“Children’s
Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world to honor
children globally. In India, Children’s Day also known as Bal Divas, is
celebrated across the country to increase awareness towards the rights, care
and education of children.
It
is celebrated on November 14 every year, coinciding with the birth anniversary
of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, also called as ‘Chacha
Nehru’. Nehru is often cited as saying that children should always be carefully
and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of
tomorrow. Bal Diwas was first celebrated in 1964 after the death of Pandit
Nehru.
Jawaharlal
Nehru aimed “to convert India’s economy into that of a modern state and to fit
her into the globalized world.” Nehru understood that India had not been at the
forefront of the Industrial Revolution, and hence made an effort to promote
higher education, and science and technology in India. Inauguration of the
first Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur in West Bengal, in 1951 was
one of the many initiatives that Prime Minister Nehru took towards the
spreading of the culture of innovation in the country.
As
per a report published in the Times of India, when asked about the significance
of Bal Divas, 11 year old Shaheen said, “Baal to sabke hote hai, isme mithai
kyon baatein? (Everyone has hair; why distribute sweets to celebrate the day?).
Like many other kids working on the streets, November 14 was just another day
for Shaheen and her friends who work as rag pickers on the Sahastradhara
trenching ground.
This
was true of most kids earning a living who were unaware of the celebrations
happening around the country. Busy washing tea cups outside a chai stall on
Rajpur Road, Deepu, who lives in a slum close to the Rispana river, drew a
blank when asked about Nehru. “Who is he? Is he one of our customers,” he
whispered, even as his employer hollered at him to carry on with the dishes.
Thus,
in an effort to spread awareness about the importance of education and
innovation amongst children, IP4Kids, a CSR Initiative of S.S.
Rana & Co., is organizing an Essay Competition on Children’s
Day on the theme, “Education and Innovation: Towards a
better India“
Topics
Young
minds are encouraged to focus on the theme of Children’s Day, and hence may
contemplate writing on topics related to –
1. Favorite Scientist
2. Favorite Innovation
3. Importance of Education
4. Right to Education
Last
date for Submission-
November
13, 2018
The
Process-
1. School students are invited to
submit their essays focusing on themes relating to innovation, technology,
science, education, etc. before the deadline of November 13, 2018.
2. Qualified Experts and Judges
appointed by IP4kids and S.S. Rana & Co. will select the best 3 essays.
3. Following this, the winners will be
announced in IP©onnect, S. Rana &
Co‘s weekly newsletter on November 15, 2018.
Rules
for Participation-
1. The competition is open only to
students belonging to the following Categories –
Class
– V to VIII – Category A
Class
– IX to XII – Category B
2. The participants shall mention the
following on the front page in bold letters–
- Name of the participant(s);
- Name of the School;
- Contact details including
phone number and postal address;
- Participants should mention
“IP4Kids – Children’s Day Essay Competition” in subject line;
3. Entries must be original and in
English language only;
4. Only a single entry will be accepted
from one person. Co-authorship (up to 2 authors) is also permitted;
5. The competition is open to essays of
up to 1,000 words. Entries outside the word limitation will be
disqualified;
6. The essay shall be disqualified if
it is plagiarized. Due credit should be given to the concerned author and/or publisher(s)
in Bibliography and/or Reference, as the case may be, in proper
19th bluebook edition;
7. Summary of the best essay will be
published in IP©onnect on November 15, 2018;
8. The copyrights of the essay shall be
vested with IP4kids and S.S. Rana & Co.;
9. All entries are to be sent by e-mail
to info@ip4kids.in;
10. All entries are to be sent only in
MS Word (.doc or .docx) or .pdf format.
Awards –
1. The Awards would be given to the top
three students in each catogory;
2. The winner will be awarded cash
prize worth INR 3,000 along with a certificate.
3. Second and third runner ups in each
category would be presented prize(s) worth INR 2,000 and INR 1,000 respectively
along with certificates;
4. Other deserving participants shall
also be presented with certificates;
For
further information, please write to us at info@ssrana.in or call us at 91-11-4012
3000.
Note:
The competition intends to provide a platform to the students to share their
views and to raise IPR awareness among them. The decision of the Judges shall
be final. The organizers of the competition reserve all rights to change the
date of announcements of the results and/or the date of announcements and
publication of the results. The organizers also reserve the rights to withdraw
any or both categories of awards if the entries thus received do not meet the
aforesaid criteria. The organizers also reserve all the rights for Publication
and reproduction of essay/write ups, due credit in this regard shall be given
to the author(s).