full version - Charuchandra College

SARJANA
A Bi-lingual Academic Journal of Research & Innovation
Publisher
Dr. NabaKanta Jana, Teacher-in-Charge, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email Id:
[email protected] Contact No. 9830694964
Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Muktinath Chatterjee, President, Governing Body, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India,
Email Id: [email protected]
Board of Advisors
Prof. Sikha Basu, Coordinator, IQAC, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email Id:
[email protected]
Editorial Board
Prof. Bimal Shankar Nanda, Department of Political Science, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029,
India, Email Id: [email protected]
Dr. Debolina Chakraborty, Department of Mathematics, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India,
Email Id: [email protected]
Dr. Kausiki Chakrabarti, Department of Zoology, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email
Id: [email protected]
Dr. Parimal Routh, Department of Chemistry, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email Id:
[email protected]
Prof. Sudip Kumar Roy, Department of Botany, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email
Id: [email protected]
Dr. Tajkera Khatun, Department of Physics, Charuchandra College, Kolkata – 700029, India, Email Id:
[email protected]
*Note: The authors are solely responsible for the contents of their papers / articles complied in
this volume. The publishers or editors do not take any responsibility for the same in any manner.
Errors, if any, are purely unintentional and regretted.
c Teacher-in-Charge/ Principal, Charuchandra College, Kolkata
This journal is published annually by the Teacher-in-Charge/ Principal,
Charuchandra College,
22 Lake Road, Kolkata-700 029, West Bengal, India
Phone : (91) (033) 2466 3771, 2465 4850, Fax : (91) (033) 2465 4850
E-mail : [email protected]
SARJANA
FROM THE DESK OF THE HEAD OF THE INSTITUTE
Man is always keen to unfold the mystery of nature and environment. Some
members of the pre-historic society expressed their observations and experiences on the
walls of the caves in the forms of pictures. A few of them still exist and as such we gather
knowledge about the ancient society. Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness or
understanding of something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills which is
acquired through experience or education perceiving, discovering or learning. Knowledge
can refer to theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
SARJANA, the creation, is the brainchild of the energetic and enthusiastic
teachers of Charuchandra College who are always keen to explore new areas of
knowledge and thoughts. This year the e-version of SARJANA which is a bilingual journal
devoted to original research article, short communication, review article and general article
from Science, Humanities and Commerce.
Its mission is to become a voice of the teaching faculty addressing
researchers and in areas ranging from physics to biochemistry, from history to literature,
from economics to software architecture, presenting verifiable computational methods,
findings, and solutions.
The 1st volume of SARJANA was published in the year 2002. Till date only
five volumes of the journal were published due to some financial problem. On this occasion,
I express my heartfelt gratitude to all my colleagues who, in the midst of their busy
schedule of taking classes and research, working hard to publish this journal. More
participation and constructive feed-backs from other colleagues and students are needed
for the enrichment of the journal.
I am certain that this very first online version will be followed by many
others, reporting new developments in the field of science, humanities and commerce. This
issue would not have been possible without the great support of the Editorial Board
Members, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of them.
Dr. Nabakanta Jana
Teacher-in-Charge
Charuchandra College
SARJANA
FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR'S DESK
It was 2004-05. Some young teachers came to me with a new proposal of bringing out a
bi-lingual magazine from the College Teachers’ Council in which the teachers would write
their scholarly articles on their respective fields in a popular manner for the benefit of the
fellow teachers as well as students. Readily I accepted the proposal; and the process
started. The first issue of SARJANA—the magazine—was published with more or less eight
articles. The second issue was also published within a few months. We then planned to
obtain the ISBN/ISSN Number for standardizing the magazine and also to invite articles
from our fellow colleagues from other colleges. Paper-works were done; proposal was
submitted to the concerned authority. Within a few months we got a temporary number. The
third issue was published. But some unforeseen constraints came to the surface which we
could not combat. So, the whole process got stuck.
Recently, some junior teachers again have decided to revive SARJANA. But, this time they
have planned to publish the paperless e-magazine for reaching a large number of readers
and overcoming the problems like circulation of the magazine, meeting up the publication
costs and many other related constraints normally faced while publishing a magazine in
print. I heartily appreciate their enterprise and wish it a grand success.
In fact, writing for a magazine or a journal on topics, either of their specialization or of
their studies in other areas, is definitely a good practice for the teachers apart from doing
their assigned duties like teaching, invigilating, checking answer-scripts and gossiping in the
staff-room. Through this exercise they can remain updated in their related disciplines, share
their ideas with their colleagues and generate an interest to further the studies and to
explore new avenues on the same topic. As teachers it is their moral and academic
responsibility. In the present global market more we share, more enriched we are. This
dissemination of knowledge and expertise is highly essential in today’s world. I hope that
this e-magazine will surely contribute to this aspect. Let this beginning be a small step to
reach the higher platform.
Dr. Muktinath Chatterjee
President, Governing body
Charuchandra College
22-Lake Road
Kolkata - 700 029
SARJANA
A CHANCE MEETING
Meeting by chance in the railway compartment. Never thought of it before.
Earlier I’ve seen her in red-coloured sari. But today she’s put on a black silk; put it on her
head around her soft, beautiful flower-like face. It seemed that she’s put herself inside a
deep distance with that dark colour—the darkness that we find in the border-line of the
yellow-field merging in the blue depth of sal trees. I was taken aback to watch a known
person engulfed in unknown.
Suddenly, she put aside the newspaper and touched my feet. All the social barriers got
lost; we started talking—how’re you? How’s your family etc. She stared out through the
window with a look to avoid familiarities. Answer’d a few or remain’d silent. Her uneasy
gestures expressed her reluctance; and preferr’d to keep quiet.
I was on the other side of the compartment with her companions. Suddenly, she called me to
come near. I thought her desperate; and sat beside her. Amidst the rattling sound of the
running train she whispered: “don’t mind. No time to waste. I’ve to get down in the next
station; and you’ll travel further. No chance of meeting again. So, I want to listen from you
the answer which still remains untold. Will you tell me the truth?”. I nodded. Gazing out
toward the sky she asked: “have they gone for ever the days we have enjoyed so far? Is
there nothing left?”
I stopped for a while. Then said: “all the stars of the night are unseen in the dazzling
sunlight”.
I doubted—did I tell the truth? She replied: “alright, now you go there”. They all got down
in the next station.
I moved on—all alone.
(Translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Hothat Dekha by Dr.Muktinath Chatterjee)
SARJANA
A Bi-lingual Academic Journal of Research & Innovation
- Published by Charuchandra College, Kolkata
Volume 1, 2016
CONTENTS
Page No.
1.
Trans Fats- Some Important Aspects
Dr. Suman Das, Department of Botany
2.
A Method of Developing High Voltage Lightning Simulator
Maintaining Standard Wave Form
Mr. Shubham Roy, Department of Physics
6-11
Behaviour of Crack Patterns on Desiccating Clay Colloids with
Film Thickness
Dr. Tajkera Khatun, Department of Physics
12-18
Edxrf as a Tool for Elemental Detection In Lichens: A New
Dimension to Air Pollution Monitoring
Ms. Samayita Banerjee, Department of Zoology
19-21
A Brief Review on the Graphene Quantum Dots: Syntheses,
Photoluminescence Property and Metal Ions Sensing
Dr. Parimal Routh, Department of Chemistry
22-29
3.
4.
5.
1-5
6.
‘CRYONICS’- A Boon Towards Immortality
Dr. Rita Paul, Department of Botany
30-35
7.
Water Pollution: Causes, Impact and Control
Prof. Asit Kumar Shit, Department of Commerce
36-41
8.
Payment Banks- a Step towards Financial Inclusion in India
Prof. Soumita Mukherjee, Department of Commerce
42-46
9.
Impacts of Social Networking in our Modern Life
Prof. Aritra Brahma, Department of Computer Science
47-55
10. Role of Information Technology in Developing the Education
Sector
Prof. Paramita Chatterjee, Department of Computer Science
56-64
11. A Brief Analyses on the Structure of Indian Education System:
Reforms and Policies
Prof. Sourav Motilal, Department of Economics
65-73
12. Importance of Innovation in Informal Sector: A Study from Rural
West Bengal
Dr. Susmita Banerjee, Department of Economics
74-83
13. Life Force or Creative Evolution: Shaw’s Philosophical Idea
Prof. Tanusri Nayak (Mandal), Department of English
84-87
14. Plasma- The Fourth State of Matter
Dr. Debolina Chakraborty, Department of Mathematics
88-91
15. Enriching Library Services in Colleges: An Approach through
N-LIST
Ms. Banasree Roy, Library
16. Zona Pellucida Glycoprotein as Immunocontraceptive Vaccine
Dr. Kausiki Chakrabarti, Department of Zoology
17. Water Quality Management in the Modified Extensive Shrimp
Farming – A Case Study in Soula Region in Purba Medinipur
District (West Bengal)
Prof. Mayukhmala Mandal, Department of Zoology
18.
More Koro Abohela
Prof. Phanibhuson Mondal, Department of Bengali
92-98
99-102
103-107
108-110
19. In Vitro Fertilization: Bingsho Shatabdir Ashirbaad
Prof. Kantisree Goswami, Department of Zoology
111-116
20. Changes in the Rural Workforce Structure in India Since 1991
Prof. Rajasi Dutta, Department of Commerce
117-121
SARJANA
Trans Fats – Some Important Aspects
Suman Das
Department of Botany, Charuchandara College, Kolkata-29
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Though trans fat is very rare in natural sources, it is produced by partial
hydrogenation of the unsaturated fat and used widely for better shelf life, consistency,
flavour, taste and texture of foods processed. In the last fifty years trans fat has become
very popular in the fast food, snack food, fried food, and baked food industries. But in last
10-15 years many reports have came in showing potential adverse effects of trans fatty
acids on human health. A diet high in trans fats can contribute to obesity, high blood
pressure with an elevated risk of coronary heart disease. Trans fat is also found to be
responsible for Alzheimer’s disease, Type-2 Diabetes, asthma, allergy etc. World Health
Organization recommended in 2003 that consumption of trans fats should be limited to less
than 1% of overall energy intake. Several countries have even passed laws either banning
or restricting the use of artificial trans fats in restaurant or processed food-items, The
consciousness regarding trans fat all over the world, is successful enough to reduce
considerably the levels of trans fat in different oils or food-items.
Keywords: Trans fat, Vanaspati, PHVO, Hydrogenation
Lifestyle modification and balanced food
habit are fundamental in addressing major
health problems of people. Control of the risk
factors for serious diseases like cancer or
cardiovascular disease has been a major
aspect in disease prevention activities. In this
regard, dietary fats have received more
attention from health professionals and the
public than any other nutrient in the daily
food (Semma, 2002). Fat is very important as
source of energy, growth and development;
also responsible for taste, consistency, and
stability of food but it should be consumed in
a limited and selective manner.
Fats or oils contain long hydrocarbon chains,
which can either be unsaturated, i.e. having
double bonds, or saturated, i.e. having no
double bonds. In nature, unsaturated fatty acids
usually have cis configuration i.e the hydrogen
atoms with respect to the double bond are on
the same side of the molecule. But In food
processing industries, liquid cis-unsaturated fats
such as vegetable oils are sometimes
hydrogenated to produce saturated fats, which
Suman Das
have more desirable physical properties, e.g.
they are solid and start to melt at a desirable
temperature (30–40 °C). Partial hydrogenation
of the unsaturated fat alters some of
the cis double bonds into trans double bonds (i.e
the hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the
molecule) by an isomerization reaction, which
yields a trans fat. Trans fat or Trans fatty acids
(TFA) have properties like those of saturated fat.
Reseach Article
INTRODUCTION
Trans Fat
Small amounts (2-5%) of trans fats occur
naturally in meat and dairy products of
ruminants. Natural trans fats contain Vaccenic
acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). But the
largest source of such fats in the human diet
comes from man-made sources, such as
partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO)
used in cooking and food preparation.
Most trans fats produced in such industries are
chemically different from natural trans fats.
These artificial trans fat contain isomers of
oleic acid and elaidic acid.
Trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are
unsaturated fatty acids with at least one
Vol. 1  2016  1–5
1
SARJANA
double-bond in the trans configuration. Trans
fatty acids (TFA) are geometrical trans-isomers
of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty
acids having non-conjugated, interrupted by at
least one methylene group, carbon–carbon
double bonds (Codex Alimentarius, 1985).
Hydrogenation Process
Trans Fat in Food Items
TFA have been present in our diet in small
quantities ever since humans began consuming
animal products especially meat and milk from
ruminants. But consumption of TFA increased
considerably during the late 20th century when
oils began to be hardened by a process of
hydrogenation that adds hydrogen to double
bonds within unsaturated fatty acids by
booming food processing industries (Korver
and Katan, 2006).
Chemical hydrogenation is the process of
adding hydrogen atoms to unsaturated sites on
the carbon chains of fatty acids, thereby
reducing the number of double bonds.
Hydrogenation increases the melting point of
fats, which makes it possible to convert oils in
Suman Das
Reseach Article
As Trans fats can enhance the taste or
flavour of some foods and help to preserve
texture by preventing rancidity over a
considerable time, these became immensely
popular with food manufacturers, bakeries,
and restaurants in the 1960s. Trans fats used in
frying are more durable than any other types
of oils and have a neutral savory taste
(Severson, 2003). Partially hydrogenated fats
are very popular in the fast food, snack food,
fried food, and baked food industries because
of better shelf life, consistency, flavour and
texture of food produced. Trans fats can be
found in many foods – including fried foods
like doughnuts and baked goods including
cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, cookies, crackers,
brownies and stick margarines and other
spreads. Fat spreads and margarines that
have hydrogenated vegetable oil as an
ingredient usually contain some trans fats,
although reformulation in recent years has led
to significant reductions.
liquid form to semi-solids and solids that are
advantageous in many dietary products,
increasing shelf life and the flavour stability of
unsaturated fatty acids. Cottonseed oil was first
hydrogenated in 1911 in the United States to
produce vegetable shortening. The degree of
hydrogenation determines the properties of the
product. Partial hydrogenation, by heating
vegetable oils (fish oils occasionally) in the
presence of metal catalyst and hydrogen
accompanied by thermal isomerization,
represents incomplete saturation of the double
bonds (Korver and Katan, 2006). The partial
hydrogenation process became more popular
in the 1930’s with the development of
margarine. Through partial hydrogenation, oils
such as soybean, safflower, and cottonseed oil,
which are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, are
converted to margarines and PHVO. Thus, trans
fatty acids are produced artificially and
commercially. They are found in variable
amounts in a wide range of foods, including
most foods made with partially hydrogenated
oils such as baked goods and fried foods, and
some margarine products (Semma, 2002).
Normal cooking with common vegetable oils do
not form trans fat except in some rare cases
where the same oil is used repeatedly for
frying in closed container.
Trans fat is particularly present in partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO) or
vanaspati (9-24%), ghee (5-8%), butter (3-5%),
hard margarine and in trace amounts in some
processed vegetable oils (0.0-2.5%) (CSE,
2009). So trans fat is present in any food items
processed or fried in PHVO, butter or ghee like
cookies, crackers, burger, pizza, doughnuts,
pastries, cakes, noodles, pasta, baked or
tandoor food items, fried foods (eg. French fries,
pakora, samosa, jalebi, chaat, dosa, vada,
papad, chips, hash brown, paratha etc.). There is
also a dangerous tendency of the restaurateurs
and food vendors to use vanaspati instead of
vegetable oil in preparation of popular food
items like biryani etc.
Vol. 1  2016  1–5
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SARJANA
Substantial attention has been given in last
10-15 years on the potential adverse effects
of trans fatty acids. High intake of trans fatty
acids can lead to many health problems
throughout one's life. A diet high in trans fats
can contribute to obesity, high blood pressure,
and a greater risk for heart disease. Trans fat
has also been implicated in the development
of Type 2 Diabetes (Semma, 2002).
Strong epidemiological evidence relating
dietary factors to the risk of coronary heart
disease has been provided by large
prospective studies (Semma, 2002). Intake of
dietary trans fat even upsets the body's own
ability to metabolize essential fatty acids (EFAs
including Omega 3) leading to changes in the
phospholipid fatty acid composition in the
aorta, the main artery of the heart. Thus it
increases risk of coronary heart disease
(Kummerow et al., 2004).
Cardiovascular Diseases
Other Implications
Health Effects
One study in 1990 demonstrated that
trans fatty acids raised total and low-density
(LDL- bad) cholesterol while lowering highdensity lipoprotein (HDL-good) cholesterol
(Willet et al., 1993). As a result, the net effect
of trans fatty acids on the ratio of LDL to HDL
cholesterol was approximately double that of
the saturated fatty acid. These undesirable
effects of trans fatty acids have been
confirmed by subsequent metabolic studies.
Suman Das
There was a positive correlation between
the intake of trans fatty acids and the
prevalence of asthma and allergic symptoms in
children (Semma, 2002). Positive correlation
was also found between trans fat intake and
the incidence of cancer of breast, prostate and
large intestine (Bakker et al., 1997; Jorge et al.,
2006). Trans fat is also found to be responsible
for Alzheimer’s disease, Type-2 Diabetes and
obesity. Very high intake of trans-fatty acids
(43% of total fat) in mice from 2 to 16 months
of age was associated with major depressive
disorder along with lowered DHA levels in the
brain (Phivilay et al., 2009).
Another serious concern is that in both
animal and human studies, dietary trans fatty
acids become absorbed and incorporated into
serum
triglycerides,
cholesterol
esters,
phospholipids, lipoproteins and adipose tissue
or platelets, in the same way as natural cis
isomers (Oomen et al., 2001). Ingested trans
fatty acids were incorporated in placenta and
maternal and fetal tissues, except brain
(Semma, 2002). Furthermore, trans fatty acids
are readily passed from the mother to the
infant via milk. Intake of Trans fat during
pregnancy may increase risk of diet related
chronic diseases, breast cancer etc. (Larque et
al., 2000a,b).
Reseach Article
The most important health risk identified for
trans fat consumption is an elevated risk
of coronary heart disease (CHD). A 1994 study
projected that over 30,000 cardiac deaths per
year in the United States are attributable to the
consumption of trans fats. A comprehensive
review of studies of trans fats published in 2006
in the New England Journal of Medicine reports
a reliable connection between trans fat
consumption and CHD, concluding that on a percalorie basis, trans fats appear to increase the
risk of CHD more than any other macronutrient,
conferring a substantially increased risk even at
low levels of consumption (1 to 3% of total
energy intake). In this review investigating the
effects of trans fatty acids on cardiovascular
disease risk, a 2% increase in energy intake
from trans fatty acids was associated with a
23% increase in the incidence of coronary heart
disease. The authors also reported that the
adverse effects of trans fatty acids were
observed even at very low intakes (3% of total
daily energy intake, or about 2-7g per day)
(Mozaffarian et al., 2006).
World status
World Health Organization recommended
in 2003 that consumption of trans fats should be
Vol. 1  2016  1–5
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SARJANA
limited to less than 1% of overall energy intake.
WHO also recommended the Governments
should try to gradually phase out PHVO or trans
fat. The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
recommends that trans fatty acids are not at all
essential and provide no known benefit to human
health, whether of animal or plant origin. It is also
important to note that while both saturated and
trans fats increase levels of bad cholesterol i.e.
LDL, trans fats also lower levels of good
cholesterol i.e. HDL, thus increasing the risk of
coronary heart disease.
Status in India
A major percentage of Indian population is
genetically predisposed to coronary heart
disease (CHD). The problem may be
aggravated due to unhealthy diet. But till date
there is no concrete regulation in India for
controlling trans fat content in oils or in food
items. In 2008 The Indian Health ministry issued
a notification regarding labeling of products.
Only if any company is making any nutrition of
health benefit claim of its products then it is
Suman Das
Bioethical Issues
Trans fat bans are necessary in order to
endorse a vital step towards public health.
Trans fat bans can support public health by
reducing the consumption of trans fats, which
could reduce the incidence and severity of
cardiovascular disease. It was estimated that
totally eliminating trans fats from the food
supply in the United States would save 50,000
lives per year (Center for Science and the Public
Interest, 2008). But there is a bioethical or sociocultural stigma attached to such proscription.
The main ethical argument against trans
fat bans is that these laws, whether at the
local, state, or federal level, constitute an
unjustifiable restriction on the public freedom
to decide what one eats. One could argue that
the ability to decide what one eats, though not
important as freedom of speech or religion, is
an important freedom nonetheless. First, food
has a significant impact on one’s quality of life.
People take great pleasure in eating,
preparing, and serving food. Food is more
than mere nutrition: it is very much part of
culture, social or family tradition blended with
personal preferences and pleasures. Food has
considerable ethnic, cultural, and religious
significance across the nations. Different ethnic
and cultural groups have their own cuisines and
culinary practices (Resnik, 2010).
Reseach Article
Several public health organizations have
argued that mere product labeling is not a
sufficient response to the serious problem
caused by trans fats, and that there should be
an complete ban on all artificial trans fats in
food (Center for Science in the Public Interest
2008). Denmark was the first country to
legislate against trans fat from food items.
Danish government's legal steps and
enforcements resulted in a 50% decrease in
deaths from ischemic heart disease (Stender
and Dyerberg, 2004). Several major cities and
counties (New York City, Boston, Philadelphia,
King County, Albany, and Nassau Country,
NY), the state of California, and countries like
Switzerland, Sweden, Puerto Rico have passed
several laws banning the use of artificial trans
fats in restaurant or processed food. While
many view trans fat bans as an important
policy tool for promoting public health, others
consider it as government’s encroachment on
freedom and autonomy (Resnik, 2010).
mandatory to provide trans fat content on its
package. National Institute of Nutrition
recommended that the trans fatty acid level in
PHVO should be less than 10%. But even at this
level, if a person’s daily oil intake is 30g
and consuming 2000 Kcal per day will get
1.35% (exceeding the 1% limit of WHO
recommendation) of total energy from trans fat
(CSE, 2009). So it seems the authorities are
confused and still undecided.
CONCLUSION
Trans fat had emerged as a prospecting
food processing industry in the last century
but now it seems that such industry needs
Vol. 1  2016  1–5
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SARJANA
reorientation. The consciousness regarding
trans fat all over the world, is successful
enough to reduce considerably the levels of
trans fat in different oils or food-items,
compared with previous analyses of similar
foods carried out over the last 20-30 years. In
India too, the food industries have started
minimizing trans fat content in their food items.
As part of a healthy diet, we should aim to
keep both the amount of saturated and trans
fats to a minimum. But when choosing a
healthy, balanced diet we better avoid fast
foods and vanaspati.
phospholipid of arterial cells. (2004) Life
Sci. 74 (22): 2707–2723.
Larque E., Perez-Llamas F., Puerta V., Giron
M.D. et al., Dietary trans fatty acids affect
docosahexaenoic acid concentration in
plasma and liver but not brain of pregnant
and fetal rats. (2000a) Pediatr. Res. 47:
278–283.

Larque, E., Zamora, S. Gil, A., Dietary trans
fatty acids affect the essential fatty acid
concentration of rat milk. (2000b) J. Nutr.
130: 847–851.

Mozaffarian D., Katan M.B., Ascherio A.,
Stampfer M.J. et al., Trans fatty acids and
cardiovascular disease. (2006) N. Engl. J.
Med. 354 (15): 1601–1613.

Oomen C. M., Ocke M. C., Feskens E. J. M.,
van Erp-Baart M. A. et al., Association
between trans fatty acid intake and 10 year
risk of coronary heart disease in the Zutphen
Elderly Study: a prospective populationbased study. (2001) Lancet 357: 746–750.

Phivilay A., Julien C., Tremblay C.,
Berthiaume L., High dietary consumption of
trans fatty acids decreases brain
docosahexaenoic acid but does not alter
amyloid-β and tau pathologies in the 3xTgAD model of Alzheimer's disease. (2009)
Neuroscience 159 (1): 296–307.

Resnik D.,Trans Fat Bans and Human
Freedom. (2010) The American Journal of
Bioethics 10(3): 27–32.

Semma M., Trans Fatty Acids: Properties,
Benefits and Risks. (2002) Journal of Health
Science 48(1): 7–13.

Severson K., (2003) The trans fat solution.
Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.

Stender S, Dyerberg J., Influence of trans
fatty acids on health. (2004) Ann. Nutr.
Metab. 48 (2): 61–66.

Willet W. C., Stampfer M. J., Manson J. E.,
Colditz G. A. et al., Intake of trans fatty
acids and risk of coronary heart disease
among women. (1993) Lancet 341: 581–
585.
REFERENCES

Bakker N., Vant V. P., Zock P.L., The Euramic
Study Group, Adipose fatty acids and
cancers of the breast, prostrate and colon:
An ecological study. (1997) Int. J. Cancer
72: 587-597.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
(2009) Fatty acids profile of edible oils and
fats in India. CSE, New Delhi.

Center for Science in the Public Interest.
(2008) Trans fat: On the way out!
http://www.cspinet.org/transfat. Retrieved
March 22, 2016.

Codex Alimentarius. (1985) Guidelines on
nutrition labelling, CAC/GL 2-1985.
http://www.fao.org/ag/humannutrition/333
0901d4d1dd1abc825f0582d9e5a2eda4a74
.pdf. Retrieved March 22, 2016.



Jorge C., Meir Stampfer H. C., Tobias K.,
Walter W. et al., A prospective study of
blood trans fatty acid levels and risk of
prostate cancer. (2006) Proc. Amer. Assoc.
Cancer Res. 47(1): 943.
Korver O., Katan M. B., The elimination of
trans fats from spreads: how science helped
to turn an industry around. (2006) Nutrition
Reviews 64(6), 275–279.
Kummerow F. A., Zhou Q., Mahfouz M. M.,
Smiricky M. R. et al., Trans fatty acids in
hydrogenated fat inhibited the synthesis of
the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the
Suman Das
Vol. 1  2016  1–5
Reseach Article

5
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A Method of Developing High Voltage Lightning
Simulator Maintaining Standard Wave Form
Shubham Roy1,Sayak Banerjee2, Ankana Chowdhury3, Keka Basu Choudhury4
1Dept.
of Physics, Asutosh College, Kolkata; E-mail: [email protected]
of Physics, IGNOU; E-mail: [email protected]
3Dept. of Physics, Madurai Kamaraj University; E-mail: [email protected]
4Retd. Head, Dept. of Physics, Charuchandra College; E-mail: [email protected]
2Dept.
Abstract: Standard impulse waveform is very similar to the actual lightning surge. The fast
rising time and comparitively slow decay of a lightning strike can be obtained using a
simple Marx Generator circuit. The process to build an Artificial Lightning Simulator of ten
stages is described in this article. A comparative study between the waveforms obtained
from the theory, simulation and experiment is given here.
Keywords: Lightning Simulator, Marx Generator, High Voltage, Impulse, Electron Beam
An Impulse Waveform
Lightning surges are caused due to over
voltage. A normal lightning bolt has a voltage
difference of nearly a few million volts. There
are different theories that states the origin of
lightning.Among them, Simpson’s theory and
Reynold-Mason theories are quite popular.
These theories states the cloud formation,
lightning surge and rainfall etc.
An impulse voltage or waveform is
basically a spark or electrical discharge
produced by some sort of source which obeys
the mathematical equation given in equation
(I) (Roy et al., 2016; Kamaruddin, 2008;
Jayaraju, 2008). Natural lightning activity is
a kind of impulse with high voltage and
current ratings.
Artificial Lightning Methodology
According
to
the
International
Electrotechnical commision (IEC) standard, an
impulse can have different rising (T1) and falling
times (T2), from which 1.2µs/50µs pulse is
widely used for different purposes.
Generally, this kind of waveform is
double exponential and expressed as:
V(t) = V0 (e-at - e-bt)
.....(I)
Where, V(t) be the instantaneous voltage.
Production of such an impulse is not an easy
task. Various methods can be used to develop
such a system. Among them, a multistage
lightning simulator or Marx Generator is a
convenient way to produce such a pulse.
Shubham Roy et al.
Each and every impulse waveform has a
small rising time and a relatively long falling
time. International Electrotechnical Comission
(IEC) standardized the rising time and the
falling time of such an impulse voltage. The
rising time of an impulse voltage should be in
the order of 1.2 µ sec, whereas, the falling
time should be large as 50µ sec (Roy et al.,
2016; Kamaruddin, 2008; Jayaraju, 2008;
Prabhaharan, 2011]. The maximum tolerance
range in the rising time is ±30% and that is
only ±20% for falling time. A waveform of
standard impulse voltage is given below.
Research Article
INTRODUCTION
Constraction of Power Supply
 Construction of the low voltage part of
the supply
In the low voltage part of the power
supply consists of a normal step down
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transformer, an
on-off switch, a Full-wave
rectifier made of P-N junction diodes, a
capacitive filter and a LED are consisted.


Step down transformer: The step down
transformer used in this circuit is used to
minimize the voltage of the given voltage
of 220 V to 20V AC. 20 V-1A step down
transformer is used for this purpose.
Switch: The switch connected to the input
part of the transformer is used to control


the input voltage to the transformer. As the
switch is ON, the circuit conducts and the
transformer works. If it is in OFF state, the
transformer remain in OFF state.
Full-Wave Rectifier: This Full wave
Rectification circuit is used rectify i.e.,
convert the AC output voltage of the
transformer into it’s equivalent DC voltage.
Capacitive Filter Circuit: The DC voltage is
filtered and the AC ripples are obstructed
by the capacitive filter circuit.

LED: The light emitting diode connected to
the filter glows by switching ON the circuit.
 Construction of the high voltage part of
the supply
The HV part is basically a driver circuit,
by which the EST can be drived with proper
setup. This part consists of:

Voltage dividing circuit: The output
voltage, coming from the low voltage
part of the power supply is minimized by

this voltage dividing circuit. This divider
has a critical value of resistances of 200
ohm and 27 ohm. These two values
resonate the following part attached to
it.
Transistor: The transistor attached to the
resonant voltage divider acts as an
oscillator and converts the DC signal into
AC. The frequency of the oscillation
depends upon the critical values of the
resistances in the voltage divider circuit.
The transistor is connected in CE mode.
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Figure 1: Low voltage part of the supply
Figure 2: HV part of the supply
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
EST: The most important part of the entire
power supply unit is the EST. An AC signal
can be converted into it’s equivalent HV
AC signal by an EST. But the internal
circuitry of an EST consists of a rectification
circuit, so a HV DC output signal can be
produced by it. The primary coil and the
feedback coil of the EST was made
manually with galvanized copper wire,
whereas, the secondary coil was inside the
EST. The filter viz. Fabricated inside the EST
by the manufacturer is sealed and gives a
good calibration while testing.
 Circuit diagram of the entire power supply
unit
Figure 3: Circuit diagram of entire supply unit
capacitor(C2) is consisted in a standard
lightning simulator.
The power supply was experimentally
verified by employing a HV probe and a
normal multimeter. The HV probe is basically
used to minimize the voltage that arises across
it’s input terminals. TENMA probe (<=40 KV)
is used for this purpose and a good
experimental result has been got. The result is
mentioned below:
Table 1: Input-output of the power supply
S.No.
Input voltage in
the HV supply
Output voltage of
the HV supply
1.
230 V AC
7 KV DC
From the above table it can be concluded
that, the power supply is constant at nearly
7KV DC while the input AC voltage is at
230V AC.
FABRICATION OF LIGHTNING SIMULATOR
 Standard lightning simulator circuits
A charging capacitor(C1), a spark gap,
two wave shaping resistor(R1, R2) and a load
Shubham Roy et al.
Figure 4: A standard Lightning simulator circuit
Research Article
 Experimental verification of the power
supply
The whole circuit is charged by the
charging capacitor. When the charging
capacitor breaks down i.e., discharges, the
spark gap get activated and a spark can be
observed inside the gap. The wave shaping
resistors are activated by the spark. These
two wave shaping resistors limits the charging
and discharging of the load capacitor.
During the charging of the load capacitor,
the current flows inside the capacitor. So, the
rising time constant (T1) will be dependent on
the equivalent capacitance of the circuit(viz. In
series) and the charging resistor (R1) only.
Thus, the rising time constant of the lightning
simulator will be:
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T1 = 3 Ce R1
Or, T1 = 3 (C1.C2) R1/ (C1+C2).....(1a)*
During falling time or discharging time
(T2) of the load, the current flows inside the
resistors R1 and R2. So, the C1 and C2 are in
parallel this time. So, the falling time costant
of the generator will be:
T2 = 0.7 (C1+C2). (R1+R2)
....(1b) *
(* the constant terms 3 and 0.7 arises to
minimize the error in the rising and the falling
time constants.)
Figure 6:Lightning simulator [(A) Ten stage
generator; (B) Single stage generator; (C)
Erection of the simulator]
 Measurement of the maximum output
voltage of the lightning simulator
Like single stage lightning simulator, multi
satge lightning simulator can also be made
with the help of capacitors and resistors.A a
HV DC source is used to drive a multistage
lightning simulator or Marx Generator circuit.
The voltage given to it’s input electrodes can
be amplified by it. The capacitors in this
circuit get charged in parallel and discharged
in series.
 Fabrication of a multistage lightning
simulator
In this project, to fabricate ten stage
lightning simulator, wood is chosen as the base
of the generator as it is a very good insulator.
The 15KV ;2nF ceramic disc capacitors are
selected as stage capacitance. 1meg
ohm,5Watt carbon resistors is chosen to build
the stage resistors. The generator was made
horizontally on the wood base and was
attached to it rigidly. A diagram of the
generator is given below:
Shubham Roy et al.
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Figure 5: Multistage Lightning simulator
(Marx Generator)
The maximum voltage of a HV lightning
simulator cannot be measured with a simple
multimeter or any analog meter due to it’s
fast response time.Thus, a sphere gap of 50
mm radius is initiated to measure our impulse
which is independent of time. There is a linear
relationship between the gap (actually the
gap between two sphere) and the voltage
accross the gap. From an accurate laboratory
testing, it is found that, when the sphere gap
is at 2.00cm the generator ‘fires’ continuously.
Beyond that distance the sparks are pretty
discontinuous.For this generator the maximum
output voltage without proper waveshaping
load is nearly 57.50 KV.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE WAVESHAPING
CIRCUIT
 Brief theory
A waveshaping circuit consists of two
resistors and a capacitive load. The load
capacitance should be ≤40 times of the
erected capacitance of the generator, as the
ratio of rising time: falling time is nearly
41.667 for a standard impulse waveform.
The two waveshaping resistors was selected
on the basis of a simple calculation depicted
below:
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The rising time 𝑇1 and the falling time 𝑇2,
can
be
calculated
using
following
approximate expressions. Due to the huge
value of resistance R2, charging time taken is
approximately three times the time constant
of the circuit[3,6,9].
So,
𝑇1= 3𝑅1((𝐶1× 𝐶2)/(𝐶1+ 𝐶2))
is the charging time constant. The time for
50% discharge i.e., discharging or tail time is
given by the expression:
𝑇2= 0.7 × (𝐶1+ 𝐶2) × (𝑅1+ 𝑅2)
Estimation of wave front and wave tail
resistances within the error limits can be there
by using approximate formulae. Following
equations are used for the calculation:
.....(2a)
𝑅2= T2/(0.7× (𝐶1+ 𝐶2)) − 𝑅1
.....(2b)
Another important thing is the output
voltage should be minimized, otherwise the
output voltage cannot be measured by a
CRO. So, a capacitive potential divider circuit
is made taking C2 as the upper capacitor of
the divider. Roughly, 58KV voltage will arise
across the load C2, thus, to minimize this
amount of voltage into a measurable range
(viz., a few volts) another capacitor(C3) should
be incorporated inside the waveshaping
circuit with a range of a few µF.
If roughly eqn(2a) is multiplied with 1.05
and eqn(2b) with the factor 1.50, a good
approximation can be got. The values of R1
and R2 are 16K and 300K respectively for
ten stage.
EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF THE
LIGHTNING SIMULATOR
 Experimental setup
An analog Oscilloscope of 20MHz has
been used for our purpose. The scope has the
Time-base range from 5µs to 500s. It has
dual channel capacity. The probe was
connected to the channel-1 and the voltage
division was set at 10 mV range, whereas the
Timebase was set at 5µs.
The anode and cathode parts of the
CRO probe was connected across the load
resistance 1 Kohm. The probes and other
wires were rigidly fixed to avoid any kind of
error and hazard.
Research Article
𝑅1= 𝑇1× (𝐶1+𝐶2)/(3×(𝐶1𝐶2))
Now, the elements mentioned in table 2
are actually act as the total load of the
waveshaping circuit. So, this is to be
considered as a R-C load. taking this load
into the equations (2a) and (2b) and after
calculation the values of actual wave shaping
resistors R1 and R2 can be got.
 Experimental result
The following parameters are considered
for our waveshaping circuit:
Table 2: Waveshaping parameters
S.
No.
Element
Value
Unit
1.
Upper capacitor
of the divider (C2)
47
pF
2.
Lower capacitor of
the divider(C3)
4.7
µF
3.
Load resistance
(RL)
1
K Ohm
Shubham Roy et al.
Figure 7: Experimental data (CRO)
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From the aforesaid configuration of the
CRO, the rising and the falling time can be
measured with the help of the CRO reading
as follows:
Rising time (T1) = 3 µs, Falling time (T2)=
30.1 µs
Thus the theoretical, simulated and
experimental data can be analyzed as
follows:
Table 3: Analysis of the waveshape
State
Ten stage
T2
Theoretical
1.2µs
50µs
Simulated
1.24µs
50.06µs
3 µs
30.1 µs
Experimental
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Dr. Muktinath
Chatterjee,
Ex-Principal,
Charuchandra
College for providing us space and funding.
We would also like to thank Mr. Arijit
Basuray, M.D., Neo Tele-Tronix PVT LTD for
technical assistance.
REFERENCES

Jayaraju M., Daut I. and Adzman M.,
Impulse Voltage Generator Modelling Using
Matlab. (2008) World Journal of Modelling
and Simulation 4, No.1: 57-63.

Kamarudin M S. et al., Impulse Generator
and Lightning Characteristics Simulation
using Orcad PSpice Software. (December
18 -19, 2008) Proceedings of EnCon2008
2nd Engineering Conference on Sustainable
Engineering Infrastructures Development &
Management.

Naidu M S. & Kamaraju V. (1995) High
Voltage Engineering. New Delhi: Tata
McGraw-Hill.

Prabaharan T. et al., Development of 2.4ns
rise time, 300KV, 500MW compact,coaxial
Marx generator. (2011) Indian Journal of
Pur and Applied Physics 49: 64-72.

Roy S., Chowdhury A., Basu Choudhury K., A
Novel Electrical Model To Achieve The IEC
Standard Impulse Waveform (~60 KV),
Measurable In A Normal Oscilloscope
(2016) IJTEEE 4, Issue 3: 9.
CONCLUSIONS
A prototype of HV lightning simulator was
performed in this work. The theory was first
verified with good care and the formula for
the perfect waveshape then calculated from
the scratch. The entire setup has been
performed by OrCAD Pspice 9.2 software
package after setting up the physical
environment [S.Roy et al.,2016]. The results of
the simulations then taken to the physical
laboratory to develop an impulse circuit.
After developing the circuit physically, the
simulated parameters were incorporated
inside the circuit. The deviation was measured
between the readings from the theory,
simulation and experimental results. The
stages of the impulse generator then
increased step by step. The aforesaid
deviation was measured at each step to have
the real scenario.
Research Article
T1
The whole system can also be made more
compact. the standardized lightning simulator
will be very useful for lightning study. So,
computer interfacing by networking devices
and software will be very useful for this
purpose.
This work can be modified in future using
solid state switching replacing the spark gaps.
Shubham Roy et al.
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Behaviour of Crack Patterns on Desiccating Clay Colloids
with Film Thickness
Tajkera Khatun1,2
1Physics
2Condensed
Department, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 700029, India
Matter Physics Research Centre, Jadavpur University, Kolkata - 700032
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Crack patterns on desiccating film of clay colloidal solutions with the variation of
film thickness are studied. Two sets, bentonite water colloidal solution and halloysite water
colloidal solution are used for the experiment and the substrate is glass petridish. In this
study we get a drastic change in the topological behaviour of the final crack patterns as the
layer thickness of the film h varies. We get a certain thickness hcct, called critical cracking
thickness, below which no cracks appear. Above hcct another thickness hc is obtained at and
above which crack pattern forms a fully connected network. If we further increase h above
hc, cracks become wider. For completely connected network of crack pattern, the vertical
surface area Av on the wall of the clay layer and the exposed surface area As on substrate
by the displacement of clay due to cracking are independent of the film thickness h.
Keywords: Desiccation, clay, Bentonite, Halloysite, critical thickness, crack pattern
Study of desiccation crack patterns is an
interesting subject of research (Goehring et
al., 2015) not only because of academic
purpose but for practical, commercial and
technological purposes of our everyday life.
Mainly study of desiccation crack patterns are
useful either to prevent the crack or to make
use of them. A very common example of
desiccation crack is mud crack shown in figure
1. Study of crack patterns allows us to access
quantitatively the phenomena on the earth or
the other planet occurred over time
inaccessible to human, e.g. the patterns on the
surface of Mars from the satellite photograph
with the desiccation crack patterns indicates
the presence of water on Mars at some
earlier time (El-Maarry et al., 2014). Cracks
on drying droplet of bio-fluids such as blood,
blood serum etc. are useful in medical
diagnosis (Zeild and Brutin, 2013).
In most cases crack patterns create some
problem. Colloidal films often crack at the
time of drying. In industrial application
colloidal films are used as coating on papers
Tajkera Khatun
for ink-jet printing and for modern high
performance ceramics e.g. turbine blades in
jet engines.
Research Article
INTRODUCTION
Figure 1: Mud cracks near Sundarban area
photographed by Prof. Sujata Tarafdar
The formation of cracks are undesirable in
this case. Several works have been performed
with how to prevent cracks (Routh, 2013).
Now-a-days crack patterns can be
controlled and tailored to produce a designer
cracks (Nam et al., 2012). There are several
external agents that can control or affect the
crack patterns. The external agents are solvent
(Pasricha et al., 2009), temperature (Lee and
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Routh, 2006), humidity, layer thickness
(Griosman and Kaplan, 1994), substrate
(Carle and Brutin, 2013), effect of field like:
mechanical field (Nakahara and Matsuo,
2006), electrical field (Mal et al., 2007a;
Khatun et al., 2012; Khatun et al., 2013),
magnetic field (Pauchard et al., 2008) and so
on. We study here the effect of the variation
of layer thickness h of drying paste, on
different features of desiccation crack
patterns. Two sets of experiments are reported
here - Set-I: a slurry of bentonite in water and
Set-II: a colloidal solution of halloysite nanoclay in water.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
To prepare bentonite water colloidal
solution for Set-I experiments, x g of bentonite
is added with 16x ml of distilled water and it
is allowed to soak for 2-3 hours and then
stirred by spatula. To get layers of different
thicknesses we deposit various amounts of
colloidal solution on several glass petri dishes
of diameter ~ 9 cm. During our experiments
the ambient temperature and humidity varied
between 30oC - 32oC and 50% - 60%
respectively.
Preparation of halloysite water colloidal
solution for Set-II experiments is similar to that of
bentonite, but here the soaking is not required.
4-5 minutes stirring by spatula is sufficient to
form a uniform homogeneous colloidal solution.
During our experiments the ambient temperature
and humidity varied between 24oC - 27oC and
42% - 60% respectively.
For photograph we use a digital Nikon
COOLPIX L120 with 21X optical zoom. A 10X
microscope was used for the measurement
layer thickness h. Analysis of the final crack
patterns was done by ImageJ software. We
convert the crack patterns with this software to
grey scale choosing a proper threshold so that
cracks appear black while peds appear white.
All the analysis was done on this grey scaled
images.
Research Article
We performed two sets of experiments
using two clay materials, bentonite and
halloysite. The solvent is water. Bentonite is a
geological term of mineral with high content of
montmorillonite (van Olphen, 1977). Its chemical
formula is Na0.33[Al1.67Mg0.33]Si4O10[OH]2. In
addition to montmorillonite, bentonite contains a
small amount of other mineral, usually feldspar,
quartz, organic matter, gypsum etc. A single unit
cell consists of on octahedral sheet (or alumina
sheet) sandwiched between two tetrahedral
sheets (or silica sheets) i.e. montmorillonite is 2:1
layered structured clay. A 2:1 layered structure
of clay is shown in figure 2. The dispersed
platelet size of montmorillonite is ~
0.8×0.8×0.001 microns.
Chemical
formula
of
halloysite
is
Al2Si2O5(OH)4.2H2O. A unit cell of it is formed
by one tetrahedral sheet and one octahedral
sheet i.e. it is 1:1 layered structured clay.
RESULTS
Figure 2: Atomic arrangement of a unit cell
of 2:1 layer clay.
Halloysite is a nano-clay, consists of
narrow tubes with diameter less than 100 nm
and length ranging from 500 nm to 1.2 µm.
Tajkera Khatun
The layer thickness h for completely dried
film of bentonite water colloidal solution i.e.
Set-I sample varies from approximately 0.295
mm to 0.890 mm. The remarkable topological
changes in the final crack patterns with the
variation of h are shown in figure 3. For h ≤
0.295 mm no cracks appear except near the
periphery of the petridish as shown in figure
3a. Near the periphery cracks appear
because of the boundary effect. Therefore, the
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thickness h = 0.295 mm can be taken as critical
cracking thickness hcct (Singh and Tirumkudulu,
2007) for bentonite water colloidal solution.
Figure 4: Final crack patterns on the films of
halloysite water colloidal solution for layer
thicknesses h = a) 0.200 mm (zoomed), b)
0.500 mm (zoomed) and c) 1.790 mm.
Above hcct isolated three-pronged star-like
cracks appear first then they start to grow and
join together to form connected network as h is
increased (figures 3b & c). At a certain
thickness h (here 0.405 mm as shown in figure
3d) all the cracks join together to form a
completely connected network. This thickness is
called critical thickness hc. After hc as we further
increase h, cracks always having completely
connected networks become wider and the
number of isolated peds decreases (figures 3e
& f).
For halloysite water colloidal solution i.e.
for Set-II h varies from 0.170 mm to 2.095
mm. Here the identified hcct is ~ 0.170 mm.
Above hcct, very fine cracks start to appear in
large numbers. For further increase of h, the
cracks start to join. However fully connected
network appears much later compared to Set-I
patterns. The number of isolated peds also
increases slowly. After fully connected network
here also crack patterns show similar
behaviour as that of Set-I patterns. Figure 4
shows the topological changes in crack patterns
of halloysite water colloidal solution.
Tajkera Khatun
Euler Number (χ)
We introduce the Euler number χ (Vogel et
al., 2005) to characterize the topological
behaviour of crack patterns for Sets-I and II.
We take equal area of the film neglecting
edge effect for all the experiments to compare
the Euler number χ defined as,
  N H
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Figure 3: Final crack patterns on the film of
bentonite water colloidal solution for layer
thicknesses h = a) 0.295 mm, b) 0.340 mm,
c) 0.360 mm, d) 0.405 mm, e) 0.595 mm and
f) 0.890 mm. Here the petridish diameter is
~ 9 cm.
The boundary wall of the petridish affects
the crack patterns. So we have to eliminate the
effect of boundary i.e. edge effect. During
image analysis we discard an annular band
near the periphery where the edge effect is
prominent for both Sets studied. As the area
eliminated to avoid the edge effect is not
exactly the same for all samples, during
quantitative analysis we divide all the extensive
quantities by the actual area considered.
(1)
Where, N is the number of isolated cracks
(figure 5a) and H is the number of peds (figure
5b).
Figure 5: a) Shows examples of isolated
cracks N1, N2, N3, ..... and b) shows peds H1,
H2, H3 .... on the film of bentonite water
colloidal solution (Set-I)
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The topological behaviours of crack
patterns with the help of Euler number χ for
Set-I is shown in figure 6. At hcct value of χ is -1
as N = 0 in this case. Above hcct as cracks start
to grow i.e. N increases and then they join
together to form connected network (i.e. N
decreases again), χ increases first and then
decreases showing a peak at layer thickness h
named as hp. At h = hc cracks form a fully
connected network and N becomes 1. At this
point χ attains its minimum value. Above hc, N
always remains 1 and the number of peds
decreases with film thickness h. So, above hc χ
again increases with h having its value always
negative (H is always greater than 1 above
hc). Variation of Euler number χ with h for Set-II
is similar to that of Set-I (not shown here).
Crack Perimeter Pcr and Vertical Surface Area
of Crack Av
The sum total of the perimeter bounding
the peds is the crack perimeter Pcr. By using
ImageJ software we measure Pcr for all h for
both the Sets-I and II. Pcr increases with h upto
h = hc and after that decreases for Set-I. For
Set-II, Pcr increases with h upto h = hp and then
decreases. So, Pcr vs. 1/h plot shows straight
line behaviour above hc for Set-I and above hp
for Set-II as shown in figures 7a and 7b.
Slopes of the straight lines are 0.20 cm2 for
Set-I and 0.86 cm2 for Set-II.
As cracks form, new vertical surface area
Av opens up forming the vertical walls of clay
peds. Av is measured from the value of Pcr by
the relation,
(2)
The measured value of Av is more or less
constant for all h above hc for Set-I and above
hp for Set-II. This constant value is ~ 0.20 cm2
for Set-I and 0.85 cm2 for Set-II.
Figure 6: Euler number χ and N vs. H plot for
the crack patterns of bentonite water
colloidal solution (Set-I). Large and small
arrows mark hp and hc respectively.
From the above relation, we can say that
the slopes of the straight lines must represent
the vertical surface area Av on the clay wall.
The measured values of Av match quite well
with the slopes of the straight lines for both the
Sets-I and II.
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Av = Pcr × h
Figure 7: a) and b) show Pcr vs. 1/h plots for the crack patterns of Set-I and Set-II respectively
for all h. Large and small arrows mark hp and hc respectively. The fitted lines are extrapolated
to the origin.
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Crack Area on the Substrate As and Crack
Width wcr
The surface area As is the area exposed
on the underlying substrate surface due to
cracking. As is directly measured from the
grey scaled picture of the crack pattern using
Image J software. As increases with h and the
gets almost saturated at h = hc for Set-I and
after h = hp for Set-II. Dividing As by crack
length which is approximately equal to half
the crack perimeter Pcr, we get the average
crack width wcr. wcr behaves linearly with h
above hc for Set-I and for all h for Set-II
(figure 8).
interface energies of the clay colloidal solution
in air, glass in air and glass in clay colloidal
solution respectively.
Figure 9: Profile of the droplet showing
contact angle θc and interface energies Gclay-air,
Ggl-air and Ggl-clay.
Ggl air  Ggl clay  Gclay air cosc
Figure 8: Variation of average crack width
wcr with h for the crack patterns for Set-I
when h ≥ hc and for Set-II for all h.
Energy Spent in Crack Formation
Now we make an estimate of the energy
spent Uspent to create new surface area during
cracking. The energy is spent in our experiment
in two ways, 1) energy to form the vertical
surface area Av on the clay layer and 2)
energy to expose the substrate (here glass)
area As due to cracking in both the Sets-I and
II. The net energy spent (Uspent) necessary to
create the surface areas Av and As is given by,
U spent  Gclayair Av  (Ggl air  Ggl clay ) As (3)
where the first and second terms represent
the energy needed to create Av and As
respectively. Gclay-air, Ggl-air and Ggl-clay are the
Tajkera Khatun
(4)
The value of θc measured experimentally
in our laboratory from the side view of the
droplet photograph using ImageJ software is
~ 28o ± 1.5o. Putting the values of Gclay-air, (Gglair - Ggl-clay), Av and As in equation 3, we get
Uspent ≈ 36.1 mJ = constant for the formation of
crack in unit area of the film of any h ≥ hc for
Set-I. For Set-II we can not measure Gclay-air and
θc properly due to rapid precipitation of
halloysite particles. Hence we can not calculate
here Uspent for the formation of crack for Set-II
experiments. However Av and As are
approximately constant in this case also, so the
principal conclusion is likely to hold here as
well.
Research Article
We measure Gclay-air by Kruss Tensiometer
for Set-I sample and its value is ~ 81.34
mJ/m2. (Ggl-air - Ggl-clay) is measured by
measuring the contact angle θc of the droplet
of bentonite water colloidal solution on glass
substrate (as shown in figure 9) and from the
value of Gclay-air using the relation
DISCUSSIONS
To point out the significance of our study, it
must be noted that though there are several
studies related to the crack patterns with the
variation of layer thickness (Groisman and
Kaplan, 1994; Mal et al., 2007b) reporting
significant findings, our present Sets of
Vol. 1  2016  12–18
16
SARJANA
experiments result several new and interesting
observations. The invariance of vertical surface
area Av on clay layer or exposed substrate
surface area As on cracking with layer
thickness h ≥ hc for Set-I and h > hp for Set-II
seems quite remarkable.
The average crack width wcr varies linearly
with h above hc for Set-I and for all thickness h
for Set-II. The total energy spent Uspent to
create the surface areas Av and As is
approximately constant and independent of h
for completely connected network of crack
patterns.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Author is grateful to Prof. Sujata Tarafdar
and Dr. Tapati Dutta for their guidance,
support and fruitful suggestions. Thanks to Prof.
T. R. Middya for his constant encouragement
and useful suggestions.
REFERENCES

Carle F., Brutin D., How surface functional
groups influence fracturation in nanofluid
droplet dry-outs. (2013) Langmuir 29: 99629966.

Carreras E. S., Chabert F., Dunstan D. E.,
Franks G. V., Avoiding “mud” cracks during
drying of thin films form aqueous colloidal
suspensions. (2007) Journal of Colloids and
Interface Science 131: 160-168.

El-Maarry M. R., Waters W., McKeown N.
K., Carter J. et al., Potential Desiccation
cracks on Mars: A synthesis from modelling,
analog-field
studies,
and
global
observations. (2014) 45th Lunar and
Planetary Science Conference, p2530.

Goehring L., Nakahara A., Dutta T.,
Kitsunezaki S. et al. (2015) Desiccation
Cracks and their Patterns: Formation and
modelling in science and nature. Wiley VCH.

Griosman A., Kaplan E., An experimental
study of cracking induced by desiccation.
(1994) Europhys. Lett. 25: 415.

Khatun T., Choudhury M. D., Dutta T.,
Tarafdar S., Electric-field-induced crack
patterns: Experiments and simulation. (2012)
Physical Review E 86: 016114.
CONCLUSIONS
To conclude our study on the formation of
crack patterns by desiccation in two Sets of
experiments on a glass substrate - Set-I:
bentonite water colloidal solution and Set-II:
halloysite water colloidal solution, some
important results are pointed out.
 For both the Sets we identify two crtical
thicknesses - hcct, below which no cracks
appear and hc (above hcct), at and above
which cracks form completely connected
network.
Tajkera Khatun
Vol. 1  2016  12–18
Research Article
The identification of the second critical
thickness hc at which cracks first form fully
connected network for both the Sets-I and II is
also significant finding. This is similar to the
percolation transition (Stauffer and Aharony,
1994) with the connected crack network
playing the role of an infinite cluster. More
interestingly, we show that the transition point
is related to the minimum value of the Euler
number χ. We observe that the critical cracking
thickness hcct for bentonite water colloidal
solution is greater than that for halloysite
water colloidal solution. The fact may be due
to the difference of the particle sizes of
bentonite and halloysite. It has been reported
that hcct is of the order of the largest
inhomogeneity in the sample (Carreras et
al.,2007). In this case this may be taken as the
average particle size.
 For completely connected network of crack
patterns, the vertical surface area on clay
layer formed due to crack i.e. Av and the
substrate area exposed on cracking i.e. As
are more or less independent of layer
thickness h for both the Sets.
 Total energy spent Uspent to create cracks in
unit area is approximately constant and
independent of h for completely connected
network of crack patterns.
17
SARJANA

Khatun T., Dutta T., Tarafdar S., Crack
formation in Laponite gel under AC fields.
(2013) Applied Clay Science 86: 125-128.

Lee W. P., Routh A. F., Temperature
dependence of crack spacings in drying
latex films. (2006) Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
45(21): 6996-7001.



Mal D., Sinha S., Dutta T., Mitra S., Tarafdar
S., Formation of crack patterns in clay films:
Desiccation and relaxation. (2007b) Journal
of the Physical Society of Japan 76: 014801.
Mal D., Sinha S., Middya T. R., Tarafdar S.,
Field induced radial crack patterns in drying
laponite gel. (2007a) Physica A 384: 182-186.
Nakahara A., Matsuo Y., Transition in the
pattern of cracks resulting from memory
effects in paste. (2006) Physical Review E 74:
045102(R).
Nam K. H., Park I. H., Ko S. H., Patterning by
controlled cracking. (2012) Nature 485:
221-224.

Pasricha K., Wad U., Pasricha R., Ogale S.,
Parametric dependence studies on cracking
of clay. (2009) Physica A 388: 1352-1358.
Tajkera Khatun
Pauchard L., Elias F., Boltenhagen P., Cebers
A. et al., When a crack is oriented by a
magnetic field. (2008) Physical Review E 77:
021402.

Routh A. F., Drying of thin colloidal films.
(2013) Rep. Prog. Phys. 76: 046603.

Singh K. B., Tirumkudulu M. S., Cracking in
drying colloidal films. (2007) Physical Review
Letters 98: 218302.

Stauffer D., Aharony A. (1994) Introduction
to Percolation Theory. Burgess Science Press,
Basingstoke, Great Britain.

van Olphen H. (1977) Introduction to Clay
Colloid Chemistry. John Wiley, New York. 2nd
edition.

Vogel H. -J., Hoffmann H., Roth K., Studies of
crack dynamics in clay siol I. Experimental
methods,
results
and
morphological
quantification. (2005) Geoderma 125: 203211.

Zeild W. B., Brutin D., Influence of relative
humidity on spreading, pattern formation
and adhesion of a drying drop of whole
blood. (2013) Colloids Surf. A 430: 17.
Vol. 1  2016  12–18
Research Article
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
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EDXRF as a Tool for Elemental Detection in Lichens: A
New Dimension to Air Pollution Monitoring
S. Banerjee1, 2, A. Chakraborty 2 M. Sudarshan2 and N. K. Jana1*
1Department
of Zoology, Charuchandra College, Kolkata-29, 2UGC-DAE-CSR, Kolkata Centre
*E mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Air pollution being an alarming problem of urban and heavily industrialized areas
of West Bengal has got several impacts on environment and human health. Lichens are
excellent indicators of environmental condition of an area as they are extremely sensitive to
environmental changes. Lichens show differential sensitivity towards wide range of
pollutants. Lichens were collected from different parts of West Bengal are analysed for
trace elements with the help of Energy Dispersive X ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and it was
found that places with heavy traffic, industrial and residential load, have greater
accumulation of elements like Fe, S, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr.
Keywords: EDXRF, Biomonitor, Trace elements, air pollution, lichens
INTRODUCTION
With the increasing levels of air pollution,
monitoring of the rising environmental changes
has become a major concern. In India, it is quite
difficult to use air samplers in remote areas
due to lack of electricity. Therefore monitoring
of air pollution using bioindicators is emerging
as an essential, potentially effective and an
economically alternative process to direct
ambient air measurements which emphasizes
the role of epiphytic lichens of West Bengal in
being selected as the biomonitor organism.
S. Banerjee et al.
Our main objective was to study the
biodiversity of lichens in few areas of West
Bengal, the impact of pollution on the
availability of lichens and the extent of trace
elemental accumulation based on the degree
of pollution in those areas, the variation in the
species based on the pollution trend and also
finding out sensitive or tolerant species.
METHODOLOGY
Research Article
Lichen is a composite organism, comprising
of a stable, self-supporting association of a
fungus (mycobiont) and one or more algae
(photobiont) living together in a symbiotic
association in which the algal partner produces
essential nutrients for the fungal partner through
photosynthesis while the fungal partner provides
mechanical support to the algal partner. The
plant body of lichen is called thallus and it has
been considered a single plant till 1867 when
Schwendener (Swiss Botanist) described lichen
thallus to be a composite body made up of
fungus and alga. The mycobiont predominates
the photobiont and on the other hand also plays
an important role in the development of the
thallus. The lichen symbiosis is often regarded
as controlled parasitism to the benefit of the
fungus (Kappen, 1994).
Lichens have been established as potential
biomonitors of air pollution (Garty, 1993,
Garty, 2001; Bargagli, 1998).
Lichen Samples were collected from Salt
Lake, Bantala, Botanical Garden (Howrah)
Burdwan, Rajarhat and Madhyamgram. One
specific genus (Pyxine) was selected as it is
common in all the sampling spots. The samples
were freeze dried and ground to powder.
Pellets, each of diameter 13mm, were
prepared for Energy dispersive X-Ray
Fluorescence using a Xenemetrix Ex-3600
Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence EDXRF
spectrometer, which consists of an oil-cooled Rh
anode X-ray tube (maximum voltage 50 kV,
current 1 mA). For optimum detection of trace
elements, the measurements were carried out in
vacuum using different filters. The X-rays were
detected using a liquid-nitrogen-cooled 12.5
mm2 Si (Li) semiconductor detector of resolution
150 eV at 5.9 KeV (Majumder et al., 2009).
Vol. 1  2016  19–21
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SARJANA
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Lichens grow on just about everything,
natural or manmade. Different species of
lichens prefer or only grow on different
substrates like tree bark, rocks or even soil. In
the present study, we have seen that lichens of
Kolkata & other areas of West Bengal do
grow on tree barks only.
Variation in lichen community was
observed as the sampling areas drifted from
the heart of the city (more polluted areas) to
the less polluted ones.
It has been observed that the availability
of species increased towards the less polluted
areas or areas which are away from the
vehicular load.
In comparison to previous data, there is a
marked decrease in the lichen cover owing to
their sensitivity towards pollution. Clearance of
land due to increased felling of old trees is
also an important factor aiding the loss of
lichens (Upreti et al. , 2005).
Figure 2 shows that lichen thalli showed
accumulation of iron and sulphur which are
higher in more polluted areas like City Center
and Karunamoyee (Salt Lake), Botanical
Garden
and
Bantala,
whereas
the
concentrations of the same are quite low in
Jamunadighi (Burdwan) which is a less polluted
region. Figure 3 shows variation of other trace
elements Mn, Zn, Cu, Rb and Sr.
Research Article
Figure 1A: Sampling sites
Figure1B: Distribution of different genus of lichens in the
different sampling locations
Figure 2: Variation of P, S, K and Ca with Fe
S. Banerjee et al.
Figure 3: Variation of Mn, Cu, Zn, Rb and Sr
Vol. 1  2016  19–21
20
SARJANA
It was also found that a certain crustose
species identified as Cryptothecia lunulata has
recorded less Fe accumulation as compared to
the foliose lichen species Pyxine cocoes.
REFERENCES
Garty J., Biomonitoring atmospheric heavy
metals with lichens: theory and application.
(2001) Crit Rev Plant Sci 20(4):309–371.

Garty J., (1993) Lichens as biomonitors for
heavy metal pollution. In: Markert B (ed)
Plants as biomonitors, indicators for heavy
metals in the terrestrial environment. VCH,
Weinheim, 193–263

Bargagli R. (1998) Trace Elements in
Terrestrial Plants. An Ecophysiological
Approach to Biomonitoring and Biorecovery.
Springer- Verlag, Berlin.

Kappen L., The lichen, a mutualistic system?
Some mainly ecophysiological aspects.
(1994) Cryptogamic Botany 4: 193-202

Upreti D.K., Nayaka S., Bajpai A., Do lichens
still grow in Kolkata City? (2005) Curr Sci
88(3):338–339

Majumder S., Ram S.S., Jana N.K., Santra S.,
Chakraborty A., Sudarshan M., Accumulation
of minor and trace elements in lichens in and
around Kolkata, India: an application of Xray fluorescence techniques to air pollution
monitoring. (2009) X-ray Spectrometry
38:469–473.
CONCLUSION
This study validates findings of other
researchers that air pollutants and other
contaminants are accumulated on the surface
of the lichen thalli, i.e. lichens are
bioaccumulators of trace elements. The
differences in the concentrations of the
analyzed elements can further keep a track of
the prospective sources of air pollution and
their environmental impact. This work can
thereby increase the possibilities of utilizing
elemental analysis of lichens for advocating
species specificity towards accumulation of
metals, if any, and create a platform for
passive biomonitoring of air pollution in India.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful to the Teacher in
charge and facilities obtained from
Charuchandra College. Laboratory facilities
and funds from UGC-DAE-CSR, Kolkata Center
is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are
also grateful to the Director, UGC-DAE-CSR,
Kolkata Center. The authors are also grateful
to the Director, Botanical Survey of India
regardin the sampling facilities which they got
from Botanical Garden.
S. Banerjee et al.
Vol. 1  2016  19–21
Research Article
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A Brief Review on the Graphene Quantum Dots:
Syntheses, Photoluminescence Property and
Metal Ions Sensing
Parimal Routh
Department of Chemistry, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 700029, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: The graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have gained tremendous attention for their
enormous potential applications, owing to their distinct edge effect and more powerful
quantum confinement effect which create tunable photoluminescence (PL) property. The
GQDs also have several attractive merits, such as high solubility, low cytotoxicity and
excellent biocompatibility, large surface area and tunable band gap, which assist to use in
various application. In this review, recent progresses in preparation of GQDs are discussed,
focusing on the main two approaches top-down and bottom-up method. Photoluminescence
and metal ions sensing mechanism of GQDs are also discussed in this review.
Keywords: Graphene quantum dots, top-down, bottom-up, photoluminescence and sensing
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon and
its main element is carbon. The carbon atoms
are closely packed in a regular hexagonal
pattern. Each carbon atom are sp2 hybridized
and it has four bonds, one σ bond with each
of its three neighbours and one π-bond that is
oriented out of plane and distance between
two carbon atoms are ~1.42 Ao. Graphene
can exhibit in different forms with distinct
optical properties due to its band gap
variation. Graphene is a layer structure and
according to the layer number graphene is
regarded as monolayer, bilayer, trilayer etc.
but multilayer graphene is called graphite.
Both graphene and graphite are highly
conducting zero band gap materials due to its
regular two dimensional (2D) macro structure
and hence π- electrons can delocalize entire
the graphene frame. Zero band gap
graphene is called semi metal and its
photoluminescence property is very poor.
(Novoselov et al., 2004; (Novoselov et al.,
2005; Zhang et al., 2005; Ohta et al., 2006;
Zhou et al., 2007) 1D structure of graphene is
called graphene nanoribbon and shows PL
property due to band gap opening. (Lu et al.,
Parimal Routh
2009; Tosic et al., 2012) The strong
photoluminescence property of graphene
mainly arises in 0 D states and in this state
graphene materials is known as graphene
quantum dots (GQDs) and it is semiconducting
with tunable band gap.( Zhu et al., 2011;
Gupta et al., 2011)
The discovery of fluorescence molecules
such as organic dye, semiconducting metal and
protein have fundamentally important for
bioimaging and optical sensing applications.
However, the poor photostability of organic
fluorophores makes difficulty for long-term
imaging and also maximum organic
fluorophores are expensive therefore sensing
application is not reliable. Semiconductor
quantum dots have been regarded as the
promising alternative because of their bright
photoluminescence and excellent photostability. But main problem is their poor
solubility and high toxicity. (Shen at al., 2011;
Hong et al., 2012) On account of the
fundamental drawbacks of the current
fluorophores, searching for better fluorophores
has been a critical effort for metal ions sensing.
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) recently
appear as universal fluorophores because of
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
Review Article
INTRODUCTION
22
SARJANA
their unique combination of different key
merits, including biocompatibility, wide range
of solubility, small size, excellent photostability,
highly tunable photoluminescence property
and also ease to functionalize. (Zhang et al.,
2012; Chen et al., 2011; Hamilton et al.,
2011; Yan et al., 2010; Mueller et al., 2010;
Yan et al., 2010) These excellent properties of
carbon nanocrystals provide exceptional
opportunities for bioimaging and metal ion
sensing.
Synthetic Methods
GQDs
can
be
synthesized
by
electrochemical cleavage of carbon precursors
such as graphite rods, rGO film, carbon
nanotubes and 3-dimensional CVD-grown
graphene. Zhang et al. prepared watersoluble GQDs via electrochemically and they
used graphite rod as an anode at NaOH
electrolyte and Pt foil is used as counter
electrode. (Zhang et al., 2012) The resulting
solution after electrolysis was mixed with
hydrazine hydrate, stirring for ~ 8 h and then
centrifuged to remove the insoluble residual,
the details stepwise reactions are shown in
Figure 1.
Review Article
Mostly reported synthesis of GQDs can be
divided into two categories one is the topdown and another is the bottom-up method,
the former is related with the breaking of
carbon source by the help of suitable
precursors but bottom-up approaches depend
on synthetic conditions so it is still difficult for
large scale mass production.
layers structure (height profile ranges from 0.2
to 5 nm). (Routh et al., 2013)
Top-down Approaches
Graphene oxide (GO) synthesized via
chemically exfoliation and oxidation of
graphite using Hummer’s method, (Hummer et
al., 1958) has one atomic-layered, two
dimensional structure featuring with a variety
of chemically reactive oxygen-containing
groups, such as epoxy and hydroxyl groups on
the basal plane and carboxylic acid groups in
the periphery. So the chemically reactive sites
that permit GO to cut into smaller sheets that is
the way of the most top-down approach for
GQDs synthesis.
Fenton's reagent is a solution of hydrogen
peroxide and ferrous iron. Hydroxyl radical
and Fe3+ are produced during the reaction
and then Fe3+ is reduced back to Fe2+ by
excess
hydrogen
peroxide,
forming
a hydroperoxyl radical. The oxygen radical
species are very reactive for cutting the GO
sheet to GQDs. Recently, Routh et al.
synthesized GQDs from GO by simple sonofenton reaction and obtained average size of
5.6 ± 1.4 nm with a mixture of mono and few
Parimal Routh
Figure 1: Schematic illustration of the
generation process of GQDs solution
(Reproduced from ref. no-20).
Ananthanarayanan et al. have synthesized
GQDs from three-dimensional graphene grown
by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using ionic
liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro
phosphate (BMIMPF6) in acetonitrile) as the
electrolyte because it gives high ionic
conductivity and wide electrochemical potential
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
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SARJANA
window. (Ananthanarayanan, 2014) They found
3.0 nm size mono layer GQDs (thickness of
~1.25 nm) with graphitic lattice spacing 2.10 Å
and 2.45 Å (Figure 2).
Qu’s group electrochemically synthesized
uniform size of 3–5 nm, GQDs with green
luminescence. They used 0.1 M phosphate
buffer solution (PBS) as electrolyte and
graphene film as working electrode. (Li et al.,
2011)
Multiwall carbon nanotubes
(MWCNTs) are an important precursor for
synthesizing of GQDs by electrochemical
approach. Shinde et al. have clearly
demonstrated the synthesis technique, they
used MWCNTs coated glassy carbon
electrode as a working electrode with Pt foil
and Pt wire as counter and reference
electrodes, respectively. After applying
potential for different period to the working
electrode, the electrodes were sonicated in
water, and then GQDs were collected (Shinde
et al., 2012).
Like
electrochemically,
Microwaveassisted technique is a promising method for
Parimal Routh
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
Review Article
Figure 2: a) Electrophoresis gel image of
GQD samples. b) AFM image of GQDs. The
inset shows the height profile along the
indicated line. c) Height distribution obtained
from AFM measurements (203 samples).
d,e) TEM images of GQDs. The insets show
the lattice spacing of GQDs. f) Diameter
distribution obtained from TEM images (166
samples) (Reproduced from ref. no-21).
synthesizing GQDs. Li et al. have reported a
simple one-pot microwave-assisted technique
for the preparation of greenish yellow GQDs
from GO under acidic condition. The greenish
yellow GQDs switched into blue luminescent
by simple treatment NaBH4 for 2 h. (Li et al.,
2012) I have already discussed different
GQDs synthesis procedures but every
procedure has some disadvantage such as
high synthesis temperature, low production,
distortion of the chemical structure, high
production cost and some time low purity. To
avoid this problem scientists are using
relatively mild synthesis conditions with large
mass production in presence of some solvent,
it is called solvothermal or hydrothermal when
solvent is water. The abundant oxygenated
functional groups on GO can act as reactive
sites for the cutting the GO sheet by thermal
treatment in presence of some oxidizing
agents (e.g. HNO3, ozone) and it is effective
to recover the sp2 carbon network of GO and
simultaneously achieve the nanomaterials
GQDs. Shen et al. applied simple one-pot
hydrothermal reaction on GO sheets and
polyethylene glycol for synthesizing GQDs surface-passivated by polyethylene glycol. In
a typical reaction, first prepared small GO
sheet from GO by using HNO3 at reflux 70
oC for 24 h. The small size GO is mixed with
polyethylene glycol to make homogeneous
solution and then it is transferred into a 100
mL Teflon-lined stainless-steel autoclave and
heated at 200 oC for 24 h. The surface
passivated GQDs show excellent luminescence
properties, the PL quantum yield ~28.0% at
360 nm emission which was two times higher
than the pure GQDs. (Shen et al., 2012)
Oxidation cutting is another important
solvothermal technique for synthesize of
GQDs. Ajayan’s group have synthesized 1−4
nm GQDs from micrometer-sized pitch-based
carbon fibers using mixed acid as a cutting
reagent at 120 oC as shown in Figure 3.
(Peng et al., 2012).
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SARJANA
Bottom-up Approaches
The chemical synthesis regarding to
bottom–up method by which GQDs can be
made with particular number of conjugated
carbon atom containing graphene moieties. This
approach consists of pyrolyzing of particular
precursor and stepwise chemical synthesis.
GQDs supported by graphene nanoribbons
(GNRs) have synthesized using template free
reduction
reaction
of
two
reactants
methylbenzene and hexabromobenzene by
sodium. The average size of ~ 5 nm and the
crystal lattice spacing of 0.34 nm are similar
with the graphitic carbon. (Jin , 2015) Selection
of small molecules is very important for GQDs
Parimal Routh
Review Article
Figure 3: (a) Representation scheme of
oxidation cutting of CF into GQDs. (b) TEM
images of GQDs (synthesized reaction
temperature at 120 °C), inset of (b) is the
HRTEM of GQDs. (c) AFM image of GQDs.
(d) Size and height distribution of GQDs. (e)
HRTEM image of the edge of GQD, inset is
the 2D FFT of the edge in (e). (f) Schematic
illustration showing the orientation of the
hexagonal graphene network and the
relative zigzag and armchair directions. (g)
Schematic representation of the edge
termination of the HRTEM image in (e). (h)
Proposed mechanism for the chemical
oxidation of CF into GQDs. (Reproduced
from ref. no-26)
synthesis via carbonization reaction. Adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) is a good precursor martial
for GQDs synthesis because it carbonized at
higher temperature about 900 oC and then
exfoliated by nitric acid to form co-doped
GQDs. (Ananthanarayanan et al., 2015) Like
ATP, carbohydrates such as glucose, fructose,
sucrose can be used as precursor for GQDs
preparation. Tang et al. have synthesized
water-soluble crystalline GQDs from glucose
molecules using facile microwave-assisted
hydrothermal method. (Tang et al., 2012) They
have shown that the diameter of the GQDs can
be tuned from 1.65 to 21 nm by extended the
heating time from 1 to 9 min and the growth
mechanism have clearly shown in Figure 4. Zhou
et al. have demonstrated a simple approach for
synthesis of GQDs with hydrophilic containing
functional groups from polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH) precursors. They took
pyrene, benzo [a] pyrene, and naphtha [2,3–a]
pyrene as a starting materials and individually
were treated with concentrated H2SO4 to form
artificial graphite and then exfoliated by
sonication and finally reduced by hydrazine
hydrate to get GQDs. (Zhou et al., 2013) Li’s
group have reported the preparation of large
colloidal GQDs with a uniform and tunable size
having 132, 168 and 170 carbon atoms by
simple solution chemistry. First they synthesized
precursors of polyphenylene dendritic moiety
by stepwise condensation reaction and then
fused by oxidation method to obtain graphene
moieties. (Yan et al., 2010)
Figure 4: Preparation of GQDs by
microwave-assisted hydrothermal method
(Reproduced from ref. no-29).
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
25
SARJANA
Photoluminescence Property
Parimal Routh
Figure 5: a) UV–vis absorption (ABS, red) and
PL (at 320nm excitation) spectra of the GQDs
dispersed in water; UV–vis absorption (ABS,
blue) spectrum of oxidized graphene sheets
(GSs). Inset: Photograph of the GQD aqueous
solution taken under visible light. b) PL spectra
of the GQDs at different excitation wavelengths.
c) PLE spectrum with the detection wavelength
of 430nm and PL spectrum excited at 257 nm.
Inset: Photograph of the GQD aqueous solution
taken under UV light in a fluorescence
spectrophotometer. d) pH-dependent PL spectra
when pH is switched between 13 and 1.
(Reproduced from ref. no-33)
Review Article
The GQDs is quasi-spherical nanoparticles
usually diameter <10 nm. They can be
amorphous or nanocrystalline with sp2 carbon
clusters. The PL properties of GQDs are highly
sensitive and are depend on the number of
factors. Sk et al. recently reported by using
density-functional theory (DFT) that PL of a
GQDs originate from the quantum confinement
of conjugated π electrons in sp2 carbon network
and can easily tuned by its edge configuration,
size, shape, attached functional groups,
heteroatom doping and defects. The sizedependent PL behaviour of GQDs arises due to
the quantum confinement effects. (Sk et al.,
2014) The PL property of GQDs can be
clearly understood from the photoluminescence
excitation (PLE) measurement and in general PLE
data show two distinct peaks. The two PLE peak
observed due to GQDs exhibit carbene like
triplet ground state i.e. σ and  state and the
energy difference between two states should
be less than 1.5 eV according to the Hoffmann
rule. Li et al. have synthesized green and blue
fluorescence GQDs and demonstrated that the
fluorescence property of GQDs arise due to
carbene like zigzag sites. They have shown that
energy difference between σ and  orbital are
1.1 eV for green GQDs and 0.99 eV for blue
GQDs and both are lower than 1.5 eV. (Li et
al., 2012) Zigzag sites of GQDs are very
sensitive with pH, in alkaline medium GQDs
show strong fluorescence but at acidic medium
GQDs shows weaker fluorescence. Wu’s group
clearly
demonstrated
pH
dependent
fluorescence study of GQDs that under acidic
conditions, the zigzag edge sites of the GQDs
are protonated, forming a reversible complex.
Thus the fluorescence of triple carbene state is
decreased and becomes inactive in PL.
However, under alkaline conditions, the free
zigzag sites are completely intact, so leading to
the restoration of PL. The Figure 5 have shown
the experimental data of UV-vis, PL, PLE and
pH dependent studies and Figure 6 are
demonstrated about the mechanism of PL
behaviour of GQDs (Pan et al., 2010).
Figure 6: a) Mechanism for the hydrothermal
cutting of oxidized GSs into GQDs: a mixed
epoxy chain composed of epoxy and carbonyl
pair groups (left) is converted into a complete
cut (right) under the hydrothermal treatment. b)
Models of the GQDs in acidic (right) and alkali
(left) media. The two models can be converted
reversibly depending on pH. The pairing of σ (•)
and  () localized electrons at carbene-like
zigzag sites and the presence of triple bonds at
the carbyne-like armchair sites are represented.
c) Typical electronic transitions of triple carbenes
at zigzag sites observed in the optical spectra
(Figure 4). (Reproduced from ref. no-33)
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
26
SARJANA
Metal Ions Sensing
solution tuned to deep-blue in the presence of
Fe3+ (Figure 7) (Park et al., 2015).
Parimal Routh
Figure 7: (a) PL spectra of bcp-GQDs at the
presence of Cu2+ and Fe3+ at a concentration
of 100 μM. (b) Ratio of PL intensity upon the
addition of 100 μM of guest metal ions (Ag+,
Cd2+, Au3+, Sn2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Cr3+, Fe3+, and
Pd2+). (c) PL spectra of bcp-GQDs as a
function of the Fe3+ concentration (μM). (d)
Plot of I505nm/I410nm of bcp-GQDs as a
function of the Fe3+ concentration. (The line
is a guide for the eye. The PL spectra were
measured under irradiation at 365 nm)
(Reproduced from ref. no-38).
SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVES
Photoluminescence property of GQDs is
discussed in this review which depends on the
edge configurations and functional groups
attached on its surface. This greatly extends
application of graphene materials in sensing.
Different approaches are critically determined
such as chosen precursors, starting material,
temperature, reaction time etc. for GQDs
synthesis. Despite the marvellous progress
made thus far, it is, however, still a challenge
to produce large amount of GQDs with
excellent
physical
properties
for
commercialization. GQDs research will still
continue because tuneable photoluminescence
property will encourage more exciting
applications such as photovoltaic devices,
photocatalysis, display technologies and
biomedical in near future. This review article
provides valuable information for developing
Vol. 1  2016  22–29
Review Article
Selective detection of metal ions is of
fundamental importance in the chemical,
biological and environmental sciences. Today,
fluorescence spectroscopy is the more powerful
technique for detection of metal ions due to its
several advantages like easy detection and
high sensitivity. Fluorescent GQDs have shown
great promise for applications as metal ions
sensing. The GQDs contain carboxyl, hydroxyl
groups and different types of doped element in
the edge and basal plane, the functional group
of GQDs permit for sensing the multiple metal
ions. The sensing of different kind of metal ions
have different prominent role in the environment
and as well as living system, such as detection of
iron, present in both Fe2+ and Fe3+ oxidation
states, plays an important functions like oxygen
metabolism, electron transfer processes and
nucleic acid formation in living organisms (Liu
et al., 2005; Zhu et al., 2015; Kaplan
et al., 2009). Ananthanarayanan et al.
(Ananthanarayanan et al., 2014) showed that
ionic liquid absorbed GQDs is much selective
and sensitive towards of Fe3+ ions. They
observed that 68% quenching of GQD
fluorescence upon addition of 400 μM Fe3+,
while other metal ions Mg2+ , Fe2+ , Zn2+ , Co2+ ,
Ni2+ , Cd2+ , and K+ are not create significant
quenching effect. Functionalized GQDs has
higher sensitivity towards a particular metal ion
binding compare to pure GQDs. Sun et al.
demonstrated amino-functionalized GQDs has
significant affinity for the formation of chelating
complex with the Cu2+ ions than the transitionmetal ions. The detection limit of Cu2+ is 6.9 nM
and it is higher than the other reported value.(
Sun et al., 2013) Recently Park et al. made a
common platform for apply in different sensing
purpose such as metal ions, pH etc. They have
synthesized block copolymer functionalized
GQDs
(bcp-GQDs)
by
reversible
addition−fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)
polymerization reaction. The white fluroscence
colour bcp-GQDs changed to a greenish blue
colour in the presence of Cu2+ whereas the
27
SARJANA
and controllable synthesis methods. However,
there is still much scope to modify GQDs for
sensing of different type of metal ions more
particularly heavy and toxic metal ions due to
make pollution free environment.
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Adv. Funct. Mater. 22: 2971–2979
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Review Article
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‘CRYONICS’- A Boon towards Immortality
Rita Paul
Department of Botany, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 700029, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: If you want to be immortal, science can offer you that chance. ‘Cryonics’ – the
procedure of low temperature preservation of body after legal death may fulfill our wish
for longer life in recent future. Despite different obstacles to the success of cryonics, the
scientists are with the belief that nothing is totally impossible in science. Recent advancement
in brain resuscitation and cell function even after long period of ischemia and clinical death
respectively and high success rate in organ preservation made cryonicists more optimistic.
Although, there are philosophical and ethical issues, and also several questions regarding
certainty, cost of the process and others, cryonics is definitely a boon towards immortality.
This endeavor is to provide a brief idea about cryonics – a cue for our dream to live longer
life.
Keywords: Cryonics, Cryopreservation, Legally dead, Neuropreservation, Educated gamble
INTRODUCTION
Cryonics Procedure
Long term cryopreservation can be
achieved by cooling near to the temperature
77.15 Kelvin, the boiling point of liquid
nitrogen. It is a common mistaken belief that
Rita Paul
General Article
If you are interested to see you alive in this
beautiful earth far ahead from now, cryonics is
for you. Fact is that, it is no matter, how much
exercise you do or how many vitamins you
take to prolong your life, there comes a point
where the human body will break down and
eventually you will die. But in near future, there
may be a time when one can chose between
life and death - good health and freedom
from the pain of age and illness will be
everyone’s choice. All these may be possible
through cryonics. Cryonics (from Greek kryos meaning icy cold) is the low temperature
(below –130ºC) preservation of humans and
animals who can no longer be sustained by
contemporary medicine, with the hope that
healing and resuscitation may be possible in
the future. Although several indirect
advancement achieved but, still now it is only
hypothetical. The idea of cryonics was first
proposed in 1962 by Robert Ettinger.
cells will lyse (burst) due to the formation of ice
crystals within the cell, but this occurs only if the
freezing rate exceeds the osmotic loss of water
to the extracellular space (Mazur, 1984).
However, damage from freezing can still be
serious; ice may still form between cells causing
mechanical and chemical damage. So, cryonics
procedures involve replacing body water with
antifreeze mixtures called cryoprotectants.
Cryoprotectant solutions are circulated through
blood vessels to remove and replace water
inside cells. Generally used cryoprotectants
are DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide), polyols
ethylene glycol (an automobile anti-freeze),
propylene glycol (once used to reduce ice
crystals in ice cream), glycerol etc. At very low
temperature these cryoprotectants harden like
glass, without forming damaging ice crystals.
This can reduce cell damage greatly. Cooling
and solidification without ice formation is
called as vitrification (Fahy et al., 1984).
Cryonics can only be applied to a person
who has been declared as legally dead by an
authorized doctor. The criterion for legal death
is cessation of heart beat. But we should keep
in mind that almost all cells of the body,
including those in the brain are generally still
alive even when the heart beat has been
Vol. 1  2016  30–35
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stopped. If the body can be preserved by
cooling very soon (preferably within six
minutes) after the heart stops beating,
deterioration will be minimized. Minimum the
deterioration, maximum the future potential for
life. Once cardiac arrest has occurred and
death has been pronounced, a cryonics subject
can be given medications to maintain sedation,
reduce cerebral metabolism, prevent/reverse
blood clotting, increase blood pressure,
stabilize pH against acidosis, and protect
against ischemia/reperfusion injury (Best,
2008). Today it is an established fact that
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in
combination
with
Automated
External
Defibrillators (AEDs) can restore life of a
person who is clinically dead because of
cardiac arrest (Cobb et al., 1999).
Obstacles of Cryonics
Rita Paul
Present Scenario
Cryonicists are optimistic as the recent
advancement allows brain resuscitation after
longer periods of ischemia and persistence of
brain structure and even some brain cell
function after long periods of clinical death;
most neurons (65%) did not become necrotic
until 12 hours after the cessation of blood flow
(Garcia et al., 1995). They argue that the
definitions of death should be changed as
technology advances – earlier what used to be
called as ‘death’ today is actually a form of
ischemic injury that will be reversible in the
future. According to them the concept of death,
declared upon cardiac arrest is purely a social
construction. They say that absolutely
irreversible death is that which destroy the
brain to such an extent that the original
information content can no longer be
recovered. They called that type of death as
information-theoretic death (Merkle, 1992;
Doyle, 2011; Cerullo, 2016). Revival requires
repairing damage from lack of oxygen,
cryoprotectant
toxicity,
thermal
stress
(fracturing) etc. Mind transfer has also been
Vol. 1  2016  30–35
General Article
There are mainly two obstacles to the
success of cryonics. First one is preservation
injury: Although, cooling a human body below 200ºF can potentially preserve them unaltered
for thousands of years, process of vitrification
can cause additional damage such as damage
due to thermal stress, cryoprotectant toxicity
and
even
freezing
damage
when
cryoprotectant perfusion is poor. Though the
nature of cryoprotectant toxicity is still poorly
understood it has been observed that the
mixture of cryoprotectants can be less toxic
than pure cryoprotectant. The use of ice
blockers (non-cryoprotectant substances such as
anti-freeze proteins that chemically block ice
crystal growth) in vitrification mixtures can
further reduce toxicity and concentration
needed to vitrify (Wowk et al., 2000).
Considerable success has been made in
reducing the toxicity of vitrification mixtures
(Fahy et al., 2004 a, b). Cryonicists assume that
toxicity is more subtle and repairable than
other structural damages. For example, if
toxicity is due to denatured proteins, those
proteins could be repaired or replaced. A
number of possible explanations for
cryoprotectant toxicity have been proposed,
but the exact molecular mechanism still remains
elusive (Fahy et al., 1990). The second one is
Ischemic injury: Ischemia means inadequate or
absent blood circulation that deprives tissue of
oxygen and nutrients. This ischemic injury
makes resuscitation impossible by present
medical technology. But extension of
hypothermic protection from ischemic injury to
subzero temperatures is seen in the northern
wood frog (Rana sylvatica) which can survive in
a semi-frozen state without heartbeat for
months at temperatures as low as – 3ºC to –
6ºC with full recovery upon re-warming
(Costanzo et al., 1995). Whether mechanical
crushing or toxic electrolytes is the cause of
damage following ice formation during slow
cooling remains a subject of debate among
cryobiologists (Mazur, 2004). Cryonicists are
generally
looking
towards
advance
bioengineering, molecular nanotechnology,
nanomedicine or mind uploading.
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There are also high rate of success in organ
preservation (Fahy et al., 2006 and 2009). One
instance is: On September 20, 2005 Israeli
scientists were successfully able to transplant
previously frozen ovaries in a group of sheep.
Vitrified mouse ovaries cryopreserved at –
196ºC have been re-warmed to produce livepup birth rates comparable to that seen with
fresh ovaries (Hasegawa et al., 2006). Similarly
Rita Paul
vitrified rabbit kidney at – 135ºC have been
re-warmed and transplanted into a new rabbit
where it functioned well enough as the sole
kidney to keep the rabbit alive indefinitely
(Fahy, 2005).
Keeping all these views in mind cryonicists
are mostly motivated now-a-days towards
neuropreservation, i.e. preservation of brain
only. Cryonicists claim that with the present
technology it is possible to preserve the fine cell
structure of the brain in which memory and
identity reside, i.e. current cryonics procedure
can preserve the anatomical basis of mind. It is
also motivated by the belief that reversing of
any type of cryonic preservation is so difficult
and complex that any future technology
capable of it, must also promote tissue
regeneration, including growth of a new body
around a repaired brain. So preservation of
brain structure and restoration of brain function
are the most essential to cryonics. Other organs
and tissues are not as important because
artificial organs and tissue regeneration by stem
cells should be easily accomplished by future
medicine.
Appendage
regeneration
in
salamanders is already being used as a
guideline for mammalian regenerative medicine
(Brockes and Kumar, 2005). Some suggested
revival scenarios for whole body patients even
involve discarding the original body and
regenerating a new body because tissues are
so badly damaged by the preservation process.
The quality of preservation of brain only is
better and it will also be of low cost. Critics of
only neuropreservation believe that the body is
record of much life experience, including
learned motor skills (muscle memory) and thus
the body produced after regeneration might
feel different from the original.
General Article
suggested as a possible revival approach if
and when technology is ever developed to
scan the memory contents of a preserved
brain. Cryonicists are always trying to develop
better methods of preservation to minimize
tissue damage so that the chances of revival
can increase. For example, intravenous
injection of the alpha-tocopherol form of
Vitamin E (20 mg/kg), 30 minutes prior to
ischemia has been shown to significantly reduce
lipid peroxidation and neurological damage
(Yamamoto et al., 1983). It has been claimed
that if technologies for general molecular
analysis and repair are ever developed, then
theoretically any damaged body could be
‘revived’. Survival would then depend on
whether preserved brain information was
sufficient to permit restoration of all or part of
the personal identity of the original person,
with amnesia being the final dividing line
between success and failure. It can’t be denied
that medical science is primarily concerned with
what is demonstrably achievable, not with
what is theoretically possible. Brain structure
encoding personality and long term memory
persists (Mayford et al., 2012) for some time
after clinical death. It is established that in
many instances loss of brain activity can be
reversed. Many people, especially children,
have been reported to survive 20 minutes to
an hour or more of cardiac arrest with
complete
neurological
recovery
after
hypothermic accidents, such as drowning in cold
water (Eich et al., 2005). In 1966 a Japanese
researcher reported about normal electrical
activity of whole brain of cat, that was
recovered after freezing to – 20ºC for 45
days with cryoprotectants (Suda et al., 1966).
As on 2014, only around 250 people have
undergone the cryonics procedure (Moen,
2015) since it was first proposed in 1962. The
first person to be cryogenically preserved was
a 73-years old psychologist Dr. James
Bedford, who was suspended in 1967. His
body is reportedly still in good condition at
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Cost of Cryonics
Costs of cryonics vary greatly, ranging
from the basic fee of $10,000 for neuro (head
or brain only) cryopreservation in Europe to
more than $200,000 for whole body
cryopreservation. Recently Russian companysuch as Krio-Rus has advented low cost cryonics
(Weaver, 2015).
Philosophical and Ethical Point of Cryonics
Now philosophical and ethical point of
cryonics tends to pivot on the issue of whether
cryonics is regarded as interment or medicine.
Rita Paul
If cryonics is interment, then religious beliefs
about death and afterlife may come into
consideration. Resuscitation may be deemed
impossible by those with religious beliefs
because the soul is gone and according to most
religions only God can resurrect the dead.
Cryonics advocates complain that calling
cryonics interment presumes a priori that
cryonics can’t work. They
believe
future
technical
advances will validate their
view that cryonics patients are
recoverable, and therefore
never really dead. If cryonics is
regarded as medicine, with
legal death as a mere
enabling
mechanism, then
cryonics is a long-term coma
with uncertain prognosis. It is
continuing to care for sick people when others
have given up. Cryonics is regarded as a
heroic medical treatment. Their view is legal
death and its aftermath is a form of
euthanasia in which sick people are
abandoned.
Basic Questions Regarding Cryonics
How long can future medicine potentially
extend human life? Perhaps by hundreds or
thousands of year or more. Critisists say that
plans of an omniscient God could not be
thwarted by human efforts to extend life
hundreds or thousands of years. But according
to cryonicists hundreds or thousands of years is
not a significant amount of time in the context
of eternity.
General Article
Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona
(where, 146 patients have been cryopreserved
as on 31st May, 2016 and 1075 members
have completed full legal and financial
arrangements for cryopreservation – source:
www.alcor.org). Cryonics was in the news
throughout 2003 and early 2004 - because
the baseball star Ted Williams was
cryopreserved during this
period. The ensuing high
profile family had to fight
over his will. In addition to this
publicity by media, long time
backers of cryonics like Saul
Kent of the Life Extension
Foundation are putting more
money and time into pushing
the cryonics industry forward
into the 21st century. Cryonics
procedures are generally practiced only on
subjects who have made contractual and
funding arrangements in advance with a
cryonics organization. Many people are too
old or suffer from other conditions that will kill
them before curing measures can be
developed. This is an unpleasant reality that
we must face. A normal premise of cryonics is
that cryopreserving people is the right thing to
do when there is no other hope. We should
turn to the science and business of cryonics, a
serious effort to solve this problem that has
been underway since the early 1970s.
What happens to the soul of cryonics
patient? The answer of this question is that, if
cryonics is simply an unproven medical
procedure then there is no more reason to
believe that the soul goes away during
cryopreservation than during a night’s sleep.
Human embryos have been cryopreserved in
liquid nitrogen for decades, yet many religious
authorities believe these embryos have a soul.
Vol. 1  2016  30–35
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The same could be said for cryopreserved
patients.
CONCLUSION
Doyle D. J., Life, death and brain death: A
critical examination. (2011) Ethics Biol.,
Engineer. Med. 2 (1): 11-31.

Eich C., Brauer A., Kettler D., Recovery of a
hypothermic
drowned
child
after
resuscitation with cardiopulmonary bypass
followed by prolonged extracorporeal
membrane oxygenation. (2005) Resuscitation
67 (1): 145- 148.

Fahy G. M., Lilley T. H., Linsdell H., Douglas
M. S. et al., Cryoprotectant toxicity and
cryoprotectant toxicity reduction: in search of
molecular mechanisms. (1990) Cryobiology
27 (3): 247-268.

Fahy G. M., MacFarlane D. R., Angell C. A.,
Meryman H. T., Vitrification as an approach
to cryopreservation. (1984) Cryobiology
21 (4): 407-426.

Fahy G. M., Wowk B., Wu J.,
Cryopreservation of complex systems: the
missing link in the regenerative medicine
supply chain. (2006) Rejuvenation Res. 9 (2):
279–291.

Fahy G. M., Wowk B., Wu J., Paynter S.,
Improved vitrification solutions based on the
predictability of vitrification solution toxicity.
(2004 b) Cryobiology 48 (1): 22-35.

Fahy G. M., Wowk B., Wu J., Phan J. et al.,
Cryopreservation of organs by vitrification:
perspectives and recent advances. (2004 a)
Cryobiology 48 (2): 157-178.

Fahy G.M., Wowk B., Pagotan R., Chang A.
et al., Physical and biological aspects of
renal vitrification. (2009) Organogenesis
5 (3): 167–175.

Fahy G.M., Vitrification as an approach to
cryopreservation: general perspectives.
(2005) Cryobiology 51 (3): 348.

Garcia J. H., Liu K. F., Ho K. L., Neuronal
necrosis after middle cerebral artery occlusion
in Wistar rats progresses at different time
intervals in the caudoputamen and the
cortex. (1995) Stroke 26 (4): 636–642.
REFERENCES

Best B. P., Scientific justification of cryonics
practice. (2008) Rejuvenation Res. 11 (2):
493-503.

Brockes J. P., Kumar A., Appendage
regeneration in adult vertebrates and
implications for regenerative medicine.
(2005) Science 310 (5756): 1919-1923.

Cerullo M. A., The ethics of exponential life
extension through brain preservation. (2016)
J. Evol. Technol. 26 (1): 94-105.

Cobb L. A., Fahrenbruch C. E., Walsh T. R.,
Copass M. K. et al., Influence of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation prior to
defibrillation in patients with out-of-hospital
ventricular fibrillation. (1999) JAMA 281
(13): 1182-1188.

Costanzo J. P., Lee R. E. Jr., DeVries A. L.,
Wang T. et al., Survival mechanisms of
vertebrate ectotherms at subfreezing
temperatures: applications in cryomedicine.
(1995) FASEB J 9 (5): 351-358.
Rita Paul
Vol. 1  2016  30–35
General Article
Cryonics sounds like science fiction, but is
based on modern science. In the most literal
sense it is an experiment. So, the practice of
cryonics is an ongoing medical experiment with
an unknown chance of success. According to
science nothing is totally impossible. Many
outstanding scientists have made false
predictions about future technology. In 1885
Lord Kelvin declared that ‘heavier-than-air
flying machines are impossible’. A couple of
decades ago nearly all scientists believed that
cloning is impossible. Conversely, cryonicists
cannot guarantee that cryonics will work. Only
the future will tell whether the predictions of
cryonicists are correct or not. Responsible
cryonicists understand that cryonics suspension
is an educated gamble.

34
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
Hasegawa A., Mochida N., Ogasawara T.,
Koyama K., Pup birth from mouse oocytes in
preantral follicles derived from vitrified and
warmed ovaries followed by in vitro
growth, in vitro maturation, and in vitro
fertilization. (2006) Fertil. Steril. 86 (Suppl4):
1182–1192.

Suda I., Kito K., Adachi C., Viability of long
term
frozen
cat
brain
in
vitro. (1966) Nature 212 (5059): 268–270.

Weaver C. (2015). www.ft.com > Life&Arts
> FT Magazine. ‘Inside the weird world of
cryonics’. Retrieved 21 February 2016.

Mayford M., Siegelbaum S.A., Kandel E.R.,
Synapses and Memory Storage. (2012) Cold
Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 4: a005751.


Mazur P. (2004) Principles of cryobiology.
In: Fuller BJ, et al. (eds.): Life in the Frozen
State. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 37–51.
Wowk B., Leitl E., Rasch C. M., MesbahKarimi N. et al., Vitrification enhancement by
synthetic ice blocking agents. (2000)
Cryobiology 40 (3): 228-236.

Yamamoto M., Shima T., Uozumi T., Sogabe
T. et al., A possible role of lipid peroxidation
in cellular damages caused by cerebral
ischemia and the protective effect of alphatocopherol administration. (1983) Stroke 14
(6): 977–982.
Mazur P., Freezing of living cells: mechanisms
and implications. (1984)
Am. J.
Physiol. 247 (3.1): 125–142.

Merkle R., The technical feasibility of
cryonics. (1992) Medical Hypotheses 39 (1):
6–16.

Moen O. M., The case for cryonics. (2015) J.
Med. Ethics 41 (18): 493–503.
Rita Paul
Vol. 1  2016  30–35
General Article

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Water Pollution: Causes, Impact and Control
Asit Kumar Shit
Department of Commerce, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Environment pollution is a wide-reaching problem and it is likely to influence the
health of human populations is great. Human activities including industrialization and
agricultural practices contributed immensely in no small measure to the degradation and
pollution of the environment which adversely has an effect on the water bodies (rivers and
ocean) that is a necessity for life. Untreated or improperly treated waste is a major cause of
pollution of rivers and environmental degradation causing ill health and loss of crop
productivity .The over-increasing problems due to pollution are leading to various
environmental hazards that are detrimental to our survival. Water pollution is one of the
most serious environmental problems. Water pollution is caused by a variety of human
activities such as industrial, agricultural and domestic. This paper discuss on pollution, types
of pollution, what water pollution is, causes, impact and control of water pollution.
Keywords: Pollution, Water Pollution, Sources, Impact and Control of Water Pollution.
Developmental
activities
such
as
construction, transportation and manufacturing
not only deplete the natural resources but
also produce large amount of wastes that
leads to pollution of air, water, soil, and
oceans; global warming and acid rains
(Ashraf; Maah Yusoff & Mehmood; 2010) .
Untreated or improperly treated waste is a
major cause of pollution of rivers and
environmental degradation causing ill health
and loss of crop productivity (Musa, 2013).
Environment pollution is a worldwide problem
and its potential to influence the health of
human populations is great (Fereidoun et al,
2007; Progressive Insurance, 2005.). Pollution
reaches its most serious proportions in the
densely settled urban-industrial centers of the
more developed countries (Kromm, 1973). In
poor countries of the world more than 80%
polluted water have been used for irrigation
with only seventy to eighty percent food and
living security in industrial urban and semi
urban areas. (Mara & Cairncross, 1989).
Environmental pollution is tangled with the
unsustainable anthropogenic activities, resulting
Asit Kumar Shit
in substantial public health problems. (Khan,
2004).
Pollution
Pollution may be defined as addition of
undesirable material into the environment as
a result of human activities (Kannan, 1995).
The agents which cause environmental
pollution are called pollutants. A pollutants
may be defined as a physical, chemical or
biological substance unintentionally released
into the environment which is directly or
indirectly harmful to humans and other living
organisms(Khan & Ghouri, 2011) .Examples
of pollution are : A stone crusher adds a lot of
suspended particulate matter and noise into
the atmosphere. Automobiles emit from their
tail pipes oxides of nitrogen, sculpture
dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide
and a complex mixture of unburnt
hydrocarbons and black soot which pollute
the atmosphere. Domestic sewage and run off
from agricultural fields, laden with pesticides
and fertilizers, pollute water bodies. Effluents
from tanneries contain many harmful
chemicals and emit foul smell.
Vol. 1  2016  36–41
General Article
INTRODUCTION
36
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Types of Pollution
Pollution may be different types which
are given below1. Water pollution: Water pollution is
generally induced by humans. Water
pollution to be the presence of excessive
amounts of a hazard (pollutants) in water
in such a way that it is no long suitable for
drinking, bathing, cooking or other uses.
3. Noise pollution: Noise is one of the most
pervasive pollutants. Noise pollution is a
growing problem. All human activities
contribute to noise pollution to varying
extent. Sources of noise pollution are
many and may be located indoors or
outdoors. Noise pollution is highly
annoying and irritating. It adversely
affects efficiency and performance of
individuals.
4. Soil pollution: Addition of substances
which adversely affect the quality of soil
or its fertility is known as soil pollution.
Sources of Soil pollution are plastic bags,
industrial sources, and agricultural
sources. Indiscriminate disposal of solid
waste should be avoided.
5. Thermal pollution: Factories and power
stations sometimes pump hot water into
rivers and streams causing thermal
pollution. Increased temperatures kill the
water plants and the fish because fish are
cold-blooded and cannot tolerate
extreme changes of environmental
Asit Kumar Shit
6. Radiation pollution: Radiation pollution is
the increase in over the natural
background radiation. There are many
sources of radiation pollution such as
nuclear wastes from nuclear power plants,
mining and processing of nuclear material
etc. Radiation is a form of energy
travelling through space. The radiations
emanating from thedecay of radioactive
nuclides are major sources of radiation
pollution.
Water Pollution
Water is an important resource because
all living organisms require it to survive. The
importance of water for sustenance of life
cannot be overemphasized. Whether it is in
use of running water in our homes, rearing
cattle and growing crops in our farms, or the
increased
uses
in
industry,
remain
immeasurable (Owa, 2014). The water we
drink is essential ingredients for our wellbeing
and a healthy life. Unfortunately polluted
water and air are common throughout the
world (European Public Health Alliance,
2009). Addition or presence of undesirable
substances in water is called water pollution.
Water pollution is a phenomenon that is
characterized by the deterioration of the
quality of land water (rivers. lakes, marshes
and ground water) or seawater as a result of
various human activities. Olaniran (1995)
defined water pollution to be the presence of
excessive amounts of a hazard (pollutants) in
water in such a way that it is no long suitable
for drinking, bathing, cooking or other uses.
Polluted water poisons plants and animals,
and has a direct impact on humans. Water
pollution is one of the most serious
environmental problems. Water pollution is
caused by a variety of human activities such
as industrial, agricultural and domestic.
Agricultural runoff laden with excess
fertilizers and pesticides, industrial effluents
Vol. 1  2016  36–41
General Article
2. Air pollution: Amongst the various types
of pollution, air pollution is of greatest
importance. It is a result of industrial and
certain domestic activity. It may be
defined as the presence of any solid,
liquid or gaseous substance including
noise and radioactive radiation in the
atmosphere in such concentration that
may be directly and indirectly injurious to
humans or other living organisms, plants,
property or interferes with the normal
environmental processes.
temperature. This causes matter to decay
in the water, with disease-causing
bacteria thriving on the rotting material.
37
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with toxic substances and sewage water with
human and animal wastes pollute our water
thoroughly. Natural sources of pollution of
water are soil erosion, leaching of minerals
from rocks and decaying of organic matter.
Rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, estuaries and
ground water sources may be polluted by
point or non-point sources. When pollutants
are discharged from a specific location such
as a drain pipe carrying industrial effluents
discharged directly into water body it
represents point source pollution. In contrast
non-point sources include discharge of
pollutants from diffused sources or from a
larger area such as runoff from agricultural
fields, grazing lands, construction sites,
abandoned mines and pits, roads and streets.
Causes of Water Pollution
1. Industrial waste: Many industries do not
have proper waste management system
and drain the waste in the fresh water
which goes into rivers, canals and later in
to sea. The toxic chemicals have the
capability to change the color of water,
increase the amount of minerals, also
known as Eutrophication, change the
temperature of water and pose serious
hazard to water organisms.
2. Sewage and waste water: The sewage
and waste water that is produced by
each household is chemically treated and
released in to sea with fresh water. The
sewage water carries harmful bacteria
and chemicals that can cause serious
health problems. Pathogens are known as
a common water pollutant; the sewers of
cities house several pathogens and
thereby diseases. Microorganisms in
water are known to be causes of some
very deadly diseases and become the
breeding grounds for other creatures that
act like carriers. These carriers inflict
these diseases via various forms of
contact onto an individual. A very common
Asit Kumar Shit
3. Mining activities: Mining is the process of
crushing the rock and extracting coal and
other minerals from underground. These
elements when extracted in the raw form
contain harmful chemicals and can increase
the amount of toxic elements when mixed
up with water which may result in health
problems. Mining activities emit several
metal waste and sulphides from the rocks
and is harmful for the water.
4. Marine dumping: The garbage produce
by each household in the form of paper,
aluminum, rubber, glass, plastic, food if
collected and deposited into the sea in
some countries. These items take from 2
weeks to 200 years to decompose. When
such item enters the sea, they not only
cause water pollution but also harm
animals in the sea.
5. Accidental Oil leakage: Oil spill pose a
huge concern as large amount of oil
enters into the sea and does not dissolve
with water; there by opens problem for
local marine wildlife such as fish, birds
and sea otters. For e.g.: a ship carrying
large quantity of oil may spill oil if met
with an accident and can cause varying
damage to species in the ocean
depending on the quantity of oil spill, size
of ocean, toxicity of pollutant.
General Article
The causes of water pollution are.
example of this process would be
Malaria.
6. Burning of fossil fuels: fossil fuels like
coal and oil when burnt produce
substantial amount of ash in the
atmosphere. The particles which contain
toxic chemicals when mixed with water
vapor result in acid rain. Also, carbon
dioxide is released from burning of fossil
fuels which result in global warming.
7. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides:
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are
used by farmers to protect crops from
insects and bacterias. They are useful for
the plants growth. However, when these
chemicals are mixed up with water
Vol. 1  2016  36–41
38
SARJANA
produce harmful for plants and animals.
Also, when it rains, the chemicals mixes up
with rainwater and flow down into rivers
and canals which pose serious damages
for aquatic animals.
8. Leakage from sewer lines: A small
leakage from the sewer lines can
contaminate the underground water and
make it unfit for the people to drink. Also,
when not repaired on time, the leaking
water can come on to the surface and
become a breeding ground for insects
and mosquitoes.
9. Global warming: An increase in earth’s
temperature due to greenhouse effect
results in global warming. It increases the
water temperature and result in death of
aquatic animals and marine species which
later results in water pollution.
11. Urban development: As population has
grown, so has the demand for housing,
food and cloth. As more cities and towns
are developed, they have resulted in
increased use of fertilizers to produce
more food, soil erosion due to
deforestation , increase in construction
activities, inadequate sewer collection
and treatment, landfills as more garbage
is produced, increase in chemicals from
industries to produce more materials.
12. Leakage from the landfills: Landfills are
nothing but huge pile of garbage that
produces awful smell and can be seen
across the city. When it rains, the landfills
may leak and the leaking landfills can
Asit Kumar Shit
13. Animal waste: The waste produce
produce by animals is washed away into
the rivers when it rains. It gets mixed up
with other harmful chemicals and causes
various water borne diseases like cholera,
diarrhea, jaundice, dysentery and
typhoid.
14. Underground
storage
leakage:
Transportation of coal and other
petroleum products through underground
pipes is well known. Accidentals leakage
may happen anytime and may cause
damage to environment and result in soil
erosion.
Effects of Water Pollution
Water pollution has a duel effect on
nature. It has negative effects on the living and
also on the environment. The effects of
pollution on human beings and aquatic
communities are many and varied. Water
pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths
per day, mostly due to contamination of
drinking water by untreated sewage in
developing countries. An estimated 700 million
Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and
1,000 Indians children’s die of diarrhea every
day and so many other countries too. Nearly
500 million Chinese lack access of safe
drinking water (Ashraf et al., 2010).
General Article
10. Radioactive waste: Nuclear energy is
produced using nuclear fission or fusion.
The element that is used in production of
nuclear energy is Uranium which is highly
toxic chemical. The nuclear waste that is
produced by radioactive material needs
to be disposed off to prevent any nuclear
accident. Nuclear waste can have serious
environmental hazards if not disposed of
properly. Few major accidents have
already taken place in Russia and Japan.
pollute the underground water with large
variety of contaminants
Definitely with all these, we can expect
that there is going to be a reduction in
productivity. Biomas and diversity of
communities are to be expected when large
amount of toxic materials are released into
the streams, lakes and coastal waters in the
ocean. Much of aquatic pollution involves
sewage in which organic waste predominate.
This waste can increase secondary
productivity while altering the character of
the aquatic community. Most fishes especially
the species desired as food by man are
among the sensitive species that disappear
with the least intense pollution.
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SARJANA
Water pollution leads to damage to human
health. Disease carrying agents such as bacteria
and viruses are carried into the surface and
ground water. Drinking water is affected and
health hazards result. Direct damage to plants
and animals nutrition also affects human health.
Plants nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus
and other substances that support the growth of
aquatic plant life could be in excess causing
algal gloom and excessive weed growth. This
makes water to have odour, taste and sometimes
colour. Ultimately, the ecological balance of a
body of water is altered. Sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides cause acid rain which lowers the
pH value of soil and emission of carbon dioxide
because ocean acidification, the ongoing
decrease in the PH of the Earth’s Oceans as CO2
becomes dissolved (Owa, 2014).
Control of Water Pollution
Asit Kumar Shit
Following corrective actions can be taken
to Control Water Pollution:
1. Educate the community about the
importance of recycling.
2. Provide containers to recycle paper,
glass, tin and plastic.
3. Enforce large fines for the illegal dumping
of sewage into rivers and streams.
4. Ensure that informal settlements are
supplied with the proper facilities for the
sewage removal by municipalities.
5. Enforce strict laws to prevent factories
from dumping wastes into rivers, streams,
dams and seas.
6. Check oil tankers thoroughly checked for
seaworthiness before they leave harbours.
7. Enforce strict laws and very large
penalties when oil tankers leak or sink
and spill oil.
8. Hold the oil companies accountable for
cleaning up any oil spills.
9. Encourage the use of organic fertilizers
instead of inorganic fertilizers.
10. Encourage farmers to use natural
pesticides and natural enemies instead of
artificial pesticides and herbicides.
11. Educate farmers about the use of
approved pesticides and herbicides.
General Article
Amongst the developing countries, India is
the foremost nation to take note of
degradation of environment. In 1972, in the
world environmental conference held at
Stockholm, our government declared that it is
their responsibility to control pollution in India.
Even in the recent conference held in Rio-deJaneiro, India declared solidarity by
conforming to the standards as stipulated by
United States Environmental Protection
Agencies (US-EPA). In England there was
greater awareness since 1952.
Perhaps
India was the foremost country in third worlds
to implement rigorously pollution legislation
both for air and water. Within India,
Maharashtra state was the front runner to
enact Water Pollution and Control Act in
1962. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh were the first states in Indian union to
have pollution control board with attached
analytical laboratories. This was followed by
the setting of series of laboratories in all
remaining states of the nation. Legislation was
passed. As a matter of fact, India did much
more than any other developing country could
do to control pollution (Khopkar, 2006). Even
in controlling global warming and reduction
of the Green House gases we were certainly
ahead of developed countries like Canada,
USA, and Australia.
CONCLUSION
It appears that polluted environment is
global an issue and world community would bear
worst results more as they already faced. As
effective response to pollution is largely based
on human appraisal of the problem (Kromm,
1973) and pollution control program evolves as
a nationwide fixed cost-sharing effort relying
upon voluntary participation (Sharp & Bromley,
1979). Water pollution is an environmental
problem that is of major concern to us in India
and the world at large. Human contribution to
Vol. 1  2016  36–41
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SARJANA
water pollution is enormous by way of
defecating; dumping of refuse, industrial wastes
and washing of clothes etc. (Egilabor, 1998)
apparently, environmental education is of
immense importance to use particularly in schools
and should have a place in the school curriculum.
REFERENCES
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
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Asit Kumar Shit
Kannan, K. (1995) Fundamental of
Environmental Pollution. S. Chand &
Company Ltd. New Delhi.
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Khan; M. A. & Ghouri, A. M.; Environmental
Pollution: Its life and Its remedies. (2011)
IRRJ 2, ISSN 2231-4172.
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Khopkar, S. M. (2006) Environmental
Pollution, Monitoring and Control. New Age
International Publishers (P) Ltd., New Delhi.

Musa H. (2013). Water Pollution. “Water
Pollution in Focus” Contribution from the
former Suleja LGA Chairman 21/6.

Owa, F. W, Water Pollution: Sources,
effects, Control and Management. (2014)
ILNS 8: 1-6, Switzerland.
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Trivedi.P.R. (2000) Environmental Production
and Law. Indian Institute of Ecology and
Environment. New Delhi
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General Article
Akhtar. R (1990) Environmental Pollution
and Health Problems. S.B. Nangia for
Ashish. New Delhi.37.
Ashraf, M. A., Maah, M. J., Yusoff, I. &
Mehmood, K., Effects of Polluted Water
Irrigation on Environment and Health of
People in Jamber, District Kasur, Pakistan.
(2010) International Journal of Basic &
Applied Sciences 10(3): 37-57.
Hussain, I., Raschid, L., Hanjra, M. A.,
Marikar, F. & van der Hoek, W. (2001) A
Framework for Analyzing Socioeconomic,
Health and Environmental Impacts of
Wastewater Use in Agriculture in
Developing Countries, IWMI

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Payment Banks- A Step towards Financial
Inclusion in India
Soumita Mukherjee
Govt. Approved Part Time Lecturer, Department of Commerce
Charuchandra College, Kolkata-29
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Financial Inclusion is the process of providing financial services to low income
group, weaker section of the society at an affordable price. The term has been popularized
since 2005. Reserve Bank of India hosted the flagship program of financial inclusion and it
has taken several steps since its inception. Some are- Business Correspondent model, Know
Your Customer norms, setting up Regional Rural Banks, no frill accounts etc. As a measure to
expedite the process of financial inclusion in India RBI has proposed setting up „payment
banks‟ as per recommendations of Nachiket Mor Committee. Payment Banks are specalised
banks with restricted banking functions under the Banking Regulation Act 1949 established
with objectives to accept demand deposit, issue debit cards but not credit card, make utility
payments etc except lending money. RBI to foster financial inclusion process has granted
payment banks licence to 11 companies‟ like- Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, Vodafone m-pesa Ltd,
Department of Posts, Reliance Industries etc. It will also discuss about the probable problems
and prospects of payment banks. It is too early to draw any conclusion regarding its success
since payment banks are only at its stage of inception.
INTRODUCTION
India has witnessed major changes in
different sectors since the initiation of
economic and financial sector reforms in
1991. The dream of India to built up a
society where everyone will have access to
formal banking services, motivated India to
launch a programme named „Financial
Inclusion‟ around 2005. Financial Inclusion is
the process of providing financial services to
low income group, weaker section of the
society at an affordable price. The term has
been popularized since 2005. Reserve Bank
of India who primarily hosted the flagship
programme of financial inclusion has taken
several steps since its inception. Some of them
are- Business Correspondent (BC) model, KYC
norms, setting up Regional Rural Banks (RRBs),
no frill accounts etc. As per World Bank
estimate of 2014, 47% of Indian adult
population is not covered under the formal
financial system. Financial inclusion mission of
Soumita Mukherjee
India is to bring total population of India
especially the poorer and weaker section of
the society living in rural area under the
ambit of formal banking services. Some of the
recent initiative on the part of RBI is the Prime
Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which
aimed at encouraging poor and rural people
to open bank account (Indian Express, 2015).
Unfortunately it has been observed from
survey in the post period it has been
observed that banks give lesser importance in
building a strong network of banking agents
till the last mile to service the accounts and the
Indian banking agents are not that efficient
and least trained also. RBI tried to overcome
these difficulties but the initiatives to bring
majority under perview of formal banking
services has not that been successful.
General Article
Keywords: Business Correspondent model, Financial Inclusion, Know Your Customer, No frill
accounts, Payment banks, Regional Rural Banks.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The study attempts to envisage the
following objectives:
Vol. 1  2016  42–46
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SARJANA



To discuss about the evolution of payment
banks in India.
To make detailed discussion regarding
different aspects of „payment banks‟.
To discuss the problems and prospects of
establishing payment banks-to find the
answer to the question “Will it be a game
changer‟?
DATABASE AND METHODOLOGY
The study is descriptive in nature; no
empirical work has been done. It is based on
secondary data, collected from different
journals, articles, books, magazine, RBI
guidelines and websites. The present study
will just provide a detailed overview of
payment banks, its role in financial inclusion
and some of the probable problems and
prospects of setting up payment banks.
With this prelude, RBI proposed the
concept of non-universal banking i.e providing
differentiated banking licence to carry out a
separate line of banking business. The
proposal to set up differentiated banking was
raised in a discussion paper on “Banking
structure in India- The Way Forward” in 2013
(RBI Guidelines 2014). The proposal of
establishing „niche banks‟ to execute separate
line of banking business have also been
proposed in Nachiket Mor Committee Report
titled „Comprehensive Financial Service for
Small Business and Low Income Households‟
released in 2014 by RBI. The differentiated
banks proposed to be set up are known as
„payment banks‟. Central government in its
budget 2014-15 also proposed licensing of
small banks and payment banks. RBI drafted
the guidelines for setting up payment banks in
July 2014, finalized and approved it in 2014
and provided clarification in January 2015.
RBI granted „in principle‟ licence of payment
banks to 11 entities out of 41 applicants in
August 2015. Setting up of payment banks is
Soumita Mukherjee
PAYMENT BANKS- DIFFERENT ASPECTS
What are Payment Banks?
Payment banks are like normal banks
which can perform all the functions of a bank
except lending. In other words, payment
banks are banks under the meaning of
Banking Regulation Act 1949, but they can
perform restricted banking function. Payment
banks have replaced or rather an alternative
to the prepaid instruments (PPI), used to
transfer funds. Payment banks are like digital
wallet or mobile currency that can be used to
transfer money, shopping, bill payment etc
(Example- Airtel money, Paytm).
List of Activities that Payment Banks can
undertake:
a) They can open branch and set up network
of agents (Pande, 2015).
b) Can accept deposit.
c) Can issue debit cards/ATM cards only.
d) Can facilitate fund remittance.
e) Can process utility payments like bill
payments etc.
f) They can act as an agent to distribute
credit, insurance and mutual fund
products.
General Article
EVOLUTION OF PAYMENT BANKS
a major step to boost up the process of
financial inclusion.
Features of Payment Banks
The following
payment banks:
are the features
of
i.
It can accept deposit from public but to a
maximum of Rs 100000 per customer per
depositor in savings and current account
only. Ceiling may be increased based on
the performance.
ii. Payment banks can issue debit cards but
not credit cards.
iii. They cannot lend money, so no question
of NPA.
Vol. 1  2016  42–46
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SARJANA
iv. The amount deposited is insured by
Deposit Insurance Credit Guarantee
Corporation.
v. They should maintain a Cash Reserve
Ratio (CRR) as prescribed by RBI.
vi. They can pay interest on deposit.
vii. Payment banks charge commission as
their fees which are their only source of
income.
viii. They can invest in government securities
(G-sec) or treasury bills (Prasad, 2016).
Table-2: Name of entities
S.
No.
Name of the
entity
S.
No.
Name of the
entity
Aditya Birla Nuvo
Limited
7.
Reliance
Industries
Limited
2.
Airtel M Commerce
Services Limited
8.
Dilip Shanghavi,
(Founder of Sun
Pharma)
3.
Cholamandalam
Distribution Services
Limited
9.
Vijay Shekhar
Sharma (CEO of
Paytm)
Table-1: Structure of Payment Banks
4.
Department of Posts
10.
Tech Mahindra
Limited
Minimum Paid up
Equity Capital
Rs 100 crore
5.
Fino Pay Tech
11.
Vodafone MPesa Limited
Minimum Capital
Adequacy Ratio
15%
6.
National Securities
Depository Limited
Liabilities
< 20 times of Networth
Promoters holding
- at least 40% for the first
5 years
- to be brought down to
30% for the next 10
years
- and to 26% for 12 years
from
the
date
of
commencement of business
Payment Banks
Can be subsidiary
commercial banks
of
Payment Bank Licence to which entities
The „in principle‟ licence granted by RBI to
11 entities on 19th August 2015 is valid for
18 months but on fulfillment of certain
conditions they will be granted full licence
under Section 22 of Banking Regulation Act
1949 and will be registered as public limited
company under Companies Act 2013. Those
entities given the licence of payment banks
include supermarket chains, NBFCs, existing
pre paid instrument issuers, corporate business
correspondents, individuals, professionals,
post offices, co-operatives etc. 11 applicants
(out of 41) who got the „payment bank‟
licence are:
Soumita Mukherjee
Regulations of Payment Banks
a) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) allowed as
per FDI policy of investment in Indian
private banks i.e up to 74% of paid up
capital.
b) It should operate itself, cannot hire any
agent to carry out non banking activities
like in case of rendering utility services.
c) Out of total number of branches, 25%
should be in rural unbanked area.
d) Payment banks must use the word
„payment banks; in its name to distinguish
itself from other banks.
e) CRR to be maintained with RBI on
demand and time liabilities. It will have to
invest 75% of its demand deposits in
government securities for 1 year and
maximum of 25% in current and fixed
deposits with other scheduled commercial
banks.
General Article
1.
Purpose of Setting up Payment Banks
a) Primarily to expedite the process of
financial inclusion.
- To facilitate payment/ remittance
services for lower income group
people, migrant workers, small
Vol. 1  2016  42–46
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SARJANA
businesses, other unorganized sectors
mainly in rural unbanked area.

Table-3: Payment Banks Vs Small Banks
(key points of distinction)
S.
No.
Payment Banks
Existing Microfinance
companies, NBFCs
having 10 years of
experience in
banking and finance
can get licence for
small banks.
No such requirement
of minimum
experience. Licence
to telecom
companies,
supermarkets etc.
2.
Can lend money to
small businesses,
marginal farmers.
Cannot lend money.
3.
Examples- Disha
Microfin,
Janalakshmi
Financial Services,
Au Financiers etc.
Examples- Reliance
Industries, Vodafone
m-pesa etc.
1.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
It is expected that payment banks as a
vehicle of financial inclusion in India would be
a game changer. Review of different
literatures reveals that some probable
prospects and problems could be:




Digital payment connections would help
to improve the life of rural people. They
can keep their money safely and securely
in accounts and also earn interest on that
savings.
Mobile operators like Vodafone m-pesa,
Airtel money is already in India for more
than 3 years and Vodafone m-pesa has
already proved to be global mobile
operator and it is quite successful in
Kenya as payment bank since it was first
launched in 2006 (Gupta, 2015).
Easy transfer of funds electronically to
family members.
The benefit for existing mobile operators
as payment banks would be reduction in
subscriber churn.
Soumita Mukherjee



CONCLUSION
Payment banks will change the landscape
of the Indian banking system (Srinivasan &
Subramanian, 2015 & Chandarana, 2015). It
is indeed a revolution in the history of Indian
banking. It is a major step in bringing majority
of population under the ambit of banking
services. According to Arun Jaitley (Finance
Minister) payment banks will change the
entire aspect of keeping money, remittances
and even the mindset of people. Banking
services will reach every corner of India.
Mobile phones can be used to make
payments. They also have the prospect of
introducing new products with an emphasis on
transactions through electronic media. Are
they threats for commercial bank? No, not
necessarily. According to RBI governor
payment banks neither increases competition
nor it a threat for existing banks. Commercial
banks can tie up with payment banks.
Payment
banks
can
be
business
correspondents or subsidiaries of commercial
Vol. 1  2016  42–46
General Article
Small Banks
Mobile operators and retail chains those who
have been granted payment bank licence
already have an existing widespread
distribution networks in poor and rural
communities where banks had to struggle a
lot to reach the poor and rural people.
As payment banks would have to invest
75% of demand deposit in government
securities and treasury bills with maturity
period of 1 year they will increase the
bond market liquidity.
Structural challenges for payment banks
like infrastructure which is a vital aspect
since payment banks attempt to reach
farthest corner of the country.
Payment banks will increase the
competition for public sector and private
banks but RBI Governor opined that they
are not competitors rather they are
complement but still the existing mobile
operators as payment banks imposes
threat to the public and private banks
(Tripathi, 2015).
45
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banks also. Payment banks as a tool for
financial inclusion are just at the stage of
inception. The above are just some probable
problems and future prospects. Very recently
during the month of March and May 2016
two out of the eleven entities namely
Cholamandalam Distribution Services Ltd and
Dilip Shanghavi of Sun Pharma in joint venture
with IDFC Bank, Telenor Financial Services
decided not to carry out payment bank
business. They didn‟t mention the reason for
such decision. Still at this stage, it would be
too early to draw any conclusion regarding
the success and long term benefits of
establishing payment banks in fostering the
process of financial inclusion in India.
REFERENCES
Chandarana N., Payment Bank- A need of
Digital India. (November 2015). Abhinav
National Monthly Refereed Journal of
Research in Commerce & Management,
Volume 4, Issue 11, p12-16.

Gupta Saloni., Payment Banks: Bare essential
banking for most essential goal of banking
inclusion. (November 2015). Indian Journal of
Applied Research, Vol.5, p 315-318.

Pande J.C., “Payment Banks” – A Newer Form
of Banks to Foster Financial Inclusion in India.
(November 2015). GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR
RESEARCH ANALYSIS, Volume-4, p 133-135.

Siva Rama Prasad P. (2016). FINANCIAL
INCLUSION
vs.
PAYMENT
BANKS.
www.yojana.gov.in/web-exclusives.asp.
Retrieved 1st May, 2016.

Srinivasan R., & Subramanian M., "Payment
Banks in India – Demystified". (December
2015). SSRG International Journal of
Economics and Management Studies (SSRG IJEMS), V2 (6), p 1-4.

Tripathi S. (2015). www.forbesindia.com/
article/special/payment-banks-to-challengetraditional-banks-saurabh-tripathi/42841/
1#ixzz47U346TVq. Retrieved 1st May, 2016.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am thankful to my mentor Dr Ashish
Kumar Sana, Professor, Department of
Commerce, University of Calcutta, for his
continuous support, encouragement and
guidance in completion of this endeavour. I
am grateful to him for being a source of
inspiration always. I am also thankful to my
institution
Charuchandra
College
for
providing me such an opportunity to express
my views.
Soumita Mukherjee
Vol. 1  2016  42–46
General Article

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Impacts of Social Networking in our Modern Life
Aritra Brahma
Guest Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29
Abstract: In this article, I have tried my best to focus on the consequences of Social
Networking in our modern life, its advantages, negative impacts and effects on young
generations. Moreover, I have tried to provide sufficient information, statistical data and
highlighted its impact on our daily life. This article will really be helpful for those who want
to have the preliminary knowledge about social networking.
Keywords: Social Networking Service, Social Networking Site, Social Networks, Social Media,
Impacts.
INTRODUCTION
1. social networking services are Web 2.0
internet-based applications
2. user-generated content (UGC) is the
lifeblood of SNS organisms,
3. users create service-specific profiles for
the site or app that are designed and
maintained by the SNS organization, and
4. social networking services facilitate the
development of online social networks by
connecting a user's profile with those of
other individuals and/or groups.
Most social network services are webbased and provide means for users to interact
over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant
messaging. Social network sites are varied
and they incorporate new information and
communication tools such as mobile connectivity,
photo/video/sharing and blogging. Online
Aritra Brahma
The main types of social networking
services are those that contain category
places (such as former school year or
classmates), means to connect with friends
(usually with self-description pages), and a
recommendation system linked to trust.
Popular methods now combine many of
these, with American-based services such
as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram,
Pinterest, Vine, Tumblr, and Twitter widely used
worldwide; Wechat, Sina Weibo, and Tencent
QQ in China; Nexopia in Canada; Badoo,
Bebo, Vkontakte (Russia), Delphi, Draugiem.lv
(Latvia), iWiW (Hungary), Nasza-Klasa (Poland),
Soup (Austria), Glocals in Switzerland,
Skyrock, The Sphere, StudiVZ (Germany),
Tagged, Tuenti (mostly in Spain), Myspace,
Xanga and XING in parts of Europe; Hi5 in
South America and Central America; Mxit in
Africa; CarnivalPics based in Nigeria; Cyworld,
Mixi, Renren, Friendster, Sina Weibo
and Wretch in Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Social network services can be split into three
types: socializing social network services are
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
General Article
A social networking service (also known
as, social networking site – SNS or, social
media) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social
_networking_service) is a platform to
build social networks or social relations among
people who share similar interests, activities,
backgrounds or real-life connections. The
variety of stand-alone and built-in social
networking services currently available in the
online space introduces challenges of
definition; however, some of the common
features are :
community services are sometimes considered
a social network service, though in a broader
sense, social network service usually means an
individual-centered service whereas online
community services are group-centered. Social
networking sites allow users to share ideas,
pictures, posts, activities, events, and interests
with people in their network.
47
SARJANA
primarily for socializing with existing friends
(e.g., Facebook); networking social network
services are primarily for non-social
interpersonal communication (e.g., LinkedIn);
and social navigation social network services
are primarily for helping users to find specific
information or resources (e.g., Good reads for
books).
WHY SOCIAL NETWORKING IS SO POPULAR?
The popularity (Fita, 2012) of social
networking sites has rapidly increased over
the past few years. Social networks provide
many kinds of services and benefits to its
users like helping them to connect with new
people, share opinions with likeminded
people, and stay in touch with old friends and
colleagues. Some of the reasons for the
popularity of social networking sites are:
Opportunity to Meet New People
Social networking gives people an
opportunity to meet new people around the
world. Users of these sites have access to
millions of profiles from around the world.
Before the advent of social networking sites,
chat rooms were the only way to meet new
people on the internet and communicate with
them. But, the main drawback of chat rooms
was that the user may not know the person
with whom the user are interacting with. The
introduction of profiles on social networking
sites allowed people to know more
information about a person before they
interact with them.

Social networking sites are user-friendly
Popular social networking sites are built in
such a way that they are very much user
friendly. Most sites are so easy to navigate
that they require very less knowledge of the
internet. In fact they offer a better way of
connecting with new people than other
internet channels like bulletin boards and
emails. The mobile versions of these social
networking sites are even more user friendly
Aritra Brahma

Join groups that share your interests
Most of the popular social networks allow
users to create groups. These groups allow
likeminded people to share their interests,
activities and hobbies. A group acts just as a
club whose membership is open to anybody
who share similar interests.

They are free to use
Most of the highly popular social
networking sites like Facebook and Google+
are free which made them open to everybody.
These sites mostly make their money through
advertisements. Other ways these sites make
money is through extra features like games
and other applications which should be paid
by the users.

Job market
Professional social networks help people
in establishing their brand online. People can
post their skills, accomplishments, and previous
experience on these networks and make
themselves recognized by colleagues, other
peer groups, and even potential employers.
Many companies have started recruiting
people through social networks like LinkedIn.
Users also have the option to search for jobs
on their own through these professional social
networks just like any other job portal. Social
media currently has a huge share in the job
market.
General Article

allowing lot more number of people to
connect through them.
POPULAR IN BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
There are many reasons (Baker S.,
http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Why_
Do_People_Use_Online_Social_Networking)
that people use online social networking,
especially in the business sense. By implementing
various social networking methods into a
business, many benefits are possible. Social
Networks are also very popular in business
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
48
SARJANA
sense – to increase and expand the business
over the Internet.
company. People can watch a video or attend
an online seminar through these formats.

One of the key benefits to online social
networking is being able to promote the
business online. Establishing a web presence
allows more people to know that the business
exists. Many businesses are doing just that.
Even large companies such as airlines,
retailers, and news organizations are using
social networking websites like Twitter to get
that online presence they need.
It is walking a fine line when using online
social networking and promotion. Generally,
people do not want to belong to a group, or
associate with an individual, if all you will do
is to sell your products and services. Rather,
they want to get to know the individual or
company, and then learn about promotions.
Mixing these two elements can be difficult,
but when done properly the business can
skyrocket with profit drawn from social
networks.


Establish the business online
Helps businesses to reach out
The internet has opened up communications
across the boundaries of the world. And,
social networking has helped people to
expand their network, add friends, enhance
their careers, make connections, recruit
employees, and find people with scarce skills
which summarize the reason for their
popularity.

POSITIVE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING
The positives (http://socialnetworking.
procon.org/; Strickland, http://computer. how
stuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/
information/pros-cons-socialnetworking1.htm;
Mwila,
www.linkedin.com/pulse/positivenegative-effects-social-media-society-alikingston ) of social media are :
Education

Promotional benefits
Promoting the business, closing sales,
finding information, conducting petitions or
other activities can also be done well through
social networking. Many companies are using
social networking websites like YouTube to
help individuals to learn more about the
Aritra Brahma
More and more employers are using
online social networking websites to learn
more about people they are hiring or those
that they potentially would like to learn more
about. For example, many employers use
MySpace to learn more about their potential
employees. The individual's true colors often
come through in such a search. Those applying
for jobs are often careful to ensure that their
MySpace or Facebook profiles are positive
and professional.
General Article
Another key important reason for the
success of social networking sites is that they
help businesses to reach their potential
customers easily. Unlike search engines like
Google, social networks have developed
targeted an ad solution using which businesses
can reach its potential customers basing on
the profiles of its users. Social networks also
have unique access to the most personal
information of its users like their hobbies,
interests, places frequently visited, etc. which
help
businesses
in
targeting
their
advertisements properly.
Learn about others


Teachers and students are able to easily
collaborate and communicate with each
other through group chatting, voice and
video conferencing.
Students have easy, free access to online
study materials and resources online to
help them learn.
Grades improve and absenteeism is
reduced.
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
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SARJANA

59% of student users report that they use
social networking to discuss educational
topics and 50% use the sites to talk about
school-college
and
educational
assignments.


Sharing


Users can share their positive and
innovative thinking regarding any project
or development, which help others to
motivate.
Sharing of various tips, information,
learning materials, e-study contents help
others to learn.



27.8% of Americans get their news
online. (28.8% get it from newspapers
and 18.8% from radio.)
Information spreads faster online than
any other media. More than 50% learn
about breaking news on social media.
Social networking provides academic
research to everyone with online access,
allowing people access to previously
unavailable resources.
Social media sites inform and empower
individuals to change themselves and their
communities.
Social Benefits


Social media allow people to communicate
with friends and this increased online
communication
strengthens
those
relationships. 52% of online teens say social
media have helped their friendships. 88%
say being online helps them stay in touch
with friends they don't see regularly.
People make new friends. 57% online
teens report making new friends online.
Job Opportunities

Great for professionals for marketing,
connecting,
and
finding
business
opportunities.
Aritra Brahma

Social networks have removed all the
communication and interaction barriers,
and now one can communicate his/her
perception and thoughts over a variety of
topics.
Students and experts are able to share
and communicate with like-minded people
and can ask for the input and opinion on
a particular topic.
Business Aspects


Social networks help the businesses in a
variety of ways. Traditional marketing
mediums such as the radio, TV
commercials and print ads are completely
obsolete now and demand for thousands
of dollars.
However, with social media the businesses
can connect with their targeted customers
for free, the only cost is energy and time.
Through social networking site business
persons can lower the marketing cost to a
significant level.
General Article

Communications and Interactions

Awareness/Being Informed
Employers
find
employees
and
unemployed find work. 89% of job
recruiters have hired via LinkedIn, 26%
via Facebook, and 15% via Twitter.
Social media sites have created
thousands of jobs and new avenues of
income.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS
Though we have already seen the positive
effects of Social networking, still it has some
dark side. The negative results (http://blog.
degreed.com/10-ways-social-media-affectsour-mental-health;
http://socialnetworking.
procon.org/; Strickland, http://computer.how
stuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/
information/pros-cons-socialnetworking1.htm;
Mwila,
www.linkedin.com/pulse/positivenegative-effects-social-media-society-alikingston) are:
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
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SARJANA

Social networking is addictive
Studies show that 63% of Americans log
on to Facebook daily, and 40% log on
multiple times each day. People use the site
for myriad reasons; however, it usually serves,
on some level, the same basic purposes:
distraction and boredom relief. “Likes” and
“Comments” are positive reinforcement for
posting information, making it difficult for a
person to stop. Researchers have found this so
common that they created a scale to measure
this addiction: The Berge Facebook Addiction
Scale.

Social networking makes us compare
our lives with others
studies. Moreover, they are very much
interested in social networking – which makes
them reluctant in their studies.

Social networking
cyberbullying
gives
rise
to
Cyberbullying is an enormous concern,
especially for adolescents. An organization
that aims for internet safety, called Enough is
Enough, conducted a survey that found 95%
of teenagers who use social media have
witnessed cyberbullying, and 33% have been
victims themselves.

Social networking glamorizes drug and
alcohol use
A study that explored the relationship
between teenagers, social media, and drug
use found that 70% of teenagers ages 12 to
17 use social media, and that those who
interact with it on a daily basis are five times
more likely to use tobacco, three times more
likely to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use
marijuana. In addition, 40% admitted they
had been exposed to pictures of people
under the influence via social media,
suggesting correlation between the two
factors. Although a correlation is all it is, it
makes sense that social media would amp up
the amount of peer pressure to which
teenagers are exposed.


Social networking makes us restless
Out of the same sample as the above
example, two-thirds admitted to having
difficultly relaxing when unable to use their
social media accounts. It is also noticed that, a
day is very tough for them to spend without
Social Networking.

Social networking affects study
According to a statistical report, it is
observed that now-a-days most of the
students use social networking. They pay their
most of the attention in doing that, rather their
Aritra Brahma
General Article
Posts on social media many times present
an idealized version of what’s happening,
what something looks like, or how things are
going. This can lead users to constantly
compare themselves to others and think less of
their own lives. If things are going particularly
well for people in the newsfeed and the users
are having a rough day, of course this will
likely negatively affect the human mood. In
fact, in 2012 a team of researchers in the UK
surveyed users, 53% of whom said social
media had changed their behavior; 51% said
it was negative behavior because of decline
in confidence they felt due to unfair comparisons
to others.
Social networking can make us unhappy
A study from the University of Michigan
collected data about Facebook users and how
it correlated with their moods. Simply put,
they found that the more avid users were
overall more unhappy than those who used
the site less. Over more time, avid users also
reported lower satisfaction in their lives
overall.

Social Networking increases depression.
Directly or indirectly social media increases
depression within us. Other’s lifestyle and
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
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trends influence us. We often try to imitate
them and most of the cases we get failed. This
leads to depression. Mostly it is noticed in
young generation.

Social networking can lead to fear of
missing out

Social networking
multitasking
often
leads
to
How many tabs do you have open right
now? How are you even concentrating on one
thing? The thing is, you’re probably not –
especially if one of those tabs is a social media
site. Research has shown that our brains don’t
have the capacity to fully focus our attention
on two things at once, and instead multitasking
causes our brain to quickly switch from one task
to another. This hinders information processing
and productivity. Closing out your social media
feed can seriously help you get some work
done.
Social media isn’t all about selfie-taking
narcissists, cyberbullies, and killing productivity.
(When used in moderation with the right
intentions, it really can achieve what it was first
set out to do: connect people.)

Social Networking enhances unreal
connectivity
One of the most important points is that the
social media perhaps does separate us from
Aritra Brahma

Social networking
socialization
can
leads
un-
Research presented at the 119th annual
American Psychological Association (American
Physiological Association, 2011) found that
introverted adolescents can actually gain
social skills by using social media, but it makes
them more introvert, unsocial and isolated
from the society. In part, this is because shy
individuals may feel safer behind a computer
screen (or Smartphone, or tablet etc.) rather
facing the reality. Dr. Larry D. Rosen, who
presented the information, also stated that
teens were becoming very good at virtually
expressing empathy towards others.
IMPACTS ON YOUNG GENERATION
General Article
Fear of missing out of finding own self lost
is a phenomenon that occurs when you feel
pressure to be doing what everyone else is
doing, attend every event, and share every
life experience. It can evoke anxiety and
cause social media users to question why
everyone is “having fun without them.”
Surveys have even found that people feel
insecure after using Pinterest because they
feel that they aren’t crafty or creative
enough. Facebook and Twitter can make
people feel like they aren’t successful or smart
enough.
the real life. It can instead be used to revive
and preserve relationships with other people.
Even more exciting about this technological
world is that there is an incredible number of
people who likes to connect in just one click.
Research presented in the journal The British
Psychological Society found that students who
experience low self-esteem can take
advantage of social media and its capability
to bond them with others in order to pull
themselves up from slumps in their mood.
It is inevitable to ignore the fact that
nowadays social network plays an essential
role in teenagers’ lives (http://www.speech
prosody2012.org/academic-essay-samplesocial-network-impact-onyouth.asp) Statistical
analysis tells that, social media are gaining in
popularity every day. According to the
report,


The average time spent on social
networks per day: 1.72 hours (in 2015).
The average number of hours a teenager
spends online per week: 27 (2015).
Social media have become prominent
parts of life for many young people today.
Most people engage with social media
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without stopping to think what the effects are
on their lives, whether positive or negative.
It is observed that they are concerned to
make friends from social media rather than
daily life friends.
There are many positive aspects, but
there are still equally as many dangers that
come with the use of social media. In order to
make the right choices, we must dig in and
research this topic thoroughly.

Positive impacts on youths
In addition, social media sites have
provided a platform whereby the youth can
create groups and pages based on their
common discipline and build up connections
and opportunities for their respective careers
by updating various topics to discuss. Youth
who have been interviewed they say that
social media has become their lifestyle and it
makes their lives easier and efficient.

Moreover, social networking makes the
young generation vulnerable to crime as follows:





Negative impacts on youths
While on one hand social network sites
seems to bring people together and connected
on the other hand it creates social isolation in
regard to BBC News report. As the youth tend
to spend many hours on these sites, they rarely
have face-to-face interaction. According
Aritra Brahma
Other negative effects of social
networking various people suggested included
encouraging poor spelling and grammar,
exposing underage to online predators,
allowing spread of misinformation that is
perceived as fact, decreasing productivity as
those who are supposed to be working spend
time in the sites to chat, provide a perfect
platform for cyber bullying and providing
details that increase risks of identity theft.

Social networking sites allow hate groups to
recruit and distribute propaganda online.
Unauthorized sharing and copyright
infringement threatens intellectual property
and causes loss of income.
Security attacks such as hacking, identity
theft, phishing scams, and viruses are
common online. 68% of users share their
real birth date, 63% share the name of
their high school, 18% share their phone
number, 12% share a pet's name: This
information might be used in identity
theft.
Criminals use social media to commit
crimes. Robbers know when you're away
from your home on vacation and stalkers
get information about your whereabouts
via social media.
Sexual predators find, stalk, and assault
victims through social media.
General Article
Most youths are spending at least an hour
in these popular social media sites. Generally, 1
out of 7 minutes which are spent online by most
of those who can access internet is spent on
Facebook according to Shea Bennett. One may
ask how spending all that time on the social
media sites may have a positive impact on
them. Well, social media helps the youth and
any other user updated with what is happening
around the world, help the teenagers stay
connected and interact with each other even if
they are many miles apart. This strengthens their
relationship even if they finished school and
moved to different locations they stay
connected and update one another.
various
studies,
scientists’
evaluation
determined that social isolation can lead to a
host of emotional, psychological, physical and
mental problems which include anxiety,
depression and somatic complaints among
many others.
Sexting (texting sexual content) can be a
big problem. When teens post sexy
photos or comments online, it can lead to
criminal charges and child pornography.
88% of "private" sexual images posted
to social media are stolen and publicly
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
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posted on porn sites without the subject's
knowledge.
Social networking clearly portrays both
positive and negative effects on the youth. It
is decision of an individual to make whether
to continue using the sites or not.
CONCLUSION
Although there are some negative
impacts, but still social networking sites and
social media are highly popular among
people of different ages. The statistical charts
are given below.
General Article
Aritra Brahma
Vol. 1  2016  47–55
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
REFERENCES





10 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental
Health http://blog.degreed.com/10-wayssocial-media-affects-our-mental-health/Ali
Kingston Mwila, ITIL®, BIT
American Psychological Association,Social
networking's good and bad impacts on
kids August 7, 2011
Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our
Society? http://socialnetworking.procon.org/
Baker S., Why Do People Use Online
Social Networking http://socialnetworking.
lovetoknow.com/Why_Do_People_Use_Onl
ine_Social_Networking
Fita M., 6 Reasons Why Social Networking
is So Popular These Days, 28 November,
2012 http://www.brandignity.com/2012/11
/6-reasons-why-social-networking-is-sopopular-these days/




Mwila A.K., ITIL®, BIT, Positive and Negative
Effects of Social Media on Society
www.linkedin.com/pulse/positive-negativeeffects-social-media-society-ali-kingston
Pew Research Center’s Internet and
American Life Project February 2013
www.CreatingResults.com
Social Network Impact on Youth
http://www.speechprosody2012.org/acad
emic-essay-sample-social-network-impacton youth.asp
Strickland J., What are the pros and cons
of social networking sites? http://
computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social
-networking/information/pros-cons-social
networking1.htm
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Social
networking service https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Social_networking_service
General Article
Aritra Brahma
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Role of Information Technology in Developing the
Education Sector
Paramita Chatterjee
Department of Computer Science, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: As a result of modernity and change, uses of Computer and Role of Information
Technology have become diversified. Mode of teaching in present time may be broadly
reduced into two methods: The traditional and the newer through Information Technology
with the various modes of application of Computer Science. The present article presents the
role of Computer Science as well as Information Technology to spread quality education in
various fields to the large number of students specially those living in remote areas having
no traditional facility of obtaining education and knowledge.
Keywords: Information Technology, Internet Technologies, Knowledge Management, Simulation,
E- Learning, Network Technology
INTRODUCTION
Information Technology (IT) is the study,
design, development, implementation, support
or management of computer based
information systems, particularly software
applications and computer hardware. IT is the
use of electronic computers and computer
software to convert, store, protect, process,
transmit and securely retrieve information.
Information technology is thus nothing but
combination of computers and communication
technology. The term Information Technology
(IT) was coined by Jim Domsic of Michigan in
November 1981, who created the term to
modernize the outdated phrase "data
processing".
Information Technology (IT ), defined by the
Information technology Association of America
(ITAA) is a general term that describes any
technology that helps to produce, manipulate,
store, communicate, and/ or disseminate
information.
Today information technology is not only for
computer literacy, it also deals with how
computers work and how these computers can
Paramita Chatterjee
General Article
Introduction to Information Technology
further be used not just for information
processing but also for communications and
problem solving tasks as well. The significance
of IT can be seen from the fact that it has
penetrated almost every aspect of our daily
lives from business to leisure and even society
and social development. Today personal PCs,
cell phones, fax machines, pagers, email and
internet have all not only become an integral
part of our culture but also play an essential
role in our day to day activities. IT professionals
perform a variety of duties that range from
installing applications to designing complex
computer networks and information databases.
A few of the duties that IT professionals perform
may include data management, networking,
engineering computer hardware, database and
software design, as well as the management
and administration of entire systems.
The Role of Information Technology in
Education Sector
Nowadays the role of Information
Technology (IT), in the education sector plays
an important role, especially in the process of
empowering the technology into the
educational activities. Education sector can be
the most effective sector to anticipate and
eliminate the negative impact of IT and in
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another side can be the most effective way to
increase the student’s knowledge. Traditional
methods of teaching seem to be a bit
outdated and modern techniques of content
delivery are becoming quite important. The
traditional
techniques
and
modern
approaches of using computer hardware and
software tools tend an optimum solution to
improve the student’s knowledge. Being
aware of the significant role of IT in our life,
especially in the educational activities,
educational authorities should be wise enough
in implementing the strategies to empower IT
in supporting the teaching and learning
process in the classroom. IT is not just the tool
of the educational sector, but also it will be
the secondary option to improve the effective
and meaningful educational process (Adams
and Burns, 1999; Dexter et al., 1999).
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
 Enabling active engagement in construction
of knowledge
 Making available real-world situations
 Providing representations in multiple
modalities (e.g. 3-D, graphic, text, slide
show, multimedia projector, wireless
technologies, audio and video software
tools etc.)
 Drilling students on basic concepts to reach
mastery
 Facilitating collaborative activity among
students
 Seeing interconnections among concepts
through hypertext
 Simulating laboratory work
With these above mentioned ways
1. Students can be actively engaged in
learning, leading to greater time on task
and greater depth of knowledge.
2. Student
learning
can
emphasize
continuous improvement of a piece of
work, a concept sometimes called
"D.I.A.T." or Doing It Again Thoughtfully
Paramita Chatterjee
11.
The main purpose of the Strategy for
Information Technology in education is to
provide the prospects and trends of
integrating information and communication
technology (ICT) into the general educational
activities. There are some unavoidable facts in
the modern education:
General Article
So the ways to support learning through
IT are
(Steven Ehrmann, final report of Project
Flashlight).
Students can work more collaboratively
with one another.
Students can be given more practice with
feedback.
Students can examine their existing
conceptions and update or modify.
Learning materials can be provided to
match the learning style of the learner.
Self-paced learning may be possible,
with study and practice until the student
reaches his/her "personal best”.
Classroom dialogue can extend beyond the
time and space constraints of class time.
Students can learn by working on complex,
open-ended, realistic (or real-world) tasks.
Faculty can restructure their role, using
individual and peer-group work or
technology for some purposes, thereby
freeing time to make their unique
contribution to student learning.
Perhaps most importantly, faculty finds
rethinking their teaching an energizing and
regenerative experience (April O, 2005).
i.
The IT has been developing very rapidly
nowadays. Therefore, in order to balance
it, the whole educational system should be
reformed and IT should be integrated into
educational activities.
ii. The influence of IT, especially internet
(open source tool) cannot be ignored in
our student’s lives. So, the learning
activities should be reoriented and
reformulated, from the manual source
centered to the open source ones. In this
case the widely use of internet access has
been an unavoidable policy that should
be anticipated by schools authorities.
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The Significance of Information Technology
in Teaching and Learning
As technology advances, students have
come to expect more of their teachers in
terms of delivery of material. Modern
students are generally aware that new
technologies exist and may be reluctant to
accept older teaching techniques. The ideas
suggested are meant to improve the delivery
of material to students by teachers in relevant
disciplines.
Paramita Chatterjee
Slides, those created in Microsoft
PowerPoint may be more appealing to the
eye and can contain audio and video. The
simple notion that technology is being used
for a presentation can make students more
attentive. Multimedia slides also allow for the
teachers to advance key note by key note,
with the students having access to only parts
of the projected information at a time.
It is also easier for the teachers to move
among slides. Frequently, students may ask
questions that refer to slides that appear
later in a presentation. The presentation
software allows one to scroll through to other
target slides effortlessly and in a timely
manner. It is generally faster than scrolling
through traditional manually projected slides.
Computer, Information and Communication
Technology has a major role to play
1. Role of computerization
2. Role of information management
3. Role of communication technology
Components of Information Technology
1. Computer Hardware Technologies: These
technologies include processors, storage
devices, input and output devices etc.
2. Computer Software Technologies: These
technologies include operating system
software, web browsers, software
productivity suits and software for
business applications.
3. Telecommunication
and
Network
Technologies: These technologies include
telecommunication media, processors and
software needed to provide wire-based
and wireless access and support for
Internet and other networks.
4. Data Resource Management Technologies:
These technologies include database
management system software for the
development, access and maintenance of
the databases of an organization.
General Article
iii. The presence of multimedia games and
online games by internet has been another
serious problem that should be wisely
handled by the educational institutions. The
students cannot be exterminated from this
case. They can have and do with it wherever
and whenever they want. Educational
institutions, as a matter of fact, do not have
enough power and time to prevent or stop it
after schedule times. So, the students have
large opportunities in their homes to do with
multimedia games or online games or
browsing the negative sites. In such situation,
education institutions play an important role
to eradicate these problems. One of which is
by facilitating the students to do edutainment
or educational games instructed by their
teachers. Besides, they can also support and
facilitate their students to have their own
blogs in the internet. A lot of Webblog
providers are free to the users, such as
WordPress. In their blogs, the students can
create and write something. They are able
to share experiences throughout their blogs
to others from all over the world. They can
also create innovation in web design and it
will be useful for their future (Kent and
McNergney, 1999).
iv. The implementation of IT in education has
not been a priority trend of educational
reform and the state paid little attention
to it. Therefore, there should be an active
participation, initiative and good will of
the schools and the government institutions
to enhance IT implementation at these
institutions.
So to implement information technology in
education sector leads some factors which are:
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










Availability of equipment
Promise of improved student learning
Funds to purchase materials
Compatibility with subject matter
Advantages over traditional methods
Increased student interest
Ease of use
Information on materials in their discipline
Compatibility with existing course materials
University training in technology use
Time to learn the technology and comfort
level with technology
To implement these
procedures are needed:

some
Infrastructure: Providing suitable computer
hardware, operating systems, software
and connectivity to the internet. These
would include the affordability of
software and hardware, the ability to
share software (as encoded in the Free
Software Movement), and the ability to
sustainably connect to the internet.
Capacity building and training in
Information
Technology:
Installing,
maintaining and developing hardware
The United Nations – through its various
organizations such as the United Nations
Development Programme’s Asia Pacific
Development Information Programme (APDIP)
– has brought out a number of publications.
Many are published with shareable content
licenses. Specifically in the field of Free and
Open Source Software (FLOSS), the
International Open Source Network (IOSN)
has been an active player.
Table 1: Features of Information Technology
Feature
Example
Provisional
nature
Quick and easy changes
electronic text and data
Range and
capacity
Storage of an encyclopaedic
quantity of text; data and images
Speed
Quick and easy access to
communication, interaction with
material
Interactivity
Feedback through communications
software
to
General Article

factors
and
software,
digital
literacy
(technological literacy and informational
literacy) and e-Awareness.
Table 2: Low to high use of Information Technology
Resources
Low use of IT
Largely paper based; no
guidance given to
electronic sources of
information; poor range
of IT self access materials
Place
Face to face; distance
learning modules posted
Communications
Some students/ lecturers
have email accounts
None available
Support
Paramita Chatterjee
Emergent use of IT
Paper based, online and
electronic materials; email
addresses exchanged and
lists encouraged; IT key
part of self access
materials; IT use modelled
for students; some
specialist software
Face to face;distance
learner modules posted;
online environments set up
All students/ lecturers
have email accounts
Support for teachers on
as and when basis; selfhelp guides available for
students
Vol. 1  2016  56–64
Extensive use of IT
Paper based ,online and
electronic materials; gateways
to selected online source;
sources regularly reviewed;
guides to materials; help on
hand for students in accessing
electronic resources and
specialist s/w
Face to face; distance learner
modules posted; online
networked learning
environments developed
Institution has own conferencing
s/w; lists set up easily
Support services for students
and teachers proactive on
going support available
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Software Tools to Assist in the Teaching
There are many advantages to be
gained from teaching programming using a
laptop connected to a multimedia projector.
With wireless technologies available, it may
be possible to demonstrate how to access
network files etc right from the classroom.
There could also be wired connections built
into the classrooms.
The students can therefore actually see
the steps/commands to compile/run programs
etc. Input values can be varied according to
students and teachers preferences and the
corresponding results displayed immediately.
Instead of having students visualize in their
minds what should happen when different
inputs are used, they actually, in real-time see
the effects (Oleksii and Tebenko, 2013).
Slides are easy to edit, add speaker
notes to and made available to students who
can edit as necessary. From the students’ view,
the slides for an entire course are frequently
small enough to fit on CD or memory stick
(portability) (Gall et al., 1996).
Paramita Chatterjee
Tom Snyder, the educator and software
innovator, has developed several sets of
instructional materials for teachers who prefer
a group-discussion teaching style.
Video-conferencing enables a richer
relationship to be developed between a
lecturer and student. It has been used for
work
meetings,
presentations, project
discussions and preparations of some distance
exams.
Hardware Tools to Assist in the Teaching
Different computer equipments which are
not currently in use may be collected and kept
in a place to see their architectures and
functions. Modern equipments are also seen
for knowing their curriculums. The different
computer equipments are:
1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
2. Monitor
3. Keyboard
4. UPS
5. LAN card
6. Mouse
7. Scanner
8. Modem
9. RAM
10. ROM
11. Motherboard
12. DVD Writer
13. CDROM/Writer
14. Hard Disk
15. SMPS etc.
General Article
The use of simulations would have some
benefits to that derived from programming.
Parameters can be input and results seen in
real-time. There might be the need for a
network
infrastructure
as
previously
mentioned example wired or wireless
network access. Simulations are useful for
instance, in the teaching of router
programming. Students can see how subnets
are designed, subnet masks specified, filters
are designed etc. Pictures used in slides
should be meaningful and preferably indicate
the context in which it occurs, especially in the
case of pictures of computer equipment. For
example, if one can show a picture of an Intel
Processor in its place on a motherboard,
rather than in isolation. Although the focus
may be on the teacher itself, the student gets
to see the context or location in the computer
where it fits in.
Software tools like children educational
software can help kids learn at their own
pace. Audio and video tend to make children
interested in computer activities.
Database Tools to Assist in the Teaching
Educational Infonet
I.
Scalable architecture to grow from
Universities to affiliated colleges
II. Terrestrial FO backbone
III. Integrated satellite WAN support
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IV. Comprehensive Network Management
V. Data security
VI. Dedicated Data Centre
VII. Database management software
VIII. Broadband multimedia and video channels
for distance learning
Telecommunication & Network Tools to
Assist in the Teaching
Infrastructure may be reused for info
Kiosk purposes besides school hours.
ISPs with distributed infrastructure for
rural portal service may deliver the
educational content from Data Centres to be
developed for school
Use of regional language portal to be
encouraged for better penetration.
Broadband Connectivity Technology Options
Virtual classrooms and meetings can often
use a mix of communication technologies.
Spreading Internet to Remote Schools
School infrastructure requirements
- Computers
Minimum 10 – 15 PCs, 1 Server, scanners,
printers
- Connectivity
Local area network( Ethernet 10/100
Mbps) using switch or hub
Modem connecting
telephone/ISDN etc.
Server
to
- Contents
Lessons
Software
Content navigation tools for teachers
-Coaching
3-5 trained teachers per school
Paramita Chatterjee
the
It is concluded that the installation of a
computer network in a secondary school
results in improved teaching and learning and
increased enjoyment of learning in the school
with both pupils and teachers viewing the use
of IT as beneficial to learning[9].
Electronic Learning
Electronic learning (or e-Learning or
elearning) is a type of Technology supported
education / learning (TSL) where the medium of
instruction is through computer technology ,
particularly involving digital technologies. Elearning has been defined as “pedagogy
empowered by digital technology”. In some
instances, no face- to –face interaction takes
place. E-learning is used interchangeably in a
wide variety of contexts. In companies, it refers
to the strategies that use the company network
to deliver training courses to employees. In the
United States, it is defined as a planned
teaching / learning experience that uses a wide
spectrum of technologies , mainly Internet or
computer-based, to reach learners. Lately in
most Universities, e-learning is used to define a
specific mode to attend a course or programmes
of study where the students rarely, if ever,
attend face-to-face for on-campus access to
educational facilities, because they study online.
The worldwide e-learning industry is estimated
to be worth over thirty eight (38) billion euros
according to conservative estimates, although in
the European Union only about 20% of elearning products are produced within the
common market. Developments in internet and
multimedia technologies are the basic enabler of
e-learning, with content, technologies and
Vol. 1  2016  56–64
General Article
i) Leased Line
ii) VPN solution for more than two campuses
iii) ADSL based broadband connection to
come
iv) WiFi point to multipoint and point to point
links development using 2.4 GHz ISM
band
v) Free Space Optics (FSO) Technology in
restricted environment
vi) 802.16 WiMAX may be the future
solution for spreading distributed
educational network
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services being identified as the three key sectors
of the e-learning industry. Elearning is a catch-all
term that covers a wide range of instructional
material that can be delivered on a CD-ROM or
DVD, over a local area network (LAN), or on the
Internet.
Communication Technologies used in e-learning
Communication technologies are generally
categorized as asynchronous or synchronous.
Asynchronous activities use technologies
such as blogs, wikis and discussion boards. The
idea here is that participants may engage in
the exchange of ideas or information without
the dependency of other participant’s
involvement at the same time. Electronic mail
(Email) is also asynchronous in that mail can
be sent or received without having both the
participants’ involvement at the same time.
Pedagogical Approaches or Perspectives
It is possible to use various pedagogical
approaches for e-Learning which include:
a) Instructional design – the traditional
pedagogy of instruction which is curriculum
focused, and is developed by a centralized
educating group or a single teacher
b) Social-constructivist – This pedagogy is
particularly well afforded by the use of
discussion forums, blogs, wiki and on-line
collaborative activities. It is a collaborative
approach that opens educational content
creation to a wider group including the
students themselves.
c) Emotional perspective – focuses on the
emotional aspects of learning, like
motivation, engagement, fun, etc.
Paramita Chatterjee
Computer based Learning
Computer based learning, sometimes
abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of
computers as a key component of the
educational environment. While this can refer
to the use of computers in a classroom, the
term more broadly refers to a structured
environment in which computers are used for
teaching purposes.
Computer based Training
Computer based training (CBT) services
are where a student learns by executing
special training programs on a computer
relating to their occupation. CBT is especially
effective for training people to use computer
applications because the CBT program can be
integrated with the applications so that
students can practice using the application as
they learn. The increase in PC computing
power, and especially the growing
prevalence of computers equipped with CDROMs, is making CBT a more viable option
for corporations and individuals alike. Many
PC applications now come with some modest
form of CBT, often called a tutorial. Webbased training (WBT) (WWW) is a type of
training that is similar to CBT. In the last ten
years there has been a dramatic increase in
the development of the use of web-based
networks for teaching purposes. The
introduction of web-based networks within
institutions of higher education can have
profound implications on how knowledge is
shared.
Vol. 1  2016  56–64
General Article
Synchronous activities involve the exchange
of ideas and information with one or more
participants during the same period of time. A
face to face discussion is an example of
synchronous
communications.
Synchronous
activities occur with all participants joining in at
once, as with an on line chats session or a
virtual classroom or meeting.
d) Behavioral perspective – focuses on the
skills and behavioral outcomes of the
learning process. Role-playing and
application to on-the-job settings.
e) Contextual perspective – focuses on the
environmental and social aspects which
can stimulate learning. Interaction with
other people, collaborative discovery and
the importance of peer support as well as
pressure[3].
62
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Much effort has been put into the
technical reuse of electronically-based
teaching materials and in particular
creating or re-using Learning Objects.
M-Learning or “mobile learning”
has different meanings for different
communities. One definition of mobile
learning is: Learning that happens across
locations, or that takes advantage of
learning opportunities offered by
portable technologies. In other words,
mobile learning decreases limitation of
learning location with the mobility of
general portable devices (Darrell, 2013).
CONCLUSION
Technologies at Work
Stories of exploration, success and
failure- drawn from all over the world – to
demonstrate policies, strategies and practical
measures in the use of technologies which are
followed:






Multi-channel learning
Educational television
Educational radio
Web-based instruction
Libraries for exploration
Practical activities in science and
technology
 Use of the media
 Targeted use of technologies in areas
such as: early childhood development, low
density populations, adult literacy,
women’s education, and workforce
upgrading
Paramita Chatterjee
Technologies Today
Review of what is available in the
different areas of technology for learning:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Instructional materials
Audio, visual and digital products
Software and content
Modes of connectivity
Media
Educational web sites
Technologies Tomorrow
A glimpse into the future of technologies
to excite the imagination of practitioners and
decision makers and assist them in planning
for the future, not only on the basis of what is
available but also what is coming.
Research has shown that the appropriate
use of ICTs can catalyze the paradigmatic
shift in both content and pedagogy that is at
the heart of education reform in the 21st
century. If designed and implemented
properly, ICT-supported education can
promote the acquisition of the knowledge and
skills that will empower students for lifelong
learning (Heeks and Renken, 2015).
General Article
Realizing educational objectives of the
“information age” requires integrating
modern
forms
of
information
and
communication
technologies
(ICT)
into
education. To do this effectively, education
planners, principals, teachers, and technology
specialists must make many decisions in the
areas of: technical, training, financial,
pedagogical and infrastructure requirements.
 Technologies for teacher preparation and
career-long training
 Technologies for policy planning, design
and data management
 Technologies for school management
When used appropriately, ICTs –
especially
computers
and
Internet
technologies – enable new ways of teaching
and learning rather than simply allow
teachers and students to do what they have
done before in a better way. These new ways
of teaching and learning are underpinned by
constructivist theories of learning and
constitute a shift from a teacher-centered
pedagogy- in its worst form characterized by
memorization and rote learning- to one that is
learner-centered (Rouse, 2005).
Vol. 1  2016  56–64
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 Active Learning: ICT-enhanced learning
mobilizes
tools
for
examination,
calculation and analysis of information,
thus providing a platform for student
inquiry, analysis and construction of new
information.
 Collaborative Learning: ICT-supported
learning encourages interaction and
cooperation among students, teachers,
and experts regardless of where they
are.
As part of Information Communication
Technologies for development ICT4D, most of
the ICT promoting institutions are focusing on
Primary Education and they are using ICT as
tools (radio, telephone, television, computers
and Internet) to increase primary literacy
effectiveness and efficiency.

Adams S., Burns M. (1999).Connecting student
learning and technology. Austin T.X: Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory.

April O., Benedetto Di, (June 29, 2005,
Ph.D.).Does Technology Influence Teaching
Practices in the Classroom? National
Educational Computing Conference.2005
Conference. Philadelphia, PA
Paramita Chatterjee
Darrell M. West (September 17,2013).
Mobile Learning: Transforming Education,
Engaging
Students,
and
Improving
Outcomes & www.wikipedia.org

Dexter S. L., Anderson R. E., Becker H. J.,
Teachers’ views of computers as catalysts
for changes in their teaching practice.
(1999) Journal of Research in Computing
Education 31(3):221-239

Gall M., Borg W., Gall J. (1996).
Educational research: An introduction. White
Plains,NY:Longman & www.omv.ln.se.

Heeks R., Renken J., Investigating the
potential of social network analysis in
development studies. (2015) DSA 2015
conference,Bath,7-8 Sep

Kent T., McNergney R. (1999). Will
Technology really change education?
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Oleksii, Tebenko O. (December 26,2013).
The use of modern information technology in
education helps students to form a creative
and productive approach, which is sure to
come in handy in their future profession or a
process of self education. Ukraine

Rouse M. (September 2005). ICT (information
and
communications
technology
–or
technologies)
Vol. 1  2016  56–64
General Article
REFERENCES

64
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A Brief Analyses on the Structure of Indian
Education System: Reforms and Policies
Sourav Motilal
Guest Lecturer, Department of Economics, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: The following gives an idea of education system of India since independence. We
have discussed the plans and policies taken by the Government of India and West Bengal.
Since school level education is our basic steps towards learning and becoming educated this
study focuses on school level education by briefly describing the structure of school level.
Keywords: K-12 education system, school level education, major reforms, poverty, West Bengal
educational sector, TQM (Total Quality Management)
INTRODUCTION
General Article
The word EDUCATION is originated from
the Latin word which means” to bring up”.
Standing in the beginning of this 21st century
“education” is an important key for pushing
India‟s position upwards in the list of
„developed‟ countries from a „developing‟
nation. Since it increases productive human
capital and contributes to overall increase in
economic growth as well as development. This
paper is concerned with the education
provided in school levels, since this is the basic
or initial step from where a person could able
to determine his or her future. (Role of
Education in 21st Century assessed from
http://latasinha.wordpress.com/2010/04/09
/role-ofeducation-in-21st-century/ as on 1
June 2012.)The following figure gives an idea
of how the education system is divided.
is the Formal Education, which is consciously
and deliberately planned for the modification
of behavior, with a particular predetermined
objectives in view followed by Informal
Education, A not pre-planned type rather it is
quite incidental generally such education
starts from the very birth and continues till
death characterized with the modification of
behavior which comes about necessarily and
spontaneously, without any conscious effort
for it and lastly the Milieu Education or social
contagion it is that kind of learning which
takes place almost automatically a person
acquires it from the family it belongs to. In
other words this type of education can be
classified under basic culture that every
person gets from home. Hence we could put
Milieu Education as the foremost stage that
every person has to come by before entering
in schooling.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Figure 1: Classification of education
The Education system is mainly divided
into three types shown in the above chart, first
Sourav Motilal
The present paper has made an attempt
to review the education system of India.
Besides that the paper has tried to analyses
the reforms which have taken place in India in
the post reform period and tried to present
an overview on current scenario of literacy in
India. The rest of the paper is organised as
follows. This paper is divided into three
sections A, B and C respectively. Section A
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deals with the education system of India
followed by a brief description of school level
education system prevails in India and West
Bengal in Section B and at the end we put the
conclusion and reference part in Section C.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sourav Motilal
EDUCATION IN INDIA: SCHOOL LEVEL
SYSTEM
Education is a key component of human
development and the basic learning that a
person gets after his or her parent is from the
school. The concept of school level education
starts with kindergarten The Indian education
system is financed predominantly by the
federal and the state governments (Patel,
1996). Education under the Indian Constitution
allowed the state government to take
decisions on all matters pertaining to school
education, including curriculum, within their
jurisdiction. The Centre [federal government]
could only provide guidance to the states on
policy issues (NCERT, p. 1). In 1976 the
constitution was amended in 1976 and in
1986 the country as a whole had a uniform
national policy of education (NCERT)1 The
current
K-12
education
system
(jacobenfield.com/dossier/LiteratureReview7
11_policy_and_systems[1].pdf) is broken up
into the primary, secondary and higher
education. Primary education encompasses
grades 1 through 5, followed by secondary
education covering grades 6 through 10,
which is then followed by higher secondary
which covers grades 11 and 12.. India's
improved education system is often cited as
one of the main contributors to the economic
rise of India which pushed India upward at
105th position among 128 countries in the list
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
General Article
The education system of India is not a
perfect topic to turn into a project still this
paper, try to bring a comparative study with
a brief analysis of this system. Different
economists had study and put forward
different ways to tackle with the back logs
which appearing as an obstacle in the
development of this sector. Economist
(Acharya et al., 2004), pointed out that by
the end of November 2003, the progress on
civil works had been very slow due to delay
in fund release followed by inadequate
monitoring and lack of district level
convergence of SSA (Sarva Siksha Aviyan)
with other allied development schemes. But
remarkable progress was made by Orissa
Primary Education Programme Authority
(OPEPA) in organizing teachers training
programmes both at state and district level.
Nearly 70% EGS (Education Guarantee
Scheme) centres had been made operational
by OPEPA which was a remarkable
achievement. Another progress was marked in
the opening of Alternate and Innovative
Education
Centres
(AIE)
was
very
unsatisfactory. Again economists like Adhikari,
Tejaswini (2001) identified the gaps in the
existing services and needs of students and
teachers in the context of quality education.
Kothari (Kothari, 2004) discussed Challenges
of universalization of elementary education in
India. The study was conducted by National
Institute of Educational Planning and
Administration (NIEPA) to explain the
elementary education scenario in India
through the use of a variety of data sources
such as Census, the NSS, NCERT and NFHS
surveys. Sharma, Suresh. (2009) focused
study on Literacy and school attendance in
India. According to them Operation
Blackboard and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan are
state sponsored movements that aimed at
universal enrolment and providing the basics.
Again Pratham, New Delhi. (2009) evaluates
the education situation in India. It focused on
basic reading, comprehension and arithmetic.
ASER 2008 assessed curriculum in early
grades and indicators like time, school time
table, maps, famous people, and currency
tasks. Apart from the above mentioned there
were lots of research works and analysis
regarding development of this sector which
often considered by the Government to be
included in renovation of Educational sector.
66
SARJANA
of Educational Development Index ( EDI). The
system is divided into different levels such as
pre-primary level, primary level, elementary
education,
secondary
education,
undergraduate level and postgraduate level.
The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL
AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE (NCERT) is the
apex body for curriculum related matters for
school education in India. It provides support
and technical assistance to a number of
schools in India and overseas many aspects of
enforcement of education policies. Indian
governing school education system are
divided into the various curriculum bodies
which are listed below:



In addition, NUEPA (National University of
Educational Planning and Administration)
and NCTE (National Council for Teacher
Education) are responsible for the management
of the education system and teacher
accreditation. Like the Indian education system
has been carried out through different apex
institution or boards, the system have divide our
base of the education more precisely school
education into different layers like primary
Sourav Motilal
Primary education system in India (near
about 80% of all recognized schools at the
elementary stage are government run or
supported.)
Private Education
In India, there are privately owned and
managed schools, many of whom have the
appellation "Public" attached to them, like the
Delhi Public Schools or Frank Anthony Public
Schools. According to current estimates, 80%
of all schools are government schools making
the government the major provider of
education. However, because of poor quality
of public education, 27% of Indian children
are privately educated.
Homeschooling
Homeschooling is legal in India, though it
is the less explored option and HRD Minister
Kapil Sibal has stated that despite the RTE
Act of 2009, if someone decides not to send
his/her children to school, the government
would not interfere.
General Article

Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE)
Council for the Indian School Certificate
Examinations (CISCE) - This board is
commonly used misnomer. It is divided
into:
 ICSE (Indian certificate secondary
education) exam for class 10 level.
 ISC (Indian school certificate) exam
for class 12 level.
 CVE (Certificate for vocational
education) exam for class 12
International schools affiliated to the
International Baccalaureate Programme
and/or the Cambridge International
Examinations-International
Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit
educational foundation that was founded
in 1968 and now works with over 3000
schools in 141 countries.
National Institute of Open Schooling
education system, private , secondary and
higher secondary with special emphasis to rural
sector education and woman‟s education , these
are discussed below:
Secondary Education
Secondary education covers children 14–
18 which covers 88.5 million children
according to the Census report, 2001.A
significant feature of India's Secondary
School system is the emphasis on inclusion of
the disadvantaged sections of the society.
Rural Education
Rural education is mainly constitute
education for the poor children, females and
adult education to the rural sector that
generally lacks a proper education system
due to an improper system. Education in rural
India is valued differently than in an urban
setting, because of lower rates of completion
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
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SARJANA
a strong prevailing gender gap within the
schools: eighteen percent of males earn a high
school diploma compared with only ten percent
of females.

MAJOR REFORMS AND INNOVATIONS
 Universalization
of
Elementary
Education & Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan:The National Policy of Education 1986, as
revised in 1992
 Decentralization of Elementary Education
& Roll of Local Governments:Decentralized planning and management
Sourav Motilal





General Article
The right to education is a universal
entitlement recognized in the International
Convenant on economic, Social and Cultural
Rights as a human right which includes different
act that secured education as a necessary basic
fitting for every inhabitants of the country.
Indian Education reform is basically targeted on
serving knowledge which includes economic
emphasizes,
mathematics
and
science,
information and communication technologies,
basic knowledge and skills in literacy and
development of inter-personal skills. In country
like India just after the independence most of
the people specially the rural sector was not
economically in a better off situation to send
their children for getting educated in situations
when they hardly afford a full meal for at least
two time. ("Country Strategy for India (CAS)
2009–2012" (PDF). World Bank; Estimate for
India, from India, The Hindu; "Education in India".
World Bank; Enrolment in schools rises 14% to
23 crore The Times of India (22 January 2011);
"India Literacy Rate". UNICEF. Retrieved 10
October 2013; "Indian education: Sector
outlook" (PDF). Retrieved 23 January 2014; "In
India, Can Schools Offer Path Out Of Poverty?".
14 May 2010. Retrieved 23 June2010). Hence
keeping these problems in mind governments
came forward with different ideas and
approach that people get interested to
transform themselves into literate human beings.
The reforms taken by the government are
mentioned below:
of elementary education is a goal set by
the National Policy on Education, 1986.
Operation Blackboard:-This scheme was
launched in the year 1987 it brought
about quantitative and qualitative
improvement in primary education.
District Primary Education Programme
(DPEP):-The DPEP was launched in
November, 1994 with the aim of
operationalizing the strategies for
achieving universalization of elementary
education (UEE) through district specific
planning and initiative.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA):- SSA is
an effort to universalize elementary
education by community-ownership of the
school system.
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
(RMSA):- RMSA is an extension of SSA
launched in March 2009, in the sense that
it promises universal access to secondary
level education to all (in the age group of
15-16 years) by 2017 and universal
retention by 2020.
Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme:-In
accordance with the National Common
Minimum Programme of Government, the
Mid Day, revised in September 2004. It
ensures provision of cooked mid-day
meal of minimum 300 calories and 8-12
grams of protein to children studying at
elementary level in government, local
body and government-aided schools.
Tara Akshar:- An India-focused adult
literacy program has been short-listed for
an international humanitarian prize for
having taught nearly 60,000 women to
read and write in 35 days, making it one
of the fastest literacy programs in the
world. Known as Tara Akshar, launched
in 2005 by the India-based NGO
Development Alternatives Group.
CURENT STATUS: INDIA
In spite of different difficulties faced by
Indian education system like poverty it proved
to be at its best since Independence. The GOI
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
68
SARJANA
(Government of India) has focused on several
issues
regarding
Education
since
independence. Here few plans under the
eleventh five year plan (2007-2012) are
given:
Table 1: Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) targets
and focus area
Eleventh plan targets Special focus area
Achieve 80 % literacy A special focus on SCs,
rate
STs, Minorities and rural
women
Reduce gender gap in Focus also on low literacy
literacy to 10%
States, tribal areas, other
disadvantaged groups
and adolescents
Reduce regional , social
and gender disparities
Extend coverage of
NLM Programmes to
35+ age group
In 2016 budget by the Hon‟ble Finance
Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, rose to present the
Union Budget on 29th February 2016, there
was a sense of cautious optimism to improve
the Education and Skilling sector followed by
to bring focus on quality in Sarva Shiksha
Sourav Motilal
Table 2: A comparative review of budget
2016-17 and budget 2015-16
Key
Announcements
Planned
Planned
Outlay
Outlay
(2016 – 2017) (2015 –2016)
In crore
In crore
Higher Education
Financing Agency
Ministry of Skill
Development &
Entrepreneurship
Allocation under
PM‟s Kaushal Vikas
Yojana
Rs. 1,000
Nil
Rs. 1,804
Rs. 1,500
Rs. 1,700
Nil
Plan allocation to
HRD ministry (14%
growth YoY)
Dept of School
Education
Rs 20,158
Rs 17,672
Rs 4,913
Rs. 2,972
Dept of Higher
Education
Rs 15,245
Rs. 14,700
Table 3: Literacy rate in India (census report
2011). Data Source: Wikipedia
General Article
Former Indian Finance Minister P.
Chidambaram
(Chidambaram,
2006;
Chidambaram, 2007; indiabudget.nic.in/ub
2013-14/bh/bh1.pdf), with a focus on
capacity building and job-led education,
proposed an allocation of Rs.65,869 crore
for the sector in the Union budget for 201314, an increase of a little over 7% from that
for the current fiscal year. Of the total
education outlay, the flagship scheme Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was allocated
Rs.27,258 crore for implementing the Right to
Education Act that promises education to all
children in the 6-14 age group. The previous
Union budget for 2012-13 had pegged an
outlay of Rs.61, 427 crore for education,
including Rs.25, 555 crore for SSA. ( Central
Government Schemes For School Education
(http://164.100.47.134/intranet/FinalGover
nmentSchemesforSchoolEducation.pdf)
Abhiyan, opening of 62 new Navodaya
Vidyalayas followed by A new agency –
HEFA (Higher Education Financing Agency) –
will be formed with a seed capital of Rs.
1,000 crores and other important steps
towards betterment of this sector.
Literacy (2011)
Total
Male
Female
66%
72%
58%
COMPARATIVE STRUCTURE
Literacy Rate Variations between States
Kerala is the most literate state in India,
with
93.91%
literacy,
followed
by
Lakshadweep at 92.28%. Bihar is the least
literate state in India, with a literacy of 63.82%.
Every census since 1881 had indicated rising
literacy in the country, but the population
growth rate had been high enough that the
absolute number of illiterates rose with every
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
69
SARJANA
decade. The 2001–2011 decade is the second
census period (after the 1991–2001 census
period) when the absolute number of Indian
illiterates declined (by 31,196,847 people),
indicating that the literacy growth rate is now
outstripping the population growth rate.
CURRENT STATUS: WEST BENGAL
As our main focus of this study is based
on School Education and a special reference
of education system in West Bengal. The
following table shows the classification of
school according to the districts.
Table 4: Basic information of school education
in West Bengal
Sl. District
No.
1. Bankura
2. Bardhaman
3. Birbhum
4. S. Dinajpur
5. Darjeeling
6. Howrah
7. Hooghly
8. Jalpaiguri
9. Koochbehar
10. Kolkata
11. Malda
12. Murshidabad
13. Nadia
14. N. 24 Parganas
15. W. Midnapur
16. E. Midnapur
17. Purulia
18. Siliguri
19. S. 24 Parganas
20. N. Dinajpur
Total
Secondary
School
433
778
365
166
107
511
613
296
263
584
333
479
434
940
748
603
325
96
730
110
9095
Higher
Secondary
School
201
331
150
83
50
257
282
154
144
304
147
251
257
513
295
282
150
64
315
97
4438
General Article
Bihar is the only Indian state in the 2011
census (Economic Survey, 2011; http://
planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fivey
r/11th/11_v3/11th_vol3.pdf.) where less
than 65% of the population was literate. It is
also only one of two states where less
than75% of the male population (the other
being Arunachal Pradesh) was literate and
only one of two states where less than 55%
of the female population (the other being
Rajasthan) was literate. Six Indian states
account for about 70% of all illiterates in
India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Slightly less than half of all Indian illiterates
(48.12%) are in the six Hindi-speaking states
of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Large
variations in literacy exist even between
contiguous states. While there are few states
at the top and bottom, most states are just
above or below the national average.
A State wise expenditure on Education
report is given, across India, state
governments
have
proposed
several
education related measures in their 2012-13
budgets.
Literacy among Different Social Groups and
the Gender Gap
Figure 2: Kerala is the most literate state in
India followed by Lakshadweep.Bihar is the
least literate state in India. Data Source:
Census 2011
Sourav Motilal
Literacy rate as well as probability of
attaining higher level of education has strong
correlation with the social background. While
the literacy rate in West Bengal during 2001
census was 68.64% ; The Scheduled Castes
(59.04%) and Scheduled Tribes (43.40%);
The literacy rate for Muslims (57.5%) 2001
census.
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
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SARJANA
Achievements
Figure 3: The literacy rates of male and
female in West Bengal during the last three
census held in 1991, 2001 and 2011 are
shown graphically. Data Source: Census
1981, 1991, 2001, 2011
Table 5: The district wise break up of 120
secondary schools upgraded to higher
secondary schools
Darjeeling
Siliguri
Jalpaiguri
Birbhum
E. Medinipur
W. Medinipur
S. 24 paraganas
N. 24 paraganas
Howrah
Murshidabad
Bardhaman
Nadia
Hooghly
Kolkata
Malda
Bankura
Total
Sourav Motilal
14
5
20
11
10
18
9
8
7
5
3
3
3
2
1
1
120
General Article
According to the School Education Budget
2011-2012, on the recommendation of the
Governor, then education minister Sri Bratya
Basu,
requested
a
sum
of
Rs.
13714,08,20,000/- (Rupees Thirteen thousand
seven hundred fourteen crores, eight lakhs,
twenty thousand only) for the expenditure on
School Education. Along with several policies for
betterment of primary teachers and other non
teaching staffs and
employees and
improvement of schools through infrastructure
development activities, recruitment of new
teachers, setting up of committees regarding
education pattern and introduction of new
syllabus, and strengthening new other policy
and programs through regular inspection.
 During the year 2010-11 the curriculum
and syllabuses of the entire primary
education reviewed in collaboration with
the Sarva Siksha Mission.
 Introduction of “Computer Application” as
optional elective subject in classes IX and
X and “computer Literacy” as subject and
as project activity in Work Education from
class VI to VII.
 Steps have been taken for promotion of
Life Style Education for wholesome
development of the learners so that they
can face the challenges of time and make
a
balance
between
knowledge
understanding and attitude.
 Several scholarships offered by the W.B.
Govt. such as –
 West Bengal Merit-Cum Means
Scholarship Scheme: during the
session 2009-105702 candidates
have been awarded scholarship @
Rs. 6000 per year.
 National Talent Search Scholarship
Examination: 39 candidates out of
279 states quotas have been selected
for Scholarship during the year 2010.
 National
Means-Cum-Merit
Scholarship
Scheme:
1,211
candidates have been selected for
scholarship during the year 2010.
WOMEN’S EDUCATION
The right of every individual to education
is one of the first provisions of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights. But women or
female education is often neglected in our
societies struggling to meet the needs of their
people. Recently education has received
greater priority as planners and policy
makers finally recognized it as a key factor in
determining the pace of development and so
the Woman education as women in India
constitute 50% of the countries human
resources and their contribution are vital for
the Nation‟s progress. Different attempts have
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
71
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been made to highlight the International and
National initiatives to promote Women‟s
education in India. The following table has
shown a district wise Female Literacy Rate of
West Bengal:
Table 6: Female Literacy Rate in West
Bengal within its Districts. Data Source:
Census 2001
Districts
The above table provides data on
gender inequality in literacy. Six out of 18
districts (Census 2001) have gender
inequality of more than 20% in literacy.
PROBLEMS
Major problems reported by the
functionaries involved in School education (like
District Inspectors (DI), Assistant Inspectors of
School (AIS), School Inspectors (SI), head
teachers and Sikshabandhus) are mentioned
below:
(a) Teacher Accountability: Teachers do not
regularly spend the allotted five hours on
the school premises on every working
day.
Sourav Motilal
CONCLUSION
Throughout the paper we get a brief
idea about Indian education system since
independence and with special reference to
West Bengal. Education is not only that source
of light which has the power to light up a
whole dark room and turned it into an
enlightened one but an investment which could
play an important road to eradicate poverty
by uprooting it in a sustainable way along
with development in standard of living. One
could also learn how to live life by knowing
what to say when, how to act in a certain way
in certain situations and be "street-smart"
different techniques have been included like
TQM (Total quality management). In spite of
the discrepancies, the School Education is
definitely the main key point to create
different opportunities of our life through
higher education. We also think, to prepare
us for a more competitive economy, our
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
General Article
Bankura
Bardhaman
Birbhum
S. Dinajpur
Darjeeling
Howrah
Hooghly
Jalpaiguri
Coochbehar
Kolkata
Malda
Medinipur
Murshidabad
Nadia
N. 24 Paraganas
Purulia
S. 24 Paraganas
N. Dinajpur
Female
Gender gap
literacy rate (Male-Female)
49.4
27.4
61
17.6
51.6
19.3
54.3
18.1
62.9
17.2
70.1
13.1
67.2
15.4
52.2
20.6
56.1
19.8
77.3
6.5
41.3
17.5
64.4
20.5
47.6
13.1
59.6
12.7
71.7
12.2
36.5
37.2
59
20.2
36.5
22
(b) Teachers’ Appointment and Transfer: There
are many schools with one or two teachers
where the student enrollment demands the
appointment of more teachers.
(c) Teaching and Training: Classroom
teaching gets hampered due to teachers
involvement in census during working
hours.
(d) School Inspection: SISs( Sub Inspector of
Schools) remains detached from theirs
major functions like inspection of schools,
monitoring of classroom teaching and
evaluating teaching effectiveness
(e) Mid-day Meal Administration: Such
programme failed in many aspects like
the teachers is that they are unable to
retain students in the school after the midday meal is served.
(f) Para-teachers and Sikshabandhus
(g) School Management Committees
(h) Governance and Legal Matters
(i) Gender Discrimination: The gender gap
has significantly narrowed in primary
education but there has been limited
progress at the secondary level.
72
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
India
achieves
27%
decline
in
poverty, Press Trust of India via Sify.com,
2008-09-12

India 2009: A Reference Annual (53rd
edition), 226–227, 236-237,239,216,218,
223.

jacobenfield.com/dossier/LiteratureReview
711_policy_and_systems[1].pdf
REFERENCES

Role of Education in 21st Century assessed
from
http://latasinha.wordpress.com/
2010/04/09/role-ofeducation-in-21stcentury/ as on 1 June 2012.

indiabudget.nic.in/ub2013-14/bh/bh1.pdf

Economic Survey, 2010-11 (2011), Ministry
of Finance, Government of India, New
Delhi.

Acharya, Prasanta Kumar and Behera,
Manoranjan, (2004), Functioning of Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan Programme in Orissa
(quarterly monitoring report). Bhubaneswar,
Nabakrushna Choudhary Centre for
Development Studies, 39

Chidambaram, P. (2006). India's Economic
Reform: Recent Changes and Future
Challenges.

Chidambaram, P. (2007). Recent Comments
by Indian Economic Policy Makers

"Country Strategy for India (CAS) 2009–
2012" (PDF). World Bank

Estimate for India, from India, The Hindu

"Education in India". World Bank.

Enrolment in schools rises 14% to 23
crore The Times of India (22 January 201

"India Literacy Rate". UNICEF. Retrieved 10
October 2013.


"Indian education: Sector outlook" (PDF).
Retrieved 23 January 2014.
http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/plan
rel/fiveyr/11th/11_v3/11th_vol3.pdf.

Central Government Schemes For School
Education
(http://164.100.47.134/intranet/FinalGov
ernmentSchemesforSchoolEducation.pdf)

"In India, Can Schools Offer Path Out Of
Poverty?". 14 May 2010. Retrieved 23 June
2010.
Sourav Motilal
Vol. 1  2016  65–73
General Article
schools and students must compete less. Rather
schools should increase internal collaboration
against external competition and think about
improving their quality of educating the
students in such a way that they got literate
and educated at the same time since ability
of a person to read and write may consider
in list of educated person but real education
is something more than that.
73
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Importance of Innovation in Informal Sector:
A Study from Rural West Bengal
Susmita Banerjee
Department of Economics, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Despite impressive expansion in production, job creation in the formal or the
organised sector has been less than expectation for the last two decades and India‟s
workforce remains employed in relatively less productive, low-pay jobs of informal sector.
Research reveals that there are significant gap in productivity of labour between the
organised and unorganised sectors. This pattern of development has increased the income
inequality between India‟s skilled/ well-paid and unskilled/ poor. In the absence of uniform
increase in labour productivity, economic expansion is eventually brought to a halt by either
lack of increase in demand or by shortage in skilled labour supply; or, by a combination of
the two. Appropriate technology can bridge this gap by delivering life-saving, resourcesavings, cost effective and income-generating tools to communities. Objective of our present
study is to analyse the ongoing innovation processes, which has taken place in the informal
sector of rural West Bengal.
Keywords: Informal Sector, Innovation, Grass-root Innovation, Traditional Knowledge-based
Innovation, Rural Industry
INTRODUCTION
The significance of informal sector in Indian
economy is not only for its contribution to GDP
but also for sustaining the livelihoods security
of the poor workforce and well being of a
large section of population. Informal economy
includes more than 90 percent of workforce
and about 50 per cent of the national
products. Besides that almost 6% of the
workforce is employed as informal workers
(i.e. without job security or social security) in the
formal sector.
In India, even during the golden period
with a fast growing economy, the challenges of
employment, poverty and vulnerability of a
large segment of its population has been a
major area of concern. Though the Indian
economy has followed the classical patterns of
transformation towards secondary and tertiary
sectors in terms of contribution to overall
output, it does not follow it so much in case of
employment. Despite impressive expansion in
Susmita Banerjee
production, job creation in the formal or the
organised sector has been less than
expectation for the last two decades. India‟s
workforce remains employed in relatively less
productive, low-pay jobs of informal sector.
Research reveals that there are significant gap
in productivity of labour between the
organised and unorganised sectors. Output of
a formal sector worker on average is eight
times the output of an informal sector worker
(Rada, 2010). The gap is even more
astonishing if we compare labour productivity
in the organised with unorganised sectors of
manufacturing industry. Based on Trivedi et al.
(2012) the difference was of fourteen folds in
2004-05. These numbers expose the profound
heterogeneity of the Indian economy. This may
further reflect in lack of demands between
unorganised and organised sectors.
General Article
JEL Classification: O17, O31
This phenomenon can be explained by
obvious shift towards capital-intensive
techniques which boosted growth and
productivity at the expense of potential
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In the current scenario we cannot actually
ignore the role played by the informal sector
into the national economy and the role
innovation played in the promotion of
sustainable
development.
Appropriate
technology can deliver life-saving, resourcesavings, cost effective and income-generating
tools to communities throughout the developing
world and thus can reduce the inequality
between formal and informal sector. Past
experience reveals that most of the time
technological innovation in developing countries
does not get desired outcomes, partly because
those who design the technologies are so far
removed from those who make, own, and use
them. Policy makers must understand that
Susmita Banerjee
technological innovation will create meaningful
social change if and only if all the stakeholders
are included in the development process. Only
the indigenous people know how to make a
product in a way that best utilises local
resources and networks. Including them in the
process the product will be produced and
distributed in a sustainable and scalable way.
Thus it is only possible to improve the
productivity of the informal sector if the
innovation takes place within the sector. By
transferring skills and resources instead of hard
technology, one can empower the stakeholder
of this sector to solve the problems which they
face in their production process. In the present
context, we have made an attempt to
investigate what type of innovation processes
has taken place in the informal sector of Rural
West Bengal in order to understand the
dynamics of innovation and the survival strategy
of those entrepreneurs in the competitive
environment.
Objective of our present study is to give
some ray of light on the innovation processes,
which has taken place in the informal sector of
rural West Bengal. In the next section, we have
made an attempt to discuss briefly the concept
of „informal sector‟ in the context of Indian
economy. This will be followed by the brief
analysis on the perception of „innovation‟,
especially in the backdrop of informal sector.
Section 3 presents a brief survey of existing
literature. In section 4 we have discussed several
case studies in order to understand the dynamics
of innovation in informal sector of rural West
Bengal. We finally end with some concluding
remarks in section 5. The study has made use of
secondary data, drawn from various reports
published by Government of India.
General Article
employment (Athukorala and P.-C., 2009). This
pattern of development has not only increased
the income inequality between India‟s skilled/
well-paid and unskilled/ poor, it also has dire
consequences for the social milieu and for the
sustainability of growth (Breman, 2010;
Chandrasekhar & Ghosh, 2007; Ranis et al.,
2000). In the absence of uniform increase in
labour productivity (and therefore incomes),
economic expansion is eventually brought to a
halt by either lack of increase in demand or by
shortage in skilled labour supply; or, by a
combination of the two. As a result, the
development of informal sector is the need of
the hour for the inclusive growth in the current
paradigm of planning. Under the changed
circumstances where informal sector is getting
more linked with the formal sector and plays
pervasive role in the economy and in the
livelihoods of the people, it is imperative to
improve the productivity of the sector for
sustainable growth of the economy as a whole.
Moreover, during recent financial crisis it has
become obvious that informal sector is the
worst hit area and hence needs special
emphasis in terms of credit, skills, technology,
marketing and infrastructure. Consequently, it
is very much essential to discuss the dynamics
of innovation in informal sector in order to
improve the productivity of the sector, which is
earnestly required for inclusive development.
Informal Economy: Some Basic Ideas
The terms „unorganised‟ and „informal‟
sectors are often used interchangeably. The
concept of informal sector was first introduced
into international convention in 1972 by the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its
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Kenya Mission Report. In this report informality
was defined as a “way of doing things
characterised by (a) ease of entry; (b) reliance
on indigenous resources; (c) family ownership;
(d) small scale operations; (e) labour intensive
and adaptive technology; (e) skills acquired
outside of the formal sector; (g) unregulated
and competitive markets”. Based on these
features the informal economy was defined as
“the activities of the working poor who were
working very hard but who were not
recognised, recorded, protected or regulated
by the public authorities” (International-LabourOrganisation 1972).
Susmita Banerjee
According to the National Commission for
Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS
2004), which was set up by the Government of
India in 2004: “The unorganised sector consists
of all unincorporated private enterprises
owned by individuals or households engaged
in the sale and production of goods and
services operated on a proprietary or
partnership basis and with less than ten total
workers”. The Commission defined informal
worker/employment in the following way:
“Unorganised workers consist of those working
in the unorganised sector or households,
excluding regular workers with social security
benefits provided by the employers and the
workers in the formal sector without any
employment and social security benefits
provided by the employers”. Hence, the
informal sector and its workers plus the
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
General Article
Since that time, many definitions were
introduced by different authors and the ILO
itself. In 1993, the 15th International
Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS 1993)
adopted a definition of informal sector, which
was based on characteristics of the production
enterprises in which activities take place, rather
than on persons or jobs: „The informal sector
may be broadly characterised as consisting of
units engaged in the production of goods or
services with the primary objective of
generating employment and incomes to the
person concerned. These units typically operate
at a low level of organisation, with little or no
division between labour and capital as factors
of production and on a small scale.‟ (ICLS
1993; ILO 2000). Labour relations - where
they exist - are based mostly on casual
employment, kinship or personal and social
relations rather than contractual arrangements
with formal guarantees. In 2003, the ICLS
adopted an international statistical definition
which includes informal wage employment
outside informal enterprises and accordingly
ICLS defines informal employment in the
following way: „Employees are considered to
have informal jobs if their employment
relationship is, in law or in practice, not subject
to national labour legislation, income taxation,
social protection or entitlement to certain
employment benefits (advance notice of
dismissal, severance pay, paid annual leave or
sick leave, etc. )‟.
India's Ministry of Labour, in its 2008
report, classified the unorganised labour in
India into four groups. This classification
categorised India's unorganised labour force
by occupation, nature of employment,
especially distressed categories and service
categories. The unorganised occupational
groups include small and marginal farmers,
landless agricultural labourers, share croppers,
fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry,
beedi rolling, labelling and packing, building
and construction workers, leather workers,
weavers, artisans, salt workers, workers in brick
kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills,
and workers in oil mills. A separate category
based on nature of employment includes
attached agricultural labourers, bonded
labourers, migrant workers, contract and
casual labourers. Another separate category
dedicated to distressed unorganised sector
includes toddy tappers, scavengers, and
carriers of head loads, drivers of animal
driven vehicles, loaders and unloaders. The last
unorganised labour category includes service
workers such as midwives, domestic workers,
barbers, vegetable and fruit vendors,
newspaper vendors, pavement vendors, hand
cart operators, and the unorganised retailers.
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informal workers in the formal sector constitute
the informal economy. The Commission
considered all agricultural activities undertaken
on agricultural holdings, either individually or
in partnership, as being in the unorganised
sector. According to this definition, it excludes
only the plantation sector and other types of
organised agriculture (e.g. corporate or
cooperative farming) and covers a very large
part of agriculture. According to NSO
(National Statistical Organisation),"Enterprises
typically operating on a small scale with a low
level of organisation, low and uncertain wages,
and no social welfare and security" can be
termed as informal sector.
In nutshell, the basic features of informal
sector are as follows:
INNOVATION: SOME KEY CONCEPTS
Innovation means putting new products
and services on to the market or new means
for producing them. Innovation can be defined
as "outcome from the novelty of an invention,
mass-produced and launched on the market by
a contractor engaged in economic activity"
(Maunoury, 1972). It is usually preceded by
research that may lead to an invention which is
then developed for the market. Innovation
differs from invention in that innovation refers
to the use of a better and, as a result, novel
idea or method, whereas invention refers more
directly to the creation of the idea or method
itself. The term differs from improvement in
that innovation refers to the notion of doing
something different rather than doing the same
thing better.
Low level of organisation;

Small in scale usually employing fewer
than ten workers and often from the
immediate family;
Based on the above definition it is possible
to classify innovation in the following
categories:

Heterogeneity in activities;


Easier entry and exit than in the formal
sector;

Usually minimal capital investment;

Little or no division between labour and
capital;

Mostly labour intensive work, requiring
low-level skills; there is usually no formal
training as workers learn on the job;

Labour relations based on casual
employment and or social relationships as
opposed to formal contracts; employer
and employee relationship is often
unwritten and informal with little or no
rights;

No social security benefit;

Due to their isolation and invisibility,
workers in the informal sector are often
largely unaware of their rights, cannot
organise them and have little negotiating
power with their employers and
intermediaries (ILO, 2000).
Susmita Banerjee



Product innovation, which is the introduction
of a new product or substantially
improved product in terms of its
characteristics or intended use. This
definition includes significant improvements
in technical specifications, components and
materials, incorporated software, user
friendliness
or
other
functional
characteristics.
Process innovation, which refers to the
implementation or distribution of a new or
significantly
improved
method
of
production. This implies significant changes
in techniques, equipment and/or software.
A
marketing
innovation
is
the
implementation of a new marketing
method involving significant changes in
design
or
packaging,
placement,
promotion or pricing of a product.
An organizational innovation is the
implementation of a new organizational
method in practice; within the organisation
or external relations of the firm.
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
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
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Susmita Banerjee
considered as a major force for social and
economic inequality. We have already
discussed that economic inequality is likely to
hinder economic growth unless special efforts
are made to address the needs of the poor.
Productivity enhancement is therefore
required simultaneously both in formal and
informal sector for sustainable growth
process.
Before proceeding further we must give a
closer look on two concepts, which are very
common in the literature on innovation in
informal sector: one, „Grass Root Innovation‟
and two, „Indigenous Knowledge‟. The term
„Grass Root Innovation‟ was apparently coined
by Anil Gupta and embodied in the Honey
Bee Network (HBN). This organisation finds
people in the villages of India with inventions
and provides resources to help them turn them
into innovations. For example, “Innovations such
as a modified pulley to draw water, a gum
scrapper [sic] to enable women to collect gum
from thorny bushes or trees, or large number
of small machineries, herbal pesticides,
veterinary medicines, new plant varieties,
agronomic practices or other products have
been developed by the unsung heroes and
heroines of our society without any outside
help.” (Gupta, 2003) Gupta explicitly
identifies the kinds of inventions the Honey Bee
Network looks for as based on indigenous,
traditional, or local knowledge; respect for
such knowledge is central to his operation.
General Article
The relationship between innovation and
economic development is now widely
recognised. According to the scholars and
researchers the central goal of economic
policy should be to spur higher productivity
through greater innovation. They argued that
markets relying on input resources and price
signals alone will not always be as effective
in spurring higher productivity, and thereby
economic growth. Thus, it has been recognised
as a major component in the economic growth
(Schumpeter, 1942; Dougherty, 1992; Druker,
1993). Early in the 20th century, Joseph
Schumpeter articulated the importance of
innovation for an industrial economy,
theorising that firms would use innovation to
compete economically. The invention of a new
product or process could give a firm a
competitive edge, made stronger by virtue of
the temporary monopoly provided through
patent protection. Invention, in Schumpeter‟s
view, became innovation when the new idea
was incorporated into practice. He saw
innovation as a major driving force in
economic growth and change. Since
innovations could change the landscape of
economic competition, Schumpeter referred to
this process as one of “creative destruction”.
Economists like Frances Stewart, Charles
Cooper, Norman Clark, and Gunnar Myrdal,
to only name a few, who were worried about
technology and underdevelopment. The
puzzling mismatch between the advancement
of science and technology and the resilience
of inequality was put forward in 1977 by
Richard Nelson in his “The Moon and the
Guetto” (Nelson, 1977). Nelson indicates the
limits of scientific and technological
accomplishments to deal with problems that
are at the heart of development and for
which our knowledge and understanding is
particularly weak. Later studies on innovation
and creativity have also shown that the
presence of highly innovative technologies is
not sufficient to generate a very dynamic
society in which the economic and social actors
can flourish to their creative potential
(Florida, 2002). It is at the same time also
Another common concept in the literature
on innovation in informal settings is that of
indigenous or traditional knowledge. This
concept usually refers to what people know
because it is common knowledge in their
communities. The closely-related concept of
local knowledge refers to what one learns
from living and working in a particular place,
whether that knowledge is handed down over
generations or built through experience in an
individual life. This type of knowledge is the
basis of businesses established in the informal
economy (Cozzens and Sutz, 2012).
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LITERATURE REVIEW: INNOVATION IN
INFORMAL SECTOR
Only a few innovation studies scholars
have paid explicit attention to the informal
economy.
A recent study of the jua kali sector in
Kenya illustrates the first kind of extension of
innovation systems thinking to the informal
sector (Daniels, 2010). Jua kali firms are very
small service or manufacturing firms that make
goods from recycled materials, who are
trained in the skills they need to make or
repair products.
Kraemer-Mbula and Wamae (KraemerMbula and Wamae, 2010) include a discussion
of the informal economy when they describe
how innovation studies frameworks must be
revised to take the African context into
account.
Innovation in informal settings is illustrated
by Catalán‟s work on community water systems
in Costa Rica (Catalan 2011). The innovation
here takes place within the context of a
national program to improve sustainability
through local action.
Susmita Banerjee
Another example is the establishment of a
bio-fuels production capability in Southern
Buenos Aires, as reported by Garrido and
Lalouf (Garrido and Lalouf, 2011). The
combination of technical knowledge from a
local teacher and community need for school
transportation fuel created a new industry with
the potential to produce multiple benefits for
socially excluded groups.
Another attempt to put the informal
economy in the theoretical perspective of
innovation studies is Jens Müller‟s work on
blacksmiths in rural Tanzania (Muller, 2010).
Müller did field work among these rural
artisans between 1974 and 1977 and then
again between 1998 and 2003 and has good
data for describing the transformations in the
sector over two decades. Using concepts of
innovation studies with critical perspective he
has made an attempt to understand the
changes. The study concludes that the village
blacksmiths are smart, skilled, resourceful, and
very much in demand. They constitute an
essential resource for the country not only in
producing local goods but also in adapting
equipment and products produced elsewhere
to local conditions.
General Article
Most discussion on India‟s innovation system
focuses on formal research and development
(R&D) efforts and the formal part of the
economy. Hence, it becomes imperative to
analyse the dynamics of innovation with
reference to informal sector that can improve
the productivity and livelihoods of people in
India‟s vast informal economy. What is needed
is to find out sustainable livelihood and
productive income generating opportunities for
the poor. In this context, we must remember
that individuals or small firms in the informal
economy are still firms in the classical economic
sense. They have been demonstrated to invent,
innovate, and learn. They are different from
formal firms in their access to intellectual
property protection and potentially in their
access to science-based knowledge for
innovation; but the differences are in degree
rather than kind.
A study of “social technologies” in Latin
America provides additional examples of
community-based, bottom-up innovations,
encouraged in some cases by formal programs
of supports (Fressoli et al., 2011).
INNOVATIONS IN INFORMAL SECTOR:
EVIDENCE FROM WEST BENGAL
It is proven fact that to make Indian
development process more inclusive, from
building upon creative and innovative
experiments pursued by common people at
village or semi-urban level cannot be avoided.
Many of these experiments lead to innovations,
which can improve productivity and generate
employment. India's rural innovators have
proved that ordinary people are indeed
capable of extraordinary inventions. Despite
many constraints e.g. lack of education and
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severe cash crunch, most of them have
succeeded in using technology cost-effectively
to build ingenious products.
Data on rural handicraft sector reveals
that technological diffusion and innovations in
products have taken place to cater the
changing demand of urban consumer in sectors
like handloom products, brass work, needle
and embroidery, clay etc.. Design of products
and use of raw materials are being changed in
response to changes in aesthetic standards of
the consumers. Modern types of products are
produced along with traditional products to
meet both local and outside demand. New
products are made in response to new sources
of demand. Revolution has actually taken
place in textile sector, mainly in case of silk
sarees and handmade cotton sarees. Recently
the weavers of Shyambati, Tamaghata,
Vidyanagar, Ghoshat, under Burdwan cluster
are also producing home furnishing, scarves,
Nylon shirting etc for export oriented markets.
Silks of Bengal were much acclaimed world
Susmita Banerjee
However, weavers of some areas are still
producing traditional items like lungi, gamcha
etc. and uses traditional techniques and
designs. They require immediate diversification
of their product items. Condition of weavers of
Dhaniakhali, for an example, is somewhat
different. There situation have deteriorated in
recent past as they have failed to introduce
change in the design and product quality of
„tant-sari‟, following demand of the market.
However, weavers of Bankua, Birbhum and
Purulia, are able to reap the benefit of
product innovation. „Kantha‟ work and „Batik‟
work of Birbhum district is world famous now.
Technology has changed slowly and innovation
has taken place significantly to products
having aesthetic value content. It should be
noted that products of labour-based adaptive
technology are sometimes superior to modern
machine-based products from artistic or
aesthetic point of view. In the handloom
industry, certain types of tools like pitloom,
purni, big drum etc. are modernised depending
on the products, which help to increase the
quality and the quantity of production in a
single drum. A special type of loom is used for
producing certain exclusive products as
required by the design. Demand for Zari work
and Embroidery work has also increased
remarkably. The local artists are dealing with
this situation very efficiently by introducing
new concepts and designs. Weavers are also
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
General Article
In the present context we seek to
understand the dynamics of innovation process
with reference to some manufacturing units of
West Bengal, e.g. handloom, cotton textile,
brassware, horn-ware industry etc.. First we
will discuss with special reference to „Innovation
in traditional knowledge‟ and then we will
move towards grass root innovation. West
Bengal possesses diverse types of crafts culture
and rural industries across villages, blocks,
districts and regions. The information published
in Report of the Committee on Unorganised
Sector
Statistics,
National
Statistical
Commission, Government of India (February
2012), West Bengal development Report
(2010), Report of Directorate of Textile
(Government of West Bengal, 2012) and
Report of Directorate of Micro and Small Scale
Enterprises (Government of West Bengal,
2012)has been used in the present analysis.
Seasonality is considered to be an important
aspect for rural industries, operating mainly
during the agricultural lean period.
over since ancient times. The most well known
Bengal silk saree which carry its popular name
is Baluchari saree - a production of exclusive
design and fabulous weaving technique. A
revival in recent time of both the Baluchari and
another outstanding traditional Bengal saree "Daccai" has gained to nationwide and world
wide popularity and has generated interest in
Bengal silks in the outside world. Like silks
cotton sarees are also woven in a fascinating
and exquisite range in Bengal. Recently blend
of jute and Silk is being used to weave
exclusive sarees and dress materials in Bengal,
which has generated great demand among
urban consumers.
80
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using Natural colours, which is environment
friendly and good for skin. These are costly,
but changing taste of the consumer created
huge demand for such products.
In other sectors like brassware industry of
Nadia, Bankura, North 24 Parganas and
Birbhum District, a hammer which had been in
use by artisans to work on brass is being
replaced with an electrically -operated press
machine. In clay works of Nadia, Murshidabad,
Birbhum, Coach Bihar and West Dinajpur
District, mud structure has been replaced by
cement structure, which has higher longevity.
Sometimes, plaster of Paris is also used to
make the structure, but it is too costly. In the
horn-ware industry, electric wheel and
generator are used to polish and design the
product in place of the earlier practice of
brushing (sirish) with sand paper.
Now let us look at the grass root
innovation. In this context we have used certain
case studies from the report of National
Innovation Foundation.
Case 1: Cycle Operated Pump
Nasiruddin Gayen, of South 24 Parganas
district of West Bengal, have invented this
which relates to a pedal water pump. This
pump is particularly useful for pumping water
from the canal for irrigation purposes and to
Susmita Banerjee
This novel pump is portable and can be
taken and installed on site at will. The novel
twin cylinder system with connecting
rod/gear/flywheel arrangement ensures
constant delivery of water without any dead
stroke. There is constant steady output with
lesser biomechanical load while using for
longer time. This innovation makes it easier to
pedal than pumping by hand especially for
people with heart ailments, elderly, women
and children.
Case 2: Pedal Operated Paddy Thrasher
The innovator, Dharnidhara Mahato, of
Purulia district, has come up with a pedal
operated paddy thrasher that is available at
less than one-fifth of the cost of conventional
paddy thrashers, while delivering twice the
output. Using this thrasher, a person can thrash
1000-1200 kg of paddy in a day, which
makes it quite efficient for village use.
Case 3: Par Boiled Paddy Distributor
Conventionally the spreading of parboiled rice is developed manually using a tray.
The parboiled paddy is very hot and
labourers get burn and blisters many a time.
Ranjit Ghorai of Bankura district has
developed a simple but very effective parboiled paddy spreading machine, which can
spread about 800 kg par-boiled paddies in
five minutes. The machine is a trolley having a
sluice gate kind of opening at the bottom
where the size of the opening can be adjusted.
While carrying the par-boiled rice to a
different site for drying, the opening is kept
closed. It can also be used for spreading cow
dung compost in the farm field, and there is no
need of hiring any labour for this purpose.
General Article
But the main problem still lies in the area
of marketing, for which we need some
innovative measures from the part of the
government. Survey also reveals that due to
lack of capital, poor infrastructure, bad
information
network
and
structural
backwardness of the rural economy, all
entrepreneurs of the rural economy, however,
do not enjoy the benefits of increasing
demand. A few large independent producers
realize the advantages and produce
commodities in their own factories or offer
work orders to tied artisans for taking
advantage of the lower wage rates prevailing
in the informal labour market.
draw water from wells, tube wells and
reservoirs.
The main problem with such grass root
innovations is, though they are very much useful
in increasing productivity of the informal sector
at effective cost, most of the time these types
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
81
SARJANA
of inventions remain localized. Usually they do
not posses any mechanism through which they
can share the knowledge/ innovation with
other people of different regions. This is
indeed a big loss for society as a whole in two
ways. Firstly, it makes the innovator
demoralised and may prevent him from further
invention; and secondly, it could have act as an
inspiration for future researcher. Besides that,
they hardly get any material reward against
their hard work. However, any kind of
recognition or reward from Government could
have act as an incentive for them for further
research. It could have also inspired other
indigenous people in such innovative activities.
CONCLUSION
Catalan, P., The Dynamics of Communitarian
Innovation: The Case Of Rural Water Supply
and Sanitation (WSS) Systems in Costa Rica.
(2011) Globelics, Buenos Aires.

Chandrasekhar C. P. and Ghosh, J., Recent
employment trends in India and China: An
unfortunate convergence? (2007) Social
Scientist 35:19–46.

Cozzens S. and Sutz J., Innovation in
Informal Settings: A Research Agenda.
(2012)
source:http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Lists/Publicati
ons/Attachments/1130/IID%20Framework2
0July%2029.pdf
(last accessed on
November 7, 2013).

Daniels S., Making Do: Innovation in Kenya's
Informal Economy. (2010) Analogue Digital,
San Francisco, California.

Dougherty D., A Practice-Centred Model of
Organizational Renewal Through Product
Innovation. (1992) Strategic Management 13:
77–92.

Drucker P.F. (1993) Post-Capitalist Society,
Butterworth, Heinemann, NY.

Florida, R., The Rise of the Creative Class:
And How it‟s transforming work, leisure,
community and everyday life. (2002) New
York: Perseus Book Group

Fressoli M., Smith A. et al., From Appropriate
to Social technologies: some enduring
dilemmas in grassroots innovation movements
for socially just futures. (2011) Globelics,
Buenos Aires.

Garrido S. and Lalouf A., Before the Law. The
process of co‐construction of Technologies,
regulations and local development in the WCO
biodiesel production (Southern Buenos Aires,
2001‐2010). (2011) Globelics, Buenos Aires.

Gupta A. K., Mobilizing grassroots'
technological innovations and traditional
knowledge, values and institutions. (2003)
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975‐987.
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Athukorala, P.-C., Outward foreign direct
investment from India. (2009) Asian
Development Review, 26, no. 2:125–153.
Breman, J., India‟s social question in a state
of denial. (2010) Economic and Political
Weekly 45:42–46.
Susmita Banerjee
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
General Article
While writing conclusion of this study, it is
very much crucial to mention that continuity of
any production unit is embedded in the process
of change. Production units of rural informal
sector are not an exception. Hence, continuous
innovation process is required for sustainability
and growth of this sector. But, informal sector
includes mostly poor people, innovation ability
of whom is constrained by insufficient skill, lack
of capital and inability to access market and
information. In order to overcome these
constraints what we need is stronger
institutional infrastructure. Government alone
will not be able to solve these deficiencies.
Closer collaboration between public R & D
entities, industry, universities and nongovernment organisations are needed in this
context. We actually require a conscious,
methodical and sustained intervention process
for continuous productivity growth of informal
sector through innovation.

82
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

International‐Labor‐Organization.
(1972)
Employment, Incomes and equality: A
strategy
for
increasing
productive
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ICLS (1993): The 15th ICLS, Resolution
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Informal Sector, adopted by the 15th ICLS
(January 1993).
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NCEUS: (2007) Report on Conditions of
Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the
Unorganised Sector, Government of India,
Academic Foundation Press, New Delhi.

Nelson R. The Moon and the Ghetto. (1977)
New York, Norton.

Nelson R. R., National innovation systems: a
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ILO. Statistical Definition of Informal
Employment. (2000) Geneva, International
Labour Office

Rada C. Formal and informal sectors in
China and India. (2010) Economic Systems
Research 22:129–53.

International Labour Organisation. Decent
Work and the Informal Economy. (2002)
Geneva, International Labor Office.
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Ranis G., Stewart F., Ramirez, A., Economic
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World Development 28(2):197–219
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ICLS. Guidelines concerning a statistical
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Khasnabis R. and Nag P., Labour Process in
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Report of Directorate of Textile. (2012)
Government of West Bengal.

Report of Directorate of Micro and Small
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Kraemer‐Mbula E. and Wamae Eds.
Innovation and the Development Agenda.
(2010) Ottawa, OECD/IDRC.

Report of National Innovation Foundation.
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
Maunoury, Genesis Innovations. (1972)
Presses universitaires de France, 435 pages.

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Muller J., Befit for Change: Social
Construction of Endogenous Technology in the
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Grenaa, Djursland, Denmark.
Schumpeter J. A., Capitalism, Socialism and
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Trivedi, Pushpa, Lakshmanan L., Jain R.,
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Competitiveness of the Indian Manufacturing
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Government of West Bengal.
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Sector, Government of India, Academic
Foundation Press, New Delhi.
Susmita Banerjee
Vol. 1  2016  74–83
General Article

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Life Force or Creative Evolution: Shaw’s Philosophical Idea
Tanusri Nayak (Mandal)
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Shaw‟s theory of Life Force exhibits his philosophical attitude to Life. It operates as
an upward drive, as an instinct for betterment. As a philosopher Shaw made an attempt,
adapting the philosophic system of Lamarck and Butler, to give an answer to this question;
and he dramatized his ideas in a number of his plays. He dramatized the idea of Creative
Evolution, but seldom sacrificed his trade as an artist. The essentials of religion consist of
fighting against all sham, ugliness, and corruption. Shaw‟s image of God is quite different
from anthromorphic God whom the free-thinkers of the day were out to destroy. It is not
difficult to see the perfect Christian in Shaw, possibly the only perfect Christian after
Voltaire, who continued the fight of God and his son. Shaw accepts the teachings of Christ
and reveals it quite often. As a philosopher he has tried to present a coherent and
comprehensive view of human nature and of human life, and also to light the path in which
human life should best be liquid. According to him, Life Force is the essence, the ultimate
reality behind the world of the senses. The essence of Life Force, the philosophical idea
behind it, manifestations of the idea in the play will be tried to find out in the present
article.
philosophy, prophet, proclamation, vitality
INTRODUCTION
George Bernard Shaw was born on
Saturday, July 26 in 1856 at 3, Upper Synge
Street, Dublin, now 33, Synge Street, Dublin.
He was the youngest of the three children of
George Carr Shaw and Lucinda Elizabeth
Shaw who had a considerable artistic skill in
the field of music. Though Shaw‟s reputation
lies mainly as a dramatist, he started his career
as a prose writer. During the long period
(1856-1950) , he wrote plays, prefaces,
essays and short stories. The multifaceted
genius of Shaw prompts Subodh Chandra Sen
Gupta to enthusiastically observe: “Bernard
Shaw is a dramatist, a literary critic, a
theologian, a musical expert, and what not.”
(Sen Gupta, 1992) It is this versatility of Shaw
that insisted Archibald Henderson to regard
him as “Man of the Century” in his biographical
work of Shaw. On his own profession,
“I am not an ordinary playwright in
general practice. I am a specialist in
Tanusri Nayak (Mandal)
immoral and heretical plays. My
reputation has been gained by my
persistent struggle to force the public to
reconsider its morals. In particular, I
regard much current morality as to
economic and sexual relations as
disastrously wrong and I regard certain
doctrines of the Christian religion as
understood in England today with
abhorrence. I write plays with the
deliberate object of converting the
nation to my opinions in these matters. I
have no other effectual incentive to
write plays..........” (Henderson, 1956)
General Article
Keywords: Anthromorphic, doctrine, dogma, evolution, ideology, Life Force, mystic,
Therefore, a perusal of any literary work
of Shaw is a revelation of something contrary
to whatever is traditional. Shaw was not
unaware of the multiplicity of his ideas, and
the protean quality of his fancy. He believed
that his greatest bequest to posterity is a
large body of original plays, predestined to
survival by the antiseptic qualities of
perennial gaiety, wit, vivacity, and ingenuity.
Vol. 1  2016  84–87
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Shaw claimed that he
philosophy, and left
religion with a Bible
measure. This Bible
philosophy of the Life
philosophy of life.
had evolved a new
to mankind a new
thrown in for good
embodies Shaw‟s
Force, or simply his
thought in a time that needed even stronger
measures than Shaw employed to shake it into
awareness. The fact is that Shaw was
historically awake earlier, more persistently,
and with less compromise than any of his
contemporaries.” (Kaufmann, 1965)
Shaw, The philosopher
Shaw‟s theory of Life Force is the only
reality, all else is merely circumstantial and
unreal. He never succeeded in organizing this
philosophy into a coherent and consistent
whole. It is a cold, arid, unattractive world in
which the sublimate principles of love,
romance, and idealism are replaced by
reflection and contemplation. On his
deathbed, C.E.M. Joad, who could not
swallow the Life Force, left a last testament on
Shaw: “He was — a great philosopher,
remarkable for power and originality of
thought.” (Joad, 1925) Throughout his life,
Shaw has unhaltingly evolved as a philosophic
observer of life; and he has reflected
voluminously upon many of the crucial issues
which confront mankind today: government,
society, religion, poverty, wealth, marriage,
education, the family, science, medicine,
business, politics, war, finance and numerous
other subjects of compelling interest. His
approach to all topics is philosophical; and
although the dichotomy of the playboy and
the prophet, the jester and the hermit, divides
his admirers into two classes, it is indubitable
that those who know him best, discount his
harlequinades as acts in the public exhibition
of G.B.S., and regards him as a genuine sage.
His advice, over many years, was eagerly
sought by people of all classes; and even the
unsympathetic considered him amazingly wellinformed, shrewd in business matters, and
conservative rather than radical in his views
on conduct and affairs of everyday living. To
compare Socrates and Shaw, R. J. Kaufmann
in his essay has aptly remarked — “... it is
easy enough to separative Shaw, the artistthinker, from all the instruments of moral
vexation he devised to force the pace of
Shaw may be identified with the
“philosophic man” of his own definition: “He
who seeks in contemplation to discover the
inner will of the world, an invention to
discover the means of fulfilling that will, and
in action to do that will by the so-discovered
means.” (Shaw, 1910) This “inner will of the
world” is only another name for Goethe‟s
Time spirit, for Shaw‟s Life Force.
Tanusri Nayak (Mandal)
The great writer, in particular one with a
carefully
articulated
and
profoundly
entertained philosophy of life, is more than
author: he is prophet. Henderson attributed
Shaw as
an author dedicated by fame to the
service, not only of the contemporary
public, but of posterity. He is social thinker
and ethical teacher; a philosopher
concerned for the unities and universal
objectives of life and the race — and so
prophetic. (Henderson, 1956)
General Article
Life Force: Creative Evolution
As a writer, Shaw concerned himself
primarily with ideas, and their expression with
force, lucidity, and directness. The art of
stage technique, as Shaw practised it in
directing rehearsals, is the “art of making the
audience believe that real things are
happening to real people.” Art in the popular
sense — beautification without ulterior
philosophic intent — was entirely discarded
by Shaw. He kept literary art in its proper
place, and did not try to make it do the work
of the painter, the musician, or the pretty
woman. Shaw‟s concern was for the normal
life of normal people. To him Romeo and
Juliet are leaves in the autumn wind, carried
away by forces of nature that care nothing
Vol. 1  2016  84–87
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SARJANA
for Montagues and Capulets, and delighted
by the adventure, blindly adore, and desire
one another. When the individual is not
blinded, when he is conscious of his plight and
struggles desperately to keep his footing,
when his unclouded judgement warns his
against his infatuation, then begins the conflict
and individuality which make Shavian drama
possible, and Romeo and Juliet develop into
Tanner and Ann Whitefield, Charteris and
Julia, Magnus and Orinthia.
Einstein and Shaw
Life Force and Shaw’s Plays
Shaw and the other Philosophers
Purpose, will, life: these were the
cornerstones of Shaw‟s philosophy. He
recognized purpose and will in the world
because he was himself conscious of purpose
and will woman brings children into the world,
not for herself or for her husband, but to fulfil
the end in view for which the Life Force has
created her. Man produces great works just
as woman brings men into the world, with
travail and pain, man is continually engaged
in doing things which do not benefit him. He
works just as hard when there is no chance of
profit as when there is. Shaw, then, was a
confirmed Neo-Lamarckian in the view that
“where there‟s a will there‟s a way.”
Philosophically and scientifically, Shaw
derives directly from Schopenhauer, Lamarck,
and Buttler. He was the most sensitive and
acquisitive of artists, and made his own those
ideas of such modern philosophers as
Nietzsche and Bergson which buttressed his
In his monumental philosophical work Back
to Methuselah, Shaw conceived Man as
successfully willing his own salvation. Extension
of the life span to three centuries he
conceived, not as the goal of scientific effort,
but as the mystical realization, on Lamarckian
Tanusri Nayak (Mandal)
Vol. 1  2016  84–87
General Article
This is not altogether to be wondered at
Shaw, liken Plato, like Leonardo, like Goethe,
like Einstein (who claimed that only an artist
can be a higher mathematician), was an
artist-philosopher; and the artist-philosophers
have never been acknowledged by the
Baconian laboratory workers. When Shaw
said at the Einstein banquet, “science is
always wrong and Religion is always right,”
(Contemporary
Immortals,
1931)
the
laboratory men spat him out as hopeless.
Perhaps only Einstein himself foresaw Shaw‟s
point that of the eight great Makers of
Universes whom he placed at the head of all
the scientific categories, he (Einstein) showed
that Newton was wrong, and that what
Einstein had done to Newton, everyone of the
eight had done to his predecessor, while the
Church had never changed, and prided itself
on its defiance of the Shavian dogma that
“The Law of Change is the Law of God,”
(Contemporary Immortals, 1931) which again
shows a strong affiliation to Ibsen‟s
proclamation that “The old beauty is no
longer beautiful and the old truth no longer
true.” (Contemporary Immortals, 1931)
own vitalist philosophy. Shaw never made any
thorough going study of the philosophy of
Nitzsche and Schopenheuer; and it is his own
“eccentricities and paradoxes” are only part
of the common stock of modern European
ideas and advanced thought. The basic
principle of the Shavian philosophy is the
substitution of instinct for convention,
conscience for conformity. The keynote of this
ethic is the pursuit of life for its own sake. Life
is realised only as activity that satisfies the
will: that is, as self-assertion. Every extension
or intensification of activity is an increase in
life. Shaw found the distinction between
instinct and conscience a trumpery one.
“Conscience is the most powerful of all
instincts,” he maintained, “and the love of
God the most powerful of all the passions.”
(Henderson, 1956) He was a moral
protestant, in the full trend of contemporary
European thought. A capital expression of this
doctrine is the amusing epigram: “An
Englishman thinks himself moral when he is
only uncomfortable.” (Rogers, 1977)
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Ann Whitefield, Major Barbara and Joan
stand out as gifted, independent women
chosen by the Life Force to advance
civilization biologically, socially, politically.
Caeser, Undershaft, and Higgins are vital
geniuses in full maturity; guiding, assembling,
creating the forces of life towards new
stages. (Dervin, 1935)
his advent as a remarkable phenomenon, as
remarkable as the appearance of a comet,
but highly beneficial to the world.” (Sen
Gupta, 1992) One of the most important
reasons why Shaw is considered to be a
„phenomenon‟ is that he is unconventional in his
approach to life and literature. His beliefs, his
opinions, ideas, and concepts differ radically
from those that the rest of the world
possesses. In his fastidious reaction from the
human being- the sweating, struggling, loving,
fighting, hating aspiring human being- he has
eviscerated, de-sexed, the race. He leaves us
only pale Macterlinekian ghosts, numbling
ascetic
philosophies,
and
wandering
dementedly along the battlements of Eternity.
(Hendersons, 1956) But Shaw himself was
undoubtedly sincere in regarding the prospect
with rapture.
REFERENCES




CONCLUSION
Shaw‟s long career as a literary artist
extended for over ninety years (1856-1950).
His tremendous power of will and his
unbending optimism emerged him as the “man
of the century” and as “a remarkable
phenomenon”. Henderson rightly regards his
as the “man of the century [because he] left a
distinctive mark upon the thought and culture
of our time.” (Henderson, 1956) S. C.
Sengupta, too agreeing with Shaw‟s
assumption that his emergence in the world is
a remarkable phenomenon pertinently
observes: “Bernard Shaw himself looks upon
Tanusri Nayak (Mandal)




Dervin, D. (1935), Bernard Shaw: A
Phychological Study, Lewisburg: Bucknell
University Press, p. 75
Henderson, A. (1931), Contemporary Immortals,
Chapter1 “Einstein” New York, p. 635, 695775
Henderson, A. (1956) George Bernard
Shaw: Man of the Century, New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., p. 62
JOAD, C. E. M. (1925) 'A Realist Philosophy
of Life', Contemporary British Philosophy,
Second Series, ed. J.H. Muirhead, London :
George Allen & Unwin, p. 54
Kaufmann, R. J. (1965), ed. G. B. Shaw: A
Collection of Critical Essays, Prentice Hall:
Englewood Cliffs, p. 235
Rogers, A. K. (1977), Bernard Shaw’s
Philosophy, Lewisburg: Bucknell University
Press, p. 70
Sen Gupta, S. C. (1992), The Art of Bernard
Shaw, Calcutta: N. M. Publication, p. 1,35
The Christian Commonwealth, July 20, 1910
Vol. 1  2016  84–87
General Article
principles, of a deep-seated human desire.
The destiny of the human race, as he depicted
it, seems arid and forbidding, rather than
radiant and alluring. Love, romance, art,
happiness are telescoped into inconsiderable
dimensions, the deeper experiences of the
race are now mere vestigial remains of its
troubled childhood. The futurist Shavian will
be very unlike what his prehistorian calls “The
Horrible He-Man of Hollywood,” desperately
borrowing a spurious virility from the brandy
flask and the butcher‟s shop. His sole concern
with his body will be to get rid of it and
become “a vortex in thought.” Shaw‟s
Pygmalion shows how a genius guides,
assembles, and creates “the forces of Life
towards new stages.” Acting unconventionally,
Shaw‟s Pygmalion responds to the demands
of life without caring a fig for finer sentiments
which ruined the stalwarts in Shakespeare‟s
plays. Incidentally, it is pertinent to recall
Daniel Dervin‟s classification of the three
major types of vital geniuses. He observes:
87
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Plasma – The Fourth State of Matter
Debolina Chakraborty
Reader, Department of Mathematics, Charuchandra College, Kolkata-700029
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, the others being solid,
liquid and gas. A plasma has properties unlike those of the other states. A plasma can be
created by heating a gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field .This decreases
or increases the number of electrons, creating positively or negatively charged particles
called ions. The presence of a significant number of charge carriers makes plasma
electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. Like gas,
plasma does not have a definite shape or a definite volume unless enclosed in a container.
Unlike gas, under the influence of a magnetic field, it may form structures such as filaments,
beams and double layers.
Keywords: Plasma, state of matter, Debye sphere, Debye shielding radius, Qoulomb force
INTRODUCTION
In 1937, Hannes Alfvén argued that if
plasma pervaded the universe, it could then
carry electric currents capable of generating
a galactic magnetic field. After winning the
Nobel Prize, he emphasized that:
In order to understand the phenomena in a
certain plasma region, it is necessary to map
not only the magnetic but also the electric field
and the electric currents. Space is filled with a
network of currents which transfer energy and
momentum over large or very large distances.
The currents often pinch to filamentary or
surface currents. The latter are likely to give
space, as also interstellar and intergalactic
space, a cellular structure.
Debolina Chakraborty
At ordinary temperatures matter exists in
three states- solids, liquids and gases. Solids
have definite shape and volume, and the
molecules are held together by strong forces.
Liquids have no definite shape, but have
definite volume. Their molecules have
significant attractive force between each
other. Gases have no definite shape and
volume- they spread out and fill all available
space. The gas molecules are relatively far
apart and the forces between them is
relatively small. If enough energy is added to
the gas, it is likely that the molecules first
separate into atoms and the atoms then break
up to form a gas of free electrons and ions.
This is called plasma. Plasma is essentially an
ionized state of matter. At very high
temperature matter is found to exist in an
ionized state. However, plasma can also exist
at lower temperatures, but there has to be a
Vol. 1  2016  88–91
General Article
Plasma is the most abundant form of
matter in the universe, both by mass and by
volume. Essentially, all of the visible light from
space comes from stars, which are plasmas
with a temperature such that they radiate
strongly at visible wavelengths. Most of the
ordinary matter in the universe, however, is
found in the intergalactic medium which is also
a plasma, but much hotter, so that it radiates
primarily as X-rays.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter. A
plasma is essentially an ionized gas, a gas
into which sufficient energy is provided to
free the electrons from the atoms and allow
both the species- ions and electrons to coexist. The ability of the positive and negative
charges to move independently makes the
plasma electrically conductive so that it
responds strongly to electromagnetic fields.
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mechanism for ionizing the gas. Also the
density must be so low that recombination is
not a rapid process.
Figure 1: Diagram showing transition between the different states of matter
On the earth conditions are not favorable
for natural plasma because of the prevailing
low temperature and high density. So one has
to take recourse to experimental means to
study the properties of plasma. There are
applications in which the plasma may exist
such as fluorescent lamps. Apart from the
matter of the sun, plasma is found in the
upper atmosphere while further out plasma is
wrapped in the earth’s magnetic field in the
near vacuum space.
Plasma obeys Boltzmann’s distribution
where n0 is the number density in the
unperturbed quasi neutral state.
The plasma state was first detected by
Sir William Crookes in 1879 (Crookes, 1879)
in a Crookes tube. The nature of the matter in
the Crookes tube was identified by the British
physicist J. J. Thomson in 1897, and called
plasma by Irving Langmuir in 1928 (Langmuir,
1928).
If n is number of particles in the Debye
sphere then.
PLASMA PROPERTIES
, is the debye shielding radius.
The Debye radius is the characteristic
distance at which the plasma screens the
external field.
PLASMA PARAMETER
For Debye shielding n must be large i.e.
g<<1. This is plasma approximation.
General Article
In order to understand plasma, let us
study a few properties of plasma.
=
The charged particles must close enough
together such that each particle influences
many nearby charged particles instead of just
the closest particle, which is a distinguishing
feature of plasma.
PLASMA FREQUENCY
Plasma may be taken as a collection of
protons and electrons at no density such that
the binary interaction between two particles
can be neglected. The Coulomb force is a
long range force, but in plasma short range
field exists about any charged particle.
Electrons of plasma are removed a
certain distance x to the right, starting from
x=0.
Electric field strength is
Assuming E = 0 for x < x0
E = -4πeN0x, for x > x0.
Equation of motion for each electron is
Debolina Chakraborty
Vol. 1  2016  88–91
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where = is the Langmuir or plasma frequency.
TEMPERATURES
Plasma temperatures is expressed in
Kelvins or electron volts and is an informal
measure of the thermal kinetic energy of each
particle. Plasmas are classified as thermal or
non-thermal based
on the relative
temperatures of electrons, ions and neutral
atoms. In thermal plasmas electrons and
heavy particles have the same temperatures,
while in non-thermal plasmas ions and neutral
atoms are at a much lower temperature than
electrons.
POTENTIALS
MAGNETIZATION
A particle, on average, completes at least
one gyration around the magnetic field
before making a collision; wce/vcoll > 1,
where wce is the electron gyro frequency and
vcoll is the electron collision rate. Magnetized
plasmas are anisotropic i.e. their properties in
a direction parallel to the magnetic field are
different from those perpendicular to it.
SPACE PLASMA
Plasma is present in the atmosphere of
the earth and the planets, in the stars
including the sun, and in outer space. Each of
these types of plasmas exist under special
conditions. The plasma of the earth’s
atmosphere is created by the ultraviolet solar
radiation. The parameters of this plasma
sharply vary according to certain processes
Debolina Chakraborty
The plasmas of stars differ greatly in
their parameters. In the inner part of the sun
where the thermonuclear fusion reaction
occurs, is extremely high. The surface region
of the sun is the photosphere which radiates
most of the solar energy. The region closer to
the sun’s centre is called the convective
region as the energy is transmitted there
with convective movement of the solar
plasma in strong magnetic field. Such
movement of the solar plasma gives rise to
the granular structure of the photosphere,
development of sun spots and other
phenomena on the surface of the sun. Over
the sun’s surface there is a low-density hightemperature region called the corona which
is a powerful source of ultraviolet radiation.
The sun emits plasma from its surface which
gives rise to the interplanetary plasma. The
electrons in this plasma are captured by the
magnetic field of the earth and produces the
radiation belts around the earth. The highenergy electrons and protons give rise to
various effects in the earth’s atmosphere such
as the auroras.
CONCLUSION
General Article
The potential as in exist in the space
between charged particles is called plasma
potential or space potential. In the quasi
neutral state the density of negative charges
is approximately equal to the density of
positive charges over large volumes of
plasma. We assume that the electrons obey
the Boltzmann’ distribution, and the electric
field is given by
occurring on the solar surface and to the
parameters of the atmosphere itself.
Plasmas find applications in many fields
of research, technology and industry, as in
industrial and extractive metallurgy, surface
treatments such as plasma spraying, etching in
microelectronics, metal cutting and welding as
well as in everyday vehicle exhaust cleanup
and fluorescent lamps. Plasmas also have
applications in supersonic combustion engines
for aerospace engineering.
REFERENCES

Bittencourt, J.A., Fundamentals of Plasma
Physics. (2004) Springer. p. 1. ISBN
9780387209753.
Vol. 1  2016  88–91
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
Crookes, J.J., (1879) Crookes presented a
lecture to the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, in Sheffield, on
Friday, 22 August 1879.

Goodstein, D.L., (1985) States of Matter.
Dover Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-486-49506-4.
National
Research
Council.
Plasma
Processing
of
Materials:
Scientific
Opportunities and Technological Challenges.
(1991) National Academies Press. ISBN
978-0-309-04597-1.


Langmuir, I., "Oscillations in Ionized
Gases". (1928) Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences 14 (8):
627–637.
Okumura, T., "Inductively Coupled Plasma
Sources and Applications". (2010) Physics
Research International 2010: 1–14.


Smirnov, B.M., Introduction to Plasma
Physics. (1977) Mir Publishers.
General Article
Debolina Chakraborty
Vol. 1  2016  88–91
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Enriching Library Services in Colleges:
An Approach through N-LIST
Banasree Roy
Librarian, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 700029, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: N-LIST programme is a consortium of INFLIBNET for colleges that are under the
purview of 2F and 12B Section of UGC Act. These colleges are eligible to access resources
of this consortium. N-LIST allows authorised users from colleges to access e-resources and
download articles directly from the publisher’s website once they are duly authenticated as
authorized users through servers deployed at the INFLIBNET centre. e-Resources in all the
disciplines are covered under the N-LIST Programme. This paper gives an overview on the
facilities available through N-LIST consortium. The guidelines of using N-LIST are narrated in
this paper which would be useful as a manual and which would help in spreading the
awareness among stakeholders.
Keywords: e-resource, e-book, e-journal, e-database, N-LIST, Library Service, College Library
INTRODUCTION
Banasree Roy
General Article
Applications
of
Information
and
Communication Technology (ICT) has ushered the
new direction to the library services as a whole.
It has been a well established fact that ICT
provides certain opportunities that enable
multifaceted applications and in which a
computerized information network has the
highest achievement in the society. Network is
commonly an interconnected structure among a
group of individuals and/or organizations of
same type. In the information based society, a
library and information network is formed by a
number of libraries and information centres
having a common interest and goal. Generally
they have some sort of understanding to help
each other towards satisfying the information
requirements of their users by sharing the
resources of their common interest. Thus, for the
purpose of resource sharing among academic
libraries
using
networked
environment,
Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET)
Centre was established by the University Grants
Commission (UGC), Government of India.
INFLIBNET centre is an Autonomous InterUniversity Centre (IUC) Of UGC. It is a major
national programme initiated by the UGC in
1996. Its Head Quarter is presently in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat. INFLIBNET works
towards modernization of libraries, serves as an
Information Centre for transfer and access of
information and supports scholarships and
academic pursuits through its network extended
to universities, colleges and R & D institutions
across the country. For fulfilling its objective
INFLIBNET has taken some initiatives which are
IndCat (Online Union Catalogue of Indian
Universities), UGC-INFONET Digital Library
Consortium, N-LIST etc. Of these, N-LIST is
specially launched for College libraries (Dutta,
2011).
N-LIST
Library consortium is a collective
approach of a group of libraries towards a
common goal of sharing resources. Consortiabased information services can be rendered
to a vast number of users of the libraries with
their limited resources. UGC-INFONET Digital
Library Consortium of INFLIBNET was mainly
meant for the universities and was not
feasible for the colleges as usual. Thus, the NLIST (National Library and Information
Services Infrastructure for Scholarly ContenT)
programme was initiated by INFLIBNET (Rani
and Sharma, 2012). With a selected number
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
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of titles N-LIST programme was launched on
4th May, 2010 for colleges only to overcome
the problem of non-ability of procuring
sufficient number of resources by colleges due
to their financial constraints. N-LIST, is in true
sense initially was a joint venture of the UGCINFONET Digital Library Consortium of
INFLIBNET centre, Ahmedabad and INDESTAICTE Consortium of IIT New Delhi formed
with objectives towards minimizing the
duplication in e-resources subscription among
colleges and maximizing the subscription of
number such relevant resources with an
intention to share them among participating
colleges through a consortium approach
(Vashishth, 2011).
e-RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH
N-LIST PROGRAMME
e-Resources in all the disciplines ranging
from Pure Sciences to Social Sciences and
Humanities, Linguistics and Languages are
covered under this N-LIST Programme. Users
of the member colleges can have access to ejournals and e-books published in the United
States, the United Kingdom, and India.
Database/publishers of e-Journals, e-Books
etc. included in this programme are mentioned
in the following table for ready reference
with their web address:
Table 1: e-resources available to colleges through N-LIST
Sl.
Publishers of the
No.
e-Resources
e-Journals
1 American Institute of Physics
2 Annual Reviews
3 Cambridge University Press
4 Economic and Political Weekly
5 Indian Journals
6 Institute of Physics
7 Oxford University Press
8 Royal Society of Chemistry
9 JSTOR
10 H. W. Wilson
e-Books
1 Ebrary
2 Oxford Scholarship
3 NetLibrary
4 MyiLibrary
5 Cambridge Books Online
6 Institute of South East Asian
Studies Books
7 Springer eBooks
8 Sage Knowledge eBooks
9 Taylor and Francis eBooks
Bibliographic Database
1 MathSciNet
Banasree Roy
Web address of the publisher Country
No. of
Titles
Back files from
www.aip.org/
www.annualreviews.org/
www.cambridge.org/
www.epw.in/
www.indianjournals.com/
www.iop.org/
global.oup.org
www.rsc.org/
www.jstor.org
www.ebscohost.com
18
33
224
1
250 +
46
206
29
2500 +
2800+
10 years
10 years
10 years
1966 onwards
2007 onwards
Vol 1 onwards
10 years
10 years
www.ebrary.com
www.oxfordscholarship.com
www.netlibrary.com
www.myilibrary.com
www.ebooks.cambridge.org
www.iseas.edu.sg
USA
USA
UK
India
India
UK
UK
UK
USA
USA
General Article
Indian colleges those are established and
governed under the purview of 2F and 12B
Section of UGC Act would be allowed to join NLIST and can access, thus, e-resources – ejournals and e-books subscribed
by this
consortium. Authorised users from participating
colleges can access e-resources and download
articles directly from the publisher’s website
once they are duly authenticated as authorized
users through servers deployed at the INFLIBNET
centre. It facilitates access to e-resources to
students, researchers and faculties from colleges
through proxy servers (http:/www.inflibnet.
ac.in).
USA
1,25,000
UK
1400 +
USA
936
USA
1,124
USA
1800
Singapore
382+
www.springer.com
www.sk.sagepub.com
www.tandfebooks.com
USA
USA
UK
www.ams.org/mathscienet/
USA
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
2300
1000
1800
7 years
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Some of the database/publishers of eresources are briefly discussed :
(a) Full text e-journals
Through NLIST program full-text journals
belongs to different subjects or disciplines of
different publishing houses are accessible by
the users.
(i) American Institute of Physics (AIP): To
(iii) Cambridge University Press (CUP): As a
wing of University of Cambridge, the
Cambridge University Press (CUP) is fulfilling the
mission of University by serving user through
publications on different subject areas like
humanities, social studies, archaeology and
anthropology, nutrition, religion, biomedical
sciences, law, physical sciences, medical sciences,
etc. by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit
of education, learning and research at the
highest international levels of excellence. Access
is made available to 224 journals and archival
access is provided upto 10 years back volumes
for N-LIST members (www.cambridge.org/).
(iv) Economic and Political Weekly (EPW): The
As a publisher, AIP serves the world wide
physical science community to provide
scientific information through their huge
number of publications. Applied Physics
Letter, Journal of Applied Physics and Journal
of Chemical Physics etc. are few names.
INFLIBNET has procured 18 full text journals
and 10 back volume files of these journals for
their N-LIST consortia extending access
benefit to the users of its members
(www.aip.org/).
Economic and Political Weekly, popularly
known as EPW, is a weekly peer-reviewed
academic journal. The focus of the EPW is
economic and political issues, but it is truly a
multidisciplinary publication covering all social
sciences. Ever since the first issue, EPW has
been India’s premier journal for comment on
current affairs and research in the sociology,
political science, economics, history, gender
and environment studies. This is reflected for
its user in both the research (Special Articles)
and current affairs (Commentary) sections.
Members of the N-LIST programme are
allowed to have access to current EPW with
back volumes files since 1966 as well
(www.epw.in/).
(ii) Annual Reviews : Annual Reviews is a non-
(v) Indian Journals: As the publisher of the e-
profit organisation and is engaged in publishing
an intelligent synthesis of research literatures to
serve the global scientific community. It covers eresources of the 46 focused disciplines within
Bio-medical, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and
Social Sciences to offer relevant information to
their user community through this Annual
Reviews. To guide researcher of their field, the
publisher critically anew the most significant
journals, Indian Journals plays major roles to
provide any Indian journals to individuals,
institutes/organisation, societies. It has a vast
collection of interdisciplinary Indian Journals
and Research Publications for their users.
INFLIBNET has subscription agreement with
Indian Journals. Access to more than 250
Indian journals covering a wide range of
disciplines with back volume files from 2007
Banasree Roy
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
General Article
encourage
enormous
and
effective
application of physical sciences for societal
upliftment, the American Institute of Physics
(AIP) is engaged. AIP advances the
knowledge of the physical sciences and its
application;
heightens,
cultivates
and
promotes different aspects of physical
sciences to the public, Government official,
agencies and the media. It is a not-for profit
organisation working for the benefit of the
individuals and/or institutions devoted to
physical sciences. The mission of the AIP is to
promote the advancement and diffusion of
knowledge of physics and its allied discipline
for human welfare.
primary research article for their users. Users of
the member institutes can access 33 full text
journals with 10 years back volume files through
N-LIST programme (www.annualreviews.org/).
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onwards are made available from the
publisher’s website to the users of the member
colleges
through
N-LIST
Programme
(www.indianjournals.com/).
(vi) Institute of Physics: Towards advancement
of Physics for the benefit of all scientists, the
Institute of Physics (IoP), one of the scientific
society, is engaged. Scientific e-journals and
e-books on various topics like Bio-inspiration,
Biometrics, Biomedical materials, Astronomy,
Astrophysics, Chemical physics and Theoretical
physics are published from IoP. For high
quality information in physical sciences, IoP is
a well-known publisher of e-resources.
Members of N-LIST Programme can access 46
e-journals of IoP publisher from Vol.1 issue.1
onwards (www.iop.org/).
(viii) Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC): The
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a not-forprofit professional association, is a learned
society for chemistry. The Chemical Society,
the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday
Society, and the Society for Analytical
Chemistry have merged and formed this
professional association with a new Royal
charter and plays a dual role of learned
society and professional body. It is one of the
most prominent, influential, independent
scientific organisation in UK, promotes the
interest of chemists and the benefits of
chemical sciences. The members of the N-LIST
Banasree Roy
(ix) JSTOR: JSTOR is short form of Journal
Storage, originally containing digitised back
issues of academic journals. Now it is a
growing digital library of academic books
and primary sources, and current issues of
journals covering Humanities, Social Sciences
and Sciences. In JSTOR database, there are
full text journal titles of more than 900
publishers. JSTOR was not included in NLIST
at the beginning. Now on the spontaneous
demand of the user community, JSTOR is
included in the list of N-LIST programme and
member of N-LIST Programme can access
more than 2500 title from JSTOR database
(www.jstor.org/ )
(b) e-Books
(i) ebrary: ebrary, an online digital library of
e-books, provides a set of online database
collections of Cambridge University Press,
Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Springer
and Taylor & Francis. It contains full text of
100,000 scholarly e-books on economics,
computers and IT, engineering and
technology, history and political science,
humanities, medicine, psychology and social
work, sociology & anthropology etc.
Collection of more than 125,000 e-books are
accessible by the members of
N-LIST
Programme (www.ebrary.com/).
General Article
(vii) Oxford University Press (OUP): Oxford
University Press (OUP), a department of
University of Oxford, is the largest University
Press in the world. To fulfil the University’s
objectives of excellence in research, scholarship
and education, OUP is publishing journals on life
sciences, mathematics, physical sciences,
medicine, social sciences, humanities, and law
and include some of the most authoritative
journals in their fields across the globe. A total
of 206 journals are made available from
Oxford University Press with back volume files
from 1996 onwards to the member of the NLIST Programme (global.oup.org/).
Programme can access 29 full-text journals
and their 10 years back files from RSC
database (www.rsc.org/ ).
(ii) Oxford Scholarship: The Oxford Scholarship
Online (OSO) offers access to an online
library with a collection of over 10,000
outstanding academic full text of books from
Oxford University Press. It is a huge and
rapidly-spread out on-line library covering
20 subject areas like biology, business and
management, economics and finance, law,
linguistics, literature, mathematics, philosophy,
physics, political science, psychology etc. It is
included in the NLIST program. The access is
made available to more than 1402 titles of
electronic books from Oxford Scholarship
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
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Online
through
N-LIST
(www.oxfordscholarship.com/).
Programme
(iii) NetLibrary: e-books including reference
books, scholarly monographs, publications of
many university presses are accessible from
NetLibrary which provides hosts more than
2,00,000 titles from hundreds of publishers
across all disciplines. NetLibrary also provides
access to e-books of consumer books that
have been converted into digital format.
Members of N-LIST programme can enjoy
access facilities to 936 highly used electronic
books in different subject disciplines
(www.netlibrary.com/).
(vi) Sage Knowledge e-Books: Sage, an
international publisher of journals, books,
electronic media, publishes more than 800
books and 900 journals each year. To
promote the dissemination of knowledge and
educate a global community, Sage provides
both print and electronic sources on wide
range of subject areas comprising of business,
humanities, social sciences and science,
technology and medicine. N-LIST ’s member
can access 1000 titles of e-books from Sage
database (www.sk.sagepub.com).
(vii) Taylor & Francis e-Books: Being an
internationally reputed publisher, Taylor &
Banasree Roy
 CRCnetBASE offers comprehensive e-book
collections
 The Europa World of Learning contains
resources for information on over 30,000
learning, research and higher education
institutions.
 Routledge Enclopedia of Philosophy
Online
 Taylor & Francis online; etc
More or less 1800 titles of e-books of
Taylor & Francis can be accessed by
authorised member of N-LIST Programme
(www.tandfebooks.com/ ).
(viii) Institute of South East Asian Studies
Books: The Institute of South East Asian Studies
(ISEAS) is a regional centre involved in
research on the multi-faceted dimensions and
issues of stability and security, economic
development, political, social and cultural
changesa. The publication unit of ISEAS has
published over 2,000 scholarly books and
journals on economics, policies and social
issues in Southeast Asia. More than 382 tiles
of e-books of ISEAS are accessible through
the N-LIST Programme (www.iseas.edu.sg/ ).
General Article
(iv) MyiLibrary - Mc Graw Hill: MyiLibrary is the
most comprehensive on-line e-resources
platform, which offers institutions the ability to
acquire and to access digital contents on any
individual title based on their unique
requirements and resources. More than 2500
imprints of the most popular publishers in the
world, like Taylor & Francis, Oxford University
Press, Cambridge University Press, Springer and
Elsevier, Penguin Random House, McGraw Hill
etc. are accessible through MyiLibrary platform.
Members of N-LIST programme can access
1124 titles of e-books of only Mc Graw Hill
publisher database in different subject
disciplines like Language & literature, Law,
Medicine, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Technology
etc. (www.myilibrary.com/).
Francis Group partners published scholarly
journals, books, e-books, reference works,
and databases of almost of all areas of the
humanities, social sciences, behavioural
sciences, science, technology and medicine.
Taylor & Francis Group includes following eresources database:
(c) Bibliographic Database
(i) MathSciNet: MathSciNet is a mathematical
reviews database of international mathematics
literature. It is an electronic bibliographic
database offering access to easily searchable
database of reviews, abstracts and bibliographic
information mainly of mathematical sciences
literature. In every year over 80,000 reviews of
the current published literature on mathematics
are added to the database. Members of the
N-LIST Programme can access these reviews to
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
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know the research trend in mathematical
sciences
for
their
further
research
(www.ams.org/mathscienet/).
HOW
TO
ACCESS
THROUGH N-LIST ?
e-RESOURCES
and password for the authorized user is
assigned by INFLIBNET.
To Access e-resources through N-LIST
Programme the following are the steps :
Step 1 : Login
The resources are accessible through web
site http://nlist.inflibnet.ac.in. The Faculty
members, Research Scholars, Students of the
member institutions/colleges are authorized to
log-in the website by their specific login ID and
Passwords available with the N-LIST
coordinator, ordinarily the Librarian of the
college. The login/ user ID is the user e-mail-ID
Log on to http://nlist.inflibnet.ac.in and
open the Home Page of N- LIST. Enter
Username i.e. user e-mail ID and Password in
respective entry boxes of Member Login and
click on Login. On successful Log-in, a list of
e-resources subscribed through N-LIST
Programme is displayed. Figure 1 shows the
Home Page of N-LIST.
General Article
Figure 1: Home Page of N-LIST
Step 2 : Access to E-resources
Click on the desired e-resource to reach
out to the full-text e-resource on publisher’s
website. Users select the desired publisher
and go directly to the server for accessing ejournal and e-books. There are various
options to searching e-journals depending
upon the publisher’s policy. User may search
title (alphabetically) or subject-wise or by
keywords. Articles or Books are to be given
by Author search, Title search, Simple search,
Banasree Roy
Advanced search, Boolean search etc from
Publishers cites. After selection of the required
journals user may download the full text
article or print the article.
Searching by Journals
It is possible to search by the titles of the
journals covered under N-LIST program. For
this, at first ‘Search’ option on navigation bar
of N-LIST Web Site is to be clicked on. Then
the name of the journal or a subject term is to
Vol. 1  2016  92–98
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be entered in the respective text entry box
and ‘Go’ is to be clicked on. Search results
will be displayed with the links to full-text of
journal(s) on publisher’s Web site.
Most of the colleges may not have
adequate infrastructure for networking facilities
in the college library to provide access to all
users of the colleges. Thus, INFLIBNET has
adopted
this
‘username-password’
authentication instead of IP (Internet Protocol)
address authentication. INFLIBNET has also
extended the facilities to use of N-LIST beyond
the college premises as users are authenticated
through the college membership login ID. Hence
users are allowed to enjoy remote access
facilities (www.inflibnet.ac.in ).
INTER LIBRARY LOAN SERVICE
CONCLUSION
Libraries which at once were considered only
as storehouse of books has got a new look with
the emergence of new technologies in ICT era.
Various services which used to be carried out
manually in college libraries, now are being
carried out smoothly and effectively with the help
of ICT. Mostly college librarians are now trained
and capable enough in handling ICT tools for
enriching services, thus expected to extend
effective library services to their users. But
exponentially escalation in price of books and
Banasree Roy
REFERENCES

Datta, Bidyarthi, A future of academic
library system in India : a vision. (2011).
College libraries. 26, I-IV: 41-55

Rani, Yashoda and Sharma, A. K., N-LIST : a
boon for the colleges in accessing eresources online. (2012). Library Progress
(International) 32, 1: 21-27

Vashisha, C. P. Building library collection in eEnvironment : challenges & opportunities.
(2011). Library Herald 49, 1: 15-33
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Vol. 1  2016  92–98
General Article
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98
SARJANA
Zona Pellucida Glycoprotein as Immunocontraceptive Vaccine
Kausiki Chakrabarti
Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 29, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: The zonapellucida (ZP), as a noncellular glycoprotein layer surrounding the
mammalian oocyte and preimplantation embryo, occupies a rather unique position within the
female reproductive system for its consideration as a potential target for
immunocontraceptive purposes. The zona represents a structure through which sperm must
pass in order to reach and fertilize the egg. Likewise, if an egg has been fertilized, the
zonapellucida then represents a structure which must be removed prior to the implantation
of the developing embryo and initation of the pregnancy. Thus, in situations of either pre- or
postfertilization the alteration of or interference with the normal functioning of the
zonapellucida would likely result in inhibition of certain critical reproductive events. Such
disruption of normal reproductive function directed against the zonapellucida represents a
potential approach to fertility regulation.
Keywords: Zonapellucida, fertilization, immunocontraceptive, vaccine
Zona Pellucida (ZP) is an extra cellular
matrix, composed of glycoproteins, which
surround the mammalian oocyte. This matrix
serves multiple functions which play important
role during fertilization. It is responsible for
binding of spermatozoa to the oocyte due to
presence of specific glycoproteins on its
surface which acts as a receptor for
spermatozoa. This interaction is followed by
induction of acrosome reaction in the sperm
bound to ZP which results in successful fusion
between the two. ZP is composed of 3-4
glycoproteins named ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, and ZP4
(Goudet, 2008).
The ZP glycoproteins have emerged as
potential candidate for immunocontraception
due to their essential role in the fertilization
and tissue specificity. Immunization against ZP
might result in generation of antibodies
against themselves which go and bind to ZP.
Thus, when a sperm encounters ovum in case
of immunized animals, the binding is inhibited
because ZP is already occupied by the
antibodies. Immunization of female rabbits
with porcine ZP proteinsresults in generation
Kausiki Chakrabarti
of antibodies against porcine ZP proteins
which showed immunological cross reactivity
with ZP from various other species including
humans. Further, immunized female rabbits
failed to conceive even after mating with
fertile male rabbits [Wood, 1981]. This
homology allowed the use of heterologous
immunization in case of ZP (Naz, 2005).
Histopathological Effects
Further studies revealed that the infertility
induced in immunized female rabbits was
irreversible which could not be restored even
after the administration of exogenous
gonadotropins. Histological examination of
ovaries showed the destruction of oocytes in
all the growing follicles along with the
depletion of resting follicles (Skinner, 1984).
This observation indicated that the infertility
was a consequence of ovarian dystrophy
rather than inhibition of sperm-oocyte
interaction.The irreversibility associated with
immunization using ZP posed a major hurdle in
the development of ZP based contraceptive.
While irreversibility is not a major concern in
case of wildlife management where long term
infertility is often desirable. Therefore further
development in this area resulted in
Vol. 1  2016  99–102
Short Communication
INTRODUCTION
99
SARJANA
production of various marketed products
playing an imperative role in wildlife
management.
For this, the three glycoproteins, namely,
ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3, were separately
expressed in Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO)
cells. A comparative analysis was carried out
in two nonhuman primate species, namely,
cynomolgus monkeys (Macacafascicularis) and
baboons (Papio cynocephalus) [Martinez,
2000]. Animals immunized with any of the
recombinant proteins remained infertile for
some period of time but the animals
immunized with recombinant ZP1 conceived
later in contrast to control animals and
animals immunized with remaining two
proteins. Hence, another study was carried
out in female baboons (Papioanubis) and
immunization was done using E. coli-expressed
recombinant bonnet monkey (Macacaradiata)
ZP1 (bmZP1) conjugated to diphtheria toxoid
(DT) [Govind, 2000]. After mating with males
of proven fertility, immunized animals failed
to conceive till the antibody titers were >
Kausiki Chakrabarti
Approach to develop ZP based Vaccine
The above observations raised the hope of
generation of ZP based CV for human use
except for the histopathological damage. Thus,
series of experiments were conducted to
overcome these problems. It was found out that
“oophoritogenic” T-cell epitopes existing in zona
proteins might be responsible for ovarian
dysfunction [Luo, 1993]. Hence, efforts were
made to delineate B-cell epitopes which were
devoid of “oophoritogenic” T-cell epitopes. As a
result various synthetic peptides corresponding
to ZP glycoproteins (ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3) were
prepared and tested for immunocontraceptive
potential in vivo. Female bonnet monkeys
immunized with synthetic peptides remained
infertile. Histopathological examination showed
absence of any ovarian pathology in case of
immunized animals. Similar results were
obtained in case of mice immunized with ZP3
[Miller, 2002; Hardy, 2002].
Short Communication
The immunization of female bonnet
monkeys was carried out using purified
porcine ZP3. High antiporcine ZP3 antibody
titers were formed and all the animals were
rendered infertile [Bagavant, 1994]. Only
50% of the animals could regain fertility
after the decline in antibody titers. Ovarian
histology of the animals that failed to regain
fertility did not reveal any signs of
inflammation or lymphocytic infiltration. The
observed variations in the extent of ovarian
dysfunction may be linked with differences in
susceptibility among various species, purity of
the ZP glycoproteins, and use of different
adjuvants such as alum and synthetic muramyl
dipeptide (MDP) [Mahi-Brown, 1985; Sacco,
1989; Upadhyay, 1989]. It was suggested
that these problems such as limited production
of ZP glycoproteins from native source, batch
to batch variation, and contamination with
ovarian-associated proteins might be solved
using recombinant form of ZP.
antibody units. All the immunized animals
became pregnant upon mating once the levels
were less than the antibody units. Significant
curtailment of fertility was also observed by
using recombinant possum ZP3 in grey
kangaroos [Kitchener, 2009; Cui, 2010].
Though the results were quite exciting,
histological examination of ovaries of
immunized animals revealed the presence of
atretic follicles with degenerating oocytes.
DISCUSSION
Recently, murine ZP3 and sperm specific
(YLP-12) epitope were expressed with
Johnson grass mosaic virus coat protein to
present antigens as virus like particles (VLPs)
[Gupta, 2011]. Immunization of animals
resulted in significant infertility. The results
were quite encouraging and suggestive of the
possibility of using above mentioned
approaches
for
immunocontraception.
However, long term studies showed that
immunization with zona antigens might induce
immunological attack on many eggs in the
ovary which might lead to premature ovarian
Vol. 1  2016  99–102
100
SARJANA
failure [Paterson, 1992]. Hence, enough data
needs to be gathered before zona antigens
are given any place in the market as
immunocontraceptive measure [Naz, 2005].
The concept of DNA vaccine has been
extended also to immunocontraception. The
DNA vaccine has an advantage of generating a
long lasting memory. It was demonstrated that a
synthetic chimeric peptide encompassing the
epitopes of bonnet monkey ZP3 (aa residues
324-347) and ZP4 (aa residues 251-273) have
higher in vitro contraceptive efficacy compared
to the individual peptides, which may be due to
cooperative effect of the antibodies pertaining
to different zona proteins (Choudhury, 2009)

Choudhury S., Ganguly A., Chakrabarti K.,
Sharma R. K., Gupta S. K.,“DNA vaccine
encoding Chimeric protein encompassing
epitopes of human ZP3 and ZP4:
Immunogenicity and characterization of
antibodies,” (2008)Journal of Reproductive
Immunology 79(2): 137-147.

Cui X., Duckworth J. A., Molinia F. C. Cowan E.,
“Identification and evaluation of an infertilityassociated ZP3 epitope from the marsupial
brushtail possum (Trichosurusvulpecula),” (2010)
Vaccine 28(6): 1499–1505.

Goudet G., Mugnier S., Callebaut I. and
Monget P., “Phylogenetic analysis and
identification of pseudogenes reveal a
progressive loss of zonapellucida genes
during evolution of vertebrates,” (2008)
Biology of Reproduction 78(5): 796–806.

Govind C. K. and Gupta S. K., “Failure of
female baboons (Papioanubis) to conceive
following immunization with recombinant
non-human
primate
zonapellucida
glycoprotein-B expressed in Escherichia
coli,” (2000) Vaccine 18(26): 2970–2978.

Gupta S. K., Gupta N., Suman P. et al.,
“Zonapellucida-based contraceptive vaccines
for human and animal utility,” (2011) Journal
of Reproductive Immunology 88(2): 240–246.

Hardy C. M., Pekin J., and Have ten J.,
“Mouse-specific
immunocontraceptive
polyepitope vaccines,” (2002) Reproduction
Supplement 60: 19–30.

Kitchener A. L., Harman A., Kay D. J.,
McCartney C. A., Mate K. E. and Rodger J. C.,
“Immunocontraception of Eastern Grey
kangaroos
(Macropusgiganteus)
with
recombinant brushtail possum (Trichosurus
vulpecula) ZP3 protein,” (2009) Journal of
Reproductive Immunology 79(2): 156–162.

Luo A. M., Garza K. Hunt M., D., and Tung
K. S. K., “Antigen mimicry in autoimmune
disease sharing of amino acid residues
critical for pathogenic T cell activation,”
REFERENCES

Bagavant H., Thillai-Koothan P., Sharma M.
G., Talwar G. P. and Gupta S. K.,
“Antifertility effects of porcine zona
pellucida-3 immunization using permissible
adjuvants in female bonnet monkeys
(Macacaradiata): reversibility, effect on
follicular development and hormonal
Kausiki Chakrabarti
Vol. 1  2016  99–102
Short Communication
The recombinant contraceptive vaccinogen
protein recognized ZP3 component of ZP of
human oocytes rather than ZP1/ZP2. The
specificity of this interaction was further
confirmed when human sperm binding to ZP of
human oocytes was significantly inhibited in the
presence of antirecombinant contraceptive
vaccinogen
antibodies.
In
addition,
immunobead binding technique (IBT), using live
sperm, highlighted the predominant presence
of recombinant contraceptive vaccinogen on
surface, thus accessible to antibody binding.
Though
antibodies
produced
against
recombinant contraceptive vaccinogen did
neither agglutinate nor cause immobilization,
they could block capacitation of human sperm
as deduced by sperm penetration assay (SPA).
Presence of contraceptive vaccinogen antigen
on murine sperm raises the feasibility of
exploitation of animal model for studying its
immunocontraceptive potential and it may find
application in CV development.
profiles,” (1994) Journal of Reproduction
and Fertility 102(1): 17–25.
101
SARJANA
(1993) Journal of Clinical Investigation
92(5): 2117–2123.


Mahi-Brown C. A., Yanagimachi R., Hoffman
J. C., and Huang Jr.T. T. F., “Fertility control
in the bitch by active immunization with
porcine zonaepellucidae: use of different
adjuvants and patterns of estradiol and
progesterone
levels
in
estrous
cycles,”(1985)
Biology of Reproduction
32(4): 761–772.
Martinez M. L. and Harris J. D.,
“Effectiveness of zonapellucida protein ZPB
as an immunocontraceptive antigen,”
(2000) Journal of Reproduction and Fertility
120(1): 19–32.
Miller L. A. and Killian G. J., “In search of
the active PZP epitope in white-tailed deer
immunocontraception,” (2002) Vaccine
20(21-22): 2735–2742.

Naz R. K., “Contraceptive vaccines,” (2005)
Drugs 65(5): 593–603.

Naz R. K., Gupta S. K., Gupta J. C., Vyas H.
K. and Talwar G. P., “Recent advances in
contraceptive
vaccine
development,”
(2005) Human Reproduction 20(12): 3271–
3283.

Paterson M., Koothan P. T., Morris K. D. et
al., “Analysis of the contraceptive potential
Kausiki Chakrabarti

Sacco A. G., Yurewicz E. C., and Subramanian
M. G., “Effect of varying dosages and
adjuvants on antibody response in squirrel
monkeys (Saimirisciureus) immunized with the
porcine
zonapellucidaMr
=
55,000
glycoprotein (ZP3),” (1989) American Journal
of Reproductive Immunology 21(1): 1–8.

Skinner S. M., Mills T., Kirchick H. J. and
Dunbar B. S., “Immunization with
zonapellucida proteins results in abnormal
ovarian follicular differentiation and
inhibition of gonadotropin-induced steroid
secretion,” (1984) Endocrinology 115(6):
2418–2432.

Upadhyay S. N., Thillaikoothan P., Bamezai
A., Jayaraman S. and Talwar G. P., “Role
of adjuvants in inhibitory influence of
immunization with porcine zonapellucida
antigen (ZP-3) on ovarian folliculogenesis in
bonnet monkeys: a morphological study,”
(1989) Biology of Reproduction 41(4):
665–673.

Wood D. M., Liu C. and Dunbar B. S., “Effect of
alloimmunization and heteroimmunization with
zonaepellucidae on fertility in rabbits,” (1981)
Biology of Reproduction 25(2): 439–450.
Vol. 1  2016  99–102
Short Communication

of antibodies against native and
deglycosylated porcine ZP3 in vivo and in
vitro,” (1992) Biology of Reproduction
46(4): 523–534.
102
SARJANA
Water Quality Management in the Modified Extensive
Shrimp Farming – A Case Study in Soula Region in Purba
Medinipur District (West Bengal)
Mayukhmala Mandal
Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Charuchandra College, Kolkata- 29
Affiliated with University of Calcutta
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Modified Extensive Shrimp farming involves the utilization of the natural
resources maintaining water quality. Proper management of natural resources is
essential to make the operation profitable and sustainable. Pond water
management involves the use of appropriate control measure to keep the different
parameters at an optimum level. The present study was carried out during the year
2012 in Soula region, Purba Medinipur district. The results were analyzed.
Treatment methods that can be adopted include screening, filtration, sedimentation
and biological treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
INTRODUCTION
Commercial shrimp culture is one of the
major aquaculture activities in the coastal
areas of West Bengal. There is a growing
concern about the environmental degradation
of the areas where aquaculture practices were
under taken over the years (Jhingran and
Yadav, 1989; Philips et al., 1991; Berg, 1992;
Karthikeyan and Srimurali, 1995 and Ponnuraj
et al., 1995). Recently, shrimp farming has
become a very lucrative business because of
the short duration of the crop, quick turnover,
ready market and availability of suitable
brackish water area in the country. With the
largest pool of brackish water in the country
nearly 30% of the total resources, west Bengal
is the second highest producer of shrimps at
33,685 metric tons, according to the last
available data published in 2009 – 2010. This
accounted for nearly 35% of the total shrimp
production of India (95,919t). Both foreign and
indigenous shrimp farming technologies are
available in the country. It is necessary to
evolve a uniform type of farming technology
which will be economic, at the same time
adaptive to varied environmental conditions of
our rural coastal areas.
Mayukhmala Mandal
Study area
The selected farm is located about 40 km.
away from Digha and 8km from Contai being
about 1km away from the sea shore of Bay
of Bengal. A map of the study area (not to
scale) is shown in Fig. 1.
Short Communication
Keywords: Modified extensive shrimp farming, Case study in Soula region W.B,
Management of water quality.
Fig. 1: Location of study site
Selected shrimp farm of this area is taken
into consideration for detailed investigation.
The shrimp farm is located at the village –
Soula in the Purba Medinipur district. The
Soula canal that meets the Bay of Bengal
serves as the brackish water source. The
major parameters of water were analyzed
with the help of methods adopted in APHA
(1992). The design and facilities of the
selected shrimp farm along with water input
Vol. 1  2016  103–107
103
SARJANA
through soula canal from Bay of Bengal is
shown in Fig. 2.
The study was undertaken during summer
period of the year 2012 from the period of
February to May. For preparation of
appropriate culture conditions in ponds, a
series of activities were undertaken. The pond
bed was prepared by application of
quicklime. Fertilizers like urea and single
superphosphate is added to the pond water
for plankton bloom. The moderate stocking
density (@ 6 – 10 pieces/sqm. area) with
periodic aeration and feed addition was
maintained. Periodic water exchange was
made. The detailed steps of activities
involved in the shrimp farming are shown in
Table 1.
The general characteristics of this
modified extensive farming are also shown in
Table 2.
Fig. 2: Design of the Shrimp farm.
Table 1: Activities of shrimp farming
(A) Before Stocking
(B)After stocking
1. Soil preparation:
1. Water management:
(a) Clean the pond;
(a) Water analysis and quality control;
(b) Sundry;
(b) Water exchange and aeration;
(c) Pond bottom distillation and disinfection.
(c) Salinity maintenance.
2.Water quality maintenance
2. Feed management & growth data monitoring
(a) Monitoring of source water quality;
(a) Daily feed requirement assessment and feeding
control;
(b) Filling of ponds with water and adding
the fertilizer for plankton bloom;
Short Communication
A Varity of chemicals that were used as
input for farming is monitored along with
periodic monitoring of culture pond water
quality, discharge water quality and fish
growth.
(b) Fry survival rate assessment and biomass assessment.
(c) Monitor the plankton quality and load.
3. Seed selection/stocking:
3. Disease incidence monitoring:
(a) Selection of fry;
(a) Periodic check up of disease incidence;
(b) Fry transport and stocking;
(b) Therapeutic management.
(c) Regular inspection and maintenance of
water quality.
(M. Mandal , M. Dev and S.C. Santra, 2005)
Mayukhmala Mandal
Vol. 1  2016  103–107
104
SARJANA
Table 2: General characteristics of modified extensive farming
S. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Characteristics
Requirement status
Pond size (ha)
Stocking density (nos/m2)
Survival rate (%)
Feed frequency (no. of times /day)
Water exchange (% per day)
Water depth (m)
Harvest size (gms)
Production level (kg crop/ha/season)
Level of pond management required
1.0-1..5
5-10
70 – 80
1-4
10 – 15
0.8 – 1.5
20 – 50
1500 – 3000
Moderate but systematic
RESULT
The quality of water periodically
discharged for water exchange requirement
and also final discharged after crop harvesting
from culture ponds was also monitored. The
details are given in Table 5.
Table 3: Input materials used in framing
S.No
1.
Chemicals
Quick lime
Composition
Calcium oxide(CaO)
Calcium-magnesium
2.
Dolomite
3.
Zeolite plus
Carbonate, CaMg
(CO3 )2 Sodiumcalcium80Kg/hectare
Aluminium silicate
and neem oil mixture
4.
Mustard seed
Cake
Urea-single
Super
phosphate
mixture (6:1)
Bleaching
powder
-
12Kg/hectare
5 tons/ hectare
Properties, Neem oil acts as
antifungal, anti-bacterial and
antiviral agent
Acts as a fertilizer for plankton
bloom
-
(in phases) before
stocking
Acts as fertilizer for plankton
bloom
Ca(OCl)2
250 Kg/hectare
Acts as disinfectant
Potassium
permanganate
Feed (artificial
shrimp feed)
KMNO4 Fish meal,
squid meal,
0.5-1.0
Kg/hectare
Do
Soyabean meal, cod
liver oil, broken rice,
wheat flour,
cholesterol, vitamin etc.
Oxytetracycline,
Erthromycin, Ascorbic
acid
2.5 – 3.5 MT/
hectare (in phases)
To maintain the growth and
survivability of fry
2.5- 4.5 gms/ Kg
of feed for each
Do
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Medicine(antibiotics) &
vitamins
Mayukhmala Mandal
Dosage
Purpose of use
6-7 tons/ hectare/ Control pH and alkalinity, develop
cropping (in phases) Plantonic growth
70-100kg/hectare
Zeolite absorbs NH3, SO2, and H2
S through its cation exchange
Vol. 1  2016  103–107
Short Communication
A good number of chemicals were used (as
standard dosage) during shrimp farming as
input material. The details are given in Table 3.
The average daily growth rate was monitored.
It varies from 0.12 to 0.45gm/day.
After stocking was monitored, the data of
water quality is presented in Table 4.
105
SARJANA
Table 4: Water quality status of culture ponds and reservoir
S.No. Parameters
Reservoir
BS
AS
1
Temperature (0C)
23
25
2
pH
8.0
8.2
3
Alkalinity (mg/L)
200
130
4
Salinity (ppt)
24.0 26.0
5
Secchi transparency(cm)
55
52
6
Dissolved oxygen (mg/L)
5.6
5.3
7
BOD (mg/L)
2.0
2.5
8
COD (mg/L)
24
40
9
Hardness (mg/L)
6500 5500
10 Suspended solids(mg/L)
10
18
11 Phosphate (mg/L)
0.62 0.55
12 Nitrate (mg/L)
0.52 0.40
NB: BS= Before Stocking; AS = After Stocking
Pond-1
BS
AS
24
26
8.4
8.3
240
220
16.0
25.0
53
50
5.5
5.2
2.5
2.6
25
42
6600 5400
10
15
0.64
0.54
0.51
0.32
Pond-2
BS
AS
24
26
8.1
8.2
200
150
26.2
26.0
53
50
5.3
5.2
2.5
2.6
35
42
6200 5200
18
22
0.65
0.54
0.48
0.37
Pond-3
BS AS
25
26
8.4
8.3
240
140
26.2
26.0
52
50
5.4
5.6
2.8
3.0
36
45
6500 5700
16
20
0.64
0.55
0.66
0.53
S.No.
Parameters
exchange
2nd
exchange
3rd
exchange
Final
discharge
CPCB
Standard*
1st
1
Temperature(0C)
24.0
24.5
25.5
25.0
-
2
pH
8.1
8.3
8.5
8.5
5.5 – 9.9
3
Alkalinity (mg/L)
390
350
340
350
-
4
Salinity (ppt)
28
30
28
30
-
5
Secchi transparency (cm)
42
36
35
34
-
6.
Dissolved oxygen (mg/L)
4.1
4.0
4.6
4.8
≥3
7
BOD (mg/L)
3.7
3.6
4.5
4.8
20
8
COD(mg/L)
52
63
70
70
-
9
Hardness(mg/L)
6500
5800
7500
7500
-
10
Suspended solids(mg/L)
34
42
45
45
100
11
Phosphate(mg/L)
0.34
0.34
0.20
0.20
-
12
Nitrate(mg/L)
0.37
0.42
0.50
0.52
-
Short Communication
Table 5: Characteristics of discharge water from Culture ponds (average values)
N.B.: *CPCB – State Pollution Control Board.
DISCUSSION
While alkalinity, phosphate and nitrate
decreased in the reservoirs and ponds after
stocking suspended solids and COD showed
substantial increase after stocking. A high
alkalinity is observed due to the liming process
before stocking. The decrease in nutrients is
due to the consumption of plankton. A high
suspended solids is due to presence of feed
Mayukhmala Mandal
particles, plankton etc. an increased COD may
be attributable to the organic matter so
formed owing to various stocking activities.
Changes in discharge water quality with
respect to input water in shrimp farming
process it shows that pH and alkalinity
increased slightly due to application of lime.
Suspended solids increased slightly due to
impurity of lime and feeds. Dissolved oxygen
Vol. 1  2016  103–107
106
SARJANA
(Do) increased due to blooming and artificial
aeration. BOD increased slightly due to growth
of microbes and hardness decreased slightly
due to use of calcium and magnesium by
plankton. Nitrate increased slightly due to the
presence of artificial feed residue while
phosphate decreased slightly due to utilization
by plankton.
water. The existing farm can be more
affective in respect of maintenance of water
quality with slight modification in the farm
design with reasonably low-cost. The main
reservoir can be divided into three parts, for
more affective water treatment.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
Water can be used in culture and stocking
ponds. The used water can be reused after
filtration as shown in Fig. 3.
Though the discharge was containing
fairly less pollutant load yet, there is need for
chemical treatment by alum or specialized
biological treatment before reuse as reservoir
The modified design will promote secondary
aquaculture like bivalves, algae, fish etc. The
secondary aquaculture will open a new
avenue of additional income.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I place my gratitude to Dr. T. K.
Chatterjee, Ex. Director, Zoological Survey
of India, Kolkata, Dr. N. K. Jana, Associate
Professor
Department
of
Zoology,
Charuchandra College, Kolkata & Mr. Dipak
Ghosh, the farm manager of Soula, East
Medinipur, West Bengal.

REFERENCES



APHA (1992) Standard methods for the
examination of water and wastewater, 18th
Ed.
Berg U.C., ‘Guidelines for the promotion of
environmental management of coastal
aquaculture development. (1992) FAO
fisheries Tech Paper No. 328, P 121.
Jhingran A.G., Yadav V.S. costal ecosystem
management in West Bengal Fisheries: A
perspective;proc. All india workshop on
Coastal Zone management (A) West Bengal.
(1989), P 15-24.
Mayukhmala Mandal

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Karthikeyan J., Srimuruli M., ‘Environmental
impact
analysis
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and
Environmental Management Plan report of
a proposed aqua farm at Nellore in
Andhra Pradesh; India’. (1995) J. Environ.
Health 37(4): 251 – 264.
Mandal M., Dev M and Santra S.C.,
Environmental
Impact
of
costal
Aquafarming – a case study in Digha
Region, (W.B.) India, Ecology and
conservation of lakes, Reservoirs and rivers.
Voll – II (Aravind Kumar), ABD Publishers,
Jaipur, India (2005). P 406 – 419.
Philips M.J., Beveridge M.C.M., Clarke R.
M., ‘Impact of water resources in
Aquaculture and water quality’. (1991) (Ed.
Brune, D.E. and Tomano, J. R.), Baton
Range; WAS. Adv. World Aquaculture. 3,
pp. 568 – 591.
Ponnuraj M., Murugesan A.G. and
Sukumaran N., ‘A preliminary report on
shrimp culture problems in vedaranyam
(Tamil Nadu)’. (1995) Sea Food Export.
26(11): 21-25.
Vol. 1  2016  103–107
Short Communication
Fig. 3: Scheme for treatment of discharged wastewater for reuse
107
SARJANA
ম োরে করেো অবরেলো
ফণিভূষি ণ্ডল
অতিতি অধ্যাপক, ব ্গভাষা া স হাত্িয ত্ষা
চারুচন্দ্র লেজব ে ািা- ২৯
E mail: [email protected]
ূ লভোব: মাতি ্া িা মাতি ‘অ্ল্ো’-র র ম-ফের তষন্ন তষন্ন । আমরা মূ েি র্ীন্দ্র- াল্য িারীর অ্ল্ো এ্ং িার িািাি
অ্স্থািব ফেতিি পক,র্যালোচিা রল্া । ফহই হলগভা এস ফেখালিার ফচষ্টা রল্া ফর্ব অ্ল্ো স উলপক,িার মলধ্য ফ ালিা
মূ ে ি োরা আলে ী? র্তে িাল ব িল্ িার স্বরূপক, ীব ফ মি ষাল্ তচতিি রল্া ফহ োরা ? আলোচিার হু ত্ধ্ালিয
র্ীন্দ্র- াল্যর ‘িারীর উতি’ ‘্যি ফেম’ব ‘অ্েযার েতি’ব ‘ত্োয় অতষশাপক,’ব ‘মু তি’ ‘হাধ্ারণ ফমলয়’ এ্ং– এই
ত্িাগুলো মুখযি ত্লে ণ লরতে । িুেিামূ ে হমালোচিা পক,দ্ধতির িা মািায় ফরলখ র্ীন্দ্র- া্য োড়াস ল্পব উপক,িযাহ
এ্ং ে্ন্ধ আলোচিার োহতগভা িা ত্চালর িািাষাল্ স্থাি ফপক,লয়লে ।
সূ চক শব্দ: অ্ল্োব অত্শ্বাহব উলপক,িাব ফেমব পক,ু রু িাতি হমাজ ্য্স্থাব ্তিিব ষালো্াহাব িারী্ােব িারী-স্বাধ্ীিিাব র্ীন্দ্রা্যব র্ীন্দ্র-েশযিব হৃেয়ব হলে্ব র্িণা ।
মলি আলে ফে্র্ািীর িা? ম্াষারলির চতরত্র ঠি ইব িল্
আতম র্ীন্দ্রিালির ফে্র্ািীর িা ্েতে । আল শুলিতি িার
অতষশাপক,টা ফ মি তেেব িারপক,র িা-্য় ফেরা র্াল্ ্াত ইতি্ালহ ।
চ-ফ উলেশয লর ফে্র্ািী ্লে – ‘এই ফমার অতষশাপক,ফর্ ত্েযার িলর / ফমালর লরা অ্ল্োব ফহ ত্েযা ফিামার / হম্পূ ণয
্ল্ িা ্শ; িুতম শুধ্ু িার / ষার্া্ী ্লয় রল্ব তরল্ িা ফষা ; /
তশখাইল্ব পক,াতরল্ িা তরলি েলয়া ।’১
ফে্র্ািী ফিা ফষল্তেে ফহ অ্ল্তেি; অ্ল্তেি িার
ষালোো ার মািু টির ালে । ফহ ফচলয়তেে আ-মৃ িুয আ লে রাখলি
চ-ফ তিলজর ালে । র্তেস চ িাল তিব ফেয়তি ধ্রা িার
ষালো্াহায় । ত ন্তু ফ ি? ফহ উত্তলর িা ্য় আমরা পক,লরই তেরল্া ।
হৃদয় বোণসরে পোরে কে ভোরলোবোসো
১. ‘মদরেও মদে নো’
‘এ শুধ্ু ফচালখর জেব এ িল্ ষৎহিা’- এমি অতষলর্া
শুিলি পক,াই ‘িারীর উতি’২-ফি । উতিটি অ্শযই উতেষ্ট ফেতম
পক,ু রু টির উলেলশয । ফ িিাব ‘আজ িুতম ফেলখস ফেখ িা / হ্
িা শুতিলি িা পক,াস’- এ-আচরণলিা ফর্-ফ ালিা িারীর ালে
আত্ম-র্িণার হাতমে ।
ফে্র্ািীর এই অতষশাপক,- স্বাতষমািব ফিাষব িা-পক,াসয়ার র্িণা
ফিল ী? র্ীন্দ্র- াল্যর এমিই অলি িারীল আমরা খুুঁ লজ পক,াই
র্ারা িালের ষালোো ার মািু ল র ালে িািাষাল্ অ্ল্তেিব
উলপক,তিিব ্তিি ।
অিীি স্মৃতি ্লড়াই হৃেয়গ্রা্ী তেে- ‘তেলয়তেলে হৃেয় র্খি /
ফপক,লয়তেলে োণমি ফে্’ – এ িা জািালি ফষালেতি ফমলয়টি ।
ফেতম পক,ু রু টি ‘্হন্ততিশীলি’ ষুতেলয়তেে ফমলয়টিল ‘আুঁতখষরা
আল্শ’-এ । মলি পক,লড় আলরা ি অিীি ষালোো ার িািা মু ্ূিয
িার – ‘আুঁতখলি শুতিলি ফর্ি হৃেলয়র িা’ । এহল্র মলধ্য ী
েু ত লয় তেে ‘ত্োলয়র েে’? িাই ্ু তি ফমলয়টির হৃেয় পক,ূ ্ায ষাহ
ফপক,লয়তেে – ‘আতে ফর্ি ফহািার খাুঁচায় / এ খাতি ফপক,া -মািা
োণ’।
ফে্র্ািীর এই অতষশাপক, আলোচিার আতেো মাত্র । মািহী
া্যগ্রলের ‘িারীর উতি’ব ‘্যি ফেম’ব এ্ং ‘অ্েযার েতি’- এই
চারটি ত্িায় আমরা ফেখলি পক,াই ীষাল্ িারীর ফেম অমর্যাোয়
অ্ল্তেি ্য় । আ্ার পক,োি া া্যগ্রলের ‘মু তি’ এ্ং পক,ু িশ্চ
াল্যর ‘হাধ্ারণ ফমলয়’-ফি আমরা ফেখলি পক,াই হংহালর ীষাল্
ত ন্তু এখি ফহ-হ্ অিীি । িালের মলধ্য ার হৃেলয়র হু র
্লয়লে ফ্-হু রব িাে ফ লে ফ লট – ‘শুধ্ু িাই অত্শ্বাহ ত্ াে
হলে্’ । এখালি েিণীয় ‘অত্শ্বাহ’ব ‘ত্ াে’ব হলে্’-এই তিিটি
শলের পক,াশাপক,াতশ ্য্্ার । এখালি ‘অত্শ্বাহ’ এ্ং ‘হলে্’ োয়
হমািয ব ত ন্তু ‘ত্ াে’ ফ ি? ফহ ্ু িলি ফপক,লরতেে ‘আজ ফহ হৃেয়
Phanibhuson Mondal
Vol. 1  2016  108–110
General Article
িারী অ্ল্তেিব িার স্বাধ্ীিিা েু তিি ্য় অ্েীোয় । ত্লে লণর
পক,ারম্পলর্য িা আমরা আলোচিা রল্া ।
ম োড়োে কথো
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িাই’ িার ফেতম পক,ু রু টির মলধ্য । এই ‘হৃেয় িাই’-র ফিল িারীর
হৃেয়- ষূতমলি জন্ম তিলয়লে ‘ত্ াে’- র্িণা ।
২. ‘এ প্রোরিে আড়োরল’
‘মু খ তেরালিেব হখাব আজ ী ্তেয়া!’- এমিই ফেমতজজ্ঞাহার ত্স্ময় তিলয় ‘্যি ফেম’৩-র িাতয় া আলরা িগুতে েশ্ন
ফরলখতেে । েশ্নগুতে তেে এমিির – ‘ষুে লর এলহতেলে? ষুলে
ষালোল্লহতেলে? ষুে ফষলে ফ লে িাই ফর্লিে চতেয়া?’ এই
েশ্নগুতে ী শুধ্ু অতষলর্া ব িা ত ফেলমর ষীরিা ফিল আহা?
েিলমই আমালের ফচাখ র্ায় ‘হখা’ হলবাধ্লি । ‘হখা’ ্েলি
হাধ্ারণি আমরা ্ু তি ্ন্ধুব ফেতম ্ে ্ন্ধু-র অতিতরি আলরা ত েু
্যঞ্জিা ্্ি লর । িা্লে ী এই হখা-র মলধ্য ফেতমল র ্যঞ্জিা
অতষতিত্ি? ে ারান্তলর ফহই ইতগভালির হন্ধাি ফেয় ।
‘োলণর আড়ালে’-ই োিা ্াুঁধ্তেে ‘েু ালিা োলণর ফেম’
অঙ্কুলরর মলিা । হারা রাি ‘ফ াপক,ি স্বপক,ি’-এ ধ্রা তেি িার এই
হখাটি । এই ‘েু ালিা োলণর ফেম’-ফ ফহ পক,ত্ত্র তশখার মলিা হর্লেব ফ াপক,লি হৃেলয় জ্বাতেলয় রাখলি ফচলয়তেে আ-মৃ িুয । ফহ-স্বপ্ন
ফষলে ফ লে িার অ ালে । ত ন্তু ফ ি?
ফেলমর ষীরিা ফিল হখার েতি িাই এ-েশ্নব ্ো ষালো
ত্স্ময় – ‘ষাতেয়া ফেতখলে তেতে িারীর হৃেয়!’ ‘িারীর হৃেয়’ তিলয়
আল্ল র ফেলে ফখো লরতেে হখা । শুধ্ু িাই িয় – ‘ফ ি িল্
ফ লড় তিলে োজ-আ্রণ! / হৃেলয়র দ্বার ফ্লি / ্াত্লর আতিলে
ফটলিব / ফশল ত পক,লির মালি তরল্ ্জযি’? এই ‘্জযি’ ত
‘অ্ল্ো’র িামান্তর িয়?
৩. ‘কী স্বরে কোটোরল’
আমরা জাতি পক,ু রালণর অ্েযাল ব ফর্ অ্েযার ল্প তমি ্লয়
আলে আমালের স্মৃতিলি । হংলিলপক, ল্পটা ফজলি ফিসয়া র্া ।
াত্তিটি ‘ফপক,ৌরাতণ অতষধ্াি’৪ েলণিা হু ধ্ীরচন্দ্র হর ার-এর
ষাল য ত্্ৃ ি রা র্া ।
অ্েযা তেে ব্রহ্মার মািহী িযা স শিািলের জিিী । ‘্ে’
শলের এ টি অিয ের্যিা । হ ে ে ার ্েয ্া ত্রূপক,িাশূ িয
অতদ্বিীয়া হু েরী ্লে হিযর্ু ল ব্রহ্মা িাুঁর হৃ ষ্ট মািহপক,ু ত্রীল অ্েযা
িাম তেলয়তেলেি । ব্রহ্মা অ্েযাল ্হুতেলির জিয ফ ৌিম ঋত র
ালে ফরলখ র্াি । হংর্িতচত্ত ফ ৌিম অতি র্েহ্ ালর িাুঁর
রিণাল্িণ লর িাুঁল পক,ত্ত্র স তিষ্কেঙ্ক অ্স্থায় ব্রহ্মার তি ট
Phanibhuson Mondal
এ তেি ফ ৌিম স্নাি র্ার জিয আশ্রম ফিল অিযত্র চলে
ফ লে ফে্রাজ ইন্দ্র ফ ৌিলমর রূপক, ধ্ারণ লর অ্েযার ালে
উপক,তস্থি ্ি এ্ং িার হগভাম োিযিা লরি । অ্েযা ফে্রাজল
তচিলি ফপক,লরস ফহই হময় ামািয তেলেি ্লে দুমযতি্লশ িাুঁর
দ্বারা ামিা পক,তরিৃপ্ত লরি । ইন্দ্র ফহই স্থাি িযা র্ার পক,ূ ল্যই
ফ ৌিম উপক,তস্থি ্ি । ইন্দ্রল ফেলখ ক্রুদ্ধ ফ ৌিম অতষশাপক, ফেি
ফর্ব ইন্দ্র িপক,ু ংহ ্ল্ি । হলগভা হলগভা ইলন্দ্রর অণ্ড খলহ পক,লড় । ইন্দ্র
অিঃপক,র তপক,িৃলে্ লণর তি ট তিলজর দুেয শা জািালেব িাুঁরা ফম াণ্ড
উৎপক,াটিি লর ইলন্দ্রর ফেল্ হংর্ু ি লরি ।
ফ ৌিম অ্েযাল অতষশাপক, ফেি ফর্ব িুতম রূপক,লর্ৌ্িহম্পন্নাব
ত ন্তু ফিামার মি অতস্থর; হু িরাং জ লি িুতমই ফ ্ে এ মাত্র
রূপক,্িী িা ল্ িা । হ্স্র ্ের ফিামাল এখালি অদৃশয অ্স্থায়
্ায়ুষু ্লয় অিা্ালর অিু িপ্ত হৃেলয় জী্ির্াপক,ি রলি ্ল্ ।
এ তেি র্খি রামচন্দ্র এই ষীর অরলণয আহল্িব িখি ফহই
অতিতি হৎ ার লর িুতম পক,াপক,মু ি ্ল্ । িারপক,র এ তেি রাম
ফ ৌিলমর আশ্রলম এলে িাুঁর আ মলির েলে অ্েযা হ্যপক,াপক,মু িা
্ি ।
ফেরা র্া র্ীন্দ্রিালির অ্েযায় । অ্েযার ফ মি
ফ লটতেে এই হ্স্র ্েলরর অতষশাপক,? িারই ত্- ল্পিা
‘অ্েযার েতি’ ত্িায় তিত্ি । এই অতষশালপক,র েীর্য ্ের
অ্েযা ী অ্ল্তেি িয়? অ্েযা ামািয (রতি-হু খ ইচ্ছা) তেে
্লে ফর্ াতে ফেল ফেসয়া ্য়ব িা ত অপক,রাধ্ । িা ত পক,ু রুল র
এ লচটিয়া অতধ্ ার ্স্তান্ততরি ্লয়তেে ্লে অ্েযার এই র্িণাফষা ; উলপক,িাব অ্ল্ো স ্িিা । এই জটিে ি য -মূ লে
র্ীন্দ্রিালির তজজ্ঞাহা – ‘ ী স্বলপ্ন াটালে িুতম েীর্য তে্াতিতশ’।
General Article
হংহালরর োিযত্ িায় আর পক,াুঁচজলির মলিা এই িাতয় া
‘আপক,ি অন্তলর আতম তেোম আপক,তি-’। েষালি হখীলের হালি
হরহী িেীর িীলর র্ীর ্লি পক,ূ জার েুে িুেলি ফর্ি ফহ । ্াতহব
ফখোব আড্ডায় াটলিা ফহ হ াে । ফহখালিই পক,তরচয় এই হখার
হালিব ত্স্ময় তেে আপক,ি মলির ফ ালি – ‘ফ জাতিি ী তেে এ
োলণর আড়ালে’ ।
তেতরলয় ফেি । ব্রহ্মা এলি হন্তুষ্ট ্লয় ফ ৌিলমর ্ালি অ্েযাল
োি লরি । ইতি ফ ৌিম ঋত র স্ত্রী স ধ্মযপক,েী । ফ ৌিলমর হলগভা
অ্েযার ত্্া্ ্সয়ায় ইন্দ্র ঈ যাতিি ্লয় সলেি । ারণ তিতি মলি
লরতেলেিব এই অপক,ূ ্য হু েরী িারী িাুঁরই োপক,য ।
এই হ্স্র ্েলরর ‘েীর্য তে্াতিতশ’ িার ফ মি ফ লটতেে –
‘ফিত্র্ীি মূ ঢ় রূঢ় অধ্যজা রলণ’? অ্েযার ‘হু প্ত-আত্মা’ ্ু লিতেে
‘তিিযতিদ্রা্ীি ্যিা’-র তিোরুণ র্িণা ।
ম োপরন রে কে বোসনো
দেিয গুরু শুক্রাচালর্যর েিমা িযা ফে্র্ািী তপক,িার অিযন্ত
তেয় তেলেি । শুক্রাচার্য মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী ত্েযার অতধ্ ারী তেলেি । এই
ত্েযার েষাল্ ফে্িালের হলগভা র্ু লদ্ধ তিত্ি অহু রলের তিতি জীত্ি
রলিি । ত ন্তু এই মি ফে্গুরু ্ৃ ্স্পতির অতধ্ ি িা িা ায়
ফে্িাপক,লির মৃ ি দহতি লের তিতি ্াুঁচালি হিম ্লিি িা । এই
জিয ফে্িারা ্ৃ ্স্পতি –পক,ু ত্র চল এই মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী ত্েযা তশিা
রার জিয শুক্রাচালর্যর ষ্লি পক,াঠিলয় ফেি এ্ং তিলেয শ ফেি ফর্,
চ র্তে শুক্রাচালর্যর তেয় িযা ফে্র্ািীর তেয় ্লি পক,ালরি, িল্ই
তিতি এই মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী ত্েযা তশিাোষ রলি হিম ্ল্ি ।
Vol. 1  2016  108–110
109
SARJANA
চ শুক্রাচালর্যর ালে এলহ িাুঁর তশ যত্ব গ্র্ণ লরি এ্ং
গুরুর ফহ্া রলি িাল ি । অল্প াে মলধ্য তিতি গুরু িযারস
তেয়পক,াত্র ্লয় সলেি এ্ং উষলয় পক,রস্পলরর েতি ফেলম আ ৃ ষ্ট ্লয়
পক,লড়ি । ্হু ্ের ি ্লে অহু লররা লচর উলেশয জািলি ফপক,লর
িাুঁল ্িযা লর । িখি লচর েতি েণয়াহি ফে্র্ািীর াির
োিযিায় শুক্রাচার্য মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী মি দ্বারা িাুঁল পক,ু িজীত্ি লরি ।
তদ্বিীয়্ার চল ্িযা রলে শুক্রাচার্য োণ োি লরি ।
ত ন্তু িৃিীয়্ার অহু লররা চল েগ্ধ লর িার ষস্ম হু রার হলগভা
তমতশলয় শুক্রাচার্যল পক,াি রায় । ফে্র্ািী পক,ু িরায় লচর োণোি
োিযিা রলে ফর্া ্লে শুক্রাচার্য ্ু িলি পক,ালরি পক,ু িজীত্ি রার
ত্পক,ে িখাতি । ারণ, চ পক,ু িজীত্ি ্লে গুরুর উের ত্েীণয লর
তিতি তি যি ্ল্ি, ফহই হময় শুক্রাচালর্যর মৃ িুয অ্শযম্ভা্ী ।
অ্লশল তিলজর োণ রিার জিয উেরস্থ চল শুক্রাচার্য আল
মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী ত্েযা তশিা তেলয় িাুঁর োণ োি লরি । চ গুরুর ফে্
ত্েীণয লর ফ্তরলয় এলহ গুরুর তি ট েব্ধ ত্েযা ্লে পক,ু িরায়
শুক্রাচার্যল জীত্ি লরি ।
লচর উলেশয তেে, ত ন্তু ফে্র্ািীর ফিা ফ ালিা স্বািয তেে িা ।
্রং ফহ ্ার্ার লচর োণ রিার জিয তপক,িার ালে আতজয
জাতিলয়তেে । ফ িিা ফহ চল মলি োলণ ষালো্ালহ, িাল ফহ
ফ ালিা েেিা ত ং্া েিারণা তেে িা । আজী্ি তিলজর ালে ফপক,লি
ফচলয়তেে । এই চাসয়ার মলধ্য ফিা ফ ালিা েেিা ত ং্া েিারণা তেে
িা । ত ন্তু চলিা েেিার আশ্রয় তিলয়তেে, ফর্ল্িু ফহ জািলিা ফর্
র্তে ফে্র্ািীর মি ফষাোলিা র্ায় িা্লেই ফহ এ মাত্র মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী
ত্েযা শুক্রাচালর্যর াে ফিল আয়ত্ত রলি পক,ারল্ । ফহটা ফহ
ফজলিই এলহতেে দেিযগুরুর ালে তশ যত্ব গ্র্ণ রলি । িা্লে
ফ ি ফহ ফে্র্ািীর হলগভা ফেলমর েেিার আশ্রয় তিে?
কৃেজ্ঞেো
আতম আন্ততর ষাল্ ৃ িজ্ঞ চারুচন্দ্র লেলজর ষারোপ্ত
অধ্যি, আই.ত উ.এ.তহ.-র ফ া-অতডযলিটর, ্াংো ত্ষাল র ালে ।
ফহ হলগভা এ- িা ্েলিই ্য়, পক,তত্র ার হম্পাে লের হলস্ন্ িাড়া িা
িা লে ফ্াধ্্য় ফশ পক,র্যন্ত এ-ফেখা ফেখা ্ি িা । হতিয িালের
ালেস আতম ৃ িজ্ঞিাপক,ালশ ঋদ্ধ ।
সূ ত্রণনরদেশ

১. োকুরব র্ীন্দ্রিািব ত্োয় অতষশাপক,ব েশম হংস্করণব ে ািাব
ত্শ্বষারিীব দ্শাখ ১৩৮৯্.ব পক,ৃ .২১৩ ।

২. োকুরব র্ীন্দ্রিািব মািহীব ‘িারীর উতি’ব েশম হংস্করণব
ে ািাব ত্শ্বষারিীব দ্শাখ ১৩৮৯্.ব পক,ৃ .৬৭-৭০ ।

৩. োকুরব র্ীন্দ্রিািব মািহীব ‘্যি ফেম’ব েশম হংস্করণব
ে ািাব ত্শ্বষারিীব দ্শাখ ১৩৮৯্.ব পক,ৃ .৭৮-৮০ ।

৪. হর ারব হু ধ্ীরচন্দ্রব ফপক,ৌরাতণ অতষধ্ািব এ ােশ হংস্করণব
ে ািাব এম.তহ.হর ার এন্ড হন্স ো. তে.ব দজষ্ঠ ১৪২২্.ব
পক,ৃ .৪০-৪১ ।
General Article
শুক্রাচালর্যর ালে মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী ত্েযা োষ লর চ স্ব লয োল
েস্থালিােযি ্লে, লচর েতি েণয়াহি ফে্র্ািী িাুঁল ত্্া্
রলি চাি । ত ন্তু গুরু- িযাল চ ত্্া্ রলি অহম্মি ্লে
ফে্র্ািী িাল অতষশাপক, ফেয়, ফর্ মৃ িহঞ্জী্িী মি চ তশিা
লরলেি, িা ার্য ালে ত্স্মৃি ্লয় তিলজর উপক,র েলয়া রলি
অহমিয ।
ফরতে িারাস ফ ািাস ফর্ি অ্ল্তেি, উলপক,তিি এ্ং ্তিি ।
আহলে িালের হৃেয়-হঞ্জাি ষীর ষালো্াহা ফ্ালিতি ্াত দুই
পক,ু রু । িারা ফ ্ে পক,াতেলয় ফ্ুঁ লচলে আর িারীল লরলে অ্ল্ো,
ফেলমর ফখো ফখলে । িারী শুধ্ু ‘ত্স্মলয় রত্ে অতিলমল ’ িাত লয়
ফেলমর াোে ্লয় ।
ফে্র্ািী ফিা ফ ালিা অপক,রাধ্ ফরতি । ফহ ফিা িারীর ষীর
অিু ষূতি স আল্ ফিল এ টু এ টু লর লচর হলগভা ফেলমর
এ াত্মিা অিু ষ্ লরতেে । তিলজর হৃেয় তেলয় লচর াে
ষালো্াহাটুকু ফচলয়তেে । ত ন্তু চ তিলজর স্বািযতহতদ্ধলি অত্চে,
িার হৃেয়ািু ষূতি হার ষয শূ িয । চ িাল অ্ল্ো লরতেে । এই
অ্ল্োর ারণ ী?
উপসংেোে
আলোচিায় আমরা ফেখলি ফপক,োম র্ীন্দ্র- াল্য ীষাল্
িারীরা পক,ু রু লের দ্বারা অ্ল্তেি ্লয়লে । িারীর ফেম ফহখালি
ফ ালিা মূ েয পক,ায়তি । ‘মািহী’ াল্যর ফর্-দুজি িারীর উলেখ আমরা
Phanibhuson Mondal
Vol. 1  2016  108–110
110
SARJANA
Changes in the Rural Workforce Structure in India
Since 1991
Rajasi Dutta
Department of Commerce, Charuchandra College, Kolkata - 700029, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: This paper examines the trends of the nature of changes of rural workforce
structure in India since 1991 on the basis of different reports of quinquennial surveys on
employment-unemployment situation in India of the National Sample Survey Organization
(NSSO). It finds that the workforce participation rates have fallen. However, the proportions
of rural workforce employed in different industrial categories of non-farm activities have
been found to be increase in the national level. Over time the fall in employment in farming
activities has been compensated by the rise in employment in manufacturing and household
industries and other categories of non-farm activities like trade, hotelling, construction,
storage, transport etc. In fact all the states in India have experienced a tremendous increase
in the rural non-farm employment along with an increasing tendency of feminisation of rural
employment structure especially during the period of reform. It seems that the process of
diversification of rural workforce may partly be agricultural growth led and partly distress
driven.
Keywords: Rural Workforce; Workforce participation; Farm and Non-Farm activities; Diversification
India had a sharp increasing agricultural
economy, which declined in the post reform
period, since 1991 it assumes a pivotal role in
the rural economy. The area of cultivation and
irrigation , land holdings ,quality of seeds
deteriorate .Food grain availability was
decreased which caused the decline of the
farming activities. The reasons for the
deteriorating state of agriculture in the post
reform period are many and complex. From
the various reports of National Sample
Survey Organisation (NSSO) it has been
found that a large proportion of rural
workforce have shifted from farming activities
and engaged themselves in various non-farm
activities of different industrial categories viz.
manufacturing, mining and quarrying,
electricity, gas and water, construction in
secondary sector and majority of the workers
shifted themselves into tertiary sector which
includes trade, hotel and restaurant, transport
and storage, service and others. Such a
structural transformation though expected in a
Rajasi Dutta
developing economy, this process has been
slower in the rural economy.
The major explanations behind this process
of transformation of workforce structure are:
(a) growth and commercialization of
agriculture; (d) development of infrastructure,
transport and communication; (e) distress etc(
Basu and Kasyap 1992; Chandrasekhar
1993; Ghosal 2002; Kundu & Basu 1991;
Sundaram 2001a, 2001b; Sen 1996; Visaria
& Minhas 1991; Visaria & Basant 1994). In the
development-led proposition for rural
diversification, the infrastructure facilities and
supportive institutions encourage rural nonfarm employment (Acharya and Mitra,2000).
The Occupational distribution of workforce
shows that cultivators are declining, such
decline in agriculture is replaced by increasing
agricultural labour. Growth of workforce in
non-agriculture is higher than that of
agriculture. Growth of female workers
engaged in non-agriculture is higher than their
male counterparts (Motkuri Venkatanarayana
and Veslawatha, Suresh Naik ,2013).
Vol. 1  2016  117–121
General Article
INTRODUCTION
117
SARJANA
Rural Occupational Structure and its Trends
In this study we actually try to explore the
trends in rural employment structure in India since
economic reform. In rural India, self –employment
is the main source of employment followed by
casual employment. To determine the changes in
rural employment structure the trends in WFPR in
rural India on the basis of data available from
NSSO have been analysed first.
Table 1: Workforce participation rate (in
percentage) of India during the post reform
period
Year
India
WFPR (Male)
WFPR (Female)
1993-94
55.3
32.8
1999-00
53.1 (-3.98)
30.0 (-8.54)
2004-05
54.6 (2.82)
32.7(9)
2009-10
54.7 (0.18)
26.1 (-19)
2011-12
54.3 (-0.73)
24.8 (-4.98)
Source: Various Reports of NSSO (Figure in
parenthesis represent percentage point change
Rajasi Dutta
Fig. 1: WFPR of India since 1991(NSSO data)
Industrial Distribution of Rural Workforce
The percentage share of employment in
different sectors to total rural employment
helps us identify the relative importance of
different activities. The sectoral distribution of
rural male and female workers are shown
here on the basis of NSSO (Table 2). Analysis
of the data by sector in terms of the
percentage share reveals the following
trends:
i.
First, in rural India, the proportion of male
workers engaged in primary sector has
been steadily declining. On the other
hand, the proportion of employment in
the secondary, tertiary and total nonfarm sectors has witnessed a steady
increase. The share of rural female
employment in the non-farm sector
gradually increased during the period of
reform, since 1991.
ii. The expansion of the non-farm activities
was relatively high during the last two
decades of post-reform years for both
rural male and female.
iii. Third, the share of employment in
manufacturing was highest not only within
the secondary activities but also within the
overall non-farm activities for both rural
male and female workers during the
period of economic reform.
General Article
Table 1 shows the rural WFPR rates in
India during the post reform period and here
it is evident from the table that there is a
declining tendency of WFPR in India as whole
in the year 1999-2000. Male and female
WFPRs in India have increased by 2.8 and 9
percentage points respectively in the year
2004-2005. In the year 2004-2005, an
increasing tendency is seen for all,
irrespective of all sex. The reason behind this
may be the massive increase in public
expenditure towards different rural poverty
alleviation and employment generating
programmes during the post reform period.
But, again in 2011-12 the WFPR is decreased
by 0.73% point for male and 4.98% point
for female workers. The reason may be due
to rapid increase in growth of rural
population with fall in birth rate since
economic reform in India.
Lastly, manufacturing, trade-commerce
and transport-storage-communication were
dynamic sectors for rural male workers as the
Vol. 1  2016  117–121
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SARJANA
share of employment of these sectors to total
rural male employment expanded significantly.
For rural female workers, manufacturing was
only the dynamic sector where employment
share increased. The expansion of the
manufacturing employment has substantially
high during the recent years, specifically
during 2004-05 and 2009-10.
Table 2: Industry wise classification of the
composition of employment(%)
Category
Agriculture
Trade &
Hotelling
Services
Total Nonfarm
India
Male
Female
1993-94
74.0
86.2
1999-94
71.4
85.4
2004-05
66.5
83.3
2009-10
62.8
79.4
2011-12
59.4
74.9
1993-94
7.0
7.0
1999-94
7.3
7.6
2004-05
7.9
8.4
2009-10
7.0
7.5
2011-12
8.1
9.8
1993-94
5.5
2.1
1999-94
6.8
2.0
2004-05
8.3
2.5
2009-10
8.2
2.8
2011-12
8.0
2.9
1993-94
7.0
3.4
1999-94
6.1
3.7
2004-05
5.9
3.9
2009-10
5.5
4.6
2011-12
6.6
7.9
1993-94
26.0
13.8
1999-94
28.6
14.6
2004-05
33.5
16.7
2009-10
37.2
20.6
2011-12
40.6
25.1
Source: Various Reports of NSSO
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Changes in the pattern of employment
structure- a comparison with West Bengal
The trends and changes in the pattern of
farm and non-farm employment in rural India
and West Bengal during the period of reform
have been explained here. The dynamics of
the behavior of the farm and non-farm
employment is concerned the Table-3 clearly
brings out the fact that the share of female
workforce engaged in agricultural activities
has shown a continuous declining trend(86.2%
to 74.9% in 2011-12) .This declining trend in
the share of female workforce engaged in
farming activities in West Bengal has been
noticed. For male workforce, however, there
has been a continuous declining trend in the
share of agricultural sector (from 74.0% in
1993-94 to 59.4% in 2011-12) at the all
India level. The decline in the share of
agriculture in the employment of male and
female workforce in West Bengal and in
India appeared with an equal gain in the
same in the non-farm activities (Table 3).
General Article
Manufacturing
Year
From the above discussion we can
conclude that the employment opportunity in
the non-farm sectors has increased in the post
reform period which made the rural male and
female workers to leave the farming activities
and join the non- farm informal activities
especially in the secondary and tertiary
sectors viz. manufacturing, hotelling, trade
and other categories.
On the other hand it is worth mentioning
that the tremendous fall in the male and female
workforce engaged in agriculture have been
accompanied by increase in the employment in
manufacturing trade, hotelling and service,
trade, hotelling and other categories, which
include construction, transport, storage and
communications, electricity, gas and water
supply etc. It is surprising to observe that the
proportions of both male and female workforce
employed in manufacturing , trade, hotelling
and services are higher in the state throughout
the period as compared with the national level.
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Table 3: Farm and non-farm employment in
rural India and West Bengal during post
reform period
Year
India
WB
Farm
Non-farm
Male
Female
Male
Female
1993-94
74
86.2
26
13.8
1999-00
71.4
85.4
28.6
14.6
2004-05
66.5
83.3
33.5
16.7
2011-12
59.4
74.9
40.6
25.1
1993-94
64.7
58.9
35.3
41.1
1999-00
66.4
54.1
33.6
45.9
2004-05
63.9
58.8
36.1
41.2
2011-12
56.8
41.7
43.2
58.3
CONCLUSION
The diversification of rural workforce in
favour of non-farm activities in India may be
partly distress driven and partly due to
agricultural growth. Rise in the employment in
manufacturing and household and other industrial
categories and non-farm activities like trade,
construction, hotelling, transport etc is mainly due
to the fall in the employment in farming activities.
The reasons behind the diversification of
workforce structure are –



Source: Various Reports of NSSO




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Vol. 1  2016  117–121
General Article
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