28 States, Techkriti13, IIT Kanpur

Round 2: Online Essay Submission - Guidelines

Description
Each entry should contain two essays: one each from Category 1 and Category 2.

Essay Formatting
1. Length of the Essay : Category 1: 800-1200 words Category 2: 400-600 words 2. Typed on a A4 size page in a softcopy 3. Font size shall be 12 points in Times New Roman for essay in English/ Font size shall be 14 points in Kruti Dev 010 for essay in Hindi. 4. 1.15 line spacing

Topics of the Essay

Category 1
If you were the chief minister of your state what actions/policies/strategies would you undertake to deal with the problems persisting in your state. Start by identifying the problems and then suggesting your plan of action to deal with the same. Also, how do these actions/policies/strategies prove to be more beneficial than the already existing ones?

Category 2
Topic 1 - India has always witnessed a wide gap between the rich and the poor. This disparity has only increased over the years. The rich have become richer and the poor, well, poorer. Yes, there has been great economic development and industrialization; but it has served to benefit only few. Are there ways in which the economic development of the country and poor go hand in hand? Suggest some.

Topic 2 - India is facing the problem of illegal immigration to an extent that is far greater than any other country. There is a large number of Bangladeshies immigrating from Bangladesh into all states of India. If there number keeps increasing, India may face a secessionist movement from these Bangladeshi immigrants in the North East states where they are in large numbers. What according to you can be done by government and citizens to deal with this issue? Topic 3 - Although, India has more than 65% of its population below the age of 35, the unemployment among youth has always hindered the economic growth and development of nation as a whole. While schemes like NREGA aim towards eradicating unemployment among rural masses, there is still a very large section of literate urban and rural population who face this problem. What measures can be taken to tackle this problem? Topic 4 - Recently, there has been a spate of honor killings in the country. While we talk about modernization on one hand, such heinous crimes committed on the grounds of honour among the society reflects the mentality of certain sections of society who are not open to inter-caste or inter-religion marriages. What all can be done by the authorities and the citizens as a whole to stop such crimes? Topic 5 - Naxalism is the most serious internal threat to India's national security. Till now, government has employed military to deal with this issue but it hasn't worked well. There can be multi-lateral dialogues to reconcile this issue but naxalites are reluctant to indulge in any such talks. What solutions do you propose to combat this problem? Topic 6 - The primary education system in India is abysmal and its deteriorating day by day which leads to illiteracy and poverty in the country. What do you think are the reasons behind the poor primary education system? How do you suggest approaching this problem to improve the primary education system in India? Topic 7 - Rising prices of essential commodities or inflation is one of the critical economic situations that affects the livelihood of middle class and makes it difficult for them to make both ends meet. The government's policies are falling apart and it has been unable to regulate the prices. What measures need to be taken to keep inflation under control? Or how should the government change its economic policies to achieve the same? Topic 8 - Indian politics at its current standards hinders India's path to become a superpower. A large number of politicians are there just to serve their personal and political ambitions while they need to care about national and foreign policies; and the future of their country. Do you think there is a way it can be changed? If yes, what needs to be done on part of the citizens and the government? Topic 9 - Reservation has always been a debated topic in our country. It is an instrument for the government to strengthen its vote bank by making some reservations in jobs, educational institutes for a particular section of the society. Also, the government gets away from its duty to improve the existing facilities like increasing the number of jobs, establishing more educational institutes etc. What, according to you, can be done to benefit the backward sections of the society without having to employ reservation? or What are the alternatives for reservation?

Topic 10 - The whole country raised its voice against recent Delhi gang rape. While in the short run, protests have pressurized the government to speed up the jurisdiction process in case of such crimes, in the long run, we have to ponder over the feasible solutions to stop such heinous crime against women. What amendments in the laws need to be done and what measures should be undertaken to make the women of the country feel safe? Topic 11- Many people in our country are not aware of their own rights and duties while few others are deliberately negligent towards the discretion of their duties. How does it affect the society? Suggest ways in which we as citizens can become more responsible and aware in this regard? Topic 12 - The malice of gender discrimination and women empowerment in India is a long drawn battle against powerful structural forces of the society which is against womens growth and development. Will reservation of seats in Parliament be desirable or helpful to women? Give reasons. What else needs to be done to bring women at par with men? Topic 13 - Is giving voting rights to illiterates in India logical? Persuade for or against it. Topic 14 - Do you feel Section 66(a) of the Information Technology Act or Sedition Law is being misused? If yes, explain why and how can its misuse be curbed? If no, give reasons? Explain for each Section 66(a) and Sedition Law separately. Topic 15 - Millions of rupees have are being paid to media houses for publicizing information that favours a particular group/party. Such activities become rampant during elections when politicians pay huge sum to the media houses for gaining their favour. The media grants space for vivid coverage for the benefit of such politicians in the newspapers. How does this influence the opinion of people and what needs to be done to stop such activities from happening?

Terms and Conditions

1. Only original essays will be considered for the competition. No part of it should have published earlier. Plagiarism of any form will result in disqualification of the participant from the event. 2. Only one entry per participant would be considered. 3. Participants by submission of essays accept all the terms and conditions mentioned above and on website and shall abide by the same throughout the competition. However, with proper and adequate reference to the author owning the intellectual property, the participant is allowed to mention the relevant results, conclusions or statistics, if required. 4. Only complete entries that are duly received by us by the closing date will be eligible for the Promotion. We cannot accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed or damaged and proof of sending an online entry is not proof that we received it. The entry received would be acknowledged within 24 hours.

Language
The essay may be written in either Hindi or English.

Deadline
The last date for submission of essay is 14th January, 2013.

Submission Procedure
1. Participants must submit their entries in softcopy in MS Word format (.docx or .doc) or in PDF format (.pdf). There is no offline submission. 2. Cover of Written Submission: The written submission must have a cover page containing the name of the participant, email-id, contact no, home state, name of the college/university, and the title of the essays chosen for submission. 3. Participants must send their entries to 28states@techkriti.org before the last date of submission. 4. The mail to be sent should have the subject: Round 2: Name_Home State. For example, if your name is Rahul Singh from Himachal Pradesh, then the subject should be: Round 2: Rahul Singh_Himachal Pradesh.

Evaluation criteria
Originality Vision Relevance Clarity of thought Remark: Marks may be deducted if word limit is exceeded by more than 50 words.

Contact Us
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