Start-up versus MSME

 

Start-up versus MSME

My Blog No. 27

 Start-up or Startup Company or upstart are terms, which are three or four decades old, mostly evolved in electronic era with the advent of the internet.

Micro, Small and Medium Term Enterprises (MSME) as it is called in India is known as Small & Medium Industries (SME) world over. In India, post-independence, we had Khadi and Village Industries and Small Scale Industries. After bank nationalization in 1969, priority sector for the purpose of bank lending, included agriculture, retail traders, small businesses, business enterprises and small road transport operators in addition to small scale industries. Post-liberalization it was considered prudent to use the term MSME in line with global practice. Ministry of Small Scale Industries and the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries were merged to form the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in May 2007. 

There is no standard or generally accepted definition of Start-up. As per ‘Start-up India' website an entity shall be considered as a Startup: 1. if it is incorporated as a private limited company or registered as a partnership firm or a limited liability partnership in India.2. up to ten years from the date of its incorporation/registration.3. if its turnover for any of the financial years since incorporation/registration has not exceeded INR 100 Crores and 4. if it is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation.

 

Definition of MSME has changed number of times. With effect from July 1, 2020 MSME has been defined as Micro if the Manufacturing Enterprises and Enterprises rendering Services have Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment  not more than Rs.1 crore and Annual Turnover is not more than Rs. 5 crore, Small if Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment is not more than Rs.10 crore and Annual Turnover is not more than Rs. 50 crore and Medium if Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment is not more than Rs.50 crore and Annual Turnover is not more than Rs. 250 crore.

 

It is not mandatory to register a Start-up or an MSME in India. But if a Start-up is registered with or recognized by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India certain advantages including tax benefits as declared by the government can be availed. Likewise, it is not mandatory to register MSME but in order to avail various government offered benefits and incentives, including bank loans, registration with District Industries Centre (DIC) becomes a pre requisite. DIC is a district level organization, of Development Commissioner MSME Government of India, headed by a General Manager.

 

What is common between a Start-up and MSME unit is, that, both are set up for business and both require enterprise. Level of risk and enterprise is certainly more in case of a Start-up as it works on an idea which is generally new and untested. Mostly Start-ups are started by engineers or others who are often more qualified as compared to those entrepreneurs who start MSMEs.

 

Those who establish Start-ups are called Founders or Co-Founders whereas those who set up small or medium enterprises are called Promoters. The term Promoter is defined in the Company Act of India, Income Tax Act of India as well as by SEBI whereas the term Founder has not been defined under Indian law.

 

Start-up begins with an idea, supposedly innovative, with a set of Founders/Co-Founders, moves towards Minimum Viable Product (MVP), gets funded by seed funding through Angle Investors, Venture Capitalists, Private Equity and finally Initial Public Offering (IPO). It has low or no debt. Debt may be only through the Debt Instruments to suit the requirements of Investors, mostly at the level of Venture Capitalists.

 

MSMEs have a different trajectory. They start with usual factors of production; land, labour, capital, enterprise etc. Based on a Project Report they raise funds- debt- from commercial bank after providing margin money or bringing in Promoter’s Contribution in the form of equity. Current Debt Equity ratio is 1:1.5, i.e. on an equity of Rs.100 a bank loan of Rs. 150 can be raised. Business grows organically, generally slowly, micro unit may become small and then medium and finally as a large unit. Final stage of funding for scaling up comes from an IPO. The financing of MSME is based on purpose of loan, security offered and contribution made by the Promoter. Financing is also done on the basis of past performance as reflected in Financial Statements submitted by the proponent. Other sources of funding like NBFCs are not common.

 

In case of Start-ups funding comes for developing the product in the initial stage but mostly for scaling up, for gaining market share at later stages. Thus, funding is to finance or fuel the growth potential of the venture. Funding is mostly done keeping in mind future market share and future profits.

 

In case of MSME loans, banks or financiers do not participate in managing the venture but Investors may seek active role in management and decision making in the case of Start-ups. Bigger investors take board position/s in the funded Start-ups.

 

Key words for a Start-up include Idea, Innovation, Founder, Co-founder, Business Plan, Seed Funding, Angle Investor, MVP, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Subscriber Agreement, Shareholder Agreement, Business Incubator, Accelerator and Start-up Eco System.

 

Key words for MSME include Project Report, Promoter, Promoter Margin, Promoter Contribution, Loan, Bank Loan, Debt Equity Ratio, and Financial Statements.

 

To sum up, based on idea, innovation and growth potential Start-up is a new avatar of MSME which offers multiple routes and options to founders and investors to exit.

 

 

 

 

 

How to spend your years in college

How to spend your years in college

 My Blog No.25

Ask anyone, almost everyone will say that the best phase of life was the time spent in the college.

This is the first brush with life, largely, outside of the parents’ domain of influence. This is the time of making and breaking of dreams.

Transition from school to college is also transition from adolescence to youth. Youngsters in the age group of 16-19 years, enter the college or university as a kid sometime and youthful adolescents at others with hopes and dreams they had visualized during the last years of their schooling.

This period of change in the college is crucial as it makes a boy into a man and a girl into a lady. This transformation over a period of 3 to 5 years of college or university life, generally at undergrad level, has long lasting influence in the life of every individual.

One may reap rich dividends if this time is spent well.  The activities one may plan in his or her college days can be divided into four categories.

One, Fun and Frolic – This is most important. Those who have not or did not or could not enjoy their college days have really missed out on what could have been a major part of their interesting life. It entails partying, picnic, movies, eating outs and all kinds of vailla-giri.

Two, Games, Sports and Gymming- This is the time to learn playing Tennis and Squash, going for swimming and cricket matches and similar outdoors involving exercise and physical activities. This is the time to shape up one’s body and mind both. One may go for mountaineering, hitch-hiking or even horse riding.

Three, Learning- Learning not only what is in course curriculum but beyond. Learning lessons in art, culture, philosophy and emerging areas of interest in science and technology. Learning from online courses of MOOCS and SWAYAM and other resources as well as taking live or in-person courses on dance, drama and cooking etc. Learning brings happiness and happiness enhances learning.

Four, Preparing for future- Keeping eyes and ears open to new and emerging opportunities, attending professional workshops, conferences and seminars online and offline, doing networking, developing contacts in the right professional circles. One way is to make your CV when you enter the college and another CV as it should look like when you exit the college and then do mapping semester by semester as to what value add you could do to yourself in each semester. Of course one can make modifications and corrections with the passage of time. Initial year or two may be used for understanding one’s own interests and future career paths and goals and later years may be utilized for making oneself market ready.

To cap it up, one should choose and develop hobbies and interests which are relevant to one’s profile as one would like to present it to the world or to the prospective employer. For example Travelling could be cultivated as a hobby but fine tuning could be done with regard to where to travel, how to travel, with whom to travel and what is the purpose of travel – all this could be thought through beforehand or it may even emerge over a period of time after some travelling has been undertaken. One could go for learning contemporary or classical dance styles depending on taste and purpose. Fun loving kind can go to learn SALSA or BHANGRA with friends and serious minded can go for classical Indian or Western dance on a solo basis.

One will come across all kinds of persons during the college time; the political types, social variety, business minded, career oriented, vailla types and even criminal minded. It is necessary to mingle with all of them to see various shades and colours of life. It is also important to choose right kind of friends while being friends with all kinds; good, bad and ugly. While some exposure to rogue variety is very important and necessary, average time may be spent with average kind of persons and your precious time must be spent with precious persons. Precious people are those persons who bring cheer and happiness in your life through their positive vibes, thoughts and actions.

One simple and easiest way to do well in life and enjoy life is to be in the company of good people. College life is an opportunity to choose such good friends for life time.

 

 

Institutes of National Importance (INI), Institutions of Eminence (IoE) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

 

Institutions of National Importance (INI), Institutions of Eminence (IoE) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 

My blog no. 24 

 

This write-up is an attempt to understand Institutes of National Importance, Institutes of Eminence and National Education Policy 2020 together in a perspective.

I

The Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule; 63 says “The institutions known at the commencement of this Constitution as the Benares Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the Delhi University ; the University established in pursuance of article 371E; any other institution declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance.”

The next reference to Institute of National Importance (INI) was found in the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act, 1956 which was repealed with the passing of the Indian Institutes of Technology Act, 1961. In both the acts, the term has been referred to without being defined. 

The Institute of National Importance is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of Parliament of India. It is an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country / state ".

Section 22 of The University Grants Commission Act 1956 enables ‘Degree Granting Status’ to such INIs established by an Act of Parliament for conferring or granting degrees..

What makes an Institute of National Importance and what are the benefits and advantages given to such INIs is not mentioned in any document.

These institutions seem to operate outside the ambit of the UGC and are largely funded and supervised, if not governed, by the Government of India, mostly through Ministry of Education. Apparently these institutions also enjoy certain tax related advantages.

 

Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education website which is last updated on Thursday, 24 September 2020 mentions the names of 96 Institutions of National Importance. The list includes IITs, NITs, IIITs, IISERs, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs), Schools of Planning & Architecture, Indian Institutes of Statistics, NIDs, IISc., AIIMS, IISER, Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Tamil Nadu, Footwear Design & Development Institute, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), Andhra Pradesh, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

One feels sad to note that not only the list is not complete but the names of Institutes are not mentioned correctly. For example the name mentioned at serial number 35 is mentioned as Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra which should have been mentioned as Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Similarly at serial number 54 the name of Indian Institute of Technology Madras is not mentioned correctly. Then there are other mistakes. Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi University are conspicuous by their absence.

The Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017 declared the Indian Institutes of Management as institutions of national importance. At present, there are 20 IIMs in the country.

The Union Cabinet had approved the of setting up 20 new IIITs in Public Private Partnership (IIT PPP) mode in November 2010. Among them, 15 IIITs were covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017. The IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020 seeks to declare five IIITs in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode - IIIT Bhopal, IIIT Agartala, IIIT Surat, IIIT Bhagalpur and IIIT Raichur as Institutions of National importance.

This in itself is a departure from original intent of granting this privilege only to Public Institutions.

Many of these institutions are ranked high under various categories under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): India Rankings 2020 and few of them have found place in global rankings.

 

Internationally, the Ivy League in USA is similar to other groups of universities in other nations such as Oxbridge in the United Kingdom, the C9 League  in China, and the Imperial Universities in Japan. Ivy League universities, eight in number, have very large university financial endowments, allowing the universities to provide abundant resources for their academic programs, financial aid, and research endeavors. Harvard University endowment stood at $38.3 billion in 2018, the largest for any educational institution in the world. As against Ivy League private universities of USA, German Universities Excellence Initiative, by German Council of Science and Humanities and German Research Foundation, aims to strengthen some select public universities to enhance their international visibility. Many countries in the world grant special status to some of their universities to meet certain requirements leading to excellence.

 

II

In the budget speech of 2016, the then Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley promised to provide “an enabling regulatory architecture” so that “10 public and 10 private institutions” would emerge “as world-class teaching and research institutions”. This led to the establishment of Institutions of Eminence (IoEs)

The University Grants Commission  on August 2, 2020 unveiled the latest list of 14 institutions just over a year after the first six Institutes of Eminence were named, bringing the total number of institutions to be part of the elite group to 20.Ten public and ten private institutions have been declared to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions under the Institutions of Eminence (IoE) scheme.  10 Public Institutions are IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, University of Hyderabad, Banaras Hindu University, University of Delhi, Jadavpur University and Anna University. 10 Private institutions are BITS Pilani Rajasthan, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Jio Institute, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Tamil Nadu, Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, O. P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, Bharti Institute, Satya Bharti Foundation, Mohali, Punjab and Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

 

 Under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): India Rankings 2020: University; BHU is ranked number 3, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham number 4, Jadavpur University number 5, University of Hyderabad number 6, Manipal Academy of Higher Education at number 8, University of Delhi number 11, Anna University 12, BITS Pilani 15, Vellore Institute of Technology 16, Jamia Hamdard number 21, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology number 24, and Shiv Nadar University at number 56.

 

Institutes of Eminence (IoE) is a recognition scheme for higher education institutes in India, set by the University Grants Commission in 2017. Recognized institutes are to be granted more autonomy, both administratively, like setting fees, and academically, and will enjoy better collaboration opportunities with global universities. Each Public institute (IoE) will be eligible to receive Rs. 1000 crore during next 5 years. No funding is awarded to private institutions.

University Grants Commission notified regulations and guidelines in 2017. It also made objectives of the scheme and expectations from the Institutions of Eminence explicit. What intrigues is the name of Jio Institute, a Not Yet Physically Existing institution, having been included in the first list of six institutions declared. How can an Institution being labeled as Eminent which does not even exist? All kinds of explanations followed and this was later covered up by including the name of another institution namely Bharti Institute in the next list of 14 institutions declared in September 2020.

III

One of the major recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, approved by the Union Cabinet and announced on July 31, 2020 relates to restructuring of Higher Education Institutions in India.

AS per NEP “A university will mean a multidisciplinary institution of higher learning that offers undergraduate and graduate programmes, with high quality teaching, research, and community engagement. There shall be only three kinds of universities, i.e, Research-intensive Universities, Teaching-intensive Universities and Autonomous degree-granting Colleges (AC).

The present complex nomenclature of HEIs in the country such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university', ‘unitary university’ shall be replaced simply by 'university' on fulfilling the criteria as per norms.

NEP 2020 stipulates that the Board of Governors, BoG, of an institution will be empowered to govern the institution free of any external interference, make all appointments including that of head of the institution, and take all decisions regarding governance. There shall be overarching legislation that will supersede any contravening provisions of other earlier legislation and would provide for constitution, appointment, modalities of functioning, rules and regulations, and the roles and responsibilities of the BoG. New members of the Board shall be identified by an expert committee appointed by the Board; and the selection of new members shall be carried out by the BoG itself. Equity considerations will also be taken care of while selecting the members. It is envisaged that all HEIs will be incentivized, supported, and mentored during this process, and shall aim to become autonomous and have such an empowered BoG by 2035. The BoG shall be responsible and accountable to the stakeholders through transparent self-disclosures of all relevant records. It will be responsible for meeting all regulatory guidelines mandated by HECI through the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC).

IV

It is interesting to note that intent declared in 2016 has taken more than four years to convert into the very first action of identifying 10 public and 10 private institutions. This declaration has come after the announcement of NEP 2020. Another interesting fact is, that, five institutions, namely, IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur are common in both the lists i.e., Institutes of National Importance and Institutions of Eminence.

Most of the Institutes of National Importance have evolved over last many decades as a result of visionary leadership, well-conceived structure and system, financial, academic and administrative autonomy, funding and most importantly direct support from Government of India. Over a period of time most of these institutes have acquired their distinct identity and a certain level of reputation. Some like IITs have become global brands.

Most of these institutions are governed by Board of Governors but the overall arching body is the all India Council. For example in case of IITs it is Council of Indian Institutes of Technology which takes policy decisions common for all IITs and the Council is headed by Minister of Education. Council of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) is the supreme governing body of India's 31 National Institute of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur (West Bangal) and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs) as per provisions under Section 30 of the NITSER Act, 2007, modeled very much similar to Council of IITs. From 2019 Schools of Architecture and Planning have also an all India Council. Council of Indian Institutes of Technology has facilitated direct link between Ministry of Education and the concerned IIT through its Board of Governor’s Chairman and Director. This model of governance set by Council of Indian Institutes of Technology has benefitted many other Institutes of National Importance later.

NEP 2020 allows only three kinds of universities which are required to meet all regulatory guidelines mandated by Higher Education Council of India (HECI) through the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC).

This poses a major challenge; will there be a change in National Education Policy 2020 to allow INIs to continue without making any changes in their existing systems and structures or these INIs will be required to follow the same norms as other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). If the latter happens, it shall affect the brand value, reputation and ranking of these institutes.

Apart from major challenges of governance and funding there are issues of conversion to multi-disciplinary university. While it will be easy for old established IITs and NITs, which are largely residential,  to convert into a multi-disciplinary research intensive universities and some others to become teaching intensive multi-disciplinary universities it could be a major challenge for institutions like  Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Tamil Nadu and  Footwear Design & Development Institute, Noida, Uttar Pradesh  for completely different reasons. Another challenge will be with regard to INIs which are not part of Ministry of Education like NIPERs, Schools of Planning & Architecture, AIIMS, Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Tamil Nadu, Footwear Design & Development Institute, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology etc. These institutions have a completely different governing system aligned to their line ministries.

Sooner the issues, at least in principle, are resolved better and easier it shall be for NEP 2020 to be modified, if required, and implemented.

Likewise, the vision of Institutions of Eminence needs to be integrated with the NEP implementation plan, and IoEs need to be empowered with more freedom, flexibility, autonomy and resources. IoEs in their current scheme of UGC need to be converted into Deemed-to-be Universities which is not possible under NEP 2020.

I will close by quoting the comment of senior Professor J. K. Mitra of Delhi University “What you said is clear and known but as a senior academic what you didnt say about meaningless overlap, fragmented approach, unintelligible parameters for categorization, and loads of platitudes dished out over the years are also very clear by sheer inference!”

 

LIFE: A Perspective

 LIFE: A Perspective

My Blog No.23

Life is the time available or time spent between birth and death. In biographic sense it is the period from birth to death and a way of living the life.

Definition of life includes the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. Life as a living matter has certain attributes that include responsiveness, growth, metabolism, energy transformation, and reproduction. The sequence of physical and mental experiences make up the existence of an individual.

Life is the aspect of existence that processes, acts, reacts, evaluates, and evolves through growth. The crucial difference between life and non-life is that life uses energy for physical and conscious development. Life is anything that grows and eventually dies.

Life can be studied from the point of view of  various biological, or “life,” sciences including anatomy, ultrastructure, physiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, and ecology etc. Life can also be seen from the metabolic, physiological, biochemical, genetic, thermodynamic and chemistry perspective. Life can also be seen from sociological or philosophical point of view or perspective.

Life means differently to different people. For some, it is a burden, for others it may be a challenge and for some others it is an opportunity.

Life is multi-dimensional.

Let us talk of the three dimensions; Time, Space and the Individual.

Put it differently Vertical, Horizontal and Human Being.

Let us see the role of an individual in the context of Time and Space or Vertical and Horizontal dimensions.

Talking of Time or Vertical dimension; we are born and brought to this world by our parents. We owe our existence to them. Hence, it is our first and foremost duty to take care of those persons because of whom we are in this world. Love of parents for their children is unconditional. Likewise, duty of men and women, towards their parents, to take care of them, especially when they are old, is unquestionable. The duty and responsibility is not alone towards previous generation but to the next generation as well. Individuals, as father and mother, owe it to their children to give them proper and good upbringing. It is the duty of the parents to groom their children to become nice human beings.

In the case of Space or Horizontal dimension; it is like a huge playground and individual is free to play as much and as he or she may like to play with. One is free to decide the course of one’s life and actions during major part of one’s life. Individual is largely free to choose the education, friends, travel, hobbies and other engagements including marriage and sometimes even nationalities. It is the vision and courage apart from one’s own circumstances which decide the course of life of an individual. There are people who live five or six lives in one life and there are also individuals who do not live even half their lives in terms of actions and activities. Dr. Seuss  said “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”

Vertical dimension may include time specific and time bound duties and responsibilities but horizontal dimension in terms of space offers huge set of opportunities to grow, compete, collaborate, enjoy and contribute in a myriad ways. One may explore the beauty and variety of life in terms of places and people. To enrich one’s own life and to contribute to the well-being of others through thoughts and actions is the greatest opportunity life gives to all.

 “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” So said George Bernard Shaw.

Life is what we make it. It has always been that way and it shall always be like that. In order to make life meaningful - Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can.

 

vinaynangia.com

WHY THIS DEGREE IS CALLED DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY – PhD

WHY THIS DEGREE IS CALLED DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY – PhD

My Blog No. 23

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is the highest degree that is conferred after a course of study, by universities. PhDs or Doctorates are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic disciplines. PhD scholars are usually required to produce original research that expands the boundaries of knowledge, normally in the form of a thesis or dissertation. They defend their work in front of expert/s in the field.

It is interesting to note that a person who did his masters in Arts say MA in Sociology or English or masters in Science say MSc Botany or Physics or masters in Engineering say MTech in Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering or masters in Management MBA, while  going for higher education, is awarded a degree of Doctor of Philosophy PhD, on completion of stipulated requirements, notwithstanding the nomenclature or specialization of the academic discipline i.e. Arts, Science, Engineering or Management in which the previous highest degree was obtained.

This write up is an attempt to find out why the word “Doctor” and why the word “Philosophy” is used irrespective of the branch or discipline of knowledge in which the work is being carried out and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is being conferred.

Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, when the first doctorates were awarded at the University of Bologna and the University of Paris. Having become established in European universities, this usage spread around the world. "Dr" or "Dr." is used as a prefix for a person who has obtained a doctorate i.e. PhD.

The Ph.D. can be awarded in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, engineering and humanities. The term “philosophy,” does not refer solely to the field or academic disciple of philosophy, but is used in a broader sense in accordance with its original Greek meaning, which is ‘love of wisdom.’

There are two ways in which it may be reasoned why the term Philosophy is used in PhD.

One, the earliest doctoral degrees were in theology – Divinitatis Doctor or DD, law – Legum Doctor or LLD, later DCL and medicine – Medicinæ Doctor or MD,  or DM,  reflecting the historical separation of all higher University study into these three fields. Studies outside theology, law and medicine were then called "philosophy", due to the Renaissance conviction that real knowledge could be derived from empirical observation. Studies in what once was called philosophy are now classified as sciences and humanities. Hence, most disciplines, other than few like medicine and law, have their roots in Philosophy. Accordingly the name of degree awarded is Doctor of Philosophy.

Two, the purpose of Research in Higher Education is advancement in the body of knowledge by adding to the existing body of knowledge, or challenging the existing knowledge in the form of theories, principles and postulates etc. or reinterpreting the existing knowledge.

Philosophy is the foundation of critical thinking. It brings the important questions to the table and works towards an answer. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. These methods facilitate the work of research. Philosophy helps in analyzing concepts, definitions, arguments, and problems. It also helps in synthesizing a variety of views or perspectives into one unified whole. Philosophical thinking strongly emphasizes clear formulation of ideas and problems, selection of relevant data, and objective methods for assessing ideas and proposals. It also emphasizes development of a sense of the new directions suggested by new hypotheses and questions one encounters while doing research. As the father of the field of logic Aristotle was the first to develop a formalized system for reasoning. He observed that the validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content.  Aristotle claimed that a human’s highest functioning must include reasoning.

This reasoning is based on my personal understanding.

To sum up, the word Doctor in Doctor of Philosophy refers to one who is licensed to or who can teach. And Philosophy being love of knowledge and wisdom provides methods and methodology to do effective research to broaden the base of knowledge.

 

 

 

 

Words in our World

My Blog No. 22

Use of the words in a given time period is reflective of the mood and context of that time. New words keep evolving with the passage of time. Let us see which new words are added during this pandemic.

Some of the words like Healthcare, Travel, Hospitals, Doctors, Nurses, Police, Administration, Government, President, Prime Minister, Health Minister, Centre, State, Federal, Police, Administration, Online, Digital, Learning, Supply Chain, Essentials, Frustration, Relief, Package, Stress and Recession have found increased usage in these days of pandemic.

Words like Covid -19, Corona, Virus, Post Covid-19, Post Corona, Covid-19 Heroes, Before Corona (BC) , After Corona (AC) , After Death of Corona (AD), Corona Warriors, Corona Saviours, Pandemic, Healthcare System, Healthcare Workers, Quarantine, Isolation, Self-Quarantine, Self-Isolation, Social Distancing, Lockdown, Post Lockdown, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Infodemic, Work from home (WFH), New Normal, Webinar, Webex and  Zoom  have suddenly re-surfaced in current scenario.

Pandemic is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of people. The word originated in mid-17^th century.

There is an exponential rise in usage of a single word Covid-19, short form of coronavirus disease 2019. Self-isolation was recorded as a word in 1834 and self-isolating in 1841. These words are now used to describe self-imposed isolation to prevent catching or transmitting an infectious disease. In the 1800s these were used in the context of countries which chose to detach themselves politically and economically from the rest of the world. PPE  i.e., personal protective equipment – dates from 1934. Social distancing, first used in 1957, was originally an attitude rather than a physical term, referring to an aloofness or deliberate attempt to distance oneself from others socially. Today, we all understand it as keeping a physical distance between ourselves and others to avoid infection. New Normal is a term in business and economics that refers to financial conditions following the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the aftermath of the 2008–2012 global recession. The term has since been used in a variety of other contexts to imply that something which was previously abnormal has become commonplace. Infodemic is the outpouring of unsubstantiated media and online information relating to a crisis. The term was coined in 2003 for the SARS epidemic, but has also been used to describe the current proliferation of news around coronavirus.

Het poldermodel and its associated verb, polderen, is derived from the Dutch habit of working together to reclaim parts of their country from the sea. Since the middle ages, everyone on the same polder, regardless of religion, politics, class and local rivalries, has had to cooperate in maintaining the complex but vital system of windmills and dykes that kept their land dry.

Post Corona crisis we do not know how globalization may change its course and leadership.  We are not seeing leadership out of the White House and American Hegemony is coming to an end. Sinophobia will not China step up to the plate, and Germany or Russia are unlikely to lead the way. We may see a multi-polar world where America earns its place based on its current merit.

Polderen; the term, which has been defined as “pragmatic cooperation despite differences” may offer the solution for such times till a truly global leader emerges. This term has been used since the mid-1970s to describe the kind of consensus political decision-making common in the Netherlands, which has been governed by coalitions for over a century, since no single party has ever held a majority.

Watch-out for new words which may emerge during Covid-19 crisis.

Post Covid 19 - with a different lens

Corona or Covid 19 continues to play havoc.

We are unlikely to overcome impending situation and be in control in 2020.

It may be early to predict the impact of pandemic.

Yet it is time to take a pause, having moved too fast in last few years. And think of likely issues which may emerge and challenges we may have to face in the near and far future.

Often we hear the phrase we are in a World War. The size and scale of pandemic is reminiscent of world war except that this time all the countries of the world are on one side and are fighting an unknown enemy.

Therefore, as it happens, after the world wars there will be major changes in the world of today we are living in.

The impact in some areas may be very little or little, whereas in others it may be noticeable. The impact of this pandemic could be major or phenomenal or even far reaching in certain aspects and sectors. Some changes may be immediate or in a very short term, some may be seen in medium term and some may be visible only in the long run.

Immediate issues and challenges include containing the spread of the virus, substantially increasing the testing and hospital facilities, finding medical solution to the problem, making the quarantines and lockdowns possible and effective and maintaining the supply line of essentials to all.

In the immediate future issues will include maintaining the production and supply lines of raw materials and stored and finished goods. Ensuring that unemployment does not reach unmanageable levels. This will be the foremost challenge for all nations. Increasing requisite healthcare facilities shall continue to remain a priority in the immediate future.

In the near future attention will be paid to rebuild the economies and efforts to bring back life to normal. Relocation of production and manufacturing bases shall be explored by companies and countries. Cash rich corporations will go for takeovers, mergers and acquisitions. Result of Presidential elections in USA in November 2020 will decide and impact the new world order through shaping of inter-governmental and multilateral institutions. Trump winning or not winning the election will also shape the future of politics and politicians in many, if not most, countries of the world. In the next 12 to 18 months actions of trans-national and multi-national corporations, result of US presidential election, and response of China to the backlash, it is likely to face, will impact next few decades. Actions and policies framed by G 20 countries and OPEC countries in the next couple of years will bring about global changes. In the near future new geo-political realities will emerge.

In the short to medium term research relating to bio-technology will receive huge attention and funding. Regulatory authorities will exercise their influence on data privacy, data control and economic protectionism. In the medium term new world order with regard to legal, financial and scientific research will emerge.

In the long term, one may hope, life styles and habits may change. Long term changes will be with regard to psychological and social changes in individual and society and systemic changes in healthcare, education, entertainment and governance.

Let us hope mankind will be more kind and human shall be more humane.

 

Rethink

My Blog No. 20

Coronavirus or Covide 19 continues to damage globally.

Capacity and capability to fight the menace has depended on efficacy of healthcare system, quality of political governance and social capital of the concerned nation.

Good, bad and ugly as well as heroes and villains shall be known in a space of few months in the aftermath of this pandemic.

Inequalities, demographics, and right to information, no doubt, will change the face of this world and our lives in the next few decades but this pandemic has provided us a great opportunity to question our ways of living, working and thinking.

In the din and noise of machine and money and in the world of consumerism and materialism somewhere we lost the essence of living. For peace and tranquility we look for tailor-made programs offered by Gurus – of marketing. In the search of love and tranquility we look for sponsored events. These isolations, quarantines and lockdowns are making us think and appreciate basic values of life peace and happiness.

There is need to rethink handling of kids and older people. What values are we giving to our youngsters? Are we taking good care of our senior citizens in terms of their social, psychological, health and financial needs? Are we doing enough for marginalised people?

There is need to rethink and question some of our basic systems. Healthcare and Education being public goods cannot be left in the hands of private sector. To provide free and good healthcare system should be the focus of attention of all governments in the immediate future.

Global Financial System. How long can we remain slaves of dollarization? How long we suffer the forces of stock exchanges being playgrounds for greedy stakeholders. Why shareholders have become the only important stakeholder in business world? How long the Quantitative Easing be the solution to all the financial problems. 

Intergovernmental and multilateral institutions like World Bank, IMF and WHO were set up after the World Wars. What is their role and relevance in the present context?

Will there be a shift in the global political leadership? Old school models of Capitalism, Communism and Socialism as well as Left, Right and Centre kind of philosophies and thoughts need to be reexamined in the wake of post Covid 19 world.

We are still in the midst of the crisis. Lockdown is an opportunity for us to think afresh.