THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA INDIA AGAINST ITS OWN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

PalahBiswas On Unique Identity No1.mpg

Sunday, October 2, 2011

EXTRACONSTITUTIONAL Elements do dictate Terms!And their Dicision has to be IMPLEMENTED whatever may come!Add the CIVIL Society, NGOs, PPP Model and Pro US Democratic Movement Excluding the MULNIVASI BAHUJAN, the Minorities, SC, ST, OBC and also the N

After undergoing surgery for an undisclosed ailment nearly two months ago, Sonia Gandhi today made her first public appearance when she attended a prayer meeting at Raj Ghat on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 142nd birth anniversary. A poverty line cap -- Rs 32 in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas -- is unlikely to be revised but the Planning Commission would submit a clarification affidavit in the Supreme Court explaining need for expenditure based cap.

The government is working on a proposal to issue multi-purpose smart identity cards to all adult citizens by the end of 2013, a move that could result in cost savings for the exchequer.

It means that the EXTRACONSTITUTIONAL Elements do dictate Terms!And their Dicision has to be IMPLEMENTED whatever may come!Add the CIVIL Society, NGOs, PPP Model and Pro US Democratic Movement Excluding the MULNIVASI BAHUJAN, the Minorities, SC, ST, OBC and also the NON Brahamin Non Aryan Communities, the NINETY Five Percent of the Population! You would see the Geopolitics of MONOPOLISTIC Aggression and Massive Disaster IMPENDING!

Bigg Boss 5 set to get better with big hosts, bigger inmates!Salman Khan wants Shakira, Lady Gaga in 'Bigg Boss' house!1-million pound Hindu temple opening in UK!

Meanwhile, Business Standard published a story titled GROWTH Will Come From the Small Cities! It is in line with the Agenda of Second Generation of Reforms outlined by PRANAB`s Budget this year! The Small Cities and Whole Agrarian RuraL Sector would be Targeted to ESCALATE the EXCLUSIVE Free Market Economy!

The CBI, which had said that it was still probing the role of RADAG chairman Anil Ambani in the 2G scam, has given a clean chit to him in the structuring of different companies and transfer of funds relating to Swan Telecom which got a spectrum licence.


Brahaminical Hegemony and LPG Mafia do CELEBRATE the Mass Destruction and Overwhelming ARYAN BRAHAMINICAL Venegeance as Gandhi Jayanti is CELEBRATED with NAVRATRI and DURGA PUJA. Goddess Durga is INVOKED to Destroyed us! While Dr. Ambedkar Made it very Clear what Gandhi and Congree have DONE to Untouchables. Agencies report, Schoolchildren, slum kids, politicians and diplomats were among thousands who paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhiat his memorial here on Sunday when the nation celebrated his 142nd birth anniversary. Many who had queued up since early morning recounted his lasting message of truth and non-violence. Gandhi sought CRUELEST Form of VIOLENCE within Buddha`s NON VIOLENCE as HE ENSURED BRAHAMIN BANIA RAJ and even Marginaliged the RAJPUTS!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY FIVE


Palash Biswas


http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/

Bigg Boss 5 set to get better with big hosts, bigger inmates!
30/09/2011

On-Spot: 'Bigg Boss Season 5' launch


'Bigg Boss Season 5' launch

The fifth season of TV reality show 'Bigg Boss' promises to get bigger and better with tons of drama and manipulation, having changed its house location to Karjat, besides having two star hosts --Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt -- who will be welcoming 14 new inmates.

The names that are doing the rounds include - former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, Colombian singer and dancer Shakira, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, Nihita Biswas (wife of convicted murderer Charles Sobhraj) Mexican actress Barbara Mori, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes, pop icon Lady Gaga, British singer- rapper Jay Sean, stand-up comedian Sudesh Lehri, Jaspal Bhatti, Shekhar Suman's actor son Adhyayan, TV actors Parul Chauhan (of 'Bidaai' fame), Karan Singh Grover (of 'Dil Mill Gayye') and Amar Upadhyay.

Click on, for exclusive snaps of the launch of 'Bigg Boss Season 5'.

Text: PTI

Images: Varinder Chawla

A poverty line cap -- Rs 32 in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas -- is unlikely to be revised but the Planning Commission would submit a clarification affidavit in the Supreme Court explaining need for expenditure based cap. The plan panel deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who returned from 10-day foreign visit on Saturday, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and admitted that the affidavit saying that per capita per day expenditure of Rs 32/Rs 26 was enough to sustain oneself had created confusion.Hindustan Times Reports!

Meanwhile, Business Standard published a story titled GROWTH Will Come From the Small Cities! It is in line with the Agenda of Second Generation of Reforms outlined by PRANAB`s Budget this year! The Small Cities and Whole Agrarian RuraL Sector would be Targeted to ESCALATE the EXCLUSIVE Free Market Economy!

Amid a raging controversy over the Rs 32 per capita per day poverty line definition, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today and will clarify the panel's stand on the issue on Monday. It means that the EXTRACONSTITUTIONAL Elements do dictate Terms!And their Dicision has to be IMPLEMENTED whatever may come!Add the CIVIL Society, NGOs, PPP Model and Pro US Democratic Movement Excluding the MULNIVASI BAHUJAN, the Minorities, SC, ST, OBC and also the NON Brahamin Non Aryan Communities, the NINETY Five Percent of the Population! You would see the Geopolitics of MONOPOLISTIC Aggression and Massive Disaster IMPENDING!

On the other hand,the CBI, which had said that it was still probing the role of RADAG chairman Anil Ambani in the 2G scam, has given a clean chit to him in the structuring of different companies and transfer of funds relating to Swan Telecom which got a spectrum licence.

Brahaminical Hegemony and LPG Mafia do CELEBRATE the Mass Destruction and Overwhelming ARYAN BRAHAMINICAL Venegeance as Gandhi Jayanti is CELEBRATED with NAVRATRI and DURGA PUJA. Goddess Durga is INVOKED to Destroyed us! While Dr. Ambedkar Made it very Clear what Gandhi and Congree have DONE to Untouchables. Agencies report, Schoolchildren, slum kids, politicians and diplomats were among thousands who paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhiat his memorial here on Sunday when the nation celebrated his 142nd birth anniversary. Many who had queued up since early morning recounted his lasting message of truth and non-violence. Gandhi sought CRUELEST Form of VIOLENCE within Buddha`s NON VIOLENCE as HE ENSURED BRAHAMIN BANIA RAJ and even Marginaliged the RAJPUTS!

The Planning Commission deputy chief, who returned from a 10-day foreign visit on Saturday, met the Prime Minister today for the first time since the controversy erupted after an affidavit filed by the Plan panel in the Supreme Court.

Ahluwalia is believed to have discussed the fallout of the controversy relating to the affidavit, which said that persons consuming items worth more than Rs 32 per day in urban areas (Rs 26 in rural areas) are not poor, with the Prime Minister.

As per the affidavit, a family of five spending less than Rs 4,824 (at June, 2011, prices) in urban areas will fall in the BPL (Below Poverty Line) category. The expenditure limit for a family in rural areas has been fixed at Rs 3,905.

The number of poor entitled to BPL benefits, as per the affidavit, has been estimated at 40.74 crore, as against 37.2 crore estimated at the time of accepting the Tendulkar Committee report.

Officials in the Planning Commission have said that providing benefits to more persons would defeat the purpose of the anti-poverty programme.

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is believed to have intervened in the matter and has reportedly asked the Plan panel to do a rethink on its definition of poverty.

Ahluwalia is also scheduled to meet Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday to discuss the issue.

The government is working on a proposal to issue multi-purpose smart identity cards to all adult citizens by the end of 2013, a move that could result in cost savings for the exchequer.

"The proposal has been made under Citizenship Act amendment made in 2003. The Registrar General of India has proposed to issue smart identity cards to all citizens of the country above 18 years, which is under consideration by the Department of Expenditure," a senior official of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (RGCC) said.

These cards can be also used in the place of ration, toll and election cards, among others, resulting in lower costs for the government, as a single card could serve various purposes rather than a separate ones for each service.

The official said adults constitute approximately 65 per cent of the country's population and the government estimates that each smart card will cost about Rs 50.

"The final cost will be decided based on the recommendation received from the technical committee which has been set up under the Director General of NIC, B K Gairola," the official said.

He added that the recommendations from the technical committee are expected to be out by October-end.

Among other things, the proposed smart identity cards will carry Aadhar numbers issued by the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), photographs, biometric data like finger prints and an iris scan of the card holder on an electronic chip.

According to industry experts, these cards could be used by the state and the central government to replace various other cards and even the cost of each card can brought down.

"Both the state and central government can use these smart cards to provide a variety of services. Multi-purpose smart cards have the potential to work for several applications such as ration cards, toll cards, election cards or citizen ID cards or any application you can think of," smart card and biometric market expert S Swarn of Electronics Today said.

Swarn added that cost of cards can also go down if government applications are loaded on the same card, rather than issuing a separate smart card for each individual application.

Last week, Registrar General of India C Chandramouli said the government will start the distribution of approximately eight million smart identity cards in 3,331 coastal area villages in the next two months.

"The basic objective of issuing these cards is to identify citizens of the country and check infiltration. However, more can be done with these cards," the official said.

11 AUG, 2011, 03.45AM IST, VIKAS DHOOT,ET BUREAU

Nandan Nilekani's UIDAI and Census' NPR in role overlap for fingerprinting and other biometric data

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NEW DELHI: Two ambitious government projects are competing for your fingerprints. While the National Population Register (NPR) of the Census office has been tasked with the mandate of providing biometric-based identity cards to all Indian residents, Nandan Nilekani's Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI) has sought more funds to expand the UID enrollment exercise to virtually cover the entire population over the age of five years.

According to the original, but little-known proposal, the two agencies were supposed to work in tandem: unique identity numbers were to be issued by the Authority based on the biometrics captured for the NPR. So, while every Indian resident was to finally have both an NPR card and a UID number, large-scale enrollment was supposed to be done by the Census office.

But the UIDAI first got government nod to offer incentives to 10 crore citizens to register for UIDs. These incentives were later extended for 20 crore citizens to be covered by UIDAI by March 2012, involving a total expenditure of 3,023 crore. So far, about one crore residents have received UID numbers.

In a recent development, the UIDAI has asked for an additional 15,000 crore from the government to go ahead and enroll the entire population using its own agents for fingerprinting and other biometric data.

This has created ripples in the government, as according to official estimates, if both the Census office and UIDAI do separate enrollments, it would result in a 'minimum duplicate expenditure' of 10,000 crore which could go up to as high as 40,000 crore.

To compound matters, while the UIDAI offers a 50 enrollment incentive, no such incentives are doled out by the NPR. This has resulted in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat opting out of the NPR.

UIDAI, NPR AGENTS COMPETE

This has created a peculiar situation where residents of these states will not get national residency cards, say government officials.

Elsewhere, agents appointed by UIDAI and the NPR, are competing to enroll citizens, creating confusion in the minds of ordinary people as both projects are government sponsored, add these officials.

The UIDAI has appointed about 209 registrars, while a consortium of central public sector firms and the Department of Information Technology are in charge of capturing residents' biometrics for the NPR. Two million enrollments have been made under the NPR till date.

While the UIDAI grants an identity number to residents that would be verified online each time they cite it, the smart chip-based NPR card would include residents' UID number and other details, serving as an identity card for all purposes whose veracity could be checked offline with handheld smart-card readers.

The cabinet committee of UIDAI, which is headed by the Prime Minister, deferred a decision on the Authority's proposal for another Rs 15,000 crore last Thursday after concerns were expressed by the Planning Commission and Home ministry about the overlap between the NPR and UIDAI's work.

Officials also point out that the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament for the ministry of planning has objected to the UIDAI collecting people's biometrics without any legal backing.

MPs in the panel have suggested that the authority roll out its programme only after Parliament clears the National Identification Authority of India Bill. The House panel has sought a guarantee that people's private data would be secure in a system where there are multiple registrars capturing their biometrics.

Even the home ministry has raised concerns about the security of sensitive biometric and demographic data under the UIDAI since it relies on 'outsourced service oriented' infrastructure.

The Census office, officially known as the Registrar General of India (RGI), on the other hand has been given the legal mandate through an Act of Parliament to collect biometric data of all residents for the NPR.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/Nandan-Nilekanis-UIDAI-and-Census-NPR-in-role-overlap-for-fingerprinting-and-other-biometric-data/articleshow/9560067.cms

Ahluwalia is said to have told PM that he will discuss the issue with plan members on Monday and then take a decision on filing another affidavit to clear the wind regarding the controversy would be taken.

"I brief Prime Minister on my China visit and also on the media reports on poverty," Ahluwalia told HT. Ahluwalia is said to have told the PM that poverty line and identification of the poor are not linked and any change in poverty line could have huge financial implications.

The Central government disburses funds worth Rs one lakh crore to the state governments to provide subsidized food grains to the poor and money for building homes under Indira Awas Yojana.

In the years to come, the government plans to give subsidy directly to the poor through Unique Identification Number (UID) linked bank accounts and any upward revision in the poverty line would mean higher allocation, defeating the government's attempt of fiscal consolidation.
Two plan panel members --- Abhijit Sen and Mihir Shah --- and rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had expressed reservation on the poverty line. "A new affidavit explaining the position of the entire panel rather than a few members should be filed," a member, requesting anonymity, said.

Ramesh, who had suggested an alternative methodology to define poor, met Ahluwalia on Sunday night to discuss more inclusive poverty line definition. He had suggested an exclusion criterion having no single below poverty line list with all the non-excluded households to be part of one main list with subsidiary lists for specific programmes.

Ahluwalia was not adverse to his idea and said it needs to be discussed with other members of the plan panel before taking a final decision. But, Ramesh proposal will not change definition of poverty line as it talks about the identification process and disbursing benefits to the poor.

Sen had told HT last week that poverty line of Rs 32 and Rs 26 figure based on Tendulkar committee methodology will be revised once the panel receives the data of National Sample Survey on consumer expenditure for 2011-12. Ruling out revision of the methodology, he said if the state governments want they can provide benefits to as many poor as they want and there is no central government cap on that.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is believed to have asked the Plan panel to do a rethink on its definition of poverty even as National Advisory Council members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander asked Ahluwalia and other plan members to try and live on Rs 32 per day in a city like Delhi. "Only animals can survive on this money," another NAC member N C Saxena said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Montek-meets-PM-to-file-new-poverty-affidavit/H1-Article1-752748.aspx

1 OCT, 2011, 03.42AM IST, ET BUREAU

Planning Commission's BPL affidavit to be revisited

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NEW DELHI: The government on Friday indicated that the controversial Planning Commission affidavit on poverty figures may be revisited. The affidavit had claimed that a rural poor can manage food, health and educational requirements with a meagre 25 a day.

"There is concern among people. There is disquiet in the civil society over the affidavit. They believe that statistics are perhaps removed from the reality," I&B minister Ambika Soni told reporters.

The unease in the government over the Commission's inability to estimate distress among poor had come out in the open last week when rural development minister Jairam Ramesh questioned the methodology adopted by the Plan panel.

Soni said that she shared the concerns expressed by the critics of the Plan panel. "I too may have some questions on the figures that has been given. Many people have questions on the affidavit," Soni said.

On Thursday, two prominent members of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, demanded that Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia should quit the Plan panel or revise the affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court.

In an open letter, the NAC members told Ahluwalia, a close adviser of the prime minister, that he needed to reflect more on the fact that during his stewardship of the Planning Commission, India has fallen further behind neighbouring and poorer Bangladesh in terms of most of the human development indicators.

"If 25 for rural areas and 32 for urban areas per capita expenditure was adequate then it is not clear to us why Planning Commission members are paid up to one hundred and fifteen times the amount (not counting the perks of free housing and health care and numerous other benefits that is enjoyed by you and members of the Planning Commission)," they said.

In a veiled warning to the government leadership, the NAC members said such a flawed approach could lead to the undoing of the present regime. "We believe that this affidavit is a document, no less historically significant than the 'India Shining' campaign that brought the downfall of a previous regime, because it reflected arrogance and contempt for the poor comparable to the views held by the Planning Commission."

They also mocked at Ahluwalia's claims on controlling spiralling prices. "Despite your repeated prediction over the last two years on inflation (particularly food inflation) going down, the expertise of the Planning Commission even on that front has been proved wrong. Despite the indisputable intellectual resources at its command the Planning Commission seems to require a reality check; perhaps spending more time in the villages and slums of this country would have achieved that."
Check out Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands List 2011
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Planning-Commissions-BPL-affidavit-to-be-revisited/articleshow/10190556.cms

"The investigation did not
not reveal any evidence either oral or documentary to inculpate Sh Anil Ambani in the structuring of different companies and transfer of funds," the agency said in its status report submitted to the Supreme Court on September 29.

The CBI was filing its response to a note submitted by petitioner Prashant Bhushan in which he had sought to create a "wrong impression" about the fairness and impartial nature of its investigations.

Among other things, Bhushan had alleged that it was inconceivable that three employees could have created a convoluted maze of companies to disguise Swan's real ownership and taken Rs.1,000 crore of company money without the approval of the Chairman of the Board.
The CBI said at the time of filing of applications to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for Universal Access Service (UAS) licences, the share holders of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd included M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd (91.1%) and M/s Reliance Telecom Ltd (9.1%).

The share holders  M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd included two companies namely M/s Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd and M/s Parrot Consultant Pvt Ltd. All these three companies were holding each other in an inter-locking structure. Fund invested by M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd in equity of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd were ultimately sourced from M/s ADAE Ventures Pvt Ltd.
On March 2, 2007, M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd further invested Rs. 95.50 crore in the equity of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd. These funds were ultimately sourced from M/s Sonata Investments Ltd. Besides this, few small amounts were transferred to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd from M/s AAA Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, the CBI said.

The agency said Ambani and his wife Tina were original promoters of M/s AAA Consultancy and M/s ADAR Ventures Pvt Ltd. However, Ambani and his wife had transferred the shareholding of these companies to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, M/s Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd and M/s Parrot Consultant Pvt Ltd during March-April, 2006, almost one year before the applications (of 2.3.2007) when M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd applied to DoT for 13 UAS licences.


As such during the relevant period, when M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd applied for UAS licences and the funds were transferred from these companies to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, Ambani and his wife were neither shareholders in these companies nor were associated with the management of these companies.

On another issue related to a statement by an ICICI bank official that a cheque of above Rs 10 crore required an approval of Ambani or his wife, the CBI said the "observation" was a distorted one as the bank official's statement mentioned that Ambani and his wife were signatories to the bank accounts of M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, M/s Swan Consultants Pvt Ltd, M/s ADAE Ventures Pvt Ltd and M/s AAA Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd since incorporation of these companies till relevant period for amounts more than Rs.10 crore.

"It does not not talk about the authority competent to approve those transactions in the company. It has been submitted in above paras that the Ambani couple had exited from these companies before the relevant period and so the question of approving these transactions is not not tenable.

"The investigation has revealed that they had not not issued any bank instrument including cheque, RTGS advice, transfer request, etc. which is relevant in the case. The payment of Rs 95.51 crore by M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd to M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd has been made through 10 different advices each for Rs. 10 crore or less. These advices were signed by accused Gautam Doshi and Hari Nair and are part of records relied upon in the case," the CBI said in its status report.

The citizen's referendum launched by activist Anna Hazare's supporters on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary Sunday received huge response in all parts of Uttar Pradesh, including this state capital, an activist said.


A total of 95 percent of the people contacted by India Against Corruption ( IAC) volunteers in Lucknow not only voted in favour of the Jan Lokpal bill, but have also declared that they will not vote for their local MP unless he pledges support for a stringent anti-graft law.


IAC's local convenor Saurabh Upadhaya said: "Barring about 5 per cent of the people, everyone else was all set to oppose their local MPs in case they were not inclined to vote for the Jan Lokpal bill."


"As many as 32,000 referendum forms were distributed in different parts of Lucknow today with the sole question - will you still vote for your MP if he/she does not support Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal bill in Lok Sabha? And the answer in most of the forms was a flat 'No'," he added.


A significant number of participants in the referendum were youths, who did not mince words while expressing their disgust with corruption.


The 25-day long exercise is part of the nation wide referendum across 40 cities, including nine in the state.


Besides, Lucknow, represented by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lalji Tandon, these included the constituencies of all other MPs who are members of the parliamentary standing committee scrutinising the bill.


They include Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli constituency, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's Amethi, BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi's Varanasi, former BJP president Rajnath Singh's Ghaziabad, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's Mainpuri and BSP chief Mayawati's Ambedkar Nagar.


The referendum responses will be sent to the standing committee that is expected to forward its recommendations to parliament.


More than 700 anti-Wall Street protestors were arrested in New York when they blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, forcing authorities to shut it down for hours, police said.

Anti-Wall Street activists first occupied a small park in lower Manhattan two weeks ago to protest corporate bailouts and corporate influence in politics, but took their demonstration to the bridge yesterday.

"More than 700 people were arrested. Most of them for disorderly conduct," a New York Police Department spokesman said.

Some were released after a few hours, while others would likely be held for a day or could receive a court summons, he said.

Earlier, another NYPD spokesman said there were "several hundred protestors who decided to walk on the roadway and who blocked traffic. Some heeded the warnings, some left, and arrests were made."

The "Occupy Wall Street" group inspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring movements had said on its website that "at least 50" protestors had been arrested.

Police shut down the Brooklyn Bridge "for a couple of hours" in the late afternoon, the NYPD said, adding that many protestors had remained on the bridge's pedestrian walkway without incident.

"Occupy Wall Street" said it had staked its ground in downtown Manhattan "as a symbolic gesture of our discontent with the current economic and political climate."

"We are all races, sexes and creeds. We are the majority. We are the 99 per cent. And we will no longer be silent," it added.

Protestors have added police brutality to their lengthy and still vaguely defined list of grievances after a senior officer used pepper spray against four demonstrators who had already been shut inside a police pen a week ago.

In Boston yesterday, twenty-four protestors were arrested and charged with trespassing as a vast crowd marched outside Bank of America offices.

Right to the City, the coalition of advocacy groups that organised the demonstration, said the event was held to protest corporate greed and to stop bank foreclosures.

According to organisers, around 3,000 people marched outside the bank. Police did not provide a crowd estimate.



Thousands of people decked in their best walked the streets of Kolkata shoulder to shoulder, visiting one marquee after another, as the Durga Pujafestivities got off to a grand start under clear skies inWest Bengal Sunday.

Leaving behind the drudgery of daily existence amid problems of price spirals, corruption in public life and other problems, young and the old joined in the gay abandon as Kolkata looked its finest under lakhs of kilowats of bright lights, twinklers and grand marques.

The five-day festival - the biggest in eastern India - would continue till Thursday, when the idols of goddess Durga and her sons and daughters will be immersed in the rivers, lakes and ponds across the state.

Shashthi - the sixth day of the lunar calendar - also marked the beginning of the puja rituals.

Kalparamvo (the beginning of the Pujas), Bodhan (the consecration of Durga's idol), Amantran (inviting the goddess) and Adhivas (sanctifying the stay of the goddess in the exact spot where the puja is being held) - were performed in community puja marquees and households where Mother Durga is being worshipped with all fervour.

As per the Ramayana, before attacking Lanka in search of his wife Sita, Lord Rama had performed Durga Puja in autumn - a time when the gods sleep, according to the Hindu religious texts. So Lord Rama had to first wake up the Goddess prematurely, and as such the awakening in the autumnal festival is called Akal (untimely) Bodhan of the goddess.

However, mythology also states that the Puja celebrates the annual descent of Goddess Durga, the slayer of the demon Mahishashur, accompanied by her four children Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati on earth to visit her parents.

The goddess, astride a lion and wielding an array of weapons in her ten hands, stays for four days to eradicate all evil from the earth before returning to her husband Lord Shiva at Kailash on Dashami.

With theme puja being the in-thing and the biggest crowd puller for the last few years, all things from pencils to flutes are being used for making the marquees and also the idols. The marquee at CK-CL block of the satellite township of Salt Lake has been made totally of steel netting giving it a futuristic look not seen before. The pandal is built over 3,000 sq feet area and has 5,000 kgs of steel netting on it.

"The construction has being done on a superstructure of bamboo and timber. This is a big challenge as no one has done this before. But we want to create an example that artisans of Bengal can do the impossible," said the creator Jagadish Das, who is based out of East Midnapore district's Contai.

A large number of people also thronged the marquee at South Kolkata's Singhi Park, which resembles the famous Kali temple of Dakhineswar.

MUMBAI: The fifth season of TV reality show 'Bigg Boss' promises to get bigger and better with tons of drama and manipulation, having changed its house location to Karjat, besides having two star hosts --Salman and Sanjay -- who will be welcoming 14 new inmates including probables like boxer Mike Tysonand pop singer Shakira.

The show sees celebrity contestants stay in a house for about three months, cut off from the outside world. They are overseen by a "mysterious person" known as 'Bigg Boss'.

This time, the location of Bigg Boss house has been shifted to Karjat from Lonavala. Interior designer Shayam Bhatia has designed the 9,000 square feet house.

This year there are two separate bedrooms as against the single bedroom last time where all 14 housemates stayed.

The bedrooms have been done in shades of green and fuchsia with a hint of white, brown and yellow. The confession room varies with a shade of royal green and the jail concept is back and black.

The beautifully designed open kitchen is connected to a dining room that extends to the garden area. The outdoor spot consists of a pool, the activity area, gymnasium and the kitchen sink.

This season there will be over 55 cameras following every move of the contestants 24x7. Like last year there will be a special bedroom for the Head-of-House who will get special privileges.

Also, the show will also see two hosts for the first time --Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Salman, who hosted the fourth season, is the only celebrity who will be repeating the feat for the second time.

Fourteen handpicked strangers, locked in the house for about three months will have to perform all the household chores right from cleaning to cooking to tasks.

The names that are doing the rounds include - former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, Colombian singer and dancer Shakira, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, Nihita Biswas (wife of convicted murderer Charles Sobhraj) Mexican actress Barbara Mori, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes, pop icon Lady Gaga, British singer- rapper Jay Sean, stand-up comedian Sudesh Lehri, Jaspal Bhatti, Shekhar Suman's actor son Adhyayan, TV actors Parul Chauhan (of 'Bidaai' fame), Karan Singh Grover (of 'Dil Mill Gayye') and Amar Upadhyay.

However, the names of the housemates will be out soon as the reality show is set to hit the small screen on October 2 on Colors channel.

Salman Khan wants Shakira, Lady Gaga in 'Bigg Boss' house
'Bigg Boss 5' host Salman Khan has expressed his desire to see Colombian singer-dancer Shakira, pop icon Lady Gaga and Bollywood filmmaker David Dhawan locked in the house for this season of the hit reality show.

When asked who among international celebrities he will like to see in the Bigg Boss house, Salman said, "I would like to see Shakira and Lady Gaga."

Also, "in the last three weeks, I would also like to see David Dhawan in the house. The reason being there won't be enough food left for the contestant. Besides, I am concerned about his health...I want him to reduce weight," Salman said.

The last season saw Pamela Anderson locked in the Bigg Boss house for three days.

On Dhawan's food ways , Salman said, "Like if we are going to some very posh resturant and waiter comes to take an order David will look into other person's plate and ask for the same food. Besides, this he will eat food offered by strangers and at times even left over food."

Salman, who hosted the fourth season of Bigg Boss, is the only celebrity to be hosting the show for the second time. This season he will have actor Sanjay Dutt for a co-host.

"I am very much excited about the second innings on the show with my friend Sanjay. Sanju and me will gang up and create double trouble for contestants," Salman said.

Though an official announcement on the 14 house inmates is yet to be made, the names that are making the rounds include Shakira, Lady Gaga, former boxing champion Mike Tyson, Mexican actress Barbara Mori, former South African cricketer Jonty Rodes, former Indian Cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, comedian Jaspal Bhatti, Nishita Biswas, wife of Charles Sobhraj and others.


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1-million pound Hindu temple opening in UK

NEVADA: The 1-million-pounds BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir is opening in Belgrave section of Leicester in England on October 9.

The Mandir, which features three sikhar towers and was approved by the City Council in 2008, besides regular worship services, will reportedly have provision for morning-evening aarti, sports, music lessons and Gujarati instruction.

Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on Friday, applauded the efforts of the Mandir management and area community for realizing this wonderful temple complex.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new Temple would help in this direction.

He stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

A former industrial site, the Mandir complex will reportedly have over 100 parking spaces. Temple management, in order to keep the traffic congestion to minimum, is encouraging worshippers to walk, cycle or use public transport; and might use shuttle service to temple on major festivals.

Much of the building work is said to have been carried out by volunteers. About 25 percent population of Leicester is of India descent and about 15 percent of its residents are Hindus. About 16 percent residents speak Gujarati and other languages spoken include Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam.

Food Bill must have strong safeguards for cash transfer: Dreze
Food rights campaigner and formerNAC member Jean Dreze has written to the Prime Minister suggesting that the proposed Food Bill should incorporate strong safeguards if the government intends to go for cash transfers instead of providing subsidised foodgrains.

"We urge you to ensure that the National Food Security Act includes the strongest possible safeguards against a hasty transition from food entitlements to cash transfers," he said in the recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The draft National Food Security Bill, which is likely to be introduced in the winter session of the Parliament, provides the option of cash transfer or food coupons, among others, as alternatives to a direct foodgrain entitlement.

Sharing the findings of the recent survey conducted by his team on the Public Distribution System (PDS) in nine states, Dreze said states where PDS is effective are opposing the idea of cash transfer.

"The reluctance (for cash transfer) was particularly strong in areas with a well-functioning PDS and among poor households... it is only in areas the PDS was not working, notably Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh, that we found substantial interest in cash transfers as a possible alternative," he said.

Dreze, who has recently quit the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council (NAC) following differences over the draft Food Bill, said the reasons that PDS beneficiaries cited for opposing cash transfers were quite thoughtful and convincing.

"In most cases, the reasons pertained in one way or another to food security -- an overwhelming concern for poor households," he said.

For instance, many respondents were worried that money might be misused and also feared about a sudden rise in local food prices. "Even where markets are accessible, there were apprehensions, such as a fear that traders might raise prices if PDS is closed. Similarly, the local bank was often said to be too far, overcrowded or difficult to handle," Dreze added.

The Belgium-born professor of economics at Allahabad University also stated, "Many respondents had a bitter experience of the banking system in the context of NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) wage payments."

The survey was conducted in 106 villages spread over nine states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The draft bill seeks to provide a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains to 75 per cent of the country's rural population and 50 per cent of urban India.

Don't replace subsidised food with cash: Swaminathan
Eminent agriculture scientist and a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), M.S. Swaminathan, has cautioned against the government's plan to replace subsidised food with cash under the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA).

"The government's plan to replace subsidised ration with cash under the public distribution system (PDS) is faulty. It will lead to low procurement and less production subsequently. This will be bad for Indian agriculture," Swaminathan said while delivering the D.S. Borker memorial lecture Wednesday.

Though the NAC has communicated its recommendations to the government, proposing covering around 75 percent of the population under the draft NFSA, the food ministry is still struggling to work out the details of the right to food legislation.

The main reservations relate to subsidy involved and availability of grains. The government is planning to give cash in place of subsidised grains to the poor to cut distribution losses.

Swaminathan stressed that any food security must entail legal entitlements right from the conception to the cremation stage of a citizen. He also asked the government to expand the food basket under the PDS and include nutritional grains like maize, ragi and bajra.

The agri-scientist said while trying to improve the PDS, the government should also address the shortage of storage space for foodgrains which results in wastage.

Presenting his Vision 2047 for the country, Swaminathan further said that a marriage of intellect and labour was required today to boost agriculture. He pointed out that the share of agriculture to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has come down drastically from 50 percent in 1947 to around 17 percent at present.

Swaminathan also spoke about revamping of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to empower the villagers and strengthen community-level water and food security. He suggested training local youth as managers of climate risk and as hunger fighters.

Appreciating the national policy for farmers, he said young people were not taking up agriculture and it would have to be made profitable for small land-holders to attract the youth.

Noida farmers to stall building projects
Farmers of around 54 villages Sunday threatened to stall the projects of builders to protests against the alleged inaction of Noida Authority in meeting their demands over land takeover.

The farmers announced their plan to stall all building projects in sectors 74-79 and 112-121. The villagers whose land was acquired for the development of Noida, also held a hunger strike on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

"The authority's CEO assured us in writing twice. We had given them time till Oct 2 to settle our issues but they are simply not keen to look into them," said Naresh Yadav, convener of the Sorkha Jahidabad Kisan Sangharsh Samiti.

"We are ready to face lathicharge and prepared for going to jail. There would be an indefinite strike from Monday," Yadav told IANS.

The farmers claimed that their lands were taken over by the authority at a price of Rs.2-3 per square yard and were not provided any rehabilitation.

The farmers of Sorkha, whose lands were acquired at Rs.421 per square yard, demanded compensation of 50 percent of the allotment rate.

"The CEO had agreed to return 850 acres of land that was under their possession to farmers. The authority had sanctioned Rs.7 crore for a cement road around our village and approved Rs.1 crore for a marriage community centre but no work has been done at all, so far," Yadav said.

Corporates like Sony, MTS, Bharti Airtel, Nikon and others eye big bucks on Durga Puja

EDITORS PICK




KOLKATA: From virtual puja platforms to attractive promotional offers to eye-catching advertisements, corporates are going all out to rake in the moolah during Durga Puja.

Banking on the puja shopping spree, many companies - be it Cola majors or consumer electronic giants - have come up with new products and innovative marketing plans to woo consumers.

Thums Up, a leading Cola brand in India, is big on Durga Puja. The brand has introduced a new TV commercial for West Bengal with a heavy GRP (gross rating point) plan across leading Bengali channels for a period of three weeks.

The company said for on-ground advertisement, it has tied up with 150 community pujas in the state, including over 100 in the city. Street banners have been put up on roads leading to the canopies and there will be retail outlets to sell the chilled cola. In total, there will be 23,000 outlets.

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony has introduced innovative consumer promotions across categories, including TV, Cyber-shot, Handycam and Home Theatre System in this festive season.

The company will provide a digital photo frame, clock radio or pen drive on purchases of LCD/LED TV. It has targeted a sale of Rs.2,000 crore this festive season (September-October) in the country which accounts for 35 percent growth over corresponding period last year. The company is investing Rs.100 crore in promotions during this time which will include television and print commercials, cinema and shop front.

Mobile service provider MTS Kolkata-West Bengal circle has rolled out a unique virtual Puja campaign, christened 'Sarbojonin Durgotshob'. The company claimed that this campaign is a first of its kind initiative that explores the virtual space at a whole new level.

The company in India has over 13 million wireless subscribers and under the MBlaze brand it provides mobile broadband services to more than 1,000,000 customers in over 200 cities across the country.

In the virtual campaign, the entire look and feel of the puja ambience has been recreated online on a webpage - www.mtspujo.com, complete with an online 3-D thematic canopy and a walk through to it with the virtual replica of the six gods and goddesses, their five vahanas and Mahish Asura. The website is being popularised through Facebook.

It said even the puja rituals will be conducted online.

Keshhav Tiwary, chief operating officer, Kolkata and West Bengal circle, MTS India, said, "The basic objective of the campaign is to integrate the Bengali community living in India or abroad on the occasion of their biggest festival, Durga Puja. It will provide them with an online platform where they can interact with each other and share their puja experiences, upload photos and videos.

"So Bengalis, be it in Maddox Square (a popular marquee and meeting place in South Kolkata during the festival days) or Manhattan (in New York) will get to experience the best of both worlds," he added.

Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications company, has announced 3G services in Siliguri and Malda in West Bengal just before puja. The company had earlier rolled out the service in Kolkata, Durgapur, Asansol, Burdawan, Chittaranjan, Kulti and Raniganj.

Camera maker Nikon has also intensified its advertising and marketing plans before Durga Puja.

"A new TV advertisement has recently been started. Print media campaign has been intensified along with Radio. We have taken an all-round approach to promote our products during the puja," Nikon India general manager (Imaging) Sajjan Kumar told IANS.

The company is targeting to double its sales volume this festive season through an increased presence. The festive season contributes 30 percent of the company's total sales during a year.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/corporates-like-sony-mts-bharti-airtel-nikon-and-others-eye-big-bucks-on-durga-puja/articleshow/10207912.cms
After undergoing surgery for an undisclosed ailment nearly two months ago, Sonia Gandhi today made her first public appearance when she attended a prayer meeting at Raj Ghat on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 142nd birth anniversary.
*The 64-year old Congress President and UPA Chairperson was at the Gandhi memorial for about 15-20 minutes during when she scattered rose petals.

Sonia, who returned to India on September 8 after undergoing surgery abroad on August four, also sat down and listened to bhajans and showed little sign of any discomfort.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Urban Development Minister Kamalnath and senior BJP leader L K Advani were among other dignitories present at Raj Ghat.

After the prayers, Advani was seen talking to Sonia apparently enquiring about her health.

Later, Sonia attended another public event when she visited Parliament House.
Sonia joined the Prime Minister, Advani and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to pay floral tributes of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in the Central Hall of Parliament on the occasion of their birth anniversaries.

Swaraj was seen having a word with Sonia who also exchanged greetings with others present.

Though Sonia had attended a couple of meetings with top Congress leaders, she had not attended any public function so far.

'Growth will come from smaller cities'
Shyamal Majumdar / Mumbai September 30, 2011, 0:12 IST

For almost two years, the Indian mutual fund industry has been reeling under the pressure of declining assets under management and number of folios, especially in the equity segment. On top of that, the weak market sentiment has only added to its woes. Against this backdrop, six chief executive officers of leading fund houses (pictured above) participated in the Business Standard Mutual Fund Round Table. The topic: Way forward for the mutual fund industry. The Round Table was moderated by Shyamal Majumdar. Excerpts:
MODERATOR: It is exactly two years since the entry load ban was imposed. As a CEO, how difficult has it been? How have business models been impacted? Naval Bir Kumar (NBK): The fund industry did feel the impact in 2008-2009. But if you look at the flows, they tend to increase when you are in the midst of a bull market. It is obviously an incorrect method of investing, but that is the nature of investors. And it's a trend we have seen for many years. So it is hard to say whether it was the bad market conditions or the changes in entry load regulations that impacted growth. Investors tend to come into the markets when markets tend to get expensive. The bigger challenge that we, in the mutual fund industry, face today is to change the psychology of the investor. In India, you have very limited retirement savings and there is an under-penetration of the insurance sector. So the bulk of the savings of the Indian population tends to be discretionary. I think we have to break some of these mind sets and trends. I think the fund industry is challenged due to lack of financial literacy and trying to inculcate better investments habits.
Sandesh Kirkire (SK): I will take a cue from what he said. I think it is all boiling down to financial literacy. I don't think we are more financially illiterate than the rest of the world, but the rest of the world has done something different. That is, they force people to look at long-term savings. Hence, the rest of the world has a large retirement savings available to the markets. Coming to the current state of the mutual fund industry, the entry load withdrawal is something the distributors/agents are getting used to in the past six months to a year. If you do an analysis prior to the entry load withdrawal, you will realise that the industry was not really adding to the assets. Coming to mutual fund industry per se, I would say 45 per cent to 50 per cent of the total assets are distributor-based. The issue is how are we going to bring back the longevity of an asset. I think in the last two years, the industry has taken a focussed approach towards systematic investment plans. That seems to be working well. The question is how do we enhance penetration in these top 80 or 100 cities. There is no option for an investor other than to look at mutual funds, if he wants to create a long-term asset. I am reasonably bullish on the future of this industry purely when I look at the potential.
MODERATOR: That brings me to the point that there is a need to inculcate better industry literacy. Do you think the industry has done enough to improve the awareness about mutual funds as a product?Harshendu Bindal (HB): I think, both yes and no. I think financial literacy needs to be increased on an overall basis, not just for the mutual fund industry. The government and the private financial services players need to get involved. Your pension plans and insurance plans encourage people to put money into capital markets. And when people see the benefit of that, it will be one way of financial literacy. I think the industry per se has been doing its bit. We have these investor awareness programmes that we are doing.
MODERATOR: The opinion is that there is a need to do a lot more. Could you tell us two or three specific points that you have done to create awareness of mutual funds because everybody keeps on talking about it?Sundeep Sikka (SS): We need to understand whether it is financial literacy or education, there are a billion people in India. And only one per cent of the country is investing in mutual funds. There are two big issues which we need to understand, one is the awareness and the other one is understanding mutual funds. At this point of time, both the awareness as well as the understanding of mutual funds is very low. The good thing is almost all stake holders in the industry, whether it is AMFI, Sebi or MCA, everybody is doing a lot of road shows. But ultimately, the beauty of mutual funds is such that investors cannot stay out of them for a very long time.Nimesh Shah (NS): Distributors need to be educated about the overall benefits of mutual funds. I will divide the instruments in three parts. Money market, debt and equity. To educate them that it is good for your business to distribute money market funds. First, they should take to money market, then, switch over after a period of time into equity. Actually, the quality of distributors that are left in the industry are also the ones who are advisors. Debt funds can be a challenge in the next six months, but it is relatively easier to convince a person to come into money market funds.
SK: It should be a total solution for the customer from the point of view of asset allocation, which includes money market funds, debt, equity, MIP and also gold. The mutual fund industry has not grown to the extent that one would like it to grow. Every distributor has to accept the fact that you need to be lot more passionate about the solution rather than just asset class product. That is one. The average equity asset is about 30 per cent. The rest is coming from debt funds that always provide an opportunity when the interest rates are high. The stage will come where income funds will become attractive. There exists an opportunity in income oriented funds, which would include the monthly income schemes and equity which always do well in the longer term. In the short-term, investors are bound to shy away. The best time to advice is when there is uncertainty in the immediate future.
MODERATOR: How do you respond to the criticism that the industry has made things too complicated, in the sense of having thousands of schemes with many options?
NS: First of all, I wonder from where these thousands of schemes come from. Options have come because the investors wanted it. Somebody wanted dividend, others don't. Obviously every scheme, then, will have that kind of options.
But I agree with you that there was a phase between 2004 and 2007, when there were a lot of NFO's. But one thing is very clear, with the changes that have happened, money comes only into schemes which have a very good track record. The only way to grow your equity funds is that if you have done a good job for the final investor and given him decent returns. How good you are in sales will not matter as much as your scheme's performance.
Since the last one year, SEBI is actually encouraging mutual funds to combine schemes which are not required. So a lot of mutual funds houses have done that, in terms of the combining schemes and this will continue in the next few years. Even from the perspective of distribution, it is not possible to distribute so many products at the same time.
MODERATOR: One of the natural consequences of this entry load ban was supposed to be the emergence of financial advisors. Even agents were supposed to graduate to become advisors. But it is being said that the mutual fund industry is paying brokerages from their own pocket to distributors, who in turn, are passing it to the investors. In that sense, the industry has itself to blame for not allowing the emergence of financial advisors.
SS: Ultimately every AMC will have to make his own business case and decide what they have to pay. But if you have to go back to the 2009 entry load ban, it was said (for the first time) that advisory will be priced. What that means is that the distributor or the financial advisor will sit down with the investor, give him the financial advice, and based on that, investors will decide on the pricing. In a country like India, where advice is always given free, it is taking some time for distributors for getting that fee. And that is a reality.
But it is just a matter of time. As the financial sector evolves, advisory will become more and more important. I will just give you a very interesting number. Over the last 10 years, if you were to look at the top five schemes in the industry, they have given an average return of 28 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) whereas the bottom five have given a return of 13 per cent – a difference of 15 per cent CAGR. When the investor becomes aware of what does this advice means, how he is benefiting from it, he will not find it difficult to pay 1-2 per cent as financial advisory fee.
SK: The difference between this business and any other business is the cost that the customer pays here is a regulated cost. If you are buying a consumer durable today from a distributor, if you are getting something from the manufacturer but you are not aware for the cost that you are paying, or the cost that is going in creating that consumer durable. All that you know is the selling price. Mutual funds, in that sense, are so very different. Customers know exactly how much they are going to pay when he invests in a fund, a manufacturer knows exactly how much he can charge a customer.
For every 100 rupees that is created in the market 80 rupees is derivatives, 20 rupees is cash. Less than 5 rupees is for delivery. Equity markets have been in existence for over a century. Mutual funds regulations came in 1996. Today, equity investors who access equity markets through mutual funds are more in number than those who have direct access to equity markets. The total number of demat accounts in the country stands at 16 million. If you remove the duplication, you don't have more than 5 million active investors in the Indian equity markets. You have about 40 million folios in the Indian equity markets. If you remove duplication, the number of unique investors would be 5 million as well. And the latter has been in existence for just the last 15 years. So it is not that the industry has not done enough, there are various other host of issues. Earlier, we had an administered regime, where investors were paid assured kind of returns. So it takes a really long time for them to really understand how to create wealth over the long term. But rest assured, it is in our interests to get long-term money and more investors.
NVK: We live in an industry where sales are through an indirect channel and hence, the customer is owned by the distributor. From an investor's perspective, he is totally protected today. The cost that the investor pays is fixed and irrespective of what the fund manager may pay to the distributor, it does not impact the investors' returns.There are individual business models that fund managers may evolve. But at the end of the day, the regulator ensures that the investor is protected. There is a cap on all costs and is very transparent. The schemes also have a high level of transparency, in terms of disclosure of funds portfolios and NAVs on a daily basis. There are enough web sites that do analysis of fund returns etc.
But at the end of the day, you have a situation where the advisory plays a much bigger role, because he deals with an investor who is less aware, and because he owns the investor he has a stronger bargaining role with the fund manager. But at some point of time, that equation will become equal as investors tend to become far more financially aware, ask the right questions and if they are not happy with the distribution model start buying into fund products directly. That model that in the western world will put the challenge back to the distributor and make the playing field far more level. It is a process. I think investing in India has just started. It is a nascent industry.
People didn't have to invest, people used to get fabulous returns seven-eight years back because assured returns schemes of the GOI paid you fabulous returns. In today's market conditions, where capital markets are providing you with great returns, the mindset of the investor has to be changed. In the last 10 years, the industry has pulled in many more investors into the capital market than traditional products have done in the past. It is a process. I think it will happen.
MODERATOR: The regulator is pushing for more and more disclosures. Even if we put the entry loan ban aside, how tough has the regulator been?AB: It is not the trend prevailing only in India, it is a trend which has emerged in most of the global markets and everywhere the regulators have become far more tougher when it comes to the question of compliance. The other area, which has also been challenging is predicting the regulatory changes. They are becoming the order of the day.
Internationally, the scenario is same everywhere. The regulations are, of course, far more tighter for the manufacturer. But it also needs to get implemented at the distributor level, who are actually the advisors to the clients on a day-to-day basis. This again means that they need to be a lot more diligent when it comes to advising the clients. What are the needs of the customer and then, advising them adequately. As a result, the service provider also needs to have a better compliance mechanism and a better packing mechanism, in the long-term interest of the investors.
SS: Today we are one of the most regulated industries. We are a very young industry, just 15 years old. There are changes happening. But we should not see every change from the regulator as something wrong. Higher disclosure and a lot of things will keep evolving. And somehow I get this feeling that this is not only true for our industry but also for a lot of other industries. There is nothing wrong in disclosures. Today, the mutual fund industry discloses more than any other industry. And even if more disclosures are required, I think it is more than welcome, as long as it is for the growth of the industry. Yes, it does add to the compliance cost but if you have to build something from a long-term point of view, these costs are inevitable. Today, total assets of the mutual fund industry are Rs 7 lakh crore. And I don't see any reason why this industry will not be Rs 20 lakh crore over the next four-five years. Even it take more than five years, it really does not matter. Today, it is very important to have a very robust risk management and compliance systems. So, even if the cost increases, I believe it is good for the long-term interest of the industry.
HB: I think ultimately everybody is working for the growth of the industry. I don't think that any change from the regulator should be construed as harsh. But too much has happened too fast. The good thing is that over the past two or two and a half years, the industry has realigned to the changes. And I think we are in the right direction now. Sometimes, there is too much change happening too quickly and the results do not having the impact that it should have. So I think whenever the changes are to be brought about, especially those which lead to far reaching changes in the business model, they need to be brought about in an orderly manner. There needs to be some discussion around it and time should be given to implement those changes. So when finally the regulation is out, it has the desired impact. I think when you have too many changes too quickly and nobody is assessing the impact, then you don't get the desired result. I think that is the one aspect which needs to be looked at. Everybody feels that the change is positive and the trend is positive, but I also think that changes put a lot of pressures on the firms and for the players to adapt and I think that is something that needs to be looked at.
MODERATOR: Could you give us an example.
HB: Any change. I mean if there is a change wherby you need to do the business differently, I, as a player, need to understand the full impact of it. That is, how does it affect my taxation, how does it impact my operations, how does it impact my front office, how does it impact my back office, how does it impact the way I do business with distributors, what do I inform the clients and so on. There are a lot of systems that go into running a mutual fund company. A simple change may require software changes at our end, which are complex. So, there are these kind of things that need to be addressed in advance. Changes cannot be switched on suddenly. There are lots of other things that need to be considered in such situations, especially when you are in an environment where there are multiple regulations. The change that is brought about by one regulator may impact another regulator's area and you may have to go to another regulator and ask them how to implement this. All these thing take a lot of time. Of course, these kind of things do happen when there are regulatory changes.
And I think that is why if you see in the western world, any change is brought in very slowly. It is brought after taking all views into consideration. And then the change is implemented. Once it is implemented, in very rare cases, it is changed again. In India, sometimes there are changes and changes to changes in a few months. That does not happen in a more settled environment. And I think things need to be evolved.
It is more to do with the speed of changes that you want to introduce. Clearly, whether it is the cost to the customer or the transparency for the customer, speed of implementation is something which will go a long way as far as the industry is concerned. But I would prefer a more consultative process, a long term discussion process with the industry and perhaps some timelines given to the industry to implement it.
MODERATOR: Recently, Sebi changed the entry load guidelines to incorporate costs of Rs 100 for investment beyond Rs 10,000 and Rs 150 for new investors. However, there already seems to be a demand from distributors that this amount is insufficient. Many are seeking a variable load etc. How do you see mutual funds, will it really improve things for you?
AB: It can always be debated whether the amount is sufficient, whether larger ticket size can be charged more and so on. But I would only assume that it is in the direction of increasing the participation of distributors, and investors. The other innovative thought, which has come as part of the regulation that anyone who comes in with a PAN card can open an account, will actually to expand the market and help increase the participation of the number of investors in the mutual funds industry.
It is in some sense getting better than the no-load regime. In some sense, from the distributors point of view it makes the job a little easy. I will only assume that it is in the right direction. And it can always be debated whether it is fixed or variable. But it is in the right direction and get people to start thinking, especially the small distributors. It may not be a great incentive in urban cities. But it will help people who are building up their business models mainly in deeper parts of the country. For them, it will help.
SS: I think we are really excited about this. We see this Rs 100 helping growth in smaller cities and towns. This could also help bring back investors to the mutual fund industry. I just thought that since we are talking of challenges, this is an opportunity that we should not miss out on. Bala was modest in saying it is a baby step, I will say it is a great step. Specially, for small investors, to come back to the mutual fund industry.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/%5Cgrowth-will-comesmaller-cities%5C/450922/

Manna for monetary policy
By using currency depreciation as a substitute for an interest rate hike, RBI has made the inflation-growth trade-off much steeper

Method And Manner | Haseeb A. Drabu

There has been a rather muted reaction from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the recent bout of rupee depreciation. Considering that this is the sharpest and steepest "adjustment" in the exchange rate—11% in two months—since the fabled "hop, skip and jump" in June 1991, it deserves greater attention and analysis.
Prima facie, the sharp depreciation is a market adjustment warranted by the fact that the nominal exchange rate hadn't depreciated enough in line with the inflation differential. This made the rupee overvalued in real effective exchange rate (REER) terms.
Also Read |Haseeb A. Drabu's previous columns
From April 2009 to July 2011, the six currency REER has increased from 96 to 119, which is about a 25% appreciation. Even on a wider basket of 36 currencies, which includes countries with higher inflation rates, REER has increased from 91 to 104, about 15%.
From an analytical perspective, the 11% depreciation in the rupee brings to fore the link between exchange rates and interest rates in the Indian macroeconomic dynamics. This aspect had gone on the back burner because of the rock-like stability of the exchange rate in the last six months or so despite an adverse environment. Also, with a mountain of foreign exchange reserves there is no need for any alarmist reaction.
However, given global fragility and the economy's domestic vulnerability, the interplay of these interest rate changes and exchange rate movements will go a long way in determining developments in the nominal and real sides of the economy—inflation and real output—the two key variables that RBI is struggling to manage.
Two obvious implications of the rupee depreciation will be foreign institutional investment (FII) outflows and a knock on impact on inflation. The process of containing FII outflows will involve tighter credit conditions and an interest rate spike. As far as inflation is concerned, there is bound to be a knock-on impact of the weaker rupee especially if oil prices do not fall. With rupee-denominated oil inflation leading the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), it is axiomatic that a weaker rupee will boost rupee oil inflation, which in turn will push up the WPI.
Not only is imported inflation contributing almost one-third of the overall rate of inflation, incrementally the relationship is much stronger. For instance, in May 2008 when the rupee depreciated 5%, the WPI rose by 4% over the next three months.
Given the fact that RBI is fighting a losing battle against inflation, which it believes is commodity price-driven due to a spurt in global commodity prices, why did it allow the rupee to slide so sharply thereby jeopardizing its own anti-inflation strategy? This is a bit curious.
The last time around when the rupee came under pressure, RBI sold more than $40 billion to prevent the rupee from depreciating. In fact, in less than four months, RBI pushed $37 billion into the system to prevent the rupee from depreciating.
It hasn't done so at this point of time as it has disruptive implications for liquidity management. By intervening and drawing down its reserves, it withdraws an equal amount of rupees out of the system causing an increase in the cash deficit. It would then require aggressive open market operations to restore the liquidity balance.
More importantly, the role of exchange rate goes much beyond the pass-through into domestic prices. In the present phase of the economy, exchange rate variability—in itself and vis-a-vis interest rate variability—needs to be understood for its contractionary implications.
Theoretically, the received wisdom is that exchange rates and interest rates exhibit a negative correlation as depreciations are expansionary. However, India's import basket is not easily substitutable and has a robust demand, while its exports are easily substitutable and have less robust demand. As such, in an economy with a higher and inelastic import demand and a lower and elastic export demand, the overall effect of currency depreciation tends to be contractionary, even as it may have a positive effect on the current account deficit. The effect of the recent rupee depreciation is bound to be contractionary especially if global commodity prices do not reduce proportionately.
With a bourgeoning current account deficit, rupee weakening has become a part of the process by which credit is squeezed further. A drain in external funds almost always produces a credit squeeze and interest rate spike.
The interesting point is that RBI appears to have found the depreciation coming at a convenient time and hence has watched the rupee's slide with interest and little else. It could well be using the slide as a substitute for another interest rate hike. If this indeed is so, the million dollar question on everyone's mind about further monetary tightening may just have been answered. The only downside to this strategy is that the inflation-growth trade-off becomes much steeper.
Haseeb A. Drabu is an economist, and writes on monetary and macroeconomic matters from the perspective of policy and practice. Comments are welcome at haseeb@livemint.com
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Poverty threshold

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the term as defined in the United States, see Poverty thresholds (United States).
 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)
Percentage of population living on less than $1.25 per day. UN estimates 2000-2007.

The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living in a given country.[1] In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.[2][3]

The common international poverty line has in the past been roughly $1 a day.[4]In 2008, the World Bank came out with a revised figure of $1.25 at 2005 purchasing-power parity (PPP).[5]

Determining the poverty line is usually done by finding the total cost of all the essential resources that an average human adult consumes in one year.[6] This approach is needs-based in that an assessment is made of the minimum expenditure needed to maintain a tolerable life. This was the original basis of thepoverty line in the United States, whose calculation was simplified to be based solely on the cost of food and is updated each year.[citation needed] The largest of these expenses is typically the rent required to live in an apartment, so historically, economists have paid particular attention to the real estate market and housing prices as a strong poverty line affector.

Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted each year.

The poverty threshold is useful as an economic tool with which to measure such people and consider socioeconomic reforms such as welfareand unemployment insurance[citation needed] to reduce poverty.


Contents

 [hide]

[edit]Absolute poverty

A measure of absolute poverty quantifies the number of people below a fixed real poverty threshold.[citation needed] It is a level of poverty as defined in terms of the minimal requirements necessary to afford minimal standards of food, clothing, health care and shelter.[7] (See definition from Glossary of Sociology.) For the measure to be absolute, the line must be the same in different countries, cultures, and technological levels. Such an absolute measure should look only at the individual's power to consume and it should be independent of any changes in income distribution. Such a measure is possible only when all consumed goods and services are counted and when PPP-exchange rates are used (see purchasing power parity).[citation needed] The intuition behind an absolute measure is that mere survival takes essentially the same amount of resources across the world and that everybody should be subject to the same standards if meaningful comparisons of policies and progress are to be made. Notice that if everyone's real income in an economy increases, and the income distribution does not change, absolute poverty will decline.

Measuring poverty by an absolute threshold has the advantage of applying the same standard across different locations and time periods, making comparisons easier. On the other hand, it suffers from the disadvantage that any absolute poverty threshold is to some extent arbitrary; the amount of wealth required for survival is not the same in all places and time periods. For example, a person living in far northern Scandinavia requires a source of heat during colder months, while a person living on a tropical island does not.

This type of measure is often contrasted with measures of relative poverty (see below), which classify individuals or families as "poor" not by comparing them to a fixed cutoff point, but by comparing them to others in the population under study.[citation needed]

The term absolute poverty is also sometimes used as a synonym for extreme poverty. Absolute poverty is the absence of enough resources (such as money) to secure basic life necessities.

According to a UN declaration that resulted from the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, absolute poverty is "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services."[8]

David Gordon's paper, "Indicators of Poverty & Hunger", for the United Nations, further defines absolute poverty as the absence of any two of the following eight basic needs:[8]

  • Food: Body Mass Index must be above 16.
  • Safe drinking water: Water must not come from solely rivers and ponds, and must be available nearby (less than 15 minutes' walk each way).
  • Sanitation facilities: Toilets or latrines must be accessible in or near the home.
  • Health: Treatment must be received for serious illnesses and pregnancy.
  • Shelter: Homes must have fewer than four people living in each room. Floors must not be made of dirt, mud, or clay.
  • Education: Everyone must attend school or otherwise learn to read.
  • Information: Everyone must have access to newspapers, radios, televisions, computers, or telephones at home.
  • Access to services: This item is undefined by Gordon, but normally is used to indicate the complete panoply of education, health, legal, social, and financial (credit) services.

For example, a person who lives in a home with a mud floor is considered severely deprived of shelter. A person who never attended school and cannot read is considered severely deprived of education. A person who has no newspaper, radio, television, or telephone is considered severely deprived of information. All people who meet any two of these conditions — for example, they live in homes with mud floors andcannot read — are considered to be living in absolute poverty.

[edit]Relative poverty

See also: Income inequality and Relative deprivation

A measure of relative poverty defines "poverty" as being below some relative poverty threshold. For example, the statement that "households with an accumulated income less than 60% of the median equivalized household disposable income are living in poverty" uses a relative measure to define poverty. In this system, if everyone's real income in an economy increases, but the income distribution stays the same, then the rate of relative poverty will also stay the same.

Relative poverty measurements can sometimes produce odd results, especially in small populations. For example, if the median household in a wealthy neighborhood earns US$1 million each year, then a family that earns US$100,000 would be considered poor on the relative poverty scale, even though such a family could meet all of its basic needs and much more. At the other end of the scale, if the median household in a very poor neighborhood earned only 50% of what it needs to buy food, then a person who earned the median income would not be considered poor on a relative poverty scale, even though the person is clearly poor on an absolute poverty scale.

Measures of relative poverty are almost the same as measuring income inequality: If a society gets a more equal income distribution, relative poverty will fall. Following this, some argue[who?] that the term relative poverty is itself misleading and that income inequality should be used instead.[citation needed] They point out that if society changed in a way that hurt high earners more than low ones, then relative poverty would decrease, but every citizen of the society would be worse off. Likewise in the reverse direction: it is possible to reduce absolute poverty while increasing relative poverty.

The term relative poverty can also be used in a different sense to mean "moderate poverty" –- for example, a standard of living or level of income that is high enough to satisfy basic needs (like water, food, clothing, shelter, and basic health care), but still significantly lower than that of the majority of the population under consideration.[citation needed]

[edit]Basic needs

Some measurements combine certain aspects of absolute and relative measures. For example, the Fraser Institute publishes a basic needspoverty measure for Canada. According to the Fraser Institute, "the basic-needs approach is partly absolute (the list [of necessities] is limited to items required for long-term physical well-being) and partly relative, reflecting the standards that apply in the individual's own society at the present time."[9] The Fraser Institute's list of necessities for living creditably in Canada includes not only food, shelter, clothing, and health care, but also personal care, furniture, transportation, communication, laundry, and home insurance. It is a criticized for not including any entertainment items like cable television, daily newspapers, and tickets to movies or sporting events.[9][10]

[edit]National poverty lines

CIA World Factbook based map showing the percentage of population by country living below that country's official poverty line.

National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. Definitions of the poverty line may vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations. Thus, the numbers are not comparable among countries.

In 2009, in the United States of America, the poverty threshold for a single person under 65 was US$11,161; the threshold for a family group of four, including two children, was US$21,756.[11][12]

In the UK, "more than five million people – over a fifth (23 percent) of all employees – were paid less than £6.67 an hour in April 2006. This is based on a low pay rate of 60 percent of full-time median earnings, equivalent to a little over £12,000 a year for a 35-hour working week. In April 2006, a 35-hour week would have earned someone £9,191 a year – before tax or National Insurance".[13][14]

India's official poverty level, on the other hand, is split according to rural vs. urban thresholds. For urban dwellers, the poverty line is defined as living on less than 538.60 rupees (approximately USD $12) per month, whereas for rural dwellers, it is defined as living on less than 356.35 rupees per month (approximately USD $7.50).[15] By this measure, only 27.5% of Indians live in poverty,[citation needed] whereas by the World Bank standard of $1.25 per day, 42% of Indians live in poverty[citation needed] – this is the third highest rate in South Asia after Bangladeshand Bhutan.

In the year 2011 there was a crossfire between National Advisory Council of India (NAC) & Planning Commission of India. The row was sparked when Planning Commission informed the Supreme Court that for an average Indian urban dweller, Rs.32 per day is adequate to carry out his/her living and that those who earn more than Rs.32 ($ 2 in terms of PPP) in Urban areas & Rs.25 ($ 1.56 in terms of PPP) in Rural areas shall not be considered as poor anymore. Former NAC member Jean Dreze said the health expenditure estimated by the Tendulkar panel was "barely enough to buy an aspirin". Food rights activist Colin Gonsalves described the definition as "shocking". The per capita expenditure of Rs 32 per day in cities won't be sufficient even for food. He also quoted saying that "A person cannot feed himself properly with this money. Where from he will spend on clothing, health and other things?".

[edit]Criticisms

Using a poverty threshold is problematic because having an income marginally above it is not substantially different from having an income marginally below it: the negative effects of poverty tend to be continuous rather than discrete, and the same low income affects different people in different ways. To overcome this problem, poverty indices are sometimes used instead; see income inequality metrics.

A poverty threshold relies on a quantitative, or purely numbers-based, measure of income. If other human development-indicators like health and education are used, they must be quantified, which is not a simple (if even achievable) task.

[edit]Overstating poverty

In-kind gifts, whether from public or private sources, are not counted when calculating a poverty threshold. For example, if a parent pays the rent on an apartment for an adult son directly to the apartment owner, instead of giving the money to the son to pay the rent, then that money does not count as income to the son. If a church or non-profit organization gives food to an elderly person, the value of the food is not counted as income to the elderly person. Rea Hederman, a senior policy analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, said

The official poverty measure counts only monetary income. It considers antipoverty programs such as food stamps, housing assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid and school lunches, among others, "in-kind benefits" – and hence not income. So, despite everything these programs do to relieve poverty, they aren't counted as income when Washington measures the poverty rate.[16]

Studies measuring the difference between income before and after taxes and government transfers, however, have found that without these programs poverty would be roughly 30% to 40% higher than the official poverty line indicates, despite many of their benefits not being counted as income.[17][18]

[edit]See also

[edit]References

  1. ^ Ravallion, Martin Poverty Comparisons: A Guide to Concepts and Methods. Living Standards Measurement Papers, The World Bank, 1992, p. 25
  2. ^ Hagenaars, Aldi & de Vos, Klaas The Definition and Measurement of Poverty. Journal of Human Resources, 1988
  3. ^ Hagenaars, Aldi & van Praag, Bernard A Synthesis of Poverty Line Definitions. Review of Income and Wealth, 1985
  4. ^ Sachs, Jeffrey D. The End of Poverty 2005, p. 20
  5. ^ Ravallion, Martin; Chen Shaohua & Sangraula, Prem Dollar a day The World Bank Economic Review, 23, 2, 2009, pp. 163-184
  6. ^ {Poverty Lines-Martin Ravallion, in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition, London: Palgrave Macmillan}
  7. ^ http://dictionary.babylon.com/absolute%20poverty/
  8. ^ a b "Indicators of Poverty and Hunger". Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  9. ^ a b Poverty in Canada: 2006 Update, Fraser Institute, November 2006, URL accessed 14 February 2008
  10. ^ "Defining and Re-Defining Poverty: A CCSD Perspective", October 2001, Canadian Council On Social Development
  11. ^ "Poverty Thresholds 2009". Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  12. ^ US Census Bureau. "How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty". Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  13. ^ Working out of Poverty: A study of the low paid and the working poor by Graeme Cooke and Kayte Lawton
  14. ^ IPPR Article: "Government must rescue 'forgotten million children' in poverty"
  15. ^ "POVERTY ESTIMATES FOR 2004-05". Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  16. ^ "Poor poverty yardsticks", Rea S. Hederman, Jr., September 8, 2006, The Heritage Foundation
  17. ^ Kenworthy, L. (1999). Do social-welfare policies reduce poverty? A cross-national assessment. Social Forces, 77(3), 1119-1139.
  18. ^ Bradley, D., Huber, E., Moller, S., Nielson, F. & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies.American Sociological Review, 68(3), 22-51.

[edit]Further reading

  • Shepard, Jon; Robert W. Greene (2003). Sociology and You. Ohio: Glencoe McGraw-Hill. pp. A-22. ISBN 0078285763.
  • Alan Gillie, "The Origin of the Poverty Line", Economic History Review, XLIX/4 (1996), 726

[edit]External links

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Below Poverty Line (India)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Below Poverty Line is an economic benchmark and poverty threshold used by the government of India to indicate economic disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from state to state and within states. The present criteria are based on a survey conducted in 2002. Going into a survey due for a decade, India's central government is undecided on criteria to identify families below poverty line.[1]

Contents

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[edit]International Benchmarks

Internationally, an income of less than $1.25 per day per head of purchasing power parity is defined as extreme poverty. By this estimate, about 40% percent of Indians are extremely poor. Income-based poverty lines consider the bare minimum income to provide basic foodrequirements; it does not account for other essentials such as health care and education. That is why some times the poverty lines have been described as starvation lines.

The poverty line in United States is fixed in terms of annual family income. In 1969, the requirements of family in terms of food were worked out with reference to 1963 prices, and it was found that a family of four would require $1,033 annually to meet the food requirement. The study revealed that families in that income spent nearly one-third of their income on food, and therefore the poverty line for a four-person family was fixed as $3,099 annually. The poverty line is revised annually, adjusting for inflation. For the year 2006 it was $20,650 for a four-person family.[2]

[edit]Measurement

Criteria are different for rural and urban areas. In its Tenth Five-Year Plan, the degree of deprivation is measured with the help of parameters with scores given from 0-4, with 13 parameters. Families with 17 marks or less (formerly 15 marks or less) out of a maximum 52 marks have been classified as BPL.[2][3]

[edit]Ninth Plan

In its Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997–2002), BPL for rural areas was set at annual family income less than Rs. 20,000, less than two hectaresland, and no television or refrigerator. The number of rural BPL families was 650,000 (6.5 lakh) during the 9th Plan. The survey based on this criteria was again carried out in 2002 and the total number of 387,000 (3.87 lakh) families were identified. This figure was in force until September 2006.[2]

[edit]Tenth Plan (2002-2007)

In its Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002–2007) survey, BPL for rural areas was based on the degree of deprivation in respect of 13 parameters, with scores from 0-4: landholding, type of house, clothing, food security, sanitation, consumer durables, literacy status, labour force, means oflivelihood, status of children, type of indebtedness, reasons for migrations, etc.

The Planning Commission fixed an upper limit of 3.26 lakh for rural BPL families on the basis of simple survey. Accordingly families having less than 15 marks out of maximum 52 marks have been classified as BPL and their number works out to 3.18 lakh. The survey was carried out in 2002 and thereafter but could not be finalised due to a stay issued by the Supreme Court of India. The stay was vacated in February 2006 and this survey was finalised and adopted in September 2006. This survey formed the basis for benefits under government of India schemes. The state governments are free to adopt any criteria/survey for state-level schemes.[2]

In its Tenth Five-Year Plan BPL for urban areas was based on degree of deprivation in respect of seven parameters: roof, floor, water, sanitation, education level, type of employment, and status of children in a house. A total of 1.25 lakh upper families were identified as BPL in urban area in 2004. It has been implemented since then.[2]

[edit]Kerala

The government of Kerala is one of the few state governments which has formulated its own criteria.

In Kerala there are nine parameters. Family which lack access to four or more parameters are classified as BPL.

The nine parameters for urban areas are:

The nine parameters for rural areas are the same, but the colour television criterion is replaced by "family with an illiterate adult member" criterion.[2]

[edit]Income based poverty line in India

The poverty line was originally fixed in terms of income/food requirements in 1978. It was stipulated that the calorie standard for a typical individual in rural areas was 2400 calorie and was 2100 calorie in urban areas. Then the cost of the grains (about 650 gms) that fulfil this normative standard was calculated. This cost was the poverty line. In 1978, it was Rs. 61.80 per person per month for rural areas and Rs. 71.30 for urban areas. Since then the Planning Commission calculates the poverty line every year adjusting for inflation. The poverty line in recent years is as follows - (Rs. per month per head)

Year India rural India urban
2000–2001 328 454
2005–2006 368 560

This income is bare minimum to support the food requirements and does not provide much for the other basic essential items like health, education etc. That is why some times the poverty lines have been described as starvation lines.[2]

[edit]Fixing of cut-off marks at 17

The Socio Economic Survey conducted during 2002 was based on 13 Socio economic indicators (enlisted by Government of India ) indicating the quality of life and by Score based ranking for all households. Each of the indicators have 0-4 marks. Thus for 13 indicators, the tentative marks obtained by the families are from 0-52 for all the Districts. The Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition No. 196/2001 filed by People's Union for Civil Liberties, the result of Below Poverty Line census 2002 need not be finalized. Later in October, 2005 the Government of India informed that based on the advice given by the Additional Solicitor General, it has been decided to finalise the results of Below Poverty Line Census, 2002 without deleting the Below Poverty Line families already existing in the Below Poverty Line list of Below Poverty Line Census 1997 and to follow the following procedure for finalisation of Below Poverty Line list.

  1. Preparation of Below Poverty Line list
  2. Approval in Gram Sabha
  3. Appeal to Block Development Officer and Collector.
  4. Display of Final List

The Government of India then decided that the Below Poverty Line list for 2002 could be finalized as per original guidelines. The Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj stated that in the Below Poverty Line survey done in 1991 out of 84.33 lakh Rural families 34.46 lakh families were identified as Below Poverty Line families. In the Below Poverty Line survey done in the year 1999 out of 93.88 lakh rural families 27.37 lakh families were identified as Below Poverty Line families. He has stated that if the cut off mark is fixed as 16 the total number of families would be 25.48 lakhs families against the total families of 86.65 lakhs which is lesser than the number of families indicated by Government of India viz. 26.77 lakh families. If the cut off mark is fixed as 17 marks, then the total the number of Below Poverty line families would be 30.51 lakhs. This is marginally above the number of families indicated by Government of India. i.e. 26.77 lakhs families. He has therefore recommended that the cut off marks to arrive at the number of Below Poverty Line families may be fixed at 17 so that no Below Poverty Line family gets left out of the list and requested orders of Government in this regard. The Government after detailed examination has decided to accept the proposal of the Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and accordingly order to fix the cut off mark as 17 for identification of a family as Below Poverty Line family.8. The Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj is requested to take necessary further action for finalization of Below Poverty Line List for rural areas of this state as per the procedure laid down by Government of India.[3]

[edit]Example

A Bench Mark Survey conducted in Maharashtra in 1997-1998 found 91.08 %[4] Madia Gond families BPL. Madia Gond are a people classified as primitive tribe, they live in Bhamragad Taluka, of Gadchiroli District, of Maharashtra.

[edit]Example of mis-use of BPL Schemes

Social activist Mariam Dhavale, State secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), finds the criteria for determining BPL status puzzling and one that excludes the deserving.

"If you have a pucca house, a two-wheeler, a fan… you are ineligible. The pucca house could have been in your family for generations and is not necessarily a reflection of your present situation. There was a government scheme once in which girls were given cycles to ensure they went to schools. Because the girls had a cycle they were not counted as BPL "

Corruption in the system allows those ineligible to gain benefits of the BPL status. A chain of corruption exists between the Government officer to the government appointed retailer resulting in grain and fuel been diverted to the black market[5]

[edit]New survey

Going into a survey due for a decade, India's central government is undecided on criteria to identify families below poverty line. The survey is carried on the basis of guidelines and criteria evolved by India's Union Ministry of Rural Development, by the state government. This survey will be used as a reference tool for the 12th five-year plan and in the Right to Food Bill, which is in the final stages of drafting. The 10th and the 11th five-year plans had missed this mandatory survey because of a Supreme Court stay order. Identification of BPL families is necessary for implementing centrally-sponsored schemes, such as subsidised food and housing targeted at them. [1]

[edit]See also

Famine in India
Malnutrition in India

[edit]References

  1. ^ a b Moyna (2011-04). "BPL's dividing line". Down to the earth: Science and entertainment online. cse webnet.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.pbplanning.gov.in/pdf/BPL16-3-07.pdf
  3. ^ a b http://priasoft1.tn.nic.in/rdwebsite/Central_Schemes/linkfiles/go_rd_150_06_pg251.pdf
  4. ^ http://trti.mah.nic.in/static_pages/MaharashtraStateStatistics.pdf
  5. ^ .BAVADAM, LYLA (2010-04-10). "No jobs, no food" (in English). Frontline, Volume 24, Issue 8, (Chennai: The Hindu): pp. Cover Story. Retrieved 2010-09-29.

[edit]Further Reading

The BPL Census and a possible alternative.[1]

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Poverty in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Percent of population living below the poverty line, over the final quarter of the 20th century.

Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day (PPP, in nominal terms INR 21.6 a day in urban areas and INR 14.3 in rural areas).[1] According to a new UN Millennium Development Goals Report, as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four years, while India's poverty rate is projected to drop to 22% in 2015.[2] The report also indicates that in Southern Asia, however, only India, where the poverty rate is projected to fall from 51% in 1990 to about 22% in 2015, is on track to cut poverty in half by the 2015 target date.[3]


Percentage population living on less than 1 dollar a day from 2007-2008

Contents

 [hide]

[edit]Poverty estimates

There has been no uniform measure of poverty in India.[4][5] The Planning Commission of India has accepted the Tendulkar Committee report which says that 37% of people in India live below the poverty line.[6]

The Arjun Sengupta Report (from National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector) states that 77% of Indians live on less thanINR 20 a day (about $0.50 per day).[7] The N.C. Saxena Committee report states that 50% of Indians live below the poverty line.

A study by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative using a Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) found that there were 645 million[8] poor living under the MPI in India, 421 million of whom are concentrated in eight North Indian and East Indian states of Bihar,Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations.[9] The states are listed below in increasing order of poverty based on the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index.[10]

MPI Rank↓ States↓ Population (in millions) 2007↓ MPI↓ Proportion of Poor↓ Average Intensity↓ Contribution to Overall Poverty↓ Number of MPI Poor (in millions)↓
— India 1,164.7 0.296 55.4% 53.5% - 645.0
1 Kerala 35.0 0.065 15.9% 40.9% 0.6% 5.6
2 Goa 1.6 0.094 21.7% 43.4% 0.0% 0.4
3 Punjab 27.1 0.120 26.2% 46.0% 1.0% 7.1
4 Himachal Pradesh 6.7 0.131 31.0% 42.3% 0.3% 2.1
5 Tamil Nadu 68.0 0.141 32.4% 43.6% 2.6% 22.0
6 Uttarakhand 9.6 0.189 40.3% 46.9% 0.5% 3.9
7 Maharashtra 108.7 0.193 40.1% 48.1% 6.0% 43.6
8 Haryana 24.1 0.199 41.6% 47.9% 1.3% 10.0
9 Gujarat 57.3 0.205 41.5% 49.2% 3.4% 23.8
10 Jammu And Kashmir 12.2 0.209 43.8% 47.7% 0.7% 5.4
11 Andhra Pradesh 83.9 0.211 44.7% 47.1% 5.1% 37.5
12 Karnataka 58.6 0.223 46.1% 48.3% 4.2% 27.0
13 Eastern Indian States 44.2 0.303 57.6% 52.5% 4.0% 25.5
14 West Bengal 89.5 0.317 58.3% 54.3% 8.5% 52.2
15 Orissa 40.7 0.345 64.0% 54.0% 4.3% 26.0
16 Rajasthan 65.4 0.351 64.2% 54.7% 7.0% 41.9
17 Uttar Pradesh 192.6 0.386 69.9% 55.2% 21.3% 134.7
18 Chhattisgarh 23.9 0.387 71.9% 53.9% 2.9% 17.2
19 Madhya Pradesh 70.0 0.389 69.5% 56.0% 8.5% 48.6
20 Jharkhand 30.5 0.463 77.0% 60.2% 4.2% 23.5
21 Bihar 95.0 0.499 81.4% 61.3% 13.5% 77.3

Estimates by NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) show that 48% of the Indian households earn more than INR90,000 (US$2,007) annually (or more than US$ 3 PPP per person). According to NCAER, in 2009, of the 222 million households in India, the absolutely poor households (annual incomes below INR 45,000) accounted for only 15.6% of them or about 35 million (about 200 million Indians). Another 80 million households are in income levels of INR 45,000– 90,000 per year. These numbers also are more or less in line with the latest World Bank estimates of the "below-the-poverty-line" households that may total about 100 million (or about 456 million individuals)[11]

The World Bank estimates that 80% of India's population lives on less than $2 a day[12][13] which means a higher proportion of its population lives on less than $2 per day as compared with sub-Saharan Africa.[13]

[edit]Impact of poverty

Since the 1950s, the Indian government and non-governmental organizations have initiated several programs to alleviate poverty, includingsubsidizing food and other necessities, increased access to loans, improving agricultural techniques and price supports, and promoting education and family planning. These measures have helped eliminate famines, cut absolute poverty levels by more than half, and reducedilliteracy and malnutrition.[14]

Presence of a massive parallel economy in the form of black (hidden) money stashed in overseas tax havens and underutilisation of foreign aid have also contributed to the slow pace of poverty alleviation in India.[15][16][17]

Although the Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas.[18][14] Between 1999 and 2008, the annualized growth rates forGujarat (8.8%), Haryana (8.7%), or Delhi (7.4%) were much higher than for Bihar (5.1%), Uttar Pradesh (4.4%), or Madhya Pradesh (3.5%).[19] Poverty rates in rural Orissa (43%) and rural Bihar (41%) are among the world's most extreme.[20]

Despite significant economic progress, one quarter of the nation's population earns less than the government-specified poverty threshold of 12 rupees per day (approximately US$ 0.25).

According to a recently released World Bank report, India is on track to meet its poverty reduction goals. However by 2015, an estimated 53 million people will still live in extreme poverty and 23.6% of the population will still live under US$1.25 per day. This number is expected to reduce to 20.3% or 268 million people by 2020.[21] However, at the same time, the effects of the worldwide recession in 2009 have plunged 100 million more Indians into poverty than there were in 2004, increasing the effective poverty rate from 27.5% to 37.2%.[22]

As per the 2001 census, 35.5% of Indian households availed of banking services, 35.1% owned a radio or transistor, 31.6% a television, 9.1% a phone, 43.7% a bicycle, 11.7% a scooter, motorcycle or a moped, and 2.5% a car, jeep or van; 34.5% of the households had none of these assets.[23] According to Department of Telecommunications of India the phone density has reached 33.23% by December 2008 and has an annual growth of 40%.[24] This tallies with the fact that a family of four with an annual income of 1.37 lakh rupees could afford some of these luxury items.

[edit]Causes of poverty in India

[edit]Caste system

Further information: Caste system in India

According to S. M. Michael, Dalits constitute the bulk of poor and unemployed.[25]

According to William A. Haviland, casteism is widespread in rural areas, and continues to segregate Dalits.[26] Others, however, have noted the steady rise and empowerment of the Dalits through social reforms and the implementation of reservations in employment and benefits.[27][28]

Caste explanations of poverty fail to account for the urban/rural divide. Using the UN definition of poverty, 65% of rural forward castes are below the poverty line.[29]

[edit]India's economic policies

A rural worker drying cow dung in Bihar.

In 1947, the average annual income in India was US$439, compared with US$619 forChina, US$770 for South Korea, and US$936 for Taiwan. By 1999, the numbers were US$1,818; US$3,259; US$13,317; and US$15,720, respectively.[30] (numbers are in 1990 international Maddison dollars) In other words, the average income in India was not much different from South Korea in 1947, but South Korea became a developed country by 2000s. At the same time, India was left as one of the world's poorer countries.

License Raj refers to the elaborate licenses, regulations and the accompanying red tape that were required to set up and run business in India between 1947 and 1990.[31] The License Raj was a result of India's decision to have a planned economy, where all aspects of the economy are controlled by the state and licenses were given to a select few. Corruption flourished under this system.[32]

The labyrinthine bureaucracy often led to absurd restrictions - up to 80 agencies had to be satisfied before a firm could be granted a licence to produce and the state would decide what was produced, how much, at what price and what sources of capital were used.
—BBC[33]

India had started out in the 1950s with:[34] high growth rates, openness to trade and investment, a promotional state, social expenditure awareness and macro stability but ended the 1980s with:[34] low growth rates, closure to trade and investment, a license-obsessed, restrictive state (License Raj), inability to sustain social expenditures and macro instability, indeed crisis.

Poverty has decreased significantly since reforms were started in the 1980s.[35][36]

Also:

  • Over-reliance on agriculture. There is a surplus of labour in agriculture. Farmers are a large vote bank and use their votes to resist reallocation of land for higher-income industrial projects. While services and industry have grown at double digit figures, agriculture growth rate has dropped from 4.8% to 2%. About 60% of the population depends on agriculture whereas the contribution of agriculture to the GDP is about 18%.[37]
  • High population growth rate, although demographers generally agree that this is a symptom rather than cause of poverty.

[edit]Liberalization policies and their effects

Other points of view hold that the economic reforms[clarification needed] initiated in the early 1990s are responsible for the collapse of rural economies and the agrarian crisis currently underway. As journalist and the Rural Affairs editor for The Hindu, P Sainath describes in his reports on the rural economy in India, the level of inequality has risen to extraordinary levels, when at the same time, hunger in India has reached its highest level in decades. He also points out that rural economies across India have collapsed, or on the verge of collapse due to the neo-liberal policies of the government of India since the 1990s.[38] The human cost of the "liberalisation" has been very high.[clarification needed] The huge wave of farm suicides in Indian rural population from 1997 to 2007 totaled close to 200,000, according to official statistics.[39] That number remains disputed, with some saying the true number is much higher. Commentators have faulted the policies pursued by the government which, according to Sainath, resulted in a very high portion of rural households getting into the debt cycle, resulting in a very high number of farm suicides. As professor Utsa Patnaik, India's top economist on agriculture, has pointed out, the average poor family in 2007 has about 100 kg less food per year than it did in 1997.[39]

Government policies encouraging farmers to switch to cash crops, in place of traditional food crops, has resulted in an extraordinary increase in farm input costs, while market forces determined the price of the cash crop.[40] Sainath points out that a disproportionately large number of affected farm suicides have occurred with cash crops, because with food crops such as rice, even if the price falls, there is food left to survive on. He also points out that inequality has reached one of the highest rates India has ever seen. In a report by Chetan Ahya, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, it is pointed out that there has been a wealth increase of close to US$1 Trillion in the time frame of 2003-2007 in the Indian stock market, while only 4-7% of the Indian population hold any equity.[41] During the time when Public investment in agriculture shrank to 2% of the GDP, the nation suffered the worst agrarian crisis in decades, the same time as India became the nation of second highest number of dollar billionaires.[42] Sainath argues that

Farm incomes have collapsed. Hunger has grown very fast. Public investment in agriculture shrank to nothing a long time ago. Employment has collapsed. Non-farm employment has stagnated. (Only the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has brought some limited relief in recent times.) Millions move towards towns and cities where, too, there are few jobs to be found.

In one estimate, over 85 per cent of rural households are either landless, sub-marginal, marginal or small farmers. Nothing has happened in 15 years that has changed that situation for the better. Much has happened to make it a lot worse.

Those who have taken their lives were deep in debt – peasant households in debt doubled in the first decade of the neoliberal "economic reforms," from 26 per cent of farm households to 48.6 per cent. Meanwhile, all along, India kept reducing investment in agriculture (standard neoliberal procedure). Life was being made more and more impossible for small farmers.

As of 2006, the government spends less than 0.2% of GDP on agriculture and less than 3% of GDP on education.[43] However, some government schemes such as the mid-day meal scheme, and the NREGA have been partially successful in providing a lifeline for the rural economy and curbing the further rise of poverty.

[edit]Reduction in Poverty

Despite all the causes, India currently adds 40 million people to its middle class every year.[citation needed] Analysts such as the founder of "Forecasting International", Marvin J. Cetron writes that an estimated 300 million Indians now belong to the middle class; one-third of them have emerged from poverty in the last ten years. At the current rate of growth, a majority of Indians will be middle-class by 2025.

Despite government initiatives, corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains low on the agenda of corporate sector. Only 10 percent of funding comes from individuals and corporates, and "a large part of CSR initiatives are artfully masqueraded and make it back to the balancesheet". The widening income gap between the rich and the poor over the years, has raised fears of a social backlash.[44]

[edit]Efforts to alleviate poverty

Since the early 1950s, govt has initiated, sustained, and refined various planning schemes to help the poor attain self sufficiency in food production. Probably the most important initiative has been the supply of basic commodities, particularly food at controlled prices, available throughout the country as poor spend about 80 percent of their income on food. The schemes have however not been very successful because the rate of poverty reduction lags behind the rapid population growth rate.[45]

[edit]Outlook for poverty alleviation

Eradication of poverty in India is generally only considered to be a long-term goal. Poverty alleviation is expected to make better progress in the next 50 years than in the past, as a trickle-down effect of the growing middle class. Increasing stress on education, reservation of seats in government jobs and the increasing empowerment of women and the economically weaker sections of society, are also expected to contribute to the alleviation of poverty. It is incorrect to say that all poverty reduction programmes have failed. The growth of the middle class (which was virtually non-existent when India became a free nation in August 1947) indicates that economic prosperity has indeed been very impressive in India, but the distribution of wealth is not at all even.

After the liberalization process and moving away from the socialist model, India is adding 60 to 70 million people to its middle class every year. Analysts such as the founder of "Forecasting International", Marvin J. Cetron writes that an estimated 390 million Indians now belong to the middle class; one-third of them have emerged from poverty in the last ten years. At the current rate of growth, a majority of Indians will be middle-class by 2025. Literacy rates have risen from 52 percent to 65 percent during the initial decade of liberalization (1991–2001).[citation needed]

[edit]Controversy over extent of poverty reduction

The definition of poverty in India has been called into question by the UN World Food Programme. In its report on global hunger index, it questioned the government of India's definition of poverty saying:

The fact that calorie deprivation is increasing during a period when the proportion of rural population below the poverty line is said to be declining rapidly, highlights the increasing disconnect between official poverty estimates and calorie deprivation.[46]

While total overall poverty in India has declined, the extent of poverty reduction is often debated. While there is a consensus that there has not been increase in poverty between 1993–94 and 2004–05, the picture is not so clear if one considers other non-pecuniary dimensions (such as health, education, crime and access to infrastructure). With the rapid economic growth that India is experiencing, it is likely that a significant fraction of the rural population will continue to migrate toward cities, making the issue of urban poverty more significant in the long run.[47]

Some, like journalist P Sainath, hold the view that while absolute poverty may not have increased, India remains at a abysmal rank in the UNHuman Development Index. India is positioned at 132ond place in the 2007-08 UN HDI index. It is the lowest rank for the country in over 10 years. In 1992, India was at 122ond place in the same index. It can even be argued that the situation has become worse on critical indicators of overall well-being such as the number of people who are undernourished (India has the highest number of malnourished people, at 230 million, and is 94th of 119 in the world hunger index), and the number of malnourished children (43% of India's children under 5 are underweight (BMI<18.5), the highest in the world) as of 2008.[46]

Economist Pravin Visaria has defended the validity of many of the statistics that demonstrated the reduction in overall poverty in India, as well as the declaration made by India's former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha that poverty in India has reduced significantly. He insisted that the 1999-2000 survey was well designed and supervised and felt that just because they did not appear to fit preconceived notions about poverty in India, they should not be dismissed outright.[48] Nicholas Stern, vice president of the World Bank, has published defenses of the poverty reduction statistics. He argues that increasing globalization and investment opportunities have contributed significantly to the reduction of poverty in the country. India, together with China, have shown the clearest trends of globalization with the accelerated rise in per-capita income.[49]

A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 77% of Indians, or 836 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day (USD 0.50 nominal, USD 2.0 in PPP), with most working in "informal labour sector with no job or social security, living in abject poverty."[50][51] However, a new report from the UN disputes this, finding that the number of people living on US$1.25 a day is expected to go down from 435 million or 51.3 percent in 1990 to 295 million or 23.6 percent by 2015 and 268 million or 20.3 percent by 2020.[52]

A study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that in 1985, 93% of the Indian population lived on a household income of less than 90,000 rupees a year, or about a dollar per person per day; by 2005 that proportion had been cut nearly in half, to 54%. More than 103 million people have moved out of desperate poverty in the course of one generation in urban and rural areas as well. They project that if India can achieve 7.3% annual growth over the next 20 years, 465 million more people will be lifted out of poverty. Contrary to popular perceptions, rural India has benefited from this growth: extreme rural poverty has declined from 94% in 1985 to 61% in 2005, and they project that it will drop to 26% by 2025. Report concludes that India's economic reforms and the increased growth that has resulted have been the most successful anti-poverty programmes in the country.[53][54][55]

[edit]Persistence of malnutrition among children

According to the New York Times, is estimated that about 42.5% of the children in India suffer from malnutrition.[56] The World Bank, citing estimates made by the World Health Organization, states that "About 49 per cent of the world's underweight children, 34 per cent of the world's stunted children and 46 per cent of the world's wasted children, live in India." The World Bank also noted that "while poverty is often the underlying cause of malnutrition in children, the superior economic growth experienced by South Asian countries compared to those in Sub-Saharan Africa, has not translated into superior nutritional status for the South Asian child."[57]

A special commission to the Indian Supreme court has noted that the child malnutrition rate in India is twice as great as sub-Saharan Africa[58]

Data from The World Bank shows that the percentage of underweight children in sub-Saharan Africa is 24% while India has almost twice the amount at 47%. Out of the 47%, 50 % were from rural areas, 38% from urban areas, 48.9% of the underweight are girls and 45.5% are boys.[59]

Malnutrition is often associated with diseases like diarrhea, malaria and measles due to the lack of access in health care which are also linked to the problem of poverty. The United Nations had estimated that "2.1 million Indian children die before reaching the age of 5 every year – four every minute".[60]

The Indian government had come up with the Integrated Childhood Development Service (ICDS) in 1975 to combat the problem of malnutrition in the country. ICDS is the world's largest child development program but its effects on the problem in India are limited.[61] This is because the program failed to focus on children under 3, the group that should receive the most help from the ICDS. This is due to the fact that most growth retardation would have developed during the age of 2 and are mostly irreversible.[62] With the lack of help, the chances that newborn babies are unable to develop fully would be higher. The quality of ICDS centers also varies from states to states and often, the states with the most serious problem of malnutrition have the lowest amount of help given.[63] Examples are "Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, all rank in the bottom ten in terms of ICDS coverage".[64] Despite the poor distribution of help, the ICDS is still considered to be efficient in improving the health of the children in the country.[65] Statistics from UNICEF shows that the mortality rate of children under 5 has improved from 118 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 66 in the year 2009.[66]

However, malnutrition is still a problem for India; it has been found that "micronutrient deficiencies alone may cost India US$2.5 billion annually".[67]Malnutrition can lead to children not being able to attend school or perform to their fullest potential, which in turn leads to a decrease in labor productivity, affecting India's economic growth as a whole.

[edit]See also

[edit]References

  1. ^ "New Global Poverty Estimates — What it means for India". World Bank.
  2. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/9152344.cms
  3. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/9152344.cms
  4. ^ India: Poverty estimates vs food entitlements
  5. ^ Rethinking Poverty: The Disputed Dividing Line
  6. ^ It's official: 37 pc live below poverty line
  7. ^ "Report on Condition of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the unorganized sector.".
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "8 Indian states have more poor than 26 poorest African nations". Times of India. July 12, 2010.
  10. ^ "Country Briefing: India". Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. 2010. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  11. ^http://www.ncaer.org/downloads/MediaClips/Press/businesstandard-arvindsingal.pdf
  12. ^ "80% of Indians live on less than 2$ a day".
  13. ^ a b "One-third of world's poor in India". The Times Of India.
  14. ^ a b "Inclusive Growth and Service delivery: Building on India's Success" (PDF). World Bank. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  15. ^ "India sitting over Rs. 1 lakh cr of unused external aid: CAG".The Hindu (Chennai, India). March 18, 2011.
  16. ^http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2010/08/13/stories/2010081350370900.htm
  17. ^ http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_indians-have-rs500-lakh-crore-black-money-says-baba-ramdev_1513836
  18. ^ Luis Flores Ballesteros. "How lack or poor infrastructure shapes inequality and poverty in supernations. A lesson from India" 54 Pesos Sep. 2010:54 Pesos 28 Sep 2010. <http://54pesos.org/2010/09/28/how-lack-or-poor-infrastructure-shapes-inequality-and-poverty-in-supernations-a-lesson-from-india/>
  19. ^ A special report on India: Ruled by Lakshmi Dec 11th 2008 From The Economist print edition
  20. ^ "Development Policy Review". World Bank.
  21. ^ "India on track to meet poverty reduction goal: World Bank". Economic Times. April 23, 2010.[dead link]
  22. ^ Bappa Majumdar, Abhijit Neogy (April 18, 2010). "100 million more Indians now living in poverty". Reuters India.
  23. ^ "Households Availing Banking Services with Households in India". Town and Country Planning Organisation, Ministry of Urban Affairs. 2001. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  24. ^ "Department of Telecom, memo Feb 2009". Department of Telecommunication of India. 2009.
  25. ^ Untouchable By S. M. Michael
  26. ^ William A. Haviland, Anthropology: The Human Challenge, 10th edition, Thomson Wadsworth, 2005, ISBN 0-534-62361-1, p. 575.
  27. ^ Mendelsohn, Oliver & Vicziany, Maria, "The Untouchables, Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India", Cambridge University Press, 1998
  28. ^ Kevin Reilly, Stephen Kaufman, Angela Bodino, Racism: A Global Reader P21, M.E. Sharpe, 2003 ISBN 0-7656-1060-4.
  29. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste
  30. ^ MEGHNAD DESAI (2003). "INDIA and CHINA: AN ESSAY IN COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY". IMF.
  31. ^ Street Hawking Promise Jobs in Future, The Times of India, 2001-11-25
  32. ^ The India Report. Astaire Research
  33. ^ India: the economy. Published in 1998 by BBC.
  34. ^ a b "What Went Wrong: Derailing after the 1950s".
  35. ^ Datt, Ruddar & Sundharam, K.P.M.. "22". Indian Economy. pp. 367, 369, 370.
  36. ^ Sarkaritel.com : Corporate News & Features : Highlights of Economic Survey 2004-2005
  37. ^ India CIA World Fact Book. August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  38. ^ thehindu.com/2009/04/03/stories
  39. ^ a b counterpunch.org
  40. ^ thehindu.com/2007/08/09/stories
  41. ^ economictimes.indiatimes.com
  42. ^ thehindu.com/2009/03/18/stories
  43. ^ rupe-india.org/39/shaping.html
  44. ^ "The tough act of being good". Tehelka Magazine. Vol 8, Issue 14, Dated 09 Apr 2011.
  45. ^http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/166856/UCMP/UCMP/Documents/india%27s-urban-poverty.pdf
  46. ^ a b Sinha, Kounteya (February 27, 2009). "India tops world hunger chart". The Times Of India.
  47. ^ The Multidimensions of Urban Poverty in India, Centre de Sciences Humaines - New Delhi
  48. ^ Lifting The Poverty Veil J. Ramesh, India Today
  49. ^ World Bank ICRIER
  50. ^ Nearly 80 pct of India lives on half dollar a day, Reuters, August 10, 2007. Accessed: August 15, 2007
  51. ^ "Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector" [2] ], National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, Government of India, August, 2007. Accessed: August 25, 2007.
  52. ^ [3], The Economic Times, April 23, 2010. Accessed: May 27, 2007]
  53. ^ [4]
  54. ^ India's middle class - Tracking the growth of India's middle class - Economic Studies - Country Reports - The McKinsey Quarterly
  55. ^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Business
  56. ^ Sengupta, Somini (March 13, 2009). "As Indian Growth Soars, Child Hunger Persists". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  57. ^ "'India has highest number of underweight children :-)". The Indian Express. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  58. ^ http://www.medindia.net/news/Malnutrition-Among-Indian-Children-Worse-Than-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-30955-1.htm
  59. ^http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20916955~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html
  60. ^ http://motherchildnutrition.org/india/index.html
  61. ^ http://www.economist.com/node/17090948
  62. ^http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20917151~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html
  63. ^ http://www.economist.com/node/17090948
  64. ^http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20917151~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html
  65. ^ http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/files/india_icds.pdf
  66. ^ http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
  67. ^http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1147272668285/IndiaUndernourishedChildrenFinal.pdf

[edit]Further reading

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02/10/2011

Gandhi Jayanti Special: Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson speaks

Tushar Gandhi is the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a social and peace activist. He runs the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation. In March 2005, he took the lead in the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the iconic Mahatma Gandhi led Dandi March. Gandhi lives in Mumbai with his wife and two children. He speaks exclusively to MSN India on his great-grand father, Anna and the state of civil society in India. Read on.

Gandhi Jayanti Special: Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson speaks

On corruption as a way of life in India 

We have lost some of the 'moral force' that Bapu worked so relentlessly to enforce. Our morality seems to come to the fore when it is policed and enforced. It does not seem to come from within but only when enforced with a stick. It is almost as if our morality is based on rules and something which comes from a citizen's consciousness of acting for the larger good. It is not voluntary but enforced at the point of a stick. 

This is so unlike what we saw, for instance, in Japan, in the aftermath of the Tsunami. Even faced with an overwhelming calamity, the dignity with which the Japanese conducted themselves was exemplary. Though they had lost everything, there was not one case of lack of discipline. People who had lost everything stood in orderly lines to receive food and water. There seems to be a dignity and discipline that came from deep within.
In our case, only if there is a law, we obey; that too grudgingly. Otherwise, we pay scant regard to public or civic weal.

On the Anna movement

While I support the movement for an effective Lok pal, I am also gratified that it was totally non-violent protest. Not one stone was thrown in anger, there was no violence. As I am also against the element of populism that had crept into what Anna was trying to achieve. I am also not for indulging in fasts at the drop of a hat. Fasting is an ultimate weapon and should be used sparingly. Bapu's renunciation of food came from the highest of spiritual and moral convictions. Unlike today when fasting has become a fad. It has no moral authority that Bapu brought to it. 
For Bapu it was a moral and spiritual weapon that aimed at winning the opponents heart and mind and not just enforcing or getting a demand accepted. He would work at changing the heart of the opponent and appeal to that person's greater self. It was not like my demands or nothing else.

On honesty in our public life

We hardly seem to self introspect. We are very good at pointing fingers at other and indulging in blame game. We just don't seem to look within, on our own conduct; on how we act as citizens in the public sphere. We take our own society and community; our motherland for granted. How come when the same Indians go abroad, they are model citizens? 

In society, everyone has become finger pointers, and we complain about every facet of the government. There is no attempt at introspection and there is zero transparency, no attempt at changing from within. People seem to have adopted an attitude of "let the world first change and then I will". This has to change.

On India's growing economy and its effects

Our economic growth seems to be confined to urban India; and development has not really starting to impact all sections of society. For instance, while Mumbai is considered the commerce capital of India, we have high rates of infant mortality in the slums of the city. Everyone in urban India seems to be preoccupied with their own lives. 

Can't they take an hour from the daily life, especially the youth. We all talk but very few of us walk the talk. When Bapu started his ashram in South Africa, it was built on a number of young people who gave up their jobs voluntarily to be with Bapu and attempt to build a community of their dreams. 

How many of today's youth are inspired to give up their jobs and volunteer to do public service? As I said earlier, everything starts with the awakening of the self, a voluntary action of feeling from within that first and foremost I will be the change that I want to see.

On the education system

In our system we give stress to learning by rote. We give emphasis on every aspect of education, expect moral education. It remains confined to fighting and struggling for more and more scores and marks. Then getting into a top educational institution and earn a salary. That is what education has been reduced to. Morality as a part of one's make up is totally ignored. It is 'me, mine, myself'.

On Mahatma's precepts as a lifestyle tool

Bapu's teachings Mahatma can be a lifestyle tool- which can be employed in all walks of life. You don't have to become the Mahatma to change your life, even if you inculcate and clone some of his teachings you can improve your life and bring meaning and substance to life and work for a greater good above your own. 

Problem is that people are overawed by Bapu's ideals and his life, which look so formidable; that they give up trying to do even the simple things. 

As I said, even taking a hour off a day to do some social work will go a long way in bringing about change. One doesn't need to wait until all your worldly responsibilities to do social work. It can start any day, anytime, anywhere. That's what Bapu's life was all about -renunciation of self for the larger good of the motherland.

On books to understand Gandhi

I think any person who wants to know and understand Bapu should first and foremost read his autobiography 'My experiments with truth'. Then, I would strongly suggest that one reads his articles for Young India. But the idea is not to go by every word and letter of what Bapu writes but to engage with the spirit of what he is trying to say and prescribe. Even if you can't practise everything, at least begin somewhere, make a start and you really can't go wrong.

Source: India Syndicate

02/10/2011

Maruti-Suzuki strike ends, workers to join Monday

Chandigarh: The 33-day-old strike by workers of the Maruti-Suzuki car manufacturing plant at Manesar in Haryana has come to an end and workers will resume work Monday, the Haryana government announced Saturday.

Maruti-Suzuki strike ends, workers to join Monday

The deadlock between the striking workers and the car manufacturing company management ended after the leaders of the striking workers agreed that they would sign the "good conduct bond", as desired by the management, before joining work Monday.

"With the persistent efforts of the Haryana government, the dispute between the labourers and management of the Manesar plant of Maruti- Suzuki India Limited was resolved today (Saturday). As a result, the 33-day long workers strike finally came to an end after hectic negotiations between the management and striking workers," a state government spokesman said here.

Maruti-Suzuki strike ends, workers to join Monday

"The agreement was made in the presence of Haryana Labour and Employment Minister Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner P.C. Meena, Additional Labour Commissioner Nitin Yadav and other officials," he said. "Both the parties resolved that the management would revoke the termination orders of 15 workers issued between Aug 29 and Sep 15 and would convert these orders into suspension orders," the spokesman said.

The 18 trainees, who were shown the door last month after they joined the strike, would be allowed to continue as trainees. "As per the agreement, the 29 workers who were suspended during the period of July 1 and Sep 17 will remain under suspension and they would be charge sheeted.

Maruti-Suzuki strike ends, workers to join Monday

Enquiry will be conducted against them and accordingly decision would be taken which would be acceptable to them," he said. Under the 'no work no pay' rule, the workers will not be paid for the period of strike from Aug 29.

"It was also decided that all the workers will observe discipline and would not try to obstruct the production either individually or in groups. The management will also not adopt vindictive attitude towards the workers. They resolved that if any dispute erupts between them in future, it will be solved through bilateral talks," the spokesman added. Production of vehicles at the Manesar plant of the country's biggest car manufacturer has been affected in recent weeks owing to the strike.

Source: IANS
Image Source: AFP

02/10/2011

Chidambaram couldn't change Cabinet decision on 2G allocation: Khurshid

NEW DELHI: Admitting that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram had a "working difference" on the controversial 2G note issue, law minister Salman Khurshid has defended the home minister on the first come first serve policy for issuing spectrum licences saying he could not have changed a Cabinet decision.

Chidambaram couldn't change Cabinet decision on 2G allocation: Khurshid

"...Mr Chidambaram, even after the Cabinet decision, continued to argue for auction," Khurshid said, adding that Chidambaram, who was then finance minister, could not change the policy as it was a Cabinet decision.

"Could Chidambaram alone have overturned the Cabinet decision? What was the other way for market determination once the Cabinet had decided against auction," he told Karan Thapar in Devil's Advocate programme to be aired TV Channel today.

Khurshid said when there is a disagreement between a large number of ministers and one minister, or between two ministers in the context of a decision taken by the Cabinet, "there is a point at which you have to say okay thus far and no further".

"Chidambaram said whatever you have done uptil now based on Cabinet decision, henceforth, the additional spectrum required - it will be required - must be done on a different context," he said defending Chidambaram.

Khurshid scoffed at claims of BJP leader Arun Jaitley that under Section 13 (i) (d) (ii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chidambaram was guilty of giving an unwarranted pecuniary advantage to licence allottees.

"Can you explain how this means criminal culpability... Our position, based on Planning Commission documents, was we were not there to make money. We were there to ensure there should be maximum coverage, there should be affordable telephony available to people," Khurshid said.

Source: PTI

02/10/2011

Pranab dismisses as 'bunkum' reports of his resignation offer

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has dismissed as "bunkum" reports that he had offered to resign following controversy over a note of his Ministry on the 2G issue.

Pranab dismisses as 'bunkum' reports of his resignation offer

He also declined to comment on BJP leader Arun Jaitley's observation dubbing the "truce" between him and Home Minister P. Chidambaram after the controversy as "uneasy".

"These are all bunkum. If you do not have any serious question, then I am sorry," he said yesterday when asked whether he had offered to resign following the controversy over the note which suggested that Mr. Chidambaram could have prevented the 2G scam by insisting on auctioning of spectrum.

On Mr. Jaitley's remarks, Mr. Mukherjee said, "I am not commenting on anybody, any individual. If you have a general issue then ask me."

Source: PTI

02/10/2011

2G scam: CBI gives clean chit to Anil Ambani

The CBI, which had said that it was still probing the role of RADAG chairman Anil Ambani in the 2G scam, has given a clean chit to him in the structuring of different companies and transfer of funds relating to Swan Telecom which got a spectrum licence.

2G scam: CBI gives clean chit to Anil Ambani

"The investigation did not not reveal any evidence either oral or documentary to inculpate Sh Anil Ambani in the structuring of different companies and transfer of funds," the agency said in its status report submitted to the Supreme Court on September 29.

The CBI was filing its response to a note submitted by petitioner Prashant Bhushan in which he had sought to create a "wrong impression" about the fairness and impartial nature of its investigations.

Among other things, Bhushan had alleged that it was inconceivable that three employees could have created a convoluted maze of companies to disguise Swan's real ownership and taken Rs.1,000 crore of company money without the approval of the Chairman of the Board.

The CBI said at the time of filing of applications to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for Universal Access Service (UAS) licences, the share holders of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd included M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd (91.1%) and M/s Reliance Telecom Ltd (9.1%).

The share holders M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd included two companies namely M/s Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd and M/s Parrot Consultant Pvt Ltd. All these three companies were holding each other in an inter-locking structure. Fund invested by M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd in equity of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd were ultimately sourced from M/s ADAE Ventures Pvt Ltd.

On March 2, 2007, M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd further invested Rs. 95.50 crore in the equity of M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd. These funds were ultimately sourced from M/s Sonata Investments Ltd. Besides this, few small amounts were transferred to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd from M/s AAA Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, the CBI said.

The agency said Ambani and his wife Tina were original promoters of M/s AAA Consultancy and M/s ADAR Ventures Pvt Ltd. However, Ambani and his wife had transferred the shareholding of these companies to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, M/s Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd and M/s Parrot Consultant Pvt Ltd during March-April, 2006, almost one year before the applications (of 2.3.2007) when M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd applied to DoT for 13 UAS licences.

As such during the relevant period, when M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd applied for UAS licences and the funds were transferred from these companies to M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, Ambani and his wife were neither shareholders in these companies nor were associated with the management of these companies.

On another issue related to a statement by an ICICI bank official that a cheque of above Rs 10 crore required an approval of Ambani or his wife, the CBI said the "observation" was a distorted one as the bank official's statement mentioned that Ambani and his wife were signatories to the bank accounts of M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd, M/s Swan Consultants Pvt Ltd, M/s ADAE Ventures Pvt Ltd and M/s AAA Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd since incorporation of these companies till relevant period for amounts more than Rs.10 crore.

"It does not not talk about the authority competent to approve those transactions in the company. It has been submitted in above paras that the Ambani couple had exited from these companies before the relevant period and so the question of approving these transactions is not not tenable.

"The investigation has revealed that they had not not issued any bank instrument including cheque, RTGS advice, transfer request, etc. which is relevant in the case. The payment of Rs 95.51 crore by M/s Tiger Traders Pvt Ltd to M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd has been made through 10 different advices each for Rs. 10 crore or less. These advices were signed by accused Gautam Doshi and Hari Nair and are part of records relied upon in the case," the CBI said in its status report.

Source: PTI

02/10/2011

Sonia takes command; keeps tabs on 2G cases

New Delhi: She is still recuperating from her surgery two months ago, but Congress president Sonia Gandhi has plunged herself into tackling the various crises, including infighting, facing a floundering government and trying to revitalise the party for the electoral challenges ahead.

Sonia takes command; keeps tabs on 2G cases

She has also asked her close aides to keep her abreast of all the court developments relating to the 2G spectrum and other scandals.

"The few weeks after the Dussehra holidays will be crucial as the Supreme Court and other courts hear cases against Home Minister P. Chidambaram and other United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders. Soniaji appears to have readied alternate plans in case of adverse verdicts triggering a political crisis," a senior leader told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The leadership is well cautioned after the recent political upheavals caused by the court verdicts and probes by investigative agencies; like the resignations of ministers A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran or the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi (Commonwealth Games organiser), Amar Singh (former Samajwadi party MP) and others," he added.

According to another Congress leader who had a meeting with Gandhi last week, there is a new determination in Gandhi.

Sonia takes command; keeps tabs on 2G cases

"She is still composed and calm but appears to be more determined and decisive after the illness," he told IANS. "It was reflected in her firm moves to facilitate a patch-up between (Pranab) Mukherjee and Chidambaram too."

A note related to the 2G spectrum allotment in 2008, prepared by the finance ministry headed by Pranab Mukherjee against then finance minister Chidambaram surfaced recently, causing a political storm amidst reports that there was infighting between the two ministers.

Gandhi's partial resumption of party work comes at a time when the opposition has sharpened its criticism of the government. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleged that "forces were at work to destabilise the polity", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) countered, saying the government will collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.

"This government will not last long and, being the principal opposition party, it is our responsibility be ready for this challenge. We must learn from Congress mistakes ..... and also be prepared for an alternate government," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters after the party's two-day national meet here.

Sonia takes command; keeps tabs on 2G cases

As the opposition sharpens its knives against Chidambaram, Gandhi has finalised plans to tackle any political eventuality, party sources said.

Gandhi has also begun to oversee party affairs. She summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who is facing a host of adverse issues - including police firing on a community gathering and the scandal involving the disappearance of a woman linked with a minister.

Congress leader Mohan Prakash said it is not the style of Gandhi either to advertise her illness or even fitness.

"Thank god, at least some of the rumours about her, spread by political opponents, have been dispelled now," he told IANS.

Sonia takes command; keeps tabs on 2G cases

The Congress president, who returned Sep 8 from the US after her surgery, made several protocol visits last week, including meetings with President Pratibha Patil and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

In her first party event, she presided over a meeting of the Congress Election Committee which finalised some candidates for the Uttar Pradesh polls due next year. In her second meeting - the Congress core group meeting Friday - she initiated discussions on the vexed Telangana issue.

"She appears to be in command, though the situation is not favourable for the party or the government. The government may face issues from the courts, investigative and auditing agencies like the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and parliamentary panels like the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) and the PAC (Public Accounts Committee)," political analyst K. Sreekumar told IANS.

"The only political relief for Gandhi is that most of the coming assembly polls would be in states ruled by opposition parties. The Congress has not much to lose and only to gain," he added.

Source: IANS

02/10/2011

Government to miss disinvestment target

Given the recent market turbulence caused by the global uncertainty, the government on Saturday indicated that it might lower the Rs 40,000-crore disinvestment target for the current financial year.

The revised target is likely to be declared in November, Disinvestment Secretary Mohammed Haleem Khan said.

"The figure has emerged out of the budgetary exercise. There will be revised budgetary exercise sometime in November. Then we will take a call," Khan told reporters here when asked if the government was contemplating to lower the disinvestment target for the current financial year.

"Our short-term objective is to meet the budgetary gap which was identified at Rs 40,000 crore. After revised budgetary estimates the numbers will be fixed," he added.
The government had set out an ambitious disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore, barely three per cent of that has been achieved by offloading stake in Power Finance Corporation.

A number of companies are in the pipeline for disinvestment like ONGC, Bhel and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, but the the government is yet to take a call on the timing. "Which company will enter the market, and when, it will depend upon the market conditions," he said.

Source: Business Standard


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