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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Starving MGNREGA


 The MGNREGA was inspired by the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 1977, wherein policymakers found wage employment as the best way to empower people against drought 
As India faces the onslaught of another severe drought, and water, food, and employment dry up, the government will claim that it is doing its best to cope with the adversity. But, given the facts, that will be a patently false statement.
The cynical attitude towards the MGNREGA is an example of how policymakers are deliberately and knowingly — by squeezing funds and subverting the legal mandate of the law — causing immeasurable misery and suffering to people. Through the fund squeeze, the government has consciously crippled the MGNREGA’s ability to help people facing drought.
Officially, the drought has affected over a third of the country — nine out of the 29 states, 248 out of 660 districts, 2,327 out of 6,800 blocks, and 96,954 out of 2,57,000 panchayats. Unlike natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, which destroy ecosystems in a few moments, droughts take hold slowly and provide clear warnings to policymakers, thus giving them a chance to plan and execute effective drought management strategy. Yet, once it settles in, a mismanaged drought can wipe out economic progress made over decades, pushing an entire generation back into abject poverty.
The MGNREGA was inspired by the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, passed in 1977, wherein policymakers found wage employment as the best way to empower people against drought. The funding for the state scheme came from four taxes, imposed on those less affected by the drought. The money so received went into a fund dedicated to the scheme.
However, the MGNREGA hasn’t been as fortunate. Despite its proven success, the scheme is itself facing a monetary drought. Some facts: A whopping Rs 10,588 crore is currently pending in payment delays.
In other words, nine crore workers in 25 states are facing illegal delays in wage payments. More than half of this amount is in drought-affected states.
The saddest part is that notwithstanding the government’s grand announcement — increasing the number of workdays to 150 in the nine drought-affected states — all these states have a negative cash balance. It’s hardly surprising then that only 5 per cent households have completed 150 days of work. This is conclusive proof that the government is ignoring the two most important legal requirements of the MGNREGA — work on demand, and full and timely payment of wages.
Despite its proven success, the scheme is itself facing a monetary drought.
The fund squeeze sets off a vicious cycle — delayed payments leading to lesser demand and still fewer payments — resulting in helplessness and distress migration. The continued shortage of funds severely undermines the credibility of the law.
State governments and local administrators, too, are in a quandary: The law requires them to provide work but they don’t have enough money to pay the wages. Communication accessed under the RTI Act shows that state governments have been unsuccessfully appealing for adequate fund releases, and are being forced to ration funds for the year. This distortion turns the law into a cruel joke.
But drought-affected people are not the only ones distressed. Many company heads, who have unpaid dues stacking up as bank NPAs, such as Vijay Mallya, too, have been forced into distress migration! In the budget, there’s a full section on taxes forgone for the corporate sector. And on March 23, Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister for communication and information technology, announced a Rs 14,724 crore Holi gift for government employees, with a 6 per cent increase in their daily allowance. It’s clear that there are many competing priorities in India.
As prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri had suggested that the well-off should forgo meals so that the starving could be fed. That noble thought never worked. The MGNREGA was an attempt to institutionalise responsibility and move beyond such individual efforts. But this has been systematically undermined, with disastrous consequences. The MGNREGA is not the only measure required to fight a drought but an honest implementation of the law could make a huge difference. There’s no substitute for an honest effort.
The writers are social activists working in Rajasthan
Source: Indian Express, 30-03-2016
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Idea of Bharat Mata is European import: Irfan Habib

Bharat’ was first used in an inscription of King Kharavela in Prakrit, says the historian

Wading into the political controversy around the slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ (glory to Mother India), veteran historian Irfan Habib said here on Monday that the idea of Bharat Mata was an import from Europe and there was no evidence of any such imagination in either ancient or medieval India.
“Bharat Mata has nothing to do with India’s ancient or medieval past. It is a European import. Notions of motherland and fatherland were talked about in Europe,” Prof. Habib said, delivering a lecture in the memory of late historian Bipan Chandra at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
This statement comes at a time when leaders of the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS have upheld the slogan as intimately related to nationalism in India.
In the Maharashtra Assembly, All-India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Waris Pathan was suspended recently for refusing to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ with Congress MLAs also siding with the BJP and the Shiv Sena on the matter.
Later, talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the event, Prof. Habib elaborated on his statement. “Bharat is mentioned in ancient India. It was first used in an inscription of King Kharavela in Prakrit. But representation of the country in human form as a mother or father was unknown in ancient India or medieval India,” he said. “This was an idea that emerged in Europe with the rise of nationalism, and it was found in Britain, Russia, etc.”
He added that Madar-e-Watan in Urdu was also a case of the European idea being borrowed.
Prof. Habib had irked many in the Sangh Parivar months ago too, when he reportedly drew parallels between the RSS and the IS.
In another lecture dedicated to the scholarship of Prof. Chandra, historian Aditya Mukherjee recalled freedom as a key value of the Indian national movement.
“Mahatma Gandhi had said that liberty of speech was unassailable even when it hurt. I hope the government is listening,” he said.
Source: The Hindu, 30-03-2016
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Providing transparency in rural electrification

The GARV app puts pressure on State governments for timely and quality delivery

“I am going to turn everything into an app and I am going to allow people to monitor daily what work we are doing, what work States are doing” — Piyush Goyal, March 23, 2016 at the Power Focus Summit
Rural electrification has been an enduring challenge for successive governments. Given India’s federal structure, States provide last-mile connectivity which includes providing access to and distributing electricity, and maintaining infrastructure, while the Central government provides policy and financial support.
However, un-electrified villages present an enormous challenge as they are often located in inaccessible or left-wing extremism-affected areas. Over the last three years, there has been a rapid decline in the pace of rural electrification to only 5,189 villages. Several States, particularly in eastern India, have seen even lower levels of electrification. For instance, in these three years, Uttar Pradesh electrified just 64 villages against the 1,518 that were sanctioned while Bihar electrified only 1,248 villages against the 9,246 that were sanctioned. The slow pace meant that this task would require more than a decade. Due to such tardy performance in the States, the National Democratic Alliance government launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) to ensure rapid electrification, feeder separation, and strengthening of rural distribution infrastructure. It is necessary to monitor progress intensively for smooth and fast implementation of electrification.
On August 15, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that all the remaining villages would be electrified within 1,000 days. Based on Census 2011, States had provided a list of 18,452 un-electrified villages as on April 1, 2015. To transparently monitor the process, the Central government, in November 2015, appointed 309 young and passionate Grameen Vidyut Abhiyantas (GVAs or rural electrification engineers) from the same areas. Reports by these GVAs are shared through the GARV (Grameen Vidyutikaran) app (http://garv.gov.in) with officials as well as the public. It puts pressure on State governments for timely and quality delivery.
Transparent monitoring system
Transparency in rural electrification brought to fore a number of issues which were traditionally swept under the rug. Villages are electrified as per the old 10 per cent household connectivity criterion, but the Central government aims at connecting 100 per cent households of the 18,452 villages. Habitations with less than 100 people (Dhanis, Majalas, Tolas, etc.) outside revenue villages were not even included earlier, but are now electrified. Prior to GVAs, only data provided by the States was available, which in many cases does not represent ground reality. GVAs provide a verification mechanism in a bold, transparent, and reliable manner. We are delighted that the media is taking an interest in tracking rural electrification.
On December 10, 2015, media reports highlighted discrepancies in some State data and it was decided that post January 1, 2016, GVA verification would be mandatory for electrified villages so that States provide accurate data. Thus GVAs have the huge task of verifying all the old data generated by the State governments since April 1, 2015, and public and media participation was solicited for scrutiny. This will ensure highest degree of probity and accountability in the system.
Articles on rural electrification published in The Hindu on March 26 (“On paper, electrified villages — in reality, darkness” and “Here, the light goes out of their lives at sunset”) fulfil this very purpose and are a step towards bringing accountability. Though these articles aim to highlight certain shortcomings in rural electrification, they are themselves outcomes of a transparent monitoring system adopted by the Centre.
Analysing specific cases
Let’s look at specific cases. Haldu Khata in Uttar Pradesh was declared electrified by the U.P. government on November 6, 2015 but during a visit by GVAs on Jan 1, 2016, no works of grid extension were found in the village. As an interim arrangement, the village stands electrified with solar power. Dimatala in Assam was declared electrified by the State on September 27, 2015 and was confirmed by GVAs. But on January 18, 2016, a visit of GVAs found that the distribution transformer was damaged. The State was directed to take corrective action. Kadam Jheriya in Chhattisgarh was declared electrified by the State on October 9, 2015 and was confirmed by GVAs. Pagara Buzurg in Madhya Pradesh was declared electrified on September 28, 2015 and was confirmed through a GVA visit. However, a GVA visit on March 22, 2016 revealed that existing infrastructure has been stolen; this remains the responsibility of the State. Panalomali, Kusadangar, Patyetapali in Odisha, and Sunwara in M.P. were declared electrified by the States on November 27, 2015; December 4, 2015; November 12, 2015; and September 28, 2015 respectively. GVAs have recorded these as uninhabited villages, but State governments have not declared them so. Birni in Jharkhand was declared electrified by the State on October 15, 2015. A GVA visit on March 23, 2016 confirmed that village works are complete, but line charging remains and is being expedited.
Additionally, 300 villages were declared electrified by State governments but not verified by GVAs. They were declared electrified before GVAs joined. GVAs are verifying all the villages and will complete the process by March 31, 2016.
The articles mention that 342 villages were marked as not electrified by GVAs but are shown as electrified. We are not sure how the figure has been arrived at by the reporter, but State governments’ data remains our primary reference complemented by field verification. There are indeed some villages such as Firozpur Darga, Fajalpur Habitat in U.P., and Bukanari in Bihar which were declared electrified on September 30, 2015 by U.P. and on September 29, 2015 by Bihar, but found un-electrified during GVA visits. State governments have been requested to reconfirm the basis of their data and take corrective action. The underlying focus remains transparency. If the purpose was to hide the status of the villages, even the “not electrified as per GVA” status will not show on the app.
The app itself highlights that 3,604 villages were found electrified during the survey by GVAs. Instead of the data first coming from States, GVAs directly captured the electrification data on the app with subsequent State government confirmation. These villages were electrified before deployment of GVAs.
Despite our commitment during meetings in the third week of March to provide precise field data after the Holi vacations, the reporter went ahead with the articles, making a case for State governments to improve data accuracy and quality.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on March 22: “I urge all to monitor the implementation of rural electrification carried out by States to support the efforts of the Central government to bring in transparency and ensure that proper quality is maintained and works are completed on time.” Also on multiple occasions, the Minister has asked the public and the media to scrutinise rural electrification work of States and ask for accountability. With enhanced funds, pro-people guidelines, constant monitoring and speedy delivery, Central government has embarked on a time-bound mission not only to electrify 18,452 villages much before the scheduled time but also to take it to the next level to provide connectivity to all the households in these villages and meet the ultimate goal of 24X7 power for all.
Dinesh Arora is the Executive Director of Rural Electrification Corporation.
Source: The Hindu, 30-03-2016
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Social marketing: Looking beyond contraceptives


In the late 1960s, when the government decided to distribute Nirodh condoms as freebies at health centres or sell in the markets at subsidised rates, it signalled the onset of two important developments. India became the first country to officially launch a family planning programme giving a push to accelerate its population stabilisation efforts by controlling unintended pregnancies. It also positioned India as the pioneer of the concept of social marketing (SM) in the health sector. The SM strategy was to create a ubiquitous and sustained demand for the condom by tackling the inhibitions that prevented its acceptance. The sale of condoms ballooned; history was created.
On the flip side, SM is now largely seen as a sales activity, confined to family planning products, specifically condoms and contraceptive pills — broadly known as Contraceptive SM. Such a notion is fallacious, though. SM is a collation of behaviour change communication, sales promotion, demand generation, branding, supply chain management and much more.
What makes SM distinct from commercial marketing is that it focuses on selling ideas that could influence behaviour aimed at addressing concerns for social welfare. It does not favour free distribution of goods, which often leads to wastage and pressure on the exchequer. Rather, it advocates scale, sustainability and accountability.
SM hinges on accessibility, affordability and awareness, with an underpinning of behavioural change among the target groups. This leads to acceptance. For instance, even though condoms were made affordable, they were widely accepted only after awareness was created through behaviour change communication.
Interestingly, there is much scope for application of SM principles in promoting health-related practices other than family planning. These include immunisation, breastfeeding, personal hygiene and blood donation. The Truth Campaign in the United States against youth smoking, promotion of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in Nigeria to combat malaria, the safe drinking water campaign in Madagascar to prevent diarrhoea, and anti-TB campaign in Peru are examples of successful SM drives.
In India too, we have promoted the use of iodised salt, ORS & Zinc supplements, sanitary napkins, etc, through SM. The healthcare sector can largely benefit from SM as a potent tool in reaching out to the masses in underserved and isolated belts, and scale up healthcare delivery mechanisms. We can address challenges in reproductive and child health, communicable diseases, management of medical waste and lifestyle-related health issues. It can be included in the public health modules to achieve the goal of universal health coverage. Social marketing offers exciting opportunities; we need to take it to the next level to address a clutch of issues pertaining to environment and social sector.
Sharad Agarwal is CEO, Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust
Source: Hindustan Times, 30-03-2016
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Police Reforms an Urgent Imperative


The ghastly murder of a dentist in Delhi by a mob last week underscores the need for urgent police reforms, including increasing staff strength, modernising its methods, improving its pay and transforming its orientation. Policing must be preemptive, responsive and prompt. The police force must be seen as an integral part of the community and not an external imposition that is aligned to the local political heavyweights.This requires increasing the number of policemen on the beat, who should be well versed with the community , and whom the community will trust to act with fairness.India's police force is woefully understaffed with one policeman for 732 persons; the ratio goes up to one policeman for 1,298 and 1,282 persons in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively . This is against the United Nations-recommended ratio of one policeman for 450 persons. Simulta neously , the police must be protected from undue influence and pressure from governments and politicians in the dis charge of their duties. Measures such as the separation of the investigation and law and order functions, as recommended by the Supreme Court's 2006 judgment, will help improve police efficiencies. Much of what it takes to bring accountability , equity and transparency to the Indian police system, governed by the Police Act of 1861, already exists in the form of assorted commission recommendations and the Supreme Court's 2006 judgment.
As the government works reforming the Code of Criminal Procedure to shift to a system of restorative justice, it must simultaneously ensure that the police force is both equipped and capable of making the transition. Without the requisite police reforms, this will be another incomplete effort to put in place a responsive and modern criminal justice system.
Source: Economic Times, 30-3-2016
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Religion of Pure Love
SWAMI CHAITANYA KEERTI


The world has become clearly divided between two expressions of religion. The choice is between the religion of terrorism and the true religion of self-transformation and compassion. Religion of terrorism may be divided into thousands of sects and ideologies but it is united by one common goal that has only one name: terrorism. Those opting for this religion will live and die for it.The religion of sane people is without any name and can be called `pure religiousness of self-transformation'. It helps people evolve as better human beings with values of love, compassion and non-violence.They may or may not believe in any ideology , or god or not, but through meditation, they transform themselves and share their awareness, bliss and compassion with all who come in contact with them.
There is an urgency to restore the balance between these two forces, otherwise the oscillation towards violence will destroy the world very soon, whether Nostradamus predicted it or not. Hundreds of thousands of people are needed around the world to meditate and create good vibes to balance the forces of death and destruction.
In view of the explosion of population taking place in the world, a few individuals cannot do a thing. Now something tangible can be possible only if, commensurate with the huge population, hundreds of thousands of people are influenced and involved in spiritualism.If a few people form a nucleus and begin the work, India can play a significant role in that momentous fight.
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Tuesday, March 29, 2016


What’s special about the Humanities?

The Humanities stream is increasingly finding more takers now. Let’s look at what it offers.

In the past, for a long time, no one really planned a career in the humanities nor prepared hard to get into a reputed institution to study Humanities. Most of them just stumbled upon it or landed up in such courses by sheer elimination of other options. Today, the entire scenario has changed and many students specifically choose the humanities stream in Class XI & XII and are keen to explore it further. There are also those who typically join the Science or Commerce stream, and towards the end of their schooling, decide that they are passionate about pursuing a degree in the humanities.
What is the humanities stream all about? It encompasses the study of diverse subjects falling under arts, languages and research techniques. Thus, a degree in the humanities will entail studying subjects such as history, political science, philosophy, economics, literature, performing arts and similar subjects.
More often than not, a degree or a postgraduate programme in the humanities serves as a platform to “discover” a student’s innate yearning for a particular branch of study, say, Creative Writing or Health Economics. These UG and PG programmes in Humanities are neither narrow in scope nor limited in opportunities; rather, they offer a wide and expansive scope for research and higher studies in a range of subjects.
Career options
The humanities is an emerging field in India, and one of the fastest growing, too. However, students are sometimes hesitant to apply to a programme as they are not quite aware of what lies ahead after completion of a five-year integrated programme. Here are some pointers.
Civil Services: A five-year MA programme offers a perfect platform for those inclined towards a career in the Indian Administration Services (IAS). Wide exposure to subjects such as economics, logic, law, mathematics and statistics, English gives them an edge in the CSAT examination leading to IAS.
Journalism: As the curriculum of most Humanities programmes involve the study of English at a higher level, exposure to creative writing coupled with opportunities to edit newsletters and journals help students to spot their journalistic leanings and kindle their enthusiasm to pursue a career in journalism.
Banking and related sectors: Students who like subjects such as statistics, risk analysis, management and economics can seek careers in economic policy formulation and research, especially in RBI, NABARD, IRDA and research institutions.
International organisations: Opportunities are plenty for those who graduate with specialisation in Developmental Studies in organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP, Amnesty International, and so on, as project heads, programme directors for their varied projects undertaken in India and abroad.
NGOs: The role played by NGOs world over towards uplifting the quality of lives of the lower income groups and disadvantaged sections of society in many developing nations is widely recognised today and has thrown open a vast array of work opportunities for those with a specialisation in development studies.
Consultancy firms: Top consultancy firms such as Mckenzie, Price Water Coopers, Frost & Sullivan and Goldman Sachs are perpetually on a lookout for dynamic, young postgraduates with a strong economics and research background for various openings in their organisations. High salaries and a challenging work environment are the hallmarks of this career.
Higher studies: With an excellent grounding in multi-disciplinary subjects, students emerging from this course find it easy to choose their specialisation and also the best university across the globe for doing a doctorate programme.
Some institutes where one can study humanities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels are — IIT Madras, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, English and Foreign Languages University, Azim Premji University, and University of Hyderabad.
Special focus
If one wants to pursue a specialised course, the department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Madras has a five-year programme titled ‘Integrated M.A in Humanities.’ This course, which can be taken up after Class XII, has opened up vistas for students broadly interested in the humanities, but are unsure of the particular subject they are interested in pursuing as a career. This course is multi-disciplinary with a number of electives and offers two major specialisations —English and Developmental Studies. It has become popular with students as they get to choose their electives and freely explore subjects. The programme involves studying a couple of foreign languages and opportunities to sharpen their research and mathematical skills.
Students who are interested in pursuing this M.A. programme have to write an online entrance test (Humanities and Social Sciences Entrance Examination) conducted by IIT Madras in April. Admissions to the course are based on the results of this test. This admission test comprises MCQ questions on English, elementary mathematics and analytical reasoning, general knowledge which includes economics, history and society, environment and ecology and contemporary world affairs. The entrance test also includes an essay on a general topic. This year, the HSEE-2016 examination will be conducted on April 17.
The writer is a trainer at Sriram Law Academy, Chennai
Source: The Hindu, 29-03-2016
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Technology will be the great unifier of government programmes


The Budget this year is a milestone for the Central government. It addresses issues relating to Bharat with time-bound pro-poor, pro-farmer programmes, creates productive capacity through public investment without cutting expenditure, and provides a roadmap to a stable and transparent tax regime. The government has shown its commitment to ‘minimum government, maximum governance’, using ‘technology’ as the catalyst.
The Digital India programme augments the priority areas around the rural sector, skills, job creation, and financial sector reforms identified in the Budget. A Digital First ecosystem is being created, and in it the government is a major user of technology for rolling out schemes, project management, data empowerment and government-to-citizen interfaces.
With Aadhaar receiving legislative backing, the Narendra Modi government has shown its commitment to move to a single number-linked platform to ensure that the benefits reach the deserving. The passage of the Bill shows the government’s commitment to use technology to fix the plumbing and reduce leakages from the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
The seeding of the Aadhaar number in various government-to-citizen databases and strengthening the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile framework for developing social security platforms are transformative. After a successful rollout of direct benefits transfer (DBT) for LPG, the government is encouraged to introduce DBT on a pilot basis for fertilisers in a few districts across the country.
A Unified Agricultural Marketing e-Platform has been proposed to provide a common e-market for wholesale markets, which will connect up to 250 ‘mandis’ by September this year, and another 335 by March 2018. This is in line with the goal of doubling farm income in the next five years. To ensure that the benefits of technology reach the grassroots, a Digital Literacy Mission Scheme has been announced to cover 60 million additional households in three years.
With the revamping of the National Land Record Modernisation Programme, the major components of computerising land records mutations, digitising maps and integrating textual and spatial data, updating all survey and settlement records, computerising registration and its integration with the land records maintenance system will be linked to Aadhaar. This will lead to better tax realisation and help in dispute resolution, better credit facilities, etc.
A Financial Data Management Centre is to be set up and it will help in streamlining tax collections and act as a hub for recording and analysing the data collected. The continued emphasis on self-certifications and e-assessment will also pass on the benefits of technology efficiency to the citizens as well as overloaded government departments.
Harnessing the power of the JAM trinity, payments infrastructure, paperless culture, big data and internet technologies, both horizontally and vertically within the government, can transform processes and result in knowledge-based governance. While the challenges faced by governments are colossal, these technologies provide opportunities for enhancing the power of the government to take decisions and provide transparent, cost-effective, accountable, time-bound solutions and services to its citizens and businesses.
Source: Hindustan Times, 29-03-2016
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Remain Still & Constant


The tree is mostly unchanging while everything around it changes. In the spring, there are freshly formed buds. In summer, the tree is bedecked with rich green leaves. Then, in autumn, the leaves turn to red, orange, yellow and golden colours. As winter approaches, leaves fall off revealing the branches and limbs of the tree.
Although the outer dress changes, the tree remains fairly fixed. The constancy of the tree provides an instructive lesson. Success on the spiritual path rests on stilling the mind. We need stillness to meditate successfully . Meditation is a process of focusing on the Light and Sound within.

If we are like the tree, then thoughts can come and go around us like the changing seasons, yet we remain unaffected. No matter what season we experience in our life, we need to be like the tree, unchanging and constant, with our attention fixed on God during our meditations. We may experience daily fluctuations.

One day , we are the beneficiary of good fortune, and the next day , ill-luck comes our way . Or there are ups and downs in relationships. Our emotions are on a roller coaster as we go from joy to pain.When we cannot find a solution, the mind conjures up one reason after another to explain things. Let us not be sidetracked by the mind. If we can still our mind, no matter what is going on, we will find quick progress in meditation and attain the goal of God-realisation.
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Half of working women take fin decisions on their own, says survey
Vipashana V K & Reeba Zachariah
Mumbai:
TNN


Not long ago, most working women were mere signatories to investment products chosen by their fathers or husbands. But now, more than half of them make their own financial decisions. The percentage of women making investment decisions independently has jumped from 37% three years ago to 52%, shows data from Nielsen.Vinita Shekhar (name changed), a 25-year-old event management professional who has been working for three years, had been relying on her banker father to invest her money . This year, she decided to take charge of her money and draft her own investments, with some advice from her father on tax-saving mutual fund schemes.
Vinita joins the growing number of women professionals who own and manage a host of financial products from the basic recurring deposits to the complicated demat accounts.
This money management by women has been influenced by various factors like increased awareness spread by financial product companies through advertisements and other nitiatives, companies educa ing employees on tax planning and peer encouragement. In ernet has also aided women with their investments as it al ows them to research and zero n on schemes fit for them.
In comparison, nearly 80% of the men decide on how and where to park their money .Though the percentage of wor king women managing their fi nances started at a low rate, i has seen a steady rise from 37% in fiscal 2013 to 41% in fiscal 2014 and now to 52% in fiscal 2015 according to Nielsen.
“Women financial advisers have boosted the growth of wo men making their own invest ments,“ said Ajit Menon, head strategy , Tata Asset Manage ment. “The women financia advisers help them draft long term wealth creation as well as accord for expenses such as children's education.“
Interestingly , women from non-finance background are be coming more proactive with their investments. “I'm increasingly seeing women architects, creative professionals, consultants and advertising executives coming forth to manage their money ,“ said Sujata Kabraji, a women-focused financial adviser.
Kabraji said that women play safe with their money , opting for fixed deposits and taxfree bonds. “It takes a while to show them how to build a corpus but once that is done, they are good at it as they are disciplined and practical.“
Financial services industry observers pointed that the proportion of sole decision-makers among working women is significantly higher among single, divorced and widowed.
The rising trend proves that women no longer blindly sign the dotted line-they decide on the financial scheme before subscribing to it. As Harsha Kavin, an executive with a leading IT firm, asks, “I take decisions at work, why not with my finances.“
Source: Times of India, 29-03-2016
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Dispelling Fear Is An Act Of Compassion
Sudhamahi Regunathan


What causes fear? A feeling of not being good enough, a feeling of insecurity with espect to a more powerful being, gnorance of the rules that operate in he world, the possibility of losing material wealth or relationships, the apprehension of being called to own up or a wrong, a revengeful enemy , the crying ache of lust. All these feelings ause or bring in their wake, exploitation.And this gives birth to fear.Jainism believes removal of all fear, known as abhayadanam, is the highest quality , greatest charity and best action ... the supreme manifestation of compassion.
Compassion is interchangeably called daya, anukampa, karunya, dana or maitri and each term has its own specific conno ations and some overlapping commona ity. Essentially they all indicate empathy with the other, a close appreciation of the other's pain, being moved by it, alleviating it by donating something and nurturing universal love towards all. Compassion is present in any of the above ideas or a combination of them.
Compassion forms the very basis of faith. The reason why dispelling of fear is considered paramount is because every soul is equal. So to cause harm to another is to cause harm to oneself. It is disrespecting the universality of the soul.Even if it be an insect or a plant.
Jaina compassion caused monks to study non-human life in such detail that they have classified them as having one, two, three, four or five senses.Further, they all also have a soul which desires to live: `To each, his life is dear'. Even the cockroach that you spray against or the mosquito that you slap dead, desires to live just as much as you or i do. Therefore it is that one finds many goshalas and bird hospitals set up by Jainas. Jainas have been leaders in setting up medical services for animals.Jaina idea of compassion goes beyond human life to all living beings. Though this is contained in their concept of ahimsa, it is more than ahimsa for it is an understanding and a true appreciation of other life ... it is not limited to just refraining from doing harm.
It may appear obvious to many , but the subtle difference in understanding compassion in the Jaina world arises because it talks about compassion at the level of the soul. To recognise that one should not cause fear and that everyone should be able to live free, s an understanding of the equality of one soul with other souls. And souls look after each other's interest. It is said souls render service to one another. The core act involved in this kind of compassion is to spread the word of restraint ... do not be led by temptation to commit remiss such that you fall low in the type of birth you may get in the next births and lose all the merits you have so far acquired. That is why much importance is given to listening to wise words, to the sermons of monks and nuns for it is generally they who direct erring followers.
Sometimes it can happen the other way round too, as in the case of a monk who was doing penance in a dancing girl's house. He was actually testing his will power and steadfastness, but lo, the charms of the lady soon made him forget that. Even as lust was overtaking his spiritual inclinations, the lady rebuked him in such a manner that he became conscious of his folly and got back to the path of rectitude. The courtesan had been compassionate to the monk of several years.

Source: Times of India, 29-03-2016
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Monday, March 28, 2016

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents


Vol. 51, Issue No. 13, 26 Mar, 2016

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