Jul 20 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Farmer suicides actually up if old methodology is used

Deeptiman Tiwary

New Delhi TNN





The government could have patted itself on the back after National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, released on Friday , showed that farmer suicides had dropped by 50% in 2014 compared to 2013. However, a study of the data shows that farmer suicides -if counted on the basis of victims' profession as was the case earlier -have actually increased in 2014.This could be particularly embarrassing for both the Centre and state governments as since 2009, farmer suicides have consistently decreased. From over 17,000 in 2009, the figure dropped to over 11,000 in 2013. In 2014, however, this figure -using the same methodology -would stand at over 12,000.
So how did NCRB reach a figure of 5,650 farmer suicides in 2014, registering a decline of over 50%? There is no fudging though. Earlier, the definition of a farmer included land owner, those tilling land on lease and agricultural labour. This year, the government chose to take farm labour out of the ambit of farmer suicide. This took 6,710 labourers who committed suicide last year out of the farmer suicide count.
To be fair, this is the first time that the government got specific data collected on farmer suicides. Earlier, suicides were recorded under various `profession' heads and this included farming. This exercise never collected any data on reasons for such suicide. In 2014, such data was sought from states and compiled to assess whether agrarian crisis led to farmer suicides -which has often been used as a direct reflection of farm distress.
According to the latest data, actual farmer suicides due to agrarian crisis (including crop failure and indebtedness) stood at merely 2,281.This would be less than 20% of the total suicides committed by farmers and labourers and less than 50% of total farmer suicides last year.
It must be noted here that states have often been accused of not collecting data properly.For example, unless a farmer mentions crop loss or debt in his suicide note as the reason for suicide, the administration does not record it as suicide related to farm distress. It was in this context that Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis recently announced that all farmer suicides would be considered as due to farm distress and compensation released. The new data, however, has many positives as it shows that those tilling land on lease are less likely to commit suicide compared to the actual land owner. Of 5,650 farmers who committed suicide in 2014, 4,949 were land owners. Only 701 were tilling land on lease.
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In debt trap, two K'taka farmers consume poison
Two farmers from North Karnataka killed themselves on Sunday after they were caught in a debt trap.One was from Kalghatagi (Dharwad) and the other from Chinnamulgund (Haveri).
Both Ningappa Gudihal, 22, of Tavargeri village in Kalghatagi and Ramappa Lamani, 55, of Chinnamulagund tanda, Haveri consumed poison on Saturday and died in hospital on Sunday.

Jul 20 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Survey: Even among skilled workers, joblessness is high

Subodh Varma





`14.5% End Up Without Work After Training'

The NDA government has retooled UPA 's skill upgrade plans for India and announced a more detailed, though slightly less ambitious, programme. The new target is to get 400 million Indians skilled by 2022. This would plug the “skills gap“, the government feels, and lead to more people getting better jobs. But, will a better skill set ensure jobs for millions?
The experience till now has not been very encouraging. Among those who got formal training in establishments like Industrial Training Institutes or other Skill Centres, the unemployment rate was high -at 14.5% -compared with 2.6% overall, according to a survey done by the Labour Bureau in 2014 and released this year.In a revealing breakdown of skills and the corresponding rate of unemployment, the survey found that except for a handful of trades like leather work, plumbing, motor driving and tourtravel operations, all other categories of skilled persons exhibited double-digit unemployment figures. Some of these are shocking: over a quarter of those who had done engineering diplomas in disciplines other than civil and computers were unemployed. Nearly 17% of those with textile-related training and over 14% with machine operator skills were without jobs.
Unless new jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector, are created, imparting skills to millions will not solve the problem, says IIT-Delhi's Jayan Jose Thomas, who has researched the Indian employment scenario extensively. Existing industry does face a skills gap. That's what entrepreneurs and industrialists keep telling me. So, imparting skills will help somewhat. But the primary thing is to have a policy for industrial growth that will create millions of new, decent job opportunities,“ he told TOI.
About 12 million people join the workforce every year in India. But an analysis of job growth over the past nearly two decades by Thomas, using NSSO and census data, shows that on an average, only 5.5 million new jobs have been added every year in this period.
Labour Bureau data shows that unemployment rates are higher among those with higher educational qualifications. While the overall unemployment rate was reported at 2.6% among the over-15 age population, for postgraduates, it was 8.9%, for graduates 8.7% and for diploma or certificate holders, 7.4%. Experts believe that this could be because qualified persons seek better wages and hence may remain unemployed for a longer period while seeking the best options.
Industrial employers often prefer to employ workers with no formal training but adequate experience over say ITI products, again because of wage issues. According to University of California, Santa Barbara's Aashish Mehta, who has studied the skill gap issue, the decision is more a commercial one than a skill level issue.
The average daily wage of an urban diploma holding worker was about Rs 524 for men and Rs 391 for women according to an NSSO report.Men who have studied up to senior secondary make 45% more and women 28% more.But compared to graduates, the diploma holder will get 56% less if male and around 54% less if female. This gives an indication of how employers will make choices, and may also hint at families making educational trajectory choices. The unemployment rates are higher among those with higher educational qualifications. Experts believe that this could be because qualified persons seek better wages and hence may remain unemployed for a longer period while seeking the best options

‘Give Nuanced Offering At Undergrad Level Itself’

His eyes, behind rectangular framed lenses, carry a wisdom and calm that find a mirror in his words. Having helmed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) for 10 years, S. Parasuraman says he does not want to be re-elected for a third term. The outgoing director hints that his next mission would be to take on journalism schools in India.

After engineering TISS’s growth in four campuses across the country and actively working with the government towards better service delivery for the poor, Parasuraman talks about the growing demand for development professionals, his experience in working with successive governments and the road ahead for social science education. Excerpts from an interview withPavithra S. Rangan:

Are humanities and liberal arts education on the decline in India? What is the global experience?

In India, liberal arts and humanities courses are given the least priority in universities. It is increasingly becoming difficult to have sustained growth of these disciplines. Teachers are difficult to come by and students who opt for these courses are few and far between. There has to be a consistent effort by the government to invest in both teachers and humanities education.

Globally, these courses are flourishing in a few leading established universities as they have a strong support base. When you have a nuanced offering where, beginning at the undergraduate level, there is exposure to basic sciences and humanities, it is possible that a larger number of students graduate in these disciplines. But here, we have a problem. The system already prioritises certain courses over others.

Recently, the autonomy of several leading educational institutions in the country, including the IITs and IIMs, has come under threat from the Union HRD ministry. Being funded completely by the government, has TISS faced any such problems?

“There was a delay in the review report on status of TISS programmes. This led to delay in allotment of funds too. Now, the flow of funds has resumed.”

In most institutions, even today, faculty is elected and their terms of service are decided by the govern­ing council and other bodies of that insti­tution. However, increasingly, the issues that are arising are those pertaining to leadership appointments. It is in electing those who will lead institutions, such as vice-chancellors, where we need a deliberative approach. Else, ideologically motivated individuals may get locked up in these positions.

In such a scenario, our struggle tow­ards strengthening education will have to be diverted to protecting the basic structure of functioning. The problem of appointing leaders is not new. These positions have always been under threat from the influential and financially powerful. We have never given due importance to scholarship in running institutes. Political factors often come to influence leadership in educational institutions. Fortunately, TISS has been an exception and has, so far, been safeguarded from this influence. We now have to be careful in order to ensure that these safeguards are not broken down.

TISS has always followed an action- and intervention-based model of education by partnering with governments on the implementation of various social sector schemes. What has been your experience with successive governments?

We initially began a fellowship with UNICEF where a few very talented, qualified youth, who work in the country’s interiors, were taken in. It received little external support. These fellows were called ‘development facilitators’. Today, this has become a fellowship called the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship (PMRDF). It has now been converted into a three-year MSc in Development Practice and the first batch of 2012 will graduate this year. When the new government came, it meant that this programme had to be reviewed, but thanks to its strengths, it was adopted by this government too. Ten students from the first batch have already been hired by the Andhra Pradesh government. Now different states, like Maharashtra, are starting the CMRDF on similar lines.

“Political factors, not scholarship, influence leadership. So our efforts to strengthen education get diverted to protect the basic structure of functioning.”

We make young people with high level of commitment work with the government, so that they can ensure that programmes are better implemented by involving locals in micro-level planning at the panchayat level. This then has a cascading effect on neighbouring villages.

However, there are challenges that cannot be ignored. While the programme has succeeded in most states, some governments, especially collectors and bureaucrats, do not deploy these youngsters in meaningful work. Also recently, one of our students has filed a case of sexual harassment and the concerned official has been dismissed. I am like a proud father of 300 children, who are working wonders in the most difficult of circumstances. But, as that father, I also spend sleepless nights worrying about their safety.

This government has delinked some centrally sponsored schemes and also reduced funding to several social sector schemes. Will this affect the work that TISS has taken up in several states?

The 14th Finance Commission has ensured greater allocation of funds to states. States now have an option to plan and deploy resources in a better manner. This can ensure that panchayats have a greater role in the planning process. However, the Centre will only succeed in its purpose if it builds the capacity of states to do so. The willingness and ability of states to invest meaningfully is the key challenge. If sufficient capacity is built, it will not affect the functioning of schemes in any manner.

You have always spoken about the need to increase the number of jobs in the social sector. The new government has an industry-friendly image. Are the two compatible?

The lower level bureaucracy in India is ill-equipped and incapable of coping with demands from the society. They lack the skill and training to act as executioners of government schemes. But when the state takes the role of a provider, it becomes essential for them to work with a wide range of capacities. People join at lower levels and consistently acquire promotion, and with them newer responsibilities. But they are not equipped to deal with these news roles. There is, therefore, a huge and critical need to support them. This role can only be filled by those trained in the social sciences and humanities. There is, therefore, a high demand for professionals in the social sector who can work with government functionaries as well as with the people to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability. Neither this government, nor any other government, can afford to neglect this demand. They do not have a choice as they need professionals who can channel government resources efficiently. As I see it, the government has a dearth of ‘development analysts’ who can create capacities among people to work for themselves. The main role of TISS is to produce high-quality professionals who can work with the bureaucracy, non-state actors and people to strengthen service delivery mechanisms at the grassroots.

What are the programmes which TISS and the government are currently focusing on?

“Issues that institutions take a stand on have to be scientific, backed by facts and have proof. We cannot make an individual’s stand an institution’s stand.”

We are actively working on the skill development programme, among others. However, this is not because of the change in government. The new government is building on what the previous government had already begun. They have now created a new ministry of skill development to better coordinate skilling efforts. TISS had taken up similar skilling efforts when we first set up our School of Vocational Education. We have identified 26 areas and developed a comprehensive curriculum. The course will ensure that candidates are equipped with act­ive, hands-on experience of what they learn as a part of the module. We had earlier taken it up with the ministry of youth affairs. Now, this effort will be expanded considerably.

We are focusing on skilling four broad groups of individuals: those whose traditional skills are becoming redundant with development; educated youth who are unemployed; self-help groups so that they have the ability to begin enterprises; and capacity building among government employees.

A section of students is disappointed that TISS as an institution has refrai­ned from taking a stand on crucial issues. For instance, RSS think-tanks have not been banned from campus placements.

Anyone who says TISS does not take a stand simply doesn’t know anything about the institution. We have taken a stand on everything, from Right to Education to Right to Food. We produce social activists and a take on fundamental issues of people that undermine people’s rights. We take a stand on issues that involve people’s welfare and security. We banned Nestle from recruiting students through campus placement because they were marketing milk powder for babies and spreading misinformation about breast milk. We took a stand that they were ‘baby killers’. We also banned Vedanta from our campus placements as they were compromising on human rights. Issues that institutions take a stand on have to be scientific, backed by facts and have proof. We cannot make every individual’s stand an institution’s stand and take note of issues that have no relevance.

TISS has been mired in controversies pertaining to cuts in funding, faculty appointments....

The media has reported widely that there was to be a review report about the status of programmes in TISS. However, this report was delayed and hence there was also a delay in the allotment of funds from the government. The flow of funds has now been resumed. And the opposition in TISS from a minority stems from individual inefficiencies and grievances for which an institution cannot be held responsible. This distinction has to be made and understood.

Higher education opportunities in Ireland

Ireland has become a popular destination for Indian students to pursue higher education.

Indian students have reached greener pastures, quite literally, in their pursuit for newer options for higher education. Ireland, with its picturesque villages, vibrant cities and the tag of being one of the friendliest countries in the world, has managed to convince a growing number of students in India that the grass is indeed greener on the other side.

Small country it maybe, but some aggressive marketing and promotional efforts have earned Ireland a sizeable population of Indian students in most of its well-known universities. Education in Ireland (the government organisation responsible for the development of Ireland's higher education sector in world markets) said there were over 23,000 international students enrolled in publicly funded institutions in Ireland in the academic year 2013-14.

This is said to be an increase of over 60 per cent compared with the figures in 2009-10. The highest number of international students in Ireland comes from six key places — India, China, U.S., Brazil, Malaysia and the Gulf. Indian students are heading to Irish universities mainly to study subjects such as computer science, business analytics, engineering, pharmacy, business, accounting and hospitality management.

Growing interest

“The number of Indian students studying in Ireland has risen particularly in the last five years due to an increased awareness of Ireland, its culture and the strong post study employment opportunities,” said Education in Ireland representatives.

The Indian students studying in Ireland, that The Hindu came across during a recent FAM trip to some Irish universities, seemed to agree. There were some pertinent points they put forth while explaining the reason behind their choosing Ireland over traditionally popular countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. And some of them had made their decision to go overseas pretty young.

Anchal Jain, who is in her first year of medicine at Trinity College Dublin, for instance, chose to head to Ireland as there was no entrance exam. Back home, she would have written a slew of them. Another undergraduate student, Siddharth Hitkari, studying business, economics and social studies, said the next thing on his mind is getting an MBA, and going abroad before that “made sense.” Una Condron, Senior International Recruitment Manager (Asia), University College Dublin (UCD), said that Indian parents look at three aspects while sending their children abroad to study: safety, cost and the standard of living.

Various choices

While varsities such as Dublin Business School, UCD, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology and National College of Ireland have their perks for being located in Dublin, those in other parts of Ireland, too, get their share of Indian students for different reasons. John Joe O’Farrell from the International Office of Waterford Institute of Technology, for instance, points out the lower cost of living in Waterford compared with Dublin, especially when it comes to accommodation.

Maynooth University, at the same time, touts its proximity to Dublin as one of the advantages, while still being away from the city. The wide range of courses too, such as at the National University of Galway, is a big draw for Indian students, along with the option of gaining professional experience. For instance, the University of Limerick offers a master’s programme in nursing studies wherein students can work part-time in a nursing home.

On the other hand, professors at the University College Cork point out how by being part of the European Union, students choosing to study in Ireland have the advantage of getting more opportunities to work.

The author was on a media familiarisation trip to Ireland.

Keywords: Higher education, Ireland, study in Ireland, University of Limerick, European Union, University College Cork

Manipur’s dilemma

The fear of every state with a predominant indigenous population was summed up thus by the Naga leader A.Z. Phizo: “Nagaland cannot accept the Indian excess population [as] our country is too small.”Many of the recent exclusivist outbursts in the northeastern States, including in Manipur, can be attributed to such a fear of losing ancestral land to “outsiders”. Manipur’s crisis intensified four months ago when its Congress-majority Legislative Assembly passed the Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenant and Migrant Workers’ Bill, 2015. It was opposed widely, including by women’s and students' groups, and even by a section of the ruling party. Eventually the Opposition became more united in demanding the withdrawal of the Bill, which failed to address their key concern of protecting the land rights of the original inhabitants. On July 14, the Bill was withdrawn by the Manipur government in a nod to the protesters’ demands. The united Opposition rather underscored the long-standing demand for the imposition of an Inner Line Permit system, as in a few other northeastern States. The ILP regime, introduced by the British to protect tribal populations from encroachment into their areas, but later used to advance commercial interests, involves a system akin to the issue of visas to Indian citizens to enter a State of the Union.

The dilemma of the Indian state over the ILP is understandable. Can the Union afford to introduce a quasi-visa to its citizens to enter one State from another State? The question could be complex for a central party that advocates the removal of all speed-breakers when it comes to citizens’ access to travel and work in her own country. The dilemma of Manipur is perhaps even more severe. The 2001 Census indicated the size of the migrant community was nearly as much as that of the dominant ethnic Meiteis, thus bolstering the demand from Manipur’s erudite civil society to impose curbs on inward movement. But there has also been out-migration of the indigenous people. The demand is sought to be substantiated by citing many examples that indicate how Manipuris are losing land to “extractive” non-Manipuri industries. The leasing out of “one-sixth of the total area” of Manipur for oil exploration and drilling to international oil majors, unthinkable in the other States, is one of many such examples. In this backdrop, a half-baked Bill was passed, that exacerbated the insecurity. The demand, though, is more legitimately a consequence of the hill-valley divide in the State and the congestion in the valley rather than any huge influx of outsiders. The situation is thus complex but not out-of-control. But the State should ensure that alien-investor-driven development does not disrobe its people. After all, they are supposed to benefit from the growth generated out of its own domestic resources.

Keywords: Inner Line Permit, Visitors Tenant and Migrant Workers’ Bill 2015, Northeaster states

Land Law in Search of Dumping Ground





Land cannot be left to the states without legislation

The strategy to let the states devise their own ways to acquire land, hinted at by the government after the meeting of the Niti Aayog governing council, might seem attractive in principle but resolves nothing in practice. As of now, the 2013 Act is in force. For a new regime to take effect, whether the 2015 law or of the new strategy of leaving everything to the states, the 2013 law will have to be repealed or superceded. That calls for legislation, with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha agreeing to make the change. Since this agreement is missing, all that the government's new so-called strategy amounts to is political disowning of a hot potato, putting any amendment to the law in cold storage for an indefinite period.In the meantime, it is to be noted that some significant acts of land acquisition have taken place or are taking place in some states. The government of Uttar Pradesh has acquired sufficient land to build an expressway between Agra and Lucknow. The Chandrababu Naidu-led government of Andhra Pradesh is acquiring land for a new capital city with relative ease. When farmers see value in giving up some land, they do it with gusto. After initial setbacks, the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, too, had arrived at a method of acquiring land that was agreeable to farmers, involving upfront compensation, annuities over an extended period and return, in developed form, of about an eighth of the acquired land to the farmer. The previous Haryana government led by Hooda, too, had arrived at a similar compensation package.
This newspaper has long advocated a model of lease, instead of total alienation of land and one-time compensation, so that the farmer remains a stakeholder in the value created by the new, non-farm use of his land. It is better to let different states find their own methods of releasing land for industry , without a straitjacket imposed by the Centre. No law can refuse to accept that farmers, too, have property rights and a right to fair compensation. The effort should be to work for consensus on this principle. That calls for engagement, not subterfuge.

The Speaking tree - The River of Life

MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN





Human life can be likened to a flowing river. In the river, fresh water is being added to the existing water at every moment.In the absence of this continuous flow of newly added water, the river will lose its freshness: it will not be able to maintain its health-giving, even lifegiving, properties.The same method is adopted by nature with regard to human beings. Within a period of a hundred years, the preceding generation is replaced by a fresh set of people. Preceding generations yield place to new generations. A great wisdom lies behind this system: the coming generation should learn its lesson from the experiences of the preceding one.
The preceding generation passes on such formulae as have proved right in the light of practical experiences. In this way , the older generation enables the coming generation to refrain from committing the mistakes that people made earlier that led to great losses. The truth is the preceding generation is a valuable gift of nature to the present generation.
If our life is like flowing water, in which fresh water continues to be added at every moment, then it will always remain fresh and will never become stale. On the contrary , water that is confined to a closed space, stagnating in the absence of replenishment, will eventually lose its freshness. It will become stale, even harmful.
The flowing river is a healthy message given by nature and the experience of many generations of people across continents and cultures would support this analogy .