The Naga Blog is a forum on facebook where Nagas from Nagaland and around the world network, share ideas and discuss a wide range of topics from politics and philosophy to music and current events in Nagaland and beyond. The blog is not owned by any individual, nor is it affiliated to or associated with any political party or religion. The only movement it hopes to stir is the one raised by the voices of the Nagas every step of the way, amassing perhaps to mass consciousness one day. www.facebook.com/groups/thenagablog
Amba Jamir: We have seen it in Nagaland and rolled back the no detention policy. To fail or not to fail? Should that have been the only issue or should it have been reviewing the larger education policy, system, budget, educational infrastructure and teacher education programmes in the state. Studies show that "repeating a class doesn't always scare kids into learning, it actually increases the dropout rate." If this is so, hould we then re-think on the no-flunking policy? The table shows an interesting analysis of the positive outcomes of the no detention policy, thus rekindling the debate.
The Central Institute for Education, Delhi University reports that "no detention has to be seen in conjunction with continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) which looks at a child hollistically..." but unfortunately this is not being correctly implemented. We must however also understand that for the CCE to be properly implemented, it requires maximum student-to-teacher and student-to-classroom ratios, rigorous and teacher training as stipulated in the Right to Education Act. We, in Nagaland, are nowhere close.to the standards prescribed. IF we wish our society or stte.to progress, we need to focuss on such issues from a non partisan manner.
Marks tell a different story The first batch of students who cleared grade VIII without detention wrote class X exams in 2012-13. Comparing pass percentages in Grade X before and after the no-fail policy State/Board 2009 pass % 2013 Pass % Andhra Pradesh 78.83 88.08 Assam 61.55 ` 70.71 Chhattisgarh 54.10 56.78 Meghalaya 46.77 54.31 CBSE 88.84 98.78 Source: Unpublished draft report Krocha Nk: The new season for the schools in Nagaland is yet to begin, it will be encouraging if some schools take charge and introduced No Detention policy in the new session. One of the most awkward questions asked by Nagas after results are declared, pass or fail?. Here in the mainland, it’s all about the percentage, nobody asked if you have passed your examination.
Another distinct feature of the Nagas is the so called "Naga Division" or third division. Let us not devalue ourselves so much. We need encouragement more than anything else in this century.
Dream of a BPO hub in NE India Yanpvuo Yanfo Kikon: The promising project of making North-East India a BPO hub, in reality has failed to take off in 2015. Suggest reforms for this Policy to turn into reality in 2016.
In 2015, the Govt of India kicked off the BPO scheme to set up 5000 seater BPO's in all the North-Eastern States but when the 1st tender was floated in April 2015, there was no bidder from any international or local companies who took part in the tender to set up these BPO's in North-East. This was very disheartening indeed, because in theory it all seemed rosy and promising but in reality, it did not happen.
The policy and guidelines were relaxed, amended and the tender was again floated, yet again to receive lukewarm response from any major Multi-National and reputed BPO's interested in this project.
The complete RFP for setting up BPO in North-East can be viewed and downloaded from here - http://deity.gov.in/…/…/files/RFP%20for%20NEBPS-28_08_15.pdf Local BPO's started by our Entrepreneurs in the new guideline were also given the opportunity to form consortium with Indian Companies to fulfill the financial criteria and take part in the bidding but even this failed to attract any companies.
The goal is not to attract big companies or small firms - the goal is to give employment opportunities to our NE youth! But even after tendering 2 times and wasting one year, the BPO in North-East and Nagaland has failed to take off. This is also a BIG LESSON for all our local businesses and enterprises to understand the professional way of doing business, in terms of understanding registration of Companies under the Companies Act, getting ISO certification, maintaining your company's 'Current' bank accounts and balance sheets, producing all the necessary financial reports by engaging a Chartered Accountant, filing Income tax returns etc only then you can say, the small step has been taken to establish the credibility of your enterprise/company and considered a legit business enterprise.
Here, bloggers can seriously put all our minds to analyse, identify the gaps and propose ideas to make this a reality because the practical challenges in attracting any investor or company to set up a base of operations in North-East India has become a major challenge which requires thorough, study, assessment, analysis and research, especially from our end, the local stakeholders who understand our local scenario. This was a dream industry for many of us but even after all the Government investment and steps, it has failed to attract any established company.
The tender received only ONE application to fill 300 of the proposed 3,000 seats during the first round of bidding - from Kolkata-based IKF Technologies - and decided to rework the policy document hoping for more interest the second time around.
Despite the incentives and relaxation in norms, companies say it doesn't make economic sense to invest in the northeast as the region is marred with inadequate civil infrastructure, poor connectivity and security-related issues. "We have the policy in place, we have the money, but people are not coming forward," said another official The government will provide support in the form of funding of up to Rs 1 lakh for every seat in the BPO(annually). The outlay for the scheme is Rs 50 crore and it comes in the backdrop of a nationwide BPO scheme, which has an outlay of about Rs 500 crore and is aimed at creating employment opportunities for about 1.5 lakh people in tier-II and III cities. The officials said the government is far from giving up and is considering fresh changes to the policy. "There are various iterations being considered," said an official. While nothing is official now, one way to fill the seats is to remove the cap on the number of seats and the turnover of companies, the person added. The turnover norm could be relaxed to less than Rs 1 crore from Rs 5-10 crore and the threshold for minimum number of seats from 100 to about 50.
Augus Bruno: Giving employment opportunity/business opportunity is one thing, and willing to really establish in the region/country is another thing. The policy can be very promising and interesting with many relaxation, but, in reality businesses are talking about long-term benefits only which is indeed a harsh reality.
With my personal experience with many companies globally and nationally for entering, investing in North-East particularly and in India generally there are many difficulties. India as a market is very complex for foreign entry as the market is not open in reality, and North-East as a business destination has a total different difficulties and problems of why it is not attracting companies or business to go in.
Some of the reasons from my interaction with international companies for not wanting to enter the Indian Market/North-East Region are which we called it "Hidden Risks" although the layout or framework can be very attractive. The data/program can speak greatly, however, this are the factors of entry barriers I have come across:
1. Political Risk - Political Uncertainty
2. Policy Risk - Policy Uncertainty
3. Regulatory Risk - Regulatory Uncertainty Additional major chief concerns are:
1. Immature or volatile political systems along with “expropriation risk,” the possibility that host governments would seize foreign-owned assets, and North-East Destination to attract international companies/investors must first solve the banking process as well.
2. Outward/Inward Financial transaction is a complex issue in NE Regions.
3. 100% WFOE is not allowed in INDIA I have written a very small and brief article of "PROJECTING NORTH-EAST INDIA as a Business Destination?" taking just a brief outline note of the region's Need, Problems & Risks which would required a huge resources to overcome it. The link is http://nahan-bs.com/.../projecting-north-east-india-as-a.../
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Naga Blog.
