Home > Programmes > IDEAS UNLEASHED


Topic:  Innovative Ideas for Raising Goa’s Human Development Index to the Very High Human Development Group Level By 2025: Role of Government and Society

Press Conference of Launch of IDEAS UNLEASHED: Photo Gallery | Press Release | Poster | Media Coverage | Award Winning Essays

First round of screening 54 essays received from 20 colleges was completed on 30th April 2014.
11 essays were selected in the first round of screening. The second round of screening these 11 essays, by eminent members of Jury, was completed by May 2014.

The top 3 prize winning essays are :
1st place : Divyarani S. Revankar, M.Sc Botany - Goa University
2nd place : Trishala Sanzgiri, Second Year BBA - Sridora Caculo College of Commerce & Management Studies
3rd place : Siddhesh Suresh Umarye, Third Year BE - Mechanical Engineering, Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda

 

1. Essay Topic:

Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic made popular by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). HDI measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. HDI has enabled innovative thinking about progress by capturing the simple yet powerful idea that development is about much more than income. The HDI value is minimum zero and maximum one.

Human Development Report 2013 published by UNDP ranks India 136 in human development among 186 countries. India’s HDI value is 0.554. The world average is 0.694. Norway with HDI of 0.955 is ranked first. America with HDI of 0.937 is ranked third. Niger is ranked 186 with HDI of 0.304.

The 2013 report groups the 186 countries into four categories as follows:

Human development index group
No. of countries
HDI value
Very high human development
47
0.905
High human development
47
0.758
Medium human development
47
0.640
Low human development
45
0.466
Total / Average
186
0.694

India is placed in the group medium human development. Sri Lanka with a HDI of 0.715 is ahead of India at rank 92 and is in the group ‘high human development’. Bangladesh and Pakistan tie at rank 146 (below India) with HDI of 0.515 and are in the group ‘low human development’.

Planning Commission of India has published India Development Report 2011, prepared by Institute of Applied Manpower Research. The report covers 23 states, is based on data from 2007-08 and calculates an HDI of 0.467 for India. Kerala stands first with HDI of 0.790 and Goa comes second with HDI of 0.779. Chhattisgarh is placed last with HDI of 0.358.

Goa’s high HDI vis-à-vis other Indian states is a matter of pride for Goa. But how does Goa compare with the rest of the world, especially the very high development group mentioned in UNDP’s Human Development Report 2013? Though there are some variations in the statistical methodology used in the reports of UNDP and Planning Commission, and therefore the HDI values of the two reports are strictly speaking not perfectly comparable, it is reasonable to assume that Goa’s human development significantly lags behind the human development in countries represented in UNDP’s very high development group.

What does Goa – Government and Society – need to do to raise Goa’s human development to the level of the ‘very high human development group’ mentioned in the UNDP report? To elicit answers to this question, The International Centre, Goa and Goa University are conducting an essay competition:


Innovative Ideas for Raising Goa’s Human Development Index to the Very High Human Development Group Level by 2025: Role of Government and Society

Essays should focus on boosting education, health and income, and should display critical and original thinking, solid arguments, and offer innovative solutions and creative, even out-of-the box ideas, which will inspire decision-makers in Government of Goa, academics, policy-makers, media and civil society. Without being a critique of the Human Development Report 2013 and the India Human Development Report 2011, the essay should cover the role of Government and Society in raising Goa’s human development to the level of the ‘very high human development group’ by 2025.


Raising the intellectual bar


The essay should reveal deep thought and analysis about accelerating socio-economic progress. The Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council's Report on Goa 2035: Vision and Roadmap (http://dhe.goa.gov.in/GGJDC_Report.pdf) may be used for guidance and inspiration. Essay writer may also examine the achievements of Asian countries in HDI. For example, life expectancy at birth in India is around 66 years, but China reached this milestone in 1980, Vietnam in 1989, and Sri Lanka in 1980. Infant mortality rate in 2012 was 44 in India and 33 in Bangladesh, whose GDP per capita is half of India's. Sri Lanka with an infant mortality of 8 has joined the level of advanced nations. Why is this so? What lessons can we draw from our Asian peers and neighbours?

The thoughtful essay while reflecting on above issues should suggest new solutions including new and improved ways of measuring HDI, which was first established in 1990, with the Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen as one of its creators. Two decades later, can we have new Amartya Sens emerging from our own Goa, who will suggest a new HDI.


2. Rules for the Essay Competition:

i. The Essay competition is open to students currently enrolled with Goa University, colleges affiliated to Goa University, Birla Institute of Technology & Science (Goa Campus), Goa Institute of Management and National Institute of Technology who are in the age group 18-25 years.

ii. The Essay should not exceed 2500 words.

iii. The Essay, along with the ‘Personal Information Form’, should be sent by email to program@incentgoa.com and a printed copy should be sent to The Director, Dr. E Borges Road, Dona Paula, Goa 403004.

iv. The Essay should be submitted before 28th February 2014.

v. The Essay should be the original work and must not have been submitted to any other essay competition(s) or otherwise published. Participants will not be allowed to make any revisions to the essay, once it has been submitted.

vi. The participant will be required to declare any assistance received during the writing of the essay.

vii. The participant will be required to submit personal information along with the essay. The personal information form, available on the website, pertains to name, address, contact details, age and college particulars of the participant.

viii. A Screening Committee constituted by ICG and Goa University will first review the essays received. The selected essays will be submitted to a panel of judges for final review. The panel of judges will be selected by ICG and Goa University. The decision of the screening committee and the panel of judges will be final and binding on the participant.

ix. The top three ranked essays will receive cash prizes as follows:

First Rs. 25,000 (Rs. twenty-five thousand)
Second Rs. 20,000 (Rs. twenty thousand)
Third Rs. 15,000 (Rs.fifteen thousand)

x. The final review of the essays by the panel of judges will be completed by 10th April 2014.

xi. The winners of the competition will be contacted at the email address mentioned in the personal information form.

xii. Prizewinners will have to submit identity proof.

xiii. All the essays will become the joint property of ICG & Goa University. Each participant automatically grants ICG & Goa University the right to reproduce, publish, transmit or otherwise communicate to the public their entry, in whole or in part, or using any media for any purpose without permission or payment.

xiv. Persons who have written prize-winning essays will be felicitated at a function at ICG.

xv. Names of the persons who have written the prize winning essays will be informed to local media by press release, and will be displayed on ICG and Goa University website.

xvi. Every effort will be made to publish the prize-winning essays in local media, but this should not be construed as a commitment from ICG and Goa University.

xvii. ICG and Goa University reserve the final right, where necessary, to make amendments to the above rules and to select the winners of the competition.


3. Messages:

Message from Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, National Research Professor: The youth of Goa should not only harbor the dream of raising Goa’s Human Development Index to the level of the most advanced countries, but it should also lead the way in achieving it by using the power of innovative and game changing ideas. This essay competition is the challenge to the young to lift Goa to a league of advanced nations by 2025.

Message from Dr Satish Shetye, Vice-Chancellor of Goa University: Innovation, planning and governance are three crucial elements to realize the Goa of our dreams. The young citizens of the state form an important source for innovation. Quantitative thinking is necessary to convert innovative ideas into realistic plans. This essay competition aims at tapping the ideas of our students to define a realistic path towards the Goa that we aspire for.

Download: Personal Information Form