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

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.

Keywords: Irfan Habib, Bharat Mata, Bipan Chandra memorial lecture

Source: The Hindu, 30-03-2016

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.

Keywords: villages, GARV app, Grameen Vidyutikaran, rural electrification

Source: The Hindu, 30-03-2016

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

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

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.

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

Keywords: Humanities, IIT, Civil Serviced, Journalism

Source: The Hindu, 29-03-2016