It wasn’t too many years ago, every time the word ‘computers’ was mentioned, government employees would go on strike. Millions of man hours were wasted as clerks continued to painstakingly and laboriously write in ledgers and huge books, what they could have typed and transferred to another department in seconds. And we the public suffered, as successive government either scared to lose the employees vote bank, or succumbing to the threat of the ‘strike&rsquo

Muskan Aggarwal PTI As Covid hit the world last year, many companies were forced to shut down their offices and work remotely. Now, after a year, people have slowly started adapting to the Work From Home culture. Sharing his experience, Mohit Gupta, who works at an IT firm, said there are both pros and cons of working from home. "While this has ruined work-life balance, I'm thankful since it has kept me and my family safe." Agreeing with Microsoft's 2021 Work T

Dr Panger Kichu Oriental Theological Seminary, Dimapur  Today, we are compelled towards an unprecedented COVID context and the demands for the service of pastors and clergies have exponentially increased. We deeply appreciate those of you who have stepped up to provide indispensable leadership in your communities, risking your own safety and that of your families. On many occasions, you are the unsung heroes, unrecognized and unprotected frontline workers.  Be that as

After my morning walk, I sit for an hour on my terrace garden, savoring my pot of delicious coffee. All around me I hear the sounds of birds and squirrels, as the peepul tree towering over me provides a home to them and peace for me. As I sip away, different smells start drifting up to me; that of breakfasts being prepared by loving hands. There’s the aroma of aloo paratha, the whiff of an omellette, the crisp smell of a dosa, there’s bacon and eggs rising somewhere, and al

Limatula Yaden Public Health is a state subject and hence the primary responsibility to provide accessible, affordable quality heathcare to the population lies with the State Government. Under the National Health Mission (NHM), the Central Government supplements the efforts of the state by providing support (Both financial and technical ) under the Mission. The information on approvals given to States/UTs including Nagaland under NHM are available at https://nhm.gov.in/index4.ph

Very often we make a god out of a guru or priest and feel disappointed and even lose our beliefs when they fall. Many, many years ago as a child I used to sit in church and like all youngsters fidget, look around and do everything except listen to the preacher. But there was one man I listened with rapt attention. He had me spell bound with his sermon. He was nothing great to look at; bald and short and dark. He was not even a flashy orator, but when he spoke from the scriptures he

Limatula Yaden NHM Free Drugs Services Initiative (FDSI) Funding is provided for this Initiative to improve access to and provision of essential drugs/medicines free of cost in all public health facilities to reduce high out of pocket expenditure. There is no prescribed list and free essential drugs/medicines is to be provided to all who visit public health facilities as per State Essential Drug List. The indicative numbers as per NHM Guidelines and Nagaland are: Guidelines

Robert Clements Every morning as I sit in my little garden and ponder on what to write, I look at the little blue collapsible stool on which I place my newspapers and remember my father. Today, on Father’s Day, I specially thought of him, because it was two days before he died that he sat on the very same stool, after driving with me to all my sites, sitting on the stool at each of my twelve worksites, and telling me how I could better the work my men were doing. I would li

Robert Clements Racists! That’s what the two have been branded as! Two writers, Enid Blyton and Rudyard Kipling, who shaped our formative years, both in reading and in the unleashing of childhood imagination, and who today, are not there to defend themselves have been flagged as racists by a charity called English Heritage. The charitable trust goes on to say, that Enid Blyton’s work, contained ‘racism, xenophobia and a lack of literary merit.’ And on Kipl

‘Those who seek to satisfy the mind of man by hampering it with ceremonies and music and affecting charity and devotion have lost their original nature..’ Zhuangzi  The lovely, agile and nimble steps of a ballerina as she glides across the stage, the plaintive, doleful strains of a saxophone, the triumphant victorious blasts of a trumpet in a Bach piece, how they are missed as we sit in the confines of our home, caged, locked up, locked in, ah, lock down it is, we t

IANS India on Thursday signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to co-create and implement solutions at scale to tackle the employment and skilling challenges for adolescents and youth in India. A particular focus will be on the vulnerable population, including young people with special needs, migrant youth, victims of child labour, violence, child marriage and trafficking. Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Cha

Protesting without arms is a fundamental right and not a terrorist activity’ - Delhi High Court Even as the high court gives citizens of our country the right to protest, I do believe that the greatest gift a leader can gift himself or herself, are people who have the freedom to disagree with the leader. “Sir, I don’t agree with your views!” is a statement one should welcome, whether it’s from one’s own advisors or the opposition. Because that

Branko Milanović Inter Press Service Is Africa marginalised in contemporary economics and politics, and in contemporary economic and political research? Impressions gathered over the years and a bit of evidence (much more could be assembled) indicate that it is. I would distinguish three types of marginalisation: objective, objectified and subjective marginalisation. Caused by poverty Africa is not at the forefront of the new economic and social issues which arise in the

Bano Haralu Nino’s Secret Garden’ is a profound tribute to love. This is the author Kevi Z Kevichusa’s first book and must be celebrated for her ingenuity in transforming something that sprung from a place of deep personal grief into an offering of love .Yet you don’t have to experience the loss of a child to grasp the emotions in the book, for the triumph of hope over grief that the story conveys, is a universal theme: it converges in the childlike narrative

Just read that the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express would soon be reaching four hours faster! All this by building a wall along the railway tracks between Mumbai and Surat, which would allow the train to travel faster, as it wouldn’t need to slow down for people crossing the tracks. ‘Let’s get there faster,’ we shout, ‘Let’s finish the job! Which brings me to a question, will there be adequate footbridges all along the way for the poor on foot to

IANS Social media giant Facebook on Tuesday launched a new initiative that encourages people to report child abuse content on its platforms and not to share it. The initiative 'Report it, don't share it' is in collaboration with civil society organisations like Aarambh India Initiative, Cyber Peace Foundation and Arpan. The initiative was rolled out with an animated video which visually communicates the negative impact that the circulation of child abuse content co

Thalif Deen Inter Press Service A hilarious anecdote, recounted in the New York Times years ago, related to the widespread corruption embedded in the political culture of a Southeast Asian country where crooked politicians were willing to provide receipts every time they received a bribe—big time bribes. And in Africa, the late Mobutu Sese Seko, president of former Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), was often described as one of “the world’s most cor

Hanna Hassan Inter Press Service  August of this year will mark the one-year anniversary of the end of South Sudan’s civil war, yet recent surges of violence suggest that peace is far from being realized. These attacks by armed groups include instances of sexual violence against women and girls. Sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be a significant characteristic in South Sudan’s conflict, threatening the livelihood and human rights of women and g

Robert Clements  There was a brown, barren patch of land behind my home. “It looks like the Sahara Desert!” I used to say as nothing grew there, and then overnight it’s become green. A few drops of rain, a few peals of thunder and the brown earth has yielded to roots that had been waiting to spring out and up with shouts of joy! That’s the monsoons in India, when God with a giant paint brush paints the whole country green, the only difference being

Robert Clements  A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So he goes over to the dog and notices it has a note in its mouth. He takes the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in its mouth, as well." The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten dollar note there. So he takes the money and puts the s