The recent IFRI report puts India 67th among 84 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Countries which are written off as failed states have done better than India in the survey. It may not be a true reflection of the success of those countries in implementing innovative programs to reduce malnutrition and hunger and could be a statistical aberration considering the size of India’s population.
Having said that our record in executing large scale social programs is a failure and we continue to search for answers. UID is being touted as a mechanism to track and ensure that the government benefits reach the real beneficiaries (however a recent report in TOI states that the AP government officials are favoring certain agencies for distributing the UID numbers and the whole tendering process is being questioned).
A host of programs NREGA, ICDS, MDM and a revamped PDS are failing to address the fundamental issue of freeing the citizen from hunger. The figures coming of the study of IFRI are alarming – 22% Undernourished population, 43.5% underweight children under 5 years and 6.9% under 5 mortality rate.
Amongst the BRIC countries Brazil, China and Russia are doing much better with Brazil coming out tops and has figures close to that of a developed country. There is no doubt that the Anti poverty schemes like “Bolsa Familia” in Brazil are having a positive impact on its society and is ushering a period of prosperity in that country. In India It is not the lack of food grains for distribution but the delivery mechanism that fails such social programs.
Unfortunately such programs in India continue to fail due to lax implementation, lack of political will and an apathetic bureaucracy.
The Union government’s draft Right to Food (Guarantee of Safety and Security) Act is a step in the right direction, it insists on “the physical, economic and social right of all citizens to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with an adequate diet necessary to lead an active and healthy life with dignity…” The proposed law offers a quantity of cereal at a modest cost each month to all those living under the poverty line. The governments recognition of Right to Food deserves credit but what is more important is to address the miserable functioning of the existing system and to rectify the discrepancies across States and the general non-transparency and confusion in the definition of the beneficiaries (the ambiguities in the understanding who the real beneficiaries are).For example in the state of AP it was found that number of BPL cards distributed were more than the total BPL families in the state.
Apart from the Right to Food itself Government should strengthen the NREGA and other employment generation programs to empower the men and women financially; this will generate adequate purchasing power for them and ensure Food security too.
India should rise to the challenge of eradicating hunger, such eradication should be supported by strong legislation, creating effective delivery mechanisms, excellent execution and tracking mechanisms. India’s aspiration of being a global super power and the respect we seek from the international community for recognition as one will require that we build a hunger free and healthy nation.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Jairam Ramesh rejecting the Vedanta mining project owing to environmental violations by Vedanta and tribal rights protection is a bold move. All of us should hope this momentous decision by the minister will set a bench mark before clearance is given for such projects in the future.
In India what happens in the name of mining natural resources is unabashed looting of the nation’s wealth by politicians and industrial houses. A weak and corrupt regulatory environment aides these coterie in carrying out the nefarious activities of illegal mining, exports, tax evasion,environmetal damage etc.
The environment ministry has long been a rubber stamp headed by pliable ministers who had no interest in using their power to push the country towards sustainable development. It is a welcome relief to see Jairam take over a powerful corporation and its state backers on the principal of environment protection and tribal rights. It is a victory for the Dongriya Kondhs for they waged a war against the mining project for the past 4 years. (There are many horror stories on how the Orissa police harassed the tribal’s to push them out of their lands)
Take the case of Obulapuram mines in the Karnataka, AP region where huge irregularities in mining operations were noted by the Supreme Court nominated CEC. The Karnataka government had no guts to take on the Reddy brothers and hence under pressure took the easy route of banning iron ore exports from the state ports, I am sure the Reddy brothers are exporting the ore from AP and other nearby ports.
The exploration rights for the Bayyaram mines have been cancelled by the Union mining ministry owing to allegations of due process not being followed in allocation of the license (YSRs son-in-law managed to get the rights).
Overall the mining industry in the country is in a sort of a Wild West situation with little or control being exerted by the state in monitoring the industries activities (obviously both are in collusion).
This is one industry I would prefer the state to take full control and probably nationalize. Case in point the Supreme Court ruled that the government has the last word on pricing and utilization of national assets the same yard stick should be applied in the case of the mining industry. Mines are natural resources and national assets; the Government has the responsibility of formulating a policy that addresses all the aspects related to environment and ecological damage, people displacement, sustainability and rehabilitation.
In India what happens in the name of mining natural resources is unabashed looting of the nation’s wealth by politicians and industrial houses. A weak and corrupt regulatory environment aides these coterie in carrying out the nefarious activities of illegal mining, exports, tax evasion,environmetal damage etc.
The environment ministry has long been a rubber stamp headed by pliable ministers who had no interest in using their power to push the country towards sustainable development. It is a welcome relief to see Jairam take over a powerful corporation and its state backers on the principal of environment protection and tribal rights. It is a victory for the Dongriya Kondhs for they waged a war against the mining project for the past 4 years. (There are many horror stories on how the Orissa police harassed the tribal’s to push them out of their lands)
Take the case of Obulapuram mines in the Karnataka, AP region where huge irregularities in mining operations were noted by the Supreme Court nominated CEC. The Karnataka government had no guts to take on the Reddy brothers and hence under pressure took the easy route of banning iron ore exports from the state ports, I am sure the Reddy brothers are exporting the ore from AP and other nearby ports.
The exploration rights for the Bayyaram mines have been cancelled by the Union mining ministry owing to allegations of due process not being followed in allocation of the license (YSRs son-in-law managed to get the rights).
Overall the mining industry in the country is in a sort of a Wild West situation with little or control being exerted by the state in monitoring the industries activities (obviously both are in collusion).
This is one industry I would prefer the state to take full control and probably nationalize. Case in point the Supreme Court ruled that the government has the last word on pricing and utilization of national assets the same yard stick should be applied in the case of the mining industry. Mines are natural resources and national assets; the Government has the responsibility of formulating a policy that addresses all the aspects related to environment and ecological damage, people displacement, sustainability and rehabilitation.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thinking about the poor
I took a train last weekend to a coastal town for a family function. I was alone and observing the scenes inside and outside the train.
As the train moved through towns and cities and along the tracks there ghettos and mud houses, many of them, it is a typical sight across India. Within the train there are hawkers, beggars and all sorts of vendors selling their vares. This is India living on the margins. It is hand to mount existence for these families. As far as my memory goes this scene has not changed in the last twenty years including the train compartments design.
Are the benefits of economic liberalization reaching these families? Are the children raised in these families having access to higher education? How about access to decent healthcare. When will these families move into decent housing, there are millions of them to be taken care. These are some of the questions bother many of us. Are our planners and bureaucrats up to the challenge of providing reasonable housing to the BPL families? Where is all the govt spend on improving public infrastructure going?
All the noise about GDP growth, all sorts of schemes for employment generation, health care programs – is it making a real difference to the lower middle class and below stratum of the country. Visibly it doesn’t seem to. Estimates of poor in the country vary by who is giving the data, obviously planning commission and other government sources give better date, however one can safely estimate 60-70% of the population earning less than <2 USD/day. A study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative using a Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that there are 421 million poor living under the MPI in 8 north India states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and this number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations. India’s poverty elimination/alleviation strategy is heading towards a total failure.
We need to have a serious look at the china story and how it managed to reduce poverty levels from a whopping 64% to the current 10-15% levels in flat 4 decades. Our common refrain about progress in a democracy will naturally be slow due to debate, accommodation of views etc is a poor consolation to the fact that we are having the largest number of poor and deprived in this land.
There is surely a need for a coordinated assault on this issue by the entire Indian state, human resource development, retraining, economic inclusivity, industrialization, modernization of agriculture, healthcare, driving rural youth to industrial work, infrastructure development and related investments are all the aspects in the puzzle of poverty elimination, but who will execute these plans, I think that is what we are still trying to figure out. For once let us ask the Chinese and Brazilians.
As the train moved through towns and cities and along the tracks there ghettos and mud houses, many of them, it is a typical sight across India. Within the train there are hawkers, beggars and all sorts of vendors selling their vares. This is India living on the margins. It is hand to mount existence for these families. As far as my memory goes this scene has not changed in the last twenty years including the train compartments design.
Are the benefits of economic liberalization reaching these families? Are the children raised in these families having access to higher education? How about access to decent healthcare. When will these families move into decent housing, there are millions of them to be taken care. These are some of the questions bother many of us. Are our planners and bureaucrats up to the challenge of providing reasonable housing to the BPL families? Where is all the govt spend on improving public infrastructure going?
All the noise about GDP growth, all sorts of schemes for employment generation, health care programs – is it making a real difference to the lower middle class and below stratum of the country. Visibly it doesn’t seem to. Estimates of poor in the country vary by who is giving the data, obviously planning commission and other government sources give better date, however one can safely estimate 60-70% of the population earning less than <2 USD/day. A study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative using a Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that there are 421 million poor living under the MPI in 8 north India states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and this number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations. India’s poverty elimination/alleviation strategy is heading towards a total failure.
We need to have a serious look at the china story and how it managed to reduce poverty levels from a whopping 64% to the current 10-15% levels in flat 4 decades. Our common refrain about progress in a democracy will naturally be slow due to debate, accommodation of views etc is a poor consolation to the fact that we are having the largest number of poor and deprived in this land.
There is surely a need for a coordinated assault on this issue by the entire Indian state, human resource development, retraining, economic inclusivity, industrialization, modernization of agriculture, healthcare, driving rural youth to industrial work, infrastructure development and related investments are all the aspects in the puzzle of poverty elimination, but who will execute these plans, I think that is what we are still trying to figure out. For once let us ask the Chinese and Brazilians.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Year on Year Scam
Laying/relaying roads in the cities, towns and state highways is perhaps the biggest scam in India that is going on for decades. Roads are laid that get washed away at the lightest of down pours. If the rainfall is incessant the roads become un-motorable and are similar to unpaved dirt roads in the country side. All these are constructed again to get washed away during the subseqent rainy season.
Bureaucrats/engineers and contractors collude to do a shabby job of maintaining and construction of roads year on year and share the bounty, we hardly hear about cases of corruption being registered against any contracting agency with respect to quality of road construction. Does that mean all quality standards are met? Where are the state and central vigilance commissions?
Even the capital city is not spared, look at the condition of roads in New Delhi after this year’s monsoon. Do we really deserve the tag of an aspiring super power? We can’t get the basics right – roads, drains, footpaths, water supply etc. Corruption is breaking the back bone of the country.
With 2.1 million miles of roadways India has the third largest road network, imagine the amount of money that gets allocated for new construction and regular maintenance, it must be staggering. Not sure what percent of this changes hands as “baksheesh”.
There is no need of an RTI application to get details about quality of Road construction it is too evident, poor engineering, indifference to quality and corruption are the reasons.
Roads are the backbone for a vibrant economy and our administrators fail to get it.
Bureaucrats/engineers and contractors collude to do a shabby job of maintaining and construction of roads year on year and share the bounty, we hardly hear about cases of corruption being registered against any contracting agency with respect to quality of road construction. Does that mean all quality standards are met? Where are the state and central vigilance commissions?
Even the capital city is not spared, look at the condition of roads in New Delhi after this year’s monsoon. Do we really deserve the tag of an aspiring super power? We can’t get the basics right – roads, drains, footpaths, water supply etc. Corruption is breaking the back bone of the country.
With 2.1 million miles of roadways India has the third largest road network, imagine the amount of money that gets allocated for new construction and regular maintenance, it must be staggering. Not sure what percent of this changes hands as “baksheesh”.
There is no need of an RTI application to get details about quality of Road construction it is too evident, poor engineering, indifference to quality and corruption are the reasons.
Roads are the backbone for a vibrant economy and our administrators fail to get it.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Parliamentarians and Pay hikes
Our MPs have decided to give themselves a 300% hike to their compensation along with other emoluments like 30+ business class return airfare, free first class train fare for their families, medicals etc...etc there is still a demand to make it 500% by some members. It is easier to do that for this privileged class since they themselves decide whether it should be 300 or 500%, there is no pay commission to deliberate or like in the private sector performance based hikes. 30% for public servants and 300% for themselves looks plain selfish (there are arguments that the base is low, however if we add up all emoluments the cost to the tax payer is painful).
It would be unfair to brush every parliamentarian as corrupt and undeserving but it hard to erase the general perception about them being dishonest, venal etc. There are no hard numbers available on number of parliamentarians who are corrupt and have criminal back grounds, but it is said about 40-50% do fall in this category. Then why do we give hikes to this bunch. Do the likes of Lalu Yadav who are involved in scams deserve hikes?
The issue of cost to the exchequer does not arise in these undeserving hikes, in case of hikes to the public servants and armed forces govt is prompt in establishing committees to look into the matter and take years to decide.
How many policy wonks do we exactly have in the parliament who actually debate issues of national importance and legislate? It is mostly commotion and partisan behavior that the public get to see in the parliamentary proceedings. Parliamentarians are expected to debate and contribute to policy, since for most of them contribution in this area is dismal the do not deserve an increase in pay.
Shouldn’t there be a third party assessing each of the members and recommending hikes based on their performance ( attendance, contribution to policy, right use of constituency funds, participation in debates, raising issues of national importance etc).
This is one more instance of insensitive behavior by our parliamentarians, while the common man is fighting inflation. With all the above I would still say please take care and pay well for those Parliamentarians who are trying to make a difference, not to the majority who are not.
It would be unfair to brush every parliamentarian as corrupt and undeserving but it hard to erase the general perception about them being dishonest, venal etc. There are no hard numbers available on number of parliamentarians who are corrupt and have criminal back grounds, but it is said about 40-50% do fall in this category. Then why do we give hikes to this bunch. Do the likes of Lalu Yadav who are involved in scams deserve hikes?
The issue of cost to the exchequer does not arise in these undeserving hikes, in case of hikes to the public servants and armed forces govt is prompt in establishing committees to look into the matter and take years to decide.
How many policy wonks do we exactly have in the parliament who actually debate issues of national importance and legislate? It is mostly commotion and partisan behavior that the public get to see in the parliamentary proceedings. Parliamentarians are expected to debate and contribute to policy, since for most of them contribution in this area is dismal the do not deserve an increase in pay.
Shouldn’t there be a third party assessing each of the members and recommending hikes based on their performance ( attendance, contribution to policy, right use of constituency funds, participation in debates, raising issues of national importance etc).
This is one more instance of insensitive behavior by our parliamentarians, while the common man is fighting inflation. With all the above I would still say please take care and pay well for those Parliamentarians who are trying to make a difference, not to the majority who are not.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A faltering UPA -2
The UPA magic is waning a year into the second term, the administration looks more fragile than ever. Infighting amongst the cabinet ministers, Kashmir situation, Maoist violence, Foreign affairs goof ups, Price rise and to top all these the brazen Common wealth scandal.
Dr Man Mohan Singh’s much applauded strengths of cool, calm and collected are becoming his nemesis, he is appearing indecisive as days pass by, how can he let the Kashmir situation get out of hand. It is sad to see the Hurriyat dictating terms to the center. It is a meek response to the challenge at hand. The usually smug Home minister appears lost. Where is the promise to create more jobs to the Kashmiri youth, jobless men will throw stones and do whatever is necessary to kill time.
One can agree Kashmir is a difficult situation to handle with a myriad of complexities but the incoherent response to the Maoist violence shows lack of conviction on part of the Home Minister. His colleagues do not agree with his assessment on handling the violence. The iron clad defense of Mr. Chidambaram on critical issues is breaking.
The Aam aadmi slogan is fast appearing a mirage. Price rise is killing the Aam admi and there seems to be no clear strategy to check the price rise. PDS is in shambles, FCI is letting the food grains rot in godowns. Where is the promised efficient administration? It is a crime to let people go hungry while food stocks rot. Sharad Pawar has other priorities.
Less said about handling foreign affairs with Pakistan. Pakistan seems to pull a fast one on us on every occasion. We should stop complaining to US and the whole world on Pakistan exporting terrorism to Indian soil, what is our response, just complain?
Dr Man Mohan Singh’s much applauded strengths of cool, calm and collected are becoming his nemesis, he is appearing indecisive as days pass by, how can he let the Kashmir situation get out of hand. It is sad to see the Hurriyat dictating terms to the center. It is a meek response to the challenge at hand. The usually smug Home minister appears lost. Where is the promise to create more jobs to the Kashmiri youth, jobless men will throw stones and do whatever is necessary to kill time.
One can agree Kashmir is a difficult situation to handle with a myriad of complexities but the incoherent response to the Maoist violence shows lack of conviction on part of the Home Minister. His colleagues do not agree with his assessment on handling the violence. The iron clad defense of Mr. Chidambaram on critical issues is breaking.
The Aam aadmi slogan is fast appearing a mirage. Price rise is killing the Aam admi and there seems to be no clear strategy to check the price rise. PDS is in shambles, FCI is letting the food grains rot in godowns. Where is the promised efficient administration? It is a crime to let people go hungry while food stocks rot. Sharad Pawar has other priorities.
Less said about handling foreign affairs with Pakistan. Pakistan seems to pull a fast one on us on every occasion. We should stop complaining to US and the whole world on Pakistan exporting terrorism to Indian soil, what is our response, just complain?
Friday, August 6, 2010
Young but not wise enough
Like me most Indians would have felt relieved when Farooq Abdullah gave away the J&K chief ministers post last year to his youthful and energetic son Omar Abdullah. It was expected Omar with his clean image and youthful energy would reach out to the masses and change the mood in the valley.
Alas, what a mistake it was, the recent happenings i
n the valley show Omar has no idea about the ground situation, feelings of the people nor has complete administrative control. He is simply a helpless observer looking towards New Delhi for direction. A huge let down from whom a lot was expected. Omar needs to be moved to the center into some listless ministerial role, his father was a better option to run the state to maintain status quo. Omar is creating a mess in the valley.
Another youthful MP Naveen Mittal was not far behind in disappointing every one with his stance on Khap panchayats in Haryana. Though real politik would have forced him to support Khaps, he has shown poor choice of words in supporting the Khap panchayat's stance on various issues.
Alas, what a mistake it was, the recent happenings i
n the valley show Omar has no idea about the ground situation, feelings of the people nor has complete administrative control. He is simply a helpless observer looking towards New Delhi for direction. A huge let down from whom a lot was expected. Omar needs to be moved to the center into some listless ministerial role, his father was a better option to run the state to maintain status quo. Omar is creating a mess in the valley.
Another youthful MP Naveen Mittal was not far behind in disappointing every one with his stance on Khap panchayats in Haryana. Though real politik would have forced him to support Khaps, he has shown poor choice of words in supporting the Khap panchayat's stance on various issues.
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