January 2010

Chief Editor : Neeta Prasad Senior Editor : Rakeshrenu Editor : Manogyan R. Pal

Vol 54
Joint Director (Prod) : J.K. Chandra Cover Design : Sadhna Saxena E-mail (Editorial) : editoryojana@hotmail.com : yojanace@gmail.com (Circulation) : pdjucir_ jcm@yahoo.co.in Website : www.yojana.gov.in

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Rig Veda

CONTENTS
TOWARDS PROGRESS, PROSPERITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH ................................................................... 5 H.E. Pratibha Devisingh Patil INDIAN ECONOMY OVER THE YEARS ..................................... 8 Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy AGRICULTURAL EVOLUTION DURING THE LAST SIxTY YEARS .................................................................... 12 Prof M S Swaminathan CITIzEN-CENTERED GOVERNANCE: A TRIBUTE TO OUR FOUNDING FATHERS .................................................. 17 Dr Jayaprakash Narayan TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE : A ROADMAP FOR THE FUTURE........................................................................ 21 Dr. E. Sreedharan BEST PRACTICES SIDDHPUR NAGARPALIKA PROTECTS THE ENVIRONMENT.............................................. 28 SANJAY DAVE INDIAN WOMEN AND THE JOURNEY OF SIx DECADES ...................................................................................... 30 Nirmala Buch DO YOu KNOw? ....................................................................... 33 EDUCATION SECTOR IN INDIA: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD ...................................... 35 Deepa Sankar NORTH EAST DIARY ............................................................... 37 INDIA ON THE TECHNOLOGY FRONT ................................... 40 Vijay Thakur A BOOST TO INDIAN AEROSPACE SECTOR ........................ 43 Radhakrishna Rao CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY IN INDIA ........................... 47 Shashank Chaturvedi SHODH YATRA REVERSIBLE REDUCTION GEAR FOR MARINE DIESEL ENGINE AND z- DRIVE PROPELLER ............................................................... 50 J&K wINDOw ......................................................................... 52

Our Representatives : Ahmedabad: Manisha Verma, Bangalore: M. Devendra, Chennai: I. Vijayan, Guwahati: Anupoma Das, Hyderabad: V. Balakrishna, Kolkata: Antara Ghosh, Mumbai: Jyoti Ambekar, Thiruvananthapuram: VM Ahmad.
YOJANA seeks to carry the message of the Plan to all sections of the people and promote a more earnest discussion on problems of social and economic development. Although published by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Yojana is not restricted to expressing the official point of view. Yojana is published in Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. EDITORIAL OFFICE : Yojana Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi Tel.: 23096738, 23717910, (23096666, 23096690, 23096696- Extn. 2509, 2510, 2565, 2566, 2511). Tlgm.: Yojana. Business Manager (Hqs.) : Ph :24367260, 24365609, 24365610 For new subscriptions, renewals, enquiries please contact : Business Manager (Circulation & Advt.), Publications Division, Min. of I&B, East Block-IV, Level-VII, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066, Tel.: 26100207, Telegram : Soochprakasan and Sales Emporia : Publications Division: *Soochna Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi -110003 (Ph 24365610) *Hall No.196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054(Ph 23890205) * 701, B Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai 400614 (Ph 27570686)*8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 (Ph 22488030) *A Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Basant Nagar, Chennai-600090 (Ph 24917673) *Press road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthapuram-695001 (Ph 2330650) *Block No.4, 1st Floor, Gruhakalpa Complex, M G Road, Nampally, Hyderabad-500001 (Ph 24605383) *1st Floor, F Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bangalore-560034 (Ph 25537244) *Bihar State Co-operative Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (Ph 2683407) *Hall No 1, 2nd floor, Kendriya Bhawan, Sector-H, Aliganj, Lucknow-226024(Ph 2225455) *Ambica Complex, 1st Floor, above UCO Bank, Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007 (Ph 26588669) *KKB Road, New Colony, House No.7, Chenikuthi, Guwahati 781003 (Ph 2665090) SUBSCRIPTION : 1 year Rs. 100, 2 years Rs. 180, 3 years Rs. 250. For neighbouring countries by Air Mail Rs. 530 yearly; for European and other countries Rs. 730 yearly. No. of Pages : Disclaimer : l The views expressed in various articles are those of the authors and not necessarily of the government. l The readers are requested to verify the claims made in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Yojana does not own responsibility regarding the contents of the advertisements.

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*Only at Khan Study Group

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ixty years for a republic is a small step on the road global civilizations have travelled. But when a billion people find good reason to celebrate sixty years of their country becoming a republic, the celebration becomes especially significant. For a long time, the story of the Indian republic was one of promises and possibilities. But as you turn to our articles, you will find that the distinguished authors are not talking about possibilities only. A large number of them are discussing the achievements already made and others pretty much expected to happen very soon. The India story, in most sectors has started happening. This is the reason to celebrate. This does not mean however, that there are no reasons to be concerned about the tasks that still seem mighty difficult to achieve. That is inevitable. Getting a billion people on the move and achieving the milestones for them takes much more than sixty years. But what has been achieved is fabulous as most of them have no parallel in human history. A few days ago, India has made available phones to more than half of her population. She has spread the first example of right to work through the NREGA scheme to at least ten crore people. In the middle of all that, the country has pushed up its per capita income to about Rs 38,000 per annum and the growth rate of GDP to above 6.5% in the most difficult year for the global economy when the rest of the world, except China was struggling to achieve any growth at all. The Indian story has started taking on a most interesting path in recent years. For example, bringing daily wagers and vegetable sellers into the banking system through the financial inclusion model is a fabulous story to tell. There are several such stories penned in the pages inside, demonstrating that it is the bottom of the pyramid approach that is sure to bring in the profits for entrepreneurs in any sector. This is also as it should be. The constitution of India promises justice - social, economic and political. The political story was what had held everybody interested till the beginning of this decade. Moving from there to economic justice is what the current decade was all about. As that gets done, the most difficult of the three justicesocial will take route. This is not the promise of a new India but of the shape of things that are getting done. Yojana brings to you an insightful set of readings from authors who have each grappled with a set of issues typically germane to this India story. We wish our readers a very happy new year.
YOJANA January 2010

About the Issue

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CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

PERSPECTiVE

Towards Progress, Prosperity and Inclusive Growth

H.E. Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Standing at this 60th milestone, let us rededicate ourselves to the cause of ensuring the prosperity of our nation and the well-being of every individual

I B E R T Y, e q u a l i t y and justice together compose the soul of a true democratic nation as it perseveres in its commitment to social welfare and progress. We as a nation made a similar commitment to ourselves six decades ago to be guided by these very principles as we march ahead on the path of progress, prosperity and inclusive growth. In the course of the last sixty years we have achieved much, but our successes so far must not prevent us from focusing on our shortcomings with a spirit of resolve, so that we may be able to shape a still better future. As a nation we must introspect over both our strengths and weaknesses and dedicate ourselves to ensuring the continued happiness and prosperity of our country and in doing so be guided by those very principles of humanism and compassion that inspired our struggle for independence and our desire to form a democratic nation. The formation of our Republic in 1950 marks the beginning of our

journey that has brought us today to where we are. This extraordinary event in itself symbolizes the extraordinary nature of the achievement as never before in the history of mankind had so many people come together and united in their resolve to freedom and democracy. A land divided by language, culture, history and local identities became united and turned this diversity into its greatest strength. The people of this nation shared a dream of a robust India of the future, and it is this dream that brought them together. But if the achievement was extraordinary then the challenges facing the new republic were also overwhelming. Illiteracy, hunger, social bias and poverty were the core problems that demanded the immediate attention of the nation and its people. The first President of our nation, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, summarized this situation when he said, In India today, I feel that the work that confronts us is even more difficult than the work we had when we were engaged in struggle. We did not have then any conflicting

The author is the Honourable President of India. YOJANA January 2010 5

claims to reconcile, no loaves and fishes to distribute no powers to share. We have all these now. Thus the initial challenges faced by our nation primarily required the creation of basic infrastructure, both physical and institutional, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the various aspects of society. This phase of nation building required immense hard work and dedication and we were fortunate to have leaders who accomplished such difficult challenges in the face of overwhelming odds. Today our nation stands at different crossroads and the challenges we face today are different from those sixty years ago. Yet the principles that form the foundation of our republic are still the same and we continue to be guided by them. There are few countries, especially in the developing world that can boast of strong democratic institutions like ours, which have stood the test of time. But both institutions and mechanisms must continually be reshaped to suit the needs of the present so that they continue to be effective in ensuring the welfare of the masses. Initiatives such as the establishment of Panchayati Raj by the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 symbolize the evolution of democratic practice in our country as power and authority devolve to grassroots levels in order to be more effective and efficient. Today there are 3.2 million representatives who have been elected from villages, towns and cities under this system. It is worth noting that 1.2 million of these elected representatives are women. This is by far the largest number of elected representatives in the history of democracy. Democracy as the tool that empowers the people finds its expression in India in its own unique and indigenous ways. The economic well-being of a nation is also integral to its progress
6

and development. Today we live in a world where globalization and global integration are changing the economic landscape of the world. Our economic infrastructure must also adapt accordingly. From the nascent beginnings where the public sector created the immediate necessary infrastructure for the launch of our development process, today the rise of a robust private sector is slowly but steadily becoming an equal partner in ensuring the economic prosperity of our nation. We can be confident that we will be able to achieve the growth targets we have set for ourselves. The impressive performance of our economy has resulted in Indias emergence as a powerful player in the international arena. H o w e v e r, w e m u s t n o t be complacent about our achievements as there are still greater challenges before us that we must confront in order to ensure sustainable progress and inclusive development. Some of the areas, that need particular attention, are the fields of education, health and nutrition, womens empowerment, rural development etc. The benefits of development are still to reach all sections of our society. We cannot look at the future without addressing the needs of the underprivileged and the disadvantaged sections of our society, with special emphasis on the empowerment of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections of society. We must ensure that they too find their rightful place and enjoy the fruits of the progress our nation has been making. Our efforts and our commitment, while pursuing the goal of high growth rates, should be to ensure that all people of our country benefit from it. The future of the world will be shaped by advances in

Science and Technology as our integrated planet is becoming increasingly knowledge-based. Though we have a strong lead in the Information and Communication technologies and bio-technology sectors, we must continue to invest further in Research and Development. We must strengthen and upgrade our educational institutions. Students should be encouraged to pursue basic sciences. State Governments and educational institutions should make special efforts to attract students to science disciplines. Education is the most important tool for empowering the people of a country. The quest for knowledge has always been a part of the ethos of our country. It is for these reasons that since independence we have consistently sought to build a strong infrastructure for education. As we work towards the goal of universal primary education by 2010, we should also aim to increase enrolment in higher education and technical education. I firmly believe that the light of modern education should touch every person - man and woman, boy and girl. Women constitute about half of our population but face a number of challenges. The legislation meant for the empowerment and protection of women should be enforced effectively. We also need to address social evils like child marriage, female foeticide, female infanticide and dowry. Another issue of concern is the debilitating effect of alcoholism and drug addiction on individuals, families and societies. However, progress cannot be sustained without social harmony. It is like the thread which holds together a garland of beautiful
YOJANA January 2010

flowers, made of different colours and fragrance. Let us ensure that the unity that brought us together to constitute this great democratic republic is maintained and we stand together under the banner of liberty and equality. As development takes place we should not forget that the objective is not merely to create wealth. It should be to build a humane society. We cannot afford to have insular attitudes and be unconcerned about the needs of others. Society must have a helpful and positive attitude towards the disabled and older citizens as well. The Government has initiated measures to not only stimulate faster but also more inclusive growth in the 11th Five Year Plan period from 2007 to 2012. This will be important for the overall progress and prosperity of all. The Government has also introduced several flagship programmes like Bharat Nirman, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the Rural Health Mission, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. These are designed to improve the lives of the people. But their implementation remains a challenge. A question that we need to ask is how effective are our delivery mechanisms and what are the weaknesses that they face. The entire Government machinery has to work to fulfill the aspirations of the people. I believe that people's participation is key to the effective implementation of programmes and

projects. Everyone should work in a time bound manner as well as work with accountability and in a transparent manner. We as a nation are also conscious of our role in the larger global stage and our responsibilities to humanity at large. From the very beginning of our civilization, we have believed that the world is one and humanity is a single family. India is committed to establishing ties of friendship and co-operation with all countries. India's engagement with the world is intensifying both in the economic and political fields. India is a country that always has and will continue to promote regional and global peace and stability. Thus today, we as a nation stand at an important juncture of our nations history. While we acknowledge the contribution of our predecessors in building the strong foundations of our Republic, let us also own up to our responsibility in giving a new direction to our countrys growth and progress. Our decisions today will have a lasting impact on the generations to come and will shape the future of our country. Let me conclude with the words of our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from his famous tryst with destiny speech, delivered on the midnight of August 14th and 15th, as India gained her independence:The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and

inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering so long our work will not be over. The journey has been long, but we have travelled far. Like any great journey, we have had our moments of triumph and glory as also our share of sorrows and travails. We have overcome obstacles and have crossed over hurdles, because we have consciously and firmly believed in India - our Motherland, a nation with a great civilizational strength, an underlying unity and a promising future. All along we have had an abiding faith in the talent and resilience of the people of India. We were inspired during this journey by the values of freedom, tolerance and plurality, which have given to India its defining identity - a country with unity in diversity. India, consisting of people with different religions, languages and customs, draws its inherent strength from each and everyone of its diverse units. Today, as a nation and as individual citizens, we must pledge to uphold this spirit of solidarity and respect for the multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic character of India. Standing at this 60th milestone, let us rededicate ourselves to the cause of ensuring the prosperity of our nation and the well-being of every individual in this country and of humanity at q large.

"We must re-dedicate ourselves on this day to the peaceful but sure realization of the dream that had inspired the Father of our Nation and the other captains and soldiers of our freedom struggle, the dream of establishing a classless, co-operative, free and happy society in 'his country'. We must remember that this is more a day of dedications than of rejoicing - dedication to the glorious task of making the peasants and workers the toilers and the thinkers fully free, happy and cultured."
YOJANA January 2010 7

r. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of Independent India, in his special message to his countrymen, on the birth of the Indian Republic, said:

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

EValuaTiON

Indian Economy over the years

Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy

The imparting of dynamism to the mix between private and public sector of mixed economy is the true mandate of planning a mandate that is fully consistent with economic reforms

OME HOLD the view that India was a poor country for the most part of human history, though there were pockets of prosperity and islands of riches. However, accounts of others, especially global travelers and those who invaded India, indicate that India was a prosperous country till at least the seventeenth century. According to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication, in AD 1700, broadly defined, Indias GDP at US$ 90.8 billion was 24.4 per cent of the world GDP. (Angus, Maddison. 2001. The World Economy: A Millennium Perspective, OECD). Further, in a book titled The National Income of India in the Twentieth Century, Professor Sivasubramonian observed that in the first five decades of the twentieth century (1900-1 to 1946-7), before we got our independence in 1947,

the per capita GDP in India was stagnant, as the trend growth in GDP during this period was 0.9 per cent with the population growing by 0.8 per cent (Sivasubramonian, S. 2000, The National Income of India in the Twentieth Century, New Delhi Oxford University Press) As compared with near stagnant growth in the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the annual growth, averaging around 3.5 per cent during 1950 to 1980, was comparatively better, while the per capita growth broke out of the long period of inertia and averaged 1.1 per cent till around 1980. The average growth rate of around 6 per cent since the 1980s, while embarking on a higher average growth path of 9 per cent is a paradigm shift in the years preceding the crisis. It is also noteworthy that India withstood the serious effects of the issues so far and is poised to click a GDP growth of around seven per cent in

The author has served as the Governor of Reserve Bank of India from September 2003 to September 2008. He is currently Emeritus Professor, University of Hyderabad. 8 YOJANA January 2010

the two difficult years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. The Indian experience clearly suggests that the mixed-economy model and planned development strategy in the first phase during the 1950s and 1960s improved the growth rate dramatically relative to previous decades, and also provided the essential building blocks and laid strong foundations for an indigenous industrial base, a vibrant entrepreneurial class and knowledge economy, with considerable improvement in vertical, social and economic mobility. However, the inwardlooking import substitution strategy pursued during the initial decades of the planning period resulted in declining productivity and a high-cost economy. Realising this, significant changes in policy were initiated in the early 1980s, taking account of the oil shocks in the 1970s and early 1980s. These policy measures took India to a higher growth trajectory in the 1980s, but created some macroeconomic imbalanaces in its wake, leading to a crisis in 1991 that triggered more comprehensive and sustainable reforms. The policies since 1991 have provided ample opportunities to build on the strong foundations in the economic, political and social spheres, laid during the pre-reform period of planned development. unique Features of Reform Here, it may be interesting to enumerate some of the unique features of the economic reform process undertaken by India since 1991. First, the approach towards reforms in India has been cautious,
YOJANA January 2010

with an appropriate sequencing of measures, complementary reforms across sectors (for example, the monetary, fiscal and external sectors) and development of financial institutions and markets. The objective has been to progress with some harmony across sectors. Second, the pace and sequencing of liberalization has been responsive to domestic developments, especially in the monetary and financial sectors, and the evolving international financial architecture. The reforms were debated intensely and designed essentially indigenously. Third, the approach to reform was gradual but steady, rather than a big bang approach. The reforms have generally been viewed as a process and not as an event. In this approach, the pace and sequencing of liberalization could be tempered, keeping in view the degree of comfort in moving forward in a credible way. Fourth, the major thrust driving the reform process was the quest for higher growth and efficiency, along with macroeconomic stability. At the same time, the reforms had to be inclusive, in the sense that the benefits of reforms were to be demonstrably shared by all sections, in particular the vulnerable ones. This has easily been a very significant electoral issue in both provincial and national elections. Current Status The pattern of growth of Gross Domestic Product of India is characterized by its self accelerating nature. The variations in the road of growth have also moderated. Both savings and investments as

percentage of GDP have increased. The productivity has been increasing and capital output ratio is favourable when compared to China. While there have been large variations in prices, they were mainly on account of shocks due to oil prices or food prices. Financial sector has shown remarkable stability and has withstood several shocks including the recent global financial crisis. Financial sector has successfully financed unprecedented growth with stability. The external sector has strengthened considerably. There are comfortable levels of foreign exchange reserves. All these are significant strengths based on which it is necessary to build the future. While planning to build on the positive features indicated above, it is also necessary to recognize some important problems that persist. Agriculture continues to stagnate. Manufacturing is not growing as rapidly as it should. Prospect for employment, especially of skilled and semi skilled labour are not bright. The public debt continues to be, as a percentage of GDP, one of the highest in the world. The structural component of the fiscal deficit appears high. The bottlenecks in physical infrastructure such as power and ports are well known. The conditions in regard to public health, education and environment need a large measure of finances and policy-changes. Outlook Progress in India is essentially one of shifting balances. These balances shift almost continuously, and often imperceptibly, and it is possible to hold that one way of assessing the outlook for the Indian
9

economy is to appreciate these changing balances. First, there is a changing balance in the debates on economic reforms. So far, the discussions have percolated from the English media to the vernacular (with the divide between the English media and the vernacular corresponding roughly to a socio-economic/ urban-rural divide). Important economic issues are more and more articulated and shaped by the vernacular media and distilled up to the English media, since it is the vernacular that predominantly represents the rising 200 million middle class. Second, there are changes in the vertical balance between Central and provincial or state governments. The trends towards globalization results in many of the discretionary powers of the Union government in the economic arena becoming aligned with bilateral or multilateral requirements, while critical areas in the economy where the government can play a role, like law and order, education, health, power, water and so on, remain substantively in the domain of the provinces. The fact that even a few years ago many in the world would not have heard of the state chief ministers while they do so now points to an increasing decentralization of economic reforms. Third, the horizontal interprovincial balance is also changing. States are now competing for private investments-the drivers of growth-whether domestic or foreign. Competition among states for Central government assistance on the basis of backwardness
10

or need has been replaced with competition for private investments facilitating growth. Fourth, within governments, both at the Union and provincial levels, regulatory agencies are expanding their role to reduce the discretionary authority of governments of the day. Fifth, the most dynamic element of reform is the mix between public and private ownership of enterprises. The rebalancing of public enterprises is not dramatic, but the entry of, and threat posed by, the private sector and a diversified ownership of public enterprises through partial disinvestment have meant a change in both the operating environment and internal business culture of these enterprises-which, had employed and retained the largest pool of the best and the brightest. Sixth, there is a dramatic though not fully appreciated rebalancing within the private sector in terms of what may be called the professionalisation of industrial houses. A new, highly qualified and professional generation of leadership has replaced the older order in established industrial house. At the same time there has been an explosion of an entirely new set of industry leaders particularly in newer field such as software, pharmaceuticals biotech and financial services. This professionalization is also accompanied by the globalization of operations of Indian industrial houses. Finally, the relationship between labour and management is being gradually rebalanced. It has

certainly improved since the 1991 reform. The recent data on strikes and the number of working days lost bear testimony to the maturity and wisdom of all concerned. Challenges for Planning and Public Policy For a large and diverse economy with low per capita income, yet one that is undergoing structural transformation in a highly uncertain global environment, challenges for planning and public policy are manifold. First, while over 60 per cent of the workforce is dependent on agriculture, the sector accounts for 20 per cent of the GDP. Further, the GDP growth generated from agriculture is only marginally above the rate of growth of the population, which is not adequate to ensure rapid poverty reduction. Not only does volatility in agricultural production have implications for overall growth, but, as experience amply demonstrated, also for maintaining a low and stable inflation. Enhanced growth of the agricultural sector is vital for ensuring food security, poverty a l l e v i a t i o n , p r i c e s t a b i l i t y, overall inclusive growth and sustainability of growth of the overall economy. Second, the manufacturing sector has recorded robust growth, despite several infrastructure deficiencies. The inadequate availability of modern infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower are the most critical barriers to the growth of the manufacturing sector. It is essential to augment the existing infrastructure facilities,
YOJANA January 2010

particularly the roads, ports and power to provide an enabling environment for industry to prosper. The most important issues here are the regulatory framework and the overall investment climate. One other concern has been cost recovery, which may improve with enlightened public-private partnership. Third, a salient feature of the fiscal consolidation process in recent years, even after accounting for cyclical elements, has been the significant reduction in the key deficit indicators. These are two important areas which, if addressed, would result in fiscal empowerment. One is the elimination of subsidies that are inappropriate and not directly targeted to the poor, and the other is the elimination of most tax

exemptions, which are patently distortionary. Moreover, the delivery of essential public services such as education and health to a large section of our population is a major challenge. Fourth, there is a growing recognition in India that governance reforms are critical to strengthening state capacity and enabling it to perform its core functions. The task of improving the institutions of economic governance comprise, among others many organizations and actions essential for the good functioning of markets. It must be recognized that good governance can coexist only when the public sector functions fairly and efficiently, which can be achieved by improving and not undermining it. The business community therefore has a vital

stake in improving and empowering public institutions. Conclusion : To conclude, planning is rationalist in approach and interventionist in operation. The rational element will constantly seek to rebalance the relative roles of state intervention and free markets to suit the evolving national and global circumstances. The interventionist element will keep refining the tools of state intervention as appropriate to changing social and technological conditions. Thus, the imparting of dynamism to the mix (between private and public sector) of mixed economy is the true mandate of planning a mandate that is fully consistent with economic reforms. q
(E-mail : office.dryvr@gmail.com)

A MATHEMATICAL MIND

lgebra originated in India . Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi learned the technique of Indian mathematics and introduced it to the world through his famous book on arithmetic text, the Kitab al-jamwal tafriq bi hisab al-Hindi ("Book on Addition and Subtraction after the Method of the Indians"), around 780-850 A.D The first use of algebraic transformation was described by Brahmagupta in his book Brahmasphutasiddhanta, where he first proposed solution of Linear Algebra and Quadratic Equation. The ancient Indian mathematicians were also very familiar with Trigonometry. Aryabhata in 499, gave tables of half chords which are now known as sine tables, along with cosine tables. He used zya for sine, kotizya for cosine, and otkram zya for inverse sine, and also introduced the versine. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas numbers as big as 10 to the power of 53 with specific names were used in ancient India. The Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.

THE PEACE LOVINg COuNTRY

ndia never invaded any country in her last 100000 years of history India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
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YOJANA January 2010

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

PERSPECTiVE

Agricultural Evolution during the last Sixty Years

Prof M S Swaminathan

Indian agriculture is at the crossroads. Our population may reach 1750 million by 2050. Food grain production must be doubled and the area under irrigation should go up
12

TARTING WITH the First Five Year Plan, agriculture and allied sectors have received considerable attention in both strategy development and resource allocation. The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) was particularly significant since for the first time agricultural growth rate (5.7%) exceeded the rate of growth of the economy (5.5%) as a whole. There is a saying in farming, we reap as we sow and this is very true of planned development. The Indian independence in 1947 was born in the backdrop of the great Bengal famine of 1942-43. This is why Jawaharlal Nehru said soon after our independence, everything else can wait but not agriculture. This principle is reflected in different five year plans. As a result, we have not had any major famine since 1947, although our population has been increasing at a fast rate. It is only during the last twenty years that both public and private investment in agriculture has shown a decline,

as a result of which agricultural growth has also declined. More recently, steps have been taken in xI Plan to reverse the trend. The Sixth Five Year Plan also introduced for the first time separate chapters on Women and Development and Environment and Development. Thus emphasis was accorded to the conservation and enhancement of the ecological foundations essential for sustainable agriculture such as, soil, water, biodiversity and climate. The importance of womens technological and skill empowerment was also emphasized, taking into account the increasing feminization of agriculture. Also a sub-chapter was introduced on a New Deal for the Self-employed. The largest self employment sector in our country is agriculture including crop and animal husbandry, fisheries forestry, and agro-processing. The next in importance is the trading sector with numerous micro-enterprises

The author is Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation. YOJANA January 2010

and retail shops supported by micro-credit. Today, our agriculture is in the midst of an ecological and economic crisis. The heartland of the green revolution namely, Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh is facing both ecological and hydrological distress. The National Commission on Farmers in their report submitted to the Government in 2006 had recommended a shift to conservation farming in this area. A National Policy for Farmers has also been developed and placed in Parliament in November 2007. This is the first time that a National Policy for Farmers has been developed, since all earlier policies related to agriculture and not specifically to the women and men who work night and day in sun and rain to produce food for us. The National Policy for Farmers calls for a paradigm shift from measuring agricultural progress purely in terms of growth rate in production, to measuring progress by the actual increase in the net income of farmers. Thus, there has to be an income orientation which implies remunerative price and assured marketing opportunities, if farming and farmers are to survive in our country. Compounding the existing problems there is also the threat of climate change which will further reduce the productivity of small holdings. We thus need a New Deal for the farmers of India. I would like to briefly summarize the different phases of our agricultural evolution during the last sixty years, which has marked a transition from the green revolution to an ever-green revolution: In India, the 20th century was a period of agony and ecstasy on the farm front. The
YOJANA January 2010

colonial period (1900-47) was characterized by insignificant growth in food production and frequent famines. The Nehru period (1947-1964) was marked by emphasis on irrigation, power generation, production of mineral fertilizers, chemical pesticides, community development, national extension service, and above all strengthening of agricultural research and education through the establishment of agricultural universities. A post-graduate school was set up at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, which was conferred in 1958 the status of a deemed university under the UGC Act of 1956. The first Agricultural University based on the Land Grant University system of the United States of America started functioning in 1960 at Pant Nagar in Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakand). Inspite of all the measures taken to strengthen agricultural research, education, extension and development, the gap between food production and food requirement continued to grow between 1950 and 1960. Consequently, food imports, largely under the PL-480 programme of the United States, grew year after year, reaching a peak level of 10 million tonnes in 1966. Globally and nationally, there was skepticism about Indias capacity to feed its growing population. To meet this challenge, an Intensive Agriculture District Programme (IADP) was started in the early sixties to maximize the output of cereals like rice and wheat in districts where irrigation water was available. The strategy was to provide seeds, fertilizer and other inputs to improve productivity. During the first 15 years after

independence, production increase was largely associated with area expansion and not due to higher yield. Consequently, the average yield of rice and wheat continued to stagnate at less than 1 tonne per hectare. It is under such circumstances, that I pointed out that the IADP, also referred to as the package programme, had one important missing ingredient, namely a genetic strain which can respond to the rest of the package, particularly soil nutrients and irrigation water. The search for high yielding varieties which can convert sunlight, water and nutrients into grains in an efficient manner first began in rice with the initiation of the indicajaponica hybridization programme at the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, in the early nineteen fifties. Similar work was started in wheat in the mid-fifties, using mutation breeding techniques as well as hybridization between Triticum aestivum varieties and sub-species compactun and sphaerococum. The indica-japonica hybridization programme resulted in varieties like ADT-27 in Tamil Nadu and Mashuri in Malaysia. The programme did not make much headway due to sterility problems. In the case of wheat also, the expected improvement in yield potential did not take place, since a short plant stature was also associated with short panicles and reduced yield potential. Fortunately, Japanese scientists led by Dr Gonziro Inazouka identified the Norin 10 and other genes which helped to break the negative correlation between plant height and panicle length. The Norin dwarfing gene was used by Dr Orville Vogel in Washington State University, Pulman, to breed
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high yielding winter wheats like Gaines. The same genes were used by Dr Norman Borlaug in Mexico to develop semi-dwarf spring wheats. By adopting a shuttle breeding technique, Dr Borlaug also made the wheat plant insensitive to photoperiod and temperature. This gave birth to high-yielding spring wheat varieties Lerma Rojo-64A, Sonora 63, Sonora 64, Mayo 64 and other strains in Mexico. We obtained seeds of these varieties, as well as a wide range of segregating material from Dr Borlaug in September 1963. The details of the semi-dwarf wheat programme initiated with the Norin dwarfing genes are contained in the publication Wheat Revolution - a Dialogue (Macmillan India, 1993). Production advances were rapid resulting in the green revolution in 1968, due to the growth of a Green Revolution Symphony, consisting of mutually reinforcing packages of technology, services, public policy in input and out pricing and marketing, and above all farmers enthusiasm. In the area of technology, some of the significant steps taken included a) the organization of multi-location trials with 4 Mexican Semi-dwarf varieties during 1963-64; b) the organization of National Demonstrations in the fields of resource poor farmers with small holdings from 196465 onwards; c) the import of 200 tonnes of seeds of Lerma Rojo-64A and Sonora 64 during 1965-66 to expand the National Demonstration Programme throughout the wheat growing areas; d) import of 18000 tonnes of seeds from Mexico, mainly of the variety Lerma Rojo-64A for increasing the area under semidwarf wheat varieties; e) selection of amber grain wheat varieties from
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the segregating populations sent by Dr Borlaug and development of high-yielding amber wheats like Kalyan Sona and Sonalika, and initiation of a dynamic programme of cross-breeding both in aestivum and durum wheats in order to incorporate the Norin dwarfing genes into high quality Indian Wheat varieties like C306, bred by Chaudhury Ram Dhan Singh in the Punjab. In the area of services, the important measures taken included a) the setting up of a National Seed Corporation; b) rural electrification, c) rural communication, and d) enlarged credit supply. The public policy measures led to establishment of an Agricultural Prices Commission, enforcement of a minimum support price through the Food Corporation of India, and the building up of grain reserves to feed the public distribution system. Since the new technologies are scale neutral but not resource neutral, special programmes like the small and marginal farmer support programmes were initiated. The aim was to ensure social inclusion in access to high-yield technologies. The integrated packages of technology, services and public policies ignited farmers enthusiasm and a small government programme became a mass movement. Writing in the Illustrated Weekly of India (May 11, 1969), I made the following remarks on the Punjab Wheat Miracle. Brimming with enthusiasm, hard-working, skilled and determined, the Punjab farmer has been the backbone of the revolution. Revolutions are usually associated with the young, but in this revolution, age has been no

obstacle to participation. Farmers, young and old, educated and uneducated, have easily taken to the new agronomy. It has been heart-warming to see young college graduates, retired officials, ex-army men, illiterate peasants and small farmers queuing up to get the new seeds. At least in the Punjab, the divorce between intellect and labour, which has been the bane of our agriculture is vanishing To bring this significant development in Indias agricultural evolution to public attention, the then Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi released a special stamp titled The Wheat Revolution in July 1968. Similar opportunities for enhancing production through productivity improvement soon became available in rice, maize, sorghum and peal millet. Hence, the US scientist, Dr William Gaud coined the term Green Revolution to indicate productivity triggered production increase. In order to ensure that a productivity based agriculture does not result in ecological harm due to the unsustainable exploitation of land and water, adoption of monoculture and excessive use of mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides, I appealed to farmers in the following words, not to harm the long term production potential for short term gains in my address to the Indian Science Congress held on Varanasi in January 1968. Exploitative agriculture offers great dangers if carried out with only an immediate profit or production motive. The emerging exploitative farming community in India should become aware of this. Intensive cultivation of land without conservation of soil fertility and soil
YOJANA January 2010

structure would lead, ultimately, to the springing up of deserts. Irrigation without arrangements for drainage would result in soils getting alkaline or saline. Indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides could cause adverse changes in biological balance as well as lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer and other diseases, through the toxic residues present in the grains or other edible parts. Unscientific tapping of underground water will lead to the rapid exhaustion of this wonderful capital resource left to us through ages of natural farming. The rapid replacement of numerous locally adapted varieties with one or two high-yielding strains in large contiguous areas would result in the spread of serious diseases capable of wiping out entire crops, as happened prior to the Irish potato famine of 1854 and the Bengal rice famine in 1942. Therefore the initiation of exploitative agriculture without a proper understanding of the various consequences of every one of the changes introduced into traditional agriculture, and without first building up a proper scientific and training base to sustain it, may only lead us, in the long run, into an era of agricultural disaster rather than one of agricultural prosperity. I pleaded for converting the green revolution into an ever-green revolution by mainstreaming the principles of ecology in technology development and dissemination. I defined ever-green revolution as increasing productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological harm. I pleaded for avoiding the temptation to convert the green revolution into a greed revolution. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, e c o l o g i c a l l y unsound public policies, like the
YOJANA January 2010

supply of free electricity, have led to the over-exploitation of the aquifer in the Punjab, Haryana and Western UP region. The heartland of the green revolution is in deep ecological distress (Science VOL 325 31 JULY 2009). The need for adopting the methods of an evergreen revolution has therefore become very urgent. The following three steps are urgently needed for ensuring adequate availability of home grown food. First, we must take steps to defend the gains already made. This will involve integrating ecological principles in technology development. At the same time, public policies should promote the sustainable use of land, water, biodiversity and common property resources through conservation farming. If the regions, which now provide most of the grains for the public distribution system, do not shift to an ever-green revolution pathway of productivity improvement, the nations food security system will be jeopardy. Second, we must extend productivity gains to the green but no green revolution areas like the entire eastern India, where there is adequate water availability. These areas constitute the sleeping giant of Indian agriculture and should be enabled to take to green agriculture in a big way through appropriate packages of technology, services and public policies. Third, we should make new gains, particularly in rainfed areas, which constitute 60% of the farm area in the country. Available data show that the yield gap (i.e. gap between potential and actual yields) in such rainfed semi-arid

areas is as high as 200 to 300% in the case of pulses, oilseeds, millets, semi-arid horticulture, etc. Work on more crop and income per drop of water and on planting a billion fertilizer trees like Faidherbia albida should be promoted. Water harvesting and efficient water use should become a way of life in such areas. A Pond in Every Farm should become a habit and where appropriate, labour from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) programme should be utilized for constructing farm ponds in the fields of small and marginal farmers in drought prone areas. India has nearly a billion farm animals including poultry. Livestock and livelihoods are intimately interrelated in all major agro-ecosystems, but more particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Also, the ownership of livestock in more egalitarian than that of land. Therefore, croplivestock integrated farming systems should be promoted, since this confers multiple benefits, like income and nutrition security. To sum up, Indian agriculture is at the crossroads. Our population may reach 1750 million by 2050. Per capita crop land will then be 0.089 ha and per capita fresh water supply will be 1190 m3 / year. Food grain production must be doubled and the area under irrigation should go up from the current 60 million ha to 114 million ha by 2050. Degraded soils should be restored through increase in Carbon pools in soils. We should again recall Nehrus famous words, Everything else can wait but q not agriculture.
(E-mail : swami@mssrf.res.in / msswami@vsnl.net) 15

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YOJANA January 2010

YE-1/10/5

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

ViEW POiNT

Citizen-centered Governance: A Tribute to Our Founding Fathers

Dr Jayaprakash Narayan

Reforms do not necessarily bring in progress, but no progress is possible minus well thought of, well meant reforms
YOJANA January 2010

HE 60TH anniversary of Indian Republic is a fitting occasion to recollect the spirit of our founding fathers, for which the Constitution of India was the culmination. Responsibility and accountability were the two values of governance that B.R. Ambedkar citied as reasons for preferring parliamentary system to that of presidential one. The architect of the constitution explained that a parliamentary executive, who was dependent on majority in Parliament, would act with more responsibility. He was convinced that, at least as matter of possibility, the daily assessment would be done by members of Parliament, through questions, resolutions, noconfidence motions, adjournment motions and debates on addresses. Dr. Ambedkar incorporated the values of the national movement, which were embedded in the Constitution of India Bill proposed by Annie Besant and Lokmanya

Tilak in 1895 and the Nehru Report, drafted by a committee under chairmanship of Motilal Nehru in 1928; into the constitution. Civic rights such as universal suffrage and fundamental rights irrespective of the creed, class, caste and gender were results of advocacy by the leaders of national movement. Despite the successful incorporation of values and standards into the constitution, Ambedkar warned that the state will fail, despite the constitution, if the people and the parties that represent them act irresponsibly. He said, However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. The values adopted in the foundational cannons of the republic were gradually diluted by unprincipled politics. The result was a severe crisis of governance. The manifestations of this crisis the all-pervasive inefficient state, increasing lawlessness,

The author is the President of Lok Satta Party. He was Member, Second Administrative Reforms Commission, Constituted by Government of India. 17

directionless populism, evergrowing criminalization and commercialization of polity, excessive centralization, serious erosion of legitimacy of authority, tardy and inefficient justice system all these are only too evident to all of us. Root of Crisis - Design of Democracy Our founding fathers were undoubtedly men and women of great caliber, commitment, depth and understanding. However, the compulsions of establishing and maintaining order at the earliest in the wake of the trauma of partition forced them to opt for continuity in the instruments of governance. Given these cataclysmic events at the time of partition, restoration of order and maintaining the unity and integrity of India were of paramount importance and our leaders understandably opted for continuance of time-tested instruments of governance. Many scholars have pointed out that there is about 80 per cent congruence between the Government of India Act of 1935 and the Indian Constitution of 1950 because of these compulsions. In addition, the euphoria accompanying the transfer of power led to a general belief that the moment the Indian leaders acquired power, things would automatically improve even with the old instruments of governance. However, the subsequent events belied these hopes. In the early years after the independence, the aura of freedom struggle, the towering stature of the early leaders associated with that struggle, the hope of better things to come and
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the inadequate understanding of the loopholes in the mechanics of governance ensured certain measure of stability, hope and harmony. As all such hopes are dashed, and persistent rejection of parties in power does not seem to result in any significant tangible improvement, people are increasingly sullen and resentful. Essentially, the crisis is a result of two major flaws in our governance structure. Firstly, good behavior is not consistently recognised and rewarded by the state and bad behaviour is not checked and punished. In fact, the contrary is true, and there is a strong feeling throughout that corrupt behavior ensures rewards and successes in our system. The second major flaw is the nature of power in governance system and its exercise by the officialdom. If power is defined as the ability to influence events, processes, resources and human behaviour for the larger public good, then such power is severely restricted to state functionaries at every level. However, if power is defined as pelf, privilege, patronage, petty tyranny, harassment, or nuisance value, then almost all our state functionaries enjoy this negative power in abundance. As a result, all state functionaries have perfectly plausible, rational and realistic explanations and alibis for nonperformance. The hapless citizen, who expects results, is perpetually frustrated. Due to these characteristics, all institutions of state have failed grievously and are on the verge of collapse. This collapse encompasses the political executive, the

legislatures, the bureaucracy and the judiciary. None can be blamed in isolation, nor can any segment escape the blame. However, this failure is not because individuals have failed, nor is it because the society lacks values, but it is a result of the fundamental flaws in our governance structure, which make this crisis inevitable. In the face of the state's failure to optimize results, and its incapacity to check malignant use of power, the citizen is increasingly frustrated. Unlike the elites, who laud the modest accomplishments of state functionaries against heavy odds, the ordinary citizens are deeply discontented as they perceive the vast area of non-performance, and the pervasive insensitivity, corruption and unresponsiveness. As repeated rejection of status quo and voting out the party in power do not yield any positive results, there is increasing frustration, and recourse to violence. Holistic Reform The way Out The crisis of governability is undoubtedly grave. The nature and magnitude of our problems are daunting. What we are witnessing is the collapse of the Indian Republic. However, the Indian crisis is by no means intractable or immutable. There is no reason why India should inevitably succumb to the spectres of anarchy, authoritarianism which could lead to eventual balkanization of the nation. Over the years, the intractability of the Indian crisis, and the impossibility of successful reform have been overemphasized. India has the strength, resilience, intellectual and moral resources to respond to this crisis with courage,
YOJANA January 2010

imagination and creativity. However, we must first recognize that the only realistic and enduring solution to the crisis engulfing the Indian state is a holistic, peaceful, democratic transformation of the republic, with the objective of building at all levels free, self-governing, empowering, s e l f - co r r e ct in g i n s ti tu t i o n s , capable of maintaining peace and harmony, preserving order and stability, strengthening unity and integrity, enabling freedom and participation and promoting growth and prosperity. Limitations of Isolated Reforms Isolated efforts to correct individual ills have largely been frustrated or failed because of the evil engulfing all facets of governance. Even the egalitarian discourses such as inclusive development and governance innovations such as Unique Identity Card would only reduce the absurdity in governance, but will not result in a paradigm shift. No matter how well meaning and necessary an isolated reform is, it will not yield adequate dividends, when it is unaccompanied by the other necessary changes. In this backdrop, parties with vested interests can argue for status quo citing the failure of the partial reform, can use it against any serious reform. Time and again, isolated, necessary but insufficient reforms have failed to energize the polity and improve the content of our governance. The sporadic attempts to improve conduct of elections, repeated attempts of various Administrative Reforms Commissions, Law Commission Reports, introduction of Panchayati Raj institutions in the 50s, antidefection acts, 73rd and 74th
YOJANA January 2010

constitutional amendments in the 90s, and efforts like the amendment of the constitution are all examples of sporadic, isolated, insufficient and ultimately ineffective efforts to reform the governance system over the years. In this all-pervasive crisis of governability, the only realistic way out is a peaceful, democratic, holistic transformation of Indian governance structure. Such a transformation must address the basic processes of power and ensure that truly democratic, selfcorrecting mechanisms are in place. Every facet of reform must adequately counter the elements of crisis in Indian governance. This includes non-performance on account of the disjunct between vote and welfare of citizens on one hand, and authority and accountability on the other; the incapacity of the administrative and legal structures to reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour consistently; and increasing incompatibility between honesty and survival in political executive office. In such a comprehensive reform process, each element of reform will reinforce the other elements, bringing out synergies and minimizing risks. A holistic reform also ensures the placing of adequate checks and safeguards against failure of any institution individually. Instead of letting failure at one level lead to failure at other levels, arresting failure quickly and effectively can prevent it from posing a serious damage to the polity. All the elements of transformation of our governance structure, together, must be capable of strengthening every facet of our democracy - freedom, self-

governance, empowerment, rule of law and self-correcting institutional framework. Reform Agenda - Stakes for all We must always keep in mind that the objective is to transform our governance structure. Such an effort calls for the broadest measure of agreement among all segments of society, irrespective of competing, sometimes conflicting, sectional interests. All segments of society must have stakes in the agenda, and highly divisive and contentious issues must be left to public choice through the normal competitive electoral process. We should aim at creating a truly democratic framework that offers a platform for various ideologies and policy options to be discussed, debated and chosen by the people from time to time. It necessarily follows that policy issues should be left out of the national reform agenda. To be precise, those issues that have a bearing on the basic process of governance and the five ingredients of democracy - freedom, self- governance, empowerment of people, rule of law and self correcting institutional frame work, should constitute the agenda for democratic reform. Those issues which have no universality in their application and form part of the `zero sum game', whereby one segment gains at the cost of the other, must be excluded from the reform agenda and must be left to the competing political forces of the day. Only the essential principles of democracy, the basic rules of governance and constitutional safeguards are sacrosanct and non-negotiable and must be constitutionally sanctified in order to provide the basic
19

framework for competing political parties and individuals to acquire power and pursue those policies which have the broadest measure of public support from time to time. The reform agenda has to be minimalist and non-partisan, and must deliberately eschew highly contentious and divisive issues, so that the widest measure of consensus is possible. It must be practical and rooted in the Indian ethos, and must take into account our experience of working of the Constitution so far. Democracy and Responsive governance Democracy should become the philosophical basis for the reforms of governance, which can make it responsive. Freedom is the right of any individual to do as she pleases as long as her actions do not impinge on the freedom of others. The Indian state can be ranked, over all, quite high in terms of freedom its citizens enjoy. However, there are serious limitations to enjoyment of freedom for the bulk of our poor due to inadequate resources and skills, which is a result of the failure of the Indian state. Each citizen should be provided with the opportunities, which enables him to be free in every aspect of life. Self-governance is the right of citizens to govern themselves directly or indirectly. What happened in 1947 was mere transfer of power from the colonial masters to the indigenous oligarchies. In our anxiety to preserve unity and order at all costs, we accepted centralization of power and bureaucratization, and marginalised the role of the people. As a result, self-governance is
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limited to an occasional exercise of franchise, when permitted by the local bigwigs. As the choice is often between Tweedledom and Tweedledee, this franchise has no real impact on the outcome, and self-governance became largely illusory. Proper implementation of the existing constitutional and legal provisions should be the first step in this direction. Empowerment is the ability of citizens to influence the course of events on a sustained basis and make meaningful decisions on matters of governance that impact their own lives. In a highly bureaucratized and centralized milieu most local institutions are beyond the reach of stakeholders' influence, as stake-holders and power-wielders are distinct. Hence, empowerment of citizens is at a low-level. The local school, Primary Health Centre, or civic services are all beyond citizen's influence. The local public servant is unaccountable to people, and is often their master, rather than their servant. Many procedures are rigid, incomprehensible and highly formalized, preventing access to, and influence by, most ordinary citizens. Citizens should be given utmost importance in decision making on each aspect of governance, and no decision shall preclude just demands of citizens. Rule of law is the concept of people being governed by law, and all citizens, irrespective of station and rank, being subject to the same laws to the same extent. It is the basis of all democratic governance, and all our institutions, including the executive and judiciary, swear

by it. However, in reality, the centralised autocratic functioning of the political parties, the flawed electoral system, highly secretive, opaque functioning, the ubiquitous patronage system, the all-pervasive corruption and the excruciating delays in obtaining justice in law courts - all these made sure that the people with access to power, muscle and means are more equal than the ordinary citizens. As a result, rule of law has been given the go by in most cases and most citizens have resigned themselves to lives of indignity and quiet desperation. Self-correction is the ability of institutions of state to constantly learn from past experience and improve them selves in order to serve the people better. No design is ever perfect and no system, however well-constructed, can ever conceive of all possible eventualities, and provide for them. In any reasonably efficient and responsive governance structure, there must be a high degree of flexibility and selfcorrecting mechanism, so that the system is functional. In India, almost all institutions of state have become moribund and dysfunctional. There is no real self-correction visible on an enduring basis or in a meaningful manner. Any reform that does not factor in the ideals of democracy can have serious repercussions. The failure of reforms initiated in the past should not prevent us from initiating reforms in governance. Reforms do not necessarily bring in progress, but no progress is possible minus well thought of, well meant reforms. q
(Email : jp@loksattaparty.com) YOJANA January 2010

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

OVERViEW

Transport Infrastructure : A roadmap for the future

Dr. E. Sreedharan

It's time to devote adequate attention to development of our transport infrastructure if we want our country to take its rightful place in the comity of developed nations
YOJANA January 2010

OR ONE of the worlds oldest civilizations with a culture spanning centuries, sixty years is not a long time. But as a nation, the last six decades since India became a republic have been truly momentous as the country has witnessed far-reaching developments in many spheres. However, development of transport infrastructure was probably not given the importance it deserved initially as our planners did not realize that investments in transport sector come back to the nation manifold fueling growth in many other sectors. As time passed, it was realized that mobility is an important requirement for economic growth of the nation as economic activities flourish in areas where accessibility is good and mobility fast. Gradually, the spotlight has shifted to development of transport infrastructure and the sixtieth anniversary of the Indian republic

is an opportune time to analyze how better transport facilities can be provided to citizens in the future. urban Public Transport Since Independence, India has undergone a fundamental change in the way its citizens live and work. A primarily rural society for countless years, India has seen a spurt in the pace of its urbanization. Since job opportunities have increased in urban areas at a much faster pace than in villages, attracting millions to the already-overcrowded cities, the proportion of urban population went up from just 17 % in 1951 to 28 % in 2001, according to the latest available Census figures. Currently, the proportion of urbanization is estimated to be about 35 % and this figure is likely to go up to 45 % by 2020. Thus, by that year, more than half a billion people will live in Indias teeming cities. According to recent Government estimates, 14 cities already have populations in excess of three

The author is Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. 21

million while seven have more than five million residents. However, urban public transport facilities have failed to keep up with the rapid rise in population. Public transport is fully road-based in almost all our cities with the exception of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata where sub-urban trains play a limited role. The result is that our roads are heavily congested with an explosion in the number of vehicles, causing heavy pollution and keeping the average speed of vehicles low. The most disturbing effect of the dependence on roadbased transport is the high fatality rates on city roads. According to estimates, almost 120,000 people die every year across India in road accidents, including 2,000 in Delhi alone. A possible solution is to increase the capacity of roads but cities are already so congested that there is little scope for this. Metro systems The only way out, therefore, is to plan high-capacity public transport systems that are energy efficient, do not encroach on the limited road space available and connect commercial and residential areas effectively. Across the world, public transportation systems in heavily populated cities are railbased Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) or Metro systems, as they are the most appropriate since they can carry up to 90,000 passengers per hour per direction of traffic (phpdt). At present, India has only two cities with MRT systems - Delhi and Kolkata. The construction of the Kolkata Metro overshot its target schedule and cost and the resultant problems for citizens, perhaps, acted as a dampener for
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the Metro culture to spread to other cities. This negative perception about MRT systems, however, changed with the coming of the Delhi Metro. Indias largest urban intervention in the transportation sector since Independence, this mammoth technically complex project is being completed ahead of schedule and budgeted cost. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has introduced India to a truly international transport system which is safe, fast, comfortable and reliable and is today acknowledged as a resounding success. Many Indian cities have lined up to take advantage of DMRCs experience to build Metro systems. DMRC has prepared Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata (extension), Ahmedabad, Kochi, Pune and Chennai. In fact, Metro construction has already started in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. For Ludhiana, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida, DPRs are under preparation and DMRC is also associated as a Prime Consultant for Chennai Metro and Bengaluru High Speed Airport Line. However, many hurdles remain before Metro systems in most of these cities become a reality. Institutional arrangements in the form of active support of the Government are vital. At present, the Urban Development Ministry is entrusted with the task of expanding the Metro footprint and it is performing exemplarily. A National Metro Rail Policy has already been drafted which has been considered by the Committee of Secretaries.

Legal cover for Metro projects has also been provided by enacting the Metro Railway Amendment Act, 2009, to amend the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978 and the Delhi Metro (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 and extend these Acts to all million plus cities in India. However, the need of the hour is a major policy thrust by the Government to spread the Metro culture and this is a full-time job which cannot be performed well by appending a small team to the Ministry. A separate Ministry for Metros has become essential. There are other vital issues to consider. Today, taxes and duties account for about 15 % of the total cost of Metros in India. This is totally avoidable expenditure that can easily be saved by exempting Metro systems from the ambit of these taxes and duties. Moreover, property development has to be allowed on a large scale which can help augment the Metro incomes and help keep their fares low. Trained manpower is essential if the hundreds of kilometers of Metro networks planned now are to be executed. It is true that DMRC personnel have gained considerable expertise while working on the Delhi Metro project, but they are few in number and too focused on the expansion of the capitals network to provide more than consultancy services. DMRC has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, to start a post-graduate course in Metro Technology and the Executive Trainees will be absorbed as Assistant Engineers in Delhi and other Metros. Such courses can be started in other IITs
YOJANA January 2010

and engineering institutes as well so that the experience of DMRC personnel can be better utilized. There is a particular need for standardization and indigenization of technology to be used in Metro systems across Indian cities as bringing in new technology and designs for every project is neither necessary nor desirable as it would only push up costs and time. The advantages of standardization are apparent in Russian and Eastern European cities where Metro systems could spread fast because no time had to be spent on finalizing designs and finding vendors. Countries such as the Czech Republic and Yugoslavia have standard rolling stock (trains) and signaling equipment because of which their maintenance and services are much better. This is the model that should be followed in India as well and this important aspect should not be left to innovation and individual initiative. Only the Government can ensure that standard gauge is used by all Metros in India in the future as this is the norm across the world. The Government can utilize DMRCs expertise for standardization and indigenization. Already, two units to manufacture rolling stock have been set up in Bangalore and in Salvi near Vadodara to service DMRCs needs. These units can easily meet the requirements of other Metros provided they get necessary Government support. One unexpected problem that DMRC had to face while executing its project was resistance from regulatory and local bodies of the Government itself. While municipal bodies often fund Metro works in other countries, DMRC had to contend with delayed clearances
YOJANA January 2010

and demand for property tax from local bodies in the city such as the Delhi Development Authority and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Government bodies working at cross-purposes will definitely not help the expansion of Metro systems and the authorities must step in to ensure that there is no interruption in the Metro work. Suburban trains and buses Besides modern high-capacity systems such as Metros, there is scope to develop sub-urban railway and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in some cities to a limited extent but these avenues have not been fully exploited. For example, Delhi has a wonderful surface Railway system converging into the city from five different directions and inter-connected with a Ring Railway. Unfortunately, this Railway network carries only 2 % of the city commuters. Strengthening, upgrading and modernizing the Railway system are low cost solutions to attract commuters to the suburbs and to de-congest the city. Unfortunately, Railways unwillingness to run more suburban trains and Governments helplessness or inability to tread on Railways possessive turf is preventing any improvements to the suburban system. As for BRT systems, these are good options in cities where the passengers per hour per direction of traffic (phpdt) is around 10,000. In fact, DMRC has itself recommended BRT systems in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. However, BRT systems are not suitable for cities with large populations as it is not possible to run buses with a frequency of less than 30 seconds

(though the actual will probably be around 2-3 minutes). Thus, a maximum of 120 buses can be run per hour which will have a capacity of 12,000 phpdt. A system like the Delhi Metro, on the other hand, has a capacity of 75,000 phpdt. National road network India is a vast country and roads fulfill the majority of its transport requirement by carrying more than 70% of goods and population. Reliable and safe roads are, therefore, essential for economic growth. For many decades, the focus remained only on development of the national highways but the rise in vehicular movement has meant that the pressure on these has increased manifold. A lot needs to be done to lay down new roads and improve and widen existing ones, including the national highways. The golden quadrilateral project is a beginning in this direction and, hopefully, such projects will gather momentum. One such project which has great importance for the nation is the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a part of the Bharat Nirman programme. For decades, lack of infrastructure, particularly roads, prevented the rural economy from developing which perhaps forced more and more people to go to cities. The PMGSY was started to address this problem but sadly, it has managed to achieve only 49 % of its target for new roads and 55 % for upgradation of roads (Source: The Times of India, 03.06.2009). Clearly, a lot remains to be done. The main obstacle to the scheme, possibly, is that there is no centralized command and state governments are responsible for the actual work. If the Government can
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bring the PMGSY under a single administration under the charge of a leader chosen on the basis of merit, integrity and track record, the scheme would definitely be far more successful. Of course, there are legislative constraints which will need to be addressed before this can happen. The Indian Railways The Indian Railways are perhaps the most beneficial legacy of the British Raj but unfortunately, little has been done to improve the system in post-Independence India. The only notable projects to expand the rail network in the last 60 years have been the Konkan Railway and the ongoing work in the Kashmir Valley. The Railways have also not adequately utilized available technology for improvement in services and an ordinary train traveler from the 1930s would probably not see too many significant changes even today.

Therefore, an aggressive policy for modernization and improving the safety record of Railways is the urgent need of the day. At present, the focus of the Railways is on dedicated freight corridors and a separate corporation has set up for their development. However, priority should be given to the development of dedicated highspeed passenger corridors to which all mail and express trains should be diverted. The capacity thus released will be more than that is needed for freight movement. Aviation Indias aviation infrastructure leaves much to be desired, considering its growing economic clout and the sheer volume of passenger movement. Happily, the Government has taken steps recently to upgrade major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai. But, the policy makers still do not seem to be looking at the future. The country needs modern airports and at

least three to four times more than the number available today. Greenfield airports are coming up at Devanahalli near Bangalore and Shamshabad near Hyderabad, but many more such projects, especially in remote areas, are required so that air connectivity to all corners of the country becomes a reality in the future. Conclusion In the last 60 years, India has emerged as one of the major economies of the world with its growth rate second only to China. It needs to be pondered that China has invested heavily in its transport infrastructure while India has failed to keep pace. Its time to devote adequate attention to development of our transport infrastructure if we want our country to take its rightful place in the comity of developed q nations. (E-mail : anuj@delhimetrorail.com)

YOJANA
Forthcoming Issues
February 2010 Banking

February 2010 & March 2010

Banking plays significant and challenging role in steering the pace of the economy. In India, Banking sector itself has grown manifold during the recent past. February 2010 issue of Yojana will cover various aspects of Banking and the challenges before this sector. March 2010 Budget (Special Issue) Union Budget every year mirrors financial vision as well as immediate developmental plans of the Central Govt. It also elaborates resources through which the Govt. plans to generate revenue for its financial activities during the fiscal. Our March Special Issue will explain and analyse the Budget in detail.
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YOJANA January 2010

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bEST PRaCTiCES

Siddhpur Nagarpalika Protects the Environment

Sanjay Dave

HILE HIGH level discussions on the crucial issue of environment and the effects of global warming will dominate national and international fora, an initiative towards making the town environment friendly has been taken by Siddhpur Nagarpalika in Gujarat.

has in a sense gone beyond its routine duties to effect this change. The Nagarpalika staff formed three groups to find out where these bags came from, and found that essentially they were brought into the town by business people who traveled from outside. A crackdown followed. Teams fanned out into the town, confiscating the offending bags and sending them for recycling. People found using these bags were suitably chastised, and coming from those in authority, this helped. Very soon, people stopped using these plastic bags. The challenge was now to provide a viable and sustainable alternative. Officials in the team hit upon an innovative idea, one that would entail not only an immediate solution but a longterm one. One that would bring about an awareness about the issue amongst the local community and ultimately a behavorial change.
YOJANA January 2010

This is how times are changing and most often it is one small step that sets the ball rolling
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Inspite of the governments restriction on production and use of plastic bags less than 20microns thick, bags are blatantly manufactured and used. It shows how callous we are about such an important issue that will benefit not only us but the entire eco-system. Sometimes it requires a voice from within to remind us, about the dangers of polluting our environment, and our own responsibility towards preserving it. In case of Siddhpur, this voice has come from the Nagarpalika which

47 Sakhi Mandals or womens groups had been formed as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This was the perfect network the Nagarpalika needed to propose the use of paper bags in place of plastic ones. Rather than merely disseminate their message through the existing functionaries of these Sakhi Mandals , the Nagarpalika went a step further to select and train a group exclusively for this. 50 women, from Below the Poverty Line, keen to earn a living by making paper bags, were identified . They were put through a training process and in turn formed a womens group. To their great joy, members of this pioneering group have started saving Rs 100 each month. This was a good beginning but not enough. It was important to set a high standard of quality for these bags to really form part of the market and peoples consumption patterns in the long run. The Nagarpalika conducted an extensive survey of the business community and documented their expectations of quality, design, choice of material, thickness and size. In all the idea was to cater to what the customer would want rather than imposing a uniform model devised by the officials sans market research.

It is indeed a mature marketsense and purely professional way of bringing about social change that has marked the progress of this initiative. The production of paper bags was not ad-hoc but based on the sound findings of this survey. The newly formed womens groups were literally partners in progress. When it came to buying raw material for paper bags and other activities, they showed a high level of enthusiasm and participation. The idea of paper bags had taken root, it had caught the imagination of those making it. And they were involved in all stages of the production process. The women worked out the cost of raw material, making charges and profit before finalizing the selling price of the bags. Based on this calculation, the cost of paper bags was fixed at Rs 54 per kg. Interestingly, the cost of plastic bags in the market is Rs 120 per kg. At once the dual benefit became clear dispelling the common notion that for environmental protection, only high-cost technologies can work. In this instance, while saving the environment, Rs 66 has also been saved! Not to mention livelihood options opening up for BPL women.

Presently, the group is making paper bags for provision stores to hold products weighing between 250 gm and 2 kg. The three women groups involved in making paper bags earn Rs 15 as labour charges for every kg of bag that is made. And these women make between two to eight kg of bags in a day. Thus their earnings are anything between Rs 30 and Rs 120 a day sitting in their homes. They are contributing to their family income, and to the larger cause of the environment. There is yet another advantage that indicates the ripple effect of this path-breaking initiative. Plastic bags now do not form part of the garbage collected from the town. The result is that the task of garbage disposal has also become easy. This effort by a tiny band of Nagarpalika officials has not remained confined to the local context. Their effort and its impressive impact is being documented by the City Managers Association, Gujarat. Inspired by the Nagarpalikas efforts, other local organizations are also taking up this task of making paper bags. This is how times are changing and most often it is one small step that sets the ball rolling. q
(Charkha Features)

CORRIgENDuM

ntroduction of Shri C. Sajith, awarded the third prize for the Essay Contest "Unethical Food Marketing to Children" published in December 2009 issue of Yojana was wrongly printed. The winner is working in TCS E-serve, Chennai. The error is regretted.
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YOJANA January 2010

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

PERSPECTiVE

Indian Women and the Journey of Six Decades

Nirmala Buch

The challenge now is to redefine tools in the light of 60 years experience and lessons learnt and address the critical areas

HE PEOPLE of India gave themselves a new Constitution of the new Indian Republic in 1950, which included universal franchise, and guarantees of equality, justice and non-discrimination. There was an assumption that with the non-discrimination and equal opportunities guaranteed as Fundamental Rights and the Social and Economic Rights included in the Directive Principles of State Policy the guarantees and opportunities provided by the state will be accessed by everyone who wanted. It was also hoped that the state would take leadership in promoting social and economic rights. The new Republic embarked upon comprehensive planned development starting with the First Five Year Plan in 1952.We are now implementing the 11th Five Year plan 2007-2012. What have

been the achievements for Indian Women in these 60 years and what has been the journey, its landmarks, frustrations, barriers, experiences and lessons? The First Five Year Plan saw women in social welfare and spoke of their low levels of literacy and need of some welfare centres. There was inadequate understanding of womens needs and concerns. When the Community Development Programme (CD) was introduced as a massive programme of comprehensive rural development with community participation, the community was assumed to be male and women were only included as participants in Mahila Mandals whose composition, functions and objectives too did not touch vital aspects of womens lives. When Village Level Extension Workers (VLWs), the gram sevaks, were provided for grass roots extension work, these were 10 male VLWs

The author is Former Secretary, Rural Development, GOI and currently, Chairperson, Centre for Womens Development, New Delhi and Mahila Chetna Manch, Bhopal. 30 YOJANA January 2010

and only two female workers (gram sevikas) in a development block, which was the basic unit of CD programme. While the 10 gram sevaks were provided so that the villages in the Development Block were grouped into ten circles for them, the two female workers were left to form Mahila Mandals only in selected villages. In successive Five Year Plans, education of girls and maternal health were the first to receive special attention. Thus the First Five Year Plan itself noted that another feature of the situation is the dearth of women teachers, who are specially suited to Balwadis (including pre-school and day nurseries) and primary schools. To remove this shortage facilities for part time work in school should be provided for married women, who cannot devote their whole time to the profession. Indigent women should also be trained as teachers. Besides development planning, the state embarked upon legislation in social matters and in matters of concern to women workers. General legislation on these subjects invariably included features to help women. So we had the Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Adoption Act, The Restraint of Child Marriage Act, Prohibition of Dowry Act, on the one hand, and Equal Remuneration Act, Maternity Benefit Act and provisions for child care for children of women workers, in different labour legislation, on the other. The decade of seventies, the International Womens year and
YOJANA January 2010

then the declaration of the UN Decade for Women 1975-1985, the four world conferences for women at the international level and the Comprehensive Review of Indian Womens status by the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) indicated that the needs of Indian Women required much more comprehensive planning and development to address them. Even the whole approach to the subject needed to be changed. There was quest for institutional mechanisms and their forms. There was a National Machinery for women, the Womens Bureau, the National Committee, the focal points in Central Ministries and in the State Governments. But women continued to be the subject of the Social Welfare Sector in the Ministry as well as the division of the Planning Commission. The same continued to be the situation in the states. The late eighties saw evolution and adoption of a National Perspective Plan for Women (NPP) 1988-2000 and the year 2001 saw adoption of a National Policy for Womens Empowerment. A number of states had already taken an initiative for state policies of women. These, however, lacked firm commitment of resources. These generally included programmes and schemes for women already being implemented in different sectors of development with a few additions. The discourse on women, nationally and internationally, moved from Women in Development to Gender and Development and Womens Empowerment and this

was reflected in the Plans and Policy Documents. The policy approach on women is now of Gender Mainstreaming on the ground that womens needs and concerns cannot be limited to any particular sector and have to be the focus in all sectoral policies and programmes with the main ministry, now WCD and not Social Welfare, coordinating, assisting and monitoring. The question of resource allocation for women in all sectors is addressed by gender budgeting-- an approach being aggressively promoted by UNIFEM with its variations in different countries. The achievement of all these efforts can be seen in most of the social sector programmes. In school education, enrolment of girls and gross enrolment ratio show the results with 87.8 million girls against 98.2 million boys in elementary classes. The challenge is now of their higher retention and improvement in the quality of education. Female literacy grew by 3% higher than male literacy and illiterate women were 190 million in 2001 against 200.7 million in 1991. Mean age of marriage increased from 15.5% in 1961 to 19.5% in 1997 but 44.5% of women were still married off by the age of 18 years. The question of resources allocation has been addressed by efforts to introduce a Womens Component Plan advocating 30 percent allocation for womens programmes. Indian Women now have high visibility in the national and states policies. Programmes and
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approaches have been developed, redefined and reworked. Laws have been amended, new laws have been enacted and efforts have been made to include a well defined machinery for their implementation. When the executive had not looked at some of the critical issues for legislative action, the apex judiciary nudged it e.g. in sexual harassment at work place in the case of Visakha vs State of Rajasthan and others. The reservation in panchayats and municipalities have brought at least 1 million women in these bodies. With the recent moves to make the reservation 50% from 1/3 positions, this number will substantially increase but these have given result only of womens presence and not so much of their participation. Men continue to speak of Pradhan Patis and Parsad Patis ruling on their behalf ignoring the contribution of many active women in these institutions. Mobilisation of women groups particularly of rural women and women in the poverty households has become a major successful strategy bringing women in the public domain, developing leadership and increasing their access to resources. Some of the earlier approaches and features however remain unchanged despite move from welfare to empowerment and from only special womens programmes to Gender Mainstreaming. Programmes for women even when introduced for addressing critical needs continue to be inadequately funded and introduced for few districts or few blocks in the country e.g. the
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DWCRA programme. In major programmes of poverty alleviation, wage employment and promotion of womens enterprises, the criteria and approach continue to be based on selection of a household and not individual men and women within it. Even the statutory guarantee for 100 days employment in the NREGA as in its predecessor rural wage employment programmes, is for the household and not to men and women separately. The programme guidelines continue to speak of efforts to give share of 30% or 1/3 to women but without any effort at operationalizing or implementing it. Womens unpaid work and household work and caring responsibilities are highlighted as their contribution but continue to be not valued or under valued. In most of the matters women and children are linked and discussed together but child care services which would be of immense help to women as well as help in addressing childrens needs do not get adequately funded. The reservations in political institutions, in decision making forums, in services and jobs have been an important strategy but this has been more a top down approach introducing at local levels where these do not affect the interests of powerful factions or disturb the status quo. There is hesitation when it is seen as threatening the power structure and positions and it is then kept on hold on the ground of lack of consensus. Women workers wage levels still suffer from the ideology of their work

being less valued. So the Anganwadi worker, and the Asha continue to be remunerated as honorary workers or volunteers though their role is admitted as crucial at the grassroots in the ICDS and in the NRHM. The same treatment is not seen in the case of male workers. Women still do not have comprehensive social protection which would increase their bargaining power in the family and the community. The 11th Plan expresses concern about women and children still being victims of violence neglect and injustice. It includes six monitorable targets for women and children including raising the sex ratio for 0-6 years age from 927 in 2001 to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17, ensuring atleast 33% of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of all government schemes are women and girl children and reducing IMR, MMR dropout rates for primary and secondary education. One does not know how the 11th Plan is going to achieve these targets. It appears that like the earlier targets and dates these will also be extended for longer periods. The challenge now is to redefine tools in the light of 60 years experience and lessons learnt and address the critical areas and women and girls in population groups who have been difficult to reach so far. Address the patriarchal mindset and most importantly move from multiplicity of new programmes and initiatives to well conceived programmes fully funded commensurate with the goals, objectives and targets. q
(Email :nirmalabuch@gmail.com) YOJANA January 2010

DO yOu KNOW?
he birth of the Indian Republic on the 26th of January 1950 was the culmination of a long drawn struggle against British domination and the realization of a long cherished dream of sovereignty for its people. As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the republic, it would be meaningful to look back and trace the nations historic journey that led to this moment of glory. when was the idea of a Republic first conceived ? While the idea of total independence from British rule as opposed to a Dominion status had started gaining ground in the late 1920s, the declaration for Poorna Swarajya was first made at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress on 31st December 1929, under the presidency of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. The declaration was officially promulgated on the 26th of January 1930. Since then the architects of our freedom started observing January 26 Independence Day. The declaration paved the way for the Civil Disobedience movement and all that followed, leading to our freedom from Bristish Rule. It was to commemorate this declaration that 26th of January was chosen
YOJANA January 2010

JOuRNEY OF THE INDIAN REPuBLIC

as the day for our Constitution to come into force and for India to become a Republic. when was the Constituent Assembly framed and how was the Constitution Drafted ? The Indian Constituent Assembly was constituted as a result of the negotiations between the Indian leaders and members of the British Cabinet Mission. It had its first meeting on December 9, 1946. The Assembly consisted of 389 members representing provinces (292), states (93), the Chief Commissioner Provinces (3), and Baluchistan (1). Dr. Sachhidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly was elected Provisional President. On December 11, 1946, the Assembly elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as its permanent Chairman. The strength of the Assembly was reduced to 299 (229 representing the provinces and 70 representing the states) following withdrawal of the Muslim League members after the partition of the country. The Constituent Assembly set up 13 committees for framing the constitution. On the basis of the reports of these committees, a draft of the Constitution was prepared by a seven-member Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The draft Constitution was published in January, 1948, and people were given eight months to discuss the draft and propose amendments. In all 7635 amendments were tabled out of which 2473 were discussed and disposed. After the draft was discussed by the people, the press, the provincial assemblies and the Constituent Assembly in the light of the suggestions received, the same was finally adopted on November 26, 1949, and was signed by the President of the Assembly. The members of the Assembly however appended their signatures on two hand written copies of the constitution, one in Hindi and one in English, on 24 January, 1950. Thus it took the Constituent Assembly 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to complete the task. During this period the Assembly had met in sessions open to the public for 166 days. who were some of the prominent figures in the Constituent Assembly ? Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Nalini Ranjan Ghosh , Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B. R. Ambedkar, Benegal Narsing Rau K. M. Munshi
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,Ganesh Mavlankar were some well known members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur were important women members. The first president of the Constituent Assembly was Sachidanand Sinha later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly. what were the main Objectives of the Constitution ? The objectives of the Constitution were outlined in the Objective Resolution moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on December 13, 1946 and unanimously adopted by the Constituent Assembly on January 22, 1947. The main principles outlined in the resolution were to to proclaim India as an independent sovereign republic; establish a democratic union with an equal level of self government for all the constituent parts; provide for all power and authority of the government to be derived from the people; guarantee and secure to all people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status, of opportunity and before law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action.; provide adequate safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas and depressed and other backward classes.; maintain the integrity of the territory of the Republic
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and its sovereign rights on land, sea, and air according to justice and law of civilized nations; secure for India its rightful and honoured place in the world and contribute to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind. These objectives are incorporated in the Preamble to the Constitution. In drafting the Constitution, what were the ideas that influenced the drafters ? The framers of the Constitution borrowed the good features of other constitutions like those of the UK, USA, Canada , Australia, making necessary modifications for its suitability to the Indian conditions. The parliamentary system of government, rule of law, law-making procedure and single citizenship were borrowed from the British Constitution. Independence of Judiciary, Judicial Review, Fundamental Rights, and guidelines for the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts were adopted from the US Constitution. The federal system, with a strong central authority, was adopted from Canada. Directive Principles of State Policy were borrowed from the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland. The idea of Concurrent List was borrowed from the Australian Constitution. The provisions relating to emergency were influenced by the Weimar Constitution. Above all, the Government of India Act, 1935, exercised great influence

on the Indian Constitution. The federal scheme, office of governor, powers of federal judiciary, etc., were drawn from this Act. What is the significance of the Preamble to the Constitution ? The Preamble is brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document. Despite its importance of the Preamble, initially it was not regarded as part of the Constitution and hence, was not treated as a source of any substantive powers. In the Berubari case, the Supreme Court specifically held that the Preamble could not override the express provisions of the Act. However, in the Keshavananda Bharati case of 1973, the Supreme Court took the view that the Preamble is part of the Constitution. Chief Justice Sikri observed the Preamble of our Constitution is of extreme importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble. The court relied on the Preamble while restricting the amending power of the Parliament under Article 368 of the Constitution. It held that the basic elements of the Preamble cannot be amended under Art Article 368. Thus the preamble may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the constitution where differing interpretations present q themselves.
YOJANA January 2010

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

PERSPECTiVE

Education Sector in India: Progress, Challenges and Way Forward

Deepa Sankar

To make India one of the major knowledge economies in the world in the near future, it is important to continue the current level of focus and commitment
YOJANA January 2010

HE ROLE of education in driving a countrys economic growth and propelling socio-cultural and political reforms is beyond doubt, well established. The experience of India is no different. Indias progress in providing access to quality and relevant education to its children and youth is a story of mixed results, with some remarkable outcomes and some nonstarters. While India can boast of contributing a large number of human resources to the pool of the worlds most educated, scientifically and technically qualified people, it is equally appalling that the same country accounts for more than a third of the worlds illiterates also. The paradox lingers to within country variations with some states having educational development comparable to many developed countries while others rate worse than many poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It is not a surprise that the states that have more educated people have been able to address several social and health issues better for example, states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh have better sex ratios and have reduced their fertility rates or infant mortality rates faster than the educationally backward States like Bihar or Rajasthan. Addressing the educational needs of its young population is critical for reaping the demographic dividends and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This paper briefly analyzes Indias education sector progress in the last six decades Education Sector outcomes The goal of any education intervention is to ensure that the targeted beneficiaries participate in the programme and achieve the expected literacy and numeracy skills, higher order mental skills

The author is Senior Economist, South Asia Education, The World Bank. 35

related to thinking and reasoning abilities, life skills, values and develop emotional intelligence. While it is difficult to measure some intangible outcomes such as values or emotional intelligence, it is possible to gauge the progress in reaching out to the children and youth and their learning outcomes related to literacy and numeracy skills. During the six decades between 1951 and 2001, Indias per capita GDP increased three times, while literacy rates increased 3.5 times and Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at elementary education level increased 2.5 times. While India has made tremendous progress in improving its literacy rates and has better literacy rates than other countries in South Asia (except Sri Lanka) and Sub-Saharan Africa, it is a major concern that it is still below the world and developing country average. In providing school education to its millions of children, Indias experience is one of mixed results. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at primary and upper primary level has improved from around 42% and 13% respectively in 1951 to more than 100% at primary and 70% at upper primary now. However, the enrolment rates at secondary (52%) and higher secondary (28%) is well below the desirable levels of universal secondary enrolments and that of other developed and developing countries (for example, Secondary GER in China is 81%, Sri Lanka is 83% and in Brazil, 110%). The progress in elementary education enrolments in the last
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decade has been most remarkable. The number of out of school children in the age group of 6-14 years has declined from around 45 million in 2001 (Census 2001) to only around 8 million by the end of the decade (IMRB study, 2009). The improvements in enrolment at elementary level has been most remarkable among girls, rural children, children from marginalized groups and children from economically poor backgrounds, and these improvements have been more prominent in the educationally backward States and districts. While more children are attending schools now, the share of those who complete their education is a matter of concern. The retention rate at primary level or the primary completion rate (till the last grade of primary) is 75% and the gross primary completion rate is 84%. However, only 55% of the 1516 year olds were found to have completed upper primary schooling in 2005. The indicators on learning outcomes at elementary level point to the real education achievements. The first and second round of learning achievement studies for Grade III, V and VII/VIII carried out by National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) as well as the Annual Status of Education Rural Report prepared year after year since 2005 by PRATHAM, a Civil Society Organization, show that childrens mastery of Math and Language were well below the desirable levels expected at their

grade levels, or even the Grade II levels. However, the annual or periodic improvements, though small in increments provide the silver line, as these improvements are achieved despite the increasing number of first generation school goers in the sample. While so far we do not have any nationally comparable learning assessments at secondary level, an analysis of Secondary School Board exams leaves much more to be desired. A study of secondary school children using international testing tools (TIMSS) in two of the most backward states of India shows that while a small proportion of children achieve mastery in Mathematics comparable to the best of children in the world, majority perform poorly, which is bound to affect their future prospects to study and perform in their jobs. . Provisions, Interventions and Policies Much of the improvements in access and participation in elementary education achieved so far is due to the policy reforms and investment efforts initiated by Central and state governments, especially in the last two decades. Education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, with the onus of financing and delivering school education, especially elementary education mainly on the state governments. The expenditure requirements of education sector in states varied depending on the level of development and
YOJANA January 2010

outcomes , while financing of education sector and sub-sectors depended very much upon the fiscal capacity of the states to mobilize resources and their efforts towards allocating more of it to this important sector. Some of the major developments that altered the way education policies were developed in the country are described below. IN 1964, the Kothari Commission Report provided comprehensive recommendations to improve Indias education sector. Though many of the recommendations remained on paper, the insights of the report guided future discourse of education reforms in India. A similar effort came much later, with the introduction of National Education Policy in 1986 and the subsequent Plan of Action in 1992. The NEP had recommended that the Governments earmark at least 6% of its GDP for education sector spending. The Central government decided to support education proactively by introducing several Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) in education in mid-1980s, like the Operations Blackboard (OBB) and Teacher Education. The experiments from grassroots to reach the educationally unreached locations through decentralized participatory planning and provision, and the appointment of local teachers through Shiksha Karmi schemes have all led to the District Primary Education Program (DPEP), which was supported by the World Bank and other external agencies. The resolutions of international initiatives of which
YOJANA January 2010

India was a part , like the World Education Forum at Dakar (2000) and the Millennium Development Goals compelled India to think more in terms of a time-bound mission mode of programs aimed at universalizing elementary education. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was initiated in 2001, aimed at universalizing elementary education of satisfactory quality in the country. The program is now a flagship program of the government. The year 2009 is also a landmark year in the development history of elementary education, with the Government finally managed to pass the 86th Amendment to the Constitution that made Right to Education (RTE) a fundamental right. Wi t h t h e p r o g r e s s m a d e in increasing the number of elementary school graduates, the demand for secondary education has been on increase in recent years. The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), designed by Ministry of Human Resource Development on the lines of SSA, is expected to bring in the desired investments in secondary education and facilitate the process of universalizing secondary education in the country. A large share of education expenditures are financed by state budgets, most of which are in the form of recurrent expenditures. The Kothari Commission Report (1964) and the NPE (1986) recommended that 6% of GDP should be provided to education. However, the real

challenge is not the share of GDP, but what it actually translates into and what could be achieved by the money that is, the transition from outlays to outputs and outcomes. States differ in their education requirements as well as in their capacity to mobilize resources. The efforts and commitment to devote a sizeable amount to education also varies according to the political will and popular demand. This has led to imbalances across states not only in terms of overall educational outcomes but in terms of financing also. Central governments effort towards transferring resources through Finance Commissions grants awards to education or the Plans or the Centrally Sponsored Schemes are aimed at narrowing these horizontal gaps across states and the vertical gaps with the Central governments resources. Major investment in education is now initiated through CSS like SSA, with State governments being required to provide matching grants. Overall, around 3.7% of GDP has been invested in the last couple of years (200607 and 2007-08) in education sector, within which 1.7% was on elementary education alone. On an average, around 50% 55% of all education spending is on elementary education, around 28%- 30% on secondary education and around 11%-12% invested in university and higher education. A fourth of these expenditure requirements are provided by Centre, while more than 75% of the expenditures are met by state governments.
37

The Right to Education and the RMSA program is going to increase the financial requirements of the Centre and states in both elementary and secondary education sector. Central government is already collecting additional resources for elementary education through the 2% cess on taxes. While resources are currently not a constraint in the sector, the concern should be about targeting the resources, especially where it is needed most in terms of achieving the educational outcomes. Existing gaps and Future Challenges Mobilizing political will and resources and targeting them is a challenge, even more challenging are the systemic reforms required to change the mindset of various stakeholders about the quality, pedagogy, governance and accountability. There are major challenges in education sector pertaining to the outcomes. India still has a large number of illiterates and neo-literates. If the programs that facilitate continued learning are not effective, there is a danger of the neo-literates lapsing their

skills. While elementary stage of education has improved, there are the last-mile challenges in reaching out to the last child. The huge gaps in access, infrastructure and facilities in secondary education would require considerable efforts and funds. The quality of education currently imparted in all levels of education is a major concern. One of the key factors that is important to education access and quality are the teachers, and there are concerns about the quality of teacher education and professional development. School governance and accountability issues are hot topics of discourse not only in academic circles, but also in civil society. Despite the increase in popular demand for education, there is a huge concern about the large number of children who do not attend school regularly; and the teacher attendance and efforts. Private provision of education has been increasing, either due to the failure of government systems in providing quality education as perceived by the general population or due to the huge aspirations of people to have English education, believed to provide the students

with upward mobility both in terms of education and opportunities. However, the private schooling is of varying quality, both in terms of provision and outcomes and in terms of bridging gender and social inequalities. Skill development is also a major area that needs attention. Conclusion The progress of education sector in India (or the lack of desired progress) is the result of a complex mix of supply side and demand side factors. The country has made tremendous progress in improving elementary education provision and increasing participation. However, its progress in improving education at post-elementary stages, and in improving quality outcomes has been modest. To make India one of the major knowledge economies in the World in the near future, it is important to continue the current level of focus and commitment, along with the right amount of resources in an improved governance and service delivery q framework
(Email : dsankar@worldbank.org)

he game of Snakes & Ladders was created in India by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births. It is also widely believed that some forms of Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries. Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.
38 YOJANA January 2010

INDIAS SPORTINg SPIRIT

North east diary

The HBEP would be launched as part of the government programme to bring all children (aged 6 to 14 years) in the learning process. All differently-abled children cannot be added in normal educational set-up, because the government has not yet prepared the schools with adequate infrastructure and trained teachers to take special care of those otherwise abled children. The Tripura Government has appointed some education volunteers (EV) to serve the educational needs of these hapless children with special needs (CWSN) at their homes from the next academic session beginning January next year. Initially, 171 differently-abled children have been identified in different parts of the northeastern State to provide this home based education. According to the 2001 census, Tripura has around 60,000 people with various physical deformities and a considerable number of them are under 15 years old. Meanwhile, according to Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, the northeastern State would be declared fully literate in September next year. On the occasion of World Literacy Day (September 8) next year, Tripura will be declared an entirely literate State. According to the 2001 census, Tripura was the 12th most literate State in India with 73.66 per cent literacy and the second most literate State in northeast region after Mizoram, where the literacy rate was 88.49 per cent. According to a study by the Kolkata-based Indian Statistical Institute in 2006, the literacy rate in Tripura had risen to 80.14 per cent. q

STuDY-FROM-HOME PROgRAMME

he Tripura Government has decided to introduce a home-based education programme (HBEP) for the disabled children, who are unable to attend schools.

ADB FuND FOR SIKKIM

he growing popularity of Sikkim as a Buddhist circuit destination has been endorsed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is ready to bank-roll a project worth 20 million US dollars for Sikkim-centric Buddhist circuit in India.

The ADB project was cleared by the bank board recently where India will receive a loan of $20 million from ADB for its tourism infrastructure development projects, which will improve key tourism sites in the country. The project focuses on Sikkim where the report points out that Sikkim has a good road connection to Bagdogra, a regional hub and an airport site with potential links to North Bangladesh, East Nepal, Bhutan and other North Eastern States. Sikkim is part of the sub-regional Buddhist circuit and the Great Himalayan State has been experiencing high tourism growth rates at an average of 15 per cent annually at the aggregate, while international growth rate is barely 10 per cent per year. The ADB project for Sikkim involves creation of access and onsite infrastructure and visitor facility improvements to well known Rumtek Monastery, nature-based tourism destination infrastructure and facilities including trail development, signages, sanitation improvements and other tourist facilities. Funds would be utilized for setting up a sub-regional training institute specialized in ecotourism and mountaineering in Sikkim and also for related capacity building activities for public sector institutions and communities in tourism and heritage management. q
YOJANA January 2010 39

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

OVERViEW

India on the Technology Front

Vijay Thakur

The beginning of civilian nuclear trade would help the energy starved country to meet the target of increasing nuclear power generation to 20,000 Mwatt by 2020
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NDIA MIGHT be considered a third world country in terms of overall development, however when it comes to science and technology it has not only excelled but is considered even far ahead than many developed countries. Be it Information Technology, Telecommunication, Space and Nuclear Science, or the field of Bio Technology, India has established itself a leading world player and proved its mettle. At the time of independence, countrys infrastructure on Science and technology was mere one crore which has now crossed Rs 30 billion today. It has made significant achievements in nuclear and space sciencethe area where it received little help from the outside world. Today in the field of missile launch technology, India is among the five top nations of the world, it has launched around 50 satellites, installed 17 nuclear power plants. In telecommunication and Information Technology industry also India is

among the top five nations, and in the field of Bio technology India is at par with other developed nations and is creating world class research capacity in the field agriculture, healthcare, bio-engineering. IT and Telecommunication Indian IT industry took off in early nineties and within two decades it emerged as a major world player. The facts speaks for itself, in 199192 Indian software industry was of about USD 150 million, in 1995-96 the industry touched USD 1.2 billion of which export component was 734 crores, and in last fiscal year the export component of IT industry touched 49,000 millions. Interestingly, the meltdown has made little impact to Indian IT industry last year and it grew 16.3 % in dollar terms and 31.6 % in rupees term. Overall speaking no other industry in India has performed so well against the global competition as this sector has performed over the past two decades. While in nineties Indias software export was

The author is Special Correspondent, the Statesman. YOJANA January 2010

negligible, the sector started earning major foreign revenue for the country within a decade. And its exponential growth is still continuing. One look at the facts speaks for itself, in 2000-2001 IT sector export was Rs 28,350 crores, which crossed Rs 2,16,300 crores in last fiscal year. With E-governance taking shaping in the domestic market, countrys software industry is also expected to register exponential growth. Indian IT industry is exporting software and services to over 95 countries around the world and their clientele include one third of worlds forture 500 companies, who are outsource their software requirements from India. According to NASSCOM-Mckinsey report, IT industry would continue to contribute over 7.5 % to countrys GDP and 35 % of countrys export would come from IT sector alone. Besides, the sector would attract USD 4-5 billion FDI and the market capitalization share of the sector would be around USD 225 billion. But in spite of exponential growth in the IT software and services sector, countrys hardware sector has not performed up to expectation. As against the estimated IT software and services export of Rs 2,16,300 crore in 2008-09, the export of hardwares and electronics is mere Rs 18,700 crores. The situation would improve in the coming years as the government is laying special emphasis on IT manufacture sector as well. Indian telecommunication industry is again one of the fastest growing industry in the world. Its subscribers base has crossed 525.65 million in October this year and is adding 15 million connections every month. This is one sector, where its growth rate has performed much better than governments expectations. Meltdown
YOJANA January 2010

did not affect its growthwhen most of the sectors were showing negative or no growth, telecommunication sector had registered a growth of around 46 %. The tele-density of urban areas is 101.38 % where as the rural teledensity is 18.97 % in the beginning of October this year. The rural area has emerged as the new market for the telecom service providers, lowering of tariff and handset costs would act as a catalyst in this direction. Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta. Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881 and at the time of independence there were around one lakh telephone connections only. After independence its growth rate remained at low pace till nineties. In 1988 when teledensity of American and European countries was more than 50 %, Indias tele-density was not even 0.5%. Pricewise also the telecom tariff has witnessed a considerable change and today it is one of the cheapest services in the world. In 2000 National Long Distance tariff for above 1,000 km was USD 0.67 per minute as against the present tariff of USD 0.02 per minute. Similarly the International Long Distance tariff has also come down form USD 1.36 per minute to USD 0.16 during the same period. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. Its benefits started showing results a decade later. The revolutionary change in Telecom Industry started after the opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap

for the Indian telecommunications sector. New Telecom policies were introduced later in 1999 and 2004 to help the industry grow. The Foreign Direct Investment has also seen a considerable growth due to liberalized government policies. According to a rough estimate the FDI flow in telecom sector from April 2000 to March 2009 was Rs 2,75,444 million. In last fiscal year alone, the estimated FDI flow was USD 2447 million. But notwithstanding the exponential growth in telecom, India needs another telecom-like revolution in Broadband sector to help IT enabled services and e governance to grow in small towns. Government has set a target for 20 million broadband connections by 2010 covering all high schools and above, gram panchayats and public health care centres. Bio Technology Like IT and Telecocm, Indian biotechnology sector is also one of the fastest growing knowledge-based sectors in India and is expected to play a key role in shaping India's rapidly developing economy. Presently, India holds mere two per cent share of the global market but it has immense potential to emerge as a global key player. The Indian biotech sectors estimated turnover in 2008-09 was USD 2.51 billion an increase of , as compared 15 % vis--vis 200708. While Bio-pharma contributed USD 1.6 billion, bio-agri nearly USD 311.28 million, bio-industrial segment USD 99.19 million and bio-informatics grew 15 per cent to touch US$ 45.65 million. India is ranked among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world and is third largest in Asia-Pacific in terms of number of biotech companies.
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With large pool of scientific talent, world-class information technology industry, and vibrant pharmaceutical sector, India is well positioned to emerge as a significant player in the global biotech arena. The population of over a billion people and an agrarian society has a huge market for products and services here to attract bio tech companies to shift their base here. Besides, India has the most varied species of flora and fauna. A study shows that, in percentage terms, India has about 7.6% of total mammal species, 12.6% of bird species, 11.7% of fishes and roughly 6.0% of total flowering plants that are present in the world. Biotech companies can utilize this immense Bio-diversity to get samples and conduct field research much more efficiently. Besides, India produces roughly 2.5 million graduates in IT, engineering and life sciences, about 650,000 postgraduates and nearly 1500 PhDs qualified in biosciences and bioengineering each year. In order to increase its market share, India has already started an ambitious programme to promote Bio-technology and planned 50 Centre of Excellence in Bio-Technology focusing advance basic research, advance sciences with translational research and industrial partnerships. Nuclear and Space Science Nuclear and Space Science is one area where only little assistance would come from the outside world. Space activities started in India in early sixties under the leadership of Dr Vikram Sarabhai and envisaged a roadmap for utilization of space research. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), countrys leading space research organization,
42

was founded in 1969 under the Department of Atomic Energy and continued under the Space Commission and Department of Space, created in June of 1972. Initially it received assistance from Russian Space Organisation, Glavkosmos, but in ninties the cooperation reduced to mere transfer of hardware. Its first foray into space began with the launch of its satellite Aryabhata in 1975 by a Soviet booster. The first domestic launch was in 1980. It received technical assistance from Russian federation, but in 1992 when India was planned to acquire booster technology, but US opposed technology transfer on grounds of nuclear proliferations and imposed sactions on ISRO. Undeterred by the sactions, India build its indigenously designed robust Booster Technology and research capability. While ISRO still uses some Russian technology for cryogenic stages on the GSLV, it is in the process of replacing it with their own designs. During the past four decades, ISRO has launched more than 50 satellites for various scientific and technological applications including mobile communications, Directto-Home services, meteorological observations, telemedicine, teleeducation, disaster warning, radio networking, search and rescue operations, remote sensing and scientific studies of the space. Indias first mission to the moon, The Mission Chandrayaan-1, was launched on October 22. It carried 11 scientific instruments build it USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria. And in a path breaking discovery, the Lunar mission successfully discovered evidences of water on the surface of the water. India being a non signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was subjected to defacto nuclear embargo from the members of Nuclear Suppliers Group. However,

despite all these hurdles, Nuclear Power is still the fourth largest source of electricity in India. The father of nuclear science in India, Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, persuaded Tata Trust to start Nuclear Research in India and with his initiative Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was inaugurated on December 1945 in Mumbai. On august 4, 1956, Asias first research reactor--APSARA attained criticality at Trombay, Mumbai, in 1960 another 40 Mwatt research reactor, CIRUS attained criticality. It was in October 28, 1969 that Indias first commercial nuclear power plant became operational in Tarapur. Since then it has never looked back. Today, India has installed 17 nuclear power plants. In 1985 it became the sixth nation to have ingeniously developed Fast Nuclear Breeder Reactor. Indian scientists also did remarkable works in the areas of Thermal Breeder Reactors, the Thorium fuel cycle, nuclear fuel reprocessing and Tritium extraction & production. The Nuclear scene in India has changed after the Indo-US Civilian nuclear deal. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) approved the safeguard agreement with India and NSG granted a waiver to commence civilian nuclear trade. These new developments has brought India to the mainstream which otherwise was finding tough to fuel the nuclear power plants. India has nuclear power generation capacity of 4,120 MWatt, another projects of 3,160 Mwatt is under construction. The beginning of civilian nuclear trade would help the energy starved country to meet the target of increasing nuclear power generation to 20,000 Mwatt by 2020. q
(E-mail : vijaythakurx@gmail.com) YOJANA January 2010

CElEbRaTiNg 60 yEaRS

OPPORTuNiTy

A Boost to Indian Aerospace Sector

Radhakrishna Rao

Not even the sky seems to be the limit for the opportunities coming in the way of dedicated aerospace SEZs in the country
YOJANA January 2010

OR LONG Bangalore, the Silicon Valley and high tech nerve centre of India, with its string of state funded research and development entities and industrial enterprises including Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO), National Aerospace Laboratories(NAL), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd(HAL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd(BEL), has dominated the Indian aerospace sector estimated to be growing at the rate of 10% per annum. Presence of a large number of technical and engineering institutions and centres of academic excellence focussing on frontier research and cutting edge technologies along with a high level of expertise built by its world class IT and software services industry, have gone to provide a quickening impetus to the qualitative and quantitative growth of the aerospace industry. Against this backdrop, it is little surprising that many of

the leading players in the global aerospace arena including Boeing, Airbus Industries and Honeywell have set up their technology development and engineering centres in Bangalore with a view to leverage the advantages offered by its highly skilled but affordable manpower. Currently, the thrust of the Indian aerospace industry is on product development, design and analysis of airframe structures, manufacturing of precision components as well as aircraft parts and sub assemblies. The advantages in terms of quality and cost that Indian aerospace industry offers has nudged the global aero engine majors like Snecma and Rolls Royce to source a part of their requirements from India A fact filled report prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) in association with Price Waterhouse Cooper(PWC) describes the Indian aerospace sector as the fastest growing and most dynamic enterprises in the world.

The author was with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and is also a Science and Technology writer. 43

In particular, this study reveals that India is fast emerging as a potential international hub for manufacturing and MRO(Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) on the back of its skilled technical workforce, fast developing engineering services, research and development expertise and strategic geographical location. As such, there is a growing clamour for the creation of an Indian aeronautical commissionon the lines of the highly successful Space Commissionto give a new direction and fresh thrust to the Indian aerospace sector and invest with a globally competitive edge. Currently, the Bangalore based SIATI(Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries) serves as a platform for research and development, manufacturing and supporting organisations in the field of aerospace with a view to strengthen cooperation among various stake holders in India and abroad for enhancing the growth of technology and business. Setting up of the new international airports through the route of public private partnership in various parts of India, putting in place MROs by Indian players in association with overseas aviation firms, procurement of aircraft, helicopters and air defence systems by the Indian Defence Ministry in addition to the setting up of SEzs(Special Economic zones) catering exclusively to the needs of aeronautical sector have all gone to boost the prospects of Indian aerospace industry. The Bangalore International Airport(BIAL), the promoter of the international airport at Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city, has announced a plan to set up an SEz in the proximity of the
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airport. This SEz will cater to the needs of IT sector and aerospace industry. In the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, an aerospace and precision engineering SEz is being set up at Adhibatla village near Hyderabad. This SEz spread over an area of 350-acres is being promoted by Samuha Engineering Industries Ltd, a conglomerate of aerospace companies in association with Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corp(APIIC).Tata Advanced Systems(TAS) will set up a helicopter manufacturing facility at this SEz. Not to be left behind worlds first high tech helicopter city ,being promoted by Gujarat Vittal Innovation City(GVIC), is all set come up at Umargaon near Surat in the state of Gujarat as a one stop shop for all chopper related servicesmaintenance, hire, overhaul, research and development, aerospace training as well as design and avionics. This mega aviation project, which is expected to attract investment from across the world, will also include a general airport. According to Kapil Kaul, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Indian chapter of the Australia headquartered Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation(CAPA), in addition to providing maintenance, repair and overhaul services, the project will encompass an aviation institute with facilities for research and development, aerospace design and avionics. CAPA will invest around Rs.10,000-million in the project. Indeed as pointed out by Indias Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Had India not notched up a faster growth in the aviation sector and acquired a large number of

aircraft, its capability in aerospace engineering would not have been noticed by the world. The offset clause forming part of the defence and civilian aircraft procurement programme had also helped foreign majors to recognise Indias strategic strength in the aerospace sector. Praful Patel is clear in his perception that after IT, it is now the time for the Indian aerospace sector to demonstrator its prowess in the global arena. Against this backdrop the unveiling of Indias first SEz focussing on aerospace industry in November this year at Horatti village near Belgaum in Karnataka marked a major step towards creating a high tech growth centre outside Bangalore. This SEz spread over an area of 300 acres and set up by the Bangalore based aerospace and precision engineering major QuEST Globalhas attracted an initial investment of Rs.1,500-million. The most striking aspect of this SEz, equipped with state of the art facilities to meet the stringent needs of the global aerospace industry, is that the entire land acquisition for the project was handled by the promoter without involving the government machinery at any stage. As stated by both Praful Patel and Karnataka Chief M i n i s t e r B . S . Ye d d y u r a p p a , in whose presence the facility was inaugurated, this vibrant SEz will go a long way towards boosting the economic growth of backward pockets in Karnataka and Maharastra. Over the next ten years, this SEz is expected to churn out aerospace related business worth around Rs.25,000-million.
YOJANA January 2010

It could be the next big best in the sector outside Bangalore, observed Aravind Melligeri, Cofounder and Chairman of QuEST Global. According to Melligeri, this SEZ, projected as Indias first aerospace precision engineering and manufacturing eco system, will offer its customers everythingfrom design to manufacture of components and systems under one same roof. He is quick to point out that Belgaum with more than 100 foundries catering to aerospace and automotive sectors and the presence of around 60 engineering colleges and technical institutions cannot but be an ideal location for the SEz. Moreover, Belgaum is strategically located on the Golden Quadrilateral highway network, situated equidistance from Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. In the ultimate analysis, Melligeri is optimistic of giving a new flight path for the global aerospace industry from this SEz. The strategic advantage of having players across the value chain in the same location would be the amount of time saved in moving parts from one location to another as well as the associated cost of logistics, says Melligeri. On another front, this SEz seeks to forge partnership to bridge the capability gaps in the Indian aerospace industry and provide built to suit facilities for the aerospace industry.Among the customers of QuEST Global are European aerospace and defence outfit EADS, Airbus Industries, Pratt&Whitney, GE Aviation, GKN Aerospace, Magellan and Saab. For the global defence and aerospace majors, QuEST
YOJANA January 2010

Global provides services such as precision machining, sheet metal fabrication, aerospace special processing, design and development of tooling and fixtures. According to Yeddyurappa, Karnataka Government is fully committed to the growth of high tech ventures outside Bangalore.Bangalore is perceived to be the Indian hub for aerospace sector. But QuEST Global SEZ in Belgaum has opened a new avenues to attract foreign investors in the manufacturing space as well. We are now poised to offer international level expertise with competent local talent and corporate commitment. Currently, this SEz houses an engineering services facility, a precision machining facility, a sheet metal facility within the Aerospace Processing India (API) unit. The API, which functions as an independent entity, is a joint venture with Magellan Aerospace of Canada and is equipped to provide approved aerospace treatments that are not readily available in India. QuEST Global SEZ has also signed three MOUs for key aerospace projects in the manufacturing space. The first MOU that QuEST has signed with Belgian aerospace entity SABCA is for manufacturing metallic parts and assembly work for the Airbus A-350 xWB Flap track structures. The contract extends the relationship from the current A-380 manufacturing to the Airbus A-350 XWB.This contract is significant in terms of both magnitude and the value which is expected to be US$100-million over the next ten

years. SABCA has been out trusted partner over the last four years and this contract will be executed in our SEz which has been set up with a view to providing complete end to end eco system and design to build services to our partners, states Melligeri. The second MOU signed with Magellan Aerospace is confined to the evaluation of a project to set up a new, dedicated facility at the SEz to manufacture components and sub assemblies for aero engines.Earlier this year, we partnered with QuEST Global to set up the API at SEz. The location proved to be very convenient in increasing our operational efficiency says Konard Hahnelt,Vice President of Magellan Aerospace Ltd. Yet another MOU that QuEST SEz has signed with Farinia, a French foundry and forgings company covers the setting up of an aerospace forgings facility in India.QuEST is proud to be associated with Farinia in setting up of an aerospace forging facility in QuEST Global SEZ. Farinia is known for its expertise in the foundry and forgings arena and this partnership will enable us to scale up operations by increasing the value of supply chain states Melligeri. As things stand now, not even the sky seems to be the limit for the opportunities coming in the way of dedicated aerospace SEzs in the country. And being the front runner, QuEST SEZ is looking ahead with confidence to emerge as a key player on the global aerospace frontier. q
(E-mail : rkrao1950@gmail.com) 45

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YOJANA January 2010

YE-1/10/4

STuDENTS SPEaK

ViEW POiNT

Challenges to Democracy in India

Shashank Chaturvedi

Democratic institutions in India have given hope to millions of people for struggle and successes in all walks of life

HERE SHOULD be certain essential conditions for the successful working of the democratic system. What are they? Equality of opportunity, literacy, tolerance and fraternity can be counted as some essentials or core to the idea of a well functioning democratic system. . As a practice, democracy is not alien to the collective consciousness of India. Various practices of a republic form of government can be located in the histories of Janpadas and Mahajanpadas. Arthashastra and Dharmashastra strongly argue for democratic values as core of Indian ways of living. Ashok and Akbar paved the way for syncretic politics, the very soul of Indian democracy, making it central to

their state policies. Later, struggle for independence gave a new lease of life to the aspirations of people in India for an egalitarian society. Indias democratic set up, which is constituted by the Constitution, Parliament, and the Judiciary, provides strong pillars for absorbing any socio, economic and political shocks. Having a multicultural society, democracy in India has to face various challenges of accommodating the divergent needs and voices of the people. India after Independence With the adoption of Constitution on 26th of Nov 1946 and its enactment on 26 January 1950, a new republic came into existence. The Indian constitution provides an enabling framework for the

The author is Research Scholar, Centre for Political Studies (SSS II), Jawaharlal Nehru University YOJANA January 2010 47

government to do certain positive things, to express the aspirations and goals of society. The preamble of the Indian constitution declares in unequivocal terms that the source of all authority under the constitution is the people of India. The picture of a democratic republic which the Preamble envisages is democratic not only from the political but also from the social standpoint; in other words, it envisages not only a democratic form of government but also a democratic society, infused with the spirit of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Laden with the expectations of more than 300 million people, India put forward various small but confident steps in its initial years of independence to ensure an egalitarian society. The aim was to ensure a hunger free and literate India in a decade or so. Abolition of zamindari, new education policies and reorganization of provinces were few such steps. Various positive discriminations were introduced to ensure the interests of marginalized sections, women and children. Challenges To democracy The survival of Indian democracy for well over half a century despite the countrys diversities, is in many ways a remarkable achievement. However, no one can deny that the countrys contemporary socioeconomic and political problems are complex. There are a number
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of serious challenges that need to be met in the years ahead. .

l

Divisive tendencies :In a country of over a billion people, Indian nationalism has for long survived the divisive tendencies of caste, class, religion and languages. But in recent past growing violence in the name of religion and sub nationalism has posed a great threat to the smooth functioning of democracy in India. Extremism: Ther:e is an organized attempt by forces inimical to freedom and peace in our region to destroy Indian democracy by striking at the very roots of our nationhood. Over a period of time there has been a systematic effort to spread communal disharmony and conflict in India. By weakening the fabric of our nationhood these terrorists seek to destroy our well-being and the foundation of our prosperity. Unemployment The employment growth in organized sector, public and private combined has declined during the period between 1994 and 2006, and the situation has got aggravated during the last year due to the global financial crisis. According to a report on Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India, which is based on a sample survey of 2,581 units conducted by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, during

October-December 2008, there was decrease in employment of about half a million workers during the period.
l

Regionalism : This is the main weakness of Indian democracy today. A large part of the Indian politics has been reduced to identity politics, be it caste, religious or regional identities, and this brings divisive forces into play. Illiteracy : Literacy in India, says UNESCO, is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation, contributing to human development and poverty reduction. India is one of the countries (along with the Arab states and sub-Saharan Africa) where the literacy levels are still below the threshold level of 75% but gigantic efforts are on to achieve that level. Without literate and well informed citizens, no democracy can be participative in the true sense. Corruption and nepotism : This is another major problem in our country today. Many of us have simply accepted it as a sad reality. But unless we are able to fight corruption, the benefits of development can never be shared equitably and democratically.

what Can be Done ? The yawning gap between the rich and the poor must be
YOJANA January 2010

bridged. There must be equitable distribution of the rich resources o f o u r c o u n t r y. P o c k e t s o f social turmoil due to caste and religious differences, exploitation and oppression of the poor and marginalized, must be stamped out. Our girl children should feel privileged and our women secure. Population figures can only be controlled through educating and infusing a sense of responsibility in the masses.Our Democracy will grow stronger when peoples minds are emancipated from the shackles of caste and the stranglehold of religious fundamentalism; when we maintain a political atmosphere of unity and tranquility; when we uphold the high ideals of socialism and secularism; and when our individual responsibilities to the nation take precedence over our demand for fundamental rights. It is imperative on us to understand that divisive forces can be best eliminated by understanding and eliminating the causes that create and provide motivation for these forces. Only 27.8% of the Indian population resides in the cities, but 3/4th of the unemployed are in the rural areas. If the growth rate of our economy is so good, then why is 26% of our population still

below the poverty line? The real challenge before us is to overcome the imbalance in the distribution of our resources and outputs such that our including national income and national growth no longer remain skewed and are democratized. To my mind, the most significant achievement of the first six decades of freedom, in many ways, is that we have sustained the vibrancy of our parliamentary democracy, which has survived in spite of the prevalence of what seemed to be inhibiting factors. Our poor economic conditions, low literacy, the hierarchical social structure, and multiple ethnic, religious and linguistic cleavages, were all potent factors that could inhibit and weaken the democratic fabric. Today, having come through 15 general elections and experienced a good degree of political stability for almost six decades, we can say with confidence that Indian democracy is here to stay. This democratic consolidation preserving and protecting the unity of such a heterogeneous country with one billion-plus people practicing different religions, and speaking innumerable languages,

and which is home to a wide variety of customs and practices has indeed been a gigantic challenge that post-Independence India met successfully, to the envy of many. Any discussion on Indias parliamentary democracy, when we are completing 60 years of republic, calls for some honest introspection on part of everyone. The Constitution clearly lays down the institutional foundation for a functioning democracy. It has established a structure of power relationships based on the system of distribution of powers between the Union and the States and of separation of powers between the three organs of the state. No doubt, it is Parliament that has contributed the most to the consolidation and strengthening of democracy in the country. Over the years, Parliament has come to be identified, both in theory and in practice, and rightly so, to be the pivot of our political system. Democratic institutions in India have given hope to millions of people for struggle and successes in all walks of life.
(Email : jnushashank@gmail.com)

"On the eve of my laying down office, with the inauguration of the Republic, I should like to tender my greetings and best wishes to the men and women of India who will henceforth be a citizen of a republic. I feel deeply thankful for the affection showered on me by all sections of the people, which alone enabled me to hear the burden of an office to the duties and conventions of which I had been an utter stranger"
YOJANA January 2010 49

. Rajagopalachari, His Excellency the Governor-General in a broadcast talk from the Delhi Station of All-India Radio on Jan 26, 1950 said:

ShODh yaTRa

Reversible Reduction Gear for Marine Diesel Engine and z- Drive Propeller

He participated in various boat shows exhibiting his innovation. All this helped him to improve upon his innovation
50

OCAL FISHERMEN from Alleypey in Kerala were facing problems with their fishing boats. The boats with diesel engine had a long tail propeller system without gearbox, which affected their maneuverability. Boats with kerosene run engines consumed more fuel and polluted the water, affecting the marine life adversely. Moreover, beach landing was very difficult using the conventional inboard marine diesel engines. Mohanlal, a local from the area, saw this difficulty and resolved to do something about it. After rigorous research and development, he developed a gearbox and a manually tiltable z-drive system for small capacity diesel engines to overcome the above problems. Mohanlal is an accomplished boat mechanic and technician with experience of over three decades in repairing marine engines and fabricating drives and assemblies used in fishing vessels. From a young age, he developed his skills in repairing fishing vessels

while working at his uncles workshop for five years. He then moved to Mumbai to work in a dye-making unit for a couple of years. After that, he spent nearly eight years working in the Gulf, at a Mazda car dealership center on an ad-hoc arrangement as a lathe operator and bits-andpieces mechanic, before heading home to Kerala. In 1987, he started his own workshop Kaveri Engineering works in Alapuzha dealing with repairing of boats, drive and motor systems. He also started repairing the trolling boards, used in fishing vessels for opening and spreading of fish net under the sea. Mohanlal started with his trolling board business in a small way in 1990. Having expanded this, he purchased a new boat with Yamaha engine for nearly thirty thousand rupees. This kerosene engine consumed thirty liters of kerosene per day. Cost of one can of kerosene is sixty rupees with only a few liters of kerosene available at subsidized rates and the rest from the market at prevailing high costs. He observed the profit margin for
YOJANA January 2010

two months and noticed that the profit was negligible due to the high operational cost of fuel. He noticed that all the fishermen were experiencing this. Thus, a large amount of fuel had to be carried aboard, also adding to the vessel loading. The exhaust after using this fuel polluted the water, and affected the marine life adversely resulting in lower catch. After a few months, he decided to stop the business and started thinking of cheaper alternatives for kerosenebased engines. The other alternative viz. diesel engines had poor maneuverability, with rudimentary gearbox options unable to handle various operational modes of the fishing vessel. The gearboxes fitted from the available market options were a mismatch. With the non-availability of a gearbox, the propeller of the boat was often directly coupled to the diesel engine, making vessel handling more difficult and dangerous. Mohanlal then decided to develop dedicated gearboxes suitable for the fishing vessels. In 2001, he started working on diesel engine. He reduced the weight of the engine from 83 to 63 kg and further brought it below 30 kg by using aluminum alloys instead of steel components. Cost of mould and pattern for the castings and machining individual components drove up his development costs. Next, he focused on the boat performance and optimization and shortly achieved a speed of 18 km/ hour. He introduced the clutches and two gears- one each for forward and reverse operation and an exhaust pipe. When the news of his innovation appeared in the newspapers,
YOJANA January 2010

Mr. P.H Kurian, Director of Kerala State Industrial Corporation, invited him to explain the advantages of his innovation. Seeing the potential of the product for the state fisheries sector, the Kerala State Industrial Corporation extended a loan of three lakh rupees on a condition that, if the project became successful, he would pay the money back to department. He continued his experiments with more vigor. Several field tests were completed and problems were rectified. He participated in various boat shows exhibiting his innovation. All this helped him to improve upon his innovation. Seeing the potential of his machine he got an unexpected order of a hundred engines from a reputed engine manufacturer, ELGI Equipments, of Coimbatore. for relief work in Tsunami affected area. But, due to lack of dedicated production setup, they were not able to deliver the order in time. Meanwhile, Matsyafed, a society established by government of Kerala for the welfare of fishermen got interested in this gearbox. They decided to help in the field trials and marketing efforts. Since Mohanlal had submitted the entry to NIF, he received assistance for technical documentation, filing of patent and financial support for developing the prototype and liaison with Matsyafed for marketing. NIF also funded a specially designed gear fabricated by Lakhsmi Machine Works, Coimbatore. The next round of tests revealed problems of propeller damage in beach landing and shallow water; Mohanlal developed a z drive for solving these problems. The gearbox has been developed for a 12HP diesel engine with 2400

RPM idling speed and around 12 liters fuel tank capacity. The diesel engine directly couples with two reduction gears through flange coupling with the engine flywheel. The innovativeness lies in the application of helical gears with inner spline cut with dual sided jaw and dog clutch. This provides smooth running and better power transmission for the marine diesel engines. The salient features of the z drive system to go along with the gearbox for diesel engines are that it is manually tiltable and can be locked at 90 degrees while landing. It also reduces loss of power through horizontal shaft power transmission and results in a smooth drive and better maneuverability. For his innovation, Mohanlal won a National Award in NIFs Fifth National Biennial Competition for Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge organised at IARI, Pusa, Delhi in November 2009. The award was given by Honble President of India, Dr. Pratibha Devisingh Patil. With the assistance of NIF, the innovator has signed an agreement with MATSYAFED, the Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development Ltd., for commercialization of his innovation. MATSYAFED now plans to demonstrate the system at different ports and coastal areas in Kerala. This will give hands on experience of the new system to the fishermen. NIF has facilitated linkage of innovator with the South India Fisheries Federation (SIFF), for promotion of the technology. Good q results are expected.
(E-mail : campaign@nifindia.org, www.nifindia.org) 51

J&K WiNDOW
n a major move to boost tourism in Ladakh region, the Ministry of Home Affairs, has relaxed the Protected Area Permit Regime (PAPR) enabling foreign tourists to visit Turtuk village in Nubra valley, situated on the famous Silk Route. Opening of Turtuk area for foreign tourists would place Nubra valley prominently on the world tourism map. The decision would go a long way in bringing the virgin locales of the region into limelight. From now on tourists would be able to travel along the banks of the Pangong Lake, right up to the village of Man and Merak. Earlier they were allowed to go only up to village Spangmik. The route along the Pangong Lake from Merak to Chushul and then across Tsaga La, Tsaga to Loma Beng would also be considered for opening, once sufficient tourist infrastructure is developed there. A large number of foreign tourists are already visiting Nubra valley for Bactrain camel safaris and hot sulphur springs of Panamik. That the long pending demand of the locals of Kargil to open to Chiktan-Batalik area for foreign tourists has also been approved by the Home Ministry. The approved tour circuits in the district are Kargil-KhangralShaker-Chiktan-Sanjak-Leh and Dah-Garkone-Darchik-Batalik-Silmo-Kargil town, the area is also the home of famous Drokpas, supposed to be pure Aryan tribe. Earlier, the tourists were allowed to travel only up to Dah. Earlier tourists were allowed to travel in the PAPR area in groups of four, but after the present relaxation tourists can also go in twos. The number of tourists visiting the region has touched 75, 000 from the modest figure of 500 in 1974, when Ladakh was opened for tourism and the tourist season which used to be confined q to July-August, now extends from May till end of October.

TuRTuK IN LADAKH OPENED FOR FOREIgN TOuRISTS

The department had objected to the historic roads construction through the Markhors habitat saying it posed threat to the goat. On the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee, the Supreme Court earlier this year allowed the roads construction. However, it set a condition that five percent of the project cost should be utilized for restoration of Markhors habitat. The Apex Court had permitted the state to utilize Rs. 10.72 crores for implementation of the Markhor Recovery Project. In the first phase, authorities have started fencing of the bastion of Markhors, the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, in south Kashmirs Shopian district. The Hirpora sanctuary has a strategic location as the old Mughal Road connecting the Kashmir valley to the Rajouri-Poonch areas of the Jammu region passes right through. The fencing and other interventions will help to stop grazing, smuggling and encroachments of the sanctuary and protect the Markhors habitat. The Wildlife department will also be organizing awareness camps for Gujjars and Bakerwals. Thousands of nomads from Poonch and Rajouri travel to Kashmir through the sanctuary. It is imperative to abreast them about importance of Markhor conservation. Known for its thick fur, flowing beard and corkscrew horns, Markhor has a limited geographical distribution in the moist to semi-arid mountain tracts of Pakistan, India, Afghanista, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. With its population estimated to be between 250-300, Markhor is mostly found only in sporadic areas of the State q including Banihal pass to Shamsbari area of the Kazinag and Pir Panjal range.
52 YOJANA January 2010

PROJECT TO SAVE THE MARKHOR

he Jammu and Kashmirs wild-life department has started an ambitious project to save highly endangered Markhor, the largest goat in the world, whose population has been affected by construction of the Mughal Road in South Kashmir.