Study: Women's Literacy in India Falling Further Behind

More than two-thirds of the world's 793 million illiterate adults (two-thirds of them women) are found in only eight countries and India is one of them. If the second most populated nation on Earth is to assume its role as a world economic leader, before becoming digitally or financially literate it must eradicate adult illiteracy.

In today’s information society, education is the driving force behind a strong economic and social development. Unfortunately, according to results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the OECD, the largest emerging markets in the world—the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China)—may be losing educational ground against the so-called FICS (Finland, Ireland, South Korea and Sweden).

Things look greener on the China side of the fence. The Asian giant is said to be “winning the school race”, coming in first in recent PISA studies. India, by contrast, is leading the BRICs in digital exclusion, partly due to adult illiteracy. Most Indians cannot afford or access ICTs and lack the education to use them effectively. While European economies, hard hit by the global crisis, are working to raise their citizens’ financial and digital literacy, this high-growth economy is faced with another challenge.

 

Statistics show that illiteracy and poor economies go hand in hand. The state of Bihar—India’s poorest—has the lowest women’s literacy rate in the nation. Values are lower in rural areas than in urban ones. In Jammu & Kashmir, a largely agricultural state, only 41.82% of its women are literate.

Read more: Full article available at technorati.com
Visit my new blog dedicated to the W.L.P.

A successful business (ad)venture

This blog is not just a business venture--it's not just about offering an unrivaled real estate investment. It's turned into a chance for me to reminisce and to share some memories, anecdotes and stories with my readers--anecdotes and memories related to the land that's been in my family for generations, to the place where my dad was born, to an incredible little fishing village called Caión. I so enjoy writing about the truths and tales I've been hearing all my life, like the (true) one I'm going to write about today.

Restaurant "Casa de la Fuente"

I'd like to tell you a little about the business that my enterprising mom and dad ran between 1955 and 1969 in Caión. When they married, my parents decided to settle down in Caión (my mom was from Lendo, a nearby village) and set up a small grocery store on the ground floor of a house located in the main square of this tiny peninsula. They began selling oil, sugar, flour and other basic food stuff during what were very hard times for Spain's population. My mom still remembers how they sometimes sold just a little bit of oil to a customer who simply could not afford more--maybe no more than 1/8 liter at a time.

Inside the café-restaurant

It turns out that my mom was a tremendously hard working woman and an excellent cook. My dad was also a hard-worker, but when it came to cooking, he knew better than to try a hand at the culinary art. They soon set up a new business in that same locale. They turned that small shop into a café, restaurant and hostel which eventually became as popular with tourists from Madrid and other areas of Spain or Galicia, as with the locals.

My parents' fish delivery truck

In one of my last posts I mentioned the popularity of my mom's Spanish tortilla and promised to upload her recipe, so here it is. But tortilla, although the most controversial, wasn't the only popular dish on the menu. She made other specialties such as seafood, tripe stew with chickpeas (callos), octopus, among others. Wedding parties were also celebrated at the restaurant. Their business became very successful and so well known that even an association of French chefs once wrote to ask if they could hold their annual convention at my parent's restaurant.

My parents' fishing boat

And regarding the hostel, they could boast of guests such as a cousin of the present-day king of Spain, H.M. King Juan Carlos I. Less illustrious but still fondly remembered guests include two very young geologists from Holland who spent four summers in Caión while they were working on their PhD. Caión was such an isolated place back then that I used to wonder how these people could possibly have got to know about it and about Casa de la Fuente. Perhaps the article I'm attaching here (there were others) can shed some light on the matter. Another mystery is how these people were actually able to reach Caión at that time. Roads were not like they are today and the way to Caión was one of the scariest in the area. No doubt the landscape and natural beauty of this unique spot, as well as the impressive cuisine were to blame.

The road to Caión is no longer frightening and the village is well-communicated, but luckily it hasn't lost its charm. Beauty in nature never fades. So why does ours?

A bit of history

As I said, this place is full of history. Follow this link to read about the history of Caión (in Spanish), or download this doc with my own attempt at relating accounts of Caión's past, in English.

Proud of the land on sale

Every once in a while showing off a bit doesn't do any harm, does it? Anyway, you don't feel like a show off at all if what you're boasting about is as great an investment as the land on sale here.

Just out of curiosity, today I did some "land lot browsing" of my own and realized what a truly fantastic buy this piece of land would be for anyone willing to invest their ideas--and ideals in it. It's not that there aren't interesting buys out there, but so few of them can compare to this spectacular plot of land situated in an area full of history, of beauty, of opportunities! In fact, the words "unique opportunity" keep popping into my mind.

Look around--surf around--and you'll realize that you shouldn't miss out on the chance to build your dream house on this bit of Galician coastline--or an apartment complex if you see this as an investment opportunity. Come on! Take the chance and purchase this risk free land lot. You'll never regret it!

By the way, the weather today is simply perfect for some surfing in Caión's waters. Wish I were there!