contemporary issues 2

8/22/2019 Contemporary Issues 2

1/22CHRONICLE IAS ACADEMY 1

FAIRLY at the beginning of the 21st century, India istrying to emerge as a major player on the world scene. Ifall goes well, it may succeed in its effort in a couple ofdecades. What gives it confidence are the aims the countryset before itself during the freedom struggle and soon afterIndependence and its experiments with nation-buildingduring the last 58 years.

Perhaps, India could have moved at a faster pace;maybe, it could have achieved more if occasional hurdles

along the way had not slowed down the process. Yet,whatever it has achieved so far has surprised even thosein the world who enjoyed harbouring doubts about itssurvival as one nation beyond a few years after Indepen-dence. The "Dangerous Decades" are far behind us as theworld's largest democracy is poised to take major stridesduring the next few years.

After years of sluggishness, the nation's economy isgrowing at a rate which is making the world repose con-fidence in India's ability to achieve more in not too distanta time. Militarily, India can deter a nuclear or a conven-tional adventurist aiming a potshot at its territorial integ-rity or its national interests. The country is self-sufficientin meeting many of its needs. More people are having a

better standard of living than ever before. There is a gen-eral hope in the air about its future.

However, to believe that all is well with the land willbe a folly. India is reluctant to shed a lot of baggage of thepast; population is still rising at an alarming rate; thegains of growth of the economy are not reaching all thepeople; not all children are going to school; and not every-one has access to healthcare. There are a large number ofpeople who cannot afford to have the daily nutrition. Inhundreds and thousands of villages even clean drinkingwater is not available. Housing is meant for a lucky few.In most villages and towns the jobless - in numbers - areadding to the despair which, if not tackled, can undo the

hopes of even a 'Shining India'. Sena wars in Bihar, andthe growth of naxalism and violence in many parts of thecountry are only a few of the portents the country has tocontend with.

What is worrying is the health of the institutions thatare supposed to guide the affairs of the nation and takeIndia forward towards a better future. These institutionswere created by the Founding Fathers of the Republic withthe fond hope that they will serve the people for a longtime, change their lives in a big way and help build Indiainto a major nation-state in the not too distant future.

Unfortunately, the performance of these institutions

CONTEMPORARYISSUES-2

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during the past five decades is not what it ought to havebeen. Parliament, after a great initial start, is becomingless vigilant and effective in defending the rights of thepeople or giving them a constructive lead; the administra-tion by habit remains distant and callous towards mostpeople whom it should serve; and the judiciary - thekachehri, which is the last hope of the people - is not ableto dispense justice to all, despite an awakened SupremeCourt that knows the problem but is unable to provide the

cure.Most political parties have been found wanting. TheCongress is yet to recover its lost bases in Uttar Pradeshand Bihar and several other parts of the country - a majorweakness for a pan-India political party. The BJP's lack ofbasic respect for minorities' sensibilities and the normsthat should guide a plural polity and society will alwaysstem the party's growth. The regional parties by their verynature and reach do not have the vision to lead an Indiaof the 21st century.

How do you run a nation of over a billion people andhelp it build a new future with blunted instruments is amajor question which the people and leaders of Indiamust address without wasting more time.

Worse things are happening and affecting the func-tioning of these institutions as well as the entire bodypolitic. Despite the high aims enshrined in the Constitu-tion, casteism is still afflicting India, may be more seri-ously; corruption is eating into the vitals of the nation;and now the entry of criminals into politics, Parliamentand State Assemblies has vitiated much of the politicalsystem.

Untackled, these are leading to erosion of the people'sconfidence in the political system. At teashops and dhabasacross the country - and even in the drawing rooms ofShining India - the people with varying degree of cyni-cism are beginning to question many an assumption

underlying the prevailing political system.Despite its inability to resolve the problems of the

peripheral India - the North-East and Kashmir, for in-stance - most people are not worried about India remain-ing one country, however. Many concerned and thinkingpeople are increasingly getting worried about the qualityof democracy and governance they are supposed to livewith.

Ensuring the quality of democracy may, in fact, turnout to be a major task for the country during the next fewyears. On accomplishing it will depend what kind of Indiawill emerge from the current mix of hope and despair.

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2/22CHRONICLE IAS ACADEMY2

GOGOGOGOGOVERNVERNVERNVERNVERNANCEANCEANCEANCEANCEMAKE THE SYSTEM RESPONSIVE

N.N. Vohra - The writer is a former Union Home and

Defence Secretary and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister.

THE British ruled India to further their imperial inter-ests. They left behind a seriously impoverished economy- a feudal agrarian sector and a fragile industrial basewhich contributed to large-scale unemployment, abysmally

low incomes, widespread poverty and illiteracy. Since In-dependence our country has achieved significant successeson several fronts. Following the colossal upheaval causedby Partition, the government, despite severe constraints,worked devotedly to restore public order and resettle mil-lions of refugees.

Faced with a near famine situation, the administrativeapparatus effectively managed thousands of ration depotsto distribute essential supplies.

Post-1947, India was faced with an acute financialcrisis and grave challenges on varied fronts. Nonetheless,in the early years, serious problems were tackled and fair

progress was achieved in addressing the complex tasks ofnation-building.

There was realisation that orderly change and sus-tained stability would act as a shield against social unrestand violence. This led to the high emphasis on people'sparticipation and implementation of community develop-ment projects to reduce poverty and unemployment andlay the foundations for achieving equitable growth.

This period witnessed the expansion of education andhealth facilities; enforcement of land reforms; establish-ment of universities and centres of scientific, technologicaland agricultural learning and research; expansion of roads

and railways and public transport networks; constructionof huge dams and extension of irrigation systems whichpaved the way for the success of the Green Revolution andattainment of self-sufficiency in the production of foodgrain,perhaps the most outstanding achievement, worldwide, inthe last century.

Sustained progress

Attention was also devoted to increasing production ofsteel, cement and power and launching initiatives to gen-erate nuclear energy. During this period, the country facedfour external aggressions and our Armed Forces performedvaliantly, except in the Sino-Indian conflict. In short, whileserious gaps remained on several fronts, our country was,overall, well set on the path of sustained progress.

This article cannot go into details of the reasons whyand when we started failing. Briefly, it can be said thatgovernance had far fewer failures in the early decades,essentially because our first generation political leaders,who had made large personal sacrifices during the free-dom struggle, were persons of proven integrity, committedto higher values and national perspectives. Enjoying thetrust of the people and respect of the public services theywere able to effectively direct the affairs of the state.

In subsequent years, even before the enforcement ofEmergency (1975-77), internal feuds and power politicshad overtaken commitment to the vital tasks of gover-nance. This period also saw the emergence of a new breedof "committed" civil servants and coteries of extra-consti-tutional elements joining the political bandwagon, caus-ing severe damage to Rule by Law and the Constitution.

The failure of national-level political parties and themushrooming of regional and sub-regional groupings ledto splintered electoral outcomes. The consequent emer-gence of coalition governments, in the states and later atthe Centre, generated political instability which had anadverse impact on governance. The new commitment toseize and hold political power at any cost saw the emer-gence of a frightening nexus between corrupt politiciansand public servants and unlawful elements in society.

From around the 1990s there were a series of expo-sures of scandals relating to large-scale defalcations, em-

bezzlements and cases of corruption among which werethe fodder scam, the hawala case and the Bofors andsubmarine deals. These scams involved serious allega-tions against chief ministers and their ministers, ministersat the Centre and even prime ministers, besides servingand retired senior functionaries.

In the recent years, a growing number of IPS and IASofficers, including several director-generals of police(DGPs) and chief secretaries (CSs), have also been pros-ecuted in cases involving gross abuse of authority, corrup-tion and criminal offences. Even the Armed Forces havebeen infected, as witnessed by the Tehelka scandal.

Tainted set-up

Governance has suffered because of the progressivedeterioration in the functioning of the executive, the statelegislatures and Parliament; the subordinate judiciary haslong been tainted and malfunctioning; recently, fingershave begun to be raised even at the higher judicial ech-elons.

Despite the enveloping gloom, the country has beenachieving progress on several fronts. However, our seri-ous failure to achieve human development goals and eq-uitable growth has vitiated the pace of our national ad-vancement and, after nearly six decades of freedom, westill have around 25 per cent of our population subsistingbelow the poverty line.

The endless debates on the failures in our governancehave, interalia, pointed to: a fractured polity and multi-party governments being incapable of enforcing the much-needed measures to provide good governance; deficien-cies in the electoral system, which permit entry of cor-rupt/criminal elements; appalling inefficiency and unac-countability of the administrative apparatus all over thecountry; and widespread corruption at the political andadministrative levels.



There have been continuing demands for urgent re-forms being enforced on all fronts, particularly in regardto the role and responsibility of the police and publicservices.

Our Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, architect ofeconomic reforms in the early 1990s, is most seriouslyconcerned about the crucial connectivity between the qual-ity of governance and the pace at which human and eco-nomic development can be attained. He has already estab-lished an Administrative Reforms Commission and theprocess is underway for establishing a new Centre-StateCommission.

The Prime Minister has taken the exceptional initiativeof holding separate meetings to meet and hear all thedistrict magistrates and superintendents of police in thecountry. Action is also being taken to introduce the re-quired electoral reforms and to enact the Lok Pal Bill,which has been pending for well over three decades now.

While, hopefully, the aforesaid and other initiativesbeing meditated by the Prime Minister would engender afruitful outcome, the most urgent attention would need to

be given to improving governance in the states as theyhave the fundamental responsibility for promoting thewelfare of our billion plus people, the vast majority ofwhom live in villages.

In this context, it is relevant to particularly focus on thestate of affairs in the districts where hundreds of function-aries, representing different departments and agencies, aredeployed, village-level upwards, to deliver developmentaland regulatory services.

Public services

In discussing the vital importance of effective district

administration it may be recalled that, not long ago, theentire band of employees were totally answerable to theirdistrict heads, and the deputy commissioner (DC) or dis-trict magistrate (DM) exercised effective supervisory con-trol over the entire district establishment. The district su-perintendent of police (SP) also worked in close coordina-tion with the DC/DM, while being unfettered in his day-to-day management of law and order.

It is a matter of serious concern that, over the years, theaforesaid situation has changed beyond recognition. Inmost states the CSs and DGPs do not have any say evenin recommending the officers to be posted as DCs/SPs;likewise the secretaries and their heads of departmentshave limited say, if at all, in the appointment of districtand regional heads of their departments. Almost as a rule,all postings and transfers of DCs, SPs and district-leveldepartmental officers are decided in the chief minister'ssecretariat which is perennially engaged in dealing withthe unending requests received from local MLAs, MPs,influential business elements and others who claim to besupporters of the political parties in office.

In such a scenario, when even patwaris and constablesare transferred by the state revenue and home ministers,respectively, and likewise for all other employees, the very

basis of holding the district-level officers, particularly theDC/DM and SP, accountable, has been totally shattered.Employees, at all levels, who enjoy patronage and directlinks with the political hierarchy, owe loyalty only to theirpolitical masters. This has contributed to the much-la-mented spread of indiscipline, non-performance, unac-countability and corruption.

A consequence of this situation is the daily transfer ofscores of functionaries, particularly DCs and SPs, forhaving failed to deliver on the political behests conveyedto them, in many cases by the very person who seeks anunauthorised or even an unlawful decision to further hisinterests. This is not all.

Large-scale transfers also take place, at all levels,throughout the year and particularly during a change ingovernment when, besides "loyalty", high consideration isgiven to the caste or community and even the politicalaffiliation of the favoured functionary! This unending spateof transfers has a most damaging effect on the timelyimplementation of crucial developmental schemes and,equally worrying, the sudden shifts of SPs virtually en-sures against the effective maintenance of public order.

In this alarming state of affairs an ever-increasing num-ber of young, talented and professionally motivated offic-ers, including those who join the All-India Services, arerealising that they have limited options. Such among themwho chose to adhere to the rulebook are soon categorisedas "inept" and "unsuitable" for responsible assignments,particularly in the districts where "flexibility" is the es-sence of survival.

Being sidelined, frequently transferred, publicly humili-ated and even made to face charges of one or the otherkind, a certain percentage of such officers shed their ide-alism, become cynical and join the bandwagon.

In this scenario outlined above it is a moot questionwhether the rot which has set in can, at this stage, bestemmed from within. The short answer is that such aneventuality is unthinkable. Essentially so because thepublic services comprising the state administrative ma-chinery - which delivers governance - is no longer a co-hesive body. The erstwhile apparatus stands liquidated.

The various service cadres are no longer guided, ad-vised and led by their superior administrative authorities,who used to be looked upon as role models. The CSs andDGPs are no longer in a position to protect their flocks

who are left to seek their own solutions which, in mostcases, involve the development of extra-constitutional loy-alties and consequential irrevocable damage to adminis-trative functioning as per established rules, policies andthe law.

Irrespective of the high success which may be securedin attracting foreign investments and speeding up thepace of our economic growth, the country will continue tolag behind till we achieve near full success in the efficientand time-bound implementation of vital human develop-ment programmes to promote literacy, health, housing,safe drinking water etc. and, side by side, employment



generation and rapid reduction in the existing povertylevels.

Thus, briefly, while due attention continues to be de-voted to macro issues we just cannot afford to any longerdelay fully restoring efficient and honest functioning inthe districts, where our people live and where all the vitaldevelopment progammes concerning their welfare areexecuted.

Internal security

Sustained development cannot be achieved in a dis-turbed environment. It is, therefore, of extreme importancethat law and order is effectively maintained across thelength and breadth of our country. The maintenance ofinternal security is also vital to attracting increased invest-ments from external sources.

While various well-considered measures would be re-quired to improve governance on all fronts, we cannot, asthe very first step, lose any more time in ensuring that theentire band of the over 20 million functionaries, compris-ing the public services in our country, discharge theirduties efficiently and honestly and, side by side, the policeorganisations in the states are enabled and allowed, with-out any interference whatsoever, to effectively maintainlaw and order.

This is not an easy task. It cannot be tackled unless thepolitical hierarchies in the states are educated, persuadedand, if necessary, even coerced to urgently reorient theirfunctioning to speedily commence delivering good gover-nance. Among many other problems, it is this politicalchallenge which our Prime Minister must face and re-solve. There is no more time to be lost.



FOREIGN POLICYFOREIGN POLICYFOREIGN POLICYFOREIGN POLICYFOREIGN POLICYNEW INDIA'S GLOBAL ROLE

M.K. Rasgotra - The writer is a former Foreign Secretary.

Since the end of the Cold War, the world order hasbeen in a state of dynamic transition. With unprecedentedmilitary, economic and technological preponderance, theUS dominates the scene. Europe is reunited, at peace and

engaged in consolidating its political unity and economicintegration. NATO, a remnant of the old order, without asecurity role in Europe, has found something to do in theheart of Asia in Afghanistan.

European military meddling in Asian countries (as partof a NATO force) could revive bitter memories of the op-pressive imperial era and hinder the process of reconcili-ation between pacific Europe and a resurgent Asia.

The US has established a firm presence in several re-gions of Asia. China's emergence as the pre-eminent Asianmilitary and economic power is another dramatic devel-opment of the last decade. A new role, as a major regional

military and economic power, also beckons India to makeits contribution in the making of a new Asian equilibriumof peace and security. Russia with its vast Asian stretch,and Japan, the world's second largest economy and amilitary power of note are equally significant players inthe unfolding Asian drama.

Stress on stability

The centre of gravity of world power and internationalfocus have, therefore, shifted from the Euro-Atlantic regionto Asia which, regrettably, is also the scene of severalissues of discord. It is here in Asia that the questions of

peace and security will be decided by the equations andinteractions in the next quarter century among these fivepowers - China, India, Japan, Russia and the US. Theforeign policies of all these powers are undergoing changesin varying measures. Hence the tectonic shift in the USA'sIndia policy and Beijing's unwonted expression of desirefor improved relations with India. It is a time - and aworld of uncertainties and contests for influence andsupremacy and surprises. The task before the statesmen ofthe 21st century is one of forging working partnerships tocreate a stable equilibrium of peace and cooperation inwhich none of the five powers mentioned above feelstrapped in an environment of hostility; none is threatened

with exclusion and none feels emboldened to walk into aseeming vacuum causing a clash of interests with anotherpower.

China abuts on India and its sub-Himalayanneighbours, and India is not likely to enjoy the luxury ofwatching the scene in aloofness. Both countries need peaceand stability: both need cooperation of the other threepowers for trade, technology transfer and arms and eachwill determine its own priorities and decide which poweror combination of powers will best help advance its eco-nomic, political and security interests. The nature and

scope of the relations of China, Japan, Russia and the USwith India's neighbours, especially China's relations withPakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar will largelydetermine India's priorities.

Foreign policy begins with neighbours, and as Kautilyateaches us, difficulties are inherent in relations betweenneighbours. Kautilya also observes that a great powerloses stature if it remains bogged down in neighbourhoodentanglements, which in a sense has been the story ofIndia since Indira Gandhi's demise. Circumstances arenow ripe for India to pull away from the mire of SouthAsian controversies, and play its due role on the largerworld stage. Pakistan's foreign policy began with its inva-sion of Kashmir within weeks of its birth.

In its dealings with India ever since it has relied on theuse of force with the support, alternatingly, of the US and

China. The US has finally veered away from that course,but China's commitment to Pakistan seems to have deep-ened because of their shared objective to keep India stra-tegically locked in South Asia. Washington's current per-ception of India's place and role in the world provides afirm base for vastly expanded cooperation between thetwo countries. Pakistan will also remain important inAmerican calculations, but we need not lose sleep over thenature and extent of their dealings.

India should tend its own relationship with Pakistanwith care, patience and perseverance. Considering thatIndia cannot give up Kashmir and Pakistan cannot forc-

ibly take it, Pakistan's pointless agitation and jehadi ter-rorism should be expected to continue by fits and starts.Nevertheless, the current peace dialogue must proceed toa settlement of the problem on the basis of a large measureof autonomy for the Kashmir Valley as well as "AzadKashmir" and the northern areas under Pakistan's control.

Bangladesh's antagonistic posture receives encourage-ment from both Pakistan and China. India should dealfirmly with its provocations on the border, its shelteringand nurturing of Indian insurgents and its undeclaredpolicy of encouraging its surplus population to infiltrateand settle down in neighbouring Indian states. This policyposes a serious future security threat to our sensitiveNortheastern region. There should be a parallel concilia-tory approach also. Bangladesh is a functioning two-partydemocracy, and we must at all times cultivate both par-ties. In matters of trade and development cooperation alsoIndia needs to be a good deal more accommodative ofBangladesh's needs.

Nepal is in the grip of a crisis threatening the country'sunity and integrity. The King's perseverance in his presentpolicy of marginalising the pro-democracy parties accom-panied by the failure of the Royal Army to suppress theMaoist rebellion has pitted the monarchy against a threat



to its own survival. Dangers lurk in this situation for Indiaand efforts must continue to bring the King and the pro-democracy parties together for restoration of democracy inNepal.

Having got rid of the Rana anarchy, the people ofNepal are unlikely to submit to the autocratic rule of theShah dynasty. India must also find ways of exerting pres-sure on the Maoists to give up violence and seek redressof their complaints through democratic processes.

The progress of the SAARC has been obstructed byPakistan's support for jehad in Kashmir and its negativepolicy of making trade and economic cooperation withIndia contingent on a Kashmir solution. India need nei-ther be in the driving seat of SAARC nor mourn its slowdemise. Instead, we should invest every possible bilateraleffort - political, military and economic - in strengtheningour links with willing neighbours, namely, Bhutan, SriLanka and Maldives.

India's foreign policy and diplomacy must increasinglylook at the world beyond South Asia where the closestpossible working relationship with the US would appear

to be India's best bet. There is growing convergence oftheir political, economic and security interests in the re-gions surrounding India. The United States is expected tomaintain its supremacy in the foreseeable future, and thatrules out the viability of a "China-India-Russia StrategicTriangle", for in varying degrees each country is depen-dent on the US for technology, trade and other support.

Nuclear plans

India needs Washington's active support to enhanceits nuclear energy resource, be rid of the NPT regime con-straints and find its way into the Nuclear Suppliers Groupas a responsible nuclear-weapon power. And since there

is no unilateral bounty - gifting in international relations,we must also be meticulously attentive to US interests andwilling to meet its expectations of reciprocal cooperation.

Nothing should be allowed to diminish our time-testedrelationship with Russia which is bound to be dominantin the sensitive and oil and gas-rich Central Asia. Thereis scope of considerably enlarged relationship with Rus-sia in energy, trade, science and technology.

We should want the best possible relationship withChina, but its nuclear and other military support for Pa-kistan places a ceiling of sorts on Sino-Indian relations.While we should put the 1962 war behind us, and freezethe border issue if that is what China wants, in our on-going dialogue with this great neighbour, we must squarelyask why China shows such insensitivity to India's politi-cal interests and security concerns in its immediate sub-Himalayan neighbourhood. China's puzzling policy ofsettling Muslims along Tibet's borders with India cannotbe a source of confidence and comfort to India.

Japan, the world's second economic power, is appre-hensive of China's rise and what it spells for the future ofits own economic and security interests. Many Japanesesee a Chinese strategic design behind nuclear weapons

reaching North Korea from Pakistan in return for Chinesemissiles. Japan's new interest in a closer economic andpolitical relationship with India is a welcome develop-ment to which India must respond constructively. Weneed Japanese investments and technology and an over-all, expanding political relationship to facilitate coopera-tion in these areas.

The EU-India relationship is flourishing into a "strate-gic partnership" , satisfactory to both parties. From amongthe major European countries, trade and economic linkswith France should be strengthened in the areas of agri-culture, vocational education, water management, armssupplies and technology transfer. France has given usvaluable support on critical political and security issues.It is India's most likely collaborator in nuclear energygeneration in the years to come.

Our neglect of South-East Asia since independencehas allowed China's dominance in the region's economyand politics. The region's countries look to India for diver-sification of their political, cultural and economic linksbut India's "Look East" policy has yet to acquire sub-stance. The region can be an important source of energy

supplies and vastly expanded trade for India.

In a globalised world, India's foreign policy will haveto focus increasingly on economic objectives, trade en-hancement and attracting foreign investment and ad-vanced technologies to enable the country to achieve asteady growth of eight to 10 per cent of the GDP perannum. But diplomatic salesmanship abroad has to bereinforced by measures at home to liberalise the economy,reform and rationalise labour laws, and remove bureau-cratic corruption and hurdles.

It is a common complaint abroad that an investmentproposal requires clearances at 52 separate points, withdelays and demands for bribes at almost every point.Several new areas now form the subject of complex inter-national negotiations - environment, women's rights andother social issues, HIV/AIDS and drugs, disaster man-agement cooperation etc.

Diplomatic inputs

It is necessary to re-equip the Ministry of ExternalAffairs and enhance its capabilities for these new tasks.The MEA needs a stronger economic policy wing, a Sci-ence and Technology Directorate, and much closer coor-dination than what now exists with the ministries of

Defence, Commerce, Finance and the sundry departmentsdealing with energy security. Its inert Policy Planningestablishment is in need of refurbishing.

All this will give the MEA the versatility it needs in thechanged world. At the moment, it is without adequatequalified personnel, expertise and the resources neededfor proper cultivation of India's political, cultural andeconomic relations with African and Latin AmericanCountries. The government must concentrate efforts andresources for the achievement of the larger objectives ofpolicy. The four year-long campaign for permanent mem-



bership of the UN Security Council has only detractedfrom Indiaimage as a rising world power.

As India's economic and military strength grows andacquires greater visibility, the world, even the USA andChina, will want India in the UNSC. Policy-makers areoften confronted with difficult choices between differentsets of interests and objectives.

Inevitably these days, a great deal of diplomacy cover-ing a variety of issues is conducted at the summit level.

Perhaps, the Prime Minister should have a Foreign PolicyAdvisory Group of his own to collate and coordinate in-puts from concerned ministries and departments on anygiven issue.

The overarching objective of Indian diplomacy nowshould be to project India as a resurgent and self-reliantcountry capable of safeguarding its interests and willingto play its proper role for peace, security and stability inAsia and the world.

The transformation of India into one of the world'sleading economies, a responsible nuclear-weapon powerwith demonstrated scientific and technological competenceand a stable democracy is a truly phenomenal achievementof our time. This wonder of diversity and dynamism as adevelopment model for democracies in the Third Worldneeds portrayal on the world stage in language andbehaviour characterised by modesty, dignity and restraint.



A commercially viable business enterprise must growand expand in size and scale. Though the Indian agricul-ture sector has a vast potential for growth, yet it seems tobe suffering from irrational exploitation of natural resources,

technology fatigue and policy indifference that is creatingseveral kinds of bottlenecks and anomalies that are hin-dering its growth and development with equity. As a con-sequence, the farm sector is showing signs of decliningtotal factor productivity and plateauing of production thatis adversely affecting farm incomes and livelihood secu-rity of the rural population. The problem is vast as well asserious and needs to be tackled with vision and determi-nation.

Following are a few of the thrust areas in policy thatare crucial for faster growth and development of the agri-cultural economy of the country.

Investment

For sustainable development, the economy must havea growth rate higher than what keeps the economy at theextent level of per capita income and standards of living.The growth rate is determined by the natural resourcesand man-made productive assets and their use efficiency.Resource constraints must, therefore, be relaxed and capa-bilities built in order to promote growth and development.With the declaration of India as a socialist republic, thecountry opted for planned development of the economyand paid special attention to the agriculture sector.

In the First Five Year Plan, emphasis was placed onagriculture with an outlay of more than 10.2 per cent ofthe total plan budget. Actual expenditure in the plan wasstill higher at 10.8 per cent. This investment helped im-prove the food situation, yet made the planners and policymakers complacent. The expenditure in the Second FiveYear Plan was reduced drastically to 4.7 per cent of thetotal expenditure. By the mid-1960s, the country was im-porting huge quantities of foodgrain. In 1964-65, Indiaimported around 13 million tons of foodgrain.

Research

Fortunately, in the mid-1960s dwarf wheat seeds be-

came available from Mexico, which triggered the GreenRevolution. No doubt, these seeds were available for allthe states, yet the success of wheat-based Green Revolu-tion has been different in different parts of the country.The question is: What is that which makes it a successstory in some parts of the country only? The states thattransferred the research function completely to their agri-cultural universities, and effectively linked up the depart-mental extension set-up with the university research sys-tem, advanced faster in the development of the agriculturesector. Where research responsibility was not transferred

or remained a dual responsibility of the university and thegovernment department, the progress was muted.

It is of paramount importance, therefore, that the na-tional research system of the country is fully revamped,

particularly in the agricultural universities so that loca-tion-specific anticipatory research effort is made in strate-gic areas in order to make demand-driven agriculturalproduction cost-effective and globally competitive. Thisrequires transferring of research function completely tothe agricultural universities in all the states and substan-tial investment in our research plant for developing cut-ting edge technologies through the use efficient of ourscarce resources.

Consolidation

Land holdings in most parts of the country are small

and fragmented. It is difficult to introduce improved farmpractices on such holdings with no scope for levelling ofland, expansion in irrigation, development of indepen-dent approach roads and mechanisation of operations etc.Wherever land holdings have been consolidated, such asin Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, it helped the farmers toget canal irrigation, install individual tubewells andpumpsets, mechanise operations, introduce high-yieldingvarieties and adopt improved practices. Land consolida-tion serves as a base for modernisation, and states thathave not consolidated land holdings have very low pro-ductivity and are deficit even in foodgrain. For instance,the Gangetic plain has some 20 million hectares of highly

productive land floating over sweet water, which has pro-ductivity potential as high as Punjab. But, fragmentedsmall-sized holdings with no independent approach roadsand no separate source of irrigation are handicapped inadopting improved production technologies and hencesuffer from very low productivity. Thus, consolidation ofland holdings is a pre-requisite for agricultural growthand development.

Seeds of change

Seed is the most important input. It is essential toensure quality seeds of improved genotypes in adequate

quantity. India created seed corporations in the states aswell as the Seed Corporation of India at the Centre. Thejob of the agricultural universities and research instituteswas to produce enough quantities of foundation seeds ofthe recommended varieties. The seed corporations got theseseeds multiplied in the fields under the supervision ofSeed Testing Authorities of the states to maintain the purityof the seeds produced. This ensured the availability of pure,certified seeds of recommended varieties in adequate quantity.

In some progressive states, the foundation seed wasdistributed in small quantities directly to the farmers at

FOOD &FOOD &FOOD &FOOD &FOOD & AAAAAGRICULGRICULGRICULGRICULGRICULTURETURETURETURETURESOW RIGHT FOR A RICH HARVEST

S.S. Johl - The writer, a noted agro-economist, is Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board, Punjab.



fairs also so that they could multiply their own seed forthe next crop. This system, while ensuring adequate sup-plies, reduced the time gap between research and its adop-tion by farmers, and enhanced the seed replacement rate.Unfortunately, the system has lapsed into performing rou-tine functions specially at a time when production pat-terns need to be diversified for higher incomes and effi-ciency of resource use. Seed policy, therefore, needs to bestreamlined so that the varietal development effort of theuniversities and research institutes bear fruit on the fields.

The private sector is entering the seed business at a veryfast pace. Yet, in the absence of definitive seed policy, thefarmers are being exploited without any accountability onthe part of the seed companies. This is a major challengebefore policy-makers, who need to regulate the productionand supply of seeds for a minimum level of productivityunder specified conditions and practices.

Irrigation

Water is the second most important input after seeds.Yet, it is the most scarce social asset; harvested, usablewater is becoming scarcer by the day. It was estimated thatyield of foodgrains under irrigated conditions were two tosix times higher than the yield under rainfed conditions.Similarly, the instability in yields of irrigated crops wasless than half of un-irrigated crops. Yet, for optimum re-sults, irrigation has to be under the control of the farmerso that he can supply water to the crops as required intime. Expansion of canal supply undoubtedly helps farm-ers grow the crops better, but alongside it is the tubewellirrigation that gives the farmer independent control onwater for his crops. Assured irrigation is the major factorthat allows large-scale adoption of improved varieties andincreased intensity of cropping. A one per cent increase inirrigated sown area raised the cropping intensity by an

average 0.16 per cent in the country from 1965 to 1980.Thus, it is not the availability of irrigation water per sethat determines productivity; more important is assuredirrigation under the farmer's control.

Here a word of caution is necessary. With such inde-pendent, free access to the underground water throughprivate tubewells, there is every possibility that farmerswould overdraw subsoil water thereby, upsetting the bal-ance between withdrawal and recharge of water. This iswhat happened in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and severalother parts of India. In a democratic set-up, electoral com-pulsions play a major role. The groundwater table in sev-eral states, especially in Punjab and Haryana, is recedingat an alarming rate. It is a suicidal approach to supplyelectricity (for farm operations) and irrigation water free ofcost or at excessively low rates. Flat-rate charges are asharmful as free supply, because after paying these charges,the farmer entertains no urge to save on power or water.

The system plays havoc on underground water re-sources, so much so that farmers and urban centres arenow installing submersible pumps to lift water for irriga-tion and drinking purposes. There is, therefore, no scopefor laxity in this respect. Sustainability of production andenvironmental conservation demand that, regardless of

electoral compulsions the balance between withdrawaland recharge of water should never be upset; and watershould be treated as a social asset and not allowed to beirrationally exploited by individuals. This demands theinclusion of social costs in production estimates of com-modities, both in terms of the resources used and environ-mental externalities. Therefore, a definitive policy - incor-porating the harvesting of water, its utilisation, right pric-ing, ecological considerations and sustainability of wateras a social resource - must be put in place to avoid the

disastrous consequences of unchecked over-exploitation.

Input supplies

The dwarf varieties of crops such as wheat and ricecannot be grown profitably without irrigation, fertilizersand pesticides. High yielders, whether plants or animals,require higher inputs as well as pest control. Subsidisedsupply of fertilisers to farmers, though at a huge cost tothe exchequer, enabled even the small farmer to usefertilisers. In some parts of the country, such as the statesof Punjab and Haryana and western UP where assuredirrigation was available, along with high-yielding seeds,improved production technology and effective extensionservice, fertiliser use increased tremendously, and produc-tion as well as productivity touched new heights. Yet, allthis did not happen without negative results either. To-day, the groundwater in these areas is highly pollutedwith fertiliser and pesticide residues rendering it unfit fordrinking. The situation demands a policy stance thatencourages the farmer to use these chemicals selectivelyand at optimum levels which leave minimum residues inthe soil and water. India needs to design policy optionsthat encourage the contractual participation of chemical-producing and distribution companies in integrated pestmanagement, which would lower the cost and health risks

for the farmers; and, at the same time eliminate excessiveand wrong use of pesticides and minimise environmentaldegradation.

Education

Next to infrastructure, education has strongcomplementarities with the factors that determine economicgrowth and development. The level of literacy has a posi-tive significant correlation with economic development.Rural development strategies that did not take due cogni-zance of human resources as a factor of production havenot achieved optimal results. A survey based on 37 coun-tries estimated that four years of primary schooling of

farmers an average would enhance farm output by 8.7 percent (Lockheed et al, 1980).

In India, wheat output was estimated to have grown atthe rate of 1.49 per cent with each year of increase in theeducation level of farmers. (Jamison & Lau, 1982) Thelevel of development in different states underscores thisrelationship. Further, closer the relationship amongst farm-ers, researchers and extension agents through education,techniques and training, lesser is the lag between researchresults and their adoption on the field. The gap in thetechnical efficiency, defined in terms of best and current



practices, is inversely related to human capital, expressedin terms of formal schooling and non-formal education.Thus, farmers' education plays a crucial role in puttingthe agriculture sector on a sustained and faster growthpath. Farmers' education, both formal and non-formal, musttherefore, be given top priority in order to hasten the adop-tion of ever-improving production technology. This willstrengthen the absorptive capacity of the farm sector fornew techniques and methods provided by our researchinstitutes.

Production credit

Agriculture production, being a biological process, hasa long periodicity in harvests. The farmers, especially theresource-poor small farmers, do not have the financialcapacity to invest on costly inputs and wait for returns.Credit support at affordable cost (interest) is, therefore,essential. It improves farmers' access to purchase inputs.Credit, if properly used for the sanctioned purpose, bringsfuture opportunities to the present; If diverted to unpro-ductive purposes, it can lead to bankruptcy. The amountof credit, its timeliness, interest rate, prior evaluation ofproposals and continuous monitoring are essential inputsto make credit a positive determinant. Unfortunately, wehave remained overly concerned with the supply side ofthe credit. The situation is that financial institutions withthe mandate to advance a minimum of 18 per cent of theircredit to the agriculture sector have a high level of liquid-ity, but are not finding viable avenues of investment. Thereis, therefore, a need for enhancing the capacity of therecipients in the farm sector through creatingcomplementarities of technology dissemination, marketclearance and appropriate priced credit support.

Market and price

Production is not complete till it reaches the consumerin the form, at the time and place he demands. Therefore,

market plays a crucial role in the production process.Farmers, especially small farmers, do not have much stay-ing power and holding capacity for their produce. Theirmarketable surplus becomes spot arrivals in the market assoon as the crop is harvested. They have to invariablyoperate in a buyers' market. They need to be protectedfrom the vagaries of market and buyers' monopolies andcartels. In an economy of shortages, it is particularly im-portant to protect farmers, because post-harvest glut oftenleads to a price slump when the farmer disposes off his

produce; and lean period shortages lead to high priceswhen the produce is in the hands of the trade. This putsa damper on the production effort of farmers and, at thesame time, consumers do not benefit in any manner.

The minimum support price and procurement systemserved very well in eliminating market uncertainty forfarmers, but the rigidities of the system put the prices offoodgrain out of alignment with international prices. Flex-ibility and rationality are key elements in pricing andprocurement policies. Now, it is time that the private sec-tor should be enabled to play a competitive role in theagricultural markets through amendment of the Agricul-

tural Produce Markets Act in the states, though it shouldnot replace the existing markets. This will reduce thepressures on the public sector market operations and,simultaneously, control unhealthy market practices ofprivate players.

Thus, for higher and sustainable growth, the agricul-ture policy thrust must involve multiple tracks such asinfrastructure development, efficient irrigation, regular andright-priced power supply, education to access improvedproduction technology and market information, adequateand fair credit, effective R & D input, close interactionbetween researchers, extension workers, farmers andpolicy-makers, and, lastly, effective market clearance ofdemand-driven production.



EDUCAEDUCAEDUCAEDUCAEDUCATIONTIONTIONTIONTIONTIME FOR OVERHAUL

K.N. Pathak - The writer is Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University.

of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Theenrolment declined to 58.8 per cent in classes VI to VIII.

This lower ratio in the latter years of schooling, ascompared to the earlier years, is not only on account oflower enrolment or higher drop-out rates but possibly alsodue to there being a large number of students in the agegroup other than six to 11 years in Classes I to V and atthe same time there being a greater proportion of studentsof the specified age group in Classes VI to VIII.

The position in respect of higher education too is notsatisfactory. The share of higher education doubled in thetotal education outlay from nine per cent in the First FiveYear Plan to 18 per cent in the Second Plan, and increasedto an all-time peak of 25 per cent in the Fourth Plan.

Thereafter, it has seen a consistent decline, falling to about15 per cent in the Seventh Plan. However, the share ofhigher education in the Eighth Plan outlay was estimatedto be eight per cent.

Higher education

In the post-Independence period, higher education hasexpanded fast with more than 345 universities as on May31, 2005, and as many as 15,437 colleges in January, 2002.This may be attributed to the adult literacy (15 years andabove) rate of 57.2 per cent, according to the Human De-velopment Report 2002. Approximately 7.2 per cent ofadults in the 17-24 age group have the privilege of getting

higher education. As compared to this, the figure for theUS and Australia is 80 per cent, Canada 88 per cent,Finland 74 per cent and the UK 52 per cent. This figurefor India has to be augmented - at least by a modest 25 percent before 2020 - if we are to become a developed nationin the next two decades.

The need for self-financing private universities andinstitutions of higher learning is evident. Though the gov-ernment is committed to spend six per cent of the GNP oneducation during the Ninth Plan (1997-2002), it has spentonly 3.7 per cent of the GNP on education and only about0.5 per cent on higher education. Thus, there is a steep

decline in the government share in education as a whole.Although the public expenditure on education has in-creased in relative terms, the share of higher educationhas actually declined. This is not because of any financialcrunch but due to the low priority accorded to this impor-tant sector. In fact, in India, while education has beenhighly subsidised in the case of government-funded uni-versities, the fee collection is only four or five per cent and,in any case, not more than 10 per cent of the total expen-diture in most cases.

All these suggest that with increasing population, and

THE overall growth and development of the countryduring the pre-Independence period, as we are all aware,had been not only unsatisfactory but also discriminatory.With this experience in mind, our planners thought it fitto adopt the approach of planned development of thecountry as a whole. The First Five Year Plan focused onagriculture, the second on industry and the third,again, on agriculture and agro-based industry. In thesePlans emphasis on development of education was onlyperipheral.

Therefore, for a balanced development of the educationsystem, in the subsequent Plans, the planners took up anumber of thrust areas so as to meet the challenges ofdevelopment and the needs of society in general.

India's educational development is a mixed bag of re-markable successes and glaring gaps. In the post-Indepen-dence period, the pace of educational development wasunprecedented by any standard. However, the policy fo-cus and public intervention in the provisioning of educa-tional services were perhaps, inadequate, or even mis-placed, to the extent that even after more than 50 years ofplanned effort in the sector, nearly one-third of the popu-lation or close to 300 million persons of age seven andabove, are illiterate.

There are critical gaps in the availability ofinfrastructural facilities and also the qualitative aspects,including teachers' training, curricula, equipment and

learning materials, particularly, in the state-funded school-ing system. The achievements and failures are not uniformall over the country. In spite of apparent regional differ-ences in the literacy levels, there has been a significantreduction of inequalities in educational attainmentsamongst different sections of society defined by gender,caste, income level and the rural-urban divide.

The Census of India defines the literacy rate as theproportion of literates to the total population of age sevenand above. From a mere 18.3 per cent (for the age five yearsand above) in 1951 to 43.6 per cent in 1981, this percent-age rose to 65.2 per cent in the Census of 2001.

Enrolment rate

Students should be screened before they are admittedto degree-level courses. - Photos by Manoj Mahajan

For the first time since the Census of 1951, the numberof illiterates declined in the decade 1991-2001, by almost32 million in absolute terms, notwithstanding inter-statevariations in literacy rates, such as over 90 per cent inKerala but less than 50 per cent in Bihar.

Further, the gross enrolment ratio in Classes I to V was94.9 per cent in 1999-2000 according to the annual report



rising educational requirement, a massive expansion ofopportunities is urgently called for since the governmentby itself may not be able to meet this need. Hence, the casefor encouraging private participation in expanding oureducational base, though on a selective basis so as toensure quality. This is especially so in view of the growingtrend the world over towards greater participation of pri-vate enterprise.

Japan has 512 private universities out of a total of 684;the US, 1,752 out of 2364; and, more than 80 per cent ofthe universities in the Philippines are in the private sector.

Notwithstanding the alarming educational situationin India, people -whether political or otherwise - havebeen crying hoarse about the mushrooming growth of uni-versities and educational institutions, mostly public, inspite of the fact that the number is really too small for acountry of our size and the emerging needs of highereducation and research. Comparative figures from theInternet for other countries are instructive in this context:

Japan with a population of 12.7 crore has 684 univer-sities; the US with a population of 27.6 crore has 2,364

universities offering four-year and higher degreeprogrammes; the UK with 5.98 crore people has 104 uni-versities and 231 degree-awarding autonomous institu-tions; and, Germany has 330 universities for its popula-tion of 8.2 crore.

Outdated methods

Even among the 247 universities we have, few are ina position to meet even the minimal academic expecta-tions. In addition to revenue crunch, absence of autonomyand the extra burden of affiliated colleges, the generaluniversities are also marred by the obsoleteness, outdatedsyllabi and lack of interdisciplinary approach. There is

urgent need for networking of the system through infor-mation and communication technology and outgrowingthe outdated composition, powers and functions of bodieslike the Academic Council, Executive Council, Syndicateand Senate.

It is important to mobilise resources, arrest the processof declining resources and relate the fee structure to stu-dents' capacity to pay, if higher education is to encouragethe hitherto excluded sections of society. This is even morenecessary in the case of technical education where the costof education is relatively higher. In fact, it is in this contextthat the UGC and the AICTE committees recommended

that at least 20 per cent of the recurring expenditure perstudent has to be generated through fees. At the same time,there is a compelling case for introduction of career-ori-ented courses which are necessary today, if we want toderive real benefits from our higher education system.

Only six or seven per cent of the relevant age group ofour population is in higher education compared to about40 per cent in developed countries. There is need to en-large the role and relevance of our universities to reach alarger community.

Universities are the creations of legislatures and they

are, by and large, financed from public funds. They have,therefore, to be accountable to the concerned legislaturesand governments although the performance of their func-tions, which require exercise of academic judgment, liesexclusively within the domain of universities. A newawareness is growing that while the status of teachersshould be raised, there should also be a system of theiraccountability. The practice of showing the evaluatedanswer books to the students is, perhaps, a part of thisvery exercise which will make teachers more careful and

objective in evaluating the students.

Radical changes

Another aspect to be taken care of for the improvementof the education system is that the students should bescreened before they are admitted to degree-level and post-graduate courses so that only those genuinely interestedand with the right aptitude are given admission. This willobviate chances of indiscipline and unnecessaryagitations by students which institutions are facing thesedays.

If the qualities of mutual understanding, cooperation,

co-existence and harmonious living are to be inculcated,the teachers have to be well equipped and have to playtheir role to provide students with quality and value-oriented education.

In fact, the country needs "educational revolution", likethe Green Revolution brought about by Dr M.S.Swaminathan, and some eminent figure has to spearheadthis revolution with the avowed aim to:

Introduce a large number of primary schools in non-urban sectors with the necessary infrastructure andquality teachers for motivating an increased numberto join the schools.

Carry out the process of monitoring of these schoolsnot only for quality of teaching but also for drop-outsand the required remedial measures.

Increase the number of middle and secondaryschools and teachers to cope with the populationaspiration.

Carry out meaningful screening at +2 level for thevocationalisation of education so that students withthe appropriate aptitude and interest enter their streamof choice.

Initiate necessary reforms in the system for value-oriented education and to impart a new dimension to

the teacher's role. Make the system easily accessible to eligible members

of all sections of society.

Make the teachers responsible and accountable to theauthorities as well as to the students they teach.

Encourage participation of private enterprises for cre-ating a network of institutions.

Liberalise the conditions and procedures for grant ofautonomy to institutions of higher learning.

Adopt new ways and means to raise funds to makethe system more efficient, responsive and accountable



and relate the fee structure to the students' ability topay.

Encourage the third dimension of continuing andextension education.

Take steps for increasing enrolment in highereducation.

Start more career-oriented courses for schoolleavers.

Make the university system more people friendly, trans-parent and accountable through amendments to re-cast the functioning of the Academic Council, Syndi-cate, Senate etc.

Encourage large-scale participation.

These are some of the new thrust areas which, if takenup with earnestness, could make for a turnaround in thecurrent scenario of sluggishness and obsolescence in oureducation system. The objective of education should be todevelop a complete human being and make the systemglobally competitive and relevant while meeting the needsof Indian industry and society as a whole.

Then, and only then can the unprecedented challenges

thrown up by the current global scenario be successfullymet. This will help planners make human resource pro-ductive, purposeful and marketable.



OPEN any glossy magazine today and there are won-derful stories on fitness clinics-men and women on tread-mills, diets and recipes galore to keep the hard workedcorporate executives fitting fit, brain ticking on fruit juices

and protein-high nuts, nutritious salads and cold cuts.Health tourism and medical tourism are the buzzwords

as patients in search of specialised surgeries and healthcaretroop into the country for repair of heart, eye surgery,replacement of kidney, knee or hip, in search of ayurvedicoil massage and herbal medicine. With technology, thefive-star hospital culture has seeped into India and is hereto stay. No longer is it just the Arabs coming in droves forMumbai's upbeat and efficient medical facilities at Jaslokand Breach Candy. Pakistani children are being flowninto Bangalore and Hyderabad for the most intricate heartsurgeries, opening up new roadmaps for friendship be-tween nations that had been estranged for several years.People in the UK and other countries, too, are finding thatmedical care in India is comparatively cheaper than intheir own country and, more importantly, reliable. Privatedoctors in smaller towns too are cashing in on the five-starhospital culture for the foreign bhai.

India ambles at two levels - the bullock-cart age andthe jet age of information technology. In the sphere ofhealth, too, there are these distinct spheres. While the bestof medical care and facilities are available for those whohave deep pockets, for the common man, particularly invillages and small towns, there is just no medical care.

Poor facilities

A countrywide survey conducted a few years ago (RCHFacility Survey-first round) had found that less than 50per cent of the Primary Health Centres had a labour roomor a laboratory and less than 20 per cent had a telephone.Less than a third of these centres stocked iron or folic acid,a very cheap but essential drug.

Four years ago this journalist had the opportunity,rather the misfortune, to see first hand the dismal healthfacilities in rural Uttaranchal. A team of journalists andpopulation experts whose jeep had rolled down a khud,killing one person, had to be rushed to the nearest hospi-tal which was the district hospital at Bageshwar. Thehospital had no toilet, telephone or basic facilities like anx-ray machine. Patients had to be carried in makeshiftstretchers to a private doctor, just outside the hospital foran x-ray. One of the x-ray films showed that an injuredman had two broken ribs. In fact, he had six broken ribsand was in agonising pain. It is only after being moved toan army hospital close by that he was told about thegravity of the injuries suffered.

So, is it any surprise that a large proportion of the ruralpoor do not visit these health centres not unless they have

to? They prefer to spend their limited resources runningto private doctors or to quacks who fleece them. About aquarter of all hospitalised Indians fall below the povertyline and 40 per cent become indebted because of

hospitalisation. Many just drag themselves to the big cit-ies and the bigger hospitals for proper diagnosis andtreatment. They live in ashrams or the streets of the bigcities waiting for audience with the doctors and runningaround for various tests.

In fact, the World Bank has documented the impact ofhealthcare on the economic status of Indians. "India is stilla very poor country with around 44 per cent of the popu-lation earning less than a dollar a day. The poorest 20 percent of Indians have more than twice the rates of mortality,malnutrition and fertility compared to the richest 20 percent. However, India has one of the most privatisedhealthcare systems in the world with less than a fifth of allhealthcare expenses coming from the government." In theUK, the share of government spending is over 90 per cent,in Sri Lanka it is 45 per cent and in the US 44 per cent.

Spread of TB

Despite the great strides on the economic front and abooming stock market, India is home to 60 per cent of theleprosy patients and 42 per cent of the deaths each yearare due to communicable diseases. India has been tack-ling other ailments like tuberculosis, malaria and water-borne diseases like typhoid and gastroenteritis for de-cades now but it has not been able to contain them. In fact,

there has been a resurgence of TB and malaria.

It is estimated that one person dies of tuberculosisevery minute. The deadly falciparum malaria has beendecimating tribal populations in Orissa, Madhya Pradeshand Jharkhand. Now with 5.1 million HIV-infected peoplein the country, opportunistic infections like tuberculosisand malaria, unless detected and treated in time, heralda quicker death.

The situation is equally grim for children. Every year,two-thirds of children under the age five die of acuterespiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease. Water-bornediseases are rampant and about 10,000 die of cholera.There is the new frightening phenomenon of AIDS or-phans, children who have lost both parents to the HIVinfection. Many of them are HIV positive too and paedi-atrics drugs for treating them are not available.

The general insanitary condition in our small towns isreflected in the hospitals too. There are stories of pigspicking up and chewing up a new born baby in a hospitalwith poor sanitary facilities. Dogs and monkeys lurkaround hospital corridors, frightening patients and defil-ing the environment. Cockroaches surface regularly in hos-pitals and even in operation theatres.

MEDICAREMEDICAREMEDICAREMEDICAREMEDICAREMAJORITY REMAINS IN POOR HEALTH

Usha Rai



Even when money is pumped in, the results are justnot visible. The World Bank gave Uttar Pradesh $110million for the UP Health System Development project.This was to improve the district hospitals and medicalcolleges of the state. Yet, some 500 deaths have been re-ported in the state from Japanese encephalitis in the lasttwo months.

Finding funds

Privatisation of rural health services is worrying and

this is happening because of the inefficiency of the publichealth services of the country. Lack of financial resourcesis the reason given to justify failure to restructure thepublic health system. But even when it is provided theresults are not commensurate. How can the governmentfulfil its promises when it spends less than the Africancountries on healthcare? The budgetary allocation forhealth has declined over the years and the annual percapita expenditure on public health is a mere Rs 200.

In India preventive services take a back seat to curativecare. States which bear 75 to 90 per cent of the burden ofpublic health spending, have their funds largely tied up

in 'non-plan' salary expenditure, leaving little room foressential drugs, operations and maintenance of the publichealth facility.

However, all is not lost. A great deal of hope is pinnedon the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), flaggedoff by the Prime Minister this year. The mission aims tointegrate the different vertical health programmes;decentralise healthcare service delivery at the village andimprove inter-sectoral action. The mission is expected tomake a substantial reduction in maternal and infantmortality and communicable diseases in the next fouryears. The NRHM is focussed on 18 states, including the

seven Northeastern states and the 11 states of northernand eastern India. An overall increase is expected in thehealth budget. It is expected to go up from 0.9 per cent ofthe national budget to 2 to 3 per cent.

The NRHM holds the promise of a village health planthat will be drawn up by members of the community inpartnership with the auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) andanganwadi worker. The mission also has provisions foremploying nearly three lakh rural women health workerscalled Asha, who will provide frontline healthcare to thecommunity. She will have responsibility not only for simpleremedies like the oral rehydration mix but she is expectedto motivate families for clean water, sanitation and safepregnancy and delivery. She has indeed tremendous re-

sponsibilities for emergency services that are not availableoutside the cities for complication in deliveries and Indiaaccounts for a fourth of all maternal deaths worldwide.

Provision of curative services at the peripheral level isan area of weakness of the present government healthcareservice delivery. The NRHM's emphasis is on preventionof ailments and infections but there is an acute shortageof doctors at the peripheral level. Under the NRHM, cura-tive services are to be strengthened from the village up-wards. The Community Health Centre is to be strength-ened as a rural hospital so that emergency surgery andhospitalisation is possible round the clock. Protocols and

standards for curative services are to be codified into In-dian Public Health Standards to ensure quality of care.

But in India there has always been a mismatch betweenwonderful plans that remain on the drawing board and theaction on the ground. We hope this will not happen. Nowthat reproductive health services have been integrated withgeneral health services, the emphasis on targets forsterilisation etc has to go. If basic health facilities are pro-vided to rural India, people will control their fertility.

There has been enough of tokenism. Sufficient fundingmust be found to make the vision of the NRHM a priority.Let people be given a stake in ensuring the success of the

NRHM.

-The writer, a senior journalist, specialises in development

issues.



REPRESENTATIVE democracy and parliamentary in-stitutions have endured in India for five decades and more.It is a great tribute to their strength and resilience. To saythat Parliament of India is not effective would be a grossoverstatement. Bashing Parliament and parliamentarianshas become a fashion with self-proclaimed intellectuals.

This has to be deprecated because other institutions haveperhaps declined more.

Parliament in our polity is the supreme representativeinstitution of the people. And, for that very reason, publicperceptions about the functioning of Parliament are veryimportant. It cannot be denied that during the recent de-cades, there has been a tremendous erosion in the respectand esteem for parliamentary institutions and the legisla-tors in general.

There is an overwhelming consensus, in the academiaand in civil society fora on what is called "decline ofParliament". Our founding fathers adopted for us a system

of representative parliamentary democracy. But, if the rep-resentatives of the people themselves lose the faith of thepeople, there is every cause for serious concern.

An overview of developments in parliamentary institu-tions since the first Lok Sabha reveals some very interest-ing and some disturbing facts. The number of days onwhich the Houses of Parliament sit each year and the timethat is devoted to transacting business has come downconsiderably in recent years. Even when they do meet,often little gets done. In the face of disturbances and shout-ing, the Houses have to be adjourned frequently. This isso irrespective of who is in power. This was so during the

BJP-led government and it is the same under UPA.

Parliament was conceived as the legislature or the law-making body, but of late law- making has ceased to beeven the most important of its functions either qualita-tively or quantitatively. From about 48 per cent, it hascome down to occupy less than 13 per cent of its time. Thecharacter of Parliament has also changed as a result ofchanges in membership composition.

There were times when our Parliament could legiti-mately boast of having some very outstanding and accom-plished parliamentarians who could do honour to anyparliament in the world. Once when a member drew the

attention of Acharya Kripalani to the fact that he wascriticising the Congress Party which had attracted hisown wife, the quick-witted Acharya retorted: "All theseyears I thought Congressmen were stupid fools. I neverknew they were gangsters too who ran away with others'wives". The whole house roared with laughter.

When Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia was pleading for Stalin'sdaughter Svetlana being given asylum in India on theground of her marriage with an Indian, the charming ladymember, Tarkeshwari Sinha, interjected to say that whenDr. Lohia was not married how could be talk of conjugal

sentiments? Dr. Lohia hit back: "Tarkeshwari, when didyou give me any chance." Later, on one occasion, theheavy-weight member, Piloo Mody, was accused of show-ing disrespect to the chair by speaking with his backtowards the Speaker, Mody defended himself by saying"Sir, I have neither front, nor back, I am round." Such wit

and humour is the most effective instrument for managingtensions and keeping tempers cool. Of late, it has largelydisappeared from the Houses of Parliament.

Until 1977, i.e. for the first 30 years of Independence,the Opposition while small in number was more effectiveand had greater impact potential. Perhaps, it was so be-cause of the high quality and character of membership onboth sides and largely because a stable government andsecure leadership could show greater magnanimity andaccommodate Opposition viewpoints without losing face.Once while rejecting an amendment moved by Rajaji, Nehrusaid: "You see Rajaji, the majority is with me". Rajaji re-

torted: "Yes, Jawaharlal, the majority is with you but thelogic is with me". Nehru laughed with the House andaccepted Rajaji's amendment. Such gestures are hardlyconceivable now.

There has been a distinct change in the content, canvasand culture of debates right from the first Lok Sabha days.In the earlier Lok Sabhas, there was much greater empha-sis on discussion of national and international issues.Increasingly more regional and even local problems arecoming to acquire greater relevance and importance forour members. We are more and more looking at nationalproblems from regional, communal, linguistic or other-wise parochial angles rather than the other way round.

There has been in recent years quite some thinkingabout devaluation of parliamentary authority, deteriora-tion in the quality of members, poor levels of participationand the like. Today, one notices a certain cynicism to-wards parliamentary institutions and normal parliamen-tary processes and the parliamentarians. We have an un-ending debate in regard to the falling standards in theconduct of legislators as evidenced by poor quality ofdebates, niggardly attendance in the legislatures, unrulybehaviour of members, scenes of pandemonia and the like.Legislatures having members with criminal records, roleof money and muscle power in politics are the most com-

mon topics of popular discussion today.

Sanctity of means has lost all value, meaning and rel-evance. If dacoits, smugglers, gangsters and foreign agentscan help put us or sustain us in power, we are preparedto compromise with them. We do not hesitate to buy sta-bility through corruption, bribery, distribution of spoilsand yielding to the pressures and blackmail brought bypartners and supporters.

Right or wrong, the people feel that the new breed ofpoliticians in all parties are generally selfish, power-hun-gry, greedy, dishonest hypocrites and power merchants

PARLIAMENTPARLIAMENTPARLIAMENTPARLIAMENTPARLIAMENT,,,,, REFORMREFORMREFORMREFORMREFORM THYTHYTHYTHYTHYSELFSELFSELFSELFSELFSUBHASH C. KASHYAP



for whom the nation comes last and the welfare of thepeople is at the bottom of priorities. Their only concern isto amass wealth and somehow get to and stay in power.They are so busy in the struggle for power that they haveno time or energy left for serving the people. The peopleare aghast and, and what is worse, they feel helpless. Wemust deliberate on the highest priority basis why thingshave come to such a pass and what can be done to restorethe legislatures and legislators to their old glory and bringabout a renaissance of democratic faith and parliamentary

culture.

Refashion economy

As the National Commission on the Constitution found,the fundamental challenges before the nation today areeconomic and technological. Parliament has a decisiverole in refashioning the national economy, keeping in theforefront the ideals of a self-reliant economy that serve thereal needs and aspirations of our vast masses. Parliamentcan play this historic role only if it consciously reforms itsprocedures and prioritises its work.

A constitutional way would have to be found to meet

the situation when no party or leader is able to form agovernment. Parliament has to discharge its responsibil-ity. One simple constitutional remedy may be for the LokSabha to elect its leader. The person so elected may beasked to form the government and the government soformed may be made removable only by a constructivevote of no confidence.

The information explosion, the technological revolu-tion, the growing magnitude and complexities of modernadministration cast upon Parliament other vastly extendedresponsibilities. Inadequacy of time, information and ex-pertise with Parliament results in poor quality legislationand unsatisfactory parliamentary surveillance over ad-

ministration. Inadequacy of education and training in thesophisticated mechanics of parliamentary polity and theworking procedures of modern parliamentary institutionshas adversely affected the performance of both the legis-lators and the bureaucracy.

Adequate efforts have to be made to develop the essen-tial prerequisites for the success of parliamentary polity -discipline, character, high sense of public morality, ideol-ogy-oriented two or three-party system and willingness tohear and accommodate minority views. Several of thearchaic practices and time-consuming procedures mostunsuitable for present-day needs have to be changed.

Members, irrespective of their party affiliations, havethemselves become a new caste, parts of the establishmentand co-sharers in the spoils. Again, some honourable ex-ceptions apart, politics and membership of Parliament haveemerged as a wholetime, highly lucrative, hereditary pro-fession for a majority of those involved. There is generalapathy among Members, ministers and the public at largein the work of Parliament.

Legitimacy of government and of representative insti-tutions under the system are inextricably linked to freeand fair elections and to the system being able to bring to

power persons who truly represent the people's will andhave the necessary abilities to govern. The representativecredentials of our elected representatives have come to bequestioned. There are hardly any ideological or program-matic considerations in voting. Almost all parties and can-didates are busy building their vote banks on the basis ofcaste, communal, linguistic or other such identities orthrough clandestine control of the electoral processes.

Despite the Election Commission and Supreme Courtefforts, the number of crime- tainted Members has increasedDistortions have also crept into the representative characterof Parliament through the operation of the electoral systemMajority of those declared elected happen to have securedonly minority of votes. Therefore, it seems it would be nec-essary to reform the electoral system and the political partysystem before Parliament can be made more effective.

Role expectation of Parliament is linked with the roleperception of the State. Economic reforms should lead tocutting back on government involvement and drastic reduc-tion in the role of the State in national economy. This shouldnaturally get reflected in the reduced role for Parliament andits Committees. Also their processes, control mechanisms

debating and decision-making procedures would have to berevamped and made faster. Floor management techniqueswould have to be professionalised at the level of whips,parliamentary officials and the presiding officers.

For Parliament, it is of the utmost importance constantlyto review and refurbish its structural-functional requirementsand from time to time to consider renewing and reformingthe entire gamut of its operational procedures to guardagainst putrefaction and decay. The case for reforming Par-liament to make it more effective is unexceptionable and, ina sense, has always been so. The real question is of howmuch and what to change to strengthen and improve the

system. We have to be clear about the precise need, thedirection and the extent of the reforms that would be desir-able at present. It is obvious that mere tinkering first-aidrepairs and trifling cosmetic adjustments would not any-more be enough. What is needed is a full-scale review. Wehave to be prepared for fundamental institutional - struc-tural, functional, procedural and organisational - changes

Parliament in the future would be relevant only as adynamic institution ever adjusting its functions and proce-dures to the changing needs of the times. If democracy andfreedom are to endure, if representative institutions are to bemade impregnable, it is essential to restore to Parliament

and its members their traditional esteem and honour in theaffections of the people. Reforming Parliament in essentiarespects is already a categorical imperative.

Improve conduct

Parliamentary reforms would have to include: building abetter image of Parliament as belonging to the people andnot to MPs and establishing a new rapport between thepeople and Parliament; improving the quality and conductof members; reducing expenditure on Parliament and mak-ing membership financially less attractive and more moti-vated by the spirit of sacrifice and service; quashing forth-



with the unconstitutional MPLAD Scheme; improving in-formation supply and efficacy of committee scrutiny; leg-islative planning and improving the quality of laws; set-ting up standing committees on the Constitution and onthe economy - subjecting constitutional amendments tocloser committee scrutiny and raising economic policy tonon-party levels; codifying privileges; improving workingof parties, floor management and parliamentary time table;and rationalising and modernising rules of procedure tomeet today's needs.

Finally, parliamentary reforms would have to be a partof an integrated approach to reforms in all sectors - in

education, judiciary, legislature, administration and therest.

Parliamentary institutions are very precious plants andunless nursed with care, they tend to wither away. Intoday's situation, there is every case for appointment of aParliamentary Reforms Commission or a Study of Parlia-ment Group (as was done in the UK) to consider thevarious issues and policy options to make Parliament amore effective instrument of socio-economic developmentand national rejuvenation.

The writer is former Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, and

author of the six-volume 'History of Parliament of India.'



N. Vittal

A World Bank defines corruption as use of public of-

fice for private profit. When the world was divided be-

tween the two superpowers and the Cold War was on, the

World Bank did not focus on the issue of corruption as asignificant issue. The reason is obvious. So long as the

Cold War prevailed, what mattered was the ideological

orientation of the country receiving the aid. It used to be

said by the superpowers, "We know that so and so is a

son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch".

This approach underwent a massive change when the

Cold War ended. The taxpayers in the aid-giving coun-

tries started questioning whether the aid given was reach-

ing the beneficiaries in the recipient countries. That the

issue of checking corruption and thereby ensuring good

governance was an important pre-requisite for develop-

ment and removal of poverty in developing countries is

now widely recognised. Corruption, therefore, has become

an issue of global concern.

It is not only in the area of public governance that

fighting corruption became a central issue. Even in the

area of global business, thanks to the scams in the year

2000, when Fortune 500 companies like Enron and uni-

versally reputed companies like Arthur Anderson were

exposed as having indulged in financial engineering and

window-dressing of accounts misleading the market andthe investors, the issue of corporate governance assumed

equal importance. Honesty is the best policy, is a discov-

ery the world made once again in the 1990s. Stringent

legal steps, like the Sorbonne Oxley Act in the United

States, were taken.

Matter of concern

For us in India, corruption has been an age-old phe-

nomenon. Chanakya is supposed to have said in the

Arthashastra that there are 40 different methods by which

public officials can indulge in corruption. "TheMahamatras are like fish. Does one know, when the fish

is drinking water?" he is supposed to have said. Indira

Gandhi, when asked a question about corruption, passed

it off with a comment that it was a global phenomenon.

But here is the rub. It is true that corruption is a global

phenomenon, but the degree of corruption is not the same.

The non-governmental organisation called Transparency

International, in Berlin, publishes every year the Corrup-

tion Perception Index (CPI), and ranks the countries in

their order of corruption. The least corrupt country, ac-

cording to the CPI 2004, is Finland and the most corrupt

is Bangladesh. Out of the 146 countries listed, India ranks

a poor 91. Fiftyfive countries are more corrupt than India

but 90 countries are less corrupt than India. India cer-tainly belongs to the more corrupt countries of the world.

Corruption becomes a matter of concern because of its

negative consequences. Corruption is anti-national. The

hawala scam of the 1990s exposed how anti-national forces

like the Kashmiri terrorists were getting funds through the

hawala route, and it is the same route by which the cor-

rupt bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen also were

getting and laundering their funds. The 1999 UNDP re-

port on Human Development pointed out that if India's

corruption level can be brought down to that of the Scan-

dinavian countries, India's GDP will grow by 1.5 per cent

and FDI increase by 12.5 per cent. Corruption is, therefore,

anti-economic development. The PHD Chamber of Com-

merce also made a study in 2001 which pointed out that

if there was a 15 per cent reduction in corruption, then

there would be 300 per cent enhancement of investment.

As we look ahead, the question before us is will cor-

ruption continue to plague the country?

Corruption is anti-poor. In a country, where 26 per cent

of the population is below the poverty line, corruption hits

the poor very badly. Many of the development schemes

meant for the weaker sections do not benefit them at all.

Rajiv Gandhi remarked that only 15 paise out of every

rupee meant for the anti-poverty programme reaches the

beneficiaries. In fact, the major point of criticism about the

Government of India's Employment Guarantee Act, which

visualises a Rs 1,50,000-crore scheme - to ensure that all

citizens in the rural areas are assured of a minimum 100

days of work with a daily wage of Rs 60 - is

seen as a tremendous opportunity for corrupt elements

among the bureaucracy and politicians to siphon off huge

funds.

Even the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme

on which the Central Government's scheme has been mod-

eled, also offers no hope. Even in that scheme, there are

false muster rolls. Aruna Roy through her Mazdoor Kisan

Sangharsh Samiti brought home in Rajasthan the extent of

leakage in development funds.

As we look ahead to the next 10 to 15 years, what is

it that we can hope for on the corr

contemporary issues 2

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