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Monday, March 30, 2015

How E-Governance through technology can accelerate the vision of a digital India

The world has truly gone "E" way: The Electronic way. India is not an exception to this. Starting from very basic e-mail, we are progressing fast and have already made our mark in fields like e-commerce, e-learning, and so-on.
The new and most important electronic media for India today is “E-Governance”.
E-Governance aka Electronic Governance implies to using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to deliver various government services. The government services itself is a broad term which might include country, state, region, institution or even individuals.
On a broad spectrum, there are four models towards E-Governance:

  1. Government to Government
  2. Government to Citizen/Customer
  3. Government to Employees
  4. Government to Business


The electronic media undoubtedly directs our attention to very much related project called – Digital India: A programme to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy.
The Digital India basically aims at integrating various government services with the power of internet thus reducing paperwork, connecting rural areas with technology and many more.
While all technical and digital stuff sounds very pleasant to ears, the thousands of crores rupees project Digital India has its own set of challenges:
1. Cyber Security: None is unaware about the state of cyber security in India. We are progressing fast, but the fact that we need to increase our pace is also true.
2. Legal Hurdles: There are many loopholes in privacy and data protection laws in India and a lot are still missing.
3. E-waste management: With the amount of technical updates, the devices etc are definitely going to be discarded and replaced with updated ones. Thus e-waste can definitely be expected to come in huge quantity. E-Governance cannot be applied and Digital India plan would be a complete waste in itself without effective and productive E-waste management.


One need not mention the role of technology in executing the most looked upon plans by our country India. Below are some ways the technology combined with E-Governance and Digital India project can make the pace much faster:-
1. Curb The Obstacles
Looking at the challenges faced by Digital India, better and more advanced technology is one solution which directly emerges out. The invention and use of better technologies is definitely the only solution to first and biggest obstacle to E-Governance through DI – Cyber Security.
2. User Friendly Applications
The kind of services being planned by E-Governance mostly caters to common people of India. One cannot expect the mango man to be tech-savy and thus the need for user friendly applications and services is much evident. The current and upcoming technological advances offer great features that can be incorporated with proper planning
3. Save Precious Time
Time is money. In the present era when everyone has multiple tasks to do simultaneously, the technology is definitely playing a vital role in saving the precious gem. Imagine a villager to commute to city utilizing his/her whole full day for just an appointment of passport application. The passport seva website is just a small example. The Government has already launched several services which definitely saves time.
4. Better Accessibility
The internet connectivity and network issues to remote areas are still a matter of concern when we talk about Digital India. E-Governance clubbed with latest technological methods can play an important role in this aspect. The latest technological advances also allow the users to work in offline mode. This is just the beginning.
5. Save Environment
All said and done, the responsibility towards environment is one of the key factors for any nation. While the Digital India project would definitely prevent lot of paperwork, it would also lead to e-waste. Thus, better the technology and it’s compatibility with previous versions, more the social contribution towards environment.
Talk technology and Intel is one name which cannot be ignored.  While Intel is known as the chip maker, the technology expert is making its own contribution towards #DigitalIndia through its programs like the "Digital Skills For India" application and "Innovate For India" initiatives.

Information sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Governance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_India
http://deity.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/Digital%20India.pdf

Digital India: Intel and Technologies

Digital India and e-governance sounds like the big dream seen by our prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi. He is making sure that the government leaves no stones unturned in making this dream a reality. With sky high visions, India is definitely on the top of world's eagle eye lens.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted - "While we look at e-Governance, let us think about 'Mobile First' and thus give importance to m-Governance (mobile governance)."

There are several organisations which have come forward to contribute and help. World's most popular chip maker - Intel is leveraging its technical knowledge to the fullest when it comes to fluffing the dream of #DigitalIndia. Intel has taken the first step towards m-Governance. As promised, Intel has already launched the much awaited mobile application in December 2014. The application called - "Digital Skills for India" is an easy to operate application which starts with the very basics of learning to use the mobile tablets and then move ahead to making the rural India learn about some very important areas.

Here are some key highlights of the application:
1. The application is available in six languages - English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Tamil, Kannada.
2. It covers six basic modules namely - Health Care, Hygiene, RTI, Agriculture, Banking, Education.
3. If the person does not know how to use the tablet or the smart phone which is very common in rural India, the application also has a tutorial for the same. Well, I have to mention that the tutorial is only in English and that's the only negative point I could find about the application.

4. The information available in each module is just apt for the basics. Wherever required, customer care numbers etc are also provided.
5. To get the idea of how the app works in local language, I browsed through some sections in Hindi and was quite impressed by the simplicity.

That's not enough, below were some pointers through which technology giant Intel is helping India become e-India:
1. Adopted three villages in Andhra Pradesh, Tripura and Rajasthan and setup digital literacy training camps. These villages now have 100% digital literacy as recorded by 1 person digitally trained per household.
2. The learning program has reached more than 1.8 lakh students in India.
3. NDLM (National Digital Literacy Mission) launched in 2012 along with Nasscom trained more than 16000 young Indians with the help of more than 400 volunteers in just 7days during the Digital Literacy Week.

The next big step much awaited is the launch of "Innovate For India Challenge" which targets at creating India friendly solutions with the help of technology innovations across several platforms.

This with technology at its base, various platforms have enormous opportunities knocking at their doorstep to be grabbed and make the dream of e-Governance in India a true reality.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Buffalo Wings

My favourite food item from Singapore.

I have not been to Singapore - my papa would not be happy to read it! I have been to Singapore, but that was way back when I was a toddler. I don't remember a single thing about that except that I went there.
So, technically, I become ineligible to mention my favourite food from the place I have never been to. Yes, we can get all sort of food item in Delhi now a days, but the actual taste always differ form actual location.
Thus, I contacted my brother who happens to be in Singapore for some years. He replied with not his favourite cuisine, but one of my all-time favourite cuisines - Chicken Wings. Yes, I love those simple pieces of chicken marinated and cooked in delicious sausages.

Here it goes:
Restaurant Name: Sunset Grill
Location: Jalan Kayu (earlier it was at senator camp) 
Famous For: Ridiculously Spicy Buffalo Wings

Before I get swamped by comments that beef is now banned, let me clarify - Buffalo Wings are big sized Chicken Wings.

Now comes the catch:
The buffalo wings are served based in levels. Levels of spices - chilli to be precise. The level start from 1 and go up to 35! Wondering what's the big deal?
If one eats full plate of level 25+, his/her name is featured in 'Hall Of Fame'.

Getting your name in some hall of fame by eating! That surely sounds interesting.

Here is what my brother had to say more about the dish:





















Being a Chicken Wings lover, I am definitely up for this awesome dish whenever I arrive in Singapore.



Discover more about Singapore Food at - Far East Hospitality

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Healthy Breakfast Options With Kellogg's

Gupta Ji and his family is one lucky family.  They have a master chef right in their home. A master chef who can beat anyone in the world when it comes to serving breakfast with creativity, taste and above all, full of nutrition. Whole neighborhood waits eagerly for their invitation for a breakfast at their home.



Here are some mouth watering dishes and their recipes which tempt me to head straight towards Mr. Gupta’s house right in morning:

Milk Shakes
My breakfast is never complete with a glass of milk. Milk served with goodness of various nutrition filled stuff is an icing on cake. Below are some delicious shakes I would love to gulp any time of day.

Cherry Vanilla Milk Shake

Jelly Shake

Almond Coconut Shake

Nothing can beat the classic Black Forest Shake

Blueberry Breakfast Shake

Cherry Vanilla Milk Shake

Honey Cornflake and Fruit Smoothie

Chunky Monkey Shake



With the summers just arrived, the Falooda just got better with a cornflakes power punch! What? You do not believe it? Have a look - Rose Falooda


Omlette
Omlette is the quickest breakfast I can ever prepare myself. The omlette along with oats! I never thought about in any of my dreams. Guess what? My kid told me about them as0 Master Gupta shared his lunchbox with him some days back. There is no way I can visit Mrs. Gupta and miss this.




Salads and Fruit Diets
I am on a fruit or salad diet almost every month. But the problem is, I always fail in it. None of my fruit diets continue for more than two to three days. The new lady whi has shifted in the neighbor told me the secret of Mrs. Gupta’s successful fruit diets. She sent me some pictures of delicious dishes all made out of fruits and vegetables she had at Gupta’s family breakfast.

Crunchy Fruit Salad                                                                                                 Kellogg's® Oats Hearty Salad Treat

 

Khichda

I am super bored with same old fashioned khichda I have to eat eveytime my mother in law demands for it. She loves it. I have to get the recipe for this amazing Kellogg's® Oats Khichda. It looks yummy. I cannot wait to put it into my mouth.

 

Junk Food gone Healthy

Last time we had our kitty party at Gupta house, my eyes just popped out with surprise when I saw all those junk foods had suddenly become good for health. I knew you would laugh out loud. No issues, I have all the proofs with me!


Cornflake Marshmallow Bites

 

 

Cornflakes Chana Chaat

 


Choco Cornflakes Peanut Chikki




Sweet Tooth

After all healthy and nutritious delights, no meal is complete without a sweet. Those bites of sugar are the ones which makes all feeling full.

Coconut Barfi is my all time favorite! Mr. Gupta sent a box full of Coconut Ladoos last Diwali. When I asked them the shop, he said they were all hand-made!

 

 

Check out how others are finding ways to have brfeatfast with the Gupta's in the captured moments.

All Images used in the post are sourced from various Kellogg's Recipe.

Monday, March 23, 2015

A to Z Challenge 2015 Theme Reveal - WOMEN in A to Z PROFESSIONS

April A to Z challenge: I read many posts last year from this and when I tried to participate myself, I realised I was too late. For this year, I registered myself on time.

Now, the challenge to post every day (except Sunday) that too with a particular letter on each day does sound crazy. Having participated in Ultimate Blog Challenge in January 2015, I know the amount of task it requires. For the whole month, I could not think of anything else other than the topic to post for next day.
May be this was because I did not have any theme and was just posting random posts. The fact that I had a plan is a different story.

Coming to theme, this is my first April A to Z challenge and I am glad I choose to theme it. I browsed like one crazy girl for various themes. From several different options I settled down upon, I have finally chooses my theme for the challenge.



With the amount of emphasis on women empowerment, I could not stop myself from  choosing my theme as "Women in A to Z Professions". I would be choosing one or may be two professions starting form each letter and create a small post about women as they perform there. Hopefully I would also try and write a very small poem or really short story on the same as-well.

A to Z CHALLENGE 2015
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

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2
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5
6
7
8
9
10
11

12
13
14
15
16
17
18

19
20
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22
23
24
25

26
27
28
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I hope I would be able to do the justice to my theme.

Are you participating in A to Z Challenge 2015? Sign up's are open till 4-April-2015 11:59 PM North America - EST (Eastern standard Time).

Do you have a theme for the month? Check out other theme reveals as-well.
Visit A to Z Challenge to find more details.


Stay Tuned... :)