The Competition World

The political system of Iran is quite a complex one and combines elements of a modern Islamic ideology with democracy. The entire system functions under a Supreme Leader who is appointed by the Assembly of Experts and is the chief of state while the President is Head of Government. Here is an overview of the structure of the political system of Iran -     Supreme Leader The Supreme Leader holds the highest position in the political power structure of Iran who is in charge of defining and supervising the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Presently the Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei whose major responsibilities include- Appointment of the head of the judiciary Appointment of the clergy members on the Council of Guardians Appointment of the commanders of all the armed forces Appointment of the Friday prayer leaders and the head of radio and TV The Supreme Leader is also responsible for confirming the President's election.  The Executive According

Education for Girl Child The global community and the world bodies like the United Nations time and again underline the need to focus on urgent national and international steps to be taken for ensuring education for the girl child. Hundreds of millions of young children, mostly girls, throughout the world are often deprived of education along with other essential needs like adequate food, clothing and health care. Going by these yardsticks, the development of a Nation is truly measured by many indicators and among them literacy levels especially of women and girl children are vital.  The literacy drive among the girl child would work as a catalyst for social uplift and thereby ensure National progress. Keeping this as the desired endeavour , eradication of illiteracy and bringing the girl child into the realm of education has been a major National concern for last so many decades.  Here, it would be only relevant to point to a publication by the Directorate of Adult Education, a few ye

Nirendra Dev* The position of women has been always held high in the Indian civilization. The women-power has been hailed as ‘ Matri Shakti ’ and the existence of the womenfolk used to be celebrated as an essential half of spiritual enlightenment. Therefore, it is not without reason that even after Independence, the Government has been laying continuous emphasis on the general development of the women and especially their empowerment including adolescent girls and the children in all spheres of life. The major task to cater to the welfare of the women, their holistic empowerment especially of the marginalized sections primarily rests with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. On this backdrop it is worth mentioning here that under the UPA dispensation, the Ministry has taken the giant and vital steps towards launching two new schemes. They are-Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (SALA) to address the multidimensional issues of the adolescent girls in the ag

 Can women break free of societal fetters?  RAGINI NAYAK The fear of violence restricts a woman's autonomy, curtails her mobility and her ability to work and participate in social activities. Read Full Story - Click Here!

Ravinder Singh* Census is the most credible source of information on demography, economic activity, literacy, education, housing, household amenities, urbanization, fertility, mortality, language, religion, migration, disability and other socio-cultural and demographic data. Census 2011 is the 15 th National Census of the country and 7 th since Independence. The first systematic Census conducted all over the country in a non-synchronous manner was in 1872 and in 1881 the first synchronous Census was conducted all over the country. The Census is a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and Census Rules, 1990.  Census serves as primary data for planning and implementation of policies of the Central and State Governments. Also, it is utilized for the purpose of reservation of constituencies for Parliamentary, Assembly and local body elections. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India is the nodal authority for conducting Census in the co

Alok Deshwal * Cultural contact between India and China, the two wonderful ancient civilizations of the world, is more than two millennium years old. The two countries were connected through the ancient ‘silk route’. But introduction of Buddhism in China from India was the most eventful incidence in the mutual relationship that triggered making of Buddhist art and architecture in China and the travel to India by the Chinese Buddhist monks like Fa -Xian, Zunzang and Izing . To extend the historical tradition of friendly exchanges between the two countries, the year 2006 was declared as Indo-China Friendship Year and a significant component of it was the organization of exhibition on “Treasures of Ancient India” during 2006-07 in the four cities of China-Beijing, Zhengzhou, Chongqing and Guangzhou. The exhibition of about 100 artifacts was a microcosmic presentation of India art offered to the Chinese people at their doors. In reciprocation, an exhibition on “Treasures of Ancient China

- Ikshula The world today faces challenges of different forms ranging from ecological disaster to terrorist violence and from deaths from malnutrition to problems emanating from plenty. The world, whether it is the affluent North or the developing South, seems to be running in a mad race. Two separate races, almost oblivious of each other, are going on simultaneously on the world map – one race is of affluent people who are clamouring  for more and the other is for mere survival where people are striving hard to make both ends meet. And this is where  Gandhiji’s  ideas hold great value for today’s world – his emphasis on  ‘ aparigrah ’  (non-possessiveness’) and his idea of ‘ Swaraj ’ under which each individual, he thought, would be enabled to control his or her life independent of state power and where villages/ gram  sabhas  would be self-dependent and self-sufficient. “Our Earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for anyone’s greed”   This is what  Mahatama  Gandhi sai