An unjustified pay hike

As we brace for another series of Pay Commission-mandated salary hikes, the question is if it is the best use of government resources.

As public servants get ready to enjoy the New Year’s blessing that the Seventh Pay Commission is expected to bestow, it may be a time for the rest of us to look this gift horse in the mouth. The Fourteenth Finance Commission estimates the cost of the Sixth Pay Commission at over Rs. 90,000 crore annually, since pay and allowances of Union government employees more than doubled between 2007-08 and 2011-12. Compare this to the estimates in the economic survey for the year 2011-12, about Rs. 70,000 crore each for food subsidy, fertilizer and petroleum subsidy and less than Rs. 40,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Simply put, the additional Central government expenditure due to the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission was over 40 per cent of the major subsidies. If we take into account the costs to the State governments, the tab for Sixth Pay Commission largesse is probably equivalent to all the subsidies provided by the Central government.

Sonalde Desai

As we brace for another Pay Commission-mandated salary hike, the question to ask is not whether the government can afford it but if it is the best use of government resources. Government employees receive Dearness Allowance (DA) annually to compensate for inflation; they also receive an annual performance appraisal for promotions, which brings with it salary increases. So the decadal salary increases under the Central Pay Commission (CPC) are meant to address inequities in salaries across different parts of the government, across ranks as well as between the public sector and private sector. It is the latter that has provided the greatest justification for salary increases granted under CPC in the past.

False premise

Dizzying salary packages reported for new Indian Institute of Management graduates or Indian Institute of Technology graduates funnel a sense of discontent among public sector employees since it is hard to imagine any 25-year-old government servant receiving a package of Rs. 40 lakh per annum. This smoke and mirrors strategy masks several observations made by the Sixth Pay Commission. First, it noted that the contention of vast disparities between private sector and government employees was not borne out by data. The CPC found that compensation to Group C and D employees in government was higher than that in the private sector; for Group B it was similar and only for Group A was it lower. Group A employees form less than 5 per cent of the total Central government workforce; Group C and D are about 90 per cent. Second, it noted that a government job offers many other benefits not available in the private sector and the fear of flight away from public service towards the private sector is overblown.

“The Fourteenth Finance Commission estimates the cost of the Sixth Pay Commission at over Rs. 90,000 crore annually.”

In spite of these observations, the ultimate recommendations of the Sixth CPC led to substantial increases in the salary and allowance of all public servants, first in the Central service and later on in State governments. A comparison of incomes between private sector employees and government employees using data from India Human Development Surveys (IHDS) of 2004-05 and 2011-12 is instructive in understanding the consequences of the last CPC. These surveys of over 40,000 households were jointly organised by the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland. The graphic shows monthly salaries for men aged 25-59 in 2011-12. Many women work part time as anganwadi workers and ASHA workers and hence are excluded from this comparison, but their inclusion will not change the fundamental results.

The results show that at every single level of education, government workers are paid more than private sector workers and more importantly, the public service advantage has increased rather than decreased after the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. A driver in government service earns far more than one in private service, but so does an engineer. This comparison does not include the other benefits government service provides including PF contributions, housing benefits, health insurance and, frequently, admission of children to coveted Kendriya Vidyalayas.

One might say that the problem is not global but is concentrated in highly skilled positions. Individuals who are highly skilled may be more likely to choose the private sector. Here only the Union Public Service Commission can tell us if the qualification of the entering cohort of the Indian Administrative Service officers is declining, but at a slightly lower stratospheric level, we see no such evidence. The IHDS shows that among college graduates with a first class degree, government service still seems to be preferred. In 2004-05, among the male college graduates employed in public service, 37 per cent had a first division; this proportion had increased to 39 per cent by 2011-12. This is not to say that skill upgradation is not taking place in the private sector, where the proportion of first class degree holders among graduates has increased from 28 per cent to 35 per cent, but these figures do not suggest that government services are suffering on an average; just that the more qualified individuals are seeking salaried work and moving away from farming and small businesses benefitting both government service and the private sector.

“One might say that the problem is not global but is concentrated in highly skilled positions.”

That salary increases will be bestowed by the Seventh CPC is a given. Whether it will address the real challenge, lower wages for Group A officers compared to the private sector, and recognise the public service advantage for the rest of the employees remains questionable. Let us hope that the Seventh CPC will address the challenge of government salaries with a scalpel rather than an axe.

(Sonalde Desai is senior fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research and Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. Views are personal.)

Keywords: Seventh Pay Commission, Sixth Pay Commission, government employees

Source: The Hindu, 30-10-2015

Ideology over science

The Science and Technology Ministry has directed all laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to begin “self-financing” their research. The ostensible purpose is to make financing for scientific research more accountable. But taken together with other developments, this must flag serious concerns about the priorities and the ideological agenda the government is bringing to bear on the scientific community. The decision on “self-financing” was announced at a “Chintan Shivir” in Dehradun this June, in consultation with the RSS. The fact that laboratories were also asked to be mindful of the government’s “social and economic agenda”, therefore, comes as confirmation of the creeping influence of Sangh Parivar affiliates in the science, health and research landscape. It raises questions about the intent behind a similar “self-financing” mandate to the Department of Health Research, which recently shut down the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, India’s only agency collecting data on nutrition deficiency among marginalised populations. It is not only that the BJP-led government’s failures to support science and public health are being foregrounded. It is, just as menacingly, that the Sangh Parivar’s ideological assault on reason and scientific temper is being institutionalised. The results are showing. The Ministries of Science and Technology and Health are actively seeking private partnerships to keep research projects going. The international public health community is tracking the developments with alarm. Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had consistently and deliberately sidelined the health sector since coming to power. He warned of an impending “collapse”.

The Modi government’s inherent discomfort with “scientific” evidence that may run counter to views shaped largely by the Sangh’s leanings has grave public policy implications. For example, when data collection on nutrition is undermined, policy design can be disconnected from desired outcomes easily. So Madhya Pradesh’s BJP government has stopped serving eggs as part of the mid-day meal scheme, removing an important source of nutrition for schoolchildren. None of this is surprising. Whenever scientific data become inconvenient for the government, it has no qualms in suppressing the research. The CSIR is the backbone of scientific and technological research. Expecting researchers to fund themselves with help from industry and setting “deliverable targets” for them to further a socio-economic agenda too is a clear way of curbing dissent. India’s social sector is already strained for funds, and the increasing politicisation of science is an attempt by the government to force its objectives on research. No two disciplines are less compatible than politics and science. But then, the government and the Sangh personnel behind these decisions have anyway privileged ideology over science.

Keywords: Science and Technology Ministry, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR labs, "self-financing" research

Source: The Hindu, 30-10-2015

RTI empowers the citizen, but threats can make Act opaque

After a decade of the implementation of the national Right To Information (RTI) Act, it is necessary to reflect on some of its key achievements and the threats it faces.

It has spread across the country, and there is no district that has not received RTI applications. It has empowered the ordinary citizen to get respect as an individual from the government and its officials. Citizens are becoming the monitors of their government. This year the number of RTI applications is likely to be over 6 million and the total number in the last decade may be over 25 million.

However, we should also consider the main threats to the RTI, which could lead to its regression. Most people in power develop a dislike for the RTI. Everyone pays lip service to transparency, but when it applies to their actions, there is a reluctance to share information. They forget that the citizen is sovereign in her own right. All positions in Parliament, the bureaucracy and the judiciary derive their legitimacy from ‘we the people’, who gave ourselves the Constitution. In the initial years of the RTI, public information officers gave information reasonably since the threat of personal penalty scared them. Now techniques have been evolved to deny information. The decisions of the information commissions and judiciary have also contributed to this.

Read: Modi bats for timely, transparent, trouble-free RTI replies

Another disturbing issue is the judiciary’s approach to transparency. The Supreme Court had declared that it is a fundamental right flowing from Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, before the advent of the RTI Act in many landmark judgments. In the last five years it appears that the decisions of various courts are expanding the grounds on which information can be denied. Out of 16 apex court judgments analysed by this writer, only one gave an order to furnish information. This judgment had the following statement: ‘The Act should not be allowed to be misused or abused, to become a tool to obstruct the national development and integration, or to destroy the peace, tranquillity and harmony among its citizens. Nor should it be converted into a tool of oppression or intimidation of honest officials striving to do their duty.’ No evidence has been forthcoming for such a strong castigation of a fundamental right. The exemptions in the RTI Act are in line with Article 19 (2), which lists the reasonable restrictions that can be placed on the freedom of expression. Many judgments are expanding the exemptions, in a manner which is not in consonance with the law or the Constitution.

Read: A decade of RTI: All you need to know about the game changing law

Information commissions were created by the RTI Act to interpret and safeguard the RTI, but their performance has been largely unsatisfactory. They should be giving decisions within 2-3 months; instead many take over a year. Their own accountability is poor. Recently it has come to light that the Central Information Commission has been reducing its pendency figure by rejecting over 90% of appeals on technical grounds. The penalty provisions are used rarely, removing the fangs of the law. The solution lies in evolving a transparent process for selecting commissioners and getting the commissions to be transparent and accountable.

There is a possibility of a true democracy which can lead to good governance and respect for the citizen. Citizens must continue their efforts at spreading the usage and spirit of the RTI, and also to counter the threats. If citizens want a better future and governance they will have to take this responsibility.

Shailesh Gandhi is former central information commissioner

Source: Hindustan Times, 30-10-2015

TISS documentary on beef ban blocked by Films Division

Sadaf Modak and Ankita Bhatkhande mirrorfeedback





Govt body asks festival organisers to drop `Caste On The Menu Card', says it's `too risky'

The Films Division of India has scrapped the screening of a film by TISS students on the controversial beef ban and the restrictions often imposed on non-vegetarians, calling it too “risky“ in the charged atmosphere prevailing in the country.The documentary film Caste on the Menu Card was one of the 35 to be screened at the 12th Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival 2015 on Saturday, but word came from the Films Division on Wednesday that it was clearing only 34 films and the organisers will have to drop the TISS entry.
The film, which delves into the idea of food as a site of exclusion by focusing on beef-eating practices in Mumbai, also refers to a protest in August last year by Dalit students in TISS demanding that beef and pork be introduced in the institution's canteen. The demand had sparked a sharp divide in the institute, with Dalit students saying it was `Brahminical' on the part of the institute to deny them the right to consume food items of their choice.
In March this year, possession and consumption of beef was banned in Maharashtra. Restaurants were forced to take beef off their menus and offenders face up to five years in prison. A few weeks later, Haryana too passed a similar law.
Defending the decision to disallow the film's screening, K Sanjay Murthy, joint secretary (films), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said: “The organisers made the applications very late. As a result of which, there was lack of information about a film dealing with a topic like this. There are some protocols which we have to follow only after which clearances can be given. It is a one-off case where certain doubts have to be cleared before giving a go-ahead.“
The organisers, however, said they had sent all 35 documentaries for clearance to the Films Division earlier this month.Festival representatives said that they did not receive any response from the Films Division till Wednesday. “The order came on Wednesday afternoon. When we inquired, we were informed that a decision was taken to not allow the screening of the TISS entry. We were told orally that the film was not cleared since it touches upon the beef ban and with all the controversies surrounding the issue, they did not want to take any chances,“ festival director Manoj Matthew said.
Matthew said the clearance was refused only on the basis of a brief synopsis sent to them by the students. He added that the organisers' request that Films Division officials see the film before taking a call was denied. A panel discussion on the documentary was also cancelled.
Anjali Monteiro and K P Jayasankar, professors at the School of Media and Cultural Studies at TISS, said the ban on the screening of `Caste on the Menu Card' is in keeping with the larger agenda of intolerance that one sees at work in the public sphere today. “Needless to say, these attempts to regulate speech, food habits and behaviour in the name of `Indian' culture are a threat to democracy. As citizens, we must resist such cultural policing and projects of censorship,“ said an email sent by the professors.
A student, who was involved in the making of the film, said the issues raised in the documentary should be open for public discussion. “Banning the documentary does not serve any purpose,“ he said.
“We had made the film in AugustSeptember 2014 when beef was not banned in the state. It was triggered by a discussion around campuses across the country, including ours, on the inclusion of beef and pork in canteen menus. The film does not only talk about food, but extends to speaking on livelihoods dependent on the demand for the food cutting across religions but deeply embedded within caste,“ he added.
The film was screened at TISS in January this year as a part of the student film festival called Cut.In. It was one of the six films made on the theme of caste by Masters students of Media and Cultural Studies at TISS.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 30-10-2015

After The Dark Night, The Sun Shines Bright

Prashant Solomon





Unless we experience darkness, we will never value the light.Everybody has experienced or is experiencing some kind of trouble or anguish of some kind. Sometimes it is a lonely place to be in. You get the feeling of being alone and disconnected. Worry and doubt seem to be `solutions' when in reality they only make you sink further into the hole of misery.
The truth is: You are never alone! Worry and doubts are not the answer and always remember that this period of darkness will pass. But the first thing you must do is to recognise your situation for what it is. In reality it is nothing but one of the many experiences that we have signed up for on this journey we call life. And whether we know it or not, God is always with us on the journey with all its ups and downs.
Unless we participate in life's battles we will never succeed. We must approach all our problems in life as opportunities to grow and learn. Just as the one who wants to build his body needs to exercise, so must we go through problems in life for our souls and characters to grow.Just as lifting weights makes our muscles stronger by overcoming resistance, our souls need some resistance as well to become stronger. We are here to learn lessons; and many more lessons are learnt through defeat than through victory. This does not mean that we are here to fail; far from it. We are here to win; but oftentimes victory is not complete without lessons learnt and no matter how much we wish otherwise, most lessons are learnt through our defeats more than our victories.
Hard times should be learnt from and accepted as a part of life but sho uld never lead to unhappiness.Faith in ourselves and in a power higher than us is the key element to both happiness and success and through that, moving from darkness to light. Let that peace, hope, happiness, contentment, love, joy and abundance consciousness permeate our subconscious minds so that our circumstances appear to manifest these into our living reality.
To climb the highest mountain, you often go through a series of hills and valleys before you can reach the summit. For that to happen you must keep on e moving, navigating the valleys and thorns as a matter of course in order to reach the goal. Let us take life in our stride and deal with whatever cards life has dealt us. No matter how hard it may seem, faith can truly move mountains and you can overcome every difficulty or obstacle in your path.
It is only when we have known the darkness, do we realise the value of light. Despite seeming elusive at times, light could be just around the corner. Like the light at the end of the tunnel, or the dawn that follows the darkest night, or the sun that appears from behind the clouds ­ your light is there, too, even though it plays hide-and-seek. These are the moments in life when you need to sit down and reflect, take stock of where you are, who you are and what it is you are here to do.
When you believe that you will find light, when you believe that the darkness is only a phase and treat it as nothing more, your light will become visible and you will shine as a beacon of hope to many.

Sexual aggression high among Indian youth, finds research

Ekatha Ann





25% Of Men Surveyed Said They Engaged In Sexual Violence At Some Point

He watches his father lash out at his mother, his catcalls as a teen are rarely discouraged and the intoxicants in his blood give him a sense of courage.Every rapist has a story that led him to commit the crime.India has taken the ignominious lead of having the highest percentage of factors that shape boys into sexual predators, a study has found.The study, done by International Centre for Research on Women in collaboration with two other organisations, found that close to 25% of the men surveyed in India said they had engaged in sexual violence at some point, most of them against their partner.India is far ahead of countries like Rwanda, Mexico, Croatia and Chile, which were included in the study . In India, Delhi and Vijayawada were chosen as study sites.
In an effort to study the possible influence on perpetration of sexual violence, around 2,000 men in 18-59 age group were asked a series of questions that address different forms of rape -marital rape, gangrape and rape of a woman under the influence of alcohol. The survey also explored a range of issues: child abuse, relationship dynamics, gender equality and exposure to violence. It found that sexual aggression was high among Indian youth, while alcohol abuse was cited as the second leading influencing factor.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, more than 90 women are raped in India every day. The study found that men who experienced neglect or were abused as children tend to be more sexually aggressive than others. Among Indian men, 34% of those who were sexually abused in childhood report sexual violence per petration. And 36.8% said they felt neglected. “It is common knowledge that a child needs care and protection, and when deprived of that they have developmental delay. Aggression levels are also high in this group,“ said Anuradha Vidyasankar, head, southern regional resource centre, Childline India Foundation.She said witnessing violence also has a strong impact on children.
“A child is not born with prejudices, attitudes and be liefs. He learns from what he sees, and if he sees his father being violent with his mother, he begins to believe that is a way of life,“ said Anuradha.
Along with Chile, the incidence of men raping under the influence of alcohol was on the higher side in India. Dr Shanthi Ranganathan of TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, who has worked for more than four decades treating alcoholism and drug dependency explained, “In the Nirbhaya case, all the rapists were drunk. Alcohol gives people a false sense of courage and they don't really think of the consequences.“
She added, “Their sense of right and wrong is blurred and they act on what they have seen and learned sex can be used as a weapon against women.“
The data collected does not support the notion that perpetration of rape is significantly related to education level, em ployment status, age or marital status. In India, husbands and fathers are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence.
Nearly half of the sampled Indian men who have physically abused a partner also perpetrate sexual violence. Rwanda showed a higher percentage of physical violence at 39% than India (37.3%).
Men who pay for sex are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence, a trend the survey saw in all five countries. India, again, had the highest percentage of such people at 36.5%.

Source: Times of India, 30-10-2015

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

The Mask Is Off

Vol - L No. 43, October 24, 2015 

• Editorials

The government’s primary agenda is clearly development—of a Hindu Rashtra.

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• 0 Comments

Court vs Government

Vol - L No. 43, October 24, 2015 

• Editorials

Independence of the judiciary is not the issue in the current stand-off; it is control over appointments.

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• 0 Comments

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