Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Archive

2017

Browsing
News

Train door remains closed, disabled student misses M.Phil. test at DU

By

A visually impaired M.Phil. aspirant, named Vaibhav Shukla could not sit for the entrance exam on Wednesday after he missed his train at Unnao when the people in the coach reserved for people with disabilities did not open the door for him.

The student had opted to travel by the Gorakhdham Express and accordingly reached Unnao station. However, when he went to the coach reserved for the disabled, he found the doors locked.

The people inside the train compartment did not open the door, despite the driver asking them to. Since the stoppage was only for two minutes, Shukla could not make it to the second coach for the disabled that was at the other end of the train. He ended up missing the train.

Once in Delhi, Shukla who is 100% visually impaired told the Delhi University authorities about his plight, but the varsity officials said that they could not do anything now.

In response to the incident, the Delhi High Court said there were “special needs of every nature of disability which the railways have to take into consideration” and asked the Centre the types of provisions that were in place currently. It also asked the authorities to file a disability-wise status report in the next ten days.

Additionally, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar initiated a public interest litigation (PIL) on the event, asking DU to reconsider its stance by 11 July and see whether they can give Shukla a chance to appear in the examination. The bench also brought up the point of compensation for Shukla and just action against the abled people who were misusing the reserved compartment on the day.

This incident not only highlights the insensitivity of people towards the disabled and the presence of arbitrary rules, but also questions the logic of placing the two coaches for the disabled at extreme ends of the train. In the past there have been similar instances where people hijack the reserved coaches. The government should take cognisance of this and appoint a guard to open the compartment doors at stations.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Times of India

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

GST deconstructed: What the government does not want you to know

By

The 2006 movie The Prestige opens up with a Michael Caine monologue. He says “Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird, or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled.”

It is almost astonishing how beautifully this depicts the Indian circumstance as PM Narendra Modi, our very own magician, time and again transfers the utopian ideas of national integration, poverty eradication, and the emancipation of the socially, culturally, and economically marginalised on obscure and complex economic policies sugarcoated with his renowned grandiloquence, ingenious analogies, novel symbolisms, hyperboles, and signature abbreviations. The latest midnight reform from the Parliament came with similar pomp and show, riding on the indomitable optimism of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Modi himself, with their personal promises of grassroot and inclusive economic prosperity. It is only to be seen whether the nation already once scathed by the hardships of demonetisation finally finds relief in the messiah’s new trick or it further faces despair and confusion.

Touted by a section of Indian media as the greatest economic reform since Independence after the 1990 Manmohan Singh reforms, a critical examination of this big bang reform reveals the ramifications of demonetisation and raises serious questions over whether a volatile economy like India will be able to cope with such complex market structures. It is an inevitable analysis at this juncture – will this new policy makes lives easier or is just another one of Modi’s stunts because this man can clearly not keep himself off the front page.

Two things should be made clear at the very onset. Firstly, the GST (Goods and Service Tax) is not at all as simple or as utopian as Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi want us to believe. The BJP, or for that matter any party in India, is at its core a political venture of giant financial houses. Expecting any all-out pro-poor reform would therefore just be unrealistic. Secondly, this reform is not at all an exemption from taxation but rather a distribution of tax from goods of basic survival to the first level goods of comfortable living. It is amply relevant that the different slabs ranging from 5% to 28% are specifically designed to pinch the pockets of the Indian middle class. Clearly, the Indian economy, already mortgaged to the western capitalist institutions in its years of corrupt Congress misrule, has found its new victim in the extensive middle class base. This new policy thus may be seen as a new venture of the government to further appease America.

The government released documents that reveal that the policy is aimed to make the tax incidence on consumers less by reducing compliance costs, removing cascading of taxes, increasing the tax base, reducing logistical costs, and reducing the effective rates of taxes from the present level. The new system is supposed to eliminate India’s notorious complex layers of taxation including purchase, entertainment, excise, luxury and sales taxes (VAT), and others, tackling corruption and inflation at the same time. Even a passing knowledge of the peculiar nature of the Indian economy will reveal the lacuna in every part of the government’s envisioned objectives.

First and foremost, the unorganised sector of India’s economy is vast, employing an estimated nine out of ten workers. When this sector – where the nature of employment is fragile, irregular, and voluminous – is subjected to 37 filings every year including three filings a month added to a jargon of technicalities, the manpower absorption and gross production is significantly reduced. For smaller companies operating on wafer-thin margins, hiring accountants and technical staff could substantially dent their bottom line. This would all lead to zero transference of the added profit to the customers, which in turn only leads to a further increase in prices.

Second, until corruption as a way of life is promoted by the regime, and its supporters and patrons are allowed a free play to evade taxes and plunder national resources, the reform will merely be regressive and atrocious for the giant middle class base, consuming a higher proportion of poor people’s income, compared to those earning large incomes.

Third, the GST will continually pose a threat to the federal setup of the nation and may create unnecessary friction between the states and the centre. This all culminates into the fact that the very fundamental idea of the GST seems to be flawed. It is hard to imagine the practicality of a “one nation one tax” programme when every state in India has its own economic weaknesses, strengths, and challenges.

Once again, the general masses bear witness to a hasty policy which is forced upon them. In the absence of sufficient preparation, infrastructure, resources, knowledge, and compliance across the nation, India once again looks like a class of weak students who are forced to face tough examinations one after another, without the guidance of an expert teacher.

 

Sources:

  1. Economic Survey of India
  2. Government of India official Goods and Service Tax (GST) website.
  3. Modern Diplomacy Archives

Feature Image Credits: Quora

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

DU’s Equal Opportunity Cell takes a step ahead in enabling the differently abled

By

Delhi University’s Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) runs three short-term courses for differently abled students, primarily for the students of the University apart from giving fee waivers for students from marginalised sections.

The University has received approximately 1700 applications for merit-based undergraduate courses by students with physical, intellectual, or behavioural disabilities. The University provides a reservation of upto 5% in admissions and 4% in employment for them as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

The EOC strives to make the lives of these students hassle-free by providing short term courses with a duration of 3-6 months on Sign Language Interpretation, Communicative English, and Information and Computer Technology. The courses take place at the DU-NTPC Centre at the Faculty of Arts. Stories from students’ experiences at DU bear testimony to the work done by the EOC in this direction. “We are not treated as students with special needs. Rather, we are made independent. Sometimes I forget that I am blind because I can handle everything just like any other person,” says Vijay Tiwari, a student with disability pursuing his Masters degree from the University.

As a step towards recognising the need for strict legislative policies, accessible support technology, and skills development in uplifting the differently abled, the University has started providing smartphones and smart canes to visually impaired students through the government of India’s Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (ADIP) scheme. The students have also been provided with laptops installed with softwares that would enable them to record lectures and study them in PDF format later.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Priyal Mahtta
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Admissions 2017

University of Delhi Student Designs Online Course for DU JAT

By

The Delhi University Joint Admission Test (DU JAT) is conducted every year in order to short-list students for admissions to undergraduate management programmes at University of Delhi’s affiliated institutes. It is a gateway for admissions to six colleges, offering Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), and eight other colleges which offer B.A (Hons) Business Economics and BBA (FIA) programmes. This year, DU JAT is to be conducted on the 9th of July, on both offline and online modes.

With only a few days left for the exams, now would be a good time to check out unacademy.com. It is a non-profit website, which has a course developed by Darpan Jain, a student of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, and provides a comprehensive guide to the exam. It includes an introduction, lessons on each individual section, and also familiarises users with the test pattern.

According to the founder, he started the online preparation course solely to help other aspirants and share his knowledge.  He adds, “The course also includes some important last minute tips and my personal recommendations which helped me to ace the exam and can help others too!”

The DU JAT will be conducted on the 9th of July from 12 pm to 2 pm, and results are to be announced in mid-July.

You can find the course here.

Feature Image Credits: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies

Swareena Gurung
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

DU Curriculum to Include GST in Commerce Courses

By

The machinery of education evolving and growing with the dynamic forces of time is evident. With the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) marking the most significant tax reform in the country since Independence, the implications of ‘one country, one tax’ was bound to permeate to the amassed literature of the textbooks. The University of Delhi’s Academic Council has announced that the historic unifying tax has been approved to be a part of the syllabus for Commerce students. The same has been recommended to the varsity’s Executive Council.

GST and the students

Considering the economic system has been practically refurbished, the council feels the inclusion of GST in the curriculums of B.A. Programme, B.Com (Programme), and B.Com (Hons.) is necessary for the current set of students to comprehend its totality. An air of ambivalence surrounds the introduction of the tax, as uncertainty shrouds over how it will influence various products and services. The new section on GST will be included from this academic session onwards.

The nitty-gritties of the tax will be taught in the third and fifth semesters to B.Com (Hons.) students and fifth and sixth semester students will have to study a paper on GST and Custom Law in B.Com (Prog.), while the course will be taught to B.A. (Prog.) students in the third and fourth semester, depending on the approval of the executive council.

The course curriculum will comprise of the constitutional framework of indirect taxes before GST, which shall focus on the taxation policies of the union and state governments, like the Value Added Tax. They will also be taught the drawbacks of the indirect taxes which palled over the country’s economy before GST. Further, they will be acclimatised to the structure of GST, the GST council, state compensation mechanism, registration, amongst other topics. The curriculum is also expected to include levy and collection of GST, which will cover taxable events like supply of goods and services, places of supply within state, interstate, import and export, time of supply, valuation rules, taxability of reimbursement of expenses, and exemption from GST.

The decision has been welcomed by the faculty members of the varsity’s colleges, who emphasise on the importance of the students learning the intricacies of the new economic structure. “So far, the Goods and Services Tax was not included in the curriculum. Going by the status quo, it is important that students understand the tax well. We are awaiting a formal notification from the University and will include it in the curriculum for this academic year”, said Reena Chadha, Professor at Shri Ram College of Commerce. Rajesh Jha, Professor at Rajdhani College and an Academic Council member, mentions that the Executive Council is most likely to give a nod to the academic inclusion.

GST: The unifying economic umbrella

Heralded as the mechanism to bring about ‘fiscal liberation’, the GST council has devised a system which seeks to subsume the complex net of an array of taxes previously levied. The system was rolled out on the midnight of June 30th and July 1st in a grand ceremony at the Central Hall, and witnessed the likes of the President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, members of both the houses, and other eminent personalities. The journey to implement GST can be tracked back to ten years ago, ever since the government was aiming to bring about economic reforms. The tax will supposedly lead to widening the country’s tax base and enhancing compliance while also freeing up internal trade and effecting a direct growth in the country’s GDP. However, there stand various regulatory challenges in its path to ensure that the tax brings comfort to the country.

Dr. Bhibhu Pratap Sahu, Assistant Professor at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, highlights the positive impact of the newly implemented tax. He says, “Tax has now been simplified for our country with GST. Revenue generated from GST will be generated in a manner that will benefit India. Economists are already expecting the tax revenue to reach 2 trillion from 1 billion so students should be apprised with the times they will have to work in.”

 

With inputs from India Today

Feature Image Credits: Media India Group

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Admissions 2017

LIVE: Third round of DU admissions begins, colleges release third cut-off

By

After the release of the first two cut-off lists, the University of Delhi has begun its third round of admissions, with the consolidated cut-offs of all the colleges to be posted on the university website tonight. Amidst rumours that the third list will see significantly lower cut-offs, students have high hopes for gaining admission into the varsity.

You can access the compiled third cut-off list for admissions here.

Currently, several colleges have already released their cut-offs, which can be accessed by clicking on the relevant Institute:

This report will be updated live as more colleges release their cut-off lists. Keep an eye out on the DU Beat Facebook page for more admissions-related news!

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

Taming the Trolls

By

In today’s political climate which oozes with ideological clashes, university spaces with their long history of activism play an indispensable role in debate and discussion. For the last two years, students have dominated the headlines in national media, be it the JNU row of February 2016, the Rohit Vemula suicide, the Gurmehar Kaur statement, or the Ramjas row. The public discourse was shaped around these incidents and in the process raised many plausible questions pertaining to nationalism, dissent, beef politics, student activism, and freedom of expression. Another phenomenon which accelerated following these developments was the advent of trolls, who spewed venom in the profiles, posts, and inboxes of anyone who dared to disagree.

Recently, Simran Keshwani, an LSR graduate and unapologetically outspoken woman – exactly the kind that the trolls despise – became their latest target.

 

How it started

A few days ago, Simran wrote an article titled “India’s Moment of Slaughter” for newsd.in, which was later picked up by popular youth-based online portal Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA). The piece published on YKA was the same, except the heading was edited to: “In The Name Of Cow: How Many Should Be Killed For Us To Break Our Silence?”

This change in the title is perhaps what arrested the attention of trolls. While talking to DU Beat, Simran propounded that, “Due to the eponymous “cow” in the title, a lot of ire was directed at me by people who I doubt read the piece in its entirety.”

A simple look at the comments section will reveal that her contention makes sense. Her article was a well-researched piece, full of references made from the works of Edward Soja, Charles Mackay, and Michel Foucault. It also included observations of incidents such as the recent Dadri lynching and the age-old the Mahad Satyagraha. In Arundhati Roy’s lexicon, the article joined the dots (of caste system, patriarchy, majoritarianism) and the shape of the beast (violent mentality) emerged.

While one would have appreciated genuine critique or counter arguments, Simran was (as any other opinionated woman) targeted on her sexuality, accused of being promiscuous, and threatened with violence in a bid to deter her from further expressing opinions. The crassness of ad hominem attacks is enough to inhibit and subsequently forced anyone into self-censorship.

However, Simran asserts that, “If you take them (trolls) lying down and give in to their tactics of fear mongering, they win. But stand up and face them, and they give up. I haven’t changed any privacy  settings. In fact, I’ve just started using my Twitter to notify the Delhi Commission for Women on the recent development. I am inclined to fight this till the end. Social media mobsters have to stop, and it is high time we showed them their place.”

By the very definition, an Internet troll deliberately posts comments that are directly designed to disrupt the conversation. The comments range from plain abuses to unfounded allegations and whataboutery. “Where were you when Hindus were killed?” – Simran wrote a Facebook post about the West Bengal riots. “Why don’t you talk about Islamic terrorism?” – Simran wrote a mainstream book studying the effects of the Islamic State on the Middle Eastern psyche. Simply put, trolls offend for the sake of it. They don’t care about learning and unlearning.

whataboutery

If you ever come across profiles that start off with some semblance of logic, only to fall in this vicious rut of rhetoric, you should engage.  Simran advocates that, “Good discussion opens doors for logic to take precedence, and in most cases, if you can’t convince them immediately, you will still make a heavy dent in the way they think. That stays on, and that is what discourse is for.”

 

Checking the privilege of protest

History is witness to our most extraordinary and inspiring social changes coming from resistance movements led by Dalits, tribals, and women. However, these people are also the ones who pay a higher price for dissent and are more vulnerable than their Brahmin, urban-educated, male counterparts. For instance, influential outlets like the comedy groups All India Bakchod and East India Comedy have very well taken brutally sarcastic takes on politics and gotten away with it. At the same time, the artists of Kabir Kala Manch, an anti-caste musical troupe, were hounded for the same.

People have been, and continue to be, arrested for something as trivial as liking a Facebook post or sharing a funny meme taking a dig at politicians. Most of these cases, except for gaining a spot in a newspaper, don’t attract attention. The people who are often arrested and subsequently jailed lack both legal and social support. However, in Simran’s case or Gurmeher’s case, and before that Amit Trivedi’s case, there was solidarity from the liberal quarters of society.

In one way or another, by coming from metropolitan cities and having an informed social circle, these people were, and are still, empowered. Despite the dangers, they know they can access legal aid. Their privilege protects them from arbitrary incarcerations and lynching. Which is why it becomes more necessary for people like Simran to use their position, power, and reach to play the role of an ally. Not to be the voice of the voiceless, but to be able to pass the microphone. This is something that she clearly understands – “Why do we need spokespersons for the “voiceless”? The voiceless can very well tell their own stories.”

 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….”

Despite the desperate advancing attacks of the troll army, Simran is optimistic. “There’s been a lot of love coming in from various parts of the country. A Catholic priest from Bombay messaged me saying he’s been praying for me, as did many others. If there’s vitriol coming my way, there’s also tons of support. The doors on dissent are closing, fast. But on the brighter side, there are lots of people speaking up at this moment. We are the resistance, and it is this resistance that disturbs despotism and shakes its very core,” she said when asked about what strengthens her.

Looks like the “Starbucks latte sipping feminists” are here to irk up some sentimentalities by writing their articles, claiming spaces, and by simply existing. So, dear trolls – beware and good luck!

 

Feature Image Credits: Simran Keshwani

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Features

‘Khudi’ is about finding your true calling: The Local Train discuss their new song

By

In a country where the music industry focuses on making party songs with arbitrary lyrics, The Local Train is a refreshing change. The band started out in 2008, and has only gotten more and more successful since its inception, with a huge fan following that love the artists for their out of the ordinary music. We got a chance to chat with them before their gig at Farzi Café, CP about their upcoming album. Here are some excerpts:

Your song Khudi is a juxtaposition between reality and dreams, what is the message behind the song?

Paras: I think the purpose of the song is very clear in the video. Like if you daydream, and ultimately you fight for it, and then you get it. That’s what the video is about, and the song is on similar lines.

Raman: The song is about everybody who is fighting to get something, or fighting for following what they want to do. It is basically about finding your true calling, basically and Khudi as a concept means ‘self-actualisation’and that’s what it is. You figure out what you want to do and actually go ahead with it. We’re just really glad that people relate to the song.

Tell us about your upcoming album that is releasing in September. Have you guys decided on a name yet?

Paras: No, no. We haven’t locked down on one single name yet. I think we’ve written five songs and then we have 3-4 more songs to go. We’ll have a clearer idea where we’re headed in totality with this album, and then we’ll bounce off a few names again. We have a lot of ideas written down and a lot of thought are going to come in now, so we are not following one set theme.

Raman: We don’t have a general concept for anything, we just keep writing songs, like we keep playing them. I think we’ve rejected more songs then the songs that are already made it to the album which is something we’ve never done before. I think the general idea would be that we’re just writing songs because we are also going through a lot of stuff as a band, and not a lot of infra there in the country to supoort band music. There is Khudi, then there’s one that we just finished called Mere Yaar, then there is song about non-believers, there is a song about traditions that don’t make sense anymore in the modern world, there’s one about two-faced people, called Dil Nawaaz.

Your music videos frequently feature aspiring artists and unexplored talent like Ryan Matyr in Jiyen Kyun, Faizan Th in Yeh Zindagi Hai and Arjun Mathur in Khudi. Is there a reason behind this or is it unintentional?

Raman: Gareeb hi gareeb ko samajh sakta hai.

Paras: Just to clarify, Arjun Mathur is not an underground talent. He is out there and he has done more things than we have. Other than that, we have always felt that is it more important to hang out with like-minded people and it would be more fun to work with them.

Raman: And we’re very glad that whatever we’ve done, with Ryan, with Faizan, and now with Arjun, all the things have worked in their own space very nicely. Which makes us believe that we should keep doing it, like go and look for people who are doing good stuff and then ask them like ‘Hey man, you want to collaborate?’ because it is a collaboration, if you really look at it, between the band and the director and the producer and the talent that is in the video.

Ramit: We have always believed in working with people that we connect with and that we like, and they need to like us back. We need to have the same thought process, we need to be looking at the same things.

Paras: I mean, that being said, we’re not closed to working with stars. If tomorrow Deepika Padukone calls, I am not going to say no.

You guys released your first album in 2015, but you’ve been a part of this industry for a long time now. Do you feel like there is a lack of investment when it comes to indie music?

Ramit: Yes, definitely. It is a cottage industry still. It is in the metros but it is still a cottage industry!

Paras: That’s a very good analogy!

Raman: There is a lot of talent in this country, a lot of kick-ass bands in the country. But the problem is that people are more interested in Bollywood music because it gets them more money. If you’re an independent band, you really have to figure out on your own, because we work as a mini label only. We write our own music, we produce our own music, there’s no one putting money behind us. Because all the money that we go and make in our shows, we put that money on music and videos. And we run it like a label, like we release our singles, we plan our tours out, we plan our gigs out. And I think, that is the only option an independent band has.

Paras: A lot of people think that, ‘Oh! Your life must be so chill, you don’t have a day job’ but it is not a just a day job, it is a day and night job. It is a full-time job, because after you’ve made the music, what do you do? You have to take it out somehow, you have to tour the country, you have to go door to door.

Your song Aaoge Tum Kabhi was featured in the movie, Angry Indian Goddesses. Do you feel that as a band it is important to be featured in mainstream media?

Paras: I think it is important to find an audience, it doesn’t matter how you get to them, through a movie or through whatever. It is important to find your audience and the people who are going to like you for what you do. And we have always made exactly what we wanted to make.

Sahil: The song, exactly how it was released, that’s how it has gone on the movie as well.

Raman: And that’s why we respect the team of AIG, because they fought for our cause and a lot of things.

Do you feel mainstream music curbs creative freedom for aspiring musicians?

Raman: It couldn’t curb our freedom. If you’re true to yourself and you know that this is going to work and you’re honest, then it is going to work. Nobody is going to curb it.

Ramit: If somebody wants to use that as an excuse, then they are more than welcome.

Paras: I don’t think we should generalize it like that. It all depends on who you’re working with in the industry. Like, as long as we have our creative freedom, we don’t mind working with Bollywood. As long as they don’t was us to do a Holi song in March. They will curb your creativity if you let them, basically.

Delhi University is a house to budding talent and music societies and they contribute to DU’s vibrant culture. So what would be your message to these aspiring artists?

Paras: Brace yourselves, guys.

Raman: As a band, the four of us, we run our lives as a school of learning. If you’re always learning and if you’re true to yourself, you are going to get somewhere. Just try to gather as much as you can, the world has changed, the time has changed, the dynamics of the industry has changed and music also has changed. So you really have to be aware about what is good for you and what is not, like a small thing can be fruitful for a very short period of time. Like, for the four of us, our calling is to make our own music.

Paras: And creatively, please don’t try to sound like somebody else. Try and be as original as possible. Sound exactly like yourself, because no one else can sound like you and that’s very important. Our true calling is that we really like creating music. And that is the only thing that has worked in our favour. So please, focus on creating original content and no matter how good or bad that is, you can never out a price on it. It is yours.

 

Image Credits: Nischay Chabra

 

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

DUSU protests for failed third year students, University to look into the issue

By

Members of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) staged a protest at the North Campus of University of Delhi on Wednesday after the announcement of the results of the third year students not clearing the exam took to the news. Slogans demanding “Third-year students be promoted” rang outside gate number four of the university, as many students gathered to demand that they should be promoted, despite failing.

A number of third-year students failed in their practicals and in turn, failed to clear their third year. The students claimed that they were not informed that they had to pass individual components of a course in order to clear a subject, and hence their failing in the course was ‘unfair.’ Members of DUSU claimed that they had received applications asking for help from as many as 2000 students, most of whom had failed the practical component of a subject in their fifth semester: At least 700 applications from B.Com programme students who failed in practicals in Computer Applications, students who have had issues in Music, B.Com (H), and Statistics (H).

“I had scored 36 out of 45 in theory, and seven out of 15 in internals in Computer Applications which are both above the passing grade of 40%. Even my total score of 56% was above the passing grade. However, they said I have failed the subject because I have scored only 13 out of 40 in my practical exams. I was never told by my teachers, or my college, that I would need to pass theory, practical and internals separately to clear the subject,” said a B.Com programme student of Laxmi Bai College.

Meanwhile, DU officials have said that a committee had been formed to look into the issue and will check if the students have been misinformed. Relevant steps will be taken to resolve the issue.

Feature Image credits: www.hindustantimes.com

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
News

UGC Asks Universities to Install Incinerators for Sanitary Napkins

By

The University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body that provides recognition and funds to several institutes of higher education across India, including the University of Delhi, has recently issued a statement asking varsities to install sanitary napkin incinerators in all women’s hostels. The move aims to benefit both the environment and women’s hygiene.

A communication by the UGC stated, “In an effort to promote proper disposal of menstrual waste and promote the Swachh Bharat Mission, it is imperative that we take the initiative to promote menstrual sanitation and proper disposal of menstrual waste by creating awareness, encouraging every woman to use eco-friendly incinerators and promoting research for biodegradable alternatives.” The communication also added, “You are requested to consider the installation of these machines within the premises of women’s hostels.”

According to the UGC, the estimated cost of the equipment is INR 49,646, an amount that can be “directly booked under the solid waste management component of the Swachh Bharat Mission”. The statutory body also elaborated that HLL Lifecare Limited, which is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Health, has recently introduced vending machines and incinerators for sanitary napkins.

Proper disposal of menstrual waste is crucial for feminine hygiene as well as for the environment. Sanitary napkins are the go-to product for the majority of Indian women. The material that they are made of is non-biodegradable. This means that the disposal of pads in household trash leads to landfills overflowing with menstrual waste. Burning them is not a solution as it leads to the release of toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Additionally, sanitary napkins that are disposed incorrectly often end up blocking drainage systems. There is also the high risk of disease and unhygienic conditions near areas where menstrual waste is concentrated. Menstrual blood in open air attracts all sorts of bacteria to grow in it and affect the hygiene of the surroundings.

Incinerators are the best way to dispose of sanitary napkins. They provide a long-lasting and eco-friendly solution by restricting the amount of smoke produced in the incineration to the small machine. The communication by the UGC is, therefore, a welcome step in making sure women’s accommodation caters to their specific needs and provides proper hygiene along with fulfilling environmental responsibilities.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Education Review

 

Vineeta Rana
[email protected]

Keep Reading
By