The Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture)

The Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture) was unveiled on March 24, 2011. The focus of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation in 2010-11 was on mobilizing higher investment in agriculture, bridging yield gaps, timely and adequate supply of quality inputs, and providing adequate support services to farmers.

The Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana has succeeded as a catalyst for pulling in more public investments for agriculture and allied sectors. This scheme has become exceedingly popular with states on account of flexibility autonomy provided in planning as well as execution. With help from the incentives from this scheme, some States have increased agricultural outlay spectacularly – Chhattisgarh by 892%, Orissa by 730%, Maharashtra by 605%, Tripura by 425% and Bihar by 423%. The other major programmes including the National Food Security Mission, National Horticulture Mission and Extending Green Revolution to the Eastern States - have made significant progress in terms of utilization of funds as well as meeting physical targets.

The availability of quality seeds now stands at over 321 lakh quintals, showing a jump of 2.5 times in five years. Over 8 lakh hectares additional area has been covered since 2009-10 with assistance from the National Mission on Micro Irrigation. Pulses production has seen a jump in the last two years.  Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of all major crops, especially pulses have been raised substantial in the last few years. In 2010-11 too, MSPs for rice, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds were raised.

The Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) was implemented on pilot basis in rabi 2010-11. The new scheme takes panchayat, as against district in the earlier scheme, as a unit for insurance purposes. It has provision also for immediate relief in the event of a loss.

The Department has drafted a National Mission on Seeds with a proposed outlay of Rs. 3,773 crore for a period of five years starting 2011-12 to boost quality seeds production in the country. To meet the challenge posed by climate change, a National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture will be implemented in the country. A fund is also proposed for rehabilitation of sick cooperatives.

RAPE AND COMPENSATION......?

AS if the low conviction rate (a dismal 27 per cent) in rape cases was not enough to push up the rising graph of rape incidents, now comes a proposal from the Centre to compensate rape victims. The effort, claimed to be “restorative justice”, will, in fact, subvert the already slow process of justice for the victims.

This unique way of delivering “justice” by offering financial assistance between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh to a traumatised rape victim by the government supports former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan’s view expressed during a speech. He said, “Due regard must be given to their (the rape victims’) personal autonomy since in some cases the victim may choose to marry the perpetrator or choose to give birth to a child conceived through forced intercourse.”
In many societies which may be considered primitive, similar practices are followed under the garb of social justice. In Namibia, the parents of a rape victim get the issue settled through the traditional court; the culprits’ parents compensate them with money or cattle. In many countries, Islamic courts have asked the rapist to marry the victim. If these solutions are regressive for a modern society like ours that claims to offer equal rights to all, why should rape victims be treated perpetually as vulnerable, and not as equal contenders for their right to live with dignity? What justice will the government offer to a victim of rape whose financial needs are nil?
At a time when human rights advocates are deliberating upon punitive laws for marital rape, is it not irresponsible to talk of financial compensation for rape victims? Like the practice of offering blood money, it will only absolve the perpetrator of legal and moral responsibility and the consequences of committing a heinous crime. If the government sincerely wants to control incidents of rape, it should allow rape cases to be handled by fast- track courts and free the administrative and law-enforcing machinery of its caste biases. There is need to ensure that another Bhanwari Devi does not waste her 15 years in the courts, without getting justice.

FOOD SECURITY BILL

THE National Advisory Council has cleared the draft of the Food Security Bill for follow-up action by the government. It offers 90 per cent of all rural households and 50 per cent of urban households a legal right to subsidised food. It is a major step towards banishing hunger but falls short of expectations of experts like development economist Jean Dreze, who quit the NAC, saying government constraints leave no scope for effectively addressing the problem of hunger and under-nutrition.
Providing food security to all is a national and global challenge but the government seems less than enthusiastic. Its intention became clear when it appointed a committee under C. Rangarajan to vet the NAC proposals, released earlier. Rangarajan suggested that 46 per cent of the rural population and 28 per cent of the urban population be covered under the Act, citing insufficient food availability as a reason. Procuring larger quantities of food grains, the committee argued, would “lead to lower availability of food grains for the open market, pushing up prices”.
Some have questioned the proposal to provide subsidised food to APL (above poverty line) families. Rangarajan wants an inflation-linked price of food for the poor and an MSP (minimum support price)-linked price for APL families to cut the government’s financial burden. Besides, he favours a direct transfer of the food subsidy to the poor through smart cards usable in any store. If food is to be distributed through food stamps or smart cards, then there is no problem of higher procurements or food shortages in the open market pushing up prices. Challenges are numerous but not insurmountable if there is political will. These include financial constraints, raising food productivity and ensuring fool-proof distribution. Large quantities of food go waste due to unscientific storage and poor handling and transportation. The NAC proposals may not be “more of the same” or a case of missed opportunity to radically transfer India’s social policy — as Jean Dreze believes — they mark a step forward and the government has to make sincere efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition, which limit India’s overall growth.

RELEVANCE OF GANDHI'S ECONOMIC IDEAS IN CONTEXT OF MODERN GLOBALIZED ERA

The world today faces challenges of different forms ranging from ecological disaster to terrorist violence and from deaths from malnutrition to problems emanating from plenty. The world, whether it is the affluent North or the developing South, seems to be running in a mad race. Two separate races, almost oblivious of each other, are going on simultaneously on the world map – one race is of affluent people who are clamouring for more and the other is for mere survival where people are striving hard to make both ends meet.And this is where Gandhiji’s ideas hold great value for today’s world – his emphasis on ‘aparigrah’ (non-possessiveness’) and his idea of ‘Swaraj’ under which each individual, he thought, would be enabled to control his or her life independent of state power and where villages/gram sabhas would be self-dependent and self-sufficient.

“Our Earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for anyone’s greed” 

This is what Mahatama Gandhi said almost a century ago and there is no doubt that this holds good today. Gandhiji’sfamous Talisman that you recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man and consider whether your act is going to be of any use to him,should be our Mantra.  And this talisman should be our philosophy of life if we have to achieve the larger objective of ‘Swaraj’ and inclusive growth. 

Human happiness was the main criterion for Gandhiji and he thought that progress should be measured in terms of human happiness. He did not believe in the modern view of an affluent society in which material development is the sole criterion of progress. He supported the concept of ‘SARVODAYA’, the greatest good of all. His vision of Swarajwas  a society in which every man would have dignified life, and equal opportunities to grow. He envisaged a society in which economic progress and social justice would go hand in hand.

As our late Prime Minister and a Gandhian, Morarji Desai wrote in an Essay “Gandhiji And the Destiny of Man” that Gandhiji demonstrated to the world the strength of man’s invincible soul when it was pitted against physical force or military might; of moral values as against material ones; and of service and sacrifice as against selfishness and acquisitiveness. He taught us the beauty of truth and the sublimity of the human spirit.

Gandhiji was not opposed to material prosperity nor did he reject the use of machines in all circumstances. He felt that machinery should save time and labour for all. He did not want man to become a slave of machines and lose his identity altogether; he wanted machines to be for man, not man for machines.

In Gandhi’s own words: 

“Economic equality is the master-key to non-violent independence… A non-violent system of government is clearly an impossibility so long as the wide gulf between the rich and the hungry millions persists. The contrast between the palaces of New Delhi and the miserable hovels of the poor, laboring class cannot last one day in a free India in which the poor will enjoy the same power as the richest in the land.”    

As a Gandhian scholar Sunil points out in one of his recently published articles that the high consumption levels being presently practiced and espoused, cannot be available to the whole humanity. Even where available and achievable, the cult of consumerism has not made the life and society happier and healthier. It has brought its own distortions and social crises. And worse, it has brought the ecology and environment of the earth to the brink of disaster.

If we go by Gandhian view, the villages will have to made self-dependent economic units. No doubt that a significant part of the village population has to be diverted to industries. But those industries will be small unit, labour-intensive and mainly village based. Villages and small towns have to be again made centre of development. For inclusive growth, we will have to promote the industries which provide employment in rural areas and bring prosperity and basic facilities to villages.

The National Employment Rural Guarantee Scheme is a concrete step in this direction. The Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006, has been rightly hailed as landmark legislation. However, there is a need to do much more to achieve the larger objectives like inclusive growth and to eliminate hunger and malnutrition from the country. Since Gandhi, one of the greatest leaders of mankind, was born here, we should ensure that the ‘the face of the poorest and the weakest  remains at the centre of our planning and development.

8 MISSIONS UNDER NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY

National Solar Mission: The NAPCC aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options. The plan includes:

• Specific goals for increasing use of solar thermal technologies in urban areas, industry, and commercial establishments;
• A goal of increasing production of photovoltaics to 1000 MW/year; and
• A goal of deploying at least 1000 MW of solar thermal power generation.
  Other objectives include the establishment of a solar research center, increased international collaboration on technology development, strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity, and increased government funding and international support.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: Current initiatives are expected to yield savings of 10,000 MW by 2012.  Building on the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan recommends:

• Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy-consuming industries, with a system for companies to trade energy-savings certificates;
• Energy incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient appliances; and
• Financing for public-private partnerships to reduce energy consumption through demand-side management programs in the municipal, buildings and agricultural sectors.

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: To promote energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning, the plan calls for:

• Extending the existing Energy Conservation Building Code;
• A greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling, including power production from waste;
• Strengthening the enforcement of automotive fuel economy standards and using pricing measures to encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles; and
• Incentives for the use of public transportation.

National Water Mission: With water scarcity projected to worsen as a result of climate change, the plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures. 

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The plan aims to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region, where glaciers that are a major source of India’s water supply are projected to recede as a result of global warming.  

National Mission for a “Green India”: Goals include the afforestation of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23% to 33% of India’s territory.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support climate adaptation in agriculture through the development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms, and agricultural practices.


National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: To gain a better understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the plan envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modeling, and increased international collaboration.  It also encourage private sector initiatives to develop adaptation and mitigation technologies through venture capital funds. 

INDIA AND SCO

THE 10th anniversary meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, will be remembered for two significant developments. One, it has smoothened the process for full-fledged membership to India and Pakistan. Two, Afghanistan has been granted the status of an observer. This will add to the weight of this key regional grouping, so far believed to be dominated by China. The elevation of Afghanistan’s status is a victory for Russian diplomacy as Moscow had been working hard for this to come about. The entry of India and Pakistan is interesting in the sense that the two major countries of South Asia will be in a forum which is poised to play a balancing role at the international level, with the world no longer being driven by the US alone, the sole surviving super power.
The SCO in its expanded form may focus more on Afghanistan and Pakistan so as to eliminate terrorism root and branch. There is great anxiety in the region that extremist and terrorist forces will find a fresh opportunity to strengthen their position once the US and allied forces leave Afghanistan with the various Taliban factions not allowing Kabul’s writ to run in many areas. The SCO can now prevent Pakistan from helping the friendly Taliban factions to increase their influence in Afghanistan as part of Islamabad’s old strategy of strategic depth. No foreign country should be allowed to meddle in the affairs of Afghanistan. The SCO can start advocating forcefully for a regional formula for establishing peace in Afghanistan.
India will now be in a better position to highlight the need for forcing Pakistan to destroy the infrastructure and plug the funding sources of terrorist networks in Pakistan. Terrorist and extremist forces remain well entrenched in Pakistan. The unending suicide bomb blasts provide proof of this ugly reality. These forces have their sympathizers in Pakistan’s armed forces and most government departments. One can imagine the scenario that may emerge once the extremists capture the levers of power in a nuclear-armed Pakistan. The SCO will have to play a more pro-active role for peace and stability in the region.

SYRIAN UNREST

AFTER Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain, it is the turn of Syria now. Anti-government protests in Syria are becoming more widespread with every passing day. The Syrian army has taken control of Jisr Al-Shughour, the town which has been in the news for intense protests for a long time against the Bashar Al-Assad government. The region where the town is located has been known for rebellion against the rule of the Alawite minority. Bashar’s father, Hafiz Al-Assad, also had to use force to quell protests against his rule in 1980. Many people lost their lives then. In the current agitation, over 1200 protesters have been done to death by the armed forces of the regime. Yet the unrest is not under control.

The Syrian regime has been known for its repressive policies. It has done little to end corruption, which is rampant at every level in the government. There is an acute job shortage and prices are skyrocketing. People have been leading a miserable life in this West Asian country. The pro-democracy protests in other countries in the region provided them an opportunity to raise their voice against the incompetent and repressive regime. The government was forced to end the emergency, which it had imposed a long time back to punish people on any pretext. But it has taken no serious step to go into the grievances of the protesters.
Thousands of people have crossed over the borders to find refuge in the neighbouring countries. The indiscriminate use of force may compel more people to leave their homes. But this will not end the trouble in Syria. The unrest has acquired a sectarian complexion. The Sunnis, who have never been comfortable with the rule of Damascus, have been at the forefront of the protests because the ruling family belongs to the Alawite Shia sect. The rebellion is unlikely to come to an end so long as there is no regime change. President Bashar Al-Assad should know this and start preparing for introducing democracy in Syria. Otherwise the continuing protests will lead to the country getting ruined.

Rehabilitation of sex workers

OFTEN, the rehabilitation programmes initiated by the government cut no ice with the sex workers in India. The reason is that they smell sympathy rather than respect for the persons involved in the world’s oldest profession. The Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the states/ Union Territories to prepare suitable rehabilitation schemes for the welfare of sex workers in April who, the court stressed, are entitled to a life of dignity under Article 21. On May 4, the court again sought reports on what vocational and technical training schemes the states were proposing to ensure meaningful rehabilitation of the physically and sexually abused women. Close on the heels comes the Government of Haryana’s initiative, which has invited applications from the NGOs interested in working for the rehabilitation of sex workers in the state.

The state claims it has close to 14 thousand sex workers, who are to be rehabilitated under Ujjawala and Swadhaar schemes of the Centre. Going by unofficial sources, unprecedented growth of economic centres like Gurgaon has given rise to a lot more numbers involved in the trade in urban and semi-urban areas but in a sophisticated manner, which eludes the conventional surveys conducted on sex workers. Even at the national level, the number of women involved in sex trade largely varies, undertaken by government and private agencies.
If one is to look at the history of success of such schemes taken up in the past, one would realise the schemes have filled sex workers with more scorn and contempt rather than sorting out the complex issue. One reason behind the fact is that sex trade flourishes under police and political protection and hence is largely criminalised. Forced rehabilitations carried out by the government, elsewhere in the country, in the name of “rescuing them from their plight” have not paved the way for their betterment. What is indeed needed is more opportunities for women to choose their means of livelihood from. The proposed training on the lines of ITIs and providing loans for the marketing of their products are well-meaning ideas, but their real test would be in their implementation.

Second Africa-India Forum Summit

On May 24-25, 2011, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the second Africa-India Forum Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A ministerial meeting, in which Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce & Industry, led the Indian side, preceded it.

Addressing the meet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a strong call to African countries to work collectively with India to combat the scourge of terrorism.

"Apart from bilateral cooperation, India and Africa can and should work together on regional and international issues," he said at the retreat attended by leaders from 15 African countries.

Mr Singh also highlighted the need to chart new pathways of engagement, take stock of the global economic and political situation and review the progress the two sides have made in their cooperation in the last three years.

Singh noted that the current international economic and political situation was far from easy, particularly for developing countries and spoke about "new challenges" confronting the world in meeting the requirements of food and energy security.

Manmohan Singh announced a mammoth $5 billion credit line to Africa for various development projects, reflecting India’s growing ties with the resource-rich continent.

He also declared an additional $700 million package to establish new institutions and training programmes across the continent.

Major sops offered during the Summit meeting were:

• $5 billion line of credit for 3 years
• Additional $700 million for new institutions, training programmes
• $300 million for Ethio-Djibouti rail line
• India-Africa virtual university with 10,000 new scholarships
• India-Africa business council
• $2 million for African Union mission in Somalia
• Increased access of African airlines to India in next 3 years
• India-Africa food processing and textiles clusters
• More than 22,000 scholarships to African students
• An India-Africa centre for medium-range weather forecasting, university for life and earth sciences, institute of agriculture and rural development
• Soil, water and tissue-testing laboratories, regional farm science centres, seed production-cum-demonstration centres, material testing laboratories for highways
• Institutes for English language training, information technology, entrepreneurship development and vocational training
• Rural technology parks, food testing laboratories, food processing business incubation centres and centres on geo-informatics applications and rural development.

The eight-page Addis Ababa Declaration adopted at the end of the two-day Africa-India Forum Summit said the African members of the UN Security Council and India affirm their commitment to coordinate closely during India's tenure as non-permanent member of the Council. “In this context, we underscore the imperative of urgent and comprehensive reform of the UN system. We share the view that the UN should function in a transparent, efficient and effective manner and that the composition of its central organs must reflect contemporary realities.” “The expansion of the UN Security Council, in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, with increased participation of developing countries in both categories, is central to the process of reform and for enhancing the credibility of the United Nations,” the declaration read.

The joint declaration also expressed support for an International Convention prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons, leading to their destruction. It called for negotiating specific steps to reduce and finally eliminate nuclear weapons, leading to a world free from all weapons of mass destruction as envisaged in the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan of 1988.

The first India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in April 2008 produced a ‘Framework of Cooperation’. However, bureaucratic procedures in the African Union and in India slowed down the momentum. It took the two sides two years to finalize the joint ‘Plan of Action,’ overshooting the deadline by a year. But thereafter, more concerted efforts have been evident. Throughout 2010, New Delhi played host to Presidents and Prime Ministers from Africa. India’s Vice-President as well as key ministers also travelled to several African capitals.

With Africa’s rise no longer in doubt, India is concentrating on building partnerships at bilateral, regional and continental levels and not seeking a role in internal affairs of African States or intra-African conflicts. It reacted cautiously during the recent troubles in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and the Ivory Coast.

Africa is host to 90% of world’s Cobalt, 50% of Gold, 98% of Chromium, 64% of Manganese & 34% of Uranium. Trade between India and Africa crossed US $ 46 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach US $ 70 billion by 2015.

Indian private sector entrepreneurs have already made investments in excess of US $ 25 billion in a wide range of sectors from telecom, automobiles, IT, pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Bharti’s $ 8.5 billion acquisition of Zain in Africa is one of the largest outbound investments by India. According to a FICCI study, Africa is on the brink of an economic take off.

At present India’s OFDI is the 9th largest source of FDI into Africa. Among the Indian groups that have substantial presence in Africa include Bharti Airtel, Karuturi Global, the world’s largest producer of cut-roses, Tata Africa Holdings also has a strong presence in over 10 African countries with investments exceeding US$ 100 million. Essar has steel, oil and gas and telecom assets across Africa. The other players include M&M, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Shapoorji Pallonji.

G-8 summit

The 37th G-8 summit was held on May 26-27, 2011 in the commune of Deauville in France.   The G-8 is comprised of the eight main industrialised countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Middle East and North Africa, nuclear safety and economic recovery topped the agenda of G-8 leaders.

G-8 countries and multilateral development banks pledged $20bn in backing for democratic reform, with the EU offering new. The G8 also endorsed the EU's call for worldwide stress tests on nuclear power plants as part of a review of international safety standards. 

The G-8 partners shared the EU's resolve to strengthen the multilateral system and liberalise free trade in line with the World Trade Organisation's 2001 Doha mandate, which calls for a fair global trade deal.

On the impetus of the President of the French Republic, the members of the G-8 have committed, within the framework of the "Deauville Partnership", to helping the Arab countries in their transition to free and democratic societies.

Tunisia and Egypt are the first countries to commit to this transition and to join the "Deauville Partnership". The multilateral development banks are prepared to raise more than USD 20 billion, of which EUR 3.5 billion will come from the EIB, to benefit Egypt and Tunisia by 2013

Land acquisition

THE western UP farmers’ violent agitation has renewed interest in the Bill to amend the 1894 Land Acquisition Act. It was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010 but a stubborn Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress stalled it in the Rajya Sabha. The 1894 Act empowers the government to forcibly acquire land for public purpose. Farmers’ protests, first in Nandigram-Singur and then in western Uttar Pradesh, exerted pressure to make the land acquisition law farmer-friendly. Starting with the NDA regime in 2003, Bills moved to pacify farmers have collapsed in the absence of a political consensus.

Things have changed slightly. With her electoral ambitions in West Bengal nearing fulfilment, Mamata may no longer insist on having her way on the land Bill. The pending Bill allows the Centre to use force, if need be, to take over 30 per cent of the land after private parties have secured 70 per cent of it from the owners in a direct deal. Mamata wants the ratio to be 90:10. Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh has also introduced a private Bill proposing a ban on government land acquisition for commercial purposes and profit-making.
Depriving a farmer of his land, which may be his only asset and source of livelihood, is an emotive issue, fraught with dangers. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have passed laws, widely hailed as farmer-friendly. The UP law, passed after farmer protests first erupted over land takeover for the Delhi-Agra Expressway, has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Both UP and Haryana offer liberal rehabilitation terms, including annuity, to farmers. Disputes often arise over rates offered to land owners. Haryana provides the minimum floor rate, while critics of its policy seek market rates. In UP farmers down the road demand land rates offered in Greater Noida. Police brutality and politics have further complicated the issue. Hopefully, the amended Central law would take care of all ticklish issues with help from Mamata, lately on a political high, eyeing West Bengal’s chief ministership. 

WAVE OF DEMOCRACY IN ARAB WORLD

DEMOCRACY grows differently on different soils. There is no universal model for democracy. If modern democracy travelled to the Arab world with a puzzling slow speed, there are reasons for it. When the Arab world bucked the global advance of democracy following the collapse of Marxism in the 1990s, it too had reasons. Today, when democracy seems to have arrived in some parts of the Arab world, long mired in undemocratic and authoritarian past, there is need to guard against premature triumphalism.
The drums of democratic change are, of course, beating. But a democratic Arab world by Western liberal standards may be long in coming, or may perhaps never come. The optimism about democratic future is mixed with fears.
The post-Cold War period saw Communist -era autocracies collapse like snowmen in a spring shower. In fact, three out of five states throughout the world embraced democracy. Every part of the globe became host to a significant democratic presence, with a single exception — the Arab world. Was this exceptionalism because of the historic baggage or colonial experience or simply because of culture and religion?
Various explanations are on offer. Some explain it in terms of a clash of civilisations. Others say democracy and Islam are like oil and water; they just do not mix. To say that Muslim culture is incompatible with democracy is too paternalistic a view that needs to be dismissed.
Edward Said, the iconic author of Orientalism offers the following explanation: “The absence of democracy is partially the result of alliances made between Western powers on one hand and minority ruling regimes or parties on the other.” Larry Diamond, author of The Spirit of Democracy says, “there is an Arab rather than a ‘Muslim’ democracy gap.”
Arabs argue that the absence of democracy is the result of an artificial territorial division of the Middle East by Europe’s First World War victors which created disparate societies with inevitable internal conflicts and allowed foreign-backed autocrats to rule. Massive amounts of foreign aid cemented that bargain.
It is, of course, easy to blame the foreign powers — from the Mongols to the Ottoman Empire, European colonialists, the United States and Israel — for the democratic deficit in the region. What about the people living at ease with “controlled democratisation”, the power structure that was centred around what was labeled as dimuqratita-al-khubz (democracy of bread)? Under this model, there existed a social contract in which the ruling dispensation provided social and economic welfare in return for political loyalty. Mubarak, Assad, Gaddafi, Saddam, they all practiced that model.
The region’s oil and gas helped to lubricate the bank accounts of dictators, got them the security forces to do the dirty job and emboldened them to buy off political dissent. The Arab ruling elite also used lack of progress in resolving the Palestinian issue as a cover to stall democracy demands.
The ouster of dictators is no guarantee of democracy taking roots in the desert of Arabia. Democracy is a tender plant that needs to be nursed. As Ron Chapman, a popular Dallas radio personality, says, “You cannot plant pineapples in the Arctic.  Likewise, you cannot assume democracy will flourish in a region that has no history of representative government, individual freedoms, or human rights”.
The American Revolution took 25 years to run its full cycle.  After 11 years of riots and tension, Americans finally drafted the Declaration of Independence. The Russian revolution started in 1917 with the overthrow of Czar Nicholas. It too began with a call for freedom. Unfortunately, that was soon followed by the Bolshevik revolution. It took 73 years for that revolution to run its course. And with what result? True democracy still eludes the Russian people.
It would be unrealistic, therefore, to expect democracy to suddenly spring from the desert sands of the Arabia. The Arab world will do well to learn the lessons from the various colour revolutions. The Arab spring has been likened to the Eastern European revolution of 1989. Even though the comparison is perhaps not too apt, the lessons from that experience, particularly from colour revolutions are very significant.
The 1989 revolution was a multiple revolution — which led to an implosion of a system (the command economy), the fall of an empire (the Warsaw pact), the withering of a state (the Soviet Union) and the collapse of a global ideology (Soviet communism).
The colour revolutions that followed in countries like Serbia (2000), Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004) and Kyrgyzstan (2005) provide important lessons. Though each national experience was distinct, there were also some common features. The colour revolutions followed fraudulent elections by semi-autocratic regimes.
Though popular mobilisation was the driving force, the colour revolutions were also led by individuals who had already occupied high political positions. For example, Mikhail Saakashvili had been Georgia’s Justice Minister during Eduard Shevardnadze’s period as President before becoming the “rose revolution’s figurehead; Viktor Yushchenko had been Ukraine’s Prime Minister before the “orange revolution”. So was Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Kyrgyzstan.
However, the differences between the colour revolutions and the Arab uprising may be more instructive. In Georgia and Ukraine, people rebelled against political remnants of the Soviet era. The anger was against the old rulers unable to reform the political system and modernise the economy.
Georgia and Ukraine looked upon the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania as a model, while they had barely begun a “transition” to western-style democracy and market economy. A peaceful revolution was a way to announce their detachment from the older generations for failing to be “modern” and “western”.
By contrast, the sheer hopelessness of the people especially youth against the tyrant rulers helped to drive the Arab movement. The social media too played a role in galvanising various groups. The west encouraged, supported, even financed the popular revolt in Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine. In the case of the Arab rebellion the West was nowhere on the scene. In fact, the West will be too nervous if these movements threaten the oil Sheikhdoms, particularly Saudi Arabia, for fear of disastrous consequences for its own economy.
The Arab democrats will also do well to learn from the outcome of the colour revolutions. The overthrow of an old dictator does not lead to a change in the system. In Ukraine, the post-orange revolution president Viktor Yushchenko failed to bring much change beyond holding free elections. Soon his rival Viktor Yanukovich captured power. In Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili established a centralised government where Parliament was under the complete control of the ruling party, and the media had even less freedom after the change. In other words, the end result of the rose revolution in Georgia strongly resembles the starting point of Arab revolt.
The Arab revolution has started to lose momentum. While Gaddafi is proving to be a hard nut to crack, the US is not keen to destabilise the Assad regime in Syria. The Egyptians are now realising that the military is either unwilling or incapable of ushering in an era of true democratic reform.

National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)

Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), one of the flagship programs of the RD Ministry with the focus on self-employment by reaching out to Self Help Groups, launched in the year 1999 is being restructured as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), to be implemented in a mission mode across the country. The restructuring comes in the backdrop of the fact that out of the estimated 7 crore rural BPL households, 4.5 Crore households still need to be organized into SHGs. The mission aims to reach out to all the rural poor families (BPL families) and link them to sustainable livelihoods opportunities. It will nurture them till they come out of poverty and enjoy a decent quality of life.

*NRLM Mission : To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong and sustainable grassroots institutions of the poor.”

* Approach

NRLM works on three pillars

*Enhancing and expanding existing livelihoods options of the poor

*Building skills for the job market outside; and

*Nurturing self-employed and entrepreneurs.

Livelihood services include financial and capital services, production and productivity enhancement services that include technology, knowledge, skills and inputs, market linkages etc. The interested rural BPL youth would be offered skill development after counselling and matching the aptitude with the job requirements, and placed in jobs that are remunerative.  Self-employed and entrepreneurial oriented poor would be provided skills and financial linkages and nurtured to establish and grow with micro-enterprises for products and services in demand. These platforms also offer space for convergence and partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, by building an enabling environment for poor to access their rights and entitlements, public services and innovations.
NRLM has set out with an agenda to reach out, mobilize and support 7 Crore BPL households across 600 districts, 6000 blocks, 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats, in 6 lakh villages in the country into their self-managed SHGs and their federal institutions and livelihoods collectives. NRLM’s long-term dedicated sensitive support would be with them and extend facilitation support in all their efforts to get out of poverty. In addition, the poor would be facilitated to achieve increased access to their rights, entitlements and public services, diversified risk and better social indicators of empowerment.

Steps being taken to Create Additional Foodgrains Storage Capacity and minimize loss

Allocation and lifting

• Due to current high level of stocks of foodgrains in the Central Pool, in addition to normal annual allocations of foodgrains under TPDS and other welfare schemes, the Government has allocated an additional quantity of 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for BPL families in the month of May and another 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrainsfor APL families in the month of June.  Another 50 lakh tonnes of foodgrains will be allocated shortly for 150 poorer districts, as mandated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, modalities of which are being worked out.
• To ensure that these additional allocations reach the targeted groups, the Government of India has been repeatedly emphasizing to State Governments to lift the additional allocated food grains and distribute the same expeditiously.
• The Government of India has also been continuously monitoring the lifting by State Governments and is also considering six months’ lump-sum allocation at a time for distribution to the targeted groups.
• This will help in faster evacuation of stocks from the Central Pool, particularly in States which have seen much higher level of procurement of wheat than was earlier expected, e.g., Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Instructions have also been given to FCI that FCI depots in various States should have adequate quantity of stocks for being utilized by the State Governments.  For this purpose, optimum movement of foodgrains to different States, particularly to the deficit States is being ensured.

Proper upkeep of stocks

• The Government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that stocks are safely kept and proper quality control measures are taken for the same.
• State Governments have also been requested to issue suitable instructions for safe upkeep of stocks.
• FCI has also been directed to hire as much additional godown space from private sources as possible to supplement its efforts for proper storage of foodgrains.

Creation of storage capacity

• Government is taking steps to create new additional covered storage capacity of more than 152 lakh MTs across 19 States under the Private Enterpreneur Guarantee (PEG) Scheme with the help of privateenterpreneus, CWC and SWC with a 10-year guarantee by FCI.
• By March 2012, 40 lakh MTs of new covered storage capacity will be created under this scheme.
• The State Governments are also being requested to introduce similar guarantee scheme for their own storage needs through similar PPP model.
• An additional new capacity of 5.4 lakh tonnes is proposed to be created in the North Eastern States by Government of India under a special plan scheme.  This will ensure that at least four months’ stocks are kept in North Eastern States at any point of time.
• Instructions have also been given to FCI for introducing mechanization of foodgrains handling and optimum utilization of existing storage space with FCI and Government agencies.

Movement Plan

• The Ministry is in constant touch with Railway authorities to ensure that timely movement of foodgrains takes place to consuming/deficit States and to also free up storage space in the surplus States.

Revamping of Public Distribution System

• There is an ambitious programme for the revamping of PDS system currently on the anvil. The computerization of Public Distribution Data and making the PDS data ADHAR compatible are already afoot in various States. States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh are going ahead in this regard.

Foodgrains losses and damages

• Due to large handling of foodgrains undertaken by FCI and other Government agencies, some storage and transit loss do occur due to various reasons.  However, due to constant efforts being undertaken to reduce such losses, the storage and transit losses of FCI have come down over the years.  Furthermore, quantity of damaged foodgrains with FCI has also been continuously coming down.
• The damaged foodgrains with FCI, which was 2.12 lakh tonnes in 1999-2000 came down to 0.34 lakh tonnes in the year 2007-08 and only 0.07 lakh tonnes in the year 2009-10 and 0.06 lakh tonnes during 2010-11.

BRAND INDIA: ELECTION COMMISSION

Democratic elections provide the method through which citizens assert their civil and political rights. Founders of modern India adopted universal adult suffrage thus reposing faith in the wisdom of the common Indian to elect his/her representative to the seat of power. Choice of electoral democracy for India was variously termed at that time as a giant leap forward, a bold enterprise and an unparalleled adventure. The makers of the Constitution had realised quite early that elections provide the starting point of justice and equality. Despite a 16% literacy rate and a caste-based hierarchical social system, the independence came directly to the hands of ordinary people in the form of a vote. Oppressed masses of India had voted in many elections before Switzerland allowed its women and Australia its aboriginals to vote. 
A thriving and vibrant electoral democracy has been India’s distinct and durable identity at the global stage, long before it asserted itself as economic, nuclear or IT major. This brand, which was founded by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution, has been nurtured by Parliament, Judiciary, Political Parties, Media and above all by the People of India, with some distinct contribution from the Election Commission.  
Over the past 61 years, the Election Commission has delivered 15 elections to the Lok Sabha and over 330 elections to State Legislative Assemblies, thus facilitating peaceful, orderly and democratic transfer of power. Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha held in April-May 2009 have been described as the biggest management event in the world. It involved 714 million voters, 8,35,000 polling stations, 1.18 million Electronic Voting Machines and 11 million personnel.  India’s electorate is larger than that of any continent and even several continents put together.
The recently concluded elections to five states and union territory, which have been rated as among the finest, involved one fifth of the country’s electorate. The management of elections in India has continually evolved and still does, matching with the colossal proportions and ever increasing complexity of the task.

Curbing black money

The Commission’s journey has also witnessed change in both quality and quantity of its operations. In 1962, the voting process moved from the balloting system to marking system and then to the present system based on Electronic Voting Machines. Multi-member constituencies have given way to single member constituencies. Printed electoral rolls have now been substituted by computerised photo-electoral rolls. The Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is by now a cherished possession of all citizens. Year after year, with engagement of technology and driven by a sense of innovation, and more importantly matching with the dynamics of the socio-political and economic processes of the Indian society, the art and craft of election management have been chiseled further. In the highly charged arena of competitive elections, where distrust is best guarantor of fair-play, the Commission engages all tricks for prevention of intimidation, election tracking and security & facilitation of voters. 
In this evolution, the ECI is presently at new crossroads. While India’s election management apparatus has quite effectively neutralised the challenges of muscle power and incumbency power, the Commission is aware of the battles that remain to be won. Election Commission of India is concerned that corruption can and in India does pollute the electoral process and undermines its real potential. It is a striking coincidence that when a debate on corruption is raging all around, the Election Commission has stepped up some determined measures to curb the use of black money during election campaigns.
This also covers the new menace of Paid News: a corrupt nexus between political parties, candidates and media houses that seeks to hoodwink the expenditure rules and causes undue influence on electors. Transparency in the conduct and the process of elections, especially in the arena of election expenditure and accounting is being given top priority. Awareness campaign for ethical voting without falling for bribes and inducements is a new dimension of our efforts, for which Civil Society has come forward with exemplary support. 
Another issue that has engaged serious attention of the Commission in the past one year and more is voters’ participation. Elections have to be not only free and fair but also socially just and more participative. Otherwise there may remain a democracy deficit despite a correct election.

Turnout of young voters

The Constitution from its very inception provided every 21 year old the right to vote in direct recognition of the role of the youth in the democratic process. The voting age was further reduced to 18 years in 1989 through a Constitutional Amendment. These two steps are nothing less than two revolutions in the Indian context, the potential of which is unfortunately, far from realised. This is reflected in the low registration and low turnout of young voters.  
Commission has responded to this predicament in a decisive manner. It has created a Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) wing, which rolls out comprehensive community outreach and multi-media campaigns in partnership with a host of organisations after carrying out a scientific survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Practices (KABP) of voters to fill up all possible gaps in information, motivation and participation. This initiative has returned impressive dividends in terms of higher registration and higher turnout in each of the recent state elections including record turnout in some states.
In a historic measure, Commission declared 25th January, its foundation day as the National Voters Day (NVD) from this year with the avowed purpose to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. More than 52 lakh newly eligible and registered youth were given their EPICs at more than 8 lakh polling stations on the first National Voters Day. This has been billed as the largest exercise of empowerment of the youth on a single day, anywhere in the world. The Commission is aiming at even higher levels of impact during NVD 2012 and future years for making universal suffrage a reality.  

Poll management

It does not require any explanation that aspiring democracies around the world look forward to sharing the knowledge, skills and expertise at ECI’s disposal. Responding to increasing global demands, especially from Afro-Asian nations, the Commission is in the process of setting up an India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) that will serve as a training and resource centre in the critical sector of elections for both national and international participants. In the days to come, this Institute of India should hold light to the road of democracy worldwide.
With the type of constitutional mandate that the Commission has, it cannot afford to sit on its laurels. There are several long pending reform proposals and some recent ones from the Commission, that aim at cleaning up the electoral process, so that the foundation can be laid for good governance and a corruption free polity. Countrywide consultations on these reforms are about to be completed, paving the way for adoption of due legislation. Some of these proposals deal with Criminalisation of politics and regulation of campaign finance, publicity and opinion polls etc. We would like to see these getting accepted by all Political Parties and Parliament.
To conclude, the fierce neutrality of Election Commission constitutes the core of its strength.  It is, therefore, surprising when EC is attacked for doing what all political parties want it to do. Certain amount of hue and cry is of course expected, as we experience from election to election. If you go for a life saving surgery, some blood will drip. We are taking this in the stride. For carrying out its sacred duty, assigned by the Indian Constitution, the Commission will not dither. It does not matter if there are no accolades. It also does not matter if there are brickbats.
We have come to a stage in India when holding a free and fair election is no more a spectacular achievement. In fact not holding one would be an exception. This is India’s promise to its own people and to the world. The Commission is now looking ahead to add higher quality to election management – to enrich an already good brand. We will strive to make elections peaceful every time. There shall be no let off in the fight against money power in elections. The other goal is to have every eligible Indian on our electoral rolls and every Indian voter to vote in the elections. We will inform, motivate and facilitate our citizens to do so. The Commission has a simple vision: ‘Elections that are completely free of crime and abuse of money, based on a perfect electoral roll and with full participation of voters.
An attempt to build consensus over electoral reforms will be made in July at a conference of political parties. The conference will deliberate on proposals finalised by the Election Commission after holding several regional consultations in various parts of the country.
Debarring people accused of various crimes from contesting elections as soon as the courts frame charges and greater transparency in the working of political parties through internal democracy and financial accountability are just two of the proposals in the report being prepared. There is also a proposal that the political parties should receive donations through cheques.
Another proposal suggests that nobody be allowed to contest from more than one seat in an election. Presently, if a candidate contests from more than one seat, and wins from all, he is allowed to retain just one seat. This necessitates by-elections, which also amounts to betrayal of the faith of the voter. Meanwhile, India is fast emerging as the ‘Global Guru’ of election management. Having successfully conducted elections since its inception in 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now gearing up to provide its expertise to the Arab world.
The first country on its agenda is Egypt, where a people’s movement brought down the 30-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak early this year. As the Arab nation prepares for parliamentary elections in September, to be followed by presidential polls, ECI’s help has been sought to ensure a smooth election.
The Egyptian side wanted to share India’s experience in areas like voter education and electoral participation, EVMs and technology based election tracking and facilitation systems, confided Akshay Rout, Director General of the ECI. There was also keen interest in the techniques used by the ECI for tracking election processes like SMS, voters’ helpline and videography.
Egypt is not the only country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier this month invited the ECI for a meeting in Cairo to provide help to other nascent democracies in the Arab region. Mexico and South Africa were the other countries invited for the meeting.
The ECI is also discussing with the governments of Delhi and Haryana for land acquisition and for subsequent construction of a campus for the India International Institute of Election Management at New Delhi. 
In the past, the commission has extended election management support on request to a number of countries, i.e. Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. It has also signed MoUs with the UN and electoral bodies of Ivory Coast, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Brazil and Russia and is in the process of finalising accords with Nepal, Mauritius, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia.

Government's efforts tackle the problem of hunger and starvation

For tackling the problem of hunger and starvation in the country and to ensure that people living below poverty line get adequate food grains, the Government has been implementing the following schemes providing food grains at highly subsidized prices to the targeted population through the State/UT Governments: -

1. Government is allocating food grains at subsidized rates for 6.52 crore Below Poverty Line (BPL), and Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) ration card holder families under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Under this scheme, foodgrains are allocated to the States/UTs @ 35 kg per BPL/AAY family per month. Depending upon availability of food grains in the Central Pool, food grains are allocated for Above Poverty Line (APL) families also. Presently, allocations of food grains to APL category range from 15 to 35 Kg per family per month. During 2010-11, a quantity of 470.65 lakh tons of food grains have been allocated to States/U.Ts under TPDS .

2. Under Annapurna Scheme, indigent senior citizens of 65 years of age or above who are not getting old age pension, are provided 10 Kg of food grains per person per month free of cost. 57,760 tons of food grains have been allocated to States/UTs under the scheme during 2010-11.

3. Under the Emergency Feeding Programme (EFP) implemented in eight KBK Districts of Orissa, rice at BPL rates are allocated to the State Government for approximately 2 lakh beneficiaries in these districts. 18,000 tons of rice have been allocated under this scheme during 2010-11.

4. To provide safeguard against starvation during natural calamity and lean season, under the Village Grain Bank Scheme, foodgrains are allocated free of cost by Government of India to States. So far 20,148 Village Grains Banks have been sanctioned in 20 States and 80,592 tons of foodgrains have been allocated.

5. The Government also makes allocation of foodgrains to States/UTs under Mid Day Meal Scheme for providing food to school children studying in primary and upper primary levels. 29.85 lakh tons of foodgrains have been allocated under the scheme during 2010-11.

6. Under the Wheat Based Nutrition Programme aimed at improving the nutritional status of children below 6 years of age and expectant/lactating women, 15.00 lakh tons of foodgrains have been allocated during 2010-11.

7. Under the Scheme for Welfare Institutions, Government makes allocation of foodgrains to States/UTs for Welfare Institutions run by NGOs, charitable institutions, etc. 1.38 lakh tons of foodgrains have been allocated to various States/UTs during 2010-11.

8. Under the Scheme for SC/ST/OBC Hostels, Government makes allocation of foodgrains to States/UTs for meeting requirements of foodgrains of SC/ST/OBC Hostels. 0.50 lakh tons of foodgrains have been allocated to various States/UTs, during 2010-11.