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Economic Highlights
Destination Mountains:NEED TO PRESERVE LEGACY & SERENITY, by Dhurjati Mukherjee,20 July 2007 |
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People And Their Problems
New Delhi, 20 July 2007
Destination Mountains
NEED TO PRESERVE LEGACY
& SERENITY
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
Mountains, as the famous poet John Keats realised during his
walking tour of Wordworthian Lake District, can make people feel big and big
people small. The sublime can terrorise, chastise or humiliate but it can also
elevate, aggrandize or transfigure. The call of the mountains is indeed
fascinating. All round the year, barring a month or two, the mountains become a
place of tourist attraction because of their favourable climate and the
pollution-free atmosphere. Factors such as the panoramic scenic beauty of the
valleys and ecology of these regions have always attracted people, both Indian
and foreign, to visit the mountains.
In India,
hill stations are popular tourist destinations. Whether it is the beautiful
lakes of Srinagar
or of Nainital, the royal elegance and idyllic retreat of Shimla, the imposing
Kanchenjunga of Darjeeling or the high snow-clad mountains overlooking Manali –
all present a distinct manifestation of grace and leisure as its hallmarks.
Mention may also be made of Mussourie,
Shillong, Mt. Abu, Ooty and, of course,
Kedarnath-Badrinath. Their beauty and charm, the layers of time, the histories
within history and the cohabitation of the banal and the sublime, the people
and the peaks are indeed significant.
These places no doubt compare with the best tourist
attractions anywhere in the world. A fact reiterated even by foreign tourists
and travelers, who are increasingly coming to discover the hidden beauty of
nature this country has to offer. Also the unity among diversity of the
mountains in Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Uttaranchal or West
Bengal as is evident from their distinct folk cultures could be an
example for others to emulate.
In recent times, the hills have assumed great importance not
because of tourism alone but for varied reasons. Environment has become a
subject of great concern the world over and experts are involved in extensive
research in its preservation. There is need to protect the hills along with
forests, lakes and rivers in the mountainous terrains to maintain ecological
balance. This aspect has caught the attention of respective State governments but
more positive action needs to be taken.
Delving into history, the 18th century India saw the
growth of a new urban concept – the ‘hill station’. Initially built by the
British rulers, these towns grew to become retreats from the heat and dust of
the plains. But it was Shimla, the most significant of all hill stations which
was made the ‘summer capital’ of British India in 1864, a status it retained up
to Independence.
In 1822, the first European house called ‘Kennedy House’ was
built in Shimla to become the residence of Charles Pratt Kennedy, newly-appointed
Political Officer of the Hill States. In 1827, the station was visited by Lord
Ahmerst, British Governor General of India. Realising the importance of
the hills, the British took keen interest to develop these places. Shimla
received focal attention and witnessed
the fastest development of buildings. Even today some of the finest structures
of the British colonial genre still stand over its seven hills.
Though the British chose Shimla as their summer capital, Darjeeling was a
favourite tourist destination for them. They developed tea plantations on a
large scale and built the necessary
infrastructure. The British legacy, specially the tea plantations, is very much
evident today in this district of West Bengal. Referred to as the “queen of
hills”, Darjeeling offers tourists a view of the
Kanchenjunga, highest peak visible from India.
Besides, Darjeeling
tea is extremely popular in the West as a pure drink with medicinal properties
and recent initiatives to promote tea tourism have gained momentum. Some tea
gardens have been identified where tourists would be allowed to stay in the
colonial bungalows of the tea garden managers.
Srinagar, considered the Switzerland of
India, where till the 80s most Indian films were shot, is undoubtedly a place
of great attraction. Gulmarg, Sonemarg and, of course, Pahalgam are again gradually
becoming favoured tourist destinations thanks to the reduction in terrorist
activities as a sequel to better Indo-Pak relations.
However, even as there is an all-out effort to promote
eco-tourism, the increasing flow of tourists to these hills has started causing
problems. Congestion, water shortage, power breakdowns and water pollution are
common issues other than the serenity and peace of the area getting disturbed. There
is a need now to popularize new hill stations and the State governments must
start acting. Tamang or Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, Munnar in Tamil Nadu or
Palampur or Keylong in Himachal Pradesh, to name only a few, need to be put on
the tourist map.
There is no denying the fact that the call of the mountains
is irresistible. From the challenge of scaling a peak to a wish to climb even a
modest spur, or for some to see a mountain is to climb it is there. Treks ranging
from a day to a week are popular from some of the tourist destinations. Mention
may be made of the famous Amarrnath yatra which goes via Pahalgam or regular
treks undertaken from Darjeeling.
River rafting, ice skating and skiing are some of the
popular sporting events which have further added an attraction to some hill
stations. White water rafting facilities are available near Kullu, Rohtang Pass
and Solang Nullah offer a variety of slopes for skiers, other than Gulmarg and
Auli.
In the coming years, ecotourism, adventure tourism, hill
tourism, spiritual and religious tourism, all of which lie embedded in the
hills and mountains is bound to become more popular in the country. However,
efforts should be made so that these places are projected historically and
aesthetically through a definite plan and programme.
The State governments need to formulate a policy for
maintaining the sanctity and serenity of the hills to tackle tourist rush in
peak season. Other than this, attempts should be made to revive folk culture, encourage
and popularise folk artists to display their art through organizing festivals. Hill
stations should have both tourism and preservation going hand in hand.--- INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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India’s White Revolution:GIVING IT A NEW EDGE,by Radhakrishna Rao,14 July 2007 |
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People And Their
Problems
New Delhi, 14 July 2007
India’s White Revolution
GIVING IT A NEW
EDGE
By Radhakrishna Rao
Faced with increasing suicides by indebted and desperate
farmers in various parts of India, the
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched an
ambitious Rs.10,000 million National Milk Scheme. To provide farmers with
sustained income to tide over the difficult times marked by recurring droughts
and occasional crop failure.
In fact, the white revolution in India became a reality after farmers’
cooperatives were floated by the Anand-based National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
in 1960s. Thanks to the vision and endeavours of V. Kurien, who as the head of the
NDDB gave an impetus to the dairy revolution in the country, that was
instrumental in transforming India
into the numero uno milk producer in
the world.
Today, NABARD will join hands with NDDB for implementing its
milk plan in 326 districts spread across
the country. Notwithstanding, the steady increase in milk production in the
country, there is still a huge potential for boosting milk production as the per capita milk consumption of milk
and dairy products is dismally poor compared to global standards.
Moreover, dairy products offer a huge export potential
Together both NABARD and NDDB will support a range of
activities at the field level with a focus on milk production, its handling,
processing and marketing of dairy
products in all the 326 selected districts of the country. With the demand for
milk expected to touch around 172-million tonnes in 2021-22. Plainly, to meet
this huge demand, milk production would need to be boosted by 4 per cent per
year.
Meanwhile, a feeling is gaining ground that as there is a
daily income in milk, wherever the farming community has taken to dairying as a
secondary occupation, suicides have not been reported. Clearly, the NABARD
sponsored milk scheme supported by NDDB seeks to increase milk productivity and
optimize the cost of production by providing institutional credit to support
quality breeding of the milch animals.
Today the daily per capita consumption of milk in the
country is little over 250-ml as against 106-ml when “Operation Flood” was
launched three decades ago. Also, the dairy industry has emerged as a single
largest contributor to the Indian economy with as many as 80-million farming
households involved in dairy related activities. With 12-million farmers spread
over 176 districts of the country actively participating in the dairy
cooperative movement initiated by NDDB, the future of the while revolution in India appears
bright.
According to the Indian dairy industry analysts, India has the potential to become one of the
leading players in the export of milk and milk products as the country has the
geographical advantage of being located close to major milk deficient countries
in Asia and Africa. Significantly, the major
importers of milk and dairy products such as Bangladesh,
China, Hong
Kong, Singapore,
Thailand, Malayasia,
Philippines, Japan and UAE are located close to India. Thus, this
could help India
tap the export potential to these countries.
Further, in a significant development, the Gujarat
Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), based in Anand, is planning to
roll out 10,000 Amul parlours across
the country over the next three years. Today, Amul products stand out as a by-
word for quality dairy products not only in India but in various parts of the
world.
“The time has come for us to make direct contact with the
consumers and to ensure that we are not exploited or squeezed out in the market
by the big players,” said a GCMMF spokesman. Adding, “we will open 10,000
parlours by 2010.” More than 1,000 such parlours are already operational in
various parts of the country.
Described as a billion dollar cooperative, GCMMF is quite
bullish about its future prospects. “We have already joined the US$1-billion
club and have set a target of US $2.5-billion by 2010” averred the spokesman of
GCMMF. Today, Amul products are sold around the world. The USA, S.E. Asia and W. Asia
are Amul’s major consumers.
Besides, export of various Amul products to markets like
West Asia, USA and Europe has increased by 15 per cent over the last two
years. The GCMMF is also exploring new, potential markets in the Asia–Pacific
region which includes markets like Japan
and Australia.
Amul’s long term marketing strategy is centred round the premise that the
upwardly mobile cash-rich middle class
consumers in India
are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of health food and dairy
products. All said and done, Amul’s real strength lies in the network of its 2.5
million milk farmers organized through 12,000 cooperative societies in the
villages of Gujarat.
All the 13 district milk cooperatives in Gujarat
use Amul as the brand name for the packaged milk and other dairy products.
Interestingly, GCMMF first introduced butter in 1956, cheese in 1970, ice cream
in 1996 and today boasts of a wide range of milk products including srikhand, curd, flavoured milk and
butter milk.
Thus, the Anand-based prime milk
cooperative which took off in 1946 with a view to end the exploitation of dairy
farmers by the middlemen is today a major force in the Indian dairy industry.
Currently, the GCMMF processes
around 5-million litres of milk per day. Amul today is not just a brand. But “represents
the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian farmers and the national commitment of
self reliance and development of human resources and values based on a
sustainable development process”
says Verghese Kurien, the architect of the white revolution in India.
Amul is now a leader in baby food, dairy whiteners, cheese
and ice cream. It holds more than three-fourth of the market share in butter.
In order to stay competitive it has made a massive
investment on technology upgradation. By all counts, Amul is hopeful of
boosting the milk production in arid areas of Gujarat. Its hopes are based on the
greening of Gujarat by the Narmada water in the near future.
Milk production in India is now close to 100-million tones a
year. Since mid-1990s, India has retained its position as the biggest milk
producer in the world. Driven by the growing disposable income and changing
lifestyle, the demand for dairy products in India is on the rise. Sources in
GCMMF point out that changing lifestyle characterized by urbanization, dietary
habits and impulse buying have heightened the demand for dairy products in most
parts of the country.
Higher farmgate prices for raw milk are spurring dairy
farmers to increase the milk production through the upgradation of the genetic
stock of their milch animals. The creation of a country-wide milk grid through
quick transportation and efficient storage, has also given a boost to the milk
production in the country.
According to a study by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA),
the continuing expansion of the milk processing
facilities in the private sector, the need to sustain fluid milk supplies
during peak seasons and firm prices could lead to the increased milk yield in
the country. In addition, the increased demand for value added dairy products
and growing private sector investment in the dairy sector are conspiring to
give an impetus to milk production in India. ----- INFA
(Copyright India News and Feature
Alliance)
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Industrial Spectrum Of India:SMALL SCALE SECTOR VITAL FOR INDIA’S GROWTH, T.D.Jagadesan,30 June 07 |
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People And Their Problems
New Delhi, 30 June 2007
Industrial Spectrum
Of India
SMALL SCALE SECTOR
VITAL FOR INDIA’S
GROWTH
By T.D. Jagadesan
Small Scale Industries (SSI) sector has emerged as a vibrant
and dynamic area of the Indian economy. Not only in terms of employment
generation the entrepreneurial base it helps to create but also because nearly
40 per cent of the total industrial production and over 34 per cent of the
national exports falls in this sector. Moreover, it constitutes an important means
to tackle the problem of unemployment and can be used as an important tool to
prevent concentration of economic power in the hands of a few individuals. By assisting the development of semi-urban and rural
areas through the utilization of local skills, raw materials and resources.
The SSIs are industrial undertaking in which the investment
in fixed assets (plant and machinery)
whether on ownership basis, terms lease or hire purchase does not exceed
Rs.one crore. Over the past five
decades, the Governments policies have been to protect the interests of the
SSIs sector and facilitate its rapid development. The Government in pursuance
of these policies has initiated various support measures from time to time
which include the policy of reservation, revision of investment ceilings,
modernization, technological upgradation, marketing assistance
and fiscal incentives etc.
The small scale sector which owes its definition to the
industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, comprises a divergent spectrum
of industries, ranging from micro and rural enterprises, using rudimentary
technology to modern small scale industries employing sophisticated
technology. At present, the sector
accounts for over 95 per cent of the industrial units in the country, 34.29 per
cent of the national exports, 6.86 per cent of the GDP, generates employment to
193 lakhs people and produces 7,500 items. Also, 749 items are reserved for
exclusive manufacture and about 358 items are earmarked for exclusive purchase
from the SSIs. The constant support by the Government in terms of
infrastructure, fiscal and monetary policies have helped this sector emerge as
a dynamic sector.
In recognition of this role, the SSI sector has been assigned targets of 12 per cent annual growth in production
and creation of 4.4 million additional employment opportunities in the Tenth
Five Year plan even as the investment limit for it continues to be Rs.one
crore. However, the Ministry of Small Scale Industries has brought out a
specific list of hi-tech and export-oriented industries whose investment limit
has been raised to Rs.5 crore to facilitate suitable technology upgradation and
enable them to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy. The exemption
from excise duty continues to be Rs.one crore.
Additionally, the Integrated Infrastructural Development
(IID) scheme has been extended to cover the entire country with 50 per cent
reservation for rural areas. The Small Industries Development Organization
(SIDO), set up in 1954, functions as an apex body for sustained and organized
growth of the SSIs. Sadly, due to competition with large scale producers,
multi-nationals and paucity of financial resources, the SSIs do not get raw
material of good quality and in some cases they do not get enough supplies even
of the inferior quality of raw materials.
Also, the SSIs have to pay comparatively higher prices for
raw materials, resulting in an increase in the cost of production, decrease in
profit and their ability to complete with large scale industries. Worse, the old
and obsolete methods of production, leads to technical inefficiency which in
turn increases the cost of production and renders them unfit to compete with
large industries and the MNC. Moreover, the marketing methods of the products
are defective. There are no communication channels between the small scale
producers and the ultimate consumers. In many cases, the producers do not know
the domestic and international markets where their products are consumed and
who purchases them. Lack of adequate statistical data is also posing a serious
problem in the development and growth of the SSIs. Without reliable statistics
regarding production cost, labour, wages prices and extent of market, it is
quite impossible to assess
their economic potentialities.
A majority of the SSIs need financial resources for
modernization and expansion. However, due to low wages and poor working
conditions of these units, skilled and trained human resources are not
attracted towards them. They also do not have funds to invest on advertising
their products. The access to
adequate credit, technological obsolescence, infrastructural bottlenecks,
marketing constraints and a plethora of rules and regulations are major
problems infecting the SSIs.
In order to provide a favourable business environment for the growth and development of the
SSI sector, the Government took many initiatives to give an impetus to the
growth of the sector in 2004-05. These include the National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganized Informal Sector
set up in September 2004. Recommended measures for improvement in the
productivity of these enterprises, generation of large scale employment
opportunities, linkage to an institutional framework in areas like credit, raw
material supply, infrastructure, technology upgradation, marketing facilities
and skill development.
To facilitate technology upgradation and enhancing
competitiveness, the investment
limit (in plant machinery) was raised in October, 2004 from Rs. one crore to
Rs.5 crore in respect of 7 items of sports goods, reserved for manufacture in
the small scale sector. The Small and
Medium Enterprises (SME) fund of Rs.10,000 crore was operationalized by the
SIDBI in April 2004. Wherein 80 per cent of it lending was at an interest rate
of 2 per cent. The Reserve Bank on its part, enhanced the composite loan limit
to Rs. 1 crore from Rs.50 lakh.
More, with a view to integrate small and medium enterprises
facilitate growth and enhance competitiveness
(including freeing the SSIs from “inspector raj”) a suitable legislation is
being finalized. A new “promotional package for small enterprises” is being
formulated. This would include measures to provide adequate credit, incentives
for technology upgradation, infrastructural and marketing facilities etc.
In sum, the small scale sector occupies an important
position in the industrial spectrum of the country. The Government needs to
play a pivotal role and take strong action in solving the problems faced by
this sector. As it is the best sector
for rural and semi-urban development, the Government must pay particular
attention to its development so that it grows in a challenging environment of
India.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Human Trafficking:Poverty & Deprivation Main problems, by Dhurjati Mukherjee,23 June 2007 |
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People And Their Problems
New Delhi, 23 June 2007
Human
Trafficking
Poverty & Deprivation Main problems
By
Dhurjati Mukherjee
Human trafficking has been a big problem in many parts of
the world and specially in India
and many other Asian countries. The UN Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons,
in effect since December 2003 makes human trafficking a crime. The Protocol has
been signed and ratified by more than 110 countries, yet the participating
governments and their criminal justice systems have not effectively curbed the
practice. Few criminals are convicted and most victims are not properly
rehabilitated.
Trafficking in persons has mainly been for sexual
exploitation or forced labour and, according to reports of the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), 127 countries get exploited among 137 nations. Some
2.5 million people throughout the world are at any given time recruited, entrapped,
transported and exploited---a process
called human trafficking. The UN and other experts estimate the total market
value of illicit human trafficking at $ 32 billion; about $ 10 billion is
derived from the sale of individuals and the remainder representing the
estimate profits from the activities or goods produced by the victims of this
barbaric crime.
Apart from slavery is booming international trade and
involves both the sexes. The most important aspect of human trafficking is of
women and girls, 80 per cent of whom, as per UNDOC data, are forced into
prostitution. The other reasons for women and children being trafficked are: labour
in garment, carpet and other industries/factories/work sites; work in the
entertainment industry, including bars, massage
parlours etc; forced labour in construction sites; sex tourism; drug
trafficking; organ trade; and domestic work.
Poverty, lack of opportunities and the desire for better
existence have been the principal reasons for the increase in human trafficking
and sexual exploitation in Third World
countries. It is distressing to note
that the trafficked victim is subject to the worst form of human rights abuses---physical
violence, sexual abuse, confinement, denial of basic needs of health and
nutrition, deprivation of earnings etc.
In India,
the problem of trafficking has suddenly received much attention with even
politicians being engaged in this work. However, trafficking has been a
long-standing problem in this region, specially in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh Thailand and India. The
spread of consumerism and western life styles in society along widening
inequality among the urban and the rural sectors have accentuated the problem
at least in the Asian countries.
The problems in populous countries like India are well
known which have a stagnant rural sector with all-round poverty and squalor
very much manifest. Moreover the discrimination of the girl child has been
another aspect of the problem. Apart from the desire to make the girl child
work by the parents, the passion of
girls (generally aged between 15 to 25 years) to live a better existence
induces them to be trafficked. They generally enter the flesh trade or are used
in hotels for entertaining clients, whether in India or abroad.
It is not that girls only from the poorer sections of
society that become prone to abuse and sexual exploitation. It has been found
that girls and women from the middle or even upper class
in their quest to earn more become prone to human trafficking. In today’s
world, prostitution has attained a new dimension whereby sharing a bed is not
taboo. Thus well-off girls starting with such practise eventually become prone
to trafficking.
Meanwhile the Centre has come out with startling revelations
on child abuse, mainly of girls, according to a national survey. More than 53
per cent of children have been found to be subjected to sexual abuse in ways
that ranged from rape to kissing.
Apart from this, 69 per cent of children faced physical abuse, in most cases
(89 per cent) from parents or members of the family. These and many other
things were revealed by the 13-state survey report Study on Child Abuse:
India 2007 conducted by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in association with UNICEF, Save the Children and Prayas
and released recently. This was incidentally the first-ever nation-wide survey
on child abuse with a sample size of 12,447 children, including 5981 girls.
Delhi, by Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Assam
have been found to be the front-runners in child abuse cases. These states
showed higher physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children. In 50 per cent
of cases, the abusers were known to the child or were in a position of trust
and responsibility and most children did not report the matter. Thus it can
very well be assumed from the survey
that the children were not safe even in their homes and remain victims of
different forms of abuse.
The study also found that children in the 5 to 12 age group
reported higher levels of abuse and boys were as much at risk as girls. The
high abuse has been attributed to fathers looking at children as their
property, the patriarchal set-up of society and poor parenting skills although
no empirical research was conducted to gauge the exact reasons. But whether it
is physical or sexual abuse, most children don’t report the assaults to anyone.
Another aspect of the problem of women is abuse and sexual
violence. According to the National Family Health Survey –III, 37 per
cent married women reported abuse though one can be very sure that another
significant section do not report. The top offenders include Bihar
50 per cent, followed by Rajasthan 46.3 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 45.6 per cent,
Manipur 43.0 per cent and UP 42.4 per cent.
The question arises: how could girls be provided security?
This can come about if there is thrust on education along with not just mid-day
meal but a maintenance allowance every month, specially for those belonging to
the economically weaker sections, to help them continue with their studies. The
thrust on girls education has to be taken up with all sincerity and should
reach all backward areas of the country.
The other aspect of tackling the problem is the spread of
awareness among women and girls
about their rights. Though this has been taken up by NGOs and CBOs, there is
need for giving a boost to this campaign, including generating basic legal
awareness among the opposite sex. It
is indeed distressing to note that
in spite of setting up national and stare level women’s commissions the problem of trafficking and sexual
exploitation has remained unchecked.
More resources need to be allotted for the development of
the female child and ensuring a dignified existence for her. Recent reports
indicate how a million girls would be eliminated every year in the coming four
years because efforts have been grossly
inadequate in restraining the promotion of foetal sexing. Preference for a son
has caused hatred for a daughter in India in recent years due to the
widespread ‘legitimization’ of this form of violence against women.
The 11th Plan, which talks about inclusion needs
to give a fair deal to women, should take up various injustices committed
against girls and women and deal with them through an iron hand and also
simultaneously ensure their education and awareness
in a target-oriented approach. The NGOs and CBOs should be provided with
adequate funds so that they could make inroads into the rural and backward
areas and tackle trafficking and sexual violence against the opposite sex while
also pursuing that girls enter school in a big way.
The intervention strategies should focus on the following
areas: prevention through raising public awareness,
setting up neighbourhood watch committees for monitoring incidents of missing girls, ki dnapping/abduction
and migration, networking for information sharing and quick response to crisis
situations and providing opportunity for holistic development to children of
women in prostitution so that they are not forced to follow their mothers; securing the rights of women and children;
rescue and after-care; documentation and study; and promotion of a secure and protected
environment for women and children.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Effective Employment Policy:STRESSING STATE’S RESPONSIBILITY, by T.D. Jagadesan,16 June 2007 |
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People And Their
Problems
New Delhi, 16 June 2007
Effective
Employment Policy
STRESSING STATE’S
RESPONSIBILITY
By T.D. Jagadesan
The Centre evidently keen on imparting a fillip to
employment opportunities to the eligible people. Hence it has wisely launched
recently the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREG) in 200 districts
covering 23 States. The NREG was notified in February last year thus
underlining the importance as well as expediency of securing the livelihood of
the people in rural areas by generating 100 days of employment in a financial
year to rural household.
There is justifiable jubilation over the eight per cent plus
growth that the economy has been recording for over three years and at the same
time there is concern that there are significant sections of the population
that are yet to benefit from the growth process.
The Eleventh Plan document attempts to address
this issue squarely.
There is concern that the rate of growth of employment is
reported to have slackened, in many segments of the rural economy, during the
decade of reforms. The report of the Planning Commission’s
Task Force on Employment Opportunities shows an absolute decline in the number
employed in agriculture, between 1993-94, and 1999-2000, at the all-India level.
Information from 60th NSS round, 2004-05, the Economic Census 2005
and the Annual Survey of Industry indicate the following:
Employment growth accelerated to 2.6 per cent during
1999-2005 outpacing population growth, but the average daily status unemployment
rate, which had increased from 6.1 per cent in 1993-94 to 7.3 per cent in
1999-2000, increased further to 8.3 per cent in 2004-05. This was possibly
due to the fact that the working age population grew faster than total
population and labour force participation rates increased, particularly among
women. The extent of under employment also appears to be on the increase.
Agricultural employments has increased at less than 1 per cent per annum, slower than population
and much slower than non-agricultural employment. Also, although real wages of
these workers continue to rise, growth has decelerated strongly, almost
certainly reflecting the poor performance in agriculture. There are also transition problems in
changing employment patterns, and these are probably being exacerbated by our
landholding structures and by barriers of caste and gender.
Non-agricultural employment expanded robustly at an annual
rate of 4.7 per cent during 1999-2005 but this growth was entirely in the
unorganized sector and mainly in low productivity employment. Employment in the organized sectors actually
declined despite fairly healthy GDP growth.
On the supply side, the document indicates that the during
11th Plan if it grows at the same rate as current projections around
65 million, if female participation rates rise at the pace observed during
1999-2005. Additional employment opportunities in the future would be generated
mainly in the services and manufacturing sectors and policy initiatives are
needed to support this.
The intention in the Eleventh Plan is to boost, in
particular, labour intensive manufacturing sectors such as food processing, leather products, footwear and textiles, and
service sectors such as tourism and construction. Construction sector would generate
substantial additional employment.
On the touring front both domestic as well as international,
there are large possibilities for
employment generation in the hotel, catering, entertainment and travel sectors
as well as a market for handlooms and handicrafts.
Sadly, the solutions attempted in the Eleventh Plan document
do not address these problems. There
are anecdotal reports about severe shortages in skilled labour markets---in IT,
tourism, and in skilled blue collar workers for manufacturing as well as for
the construction industry. There are tales that textile export manufacturers
are scouring the villages near Tirupur in Tamil Nadu for skilled tailors and
embroider; that masons command the sky to wages and that ordinary skills are
unavailable. Surely it is important to address
the problem fro this end.
The Manufacturing Competitiveness
Commission has estimated the need
for skilled labour in over two dozen different professions,
each of which exceeds a quarter million in the next five years. The training
levels required to produce these employable are not available. Major IT firms
complain that they are able to recruit from only ten per cent of the
engineering colleges.
The manufacturing industry reports that the skill sets
produced in the ITI are obsolete for the current markets. There is little
attempt to infuse technology into agriculture, and even the downstream part of
agriculture, storage, marketing and retailing, ahs been left to the private
sector.
The Eleventh Plan document fails to address these issues,
and in fact relies heavily on the service sector and the unorganized sector
including the construction sector to pick up the slack. Wishful thinking,
without any evidence of how this will happen. Ab initio, the target growth of Agriculture
of 4 per cent and of the entire economy of double that would leave those in
agriculture poorer off at the end of the Plan. If poverty is added to
unemployment, then it is likely to be a volatile combination.
In considering options for rural areas, it is important to
recognize that short term focused policy of persistently protecting employment
in sunset industries and in weaker economic units can go against greater
employment with higher labour-productivity in the longer term. Competition restricting
policies, including controls to the movement of goods and commodities must end,
as they impose arbitrary restrictions on expansion liberalization is the key to
making industry competitive.
The responsibility of the state is to ensure that the necessary skill sets are developed. This is easier said
than done, since the task is to match market needs with the supply of skills,
to reorient curriculum to retain teachers, add capital equipments for training,
develop new syllabai, and in short, to revamp the entire supply chain of
production of skills.
This is needed to be done in hundred of skills, ranging from
it is to nursing, from tourism to hospitality, from ward boys to
radiographers. There is very little
evidence in the Plan document of the mammoth task involved, nor of the
resources and inter-ministerial efforts that would be needed to make this
happen. If these skill sets are not
developed, it is quite conceivable that manufacturing competitiveness may be lost, that instead of making steel in India,
corporates attempt to invest capital outside the country, and in fact seek
competitive skills elsewhere, at the cost of local employment. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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