Despite protests Delhi Govt. going ahead with cash transfers

While protesting against Delhi Government’s decision to conduct pilot surveys in Sangam Vihar and Jahangirpuri for cash transfers so as to replace the existing public distribution system (PDS), activists from Bhalaswa Lok Shakti Manch told the media persons gathered at Indian Women Press Corps on 15 June 2012 that they have collected 4500 signatures (including 3300 signatures in Jahangirpuri alone) of residents who do not want cash in lieu of ration.

Speaking at the press meet, Pushpa from Bhalaswa Lok Shakti Manch (BLSM) said that Delhi Government is in favour of replacing the PDS with cash transfers. Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan survey conducted in 2011 showed that 91.4 percent of respondents preferred a reformed PDS instead of cash transfers (see the link: http://www.im4change.org/hunger-hdi/public-distribution-system-pds-42.html?pgno=2). She alleged that for distributing Rs. 12 lakh to 100 persons (one each for a household) as money for cash transfers (for a year) in Raghubir Nagar, Rs. 14 lakh was spent on the survey done by SEWA and IDF. On 26 April, 2012, UNDP and the Delhi Government along with SSMI organized a public meeting in Jahangirpuri in order to convince people about the advantages of cash transfers over PDS. However, through a signature campaign, 4500 signatures were collected from people rejecting the cash transfer scheme. The same have been sent and communicated to the Chief Minister of Delhi, FSO Commissioner, AC (north West) and UNDP along with memorandum of people from Jahangirpuri. She said that APL cardholders have been excluded from the cash transfer scheme. People who have demanded for their rights have faced harassment at the hands of officials and ration dealers.

Manmohan Singh, activist from Bhalaswa Lok Shakti Manch informed that for submitting cash (of Rs. 1000/- per month) in favour of a female head of the household in the Raghubir Nagar survey, there were difficulties faced in opening of bank accounts due which the Delhi Government had to directly intervene. The monthly sum of Rs. 1000/- which was given as cash transfer for a household (of 5 members) in the pilot survey by Delhi Government is not enough to purchase ration that can generate 2200 kilo calorie for an adult per day in urban areas. Since 70 percent of BPL households have an average size of 7 (and not 5 as assumed by the Delhi Government), so the sum stipulated under the cash transfer scheme is insufficient to meet the monthly expenditure for a household. Manmohan said that the PDS in Delhi is subject to governance failure. It is not the PDS which is problematic but those who govern the system who are at fault. Despite several RTI petitions being filed, most ration/ fair price shops do not disclose information to the consumers proactively. Repeated complaints made on irregularities in PDS have fallen on deaf ears. Citizens’ Charter of Delhi has not been implemented well. Earlier the Supreme Court slammed the Government for putting a cap on the number of BPL ration cards issued when so many poor people migrate to Delhi in search of livelihood opportunity. The e-PDS is of little benefit to the BPL.

Reetika Khera from IIT, Delhi said that not all cash transfers are bad like widow pension, old age pension etc. She informed about her study that was done in 10 states along with Jean Dreze during 2011. In two-third of the households surveyed, PDS was preferred over cash transfers. In Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, people were mostly in favour of PDS. People preferred food over cash for the following reasons: food security; access to bank/ post office; access to markets; dissipation of cash (for buying alcohol); underdeveloped rural markets; and, artificial inflation caused due to collusion by local traders. If the PDS is replaced with cash transfers, the burden of transportation and storage costs would be transferred to the poor. From her past experience of working with the rural poor, Reetika earlier felt that poor in the cities are not disempowered and do not lack awareness. However, having heard the activists from BLSM, she asked for giving urban poor both the options: cash transfer as well as PDS. In a democratic set up, people’s views have to be taken into account, she added. She said that the arguments in favour of cash transfers were heard during the days when PDS was subject to rampant corruption and pilferage. However, the situation in India has improved a lot. In her study based on secondary data from NSS 2007-08, she has found that states that have traditionally performed poorly in terms of monthly per capita PDS purchase viz. Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have improved their performance between 2004-05 and 2007-08 (please see: People prefer PDS over cash transfers, http://www.im4change.org/news-alert/people-prefer-pds-over-cash-transfers-9935.html). India is wrongly imitating the Brazilian cash transfer model-‘Bolsa Familia’. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.25 a day (PPP) in Brazil was 6 percent in 2009 while in India it was 33 percent in 2010 (as per the World Development Indicators). Brazil has achieved almost universal literacy while India has a long way to go. Brazil is more urban as compared to India. Given these differences, India needs direct Government intervention for removing malnutrition. 

Rashpal Kaur, Delhi state general secretary, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), the women's wing of Communist Party of India said that though the Government is in a mood to abolish the PDS, there is no guaranty that corruption will not take place in cash transfer scheme. The Government wants FDI in retail to make entry in India at the cost of common man’s interest. However, the government is depriving the poor. The APL and BPL divide in PDS should be ended and PDS should be made universal. She said that the Planning Commission wants to reduce the number of BPL card holders in the country. As against the accepted number of 6.52 crore BPL cards, there existed 10.68 crore BPL cards by end of March, 2009. There is no uniformity in the definition of poor. There are three different estimates for the number of BPL households: one by Prof. Arjun Sengupta, another by Dr. NC Saxena (www.sccommissioners.org) and the Planning Commission estimates. According to Prof. Arjun Sengupta who chaired the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, 77 percent of the population of India lives below the poverty line. Dr. NC Saxena, a retired civil servant acting as a Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court, feels that half the country’s population of 1.2 billion is below the poverty line, which he apparently defines as a monthly per capita income of Rs 700 in rural areas and Rs 1,000 in urban areas. A recent Planning Commission estimate puts the head count ratio in India at 29.8 percent in 2009-10. She alleged that quota for Central assistance in PDS to states has been reduced in recent years. She said that even the Prime Minister while releasing the HUNGaMA report has agreed that it is a national shame for India to have 42 percent of its children as underweight. Though the Government spends conspicuously on toilets and gave 5 lakh crore sops in its budget to industrial houses, it never has enough money for the poor. Cash transfer is dangerous and the Government is under pressure from the private sector. The Food Corporation of India has outsourced its work to outsiders and is running short of staff. The Government is not willing to buy from farmers. Cash transfer scheme that is being piloted is not linked to inflation. Somehow the Government wants to manipulate data so as to show that India has reduced poverty as per the Millennium Development Goals requirement. A lot of money is wasted on trivial programmes like Stand Up against Poverty (http://standagainstpoverty.org/suap/) and Make Noise against Poverty.         

Image courtesy: http://www.outlookindia.com/images/pds_20071126.jpg

References:

Survey on preference between PDS and cash transfers in Delhi by Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan, Delhi, http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/survey-preference-between-pds-and-cash-transfers-delhi  

Do Poor People in Delhi want to change from PDS to Cash Transfers?-A Study conducted by SEWA Delhi, October 2009,

http://www.sewabharat.org/Delhi%20cash%20transfers%20english.pdf

Justice Wadhwa Committee slams the PDS, http://www.im4change.org/news-alert/justice-wadhwa-committee-slams-the-pds-1759.html

Justice Wadhwa Committee on PDS,

http://pdscvc.nic.in/report%20on%20computersisation%20of%20PDS.htm

Bolsa Familia in Brazil: Context, Concept and Impacts (2009), ILO,

http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/jobcrisis/download/109B09_28_engl.pdf    

The Nuts and Bolts of Brazil’s Bolsa Família Program: Implementing Conditional Cash Transfers in a Decentralized Context-Kathy Lindert, Anja Linder, Jason Hobbs and Bénédicte de la Brière, May 2007,

http://josiah.berkeley.edu/2008Fall/ARE253/PN3%20Services%20for%20Poor/Brazil_BolsaFamilia.pdf

HUNGaMA: Fighting Hunger & Malnutrition (2011), Naandi Foundation, http://www.im4change.org/law-justice/disaster-relief-41.html?pgno=2

Poor want ration, not cash: Activists, IANS, News Track India, 15 June, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/poor-want-ration-not-cash-activists-15690.html

Delhi government faces SC’s wrath for not issuing ration card, Jagran Post, 18 May, 2011, http://post.jagran.com/Delhi-government-faces-SCs-wrath-for-not-issuing-ration-card-1305730982

Pension Parishad gets support from politicians across party lines

At the end of 5 days dharna (7-11 May, 2012) by Pension Parishad that was held at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, a press meet was held at Press Club of India on 11 May, 2012. Leader of the campaign Aruna Roy (MKSS) informed the media that more than 3000 persons from 22 states stayed during the 5 days dharna so as to demand for universal old age pension entitlement. She said that unorganized sector workers comprise 93 percent of the workforce but have no access to social security benefits. Nearly 10 percent of the Indian population is above 60 years. Putting pressure on the electoral system is essential for realizing the old age pension entitlement. Politicians across party lines visited the dharna site so as to express their solidarity on the demand for universal old age pension. On the 3^rd day of the dharna, Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh visited the dharna site of Pension Parishad and promised that he would try to raise the monthly pension amount under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 500/- and remove the distinction between APL and BPL. He also said that old age limit would be brought to 60 years for the universal old age pension. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) said that monthly pension should be increased to Rs. 3000/-. Aruna Roy informed that for 3 days (7-9 May, 2012) during the dharna, public hearings on issues related to the elderly, the marginalized & vulnerable groups and public accountability took place. 

Resolutions passed by marginalized & vulnerable groups (dalits, tribal, sex workers, transgender persons. Disabled, MSMs, people living with HIV) on the 3^rd day of dharna are:

* Monthly pension should not be less than Rs. 2000/-

* Pension should be linked to the Consumer Price Index

* Pensions should be disbursed on a specific day each month

* Simplify documentation for getting pension

* A single window system must be put in place for disbursing pension

* Transgender, sex worker and other vulnerable and marginalized communities not covered by any form of social security must be given a pension

* Old age people who fall ill should be given free medicines

* Pension and cheap foodgrain must be made available to the Jharia community which has witnessed a growing number of starvation deaths

Resolutions passed on Right to Food on the 4^th day of dharna are:

* Universal public distribution system (PDS) and no distinction between APL and BPL

* Include pulses and edible oil under PDS

* Universal old age pension cannot be used as a basis for reducing PDS entitlement or denying Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) entitlement

* All destitute elderly should have access to cooked food from Mid Day Meal (MDM)/ Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

Aruna Roy complained that despite Baba Adhav receiving the Times of India Lifetime award, not much press coverage was given by the latter to the former during the pension dharna [see: Baba Adhav to receive ToI social impact lifetime achievement award-Rukmini Shrinivasan, The Times of India, 30 September, 2011, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-30/mumbai/30229977_1_baba-adhav-social-activist-ek-panavtha]. She said that a delegation would try to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. She, however, refuted that National Advisory Council (NAC) is the platform from where she participated in the 5 days dharna. She said that there is a long way to go before the policy on old age pension becomes a legislation.

Vimla Ben, an activist associated with Pension Parishad said that slums in Delhi exhibit much poorer living conditions than the villages in rural areas. Sanitation condition in slums has reached its nadir. A report produced by her organization, which was submitted to Rakesh Mehta of Delhi Government revealed that the distinction between APL and BPL under the PDS has created rift among the population. Elderly population is the most neglected section among the population.     

Baba Adhav, veteran leader of unorganised workers in Maharashtra, said that the objective of Social Security Act 2008 was to provide social security at old age, providing identity cards to unorganized sector workers and disease relief coverage. Even after 4 years of the passing of the Social Security Act, government has failed to provide social security to unorganized sector workers. The demand for pension is related to social justice. From Pune, 25 hamal workers came to Delhi on motorcycles to join the dharna at Jantar Mantar. He said that 22 Members of Parliament (MPs) from various political parties visited the dharna venue. Although Jairam Ramesh said that a monthly pension of Rs. 2000/- is too high but he was ready for a monthly pension of Rs. 500/-. Expenditure made by jail authorities on a prisoner is higher than what the government spends on a pensioner. He said that Congress MP Manick Tagore got 40 signatures from his colleagues to be submitted to the PM so as to demand universal old age pension. The President of India has shown her support for the movement and she donated Rs. 15000/- to Pension Parishad. Pension should become a right, Baba Adhav emphasized. Pension Parishad would try to reach every district of the country. Since journalists are not covered by pension, so they too should become part of the movement. There is an obligation on the part of privileged classes to pay for pension of unorganized sector workers. He gave the example of South Africa where pension system is quite strong and was recently visited by the President.  

Prabhat Patnaik (former member of the Kerala State Planning Board and ex-faculty member JNU) said that the struggle for universal old age pension is led by Aruna Roy and Baba Adhav. He said that people are not simply asking for a rise in pension which is being given to the poor. It is a demand for realization of a Constitutional right. The struggle is significant since it is for realizing a Constitutional right to life. Right is universal—it makes no distinction between APL and BPL. If pension becomes a right, adequate means has to become the objective. That is why Rs. 2000/- per month was demanded by Pension Parishad. Once pension becomes a right, it is incumbent on the government to find resources for pensioners. Prabhat Patnaik asked that if there is a war, won’t the government fight or will it postpone it for next year by giving the excuse of fiscal constraint. The government jolly well has to raise funds for pension if it is a right. Universality of the right compels the government to find resources. Giving of pensions would increase purchasing power of the poor, which in turn would provide stimulus to the economy without worsening the balance of payment (BoP). The historical juncture has come for demanding universal old age pension, Prabhat told.

Ravi Srivastava ((former member of the National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector and faculty member JNU) congratulated Pension Parishad for bringing together so many people on the issue of universal pension. He said that there is an attempt to portray such movements as irresponsible in the backdrop of lower growth by a section of the media. Social rights and human rights are denied on similar pretexts when resources are demanded. On 15 May, 2006 the first report submitted by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) to the PM was on universal social security for unorganized sector. Due to crisis like accidents, maternity, diseases, workers in this sector fall into poverty trap and destitution. Under the universal social security legislation, the NCEUS demanded coverage of 3 things: life cover (including accidents), health expenses and old age pension. It, therefore, asked the government to spend 0.5 percent of GDP on universal social security for the unorganized sector workers. The earlier UPA government missed a huge opportunity to give universal social security. Since spending on health, education and shelter costs something to the exchequer, a viable strategy is needed to raise resources and taxation becomes essential. Government has to commit to social justice and income redistribution. Recently a committee constituted by the Planning Commission has recommended for health coverage as was done previously by the NCEUS. Ravi Srivastava agreed that pension should be linked to minimum wages. No APL-BPL distinction should be made under the universal old age pension. UPA should not miss the opportunity this time, he added.

Image courtesy: Pension Parishad

https://plus.google.com/photos/113762717967284928587/albums/5741582219603844609    

References:

Parishad to intensify campaign for universal old-age pension-K Balchand, The Hindu, The Hindu, 12 May, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3409440.ece

Pratibha backs demand for expanding old age pension scheme, The Hindu, 11 May, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3405304.ece

http://pensionparishad.org/pension/

Notes from the Pension Parishad held at TISS,

http://pensionparishad.org/pension/resources/Notes-%20Pension%20Parishad%20-%20TISS-%20April%20,2012.pdf

http://pensionparishad.org/pension/resources/Consensus%20during%20the%20Pension%20Parishad%20at%20TISS,%202-3%20April,%202012.pdf

Press Conference: Demand for Universal Old Age Pension Entitlement,

http://www.talkative-shambhu.blogspot.in/2012/05/press-conference-demand-for-universal.html

Old age blues-Sreelatha Menon, The Business Standard, 6 May, 2012, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sreelatha-menon-old-age-blues/473503/

Elderly people to stage dharna-K Balchand, The Hindu, 4 May, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3384811.ece

Universal old age pension sought for elderly citizens, The Asian Age, 4 May, 2012, http://www.asianage.com/india/universal-old-age-pension-sought-elderly-citizens-963

Universal Pension Demanded for Elderly, 4 May, 2012, http://beyondheadlines.in/2012/05/universal-pension-demanded-for-elderly/

Aruna Roy seeks universal pension rights for elderly-Puja Bhattacharjee, Governance Now, 4 May, 2012, http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/aruna-roy-seeks-universal-pension-rights-elderly

Unorganized Workers' Social Security Act, 2008,

http://labour.nic.in/act/acts/Unorganised-workers-social-security-act-2008.pdf

DIGNITY FOR THE ELDERLY: JOIN THE CAMPAIGN,

http://www.im4change.org/news-alert/dignity-for-the-elderly-join-the-campaign-14893.html

Press Conference: Demand for Universal Old Age Pension Entitlement

A press conference for demanding universal old age pension entitlement was held at the Indian Women Press Corps, New Delhi on 4 May, 2012. RTI activist Aruna Roy (MKSS) who is spearheading the campaign-Pension Parishad said that there is an ongoing debate on poverty. Poverty issues have been taken up in the discourse on development. Since the longevity of the poor has gone up but ageing body is unable to perform skill based task, pension becomes important for livelihood at old age. There is little or no social security available for the poor who are old. Joint family structure has broken down into nuclear family structure leaving no income or housing support for the aged. A recent meeting held at TISS, Mumbai revealed that Rs. 200/- per month is given to an old person aged between 60-80 years, and Rs. 500/- per month is given to an old person aged 80 years and above. Of the total elderly population, only 1.97 crore are beneficiaries of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), which means that only about one in every five persons over 60 years old receives old age pension. Universal non-contributory pension has been demanded by Pension Parishad for those above the age of 55 while the eligibility for women has been pegged at 50 years without any distinction on the lines of BPL and APL. For other vulnerable groups or workers in hazardous industries, the age of eligibility has been pegged at 45 years. Aruna Roy asked for considering pension to be an individual entitlement and linking pension to inflation. There is demand that there should not be forced retirement due to pension. Daily pension should be equivalent to half of minimum wage.

Baba Adhav, veteran leader of unorganised workers in Maharashtra, informed about the social security conference that took place in Pune in February, 2012. He said that Bhalchandra Mungekar was also present during the conference. The government has shown lack of willpower to implement the Social Security Act (SSA) 2008. The Advisory Committee for implementing the SSA 2008 was formed only in two states-West Bengal and Karnataka. Baba Adhav gave the examples of rickshaw pullers and hamals who are victims of old age. He said that universal pension is provided in Goa and in a country like South Africa where the President has gone for an official foreign trip recently.

Prof. Prabhat Patnaik (former member of the Kerala State Planning Board and ex-faculty member JNU) said that if Rs. 2000/- is given as monthly pension to an old person, then the total cost of providing pension to 8 crore old people who are not yet covered would be Rs. 1,92,000 crore, which is roughly 2 percent of GDP. If a quarter of the rise in GDP (which is presently growing at 8 percent per annum) is kept aside, then the government can use this for funding universal pension. He ended with “The state of civilization must be judged by the way it treats its elderly.”      

Annie Raja (National Federation of Indian Women) informed that NFIW is part of Pension Parishad. Aged persons are discriminated everywhere including Kerala.

Prof. Ravi Srivastava (former member of the National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector and faculty member JNU) informed that as per the estimates by National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS), 93 percent of the workforce is employed in the unorganized sector. 77 percent of the population is poor and vulnerable. As per the recent estimates by KP Kannan, the figure has come down from 77 to 70 percent. Social security is a right of the workers. Social protection, social security and sustainable human development are all interlinked. Old people of tomorrow are workers of today. They deserve protection. The universal pension scheme has to be non-contributory. For financing the scheme, the government needs to impose social security tax and levy cesses on industries. Rs. 500,000 crore has been given as freebie to various industrial houses in the current budget. Inequality has been costly to the Indian society. Maoism is a growing socio-economic problem. In Brazil, old age pension has redistributed income and reduced income inequality, he added. The idea is to raise money via additional revenue generated and not using money from the existing tax base. If there is a universal entitlement scheme, then the migratory construction workers would be benefited.       

Activist Subhas Lomte said that pensions of MPs and MLAs have gone up but not of the poor and aged unorganized workers.

Dharna Program schedule

Along with a focus on Pensions, the following related issues will also be discussed in public hearings on the 5 days of the Dharna -

7th May 2012– Public hearing on issues of the elderly.

8th May 2012– Public hearing on Accountability and Grievance Redress related to Pensions and entitlements for the elderly. The Grievance Redress Bill will also be discussed.

9th May 2012– Public hearing on issues of marginalised and vulnerable groups

10th May 2012– Public hearing on issues related to the National Food Security Bill and food security of the elderly

11th May 2012– Pension Parishad discussion on the response to the charter of demands. Planning the way forward.

PENSION PARISHAD DEMANDS

•           A Universal and Non Contributory Old Age Pension System to be established immediately by the government with a minimum amount of monthly pension not less than 50% of minimum wage or Rs 2000/- per month, whichever is higher.

•           The pension to be an individual entitlement for all eligible citizens of India.

•           The monthly pension amount to be indexed to inflation bi-annually and revised every two to three years in the same manner as is done for salaries/pensions of government servants.

•           Any individual 55 years or older to be eligible for the old age pension.

•           For women, eligibility age for pensions to be 50 years.

•           For highly vulnerable groups (such as the Primitive Tribal Groups, Transgender, Sex Workers, PWDs), the eligibility age to be 45 years or fixed according to their particular circumstances.

•           No one to be forced to compulsorily retire from work on attaining the age of eligibility for universal old age pension.

•           A single window system for Old Age Pensions.

•           APL / BPL criteria should not be used for exclusion.

•           The payment of pension not to be used to deny any other social security / welfare benefit such as benefit under the Public Distribution System.

Exclusion Criteria

•           Individuals whose income is higher than the threshold level for payment of income tax

•           Individuals who are receiving pension from any other sources that exceeds the pension amount under the Universal Old Age Pension Programme.

Key findings of the ILO report entitled: World Social Security Report 2010/11: Providing coverage in times of crisis and beyond, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_146566.pdf are as follows:

# In India, public social security expenditure excluding health expenditure (as % of GDP) was 3.10 percent in 2005 (see Table 25. Public social security expenditure, Statistical Annex Part B) as compared to 4.08 percent in China during 2006, 12.30 percent in Japan during 2005, 21.4 percent in France during 2005, 9.6 percent in Brazil during 2001 and 9.7 percent in Canada during 2005.

# Over 60 per cent of the elderly now live in countries classified by the United Nations as “less developed”. In 2050 the elderly in "less developed" countries will constitute nearly 80 per cent of the world’s elderly population. Sixty per cent of them will be living in Asia, with over half in just two countries: China and India. These developing and ageing societies have to do something urgently to ensure the right to retirement in dignity and social security to their elderly members.

# India’s National Old-Age Pension Scheme, financed by central and state resources, reaches one-fourth of all the elderly: about half of pensioners who live in poverty.

# Old age dependency ratio (see Table 1: Demographic trends: Dependency ratios, Statistical Annex Part A) in India is predicted to rise over the years: 7.0 in 2000, 7.4 in 2005, 7.7 in 2010, 12.2 in 2030 and 20.2 in 2050. However, youth dependency ratio is expected to decline over the years: 57.7 in 2000, 53.1 in 2005, 47.9 in 2010, 33.1 in 2030 and 26.8 in 2050. Hence, the notion of youngistan is clearly a myth.

# Population over 60 years as % of total population (see Table 2: Demographic trends: Ageing, Statistical Annex Part A) is expected to rise in India over the years: 6.7 in 2000, 7.0 in 2005, 7.5 in 2010, 12.4 in 2030 and 19.6 in 2050. 

# Population over 80 years as % of total population (see Table 2: Demographic trends: Ageing, Statistical Annex Part A) is expected to rise in India over the years: 0.5 in 2000, 0.6 in 2005, 0.7 in 2010, 1.2 in 2030 and 2.6 in 2050. 

Notes:

Youth dependency ratio (%): a measure showing the number of youth dependants (aged 0–14) to the total population (aged 15–64).

Old-age dependency ratio (%): population aged 65 years or over to the population aged 15–64.

Further readings:

http://pensionparishad.org/pension/

Notes from the Pension Parishad held at TISS, http://pensionparishad.org/pension/resources/Notes-%20Pension%20Parishad%20-%20TISS-%20April%20,2012.pdf

http://pensionparishad.org/pension/resources/Consensus%20during%20the%20Pension%20Parishad%20at%20TISS,%202-3%20April,%202012.pdf

Old age blues-Sreelatha Menon, The Business Standard, 6 May, 2012, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sreelatha-menon-old-age-blues/473503/

Elderly people to stage dharna-K Balchand, The Hindu, 4 May, 2012, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3384811.ece

Universal old age pension sought for elderly citizens, The Asian Age, 4 May, 2012, http://www.asianage.com/india/universal-old-age-pension-sought-elderly-citizens-963

Universal Pension Demanded for Elderly, 4 May, 2012, http://beyondheadlines.in/2012/05/universal-pension-demanded-for-elderly/

Aruna Roy seeks universal pension rights for elderly-Puja Bhattacharjee, Governance Now, 4 May, 2012, http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/aruna-roy-seeks-universal-pension-rights-elderly

Unorganized Workers' Social Security Act, 2008,

http://labour.nic.in/act/acts/Unorganised-workers-social-security-act-2008.pdf

DIGNITY FOR THE ELDERLY: JOIN THE CAMPAIGN,

http://www.im4change.org/news-alert/dignity-for-the-elderly-join-the-campaign-14893.html

India is less poor but more unequal

Poverty as measured by head count ratio may have dropped in India by 7.3 percentage points from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10 but the decline could have been much more had the country been more equal. To the dismay of pro market economists, a new ADB report entitled Asian Development Outlook 2012: Confronting Rising Inequality in Asia tells that had inequality remained unchanged from the 1990s to the 2000s, the poverty headcount rate in India could have been brought down to 29.5% in 2008, instead of the actual 32.7%. It is a widely held belief that growth ultimately trickles down to the poor living at the bottom, thus reducing poverty. However, the new report finds that rising inequality due to growth has affected poverty reduction.

The new ADB report has given ample attention to the extreme level of inequality existing in the Asian economies. People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India—the world’s two most populous countries—with annual GDP growth rates of 9.9% and 6.4%, respectively have witnessed rise in inequality from the early 1990s to the late 2000s. During the period of economic reforms, Gini coefficient*—a common measure of inequality—deteriorated from 32.4 in 1990 to 43.4 in 2008 in the PRC and from 32.5 in 1993 to 37 in 2010 in India.

The yawning gap between the rich and the poor in India could be observed from the ratio of the per capita expenditure of the top 20% to that of the bottom 20%. The quintile ratio has increased from 4.8 in 1993 to 5.7 in 2010. In India, the annual mean per capita expenditure growth was only 1.1% for the bottom quintile but 1.9% for the top quintile during 1993-2010. Rising inequality in India has been driven by income redistribution to the top 20%, at a cost to the bottom 80%, the report mentions. 

A central message of the ADB report is that income inequality is caused by inequality of opportunity in developing Asia. Inequality of opportunity arises out of unequal access to public services, especially education and health. In some Asian countries including India where the average proportion of out-of-school primary school-age children was about 20% in 1999–2003, children from the poorest quintile were three times as likely as those from the richest quintile to be out of school. Infant mortality rates among the poorest households in some Asian countries were double or treble the rates among the richest households. The chance of a poor infant dying at birth was more than 10 times higher than for an infant born to a rich family in Asia.

Unlike the popular belief, the ADB report cautions that high and rising inequality can bring down medium-term growth by reducing social cohesion, undermining the quality of governance, and increasing pressure for inefficient populist policies.

Key findings of the ADB report:

·         In  India,  the urban Gini  grew  from  34.4  in  1993  to  39.3  in 2010, much faster than the contemporaneous growth of the rural Gini, from 28.6 to 30.5. India’s rural inequality is lower and urban inequality is higher than in the PRC and, unlike the PRC but like most developing countries, India’s urban inequality is higher than its rural inequality.

·         The average annual growth rate of labor productivity was 7.4% during 1990–2007, while average annual real wage growth rate was only 2%. Gains in productivity were not passed on to wages and, consequently, the labor share of India’s organized manufacturing sector declined from 37% in 1990 to 22% in mid 2007 in India.

·         Wage employment elasticity of growth fell from 0.44 in 1991–2001 to 0.28 in 2001–2011 in PRC and from 0.53 to 0.41 in the case of India thus showing jobless growth.

·         During 1990−2010, the region’s average per capita GDP in 2005 PPP terms increased from $ 1633 to $ 5133. The proportion of the population living on or below the $ 1.25 a day poverty line fell from 51.8% in 1990 to 20.8% around 2008, as 714 million people were lifted out of poverty.

·         If inequality had remained stable in the Asian economies where it increased, the same growth in 1990–2010 would have taken about 240 million more people out of poverty—equivalent to 6.5% of developing Asia’s population in 2010 and 8.0% of those countries with rising inequality.

·         Inequality widened in 11 of the 25 economies with comparable data, including the three most populous countries and drivers of the region’s rapid growth—the PRC, India, and Indonesia.

·         The gaps between urban and rural incomes in developing Asia have increased, as have those between prosperous and lagging areas.

·         Although average Gini coefficient across developing Asian economies (38) was lower than that in Latin American economies (52), most Latin American countries have seen narrowing inequality in the last 2 decades.

·         Disparities in the means to raise one’s living standards—such as physical assets (e.g., capital and land), human capital (e.g., education and health), and market access (e.g., labor)—are common.

·         High gender disparities could be noticed for tertiary education in South Asia and the Paciic.

·         Differences in educational attainment can explain 25%–35% of inequality between households in many regional economies, and the earnings premium for skills and tertiary education has increased in recent years.

·         From 1990 to 2010, the average annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) for developing Asia reached 7.0% in 2005 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, more than double the 3.4% for Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Note: A Gini of zero denotes absolute equality, while a value of 1 (or 100 on the percentile scale) means absolute inequality.

Image courtesy: http://disinfo.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/RichPoor.jpg

References:

Asian Development Outlook, April 2012, Asian Development Bank (ADB), http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/pub/2012/ado2012.pdf

http://www.adb.org/news/asias-increasing-rich-poor-divide-undermining-growth-stability-adb-report

Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2009-10, Planning Commission, March 2012, http://planningcommission.gov.in/news/press_pov1903.pdf  

Give us growth and we’ll handle the inequality by Manas Chakravarty, Live Mint, 11 April, 2012, http://www.livemint.com/2012/04/11134745/Give-us-growth-and-we8217ll.html

'Rapid growth leaving millions behind in Asia', The Business Standard, 12 April, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/039rapid-growth-leaving-millions-behind-in-asia039-14381.html

‘Inequality has gone up, notwithstanding dip in poverty'-K Balchand, The Hindu, 21 March, 2012,

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/inequality-has-gone-up-notwithstanding-dip-in-poverty039-k-balchand-13864.html

Reign of the one per cent?-N Chandra Mohan, The Business Standard, 26 March, 2012

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/reign-of-the-one-per-cent-n-chandra-mohan-13932.html

The great Indian poverty game-Sonalde Desai, The Business Standard, 29 March, 2012

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/the-great-indian-poverty-game-sonalde-desai-14051.html

New methods needed to answer old controversy in poverty measurement-Sreelatha Menon & Indivjal Dhasmana, The Business Standard, 9 April, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/new-methods-needed-to-answer-old-controversy-in-poverty-measurement-sreelatha-menon-indivjal-dhasmana-14273.html

Pronab Sen, principal advisor to Planning Commission interviewed by Indivjal Dhasmana, The Business Standard, 6 April, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/interviews/pronab-sen-principal-advisor-to-planning-commission-interviewed-by-indivjal-dhasmana-14233.html

Planning Commission’s Poverty Charade, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XLVII, No. 14, 7 April, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/planning-commissions-poverty-charade-14204.html

India undercounts its poor-Himanshu, Live Mint, 26 March, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/india-undercounts-its-poor-himanshu-13936.html

Poverty line: Usefulness of poverty data-S Mahendra Dev, The Economic Times, 28 March, 2012,

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/poverty-line-usefulness-of-poverty-data-s-mahendra-dev-14021.html

States' data cast doubt on growth-poverty equation; welfare schemes have a strong role to play by Devika Banerji, The Economic Times, 26 March, 2012,

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/states039-data-cast-doubt-on-growth-poverty-equation-welfare-schemes-have-a-strong-role-to-play-by-devika-banerji-13984.html

Poverty line: Myths, perceptions and reality by Sriram Balasubramanian, CNN-IBN, 23 March, 2012,

http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/poverty-line-myths-perceptions-and-reality-by-sriram-balasubramanian-13953.html

Is India Fudging Its Poverty Numbers?-Tripti Lahiri, The Wall Street Journal, 20 March, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/is-india-fudging-its-poverty-numbers-tripti-lahiri-13853.html

Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission interviewed by Pallavi Polanki, First Post, 20 March, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/interviews/abhijit-sen-member-planning-commission-interviewed-by-pallavi-polanki-13845.html

Bihar's growth story has a poor side-Rukmini Shrinivasan, The Economic Times, 20 March, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/bihar039s-growth-story-has-a-poor-side-rukmini-shrinivasan-13816.html

5 crore people moved out of poverty: Government, The Economic Times, 20 March, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/5-crore-people-moved-out-of-poverty-government-13835.html

Setting the priorities right for dryland farming

The Finance Minister in his Budget Speech 2012-13 made tall claims regarding the initiative of Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), which he asserted has raised paddy production and yield in the eastern states. As far as the green revolution technology is concerned, it is applicable only in areas with assured irrigation along with suitable usage of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and high yielding varieties of seeds. However, in drought prone states like Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, more than half of the cropped area goes without irrigation as per the latest available data accessed from State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12. Almost 35.0 percent of India’s rural poor reside in these 7 states. (Please check the table 1 below for a comparison between irrigation coverage and rural poverty). Farm crisis is evident in these states since more than half (i.e. 55.2 percent) of the total number of farmers in India who committed suicides in 2010 originated from them. (Please read table 1). 

Source:

* State of Indian Agriculture, http://agricoop.nic.in/SIA111213312.pdf

** Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2009-10, Planning Commission, http://planningcommission.gov.in/news/press_pov1903.pdf

*** Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India-2010, http://ncrb.nic.in/ADSI2010/table-2.11.pdf

Current status of dryland farming

Since the mainstay of majority of the rural population is agriculture and allied activities including livestock, the cure to reducing poverty lies in developing and promoting dryland farming. According to the report entitled Elucidation of the 4^th National Report submitted to UNCCD Secretariat, 2010, produced by Ministry of Environment and Forests, India has a total geographical area (TGA) of 328.2 million hectares (mha) with drylands covering 228.3 mha (69.6%) of the total land area. As per the State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12, majority of the drought prone areas lie in the arid (19.6%), semi-arid (37%) and sub-humid (21%) areas of the country that comprise 77.6 percent of its total land area of 329 mha. Rainfed agriculture supports 60% of livestock population and supplies roughly 40% of India's food demand of 1.2 billion people. It plays a key role in ensuring food and livelihood security of the rural poor.  

The report titled State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12 reveals that major coarse cereals, pulses and most of the oilseeds are grown in dryland and rainfed areas. Crop-wise irrigation coverage varied from 27 percent for oilseeds, 16 percent for pulses to 15 percent for coarse cereals during the year 2008-09.

Steps undertaken to promote dryland farming

Since rainfed agriculture done in alluvial, black and red soils is susceptible to water erosion, there is need for soil and water conservation measures. Efforts required in dryland areas include: improving in-situ moisture conservation through ground water recharge; adopting dryland farming approach-raised bed, ridge furrow, zero tillage, mulching; convergence with various watershed development programmes; diversification towards livestock, horticulture, silviculture, fodder production; integrating farming systems with livestock and fisheries etc.

The country's leading agricultural R&D institution—International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in partnership with Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and various state universities is engaged in developing drought tolerant, pest resistant and climate change ready crops for dryland farming regions.

There has been demand from a group of NGOs and social scientists to include the provision of local procurement of millets in the National Food Security Bill—the most vocal among them is Dr. MS Swaminathan-the father of Green Revolution who thinks that nutri-millets can provide nutrition to millions of undernourished children in India.  

During 2011-12, under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Rs. 300 crore was allocated to Integrated Development of 60,000 Pulses Villages in Rainfed 300 Areas (60,000 Pulses Villages), Rs. 300 crore was allocated to Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets 300 Promotion (Nutri-cereals), Rs. 250 crore was allocated to Rainfed Area Development Programme (RADP) and Rs. 400 crore was allocated to the initiative of Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern Region (BGREI). For the BGREI, the allocation was raised to Rs. 1000 crore in 2012-13 seeing the success of paddy revolution in the North-east. For the National Mission on Micro Irrigation, Rs. 1500 crore was allocated in 2012-13 and the ongoing RADP was merged with this.

Thanks to the Accelerated Maize Development Programme (AMDP), which later got merged into the Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil palm and Maize (ISOPOM) in April, 2004, maize was cultivated on an area of 8.55 million hectares with an all time record production of 21.73 million tonnes during 2010-11. After the launch of Technology Mission on Oilseeds (TMO) in May, 1986 with the objective of making the country self-reliant in oilseeds production, pulses, oilpalm and maize were also brought subsequently into the ambit of the Technology Mission in 1990, 1992-93 and 1995-96, respectively. Despite efforts made on the part of past governments, 50 percent of domestic edible oil consumption were met from imports in 2009-10.

Recent trends

Some of the initiatives undertaken by the government have yielded results. Average annual growth rate of areas under coarse cereals production increased from a negative 2.42 percent during 1990-91 to 1999-2000 to a negative 0.13 percent during 2000-01 to 2010-11 (see table 2). Average annual growth rate in areas under pulses cultivation increased from a negative 0.91 percent during 1990-91 to 1999-2000 to 2.30 percent during 2000-01 to 2010-11. The Economic Survey 2011-12 has asked for a breakthrough in pulses production technology so that supply can meet rising demand. The same Economic Survey has also warned that area under jowar cultivation in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, area under bajra cultivation in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana and area under pulses in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan have witnessed shortfall during 2011-12 (2^nd advance estimates) as compared to 2010-11.

Source: State of Indian Agriculture, http://agricoop.nic.in/SIA111213312.pdf

References

Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2009-10, Planning Commission, http://planningcommission.gov.in/news/press_pov1903.pdf  

Chapter 8: Agriculture and Food, Economic Survey 2011-12, http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2011-12/echap-08.pdf

Budget Speech 2012-13 delivered by Pranab Mukherjee, http://indiabudget.nic.in/bspeecha.asp

Highlights of Central Plan 2012-2013, http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2012-13/bag/bag5.pdf

State of Indian Agriculture, http://agricoop.nic.in/SIA111213312.pdf

Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India-2010, http://ncrb.nic.in/ADSI2010/table-2.11.pdf

Rainfed Agriculture: Unlocking the Potential (2009)-edited by Suhas P Wani, Johan Rockström and Theib Oweis, CAB International, ICRISAT and IWMI, http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/CABI_Publications/CA_CABI_Series/Rainfed_Agriculture/Protected/Rainfed_Agriculture_Unlocking_the_Potential.pdf

Key Facts, http://www.im4change.org/farm-crisis/key-facts-72.html

Dryland farming, http://agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=1&topicid=421

Include Rain-fed Farming in Agriculture Policy, http://www.im4change.org/news-alert/include-rain-fed-farming-in-agriculture-policy-95.html

To the hungry, god is bread-MS Swaminathan, The Hindu, 1 October, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2500978.ece

Elucidation of the 4^th National Report submitted to UNCCD Secretariat, 2010, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI, http://moef.nic.in/modules/divisions/desertification-cell/unccd-report.pdf

Weathering the Perfect Storm by William D Dar, http://blog.icrisat.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/times-disaster-dar.pdf

President for out-of-box solutions to deal with farming issues, The Economic Times, 16 February, 2012, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/president-for-out-of-box-solutions-to-deal-with-farming-issues-13233.html

Millet group demands local sourcing clause in Food Security Bill, The Hindu Business Line, The Hindu Business Line, 9 December, 2011, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/millet-group-demands-local-sourcing-clause-in-food-security-bill-11916.html

Pranab Mukherjee looks east for 2^nd green revolution, The Times of India, 29 March, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pranab-Mukherjee-looks-east-for-2nd-green-revolution/articleshow/12448197.cms