Broadly speaking, the working population of a country engaged in various types of productive activities or wanting to get an opportunity to do so is called human resource. All those students who are studying or getting some training to acquire specific skills to do some job in future are also the human resource.
Even the unskilled workers or labour force is included in human resource. The development of human resource is key to the development of a nation. Education is the first step towards HRD. With the development in science and technology, the tasks connected with various types of productive activities have come to require certain skills which are not possible without getting a specific level of education.
Nowadays all the machines are driven by computers and computerised gadgets. Technological advancements in various fields the world over are very rapid, and the every other day we see new products or machines or equipments with more and more advanced features with which the users have to be acquainted. In order to cope with industry’s demand and in line with the technological developments we have to make training strategy for our human capital to attain the required levels of skills.
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Training is referred to as a method to give the new entrant or an existing employee, the skills, knowledge and attitude needed for the job. The training should meet the two main objectives, viz. (i) it should make the personal skills adequate enough to do the job on hand efficiently-leading to targeted levels of productivity; and (ii) it should be cost-effective.
Human resource is the backbone of any organisation. Properly trained and highly skilled human resources are perceived as the greatest asset of an organisation. Skilled
personnel contribute to efficiency, growth, increased production, improved quality and market reputation of the organisation for which they work.
This fact has been realised by all the industrial, commercial, and trade, research and marketing establishment and even by governments. Invariably, a separate Human Resource Development (HRD) Department exists in all such organisations to attend to the matters relating to recruitment, training and deployment of staff.
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There has been an increasing awareness that the people of the country should be looked upon as its valuable resource and that the growth process should be based on the integrated development of the citizens-beginning with childhood and going right through life. It is increasingly being realised that all relevant instruments and agencies contributing to or responsible for growth should be integrated in order to ensure all-round development.
In pursuance of this idea, a new Ministry was created under the suggestive name-Ministry of Human Resources Development on 26 September 1985 through 174th Amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. Currently, the Ministry has two Departments, i.e.
(i) Department of School Education and Literacy; and
(ii) Department of Higher Education.
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The Development of Human Resources in an organisation involves training, deployment, promotion and other motivational techniques. It won’t be an exaggeration that the process starts with the recruitment of qualified personnel for various types of jobs. These days various companies visit engineering, medical, business and management colleges for campus placements.
They keep a regular interaction with the HRD Departments of these professional colleges so that regular recruitment of well- qualified staff is ensured as per their requirement. These companies conduct written tests, group discussions and interviews to select the best performing candidates because they know that better the staff, higher the progress of the company.
When the selected candidates join the company, they are given on the job training for six months to one year. This is the period when the computerised EVMs. Some problems still exist such as the EVMs getting out of order or the miscreats breaking or taking away the EVMs. But these are technical, and law and order problems respectively. Gradually, they will also be overcome.
The Election Commission has brought many other reforms relating to campaigning. The candidates and their supporters are not allowed to go for canvassing with a convoy of vehicles.
There is a limit to the number of vehicles, i.e., three. The candidates are allowed to express their ideologies and plans in brief speeches on T.V. This not only reflects the long way the mass media has come, but also depicts the civilized and polished way of canvassing-democracy at its best. The days of mud slinging and open abusing of opponents are over.
Unfortunately, the politicians in India do not carry a good reputation and a clean image. Many of them are believed to have accumulated huge wealth through corrupt ways. Now each candidate contesting an election has to declare his/her assets at the time of filing the nomination papers.
The value of total assets held by the candidate is made public through newspapers and other media. The voters can make their own assessment on the basis of this information. Another advantage is that the value of assets of a candidate of the time of nomination of papers and after the expiry of the term of Assembly or Parliament to which he was elected. It will show whether he/she has built any assets disproportionate to his/her income. This is an important step in checking corruption in politics.
Criminalisation in politics is a big blot on the face of our democracy. The Election Commission has taken some steps in this regard too. It has brought a legislation whereby the persons having a criminal history cannot contest an election, and then candidature can be countermanded if some criminal involved warranting punishment is proved.
The Election Commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner and having two Election Commissioners is a vigilant body. It is keeping a watchful eye on the entire political scene in the entire length and breadth of the country-not just at the time of elections-but at all times.
It keeps a close interaction with High Courts of states and the Supreme Court of India regarding the cases filed against some politicians by the aggrieved parties if a case is decided against a politician- however high his/her political position, the Election Commission ensures that he/she is removed from that position.
Due to these reforms the election system in India has become modernised, efficient and convenient for voters as well as the administration. There is fairness and transparency in the elections. We cannot claim that the elections have been purged from all ills, but it cannot be denied either, that giant strides have been taken in the right direction.
The candidates, political parties and supporters have become more conscious and careful, while the people at large have become more vigilant-which augers well for our democracy, society and polity.