- Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

Transcription

Indian Institute of management Kozhikode
economics, politics and social sciences interest group
p ` agati
SPECIAL
6
fEATURES
October 2014 Vol 02 || No 02
Counter-Point :
bOKO hARAM
MEMOIRS OF A
mAGICIAN
uTTAM KUMAR - thE
BENGALI mAHANAYAK
India’s Way
Forward
W inning ar t i c le s in s i d e
Content
CA Sushant Lohani
1st Yr MBA, FMS Delhi
16. Indian agriculture: Neglected
in the age of post reforms
Prasanna Kumar & Saurabh Audichya
1st yr. PGP students , IIM Kozhikode
19. Promotion of Education:
Through proliferation of IITs or
encouraging primary education
FPM 1st Yr. Public Systems Group, IIM Ahmedabad
Chitranshu Mathur
22. Corporate debt restructuring:
An Analysis of Indian Industry
Arpit Jhaver & Mayank Sharma
SIBM Pune
october 2014
Last Mile
winners
12. Modi in Nepal
`
35. The Planning Commission: A
Symbol of India’s Declining Policy
Apparatus
Binita Shah, Academic Associate, Business Policy Area,
IIM Ahmedabad
38. India’s China Policy: Need for
a Proactive Policy
Amrita Jash, Doctoral Researcher in the Chinese
Division of Centre for East Asian Studies, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi
42. Indian Agriculture- Neglected
in the age of post-liberal reforms
Prateek Keshwani, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
special
features
Project
Report
#51
06. Decline in South
American Football and
the Relation between
Economics and Sports
Venkatesh Balakrishnan
2nd Yr. PGP student, IIM Kozhikode
08. Will the Modi
Government be able to
improve India’s Public
Distribution System: A
Game Theory Perspective
Rupali Pawar , Suhani Popli , Parul Singh
2nd Yr. PGP students, IIM Kozhikode
24. Counter Point : Boko
Haram
Venkatesh Balakrishnan and Samya Ray
2nd Yr. PGP students, IIM Kozhikode
27. Communities of India
Kalsang Wangmo
1st Yr. PGP student , IIM Kozhikode
30. Uttam Kumar, the
“Mahanayak of Bengali
Cinema”
Mrityunjay Basak, 2nd Yr. PGP student,
IIM Kozhikode
33. MEMORIES OF A
MAGICIAN
Review of Akshay Manwani, Sahir
Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet
Prof. Aparajith Ramnath
Visiting Professor, IIM Kozhikode
48. “Make in India’”
Movement: The Role of
MSME Sector
Sthanu R. Nair
Associate Professor Economics, IIM
Kozhikode
2 – PRAGATI VOL 02 | NO 02
It gives us great pleasure to present to you the
Volume2, Issue2 of the “Pragati”, the bi-annual
magazine of the Economics, Politics and Social
Science Interest group of IIM-Kozhikode. In
continuation of the theme of the last issue, which
concentrated on the elections and the political
landscape of the largest democracy of the world,
this time we decided to invite opinion on India’s
way forward, for the coming decade or so. This is
especially important, after the “Modi Wave” which
has shaken India, and holds out a future which is
longed for by many, and feared by an equal number.
We have strived to explore avenues, the challenges
that remain and how the elected government
would take up core agenda to drive growth and
development. This is the first time in thirty years
that a government has come to power with an
absolute majority, and it waits to be seen whether
it will prove a positive decision making unit for
India, or will hold up the adage that absolute power
corrupts absolutely. The results from the assembly
elections of Haryana and Maharashtra, and some
economic policies of the government are already
indicating a shift from the vestiges of Nehruvian
socialism and the Congress.
Overall the magazine addresses a plethora of public
issues and introduces an article of tackling “ Public
Distribution System” -the bone of contention, an
instrument of ire for the markets, but the only
source of succour for the masses. Taking the social
changes which have taken place over the past
fifty years, we glide into our next article which
paints a vivid picture of the Mahanayak of Bengali
cinema. The article provides us a peek into post
-independence Bengal – a time when it was at the
peak of its intellectual and cultural renaissance.
Going forward, we have continued with our section
on the Communities of India, and this time the
Bhutia Tribe of Sikkim features.
A new section called Counter-Point is being
introduced, through which we will endeavour to
propose two alternative narratives on a given topic.
No synthesis is provided however, and it is upto
our readers to reconcile the dialectical opposites.
Last but not the least, the edition also carries two
articles from two distinguished professors of IIMKozhikode. We hope their insights and arguments
would give you a good taste of thought about the
pace of Indian manufacturing system and about the
EPS Coordinators 2013-14
Akash Basak
Samya Ray
Sandesh S. Patil
Sanjeet Kumar
Simran Pradhan
October 2014 Vol 02 || No 02
Editorial
life of a poet.
The small issues that we cover from the
perspectives of amateur management
students of IIM-Kozhikode coupled with
the essays from students from leading
institutes of the country, we hope Pragati
becomes a mouthpiece of expressing ones
ideas and thoughts openly in the years to
come.
Faculty Advisory Board
Kaushik Gangopadhyay
Aparajith Ramnath
A.F.Mathew
Rudra Sen Sharma
K.K.Ladha
Editorial Board (PGP 2013-15)
Designer: Sanjeet Kumar
Editors: Samya Ray,
Venkatesh Balakrishnan
Sub-Editor: Sandesh S. Patil
EPS Activities
Events
Mar-Sept ‘14
Sept 28, 2014
CBST Project
Launch
August 14
Independence Day
EPS Quiz
It is based on sustainable tourism at
Wayanad (a district in Kerala) which
We conducted the India quiz on August 15,2014 to
ensures that development brings a posi-
commemorate the 67 years of India’s independence
tive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves. Mr. Gopalan Balagopal (Retired
IAS officer and currently an Independent Development Consultant) and Mr.
Ajay Padmanabhan (TCCF) are the project
patrons. The Tourism Department and
State Planning Board of Kerala are also
involved in the project.
UPCOMING EVENT
Public Policy Conclave
August 14
Type and Tease
Online debating competition was hosted on the
Facebook page of EPS. We witnessed enthusiastic
participation of students from IIM-Kozhikode as well
as external colleges. The 7th Edition was conducted
on September 14,2014 on the topic of Privatisation of
Upcoming conclave on Public Policy would be hosted by IIM-Kozhikode and conducted by
Natural Resources. The 8th Edition was on the topic
EPS. The event is scheduled for December and leading luminaries from different walks of life
of War on Palestine during August,2014.
are going to be invited for the conclave
Oct 30, 2014
Model United Nations at IIMK
For the first time in IIM-Kozhikode EPS hosted the Model United Nation conference during the
annual management festival of IIM-Kozhikode Backwaters’14. The two committees that were simulated are United nations security Council and World Trade Organisation. The agenda for the
UNSC is going to the situation in Syria and Iraq. While for the WTO, we explored the role of WTO
in the development of Africa. In this two day conference more than 40 participants participated
from across the country.
Winners of the
Debaters’ Adda
being felicitated by
Prof. Mathews
Snapshots from the Model
United Nations at IIM
Kozhikode, held during the
Backwaters (Oct 30- Nov 01,
2014)
The launch presentation of the
CBST Project at IIM Kozhikode
campus by the esteemed
dignitaries.
Sports and
Economics
Author: Venkatesh
Balakrishnan,
IIM Kozhikode
Decline in South
American Football and
the Relation between
Economics and Sports
I
f we look at the
performance of the
South American teams in
last few Football World
Cups, we see a steady decline
in performance. Indeed in the
last two World Cups, no South
American team could even
go past the semifinal stage,
and in the recently concluded
2014 FIFA WC, Argentina
reached the final (only to
lose), but facing a relatively
easy set of rivals, being in a
surprsingly unremarkable
group. The other major South
American team, Brazil has
faced a humiliating declineits loss of pre-eminence
was a known fact (with only
diehards proclaiming it as a
strong team pre- 2014 WC),
the 7-1 loss to Germany
was merely an affirmation,
a bubble waiting to burst.
Uruguay and Colombia have
just risen and fallen, based
on the performance of a
few superstars, like James
Rodriguez and Luis Suarez,
and are not delivering the
strong team performances
expected from contenders
for the WC. Simulateneously,
what we see is the rise of
European teams, and to an
extent, African teams. The
last three World Cups have
seen 5 of the 6 finalists being
Europeans, with the last two
having 5 of 8 semifinalists
too as European. What we
have also observed, is the
rise in the number of goals
scored on average per match
in each WC and startling
drop in the standard of
defence- this appears as
quite contradictory, as one
would expect South American
teams, with their traditionally
flamboyant attacking play to
benefit from such a change,
and European teams, with
their mechanical, accurate
and defensive play to lose
out. But as we shall see,
capitalism has its own logic!
Especially after the
establishment of the English
Premier League (now called
the Barclays Premier league
for sponsorship reasons),
there has been a significant
shift in the power centre of
football. Europeans, with
their huge money power,
have managed to establish
the world’s most watched
leagues. The process of
consolidation took about a
decade, post which, all the
world’s best players play
in European leagues. The
Brazilian team, which won
the 2002 WC, was probably
the last one with players, who
were largely homegrown,
especially in their earlier
playing days. Post that, all
South American players,
whether it be Messi, Suarez,
Diego Forlan, Di Maria have
been the product of the
European leagues. This has
led to many implications. One
is that, these players rarely
get a chance to play with their
country teammates, and are
thus unprepared to play as a
team. Contrast this with the
Europeans, who largely play
in Europe itself, indeed with
their own country maters in
their home leagues, and get
oodles of practice playing
together (Barcelona and
Real Madrid practically make
up Spain’s team, Bayern
Munich contributes about
half of Germany’s playersnote, these two are the
previous two WC winners).
Secondly, young players in
the South American leagues,
now no longer have the
opportunity to play with the
best players in the world,
with their leagues now
having acquired a secondary
status- they have become
like a shell within playing
amongst themselves. Thirdly,
opportunities for playing
for countries are no longer
even comparable as financial
incentives, to what one
gets by playing in leagues.
A player like Marcelo, who
in earlier times, would have
practically ended his career
given his horrendous play
in the World Cup, continues
to play and earn millions in
the Premier League, with no
consequences to speak of.
Fourthly, the whole sport
has been turned into a fertile
ground for sponsorship,
advertising and broadcasting
rights. This has effectively
produced two classes, one
that consumes football, and
the other that produces it.
The important dialectic of
playing and learning, and
therefore
watching to
enjoy, has been sidelined in
favour of a small producing
class, and a large consuming
class (effectively changing
the incentive structure
from one of playing to earn
money, to sponsoring to earn
money), which generates
a steady stream of profits.
In India, for example, the
traditional football hotbeds
used to be West Bengal,
Kerala, Goa and the North
East- these areas were known
for not only their craze for
watching football, but also
producing the nation’s best
footballers like IM Vijayan,
Shailen Manna and Baichung
Bhutia. Now, if we notice,
the viewership base has
widened to other states too,
but since the focus is now
only on creating a consuming
class for advertisements, we
hardly see any good players
coming out of India- indeed
India has dipped in the FIFA
rankings from a high of 94 in
the 90s to an abysmal 165.
Thus, television viewership,
has not democratized football
culture, as was promised
during liberalization, but
has monopolized it in the
hands of a few- by merely
widening the consumption
base of football, but with
the traditional rich,
retaining the modes
of football production.
Even we look at the issue
globally, the new football
stars of Africa are not the
result of any significant
TV viewership-, which
remains much higher
in Asia. Further
evidence for the lack
of any serious interest
in developing the sport,
except for a captive paying
audience, is the complete
shortage of investments of
the big clubs of Europe in any
infrastructure or guidance in
countries like India.
Thus, I would like to conclude
that the only beneficiaries of
the entire game have been
the money rich Europeans,
who have effectively taken
the natural resources
(football players) from South
America, used them to create
a product (football matches),
and sold it to a captive
audience (Asian countries)making huge profits all
along. If this sounds a lot like
the Opium trade in which
the British used Indians to
cultivate opium to sell in
China, it’s probably because
it is!
Author: Rupali Pawar, Suhani
Popli, Parul Singh
IIM Kozhikode
Prof-in-charge: K.K.Ladha
Will the Modi
Government be able
to improve India’s
Public Distribution
System?
A Game Theory based analysis
Figure 1 : PD Game payoffs
Open Market Owner (P2)
Corrupt
Not Corrupt
11.2,13
7,3
PDS Owner Corrupt
Not Corrupt 1.2,8
1.2,3
(P1)
Open Market Owner (P2)
Corrupt
Not Corrupt
11.2-f/12,13-f/12 7-f/12,3
PDS Owner Corrupt
(P1)
Not Corrupt 1.2,8-f/12
1.2,3
Introduction
The Public Distribution System (PDS) is a
government owned chain of shops which
is entrusted with the job of distributing
subsidized food and non-food items to the
needy & poor section of the society. The
problem today is not one of shortage of food
grains but of managing the surplus. Therefore,
while there is need to produce adequate food
grains, it is also necessary to ensure proper
functioning of the distribution network in
the country. Thus, the Modi Government
needs to restructure the existing PDS and
explore innovative ideas such as smart cards,
food credit/debit cards and decentralized
procurement, to eliminate hunger and make
food available to the poor in cost-effective
manner.
Prisoners’ Dilemma
P1 can either distribute the grains allotted
to him, or can refrain from doing so and sell
in open market at high price. P2, who knows
that P1 is corrupt, has an option to oppose or
refrain from taking grains from P1 or he can
also be corrupt and can reap excess benefits
along with the P1. This leads to PD game with
payoffs as in figure 1.
Payoffs explained
• Annual salary of a PDS owner is 1.2lakhs &
that of Open market shop owner is 3lakhs
•
•
•
(*reference 4)
However according to a survey, in Delhi,
there was annual corruption of Rs. 300
crores. Also there are 3000 PDS owners in
Delhi. (*reference 1)
Thus by playing (Corrupt, Corrupt), P1 will
earn 11.2lakhs & P2 13 lakhs
If P1 is corrupt and P2 non-corrupt, P1
will earn his salary, however P2 will have
to lose some of his profit from corruption
because he will have to search for another
Shop Owner who will be ready to source
him the subsidized grains. Vice versa will
happen when P1 is non-corrupt & P2
corrupt.
One solution to the corruption problem is
that the penalty for such behavior on P1 & P2.
Suppose PDS shops are open 12 days/month
and a government official visits the shops
once every month. Thus, probability of the
corrupt shopkeeper being caught is 1/12.
Thus for the fine to be large enough to be a
dire threat for both the players, and only (Not
Corrupt, Not Corrupt) to exist as the Nash
Equilibrium, the following conditions must be
fulfilled:
7 – f/12 < 1.2
84 – f < 14.4
f > 69.6
8 – f/12 < 3
5 < f/12
f > 60
13 – f/12 < 3
156 – f < 36
f > 120
Here, we can see that the fine which corrupt
shop owners should pay is 120crores. This is
a very large amount and hence is not feasible
for government to collect. If we decrease the
amount then it will not be a credible threat to
shopkeepers and hence will not change their
corrupt behavior. Thus Modi Government
should look for alternative measures.
The Game – Design & Mechanism
Now, as promised, the Modi government has
the following strategies (out of which it can
pick one or more)
a. To maintain the status quo (and do
nothing)
b. To regularly monitor activities for the
existing PDS shops
c. Introduce Food Vouchers for the poor
instead of them collecting ration
d. Installation of Swipe/Aadhar cards for
Direct Cash Transfer
e. To put in place a Grievance Redressal
system
However, if the PDS Shop Owner does
not change his attitude despite the
announcement, the Modi government shall
play the next move at Node 2 and hence pick
one or more from the strategies mentioned in
parts (a) to (e) above.
If the Modi Government chooses (a) to “do
nothing”, then the game will end at End_3.
This game, thus, can be modeled as a
sequential game between three major
players viz. the PDS Shop Owner, the Modi
Government and the Authority that shall be
put in place.
In the figure, at Node 0, Nature picks a PDS
owner which is either non-corrupt (probability
= 39%*) or otherwise (probability = 61%*)
Once the Modi Government finalizes its
strategy, it shall pass on the responsibility to
a new/existing Authority to take charge. The
game thus describes the different actions that
the concerned Authority can take. We then
find out the Nash Equilibrium to this game,
hence stating what the best strategy for the
Authority can be to fulfill this aim of the Modi
Government. (*reference 1).
Once Nature has made its choice, in case of a
non-corrupt PDS shop owner the game ends
at End_1. The PDS shop owner does his duty
perfectly and thus has the satisfying feeling of
being an honest man. The Modi Government
does not need to make an effort in this case.
No Authority is involved.
On the other hand, a corrupt PDS owner has
the option to change his way of working once
the Modi Government makes publicly the
promise of strictly monitoring the PDS system.
In this scenario, since he is now an honest
man, his payoff is lesser than a shop owner
who has always been non-corrupt. Further,
the payoff for the Government increases,
since the change in attitude is a result of its
announcement. The game ends at End_2.
Assumptions
For the strategies in parts (b) and (c)
• The payoff of the corrupt PDS owner falls
from 90 to 35
• The Authority is paid a salary worth payoff
= 15 (subtracted from the total payoff of
the Modi Government ; initial figure for
every payoff of the authority)
For the strategies in parts (d)
• Since the strategies in parts (d) and (e) will
take a long term to be implemented, the
payoff of the corrupt PDS owner will get
reduced from 90 to only 40
Now, if the Modi Government chooses (b) to
“regularly monitor the working of PDS shops”,
it will engage an Authority to do the same.
The Authority then can choose between the
strategy to “warn” the PDS Shop Owner and
ask him to change his ways or at once “revoke
his license and employ a new owner” for the
PDS shop. Both these entail a cost (2 and
15 respectively). Since the cost of searching
for a new employer is higher, the latter will
be greater. Further, in the latter case, the
Government pays to the Authority 10 more
to look for a new owner, and the payoff of
the original (now unemployed) PDS Shop will
become 0.
If the Modi Government chooses (c) i.e. to
“introduce Food Vouchers”, it will need to
appropriately identify the poor. The Authority
then can choose whether it wants to “involve
local bodies” or “hire volunteers”, to collect
information about the poor and distribute
vouchers. Both of these entail a cost (7 and
10 respectively). Since it is more expensive to
hire new employees, the latter will be greater.
Further, in the former case, the payoff for
the Government will increase by 10, since it
has empowered the local bodies as well, thus
fulfilling one of its other aims of effective
decentralization.
the latter case, since the Authorities involved
need not have many employees as complaints
are registered digitally, the Government
contributes only a payoff of 10 as their
salary. Both of these entail a cost (10 and 2
respectively).
If the Modi Government chooses (d) i.e.
“Installation of Swipe/Aadhar cards for Direct
Cash Transfer”, it will have to create bank
accounts for the poor. The Authority then
can choose whether it wants to “incentivize
banks to increase bandwidth” and encourage
the poor to open more accounts, or to “link
post office accounts to DCT”, considering
that the post office network is well spread
out throughout the country. For these, the
Government grants to the Authority a payoff
of 10. Further –
a. Banks – cost = 10 ; Post office – cost = 12
(lesser for Banks due to an established
system of funds’ collection and payment)
b. Banks – benefit = 2 ; Post office – benefit
= 5 (post offices will be able to help out a
greater number of people)
Analysis
If the Modi Government chooses (e) i.e.
“Grievance Redressal System”, the Authority
can either choose the conventional mode of
“complaints in written” or can install a new
form of “mobile complaint redressal system”,
wherein the dissatisfied poor can record
their complaints on an answering machine
monitored by the authority, by calling a
particular phone number. They will get a
complaint registration number as well. In
The SPNE by backward induction is
highlighted in the above diagram. The
SPNE for the above sub game when PDS
Shop Owners are corrupt is: {PDS Shop
Owner “changes attitude” at Node 1; the
Modi Government “introduces a Grievance
Redressal System” at Node 2; Authority “warns
PDS Shop Owners” at Node 3, Authority
“involves the locals” at Node 4, Authority
“links post office accounts to DCT” at Node
5, Authority introduces “mobile complaint
redressal system” at Node 6}
References
1. Corruption in the Public Distribution
System - Mint (livemint.com)
2. Farewell to Welfare? - Public Distribution
System and the Cash Transfer Scheme - A
Note by Perspectives
3. Report on Public Distribution System in the
State of Andhra Pradesh, Central Vigilance
Committee
4. Chapter 3.4 - Public Distribution System Tenth Five Year Plan, 2002 - 07
a sure shot hit
F ir s t pri z e winner
MOdi in nepal
Author: CA Sushant
Lohani
Faculty of
Management
Studies, Delhi
I
was running from one
classroom to another when
a familiar sound grabbed
my attention. I stopped to
watch the television in the lobby.
How did I forget that Narendra
Modi would be addressing the
Constituent Assembly of my
country that evening? I just
couldn’t stop but smile when
I heard Mr. Modi speaking in
Nepali to a thunderous applause
from the MPs sitting there. “He
certainly knows how to win the
hearts of his audience,” I thought,
reminiscing my early days as
a CA article in Ahmedabad,
Gujarat when I and my Gujarati
colleague used to imagine Modi
as the premier and in hindsight,
I had never imagined that he
would choose Nepal as one of his
first foreign tours.
India and Nepal have been
sharing a common culture and
heritage for thousands of years,
whether it is the matrimonial
relations between its royal
families or the pursuit of true
knowledge by Siddhartha,
the Shakya prince from
Lumbini who went on to get
enlightenment at Gaya and
became Gautam Buddha. The
languages and the festivals are
similar and so are the common
ways of observing the different
stages of life. Nepalese in the
early 1930s also took part in the
Satyagraha movement here
in India and went on to carry
the momentum to eventually
Nepali Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher Jang
Bahadur Rana and Indian ambassador to Nepal,
Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh signing the
1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 31
July 1950
stacked in favour of India and
Nepalese
has covenants detrimenin the early
tal to the interests of the
1930s also took part
Nepalese. The infamous
in the Satyagraha
Hrithik Roshan episode in
movement here in
2000 and the comments
India and went on to
from Hindi TV soaps
carry the momentum
and movies about the
to eventually
birthplace of Gautam
overthrow the Rana
Buddha being India had
regime in Nepal
provoked angry protests
to introduce
and riots across Nepal.
democracy
There were also conspiracy
theories about the Indian
government tacitly training
the Maoist rebels as well as helping
the politicians turn the world’s lone “Hindu
Kingdom” into a “Secular” country overnight, without public referendum in 2006.
overthrow the Rana regime in Nepal to
introduce democracy. There are lakhs of
Nepalese in India working as domestic
helps, officers and army personnel. It was
the British who started recruiting the
Gorkhas after being impressed by their raw
valour in the Anglo- Nepal War in 181416 AD. The Nepalese army was the only
foreign army to be deployed in independent
India and had been called in by the Indian
Government to control riots during the
partition and during the integration of
Hyderabad during Operation Polo.
In the last 60 odd years, the Indo-Nepal
relations have gone through many crests
and troughs. The Indian Government had
welcomed the first ever elections in Nepal.
There are allegations from the Nepalese
side that the Indian forces haven’t vacated
the areas in Kalapani which had been taken
by them during the Sino-Indian war in
1962. Whether it is true or not, the stories
of Indian interference in Nepal’s internal
affairs have always surfaced either during
a politician’s speech or in some editorial of
a vernacular daily. They also allege that
the Indo- Nepal treaty of 1950 is heavily
It’s not that there haven’t been complaints
from the Indian side. India has repeatedly
asked Nepal to put a curb on the smuggling
of tiger skins and Fake Indian Counterfeit
Notes (FICN) among a multitude of things
through its porous borders. The porous border has been a blessing for anti-nationals
to commit crimes on Indian soil and slip
back to Nepal. Every now and then, Bihar
has been at the receiving end of the fury of
the Koshi River. Criminals after breaking
the law have often sought refuge in India.
Thankfully, in recent times, cooperation
from Nepalese agencies has helped India
arrest notorious terrorists like Tunda and
Bhatkal.
Amidst all this, it’s the rising dragon which
has been expanding its sphere of influence
around India. It has been provoking India
time and time again via border transgressions with the latest one being in Uttarakhand. There has been a spurt in the growth
of Chinese cultural centres in Nepal especially near the Indo Nepal border which is
being used for espionage as per the Indian
security agencies. And in the past decade
and a half, Nepal has tried to leverage India
against China. One of the reasons why China
is interested in Nepalese politics is because of
the presence of Tibetans in exile. On behest
of China, Nepal has cracked down heavily on
Tibetan protestors many a time. Apart from
that, China rarely comments about Nepal.
The Indo-Nepal relationship had hit its lowest point before the Modi trip. It was 17 years
ago when an Indian PM made a bilateral trip
to Nepal. Since then, the Nepalese side invited Indian PM many times but apart from
the SAARC trip by AB Vajpayee in 2002,
there were no other trips. Last decade was a
tumultuous one in Nepali political history
and Indian government decided to deal with
Nepal via bureaucrats instead. It was during
this vacuum that the Chinese stepped in and
became a key influence behind the scenes. In
fact, there’d been more visits from the Chinese
ministers as opposed to their Indian counterparts.
It was a masterstroke by Narendra Modi to
have invited the heads of states of the neighbouring countries. Nawaz Sharif couldn’t
refuse it and it certainly warmed the hearts of
the Nepalese and Bhutanese public as Narendra Modi set upon to repair and bolster the
bilateral relations with the two small, sovereign nations. The decision by the preceding
UPA government to cut fuel subsidy to Bhutan
did damage the bilateral treaty giving some
room to the Chinese who have been lobbying
to start a consulate in Thimpu as well as fanning anti-India sentiments. During the oath
taking ceremony, the representatives from
“Tibetan Government in exile” and South-East
Asian countries were seated near the Chinese
representative to send out a message that the
new government knows how to negotiate and
forge new alliances.
Modi’s trip to Nepal had been gathering news
weeks before he actually set his foot there.
The Royalist parties made claims that the
new Indian government will help restore the
erstwhile Hindu Kingdom. Rest of the leaders
started sharing their apprehensions openly in
the press. Sushma Swaraj came a week before to set the groundwork for the actual visit.
Streets were cleaned and security was beefed
across the Kathmandu imposing a curfew of
sorts. Schools were closed and the twitteratti
made sarcastic comments about wishing that
Modi arrived everyday so that they get to live
in a clean and safe city. But what really took
the Nepalese by surprise was his unexpected
mingling with the surging crowds who braved
the rains to catch a glimpse of the man from
the humblest of origins who rose to become
the PM of India. He was greeted with the BJP
chant of “Har Har Modi “. #ModiinNepal started trending and with each passing minute,
enthusiastic posts about Modi kept flowing in.
Narendra Modi, similar to his campaign
speeches, started his speech in Nepali and
stressed upon the unique and resilient nature
of the Indo-Nepal friendship. His usage of
new terms like “Yudha se Buddha” (from war
to peace),”Shastra se Shaastra” (weapons to
Constitution) H-I-T (Highways, Information
Technology or info ways and Transmission
lines) struck an instant chord with the masses.
He stressed upon the fact that India has no
intention to meddle in the internal affairs of
Nepal and would provide every aid possible so
that Nepal is able to emerge as the prosperous
nation. For that, he announced USD 1 billion
soft loan to buttress infrastructure projects.
Modi also opined that the Nepalese economy
can skyrocket after exporting hydroelectricity
and herbal medicines and assured India’s help
in this regard. Modi’s reference to the sovereignty of Nepal, Buddha being born in Nepal
and the contribution of the Gorkhas to India’s
security invited thunderous applause from the
elected lawmakers, across party lines. Modi
has always been a stellar orator but on the day
he also proved that he was equally adroit in
“kuutneeti” (diplomacy).
The increase in the goodwill of India and the
amount of encomiums published that moment onwards in local press and social media
proved that Modi had managed to prevent
the deteriorating situation from spiraling out
of control. Power trade between India and
Nepal is a win- win situation for both as the
ever-growing Indian economy needs energy
to revive its manufacturing sector in particular and Nepal doesn’t have the expertise
and the manpower to execute such projects.
40000 MW of hydroelectricity is technically
feasible and that electricity generated can be
used to alleviate power cuts (which can go up
to 18hours a day in Kathmandu), revive the local economy, create jobs as well as export it to
India and others in lieu of foreign exchange.
India on the other hand has to continue its attempt to increase investment in Nepal especially in hydroelectricity and providing the
technical knowhow. Scholarships to Nepalese
students can be enhanced so as to attract the
brightest brains but such students should be
made to work in Nepal in such infrastructure
projects. The Pancheswor project, which has
been stalled since 1996 and has the capacity
to generate 6480MW electricity as well as irrigate 93000 hectares of land in Nepal and 1.6
million hectares in India, should be completed
at the earliest. India has also pledged to build
an oil pipeline from Raxaul to Kathmandu
and then Nepal might also might benefit from
the gas/petrol procured by India from Turkmenistan and Iran. Apart from this, both the
countries have to come back to the table and
solve the border dispute regarding Kalapani
and Susta. They have to redraft and renew the
1950 Treaty.
The new Indian administration has begun on a
right and aggressive note on its foreign policy.
Its ploy to engage its smaller neighbours in the
development of the entire SAARC region as
an economic powerhouse might not fructify
so soon but the intent is indeed commendable. What we the people in Nepal and India
can do is keep our fingers crossed so that the
“Acche din”, as promised by Modi is delivered
as soon as possible. It won’t be easy for the
Modi administration to do away with the scars
of the 1990 Economic blockade of Nepal and
the neglect of the Himalayan republic during
the UPA regime, but if we speak as optimists,
it is atleast a good beginning. Nepal has a lot
to gain from the burgeoning economy of India
and China, as in the decades to come, being
a country having 2.27% of the world’s water
resources will certainly become its competitive advantage.
-CA Sushant Lohani is a Nepalese citizen currently studying MBA-First Year at Faculty of
Management Studies, Delhi.
Reference:
1. 1. http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/08/04/
business/pancheswor-will-move-aheadmodi/393119.html
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/the-hindu-editorial-a-significant-outing-in-nepal/article6292470.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/anew-template-for-indianepal-ties/article6272963.ece
4. http://www.iop.harvard.edu/endingnepals-hegemonic-tryst
5. http://rt.com/op-edge/178920-india-nepalwarms-up-china/
R u nner s - u p
Agriculture now accounts for only 14 percent of the Gross Domestic Product
(2013-14) from 44 percent in 1970-71. However, for the majority proportion
of rural India it is the only means of livelihood. Agricultural prosperity will
increase rural incomes and purchasing power which in turn would drive economic
growth overall.
On the contrary, weak agricultural performance will not only
suppress overall economic growth but can lead to social unrest, to stave of which
government would likely resort to wasteful subsidies which will affect the macroeconomy adversely. A strong farm sector is therefore an imperative for more
reasons than one.
Indian Agriculture
Neglected in the age of
post reforms?
Authors: R L Prasanna
Kumar, Saurabh Audichya
IIM Kozhikode
Agricultural growth
vs. Non agricultural
growth
Post 1991 economic reforms,
India impressed the world
with its GDP growth. Barring
the 2008 recession, the last
two decades of growth have
led to the expectation of a
minimum annual growth
rate of 7%. Right from the
Ninth Five year plan, India
has been targeting for a
minimum of 4% growth
in agriculture. However,
there has been a growing
disproportion between the
growth rates of agriculture
and other sectors. It is
certainly heartening to see
other sectors grow in double
digits, but what is disturbing
is the decelerating growth
rate of agriculture post
liberalization. Chart 1 shows
the GDP, Chart 2 shows the
growth YoY over four decades.
In order to explain this
decelerating growth, we
have examined three
major factors, which are:
Capital which includes land
availability, gross capital
formation; credit availability
and other factors.
Capital Formation
Chart 3 shows the percentage
of Gross Capital Formation
(GCF) in Agriculture & Allied
Sector after the adoption of
liberal economic policies
from 1991 onwards. Note that,
contrary to expectations,
there has been a continuous
decrease in not just public but
private sector investments
made during this period.
FDI inflows to agricultural
services are allowed upto
100% but the percentage
of agricultural share is
negligible. Share of public
expenditure on this sector
has come down from 6
percent in sixth five year plan
to 4.5 percent in the tenth
five year plan. Land reforms
were neglected resulting
in the sector ‘moving from
a farmers’ own-resourcebased subsistence farming to
purchased-based intensive
commercial farming’(N
Reddy, S Mishra 2008). The
share of number of small
and marginal farmers
continued to increase during
the reforms period from
69 percent in 1970-71 to 83
percent in 2005-06 while
the average farm size has
declined from 2.3 ha in 197071 to 1.23 ha in 2004-05 (VP
Sharma, 2011, IIMA).
Subsidies in fertilizers went
down from 3.2 percent of
GDP and 6 per cent of the
Union revenue expenditure
in 1990–1 to 2.5 percent and
5 percent, respectively by
1997–8 (Acharya 2004, p. 67).
It was further reduced to 0.69
per cent of GDP by 2003–4
(Sen and Bhatia 2004, p. 275).
Growth
in this sector
will boost the overall
GDP to double
digits
Credit availability
The availability of credit
has continuously come
down after 1991. Percentage
of rural branches of
commercial banks has
come down from 58.2% in
1989-90 to 36.9% in 201112. Regional Rural Banks
(RRBs) no longer lended to
specific weaker sections
but opened up to all with an
increased upward revision
of rates (Rao, 2004a).
Narasimhan Committee on
Financial Reforms (1992),
recommended
to dilute
lending to agriculture sector.
The sector’s share in terms
of lending declined from
16.9 percent to 8.3 percent
between 1980-1 to 19992000. The annual growth
rate of credit disbursed
to agriculture and allied
activities for the pre-reform
period was 14.77 percent
but only 10.9 percent during
the reform period (Sahu,
Rajasekhar, EPW, 2005).
Other Factors
Green revolution
advantages have been
saturated with marginal
productivity per hectare
almost remained constant.
Overall rise in GDP led to
raise in the production costs.
Due to the credit crunch
by the organized sector,
the poor and marginal
farmers were hit the most.
From the early 1990s, the
small borrowers’ share in
bank credit declined steeply
from 21.9 per cent in 1992
to 7 per cent in 2001 (Rao
2002). This led to increase
in borrowings from the
unorganized sector. At the
same time, opening up of
the markets led to certain
cash
crops like cotton
for
greater
volatility.
Investments have come to
a dry and the government’s
minimum support prices
placed well below the
cost of production. Debts
with increased interests
accumulated leading to
agrarian crisis and farmers’
suicides.
Conclusion
It is increasingly evident
that there has been neglect
towards agriculture
and allied activities by
the government. The
government must ensure
that the public policies
should be inclusive to all
sectors in the economy.
promotion of education
J oin t - T h ir d pri z e W inner
Through
proliferation
of IITs/
IIMs or
encouraging
primary
education?
Author: Chitranshu Mathur
(IIM Ahmedabad)
T
he first question
that should come
to our mind when
we talk about
‘promotion of education’
is not higher education v/s
primary education as the
title of this article suggests,
but whether we are even
promoting education on the
whole enough. One measure
of this is our public spending
on education, which has
hovered at ~3% of GDP for
many years now, despite a
generally accepted worldwide
norm and examples of
not just developed but
even developing countries
spending ~6% of GDP on
education1.
The newly-elected BJP
government will do well to
adhere to one of its manifesto
promises, of increasing public
spending on education to 6%
of GDP. Since it is early days
in their tenure, let us give
them the benefit of doubt
and assume that they will.
Now we can come back to
the question posed at the
beginning – whether there
should be more emphasis on
proliferating IITs/IIMs or on
primary education?
Let us get one thing straight
– at India’s current stage of
economic development, it is
simply not possible for higher
education to completely
or even substantially be
provided by the government.
There will have to be private
investment, not just for
financial reasons, but also
to increase competition and
improve quality standards.
The role of IITs/IIMs (existing
as well as future ones) in such
a scenario would be to uphold
and enhance these standards,
and act as enduring examples
of what truly autonomous
world-class institutions
should be like. Along with a
few similar examples from
the private sector (hopefully
from among the new
universities being developed
by the likes of Azim Premji,
the Jindals, the Nadars etc),
this may encourage a race
for quality at the ‘lower
rungs’ as well, instead of the
multitude of fly-by-night
paid, less qualified and less trained than
the average teacher in public or private
schools. These volunteers, focusing on every
child learning the basics, instead of simply
‘completing’ a given curriculum, are able to
achieve better learning outcomes, which can
also be replicated by the same much-maligned
public school teachers when they are given the
right directions and training.
operators and barely-disguised-businesses
of local politicians that exist as of now. The
end-state would be one where even if IITs/IIMs
are directly catering to ~0.01% of the student
population, the examples that they set can
act as catalysts for a much larger fraction of
the population, irrespective of whether it is
served by public or private providers of higher
education.
Coming to primary education, let us again set
a few facts straight to begin with. The biggest
problem is no longer the lack of schools, but
the quality of schools. As the intake ratios
suggest , most children in India now do begin
school. It is what happens in those schools and
how many of these children stay in school
that is the problem. On this parameter, i.e.
the quality of teaching and learning, the
debate has generally been on private v/s public
provision of primary education. A general
notion in this regard has been that private
schools do better than public schools, which
has in turn influenced debates on increasing
school choice (e.g. through vouchers) or on
having private schools admit at least 25%
students from ‘underprivileged’ backgrounds
(as provided for in the Right to Education Act).
However, careful studies have shown that
the private v/s public comparison in primary
education is much more complex. A good
source to read about such studies is the book
Poor Economics , which devotes a complete
chapter (out of ten) to education. It says, for
example, that private schools generally do
better in ensuring that they have teachers
who are present, teaching and controlling the
class. However, this alone is not sufficient for
the best learning outcomes. There may also
be simpler and more cost-effective ways of
improving learning, as proved by volunteers
of the NGO Pratham who are generally less
Learning outcomes, as well as the willingness
of parents to educate their children, of
children themselves to learn, and of teachers
to teach everyone well, are all affected by
an ‘illusory S-shape’. Simply investing more
money, whether in private or in public, in the
schools or directly to beneficiaries through
cash transfers, conditional or otherwise, as
used in Latin America for example, may
be useful in overcoming minor economic
barriers to education, but may not do much
for the quality of learning, because it is
not able to correct this illusion of S-shaped
returns to education. What it means is
that parents, teachers and even students
themselves undervalue the importance of the
first few years of education, and overvalue
that of higher education, thus expecting
S-shaped returns to education. In reality, this
relationship is mostly linear, i.e. each extra
year of schooling approximately improves
one’s future life prospects by the same
amount. This illusion results in parents, if
resources are restricted, ‘putting all their
eggs in one basket’, i.e. they try to educate one
child (the most promising one) the most and
let the others be, instead of giving every child
an equal opportunity. Teachers affected by
this illusion focus on the smartest kids and
ignore the rest. Students also internalize this
illusion and believe that they cannot do well,
especially when it overlaps with caste or other
discrimination, resulting in poor learning and
low interest in education.
Moreover, education in one’s native language
may lead to better outcomes than in English,
at least at the primary level for firstgeneration learners. Technology that aids
learning at one’s own pace can also be very
useful in improving learning and overcoming
the shortage of quality teachers. Coming to
management of schools, to ensure that local
residents and parents supervise their nearby
schools and the teaching quality (through
the existing Village Education Committees or
otherwise), they need to be given specific and
manageable tasks, instead of simply assuming
that decentralization alone will solve all
problems.
Thus, a combination of correcting illusions,
focusing on basics for all instead of rotelearning of large syllabi by a few, and smart
usage of technology can do bigger wonders
than ideological arguments on public v/s
private or on increasing school choice etc.
Unfortunately though, most of our debates on
education, whether by ‘experts’ or by leaders
and political parties who are at some point
responsible for policy-making, have focused
less on the former and more on the latter. For
example, if one were to look at the manifestos
of the leading parties, say the INC, BJP and
AAP, in the run-up to national elections earlier
this year, the INC focused more on ‘schemes’,
the BJP made references to ‘values’, and the
AAP focused on ‘decentralization’, but there
seemed to be very little understanding of
how people actually are and what they really
expect from education. I am making a gross
simplification about each party’s stance,
as there were some good points in each of
those manifestos, but they still left a lot to be
desired.
Combine this with the jumble of whether
to focus on higher education or on primary
education, whether private is better than
public, and on who should frame syllabi
and how to ‘inculcate values’, and we get the
potpourri which passes off as our education
policies. As we have seen above, some of these
are complementary and not conflicting issues,
while others may be plain irrelevant in the
face of more pressing but less conspicuous
issues such as how people in general as well
as in the education system actually behave.
There needs to be a significant increase
(almost a doubling) in public spending on
education, but unless it is in the right direction
guided by the right questions, it will again lead
to sub-optimal solutions.
Thus, the real question is not whether to focus
on ‘proliferating IITs/IIMs’ or ‘encouraging
primary education’, but how exactly to do
what one chooses to, and why? These ‘how’
and ‘why’ questions have been largely missing
from our policy debates over the years, but
they need to be brought to the forefront in any
discussion about ‘the way forward’.
References
1. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/
SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS
2. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/
SE.PRM.GINT.FE.ZS/countries and http://
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.
GINT.MA.ZS/countries
3. http://www.amazon.in/Poor-EconomicsRadical-Rethinking-Poverty/
dp/1610390938
J oin t - t h ir d pri z e winner
Author: Arpit
Jhaver, and
Mayank Sharma
SIBM Pune
Corporate Debt
Restructuring
An Analysis of Indian Industry
L
ast month ABG Shipyard reached its
lenders for restructuring of loans worth
Rs.11,500 crore. It is just one of the
many companies which have applied for
debt restructuring in the recent past. Orchid
Chemicals, Lanco Infra, IVRCL, Educomp
and Abhijeet Group companies have already
applied for CDR since March 2014. Data
suggests an alarming increase in the number
of companies applying for Corporate Debt
Restructuring. In just concluded financial year
2013-14 a total of 622 cases of CDR were put
forth to CDR cell out of which 476 cases were
approved, causing loans worth Rs. 330444
crore to be restructured. These figures suggest
that all is not well with Indian industry.
stood at alarming figures of 192% and 148%.
These figures reflect only the amount of loans
restructured under CDR platforms. Banks also
restructure loans outside CDR mechanism.
At this point it becomes imperative
to understand what Corporate Debt
Restructuring entails. In simple terms CDR
involves reducing the debt burden on a
company by reducing the interest rate on debt
and increasing the time the company has to
pay back the debt. This improves the ability
of the company to meet the obligations. In
addition, some of the debt may be forgiven by
creditors in exchange for an equity position in
the company.
Corporate Debt Restructuring and
Indian Industry
An analysis of data on CDR reveal that
between 2008-09 to 2013-14, total references
received by CDR cell increased by a whopping
349% , while the total approval rate increased
by 282% (based on the value of loans to be
restructured). Even after adjusting the figures
for inflation (assumed to be constant at 9%
during the said period), the growth rates
These statistics give a clear indication of the
hardships that Indian industry is facing. Policy
paralysis, slow economic growth and negative
investor sentiments have caused delays and
cancellation of many projects across different
sectors. This has led to a decline in top-line
growth of companies. In such a scenario,
companies that fail to improve their operating
margins (by cost cutting and streamlining
production and logistics) face the threat of
closure.
The situation is not equally bad in all sectors.
Infrastructure, Iron & Steel, Power, Textiles
and Ship Building/ Ship-Breaking emerged as
the top five sectors in terms of live CDR cases.
Iron & Steel sector remains the usual culprit
with 18% of total CDR cases,with number
of companies applying for restructuring
increasing from 23(2008-09) to 53(201314), an increase of 130%. Data shows that
Figure 1: CDR Data Industry View
Figure 2: Industry wise break-up of Debt
Infrastructure has been
hit the worst. In 200809,it had a share of 2.13%
of the total restructured
debt,whichhas now increased
to 20.72%. Infrastructure
projects worth Rs 7 lakh
crore are stuck mainly for
the want of environmental
clearances, problems in land acquisitions
and high borrowing costs. Poor performance
of infrastructure sector is a serious cause of
concern as it has an adverse impact on other
sectors, resulting in a vicious cycle.
Our analysis reveals another lurking danger.
While in 2008-09 companies from 29
industries were unable to make their debt
payments, the number grew to 42 in 2013-14,
an increase of 45%. This shows that the health
of industry in India is degrading over time.
Corporate Debt Restructuring and
GDP
There is a circular relationship between
loans restructured and GDP of our country.
We found that that is a negative correlation
of -0.42 between the two. This means as the
GDP declines the loan payment capability
of industry diminishes, which in turn puts
further pressure on GDP.
A simple regression analysis between CDR
and GDP figures prove that loans restructured
in a year is dependent on GDP. This validates
the fact that as India’s GDP has declined
from highs of 10.50% in 2010 to below 5%
figures in year 2012, the restructured loans
have increased in value to Rs. 330,444 crore
showing that corporates are not even able to
make interest payments on their debts.
Road Ahead
Going by the regression results, and with IMF
predicting India’s GDP to increase to 5.4% in
2014-15 and 6.4% in 2015-16, we can expect
the industry to improve in terms of its loan
repayment capability. This is a good sign for
sectors which have so far stayed beaten down
in post sub-prime crisis era.
At the same time our analysis gives warning
signals to investors to stay away from sectors
such as Infrastructure and Textiles which
have high CDR demands. Investors can look
to invest in companies that are active in
sectors such as Hospitality, Pharmaceuticals,
Information Technologyand Fertilizers as data
on applications made to CDR cell suggests that
these sectors have stayed resistant to macroeconomic volatilities.
Figure 3: Regression between CDR and GDP
References
1. http://www.cdrindia.org/
2. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/
weo/2014/update/01/
3. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/
companies/construction-sector-seesmost-cdr-cases-icra/article5883675.ece
4. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
india/Infrastructure-projects-worthRs-7-lakh-crore-stuck-in-red-tape/
articleshow/19100471.cms
5. http://www.livemint.com/Industry/
pL0WQVfieHpt74yvYjN6BM/
infrastructure-loans-emerge-as-thebiggest-stress-point-for.html
6. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/
corporate-debt-restructuring.asp
Authors: Venkatesh
Balakrishnan (Pro)
and
Samya Ray (Anti)
CounterPoint
BOKO W
HARAM
pro
ANTI
T
he rise of Boko Haram and ISIS seem
to be the latest thing for western
media channels to flood their 24
hours with- what better could be the
ingredients for the creation of an enemy
than beheadings captured on video and
the kidnap of schoolgirls, which has almost
been used to kindle perverse fantasies to get
viewership. While it may seem to be a
battle of good vs. evil in this capitalist
Ramayana, there are deeper economic
and ideological implications beneath.
Boko Haram means that the “Book is
haram”, where ‘book’ is a synecdoche
for western education in general and
‘haram’ is the word for sin in Islamic
jurisprudence. Nigeria has been a hotbed
of religious tension for many years now,
with both Islam and Christianity having
hile the world after the
world war through its
dedication towards the
preamble of United
Nations believed in creating a peaceful
and much more prosperous international
order by empowering indigenous people
and bestowing upon them the rights of
governance and sovereignty and in turn
destroying the wheels of oppression and
subjugation of colonial power. Overall
the morals of humanitarianism and
liberal economic order along with the
establishment of democracies and
republics of the Soviets meant greater
empowerment of individual rights
or the classes who have been long
deprived under the whims of autocracy
and colonialism. However the intense
ideological battle which spelt into proxy
wars of Korea, Vietnam and
Afghanistan ended in 1991
but along with the terror
attacks of 9/11 an another
ideological paradigm
and a different model of
institutionalising the society
has strongly emerged.
While the seeds were put
during the 1979 Islamic
revolution but the present
Islamic extremism does
pose a challenge to world’s
peace, stability and even its
security.
24 – RUNNING TITLE
ANTI
blood on their hands. In a land
that was previously inhabited by
peaceful tribal religions, these
forces and the imperialist paper
partition of Africa created artificial
borders, and different, more
convenient senses of nationalismno wonder why nationalism and
feelings of belonging differ along
perfect straight lines in Africa!
In his book, Things Fall Apart,
Chinua Achebe, the renowned Nigerian
author, describes how Christian
missionaries systematically destroy
a tribal society. Having settled into
these renewed nationalisms, but with
a feudal order in their minds, inherent
contradictions have arisen. Nationalism
demands a certain alienation which
feudalism cannot provide; only this
completion of the self is what constitutes
nationalism. We shall have to bring
in geography and economics here.
The Muslim North of Nigeria, which
shares a border with Niger, has a
distinct culture and languages, and is
largely de-industrialized, dominated
by agriculture. The South, dominated
by Christianity, has the rich oil deposits
of the Niger delta and the city of Lagos,
and as much is far more developed than
the North. Thus we can begin to see the
familiar feudalism capitalism divide
and its constituent contradictions on
the role of religion, usage of resources,
law etc. It is important to realize that
this divide has a economic basis to it,
and has nothing essential to do with
the particular religions involved. Thus,
the North, having been co-opted into
a feudal worldview naturally wants
to take it to the hilt- thus we see the
emphasis on a return to conservative
Islam. An interesting point is the
difference in methods- Boko Haram
believes in purifying Islam from within
than eliminating the Westerners
who threaten it- it has a Gandhian
perspective to this, albeit without the
glorified non-violence ethic which the
privileged can practice. The North has
also been a victim of exploitation at
the hands of the South. The South has
pro
At the same time we
have to question why is
being termed as religious
extremism. Isn’t it possible
that the region of West Asia
has long suffered under
the machinations of west
and have felt its culture
and heritage to have been
threatened due to pervasive
soft power of West. So
how does one respond to
it. Certainly case in point
of Iran and Palestine
stands quite contrary to
the demands and ends of
organisations like Al-Qaeda. Hence
from here moving unto the context of
argument that whether Boko Haram is
justified in its actions that has unfolded
over the last three years in Nigeria.
Technically speaking in any democracy
or rather a country individuals should
have the right to preserve and practise
their religion, sect or tribe. In the case
of Boko-haram there hasn’t been any
reason where the state had coerced their
wilful expression of those just practices.
Nevertheless problems stems from their
inflexible and orthodox interpretation
of their religion which motivates them
to horrifying extremism to constitute
the world of their belief. Other than the
tenets of Sharia that has been already
implemented in many regions of Nigeria
by the state itself Boko-haram doesn’t
seem to have any concept of peaceful
existence with its co-brethrens and in
return unleashed full fledged attacks on
the state. Their targeted victims could
be anyone who considered as the infidel
or idolater or conniving with the enemy
and perceived to eb the enemy of Islam.
Under the pretext of Islam they sanction
themselves to kidnap 300 girls and try
to sell them into slavery. In nominal
terms this acts of barbarism seems
to be outrageous and appalling in the
21st century world but unfortunately
such forces like ISIS have been on the
rise who are pipe dreaming to establish
the Caliphate or the Ummah. The
The turn of events forces us to ruminate
the future of our coming generation
who are going to be engulfed into this
vicious cycle of hatred which seems to
be the mainstay of these organisations.
They seem to create an aura of imagined
evangelists trying uproot their society. If
the practises envisioned by them dictates
the curtailment of fundamental rights
of freedom of speech & expression,
debasing the dignity of women and
conducting brutal genocides to achieve
those aims it becomes quite evident that
it is hardly possible that any prophet
would have preached such actions to
their followers. Personally I feel Bokoharam should be considered a spite
and failing of the human civilization
which must be immediately destroyed
before it entangles the entire region and
obliterates millions of innocent lives.
Propaganda under the sanctions of
religion should be unmasked
and the puritanical absolute
rule of their faith must be
replaced with the notions of
successful democratic states
of Indonesia and Turkey
who have progressed under
the auspices of free market
and democracy and have
strengthened and inculcated
an entire generation
with tolerance, scientific
attitude and a spirit of
personal endeavour to live a
prosperous and peaceful life.
pro
ANTI
taken to capitalism much better, with its
greater surpluses and dominates the spheres
of culture and economy in the unified
Nigeria, which are effectively two different
cultures. In such a situation, it is obvious
that Western education, which is what they
see as what started their problems, to be the
enemy. The kidnapping of girls is inline with
feudal thinking which regards women as
property, so for a Boko Haram member, it is
merely taking the resources of the enemy, a
perfectly legitimate wartime tactic- though
this aspect would seem lost in all the forced
sanitization of religion by modern clerics. It
is important to remember that Christianity
or Brahmanism or any other religion has a
similar view on women, and infact Islam can
be deemed as a feminist reform movement
in Christianity. Coming to the aspect of
media coverage, to the Western liberal and
conservative media, this was a cause to unite
for. In a time of economic crisis, where the
inherent class contradictions were emerging,
and when movements like Occupy Wall
Street were beginning to challenge the ruling
class, thus posing a threat to the convenient
nationalisms of the rich, this ‘horror’ served
as a cause to unify, manufacture an enemy,
forgetting the real enemy within. Thus, if we
look at the rise of Boko Haram, closely, we see
that in reality it is but a clash of ideologies.
only way towards achieving that goal
seems to be outright annihilation of
all the those who don’t believe in their
ideology, religion or whatever they seem
to concoct into their rule books. anyone
against it simply doesn’t have the right
to live. The senseless bigotry seems to be
ridiculous and to some extent a threat to
the scientific attitude that has enshrined
the human minds since the days of
renaissance and threatens the human
civilisation to go back to the dark ages.
Authors: Kalsang Wangmo
communities of india
Bhutia tribe
IIM Kozhikode
B
hutia tribes are of Tibetan origin that migrated
to Sikkim. The Bhutia who immigrated
to Sikkim claim descent from a common
ancestor, a Khampa (Kham: historical region
covering a land area largely divided between presentday Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan province
of China) prince or chief named Khye-bum-sar, and
were divided into fourteen main families. Present
day Bhutias are mostly settled in Sikkim, Darjeeling,
Kalimpong and other parts of modern-day Nepal and
Bhutan i.e. the Himalayan Belt.
In the 17th century, Bhutias, in order to maintain
a cordial relationship with the Lepchas (the other
tribe in Sikkim) then decided with the help of three
revered lamas from Western Tibet to consecrate a
local Sikkimese person from Gangtok as the Chogyal
of Sikkim. Thus, the first formal dynasty of the
Namgyals in Sikkim came to be established in 1642
with Phuntsog Namgyal as the first Chogyal or the
King. In the 13th century, a prince of the dynasty to
which the Namgyals belonged to, known by the name
Guru Tashi, based on a clairvoyant vision, decided to
go south of Tibet to Sikkim, then known as “Denzongthe valley of rice” to seek his fortune. While travelling
on this mission with his family, he came to the Sakya
Kingdom where a monastery was being built, and
they were facing problems in erecting the pillars of
the monastery. Then, one of Tashi’s five sons, the elder
son, erected the pillars of the monastery on his own
and was honoured with the epithet “Khye Bumsa”
(meaning: superior of ten thousand heroes). Pleased
with the achievement of Khye Bumsa, the Sakya
King gave his daughter in marriage to him. Bumsa
then settled down in Chumbi valley where he met the
Lepcha religious leader, Thekong Tek, several times
seeking his blessings to beget children. Following the
blessings of Thekong Tek, Bhumsa’s wife gave birth to
three sons, and out of gratitude he visited the grand
old sage in several times more in Sikkim nurturing
an amicable relationship
between them. However,
Thekong Tek had no children
and there was a prophesy
stating that one of Khye
Bumsa’s descendent would
become the ruler of Sikkim.
Thekong Tek then decided
that after his death Bhumsa
would take over the reins of
power in his kingdom. Then
a treaty of blood brotherhood
was signed at Kabi Lungchok
between Thekong Tek and
Khye Bumsa to reinforce the
bonding between the two
communities of Lepchas
and Bhutias of Sikkim. The
solemn oath taken on the
occasion was that Bhumsa
“would not discriminate
his newly acquired Lepcha
subjects”. Since then
this location has been
commemorated as symbol of
friendship and brotherhood
between the Lepchas and
Bhutias of Sikkim and stone
pillars have been erected to
mark the place symbolically.
The religion is mostly
Tibetan Buddhism. Also a
sizeable portion is of Hindus
and Christians converts.
Festivals
The festivals of the Bhutia
Clan follow the Buddhist
Calendar and the biggest
festivals are Losar and
Losoong.
Losar is the Tibetan word
for New Year. The Buddhist
calendar is made up of
twelve lunar months and
Losar begins on the first day
of the first month. In the
monasteries, the celebrations
for the Losar begin on the
twenty-ninth day of the
twelfth month. That is the
day before the Tibetan New
Year’s Eve. On that day the
monasteries do a protector
deities’ ritual) and begin
preparations for the Losar
celebrations. The custom
that day is to make special
noodle called guthuk. It
is made of nine different
ingredients including dried
cheese and various grains.
Also, dough balls are given
out with various ingredients
hidden in them such as
chilies, salt, wool, rice and
coal. The ingredients one
finds hidden in one’s dough
ball are supposed to be
a lighthearted comment
on one’s character. If a
person finds chilies in their
dough, it means they are
talkative. If white-colored
ingredients like salt, wool
or rice are inside the dough
it is considered a good sign.
If a person finds coal in the
dough it has much the same
meaning as finding coal in
one’s Christmas stocking;
it means you have a “black
heart”. Nyi Shu Gu is
celebrated on the eve of the
last night of the year. Losar
is celebrated for 15 days,
with the main celebrations
on the first three days. On
the first day of Losar, a
beverage called changkol is
made from chhaang (Millet
beer). The second day of
Losar is known as King’s
Losar (gyalpo losar). Losar
is traditionally preceded
by the five day practice of
Vajrakilaya. Losar occurs
near or on the same day as
the Chinese New Year and
the Mongolian New Year.
Losoong is also called
‘Sonam Losar’ or the
Farmer’s New Year for
the farmer’s rejoice and
celebrate their harvest.
Losoong marks the end of
the harvest season and also
the end of the tenth month
of lunar calendar. It is a
traditional celebration to
thank for the good harvest
and to offer prayers for
better in the next season.
Although Losoong is
celebrated privately among
family members and friends, there is an air of festivity
and the youth all over Sikkim have archery competitions.
The festival is marked by Chaam (masked) dancing at
Tsu-La-Khang Palace monastery, in Phodong and in
Rumtek. The dances symbolize the exorcizing of the evil
spirits of the year and the welcoming of the good spirit of
the New Year. It is best to see this festival in rural areas
of Sikkim, where it is celebrated more pompously with
traditional archery competitions and other events.
Tashiding Bhum-Chu- This festival is celebrated at
Tashiding Monastery on the 15th day of the first month of
the Tibetan calendar. Bumchu or the opening of the vessel
containing the holy water is one of the holiest festivals in
Sikkim. The level of water in this vessel is believed to be a
sign of the fortunes of the coming year.
Each year, the vessel is opened to verify the level of water
in it, it follows that if the water level is higher or lower
then it signifies ill fortune such as droughts, diseases and
natural calamities. A special recitation is conducted and
the seal of the vase is checked before it is taken out of the
case.
After the vessel is opened, the monks take seven cups of
water from it and after mixing it with water from Rathong
Chu distribute it among the devotees. To fill the vessel
again, seven cups of water are taken from Rathong Chu
and put into the vase and sealed until next year. Devotees
from all over Sikkim as well as neighboring countries like
Bhutan, Nepal come to take part in this festival.
Author: Mrityunjay
Basak
IIM Kozhikode
UtTam Kumar
the
“Mahanayak of
Bengali Cinema”
When we analyze cinema, normally we look
out for the director or actor. In the Indian
context, the focus has been the male hero, the
protagonist. Such actors are adored by their
fans. Many examples are available from the
southern part of India. If we look elsewhere,
we observe, Bengali film viewers are a bit
different in this, in the sense that their beloved
actor Uttam Kumar, the Mahanayak is never
perceived as one who will lift the whole
society around him, rather as an impeccable,
extraordinary actor who plays all kind of
characters. And that’s the reason he still
remains a cultural icon.
During his early years in film industry, he
struggled to get attention and constantly
changed his ‘screen name’. Finally as he settled
for Uttam Kumar, and as the eternal romantic
pair of Uttam-Suchitra gets formed, he starts
coming into prominence. At the start of 1950s,
Basu Paribar (Bose family), Sharey Chuattor
(74 and half), Agni Parikhkha (Test of fire)
became huge commercial successes. At the
time, Bengali art c inema, or parallel cinema
was taking shape under Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal
Sen and Satyajit Ray. Among the lot of actors
from such movies, mostly from theater and
drama, Soumitra Chatterjee got the adoration
of Satyajit Ray and the people, who wished to
explore more about life than simply melodrama
or actors. Their supposed rivalry got filmed in
the movie “Jhinder Bandi” (Prisoners of Jhind,
1961). Again, in “Stree”(Wife, 1972), the stark
contrast in their acting styles was brought to
light. The last time their combination was talked
about was in “Debdas” (a Sarat Chandra classic,
1979) when Uttam Kumar was at his fag end of
his career.
Uttam Kumar got to act in Satyajit Ray’s
becoming enemies, stories
of love provided the power
“I must say working with
to withstand the pain
Uttam turned out to be
or forget about them.
one of the most pleasant
With Nehruvian idea
of a nuclear family for
experiences of my filmmodern India gaining
making career”
popularity, many of
their
movies were centred
Satyajit Ray
around the village boy
finding a place to live in
the urban Indian city, with a
man and woman pair forming,
who eventually overcome society’s
trials. Coupled with the soulful music
playback for Uttam by Hemanta Mukherjee,
these films are the cherished heritage of
Bengali commercial cinema.
“Nayak” (Hero, 1966). It was a turning point
and the whole cinema fraternity bowed to
his superb performance as a successful
Bengali film actor, Hero in particular. In
his films, he never looked like an actor,
rather as a person who was making his
own journey. Nayak won the National Film
Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali
in 1967. In Uttam Kumar’s obituary, Ray
recalled his experience of working with the
great actor “I must say working with Uttam
turned out to be one of the most pleasant
experiences of my film-making career. I
found out early on that he belonged to the
breed of instinctive actors….I hardly recall
any discussion with Uttam on a serious
analytical level on the character he was
playing. And yet he constantly surprised
and delighted me with unexpected little
details of action and behaviour which came
from him and not from me”
Uttam’s fans are also mostly the ones for
whom “Utam-Suchitra” constitute the
best romantic pair. In the background of
freedom struggle and the mass migration
from the then East Pakistan to Calcutta,
the pair gave hope. When brothers started
The duo mesmerized the Bengali audience
in “Shilpi”(Aritst, 1955), “Ekti raat” (One
night, 1956), “Harano sur”(Lost note/music,
1956), “Chandranath” (Sarat Chandra
classic, 1956), “Surya Toran” (The gate of
Sun, 1958, inspired by ‘Fountainhead’ of
Ayn Rynd), Sapmochan (Absolve from
curse), Sabar Uporey (Above all), Pathe
Holo Deri (Delayed on the road), Jiban
Trishna (Thirst of life), Indrani, Chawa
Pawa to name a few. About the pair,
Satyajit Ray said “This was a romantic
team which for durability and width
of acceptance had few equals in world
cinema”. Their “Saptapadi” (metre of seven,
1960, based on the novel by great folk write
Tara Shankar Bandyopaddhya) earned
epic status. “Komollata”, based on Sharat
Chandra’s novel ‘Sreekanta’ is a landmark
of their romantic personification of Bengali
characters.
Apart from Suchitra Devi, there were
Supriya Choudhury (famous women lead
in Ritwik Ghatak’s “Meghe Dhaka Tara”,
“Komal Gandhar”), Sabitri Chattopadhyay
who paired with Uttam Kumar in many
movies. Starting from “Basu Paribar”,
Uttam-Supriya gave hits like “Uttarayan”
(1963), Surya Sikha (1963), “Chowrangi” (1968),
“Bon Palashir Padabali” (1973), “Sanyasi
Raja” (1975), Sabyasachi”(based on Sharat
Chandras’s ‘Pather Dabi’,1976),“Devdas”
(1979) etc. whereas Uttam-Sabitri gave
“Marutirtha Hinglaj” (1959), “Raja Saja” (1960),
“Nishi Padma” (1970), “Dhanyi Meye” (1971),
“Mouchak” (1975) etc.
Other than the ones mentioned, Uttam
donned many successful roles with Madhabi
Mukherjee (“Aagnishwar”, “Chadmabeshi”,
“Shankhabela”), Sharmila Tagore (“Nayak”,
“Anando Ashram”, “Amanush”, “Kalankini
Kankabati”), Anjana Bhaumick (“Thana Theke
Aschhi”, “Nayika Sangbad”, “Chowrangee”1960s), Aparna Sen (“Jayjayanti”, “Mem Sahib”,
“Sonar Khancha”, “Nidhiram Sardar”-1970s),
Tanuja (“Deya-Neya”, “Antony Firingi”) and
Sumitra Mukherjee (“Bikele bhorer phul”, “Ogo
badhu sundari”).
Uttam Kumar was equally successful in his
negative characters, like in “Bagh Bandhi
Khela” (Game of Capturing the Tiger) where he
controlled politics and women trafficking. In
characters which cannot easily be described
as good or bad, like in “Sesh Anka” (Last act,
1962) with Sharmila Tagore, where he killed
his wife but lied, in “Bicharak”(The Judge, 1959)
with Arundhati Mukhopadhyay where he
acted as a Judge who didn’t save his wife from
a fire and then faces a similar case in court
which forces him to think about his own act.
Uttam Kumar and Arundhati performed to
wide acclaim in “Jatugriha” (The house of fire,
1963) where they played a divorced couple.
“Bilimbito loy” (Delayed rhythm), with Supriya
Devi, where Uttam Kumar, an aspiring
painter from an orthodox Hindu family, after
becoming unsuccessful, divorces Supriya,
who belongs to a rich modern family and later
marries her Christian maid is another classic,
with the aspect of societal revolution at an
individual level.
In the later part of his career, he shifted to
more character oriented roles, moving away
from the previous “Hero” image, with movies
such as “Nidhiram Sardar” (suspense),
“Hotel Snow Fox” (suspense, crime), “Sister”
(oppression) “Dhanraj Tamang”, “Brajabuli”
(comedy), “Khana Baraho”(history and
mythology) etc. “Ami Se O Sakha” (I, He and
friend) is a different movie in which friendship
dominates romance.
Uttam Kumar’s time is considered by most
as the golden age of Bengali cinema. Re-run
of his films on television were still eagerly
watched until a few years back before the
rise of the Internet. The secret behind this
unparalleled success can be put in his own
words: “I never fear work. Rather I derive
pleasure out of work.”
“I never fear work. Rather I
derive pleasure out of work.”
Author: Aparajith
Ramnath, Visiting
Professor,
IIM Kozhikode
I
f, like me, you are
a fan of the Hindi
film songs of the
’50s and ’60s,
you will be familiar
with Sahir Ludhianvi’s
(1921-1980) verses in films
like Phir Subah Hogi, Pyaasa
and Hum Dono. If, like me, you’ve had no
formal introduction to Urdu poetry but admire
it nevertheless, you must long have wanted
to know more about the social and literary
milieu that gave rise to lyricists like Sahir.
For such readers as well as for connoisseurs,
Akshay Manwani’s engaging biography is a
most welcome offering.
Sahir worked in a film industry full of
talented lyricists with literary pedigree, such
as Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri,
Shailendra and Kaifi Azmi. Nevertheless,
Manwani suggests, he stood out among his
peers for a number of reasons. His strong
personality, artistic integrity, and formidable
literary reputation meant he was never
content to be a mere churner-out of lyrics for
particular film situations. He was that rare
lyricist who was often allowed to write his
verses before the music was composed. He did
much of his best work with music directors
like Roshan, Ravi and Khayyam, whose
elegant but simple compositions allowed his
lyrics to take centre stage. Sahir’s deeply held
vision of human equality found its way into
his poems and film songs alike (as witness
his critique of the Taj Mahal as a monument
to love: ‘Ek shehenshah ne daulat ka sahaara
lekar/ Hum gareebon ki mohabbat ka udaya
hai mazaak.’) He was versatile too, moving at
will across the many-hued spectrum between
Persianised Urdu and the Sanskrit-based
Hindi dialects.
Like any good biography, this book attempts to
illuminate Sahir’s art in the context of his life.
Sahir was born Abdul Hayee in Ludhiana in
1921, the son of Chaudhry Fazl Mohammed,
and brought up in his maternal uncle’s home.
His mother had left the Chaudhry, by most
accounts a dissolute zamindar, and was locked
in a long custody battle with him. Manwani’s
narrative paints a vivid picture of Abdul in
these years: his painful relationship with
his father and his turn to communism in an
act of symbolic patricide; his growing love
for the poetry of Faiz, Josh Malihabadi and
Iqbal (it was in a verse by the last of these that
he found his own nom de plume, ‘Sahir’, or
‘magician’); his incomplete college career in
Ludhiana and Lahore, possibly owing to his
political activism; and his defining literary
achievement—Talkhiyaan, a collection of
poems published when he was all of twentythree. In this early part of the book, Manwani
(as he acknowledges in his Introduction) relies
heavily on secondary sources in Urdu, but
much of the story will be new to readers in
English.
The latter half of the book concentrates on
Sahir’s work after his move to Bombay in
1948. In many ways the centrepiece of this
section (and of Sahir’s film career) is Guru
Dutt’s iconic Pyaasa (1957). The story of an
idealistic poet who only finds a publisher and
fame when he is believed to be dead, it was
the perfect context for Sahir’s personality to
express itself. Manwani does an excellent
job of analysing the range of themes and
styles explored by Sahir in this album—from
the lightness of ‘Jaane kya tune kahi’ to
the wistful fatalism of ‘Jaane woh kaise log
the’; from the anguish at society’s treatment
of women in ‘Jinhein naaz hai Hind par’ to
the bitter denunciation of an inhuman and
Memories of a Magician
Review of Akshay Manwani,
Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet
(Noida: HarperCollins, 2013)
materialistic world in ‘Woh duniya agar
mil bhi jaaye’. There are some fascinating
passages (aided by well chosen photographs)
that show the centrality of the words to
Pyaasa’s success through the evolving
publicity for the movie, each new poster
giving Sahir more prominent billing than the
last. Some even had entire stanzas in Roman
letters, advertising, for instance, ‘The Song
that has Stirred a Nation!’ In subsequent
years Sahir produced further gems, forging
a productive relationship with filmmakers
B.R. and Yash Chopra, but his output fell away
somewhat by the 1970s (the title of one of the
chapters captures this well: ‘Good but Only
Kabhi Kabhie’).
The book is backed by painstaking research.
Manwani has diligently tracked down and
interviewed surviving friends, colleagues and
acquaintances of the poet. He exhibits a deep
understanding of Sahir’s oeuvre, comparing
and contrasting his works (literary poems as
well as film lyrics) from different periods on a
similar theme, noting the choice of vocabulary
and the use of natural imagery, identifying the
places where the poet’s personal experiences
shine through (as in the song ‘Tu mere saath
rahega munne’ in Trishul; Sahir remained
single and lived with his mother throughout).
But it is also a balanced book that doesn’t shy
away from discussing Sahir’s less attractive
personality traits, his mostly unrealised
loves (including his difficult-to-categorise
relationship with the Punjabi writer Amrita
Pritam), or the inherent ‘contradictions’
in his life. A chapter is dedicated to these
contradictions: Sahir as communist dreamer
on the one hand and affluent denizen of
filmdom on the other; as a critic of organised
religion who wrote moving devotional songs;
as a generous man who loved company,
but, after a few drinks, criticised his own
friends freely. This is not peculiar to Sahir—a
competent biographer will always uncover
contradictions within his or her subject—but
Manwani is notably deft and even-handed in
his presentation of the multiple faces of Sahir.
If there is a noticeable weakness in this book,
it is that the author has not been able to (or not
chosen to) analyse Sahir’s correspondence—
usually an important source when writing the
lives of subjects from the pre-internet era. As a
result, we only ever hear Sahir’s voice (outside
of his poetry) second-hand, through the
reminiscences of his friends and associates.
A few stylistic infelicities also let the book
down slightly. The overlong quotes from
secondary sources and from Sahir’s poems,
transliterated into Roman characters and
followed by translations (where a stanza or
two would have done the trick), is one of these.
The translations sometimes seem patchy—
literal renderings in some cases, imprecise
paraphrases in others—although one can’t be
too critical on this count, for few writers in
English today would even attempt the task.
Tighter editing would have helped in the
occasional places where Manwani’s otherwise
competent prose falters.
In his Introduction, Manwani points out the
scarcity of critical biographies of all but the
most famous contributors to Hindi film. His
own volume is a solid effort at addressing that
gap.
Spe c ial men t ion ar t i c le
Author: Binita Shah
IIM Ahmedabad
THE PLANNING
COMMISSION
A Symbol of India’s
Declining Policy Apparatus
Introduction
The Planning Commission has come a
long way from the objectives for which it
was established to its current status as an
illustration for everything that is woefully
inappropriate for the current needs of the
economy. It is symptomatic of the skewed
directions which government organisations
can take when tools are not in accordance with
plans.
An Archaic Legacy
The Commission was established as a Central
Government institution by a Resolution
of the Government in 1950. It is thus not a
constitutional authority. It was formed to
further the planning model as envisaged
during those times primarily as a means
to establish the process of formulating Five
Year Plans. Its functions include assessment
of resources, formulation of a plan for their
utilization, definition of stages of execution
and consideration of factors and conditions for
the process and also progress appraisal.
The Commission thus had an overarching role
when it was established. It was built for an
era when the emphasis was on the extensive
role of the state and the Nehru- Mahalonobis
model was the dominant paradigm. It was
appropriate for a period when the state
oversaw the distribution of resources through
centralised planning mechanisms and the
private sector had a limited role to play in the
economy. The stringent criticalities of these
parameters have gradually waned. This is
so, since the Ninth Five Year plan, especially
since 1997, when the preeminent position of
the public sector gave away.
A Powerful Organisation
The Planning Commission has grown
to have immense clout in the politico
economic apparatus. This is largely due to
its composition. The Prime Minister is its
ex-officio Chairman and it has a Deputy
Chairman with the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
The Commission works as per the guidance
given by the National Development Council.
It has several full time members for the
furtherance of its stated objectives of plan
formulation. It often includes several Central
Government Ministers as ex-officio members.
Its composition has provided it tremendous
leeway, politically. The Commission has been
accused of utilizing this influence to affect
policy decisions of ministries causing project
delays. It is also argued that an organisation
consisting of Government representatives
cannot give objective opinions.
It employs several economists as experts
and has multiple divisions. This also often
contributes to making it unwieldy and unable
to work with the dynamism which is the need
of the moment. These factors contribute to
making an organisation which is not tuned to
the needs of a rapidly changing economy. The
commission is reconstituted with the advent of
a new government.
Antithetical To Federalism
The Planning Commission is not a
constitutional body. It determines the
allocation of funds to the states and the states
lack a say in the matter. Thus it encourages
centralization which is against the ethos of
the federal concept of the nation as envisaged
in the Constitution. It provides the states very
little say regarding fund allocation from the
Centre. The states are aware of the difficulties
they have and should be given the leeway
to deal with them in ways they consider
most appropriate. The Planning Commission
imposes absolute solutions to diverse matters
pertaining to different states. This results in a
lack of customisation and aggravates matters.
This approach is also against decentralization
and results in inefficiencies rather than
improvements.
Difficulties Regarding Resource
Allocation
The Planning Commission has the power to
allocate resources. It allocates funds to the
government departments through the plan
mechanism in addition to the funds they get
from the Ministry of Finance. This leads to
inefficient resource allocation and distribution
of responsibility. These factors have been
mentioned by the Economic Survey which has
suggested that the Finance Ministry should
handle the budgetary process rather than the
current dispersion of fund allocation.
Divergence between Goals and
Realities
The lack of proper role definition and
adherence to parameters has meant that the
Planning Commission has not been able to
meet its goals adequately. The lofty visions
of the Commission have not translated into
reality. There is a lack of perceived benefits
which could have been derived from the
Commission. It has not been able to further
the declared objectives of the Government
and has fallen short of its targets. This has
been more pronounced since the liberalization
period, i.e. since the Ninth Five Year Plan.
Plan
Targeted
Growth
Rate %
Actual
Growth
Rate %
Ninth Plan
(1997-2002)
6.5
5.4
Tenth Plan
(2002-2007)
8.0
7.6
Eleventh Plan
(2007-2012)
9.0
8.0
In the Eleventh Plan, targets were not met,
considering the sector wise performance
too. The targets for agriculture, industry and
services sector were 4.0%, 10-11% and 9-11%
against the actuals were 3.7%, 7.2% and
9.7% respectively. The domestic savings rate
(target 34.8%, actual 33.5%) and investment
rate (target 36.7%, actual 36.1%) were also
marginally less. The Twelfth Plan (2012-17)
has targeted a growth rate of 8%. This appears
difficult considering the current economic
scenario.
The Commission has not been able to
adequately improve human development
as measured by various parameters.
There is a lack of inclusive growth. Several
difficulties typical of developing countries
are still quite acute and have not yet been
adequately resolved. These include poverty,
malnutrition and inadequate health facilities.
There is a paucity of elementary services
and inclusive education is yet to become a
reality. The Commission, through its planning
mechanism has not been able to meaningfully
impact these factors as was expected of it. The
parameters as defined by the Commission
are often questioned such as the recent
determination of the poverty line which was
criticised for its lack of realism.
Lack of Relevance
It is thus certain that the Commission is
inadequate considering the current scenario.
A liberalized economy which wants to grow
and take its place in the forefront of the
world economy cannot afford to be led by an
organisation which was meant for another
era. The decreasing role of the public sector
means that resource allocation should
not be conducted the way it was earlier.
It is imperative that the policy apparatus
is in accordance with the realities of the
current situation where the economy needs
entrepreneurial growth rather than a lofty
approach which focuses on distribution
of resources. The state of the economy
should encourage a thought process which
concentrates upon management of resources
rather than strict regulation.
Alternatives to the Current
Scenario
Considering the present situation, it is
imperative that the role of the Planning
Commission is reviewed. There have been
several suggestions ranging from the
abolishing of the Commission to a reduction in
its role. It is certain that the current situation is
inimical to the interest of the economy.
It has been suggested that the Commission
should be disbanded as it does not serve any
purpose. The services of the experts of the
Commission could be effectively utilized
elsewhere. This alternative is however not
appropriate as the Commission still has a few
strengths since it has been a repository of data
and policy making for several years and these
could be effectively deployed for furtherance
of governmental objectives.
Another alternative is to restrict the Planning
Commission to an advisory organisation.
Several changes have been suggested by
the Independent Evaluation Office and the
Economic Survey recently. It could be a
knowledge bank for the ministries while not
interfering in their routine functioning. Its
role needs to be appropriately changed so as to
become a coordinator for disparate schemes.
The Centre and States should consult it to
ensure scheme coherence and convergence
thus enabling national integration. Its powers
to allocate funds should be taken away. The
Economic Survey has suggested that the
budget making process should be unified
in the Ministry of Finance. Such a move
would enable effective coordination and
optimal allocation of resources rather than
the divergence which is currently observed
due to the distribution of fund allocation
powers. The politico economic hegemony
of the Commission would cease. The varied
ministries would still be able to avail expert
advice. A leaner Planning Commission would
thus be in an improved position to serve the
needs of a rapidly changing and dynamic
economy.
References
1. planningcommission.nic.in
2. indiabudget.nic.in/survey.asp
3. businesstoday.intoday.in
india’s china policy
Author: Amrita Jash
Doctoral Researcher in the
Chinese Division of Centre
for East Asian Studies, School
of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
NEED
FOR A
PROACTIVE
DIPLOMACY
Introduction
At the start of 2014, India and China have
embarked on a new phase of their diplomatic
relations. Celebrating the fervour of the 60th
anniversary of the ‘Panchsheel Agreement of
1954’1, both Republic of India and the People’s
Republic of China have pronounced 2014
as the ‘Year of Friendly Exchanges’, which
is emblematic of a significant stride in their
bilateral relations.
In their proactive engagement both countries
have upheld the policy of mutual peace in
settling the protracted border dispute since its
inception in 1962. A constructive endeavour was
made with the ‘17th round of Border Talks’ held
in February 2014 on their 4000 km disputed
boundary after the upsurge in the territorial
tensions in April 2013 Depsang valley incident.
In that incident, both Indian and Chinese troops
were engaged in a three-week long standoff at
Depsang in Ladakh, along the western sector of
the disputed border. What is surprising is that
though this territorial tension caused temporary
friction in the bilateral relations, but it did not
stall the negotiation process. The exemplary
is the two-day talk which was engineered by
the Special Representatives of India and China
in New Delhi on 10-11 February 2014, with the
common goal of building closer and stronger
ties between the two Asian neighbours. The
dialogue was led by India’s National Security
Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon and Chinese
State Councillor, Yang Jiechi, in order bring an
amicable settlement to the tensions over the
disputed territories along the border.
of the political elites and their ideological
positions. In addition to these critical factors
are the influences from the international
forces in terms of the changing balance of
power in the international system as well
as the regional power nexus. Thereby, these
parameters act as the drivers behind the
national interests that frame India’s China
Policy.
Another significant factor is the change
of leadership in India in May 2014. This
political transition has given a new
dynamism to India’s relations with China,
with an added Chinese interest to earnestly
engage with the newly formed Narendra
Modi Government. Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi’s two-day high-level
visit to New Delhi on June 8-9 as President
Xi Jinping’s special envoy is indicative of
China’s proactive engagement with the new
government.
Therefore, with the successive progress
in the bilateral ties, India and China
have entered into an opportune time
where greater engagement is the call for
diplomacy. Thereby, it is in the best interest
of India to engage rather than distance itself
from China.
India’s China Policy
India’s policy towards China over the years
has been shaped by complex interplays
of various factors, such as- historical ties,
geographical proximity, experiences of the
past and present needs, varying perceptions
India’s diplomatic ties with the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) began on April 1,
1950 with India becoming the first nonsocialist country to recognise PRC. Since
then the relationship witnessed periodic ups
and downs where ii: (i) Period from 19501958, was the ‘honeymoon phase’- where
the relationship was defined by the slogan
‘Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai’. And in 1954, both
India and China gave a legal foundation to
their new nation-to-nation relations with
Panchsheel as the framework for relations
between the two countries. (ii) Period from
1959-1970, when the relationship worsened
- embroiled in the incidents of 1959 Tibetan
uprising and Dalai Lama’s flight to Indiacreating a distrust, an open armed conflict
in 1962 creating a deadlock and thereby,
limited relations till almost 1976. (iii) Period
1976 to 1990, restoration of diplomatic
ties- with Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s path
breaking visit to China in 1976, which led
the foundation for the renewal of contacts
at the highest political level after a gap of
two decades. And most importantly, Indian
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s pragmatic
visit to China in 1988, marked a landmark
in the renewal process of the 26 years
of frozen bilateral ties. (iv) Period from
1990 onwards, burgeoning relations with
a minor setback caused by India’s 1998
nuclear tests- as they were justified by
references to the ‘Chinese threat’. With the
coming of the twenty-first century, IndiaChina, witnessed a new high with rapid
development in the relations and embarking
on a “Strategic and Cooperative Partnership”
in 2005, thereby, getting the ‘trust factor’
back in the relationship.
This periodic graph imparts a positive
dimension to the relations and the way
India has maneuvered its policy preferences
towards its eastern neighbor-China. These
episodic ups and downs can be attributed to
what Prof. Alka Acharya states: “There is little
doubt that India and China are moving on the
path of normalisation of relations – albeit, not
quite with fluidity and ease. At best they have
acquired a fair degree of political comfort, at
worst, they are merely conflict-free, though
suspicion-prone.” iii
Present Dynamics of India’s China
Policy: ‘Hot Economics, Cold
Politics’
There is a growing consensus on both
sides that an image of ‘all good’ in IndiaChina relations is based on the platform of
economic interdependence. China is India’s
biggest trading partner while India is China’s
largest trading partner in South Asia. This
engagement exhibits an intrinsic factor to
the relations as demonstrated in the rising
trade figures which reached $73 billion in
2010, despite residual tensions from the 1962
Sino-Indian war and India’s 1998 nuclear
test, Pokhran II. Adding to this, the leaders
of both India and China have set a target of
$100 billion in trade by the year 2015. This
economic engagement between India and
China has contributed to creating a positive
atmosphere in the bilateral sphere, making
the relationship shift from being a “politicsdriven-economics to economics-drivenpolitics”iv Exemplary to this collaborative
efforts is the attempt of opening the disputed
border for trade along the Nathula Pass in
Sikkim and also working on making an IndiaChina Free Trade Area. Thereby, the ‘hot
economics’ has bolstered a new high in the
India-China diplomatic relations with a sense
of mutual stakes, granting a ‘larger picture’
to the relationship beyond the vicissitudes of
the past. As with the coming of the twentyfirst century, India’s relations with China,
embarked on relationship of “Strategic
and Cooperative Partnership” in 2005,
thereby, getting the ‘trust factor’ back in the
relationship.
But behind this larger picture of economic
partnership, there is still a contestation
of inter-state stability between India and
China, as there exists a huge gap between
the assessment and the reality. If economics
drives the bilateral relations, then how
does one explain the rising competitive
and assertive nature of each actor in the
international domain? Here, the paradox lies
in the fact that with the gradual increase
in the cooperative desire, as articulated in
the growing economic engagement, there is
also a gradual intensification of competitive
behaviour. This can be explained under the
rubric of neo-realist assumptions, which
argue that conflict and competition between
India and China is inevitable. This claim has
strengthened over the years due to China’s
expanding interest in the IOR (Indian Ocean
Region), the naval build-up on both sides,
India’s engagement in the South China Sea,
China’s ‘String of Pearls’ strategy, the irritants
of Pakistan and Tibet, the U.S. pivot to Asia
and a host of other factors.
Thereby, this reality of a skewed matrix of
economic engagement and political instability
gives a lop-sided character to the India-China
relations.
Way Forward for India: From
Reactive to a Proactive Diplomacy
with China
Since India and China are the fastest
emerging world economies, with China
already World Number 2 and India on
the verge of becoming Number 3, posits a
unique combination of an unprecedented
economic profile as a major participant in the
international economy. In this permutation
and combination, it is in the best interest of
India to engage proactively rather than adopt
a reactive foreign policy posture towards
China. The pillars of strength are that of
trade and investment and regional security
where both parties can explore the untapped
potential of their gigantic size both literally
and figuratively.
Although there is an acknowledgement of
rising trade, it is also clear that despite their
big economic size in terms of market and
production, the trade between the two gigantic
countries remains comparatively small
and unparalleled to match the size of their
economies. And there is also a burden of trade
imbalance, in which India suffers the deficit.
In this context, the questions that need to be
addressed are: ‘if the problem is known why
aren’t any solutions adopted? If trade is small,
why aren’t any measures taken to enlarge it?
If there is a deficit in trade, then how can the
leadership be confident of growing economic
exchanges? The answers to these questions
need an immediate deliberation. It is these
questions that call for a greater engagement
of India with China to dispel the scales of
inequity.
Therefore, the crux of the matter should be the
need to concentrate on mutually beneficial
cooperation, whereby they can handle and
solve the issues in a constructive way. This
is necessitated as both countries share a
host of commonalities: they are growing
economies, a large section of their populations
have poor living conditions and they are
similar in regard to labour standards, issues
of food security, migration, energy security,
commodity prices, climate change, WTO
negotiations and others. Owing to these
common interests, the political elites of both
India and China should aim to find more
grounds for cooperation and thereby, a greater
engagement promises a stronger bonhomie
between India and China.
This can be done by engaging and contributing
to people to-people contact by means of
opening the market for greater trade, scholarly
exchanges, cultural exchanges, educational
exchanges, funding of academic researches
and contributions to joint military exercises.
All these factors can act as strong confidence
building measures, thus, providing a positive
impact on inter-state stability. This would help
to undo the misperceptions that constrain
bilateral relations and hinder the actualisation
of the “Asian Century.” That is to say, the
interdependence needs to be diversified in
order to broaden the areas of engagement and
strengthen the bilateral relations.
References
1. “Panchsheel” is founded on the “Five
Principles of Co-existence”. They are- (i)
Mutual respect for each other’s territorial
integrity and sovereignty, (ii) Mutual nonaggression, (iii) Mutual non-interference,
(iv) Equality and mutual benefit and, (v)
Peaceful co-existence.
2. Sita Gopalan (1992), “India’s China Policy,”
Strategic Analysis, March 1992, pp. 14011402.
3. Alka Acharya (2006), “India-China
Relations: A Partnership of ‘Global
Significance’,” Economic and Political
Weekly, December 2, 2006, pp. 4934.
4. Swaran Singh (2005), “China-India
Economic Engagement: Building Mutual
Confidence,” CSH Occasional Paper 10,
March 2005.
Fig 1[i]: National production, yield & area of Food grains from 1950-51 to 2006-07
Indian Agriculture
Neglected in the age of
post reforms?
7
Spe c ial men t ion ar t i c le
Authors: Prateek
Keshwani,
Indian Institute of
Foreign Trade
Although India attained independence in 1947 we were living a
“ship-to-mouth existence” for a period thereafter the independence.
We were importing much of our food from US as the production
wasn’t sufficient. The Green Revolution transformed our
agriculture sector and made us self-sufficient. Today, due to the
persistent efforts of farmers and agricultural scientists, we
have a surplus in food grains which we are exporting to other
nations.
However, agricultural sector in India is facing many
problems. Farmers are committing suicide and cost of farming is
increasing gradually. There is need for total transformation of the
agricultural sector and a lot needs to be done in this regard.
Commercialization of
Agriculture by British
Under British rule the Indian
farmers were living an
impoverished life and were
suffering due to frequent
famines. The British weren’t
interested in the growth
of our agricultural sector.
They were simply interested
in cotton, opium, indigo
and sugarcane production
[1], so they introduced
high yielding fertilizers
which were being used in
Europe so as to increase
the production of these
crops. The rest of the farmer
community was left in the
doldrums and our freedom
fighters capitalized on this
fact. From Champaran
to Bardoli, there was an
increased participation
of disgruntled farmers
in protest movements. In
1936, Congress demanded
abolition of zamindari
system and cancellation
of rural debts. Gandhiji
had asserted that the first
priority of independent India
would be to provide each
and every citizen of our
country with food security.
Consequently, in the 1st
planning commission report
the irrigation projects were
allocated a lot of funds. In the
subsequent five year plans,
the focus kept on shifting
gears from the creation
of dams (Bhakra nangal,
Damodar Ghati, Hirakund,
Nagarjun Sagar, Gandhi
Sagar), to promoting research
on seeds, to improvement in
fertilizers and technology
etc. All these measures
had a positive impact on
agriculture.
Green Revolution:
Seed-WaterFertilizers-PesticidesTechnology
Rural Youth and
Future of Farming
Agricultural sector not only
feeds the masses, but it also
provides the raw material to
industries. India is endowed
with many favorable factors
On 17th November 1960,
like 52% of our total land
country’s first agricultural
is cultivable whereas in the
university was set up in
world the average cultivable
Pantnagar, Uttarakhand and
land is only 11%. Of the
it was the stepping stone of
total 60 types of soils found
the green revolution. The
world over, 46 types are
green revolution - essentially
available in India[3]. Our
the introduction of high-yield
previous generations used to
crop varieties and application
revere farming as a highly
of modern agricultural
respected occupation. The
techniques – provided a boost
difference between farming
to our agriculture sector and
sector and other organized
made us self-sufficient in
sectors during 1970’s was
production of food grains.
very miniscule, but today it
Before the green revolution
has widened to a vast extent.
we were dependent on the
We have only 2.4% of the
mercy of other nations, but
world’s land and 4% of the
now we are in a position to
world’s water resources,
export our surplus to other
but we have 17% of the
nations. Our country is
world’s population (State of
counted amongst the top
Indian Agriculture Report
producers in the world not
2012-13)[4]. With increase
only in the production of food
in population, the pressure
grains but also in production
on land has increased
of fruits, vegetables and
drastically. In the last
milk. The most prominent
decade the cost of necessary
slogan of this era was “Jai
requirements for farming,
Jawan, Jai Kisan” reflecting
i.e. electricity, fertilizers,
the reverence Indian farmers
pesticides, tractor and
used to get for their hard
equipment has increased
work.
drastically. Today more than
75% of the
farmers want to
leave farming
(according to
a survey done
by Centre for
the Study of
Developing
Societies)
[5] and the
mentality of
youth is such
Fig 2[ii]: Decadal growth pattern across sectors
that they are ready to work
in any organization, even at
the lowest position to avoid
being dragged into farming.
To tackle this situation, the
government waived off
the rural debt in the last
five year plan and issued
11 crore Kisan credit cards
to farmers. Along with
many other benefits they
increased MSP (Minimum
Support Price) to twice the
present level. But all these
measures did not prove to be
good enough to stop farmer
suicides. Be it food grains
or fruits and vegetables,
farmers are incurring
losses on a regular basis
and the end consumer is
paying a very high price.
Thus the big question that
arises is this - “Who is
reaping all the benefits?” It
is the middlemen who are
controlling the market and
reaping all the benefits.
From Farms to Table:
Misguided Subsidies,
Middlemen and Food
Inflation
While the farmer is paid
only a quarter of the
money that comes from the
customer, the middlemen
add up to 75% of the value
chain[6]. Originally meant
to protect the farmers
against exploitation by
greedy landlords, the
Agriculture Produce
Marketing Committee
(APMC) Act, which requires
all produce to be sold
through regulated markets
in most of the states has led
to too many people seeking
Fig 3[iii]: Food Inflation in India
Fig 4[iv]: Farm Suicides
their commission in the supply
chain. The increased prices at
various stages along with a high
rate of spoilage due to inefficient
supply chain system leads to a
higher food inflation by the time
the farm produce reaches the end
customer. Another prominent
factor which contributes to
the food price inflation is the
misdirected subsidies in the form
of MNREGA, Food Security Bill
etc. While on one hand, these
subsidies provide social security
to our farmers, at the same time
they hamper the prospects of the
agricultural sector. Farmers are
leaving the farming profession
as they have got a fixed source of
income through these subsidies.
This practice has led to a decrease
in agricultural produce in some
regions and consequent increase
in food inflation.
The President’s speech delivered
in assembly on 9th June, 2014
showed some concern towards
the deteriorating state of our
agricultural sector. He mentioned
that for quite some time the
farmers have been living in a
miserable condition and many
of them have been committing
suicide due to distress and
hopelessness. He informed
that the new government is
committed towards changing
this grim situation in the
agricultural sector. Yet in
the budget, Service and
Manufacturing sector received
most attention. The upcoming
segments in agricultural sector
weren’t focused as much as it
was necessary to make them
competitive with the rest of the
world and to increase the farmer’s
income.
‘Jai Kisan’, the Forgotten
Slogan
Sugarcane farmers are living
in dire condition due to delayed
payments and in some cases
even non-payments by the sugar
mills. CACP (Commission for
Agricultural Costs & Prices)
fixes the procurement cost of
sugarcane after which the state
government fixes the support
price that sugar mills have to
pay to the farmers. According
to the rule of law, the farmer
should get payment within 15
days, otherwise he/she should get
interest for the defaulting period
as a penalty by the sugar mills.
But this rule seems to have been
the lifeline of villages. We need to
modernize our agricultural processes.
limited only on papers as sugar mill owners
openly flout this rule by not paying to the
farmers. The 5 crore sugarcane farmers in our
country are waiting for some strict measures
from government in this regard.
In the production of the oilseeds we still rely
on imports. Farmers are shying away from its
cultivation because they aren’t able to earn
any profit due to unfair pricing. We import
around 10 million tons of oilseeds worth INR
60,000 crores annually[12], which can be cut
down to a considerable level if we attain selfsufficiency in its production.
The income of most of the farmers in the
country is less than the average income of the
country. Neither do they get the fair price of
their produce nor do the government policies
reach to them. Whatever be the claims of
the state or central government, the reality is
that, post liberalization the condition of both
agricultural and rural sectors per se have
deteriorated.
India’s Way Forward
1. Increased Share in Budget - Postindependence, agriculture used to get on
an average 12.5% of the total budget for
quite some time which has reduced to
3.7% of the total budget as per 12th five
year plan. Our 337 incomplete irrigation
projects need more than 4.22 lakh crore
investment. Whereas we are funding just
20,000 crores to them annually[7]. So, we
need to provide adequate funds for timely
completion of these projects before going
for any new project.
2. Technological Inclusion - Most of the
farmers are dependent on livestock
for cultivation purpose rather than on
tractors. Bullock carts are still considered
3. Financial Inclusion - The banking sector
in our country has expanded to farfetched villages, but still more than onethird of the farmers borrow money from
moneylenders. They find it easy to borrow
money from moneylenders as formalities
are minimal as compared to complex
formalities and paper work of banks. We
need to streamline the banking processes
and integrate them with the latest
technology so as to make them fast paced.
4. Agricultural Research - In 1976, National
agricultural Commission had proposed
a plan for opening 3 agricultural science
centers in every village by 2000[8]. But
the pace of this plan suggests that its
implementation is not possible even by the
end of this century! ICAR (Indian Council
of Agricultural Research) has been
instrumental in the progress of agriculture
sector with research in its 97 institutes and
53 universities. We need more such centers
in the evolving times so as to guide our
farmers in right direction.
5. Efficient Supply Chain Management - 3540% of the farm output gets wasted due
to lack of proper back-end infrastructure
and inefficient supply chain management
system[9]. We need to develop a proper
and efficient supply chain so as to reduce
this wastage.
6. Decentralization of Agricultural and
rural development, administration - Only
a few states like Kerala and Karnataka
have implemented rural decentralization
properly. Most of the states rely far too
much on central finance for agricultural
and rural development (even though these
responsibilities are assigned to the states).
The resulting implementation architecture
is top down and split into multiple,
overlapping modules. Accountability to
the population and within the systems is
minimal while corruption and inefficiency
are rampant. On the other hand, China
has the most decentralized administration
as compared to any of the developing
nations and the local autonomy allows
them to do things which we Indians can
just dream of. We have known this for
30 years, but due to policy paralysis we
haven’t been able to do anything about
it. We need to overhaul this system and
implement this aspect properly.
7. Reforms in APMC - Excluding fruits and
vegetables from the APMC Act would help
in reducing the control of middlemen,
as direct selling would benefit both the
farmers and the end consumers and would
provide them with fair prices.
Conclusion
In 1950-1951 the contribution of agriculture
in GDP was 51.9%, which has reduced to
13.7%[10]. Possibilities still exist and experts
do believe that a little support would enable
the agriculture sector to grow at CAGR of
4%. Keeping in mind that “Future belongs
to nations with grains not guns” we need
a total transformation in our agricultural
sector. Better and efficient crop, water and
land management policies at national level in
tandem with individual states are needed as
our future depends on agriculture.
References
1. http://www.historydiscussion.net/britishindia/expansion-and-commercializationof-agriculture-during-the-british-rule-inindia/640
2. www.baif.org.in%2Fdoc%2FSustainable_
Agriculture%2FNew%2520Technologies
%2520for%2520Agricultural%2520Deve
lopment.doc&ei=-PntU96vI5Xd8AW4nIGI
Cw&usg=AFQjCNFx8HFI0XvlUeiZWdvZ
BNEvxeGolQ
3. http://lcm.csa.iisc.ernet.in/nv/
Mypublications/Bookchapters/1.
FoodBasket.pdf
4. http://www.globalhuntfoundation.org/
sector.html
5. http://www.business-standard.com/
article/economy-policy/more-than75-farmers-want-to-leave-theiroccupation-114031100966_1.html
6. http://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/govt-targets-middlemen-in-foodchain-inflation-bites/article1-1239194.aspx
7. http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/
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8. www.dahd.nic.in%2Fdahd%2Fuploa
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12. www.cuts-citee.
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A&usg=AFQjCNGg_KOH2mv9CrbjUTBCS
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17. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/
columns/sainath/in-16-years-farmsuicides-cross-a-quarter-million/
article2577635.ece
make in india
Author: Sthanu R. Nair
Associate Professor
Economics,
IIM Kozhikode
The Role of
MSME Sector
One of the ambitious goals of the new
government at the centre led by Shri. Narendra
Modi is to transform India into a major player
in the global manufacturing sector. Towards
this end a high profile campaign christened
‘Make in India’ was launched by the Prime
Minister recently in the presence of top
brass of Corporate India. Among others, the
Industry was promised an enabling investment
climate free of red tape which would facilitate
channelizing industry’s energy and investments
for the industrial growth of India.
Industrial sector in India consists of mining,
manufacturing, electricity, gas and water
supply, and construction. Two-thirds of
industrial output constitutes manufacturing.
The growth performance of manufacturing
sector has been unimpressive ever since
India launched economic reforms in 1991.
This is despite that many reform measures
undertaken since 1991 were aimed at boosting
manufacturing sector. For reaching the goal of a
dynamic manufacturing sector and generating
more employment for unskilled workers –
major goals of ‘Make in India’ movement - it
has been suggested that, among others, India
must promote and undertake reforms in Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
Being labour-intensive, MSMEs are capable
of generating more employment per unit of
capital employed that too for unskilled/semiskilled workers. This contribution from MSME
sector is very important because in a labourabundant country like India Industrial growth
needs to satisfy job creation criteria. Apart from
employment generation, MSMEs are a training
ground for entrepreneurial talent and
potential source of exports.
Today, MSMEs face innumerable
constraints for their wholesome
development. First, they do not have
access to adequate and timely credit at
a reasonable cost. Second, equity capital
is seldom available to the sector. Third,
infrastructure facilities available to them
are inadequate and poor in quality. Fourth,
the level of technology available to them is
low. Fifth, MSMEs lack the much needed
expertise to create and expand the markets
for their products. Sixth, growing import of
cheap industrial goods from counties like
China threatens the survival of MSMEs.
Seventh, MSMEs face shortage of skilled
workers and high level of attrition.
There are several ways to address the
aforementioned impediments facing the
growth of MSME sector. Since MSMEs
have developed historically in a dispersed
manner in terms of their geographical
spread addressing their infrastructure
concerns are not quite easy. Hence, to
ensure efficient provision of infrastructure
facilities MSMEs should be promoted
mainly in designated industrial areas or
estates. In addition, industry associations
and private sector must be encouraged
to develop and manage infrastructure
facilities and offer them to MSMEs on
payment basis. To promote inflow of equity
capital into the MSME sector, MSMEfocused angel/venture capital funds and
MSME exchanges (like normal stock
exchanges) can be formed. Moreover to
encourage the banks to lend formal credit
to MSMEs a credit rating for MSMEs can be
introduced. Currently, banks are reluctant
to fund MSMEs investment projects due
to lack of confidence about their credit
worthiness. Marketing problems facing
MSMEs can be addressed by way of
promoting online (internet) marketing;
promoting organized retailing, which
provides shelf space for products produced
from MSME sector; and certifying the
quality standards of products brought
out of MSME sector. The skill shortages
can be addressed through a national skill
development and supply programme
in collaboration with MSME industry
bodies. Technological transformation of
MSME sector can be achieved through
appropriate schemes aimed at providing
technological and financial assistance to
in-house technological innovations made
by MSMEs. Whereas the technological
assistance can be given by way of giving
access to institutional infrastructure for
R&D available in our universities and
engineering institutions, the financial
assistance can be given through a dedicated
R&D fund created for MSMEs. There is
ample evidence to show that in the posteconomic liberalization period MSMEs
have resorted to technological innovation
in the form of developing new products and
processes, and improving existing products
and processes.
Interestingly, several of the above
solutions are already contained in various
schemes provided by government of India for
MSME sector. The following are some of the
important schemes.
•
Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and
Small Enterprises: This scheme is aimed at
providing collateral-free credit to the MSE
sector.
• Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme: This
scheme aids technology upgradation
by providing capital subsidy for
modernisation of plant, machinery and
techniques.
•
Scheme for Marketing support: Under this,
MSMEs through the National Small
Industries Corporation can avail of
subsidies to organise and participate in
domestic and foreign trade fares or buyerseller meets.
•
Financial assistance for Certifications: In
this facility, a substantial part of the
expenditure incurred by MSMEs for
obtaining quality certifications such as
ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 are reimbursed.
• Incentive for obtaining credit rating:
Eligible MSMEs are offered credit rating
fee subsidy up to 75%. In addition, the
government has formulated a credit rating
scheme for MSMEs in collaboration with
Indian Banks Association and other rating
agencies.
•
SME Banking: Under this scheme
commercial banks have created separate
branches/windows for easy and quick
dispersal of loan funds to MSMEs
Although the above schemes look sound, in
practice they face two major implementation
issues. First, lack of awareness among
large number of MSMEs prevents proper
utilization of such schemes. For instance,
most schemes are made available in English.
Hindi and vernacular versions would be of
great use for the MSMEs especially those
operating in rural or remote areas. Second,
there has been bureaucratic delay in clearing
the applications submitted under various
schemes. This ultimately makes the cost of
availing support under the schemes costlier
than the quantum of support itself. It is here
the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi’s
revelation that ever since he took over the
office he had been sensitizing government
officials to the need for “effective” governance
assumes significance.
Article prepared by (on behalf
of EPS group):
Sreevas Sahasranamam
Doctoral Student, Strategic
Management
IIM Kozhikode
Last Mile Project
Report and Overview of
the work done
INTRODUCTION
The aim of the Last Mile Project was
to understand the working situation of
Integrated Child Development Scheme
(ICDS) systems in Wayanad and to provide
recommendations for improving the same.
As part of the project, a team was formed
from Indian Institute of Management
Kozhikode under the leadership of
Economics, Politics and Social Science
society.
The project was carried out in two phases.
In the first phase, detailed field visits
were carried out by the students. Three
field visits were carried out as part of the
project, one each in Edavakka Panchayat,
Manathavady Panchayat, and Noolpuzha
Panchayat. Multiple Anganwadi centers
(AWCs) were visited at each panchayat.
Each field visit spanned three days. In the
second phase, based on the observations
made during the field visits, the team held
detailed discussion amongst themselves.
The team also made a secondary
research study on other successful
models across the world in the areas of
children, women, education and health.
This secondary research was done to
provide implementation suggestions. The
aim of the second phase was to provide
recommendations on improving the
situation of ICDS centres in Wayanad.
OBSERVATIONS MADE FROM THE
FIELD VISITS
During the field visits, students had a
mixed experience. Some of the AWCs we
visited were very well maintained with
good facilities, however, in some others the
condition was poor. Some of the common
concerns that was observed by the
students at AWCs include:
• The enrolment of tribal children in
AWCs is limited.
• Infrastructure in most AWCs are poor
with makeshift roofs, insufficient
playing area and limited teaching aids.
• The Anganwadi Worker (AWW) in
•
•
•
•
most cases is overworked and are
feeling demotivated because of the lack
of infrastructure.
The awareness of people in the
community about health is limited
despite the presence of AWC.
The quality of education offered at
AWCs is a concern for the parents.
There is a growing habit of tobacco
chewing even among the children.
The documentation that AWW needs
to do is cumbersome leading to poor
recoding and unreliable data.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENT
Use of technology
• Use of digital hand held devices for
data collection would make the process
easier
• Digitization of data would be good for
proper maintenance
• Proper tracking mechanism needs to be
developed maintaining adequate stock
of medicines
Approaches to improve sensitization of
people
•
•
•
•
•
Distribution of pictorial material
containing information related to child
health and education
Aspirational value of tribal community
can be improved by having incentive
mechanisms like best family award
and best child award on an annual
basis
Regular meetings should be held by
AWC stressing on the importance of
child health and women welfare
An inexpensive loud speaker system
could be installed at the AWC for
providing announcements relating to
child health and health supplement
distribution
Collaborate with local colleges to
conduct street plays to increase
awareness about benefits of AWCs
•
•
Operational changes
• Proper review of syllabus on a regular
basis needs to be undertaken
• Greater vocational training (handloom,
stitching etc.) needs to be provided for
adolescent girls
• Regular training sessions need to
be conducted for AWWs focussing
on improving their knowledge and
improving pedagogical techniques
• Syllabus need to be modernized so
that children have better chance of
getting admission to good public/private
schools.
Changes in pedagogy
• Use of story-telling can be an effective
pedagogy
• Encouraging children to talk about their
home/animal/anything can help them
overcome their inhibitions about talking
in public
• Activities like growing flower plants/
vegetables can help them better
understand nature.
• Local area/road maps with known
places on it could improve the children’s
knowledge, curiosity, and talent
Changes in diet
• Include green vegetables. Milk and eggs
were being given in one of the AWCs
earlier, but later stopped. This needs to
be restored.
• Improving the taste of food supplement
to make it more palatable and less
vulnerable to avoiding.
Administrative changes
• SC,ST funds that have restricted use,
needs to be better used
Specific and detailed criteria for
allocation of funds with proper tracking
needs to be established.
Decreasing the extent of bureaucratic
control can help in improving the
working as well.
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL
MODELS THAT COULD BE ADOPTED
FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Gyanshala model
It is a project undertaken by Ahmedabadbased Education Support Organisation
(ESO). It is partly funded by Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan(SSA). The aim of the initiative
is to provide good quality education up to
class 3 to poor and marginalized children
living in slums. Children completing
Class 3 under Gyanshala are admitted
to municipal and other schools in class
4 on passing a qualifying test taken by
the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
In 2006 the municipal authority invited
Gyanshala Project to collaborate with it
in improving the performance of selected
primary schools under its administration.
This initiative promises to provide good
quality education at Rs. 1500 per child
whereas the government spends Rs. 5000
per child and even then fails to deliver
results. Currently Gyanshala runs over 200
classes in Ahmedabad. This model could be
adopted in providing training to AWW and
development of syllabus.
Collaboration with Akshaya project
Akshaya project, run by the Kerala IT
mission could be a good collaboration
partner for introducing technology and
digitization of records in ICDS.
Programme of mobilising local support to
primary schools (PLUS)
This initiative aims at the improvement of
primary education with local community
support or adoption of a school. For this,
mobilization of financial and human
resources is made from the local
community/civil society. States have
been requested to have at least one per
cent of the country’s Government/SemiGovernment primary schools covered
under PLUS every year, reaching upto 10
per cent of total primary schools by 2010.
The model could be explored as a source of
funding.
EDUCOMP collaboration with Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Assam
Educomp have launched an e-learning
project for SSA Assam in 500 schools on
BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer)
basis. Computer aided learning systems
through BOOT provides for an integrated
package of hardware, customized software
and training of teachers. E-learning
material has been developed in three
different local languages of Assam to meet
the requirement of different mediums
of instructions in the state. Similar kiosk
installations could be installed at AWC
through support from CSR funding of
corporates to make interactive learning
possible to the children. Adopting such
BOOT model could help improve the
infrastructure of AWCs to a large extent.
Naandi Foundation
It is one of the largest and fastest growing
social sector organisations in India
working to make poverty a history. They
are working towards better health, basic
education and sustainable livelihoods for
the deprived poor and underprivileged
people of Andhra Pradesh. To add value
they bring in best practices from across
disciplines that empower people and
enable knowledge transfer to marginalised
communities. This foundation works using
CSR funds of corporates. Such options
could be explored for developing AWCs as
well.
Srujan, Orissa
Srujan is a community-based approach
to fostering education in Orissa’s
substantial tribal areas. The objective
of the programme is to link community
knowledge and practices with the school
curriculum, both in the context of
curricular as well as extra- curricular
activities. Some of the traditional activities
are adopted as part of education like storytelling, traditional games, art and
craft, music and dance, nature study, etc.
Such activities are noted to increase the
interest of children to attend AWCs. At
Wayanad, we noted that it was particularly
difficult to persuade tribal children/
community to become a part of the
mainstream. By adopting their traditional
activities as part of the course curriculum,
we could increase the interest of tribal
children towards education. This could
further help in bringing them into the
mainstream with other children.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Gopalan
Balagopal (Retd. IAS) for providing us with
this opportunity to work on the project.
We would also like to thank Prof. Sthanu
R. Nair (Associate Professor, Indian
Institute of Management Kozhikode)
for being a continuous support in doing
the project. Our thanks are due to Indian
Institute of Management Kozhikode as
well for providing us infrastructural and
scheduling support in carrying out the
project. The panchayat members and
other support staff at anganwadis were
also of great support to us, we would like to
express our gratitude to them as well. Last
but not the least, we would like to thank
all the students who actively took part in
carrying out this project.
List of students who
Worked on the project
NameBatch
SandeepFPM 07
SreevasFPM 06
Kanika
PGP 16
Debtanu
PGP 16
Anurag
PGP 16
Satnam
PGP 16
Nidhi
PGP 16
Ankit
PGP 16
Ajay
PGP 16
Monoj
PGP 16
Niranjana PGP 16
Sandesh
PGP 17
Simran
PGP 17
Amrita
PGP 17
Neha
PGP 17
Surabhi PGP 17
Priyanka PGP 17
Leah PGP 17
Srilekha
PGP 17
Preethi
PGP 17
Akanksha PGP 17
Divya
PGP 17
Anupriya
PGP 17
Arathi
PGP 17
Neetha
PGP 17
Mrityunjay PGP 17
Anvita
PGP 17
Ravi
PGP 17
Anuradha PGP 17
Dheeraj
PGP 17
eCONOMICS, pOLITICS AND s OCIAL s CIENCES g ROUP
Indian Institute of Management
Kozhikode
Globalizing Indian Thought
w w w.fac e book.co m /e p s.iim k || w w w.iim k.ac.in

- Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

Transcription

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