YOJANA VOL45 MAY 2001

Census 2001-Some Findings
The first census of the second millennium presents a velY positive picture. Literacy rates
have increased creditably in the past decade, the sex ratio has improved an~ the population
growth rate has slowed down. Population of our country has increase~I by about 181
million persons between 1991-2001. This is more than the estimated population of Brazil,
the fifth most populous country.
According to the provisional results of the census of India 2001 which began at 00:00
hours of March 1,2001 as the referance date, the population ofIndia stood at 10270,15,247
comprising 53,12,77,078 males and 4,95,738,169 females, there by m~king India the
.
.
I
second country in the world after china to cross the one billion mark. India's share of the
world population is 16.7 percent. The percentage of growth of the last debde as a whole
has declined from 23.86 during 1981-91 to 21.34 during 1991-2001. PoJulation growth
.
I
slowed to an average rate of 1.95 per cent a year ill the past decade from the 2.16 per cent
'"registered in 1981-91. The lowest growth rate was recorded in Kerala At 9.42per cent
followed by Tamil Nadu at 11.19 and Andhra Pradesh at 13.86. Andhr~ ~radesh showed
the sharpest decline among all the major states-1 0.34 per cent. Two major states, Haryana,
Bihar, Sikkim, Naga1and and Manipur have shown in acceleration in popr~ation growth ..
The country at present has 57 more persons per.square km as compared to 1991.Almost
two thirds of the population lives in states and union territories. The incJease in literacy .
in the past decade has been the highest ever. Literacy rates have improvcld for both men
and women and' the rates among the population seven years and abovcl now stands at
65.38 per cent. The corresponding figures Jor males and females are 715.85and 54.16
percent respectively. The figures show that three fourths of the male population and more
than half of the female population is literate. Literacy rates have improve:d considerably"
in the traditionally backward states. Rajasthan, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh have shown
a literacy growth rate of 15 to 20 percentage since 1991.
I"
The average exponential growth rate has declined from 2.14 per cent in 1981-91 to 1.93
per cent.
I
The number of females for 1000 males is 933. In the 1991 census this ratio was 927. The
highest sex ratio has been reported in Kera1a. The state's sex ratio is 1058 females for
1000 males. Haryana registered the lowest sex ratio of 861 among the m1ajorstates. The
sex ratio in the 0-6 age group which was 945 in 1991 has declined to 92 in 20001.
t
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,
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\,
May 2001
•
qOlono
4 INDIA COMES OF AGE
B. Bhattacharyya
9 DTT : A NEW ERA IN TELEVISION BROADCASTING
'.
Biman Basu
11 NATURE AND ISSUES OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
M.S. Raj and D.J. Chauhan
17 WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT IN ORGANISED SECTOR
20
Chief Editor : Subhash Setia
Editor: Mahadev
SELF HELP GROUPS AND RURAL EMPLOYMENT
R.K. Ojha
24 PANCHA YATI RAJ IN UTT ARANCHAL.
LEGISLATIVE MODE
MahiPal
A
Pakrasi
Assistant Editor: Madhu R. Sekhar
Sub Editor: Manogyan R. Pal
Beacon
Let noble thoughts come to
us from every side.
-Rigved
29 FINANCING RURAL DEVELOPMENT
STUDY
Samit Kar and Malay Kr. Mukhopadhyay
A CASE
37 MONITORING OF PUBLIC SECTOR PROJECTS
A.K. Lal
40
COMMUNITY BASED
MANAGEMENT
Anuradha Thakur
NA Tl}RAL RESOURCE
44
EMPOWERMENT OF THE AGED PEOPLE
M. Athar Ansari
48
DIAMONDS AND INDIA
KusumMehta
"I
•
Joint Director (Prod): D.N. Gandhi
Circulation & Advertisement Manager: P.C. Ahuja
Cover: Village women also participate in the
setting up of the power house.
Cover Design: Malkiat Singh
50 BOOK REVIEW
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Chennai: V.C. Rukmani, Thiruvananthapuram: P. Kesavan.
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The views expressed in various articles are those of the author's and not necessarily ofthe government.
Exim Policy 2001-2002.
India Comes of
Age
B. Bhattacharyya
I
One important
factor which will
determine the future
sustain ability in
export growth is the
participation of the
state governments in
export promotion
activities. This is
especially true
because agriculture
is a state subject.
The current policy
tries to upgrade the
participation of the
states by taking
advantage of the
provision of about
Rs. 100 crore in the
current Budget.
I
NDIA HAD followed,
since
independence,
an inward. . looking development
strategy
which promoted import substitution
rather than export promotion.
This
policy created the base of domestic
heavy
industry
and took
the
agricultural economy from a position
of acute deficits to a huge surplus in
grains production.
It also provided
sufficient protection, in conjunction
with other relevant policies, to the
small scale sector which is now a
significant contributor to the gross
domestic product as well as exports.
Ho:-vever, rigorous import controls
coupled with other policies such as
industrial
licensing,
reduced
competition' which in turn results in
an inefficient, high cost economy.
While there is substantial economic
rationale behind protection being
granted to infant industries,
such
protection
cannot continue to be'
extended
for all time.
This is
especially true when an economy is
faced with increasing pressures to get
integrated with the rest of the world.
India started opening up, though very
slowly, in 1985-86. The pace became
much faster since the economic
reforms were initiated in 1991 with a
drastic overhaul
of its external
economic policies.
Previously, Export-Import Policies
. were used to achieve three objectives.
First, to impose rigorous control,
through the licensing mechanism, on
all imports which were considered
inessential.
Second, it was also
recognized
that the export sector
~eeded a,.more liberal ac.cess to th_
Importedmputs-so
specIal schemes-"
were formulated for exporters. Third,
since imports were highly regulated,
imported inputs/goods
enjoyed a
premium.
Exporters
could make
profits by selling their 'rights' to
imports,; i.e., the licences to the
domestic producers.
This whole
process became too complex over
time and, there was a need for both
simplifi2ation
and a more liberal
approach to imports to introduce
competition in the domestic market.
This
realization
was
complemented by the increased state
of liberalisation
ushered in by the
World Trade Organisation
(WTO).
Under
the Uruguay
Round
of
Negotiations (1986-1994) a number'
of Agreements were concluded which
resulted in greater market access for
all WTO members by reducing tariffs
across theI board and elimination of
non-tariff barriers.
In the field of.
agriculture,
the Agreement
on
Agricultlire provided for elimination
of all direct control measures such as
quota restrictions and replacement of
these by appropriate tariff levels-a
process i technically
known
as
tariffication. Before AOA, agJ;iculture
used to b:e the most protected sector
in almost all countries .
Quantitative Restrictions
WTO; provides
that. aLl trade
restrictiors are to be carried out by
ProfB. Bhattacharyya is Dean, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.
4
YOJANA May 2001
tari ffs, Direct controls through
licensing will not be normally allowed
(Article XI), except under special
circumstances.
An important
exception is the Balance of Payments
ground under Article XII where QRs
might be justified in the face of a BOP
crisis. Developing countries are
allowed a further flexibility under
Article XVIII:B. India maintained
quantitative restrictions (QR) on the
import of agricultural, textile and
industrial products falling in 2,714
.rifflines.
India invoked balance-ofpayments justification in accordance
with Article XVIII:B of the GATT
1994, and notified these quantitative
restrictions to the Committee on
Balance of Payments Restrictions
(the "BOP Committee"). On 30 June
1997, following consultation in the
BOP Committee, India proposed
eliminating
its
quantitative
restrictions over a seven-year period.
Some of the Members of the BOP
Committee, including the United
States, were of the view that India's
balance of payments restrictions
couI'd be phased out over a shorter
period than that proposed by India.
As a result, consensus on India's
proposal could not be reached. On
15 July 19,97, the United States
requested consultations with India
under the Understanding on Rules
and Procedures
Governing the
, Settlement of Disputes (the "DSU")
the consistency of the latter's
quantitative restrictions with its
WTO obligations.
.n
Third Party
Japan participated as a third party
in these consultations. Subsequently,
Australia, Canada, the European
Community, New Zealand and
Switzerland
also
requested
consultations on claims similar to
those of the United States. India
reached mutually agreed solutions
with all concerned parties except the
United States to phase out the QRs
over a six-year period. The'United
YOJANA May 2001
States requested the establishment of
a panel to examine the consistency of
India~s balance
of payments
restrictions with its obligations tinder
Article Xl and Article XVIII:ll of the
GATT 1994, Article 4.2 of the
Agreement on Agriculture and the
Agreement on Import Licensing
Procedures.
In its Report, circulated on 6April
1999, the Panel concluded that :
(i) the measures at issue applied by
India violate Articles XI: 1 and
XVIII: 11 of GATT 1994 and are
not justified by Article XVIII :B,
(ii) The measures at issue, to the
extent they apply to products
subject to the Agreement on
Agriculture, violate Article 4.2 of
the Agreement on Agriculture;
and
(iii) The measures at issue nullify or
impair the benefits of the United
States under GATT 1994 and the
Agreement on Agriculture.
The Panel recommended that the
DSB requests India to bring the
measures at issue into conformity with
its obligations under the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization
(the "WTO
Agreement"). On 25 May 1999, India
notified the Dispute 'Settlement Body
(the "DSB") of its decision to appeal
on certain issues oflaw covered in the
Panel Report and certain legal
interpretations developed by the
Panel, pursuant to paragraph 4 of
Article 16 of the DSU, and filed a
Notice of Appeal with the Appellate
Body pur:suant to Rule 20 of the
Working Procedures for appellate
Review (the "Working Procedures").
On 4 June 1999, India filed an
appellant's submission. The United
States filed an appellee's submission
on 21 June 1999. The DSB gave its
ruling in August 99, upholding the
Panel's decision. Further negotiations
with USA had resulted in the decision
to eliminate QRs by 31 March 2001.
In the export-import policy for 20002001, India has already removed 714
items
from
the quantita~ive
restrictions. The remaining 715 items'
were made free of quota restrictions
from 1April 2001.
'
Analytical Framework
The possible impact of QRs
removal on imports can be analysed
in terms of the following parameters
First, the, QRs removal, can result
in a higher import bill thereby putting
a pressure on the balance of trade.
" Second, since QRs are currently
imposed on some specific. product,
categories, mostly concentrated in
agriculture and goods originating in
the small scale sector, it is expecte<;l
that the effect of the removals will be
pronounced in those sectors. This
may result in' a situation where the
overall impact on the balance of trade
may be insignificant but there can be
a disproportionate adverse impact on
certain production sub:'seclors. "
.
"
.
Third, the ad'V~rseimpa~t on the
production, sub-sectors
can be
analysed in terms ofpqssible decline
in production, ", income
and
employment; , To have a proper
quantitative 'estimate, it \yill be
necessary not only to consider the first
order effects but also the second order
effects on the rest of the economy.
Fourth, the QRs removal :Cahaiso
have a resource allocation-aJ-impact.
As production in the ,affected sectors
get squeezed due .to liigher level' of
import penetration, the resources from
those sectors may, flow to' other
sectors with, higher level of
competitive ,efficiencies. This, of
course, will be :possible only)( both
economic and institutional rigidities
are abSent..
Fifth, higher leve-Jof competition
through imports can also clcf as a
catalytic
agent for enhanced
efficiency.
5
The
dilemma
before
the
Government
in terms of policy
respohse stemmed from some of the
following considerations:
First, the inflow of competitive
imports can increase welfare of the
consumers in terms oflower prices as
well as a higher level of choice among
competing product offerings.
But
against the consumer welfare gain, the
loss to the producers will have to be
offset. Public choice theory predicts
the governmental
response. to be
mostly in favour of producers in view
of their better institutional linkages
with the Government and the diffused
character of the consumer-class as a
whole. The dilemma is aggravated by
the perception
that the cheaper
imports'coming after the QRs removal
may not necessarily be due to higher
level of efficiency of the exporters but
may be attributed to various support
measures
of
the
respective
governments or unfair trade practices.
There is a larger policy issue in this
conte.xt which the Government had to
keep in mind. The QRs removal, even
if proximately
cau~ed by India's
losing the case in the WTO, is to be
seen in the overall pr~cess of the trade
policy and economic reforms. Since
reforms process e~tends a higher
degree of ilnportance to the market
signals, QRs removal can be seen as
an exercise towards the direction,
independent of the WTO':-imposed
obligations.
.
Policy Instruments
The policy instruments available to
the Government include :
1.
have
acce,ss
to safeguard
measures as allowed under article
.. XIX of GATT 1947.
2.
impose anti-dumping
duties if
justified,
under article'VI
of
GATT 1947.' .
3.
attempt renegotiation of special
safeguard measures in WTO so
6
far as agricultural
concerned.
imports
are
4.
introduce flexible tariffs subject
to the bound tariff requirement
under the WTO.
. 5.
convert ad valorem duties to
specific duties in the case of those
products which are more price
sensitive, thereby giving constant
level of protection to the domestic
industry.
6.
can think of intervention in the
foreign exchange market, subject
to other
macro
economic
objectives,
to have a lower
exchange
rate which
will
indirectly increase the level of
protection from imports.
7.
develop support measures which
are WTO consistent
such as
subsidy
for research
and
development, financial help for
fighting anti-subsidy and antidumping
cases,
introduce
measures to reduce transaction
costs,
such
as EDland
simplification
of regulatory
process.
8.
improve infrastructure and better
operational
efficiency
of the
existing infrastructure ...
Significant Step
The most significant step recently
taken to liberalise India's imports and
make
,it consistent
with
our
obligations to the WTO is to remove
all quantitative restrictions w.e.f. 1
April, 2001. Apprehensions
have
been expressed that imports under
OGL of the items so far covered under
QR can affect adversely the SSI sector
in particular, apart from a large scale
expansion in imports.
The empirical way of analysing the
impact of the QRs would have to start
with the current status of imports of
these items. It can be argued that data
on' current
level 'of imports
are
underestimates
because
of the
restnctIOns. This is correct but since
there is no way to know what would
have been the level of imports in the
absence of QRs, this is what w~ will
have td start
and then make
allowanc,es for such underestimation.
Ofthe 714 items which were freed last
year, o1)ly 227 items show any
positive imports duric.g 1997-98. This
means il)1port of 487 items where
imports were nil would not suddenly
increase because of removal of QRs.
If imports were nil, this is because the
prevaili~g tari ff rate made import.
uncomp~titive, and these tariff rate's
have not been reduced.
Cut off Rate
Further, many of these 218 items
are really insignificant with import
values .of few lakh and even
thousands. Ifwe take a modest cutoffrate ofRs. 10 crore, there are only
19 products.
Many of these 19
product's
fall,
within
the
miscellapeous category of "Others",
i.e.,
comprise
many'
small
insignificant i~ems and then totalled
up for r,eporting trade data. Total
importsl
of these
19 products
amounted to Rs. 1573 crore. Five
largest import items in descending
order of (importance are':
Other machines & mechanical
appliances having individual
functions
Rs. 536 cr.
Trays, cups etc. of paper board
Rs. 406 cr.
Other chcmical products
Rs. 114 cr.
Professional beauty equipments
Rs. 99 cr.
,
Other machinery, plant
equipment to temperature
control .
Total
Rs. 79 cr.
Rs. 1134 cr.
These five accounts for more than
two-thirds
of imports of these 19
major commodities.
Out of these
items, small scale sector is important
in the paper products, though they
figure in other product categories as
well.
But no import values are
insignificant to cause any concern.
YOJANA May 2001
Among these 19 product groups there
are three agricultural products, viz,
other animal feed, Bulger wheat
and some processed foods (snacks),
with total import of Rs. 76 crore in
1997-98. Animal feed has a bound
tariff rate of 150 percent while the
other two are bound at 55 percent. At
such rates,
hardly
any import
expansion is expected to take place.
The data do not justify any fear
regarding
substantial
damage to
.ndian
industry, large, medium or
small.
Criticized
provide adequate protection to Indian
agriculture.
Even
then,
the Policy
has
prescribed several other measures to
control any possible import surge:
i) Import of agricultural products
like wheat, rice, maize, other
coarse cereals, copra and coconut
oil has been placed in the category
of State Trading.
Similarly,
;
:, !
import of petroleum products
including petrol, diesel and ATF
has also been placed in the
category of State Trading. Import
9furea willalso be done through
the mechanism of State Trading.
The removal
of quantitative
restrictions on agriculture products
The most significant step
has been severely criticized by some
sections of the society as it was felt
recently taken to
that the interests of the farmers are
liberalise India's imports
getting affected.
There was also
and make it consistent
concern
that
subsequent
to
jiberalisation, import of food grains
with our obligations to
might jeopardize
India's
food
the WTO is to remove all
security. While the question offood
quantitative restrictions
security is a complex one and will
be more determined
by a large
w.e.f. 1 April, 2001.
number of long term trend factors
ii) To ensure a level playing field
rather'
than
the
removal
of
to domestic producers vis-a-vis
quantitative restrictions,
there can
imports in conformity with the
definitely be a short-term pressure on .
'National Treatment Principle' of
price
realisation
if imports
GATT,
imports
have been
substantially increase in the post QR
subj
ected
to
the
relevant
period. The data availability as of
domestic
regulations.
now does not allow an empirical
iii) In view of road safety and
verification
of this hypothesis.
enviromnent
considerations,
erowever,
the Department
of
imports
of
second
hand
Revenue, Ministry of Finance has
automobiles
have
been
allowed,
released some data which reveal that
only subject
to the several
during
1999-2000,
imports
of
restrictive
conditions.
agricultural
products amounted to
Rs. 11,5 I 1 crore against Rs. 12,585
iv) To ensure
that import
of
crore in 1998-1999. As a percentage
agricultural products do not lead
of total imports, value of agricultural
to unwanted infiltration of exotiC
imp0l1s amounted for 5.63 percent in
diseases.and pests in the country,
1999-2000 as against 7.05 in 1998it has been decided to subject
1999. The cumulative duty structure
import of primary products of
as applicable to major agricultural
plant and animal origin to 'Bio
products, show the minimum rate to
Security & Sanitary and Phytobe 20 percent which goes up to 108.4
Sanitary Permit' to be issued by
percent. Applied rates of such level
Dept!.
of Agriculture
and
should, under nonnal circumstances,
Cooperation. This permit will be
YOJANA May 2001
based on Import Risk Analysis
of the product to be conducted
on scientific
principles,
in
accordance
with the WTO
Agreement
on Application
of
Sanitary and Phyto~Sanitary
Measures.
v)
To develop an early warning
system so far as imports of
sensitive
commodities
are
cdncerned; the Government has
constituted a Standing Group for
tracking, collating and analysing
data on 300. sensitive items. For
greater transparency, a monthly
statement on the imports status
of these items will be made
public.
Major Features
Apart from the removal of QR
restrictions, this being the last year of
the current five year EX 1M policy, no
major changes were made. The focus
has been basically on simplification
of systems and procedures. Some of
the important amendments are:
i)
Since last year, the Government
has been emphasising
Special
Economic
Zones
(SEZ) to
promote
exports.
The new
policy has given some special
privileges to these zones, SEZs
will now be allowed duty free
procurement from the domestic
tariff area. This facility will also
be available to those who set up
factories in the zone .. SEZ has
. been
given
the status
of
infrastructure under the Income
Tax Act. Items reserved for the
small scale sector will not
require any licence for setting up
units in SEZ.
ii)
For annual advance licences, the
entitlement has been increased to
200 per cent from 125 per cent
ofthe fO.b. value of exports in
-the preceding year.
iii)
The entitlement
for advance
licence, where standard input-
7
output norms does not ,exit, has
been increased from 100 percent
to 200 percent of the f.o.b. value
in the 'preceding year for all
categories of Export Houses.
iv) Several
procedural
simplifications have been done
for the EOU/EPZ units as well
as for deemed exports.
Taking a long term view, the policy
emphasizes the importance of export
development to achieve the target of
doubling India's per capita income in
next 10 years-a target set by the
Prime Minister in his Independence
Day address on August 15,2000. This
will require an annual per capita GDP
growth of7 percent during the next 10
years. Exports must also contribute to
this GDP growth rate. Against this
perspective, the Government has set a
goal of at least one per~ent share of
global trade by 2004-2005. World
export is forecast to be of the order,of
S7.5%trillion in 2004. IfIndia has to
account for one percent of this trade,
its exports will have to be $75 bn. from
the current level of $43bn. which
means an annual growth rate of 18
'percent approxi!TIately.
l\.fter a dismal performance during
the two preceding years, India's
exports have recorded a very
satisfactory performance in 20002001, the estimated growth rate being
about 18 percent which' in fact was
the, target set by the Ministry of
COl1)mer,ce.The next financial year
may however, see a little deceleration
because of the expected, recession in
United States a~ w~U as continued
stagnation in Japan. Since these two
countrie.saccount for about hljllfof the
wprld gross output, any adverse
development in those coiintriesaffect
the export prospects. of all cpuntries
in<;luding Ind1.a: However, with
appj'opriatepolicy measures a~d the
increasing international orientation of
India's 'trade' and-industry, an 18
percent growth :ratein exports appears
8
to be feasible.
One important factor which will
determine the future sustainability in
export growth is the participation of
the state governments in export
promotion activities.
This is
The policy emphasizes
the importance of export .
development to achieve
the target of doubling
India'sper capita income
in next 10 years-a target
set by the Prime Minister
in his Independence Day
. address on August 15~
2000. This will require
an annual per capita
GDP growth of 7 percent
duri!lg the ~ext 10 years.
Expo'rts must also
contribute to this GDP
growth rate.
especially true because agriculture is
a state subject. The current policy
tries to upgrade the participation of
the states by taking advantage of the
provision of about Rs. 100 crore in
the current Budget. The EXIM policy
itself has indicate'd plans for focused
development of agro exports. The
policy
provides
for specific
programmes for apples from Himachal
Pradesh and.Jammu&
Kashmir,
Alfansomangoes from Maharashtra as
well as other such products 'as may be
identified and sponsored by state
governments. The emphasis will be
on total development of export specific
pmducts by the combined e,ffortsof the
Department of Commerce of the
Government of India and the state
governments. The policy provides for
the..first time.extension of all policy
schemes such as Duty Exemption
Scheme and Export Promotion Capital
Goods Scheme to the agro,sectpr.
Undyr the WTO regime, the
Govermnent cannot provide direct
export ~ubsidy.' It can, however,
commit resources to upgrade the
infrastructural facilities for export
expansion. A major feature in this
regard is the Market Access Initiative
proposed by the Government in this
year's scheme.
Under this, the
Government
would assist the
industry
in
research
and
development,
market research,
specific; m.arket and pr~duct stud~e.
wareho~smg and retaIl marketlIlg
infrastructure in selected countries
and market promotion activities
through various types ofpromotional
media and buyer/seller mode .
. The povernment also proposes to
set up a Business-cum- Trade
Facilitation Centre and Trade Portal in
New D,elhi which will provide a
comprehensive information base,and
easy access to relevant trade
information to exporters and importers.
India is now finnly in the process
of integration with the world. This
Year's EXIM policy is basically a
continuation of the old order. It ,will
be necessary to consider whether from
the next year the country will need any
import/export policy of the nature
which we had during the last 50 years.
Presumably what is needed is a list of
product~whose imports will be banned
or restricted on grounds which
globally acceptable and, therefore,
WTO compatible. At the same time,
the country must have in place a strong
and effiCienttrade protection institution
to ensure that dumping/smuggling
activitic::s are effectively controlled.
Simultaneously, the Government has
to work out a policy-frame for export
promotion which does not rely on
extending fiscal and financial subsidies
but fabilitates
free and speedy
movement
of
export/import
transactions, reduce transaction costs
and ensure market access for India's
products abroad.
0
are
YOJAN A May 200 1
DTT: ANew Era
in Television
Broadcasting
Biman Basu
T
•
••
The introduction of
digital terrestrial
transmission is
expected to
dramatically
iJl1provethe quality
of Doordarshan's
broadcasts, thereby
increasing its
effectiveness and
viewership still
.further.
Mr Biman Basu
One 'of the major disadvantages of
cable channels is that they do not allow
subscribers much choice as far as the
pay-channels
are concerned.
One
cannot select the channels one would
like to subscribe to. If the cable operator
gives a pay-channel that a subscriber
does not want or does not give a channel
that a subscriber wants, nothing can be
done. It won't be wrong to say that in
the present system the subscriber is at
the mercy of the cable operator. The
good news is, all that is going to change,
and change soon. With the way now
clear for the laupch of Direct to Home
(DTH) television transmission in the
country, TV viewers in India can now
expect to have a wider choice of
channels they can choose from. With
DTH, one need no longer depend on a
cable operator but can receive the
In the past few years the choice
,desired channels directly from satellite
before TV viewers in India has
using a small set-top dish antenna and
expanded manifold. In some cities
a .decoder, DTH can broadcast more
one can get as many as 70 cable
than 100 channels
and pro'vides
channels,
many of them payexcellent picture quality and CD-quality
channels.
Pay-channels
are made
audio. It uses a direct broadcast satellite
possible by digit~l technology, which
that beams signals direct to homes in
allows the signals to be encrypted
the Ku-barid of microwave frequencies,
before transmission.
Apart from,
between 11.7 and 12.7 GHz. The
enabli,ng
encryption,
digital
advantage'
of using
such
high
transmission also gives much better
frequenCies is that the signals from the
image and audio quality. But unless
satellite are stronger and so can be
decoded the encrypted signals cannot
received with small-size dish antennas.
be recei,ved for viewing the channel,
In fact, the dish antenna for receiving
and that is where the payment, comes
DTH service can be as small as 45 cm
in. Today cable operators have to .. in diameter. WithDTH one can become
make a payment to the distributors
one's own cable operator, selecting
of the pay-channels
t'1 get the
chaimels at one's own will.
password to decode the signals .and
Although
DTH' offers
many
they charge ismall monthly fee from'
advantages,
it is relatively
more
the Gable s!1bscribers.
expensive compared to the existing
ELEVISION
.
BROADCASTING
in
.
India is set to change
dramatically in the coming decade.
If the present plans of the Ministry
of Information
& Broadcasting
materialize,
the country's
entire
television network will not only tum
digital by the end of the next decade
but will also be available to viewers
through a variety of new modes,
namely Direct to Home (DTH) and
Digital Terrestrial
Transmission
(DTT).
At present,
terrestrial
transmission of TV programmes in
India is done through analogue mode,
while some of the satellite channels
provided by the cable operators,
espec~ally the pay-channels
are
received from satellite in digital mode.
IS Editor, Science Reporter.
YOJANA May 2001
9
cable TV. For instance, the dish
antenna for receiving DTH service cost
around Rs.15,000 and the decoder
about RS.l 0,000 at present. This is in
addition to the monthly fees one would
have to pay for the pay-channels,
which could be anything up to Rs. 500
per month compared to Rs: 120-150
per month charged by cable operators
at present. Besides, cable operators
also ~ffer free video movie channels
and some of them are now offering
Intemet facility also at a moderate cost,
which DTH cannot provide. Thus,
cable TV undoubtedly offers a better
choice than DTH, except in places
where there is no local cable service,
and is likely to remain the main
provider of multi-channel TV service
in the country for many years to come.
Even if DTH is written off as not
being a serious challenge to cable TV,
the stage cannot be said to be clear.
Another broadcasting mode, called
Digital TerrestrialTransmission (DTT)
is rapidly coming up as a new
contender and an attractive alternative
to cable TV.Prasar Bharati Corporation
has already decided to introduce digital
terrestrial transmitters at all the major
kendras of Doordarshan during the
Ninth plan, along with expansion of
digital satenite channels and digital
studio production as part of its move
towards total digitalisation of TV
broadcasting in India.
Today, Doordarshan
has the
monopoly
in terrestrial
TV
transmission in the country, which it
does through analogue mode.
Compared to analogue terrestrial
transmission, digital transmission
mode can accOlmnodate many more
channels per transmitter. This is
because in DTT, digitalised TV beams
are spread over so narrow a bandwidth
that five to six digital channels can be
transmittedusing the same antenna that
is used now to transmit a single
. analogue channel. Secondly, unlike
DTH luode, TV viewers don't need
additional dish antenna to receive DTT
signals but can use the same antenna
10
used for receiving the present day
analogue transmissions. Thus, even
set-top antennas used with portable
TVs can be used to receive digital
transmission. In other words, DTT will
offer viewers more programmes
through the same old antenna. Of
course, with the current analogue TV
sets a set-top decoder will be needed
for converting digital signals into
analogue form. Future digital sets
would not need set-top decoders.'
The technology of DTT, .although
new, has been under test and field trial
for several years in Europe, and
volume production of TV receivers for
DTT is now beginning. However, the
introduction of digital terrestrial
services requires much more than
simple technology. There are many
steps which have to be worked through
before a service can be launched for
the general public. These steps begin
with goveinments and without positive
will to enact new broadcasting laws,
nothing can happen. Fortunately,
many governments including the
Government of India have already
foreseen the significant economic and
political importance of the switchover
from analogue to digital terrestrial
broadcasting. For instance, there is the
possibility of auctioning the freed up
frequency channels either for more
digital television, or for new types of
services.
National regulators in many
countries including India have already
begun to construct the operating
environment for DTT, commissioning
reports on the possibilities of new
programming in their countries, and
ultimately issuing invitations for
license applications. In India, the
Ministry
of Information
&
Broadcasting is planning to lease out
DTT to private. sector in every state,
though there will be caps to prevent
monopoly. The policy calls for
dividing the entire TV coverage area
statewise. In order to get DTT rights
in each state, the highest bidder will
have to pay Prasar Bharati Corporation
a sum that is likely to be large. Besides,
the succdsful bidder will have to pay
an annuatrent to Prasar Bharati for the
rights to, the transmitters. Prasar
Bharati Corporation can use the
money, either alone or jointly, to set
up DTT transmitters throughout the
state. Sihce each transmitter can
accommodate up to six channels, the
areas that have demand for more
channels Willhave more transmitters.
Once DTT begins, viewers will be able
to watch all the private channels
available without cable operators' help.e
I
Prasar Bharati Corporation has
recently I signed a deal with BBC
Resources of UK to prepare a complete
blueprint for the introduction of DTT
in India. According to Rajeev Ratan
Shah, CEO of Prasar Bharati
Corporation,
Doordarshan
will
demonstrate
its technological
leadership in India by upgrading and
modernizing its existing studio and
transmission systems in order to
embrace the new digital age. It is with
the objective of reducing the lead-time
for the introduction of a digital
terrestrial television service that
Doordarshan has called upon the
technical expertise and consultancy
skills ofBBC Resources. Doordarshan
currently broadcasts in analogue
throughout the country, reaching about
70 million homes and over half a
billion viewers.
The new service is initially planned •
for the four major centres of New Delhi,
Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. The
first pha~e of the project will be a
feasibility study, which will examine
both the business proposition and the
technical facilities necessary to provide
a viable digital terrestrial transmission
service. the introduction of digital
terrestrial transmission is expected to
dramatically improve the quality of
Doordarshan's broadcasts, thereby
increasing its effectiveness
and
viewership still further. .Indeed, the
launch ofiDTT will usher in a new era
in television broadcasting in India. 0
I
I
YOJANA May 2001
Nafure and Issues of
Child Labour in India
M.S. Raj and D.J. Chauhan
A
CROSS THE globe, to a
lesser or greater degree,
visible
or
invisible,
admittedly
or otherwise,
child
labour exists.
The forces
and
circumstances which compel the child
to work in its early stage of childhood
do mucn harm than benefit. Child
labour is both an economic and social
problem. It is a social evil resulting
into moral degradation of the bulk of
children. Child labour deprives him
of education, training and skill which
are the requisites of earning power and
economic development.
•
It isfelt that these
piecemeal
legislations have
failed to serve the
purpose and it is
being increasingly
• realised that a single
comprehensive
legislation on the
.subject of child
labour would provl!
to be more
meaningful.
\
Child labour harms not only the
present
generation
but also the
posterity. If one conceives the idea
of a child labour it brings before the
eyes the picture of exploitation
of
little, physically
tender, illiterate
and under-nourished
children
working in hazardous- occupation
and unhealthy
conditions.
The
problem of child labour is such that.
it can hardly be legislated away as
its roots lie in abject poverty and
backwardness
of the society .
This phenomenon of child la~our
is multi-dimensional
and multilayered.
A child
labour
is
differentiated from an adult worker on
the ground of age. Usually a child
worker is one below the age of 14 or
15 years who is engaged in any
productive activity whether paid or
unpaid with the parents family or
outside. This definition indicates that
there are two kinds of child labour,
(1) Traditionally
assisting
their
parents or family members and (2)
work done by the children outside the
family for remuneration either in real
tenns or in cash to shore up the family
mcome.
The Gurupadaswamy
Committee
has observed that labour becomes an
absolute evil in the case of child
when he is required to work beyond
his physical capacity, when hours of
employment
interfere
with his
education, recreation and rest, when
his wages are not commensurate with
the quantum of work done and when
the occupation
in which he is
engaged endangers his health and
society.
In a comprehensive
way
ILO defined
that child labour
includes children primarily leading
adult lives, working long hours for
low
wages
under
conditions
damaging
their health and their
physical and mental development,
someti mes separated
from thei r
families,
frequently
deprived
of
meaningful educational and training
opportunities that could open up for
them a better future.
Article 24 of the Constitution of
India states that no child below the
age of 14 years should be employed
to work in' any factory or mine or
engaged
in any other hazardous
employment.
The child labour
(Prohibition
and Regulation)
Act
1986, also stressed on the age limit
of in years.
This category
of child labour'
work in the unorganised or informal
sectors.
The children
may be
involved in industrial activities or
Dr M.S. Raj and Dr DJ. Chauhan are with Post Graduate Deptt. of Economics, Sardar Patel University, Gujarat.
YOJANA May 2001
11
even provide their services in other
activ'ities in wage-based
or selfemployment.
They may work
independently
or as part of family
labour. Such children are generally
not within the purview of law even
though they may work under the most
hazardous conditions. They are also
not a part of enumeration although
they constitute a major part of child
labour force in the country. Almost
all of these children are non-school
gomg.
Child labour is a multi-dimensional
problem. Several factors are expected
to be the causes of the participation
of children in economic activities.
The causes are poverty,
caste,
tradition, size of the family, labour
scarcity,
wage rates, illiteracy,
ignorance,
schooling
facilities,
neighborhood
effect etc. These
factors are interlinked and exert their
influence directly and/or indirectly on
the work participation of children.
More Income
Parents view that more children
means more earning which indices for
an increase in child labour. The low
income of parents
which is not
adequate to meet the basic needs of
the family, force the children to work
and supplement the family income.
Thus, poverty propels parents to send
their children to distant places to
work.
The abject poverty
and
unemployment forces the children to
take
up
unremunerativellow
remuneration work, which results into,
many social evils. Parents want their
children to depend upon themselves
as early as possible, much better, if
they become a source of income to
the family.
Poverty is a common feature of
developing
countries
wherein
a
considerable proportion ofpopulation
lives below
poverty
line.
In
developing
countries
a large
proportion of the poor is found in rural
areas. Here also poverty compels
12
millions of rural families to sell the
labour of their children along with
adults to eke out a bare subsistence.
An attempt is made to show
graphically
the nature
of the
relationship
between child work
participation rate and the household
income. The study observed that the
rise in income up to breakeven point
leads to child work participation rate
(CWP).
CWP CURVE
Yo
y,
BEP
y
y,
o
A
C B
CWP Rate Backward Bending CWP Curve
But beyond the breakeven point a
rise in income level brings down the
CWP rate indicating
the inverse
relationship between CWP rate and
income. The ch~nge in the nature of
the relationship between CWP rate
and income beyond breakeven point
may be due to status consciousness
among the members ofthe households
belonging to higher income groups,
effective demand for hired labour etc.
Studies Reveal
Some studies show that in poor
families children release women from
household work to work outside home
for wages. Women in these families
have no other go but to engage in
some kind of work, however, meagre
their earnings may be. This results
into higher CWP of their children in
household work. Poverty and child
labour go together
and tend to
reinforce each other in poor families.
The indebtedness in poor families
gi ve birth to bonded labour which
extends
into life long bondage.
Children are the victims in such cases.
Due to their abject poverty, it so
happens that they can not spare their
I
children for school education which
ultimately' results into generation of
illiterate parents.
Caste Factors
The economic
structure of the
society is influenced
by the caste
factor. Social, cultural and traditional
factors are equally responsible for the
plight
of children
in India.
Traditionally, children of the upper
caste fan1ilies begin their lives in.
schools according to their culture
whereas children of the lower caste
I
start their lives in work according to
their family culture. The families in
the lower strata though they may not
be below the poverty line, send their
children to earn skills at different
work places. Children are taught a
traditional craft at an early stage to
make thein proficient in a job which
would then be a source of income to
them. It is a recognised fact that in
childhood body is more flexible to
acquire!
postures'
required
for
particular job.
Carpet weaving, pottery, silk and
cotton weaving, wood carving etc. are
some of the trad,itional crafts where
children 'are involved.
In the rural
areas the, boys at a young age assist
their parents in agricultural activities
I
and looking after the livestocks. The
girl chil'dren besides agricultural.
activities help their mother in looking
after you,ng siblings, sweeping house
and cooking food etc. to make their
mother free for work. The girl child
workers in urban and rural areas
working outside face a lot of troubles
in the forin of exploitation, sexual and
economic, and abuse compared to
male child.
In mahy villages the school facility
is.absentor available at a distant place.
Parents ,are reluctant to send their
children to neighbouring villages to
attend school. Drop out rate in the
schools is higher in such cases. It is
YOJANA May 2001
observed that out of total number of
children in India in the age group of
6-14, fewer than half attend school.
The incidence
of child labour is
closely related to school drop out rate.
Employers view the employment
of children as advantageous. As child
labour is paid less than their adult
counterparts, it emerges a source of
cheap labour for them. Children have
less developed
ego and status
consciousness and are less affiictedby
.feelings
of guilt
and shame.
Moreover, employers
prefer child
labour because they do not form
unions. They are more disciplined
and adjustable
and are therefore,
preferred for employment.
Vaikunthe, L.D. conducted a case
study of some selected child labour
in Dharwad city. According to him,
out of 80 respondents as high as 32.5
per cent indicate that poverty is the
main reason to accept work. 17.5 per
cent opined that they accepted work
to supplement income of their family.
13.75 per cent blamed their parents,
10 per cent assigned it to the fact that
child himself lacks interest in study
imd 8.75 per cent owing to the loss of
parents. These factors lead children
to work at an early age.
On the basis
of the above
presentation it may be recaUed that in
various circumstances
like poverty,
.low
family income, illiteracy, caste,
tradition, lack of interest in study or
loss of parents lead children to work
at an early age.
Magnitude
The magnitude of child labour is
alarming.
The UNICEF report on
the state of the world's children says
that in the U.K. estimates show that
between
15 and 26 per cent of
children aged II years and between
36 and 66 per cent of children aged
15 years are working.
The U.S.
'general accounting office showed a
250 per cent increase in child labour
YOJANA May 2001
violations between 198.3 and 1990.
Contrary to the claim of complete
eradication
of child labour in the
industrial nations, the ILO report is
an eye opener. Child' labour figures
to an astounding 250 million. Out of
250 million, about 120 million are
working full time and 130 million are
working part time. The figures of
working children for Asia, Africa and
Latin America stands at 153 million
(61 per cent), 80 million (32 per cent)
and 17.5 million
(7.0 per cent)
respectively. As per the ILO estimates
for 1995, the proportions in Africa are
generally higher than those in Asia
and elsewhere. Within Asia the range
varies between zero in Japan and
Hong Kong to over 55 per cent in
Bhutan and 45 per cent in Nepal and
East Timor.
India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Thailand respectively,
account for 14 per cent, 30 per cent,
17 per cent and 16 per cent.
In the case of India, it is difficult
to give exact estimate of the overall
magnitude of child labour on account
of numerous
limitation
such as
predominance
of the informal and
unorganised nature oflabour market;
however attempts have been made by
various agencies to estimate the extent
of child labour.
ILO Estimate
According to 1971, 1981 and 1991
census of India, the number
of
working children,
accounted
for
10.75 million, 13.64 million and 11.28
million respectively (Table 1). The
fLO estimated child labour at 15.10
. million in 1975 and 23.17 million in
1996. NSSO, India, estimated the
figures at 17.60 million and 13.50
million, respectively, during 1987-88
and 1993-94.
The Baroda based
Operation Research Group, estimated
the number of working children at 44
million. The Planning Commission
of India put the figure at 17.36 million.
The Chamber
of Commerce
and
Industry (1985) put the magnitude
of child labour at i00 million.
Table 1
Child Labour in India
Data souree
Census of India
ILO
NSSO, India
Planning
Commission
ORG, Baroda
(Number in Million)
year
Magnitude
of ehild labour
1971
1981
1991
1975
1996
1987-88
1993-94
10.74
13.60
11.29
15.10
23.17
17.60
13.50
1983
(GOI)
1983
17.36
44.00
Source:- Sekw; He/an R, Child Labour
Legislation in India, V.V Giri National
Labour Institute, Naida, 1997, P20.
As per the 1991 census the state
with the highest
child
labour
population in the country is Andhra
Pradesh which stood at 1.66 million
working children. Other states where
the child labour participation is more
than one million are Maharashtra,
M.P. and D.P. (Table 2)
According to the census of India,
1971, the IUra1 and urban child labour
distribution
stands at 9.98 million
(92.8 per cent) and 0.77 million (7.16
per cent). The figures for 1981 census
stand at 12.57 million (92.15 per cent)
for IUral areas and 1.07 million (7.8
per cent) for urban areas (Table 3).
The figures on child labour vary
from source to source. The magnitude
<;>fchild laboill- is alarming which
needs immediate cOlTective measures.
Combating the Problem
Child labour has assumed a topic
of hot discussion in India and abroad.
Various organisations
including
NGOs have joined the campaign to
stop the exploitation of child workers
and protect the rights of children. The
magnitude of child labour is more
serious in developing countries. India
alone constitutes
25 per cent of
world's working children.
13
State wise Distribution
State/U.T.
Table 2
of Working Children According to 1981 and 19.91 Census
1981
Workers
Main workers
1991
Margina;l
workers
Total workers
1951312
1537293
124647
1661940
(1)
AP.
(2)
Assam
*
259953
67645
327598
(3)
Bihar
1101764
795444
146801
942245
(4)
Gujarat
616913
373027
150558
523585
(5)
Haryana
194189
89030
20661
109691
(6)
H.P.
99624
30771
2566T
;
56438
,
(7)
J&K
258437
*
*
*
(8)
Kamataka
1131530
818159
158088
976247
92854
28590
M.P.
1698597
997940
(11) . Maharashtra
1557576
805847
(9)
(10)
Kerala
6210 :
..
•
34800
354623
1352563
262571
1068418
(12)
Manipur
20217
13478
3015
16493
(13)
Meghalaya
44916
30730
3903
34633
(14)
Nagaland'
16235
16106
370
i
16476
(15)
Orissa
702293
325250
127144
452394
(16)
Punjab
216939
132414
10454
142868
(17)
Rajasthan
819605
490522
283677
774199
(18)
Sikkim
8561
5254
344
5598
(19)
Tamilnadu
975055
523125
55764
578889
!
24202
13506
2972
16478
V.P.
1434675
1145087
264999
1410086
(22)
W.B.
605263
593387
118304
711691
(23)
A & NIsland
1309
758
(24)
Arunachal
17950
(25)
Chandigarh
(20)
Tripura
(2 I)
(26)
Pradesh
D & Nagar Haveli
507 :
1265
11632
763
12395
1986
1839
31
1870
3615
2677
1739i
4416
26670
681
27351
i
(27)
Delhi
25717 .
(28)
Daman & Diu
9378
741
200 ,
941
(29)
Goa
*
3938
718:
4656
(30)
Lakshadweep
56
17
(31)
Mizoram
6314
6391
(32)
Pondichery
3606
2565
13640870
9082141
Total
17 .
!
10020
•
34
16411
;
2680
115
2203208
11285349
I
*
Census could not be conducted.
Source:14
Annual Report of the Ministly
of Labour, 1996-97, Delhi, GOl Publication,
P 100.
YOJANA
May 2001
Table 3
Area-wise Distribution of Child Labour in India
Child labour (in Million)
Urban
Rural
Year
Total
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
2.69
9.98
0.61
0.16
0.77
7.89
2.86
10.75
7.34
5.23
12.57
0.30
1.07
8.11
5.53
13.64
8.70
12.57
21.27
1.15
0.74
1.89
9.85
13.31
Male
Female
1971
7.29
1981
1991
23.16
Based on the Census o/India 1971,1981 and 1991.
•
•
(1) The Children (Pledging
of
Labour)
Act,
1933
(2)
The
The framers of the Constitution
Employment of Children Act, 1938
deemed it necessary to include special
provisions in the Constitution for the , (3) Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (4)
The Factories Act, 1948 (5) The
protection of the rights of working
Plantations Labour Act, 1951 (6) The
children. Articles 15(3), 21, 24, 32,
Mines Act, 1952 (7) The Merchant
39(e), 39(f) and 45 made following
Shipping Act, 1958 (8) The Motor
provisions:
Transport Workers Act, 1961 (9) The
(1) States t6 intervene and formulate
Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions
special enactment
that would
of Employment) Act, 1966 (10) The
uplift the social and legal status
Child Labour
(Prohibition
and
of children.
Regulation)
Act, 1986.
These
(2) Guarantees
to each child the~ legislations
regulate the working
protection of life and personal
conditions, age, hours of work, wages
liberty.
and services of child labour. The child'
(3) Child below the age of 14 shall
'labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
not be employed in any factory
Act, 1986 is more effective.
or mine or engaged in any other
Work Regulation
hazardous employment.
The legislation cited herein above
(4) The State to ensure that the health
aiming
at regulating the working and
and strength of children are not
service
conditions of child labour
abused and that children are not
concentrates
mainly on four issues viz.,
forced by economic necessity to
Special Provision
enter vocations unsuited to their
age or strength.
(5) The States to legislate, fixing
minimum wages, working hours
and conditions of child labour ..
(6) The States to direct its policy
towards securing
health and
strength of children.
(7) Envisages
giving ,free and
compulsory primary education to
all children until they reach the
age. of fourteen.
Many legislations
have been
passed in India from time to time to
protect and solve the problems of
child labour. The legislations are:
YOJANA May 2001
(1) Fixing the minimum
age for
employment of children.
(2) Fixing the minimum period of
work per day and forbidding
work at night.
(3) .Prohibition
of employment
of
young persons as trimmers and
stockers in vessels or ports and
(4) Compulsory
medical
examination
of children
and
young persons in sea.
The
Government
of India
formulated a National Child Labour
Policy in 1987. The basic thrust is to
coordinate and intensify the on-going
development programmes for income
generation and employment in areas
prone to child labour. Attempts to
eradicate and protect child labour at
the international
levels were also
made. The UN General Assembly
declared 1979 as the International
Year of Child and aroused interest in
the world community on this issue.
The Human Rights Commission in its
convention in 1989 admitted that the
children need special safeguards
beyond those provided to adults. The
ILO has adopted 18 conventions and
16 recommendations concerning child
labour. India was the signatory to the
first convention on the prohibition of
child labour. So far as the elimination
of child labour is concerned, India is
always ready for the necessary
enactment.
The Apex court of India, in its
judgement dated December 10, 1996,
has given certain directions regarding
the manner in which the children
working in the hazardous occupations
are to be withdrawn from work and
rehabilitated
as also the manner in
which the working conditions of the
children working in non-hazardous
occupations are to be regulated and
improved upon.
Banning Imports
The American
Senator
.Tom
introduced
Harkin,
in 1992,
a
legislation in the U.S. Congre$sabout
banning
imports
of goods made
through child labour.
European
countries like France and Germany.
15
are also banning the imports of the
goods in the preparation of which child
labour are being used. The Gennan
supported
Delhi based Rugmark
Foundation with the collaboration of
Carpet Manufacturers
Association
without child labour and South Asian
Collation
on Child
Servitudes
(SACCS),
an NGO headed
by
Mr. Kailash Satyarthi has already
started to put its trademark Rugmark
on carpets manufactured without child
labour.
:
National Charter for Children to ensure
thatno child remains illiterate, hungry
or lacks medical care.
Children are the future of a country.
The State can not remain silent.
observer when the future of its future
citizens is in jeopardy.
It is not enough to have
plethora of legislation
enacted to provide legal
.protection of child
worker and regulate their
working conditions.
What is needed utmost is
an effective
administrative
machinery. Enforcement
of the law should be
made in the true spirit.
and desired direction.
are other legislations also peltaining to
child labour. However, it is felt that these
piece-meal legislations have failed to
serve the purpose and it is being
increasingly
realised that a single
comprehensive
legislation
on the
subject of child labour would prove to
be more meaningful and result-oriented.
It is high time for the legislature to give
serious thought to this issue at the
earliest so that it could be possible to
combat t1~echild labour problem in the
right perspective .
There i'scause and effect relationship.
Many legislations have been passed
between
:poverty and child labour.
in India keeping
in view the
Mendelieyich
has shown that a vicious
constitutional commitments relating to
circle exists between child labour and
the welfare and protection of children.
poverty in the society. Child labour on
Today we have more than 300 union
the one hand increases unemployment
and state statutes dealing with children
among adults and reduces their income,
in one way or the other. We adopted a
on the other hand, unemployment and
National Policy for children which
low wages of adults force them to put
begins by saying that the Children are
their
chilqren to work in order to boost
supremely important assets of the
the
family
income. The nexus is to be
Nation. The world celebrated theyear
broken
.
through
the
effective
1979 as the international year of child
implementation
of the poverty
but the problem
of child labour
The children are not only to be . eradication programmes and making
remains. The problem of child labour
. protected from exploitation at work but
them conscious regarding the grave.
welfare
requires
a considerable
what is necessary is to protect them from
consequences
on the growth of children
attention
from social scientists,
the compulsion of work. It is, therefore,
caused
by
work
at an early age.
,acti vi ties on the field and the
a realised and accepted fact that
The families in lower social strata
govemment. It is now a realised and
protection of children against the
though they may not be below poverty
accepted truth that protection
of
exploitation or compulsion of work is
line, instead of sending their children
children
against
exploitation
is
essential for their mental and physical
to school, compel them to earn skill
essential to the mental and physical
development. The elimination of the
through work. Moreover, in traditional
development
and in the ultimate
problem requires considerable attention
and agrarian societies this is a common
analysis to the development of a nation
from social scientists, activists on the
practice.
Male and girl child start taking.
as a whole.
field and the government
interest
,in the work from
early
The Ninth Plan rightly reaffirms its
childhood. These families are to be
It is not enough to have plethora of
priority for the development of early
made conscious about the importance
legislation enacted to provide legal
childhood
as an investment
in
.
of education.
protection
of
child
worker
and
regulate
country's
human
resources
their
working
conditions.
What
is
State governments
have made
development. The two national plans
needed
utmost
is
an
effective
provisions
for free education
in
of action-one
for children and the
administrative machinery. Enforcement
government run primary schools. Midother exclusively for girl child adopted
of the law should be inade in the true
day meal scheme is also introduced in
in 1992-also
fall very much within
spirit and desired direction. The Child
order to, increase the retention of
the guiding principles underlining the
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
children in the school. At present 90
importance of survival, protection and
Act,
1986, is a comprehensive
million children are out of school and
development. Efforts in the Ninth Plan
legislation but on the basis of experience
most of them are working as labourers
will, therefore, be made to expedite
it has been found that many types of
in different occupations. The goal of
effective
implementation
and
employments
are
not
included
within
universlisation
of elementary education
achievement ofthe goals set in the two
.the
purview
of
this
legislation.
There
seems
only
a
dream.
0
plan of actions besides instituting a
16
YOJANA
May 2001
Women's Employment
In Organised Sector
D
•
•
Out of the total
45.271akh women
employees in the
organised sector at
the end of March
1996, 26.421akh
were in the public
sector and the
remaining 18.85
lakh in the private
sector. Women's
enlployment in both
public and private
sectors registered a
growth of 1.0% and
11. 7% respectively
during the year
1995-96.
DRING THE year under
review
(1995-96),
employment in the organised
sector showed a marginal decline of
0.7%. There was 2.2% increase in the
employment during the preceding year
(1994-95)..
In absolute
terms,
employment in the organised sector
had gone down from 279.871akh at the
end of March, 1995 to 277.80 lakh at
the end of March, 1996.
The sector wise break-up
of
employment as on 31st March 1995
and 1996 and percentage variation in
1996 over 1995 is shown in Table 1
Employment in the private sector
is
classified
by
size
of
establishments.
On this basis, the
break-up
of employment
in the
private
sector
by
size
of
establishments
is shown in Table
2.
Distribution
of Employment
Private Sector by size
Class of Establishments as on 31st
March, 1995 and 1996.
Size class
Employment Percentage
(in lakh)
As on 31st March Change
Table 1
1995
Employment in Public and
Private Sectors as on 31st March,
1995 and 1996
;Sectors
J
Employment Percentage
(in lakh)
As on 31 st March
Change
1995
1996
2.
3.
1996/1995
in
19961996/1995
1. Larger
73.42
Establishments
(Employing 25
or more persons)
76.28
+3.9
II. Smaller
9.56
Establishments
(Employing 10-24
persons)
9.44
-1.2
85.72
+3.3
4.
Total
Public
196.89
192.08
-2.4
Private
82.97
85.72
+3.3
Total
279.87
277.80
-0.7
It is revealed
from the data
contained
in
Table
1 that
employment
in the public sector
recorded decrease of 2.4% in 1996
over the year 1995.
However,
private
sector employment
has
shown an increase of 3.3% during
the same period.
82.97
It may
be observed
from
Table 2 that employment
in larger
establishments
in the private sector
went up by 3.9% while in the
smaller establishments,
it recorded
a decrease of 1.2%. The overall
increase
in employment
in the
Private Sector was of the order of
3.3% during
the period
under
review.
Women's
Employment
Employment
of
women
Based on Employment Review (1995-96), Ministry of Labour.
YOJANA May 2001
17
constitutes an important component
of the organised sector employment
in the country. The employment of
women in the organised sector has
gone up steadily over the last ten
years. It comprises
16.3% of the
total employment
in the organised
sector in the country. An overview
of women's employment is given in
the Table 3
It may be observed from Table 3
that women's
employment
in the
organised
sector went up from
33.40 lakh in 1986-87 to 45.271akh
111 1995-96.
The
Increase
in
women
employment during the year 199596 was of the order of 5.2% as
compared
to 3.6% during
the
preceding year 1994-95. It may be
seen from the Table 3 that the share
of women's
employment
to total
employment in the organised sector
has risen steadily from 13 .2% in
1986-87 to 16.3% in 1995-96.
Pattern
Employment
of
Table 3
Employment
Year
ended
31st March
of Women in the Organised
Women
Employment
(in lakh)
I
Sector
Total
. Employment
Percentage
Change
over previous
year
(in lakh)
Percentage'
of women
employment
to total
employment
I
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1987
33.40
+2.2
253.88
13.2
1988
34.36
+2.9
, 257.12
13.4
1989
35.45
+3.2
, 258.97
13.7
1990
36.46
+2.8
I
263.53
13.8
1991
37.81
+3.7
, 267.33
14.1
1992
39.08
+3.4
; 270.56
14.4
•
!
1993
40.26
+3.0
271.77
14.8
1994
41.54
+3.2
273.75
15.2
1995
43.04
+3.6
• 279.87
15.4
1996
45.27
+5.2
277.80
16.3
Women
Table 5
The employment
of women in
public and private sectors as on 31 st
March,
1995
and
1996
and
percentage changes between these
two years are presented in Table 4.
Employment
of Women in Different zones of the country
1995 and 1996
Zone
Employment (in thousand)
I
As on 31st March
1995
1996
in
Percentage
change
1996/1995
Table 4
2
Women Employment
in Public
and Private Sectors
Sectors
Employment Percentage
(in lakh)
As on 3 Ist March
Change
1995
1996
1996/1995
2.
3.
4.
Public
26.16
26.42
+1.0
Private
16.88
18.85
+11.7
Total
43.04
45.27
+5.2
I.
I.
3
4
Northern
551.8
573.9
+4.0
Central
406.7
, 414.6
+1.9
III.
North-Eastern
395.3
;441.0
+11.6
IV.
Eastern
450.9
,454.4
+0.8
V.
Western
827.8
785.0
-5.2
1668.4
1854.6
+11.2
3.3
3.3
-1.2
II.
I
VI.
VIII.
Southern
A & N Islands*
Total
4304.1
4526.7
I
+5.2
* Outside the Scheme a/Zonal Classification.
18
YOJANA May 2001
•
It may be observed from Table
4 that out of the' total 45.27 lakh
women employees in the organised
sector at the end of March 1996,
26.42 lakh were in the Public Sector
and the remaining 18.85 lakh in the
Private
Sector.
Women's
employment
in both public and
private sectors registered a ,growth
of 1.0% and 11.7% respectively
during the year 1995-96.
.
Table 6
Women's Employment
NIC
Code
Industry
Women Employment (in thousand)
As on 31st March
Percentage
change
1996
1996/1995
1995
2
0
Agric~lture,
in Industries
Hunting,
3
4
489.2
544.7
+11.3
78,6
75.5
-3.9
760.2
877.6
+15.5
5
Forestry & Fishing
•
Women Employment by Zones
The
break-up
of. women
employment
according
to
Zones/Regions
is given in the
Table 5.
It may
be observed
from
Table 5 thatwomen's
employment
had increased in all Zones of the
country except Western zone and
Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The
highest increase was recorded
in
North-Eastern
Zone (11.6%),
followed
by Southern
Zone
(11.2%), Northern
Zone (4.0%),
Central Zone (1.9%) and Eastern
Zone
(0.8%).
Women
employment
in Western ,Zone
decreased
by 5.2% followed
by
Andaman
& Nicobar
Islands
(1,2%) which
is outside
the
scheme of Zonal Classification.
•
Women's
Employment
States/Union Territories
Mining & Quarrying
2&3
Manufacturing
4
Electricity, Gas & Water
39.0
39.8
+2.0
5
Construction
65.2
67.3
+3.2
6
Wholesale
39.7
41.9
+5.7
161.5
170.5
+5.6
224.1
215.7
-3.7
Community, S?cial &
Personal Services
2446.8
2493.5
+1.9
Total
4304.1
4526.7
+5.2
and Retail
Trade and Restaurants.
& Hotels
7
Transport, Storage &
Communication
8
Financing,
Insurance,
Real Estate & Business
Services
9
in
It may be observed that in the
states / U.Ts of Jammu & Kashmir
(1.4%), Mizoram (18.9%), Bihar
(5.4%),
Gujarat
(11.9%),
Maharasl1tra
(2.7%),
Andhra
Pradesh (1.6%) Kerala (1.8%) and
Andaman
& Nicobar
Islands
(1.2%), women's employment
had
gone down. In all other states/U.Ts
the employment of women showed
an upward trend.
There was a
significant and substantial
growth
of women employment
noticed in
Karnataka
(41.5%)
a state in
YOJANA May 2001
1.
Southern
Zone.
Women's
Employment
Industries/Services
in
The distribution
of women's
employment by major industries as on
31 st March, 1995 and 1996 is given
in Table 6.
An analysis of data on women's
employment contained in the Table 6
reveals that there was increase in
women's employment in all industry
Divisions
barring
Mining
&
Quarrying
(3.9%) and Financing,
Insurance Real Estate & Business
Services
(3.7%).
The maximum
increase in women's employment was
recorded in Manufacturing (15.5. %),
followed by Agriculture,
Hunting
Foresting & Fishing (11.3%).
0
19
Self Help Groups and
Rural Employment
.
,
R.K. Ojha
HE
UNEMPLOYMENT
problem prevalent in India
sharply differs from that
which prevails in Western nations.
There are a number of possible routes
to the promotion of self employment,
promotion and strengthening of self
help groups is one of them. They
provide the benefits of economies of
scale, cost effective alternative for
different financial services, collective
leaming, democratic and participatory
cuiture, a finn base and platfOlID for
dialogue and cooperation.
T
Self-help group
model
ofself-employment
generation seems to
be a workable
model. However,
there will be need
for utmost care in
promotion of self
help groups~
In
our
nation,
a person
working 8 hours a day for 273 days of
the year is regarded as employed on a
standard person year basis.
The
Committee
of
Experts
on
Unemployment Estimates suggested
three estimates of unemployment : (a)
chronic unemployment
or 'Usual
Principal Status Unemployment',
measured in tenns of nwnber of persons
who remain unemployed for a major
p311of the year. This is also sometimes
known as 'open employment', though
open employment implies completely
unemployed;
(b) Weekly Status
Unemployment, measured in tenns of
number of persons who did not find
even an hour's work during the NSS
survey week; and (c) Daily Status
Unemployment measured in tenns of
number of persons who did not find
work on a day or some days during the
NSS survey week.
Unemployment
in developed
countries
is generally
cyclical
unemployment.
Such type of
unemployment caused by economic
fluctuations
also occurred in our
country d~lring the period of Great
Depressioh.
Similarly, post-Second
World
War
period
evidenced
prevalence
of
frictional
unemployment.
Wartime industries.
were closed and there was good deal
of unemployment
caused
by
retrenchm1ent in the army, ordinance
factories, etc. In our country, more
serious than cyclical or frictional
unemployment
is the occurrence of
chronic
under-employment
or
disguised unemployment, especially in
rural areas and the prevalence of open
unemployment
among educated
classes in urban areas. In the fann
sector, every person seems to be
employed: on his/her household farm.
But realistically, he/she is unemployed
as his/her marginal productivity in the
fanning \Vork is almost zero. Meaning
thereby, if he/she is withdrawn from
household fann there will not be any
adverse effect on the productivity. It
implies that such persons do not
contribute
anything in net terms.
According to a study carried out by the
Agriculture
Management
Centre,
Indian Institute
of Management
Lucknow, the extent of disguised
•
unemployment
among
farm
households in rural areas was observed
to be abollIt 20 percent. Moreover, in
I
case of those households who had a
major portion of their land holding
affected by the problem of sodicity or
some oth~r fonn of degradation, the
degree of disguised unemployment
was found at the level of about 56
percent. iIt is also imp0l1ant to note
here thatun'employment
in an under
developed country like India is not the
consequ~nce
of deficient effective
.Mr R.K. Ojha is Senior Research Associate, Agriculture Management Centre, Indian Institute pf Management,
20
Luck now.
YOJANA May 2001
demand
as per the Keynesian
terminology, but a result of shortage
of capital or other related resources.
Provision of employment may be
one or more of three types: selfemployment, salaried employment or
casual employment.
Given the
constraints associated with provision
of salaried employment (normally in
organized sector) and undesirable
dimensions of casual employment, the
hope
lies in promoting
selfemployment. There are a number of
.possible
routes to the promotion of
self-employment;
Promotion
and
strengthening of self help groups is
one of them.
Concept & Rationale
•
.When individuals act at a thematic
level in a conglomeration on their own
initiative in an attempt to meet their
individual and common needs with
primary focus on self-reliance we call
them a 'self help group'.
Self help
implies a step fm1her from the stage
of passivity to activity, and of making
a creative
contribution.
The
fundamental basis of the self help
group exists prior to any external
intervention.
A common bond like
caste affiliation, community or place.
of residence or activity links the
individuals.
The development
functionary must have the experience
to identify these common bonds or
binding forces, which are commonly
called natural affinities. The self help
group is not a static institution; it grows
on the resources and management
skills of its members
and their
increasing confidence to get involved
in the issues and programmes that
require their involvement in the public
and private spheres.
The self help groups provide the
benefits of econo-mies of scale, cost
effective alternative
for different
financial services, collective learning,
democratic and participatory culture,
a finn base and platform for dialogue
and cooperation.
Moreover,
the
benefits of self-help groups are based
YOJANA May 2001
on
cooperation
rather
than
competition.
It follows the real
principle of 'contribute according to
your ability and extract according to
your need' .
Self Help Promotion
The process of external/outside
support
for identification
and
development of self help groups is
known as self help promotion.
It
cQnsists of assisting individuals to join
together
and set up their own
organization;
promoting
their
individual and collective skills and
opportunities to develop and manage
activities and schemes on their own.
Selfhelp promotion aims at generating
self-sustainable
growth processes
within the course of which the target
group makes its own decisions,
exercises its own rights and meets its
own commitments.
At the outset it needs to be clarified
that self help groups are not to be
formed
externally
with
the
stakeholders/target
group playing a
passive
role.
Rather,
it is a
pal1icipatory process of facilitating the
target people/households
to get
organized
into self help groups.
Interveners merely facilitate the entire
process. The SHG should evolve fi'om
a common binding force, and common
need, interest and concern. It is also
desirable that groups are not fonned
as a project. They should be developed
and promoted as a mission .
The entire cycle of evolution/
formation,
functioning,
and
stabilization of SHG can be divided
into three stages. The interveners will
have distinct roles to play in each of
the three stages. The sustainability
will depend among others on the
process of group fonnation.
Stage-I-Identification
of natural
aftinities and formation of self help
group (4 to 6 months): This is a very
critical stage and the sustainability of
groups will depend on how well the
activities ofthis stage were perfonned.
a) As a first activity towards group
formation process, the intervener has
to launch awareness campaign in the
area (a cluster of 2-4 villages) to
sensitize the people/households about
the concept and rationale of self help
groups.
There will be need for
preparation ofa detailed outline of the
concept; rationale and modus operandi
of self help groups. Interveners should
have a menu of benefits (tangible and
intangible),
which
could
be
demonstrated
to
the
people.
Interveners or their representatives
should have adequate competence to
explain and convince the farmers/
households. At this stage, interveners
should not differentiate
between
resource-rich
and resource-poor
people/househ.olds,
as the concept
should be made as widely acceptable
as possible.
Moreover, interveners
should abstain
theniselves
from
maki~g any kind of allurement to the
people. Here they should function in
purely
"Mission
Mode".
Such
campaigns may require repetition,
once or twice, depending
on the
requirement, which should be decided
on the basis of neutral assessment of
the level of sensitization of people
towards the concept.
Focus
Once the interveners are confident
that adequate sensitization of people
towards the concept of self help
groups has been attained, the next step
should comprise sharpening the focus
on disadvantaged
sections such as
households
of scheduled
and
backward
castes and women.
If
required, additional campaign should
be launched
especially
for the
disadvantaged
sections in the area
under intervention.
It is expected that after such an.
intense motivation drive, villagers/
people will automatically
come
forward to fonn groups. Ideally, the
facili tator
should
record
the
identification details of the interested
households/persons
along with intra21
village alignment that will ultimately
become the respective groups. The
facilitator
should
help . such
congregations to get organized into
formal groups.
Stage-II-Stabilization
of group (6
to 15 months): By this stage in the
group, saving becomes regular, lending
activities are strengthened, repayment
is timely. In this stage, group and
intervener/facilitator
will have to
perform the following:
a) Group should be linked with bank
as per the guidelines issued by the
National Bank for Agricultural and
Rural Development (NABARD). The
bank will fix cash credit limit for the
group.
b) In the meantime; the intervener/
facilitator
should
assess
entrepreneurial skill of group members
and their interest areas for starting
income generating self-employment
programme.
c ) Group members
should be
provided suitable training maybe
through
dovetailing
with other
programmes in which there is some
provision of training.
up the groups taper off. Major
interventions during this period would
be technical
services
for asset
management
and productivity,
all
round support for off-fann activities,
especially for design, quality and
marketing.
During this period, the
intervener and groups could also foster
the emergence of apex bodies but the
need for such bodies and the groups
should
decide
their functions.
Supportive role of intervener/facilitator
should
substantially
decrease.
However, there will be continuous
need to ensure that regular feedback
and analysis of data is available in
order to identify trends in financial
management and group functioning.
Successful Groups
There is enough experience of selfhelp groups countrywide.
Such
experience shows that there are some
prerequisites
for sustaining them.
These include following:
a.
b.
Heterogeneous
groups tend to
break away in the long run; hence,
the groups
should
be as
homogeneous as possible. The
factor of homogeneity may be
caste, economic status, etc. The
most
important
factor
is
commonness of issue/problem or
interest. If groups are formed
around a common interest, selfhelp groups are called 'interest
groups'. Interest groups tend to
be more sustainable than merely
credit groups.
c.
Group functioning
should be
democratic;
otherwise
nonparticipating
members might
distance themselves away from
the groups.
d.
There should be rotation of group
leadership so that all members of
the group get an opportunity to
play managerial role. In case of
constant' leadership in the same
d) Group members should be helped
to obtain loan advance from bank.
However, they should be properly
'guided about the maintenance
of
accounts and investment.
e) During the entire period of stageII, the intervener/facilitator
should
emphasize upon capacity building and
skill development
of the group
members.
Stage-Ill-Withdrawal
of
intervention (15 to 24 months): Though
interveners need to integratelbui1d in
withdrawal in their strategy right from
the beginning of the process in order
that interventions
will support the
growth
of self-reliant
people's
institutions
and not increase their
dependency. Yet withdrawal becomes
more visible and acceptable after the
major interventions required to build
22
Groups should be formed on the
basis of inherent binding force
already prevailing
among the
members.
person, it will have concentration
of power in a very few persons
which is potential danger for the
group.
e.
The iroup should be cohesive i.e.
all gl~OUpmembers should have
workable liking for each other.
f.
Successful groups have a set of
niutually
agreed
norms
for
prioritization ofloan applications/
demands from their members. It
will promote the feeling of satiety
among those members whose
demknd
for loan was' not.
acceptable at a point of time.
g.
Group should have everlasting
binding
force for the group
mel~bers.
h.
The government should recognize
the groups as suitable platform for
dissemination
of knowledge/
inforh1ation.
I.
The government
will have to
consider the groups as a two-way
link between villagers/people and
it.
.
Once' self-help
groups
have
stabilized,
saving is regular and
adequate: capital built up, individual
.group m~mbers can start individual
micro enterplises or income generating
activities by taking loan from their
respective groups.
There is every
possibility that saving installment will
also inc~ease gradually which will
enhance the common fund available
with the group.
However, merely.
group-saved
amount will not be
sufficient for micro enterprises by all
the group members.
Moreover, the
first priority given by the poor fanners/
villagers, as far .as meeting credit
requirenlents from the group, consist
of consumption/unproductive
loans
meant
mainly
for addressing
conting,ent
needs.
It has been
observed that group saved money is
merely sufficient for small and short
duration consumption loans.
Once
consumption
loan
requiren)ents of the group members
are met with from group-saved
YOJANA May 2001
•
•
money/fund, group capital can be
enhanced through linking the group
with bank and fixation of cash credit
limit. The NABARD has started a
pilot project for linking banks with
self-help groups. It has issued several
guidelines to the banks. For the bankSHG programme, certain criteria have
been designed for eligibility of selfhelp groups to be linked with the bank.
These criteria are as follows: (a) the
group should have been in active
existence for at least a period of six
months; (b) the group should have
successfully undertaken savings and
credit operations from its own
'resources; (c) democratic working of
the group wherein all members feel
that they have a say should be evident;
(d) the group is maintaining proper
accounts/records;
(e) the banker
should be convinced that the group
has not come into existence only for
the sake of participation
in the
programme and availing the benefits
thereunder. There should be a genuine
need to help each other and work
together among the lnembers; (f) the
members of SHGs should preferably
have homogeneous background and
interest; and (g) the interest of the
NGO or self help promoting
institution concerned, if any, in the
group is evident and the agency is
helping the SHG by way of training
and other support for skill upgradation and proper functioning. If
groups were fonned according to the
prescribed processes, there is no doubt
about the fact that they would meet
the above criteria and hence they willi
could be linked with the bank.
After linkage the bank will fix cash
credit limit for the group in
accordance with its cumulative saving
and monthly saving installment. The
group will have access to larger
amount of fund available for income
generating programmes in addition to
consumption and contigent credit
requirements. At this stage group
members may think of starting micro
enterprises on a larger scale. The
YOJANA May 2001
group may also start collective income
generation activity depending on the
mutual understanding among the
group members.
groups. The intervener will have to
carry but an assessment of group
cohesiveness and solidarity with the
help of such tools and techniques as
sociometry. Only those scoring fairly
In spite of availability of credit,
high
on cohesiveness indices should
people (group members) may not be
be
encouraged
to go for joint
able to establish micro enterprises on
enterprises. Otherwise, individual
their own. They will require several
enterprises
would be better. Initially,
interventions from the intervener/
the
members
will start income
government.
generating activities with the help of
. bank finance; however, gradually they
The NA8ARD has
will become self-reliaIit iIi financing
started a pilot project
and future growth. If all goes well
for linking banks with
the groups will have self-sustainable
self-employment opportunities.
self help groups.
During the entire cycle of growth
Intervener will have to provide
path,
there will be need for rigorous
complete guidance to the group
monitoring
and evaluation of group
members about selecting an activity,
functi
oning
so that correcti ve
its maI1agement, marketing, etc. The
.
measures
could
be taken in case of
intervener should carry out detailed
identification
of some gaps and
and thorough assessment of interest
constraints.
and capability of group members
about various possible incomeSelf-help group model of selfgenerating activities/enterprises. On
employment generation seems to be
the basis of such assessment, the
a workable model. However, there
intervener should compile and
will be need for utmost care in
provide the relevant information
promotion of selfl1elp groups. The
including marketing information. The
intervener should adopt absolutely
most important task of the intervener/
participatory
approach towards
facilitator will consist of training, skill
identification and strengthening of
development and capacity building of
self help groups. It should simply
the group members to manage the
facilitate the process and let the
proposed enterprise and endeavor. It
'villagers/people evolve their own
will be appropriate if the intervener
mechanism for formation of groups.
finances the training and skill
As far as possible, heterogeneous
development activities. However,
groups should be discouraged as they
once the groups attain self-reliance
will
have higher probability to break
they will manage the cost of
away
later. The major focus should
additional training if required. The
be
laid
on homogenous (in tenns of
intervener should also help in
common
interest and socio-economic
establishing marketing linkages. All
status)
groups
as they will be more
these will facilitate the groups to
promising
in
future
from the point of
prepare an enterprise/activity plan.
view
of
sustainability
of efforts. Prior
With such activity plan the group
to
moving
into
field,
all concerned
should approach the bank for its
should
arrive
at
common
financing. The banks will perhaps
understanding about the purpose/
have no objection/reservation
in
objectives, implementation strategy,
providing finance provided ithas full
action programme, etc. Establishment
confidence in the functioning and
of a suitable monitoring
and
viability of groups. Group level
evaluation system should form part,of
enterprise should be encouraged only
in a case of perfectly homogeneous
the implementation plan.
0
23
Panchayati Raj
InUttaranchal : A
Legislative Mode
MahiPal
C
Creation of
Uttaranchal is an
expression of
people's opposition
against
centralization.
Hence, it is in
fitness of things that
the polity and
economy of the new
state should be
based on
decentralized model
of development
where the common
man has a say in the
governance.
ARVING
OUT OF a new
state ofUttaranchal from the
state of Uttar Pradesh on the
political
map of India is the
culmination of a long struggle and
many scarifies made by hilly people
particularly women during last more
than half a decade. In fact, it is an
outcome
of the expression
of
decentralization over centralization.
. But mere formation of a new state
cannot solve all the problems of the
state or fulfill the expectations and
aspirations of the people if power is
not given to the people. In order to
restore power where it belongs, that
is, the people who must have the
power to govern, a people friendly
legislative framework for Panchayati
Raj System is a sine qua non. People
in Uttarachal are generally assertive
and educated.
Women are not far
behind. Elected women Panchayat
leaders
have often challenged
Panchayat officials and pointed out
that what the latter say do not conform
to the State Panchayat Act. This
provides
a fertile
ground
for
experimentation
of a decentralized
governance in the state. At the central
level the 73rd Amendment Act has
provided a legislative framework for
the states to legislate their conformity
legislation on Panchayats to make
them Institution of Self Government
(ISG) envisaged in Article 243 G of
the constitution.
In other words,
Panchayats should have their clearly
defined functions, adequate funds to
ou.
perform
assigned
functions
ahd
sufficierit personnel
to carry
devolved responsibilities effectively.
But in the State Panchayat Raj Acts
framed 9r amended in conformity
with 73rd Amendment Act in letter
and spirit of autonomy
given to
Panchayats in the constitution was not
reflected! A study of the Preambl~s
of most of the State Panchayat Acts
reveal that their emphasis has been on
establishtng the Panchayats for better
administration of rural areas, greater
people's participation in development
programmes rather than in making
them ISO at their levels. The 73rd
Amendment
to the Constitution
(hereafter referred to as Central Act)
has both mandatory
and enabling
provisio~s,
A critical review of the
State Panchayat Acts reveals that the
State Legislature have incorporated
the mandatory provisions like threetier structure reservation, five years
term, constitution of State Finance
Commissions
and State Election.
Commissions and elections within six
months i if the Panchayats
are
. dissolved in the state PanchayatActs.
But for making these autonomous in
the functioning of their jurisdictions
in the light of the Article 243G of the
constitution nothing wOlthwhile has
been devolved to these institutions.
The stat~ ofUttaranchal
has a golden
opporturiity to frame its Panchayati
Raj Act reflecting in letter and spirit
of the 73rd Amendment Act as well
as the Provisions of the Panchayats
Dr Mahi Pal, based in Delhi, has written extensively on Panchayati Raj.
24
YOJANA
May 2001
(Extensions to the Scheduled Areas)
Act 1996.
In the above context this paper
attempts to give a suggestive
framework for Panchayati Raj System
which could be helpful to the
Legislature to give the desired content
and substance to decentralized
governance and planning in the state.
•
~.
.'
The Gram Sabha is the head and
heart of the entire scheme of
decentralized governance, planning
and development. But the Article
243 A of the Central Act does not
specify the functions and powers of
the Gram Sabha except to say that
"A Gram Sabha may exercise such
powers and perform such functions
at the village level,as the legislative
of a state may, by law, provide".
This enabling provision has largely
resulted
in giving innocuous
functions such as to endorse, to
recommend, to suggest, to cOnsider
annual account and administrative
reports and' audit notes etc. to the
Gram
Sabha.
Besides,
implementation of the suggestions
and recommendations of the Gram
Sabha could be by passed or ignored
by the Gram Panchayats
as
implementation of the suggestions
is not the binding on the latter. In
the light of above Gram Sabha'
should be empowered to approve
and sanction all work and activities
to be taken up at the Gram
Panchayat level.
It may be mentioned here that the
Provisions
of the Panchayats
(extension to the Scheduled Areas)
Act 1996 (hereafter referred to as
Extension Act) has made the Gram
Sabha a strong body. The Extension
Act is applicable to Fifth Scheduled
States of the country comprising
Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh
and Bihar. This Act empowers
people of these areas to have control
YOJANA May 2001
over own destiny and have their
traditional
rights over natural
resources.
The Gram Sabha has
been endowed with the ownership
of
minor
fore~t
produce,
development
plans approval,
selections
of
beneficiaries
under
various
programmes,
consultation on land acquisition,
Keeping in view the
homogenous and
monolithic culture and
traditions of working
together in participatory
manner, the
decentralized democracy
in the form of the Gram
Sabha is appropriate for
the hilly part of the state,
particularly its tribal
dominated areas.
management of minor water bodies,
control over minor minerals leases,
regulation/prohibition
of sale of
intoxicants, prevent alienation of
land and restore
unlawfully
alienated land of STs, management
of village markets, control money
lellding
to STs and control
institutions and functionaries in all
social seCtors. In addition, it shall
also safeguard and preserve the
tradition and customs of the people,
their cultural identity, community
resources and the customary mode
of dispute resolution.
It may be
mentioned that provisions of this
Act are largely mandatory and
hence leave very little scope for the
discretion of state governments. In
view of this and keeping in view the
homogenous' and monolithic culture
and traditions of working together
in participatory
manner,
the
decentralized
democracy. in the
form of the Gram Sahha is
appropriate for the hilly part of the
state,
particularly
its tribal
dominated areas. Hence, there is a
need for extension of the Extensions
Act to the hilly areas of the state in
order to make Gram Sabha viable
and pulsating institution of local
governance.
Accessibility of Gram Sabha's
meeting to each and every member
of it, particularly, SCs, STs, women
and other weaker sections of the mral
society is also important. For this
purpose, the population covered by
the Gram Sabha should be kept
limited to a managable size. Keeping
in view the geo-physiology of the
hilly area, there is a need of having
Gram Sabha in each and every ward
of the Gram Panchayat. This can be
designated as Upa-Gram Sabha. In
order to enable each and every
household of the Panchayat to
participate
in Gram
Sabha,
provisions should be made that at
least one member of the household
should attend the meeting of the UpaGram Sabha. In the quorum of the
Gram Sabha sub-quorum for women
(at least fifty per cent) and SCs and
STs, proportionate
to their
population, should be provided in the
Panchayat Act. Studies have also
revealed
that
the
people's
'. participation has been very low in
Gram Sabha's meetings due to the
large size of the areas of the
Panchayat. Hence, in order to enlist
effective people's participation in
Gram Sabha's meeting it would be
better if its meetings are organized
at each and every village level and
that may be designed as Sub-Gram
Sabha meeting. After holding such
' Sub-Sabha meetings a meeting of all
Sub-Sabha may be held at the village
level which has the highest
population in the Gram Panchayat.
And if a Gram Panchayat has only
one village having a large population
where participation of the entire
village in not practicable a SubSabha at ward level may be held.
25
On the issue of devolving
functions
and
powers
to
Panchayats, Article 243 G of the
constitution says : "Subject to the
provision of the constitution, the
Legislature of state may, by law,
endow the Panchayats with such
po\yers and authority as may be
necessary
to enable them to
function as institutions of selfgovernment and such law may
contain provision for the devolution
of powers and responsibilities upon
Panchayat at the appropriate level,
such conditions as may be specified
therein, with respect to (a) the preparation of plans for
economic development and social
justice; .
(b) the implementation of schemes
for economic development and social
justice as may be entl1lsted to them
including those in relation to the
matters listed in the Eleventh
Schedule." _
It may be noted that such matters
to be handled by the Panchayats are
not compulsory on the part ofthe State.
Legislature to devolve on the former
and also are not specified. Above (b)
also means that while preparing the
economic development and social.
justice plans besides 29 matters listed
in the 11th Schedule, the state may be
given other schemes and programmes
to the Panchayats for implementation.
Some states have interpreted (b) as
entrustment of functions and not
devolution. It implies that state may
entrust or take back any functions at
will. Article 243 G is the crux of the
entire scheme of decentralization, ,
which is not taken seriously by the
states. Most of the states have not
listed clearly defined functions
keeping in view the capacity of
different tiers of the Panchayats.
Moreover, provisions of Article 243
G does not in any way lessen the
executive and legislative powers of
26
the state given under Article 246 read
with the Seventh Schedule.
Thus, in the light of experience
gained so far, it is appropriate to
evolve three Lists of Subjects, one
entirely for the state, second
Panchayat (Local List) List and thirdfor States and Pimchayats Concurrent.
This Local List may further be
One of the main reasons
for the dismal
performance of the
Panchayats in the past
has been that they have
not had their own staff/
personnel. After the 73rd
Amendment Act, there is
"need to examine the
issue de novo.
categorized as District Panchayat
List, Block Panchayats List and
Gram Panchayats List keeping in
view the capability of these tiers. If
an item caters to the need of a
village, it should be devolved to the
Gram Panchayat. If an item caters
to the need of more than one village
it should be given to an intermediate
tier and if an item caters to the need
of more than one Block Panchayat,
it should be given to an apex tier.
Only after carrying out such an
exercise, the question of finance can
be addressed properly.
Finance is indispensable for any
economic activity.
Devolving
functions to Panchayats without
corresponding finance devolving is
meaningless. One of the important
factors for dismal performance of the
Panchayats has been that they do not
have their own resources. They have
to look always toward the state
government.
And the state
government instead of making units
of self government, treat them as their
agency. Hence to make Panchayats
financially viable they have to be
given at least 60 per cent of state
budget without any if and buts. In
fact, this is one of the demands made
by the people of the new state.
In the State Panchayat Act giving
discretionary power of imposing a
particulat tax or fees or cess by
Panchayats and concurrent nature of
empowerirtg a tax or fees or cess by
more than one tier of Panchayats
should be avoided.
Besides, as
recommended by the 11 th Finance.
commission
chairperson
and
members of the State Finance
Commissions might be drawn from
.amongst
experts
in specific
discipline~ such as economics, law,
public' administration and public
finance, should be incorporated in
the Panchayat Act itself. It should
also be m~ntioned in the Panchayat
Act itselghat the state government
should take its decision on the is
sue of transfer or resources to
local bodi'es immediately and place
the Action Taken Report on the
floor of the Assembly within six
months. ,
I
The Panchayats as a third-tier of
the government need their own
services/cadre as other two tiers of the
governme~t at the"Central and state
levels have. Because so far in states
executive officers, and most of the
staff of the Panchayat have been •
appointed, transferred and controlled
by the state government. Provision
for deputation of officials from the
state government to the Panchayats
has been nlade in the State Panchayats
Acts witllout consultation with the
Panchayats. The tenure, transfer,
promotion of deputation have also
been decided by the state government
again without consultation of the
Panchayats. In this connection, a
senior but,eaucrat rightly pointed out,
"Even
jwhen the
Panchayat
functionaries are on deputation to
these institutions they may continue
I
YOJANA May 2001
r
to regard themselves as government
servants and tend to look their state
level seniors than elected leaders of
the Panchayats
for guidance
and
leadership. This situation is further
compounded in some states by the
control established by the legislators
over local administration largely at the
initiative of the legislators and other
political leaders." (M.R. Sreenivasa
MLl11hy,1999). It may be noted that
one of the main reasons for the dismal
perfol1nance of the Panchayat in the
• , past has been that they have not had
their own staff/personnel.
After the
73rd Amendment Act, there is need
to examine the issue de novo, which
has not been done by the states. The
Central Act had given a fresh
opportunity to the state governments
to give powers to the Panchayats to
recruit and control their personnel to
perform
assigned
functions
effectively.
But this golden
opportunity was lost by the states.
Uttaranchal
should not lose this
opportunity;
it should
create a
Panchayat
cadre putting district
and sub-district personnel under the
control of three-tiers of the Panchayat.
•
Uttaranchal has both plain (40%
approx.)
and hilly areas (60%
approx.). The demographic size of the
Gram Panchayat is very important for
determining the economic viability of
the unit and eC'onomizing in various
services rendered to the villagers.
Reviewing of the village boundaries
for efficient working of the village
unit with live Panchayat has been
debated since initiation of planning
in India. A cluster of village with a
population of about 5000 may be the
unit of integrated area planning as it
would ensure economic viability. The
Ashok
Mehta
Committee
on
Panchayati Raj (1978) expressed the
view that an unsound resource base
of most of the Panchayat is mainly due
to their size. The L.M. Singhvi
Committee (1986) also pointed out
"village may be reorganized in order
YOJANA May 2001
to make for more viable village
Panchayat
and enlarged villages
should continue to be the primary and
homogenous unit of self-government
with a measure of direct democracy".
5000. In hill are of the state not
population but accessibility might be
considered as one of the major factors
for deciding demographic
size of
Gram Panchayat.
For making Panchayats
economically viable'
they may be remodelled
with having population
around 5000. In hilly
areas of the state not
population but
accessibility might be
considered as one of
the major factors
for d'eciding demographic
size of Gram
Panchayat.
One of the functions of the Distlict
Planning Committee as per Article 243
ZD (3-a) is to include spatial planing,
sharing of water and other physical and
natural resources as well as integrated
development
of infr&structure
and
environment
conservation
in the
district planning.
This important
function
of DPC may facilitate
interface between Municipalities and
Panchayats. Here, an attempt has been
made to integrate rural and urban areas,
which is essential and meaningful as a
whole. But the integration should start
at the sub-district or intermediate level
of the Panchayati Raj system. For
preparing meaningful Block Plan and
Town Plan consultation with each other
is necessary.
For this purpose
appropriate representation on Block
Samiti from Town Panchayat and vice
versa may be made for establishing
organizing linkages between these two
institutions. In other words, there is
need to constitute Block Development
Committee on the line ofDPC at this
level also.
This committees also subscribed to
the views expressed by the Ashok
Mehta Committee when it said that
"the demographic size is no doubt
relevant for effective transfer of
technology, organization of service in
respect of health, agriculture
and
industrial sectors and other welfare
activities". In this background, let us
see the position in different itates.
The Government ofindia publication,
PanchayatiRaj
Institutions in India
1991 gives the distribution of average
population per Gram Panchayat. It
shows that excepting in Meghalaya,
Lakhadweep and Pondicherry, about
seven per cent of Gram Panchayats
have a population below 1000, about
29 per cent between 1000 and 2000
about 1 per cent between 2000 and
3000 about 21 per cent between 3000
and 4000 and about 31 per cent 5000
and above. Hence, keeping in view
the topography
of Uttranchal
and
subject to local variation, in the plain
area of this state it is suggested that
for making Panchayats economically
viable, the Panchayats
may be
remodelled having population around
As
prOVISIOn
for
making
chairperson of the DPC has not been
specified in Article 243 ZD of the
Constitution,
different states have
made different provisions
for this
post. Somewhere Zilla Panchayat's
chairperson,
somewhere
District
Magistrate and somewhere Minister
have been made its chairperson. The
provision
for chairperson
of this
important committee which in real
sense could be terrPed as third tier of
governance, may be the following, if
rural population of a district is about
70 per cent of the total,
the
chairperson
of the ZP may be the
chairperson ofDPC for two terms (i.e,
10 years) and the chairperson of the
Municipality for one term. In this way
27
considering to avoid tension between
the elected representative of grassroots
institutions.
it will be a I5-year circle. The vicechairperson might be either ZP or
Municipal chairperson depending on
the situation.
It means if the ZP's
chairperson is the DPC's chairperson,
the chairpersons of the Municipality
could be vice-chairperson
and vice
versa. If the rural urban population is
50 : 50 either of the two ,would be
chairperson of this committee or vicechairman of the committee.
The
purpose is that the chairpersonship of
this committee may be awarded in
proportion to population of the district.
The suggested provision not only
diffuse
conflict
between
the
chaitverson of the ZP and Municipality
but also deepen the democratic culture
at decentrazlied level. Because after
enactment of the New Panchayati Raj
system in India conflict between
elected
representatives
of the
Panchayat and the MP/MLAs and
between
the former
and the
bureaucracy are already visible. Thus,
above proposition
appear worth
Women & Panchayats
Women in Uttaranchal are largely
educated and assertive. It were they
who played an active role in the
fOlmation of the new state. They should
have a greater role in decentralised
govemance, planning and development.
Hence 50 per cent of seats for
chairpersonship
and membership
should be reserved for them.
More then six years have elapsed
since the beginning
of the third
generation Panchayati Raj system in
India after enactment of the 73rd
Amendment
to the Constitution.
During this period assessment of the
working of the Panchayats shows that
Panchayats
have not fulfilled the
people's
aspiration
in terms of
becoming participators
in decision
making in decentralized governance,
planning
and
development.
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MAPPINu WA1!R
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Participation
of the poor in local
governance has not completely been
ensured by way of reserving seats for
them in the Panchayats. One of the
main reasons for such an impasse is
that the Central Act has not given
. autonomy1to the people in their actions
through Panchayats as the vital issues
affecting local government have been
still eithel~ in the domain of the state
:
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govenhnent or Central government.
Creation ofUttranchal is an expression
of people's
opposition
agains.
centralizarion. Hence, it is in fitness .
. of the things that the polity and
,economy of the new state should be
based on decentralized
model of
developrpent
where the common
person has a say in the governance of
the state. :For"this, there is a need for
giving a sound legislative framework
.
I
for Panchayats
in the form of
Panchayati Raj Act in Uttranchal for
experimeriting people's governance
with th~ support
of the state
governm~nt.
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Tel.
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Emallld:[email protected]
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MAPPINu
MRICIL
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YOJANA May 2001.
•
Financing Rural
Development :
A Case Study
Samit Kar
Malay Kr. Mukhopadhyay
•
•
T
ILL RECENTLY, one way of
referrring to the process of
rural development
was the
government-aided
(and controlled)
economic, social and political process
that go on inside the rural society, the
ways in which these process influence
and interact with each other and are
influenced by the processes in the
society, at large, and the outcome of
these
processes
in terms
of
transformation of the rural society.
The
recommendations of
theSFCwere
recently accepted by
.all the states. But,
in reality, much
remains to be done
in practice.
But such visions pertaining to rural
development with financial support
from above are getting changed. The
concept of funding or finances oflocal
self-governing institutions got a fillip
when the Government ofIndia passed
the 73rd Constitution (Amendment)
Act, 1993. It may be mentioned that
the rural areas have a 3-tier institution
of governance
known
as the
Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI). In
urban areas, towns of small and
medium size have Municipalities,
while, big cities have Municipal
Corporations. The 3 tiers ofPRI are:
.Gram Panchayat at the village level,
Panchayat Samity at the Community
Development
Block level and the
Zilla Parishad at the District level.
Owing to this Constitutional
Amendment,
. more
and
more.
emphasis
is now being given to
internal resource mobilisation
in
terms of cash, kind and voluntary
labour. But till now, the initiative is
yet to gain momentum, barring some
stray cases. The present paper tries
to discuss these issues.
An ideal system of local selfgovernment
finance should have
freedom to raise taxation
and to
determine how the resources are used
rather than rely largely or wholly on
resources allocated by the higher tiers
of the government (state and Central
government).
It is expected that the
system of local self-government and/
or Panchayati
Raj finance
will
undergo massive change in the wake
of the constitution of State Finance
Commissions
(SFCs)
and their
recommendations
as intended by the
policy makers. The new dispensation
has conferred constitutional status on
the PRIs.
Different
states have
different approaches and developed
powers and functions according to
their requirements.
As it is, the Acts
on Panchayayati Raj contain detailed
list of functions assigned to respective
tiers.
They generally
comprise
'obligatory',
'optional' and 'agency'
functions.
There are also enabling provisions
to the effect that the govel11ment could
entrust add{tional
functions
and
responsibilities under any law or laws
for the time being and issue necessary
orders and directions .. Many Acts
have also fallen in line by devolving
Mr Sainit Kar is Sr. Faculty Member, State lnstitue of Panchayat and Rural Development,
Mukhopadhyay, Sr. Lecturer, Viswa Bharati.
YOJAN,A May 2001
Nadia and Mr Malay Kr.
29
powers and functions upon the PRIs
as per XI Schedule of the Constitution
in which they have been conceived as
"institution
of self-government"
which will perform, formulate plan
and implement scheme of economic
development
and social justice.
However,
most of the schemes
indicated are to be financed by plan
funds and simulataneously the other
expenditure which the PRIs are duty
bound to undertake would be financed
from non-plan funds.
Thus, it is
necessary
to ponder
over the
requirements
and principles
of
assigning the resources to the PRIs on
the one hand and raising
their
l'esources on the other to contribute
to the sound financial base ofthe PRIs
to perfonn the allotted tasks.
A number of committees
and
commissions were formed after the
country gained independence
to
suggest
ways:
how local selfgoverning
institutions
can attain
vibrance, dynamism and also become
self-reliant.
Backdrop
The Balwantrai Mehta Committee
(1957), the Asoka Mehta Committee
(1977)
the Constitution
(64th
Amendment)
bill and the 73rd
Amendment
to the Constitution
project a continous thinking on the
part of the government
at various
, points oftime to make Panchayati Raj
bodies effective partners in the efforts
to bring a new age where maximum
services, facilities and prosperity may
be ensured for the masses. Further,
these bodies could act as an important
means of educating the rural masses
in more than one way. It may not be
out of place
to recollect
the
observations
made by John Stuart
Mill and Lord Ripon in this regard.
While Mill expressed strongly that
local administrative institutions were
primarily
intended
for public
education of the citizen, Ripon, on
the other hand, emphatically stated
30
that it was, in fact, with a view to
bringing
about improvement
in
administration as much as providing
a desirable instrument of political and
popular
education
that
these
institutions
were important.
The
Panchayati Raj needs to be a powerful
means of political consciousness and
education and a catalyst of change,
development and self-help. Recently,
another major responsibility expected
of these institutions is to promote and
strengthen national integration.
In fact, in the present changed
circumstances, Panchayati Raj bodies
have to exist not merely as a form or
technique
of arriving
at some
settlements/agreements.
They also
have to acquire a broader meaning and
purpose and act as an integral and
indispensable
part of the national
administrative machinery for can)'ing
out added duties and responsibilities.
Financial Viability
Financial viability and autonomy
are fundamental
to the successful
functioning
of the local selfgoverning
institutions.
The
experience right from the Balwantrai
Mehta Committee
Report till the
passing of the 73rd Amendment in
1993 shows that these PRIs remained
financially starved and dependent
upon the states
resulting
into
mortaging
their self-governing
character. A sincere effort has been
made under the 73rd Amendment to
pull these bodies out of financial
starvation. Under this Amendment,
the state legislature have been-given
the power to authorize the Panchayats
to levy, collect grants-in-aid for the
Panchayats
from the consolidated
fund of the state concerned. Besides,
a Finance Commission has also to be
constituted once in every five years
to review the financial position of the
Panchayats
and to make suitable
recommendations to the state on the
distribution of funds between the state
and local bodies. This mechanism is
meant to ensure regular flow of funds
to rural local bodies so as to enable
them to discharge their functions and
responsibil~ties which is definitely an
improvement
upon the previous
practice.
Though ~he above provisions are a
welcome step, yet doubts overpower
one's thinking regarding the financial
autonomy and self-sufficiency of the
rural local bodies. Even after passing
of the 73rdAmendment,
these bodies
still have 'to look up to the state.
government for financial resources.
.
I
Only tune may prove to what extent
the proposed Finance Commission
would be able to help the PRIs in
augmenting their financial resources.
However,
there
is a genuine
apprehen~ion
that
the
recommendations
of the Finance
Commission may not be acceptable
to the state government either due to
party
politics
or bureaucratic
reluctance.: Further, state legislatures .
under
this Amendment
are to
authorize PRIs to levy and collect
taxes. They are, as usual, likely to
exhibit
tl~e same weakness
and
incapability due to the lack of strong
political
will and administrative
apparatus to utilize fully the powers
vested in them to augment their
finances.,
Thus, at the present
moment, ~t may be said that the
process of"financing from below" in
India is at its infancy.
Moreover,
•
initial response on the part of the
policy planners was rather lukewarm.
I
Political Will
For furtherance of the objective of
financial viability
of these rural local
,
bodies, it was suggested
that the
recommendations oftl1e State Finance
Commission
which
are
of
recommen'datory
nature need to be
accepted ,invariably
by the state
governments.
In case they are
rejected,
by
the
respective
I
governments due to one reason or the
other, it was considered desirable, if
YOJANA
May 2001
•
•
the rejection was felt justified it may
be made known in writing and
subsequently debated in the state
legislature. In fact, what is more
important and desirable is that these
PRIs should fully exploit their
financial resources by showing
exemplary political will, throwing to
the winds the appeasement and
populist approach. Further, PRIs need
to evolve and strengthen
an
administrative apparatus to assess and
collect in full the local taxes, fees, etc .
objectively and honestly. But this
vision of the SFC is yet to make a
tangible impact.
Several committees/commissions
looked into the finances ofPanchayti
Raj institutions since the fifties. All
these committees highlighted the
importance of strengthening the PR
finances and recommended
for
constitution of State level Finance
Commissions.
Meanwhile, some
individual authors/institutions studied
the structural aspects of PR finances
in several states before the passage of
the Amendment in 1993.
For
instance, the National Institute of
Rural Development (NlRD) has made
an attempt to study the local finance
in rural areas of various states in India.
A review of the major findings are
summarised below. This perusal is
important in order to examine the
impli,cations of the subsequent
recommendations ofthe State Finance
Commissions fonned in various
States as a result of the passage of the
73rd Constitution (Amendment) Act,
1993. Suffice it to say, this may
provide an impression about how the
cross-country scenario of "Financing
Rural Development in India" exists at
present, since, the basic idea of the
Amendment
found 'expression
through the fonnation of SFC is yet
to gain cu~ency.
In Andhra Pradesh, the obligatory
taxes which a Gram Panchayat could
levy include: (1) house tax (2)
YOJANA May 2001
professionals
'Kolagaram"-a
tax,
and
(3)
fonn of 'land tax'.
The optional taxes that a Panchayat
could levy include: (a) vehicle tax,
(b) tax on agricultural land for specific
purposes, (c) land cess at the rate of 2
paise per rupee on the annual rental
value, (d) fees for the use of
'porombokes' and (e) fees for the
occupation of buildings, including the
chavadies and sarais.
The grants given to Panchayats in
the state include general purpose
grant, equalization grant and matching
grants to encourage Panchayats to
achieve better tax collection and
perform their functions in an effective
manner.
The state government
pellllitted Gram Panchayats to obtain
loans from scheduled banks to
undertake
developmental
and
remunerative activities.
The source of income available for
Panchayat Samiti were : (i) taxes
(pilgrim tax and education tax); (ii)
assigned revenues, (iii) grants; and
(iv) loans. The Zilla Parishad income
is mainly from assigned revenues like
land cess and surcharge on stampl
duty, etc.
Bihar
In case of Bihar, the source of
income for Gram Panchayats can be
broadly categorised into (i) own
resources, (ii) assigned revenue (iii)
grant
and
contributions
by
govelllment and other institutions, (iv)
loan.
The obligatory tax, which a
Panchayat may levy was tax or
immovable property like house tax.
The optional taxes which a Gram
Panchayat could levy include licence
fee for vehicles, professional trade
tax, a fee on goods and services for
sale in the market and a fee on
registration of the animal sold. Gram
Panchayat can also charge on water,
lighting, drainage, piligrim tax and
toll tax as approved
by the
government at a prescribed rate.
The Act did not refer to .any tax,
surcharge etc. which the Panchayat
Samiti may raise. It was found that
irrigation tax, water tax, registration
fee on cycles, toll and any other taxes
and fees were not mentioned.
The sources of income for the Zilla
Parishad were: (a) share of land
revenue and local cess, (b) grants from
states, Central and all-India bodies
and institutions, and (c) income from
,endowment and trusts etc.
Gujarat
The earlier Gujarat PR Act did not
include any obligatory tax. However,
from April 1970 it was made
obligatory to levy a tax on lands and
buildings and any other taxes .andfees.
The unique features of the Gujarat
system is that in order to bring equity
and social justice among the Zilla
Panchayats, Taluka Panchayats and
Gram Panchayats, the three categories
of funds, viz. state equalization fund,
district equalization fund and the
district Gram encouragement funds
were thus constituted
from the
proceeds ofland revenues, in addition
to grants and contribution by the
upper tier-government.
Kerala
In Kerala Gram Panchayats have
been empowered to levy the following
taxes: (1) building tax, (2) profession
tax, (3) vehicle tax (non-motor
vehicles), (4) duties on transfer of
property, (5) service taxes for
providing sanitation, water supply,
scavenging
street-lighting
and
drainages, (6) entertainment tax, (7)
show tax, (8) land cess etc. Besides,
Panchayatsalso get the income from
market and remunerative enterprises.
The grants given to the Panchayats
in the state were: (1) basic tax grant,
(2) establishment grant, (3) block
grant, (4) special grant, (5) initial
grant, (6) village road maintenance
31
grant and (7) minor ilTigation etc.
Tamil Nadu
'The peculiar feature is that village/
town Partchayats have to levy house
tax, profession tax, vehicle tax and
stamp duties.
The resources
of
Pancbayat union councils were local
revenue, govemment statutory grants,
government non-statutory grants and
land revenue.
Maharashtra
Ih the case of Maharashtra,
the
important sources of income of Gram
Panchayats were: (1) tax on building
and lands, (2) betterment charges on
lands, (3) octroi, (4) pilgrim tax, (5)
tax on fairs/festivals
and other
entertainments, (6) tax on professions
and trades, (7) general sanitary cell
and \Vate~'rates, (8) lighting tax, (9)
fees on markets and weekly bazars,
(10) fees on cart-stands/tonga-stands
and fees for grazing cattle and on
grazing lands, and (11) fees on
registration
of animal sold in the
market.
Panchayat Samitis were entitled to
25 percent of the local cess levied by
the Zilla Perishad.
Zilla Parishad in Maharashtra could
impose profession tax, water tax, tax
on public
~ntertainment
and
amusement, pilgrim tax, licence fee on
brokers and commission agents or fee
on market yards and sale of goods. The
special feature of Maharashtra is that
100 per cent land revenue was retained
by village Panchayats and a minimum
of35 per cent of the land revenue grant
was to be credited by Panchayats to a
separte
fund
called
"village
employment
fund" which will be
utilized for the employment guarantee
scheme in operation in rural areas.
Orissa
lri Orissa, Gram Panchayats can
levy tax on all the dwelling units and
land situated
in the village.
A
minimum of 50 paise on the capital
32
value of property to a maximum of
Rs. 50 can be levied. Another source
of income is profession tax. The
unique and important
source of
income for both Gram Panchayats and
Samitis is Kendu leaf grant.
Rajasthan
The source of income for Gram
Pancllayat included grants from state
government contribution from public
institutiOlls and sums realized by the
Panchayats by way of taxes, fees,
fines and rents, etc. Though taxes
were one of the important sources of
revenue to the village Panchayats.
But there were no obligatory taxes
that a Panchayat could levy.
The resources
of Panchayat
Samitis are from proceeds of taxes
and fees, income arising from the
leases granted and on entertainment.
Unlike
in the other states,
the
Panchayat Samities in Rajasthan are
vested with a tax on rent payable for
the use of agricultural land at the rate
of 5 per cent. A tax at the rate of 5 per
.cent on rent received
by any
landholder on account of the use of
. agricultural land and a tax on assumed
rental value of agricultural land at the
rate of 5 per cent are levied. The
major source of income for Zilla
Parishad is the grants from the upper
tier government.
Madhya Pradesh
In Madhya Pradesh compulsory
taxes include tax on buildings,
lighting tax and fee on registration on
the animals sold in the market. The
opti onal taxes inc Iuded tolls on
vehicles and animals within the Gram
Panchayat area and fee for the use of
'Sarais' and 'dharmasalas'
and rest
houses.
Besides,
a cess on the
assessment of land revenue at the
minimum of 10 paise and a maximum
of 50 paise was realizable and payable
to Gram
Panchayats.
Gram
Panchayats also get two-fifths of the
cess
collected
by
'Janpad
Panchayats'.
Twenty per cent of the
total land revenue collection treated
as 'reserved fund' were eannarked for
the distribution
among the Gram
Panchayats"
The remaining 80 per
cent were. allotted
to the Gram
Panchayats:
West Bengal
The West Bengal Panchayati Raj
Act empowers the Gram Panchayats
and Panchayat Samitis to levy both
obligatory and optional taxes besides
fees and rates. However, they were
not availing themselves of even the
obligatory' powers of taxation, let
alone the ,optional ones.
Grants
contribute a major source of revenue
to all the three tiers of government.
Of late, united grants at district level
is also p'rovided
by ,the state
government.
But as in other states,
the. situation got changed after the
acceptance'ofthe
recommendation of
the SFC by the government of West
Bengal in 1998.
•
But, again, this is mostly in regard
to eliciting peoples 'participation
in
the various
spheres
of rural
developme,nt-the
scenario of which
is briefly presented later through a
case study conducted at Burdwan, a
district of West Bengal.
Punjab
In Punjab, the Gram Panchayat is
empowered to impose tax on: (a) land
and buildings, (b) profession, trades,
employmeilt, other than agriculture,
(c) levy dlfty on stamp duty, and on
all payments to any entertainment.
The state government imposes two
per cent of duty 011 transfer
of
property, on instruments of sale, gift
and mortgage of immovable property
and passes on,to the Gram Panchayats.
Subject to! the approval of the state
government, GPs may levy fees and
rates 011 registration
of vehicles,
sanitary a~Tangements, worship and
pilgrimage, water rate for drinking
water supply and ilTigation, a lighting
YOJANA May 2001
•
rate and conservancy rate for cleaning
private latrines.
•
The Panchayat Samiti may levy
toll on persons, vehicles of animals
or on any road other than 'Kutcha'
road or bridge,
ferry,
fee on
registration
of vehicles,
sanitary
arrangements,
pilgrimage,
fairs,
licence fee for market, water for
irrigation and drinking water and
lighting.
The Zila Parishad may
levy any tax, duty, toll and cess
which has not been levied by Gram
Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti.
Haryana
In Haryana, the main source of
income of the village Panchayat is
'Shamlat land', house tax, shops,
Panchayat Samiti grant excise and
land revenue (3% water cess).
The Panchayat Samiti in Haryana
does not have any source of its own
foj" funds. They receive funds for
implementation of the schemes under
various
rural
development
programmes.
Similarly,
in the case of Zilla
Parishad, the real power of levy of
taxes
on cess rests
with the
government.
The funds for Zilla
Parishad are met by the government
grants.
Karnataka
•
The major source of income of
Mandai Panchayats in Karnataka is
from tax revenue, non-tax revenue
and grants from the government and
JRY grant. Here also, the land tax is
impOltant in Gram Panchayats. The
Taluk
Panchayats
and
Zilla
Panchayats- are mainly dependent on
the
various
grants/schematic
grants for discharging the entrusted
functions under different budgetary
heads. The unique features of the
Karnataka system is the Rs. I lakh
annual
grant
for every
Gram
Pancbayat for maintenance functions
in the Gram Panchayat area.
YOJANA May 2001
Uttar Pradesh
In th case of Uttar Pradesh, the
main source of income is from taxes
and fees, share of land revenue,
matching grants and grants from the
government and governments loan for
creating
remunerative
assets.
Similarly, the main source ofKshetra
Samiti is from levy and fees and
grants from the government.
The
income of Zilla Parishad is mainly
from government grants.
The above details on PR finance
across the states reveal that the taxes
levied varied from state to state. The
taxes like house tax, profession tax,
vehicle tax and tax on sale of animals,
etc. are common to almost all the
states. The revenue yield from these
sources appears to be inelastic. PR
insitutions
in the states like West
Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat
and Andhra Pradesh appear to be
making sincere efforts in levying
taxes and collecting them. Further,
they also give an indication that the
grants-in-aid are also channelized for
specific purposes to all the three tiers.
For example, in Gujarat the land
.revenues are assigned or used as a
weapon to balance the inter-regional
and inter-Panchayat
imbalances in
growth across the tiers of PRls to
bring in equity. Out of the 100 per
cent land revenues
assigned in
Maharashtra to PRls, 50 per cent are
productively employed in generating
employment
under Employment
Guarantee Schemes. The other fees
and rates charged are almost inelastic
in all the states. Augmenting
the
existing resources by improving the
expertise and assessing and collecting
the tax on land and buildings is a
desirable step. In order to make the
PRIs genuine, self-government units
inespective of the states, a'n three tiers
should
actively
engage
in the
promotion
of remunerative
and
commercial enterprises which will not
only help the local government
institutions
in strengthening
the
financial base, but, will also provide
.quality service to the rural citizens.
In respect of all the resources
flowing out of the villages like sand,
wood,
brick,
kendu
leaves,
cOlmnercial crops like cotton, chillies,
ground-nut and minor forest produce
and granite, etc. where nobody pays
for those items, it is the prerogative
of the local governing institutions to
,charge
the users.
In the new
perspective,
i.e., after 1993, the
various taxes levied in different
regions will have to be examined by
the State Finance
Commissions
(SFCs) and replicated
whenever
necessary
with
relevant
modifications.
The SFCs were
deemed to evolve appropriate criteria
to match the obligatory functions as
well as the resources. Moreover, the
basis
of recommendation
was
considered to be more transparent and
though provoking.
With this mission, SFCs tried
address the following
aspects
improve the financial base ofPRls
various state of India. Some of
major issues are:
to
to
in
th
(I)
Identify state taxes, duties, tolls
and fees levied by the state
government, the net proceeds of
which may be divided between
the government and the local
bodies.
(II)
The allocation
of the above
amount
between
the
governments
and the local
bodies.
(III) The allocation' of the share of
the local bodies at all tiers and
levels.
(IV) To identify the taxes duties
: tolls andfeeslevied
by'the stat~
which may be assigned to these
bodies.
(V)
In all the above cases, the State
Finance
Commission
has
33
decided about the principles
governing
the distribution/
assignment/release
of grants.
(VI) The grants-in-aid
to be paid
from the State funds to the local
bodies.
(VII) Measures needed to improve the
financial position of the bodies;
and
(VlII) The Commission
recommendation
matter referred
government.
has to give its
on any other
to it by the
The issue of self-supportiveness of
the PRIs got prominence
in India
owing to the 73rd Constitution
(Amendment) Act, 1993. Parts of the
Constitution like 243 G, 243 H & 243
I deserve brief mention. Part 243 G
says, subject to the provision of this
Constitution, the Legislature of a state
may, by law, endow the panchayats
with such powers and authority as
may be necessary to enable them to
function as institutions
of selfgovelllment and such law may contain
provisions
for the devolution
of
powers and responsibilities
upon
panchayats at the appropriate level,
subject to such conditions as may be
specified there in. 243 H states: The
legislature of a state may, by law
authorise a panchayat to levy, collect
and appropriate such taxes, duties,
tolls and fees in accordance with such
procedure and subject to such limits.
This part also provided scope for
giving panchayats power pertaining to
grants-in-aid from the consolidated
fund of the state. 243 I upholds: the
aims and reasons for the fonnation of
state finance commission (SFC) after
every 5th year to review the financial
position of the local bodies in order
to make the institutions self-reliant,
both' from the consideration
of
financial and overall logistics.
Broad Items
On the basis of these three main
bases, SFCs have to address the
34
following broad items in order to
strengthen the financial pedestal of the
local bodies : Identify state taxes,
duties tolls and fees levied by the state
government,
the net proceeds of
which may be divided between the
government and the local bodies, the
allocation of the above amount within
the govelllmetns and the local bodies,
the allocation of the share of the local
bodies at all tiers and levels, to
identify the taxes, duties, tolls and fees
levied by the state which may be
assigned to these bodies, the grantsin-aid to be paid from the state funds
. to the local bodies, to name a few.
Case Study
In all these cases, the SFC has to
decide about the principles govellling
the distribution,
assignment
and
release of grants, measures needed to
improve the financial position of the
bodies and the commission has to give
its recommendations
on any other
matter
referred
to it by the
govelllment. Accordingly, the West
Bengal Finance Commission
was
constituted on May 30th 1994 under
the chairmanship of Dr. Satyabrata
Sen. The Commission submitted the
report to the government on Nov. 27
1995, which was accepted with the
publication of a notification by the
Government of West Bengal on July
22, 1996.
The report of the Commission cited
a study by the Institute of Social
Sciences, New Delhi wherein it was
mentioned: the average income per
gram panchayat i.e. the lowest tier
varies from a low of Rs. 1299/- in
Madhya Pradesh to a high ofRs. 6.80
lakh in Kerala, a very large variation
even allowing the size differences. In
most states, the GPs were excessively
dependent o.n government grants with
the exception ofGujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra and Kerala where GPs
mobilised
30% or more of their
revenue by their own efforts. In West
Bengal,
the average
resource
mobilisation
per GP was about
Rs. 12(;00/-, which is only a small
fraction of the grants-in-aid in-flow.
The rec~mmendation
explicitly
underlined
the fact that such
lackadai~ical
approach
will
henceforth not be tolerated.
In India, the recommendations
o(
the SFC w,ere recently accepted by all
the states.
But, in reality, much
remains to be done in practice. The
notable
area
where
the
recommepdation
was
being.
implemertted is regarding peoples'
participation in the implementation
and operation and maintenance
of
various sC,hemes/proj ects in the rural
countryside.
The experience of the
present researcher
supports
this
assumption, which may be stated in
brief, regarding a case study in district
of West Bengal, called Burdwan. The
findings are :
Truss Bridge
The 'NJ,ilan Setu' popularly known
as Rautwara bridge was situated in a
location between Khandaghosh and
Raina
II Panchayat
Samity
in
Burdwan., It bridges the two segments
of the district, bifurcated by a thin
canal, knqwn as the 'Deb Khal'. The
bridge was named 'Milan Setu' since
it links Burdwan with Bankura. The
Bengali word 'Milan' means "Unite".
The distri~t ofBankura is only 3 kms.
away frorh the canal. Therefore, the
construction of the bridge will unite
the two districts, apart from serving
many other vital purposes to foster allround development of the adjoining
areas.
The construction
of the bridge,
known as "Truss bridge" according to
technica( parlance, was started on
March 10, 1996. As the bridge unites
Burdwan land Bankura, top officials
of the 3-tjers of the Panchayat of the
2 districts
were present
at the
inaugural programme.
It was lealllt
from Focl;ls Group Discussion (FGD),
that the Bankura Zilla Parishad had
YOJANA May 2001
•
•
•
made
a
commitment
about
shouldering some financial liability
for the cost of construction, which was
eam1arked Rs. 26 lakh. But going by
the indications, one may foresee a
cost-escalation.
Moreover, due to a
number of reasons, which the local
people believe, some are genuine, the
period of construction was getting
delayed. This is not only lengthening
the period of construction,
thli:
.
. \
constructIOn
costs
are gettIng'
escalated as well. But as many of the
reasons
are quite genuine
(for
example,
the. owner
of the
construction company who is himself
providing the main technical expertise
of this endeavour was ailing), there
cannot be altematives to overcoming
the impediment.
of the Panchayats,
which have an
important bearing on the creation and
maintenance of rural assets. A casual
observation
was enough to reveal
these details.
Popular participation also came in
the way of maintenance and upkeep
of the approach road to the bridge.
This is not a mean task, since, the road
is subject to constant wear and tear
through which, huge load of material
of various items was being constantly
transported to the construction site.
The role of peoples' participation
in the
implementation
of a
construction project has been found
When the present researcher along
to be remarkable.
In this particular
with the members of the Burdwan
project, the entire land for building the
Zilla Parishad visited the site, the
approach road was donated by the
villagers came in large numbers to
villagers. According to the estimate
have a chat with us. They came for
prepared
by the Burdwan
Zilla
various reasons: The first reason was
Parishad, the total quantum of land
to render their feedback about the
donated by the villagers comes to
process of construction.
They had
around 4 acres. The market value of
some constructive suggestions as well
such a big chunk of land will not be
below Rs. 5 lakh. This is not a small
which were noted by the members of
donation from the poor villagers of . the Zilla Parishad. Second, they came
as they were sounded before that the,
Burdwan. The candid expression of
the villagers
made it clear, the
present researcher was interested to
It was seen that the villagers are
incluence of the panchayat on the
have a Focus Group Discussion
sympathetic to the company and did
(FGD) to ascertain their views about
common people was the root cause in
not accuse them for the delay mainly
making the people to act in such
this ongoing project. And thirdly, the
because of the fact that they know, the
villagers greeted us with drinking
generous ways.
margin of profit for the company from
water and sweets as a mark of their
this work will not be substantial. Yet,
Response
hospitality
to the visitors
to the
owing
to the request
of Mr.,
Not only by donating the land;
project. This according to them, was
Nikhilananda
Sar, the fonner
villagers responded through a number
a part of their usual custom, which
'Sabhadhipati'
(Chairman)
of the
of ways likely construction materials
was definitely helpful to the people
Burdwan Zilla Parishad, the owner of .
were carried by the villagers to the
like us, who came do visit the spot
the company took up the endeavour.
project site. As the construction spot
which was about 40 kms from
It was also learnt from these villagers
was situated fairly a long way from
Burdwan
.town.
This is also a
that the company was initially hesitant
the main road, the villagers helped to
contribution
of the villagers to the
to take up the task. So, ,the villagers
carry the construction material to the
project, the impact of which cannot
were eager to provide the all-round
project
site.
The help is being
be always and easily measured m
local support to the company.
extended by providing local carriage
terms of money and costs.
by the villagers. The material include
Gesture
Rational
: sand, stonechip, brick, steel & iron
This participatory gesture from the
materials, cement and other necessary
In the FGD, the members of the'
villagers acted as a facilitator to the
sundry
equipments
needed
for
adjoining villages like Shyamal De
entire process of construction.
The
construction.
(36), Guruprasad Kundu (37), Nanda
credit goes to the panchayat in making
Karma~ar
(60), Debnarayan Kundu
the people understand
the ground
The estimate of the Burdwan Zilla
(47),
Srikantha
Majhi (20), Bipra
reality of the construction
work,
Parishad says, the financial value of
which in turn, induced the local
Bhattacharya
(22)
said that they are
such local cooperation in the entire
cooperating
in
the process
of
people to extend cooperation to the
process of construction will not be less
company.
The members
of the
construction
not
only
because
the
than Rs. 50,000/-.
So this is not a
construction
company
also
panchayat members have appealed
small contribution on the part of the
reciprocated
the ge~ture of the
likewise,
but they have their own
people at the grassroots. Again this
villagers. The mutual trust between
rational calculation
as well. This
was possible owing to the Panchayats,
the people and the construction
consideration, according to them, is
who induced the people for such a
company developed owing to the role
more important to induce them for
noble cooperation.
YOJANA May 2001
35
rendering such all-round cooperation
to the project
personnel
of the
Calcutta-based
company, which, in
ultimate tenns will benefit them (the
villagers) to raise their overall socioeconomic status to a considerable
extent.
But the reason behind why the
villagers are induced to cooperate
with the process of construction is
necessary
to understand
their
"perception" about such pmticipation
on their behalf.
This could be
discerned from the F.D.G with the
villagers on September 6,7 & 8 1998.
Some of the reasons according to
them are: .
The construction of the bridge will
benefit the villagers of : Rautwara,
Negatetul,
Bhandarberia,
Damodarpur, to name a few. The
villagers in terms of number will be
around 50,000.
They explained, going to schools
at Eklakshami and also to local health
centers, markets (both for sale and
pllrchase of agricultural produce) will
be easier after the completion
of
construction
of this bridge.
Also,
going to Burdwan town and the city
of Calcutta
will become
less
hazardous.
This wil)' have a big
bearing
on the socio-economic
condition
of the locality.
The
construction of the bridge will lessen
the hardship of the villagers of distant
villages to reach the nearest bus stop
to board the CSTC run bus. This bus
reaches Calcutta around 3 hours
through Arambagh-Shiakhala
route.
Easy Travel
The people
of viJlages
like,
Eklakshmil,
Narayanpur,
Narottambati and Mirjapur will be
able to easily travel to the other side
of the bridge for fann cultivation and
other purpose. Not only themselves,
they can also easily cross the canal
along with their produce, often loaded
in big sacks; weighing quintals. So,
36
the construction of the bridge will
prove to be a great boon to the locality
bearing wide-ranging socio-economic
impact to elevate the overall quality
ofJife of the local villagers. So, they
felt enough to render their all-round
cooperation in the task of building the
bridge.
But to begin with had the
panchayats
been less inclined in
making the people enthused in this
task of popular participation, this fonn
of all-out initiative on the palt of the
villagers would have been missing.
So, the villagers got involved with this
process mainly at the behest of the
Panchayat. Therefore, the villagers,
as well as, the panchayats are to be
credited for such wide participation
for the creation and maintenance of
rural assets in West Bengal pertaining
to similar panchayat-Ied construction
works.
Toll Tax
The Burdwan
Zilla Parishad
officials said, the Operation
and
. Maintenance of this bridge will be
taken care of by raising toll tax from
the users. Steel bridges need constant
and routine maintenance, which, in
turn, needs steady flow of'money.
Tasks like painting
and regular
maintel,1ance will be'needed, once the
bridge gets commissioned
for use.
The officials said, final decision
regarding the rates of toll tax will be
determined later by the panchayats.
But there are proposals that local
vehicles (like cycles, carts, etc.) will
ply over the bridge free of cost. But
commercial vehicles owned by the
outsiders will be cha,rged an amount.
Ther~ was a suggestion that the toll
tax may be collected by some local
unen1ployed youth, thereby creating
some employment opportunity in the
present crisis period.
It was learnt from the Burdwan
Zilla Parishad that Rs. 26 lakh had
been earmarked for the construction
of this bridge (which will be a
miniatur~ replication of the famous
Howrah Bridge (in Calcutta), called
"Truss Bridge" in the engineering
I
vocabulary).
The fund was made
available
by the Burdwan
Zilla
Parishad through the collection of cess
and othdr incomes.
Mis. Pretest
Udyog Limited of Calcutta had been
assigned with the task of construction.
Milan 8etu
I
The district of. Bankura will be
benefited, from the contruction of this
bridge. Hence, the bridge was named.
'Milan Setll' during the time of
inaugurat,ion. As a result the Bankura
Zilla Parishad has promised to provide
a part of the amount needed for
construc~ion.
When contacted, the
Bankura Zilla Parishaq corroborated
the feedback
offered
by the
counterpart at Burdwan.
The villagers,
the Panchayat
members and the engineering
cell
memebrs
of the Burdwan
Zilla
Parishad are all looking forward to the
final completion of the project, which
they all believe, will be an example
of how peoples' participation helps in
the process
of construction
and
maintenance of rural assets. So, they
feel, this lis a case which is not only
fit for observation, but, emulation by
the all-concerned,
as well.
The
official~
of the Burdwan
Zilla
Parishad said, one important aspect of
peoples' participation with this project.
was the I near-absence
of theft of
construction materials from the site.
Owing to the constant peoples' vigil,
such pil~erage was rarely possible.
This had saved about 10% of the total
project costs, i.e. amounting
to
roughly Rs. 3 lakh.
;;
Therefore, in the ultimate analysis,
if the same project was undertaken by
any other line department
of the
Govemment of West Bengal, it would
have cost at-least Rs. 25 lakh more
I
for completion, according to the rough
(Contd.
011
page 43)
YOJANA May 2001
Monitoring of Public
Sector Projects
A.K. Lal
EVELOPMENT
projects
undertaken
in different sectors of
economy are building blocks of
national economy. Projects worth
billions of rupees are undertaken
every year both in public as well as
private sectors.
Their effective
management has significant bearing
on the overall growth of the national
economy. In the Indian scenario, the
experience in regard to proj ect
management has been mixed one.
While the cases pertaining to beforetime completion of projects like
NTPC's Unchahar and Vindhachal
Thermal Power Projects in public and
the Reliance Petroleum Refinery
project in private sector at Jamnagar
(Gujarat) speak volumes of skill and
competence in management of largescale projects, there are several other
projects both in public and private
sectors which suffer from time and
cosf overruns due to poor planning
and farsightedness at the fonnulation
stage. Experience indicates that cost
overruns to the tune of 2 to 20 times
the original cost have been observed
in several construction projects
undertaken in different sectors of
economy.
D
•
•
Several projects in
the Central sector
suffer from the dual
problem of time and
cost overruns. With
a view to ensuring
effective
implementation of
the projects it is
imperative that the
aspects pertaining to
time, resources and
cost management
which are sine-quanon ofproject
fflanagement receive
due attention from
the project
authorities.
The process of monitoring runs
concurrently with implementation or
execution of the project. The specific
targets in respect of physical and
,financial parameters along with the
resource allocation and the priority
structure created at the time of plan
fonnulation generally form the basis
for monitoring system. The total work
effOlt involved in a projectis divided
into activities with their sequencing,
time
phasing
and
resource
requirements so as to facilitate their
proper monitoring from period to
period at different levels at smaller
intervals.
An operational plan,
focussing on the physical output or
performance alone is not sufficient for
monitoring as it has to be matched
with resource inputs. However, in
reality, it becomes generally difficult
to do resource monitoring in absence
of adequate data. In most cases,
monitoring of financial and physical
progress alone is generally resorted to.
This paper provides information
about the existing systems of
monitoring of public sector projects
costing R's. 20 crore or more. '
The Ministry of Statistics and
Programme
Implementation
(MOSPI)
'under.
the
Union
Government is entrusted with the
responsibility of monitoring all public
sector projects costing Rs. 20 crore
and more in the Central sector. For
the purpose of monitoring, projects
are put into three classifications: (a)
mega projects costing over Rs. 1000
crore(b) -major projects costing
between Rs. 100 and 1000 crore and
(c) medium projects costing between
Rs. 20 and 100 crore. A threectier
system of monitoring is adopted for
monitoring of projects by theMOSPI.
While all projects on MOSPI's
monitor are monitored on a quarterly
basis, the mega and major projects are
monitored on monthly/ bimonthly
basis through j'elease of the Monthly
Flash and Bimonthly Exception
Mr A.K. Lal is Deputy Adviser, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
YOJANA May 2001
37
Rep0l1s. These reports are sent to the
Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet
Secretariat for their information, and
to the concerned
Ministries/
Departments for requisite action, if
any, in respect of the defaulting
projects
falling
under
their
jurisdiction.
The Flash System of Monitoring
of mega and major projects was
initiated in September, 1985 at the
behest of the then Prime Minister who
had emphasised
on the need to
maintain
close
watch
on the
performance of major projects since
they constituted building blocks of our
national economy. The Flash System
of Monitoring adopted by the MOSPI
relies heavily
on the milestone
monitoring culled out of the PERT
networks drawn for the performance
evaluation of the projects. While the
Flash Report is summary report on the
financial
progress,
number
of
milestones
due and achieved and
maj or constraints
experienced
in
implementation
of mega and major
proj ects, the Exception Report, in onepage write-up
on such projects,
presents financial and physical status
of the projects, analysis of major
problems affecting progress of the
proj ects,
highlighting
issues
warranting
urgent intervention
at
different levels. Besides the Flash and
Exception Reports, the MOSPI also
prepares
Quarterly
Project
Implementation
Status
Report
(QPISR) in respect of all projects
costing Rs. 20 crore and above in each
sector indicating inter alia the latest
commissioning
date, cumu'lative
expenditure on the projects till the end
of the quarter
reported
and the
associated time and cost overruns.
There were 462 projects
on the
MOSPI's monitor as on 1.11.2000
involving an estimated investment of
Rs. 1,63,600 crore.
The analysis carried out with the
data as at the end of March every year
38
precommissioning teething problems,
in the preceding six years, i.e., during
contractual
problems,
inadequate
1994-99 shows that the overall cost
delegatiop of power to the field level
overrun in the originally approved
cost has come down from the level of . executives, and poor performance of
contractors and vendors. The other
57.5% to 40.9%. This is despite the
important factors leading to time and
fact that the overall environment for
cost overruns
include
delay in
implementation
has not been
obtaining
statutory
clearances,
encouraging during the said period.
geologic~l surprises, legal wranglings,
Non-availability
of funds posed
inadequate
infrastructure
support,
serious problem in power, railways,
change In scope of the project,
coal, atomic energy and highway
underestimation
of the original cost,
sectors during the said period ..
high prices quoted by the bidders ina
Past performance of the
ce.rtain
areas,
high
cost
ofll'
enviromnental
safeguards
and
PSU projects indicates
that if time overrun could rehabilitation measures, risks e.g.
natural
,calamities
like floods,
be checked, nearly 75%
cyclones, adverse political situation,
of the cost overrun could war and poor law and order situation
in different regions in the country.
be checked.
Generally, the cost and time overruns
Monitoring of the PSU projects by
differ from project to project.
the MOSPI has helped policy makers
identify
grey areas. of- project
Outcome
of the
sustained
management
in re.spect of public
monitorihg of PSU projects by the
sector projects,
deserve
urgent
MOSPI leads to a very interesting
attention
by the implementing
conclusibn
that since projects are
agencies. MOSPI's analysis shows
implemented in a dynamic situation,
that time overrun in respect of public
new problems continue to crop up
sector project ranges from 0 month to
without notice while the existing
189 months. Time overrun is the more
problems are in the process of being
serious problem since apart .from . resolved. It has been observed that
upsetting the plan targets, it also leads
some obnoxious
situations,
e.g.,
to cost overrun. With time overrun,
geomini~gexperienced
in the coal
cost goes
up on account
of
sector and problems
concerning
inflationary pressure, exchange rate
acquisiti6n of forest/non-forest
land
variations and higher incidence of
and the related issues of resettle~ent.
interest during construction
and
and rehabilitation, funds constramts,
administrative
heads.
Past
delays in supply of equipment, short
performance
of the PSU projects
supply qf manpower
with critical
indicates that if time overrun could be
skills, poor performance of vendors
checked, nearly 75% of the cost
and contractors persist for very long
ovelTun could be checked.
period, with the result the projects
The major. causes of time overrun
as identified by the MOSPI study df
PSU projects include sanction of
projects without firming-up ofteclmoeconomic parameters,
sanction in
excess
of financial
resources,
uncertainty about the acquisition of
forest and non-forest land, lack of
supporting infrastructure
facilities,
especially
in coal, railways
and
surface ti-ansport sectors facing such
problems
remain without
being
commissioned for more than 10 years.
Many of the water resource projects
have the lignominy of being in a state
of suspended animation for more than .
25 to 30 years on account of the
aforesaid factors.
YOJANA May 2001
The most significant feature about
the sustained monitoring of public
sector projects by the MOSPI is the
fact that in the capacity of a nodal
agency for monitoring of Central
sector projects, the MOSPI has been
able, to 'maintain computerised
database on all projects costing Rs,
20 crore and above which provides a
useful reference to the government
with regard to the status of
implementation of the PSU projects
during different plan periods.
•
Examination of the PSU projects
monitored by the MOSPI suggests
that out of 461 proj ects as on
30,6,2000,218 projects have reported
cost overrun w.r.t. (with respect to)
original approved cost, and another
cost overrun with respect to original
estimates of Rs. 1;19,722 crore was
39,3% while the time overrun
reported in respect of projects
reported till 30.6,2000 ranged from 2
to 189 months. Besides, there were
47 projects in different sectors which
were not able to take off due to various
reasons, Identification
of these
projects is based on the criteria of60%
or more of the gestation period having
lapsed while the actual expenditure is
20% or less of the approved cost,
Ironically, 34 mega projects and 163
major prodl;lcts monitored by the
MOSPI accounted for about 42.7% of
total number of projects and about
.92.5%
of the total anticipated cost of
Rs. 1,66,722 crore. Besides, there
were as many as 264 medium scale
projects.
Based on the in-depth analysis of
the problems carried out by the
MOSPI, reports of the Group of
Ministers
and Committees
of
Secretaries, a number of corrective
measures have .been suggested/
initiated to cut delays in project
implementation.
These include
stricter appraisal and sanction of
projects, weeding out/transfer to the
private/joint sector projects which are
unable
to
make
progress,
reprioritisation of projects in the light
of resource crunch, filling up the
board level vacancies in various
PSU s, appointment of a nodal officer
for each project with long tenure and
accountability for imple~entation,
constitution
of
empowered
committees in the administrative
Ministries for constant review of the
status and constraints in respect of
government-owned
. projects,
Quarterly Performance Review of
projects being implemented by the
PSUs, formation of the Standing
Committees in the administrative
Ministries for analysing reasons for
time and cost overruns and fixing
responsibility of such occurrences,
delegation of power to the field-level
executives, strengthening of the
monitoring
system
including
introduction of online computerised
monitoring system (OCMS) for
updated information about the status
of the ongoing projects and giving
advance warning for taking remedial
measures,'
yearly updating
of
sanctioned costs, improvement in
contract management system, higher
weightage of proj ect implementation
in the Memoranda of Undertaking
signed between the Administrative
Ministries and the setting-up Task
Force to review the existing Contract
Management
System and other
project management procedures with
a view to drawing up transparent
contract management system, etc.
Several proj ects in the Central
sectors suffer from the dual problem
of .time and cost overruns. With a
view
to
ensuring
effective
implementation of the projects it is
imperative that the aspects pertaining
to time, resources
and cost
management which are sine-qua-non
of project management receive due
attention from the project authorities.
Meticulous planning of both time and
resource-based
CPM/PERT
networks is of paramount importance
to ensure quality monitoring of
projects leading to their timely
cormnlsslOmng.
It is also believed that the Online
Computerised Monitoring System
(OCMS) will bring about qualitative
change in the concept of monitoring
of mega and major projects.
0
RAJASTHAN TOPS
Rajasthan has bagged the first position in achieving the target of solar rural electrification this year. The Union
Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources had allotted 5,000 solar home lighting systems for rural areas in the
state for current financial year-which
was the highest target among all states.
IREDA has already installed 5,200 solar lighting systems in the current financial year and hopes to touch the 8,000
mark by the next month end as against 3,800 systems last year.
Minimum often connections were allotted in a village or cluster of huts under the solar rural electrification programme.
One solar panel is installed on the roofofthe beneficiary's house which is connected to battery. Two fixtures and
switches are installed in every house.
The system supplies electricity regularly for these to four hours daily. Even in the absence of sunlight, the system
can supply electricity for three to four days. The cost of one system is Rs. 12,225 of which Rs. 6,225 is borne by the
beneficiary.
YO.JANA May 2001
39
)
Community Based
NaturalResource
Management
Anuradha Thakur
T
Efficient
management of
natural resources
holds the key for
sustainable
development,
poverty reduction,
ensuring food
security and
equitable access to
resources. This is
possible only with
the active
involvement of the
stakeholders.
HE IMPENDING drought this
year, the second in succession
now, forces
attention
to
serious, long standing issues on
natural resource management, which
needs to be focussed on and studied.
Rural life in India is centered around
the use of natural resources and large
numbers still remain dependent on a
productive natural base for a living.
However, increasing biotic pressure,
inadequate investment and lack of
appropriate management techniques
have led to progressive decline of
natural resources in a number of areas.
According to the latest Wastelands
Atlas of India the rate of conversion
of arable lands to wastelands is as high
as 20.17%.
This has serious
implications
for the social and
economic life of the people. As the
ability of the ecosystem to recover
diminishes, so does the employment
and lifestyle options open to the local.
people.
Within
the affected
communities,
the more vulnerable
groups, such as women, children,
scheduled castes and tribes tend to get
further marginalised by the existing
power and gender relations.
Efficient- management of natural
resources therefore, holds the key for
sustainable
development,
poverty
reduction, ensuring food security and
equitable access to resources. This is
possible
only with the active
involvement of the stakeholders. The
success of these efforts critically
depends on the interplay of various
institutional
arrangements,
local
capacity, interest groups and other
forces at work. Fortunately, there are
outstanding
examples
within the.
country itself to show that concerted
efforts by a dedicated leadership with
the active participation of people can
and does lead to growth
and
prosperity even in hithelio 'areas of
darkness'.: Some of these examples
include
Ralegaon
Sidhi
in
Maharashtra,
Jhabua in Madhya
Pradesh, the Changar Valley project
in Himachal Pradesh and the Arvari
River project in Alwar district of
Rajasthan.
These vary widely in
terms of physical features and the
agents of ,change involved but what
is c~mmon is that all these efforts
show that environmental regeneration
can be effectively
coalesced with
economic well-being jf people are
involved in the management of their
natural resources.
I
The experience ofRalegaon Sidhi
in the state of Maharashtra
is
considered as one of the oldest and
most suqcessful
experiments
of
community based natural resource
•
management
in the
country.
Watershed development work in this
village w~s done under the leadership
of one man-Anna
Hazare. Prior to
this work; Ralegaon Sidhi suffered
chronic drought conditions. Most of
the rain water was wasted as run off
and food pi'oduction of the village was
only 30% of its requirement. Existing
studies of this village show that it wa~
people's participation and the system
of equity that lead to ecological
generatio~ and economic uplift in the
Ms Anuradha Thakur is Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, H.P.
40
YOJANAMay
2001
village. This paid dividends in the
form of social reforms. Unhealthy
customs such as wasteful expenditure
on marriages and social evils like
alcholism have declined.
Today
Ralegaon Sidhi stands out in direct
contrast with the parched appearance
of the sUlTounding areas.
o
Officially also, the categorization
of this area was changed from the
'dark zone' (water deficit) to
'water surplus'.
return it with 10% more grain
to the grain bank.
This has
improved food security
in a
drought prone area.
o
Area under irrigation and the
agricultural
productivity
have
consequently
increased,
for
instance for wheat from 720 kg
per acre to 1,500 kg per acre.
o
Most significantly,
the river
Arvari was brought back to life.
Due
to
water
and
soil
conservation
works,
a non
existent seasonal stream has now
become a perennial river. More
than 300 'johads' have been made
along the Arvari catchment.
o
Under a social forestry scheme,
some 4 lakh trees were planted
in and around the village by the
people.
The other important watershed
work has been done in Jhabua
district of Madhya Pradesh, which
stands
out as an example
of
government
led social change in
rural communities.
Jhabua is a
predominantly
tribal
district,
characterised
by environmentally
ravaged
lands.
Today
after
community based natural resource
management
under
the Rajiv
Gandhi Watershed Mission of the
government,
satellite
imagery
already shows an increase in the
number of water bodies and green
cover. The striking thing about this
story is the attention
paid to the
setting up and strengthen,ing
of
institutions at all levels. The village
level set up involves all sections of
the village
society-from
the
collective
to the specific interest
groups. User groups of the landed,
self help groups for the landless
who would prefer to be involved in
non-farm
activities
and women
groups have been formed in order
to cover all the people
in the
watershed area. This is a reiteration
of the fact that CBNRM requires the
participation
of all stakeholders
in
any community.
This eventually
turns them into collective managers
of their
natural
resources
in
collaboration
with
other
stakeholders
in and outside their
communities.
The Experience
The experience of Bhaonta-Koyala
village of Alwar district in Rajasthan
is recognized
for the outstanding
.community
effort
in rainwater
harvesting, mral engineering and the
revival oftheArvari river. From being
. a rain-fed area to one of bumper
harvests, has been possible due to
watershed
work done under the
guidance of the Tamn Bharat Sangh,
a voluntary organization. Prior to this
work, Bhaont~-Koyala
suffered
chronic drought conditions. A highly
low seasonal distribution of rainfall
coupled
with
ever-increasing
deforestation resulted in significantly
lowering the ground water table.
Ninety percent of the rains were in
July-Sept and most of it'lost in flash
floods. Existing studies of this village
show that it was people's pmiicipation
and the system of equity that lead to
ecological regeneration and economic
uplift in the village. Top priority was
given to the construction of a series
of 'johads', which are indigenous mud
and rubble
check-dams.
The
groundwater level has risen, as a result
• of this by 20-50 feet above the level
10 years ago. The level in wells has
also gone up, as the table shows:
Water level
before
'johad'
Total depth
of well
(in feet)
Water level
after 'johad'
(in feet)
DIY completely
44.5
1. 69
,
55
20 feet
50
4 feet
27
4. 80
19 fect
55
5. 43
15 feet
35
I.
Rl
.).
Source.
Wells in /!lIIage Su/a.
food pl'Oduction,
YOJANAMay
1994.
2001
Action jo/'
,0 Almost 25% of the 141 hectares
of uncultivable
wasteland has
now been regenerated
as the
fodder reserve.
o
The significant thing in this effort
has been involvement
and
empowerment
of the people.
Each village has its own Gram
Sabha, comprising one member
from each family.
This body
meets
regularly
and takes
decisions on the constmction of
'johads' -their location, size etc.
water
sharing
norms,
responsibility for maintenance as
well as other related
works
required in the village. The cost
of each work is also shared in
terms of cash, kind and labour.
This is also discussed and decided
in the Gram Sabhas. The Gram
Kosh (village fund) to which all
the villagers contribute now also
functions
like a grain bank.
Every family contributes 1/40th
of his product to it. Poor families
are allowed to withdraw from the
grain bank with the promise that
in the subsequent year, they will
Better Irrigation
The management
of n.atural
resources in Jhabua by the community
on the watershed pattern has led to an
overall increase in the water table of
the region and increased irrigation.
This has further increased cropped
area and food and fodder availability.
The available data in Hathipathwa
watershed is as appended.
41
Year
Grass
production
Total grass
value
Grass
productivity
Gross yield
per hectare
1995
160 tonnes
Rs.3.21akh
.69 tlha
3048
J996
360 tonnes
RS.7.21akh
1.56 tlha
6957
1997
480 tonnes
Rs. 9.75 lakh
2.08 tlha
9286
Source:
I
.:.
Official data
The other achievements in Jhabua
area as follows:
.:. Increase in the water table by 0.64
metres on an average in 19
wastersheds.
Irrigation area
increased to 1,115 ha in 18
watersheds, almost double ofthat
in 1994, the beginning of the
project.
.:. This led to increase in cropped
area by 7%. Shift towards cash
crops like cotton.
.:. Fooa availability increased by a
minimum of one month to about
four months. 313 village level
grain banks were established to
ensure grain on easy credit.
.:. Planting of beneficial species has
taken place. Wasteland has been
reduced by 66% over 11
watersheds. Over 2 million trees
have been regenerated:
.:. The social impact can be gauged
from the fact that dependence on
moneylenders has gone down and
loans from them reduced by 22%.
.:. These have eased social problems
leading from distress migration.
The Indo-German Changer Project
in Kangra district of Himachal
Pradesh is a unique example of the
synergistic
efforts
between
government,
non-government
voluntary bodies and an external
don or agency towards peoplecentered eco-development.
The Changar area is characterized
by extremes of climate. Even though
rainfall goes upto' 2270mm, huge
surface mnoff leads to increased soil
moisture stress and loss of top soil.
42
improved fodder availability.
This.in turn gave a boost to
animal husbandry activities .
.:.
The soil is characterized by recently
deposited and barely consolidated
materials washed down from the
Himalayan ranges. Changar's, main
problem is the growing depletion of
natural resources. Decreasing yield
per hectare is aggravated by land
fragmentation due to inheritance
splitting of land. This coupled,with
few local wage labour opportunities
has led to large-scale migration.
Hostile Environment
Women and children end up being
dependent upon hostile enviromnental
circumstances
that they do not
control. Community organization
work here has centered on women and
increasing their control over their life
situation through NRM. More than
225 active village development
committees
have
planned,
implemented and monitored their own
progress in close collaboration with
expert agencies. Soil and water
management together with work in
forestry, improved agriculture, animal
husbandry and horticulture practices
has resulted in a number of income
generating
acti vi ties.
Other
achievements of the project include .:
.:. Treatment of over 151 hectares of
eco-fragile
land
through
plantations and the creation of
1407 engineering stmctures.
.:.
365 water ponds and traditional
'bauries' (springs) renovated by
the people.
People have moved to off-season
veget~ble production in an area
where they were earlier forced to
buy grain.
Self help groups of women have
been fonned with the assistance
of NOOs which have generated
not only capital but also self
confidence. Over 800 women are
involved in pickle making and.
bee k~eping and sell the produce
in local markets.
i
These
examples
arhply
demonst~ate how the ravages of.
nature have been successfully dealt
with through community based
management of natural reSources. All
these stori~s also bring to center-stage
three issues basic to development
related pohcy :
a) That, in order to tackle economic
.poverty in the rural sector, it is
necessary to deal with ecological
poverty. 'Economic well being is
intrinsically tied to ecological
regeneration.
I
b) That,
the key to rural
development
lies only in
decentralized,
people-based
governance, especially for the
management of natural resources
and the environment
c)
That;, in any successful.
comrpunity-based
natural
resource management venture,
women have to be actively
included,
at the
policy
formulation, planning and the
implementation and maintenance
stages. It is because their lives in
rural India are intrinsically tied to
nature.
or
There is therefore an urgent n~ed
to draw up a policy which would focus
on the following:
.:. This led to the rehabilitation of
304 hectares.of degraded land and
.:. Deveilopment that centers on
natural resource management and,
.:. Construction of 77 'kuhls'
indigenous water cham~els
I
YOJANA May 2001
on the understanding that the start
of an ecological change can result
in a massive economic change.
.:.
•
.:.
.:.
An alteration in the basic unit of
development
to the smallest
village community that shares
common
natural
resource
management concerns rather than
imposed large administrative
boundaries.
It should be based
within a watershed framework
following the scientific ridge to
valley approach.
There is also the need for the
development
of
a strong
institutional structure at various
levels for implementation
and
monitoring of this programme as a
people's
mOvement.
The
institutions ofthe local community,
government and voluntary bodies
have to be seen as part of a
synergistic whole rather than as
mutually exclusive compartments.
In this context, there also has to be
a recognition of the intra-village
community tensions and strong
vested
iriterest
within
the
community
with regard
to
decision-making
and benefit-
sharing, both. The importance of
the government and professionals
in conflict resolution and adaptive
learning is crucial.
.:.
The facilitative role of government,
through a supportive
national
policy and legislative
base,
financial support and monitoring
structure is also critical to this
process.
.:.
Within
government,
the
significance of inter-departmental
coordination for a successful NRM
venture cannot be overemphasized
at this stage.
.:.
.:.
Another area that would need relook would be the pattern of
ownership and management rights
over community lands. As of now,
possession varies from being with
the revenue
or the forest
department to some being held
privately.
There has to be a
mechanism
for coordination
between the three and a distinct
fonn of management rights of the
community that needs to be worked
out for sustaining the change.
Also, our water management
policy would need to be looked into
FINANCING RURAL DEVELOPMENT. ..
(Contd. from page 36)
estimates provided by the Burdwan
Zilla Parishad.
But this excludes
&M part of theproj~ct, ~hich, is
mfact, one of the most VItal parts, both
in terms of financial and life of this
construction so very essential in a
project of similar nature.
.• ?
The same experience was found to
be valid in at least 6 other cases in the
District of Burdwan. Similar cases of
public participation was found to be
very effective especially in areas like:
i) Downgrading the overall project
costs, ii) Meaningful
Operation &
Maintenance
by the people at the
Grassroots, and iii) Ensuring the 'TCS'
aspect of a particular project, i.e., in
meeting 'Technical Sustainability',
YOJANA May 2001
'Cost-Effectiveness'
and 'Social
Acceptability'. As a result, these projects
are better managed and maintained from
the overall point of view.
So, the process of financing from
below, as desired by the recent
recommendations
of the SFC in
various states of India is yet to gain
wide currency. The only notable area.
is regarding peoples' participation in
the process of rural development. The
P~ls
in India
are ruled
by
democratically-elected
bodies. For
fear of erosion of their support base,
they seldom try to implement the desire
of SFC in letter. and spirit, which,
according to them, may burden and
hence, antagonise the rural people.
to make it more equitable. The
present water policy regime allows
anyone with access to capital and
technology to mine the resource
through tube-wells
etc. The
examples shared strongly make a
case for allowing communities,
who have come together and
conserved water through collective
action, to be given some control to
regulate the withdrawal of water
from those watersheds.
.:.
There is of course the need to
revive, protect and innovate upon
local water harvesting systems and
technology. The wisdom of yore
need to be both protected and
improved to augment our declining
sources of water and concomitant
natural resources.
Such a development
model has
already found place in the rural.
development policy of the government,
with more and more allocations being
made towards watershed management
through public participation. There is
now a need to make this an allencompassing movement to prevent
environmental
degeneration
and
subsequent economic loss.
0
This, to them, may erode their support
base.
As a result, most of the
recommendations of the SFC is yet to
be implemented in practice .
Therefore,
apart from peoples'
participation,
the concept of "selfsupporting rural development" is yet
to assmue pI'oportion in India. The
present situation is such that there are
not so much bright areas, which may
induce one to say that the propositions,
as envisaged by the 73rd Amendment
(Constitution)
Act, 1993 is in the
pipeline
for
immediate
implementation.
Nevertheless,
a
process of 'Top Down Approach To
Rural Development' has begull to take
shape with a strong reliance on our
'participatory approach' .
0
o
43
Empowerment of
The Aged People
M. Athar Ansari
Ageing is a
universal
phenomenon. It
brings about certain
anatomical,
physiological,
psychological
.changes in life. The
elders are very
sensitive to the
environment in
which they are
living. They require
good housing
conditions, a
balanced diet,
reduction of mental
and physical strain,
efficient geriatric
.and home care
.
services.
A
GEING
IS A universal
phenomenon.
It brings
about certain anatomical,
physiological, psychological chang«s
in life. It is also one of the most
important
demographic
and
epidemiological transitions caused by
enormous improvement
in public
health, medical treatment,
socioeconomic factors such as education,
income, better nutrition and living
conditions as well as technological
advancement.
These
improvements
have
resulted in a spectacular reduction
in death rates at all ages, raising the
life expectancy.
In 1995 it was
more than 65 years and in several
countries it was almost 80 years.
It is estimated
that in some
countries the number of people aged
65 and above may iilcreaseupto 400
percent during the next 30 years.
in 2050. The number of oldest old
will be more than six times as high
as in 1997. (World Atlas of Ageing,
Evolution of Ageing in the World)
I
India is also greying fast becaus.
of progress
made in the post
independence
era.
The
60+
population in 1901 was estimated at
12 million which had gone up to 20
million in 1951, an increase of 675
and was expec'ted to increase to over
51 million in 1991, an increase of
155% over 1951. (Table HI)
The projected 60+ population is
75.7 milpon in 2000,146.1
million
in 2025.' The 80+ population alone
in the country is estimated
to be
3.63 million
by the turn of the
entury, 10.6 million by 2025.
These can be classified
following categories
1. Socio~Cultural
into
.2. Economic
Problems
Problems
Estimation
states that in 1980,
throughout
the world there were
375 million people aged 60 plus,
158.3 million aged 70 plus and 35.3
million aged 80 plus. By the year
2000 the figures are projected as
590.4 million aged 60 plus, 252.3
million
aged 70 plus and 59.6
million aged 80 plus. (Table-I)
In India out of 60 million elderly.
persons in 1991, there were 7 million
in the organised sector (public and
private sector) and the rest 53 million
were in ~he unorganised sector.
Absolute number of elderly in
the world will grow to 1500 billion
in 2050. Ageing will accelerate
between 2025 and 2050. In that
period only the oldest age cohorts
(70-74,75-79
and 80+) will grow
by more than 50%. A~ a result, the
number of old.est old will explode
Many old people receive pension
from g~lVernment
on retirement
I
known as social security or welfare
payment.
Some receive it from
their previous
employer
but for
many elderly persons, the source of
income is their own labour. If they
cannot work, their families support
3. Healtl1 Related
Problems
4. Changed
Attitudes
towards life
Dr M. Athar Ansari is Asst. Professor, Deptt. of Community Medicine, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, AMU, Aligarh.
44
YOJANA May 2001
Table
Population
in Millions (Total, Aged 60+, 70+, 80+) (1980-2000)
Population
Total population
1980
2000
Increase
1980
2000
Population
60+
Increase
1980
2000
Population
70+
Increase
1980
2000
%
%
%
80+ Increase
%
14.5
17.8
23
1.9
2.7
38.7
0.8
1.3
58.7
0.2
0.3
61.4
Brazil
122.3
187.5
53
7.5
14.0
86.7
3.0
6.0
100.0
0.7
!.6
117.1
Egypt
42.0
64.4
53
2.4
4.6
91.7
0.8
1.7
112.5
0.1
0.3
146.9
Gennany
60.9
58.8
-3
11.4
n.3
16.9
6.0
6.1
1.1
1.5
1.7
12.8
France
53.5
56.3
5
9.1
10.8
19.4
5.1
5.6
10.4
1.4
1.5
4.9
India
684.5
960.6
40
33.9
65.7
93.8
11.1
22,4
101.8
2.0
3.6
80.0
Israel
3.9
5.6
44
0.4
0.6
38.2
0.2
0.3
50.0
0.04
0.08
100.0
Italy
56.9
59.1
4
10.0
13.5
34.6
5.0
6.9
38.0
1.2
1.9
55.5
Japan
116.6
129.3
11
14.8
26.4
78.4
6.4
11.9
85.9
1.5
3.0
102.5
Kenya
16.5
30.4
84
0.7
1.3
85.7
0.3
0.5
66.7
0.04
0.1
150.0
Nigeria
77.1
150.0
95
3.1
6.4
106.5
1.0
-2.2.
120.0
0.2
0.4
155.3
Philippines
49.2
77.0
57
2.2
4.6
109.1
0.7
1.7
142.9
0.1
0.4
114.5
Poland
35.8
41.2
15
4.7
6.8
44.7
2.3
3.2
39.1
.0.5
0.7
50.0
8.3
8.1
.-2
1.8
1.8
-1.8
0.9
1.0
11.1
0.2
0.3
36.9
55.9
55.2
-1
11.1
11.3
1.3
5.4
6.0
11.1
1.4
1.8
28.6
223.2
263.8
18
33.9
40.1
18.3
15.6,
20.6
32.1
4.4
5.8
31.8
6,118.8"
38
375.8
590.4
57.1
252.3
59.5
35.3
59.6
68.8
Australia
•
1
Sweden
UK
USA
World
4,432.1
158.3
Source: Provisional projections of the United Nations Population Division, New York, 1980.
•
them but most of the time, families
are also poor, they are not in a
position to help and many elderly
people do not wish to take what
little money, the family has. Elderly
people may believe that younger
members
of the family are in a
greater need than themselves.
eroding
the traditional
support
network.
Perception
about older
people are being distorted and they
are often seen as burden on family,
using up scarce resources.
Today a
sizeable
proportion
of them are
viewed as non productive and have
become highly.dependent.
Classically, the extended family
and the community have constituted
the primary source of care for the
elderly
but
urbanisation,
modernization,
political and social
strains
such as war, terrorism,
. poverty and economic inse.curity are
At present, -the aged dependency
ratio which is defined as number of
person aged 60+ per 100 person in the
age group of 15-59, is highest in
Europe and America. In the world the
ratio is highest in Sweden.
Here,
every elderly person depends on four
YOJANA May 2001
adults. In most developed countries
the ratio varies between 18 and 24
where as in developing countries it is
much lower ranging from 3 in Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia to more than 20 in
Uruguay. (World Atlas of Ageing,
Evolution of Ageing in the World)
In India, low in<::ome and poverty
ridde'n life make elder persons
dependent on their sons and other
family members. It is estimated that
nearly 30%of aged population live
below poverty line. According to
1991 census, aged dependency ratio
is higher in rural areas (13.26%)
45
Table 2
Population
of Persons 60+ (India)
(Population
in millions)
Decadal increase in
population 60+
No.
persons 60+
Percentage .
to total population
Number
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
1951
20.190
5.66
1961
24.712
. 5.63
4.522
1971
32.700
5.97
7.988
1981
43.172 (a)
6.49
10.472
1991
54.685 (b)
6.54
11.513
2001
75.696 (b)
7.63
21.011
Year
Note:
Source:
60+means age 60 and above
(a)
Excludes Assam
(b)
Medium Population projection
(i)
Census of India, Paper NO.3 of 1954, Age Tables-1
Delhi, 1954.
(ii)
Census of India 1961, Vol. I India Part lJ C (i) Social and Cultural Tables. Registrar
ex-officio Census Commissioner/or
India; New Deihi, 1965.
General and
(iii)
Census of India 1971. Series I, Part II C (ii) Social and Cultural Tables, Registrar
Census Commissioner o/India, New Delhi, 1977.
General and
(v)
Census of India 1981, Series I India Paper 2 of 1983, Key Population St(ltistics Based On 5 Percent
Sample Data, Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, Ne,w Delhi, 1983.
(vi)
Census of India 1981, Series I, India, Paper I of 1984, Populcltion P,'ojectionsfor
2001, Registrar General & Census Commissionef; India, New Delhi, ~984.
than in urban areas (9.68%). Trends
also indicate that aged dependency
ratio is increasing day by day. In
females, the dependency
ratio is
higher than males.
Number of functional capacities
such
as
cardiovascular,
musculoskeletal,
respiratory
performances reach a peak in early
adult life. After that a decline is
46
951 Census, Registrar
noticed which may be faster or slower
depending upon the various factors
such as living conditions, internal
environment or environment insjde
the body
itself
and external
environment to which a person is
exposed like environment pollution,
temperature, radiation etc. A slow
decline is noticed if a person is
involved in physical activities or
General, India, New
India, 1981-
living in smoke free or air pollution
free conditions.
,
The health related
disorders,
common jn older people are obesity
osteoarthritis,
mental disorders like
depression,
anxiety, Alzheimer's
disease, hypertension, constipation,
diabetes he. The older people are
also prone to meet the accidents
which may result into permanent
YOJANA May 2001
•
disability
making the life more
miserable.
The people who smoke
tobacco for a long time are more
likely
to develop
respiratory,
cardiac-vascular
problems, prostate
hypertrophy, peptic ulcers etc.
Many of these disorders can be
prevented,
postponed
or halted
enough through exercise.
Brisk
walking
of 4 kms. has proved
effective
in
preventing
cardiovascular
disease,
diabetes,
osteporosis,
and
respiratory
• problems.
Changed Attitudes
As the people become older their
attitude towards life also change~.
The elders are very sensitive to the
environment
in which they are
living.' Some of the elders are happy
and well contended with their lives
while rest are worried, unsatisfied
and depressed.
The reason behind
these conditions may be any family
related 'event such as death of a
family member, poverty,
loss of
employment,
behaviour
of the
family members
especially
the
negligence by relatives.
They feel
themselves a burden and they want
to die as early as possible. In Indian
context,
these perceptions
exist
especially in low socio-economic
groups and some time the elders
develop suicidal tendencies.
•
Social and financial
support :
Rapid growth of elderly population
brings
many
problems
to
governmental
. and
nongovernmental
organisations
which
include increased demand for health
services,
good environmental
condition,
recreational
activities,
social support and social security
etc.
Since the population
of
children
is decreasing,
fewer
persons' will be available
in the
coming years to support the elderly
population.
Along with financial support, social
interaction should also be encouraged
YOiANA ~ay 2001
among older people themselves.
Social network can provide facilities
for sports and recreation as well as
offering friendship. A closer contact
between older and younger generation
may also be encouraged
through
organised visits by school children to
older people.
If this interaction is maintained, the
younger generation will definitely be
benefited from the experience of older
people and this ultimately gives a
sense of social care and emotional
support to the older people.
The objectives of old age policy as
proposed by Indian Federation on
Ageing
include
provision
of
employment
options and family
support, income security and health
insurance,
social and economic
support to health services, housing
and area planning to suit the special
needs of elderly population.
At present the government is giving
assistance to voluntary organizations
under the general Grant in aid Scheme
in the field of social welfare of the aged.
Rebate
The government is offering rebate
on income tax to the people aged 65
or more. The Ministry of Railways
has extended 25 percent concession
in II class tickets under "Senior
Citizen Concession" scheme, Further
a provision has been made by the
India Railways to allot lower births
to the senior citizens.
Under
National
Social
Assistance
Programme
(NSAP)
launched on 15th August 1995, an
outlay
of Rs. 480 crore
was
earmarked under whicr nearly 53
lakh beneficiaries
over the age of
65 years were expected
to be
covered.
Under this programme a
beneficiary would get a pension of
Rs, 75 per month.
Scheme for Caring Children &
Relatives: The trends of change in the
family system in India are likely to
render family based care of the elders
increasingly
problematic.
But the
family will remain the most feasible
social institution to offer shelter and
care to the aged. If we have to make
this social institution more effective
for the care of its aged, provisions and
incentives may have to be provided
to the sons, daughters
and other
relatives
who
take
such
responsibilities with less financial and
physical hardship.
Health Promotional
Measures
"You do not heal old age. You protect
it, you promote it you extend it" said
Sir James Sterling Ross
Better Facilities
The old people require
good
housing conditions, a balanced diet,
reduction
of physical and mental
strain, efficient geriatric services,
home care services and meals on
wheels
services.
The specific
preventive measures required by the
aged persons are periodic health
checkups,
proper
and adequate
treatment, avoidance of injuries and
accidents etc.
It is our duty to resist old age, to
compensate
for its defects by a
watchful care, to fight against it as we
would fight against diseases to adopt
a regimen
of health, to practise
moderate exercise, said Ciero - the
Roman thinker,)
lEC Activities
: An awareness
campaign
through., information,
education
and communication
activities
should be carried
out
vigorously regarding the importance
of aerobic exercises in daily life, If
the elderly people are aware and
practicing regular exercises, they can
keep themselves not only physically
and mentally fit but also independent.
If followed we can minimise
the
sufferings of elderly population and
provide an opportunity
to them to
enjoy more stimulating environment'
and I1ealthy ageing with the luotto "To
Serve Not to be Served"
0
47
Diamonds and
India
(
KusumMehta
T
HE
YEAR
2000 marks
India's entry into the world
Federation
of Diamond
Bourses, the premier world trade body
of the diamond industry. This is a
significant step both for India and the
international body.
Late
Harry
Oppenheimer,
Chairman
De Beers and Anglo
American
Corporation
had very
rightly said, "The progress made by
the Indian industry is the greatest
economic miracle that I have seen in
rnylifetime. To think th~t 30 years ago
there barely was a cutting industry,
and now (February 1996) there is an
enormous industry-thatisihdeed
something of a miracle".
"
Despite the fact that
we do not mine
diamonds,. India has.
become the largest
international centre
for manufacturing,
,doing as many as
700 million
diamonds each yea:r.
Despite the fact we do not mine
diamonds,
India has become the
largest
international
centre for
manufacturing, doing as mariy as 700
million diamonds each year. The
industry employs over one lliillion
workers and generates nearly 20 per
cent of India's foreign exchange
earnings.
Today, we are a world
leader and 9 out of 10 diamonds are
manufactured in India ..
up there economies by relaxing the
norms for iforeign exchange earning
industries
like
diamond
manufacturing.
Our authorities also
should give diamond industry the
importanc~ it deserves. Though the •
government
has announced
the
diamond-dollar
account scheme,
modalities:for its implementation are
still to be ftnalized.
The methodology involved in the
cutting and polishing of diamonds is
an extremely ,subjective
process.
There are 16000 possible categories
,into which rough diamonds can be
sorted. Thus extreme care has to be
taken once a parcel of rough stones
arrive at the exporter's office. Then
they go. through
a process
of
assortmept ,and grading according to
colour, 'ciarity and'size before being
sent for various
J-i-Janufacturing
processei
like;cleaving,
sawlllg,
bruiting etc. .
There 'are as many as 25,000
diamond rhanufacturing units in the
western and southern region, which
may be either
branch
offices,
commission agents or contractors. A •
single packet of rough may be split
into many' different parcels and sent
to any of the units, depending on the
needs and plans of the manufacturers.
'India imports
all the rough
diamonds
to meet
its export
requirements. There are two sources
of rough supply, the London based
i
Diamond Trading Company and other
Accuracy is critical in the diamond
international
trading centres like'
industry and it has been enhanced
Belgium and Israel. Imports can be
after laser machinery was introduced
effected either under replenishment
about 15 years ago. The yield can
licence (REP), a diamond impressed . vary from; as high as 65 percent to as
licence or a bulk licence.
low as 10 percent. Accuracy is profit.
Many other countries are opening
At every
stage
of manufacture
Mrs Kusum Mehta is a freelance writer based in Jaipur.
48
YOJANA ~ay 2001
some pal1 of the rough is converted
.into diamond dust, only some of
which is reusable.
Regarding pricing though there is
some standardization it is relatively
subjective and there may be variations
in the prices. Pricing may also depend
on market conditions.
The Union Finance Ministry as
well as the RBI should consider
providing exporters with single digit
finance which will enable them to be
• nore competitive
in the world
markets. The estimated bank finance
being extended in India is US$ 1.2
billion compared to US$ 1 billion in
Antwerp.
Banks should reduce the penalty on
loans beyond the 90 day period to 10
percent from the present 25 percent
since exporters raise finance on bills
drawn upto 120 days. Why an
exporter is penalised when the rupee
falls against the dollar? India has the
track record of nil NPA which is
commendable.
Insurance industry should come up
with some innovative insurance
covers that will help protect exporters
cover their risk.
Despite all the factors Indian
diamond
industry
is making
commendable progress.
However, lately diamond export
growth rate has considerably slowed
down. As the European markets are
lacklustre and there is no worthwhile
improvement in the Far-East, most
exporters have been despatching
goods to the U.S.A. Diamonds find
themselves there in the buyer's
market.
Payments are unduly
delayed. This creates difficulties for
financially weaker firms and many of
them are being pushed to the wall.
Consumer confidence is reported to
have weakened in the USA as the
American economy has slowed
down. Processed diamonds worth
US$3855.29 million were exported
from the country during the first
seven months of2000-0 1, an increase
about 9.19 per cent compared to
US$3530.79 million during the same
period of the previous year. However,
in volume terms, shipments are lower
around 183.30 lakh carats, against
187.76 lakh carats in the same period
of the earlier year:
0
Balanced Diet of An Adult Man (Indian)
81.
Item
No.
Sedentary work
Moderate work
Heavy work
Vegetarian
Meat eating
Vegetarian
Meat eating
vegetarian
2
3
4
5
6
7
400
400
475
475
650
650
Meat eatin
1.
Cereals
2.
Pulse
70
55
80
65
80
65
3.
Green leafy
Vegetable
100
100
125
125
125
155
4.
OtherVeg
75
75
75
75
100
100
5.
Fruit
30
30
30
30
30
30
6.
Milk
200
100
200
100
200
100
7.
Fats & Oils
35
40
40
40
50
50
8.
Meat & Fish
30
40
30
9.
Eggs
30
30
30
10.
Sugar & jaggery
11.
Groundnut
30
30
40
40
55*
55*
* An additional 30 grams offats and oils can be included in the diet in place of groundnut.
Source: Nutritions garden, (1986) Extension Bulletin No. 23 Indian Institution of Horticultural Research,
Bangalore.
YOJANA May 2001
49
Book R~view
Empowering Rural Labour in India: R. Radha Krishnan, Alakh
Sharma; Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, 1998,
Pp.440.
N:.
Rural Labour, which constitutes
a large section of the workforce in
India, is probably the most deprived
and disadvantaged
group in the
country.
This
is the most
vulnerable' group among various
categories
of workers, who have
been largely
bypassed
by the
process
of
socio-economic
development in India over last five
decades.
Though there has been
some improvement
in their levels
of living during 1980s, the rural
labourer have been ignored by the
socio-economic
development
programmes after independence.
recent development
and processes
at work in the rural labour market
and evaluates how far the attempts
towards the empowerment
have
been successful.
In this context, it
examines in detail, both at micro
and macro levels, the intervention
by trade unions, political parties and
non-governmental
organisations.
The first part gives an insight about
various facets of emerging realities
of rural labour markets in India.
They analyse the developments
in
rural labour market with respect to
poverty, wages, employment
and
work diversification.
Several
measures
have been
initiated by the government
after
1947 to ameliorate the condition of
rural labourers.
Various public
works programmes
and social
security measures, sponsored by the
State have played an important role
in mitigating
the plight of these
labourers to some extent.
In the
emerging scenario, it is necessary
to examine afresh the recent trends
and
policies,
which
have
implication for employment of rural
labour.
The second part relates to State
interventions in rural labour markets.
An overview of these interventions
in enhancing social security of rural
labourers
have been critically
examined.
It is identified
that
maintainence
and
effective
implementation
of government
programmes for poor is particularly
important in the context of adjoining
economic
reforms.
Rest of the
papers cover various issues related
to the employment
programmes
being undertaken in India, viz., their
operational issues, impacts etc. A
critical assessment of policies and
programmes related to anti-poverty
This volume contains articles
from experts and activists, which
provide an indepth insight into the
Research Analyses for Economics and Social Sciences is R.P.
Sarma; Institute of Economic Studies, Berhampur, 1998; p-319;
Pro Rs. 300.
Text books
on quantitative
methods written by Indian authors are
rare to come by. This is one such book
written for the benefit of students of
Economics and other Social Sciences.
The book includes
chapters
on
Regression'Analysis, Factor Analysis,
50
Discriminant
Analysis,
Cluster
Analysis,
Systems
Analysis,
Network
Analysis,
Activity
Analysis, Dimensional Analysis and
Meat Analysis. The author notes in
his preface that the book is only a
preliminary
exposition
of the
target otiented
aspects
viz, self
employment and wage employment
has been done.
This is done to
enhance'their
effectiveness
and
examine their appropriate role in the
future.
Lastly, the book analyses the role
and impact
of mobilisation
by
unions, political parties and nongovernm~ntal organisations on rural
labour markets.
They analyse the
impact ofNGOs
on rural labour
markets, with empirical
evidence.
from several parts of the country. It
also identifies
the positive
role
played by these organisations
in
organising rural labour.
This policy will be useful for
academicians, policy makers, social
activist~,
and above all, those
intereste(l in the study of rural poor
in geneTaI and rural labour
in
particular.
This book has been
written I in a simple
and easy
languagtt in a conversational
style.
This text has been written in an
interesting manner, citing empirical
evidence from various parts of the
country.' It presents an analytical
review lof various
programmes,
policies implemented for improving
the lot' of rural
labour.
The
compilation
of articles could have
been
Ihore
captivating
and
stimulating
if various
graphical
tables ",,;ere supported by pictures, •
figures etc.
Abha Agarwal
analyses.
Scholars
interested
to
apply these techniques
have to
acquire 'further detailed knowledge
for appropriate application,
admits
the author. Nevertheless
the book
serves as a starting point to those
who are pursuing
a study
of
quantitative
methods for research
application in social sciences.
P. V. Rajeev
YOJANA May 2001
,
I
I
I
I
I
{Development Diary]
pertaining
RECONSTRUCTION OF ONE LAKH
HOUSES
jhe government
would reconstruct
ae quake affected
population
l
one lakh houses for
below poverty
line in
Jujarat. The Ministry of Rural Development
has also
d
..
an revlvmg
Ideased Rs. 100 crore ~or
~ reconstructlllg.
~ral drinking water resources
in the quake devastated
ihe Ministry
of Human
Resource
!leasing Rs. 50 crore immediately
under the Sarva
hiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for reconstruction
h100ls in Gujarat
and to provide
brning materia!.
A team including
~ntral Building
Research
and repair of
essential
teaching
experts from the
Institute
lsigning of school buildings
IS
is reviewing
the
to ensure safety from
Ilihquakes and cyclones.
for training
The Science
and Technology
turnover
of about
established
Entrepreneurship
Rs. 90 crore.
more than 700 industrial
providing employment
to over 6000 persons.
100 new products and technologies
by the STEP-promoted
l1tres would have creches and provide ready-to-eat-
education,
the government
bt instalment for this under the Education
the financial
he District Primary
Education
Education.
Programme
consideration
lpanded to six new districts in Gujarat-Surendranagar,
rtch,
Savarkantha,
Junagarh,
Jamnagar
and Bhav
agar. Assistance will be given torebuild
the damaged
I!strict institutes
training
of education
and
at
hmedabad, Bhuj and Patan.
;Ihemesof Women and Child Development
Department
S&T persons by
rather than job-seekers.
beginning
to create an
sectors.
involving
finance, management
and
The STEP in association
with
like the IDBI, the ICICI and
the IFCI has been able to contribute
is being
promoting
and entrepreneurship,
institutioins
growth
of Science
at
among first generation
training, research,
economic
The programme
aims
The DST has made a modest
bd. The HRD Ministry has given Rs. 283 crore as the
More than
by the Department
(DST)
of the
substantially
country.
the success of the programme,
I
I
I
I'
I
I
I
I
into
the DST has
decided to set up more STEPs in other parts of the country.
To meet the challenges
globalisation
and opportunities
and liberalisation
arising out of
of the economy,
STEPs have started venturing
into emerging
information
environment,
management
I
I
to th~
Taking
technology,
I
I
the
areas like
and biotechnology.
Printed and Published by Surinder Kaur on behalf of Publications
Division and Printed at
Rakesh Press, A-7, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110 028 Tel. 5706127, 5707367 and
published at Patiala House, New Delhi-110 001.
I
units,
have been developed
entrepreneurs.
and designed
Technology
approach to innovation
and Innovative
STEPs
so far in different parts of the country have
em for going back to school as soon as possible. These
Guarantee
Thirteen
been able to promote
conceived
park
has begun to help generate an annual
entrepreneurship
trauma and prepare
children.
STEPS HELP GENERATE ANNUAL
:rURNOVER OF RS. 90 CRORE
converting them to job-generators
come out of the psychological
system.
of Rs. 20 lakh to
and 200 creches for
6rst affected talukas.
(heme and Alternative
I
grant-in-aid
larlY 300 learning centres are being started in the 17
I
~
women,
voluntary organisations
and
These would help the children
women with a
and girls who have no social support
(STEP) programme
Development
24 ICDS projects,
Besides, there would be a lumpsum grant of Rs. 50 lakh
ks. 50.CRORE
FOR RECONSTRUCTION
OF SCHOOLS IN GUJARAT
.
will include
of ten hostels for working
Day-Care Centre and opening of 50 short stay homes for
women
l'eas.
I
to Gujarat
construction
energy
I
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G!eography,
Lflw,
Philosophy,
pkychology,
P~b. Admin.,
Political
Science
Siociology,
I
'.
by post - If you do not have access to
I
., Send your order by post with the payment.
On the reCeipt of payment
,your test paper will be sent to you by post. Solve the papers 'on the
c' answer
sheet provided.
Send the answer sheet by post. The evalulltion
and assessment
will be sent to you by post.
Mock tests sets
(Rs.)
Cost for Option I
Cost for Option II (Rs.)
Cost for Option III (Rs.)
studies,
M~ths,
Statistics;
Bbtany,
Zbology,
I "
Economics,
Go to www.ucrackias.com.
Book your order. Send your payments.
On
the receipt
of payment
your test paper will be sent to you by post.
Solve the papers on. the answer sheet provided.
Send the answer sheet
by post. The scores will be available
on the site which you can check.
However there will be postal delay so you will get the evaluation
and
assessment
in about a weeks time. Alternatively,
fill the answers on the
;site. Your evaluation
and assessment
will be avai'lable next day.
Option III: Test and evaluation
<,computer and Internet
.
General
i
.
P,h YSICS,
1 - test
350
365
400
5 - tests
1700
1775
1950
10 - tests
3000
3150
3500
Available
slet,s of
in
1,5,10,15,
&. 20
t~sts.
,
15-tests
4~00
4225
4~50
20-tests
5000
5300
6000
Notes for General Studies are available
by post for immediate
delivery. You can book your orders
on the site and the notes will be sent to you by post. The notes are priced sep'arately for PT, Mains
paper 1 and Mains paper-2.
I
"
Cost of notes
*
for GS-PT Rs. 580 and for GS mains
paper-I
and paper
- II
R~ 480 each.
Payments to be sent by DD/Money order in the name of Argusoft Ifldia Ltd, Payable at Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
I
For mor-e information
call
"
Argusoft
India
Ltd.,
~I
(011)7654560,
(011)7653848
between 10 AM,
.8 PM on weekdays
email: [email protected]
•
A66, Sector 25, GIDC Electronics
Estate, GANDHINA<j:iAR - 382,044 .
.'
,