Are reservations futile?

Are reservations futile?

India's Constitution wisely provided for affirmative action in favour of the socially and economically disadvantaged. Over the past 65 years such favourable treatment has been significantly widened and enhanced well beyond the levels and time periods envisaged by the founders of the Indian republic. Currently, the benefits for scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs) and other backward classes (OBCs) include reservations of seats in Parliament, state assemblies, panchayats, and educational institutions, as well as jobs in government and the public sector. However, excessive and prolonged reservations have had unintended and possibly net negative consequences.

The history of reservations goes back at least to the Hunter Education Commission of 1882; around 1901-02, reservation of seats was introduced in several educational institutions around the country. In 1932, Britain as the colonial power cynically proposed a divisive communal award. This award mandated separate electoral representation for Dalits and for adherents of various religions. Mahatma Gandhi was strongly opposed to segregation in representation but ultimately agreed to a compromise with Dr Ambedkar.

Independent India's constitutional provision for reservations of electoral seats was meant to expire in 60 years, and should have been over in 2010 - but has been extended till 2020. Reservations in employment in government or the public sector, originally 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs, were intended to last for 10 years till 1960. These reservations in jobs have repeatedly been extended, with the latest extension again till 2020.

The reality is that instead of reservations being gradually phased out for SCs and STs, this practice has been widened since 1993 to include other backward classes (OBCs). The word "classes" instead of "castes" has provided the discretion to periodically add to the list of communities which qualify as OBCs. To the reservations for SCs and STs, which add up to 22.5 per cent an additional 27 per cent has been provided for OBCs. Some state governments such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have prescribed job reservation quotas at higher than 50 per cent, which were either struck down by courts or are lingering in appeals in the Supreme Court. There is periodic clamour too for reservations in promotions, and for it to be extended to the private sector.

Large numbers of skilled and well-educated Indians continue to seek better remuneration or living conditions in West Asia, Gulf and developed countries. It is possible that high levels of reservations in educational institutions and jobs, has contributed to this outflow of talented persons. Commenting in the 1970s on this issue Abid Hussian, a former commerce secretary and ambassador to the US, was reported to have said "better brain drain than brain in the drain".

More seriously, it is a travesty that almost no one in public life speaks frankly about reservations. Have reservations helped the poorest and those who live in remote parts of rural India? The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), conducted between 2011 and 2013 and released on July 3 indicates a fairly bleak picture. Out of a total of 179 million households in the country, the income of the highest earning member in 133 million households, that is 74.5 per cent of the population, is less than Rs 5,000 per month. It is illogical, therefore, that a central government order dated May 27, 2013, on "revision of income criteria to exclude socially advanced persons/sections (creamy layer) from the purview of reservation for OBCs" stipulates that the income ceiling of parents of children seeking to qualify for the OBC quota is Rs 50,000 per month. It is also absurd that low-income Muslim, Christian or other minority households are excluded from the category of OBCs. Given the low income levels of an overwhelmingly large proportion of Indian families, perhaps family income below Rs 25,000 per month should be the norm to be eligible for any form of reservation not just for OBCs, but also SCs and STs. Further, all reservations could be phased out by 2020.

A number of domestic and foreign observers often refer to the World Bank's country rankings on "Ease of Doing Business" and in 2015, India's overall ranking is 142 out of 189 economies. In the context of such inter-country comparative evaluations, it would be useful to know the extent to which OECD countries, which can now afford to provide social security, unemployment, health and other benefits, ever used reservation quotas based on parentage. The expected prickly counter-argument would be that India is unique in terms of caste-based discrimination and hence there can be no valid comparison on reservations with other countries.

Readers of this newspaper would be aware of the 1919 book Economic Consequences of Peace by John Maynard Keynes. The excessive monetary reparations sought by the victors of the First World War and the apathy of some Germans were among the contributory factors that led to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Drawing an extremely tenuous parallel with current conditions in India, it is pertinent to ask what have been the economic consequences of reservations. Going further one could also question whether it is enough for us to claim that we are professionals, academics, journalists, government officials and so on, and it is somebody else's business to create a just, transparent and caring India by participating in risky electoral politics.

Clearly, the various forms of hate crime and inequities that disadvantaged Indians face cannot be corrected just by reservations. In episode after episode of violence or corruption around the country there is an immediate demand for a CBI investigation. Well, the irony is that on July 7 the Supreme Court has suggested an investigation into the role of former CBI Director Ranjit Sinha in the 2G and coal scam probes. Consequently, it would be useful if the government were to ask an external consulting company such as McKinsey or the World Bank to evaluate the manner and extent to which reservations have helped the weaker sections.

To sum up, the central government needs to commission a comprehensive report for Parliament on the extent of and justification for continued affirmative action. This would help us to understand the full contours of what are the precise benefits, for whom, and the extent to which the targeted have benefited. This is important since the other side of the coin of reservations is an inevitable decline in standards of performance

Rural India healthier than urban India, Kerala sickest state

The rural-urban divide is particularly evident in the 45-59 age group; While only 13% of people in rural India reported some ailment, the figure was nearly 21% in urban India

• As much as 86% of the rural population and 82% of the urban population is without health-expenditure support.

• The average medical expenditure for treating one ailment without being admitted to hospital was Rs 509 in rural Indiaand Rs 639 in urban India.

• Up to 58% of hospital care occurred in private hospitals in rural India; it was 68% in urban India.

Allopathy was the most prevalent form of treatment for both urban and rural India, and private doctors were the most important single source of treatment across India, according to the latest health survey conducted by the statistics ministry.

Nearly 12% of people in urban areas reported ailments over a survey period of 15 days, an increase of 2% over the previous survey in 2004. Only 9% of rural India reported some ailment during the period, a marginal increase.

The urban-rural divide becomes more pronounced when you look at the age-wise break-up of those suffering ailments:

The rural-urban divide is particularly evident in the 45-59 age group. While only 13% of people in rural India reported some ailment, the figure was nearly 21% in urban India, greater by 8%.

This was also evident in the 70+ category: 31% in rural India were unwell, as against 37% in urban India.

Changing lifestyles are driving an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases across India, particularly urban India, IndiaSpend previously reported.

The indicators are based on surveys between January and June 2014 across 4,577 villages in rural areas and 3,720 urban blocks spread across all states and union territories. The number of households contacted for the survey was 36,480 in rural India and 29,452 in urban India.

Expenditure in private hospitals four times higher than in state hospitals

While 4% of people in urban India were hospitalised over the year before the survey, only 3.5% of people in rural India were hospitalised.

While 42% in hospitals in rural India chose public hospitals, it was only 32% in urban areas, as we mentioned. That means 58% of the people in rural areas and 62% in urban areas were treated in private hospitals.

Expenditure in private hospitals was almost four times higher than in public hospitals: Rs 25,850 in private hospitals and Rs 6,120 in public hospitals.

About 12% of the urban and 13% of the rural population got health insurance through theRashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme) or similar plans, the report said.

Malayalees Sicker Than Other Indians

Kerala reported the highest deviation for both urban and rural areas at 31%, against the all-India ailment average of 12% and 9%, respectively.

This implies prosperous Kerala, with one of India’s best public-health systems, is particularly susceptible to lifestyle diseases, as IndiaSpend has reported.

Dipping Into Savings

While 75% of urban India relied on income or savings to pay hospital expenses, only 68% of rural households could do the same. Almost 25% of households in rural areas had to borrow money to meet hospital expenses. 

SC asks govt. to review drug pricing policy

The Supreme Court recently directed the government to have a re-look at the drug pricing policy to help make life-saving medicines affordable for the common man.

The court also observed that there is an impression the government favours pharmaceutical companies and is not pro-poor. Hence, the court asked the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministries of Health and Chemical and Fertilisers to re-examine the National Pharmaceutical Policy (NPP) 2012 and Drug Pricing Control Order (DPCO) of 2013 in light of several recommendations made by NGO All India Drug Action Network.
The bench also wanted the government to address the NGO’s concern that prices of drugs were fixed at levels which gave 5,000 times profit to the maker.
Background:

The NGO in a public interest petition had raised objections on the formula for drug pricing.
It said the formula institutionalised “super-profits in the guise of price control, excluded from price control life-saving medicines for diseases such as malaria and TB, excluded all fixed dose combinations which amount to 50 per cent of the market.”
The NGO said the government’s pricing policy further excluded essential medicines belonging to the same chemical class, besides drugs provided in the national health programmes such as for HIV, diabetes, hypertension and anaemia, medicines with appropriate dosages for children and patented medicines.
The DPCO lists 348 drugs for price control. The NGO wants the list to be extended to include all drugs on the national list of life-saving drugs.
National Pharmaceutical Pricing policy, 2012:

The government had approved the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP) in 2012.
This policy at bringing 348 essential drugs under price control and also lead to reduction in prices. With this, the Govt would control prices of 348 essential drugs.
The policy debars the companies from using the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) to increase the prices of the essential medicines on their own each year. Thus, the companies had to seek approval from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority whenever they wanted to increase the prices of the items covered under the Drug Price Control Order.

‪#‎IAS‬ -2014 ‪#‎PRE‬ & ‪#‎MAINSCUTOFF‬

आगे सफर था और पीछे हमसफर था.

motivational

आगे सफर था और पीछे हमसफर था....
रूकते तो सफर छूट जाता और चलते तो हम सफर छूट जाता...

मंजिल की भी हसरत थी और उनसे भी मोहब्बत थी..
ए दिल तू ही बता...उस वक्त मैं कहाँ जाता...

मुद्दत का सफर भी था और बरसो का हम सफर भी था
रूकते तो बिछड जाते और चलते तो बिखर जाते....

यूँ समँझ लो....

प्यास लगी थी गजब की...मगर पानी मे जहर था...
पीते तो मर जाते और ना पीते तो भी मर जाते...

बस यही दो मसले, जिंदगीभर ना हल हुए!!!
ना नींद पूरी हुई, ना ख्वाब मुकम्मल हुए!!!

वक़्त ने कहा.....काश थोड़ा और सब्र होता!!!
सब्र ने कहा....काश थोड़ा और वक़्त होता!!!

सुबह सुबह उठना पड़ता है कमाने के लिए साहेब...।।
आराम कमाने निकलता हूँ आराम छोड़कर।।

"हुनर" सड़कों पर तमाशा करता है और "किस्मत" महलों में राज करती है!!

"शिकायते तो बहुत है तुझसे ऐ जिन्दगी,
पर चुप इसलिये हु कि, जो दिया तूने,
वो भी बहुतो को नसीब नहीं होता"...

Digital India :Industry pledges Rs 4.5 lakh crore to create 1.8 million jobs & end Digital Divide

Scaling on the optical fibre network, the country’s flagship programme of Digital India is surging ahead with industry captains pitching in large numbers to make the ambitious plan a reality, asserting investments will not come in the way.  On the launch day, an upbeat India Inc. pledged over Rs 4.5 lakh crore, creating 18 lakh new jobs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,kicking off the programme, has said that the government wants the nation to be self reliant in electronic goods production and turn it into leader in cyber security and innovations.
        Leading industrialists Cyrus Mistry, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Azim Premji and many others who have pledged millions in investments feel that the government’s Rs.1.13 lakh crore programme would go a long way to wipe out the digital divide besides offering a slew of digital solutions in almost all sectors, including education, health, agriculture and administration.
       The programme, envisaged by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), with coordination of ministries of communications & Information Technology, rural development, human resource development, health and others, will benefit all states and Union territories.
The existing ongoing e-Governance initiatives would be revamped for the alignment with the principles of Digital India. The objective of the programme is to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It would ensure that government services are available to citizens electronically. It also plans to usher in public accountability through mandated delivery of government’s services electronically.
       Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said recently the impact of Digital India by 2019 would range from broadband connectivity in all panchayats, Wi-fi in schools and universities and public Wi-Fi hotspots. "The programme will generate huge number of IT, Telecom and Electronics jobs, both directly and indirectly. Success of this programme will make India digitally empowered and the leader in usage of IT in delivery of services related to various domains such as health, education, agriculture, banking," he added.

Mr Prasad said that during the week long Digital India celebrations, states across the country participated with enthusiasm which augur very well for the ambitious programme designed to link the nation through internet connectivity. Amid growing fancy for Digital India, many professionals air scepticism whether the ubiquitous broadband will be available to them or they will face frequent breakdowns in systems despite paying high cost for the internet connections. Their apprehensions stem from the fact that telecom companies after paying higher cost for the spectrum in open bidding will pass on the cost to consumers.              

Once the Digital India campaign picks up steam, the net enabled services will transform the lives of people in longrun, ending the digital divide in the society, wizards of the sector say. For that, the government will have to fine tune its policies regarding telecom and data services to make it cheaper and affordable. More spectrum is bound to be made available. The defence ministry has agreed to release some spectrum per circle.but the bidding issue stares at the sector, which feels cheaper net availability should be ensured to make the programme more successful       
       Digital India, which is a flagship programme of this government, is being executed in a mission mode.Official sources said that the broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats is also being pursued vigorously to ensure its availability to every nook and corner.       
        The work on laying of the optical fibre net work has been speeded up by 30 times in last months. National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) will support e-governance services, telemedicine, tele education, financial services .e-commerce and e- entertainment, and will provide non discriminatory access.       
Idduki district in Kerala has already become the first fully connected. However, amid all the hype and hoopla the question remains — How will the district administration in hinterland bridge the gap between residents of urban areas with Internet connectivity at their disposal, though inadequate, and those living in rural areas, where the online world is yet to expand its sway?       Also, all the public services being provided in the 22 recently opened Common Service Centres (CSCs) of the district are Internet-based and cannot function in the absence of net connectivity. With no Internet connectivity in hilly areas, the online services at CSCs remain ineffective. 

      
Mr Prasad said the Modi government wants to ensure by 2019 a smart phone in the hands of every citizen . Currently, nearly 74 per cent of the population has mobile phones, most of which though is in the hands of urban India.        "We want to ensure that all the services can be provided through a mobile handset, especially, health, education, various government services and retail," Mr Prasad said. Referring to his consultations with global corporate honchos, Mr Prasad said companies such as American network equipment maker Cisco Systems wanted to access benefits of cluster manufacturing.       "Facebook has also expressed interest in partnering with the government in delivering governance programmes such as e-education," he said, referring to his meeting two months ago with the US social media company's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.      
       Industry analysts are of the opinion NOFN has to meet its deadline if next generation connectivity (NGN) has to become a reality soon.       Government is implementing the venture through state-run public sector units Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Power Grid Corporation and RailTel though there were suggestions that the private sector may be roped in for faster implementation.   
     Common service centres in villages will serve as critical pivots around which most goods and services will be delivered. Once connected to broadband, an entire village's requirements of goods can be placed through these centres and people can use these facilities as one-stop shop for all their e-needs, said a senior official at the telecom department.        But for the success of Digital India campaign, the government would rely heavily on the IT industry and their involvement in process of setting up the platform for a big leap in connectivity which will ultimately bridge the wide gap and make India a wired country.

Dreadnought of Dedicated Freight corridors shaping up; Rs 81,459 Crore approval perk up work

Goods laden rakes running on dedicated corridors, sparing over burdened tracks for back-to-back swanky passenger trains filing fast solar energy-lit Swachch  stations and smart cities in large swathes of the populous nation within next  four years sounds like castles in air.

But many people are fairly sanguine that green shoots are sprouted. Rs 15,500 crore contracts were given in the past few months by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Limited  (DFCCL), and heavy machineries in large numbers are being moved on the ground to  expedite the gigantic task which, for an example, is guzzling Rs 100 crore per  month on the Khurja –Kanpur section alone against earlier investment of Rs.30  crore per month.

As deadlines loom, the fourth floor of five-storey  building next to Pragati Maidan appears peaceful, but massive churning is  underway with pre-bidding conferences notices on display boards and bureaucrats  collating data from ground as the Rail Bhawan mounts continued surveillance on  the progress. The building and the Corporation logo do not draw attention which  is more focused on attractive stalls of sprawling exhibition ground but on  ground locals say development is palpable.

“An analysis of the  ordering progress by DFCCIL in the recent months reveal that the total value of  contracts awarded since November is a whopping Rs 15,485 crore which is more than  total works awarded by the sameorganisation in the past six years, that stands  at Rs.13,125 crore” said officials flipping through piles of data sheets and  browsing on computers.

Most of these contracts are for the construction of track and structures and electrical and  signalling installations on the Western and Eastern Freight  corridors. During the past few months, major contracts issued comprise civil contracts from Kanpur-Mughalsarai ( 402 kms) and Vadodara to Vaitarna  ( 320 kms), electrical and signallingcontracts on western DFC from Rewari to  Vadodara ( 950 kms).

 Officials feel that the two DFCs would free up 70 per cent of railways cargo carrying capacity, but land acquisition challenges face the iconic project.This is despite the fact that 84 per cent of land  acquisitions have been completed in both the corridors-including 88 per cent in  the Western corridor and 79 per cent in the eastern corridor. Sixteen per cent is hanging fire, awaiting the new land laws.

 According to DFCCIL  sources, there are 1,042 court cases and 3,391 arbitration disputes pending as  land losers have knocked courts' doors.As a consequence, land is not available  in 144 patches, affecting length of 245kms in eastern corridor and 296  stretches impacting 113 kms in the western corridor. These patches are mainly in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra , Haryana and Gujarat.

DFCCIL's Adesh  Sharma says work is underway in full swing and now per day 80,000 cubic meter  earth work is done against earlier data of 5000 cubic meter per day. Contractors,  he said, had been directed to deploy two times in volumes the mandatory  machineries ,More than 100 excavators are working in each corridor. December 2019 is the date line for completion based on the land acquisition status and contracts position.

 Officials feel the Khurja-Kanpur will be ready by March 2018; Durgawati- Sasaram during the current fiscal, Mughalsarai-Sonnagar by 2017 and Kanpur-Mughalsarai by December 2018.   Likewise in the Western corridorRewari-Iqbalgar has been planned for June 2018, Iqbalgarh-Vadodara by March 2019. The revenue will start trickling due to phased commissioning of corridors as the access charges will be levied. Mr Sharma has told media that multi-modal logistic parks and private freight terminals, to be developed along the DFCs, will impart additional income track access charges which are being calculated by an expert committee.

Flagging big ticket procurements finalised by the DFCCIL, officials claim that after a long period stagnation, riddled with procurement snags and procedural delays, both the corridors, being built by the corporation, an SPV ( Special Purpose Vehicle) of Railway Ministry have now started gathering momentum.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, last week, approved the revised cost estimate (RCE) of Rs.81,459 crore for both the corridors and the  much awaited sanction has perked up things in the infra project. Of this  amount, construction cost accounts for Rs.26,674 crores for the EDFC and  Rs.46,718 crores for the WDFC and land acquisition cost of Rs.8,067  crore.

The Corporation, recalling previous handicaps, says that the  original estimate prepared by RITES in 2007 had to undergo many major changes as  it had no provision of soft costs ( about Rs.27,381 crore like interest during  construction ,insurance ,escalation and other contingencies. The estimate, they say, had no provision even for the basic electrification of WDFC and was devoid  of the latest specifications already in vogue on word Railways. 

Subsequently, during the revision, the standard of construction was raised from 25 ton axle load to 32.5 ton and a slew of advanced safety features  including Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) have been incorporated. 

Oblivious of these developments, passengers on trains debate on the corridors. A UNI correspondent, travelling on a Shatabdi train to Kanpur recently found travellers discussing large tracks of blanketing near Tundala .  While a few passengers feigned ignorance, others said parallel highway is being  made but other quipped, ”come what may ,something is happening”.

An  informed railway staffer briefed them about the DFC ,but it evoked interesting  comments from sceptics - these announcements of flagship programmes are all  humbug and ”we are being bamboozled for make believe world”.

Twirling  his moustache, a passenger commented that these projects should not be linked  with party politics and such iconic programmes be appreciated– started by the  previous United Progressive Alliance regime and expedited by the NDA  dispensation as finally these will be national assets in a few years. Every project starts like these and one day dreadnoughts emerge in skylines.

The Western DFC is being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Part of  Eastern DFC (Mughalsarai-Allahabad-Kanpur- Khurja –Ludhiana ) is being  funded by World Bank. Danduni –Sonnagar section of the Eastern DFC will be through PPP. East west Corridor ( Kolkata-Mumbai) 2,330 kms,  North–South corridor, 2343 km, East West Corridor  (  Kharagpur-Vijayawada ) 1,100km and Southern Corridor ( Chennai-Goa) 899 kms are  on slate as future corridors.

DFCCIL appears conceived for the development of dedicated freight line to boost freight transportation in Railways which will spur Railway share in transportation of goods. The dedicate Freight corridors were necessitated after saturation of Golden Quadrilateral (  which had linked four metros Delhi, Chennai, Howarh, Mumbai along with diagonals  Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai–Howrah)-with over 10,000 kms and carrying more than 55  per cent revenue earning freight traffic. In wake of the bulging traffic, the Government planned two Corridors--- the Western DFC ( 1,502 kms) and Eastern DFC (  1,840 km)----sparing a total length of about 3,342 route km.

The EDFC, starting from Dankuni in West Bengal, will pass through the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to terminate at Ludhiana. The Western corridor that will traverse the distance from Dadri(UP) to Mumbai–Jawaharlal Nehru) Port ( JNPT) will traverse the National Capital Region,  Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

 Envisioning paradigm shift in the freight operation , the DFCs envisage long haul operation;trailing  loads per train will increase from 5,000 to 13,000 tonnes. On the  ground, works are on, but the Land Bill passage is all set to play pivotal role  as the land acquisition is caught in legal wrangles. Civil works on Bhaupur-Khurja section is progressing well .The earth work for 150 kms formation  and blanketing has been completed in 55 kms.

Likewise, civil works in Rewari-Iqbalgarh for 625 kms have been started. Work on embankments is in progress in about 150 kms and work on 70 minor bridges also got off. In Mughalsari –Sonnagar section 65 m long bow string girder for new road  overbridge at Bhabua was successfuly launched across three Indian Railway (IR)  tracks a few months ago.