pdf file is available at
www.naandi.org/CP/HungamaBKDec11LR.pdf
www.naandi.org/CP/HungamaBKDec11LR.pdf
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Malnutrition in India
A COUNTRY truly concerned about its development would put its children’s health on a higher priority than the GDP. For, population of over a billion can add strength to a country, only, if it is healthy and productive. If one in every three most malnourished children live in India, as is reported by UNISEF, it is a cause of worry. Because, such a populace can become a liability in the coming years, frustrating all growth plans. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has all the reasons to describe this alarmingly high rate of children’s malnutrition — which is 42 per cent — a ‘national shame.’ In fact, the survey conducted by Hyderabad based Naandi Foundation in the 100 most backward districts of BIMARU states and Jharkhand, with a sample size of over one lakh children — found that 59 per cent children have stunted growth, 42 per cent are underweight and about 11 per cent children between the age group of 0 to 5 suffer from wasting disease.
Sunken eyed, with swollen belly and shrivelled skin, these listless, lifeless children also suffer from learning deficiency, because they are fed on — if at all — on inadequate nutrients required for a healthy development of body and mind. The problem of children’s malnutrition also has its roots in the perpetually anaemic women who keep on producing children, in total disregard to their own health. Around one-third of all adult women are underweight in India.Surveys conducted in the past have shown that malnutrition among children is lowest in Kerala, where literacy rate of women is the highest in the country. Malnutrition in the first five years of a child leads to serious, long-term consequences because it impedes motor, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional development. An educated mother not only understands the relevance of nutrition, she also practices hygiene and knows how to access health facilities. These issues stem in our social complexity; girls are more at risk of malnutrition than boys because of their lower social status, and they become mothers. The government has to address this issue at several levels.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
PAKISTAN - A FAILED STATE
A visit to Pakistan lays bare the uncertain future facing this troubled country despite much bravado and whistling in the dark. The economy is in parlous condition with growth no more than 3 per cent, 12 per cent inflation, falling FDI, IMF support withdrawn and repayments due next March, public enterprises bleeding, power cuts, a gas shortage, unemployment, a continuing low HDI performance resulting in failure to meet several Millennium Development Goals. With the implementation of the 18th Amendment, a structural problem has arisen with increased revenues going to the provinces and “inflexible” expenditures remaining with the federal government. The “War on Terror”, howsoever calculated, is said to have cost the country $ 60-70 bn whereas US aid has been no more than $ 18 bn.
The saving grace has been buoyancy in the rural economy with bumper production of wheat, cotton, sugar and milk and a transfer of income from the towns to the countryside. Defence expenditure accounts for 18 per cent of the revenue budget and internal security an additional 10 per cent. The tax-to-GDP ratio is low and collections lower. Poor governance, mismanagement and corruption are held responsible for this sorry state of affairs. The extensive 2010 and more limited 2011 floods devastated large swathes of the Indus basin. Independent surveys attribute this not merely to aberrant rainfall, deforestation and consequent heavy erosion in the upper catchments, but also to poor maintenance of barrage and canal infrastructure that gave way and have yet to be fully repaired. Despite all of this, opulent (urban) and feudal life-styles have not been affected.
Pakistan continues to be afflicted by political turbulence and military assertiveness in governance. The Memogate crisis (following an alleged missive drafted by the former Pakistan Ambassador in Washington, Hussain Haqqani, at the instance of President Zardari and handed over to the US military by a controversial Pakistan-born US businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, pleading for US pressure on General Kayani to avert a coup after the inglorious and incomprehensible Osama bin Laden episode, in return for a more zealous Pakistani role in the War on Terror) incensed the Army and has given it greater ascendancy over the civil government. The Foreign Minister, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, admitted that Memogate had provoked questions. The Army had “played a larger-than-life role in the history of Pakistan” and the assertion of civil power in the existing democratic set-up had to be an “evolutionary process”.
It was at this delicate moment that US-NATO forces bombed a border post, killing 24 Pakistan military personnel. Outrage and fury marked nationwide demonstrations denouncing the Americans for deliberately and repeatedly violating Pakistan’s sovereignty with drone attacks along the AfPak border. The engagement lasted two hours with ascending ferocity despite US-ISAF commands being informed. The Americans aver they were given permission by Pakistan to engage a Taliban raiding party, but the Pakistanis assert they were provided the wrong coordinates. The other theory is that the Taliban decoyed the US into action by firing on its aircraft. Both sides have ordered inquiries, pending which Obama has refused to apologise, though senior US officials have regretted the loss of life.
Many issues arise. US forces have not infrequently been responsible for “collateral damage”, while Pakistan has a long record of violating Indian (and Afghan) sovereignty through well-established cross-border strikes. Despite its protestations of innocence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the Pakistan Army had sheltered him under its eye in Abbottabad. Since the Army does not admit to singular incompetence, complicity alone explains what happened.
As in Abbottabad, so in the Mohmand border post strike, the Pakistan Air Force or ground forces did not engage the intruders? Why not? In both cases the Pakistan military presumably thought discretion the better part of valour as it feared escalation would cost it dear. However, Pakistan has closed all US supply routes to Afghanistan and ordered the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Balochistan from where it has mounted drone attacks on targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Curiously, but typically, the Shamsi base was leased to the UAE (for what ?) which had in turn sub-leased it to the US. So much for sovereignty!
Pakistan has declared that it is reviewing its entire relationship with the US. It will huff and puff but is unlikely to break its military-strategic alliance with Washington. China is not willing, nor militarily able just yet to take on the US role of playing military godfather and banker to Pakistan. It is already getting all it wants strategically from Islamabad by providing it military supplies, nuclear reactors and assistance to upgrade and extend the Karakoram Highway, build the Neelum-Jhelum and Diamer-Bhasha dams and undertake mining projects in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has also proposed a trans-Karakoram rail link from Tibet and Xinjiang to Gwadar and an oil/gas pipeline along a similar alignment.
With its economy on drip, Islamabad needs US aid as much as the US needs Pakistan’s cooperation to sustain an effective presence in Afghanistan. Therefore, the current stand-off is likely to be followed by a rapprochement, continuing US aid and more elbow room for Islamabad to position itself as top-dog in Afghanistan when US-ISAF militarily pull out in 2014. Pakistan is talking to its own Taliban as a first step. Its formal boycott of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan will not necessarily detract from that meeting. The fact is that the US is part of the problem rather than of the solution in Afghanistan. The best option would be to secure a truce in Afghanistan, regionalise a reconciliation and reconstruction programme for it (with Pakistan, Iran, India, China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and others), with US-European and World Bank backing. The object should be to rebuild its infrastructure and economy and restore to a neutral Afghanistan its traditional role as a thriving crossroads and international commercial hub.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is still caught in a hate-India identity crisis, reflected in its uncorrected school textbooks, and the fetishism it has developed about J&K. The last week of November saw the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) take schoolchildren from Faisalabad to Lahore to protest the US/NATO Mohmand air strike. The speeches spoke of plans to Talibanise Pakistan, wreak vengeance on “Christians and Americans” and wage jihad against the US and India.
The decision to extend most-favoured nation treatment to India and promote trade and investment is greatly to be welcomed. But tolerance for JuD hate rallies suggest that, for some, this could be no more than a tactical move to tide over a difficult time. Hopefully, the opening of trade and investment will be truly transforming. Some weeks ago, the widow of Moshe Dayan, the Israeli hero of the 1967 war, wrote, “Zionism has run its course.” The same is true of the “Ideology of Pakistan”, born of a hollow and divisive two-nation theory. A recent article in Friday Times, Islamabad, commented, “By now everyone in Pakistan should at least suspect that being “not Indian” isn’t a strong enough foundation on which to build a country.” How true
The saving grace has been buoyancy in the rural economy with bumper production of wheat, cotton, sugar and milk and a transfer of income from the towns to the countryside. Defence expenditure accounts for 18 per cent of the revenue budget and internal security an additional 10 per cent. The tax-to-GDP ratio is low and collections lower. Poor governance, mismanagement and corruption are held responsible for this sorry state of affairs. The extensive 2010 and more limited 2011 floods devastated large swathes of the Indus basin. Independent surveys attribute this not merely to aberrant rainfall, deforestation and consequent heavy erosion in the upper catchments, but also to poor maintenance of barrage and canal infrastructure that gave way and have yet to be fully repaired. Despite all of this, opulent (urban) and feudal life-styles have not been affected.
Pakistan continues to be afflicted by political turbulence and military assertiveness in governance. The Memogate crisis (following an alleged missive drafted by the former Pakistan Ambassador in Washington, Hussain Haqqani, at the instance of President Zardari and handed over to the US military by a controversial Pakistan-born US businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, pleading for US pressure on General Kayani to avert a coup after the inglorious and incomprehensible Osama bin Laden episode, in return for a more zealous Pakistani role in the War on Terror) incensed the Army and has given it greater ascendancy over the civil government. The Foreign Minister, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, admitted that Memogate had provoked questions. The Army had “played a larger-than-life role in the history of Pakistan” and the assertion of civil power in the existing democratic set-up had to be an “evolutionary process”.
It was at this delicate moment that US-NATO forces bombed a border post, killing 24 Pakistan military personnel. Outrage and fury marked nationwide demonstrations denouncing the Americans for deliberately and repeatedly violating Pakistan’s sovereignty with drone attacks along the AfPak border. The engagement lasted two hours with ascending ferocity despite US-ISAF commands being informed. The Americans aver they were given permission by Pakistan to engage a Taliban raiding party, but the Pakistanis assert they were provided the wrong coordinates. The other theory is that the Taliban decoyed the US into action by firing on its aircraft. Both sides have ordered inquiries, pending which Obama has refused to apologise, though senior US officials have regretted the loss of life.
Many issues arise. US forces have not infrequently been responsible for “collateral damage”, while Pakistan has a long record of violating Indian (and Afghan) sovereignty through well-established cross-border strikes. Despite its protestations of innocence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the Pakistan Army had sheltered him under its eye in Abbottabad. Since the Army does not admit to singular incompetence, complicity alone explains what happened.
As in Abbottabad, so in the Mohmand border post strike, the Pakistan Air Force or ground forces did not engage the intruders? Why not? In both cases the Pakistan military presumably thought discretion the better part of valour as it feared escalation would cost it dear. However, Pakistan has closed all US supply routes to Afghanistan and ordered the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Balochistan from where it has mounted drone attacks on targets in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Curiously, but typically, the Shamsi base was leased to the UAE (for what ?) which had in turn sub-leased it to the US. So much for sovereignty!
Pakistan has declared that it is reviewing its entire relationship with the US. It will huff and puff but is unlikely to break its military-strategic alliance with Washington. China is not willing, nor militarily able just yet to take on the US role of playing military godfather and banker to Pakistan. It is already getting all it wants strategically from Islamabad by providing it military supplies, nuclear reactors and assistance to upgrade and extend the Karakoram Highway, build the Neelum-Jhelum and Diamer-Bhasha dams and undertake mining projects in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has also proposed a trans-Karakoram rail link from Tibet and Xinjiang to Gwadar and an oil/gas pipeline along a similar alignment.
With its economy on drip, Islamabad needs US aid as much as the US needs Pakistan’s cooperation to sustain an effective presence in Afghanistan. Therefore, the current stand-off is likely to be followed by a rapprochement, continuing US aid and more elbow room for Islamabad to position itself as top-dog in Afghanistan when US-ISAF militarily pull out in 2014. Pakistan is talking to its own Taliban as a first step. Its formal boycott of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan will not necessarily detract from that meeting. The fact is that the US is part of the problem rather than of the solution in Afghanistan. The best option would be to secure a truce in Afghanistan, regionalise a reconciliation and reconstruction programme for it (with Pakistan, Iran, India, China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and others), with US-European and World Bank backing. The object should be to rebuild its infrastructure and economy and restore to a neutral Afghanistan its traditional role as a thriving crossroads and international commercial hub.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is still caught in a hate-India identity crisis, reflected in its uncorrected school textbooks, and the fetishism it has developed about J&K. The last week of November saw the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) take schoolchildren from Faisalabad to Lahore to protest the US/NATO Mohmand air strike. The speeches spoke of plans to Talibanise Pakistan, wreak vengeance on “Christians and Americans” and wage jihad against the US and India.
The decision to extend most-favoured nation treatment to India and promote trade and investment is greatly to be welcomed. But tolerance for JuD hate rallies suggest that, for some, this could be no more than a tactical move to tide over a difficult time. Hopefully, the opening of trade and investment will be truly transforming. Some weeks ago, the widow of Moshe Dayan, the Israeli hero of the 1967 war, wrote, “Zionism has run its course.” The same is true of the “Ideology of Pakistan”, born of a hollow and divisive two-nation theory. A recent article in Friday Times, Islamabad, commented, “By now everyone in Pakistan should at least suspect that being “not Indian” isn’t a strong enough foundation on which to build a country.” How true
Monday, January 9, 2012
“Inclusive Growth: Two Decades of Economic Liberalisation
I feel proud of the achievements of our nation and of Indians. I am using the word “Indian” to mean much more than nationality. The gathering today is a symbol of the larger idea of Indian identity. This is an identity that goes beyond nationality. It refers to our common history and heritage. In that sense this is a gathering of family members who have spread all over the world but who nevertheless share a deep common bond. I welcome you to our motherland
This larger concept of internationalism was repeatedly stressed by our founding fathers. In 1961 Pandit Nehru had reminded us: “Ultimately … nationalism will prove a narrowing creed, and we shall all be citizens of the world with a truly international vision. … The nationalism that we build in India should have its doors and windows open to internationalism.” Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore showed us how India might be intensely national and at the same time international with her thought and sympathy embracing the world.
Today India has begun playing a global role unlike ever in the past. Our economy had been relatively stagnant during the initial years after India’s independence. Then from the early 1980s the growth rate picked up. It rose further after the economic reforms of the early 1990s. And since 2005 there has been no looking back. The economy grew for three successive years at rates over 9 per cent. Even during the global recession of 2008-09, India’s GDP grew by nearly 7 per cent.
The year 2011 has been an eventful one. In terms of the time line in the economic history of the country its passage marks two decades on the path of economic liberalisation. Though we have witnessed ups and downs, this period has transformed our country and catapulted it into the centre stage in the world. India is viewed as belonging to the group of the fastest growing nations of the world. We are widely recognized as a major driver of global growth. India is a member of the G20 and, within the G20, it is considered a part of the systemically most important 7.
India’s integration into the world has had a long history. In the colonial era we had witnessed the migration of large numbers of our fellow Indians, often in pursuit of economic opportunities in agro-produce rich colonies. Others moved to pursue business goals. Then in the post-colonial era the trend turned to a movement towards the industrialised nations. When in the 70s a large number of highly qualified Indians were moving abroad, we were warned of the severe consequences of the brain drain. Contrary to conventional, and in hindsight myopic opinions, luckily we made no attempt to stop the flow. Today we are better off due to that.
The movement of the diaspora is no longer unidirectional as it was in the past. What started as a brain drain, has now become a brain gain, not just for India but the world as a whole. Today mobile Indian professionals and entrepreneurs are contributing across the global economy and enhancing its resilience in these troubled times. Many have also returned to the home turf and are engaged in its socio-economic fabric. Still others have set up enterprises or professional relations that span national boundaries.
This movement of global talent has had many consequences. First of all, it has brought in many global best practices into the Indian economy. At the same time, it has created networks and linkages which serve as channels for flows of ideas across boundaries. This has given the Indian economy an edge in the seamlessly connected global economic environment.
The global success of the Indian diaspora in the spheres of science, economics, education, business, public life and the arts is a matter of great pride for us all. The ‘pravasi bharatiya’ has contributed significantly to India’s ‘soft power’ and global image in a multidimensional manner. This has no doubt contributed to its attractiveness as an investment destination. The entrepreneurial skills of the Indian business community settled abroad are a matter of envy for other nations. Foreign firms are increasingly aware of the sharp business acumen of the Indian entrepreneur and managers. They have come to respect our business houses and practices.
I believe however that much still remains to be done. We have not yet reaped the full benefits of India’s great diaspora. The most obvious area remains that of investment and entrepreneurship. For instance, in China a large chunk of foreign direct investment has come from overseas Chinese. I am aware that there have been large ticket investments by non-resident Indian entrepreneurs. But I think it is far less than the potential and perhaps too concentrated on the formal sector. Rather, we must pursue an alternative model. One that is more balanced and holistic in a socio-economic sense.
For this we must rightly turn to the inspiration behind the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The 9th of January, marks the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India. The subsequent new vigour he granted our freedom movement is well known. But the Mahatma also brought with him a new outlook and social vision: one that gave great emphasis to the dignity of labour, the importance of our rural sector and social equity. He was intensely aware of the need for social inclusion and had great faith in the ability of the rural economic system to provide a balanced, equitable and optimal solution to the issue of economic development and social equity. His model of development was based on the harmonious self sustaining village economy which put minimal pressures on scarce resources while maximizing livelihood and well-being. In today’s parlance what he was aiming for was inclusive development coupled with sustainable growth.
India’s economic achievements over the last few years have been commendable. The broad-based growth has brought improved opportunities for livelihood and employment across a wide range of skills. There is also a significant increase in public resources through better tax mobilisation. It has created, perhaps, for the first time in India’s post-independent history, the means to bridge the chronic deficits in social and economic attainments and reducing the disparities across different population groups and between the regions. But on our social indicators much remains to be done. In his respect there is need to engage in social enterprises in a proactive manner.
We have tried to evolve a model of development, which is more inclusive and people centric. It has sought to improve the access of the poor and the vulnerable to vital public services by creating entitlements backed by limited legal guarantees. This includes the right to information, the right to work in rural areas, the right to education and the right to food which is in the process of being enacted. There is progress, in all spheres including education, healthcare, financial inclusion and financial literacy, skill development and mainstreaming of hitherto marginalised sections of society, but there is still a long distance to traverse.
It is here that the pravasi bharatiya can probably make the biggest contributions. This requires not just financial contributions, but rather dedication of time, ideas and endeavour. From the agenda of the pre-conference seminars I am aware that discussions have been held on ‘Solar Energy- Investment and R&D’ and ‘Social Entrepreneurship-Water’. These are extremely relevant topics for our development. I hope some new ideas will emerge from your deliberations.
The Indian inclusive growth model – within the framework of democracy and human rights and freedoms, within a diverse and heterogeneous culture – is being recognized the world over as a viable paradigm. The strong diversity also has to be ‘included’ in the agenda for reforms. And though, as we have seen, it may tend to slow down things a little, as long as the direction is positive and forward looking, we can derive some satisfaction. Every incremental step which comes about with consensus is better than imposing big bang reforms without consensus.
Let me conclude by reiterating that a strong foundation is being created through a pro-active policy framework in both economic and social sectors. It should help form the springboard for the inclusive involvement of the overseas Indian in India’s development and its destiny. India presents an opportunity for the world as a whole. Our overseas Indian family with its multifaceted talents, excellent capacity for adapting to and ability to operate within different cultures and environments should make a concerted effort to connect with India’s growth and its prosperity in the times to come.
This larger concept of internationalism was repeatedly stressed by our founding fathers. In 1961 Pandit Nehru had reminded us: “Ultimately … nationalism will prove a narrowing creed, and we shall all be citizens of the world with a truly international vision. … The nationalism that we build in India should have its doors and windows open to internationalism.” Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore showed us how India might be intensely national and at the same time international with her thought and sympathy embracing the world.
Today India has begun playing a global role unlike ever in the past. Our economy had been relatively stagnant during the initial years after India’s independence. Then from the early 1980s the growth rate picked up. It rose further after the economic reforms of the early 1990s. And since 2005 there has been no looking back. The economy grew for three successive years at rates over 9 per cent. Even during the global recession of 2008-09, India’s GDP grew by nearly 7 per cent.
The year 2011 has been an eventful one. In terms of the time line in the economic history of the country its passage marks two decades on the path of economic liberalisation. Though we have witnessed ups and downs, this period has transformed our country and catapulted it into the centre stage in the world. India is viewed as belonging to the group of the fastest growing nations of the world. We are widely recognized as a major driver of global growth. India is a member of the G20 and, within the G20, it is considered a part of the systemically most important 7.
India’s integration into the world has had a long history. In the colonial era we had witnessed the migration of large numbers of our fellow Indians, often in pursuit of economic opportunities in agro-produce rich colonies. Others moved to pursue business goals. Then in the post-colonial era the trend turned to a movement towards the industrialised nations. When in the 70s a large number of highly qualified Indians were moving abroad, we were warned of the severe consequences of the brain drain. Contrary to conventional, and in hindsight myopic opinions, luckily we made no attempt to stop the flow. Today we are better off due to that.
The movement of the diaspora is no longer unidirectional as it was in the past. What started as a brain drain, has now become a brain gain, not just for India but the world as a whole. Today mobile Indian professionals and entrepreneurs are contributing across the global economy and enhancing its resilience in these troubled times. Many have also returned to the home turf and are engaged in its socio-economic fabric. Still others have set up enterprises or professional relations that span national boundaries.
This movement of global talent has had many consequences. First of all, it has brought in many global best practices into the Indian economy. At the same time, it has created networks and linkages which serve as channels for flows of ideas across boundaries. This has given the Indian economy an edge in the seamlessly connected global economic environment.
The global success of the Indian diaspora in the spheres of science, economics, education, business, public life and the arts is a matter of great pride for us all. The ‘pravasi bharatiya’ has contributed significantly to India’s ‘soft power’ and global image in a multidimensional manner. This has no doubt contributed to its attractiveness as an investment destination. The entrepreneurial skills of the Indian business community settled abroad are a matter of envy for other nations. Foreign firms are increasingly aware of the sharp business acumen of the Indian entrepreneur and managers. They have come to respect our business houses and practices.
I believe however that much still remains to be done. We have not yet reaped the full benefits of India’s great diaspora. The most obvious area remains that of investment and entrepreneurship. For instance, in China a large chunk of foreign direct investment has come from overseas Chinese. I am aware that there have been large ticket investments by non-resident Indian entrepreneurs. But I think it is far less than the potential and perhaps too concentrated on the formal sector. Rather, we must pursue an alternative model. One that is more balanced and holistic in a socio-economic sense.
For this we must rightly turn to the inspiration behind the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The 9th of January, marks the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India. The subsequent new vigour he granted our freedom movement is well known. But the Mahatma also brought with him a new outlook and social vision: one that gave great emphasis to the dignity of labour, the importance of our rural sector and social equity. He was intensely aware of the need for social inclusion and had great faith in the ability of the rural economic system to provide a balanced, equitable and optimal solution to the issue of economic development and social equity. His model of development was based on the harmonious self sustaining village economy which put minimal pressures on scarce resources while maximizing livelihood and well-being. In today’s parlance what he was aiming for was inclusive development coupled with sustainable growth.
India’s economic achievements over the last few years have been commendable. The broad-based growth has brought improved opportunities for livelihood and employment across a wide range of skills. There is also a significant increase in public resources through better tax mobilisation. It has created, perhaps, for the first time in India’s post-independent history, the means to bridge the chronic deficits in social and economic attainments and reducing the disparities across different population groups and between the regions. But on our social indicators much remains to be done. In his respect there is need to engage in social enterprises in a proactive manner.
We have tried to evolve a model of development, which is more inclusive and people centric. It has sought to improve the access of the poor and the vulnerable to vital public services by creating entitlements backed by limited legal guarantees. This includes the right to information, the right to work in rural areas, the right to education and the right to food which is in the process of being enacted. There is progress, in all spheres including education, healthcare, financial inclusion and financial literacy, skill development and mainstreaming of hitherto marginalised sections of society, but there is still a long distance to traverse.
It is here that the pravasi bharatiya can probably make the biggest contributions. This requires not just financial contributions, but rather dedication of time, ideas and endeavour. From the agenda of the pre-conference seminars I am aware that discussions have been held on ‘Solar Energy- Investment and R&D’ and ‘Social Entrepreneurship-Water’. These are extremely relevant topics for our development. I hope some new ideas will emerge from your deliberations.
The Indian inclusive growth model – within the framework of democracy and human rights and freedoms, within a diverse and heterogeneous culture – is being recognized the world over as a viable paradigm. The strong diversity also has to be ‘included’ in the agenda for reforms. And though, as we have seen, it may tend to slow down things a little, as long as the direction is positive and forward looking, we can derive some satisfaction. Every incremental step which comes about with consensus is better than imposing big bang reforms without consensus.
Let me conclude by reiterating that a strong foundation is being created through a pro-active policy framework in both economic and social sectors. It should help form the springboard for the inclusive involvement of the overseas Indian in India’s development and its destiny. India presents an opportunity for the world as a whole. Our overseas Indian family with its multifaceted talents, excellent capacity for adapting to and ability to operate within different cultures and environments should make a concerted effort to connect with India’s growth and its prosperity in the times to come.
The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010
The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, introduced in the Parliament has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development.
Sexual Harassment at the workplace is a violation of women’s right to equality, life and liberty. It vitiates the work environment and serves to discourage women from participating in work, gravely affecting women’s social and economic empowerment.
In 1997, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that sexual harassment at the workplace is a form of discrimination against women and that it violates the constitutional right to equality. Despite its direction to the government to enact a suitable legislation for prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, it took more than 13 years for the government of India to introduce the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill in the Lok Sabha on 7 December 2010. This, despite the repeated demands for such a legislation by trade unions, women’s organisations and other sections, since the incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace have increased at a rapid pace, often with tragic consequences.
The Bill introduced in the Parliament has several shortcomings which tend to defeat its very purpose. Several changes need to be incorporated to make it effective in achieving its objectives.
The workplace should include all premises where women are employed, including houses and homes where women domestic workers work. But, the draft bill specifically excludes domestic workers, thereby leaving out a huge number of working women who comprise around 30% of the female workforce in the service sector. These women are especially vulnerable for abuse since they work in a private, restricted space as has been evidenced by many recent cases highlighted by the media, in India and abroad. Their economic compulsions often force them to work in difficult conditions, at odd hours, in the solitary company of males, and there are many reported cases of sexual abuse and harassment of domestic workers in this sector. Domestic workers should be included in the ambit of this legislation.
The first part of section 14 (1) woman will prevent women from lodging a complaint, since the situation is often one in which a subordinate has to muster up the courage to complain against her superior in the workplace, and also has to face social stigma from the others in her workplace. Hence it should be deleted. The section also goes against the Supreme Court judgement which had stated clearly that no action should be taken against a woman for making a complaint. If any complaint by a woman is found to be false or malicious, then it can be dealt with as per the service rules prevailing in that workplace. This need not be incorporated in the Bill.
The Bill should specify the nature and range of punishment for different forms of sexual harassment– from minimum to maximum, commensurate with the degree of gravity of the offence.
Further, the Bill should specifically incorporate a provision that if the moral character of the complainant is challenged there should be strong punishment for the respondent.
The process of conciliation, if requested by the aggrieved woman, should be a part of the enquiry proceedings of the Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee, with a record maintained by it of all such proceedings. In case of violation of the settlement, the complainant should have the right to reopen the complaint.
The compensation should be determined not only on the basis of compensating the victim on the counts mentioned, but should be a heavy fine which can act as a deterrent.
Since the Bill states that every employer shall provide a safe working environment at the workplace which shall include safety from the persons coming into contact at the workplace, punishment should be prescribed for employers/administrative heads that do not form the redressal mechanism at the workplace. Punitive measures and penalty should also be imposed on those employers/administrative heads/district officers who try to shield or defend perpetrators of sexual harassment and those who take vindictive action against complainants.
The aggrieved woman should be allowed the option to have someone to assist her in the conduct of the enquiry by the Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee, in case she is in need of such help and requests it.
Time limits should be set for imposition of the punitive measures on the perpetrator/s and delivery of the compensation to the victim. The mechanism for recovery of the compensation should be specified.
Trade unions, as representatives of workers and committed to the protection of workers’ rights, have an important role to play on the entire issue of sexual harassment at the workplace. Trade unions should be involved at every stage in the effort to prevent sexual harassment at workplace and provide a safe and democratic work environment to working women – in the formulation of policies, in their implementation and in monitoring their implementation. However, where no trade unions exist, NGOs that have experience/expertise in dealing with cases of sexual harassment may be associated with complaints committees. Sensitisation on the issue and creating awareness among the workers/employees and employers, both men and women, is of crucial importance in preventing sexual harassment.
Sexual Harassment at the workplace is a violation of women’s right to equality, life and liberty. It vitiates the work environment and serves to discourage women from participating in work, gravely affecting women’s social and economic empowerment.
In 1997, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that sexual harassment at the workplace is a form of discrimination against women and that it violates the constitutional right to equality. Despite its direction to the government to enact a suitable legislation for prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, it took more than 13 years for the government of India to introduce the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill in the Lok Sabha on 7 December 2010. This, despite the repeated demands for such a legislation by trade unions, women’s organisations and other sections, since the incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace have increased at a rapid pace, often with tragic consequences.
The Bill introduced in the Parliament has several shortcomings which tend to defeat its very purpose. Several changes need to be incorporated to make it effective in achieving its objectives.
The workplace should include all premises where women are employed, including houses and homes where women domestic workers work. But, the draft bill specifically excludes domestic workers, thereby leaving out a huge number of working women who comprise around 30% of the female workforce in the service sector. These women are especially vulnerable for abuse since they work in a private, restricted space as has been evidenced by many recent cases highlighted by the media, in India and abroad. Their economic compulsions often force them to work in difficult conditions, at odd hours, in the solitary company of males, and there are many reported cases of sexual abuse and harassment of domestic workers in this sector. Domestic workers should be included in the ambit of this legislation.
The first part of section 14 (1) woman will prevent women from lodging a complaint, since the situation is often one in which a subordinate has to muster up the courage to complain against her superior in the workplace, and also has to face social stigma from the others in her workplace. Hence it should be deleted. The section also goes against the Supreme Court judgement which had stated clearly that no action should be taken against a woman for making a complaint. If any complaint by a woman is found to be false or malicious, then it can be dealt with as per the service rules prevailing in that workplace. This need not be incorporated in the Bill.
The Bill should specify the nature and range of punishment for different forms of sexual harassment– from minimum to maximum, commensurate with the degree of gravity of the offence.
Further, the Bill should specifically incorporate a provision that if the moral character of the complainant is challenged there should be strong punishment for the respondent.
The process of conciliation, if requested by the aggrieved woman, should be a part of the enquiry proceedings of the Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee, with a record maintained by it of all such proceedings. In case of violation of the settlement, the complainant should have the right to reopen the complaint.
The compensation should be determined not only on the basis of compensating the victim on the counts mentioned, but should be a heavy fine which can act as a deterrent.
Since the Bill states that every employer shall provide a safe working environment at the workplace which shall include safety from the persons coming into contact at the workplace, punishment should be prescribed for employers/administrative heads that do not form the redressal mechanism at the workplace. Punitive measures and penalty should also be imposed on those employers/administrative heads/district officers who try to shield or defend perpetrators of sexual harassment and those who take vindictive action against complainants.
The aggrieved woman should be allowed the option to have someone to assist her in the conduct of the enquiry by the Internal Complaints Committee/Local Complaints Committee, in case she is in need of such help and requests it.
Time limits should be set for imposition of the punitive measures on the perpetrator/s and delivery of the compensation to the victim. The mechanism for recovery of the compensation should be specified.
Trade unions, as representatives of workers and committed to the protection of workers’ rights, have an important role to play on the entire issue of sexual harassment at the workplace. Trade unions should be involved at every stage in the effort to prevent sexual harassment at workplace and provide a safe and democratic work environment to working women – in the formulation of policies, in their implementation and in monitoring their implementation. However, where no trade unions exist, NGOs that have experience/expertise in dealing with cases of sexual harassment may be associated with complaints committees. Sensitisation on the issue and creating awareness among the workers/employees and employers, both men and women, is of crucial importance in preventing sexual harassment.
INDIA 2011=USA 1980
Globally, outrage and the ensuing chaos, as witnessed in India in recent months, have often been the harbinger of order for many countries. One such country that has been there and done that is the US and it has important lessons for us. Recent events notwithstanding, the US has, for the greater part of this century epitomised success- a country where the government delivers and true talent, innovation and entrepreneurship usually get rewarded.
Just as in India, there were allegations that the government often rewarded business houses with unfair advantages and contracts. There were business tycoons who, it was alleged, routinely bought seats in the House of Representatives. They manipulated legislatively determined pricing of critical national commodities (such as Gold and rail freight- the historical equivalent of telecom spectrum) in return for favors for the President’s family members.
In fact, some of the best known American universities were sponsored by individuals who were tainted with allegations of political graft. Noted political scientist, Fred W Riggs, might as well have been speaking of India when he described this state as a ‘Prismatic’ society-where prices could be determined by the reciprocal power of the trading partners and not due to the more impersonal relationship between supply and demand. Also, political control could be grabbed through coercion, violence, money, or charismatic rule, but not always through consistent application of constitutional law. Just as the recent scandals have led investors to doubt the Indian growth story, the American crises of 1894 and 1907 led foreign investors to doubt if a corrupt US governance system would ever get its act together. American democracy took time to mature and at times seemed just as inept and chaotic as the Indian governance appears today.
In the late 19th century, the US banking system was dependant on political patronage to receive licenses - not unlike the licensing raj that existed in India. The Regency Democratic Party held monopoly over the licensing regimen and used it extensively to fill party coffers.
However, reform emerged with the opposing Whig party’s desire to restrict the Democrat’s monopoly over these rents of patronage. Their intention behind deregulating the banking sector was more to end their rival party’s monopoly on bribes than to act against corruption itself.
Similarly, it was a rogue splinter group of the Democratic Party, the Equal Rights Party, composed of traders and entrepreneurs, which rose against its leadership. They did so only when it became apparent to them that a heavily regulated banking sector threatened their own economic interests. Personal gain and political brinkmanship played a bigger role in prompting reform than any sanctimonious regulation ever could.
In India, we have already seen some of this happen with the opposition having to clean its own tainted stable to maintain pressure on the government. Also, new interest groups, such as those led by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, have risen to take advantage of the ideological gap.
Secondly, it was the emergence of a truly independent judiciary and civil service that bucked the existing trend. Earlier in its history, the US had followed a system of political patronage for government jobs. Thousands of appointments were made purely as political favour to those who demonstrated loyalty to the ruling party. Even judicial appointments were heavily influenced by the choices that the ruling party made.
However, growing inefficiency and public disgust with corruption finally forced congressional action to create a separate civil service cadre. These were purely expeditious political decisions driven by short term factors. The decision makers never truly intended them to have the far reaching consequences that they did.
In India, we are already witnessing a resurgent judiciary, unafraid to test the government’s conviction in going after the corrupt. However, actions of the bureaucracy have so far remained muted. Indeed, historically we have seen it regress from being the steel framework supporting India’s democracy into a favor seeking extension of the political machinery. Provided these institutions can remain independent in thought and action, it is entirely conceivable that in India too, these institutions, along with the media, will raise the cost of corruption to a level where it outweighs the marginal benefits of being corrupt.
Crucially, in the US, neither of these reforms was borne out of an explicit vision or conviction to root out corruption. And yet these reforms emerged because the system, for all its ills, was one that allowed popular mandate to fully express itself. Subsequently, the invisible hand of selfish political survival guided the various players into reactions that inadvertently led to sustainable change and reform.
The current chaos engulfing Indian governance and policy making, seems utterly incapacitating. However, it would bear well to remember that it is part of a broader narrative, a journey that culminates in the emergence of hugely successful societies.
Striking parallels
And yet it wasn’t always so. The crucible of such efficiency lay in circumstances, in the early 1900’s, which were remarkably similar to those that the Indian polity finds itself in now. Widespread corruption, lackadaisical governance and politician-businessmen nexus was commonplace. Just as in India, there were allegations that the government often rewarded business houses with unfair advantages and contracts. There were business tycoons who, it was alleged, routinely bought seats in the House of Representatives. They manipulated legislatively determined pricing of critical national commodities (such as Gold and rail freight- the historical equivalent of telecom spectrum) in return for favors for the President’s family members.
In fact, some of the best known American universities were sponsored by individuals who were tainted with allegations of political graft. Noted political scientist, Fred W Riggs, might as well have been speaking of India when he described this state as a ‘Prismatic’ society-where prices could be determined by the reciprocal power of the trading partners and not due to the more impersonal relationship between supply and demand. Also, political control could be grabbed through coercion, violence, money, or charismatic rule, but not always through consistent application of constitutional law. Just as the recent scandals have led investors to doubt the Indian growth story, the American crises of 1894 and 1907 led foreign investors to doubt if a corrupt US governance system would ever get its act together. American democracy took time to mature and at times seemed just as inept and chaotic as the Indian governance appears today.
The turn-around
Given the striking parallels in the initial conditions, it is natural to think of the key causes for the American turnaround and the possible path that India might adopt going forward. In the late 19th century, the US banking system was dependant on political patronage to receive licenses - not unlike the licensing raj that existed in India. The Regency Democratic Party held monopoly over the licensing regimen and used it extensively to fill party coffers.
However, reform emerged with the opposing Whig party’s desire to restrict the Democrat’s monopoly over these rents of patronage. Their intention behind deregulating the banking sector was more to end their rival party’s monopoly on bribes than to act against corruption itself.
Similarly, it was a rogue splinter group of the Democratic Party, the Equal Rights Party, composed of traders and entrepreneurs, which rose against its leadership. They did so only when it became apparent to them that a heavily regulated banking sector threatened their own economic interests. Personal gain and political brinkmanship played a bigger role in prompting reform than any sanctimonious regulation ever could.
In India, we have already seen some of this happen with the opposition having to clean its own tainted stable to maintain pressure on the government. Also, new interest groups, such as those led by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, have risen to take advantage of the ideological gap.
Popular angst
Ultimately, in a functioning democracy, popular angst usually creates enough political space for new political parties (and old parties with new found ideologies) to cash in on emerging public opinion. Reform doesn’t always need legendary leaders with far reaching vision, but invariably needs a critical mass of popular angst. And a hitherto stable equilibrium of mutually beneficial silence unravels into a game or a jostle for the newly emerging popular mandate- ultimately leading to sustained reform. Secondly, it was the emergence of a truly independent judiciary and civil service that bucked the existing trend. Earlier in its history, the US had followed a system of political patronage for government jobs. Thousands of appointments were made purely as political favour to those who demonstrated loyalty to the ruling party. Even judicial appointments were heavily influenced by the choices that the ruling party made.
However, growing inefficiency and public disgust with corruption finally forced congressional action to create a separate civil service cadre. These were purely expeditious political decisions driven by short term factors. The decision makers never truly intended them to have the far reaching consequences that they did.
In India, we are already witnessing a resurgent judiciary, unafraid to test the government’s conviction in going after the corrupt. However, actions of the bureaucracy have so far remained muted. Indeed, historically we have seen it regress from being the steel framework supporting India’s democracy into a favor seeking extension of the political machinery. Provided these institutions can remain independent in thought and action, it is entirely conceivable that in India too, these institutions, along with the media, will raise the cost of corruption to a level where it outweighs the marginal benefits of being corrupt.
Crucially, in the US, neither of these reforms was borne out of an explicit vision or conviction to root out corruption. And yet these reforms emerged because the system, for all its ills, was one that allowed popular mandate to fully express itself. Subsequently, the invisible hand of selfish political survival guided the various players into reactions that inadvertently led to sustainable change and reform.
The current chaos engulfing Indian governance and policy making, seems utterly incapacitating. However, it would bear well to remember that it is part of a broader narrative, a journey that culminates in the emergence of hugely successful societies.
RESPONSE TO FDI ISSUE IN PUNJAB
Political rhetoric aside, a large cross-section in Punjab is batting for FDI in retail. Being one of the most progressive agrarian economies, Punjab will be a major sourcing state for any foreign retailer who sets up shop in India.
The ruling party in the state, SAD, may have been forced to take a U-turn on its support for allowing FDI because of political considerations, but in private, SAD leaders agree that it will help the state's sagging agro economy. However, concerns about small traders and farmers persist.
There is almost a consensus on the need for a regulator for the foreign retailers and some protectionist policy for the small domestic companies.
The Tribune spoke to some prominent politicians and an industry representative, asking them about FDI and whether it would help carry the growth story of Punjab's farm sector forward. Here is what they had to say:-
Navjot Sidhu: I believe that FDI in retail sector is in nobody's interest, be it consumers, farmers or traders. The Indian economy is dominated by the services sector which accounts for 58 per cent of the country's GDP. Allowing foreign players, with deep pockets, will kill competition and lead to loss of jobs. International retailers operate on the principle of buying internationally at cheapest prices. A majority of items to be sold by international retailers are going to be sourced from cheaper manufacturing economies like China.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The FDI in retail sector will be in nobody's interest, except big foreign companies that will get access to a huge Indian market. The government cannot allow foreign companies to flourish at the cost of thousands of small retailers and businessmen. All middlemen and small traders will be eliminated when foreign companies set their stores here, thus leading to unemployment.
Amarjit Goyal: Opening of FDI in retail will be beneficial for all, provided the government allows it with some riders. The government should enhance the limit of sourcing from local SMEs to 50 per cent (from the present 30 per cent), and it should be done only from Indian SMEs. Also, the government should ensure that the benefits reach farmers by putting a clause that the farmers be paid more than the actual cost of crop production.
Navjot Sidhu: Without getting into what the SAD is saying, I would like to reiterate that the FDI will not benefit the farmers. Those advocating FDI say the farmers will benefit. I only want to ask what do they have to say on the plight of sugarcane farmers who sell their produce right at the gate of sugar mills. If the farmer does prosper on account of international retailers then why it is that the farmers in the US and the European Union have to be subsidised to an extent of $1 billion per day.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The government is favouring FDI in retail, saying that it will help improve infrastructure. But that may not be the case. Two years ago, the government opened FDI in construction of cold storages, but it failed to attract any foreign player. The government has to realise that infrastructure development will have to be the joint responsibility of the state as well as the Central Government. As far as benefiting farmers in Punjab, even the big agri houses who are currently sourcing their produce from here, are paying only a small percentage of fixed profit to these farmers.
Amarjit Goyal: Punjab will be a major state for sourcing of food grains and vegetables. This will not only help improve the economic condition of farmers, but also help in crop diversification as more farmers will grow vegetables for these companies. We have already seen the benefits reaching those farmers who are supplying to big cash and carry stores in the state.
Navjot Sidhu: We were never for the FDI in its current form. We are not against FDI but want a regulator to keep a check on predatory companies so that they don't get a free hand to source from cheaper manufacturing economies like China. We are also against the government allowing the companies to have 51 per cent stake in FDI as it will allow these companies to have a say in policy determination.
Mohinder Aggarwal: A forceful Opposition is beneficial in the larger interest of the public, as it keeps a check on the government's functioning and also raises the concern of the common man. One cannot ridicule the BJP for taking up the cause of thousands of traders.
Amarjit Goyal: I would not like to comment on this. But a healthy opposition will obviously augur well for all stakeholders. The government will gain in the form of higher VAT returns through these retailers, consumers will get better quality of goods, and farmers will get higher prices for produce.
The ruling party in the state, SAD, may have been forced to take a U-turn on its support for allowing FDI because of political considerations, but in private, SAD leaders agree that it will help the state's sagging agro economy. However, concerns about small traders and farmers persist.
There is almost a consensus on the need for a regulator for the foreign retailers and some protectionist policy for the small domestic companies.
The Tribune spoke to some prominent politicians and an industry representative, asking them about FDI and whether it would help carry the growth story of Punjab's farm sector forward. Here is what they had to say:-
On FDI in retail sector
Amarinder Singh: Allowing FDI in retail will augur well for the farmers of Punjab and all other food producing states. The foreign players entering the Indian market in multi-brand retail will not only pay better prices to farmers but also help bring quality and good manufacturing practices in agriculture. Navjot Sidhu: I believe that FDI in retail sector is in nobody's interest, be it consumers, farmers or traders. The Indian economy is dominated by the services sector which accounts for 58 per cent of the country's GDP. Allowing foreign players, with deep pockets, will kill competition and lead to loss of jobs. International retailers operate on the principle of buying internationally at cheapest prices. A majority of items to be sold by international retailers are going to be sourced from cheaper manufacturing economies like China.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The FDI in retail sector will be in nobody's interest, except big foreign companies that will get access to a huge Indian market. The government cannot allow foreign companies to flourish at the cost of thousands of small retailers and businessmen. All middlemen and small traders will be eliminated when foreign companies set their stores here, thus leading to unemployment.
Amarjit Goyal: Opening of FDI in retail will be beneficial for all, provided the government allows it with some riders. The government should enhance the limit of sourcing from local SMEs to 50 per cent (from the present 30 per cent), and it should be done only from Indian SMEs. Also, the government should ensure that the benefits reach farmers by putting a clause that the farmers be paid more than the actual cost of crop production.
On advantages for Punjab
Amarinder Singh: Punjab is one of the top food producing states. The state's experience with agri conglomerates, be it Bharti Wal-Mart, Tata Khet Se, or Pepsi Co, has proved that farmers supplying their produce to these companies are earning much more than those selling in mandis. In latter's case, it is the middlemen who are making profit. The corporate sector has also brought better agriculture practices by providing better seeds, educating farmers on efficient use of fertilisers/ pesticides; and helped them improve post-harvest technology. Navjot Sidhu: Without getting into what the SAD is saying, I would like to reiterate that the FDI will not benefit the farmers. Those advocating FDI say the farmers will benefit. I only want to ask what do they have to say on the plight of sugarcane farmers who sell their produce right at the gate of sugar mills. If the farmer does prosper on account of international retailers then why it is that the farmers in the US and the European Union have to be subsidised to an extent of $1 billion per day.
Mohinder Aggarwal: The government is favouring FDI in retail, saying that it will help improve infrastructure. But that may not be the case. Two years ago, the government opened FDI in construction of cold storages, but it failed to attract any foreign player. The government has to realise that infrastructure development will have to be the joint responsibility of the state as well as the Central Government. As far as benefiting farmers in Punjab, even the big agri houses who are currently sourcing their produce from here, are paying only a small percentage of fixed profit to these farmers.
Amarjit Goyal: Punjab will be a major state for sourcing of food grains and vegetables. This will not only help improve the economic condition of farmers, but also help in crop diversification as more farmers will grow vegetables for these companies. We have already seen the benefits reaching those farmers who are supplying to big cash and carry stores in the state.
On parties playing politics
Amarinder Singh: There is no doubt that the hue and cry on FDI is merely to gain political mileage. The UPA has taken a step in the right direction to help recover the country's economy. Opening FDI in retail will also help curtail inflation, as it would bring better supply chain management. The fear allayed by the Opposition that the entry of foreign companies will ease out the mom and pop stores has no basis. Everywhere in the world, neighbourhood retail stores have coexisted with big retailers. Navjot Sidhu: We were never for the FDI in its current form. We are not against FDI but want a regulator to keep a check on predatory companies so that they don't get a free hand to source from cheaper manufacturing economies like China. We are also against the government allowing the companies to have 51 per cent stake in FDI as it will allow these companies to have a say in policy determination.
Mohinder Aggarwal: A forceful Opposition is beneficial in the larger interest of the public, as it keeps a check on the government's functioning and also raises the concern of the common man. One cannot ridicule the BJP for taking up the cause of thousands of traders.
Amarjit Goyal: I would not like to comment on this. But a healthy opposition will obviously augur well for all stakeholders. The government will gain in the form of higher VAT returns through these retailers, consumers will get better quality of goods, and farmers will get higher prices for produce.
AIDS AND INDIA
Ever since the first case of AIDS virus came to light in 1986 and HIV infection became a major health crisis facing the country, the spectre of AIDS has loomed large. What has been more worrisome is that it affects the vulnerable sections of the population i.e. women and children, too. But as December 1 marked World AIDS Day, there was less cause for gloom. India has not only made considerable progress in tackling the scourge but has also led the decline globally. In the decade between 2000 and 2010 fresh HIV cases in the country were down by 50 per cent. Now, the news that more men in Punjab are opting for safe sex is reassuring as well.
Safe sex practice plays one of the most crucial roles in checking the spread of HIV, particularly among women. Of the total HIV cases in India, nearly 40 per cent are women and many of whom get the cases from their husbands. Safe sex offers protection against transmission of the virus to those women who are at risk. It’s heartening that Bollywood celebrities too are raising their voice for the cause and advocating safe sex through various social platforms. Aggressive awareness drives and high literacy rates do lead to a decline in infections. Nevertheless, while the decline in infections needs to be welcomed, there is no cause for complacency. Even today India has 2.5 million HIV positive people and the challenges are many. UNAIDS has already cautioned India against being complacent. In the light of global donors backing out and the danger of new infections lurking by, it has asked the government to step up investment. Indeed, India, which has done a commendable job in fighting the menace of HIV/AIDS, cannot afford to fritter away the gains. Concerted steps and the early passage of the HIV Bill can not only ensure that the battle against AIDS is won; even the human rights of HIV infected can be protected. Zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths may become more than an aspirational goal.
US-AUSTRALIA- INDIA? A DREAM
India has demonstrated that it has its own independent views on regional and global issues by categorically telling Australia that it cannot be part of any multilateral security arrangement. This has been the country’s policy ever since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, when India decided to chart a nonaligned course. The necessity to restate the fact arose when Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd declared in a media interview that India was ready to join the US-Australia security pact meant to keep a check on China’s moves in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Rudd’s statement — the response of “the Indian government has really been quite positive” — has no meaning when India is “not aware of any such proposal”. Perhaps, he took India’s “positive” response for granted, as he is scheduled to be in New Delhi soon for talks with Defence Minister A.K. Antony when he is expected to convey his country’s desire to revoke the ban on uranium exports to India. India needs uranium from Australia and is also interested in reaching agreements on fighting terrorism and maritime security. But these are separate issues, having nothing to do with the US-Australia defence architecture.
The US and Australia have their own calculations as far as China’s rise as the dominant player in the Asia-Pacific region is concerned. The US is working overtime to stop China’s growing influence in the region and beyond. Washington’s new military base in Australia is aimed at implementing its policy of containing China. Interestingly, the US supported Vietnam when China protested against the India-Vietnam cooperation pact for exploring oil and gas in the South China Sea. Washington’s Myanmar policy also appears to be undergoing change as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited that country this week and appreciated the political reforms being undertaken by the ruling military junta.
But why should India become a part of the US Asia-Pacific strategy? New Delhi is, of course, concerned about China’s String of Pearls policy to strengthen Beijing’s presence in India’s immediate neighbourhood. But it has to plan its moves the way it suits India’s national interests. There is no point in demonstrating that India is competing with China. It is wiser to go in for cooperative diplomacy as can be seen in India’s Look East policy. It has resulted in considerable gains for India in East Asia.
The US and Australia have their own calculations as far as China’s rise as the dominant player in the Asia-Pacific region is concerned. The US is working overtime to stop China’s growing influence in the region and beyond. Washington’s new military base in Australia is aimed at implementing its policy of containing China. Interestingly, the US supported Vietnam when China protested against the India-Vietnam cooperation pact for exploring oil and gas in the South China Sea. Washington’s Myanmar policy also appears to be undergoing change as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited that country this week and appreciated the political reforms being undertaken by the ruling military junta.
But why should India become a part of the US Asia-Pacific strategy? New Delhi is, of course, concerned about China’s String of Pearls policy to strengthen Beijing’s presence in India’s immediate neighbourhood. But it has to plan its moves the way it suits India’s national interests. There is no point in demonstrating that India is competing with China. It is wiser to go in for cooperative diplomacy as can be seen in India’s Look East policy. It has resulted in considerable gains for India in East Asia.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
NRI'S AND PUNJAB
IN October this year, the Punjab Legislative Assembly amidst pandemonium passed 11 Bills without any discussion. As a result, Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act, 2011 was enacted with a generous state government providing Rs.50 lakh during the current year for paying the salary of employees of the five-member Commission.
While Non Resident Punjabis generally descend here to reconnect with their roots, there has been a role reversal this year. With Punjab going to the hustings in 2012, Ministers in waiting and poll managers have flown in advance to UK, USA and Canada to lobby for support and seek greenbacks. Indigenous vote banks in rural Punjab are also influenced by the thinking of philanthropic and cash-rich NRIs in the matter of casting the ballot. Hence the scramble to woo them.
This regardless of the fact that only 38 NRI voters have actually registered themselves for casting votes, for which they will have to be physically present in Punjab. For wooing this perceived vote bank, the political competition and compulsion is about which party can devise the best mechanism for resolving the problems of the NRIs in Punjab.
About 5 million Punjabis, it is estimated, are settled abroad and are bound by family, property and business interests back home. Their problems do need solutions. Conventional laws and slow, tardy procedures do leave them disenchanted.
Who is an NRI or a PIO or an OCI for that matter?
Section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) defines a person resident in India and a person resident outside India but does not define the term NRI. However, a notification defines NRI to mean a person resident outside India who is either a citizen of India or is a person of Indian origin. Under FEMA, a person “resident” in India is one who resides in India for more than 182 days in the preceding financial year and who comes or stays in India for any purpose and a “non-resident” is merely defined as a person who is not a resident in India. Therefore, an NRI can be summed up as an Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian passport.
PIO: It means a foreign citizen who at any time held an Indian passport; or he/she or either of his /her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in and was permanently resident in India; or he/she is a spouse of a citizen of India or of a person of Indian origin. PIO card holders can visit India without visa for 15 years and will be required to register with Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) in India when the stay exceeds 180 days continuously. PIOs enjoy parity with NRIs in respect of certain facilities but have no political rights and can apply for Indian citizenship after residing in India for a minimum of seven years.
OCI: A foreign national who was eligible to become a citizen of India on January 26, 1950, or was a citizen of India on or at any time after the said date or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947 and, his / her children and grandchildren are eligible for registration as OCIs. They enjoy multiple entry multipurpose lifelong visa for visiting India, are exempted registration with FRO/police authorities for any length of stay in India and are entitled to benefits notified under Section 7 B of the Citizenship Act. An OCI registered for 5 years and residing in India for one year can be granted Indian citizenship but have no political rights.
The Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act, 2011 is stated to be “An Act to provide for the constitution of the Commission for NRIs in the State of Punjab with a view to protecting and safeguarding the interests of the NRIs in the State of Punjab, and to recommend remedial measures to State Government."
It defines a “complaint” by stating that it “means all petitions/communications received in State Commission for NRIs from an NRI or any other person on his behalf, in person, by post, by telegram, by fax or by any other means whatsoever, alleging, disputes or violations or abetment thereof or negligence in the prevention of such dispute or violation, by a public servant or a private person or the material on the basis of which the Punjab State Commission for NRIs takes suo motu cognisance."
The flaws
The law however, does not define what is an “NRI dispute” or a “NRI violation". Consequently, the authority, jurisdiction and powers of the Commission, remain hazy and undefined.
Though the proposed body has extensive investigative powers through the existing official machinery, its capacity to provide practical relief and pass effective orders remains questionable. The NRI Commission cannot usurp the powers of courts and may well turn out to be unworkable.
Amusingly, the focus of the law enacted is more on the members of the Commission and what they will get as benefits. The actual emphasis on what the body in making would actually do and how it would dispense justice in relation to a defined arena of NRI disputes or violations is blissfully missing.
The grievances of NRIs revolve around family law related issues, property disputes, immigration related questions and trysts with criminal law. But then the system of Civil and Criminal Courts mandates that all disputes shall be adjudicated by Courts of competent jurisdiction as per statutory laws made by Parliament and applicable throughout India. Consequently, identifying an “NRI dispute” for being heard and decided by a different authority will clearly fall foul of the system of prevalent adjudication by existing courts. The aggrieved NRI will still need to invoke the powers of a competent Court for actual relief as a NRI Commission cannot enjoy parallel statutory adjudication powers.
In case the NRI Commission is meant to be a recommendatory body, the Law Commission of India and Punjab State Law Commission are already saddled with this exclusive role of suggesting changes in laws. In any case, no major exercise is needed to identify where amendments are required as both the problems and desired solutions are well known. Most of them relate to Central Laws within the ambit of Parliament. Hence, any state level exercise to achieve independent changes will be an exercise in futility.
While Non Resident Punjabis generally descend here to reconnect with their roots, there has been a role reversal this year. With Punjab going to the hustings in 2012, Ministers in waiting and poll managers have flown in advance to UK, USA and Canada to lobby for support and seek greenbacks. Indigenous vote banks in rural Punjab are also influenced by the thinking of philanthropic and cash-rich NRIs in the matter of casting the ballot. Hence the scramble to woo them.
This regardless of the fact that only 38 NRI voters have actually registered themselves for casting votes, for which they will have to be physically present in Punjab. For wooing this perceived vote bank, the political competition and compulsion is about which party can devise the best mechanism for resolving the problems of the NRIs in Punjab.
About 5 million Punjabis, it is estimated, are settled abroad and are bound by family, property and business interests back home. Their problems do need solutions. Conventional laws and slow, tardy procedures do leave them disenchanted.
Who is an NRI or a PIO or an OCI for that matter?
Section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) defines a person resident in India and a person resident outside India but does not define the term NRI. However, a notification defines NRI to mean a person resident outside India who is either a citizen of India or is a person of Indian origin. Under FEMA, a person “resident” in India is one who resides in India for more than 182 days in the preceding financial year and who comes or stays in India for any purpose and a “non-resident” is merely defined as a person who is not a resident in India. Therefore, an NRI can be summed up as an Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian passport.
PIO: It means a foreign citizen who at any time held an Indian passport; or he/she or either of his /her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in and was permanently resident in India; or he/she is a spouse of a citizen of India or of a person of Indian origin. PIO card holders can visit India without visa for 15 years and will be required to register with Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) in India when the stay exceeds 180 days continuously. PIOs enjoy parity with NRIs in respect of certain facilities but have no political rights and can apply for Indian citizenship after residing in India for a minimum of seven years.
OCI: A foreign national who was eligible to become a citizen of India on January 26, 1950, or was a citizen of India on or at any time after the said date or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947 and, his / her children and grandchildren are eligible for registration as OCIs. They enjoy multiple entry multipurpose lifelong visa for visiting India, are exempted registration with FRO/police authorities for any length of stay in India and are entitled to benefits notified under Section 7 B of the Citizenship Act. An OCI registered for 5 years and residing in India for one year can be granted Indian citizenship but have no political rights.
The Punjab State Commission for NRIs Act, 2011 is stated to be “An Act to provide for the constitution of the Commission for NRIs in the State of Punjab with a view to protecting and safeguarding the interests of the NRIs in the State of Punjab, and to recommend remedial measures to State Government."
It defines a “complaint” by stating that it “means all petitions/communications received in State Commission for NRIs from an NRI or any other person on his behalf, in person, by post, by telegram, by fax or by any other means whatsoever, alleging, disputes or violations or abetment thereof or negligence in the prevention of such dispute or violation, by a public servant or a private person or the material on the basis of which the Punjab State Commission for NRIs takes suo motu cognisance."
The flaws
The law however, does not define what is an “NRI dispute” or a “NRI violation". Consequently, the authority, jurisdiction and powers of the Commission, remain hazy and undefined.
Though the proposed body has extensive investigative powers through the existing official machinery, its capacity to provide practical relief and pass effective orders remains questionable. The NRI Commission cannot usurp the powers of courts and may well turn out to be unworkable.
Amusingly, the focus of the law enacted is more on the members of the Commission and what they will get as benefits. The actual emphasis on what the body in making would actually do and how it would dispense justice in relation to a defined arena of NRI disputes or violations is blissfully missing.
The grievances of NRIs revolve around family law related issues, property disputes, immigration related questions and trysts with criminal law. But then the system of Civil and Criminal Courts mandates that all disputes shall be adjudicated by Courts of competent jurisdiction as per statutory laws made by Parliament and applicable throughout India. Consequently, identifying an “NRI dispute” for being heard and decided by a different authority will clearly fall foul of the system of prevalent adjudication by existing courts. The aggrieved NRI will still need to invoke the powers of a competent Court for actual relief as a NRI Commission cannot enjoy parallel statutory adjudication powers.
In case the NRI Commission is meant to be a recommendatory body, the Law Commission of India and Punjab State Law Commission are already saddled with this exclusive role of suggesting changes in laws. In any case, no major exercise is needed to identify where amendments are required as both the problems and desired solutions are well known. Most of them relate to Central Laws within the ambit of Parliament. Hence, any state level exercise to achieve independent changes will be an exercise in futility.
PROBLEMS OF NRI'SIN INDIA
There is a huge Indian diaspora, numbering nearing 30 million strong and spread in 130 countries abroad. They increasingly come up with unique family law problems, which existing Indian matrimonial legislations find difficult to address. Hence, judicial innovation to carve out individual relief in distinct NRI family disputes is necessitated on a case to case basis. But there are few or no consistent and statutory remedies.
The response from the Government range from creating an NRI Commission, constituting NRI Cells, deputing designated authorities for NRI problems and forming special NRI Committees. However, all such administrative measures soon fade away and resurface with the arrival of the NRIs again in the following year.
NRIs seek resolution of their problems from an Indian legal system not designed and created for resolving their new age issues. Times have changed but statutory Indian laws have not kept pace. Most NRI problems are neither defined nor recognised by Indian laws but our legislators have no time to amend or even address them.
Thus, creating NRI Cells, Commissions, Committees or other bodies will not help. No such authority without statutory powers will have any credibility in the framework of the existing legal system. Parallel set ups without statutory sanction are meaningless. Such administrative bodies will at best be recommendatory officers whose decisions will need judicial sanction. The aggrieved NRI or affected party will still need to invoke powers of a Court of Competent Jurisdiction for actual relief.
The Parliament, therefore, needs to enact new laws or amend existing laws to define the NRI problem and prescribe solutions. One such example can be found under Section 13 of The East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. Its amendment in 2001, created a special class of NRI landlords who had a special right to recover immediate possession from tenants occupying their premises by a special summary procedure. Likewise, in the family law arena, limping NRI marriages, abandoned spouses, abducted children, overseas adoption and surrogate relationships need statutory solutions. Family laws for NRIs need an exhaustive overhaul. Either, all existing family law legislations be amended or one single comprehensive Indian legislation should be enacted for all family related legal problems of NRIs.
Similar is the situation in the field of property laws. Tenancy, succession, registration, investment & transfer of ownership of property form a bulk of NRI problems. But scattered and outdated legislations serve no purpose. Thus, there is again a dire need for multiple amendments or for enacting a new NRI property law dealing with their problems comprehensively. Special Courts will have to be created and empowered to deal with these lissues. A complete responsive machinery must be evolved under proper rules to be made under the newly enacted or amended NRI laws.
The answer is not in creating toothless bodies. Only enacting appropriate NRI laws, making corresponding procedural rules to implement them and vesting authority in Competent Courts to adjudicate NRI disputes will provide an effective remedy. This must naturally be done on an all India basis because piecemeal State legislations will not do.
The response from the Government range from creating an NRI Commission, constituting NRI Cells, deputing designated authorities for NRI problems and forming special NRI Committees. However, all such administrative measures soon fade away and resurface with the arrival of the NRIs again in the following year.
NRIs seek resolution of their problems from an Indian legal system not designed and created for resolving their new age issues. Times have changed but statutory Indian laws have not kept pace. Most NRI problems are neither defined nor recognised by Indian laws but our legislators have no time to amend or even address them.
Thus, creating NRI Cells, Commissions, Committees or other bodies will not help. No such authority without statutory powers will have any credibility in the framework of the existing legal system. Parallel set ups without statutory sanction are meaningless. Such administrative bodies will at best be recommendatory officers whose decisions will need judicial sanction. The aggrieved NRI or affected party will still need to invoke powers of a Court of Competent Jurisdiction for actual relief.
The Parliament, therefore, needs to enact new laws or amend existing laws to define the NRI problem and prescribe solutions. One such example can be found under Section 13 of The East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. Its amendment in 2001, created a special class of NRI landlords who had a special right to recover immediate possession from tenants occupying their premises by a special summary procedure. Likewise, in the family law arena, limping NRI marriages, abandoned spouses, abducted children, overseas adoption and surrogate relationships need statutory solutions. Family laws for NRIs need an exhaustive overhaul. Either, all existing family law legislations be amended or one single comprehensive Indian legislation should be enacted for all family related legal problems of NRIs.
Similar is the situation in the field of property laws. Tenancy, succession, registration, investment & transfer of ownership of property form a bulk of NRI problems. But scattered and outdated legislations serve no purpose. Thus, there is again a dire need for multiple amendments or for enacting a new NRI property law dealing with their problems comprehensively. Special Courts will have to be created and empowered to deal with these lissues. A complete responsive machinery must be evolved under proper rules to be made under the newly enacted or amended NRI laws.
The answer is not in creating toothless bodies. Only enacting appropriate NRI laws, making corresponding procedural rules to implement them and vesting authority in Competent Courts to adjudicate NRI disputes will provide an effective remedy. This must naturally be done on an all India basis because piecemeal State legislations will not do.
WHY GROWTH RATE IS FALLING?
FROM aspiring to achieve a double-digit growth rate to actually slumping to 7 per cent or even less, if private predictions are to be believed, is quite a fall for the country, once widely seen as an emerging economic power. The latest official data shows the economy grew by just 6.9 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal and it is the slowest in the last nine quarters. While the growth of manufacturing fell to 2.7 per cent, mining actually witnessed a contraction, shrinking by 3 per cent due to a ban on mining of iron ore following scams encompassing Karnataka, Orissa and Goa. Despite a normal monsoon the agricultural growth shrank to 3.2 per cent from a healthy 5.4 per cent last year. The slowdown in investment and private consumption shows that the troubles are here to stay.
The chief culprit for the dismal scenario is, no doubt, untamed high inflation. For too long policymakers kept predicting inflation would ease soon and delayed the RBI response. Then the government left the job of controlling inflation entirely to the apex bank and failed to address the supply side constraints. Low agricultural productivity, poor state investment, rising input and capital costs have subdued farm growth and pushed up food inflation. The belated attempts to open up multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment, which is expected to cut food waste and streamline the supply chain, are being scuttled by misinformed opposition. Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu has blamed “slowdown in decision-making” for the economy’s poor performance. There are other factors: high interest rates, policy paralysis, major scandals, needless political standoff and uncertainty in global economy.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has tried to shore up the sentiment by pointing to the deterioration in the global economic scenario and held out the hope that the country’s growth rate would pick up soon, but economists and industrialists are less optimistic. They feel exports, which have remained robust, will lose the advantage of a depreciating rupee to the loss of orders from Europe and the US. Dark clouds loom on the horizon
The chief culprit for the dismal scenario is, no doubt, untamed high inflation. For too long policymakers kept predicting inflation would ease soon and delayed the RBI response. Then the government left the job of controlling inflation entirely to the apex bank and failed to address the supply side constraints. Low agricultural productivity, poor state investment, rising input and capital costs have subdued farm growth and pushed up food inflation. The belated attempts to open up multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment, which is expected to cut food waste and streamline the supply chain, are being scuttled by misinformed opposition. Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu has blamed “slowdown in decision-making” for the economy’s poor performance. There are other factors: high interest rates, policy paralysis, major scandals, needless political standoff and uncertainty in global economy.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has tried to shore up the sentiment by pointing to the deterioration in the global economic scenario and held out the hope that the country’s growth rate would pick up soon, but economists and industrialists are less optimistic. They feel exports, which have remained robust, will lose the advantage of a depreciating rupee to the loss of orders from Europe and the US. Dark clouds loom on the horizon
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