Water Management in India

    First of all , we have to understand the magnitude of problem  related to fresh water in India. Is there water- stress in India or is it water scarcity? The reports available are contradictory and confusing. Central Water Commission report ,  prepared with inputs from ISRO  says that we have  a condition of water stress in India , which if not controlled  may  result  into a state of water scarcity in a few decades. But Niti Aayog ‘s Report released  in June ,2018  said;” 21 major cities will have zero Ground water level  by 2020”. In other words , it is a state of water scarcity , a crisis situation.

   Which Report to believe ? I was in a state of quandary when  I stumbled on the  scrutiny done on Niti Aayog’s report by  Joanna Slater of Washington Post . In 22 tweets that she published on June 28,2019, she mentioned “ Zombie Statistics  given by Niti Aayog tell a tale”. Briefly  ,Niti Aayog  cited in a footnote three sources of data;

1.     World Resources Institute.

2.     World Bank.

3.     The Hindu; The Hindustan Times.    Both the World Resources Institute

and the World Bank  had not published any such data. Even the Central Ground Water Board  denied having published any data  leading to the conclusions drawn by Niti Aayog.   In other words, Niti Aayog had  not quoted its sources correctly . In other words, It is not correct to say that 21 major cities of India will have zero water level by 2020.

Thus our  first  question is settled . Going by the report of Central water Commission , we can say that India is in a state of water stress and needs  better water management,  failing which we shall have water scarcity. We also need to do something about  the growth of our population.

Our water is  of poor quality and is contaminated at various places. India ranked 120 out of 122 countries in Water Quality Index. This again  is a cause for concern.

       It is not that no efforts were made in the past towards water conservation. In fact , U.P. Soil and Water Conservation Act of 1963  shows the  concern of our legislators  since about 56 years ago. It envisaged watershed development, intensive afforestation,  renovation of bore-well structures, renovation of water bodies and tanks and rain water harvesting. But still, there is an urgent need to conserve water  more now. There is a need to reclaim , maintain and improve water resources. Rain water harvesting  in India is only about 10 percent and this needs to be increased to 100 percent, as is prevalent in many countries.

         Government of India has  created a new ministry called Jal Shakti (Water Power) in May ,2019  integrating the departments of water resources , river development , Ganga rejuvenation , drinking water and sanitation . The U.P. state government has followed  by creating a new Jal Shakti ministry on August 22,2019. Let us hope , other states will also take similar steps and these ministries become integrated and powerful enough to take the country out of the problem of water stress and poor water quality.

         In India, agriculture consumes 90 percent of fresh water. We have to pay more attention to save water use in agriculture. One way is to improve water use efficiency through drip and sprinkler irrigation. Other is to grow water consuming crops like wheat and rice in Eastern India ( where we have abundant rainfall) and  maize and millets in North western India. In addition , we should review our policy of exporting rice , which amounts to exporting fresh water.

      Singapore  reclaims water from   waste water and reuses it. It has also installed energy efficient  desalination  plants. We have to follow  these  practices.

     Most important is  the creation of public awareness that  we  have to conserve water. We have to develop better technologies than present water  purifiers (R.O. based) which waste  three litres of drinking water to purify one litre. We have to take care of leaking pipes and leaking taps. We have to obey the laws and policies related to water conservation. And last but not the least, we have to control our population growth.

Stephen Hawking and his last book

The  book  ‘Brief Answers to the Big questions ‘  was published in July ,2018  while Stephen Hawking died  in Cambridge , U.K.  on March 14,2018.

      Stephen hawking maintained  a personal archive of  his speeches , interviews and essays  which contained his responses to some of the big questions  of the day , asked by  scientists, entrepreneurs ,  political leaders and the general public  from him. The Stephen Hawking Estate , with the help of others ,compiled  and published this book, after  Hawking’s  death. The Afterword of the book  was written by  Lucy  Hawking , his daughter.

       I am inspired by  Stephen Hawking for his courage  .He suffered from Motor Neuron Disease since 1963 , but  he persevered  till his death at the age of  76 years.” At the age of seventy-five ,  completely paralysed   and able to move only  a few facial muscles , he still got up every day , put on a suit , and went to work. He had stuff to do  and was not going to let  a few trivialities get in his way”, wrote his daughter in the Afterword.

    The Big questions dealt within this book are ten , as below:

1.     Is there a God?

2.      How did it all begin?

3.     Is there other intelligent life in the universe?

4.     Can we predict the future?

5.     What is inside a black hole ?

6.     Is time travel  possible?

7.     Will we survive the Earth?

8.     Should we colonise space?

9.     Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?

10.                          How do we shape the future?

His answers  as recorded in this book  display deep wisdom and creativity , especially his answer to the last question, ’How do we shape the future?’Hawking’s questions   themselves  will keep on generating break-throughs  in times to come.

I recommend you to read this book by one of the most admirable  scientists of our time.

A Mind for Numbers : How to Excel at Math and Science by Barbara Oakley

   This outstanding book by Barbara Oakley  is about learning how to learn. Though the subtitle gives an impression that it is a book about  learning Math and  Science  but it applies to learning  in any  field.

       If you are trying to  understand or figure out something new , your best bet is to turn off  your precision –focused thinking  and turn on your  ‘big picture’ diffuse mode. Then set  a timer for 25 minutes and put yourself towards doing a  25minute interlude of work  on a task. Don’t worry about finishing the task –just worry about  working on it .Then reward yourself  by checking your phone or doing  any other thing that you like. Try to complete at least  three such 25 minute sessions in a day on that task  or any important task . Get into flow by focusing on process , not product.  Spend 25 minutes on working and  not on completing the assignment. The point is that you put  forth your best effort  for a short period in the process.  Space it. Spread out your learning in any subject a little  every day. Randomly flip through your book , pick out a problem  ,and see whether you can solve it  cold. A little study every day  is much better than  a lot of study all at once. Take breaks.

     Write  a few key things  that you would like to work on the next day. This will help your diffuse mode to begin to think about  how you will get  those tasks done the next day . Usually , a few hours is long enough  for the diffuse mode to  make significant progress  but it need not be longer than a day.

 Sleep is vital part of memory  and learning. If you are sleep deprived , it is best to go to sleep and  do your reading and learning  early next morning.  That is why sleep  the night before  a  test is  so important.Also,take a short power nap . Usually it should be for 21 minutes.

      Chunking is the mental leap  that helps you unite  bits of information together through meaning.  Repeat and practice with problems so that  you see not only  when to use chunk  but when not to use it . Learning takes place in two ways. There is a bottom-up chunking  process  where practice and repetition can  help you both build  and strengthen each chunk , so you can easily gain access to  it when needed. And there is top-down ‘big picture’ process that allows you  to see where  what you are learning fits. Both processes are vital in gaining   mastery over the material. Context is where bottom-up and top-down  learning meet .

        Attempting to recall the  material you are trying to learn  is far more effective  than simply re-reading the material. Don’t wait too long for the recall practice. If possible, rewrite your notes  during the evening after a lecture.  Highlight very little. An ability to recall  is   one of the key indicators of good learning.

           Practice and repeat.  In the same amount of time , by simply practicing  and recalling the material , students learn far more  and at a much deeper level  than they do using any other approach , including  re-reading. Practice ignoring distractions. The  biggest lie ever  told is that practice makes  perfect.  Not true – practice makes you better.

   Give yourself   little mini-tests  constantly.  Testing in itself is a powerful learning  experience.  It changes and adds to what you  know , also making dramatic improvements in  your ability to retain  the material. Active test of recall is  one of the best learning methods – better than just sitting passively and re-reading!

Writing is the foundation of learning .Understand  and write each step of  what you really want to learn. One of the best online system  for keeping task lists and  random pieces of information(replacing little notebooks) is  evernote. ( http://evernote.com).   But , there is a connection  between your hand your brain. In stead of typing online  ,it is better start writing in hand .

   Get started on a problem. Let the problem marinate. Pausing and reflecting are key. Pausing gives you time to  access your library  of chunks. Waiting is also important  in a broader context.

    Once you grasp a chunk in  one subject ,it is much easier for you to grasp  or create a similar chunk  in another subject. Combine passion for art   with a passion for science.

   Often , understanding arises  as a consequence of  attempts to explain to  others and yourself  rather than the explanation  arising out of your previous understanding.  Ask yourself ‘How can I explain this so that  a 10-year-old could understand it’.

  In one of the most cited papers  in sociology “ The Strength of Weak Ties”, the sociologist  MARK GRANOVETTER  describes how the  number of acquaintances  you have—not the number of friends –predicts your access to  the latest ideas  as well as your success  on the job market.

Always check what you have done.“Often it takes   way less time to check your work  than to solve a problem. It is a pity to spend 20 minutes  solving a problem and  then get wrong because  you did not spend two minutes to check it.”

  Testing is itself an extra ordinarily powerful  learning experience. When you start working problems , start first with what appears to be  the hardest one. But steel yourself to pull away  within the first minute or two  if you get stuck  or get a sense that  you might not be at the right track. This is called ‘Hard-start-jump-to –easy’ technique. Taking test is a serious business. Going  through your own  test preparation checklist  can vastly improve your chances of success.

      Move past the simplistic idea that  memorization is always bad. Deep, practiced internalization  of well-understood chunks  is essential to mastering   math and science.  Memorization is a critical aspect of  acquiring expertise.

               This  book  should be read and used by every student and more so by every teacher. Based on  latest researches in cognitive  sciences  and experience , it takes us through various steps in learning smarter. Highly recommended.