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Illicit liquor kills the poor, but most culpable is the short-sighted excise policy.
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On 25 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met more than 500 heads of urban local bodies from all over the country. The New Delhi meeting was also an occasion to unveil flagship schemes for “rejuvenating urban centres” in the country....
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Friday, July 10, 2015
High prices of food lead to malnutrition, says study
High food prices result in malnutrition in India, says a study done on children from Andhra Pradesh.
The research published in the Journal of Nutrition says spikes in food prices during the last global recession were associated with a higher risk of malnutrition among Indian children.
The researchers from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the University of Oxford, with a team from Stanford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined the children who experienced “wasting”, a widely-used measure of malnutrition that shows a child has a lower-than-expected weight given their height. This is based on the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The researchers have used survey data from a sample of 1,918 children from poor, middle-income, and wealthy households living in the state, since 2002 for a longitudinal study on child poverty.
The researchers observed progress in child nutrition between 2002 and 2006 when the proportion of wasted children in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh fell slightly from 19 per cent to 18 per cent. However, this improvement had reversed by 2009 when 28 per cent of children were wasting—an increase of 10 percentage points compared with 2006. This was after high inflation in food prices, beginning in 2007 and continuing through 2009.
The researchers found that children’s food consumption dropped significantly between 2006 and 2009 as food prices increased. There were corresponding increases in wasting among children from poor and middle-income households, but not high-income households between 2006 and 2009. The paper suggests this supports the theory that poorer households have the smallest food reserves and are therefore hardest hit by rising food prices.
The researchers examined interview data from each household on food expenditure based on 15-day periods in 2006 and 2009 across eight food categories (rice, wheat, legumes, meat, fish, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables). To examine the rise in food prices, the researchers used monthly price records collected by the Government of India.
Lead author of the study from PHFI, Sukumar Vellakkal, said that these findings suggest that poorer households face the greatest risk of malnutrition, in spite of the public distribution system, which provides subsidised food to a large proportion of the population. Better targeting of food security policies may be necessary to meet the needs of India’s most vulnerable households, he added.
Study co-author Jasmine Fledderjohann, of the University of Oxford, said, “Our findings show a sharp increase in wasting associated with food price spikes. It is possible that this rise would have been even greater without governmental programmes like the Public Distribution Scheme or the Midday Meal Scheme, which provides free meals to school children. It’s important to recognise that households may try a number of strategies to cope with rising food prices, such as going without, or switching to low-cost alternatives. More detailed research is needed in this area.”
The research published in the Journal of Nutrition says spikes in food prices during the last global recession were associated with a higher risk of malnutrition among Indian children.
The researchers from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the University of Oxford, with a team from Stanford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined the children who experienced “wasting”, a widely-used measure of malnutrition that shows a child has a lower-than-expected weight given their height. This is based on the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The researchers have used survey data from a sample of 1,918 children from poor, middle-income, and wealthy households living in the state, since 2002 for a longitudinal study on child poverty.
The researchers observed progress in child nutrition between 2002 and 2006 when the proportion of wasted children in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh fell slightly from 19 per cent to 18 per cent. However, this improvement had reversed by 2009 when 28 per cent of children were wasting—an increase of 10 percentage points compared with 2006. This was after high inflation in food prices, beginning in 2007 and continuing through 2009.
The researchers found that children’s food consumption dropped significantly between 2006 and 2009 as food prices increased. There were corresponding increases in wasting among children from poor and middle-income households, but not high-income households between 2006 and 2009. The paper suggests this supports the theory that poorer households have the smallest food reserves and are therefore hardest hit by rising food prices.
The researchers examined interview data from each household on food expenditure based on 15-day periods in 2006 and 2009 across eight food categories (rice, wheat, legumes, meat, fish, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables). To examine the rise in food prices, the researchers used monthly price records collected by the Government of India.
Lead author of the study from PHFI, Sukumar Vellakkal, said that these findings suggest that poorer households face the greatest risk of malnutrition, in spite of the public distribution system, which provides subsidised food to a large proportion of the population. Better targeting of food security policies may be necessary to meet the needs of India’s most vulnerable households, he added.
Study co-author Jasmine Fledderjohann, of the University of Oxford, said, “Our findings show a sharp increase in wasting associated with food price spikes. It is possible that this rise would have been even greater without governmental programmes like the Public Distribution Scheme or the Midday Meal Scheme, which provides free meals to school children. It’s important to recognise that households may try a number of strategies to cope with rising food prices, such as going without, or switching to low-cost alternatives. More detailed research is needed in this area.”
Solutions can come from the slums
Urban planning that involves the people and alternative service providers gives far better results than top-down efforts from the government, finds an IIT-M study
In Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, the responsibility of managing and maintaining a set of more than 160 community toilets was handed over by the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation to a federation of women self-help groups. A post-programme field survey of 803 households revealed that the community participation had resulted in the public toilets being far better maintained, with improved community hygiene, reduced open defecation and an increased number of toilet users than has been the case with similar public toilets elsewhere. The same results are seen with NGOs working in Chennai slums in Kalyanapuram, Sivarajapuram, Semmanchery, Thuraipakkam, and Kodungaiyur, where the community has been involved in water and sanitation programmes.
Clearly, wherever slum development programmes have involved the community at various levels, it has generated a sense of ownership over the project, and has helped ensure its success.
As the government tries to promote the concept of Swachh Bharat, the road ahead might be to use less government interventions and more community participation. And one of the places where the work has to begin is in the rapidly mushrooming number of slums. With unprecedented urbanisation, city slums are growing at an alarming rate. According to Census 2011, the slum population in India makes up 18.3 per cent of the total urban population. In absolute terms, the slum population is projected to increase from 93.1 million in 2001 to 104.7 million in 2017.
One of the characteristic features of a slum is the lack of access to basic services as compared to non-slum areas. The glaring inequality between slums and other city settlements can have serious repercussions on the societal fabric. Robert McNamara, World Bank President from 1968 to 1981, said, “If cities do not begin to deal more constructively with poverty, poverty may begin to deal more destructively with cities.” Unfortunately, providing access to basic services in slums is progressively becoming a political agenda rather than a social one. The dramatic victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections this year is proof of that.
While everyone agrees that living conditions in slums need drastic improvement, the big question is how to achieve this. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) demand fresh approaches that can ensure universal access to basic services. A recent study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has used 248 instances collected from various slum development initiatives to analyse just what works in urban planning and what does not. The results were interesting and insightful.
Easing access
Traditionally, all urban planning has adopted a top-down approach, attempting to solve the problem of access to basic services by simply providing the services and the connections to them. While this method serves the needs of political book-keeping, a more holistic approach is needed for long-term results. Access is not just about providing connections, but also about the services being affordable, adequate and durable. Further, the residents of slums should not be expected to spend laborious time and effort to access basic services. The IIT-M study showed that the involvement of alternative service providers such as non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations (CBOs) in service delivery showed far better results than the traditional route.
Traditionally, all urban planning has adopted a top-down approach, attempting to solve the problem of access to basic services by simply providing the services and the connections to them. While this method serves the needs of political book-keeping, a more holistic approach is needed for long-term results. Access is not just about providing connections, but also about the services being affordable, adequate and durable. Further, the residents of slums should not be expected to spend laborious time and effort to access basic services. The IIT-M study showed that the involvement of alternative service providers such as non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations (CBOs) in service delivery showed far better results than the traditional route.
Why is this so? The findings from the study provided several explanations. In the traditional public provision model, the planning and positioning of infrastructure is quite ad hoc. This results in overuse of infrastructure, which leads to disrepair or abandonment of the infrastructure itself. In contrast, NGOs and CBOs use a bottom-up approach to planning, construction and maintenance of infrastructure. This model vastly improves access. By paying adequate attention to the needs to the community, alternative service providers have adopted innovative and cost-effective designs to provide better access to service. And, most important, there has been an effort to maintain the facility to ensure that infrastructure is always available. For instance, Mahila Milan, the National Slum Dwellers Federation, and the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres have joined hands in Mumbai to adopt cost-effective designs and materials to create well-ventilated toilets with sufficient running water and lighting.
All projects by alternative service providers have not been equally successful. Why do some projects have better outcomes than others? The analysis shows that wherever there has been greater community participation, the results have been positive. Second, such projects have simultaneously trained the community members in planning, design and maintenance of the infrastructure, so that they may take over the running of the projects over time.
Rights of the informal
Without security of tenure and legal status, slum residents cannot demand the provision of basic services from the government. And, according to the 2011 Census, 36 per cent of all slums are “informal” or “unrecognised”, denying their occupants the most basic government infrastructure. What goes unrecognised is the fact that these people might be illegal settlers but they are rightful citizens of the country. Government agencies hesitate to provide any form of infrastructural access to such slums since it could lead them to claim de facto tenure security. Slum residents, for their part, cannot and do not invest their own resources in building infrastructure because there is always the impending threat of displacement. They opt instead for illegal connections that are expensive and unreliable.
Without security of tenure and legal status, slum residents cannot demand the provision of basic services from the government. And, according to the 2011 Census, 36 per cent of all slums are “informal” or “unrecognised”, denying their occupants the most basic government infrastructure. What goes unrecognised is the fact that these people might be illegal settlers but they are rightful citizens of the country. Government agencies hesitate to provide any form of infrastructural access to such slums since it could lead them to claim de facto tenure security. Slum residents, for their part, cannot and do not invest their own resources in building infrastructure because there is always the impending threat of displacement. They opt instead for illegal connections that are expensive and unreliable.
This is where alternative service providers play a big role. They can work in informal slums and low-income groups, since their involvement does not affect or confer legal status on the slums. In some cases, they have in fact leveraged their position to negotiate with the government authorities to seek legal connections that could eventually change the status of the slums.
The government has an ambitious target of making India slum-free by 2020. Under the Rajiv Awas Yojana, which comes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, and some other programmes, more than $20 billion dollars was planned as investment to realise this goal. The World Bank, for one, doesn’t seem to think this is possible — it estimates that long after 2020, nearly 200 million Indians could be living in slums, up from the current 90 million. This prognosis makes it all the more urgent that instead of relying on tried and tested methods, we try new approaches. While the top-down approach to urban planning may be necessary, it is not sufficient in itself. It needs to additionally take advantage of the complementary strengths of NGOs and the wider community to get better results. Such a partnership approach may not give speedy results, but it can create lasting facilities. And that’s what finally matters.
(Thillai Rajan A. is a Professor, Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, and Sriharini Narayanan is a Project Officer at IIT Madras.)
Vedanta - Good Global Governance
BAHA'I WRITINGS
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Growing numbers of people today have become cynical about their governmental systems.An alternative to these trends can be found in the experience of the Baha'i community . Baha'is have established a distinctive system of global selfgovernance that protects personal freedom and safeguards the prerogatives of the community , striking a singular balance between individual initiative and the common good.Utilising a combination of freely elected councils and a complementary institution of appointed advisers, the system is far more `democratic' than the methods by which most parliaments or other representational systems operate. The decision-making process too g process too is distinctive.Known as consultation, its method is non-adversarial, seeking to build unity of purpose by encouraging free expression of views and by striving for consensus based on established principles.
This system consists of elected councils, operating at global, national and local levels.The membership is drawn from the people, the institutions are vested by the Baha'i sacred writings with legislative, judicial and executive functions. The system is composed of individuals appointed for the purposes of propagating and protecting the Baha'i faith operating under the guidance of the head of the faith, counsel and encourage individual Baha'is and elected institutions.
They play a vital role in assisting community plans, promoting learning, fostering individual initiative, encouraging individual freedom and diversity of expression, while ensuring the protection of the faith against schism.
This system consists of elected councils, operating at global, national and local levels.The membership is drawn from the people, the institutions are vested by the Baha'i sacred writings with legislative, judicial and executive functions. The system is composed of individuals appointed for the purposes of propagating and protecting the Baha'i faith operating under the guidance of the head of the faith, counsel and encourage individual Baha'is and elected institutions.
They play a vital role in assisting community plans, promoting learning, fostering individual initiative, encouraging individual freedom and diversity of expression, while ensuring the protection of the faith against schism.
the speaking tree - The Traditional Culture Of Self-Restraint
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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Fasting, in some form or the other, is part of every religion. In Islam it is called `roza'. The Arabic equivalent of roza is `sawm'. Sawm literally means abstinence, that is, to refrain from doing something. The ninth month of the Hijri calendar, that is, Ramzan, has been especially chosen for fasting. Fasting during the month of Ramzan is obligatory for every Muslim, except when he has a genuine reason not to do so.In every human being there are two faculties to take into consideration: one is desire and the other is reason. In all matters, the individual has to decide whether to follow his desire or his reason. The great merit in fasting is that it trains us to refrain from following our desires and instead always to bow to reason. That is the spirit of sawm.
According to the Prophet of Islam, one who fasts should never stoop to us ing abusive language; if someone abuses him, he should simply say `I am fasting'. Islamic fasting, as far as formal practice is concerned, is to abstain from food and drink. But the actual spirit of fasting is to refrain from indulging in negative thinking and the use of negative language.
Self-control, far from being a negative or passive action, has great value in human behaviour. In life, there are more than 50% of occasions when one should refrain from action, and less than 50% of occasions when one should take action. This is the formula for success for both individuals and society . Self-control is integral to social ethics. If you live alone spe on an island, there is no need tr for any control, as the absence of others leaves you free to do whatever you want to do. However, when you are living in a society, you have to give leeway to others. This is what every person on the road does when he drives a car: he either keeps to the left (or to the right depending upon which country he is in) so that he gives way to other cars and can carry on his journey without accidents. This principle is applicable to the entire life of an individual. It entails giving others the chance to live their lives while living one's own life.
Self-control is a kind of mutual adjustment. When a person adopts the way of self-control, it is far-reac hing in its effects. In this way he promotes the culture of self-control in e society and indicates to others king through his actions that they should follow the path that he e is following. Thus, the way of self-control leads to a better society , while lack of self-control in individuals leads to the destruction of peace.As far as the individual is concerned, self-control serves as a means of personality development. This way of life, in turn, saves others from unnecessary problems.
There is a `pre-control' for exercising self-control, and that is, thinking.When a person adopts a life of selfcontrol, at all times he first thinks about what path he should tread. Only after considerable thought does he plan out his course of action. A life lived in this way will necessarily be marked by creative thinking. In addition, self-control contributes to one's intellectual development and turns one into a man of wisdom.
In Islam, fasting is worship for God. Fasting is the kind of worship which is simultaneously for the sake of God and man. Thus, if fasting is observed in the right spirit, in all sincerity , it will make an individual pious and responsible.
According to the Prophet of Islam, one who fasts should never stoop to us ing abusive language; if someone abuses him, he should simply say `I am fasting'. Islamic fasting, as far as formal practice is concerned, is to abstain from food and drink. But the actual spirit of fasting is to refrain from indulging in negative thinking and the use of negative language.
Self-control, far from being a negative or passive action, has great value in human behaviour. In life, there are more than 50% of occasions when one should refrain from action, and less than 50% of occasions when one should take action. This is the formula for success for both individuals and society . Self-control is integral to social ethics. If you live alone spe on an island, there is no need tr for any control, as the absence of others leaves you free to do whatever you want to do. However, when you are living in a society, you have to give leeway to others. This is what every person on the road does when he drives a car: he either keeps to the left (or to the right depending upon which country he is in) so that he gives way to other cars and can carry on his journey without accidents. This principle is applicable to the entire life of an individual. It entails giving others the chance to live their lives while living one's own life.
Self-control is a kind of mutual adjustment. When a person adopts the way of self-control, it is far-reac hing in its effects. In this way he promotes the culture of self-control in e society and indicates to others king through his actions that they should follow the path that he e is following. Thus, the way of self-control leads to a better society , while lack of self-control in individuals leads to the destruction of peace.As far as the individual is concerned, self-control serves as a means of personality development. This way of life, in turn, saves others from unnecessary problems.
There is a `pre-control' for exercising self-control, and that is, thinking.When a person adopts a life of selfcontrol, at all times he first thinks about what path he should tread. Only after considerable thought does he plan out his course of action. A life lived in this way will necessarily be marked by creative thinking. In addition, self-control contributes to one's intellectual development and turns one into a man of wisdom.
In Islam, fasting is worship for God. Fasting is the kind of worship which is simultaneously for the sake of God and man. Thus, if fasting is observed in the right spirit, in all sincerity , it will make an individual pious and responsible.
the speaking tree - The Traditional Culture Of Self-Restraint
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
|
Fasting, in some form or the other, is part of every religion. In Islam it is called `roza'. The Arabic equivalent of roza is `sawm'. Sawm literally means abstinence, that is, to refrain from doing something. The ninth month of the Hijri calendar, that is, Ramzan, has been especially chosen for fasting. Fasting during the month of Ramzan is obligatory for every Muslim, except when he has a genuine reason not to do so.In every human being there are two faculties to take into consideration: one is desire and the other is reason. In all matters, the individual has to decide whether to follow his desire or his reason. The great merit in fasting is that it trains us to refrain from following our desires and instead always to bow to reason. That is the spirit of sawm.
According to the Prophet of Islam, one who fasts should never stoop to us ing abusive language; if someone abuses him, he should simply say `I am fasting'. Islamic fasting, as far as formal practice is concerned, is to abstain from food and drink. But the actual spirit of fasting is to refrain from indulging in negative thinking and the use of negative language.
Self-control, far from being a negative or passive action, has great value in human behaviour. In life, there are more than 50% of occasions when one should refrain from action, and less than 50% of occasions when one should take action. This is the formula for success for both individuals and society . Self-control is integral to social ethics. If you live alone spe on an island, there is no need tr for any control, as the absence of others leaves you free to do whatever you want to do. However, when you are living in a society, you have to give leeway to others. This is what every person on the road does when he drives a car: he either keeps to the left (or to the right depending upon which country he is in) so that he gives way to other cars and can carry on his journey without accidents. This principle is applicable to the entire life of an individual. It entails giving others the chance to live their lives while living one's own life.
Self-control is a kind of mutual adjustment. When a person adopts the way of self-control, it is far-reac hing in its effects. In this way he promotes the culture of self-control in e society and indicates to others king through his actions that they should follow the path that he e is following. Thus, the way of self-control leads to a better society , while lack of self-control in individuals leads to the destruction of peace.As far as the individual is concerned, self-control serves as a means of personality development. This way of life, in turn, saves others from unnecessary problems.
There is a `pre-control' for exercising self-control, and that is, thinking.When a person adopts a life of selfcontrol, at all times he first thinks about what path he should tread. Only after considerable thought does he plan out his course of action. A life lived in this way will necessarily be marked by creative thinking. In addition, self-control contributes to one's intellectual development and turns one into a man of wisdom.
In Islam, fasting is worship for God. Fasting is the kind of worship which is simultaneously for the sake of God and man. Thus, if fasting is observed in the right spirit, in all sincerity , it will make an individual pious and responsible.
According to the Prophet of Islam, one who fasts should never stoop to us ing abusive language; if someone abuses him, he should simply say `I am fasting'. Islamic fasting, as far as formal practice is concerned, is to abstain from food and drink. But the actual spirit of fasting is to refrain from indulging in negative thinking and the use of negative language.
Self-control, far from being a negative or passive action, has great value in human behaviour. In life, there are more than 50% of occasions when one should refrain from action, and less than 50% of occasions when one should take action. This is the formula for success for both individuals and society . Self-control is integral to social ethics. If you live alone spe on an island, there is no need tr for any control, as the absence of others leaves you free to do whatever you want to do. However, when you are living in a society, you have to give leeway to others. This is what every person on the road does when he drives a car: he either keeps to the left (or to the right depending upon which country he is in) so that he gives way to other cars and can carry on his journey without accidents. This principle is applicable to the entire life of an individual. It entails giving others the chance to live their lives while living one's own life.
Self-control is a kind of mutual adjustment. When a person adopts the way of self-control, it is far-reac hing in its effects. In this way he promotes the culture of self-control in e society and indicates to others king through his actions that they should follow the path that he e is following. Thus, the way of self-control leads to a better society , while lack of self-control in individuals leads to the destruction of peace.As far as the individual is concerned, self-control serves as a means of personality development. This way of life, in turn, saves others from unnecessary problems.
There is a `pre-control' for exercising self-control, and that is, thinking.When a person adopts a life of selfcontrol, at all times he first thinks about what path he should tread. Only after considerable thought does he plan out his course of action. A life lived in this way will necessarily be marked by creative thinking. In addition, self-control contributes to one's intellectual development and turns one into a man of wisdom.
In Islam, fasting is worship for God. Fasting is the kind of worship which is simultaneously for the sake of God and man. Thus, if fasting is observed in the right spirit, in all sincerity , it will make an individual pious and responsible.
Jul 10 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
73 IIT-Roorkee students expelled for poor grades
In an unprecedented action for any IIT, the institute at Roorkee on Thursday expelled 73 students who failed to secure the minimum grade in the first year of BTech, reports Shivani Saxena.Parents had, at the time of admission, signed a declaration agreeing to expulsion of students if they performed poorly . Students are required to score a minimum CGPA (cumulative grade point average) of 5 in their exams.“These 73 students could not attain the required credits and had CGPAs lower than 5, which qualifies for expulsion,“ the institute's registrar, Prashant Garg, said.
Students have been expelled from IITs but taken back eventually , except in one instance each in IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Kanpur.
Students have been expelled from IITs but taken back eventually , except in one instance each in IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Kanpur.
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