On the occasion of Children’s Day, the Quest team continues on its quest to challenge young minds to explore beyond the obvious. This Children’s Day, Quest brings to you write-ups by schoolchildren on what they think are important events in their lives. Quest is a programme focussed on touching young lives in a meaningful way by stirring awareness and opinions in their minds, while further inculcating the habit of reading newspapers. It has been associated with the academic community for adding value to education and a new dimension to classroom training through interactive students’ workshops, historical visits on themes and topics relevant to the young mind. We welcome all schools to be a part of The Express initiative. For membership details, send in your quires at quest@expressindia.com HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY!Credit crisis will redefine Indian economyThe global financial crisis that the world has been encountering in the recent months has shaken the very foundation of world economy. Due to this credit crisis, the US has undergone a dramatic decline in its economy. The fall in the US credit rates has, in turn, affected the economies of other countries in the world. Fortunately, in such an uncongenial situation, India has managed to insulate itself from the damage; except for a few sectors. As compared to the turmoil all over the world, especially in the US, India, due to its regulatory mechanism, control on capital flows and banking transactions, has escaped the crisis for the time being. This crisis has shaken the corporate world and has also favoured various changes in policies to resolve the prevailing problem. The RBI has announced a CRR and repo rate so as to inject more liquidity. Thus, banks are in a better situation today to lend more money. India follows the time-tested policies and principles involving savings deposits, mutual funds and equity shares. The crisis will call for a co-ordinated response from countries and to save their economies, they would try to build better relations among themselves. This would definitely improve India’s relations with other countries. The global solutions to the disrupted economies involve modernisation of the multilateral system to hear voices of developing countries; India would definitely get a voice. The crisis has also displayed the success of the Indian economy against the US’s skyrocketing expectations by overindulging in risky businesses involving trade-in derivatives. The stability of the business sector even in such a situation will also motivate industrialists to follow the best strategy and survive in the turmoil. Moreover, it has challenged the IMF to revise its policies and boost its role all over the world.In a nutshell, India’s business sector and economy needs more policy changes for an efficient and smooth working of the system in future. The prolonged crisis can affect the Indian economy too, but the challenge for industrialists is to overcome such a situation. Herein lies India’s success.Prerna Sethi,Modern Vidya Niketan School, Class-XIEvent that can change India’s future“Mujhe to sirf ek mulk ka naam sunaee deta hai-IN-DE-YAH!”How apt these words are for today’s world. India, with its beautiful history and promising future, is climbing the ladder of success at a pace even Ussain Bolt may find difficult to beat. This year really glimpsed India shining, from sports to technology, it has openly claimed to the world that it is the new force to reckon with.This year saw many Indians winning individual medals at the Olympics .Abhinav Bindra, Virender Kumar, Sushil Kumar and not to forget Viswanathan Anand have shown that when India wants, it can show its prowess and can beat anyone at their own game.I might sound overconfident and arrogant saying this but that is not what I mean to be. All Indians brimmed with pride when the Indian national anthem was played at the Beijing Olympics ceremony, when the world recognised our capability to excel in any sphere.I might say that top honours in all fields are flowing our way. Aravind Adiga winning the Man Booker and Rakesh Pachauri and his team winning the Nobel Prize are some milestones that we have achieved.Moreover people like Laxmi Narayan Mittal, Narayan Murthy, Azim Premji, Indira Nooyi and many others have gone out there and proclaimed that India has arrived. Whoever could imagine that a man with his roots in a small town in Rajasthan would one day own the famous Arcelor group?On the technology front, the nuclear deal and the Chandrayaan-I launch are evidence enough of the super brains — both diplomatic and technical — who have changed the world’s former perception of India as the land of snake charmers and magicians.Today, I hope to emulate these great people and carve a niche for myself in the world. It is this hope derived from the pride in one’s fellow Indians that will in future be the driving force behind the success of a million people of this country.To end with Shakespeare's words “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women are mere players.” Indian men and women shall no longer not be mere players but winners in this grand opera called life. Pratibha Narayanan,Delhi Public School, Class-XIITransitionI stand at the precipice of a new ageA moment of reckoning, a fresh new pageThe world now sees an adult, smiles of acceptanceAnd I step up to receive the society's inheritanceYet strangely I long for the child that wasFree from burden and maturity's flowsSometimes I fear that that child may cease to existObscured by responsibility and paradigm's mist So I made a promise to my heart With my innocence and childhood I will never partAs long as I live, my spirit shall be freeAnd I will always cherish the child within me…- Devyansh Mishra, XI CBlue Bells school, Kailash Colony
