और सीखने को कैसे प्रभावित करती हैं, पर केन्द्रित हैं। सामाजिक अध्ययन की कक्षा में परस्पर विरोधी मुद्दों पर की गई चर्चा कैसे बच्चों में आलोचनात्मक सोच विकसित करती है, से जुड़े लेख भी इस अंक में हैं। एक‑दो लेखों में लॉकडाउन के दौरान बच्चों व शिक्षकों के लिए आयोजित की कई कक्षाओं के अनुभव साझा किए गए हैं।

इस अंक में समावेशन और समानता से सम्बन्धित दो लेख हैं। पहले लेख में शिक्षक‑शिक्षा पाठ्यक्रम के अन्तर्गत ​‘जेण्डर संवेदनशील शिक्षण क्यों व कैसे’ की पड़ताल की गई है। दूसरा लेख जनजातीय बच्चों को शिक्षा के दायरे में लाने और उनके लिए सीखना सम्भव बनाने के बारे में है। इस अंक का साक्षात्कार, अनुराग बेहार से राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति 2020 के मूलभूत तत्त्वों पर टुलटुल बिस्वास द्वारा की गई बातचीत पर आधारित है। पुस्तक चर्चा में जिस किताब की चर्चा है, उसका नाम है- एक स्कूल मैनेजर की डायरी ।

Issue- 9 includes a range of articles on importance of and teaching of reading and writing to children. These explore how reading and writing maybe initiated and then furthered. Other articles touch upon beliefs about teaching of mathematics and how they impact teaching and learning and on how classroom discussion on conflicting issues in Social Science help develop critical thinking. Some other articles focus on the sharing experiences of organizing classes for children and for teachers during the lockdown. 

There are two articles related to issue of inclusion and equity in education. One on of them explores why and how of Gender education in context of teacher education curriculum and the other is about education of Jan Jati children and making learning possible for them. The interview in this issue is with Anurag Behar and focuses on the foundational elements of the National education policy 2020. And the book discussed in the issue is ​‘Ek School Manager kii dairy’.

This working paper studied individual religiosity, trust, and trustworthiness to find that more religious people are more likely to exhibit greater trustworthiness even if religiosity does not predict trust.

Author:

• Zico Dasgupta

The efficacy of survey-based policy recommendations is primarily dictated by the quality of data collected in the first place. Is the survey truly representative of the population it claims to characterise? Are respondents voicing their true opinions or are they playing to the gallery? Did enumerator bias creep into the data? These are questions that most users of surveys have, but are typically brushed aside in the race to get the analyses out. While there are no foolproof measures to ensure that survey data are authentic, certain steps can be taken to improve their dependability. One such is the use of what is called ​‘para data’ (data about the process of data collection), to streamline enumerator practices, and thereby improve the reliability of the data being collected. This report details our experience of using para data to improve the quality of the India Working Survey (IWS).

Authors:

• Deepti Goel
• Rosa Abraham
• Rahul Lahoti

The articles in this issue are broadly based on the two aspects of play in learning – the innumerable lessons that are learnt from play – teamwork, strategy, inclusion, respect, sharing, handling fights, settling arguments, addressing bullying, and second, how play can be used as pedagogy for circular learning as well as structured activities such as educational videos and unstructured ones like pretend play. The idea behind both is to nurture the free spirit with which child must learn.

A field study was conducted in August, 2021, with 363 primary school teachers across 18 districts to capture teachers’ voices on what has happened during school closure since the pandemic began and what needs to be done once schools reopen.

Perch on the branches of the Tremendous Tree of mathematics and enjoy your read. At Right Angles July 2021 is packed with a variety of articles and the online version has several absorbing additional articles. 

Using two rounds of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) covering the periods 2017 – 18 and 2018 – 19, we construct a panel of urban Indian individuals aged 15 to 65, and analyse the dynamics of their participation – or non-participation – in the labour force. We construct transition probabilities to study the movement of individuals through three distinct statuses — employment, unemployment and non-participation – at the aggregate level and for different demographic groups. We find evidence of considerable movements from the labour force to non-participation; there exists a significant discouraged worker effect as well as a pronounced movement from employment outside the labour force, specifically for women. A majority of those unemployed in the beginning of the year remain so at the end of the year, indicating the presence of long-term unemployment. The reduction in unemployment rates from 2017 – 18 to 2018 – 19 hides significant weaknesses in Indian urban labour markets. This study represents an original contribution to the field of Indian labour economics, given the paucity of large-scale studies of the dynamics of Indian labour.

Authors:

• Rahul Menon
• Paaritosh Nath

Does the teaching and learning of science change when we give importance to relationships with people, other beings, and the places they inhabit? 

How do we use an exploration of water to help children connect basic science concepts with personal experiences and pressing environmental issues? 

Can observing, exploring, and working in their natural environment offer children and teachers the opportunity to cultivate an intuitive understanding of the nature and process of science? 

What personal choices and simple actions in our everyday lives can help us begin engaging with climate change? 

Join us in exploring these questions in the theme section of this issue — Teaching as if the Earth Matters.

इस अंक में 16 लेख हैं और इनमें अधिकांश लेख पढ़ना सीखने और उसमे रुचि पैदा करने पर आधारित हैं। शिक्षकों और शिक्षक‑प्रशिक्षकों द्वारा लिखे गए कक्षा अनुभवों और शिक्षणशास्त्र पर आधारित लेख, शिक्षण में बच्चों की भागीदारी बढ़ाने के तरीकों के विभिन्न पहलुओं को सामने लाते हैं। बच्चों को पढ़ना सीखने और उनकी लिखित अभिव्यक्ति विकसित करने में मदद के लिए, स्कूल व कक्षा में क्या किया जा सकता है, इसके बारे में विचार देते हैं। किताबों और पुस्तकालय से, डायरी लेखन व दीवार पत्रिका से, पढ़ने-लिखने की सामग्री से और बातचीत व कहानी कहने से सीखने में मिलने वाली मदद के विवरण भी इन लेखों में मिलते हैं। इस अंक का संवाद भी शुरूआती पढ़ना, लिखना, साक्षरता, संख्यात्मक और गणितीय ज्ञान पर केन्द्रित है। लेख यह भी दर्शाते हैं कि जब बच्चे पाठ्यपुस्तकों के अध्यायों पर काम कर रहे हों तो उन्हें बात करने और अपने विचार व्यक्त करने की पूरी आज़ादी होना चाहिए। 

शिक्षक के साथ साक्षात्कार महामारी के दौरान बच्चों के साथ जुड़े रहने के प्रयासों का विश्लेष्ण प्रस्तुत करता है। एक अन्य लेख महामारी के दौरान बच्चों के अपने स्कूल के साथ सम्बन्धों की जटिलता को सामने लाता है।

This eighth issue of Pathshala carries 16 articles. Learning to read and write is the foundation of all further learning. Most of the articles in this issue are focussed on learning to read and building of interest in it. The Samvaad is also focussed on ‘ Early reading, writing, literacy, numeracy and other mathematical knowledge’. Based on classroom experience and pedagogy the articles written by teachers and teacher educators bring out various aspects of the manner of engaging children and give ideas about what can be done in the school and in the classroom for helping children to learn read and develop their written expression. The articles bring out the changing role of the reader at different stages of the reading process, how working with the library and books, diary writing, Deewar Patrika (Wall magazine), availability of material to read and write, conversation and storytelling etc. help in learning and how peer learning, conversations with and among children help in this process. They point out that children should also be given freedom to talk and express when they are working with chapters from textbooks. The interview with the teacher presents an analysis of the efforts to continue to engage with children during the pandemic. One article of a different genre brings out the complexity of the relationship of children to their school as exposed by the pandemic.

Author:

• Kunal Mangal

When the pandemic hit, the Indian economy was already in the most prolonged slowdown in recent decades. On top of this, there were legacy problems such as a slow rate of job creation and lack of political commitment to improving working conditions which trapped a large section of the workforce without access to any employment security or social protection.

The pandemic has further increased informality and led to a severe decline in earnings for the majority of workers resulting in a sudden increase in poverty. Women and younger workers have been disproportionately affected. Government relief has helped avoid the most severe forms of distress, but the reach of support measures is incomplete, leaving out some of the most vulnerable workers and households. 

The report was released on 5 May 2021- you can watch the recording of the online event here.

A lot of thought has been applied by individuals, teachers and organisations across the country to give the principles of responsible citizenship and shape in the minds of our children. All the articles in this issue show how dedicated have been the attempts to use the classroom to implant and nurture the ideas consecrated in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

Our bi-annual publication in Hindi bringing together the experiences and views of teachers in the field of education.

This working paper develops an understanding of how learning outcomes are derived from aims of school education and their characteristics, and proposes an approach to designing an effective lesson plan. 

Isn’t mathematics simply divine? Not an unexpected line from the At Right Angles team but one that we will back up with our Features article from the March 2021 issue: Geometric Constructions from the Sulvasutras. It’s an incisive dive from there to the Utilitarian Math World but your disillusionment will be healed with delightful articles on understanding some of the whys of procedures and rules in mathematics such as the divisibility rules, the square root algorithm, the formula for the median and the folk method to find the height of a tree.

We bring you a new first with this issue: for the first time, AtRiA goes beyond its covers with three additional articles available only in the online mode. A big shout out to the numerous submissions which enable us to take this leap.

Do revert with your feedback on AtRiA.​editor@​apu.​edu.​in

This report essentially takes stock of the employment conditions prevailing in the Indian economy prior to the pandemic and then goes on to delineate the impact of COVID-19 on lives and livelihoods. It also charts a possible policy path forward to address both short-term and long-term challenges of livelihood and employment. The focus is primarily on the non-farm economy while analysis and policy recommendations are at the national level.

Author:

• Santosh Mehrotra

School closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to complete disconnect from education for the vast majority of children or inadequate alternatives like community based classes or poor alternatives in the form of online education, including mobile phone-based learning.

This paper attempts to look at the ways informality is conceptualized in India and argues that the problems with the laws pertaining to informal labour are not simply an implementation issue, but the design of the labour laws itself exclude informal labour. While reviewing the history of labour laws in India and the social history of labour participation, the paper also examines the current change in the political approach to labour by changing the labour laws in the pretext of the pandemic. Focussing on the changes made in labour laws in Madhya Pradesh the paper argues that these changes would further informalise the workers intensifying the crisis.

Authors:

• Jenny Sulfath
• Balu Sunilraj

The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in labour markets across the world including loss of employment and decline in incomes. Using panel data from India, we investigate the differential impact of the shock on labour market outcomes for male and female workers. We find that, conditional on being in the workforce prior to the pandemic, women were seven times more likely to lose work during the nationwide lockdown, and conditional on losing work, eleven times more likely to not return to work subsequently, compared to men. Using logit regressions on a sample stratified by gender, we find that daily wage and young workers, whether men or women, were more likely to face job loss. Education shielded male workers from job loss, whereas highly educated female workers were more vulnerable to job loss. Marriage had contrasting effects for men and women, with married women less likely to return to work and married men more likely to return to work. Religion and gender intersect to exacerbate the disproportionate impact, with Muslim women more likely to not return to work, unlike Muslim men where we find religion having no significant impact. Finally, for those workers who did return to work, we find that a large share of men in the workforce moved to self-employment or daily wage work, in agriculture, trade or construction. For women, on the other hand, there is limited movement into alternate employment arrangements or industries. This suggests that typical ​‘fallback’ options for employment do not exist for women. During such a shock, women are forced to exit the workforce whereas men negotiate across industries and employment arrangements.

Authors:

• Rosa Abraham
• Amit Basole
• Surbhi Kesar

This paper makes an attempt to do an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on employment and migration in India. The analysis is based on up-to-date facts and figures available in the public domain on economic growth, employment and migration. Using the employment elasticity approach, the study estimates employment loss during 2020 – 21 owing to the negative impact of COVID-19 on economic activities. The results of the study suggest that the country may witness job loss with the tune of 18.5 18.8 million in the current fiscal year. This in turn would shoot up the unemployment rate from 5.8% in 2018 – 19 to 8.9% in 2020 – 21, warranting a coordinated and focused approach from both the Central and State governments to uplift the confidence of the people and bring back the lost jobs, particularly the migrant workers. The study also emphasises on Central government’s urgent attention and action plan for uplifting the rural economy in order to revive India’s economy in the short run.

Authors:

• Purna Chandra Parida
• Yogesh Suri