Literacy in India

                                Literacy in India

 When we talk about the success of a country we take human resource into regard. In that case we should not keep aside the importance of education which leads to further growth.Develpoment in educational attainment itself indicates increase in literacy level. Literacy must be viewed in the context of its immense potential for bringing about transformation in the quality of human life.

11th 5year plan has also targeted to increase the literacy rate of children of 7years and above to 85%. With the coming of census 2011 we may notice that the literacy rate of India has risen to 74.04%. Figures for male and female are 82.14% and 65.46% respectively which clearly states that female literacy has increased since last census.

When we portray the literacy picture of India we may notice that Kerala continues to top the list, while Bihar which has shown some progress this time is till below the national average. States like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya .Pradesh, Andhra .Pradesh., were downgraded from their previous rank wheres  Tripura , Sikkim and Nagaland have shown higher rankings than before.

The main reason behind this achievement is the different initiatives taken by the Government of India like National Adult Education Programme, National Literacy Mission., Operation Blackboard etc. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, a flagship programme of Govt of India was started for achievement of universilization of elementary education in a time bound manner. India has made history by making free and compulsory education to children of ages 6-14 as a fundamental right.

Inspite of these efforts we are still lagging behind the world literacy radte of 84 percent. Bihar is still lying below the national average.But the stride toward complete literate India has become surer and more confident. It is clear that the individual and the community need to play active roles as stakeholders in this process and their role needs to be recognized.

Bachelor of Technology

The Bachelor of Technology (commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or B.Tech.(Hons)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after completion of a three or four year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited university-level institution. The degree is conferred in the Commonwealth of Nations, Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada,South Africa, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

In general, the degree is awarded to those who have undertaken a Bachelor of Science degree program which is additionally supplemented by either occupational placements (e.g., supervised practica or internships) or practice-based classroom courses. Due to these requirements, the degree normally takes at least four years.

In some countries, the degree is awarded following completion of a curriculum which is career oriented, emphasizing practice as opposed to theory. Here, by contrast, occupational placements and practice-based courses are more heavily weighted within the program

Australia

In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology programs are three to four years in duration. Honors degrees, abbreviated as B.Tech.(Hons), are awarded to graduates who successfully complete a four year program.

Canada

In Canada, the Bachelor of Technology designation is used inconsistently. Both universities and community colleges award the degree after completion of four year programs but have different entrance requirements. Some traditional universities as well community colleges also award the degree after a one or two year diploma-to-degree bridging program, such as McMaster University.

Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree offered by university-level institutions with the Bachelor of Applied Technology (B.A.Tech.) or BAT offered by some community colleges in Canada. Community colleges are represented by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and university-level institutions by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the national accrediting body of universities in Canada. However, some community college engineering programs have recently been accredited by Engineers Canada following a thorough review by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), i.e., Conestoga College and the British Columbia Institute of Technology).CEAB accreditation allows licensing as a "Professional Engineer (P.Eng.)" and ensures that graduates of these programs can continue with graduate engineering studies at traditional universities.

Ryerson University's usage of the degree is the most inconsistent. Ryerson University has used the degree for one year diploma-to-degree bridging programs, e.g., Construction Management. Ryerson University has used the degree for 4-year programs with Grade 12 General Level (Community College) entrance requirements, such as the early Engineering programs, which is considered equivalent to a three year bachelors degree. Ryerson has used the degree for 4-year programs with Grade 13 Advanced Level (University) preparation entrance requirements, e.g., Architectural Science, and later Engineering programs. Most recently, after the elimination of Ontario Grade 13, Ryerson University is using the designation for 4-year programs with Grade 12 University Level entrance requirements.

Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree with the C.Tech. (Certified Technician) designation used in Canada by the engineering technologists and technicians associations, which is attained by completion of a 2-year diploma program followed by two years of acceptable experience.

India

In India, The Bachelor of Technology degree is awarded after completion of a 4 year program. The B.Tech. degree is conferred by government and private institutions in various fields like Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, Electronics (Communication & Instrumentation) Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automobile engineering, Agricultural engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mining Engineering,Aerospace Engineering, Civil engineering , Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering,Production Engineering and Textile Engineering, Pulp and Paper Engineering as well as a host of other prestigious institutes (both public and privately funded) for their professional engineering programs.

Israel

In Israel, the B.Tech. degree is awarded only by academic colleges in fields of engineering. The minimum duration of the B.Tech. degree is eight semesters and 160 credit hours.It is also awarded to those who have upgraded from a Practical Engineering certificate to a B.Tech. degree by taking supplemental studies of minimum five semesters and 100 credit hours. The importance of this course can be judged from the fact that GDS is pursuing it.

Kenya

In Kenya, The B.Tech degree is awarded by Moi University and takes five years to complete. The fields offered by the university are Chemical engineering, Civil engineering,Computer engineering, Electrical engineering, Textile Engineering and Production Engineering

Nigeria

In Nigeria, The B.Tech. degree is awarded by Universities of Technology or Science and Technology which can be Federal, State or Privately owned.The duration of study is usually five years of ten semesters.Nine of these semesters is spent in the university while one(usually the second semester of the fourth year) is spent on compulsory Industrial Training(IT)ranging from three to six months although it can extend for a whole session(usually the whole fourth year) for students of Agriculture related courses. At inception most of the universities offered core Science courses,but have now expanded their course offerings to include Social Sciences and even Medicine.There are five Federal universities of Technology in Nigeria located in Minna,Akure,Owerri,Yola and Bauchi with some state and privately owned ones around the country .

Pakistan

In Pakistan: Bachelor of Technology (Honors) degree is a four year undergraduate degree program, including supervised industrial training, Projects and intensive course studies. The prerequisite for this program is a three years Diploma of Associate Engineer in specific fields e.g. Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical and Civil Engineering etc or two years F.Sc Pre-Engineering. B.Tech Honors four years degree awarded by public and private sector Universities under supervision of Higher Education Commission (Govt. of Pakistan) B.Tech (Hons) Degree from any HEC accredited Universities is considered at par and compatible with B.Sc.Engineering degree(Please refer to the HEC wesbite www.hec.gov.pk stating equivalence of B.Tech. Honors and B.Sc. Engineering degree.

South Africa

In South Africa, the degree is awarded by Universities of Technology and Comprehensive Universities (as distinct from Traditional Universities), and is often offered in areas to which there is no corresponding B.Sc. Although the B.Tech often carries the same amounts of points as a B.Sc. in terms of South Africa's National Qualifications Framework, the B.Tech. usually does not grant admission to the corresponding M.Sc. program; students instead pursue the Master of Technology (M.Tech.) and Doctor of Technology (D.Tech.) degrees.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, The Open University of Sri Lanka(since 1980) is the pioneer in offering the BTech which has a duration of minimum five years.Undergraduates can be specialised in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and communication Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering and Textile and Apparel Technology.

B.Tech Engineering is also offered by the recently established Uva Wellassa University which has a duration of four years. This is known to be a specialized degree where they are subjected to specialize in three fields, Food Engineering & Bioprocess Technology, Material science & technology and Mechatronics.

The BTech is also offered in Sri Lanka by the University of Vocational Technology in following fields of Information Communication Technology, Building Services Technology, Manufacturing Technology, and Mechatronics Technology.

United Kingdom

The degree is no longer awarded in the United Kingdom. Those who take such programs are more commonly awarded a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree. Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree with the United Kingdom's Business & Technical Education Council (BTEC) designation, which is not a university degree. BTEC functions have now been overtaken by Edexcel.

United States

In the USA, The Bachelor of Technology degree is awarded after completion of a 4 year program. Many of the colleges and universities offering this degree are located in the states of Alaska (INDS), Florida, New York (New York City College of Technology, State University College at Buffalo, SUNY Morrisville), Illinois (Chicago), Missouri (Northwest Missouri State University), Nevada, South Carolina, Oklahoma (Northeastern State University) and Virginia. For example World College located in Virginia offers Bachelor of Technology degrees.

Bachelor of Business Administration

The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in Commerceand business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study (120 credit hours) in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below. The BBA program usually includes general business courses and advanced courses for specific concentrations. Alternative degree titles includeBachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), Bachelor in Management and Organizational Studies, Bachelor in Management Studies (BMS), Bachelor of Business Management (BBM)and Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS).

Program content

The degree  is designed to give a broad knowledge of the functional areas of a company, and their interconnection, while also allowing for specialization in a particular area. BBA programs thus expose students to a variety of "core subjects", and, as above, allow students to specialize in a specific academic area; see MBA program content. The degree also develops the student's practical managerial skills, communication skills and business decision-making capability. Many programs thus incorporate training and practical experience, in the form of case studies, projects, presentations, internships, industrial visits, and interaction with experts from the industry. 

Bachelor of Commerce

 A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BCom, B.Com., BComm, or B.Comm.) is anundergraduate degree in commerce. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA. It is predominantly offered in Commonwealthnations; however, the degree is no longer offered in the United Kingdom...

Curriculum

The degree is designed to provide the student with a wide range of managerial skills while at the same time building competence in a particular area. Most universities therefore plan the degree such that additional to their major, the student is exposed to general business principles, quantitative analysis and organizational behaviour. The curriculum thus focuses both on academic subjects, such as statistics or economics, as well as practical business subjects, such as accountancy, law, management, marketing, finance, etc. Cooperative education programs are also common. For a comparison with other degrees in business and management, see further under Bachelor's degree.

Duration

The precise requirements for the degree vary, and the course structure tends to vary in different countries. The curriculum generally lasts three years in Australia, New Zealand,India, Malta, South Africa, the United States of America, parts of Canada and the United Kingdom, and four years in majority of Canada, Republic of Ireland, Ghana, Pakistan,Philippines and the Netherlands. In South Africa, and some universitites in India, many students extend their studies to a fourth "Honours" year (B.Com. (Hons.)) - an additionalpostgraduate qualification - usually focused exclusively on one subject. In Malta the additional year is not considered as a postgraduate qualification.

Areas of study

Depending on the institution, a formal academic major may or may not be established. Regardless, the Bachelor of Commerce requires a student to take the majority of their courses in business-related subjects, namely the following and others depending on the student's particular interest.

Asset-Backed Securities

Asset-backed securities are bonds that are based on underlying pools of assets. A special purpose trust or instrument is set up which takes title to the assets and the cash flows are "passed through" to the investors in the form of an asset-backed security. The types of assets that can be "securitized" range from residential mortgages to credit card receivables.

All asset-backed securities are securities which are based on pools of underlying assets. These assets are usually illiquid and private in nature. A securitization occurs to make these assets available for investment to a much broader range of investors. The "pooling" of assets occurs to make the securitization large enough to be economical and to diversify the qualities of the underlying assets.

Residential mortgages, for example, provide some insight into the development of the asset-backed securities market. Before the development of the mortgage-backed securities market in the early 1980s, each residential mortgage underwritten was a unique transaction. Joe Q. Public would walk into his bank or trust company and enter into a mortgage. By way of example, Joe chooses Lack Trust Company. Joe enters into a mortgage on a specific real estate property, 100 Easy Street in the Hills of Richmond, with the good people of Lack Trust. Sounds easy. But think of what has to happen for this mortgage to be underwritten. Lack Trust must check Joe's credit (salary, assets, etc.) and establish the worth of the property through an appraisal. Joe and Lack Trust then negotiate and establish the terms. This includes the amount and interest rate of the mortgage, the amortization of principal, as well as the prepayment terms. Lack Trust then has to hire a lawyer to register the mortgage against the property with a property registry office.

It can easily be seen that Joe's mortgage is an unique thing. There are no other mortgages on 100 Easy Street with Joe as the borrower on those terms and conditions. That is why most mortgages were held by the financial company that originated them. Trading was awkward, as the mortgages had to each be evaluated and administered differently. The originating organization usually kept the servicing and were loath to part with their mortgages. Only very large institutional investors participated in this market. Smaller investors did not have the expertise to evaluate the mortgages, or a large enough portfolio to properly diversify. If a single mortgage was in the $200,000 range, a maximum 10% position would require a total portfolio of over $2,000,000 to be properly diversified. Therefore, for an individual investor, if their portfolio was to be properly diversified, a mortgage was an awkward asset to own.

If we combine Joe and five hundred other borrowers in a mortgage "pool" we have something that is bigger, which makes it more economical to issue, and better in credit quality, because of the diversification from the large number of mortgages. In a total pool of $100 million, no one mortgage of $200,000 is more 5% and not a large enough part of the pool to "skew" the pool's characteristics in any one aspect. If, for example, Easy Street turns out to be the site of a former radium factory, the fact Joe's house is worth less than we expected is not a fatal issue for the pool of assets as a whole.

Administration of the pool of mortgages is more systematic as well. We can have the same "servicing agent" collect all the monies from all the mortgages and "pass it through" to the investors via a central trustee. We can have the payments made to the investors at the same date each month. We can even supply aggregate data and statistics on the pool to investors, such as the "Weighted Average Coupon" (WAC), or "Remaining Amortization" (RAM).

One can now see that this unruly mass of mortgages is starting to look pretty much like a boring old bond to an investor. One payment from one source, once a month. Combined with a "book-based" custody system, we have now made a source of cash flows that "walks and talks like a bond". Not bad for something that used to be a lump of unique assets.

The wonder of securization is that it takes a wide variety of formerly illiquid and directly held assets and makes them available to many investors in the form of asset-backed securities. This simple process can be applied to all sorts of cash flow producing assets. If a retailer needs cash, it securitizes part of its outstanding credit card balances from its customers into a "credit card receivables trust". An auto leasing firm takes the outstanding automobile lease balances and turns them into an "auto receivables trust". A bank takes a group of its higher quality customers and creates an "evergreen revolving financing trust" which constantly takes high quality receivables and finances them by issuing bonds from the trust.