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India Matters
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter 9
October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
In this issue
Page
Paper 3 Research Portfolios for 2011
3
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies in India
4
Training for teachers in India – 14 and 15 October
5
Significant dates for syllabus activities
6
India Studies: the University of Oxford follows
6
“Myths” of recent economic growth?
7
Appendix: Resource bank – India’s high-tech economy
8
India Matters sets out to support subject teachers in pilot schools, aiming to keep
schools informed and seeking to encourage the spread of ideas and the exchange of
good practice. Please keep in touch with feedback.
India Matters is published every other month and emailed to every contact address we
have in each pilot school. All Cambridge IGCSE India Studies teachers in your school
should have a copy so please circulate it to everyone involved. There is no restriction
on photocopying.
Martin D W Jones
Product Manager
University of Cambridge International Examinations
1 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EU, UK
fax: +44 (0)1223 553558
phone: +44 (0)1223 553554
international@cie.org.uk
[The cover photograph, taken in 2009, shows the village water committee at the water pump,
installed four years earlier, in the village of Uttar Kasiabad, West Bengal. You might consider how
and why this picture might be used when discussing:
2

elements of Paper 1 Theme 2

Key Issues about water in Paper 2 Case Study 1 (no. 4) and Case Study 2 (no. 1 & no. 4)

the Key Issue on gender in Paper 1 Theme 3.]
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Paper 3 Research Portfolios for 2011
The 2011 syllabus (p.19) set the following three topic areas and questions. From these,
each candidate must pick one that they wish to research for their Portfolio:
Tourism & heritage: Assess the view that the benefits in the development of any one of
India’s World Heritage sites have outweighed the disadvantages.
Space exploration: To what extent is involvement in space technology and exploration
of benefit to India?
India in film: How accurately does Indian cinema portray the problems of rural India?
You may if you wish restrict your investigation to any one film, for example Swades
(2004, director Ashutosh Gowarike). [NB versions of the film are available in English &
in Hindi, but candidates must write only in English.]
Having chosen their question, each candidate must research and then write an
Investigation and a Report that together will make up her or his Research Portfolio.
Teachers are reminded of the guidance provided about 0447/03. Basic details are in the
syllabus pp. 16-21. This includes information about writing up Investigations under
controlled conditions (p.17), creating the Report (p.17) and requirements about fonts,
font sizes and margins that each candidate should use (p.18).
More detailed guidance will be found in the teacher training PowerPoint slides on Paper
3 that are now kept on the India Studies eDiscussion Forum on the Cambridge Teachers
website. These were used at the video conferences held in April 2009 and April 2010
and at the face-to-face professional training workshops in Bengaluru and Mumbai in
September 2009.
Paper 3 is also being discussed during the face-to-face training days this month in
Bengaluru and Mumbai. All of the training materials used there will also be placed on
the syllabus’ eDiscussion Forum.
All Research Portfolios must be submitted by 30 April 2011 to CIE for marking. The
usual system for posting scripts applies.
If teachers have any questions about details of and/or requirements for Paper 3, or any
other part of the syllabus, please post them on the Cambridge IGCSE India Studies
eDiscussion Forum.
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
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Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Whether candidates write or use a word processor for their Investigations, this must take
place under controlled conditions (i.e. under teacher supervision, as in an examination).
This Investigation controlled task is to last for one hour. Each school is free to hold the
one hour controlled task at any time that suits its own circumstances. Candidates may
take with them for the controlled task any books and notes that they wish, so each
school will need to provide each candidate with plenty of desk space.
Candidates should write their Report shortly before the Investigation and bring it with
them to the controlled task. At the end of the Investigation controlled task, candidates
should put their Investigation and their Report together in a soft folder to make up their
Portfolio and hand it in to their teacher. The Investigation, Report and folder must each
state clearly:
(a) The school’s name and CIE number and
(b) The candidate’s name and number.
Rather than wait for the 30 April deadline, schools are encourage to send their Portfolios
to CIE as soon as these have been completed. For further details, please see the
syllabus pp.17-18.
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies in India
In India Matters 7 (June 2010), we featured a pilot school in Europe teaching Cambridge
IGCSE India Studies. Here we feature a pilot school in the sub-continent: Ahmedabad
International School in Gujarat.
Ahmedabad has been interested in Cambridge IGCSE India Studies from the start,
sending teachers to the initial consultation meeting in October 2007 and each of the
three professional development courses held since then.
“We are very excited about working with Cambridge to develop Cambridge IGCSE India
Studies”, says Dr Tarulata, the Head. “It has been a very effective way to bring teachers
together from different faculties. Our students are acquiring the skills to analyse and
give their own opinions and views on India and many of the opportunities and challenges
facing our country.”
Vinayak Sudhakar, CIE’s Regional Representative, visited the school in July 2010 and
sent us these pictures of their Cambridge IGCSE India Studies class in action:
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India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
One student told him that
“Cambridge IGCSE India
Studies has helped develop
my writing skills and ways of
thinking. My research abilities
have also been sharpened to
a great extent.” For a full
copy of the case study on
Ahmedabad see the CIE
website: http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/new_qualifications/igcse_india_studies
Training for teachers in India – 14 and 15 October 2010
Practical workshops for teachers will be held on 14 and 15 October 2010 in Benagluru
and Mumbai. The course will consider:

Aims & objectives of the syllabus

Teaching and learning strategies for a skills-based syllabus

Skills and examination requirements

The Research Portfolio
These courses are designed as practical workshops for classroom teachers. Only
teachers in registered 0447 Pilot schools are eligible to attend. Workshops will include a
strong interactive focus. Throughout the day, teachers will work with colleagues from
other Pilot schools and Cambridge.
For further details and registration, please contact Vinayak Sudhakar at
sudhakar.v@cie.org.uk quoting reference CTIN312.
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
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Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Significant dates for syllabus activities
The last two issues of India Matters have highlighted the potential opportunities
presented by International days. The list here covers global events in the coming
months that would be relevant to the Cambridge IGCSE India Studies syllabus:
October 2010
May 2011
4 – World Habitat Day
21 – World Day for Cultural Diversity
4 – World Animal Day
22 – International Day for Biological
Diversity
17 – One World Week begins
November 2010
20 – Universal Children’s Day
June 2011
5 – World Environment Day
12 – World Day Against Child Labour
February 2011
4 – UNICEF Day for Change
21 – Fairtrade Fortnight begins
21 – International Mother Tongue
Language Day
April 2011
7 – World Health Day
17 – World day to Combat Desertification
and Drought
July 2011
11 – World Population Day
August 2011
9 – International Day of the World’s
Indigenous People
India Studies: the University of Oxford follows
Area Studies courses have grown enormously in popularity at universities over the past
quarter century. Naturally, India figures prominently in South Asia Studies programmes
(e.g. at University of California Los Angeles, the University of Connecticut, the University
of Indiana, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania).
But India Studies is now a highly respected academic discipline in its own right. The
University of Oxford has introduced a taught post-graduate MSc in Contemporary India.
The degree “addresses India’s development achievements and persistent problems”
through study of “Themes in Contemporary India including International Relations,
Politics, Political Economy, Culture, Human Development and Environment.”
Oxford University’s website states that “the MSc can serve as valuable stand-alone
training for those wishing to work in the private sector, government, NGOs, multi-lateral
and bi-lateral aid and development agencies, international organisations, international
relations, publishing and the media.” For details, see
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/course_guide/contemporary_sou
th.html
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India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
“Myths”of recent economic growth?
Teachers may be interested in the arguments that Pranab Bardhan proposes in his
newly-published Awakening Giants, Feet of Clay: Assessing the Economic rise of China
and India (Princeton University Press, 2010). Professor of Economics at the University
of California, Berkeley, Bardhan questions the near universal view that economic
reforms are the main reason for India’s recent high economic growth. “Reforms have
made the country's corporate sector more vibrant and competitive, but, he says, most of
the Indian economy is not in the corporate sector, which absorbs only 6% of India's
labour force. The fast growing info-tech sector - India's pride- employs less than 1% of
India's workforce. Services - financial business services and telecommunications where
reforms may have made a significant impact - constitute only about a quarter of the total
service sector output. "It is yet to be empirically and convincingly demonstrated how the
small corporate sector benefiting from reforms pulled up a vast informal sector."
… Globalisation also does not appear to have helped in boosting India's social
development indicators, Bardhan suggests. How else can one explain that Gujarat, the
country's richest, high-growth, reform-friendly state, has a higher percentage of
underweight children than sub-Saharan Africa?’
For the whole review article, see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/07/globalisation_and_indiach
ina_myths.html
For mp3 audio podcasts of two lectures Bardhan gave at the London School of
Economics on the subject of his book in May 2010, see
http://richmedia.lse.ac.uk/publicLecturesAndEvents/20100504_1830_awakeningGiantsF
eetOfClayAssessingTheEconomicRiseOfChinaAndIndia.mp3 [40MB; 88 minutes]
http://richmedia.lse.ac.uk/publicLecturesAndEvents/20100505_1830_awakeningGiantsF
eetOfClayAssessingTheEconomicRiseOfChinaAndIndia.mp3 [40MB; 88 minutes]
For Pardhan’s book, see http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9153.html
Please keep in touch – with each other as well as CIE
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
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Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Appendix: Resource bank – India’s high-tech economy
In this issue, we offer a series of visuals that might be of value for a class considering
various aspects of Paper 1 Theme 2.
The Infosys campus, Bangalore
Mobile phone subscribers in India 2003 – 2008
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India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Cover of Time magazine, June 2006
Cover of Wired magazine, February 2004
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
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Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
Size of India’s IT Industry
Current article 2010
The size of India's IT industry has grown significantly over the years. The size of this
sunshine industry of India grew from 150 million US Dollars to 50 billion US Dollars
between 1990-1991 and 2006-2007. The growth of the IT industry has been very high in
the last few years. The size of the Information Technology industry of India was 5.7
billion US Dollars in 1999-2000. After the turn of the century the industry experienced
exponential growth to reach the 50 billion mark by 2006-2007.
… According to the NASSCOM- McKinsey report on the IT industry of India, the
projected revenue of the IT industry of India for the year 2008 is 87 billion US Dollars.
The projected exports or the year 2008, accord to this report, is 50 billion US Dollars.
Some of the important aspects of the NASSCOM- McKinsey report related to the size of
India's IT industry are

There is potential of 2.2 million people being employed in the IT industry of India
by the end of 2008.

Contribution of software and services to the total GDP of India will be more than
7.5%.

35% of total exports from India will be from IT exports.
… Softwares and services are exported to about 95 companies from India. North
America accounts for 61% of the software exports from India.
The projections about the size of India's IT industry present a very optimistic picture. The
industry is expected to grow to double its current size by the year 2012. India's IT
industry is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 18% in the next five years. The
industry is also expected to cross the 100 billion US Dollar mark by 2011. One of the
major areas of growth for the IT industry of India is by tapping the potential in the
domestic market. The IT industry of India is largely dependant on the export market.
Penetrating more into the domestic market would create further opportunities of growth
...
For the whole article, see http://www.economywatch.com/india-it-industry/size.html
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India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
A New World Economy
The balance of power will shift to the East as China and India evolve
22 August 2005
… It is hard to tell this is the world's other emerging superpower. Jolting sights of
extreme poverty abound even in the business capitals. A lack of subways and a dearth
of expressways result in nightmarish traffic. But visit the office towers and research and
development centers sprouting everywhere, and you see the miracle. Here, Indians are
playing invaluable roles in the global innovation chain. Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco
Systems and other tech giants now rely on their Indian teams to devise software
platforms and dazzling multimedia features for next-generation devices ... Indian
engineering houses use 3-D computer simulations to tweak designs of everything from
car engines and forklifts to aircraft wings for such clients as General Motors and Boeing
… By 2010 such outsourcing work is expected to quadruple, to $56 billion a year.
Even more exhilarating is the pace of innovation, as tech hubs like Bangalore spawn
companies producing their own chip designs, software, and pharmaceuticals … Beyond
Bangalore, Indian companies are showing a flair for producing high-quality goods and
services at ridiculously low prices, from $50 air flights and crystal-clear 2 cents-a-minute
cell-phone service to $2,200 cars.
… India is a rising power in software, design, services, and precision industry …
American business isn't just shifting research work because Indian and Chinese brains
are young, cheap, and plentiful. In many cases, these engineers combine skills mastery of the latest software tools, a knack for complex mathematical algorithms, and
fluency in new multimedia technologies - that often surpass those of their American
counterparts. As Cisco's Scheinman puts it: "We came to India for the costs, we stayed
for the quality, and we're now investing for the innovation."
… For all the huge advantages they now enjoy, India and China cannot assume their
role as new superpowers is assured. Today, China and India account for a mere 6% of
global gross domestic product - half that of Japan. They must keep growing rapidly just
to provide jobs for tens of millions entering the workforce annually, and to keep many
millions more from crashing back into poverty. Both nations must confront ecological
degradation that's as obvious as the smog shrouding Shanghai and Bombay, and face
real risks of social strife, war, and financial crisis … Also, with wages rising fast,
India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010
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Cambridge IGCSE India Studies Newsletter
especially in many skilled areas, the cheap labor edge won't last forever. Both nations
will go through many boom and harrowing bust cycles.
… India's long-term potential may be even higher. Due to its one-child policy, China's
working-age population will peak at 1 billion in 2015 and then shrink steadily ... India has
nearly 500 million people under age 19 and higher fertility rates. By mid-century, India is
expected to have 1.6 billion people - and 220 million more workers than China. That
could be a source for instability, but a great advantage for growth if the government can
provide education and opportunity for India's masses. New Delhi just now is pushing to
open its power, telecom, commercial real estate and retail sectors to foreigners. These
industries could lure big capital inflows. "The pace of institutional changes and industries
being liberalized is phenomenal," says Chief Economist William T. Wilson of consultancy
Keystone Business Intelligence India. "I believe India has a better model than China,
and over time will surpass it in growth."
For the whole article, see
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm
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India Matters Newsletter 9 – October 2010