Centre, states must seize opportunity to come together for water governance

 

The Centre can work with the states in building a credible institutional architecture for gathering data and producing knowledge about water resources — a foundational necessity to address most federal water governance challenges.

A slew of bills on water awaits Parliament’s approval. Two of them, passed by the Lok Sabha, were listed for clearing by Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session — The Interstate River Water Disputes Amendment Bill 2019 and the Dam Safety Bill 2019. The truncated session could not get to discuss the bills, though. A common issue that the bills confront is with respect to the ways in which the Centre can work with the states to deal with the emerging challenges of inter-state water governance. The latest centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), too is pumping massive finances into achieving universal access to safe and secure drinking water in rural areas — otherwise a domain of the states. JJM presents an opportunity to get states on board for a dialogue towards stronger Centre-states coordination and federal water governance ecosystem.

The two bills under Parliament’s consideration attend to longstanding issues of inter-state externalities. The Interstate River Water Disputes Amendment Bill 2019 seeks to improve the inter-state water disputes resolution by setting up a permanent tribunal supported by a deliberative mechanism, the dispute resolution committee. The Dam Safety Bill 2019 aims to deal with the risks of India’s ageing dams, with the help of a comprehensive federal institutional framework comprising committees and authorities for dam safety at national and state levels. The other pending bills also propose corresponding institutional structures and processes.

However, the agenda of future federal water governance is not limited to these issues alone. There are a whole set of reasons — some well-known and others new — why a coordinated response from the Centre and states is vital. These include emerging concerns of long-term national water security and sustainability, the risks of climate change, and the growing environmental challenges, including river pollution. These challenges need systematic federal response where the Centre and the states need to work in a partnership mode.

Greater Centre-states coordination is also crucial for pursuing the current national projects — whether Ganga river rejuvenation or inland navigation or inter-basin transfers. However, water governance is perceived and practiced as the states’ exclusive domain, even though their powers are subject to those of the Union under the Entry 56 about inter-state river water governance. The River Boards Act 1956 legislated under the Entry 56 has been in disuse. No river board was ever created under the law. The Centre’s role is largely limited to resolving inter-state river water disputes. That, too, a detached one in setting up tribunals for their adjudication.

Combined with the states’ dominant executive power, these conditions create challenges for federal water governance. The country is ill-equipped to address the governance of increasingly federalised waters to pursue its development and sustainability goals.

This state of affairs puts the proposed bills at a disadvantage. Each bill proposes their own institutional mechanisms and processes leaning on closer Centre-state coordination and deliberation. The disputes resolution committee and dam safety authority rely on active Centre-states participation. Segmented and fragmented mechanisms bear the risks of the federal water governance gap. The massive central assistance through JJM is an opportunity to open a dialogue with the states to address this gap.

JJM involves large-scale intergovernmental transfers to states at a proposed outlay of Rs 3.6 lakh crore (Centre and states together) over the next five years towards universal access to safe and secure drinking water in rural areas. In terms of the numbers, this is perhaps the largest CSS so far — larger than even the MGNREGA or the PMGSY.

Globally, federated systems with comparable organisation of powers have used similar investments to usher key water sector reforms. Australia has plans to make large investments to nudge its federal constituents towards a dialogue under its National Water Act of 2007 and to arrive at the Murray-Darling agreement. The experiences also suggest that inter-governmental transfers produce better outcomes when the transfers build on an ex ante federal consensus.

The scale of investments under JJM can be used similarly to draw states to deliberate over reworking of the larger structural contours of federal water governance. The engagement can also be beneficial to JJM’s success.

Drinking water supply is within the states’ domain of responsibilities. They are equipped with the institutional channels for this purpose. The mission has to build on these structures for enduring outcomes. It has to ensure that the states maintain the assets and facilities created through the mission. Such institutionalisation is most critical for JJM’s success. States will certainly appreciate the much-needed succour to strengthen their institutions and improve the delivery of this essential service to its populations.

The symbiotic phase of implementing JJM can be productively used to engage in a dialogue with the states about the larger water resources management agenda, beyond the mission’s goals. It can discuss the contours of Centre-state partnership for the success of the above two bills and move towards a robust federal water governance ecosystem. The dialogue can consider the long-recommended idea of distributing responsibilities and partnership-building between the Centre and states to long-term water security goals. For instance, the Centre can work with the states in building a credible institutional architecture for gathering data and producing knowledge about water resources — a foundational necessity to address most federal water governance challenges.

This article first appeared in the print edition on November 19, 2020 under the title ‘Writing on the water’. Chokkakula is with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Views are personal

Source: Indian Express, 19/11/20

Creating an inclusive welfare architecture

 

Cover all of India’s poor; and merge welfare programmes under one umbrella scheme

The recently announced Atmanirbhar 3.0 package offers important insights into the Centre’s approach to welfare spending in response to the economic shocks caused by Covid-19. The choices point to critical limitations in India’s current welfare architecture and the politics that shape spending choices. With the focus now shifting to the 2021 budget, there is an urgent need to reflect on these choices and articulate a road map for the next year. A robust, inclusive welfare architecture is both a moral imperative as well a critical component for economic recovery.

First, the good news. India’s existing welfare architecture has proved resilient and capable in preventing deep distress in rural India. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) proved to be lifelines as central and state governments were able to mobilise the administrative machinery and expand the welfare net, at relative speed. By October, nearly two-thirds of the MGNREGS budget had already been spent while demand for work remains unabated. In response, Atmanirbhar 3.0 has increased allocations by a further ₹10,000 crore; this may not be enough given the scale of demand but continued budgetary expansion highlights the essential role of MGNREGS.

For those with ration cards, the PDS was a vital source of relief. Independent surveys point out that a large number of eligible beneficiaries (the numbers range from 63% to above 90%) received grains allocated through the Atmanirbhar package. That the central government extended the expanded PDS scheme till November 2020 (just in time to reap benefits from the Bihar elections) is a good indicator of its effectiveness. The problem with the PDS was not its failure to deliver but rather the failure to universalise the PDS.

For years, policy debates on India’s welfare architecture have sought to pit MGNREGS and PDS as inefficient schemes against the deceptively elegant promise of cash transfers. That both schemes have proved effective in responding to the large-scale shock of Covid-19 should put this debate to rest. The emphasis now needs to shift to expansion and strengthening delivery.

Urban India, however, has not been well served. India’s welfare architecture is simply not designed to respond to the needs of the urban poor, especially migrant workers. With the exception of the PDS (available only to residents) and a smattering of insurance and pension programmes (accounting for a mere 6% of total central government spending on social protection), social protection for urban India is conspicuously absent.

The urban (largely casual, daily wage) worker has paid a heavy price for this absence. Yet, the horrific images of millions of workers walking home, and surveys repeatedly highlighting the sharp income drop amongst urban workers have failed to elicit an adequate policy response.

Absent a pre-existing scheme, the Centre had few instruments at its disposal to deploy to respond to urban distress, although, with a little imagination, this was not an insurmountable hurdle. The emphasis has thus been limited to portability of ration cards under the one nation, one ration card scheme. Reports indicate that a welcome proposal to launch an urban MGNREGS was discussed but later abandoned in favour of increased expenditure in the urban housing scheme and boosting urban employment through incentives for EPFO-registered firms. Given the realities of India’s informal economy — in recent months, the number of EPFO registered firms has dropped — it is unlikely that the latter will be able to respond to the scale of unemployment and associated urban distress.

The lesson to be drawn from the Covid-19 induced economic distress and the Centre’s response is the urgent need to transform India’s social protection architecture into a dynamic system that ensures universal coverage of all of India’s poor. Several interlocutors have argued for a universal (or quasi-universal) cash transfer as the critical missing link that can bridge this gap between rural and urban social protection. However, this debate misses the dynamic nature of the social protection needs of India’s poor. Fifty per cent of India’s population is vulnerable, ie can slip back into poverty with one income shock. This population needs a dynamic basket of social protection instruments — pensions, life insurance, health insurance and distress-linked cash or employment in times of crisis or sluggish growth. Prioritisation will depend on local labour market conditions.

The only effective strategy is to build a decentralised social protection system that allows states and even districts to design schemes to their specific conditions. Some states have begun experimenting, but urban schemes need fiscal support. This is where politics trumps first principles. The impulse to centralise and seek direct credit for welfare is entrenched in our politics.

There is one way to balance politics and first principles. As recommended by the World Bank, the Centre can, alongside core national schemes like the MGNREGS and PDS, repurpose its 400+ social protection transfer schemes into one umbrella scheme but leave states to design interventions to their needs, political credit and blame can be apportioned across Centre and states. The 2021 budget is an opportunity to implement this much-needed reform. Sensible rationalisation and expenditure repurposing can serve as the foundation of an agile, dynamic and inclusive social protection architecture.

Yamini Aiyar is president and chief executive, Centre for Policy Research

Source: Hindustan Times, 18/11/20

Quote of the Day November 17, 2020

 “My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.”

‐ Cary Grant

“जिंदगी का मेरा सूत्र बहुत ही सरल है। मैं सुबह जागता हूं तथा रात को सो जाता हूं। इसके बीच में मैं जितना हो सके स्वयं को व्यस्त रखता हूं।”

‐ केरी ग्रांट

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

 

Vol. 55, Issue No. 45, 07 Nov, 2020

Editorials

An Inconsequential Stimulus

‘Foundational Agreements’ and Self-reliance

From the Editor's Desk

The Language of Compensation

Gopal Guru

From 50 Years Ago

From 50 Years Ago: Growth by Exhortation

Alternative Standpoint

A Return to Ethics

​Shiv Visvanathan

Commentary

Fifteenth Finance Commission Award for 2020–21 - Implications for the States

T M Thomas Isaac, R Mohan, Lekha Chakraborty

COVID-19 in the Indian Context and the Quest for Alternative Paradigms

M A Oommen

An Analysis of Victim Compensation Schemes in India

Abhishek Kumar

Book Reviews

The Singur Movement - A Twist in the Tale

Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya

A History of Contemporary Economic Theories

Alex M Thomas

Perspectives

Safeguarding Fundamental Rights

Madan Bhimrao Lokur

Special Articles

Inequality in the Utilisation of Maternal Healthcare Services - Evidence from Indian States

Sohini Paul

Tax Payment as a Social Responsibility - Differential Advantage of Large Firms

Ramesh Jangili

Towards an Alternative Indian Tea Economy - Examples of Producer Cooperatives from Darjeeling

Miriam Wenner

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Postscript

​Beyond a Culture of Debt - Reflections on the Guru–Shishya Parampara

Anubhuti Sharma, Vidula Sonagra

​Malpractice Stories - Where Are We Going Wrong?

Melwyn Pinto

Memory, Death, Friendship

Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee

Last Lines

Letters

Fault Lines in the Draft EIA Notification, 2020

Eeshan Chaturvedi

Evidence-based Policymaking

Shantanu Mishra

Appointments/Programmes/Announcements

Advertisements

Report from the States

Risky Insurance: The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana in Jharkhand

Natasha Agnes D’cruze

Engage Articles

The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 Needs An Urgent Overhaul

Parikshit Goyal

Gig Work and Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India

Shipra, Minaketan Behera

Viral Nostalgia and the Case of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Anuparna Mukherjee

Needed, a policy framework in step with technology

 As technology has evolved in the latter part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st century, the traditional boundaries between goods and services have blurred. By virtue of Moore’s law, computing capabilities have surged faster than capabilities in traditional industries. These information-based technologies have been widely adopted across a broad range of industries and products that traditionally have not been perceived as electronic or software based.

Information is the new currency powering economies. The expansion of computing power has driven the pace of information gathering and analysis. The new currency drives processes and decision-making across a wide array of products and services, making them more efficient and value accretive for consumers.

Data is a new currency

Let us look at a traditional good, the automobile. A modern automobile has 40% of its component value from electronic-based products and a modern electric vehicle has close to 100 million lines of code, which is more than that used by a Boeing 787 or the Chrome browser. This is a paradigm shift as the amount of “value add” from intangible technology services as opposed to physical objects, even in traditional goods, is being transformed by information.

Even if you look at a conventional “metal-based” industrial product, information and electronics are becoming all-pervasive, ensuring that we set boundaries to control quality or the uptime of the equipment. There is increasing digitisation and electronification of industrial activities, products and services, influencing the evolving skill sets in industry.

This revolution is taking place across products, as information availability drives efficiency and creates value for customers by providing greater control over the product and its surrounding environment. And, this is what impels customers to value products that have utilised these evolving technologies.

Working in silos

As governments have focused on improving the lives of people, they have looked at economic development and industry as catalysts to progress. To address the needs of various stakeholders, governments have tended to build specialised departments and designed policies that govern those areas. However, over time, as each of these departments grew, they have tended to operate in silos. This has for most of the 20th century been reasonably successful in driving economic development in countries.

The recent developments in technology have, however, blurred standard boundaries that dictate policy framework in most governments. If you take India, industrial promotion policies look at encouraging capital formation from a manufacturing perspective. As technology is driving an increasing share of the value add coming from digitisation and data analytics in products and services across industry segments, there needs to be a way of encouraging capital formation by way of intangibles in traditionally tangible industries.

If you look at the automobile industry, policies are governed by the Heavy Industries and the Surface Transport Ministries, respectively. However, increasing electronification and digitisation of the automobile are not covered by industrial policies that govern the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry.

Another example involves drones that could serve different sectors, including agriculture, and would require a lot of inter-departmental clearances outside of the Department of Agriculture. There is increasingly a need for inter-departmental cooperation and synergy not only in policy framework but also in deployment.

Taking an aggregate view

This departmentalisation of policies is facing a challenge from technology that very often blurs the boundaries served by different policies. There is a need to have a holistic view of policies for economic development as technology is becoming a significant enabler in most industries. A change in policy framework regarding economic development that enables various ministries to work together is essential. A sufficiently empowered policy clearing cell could ensure a holistic view on policy across departments of government, at the State and the Centre.

In terms of attracting investments, policies have always been driven by subsidies and incentives but increasingly, in a competitive scenario, these are becoming hygiene factors. More significantly, a nourishing ecosystem for industry, including the hard infrastructure and softer areas such as education, skilling, technical institutions, laboratories, testing centres, etc., has to be cultivated. The creation of clusters of companies in adjacent but complementary areas could constitute such an ecosystem that encourages multi and cross-disciplinary learning and spur innovation and economic development. Moreover, this type of ecosphere could also attract investment and capital formation.

There is also the larger issue of a shift of value between manufacturing and services as technology changes. The policy, by and large, promotes and gives incentives for manufacturing, whereas the share of intangibles, even in traditional manufacturing companies, whether it be software, research and development or even servicing of products, are not adequately covered in industrial policies. It is important to include these to encourage innovation and technological development.

In this evolving policy framework, it is important that there is close cooperation and alignment between the Centre and State to ensure effective implementation on the ground. Some of these thoughts could help us navigate through an ecosystem that is changing with technology.

Srivats Ram is Managing Director, Wheels India Ltd.

Source: The Hindu, 17/11/20

Israel launches excellence fellowship program for international postdoctoral researchers

 

An applicant must be an international candidate with a PhD from a recognised higher education institution outside of Israel less than four years from the time of application, or who will receive a PhD from a recognised higher education institution outside of Israel prior to the commencement of the fellowship.

The Council for Higher Education in Israel and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities have launched an excellence fellowship programme for international postdoctoral researchers. Under the programme, postdoctoral fellows will have the opportunity to engage in innovative research in one of the Israel-based universities.

Fellows will participate in various activities, such as day trips, seminars, workshops and social events during their fellowship. A total of 20 fellowships will be granted to incoming postdoctorate students. At least 15 fellowships will be allocated in sciences, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and up to five fellowships will be allocated in the humanities and the social sciences stream. The fellowships will be awarded for two years for160,000 NIS (approx. Rs 34.67 lakh).

An applicant must be an international candidate with a PhD from a recognised higher education institution outside of Israel less than four years from the time of application, or who will receive a PhD from a recognised higher education institution outside of Israel prior to the commencement of the fellowship.

The applicant must have been accepted to a postdoctoral position under the supervision of a faculty member at one of the following Israeli universities: Ariel University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Open University of Israel, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, Weizmann Institute of Science.

Application along with relevant documents should be submitted by the universities on/before February 1 to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Candidates should apply directly to their host university, which will conduct an internal evaluation process and submit selected candidates to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Applications to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities will only be accepted from the participating universities.

A committee comprising members of the Israel Academy of Science and the Humanities, the Israel Young Academy, and leading scholars and scientists in Israeli academia, will select the fellows based on academic and research excellence. Awardees will be notified by May 2021.

Source: Indian Express, 8/11/20

Research students can avail these scholarship programmes, here’s the list

 Research scholarship is a broad category of scholarships and fellowships that are given to students for the purpose of research at graduate, postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral level. Research plays a crucial role in a variety of fields including science, technology, engineering, medicine, etc.

There are various research institutions that offer scholarships for students to carry out research in specific fields. Furthermore, institutions like IITs, IISc, IISERs, NITs, ICAR, etc also offer fellowships and grants to support the research study of scholars in various fields.

List of scholarship programmes for research students

Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund Scholarships

This scholarship is meant for postgraduate students who are registered or admitted in a PhD programme at a recognised university/ institution in India. Applicable for two years, this scholarship supports the research in specialisations like sociology, Indian history, economics, geography, ecology and environment, etc.The candidates who are below 35 years of age and have obtained at least 60 per cent marks in both graduation and postgraduation can apply for this scholarship.

Provider details: Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund

Eligibility: Students enrolled in PhD programmes

Awards: Up to Rs 18,000 per month and other benefits

Application timeline: Between May and June (tentative)

Application mode: By post (to administrative secretary of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund)

Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship – IIT Ropar

Introduced with an objective to encourage bright minds to carry out research programmes at IIT Ropar, this fellowship offers financial support to students having a PhD degree. It is mandatory for the students to apply within five years after the completion of PhD.

The fellowship is also open for candidates who have completed their PhD thesis under the supervision/ co-supervision of IIT Ropar faculty members. In this case, the students are allowed to apply after three years of completion of their PhD degree.

Provider Details: Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar

Eligibility: PhD degree holders

Awards: Rs 45,000 to 55,000 and other benefits

Application timeline: Round the year

Application mode: By post or in-hand application submission to the Department/Center in which the candidate intends to join as a Post-Doctoral Fellow

SERB National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF)

This fellowship aims to identify motivated young researchers and provide them with support to carry out research in frontier areas of science and engineering. Under this fellowship, the students below 35 years of age who have obtained a PhD/ MD/ MS degree from a recognised university can avail variable benefits to carry out research at post-doctoral level.

The candidates who have submitted their PhD/ MD/ MS thesis and are awaiting award can also apply. However, they will receive a lower fellowship amount till they qualify the aforesaid degree.

Provider details: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

Eligibility: PhD/MD/MS degree holders

Awards: Monthly stipend up to Rs 55,000 and other benefits

Application timeline: Between April and May (tentative)

Application mode: Online, through official website of SERB

Teachers Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE)

This initiative of SERB is meant for students having a PhD degree in science or MD/ MS in medicine or ME/ MTech in engineering/ technology. The key objective of the scheme is to facilitate mobility of faculty members working in state universities/ colleges and private academic institutions to carry out research in renowned institutions like IITs, IISc, IISERs, etc.

The age of the candidates should be less than 45 years and they must not hold any ongoing research projects or fellowship at the time of application submission.

Provider details: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

Eligibility: PhD in Science or MD/MS in Medicine or ME/MTech in Engineering/Technology degree holders

Awards: Rs 60,000 per annum and research grant of Rs 5 lakh per annum

Application timeline: Between March and April (tentative)

Application mode: Online, through official website of SERB

ICMR Centenary-Post Doctoral Research Fellowship Scheme

This fellowship aims to support PhD/ MD/ MS degree holders to pursue research in the area of basic science, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and reproductive health including nutrition at ICMR institutions and centers.

The candidates are required to apply for this fellowship within 3 years of completion of PhD/ MD/ MS. The age of the candidates should be below 32 years on the date of application.

Provider details: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Eligibility: PhD/MD/MS degree holders

Awards: Rs 50,000 per month and other benefits

Application timeline: Between July and December (tentative)

Application mode: By post (to the Director General of ICMR)

Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF)

This fellowship aims to promote technical research studies and attract the meritorious students to pursue doctoral programmes at leading institutions in India. The students who have completed or pursuing BTech/ MTech/MSc/ Integrated MTech/ MSc degree can avail benefits under this scheme.

They are required to apply for a PhD programme at one of the PMRF granting institutes either through direct entry channel or lateral entry channel.

Provider details: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India

Eligibility: BTech graduate, final year BTech, integrated MTech, integrated MSc students from IISc/IITs/NITs/IISER/IIITs

Awards: Stipend up to Rs 80,000 per month and other benefits

Application timeline: Round the year

Application mode: Apply through the PMRF granting institutions

Source: Indian Express, 15/11/20