Structural problems/solutions of/for Indian development

[ramana]

Two stories in Pioneer 29, March 2008 on Sardar Sarovar Dam waters to Rajasthan.


Modern day Bhagiraths!
First

Narmada drenches parched Rajasthan, courtesy Modi

RK Misra | Tharad (Banaskantha)


As a remorseless summer sun beat down on a virtual sea of humanity milling in this border town, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday symbolically sent the Narmada waters surging through a specially constructed main canal to quench the thirst of desert-lined Rajasthan after an epic 458 km-long journey through ten districts of Gujarat. "We are doing no favour to our neighbours, just repaying a centuries old debt of honour," said the Chief Minister.

Unprecedented crowds surging from all over north Gujarat to this venue -- as much to catch a glimpse of Modi as to watch the water flowing in a perennially rain-starved region -- sent the official arrangements for a fairly large gathering crashing, as the largest lined irrigation canal in the world emanating from the Sardar Sarovar dam in south Gujarat sliced through the heartland to carry water past it's northern borders into Rajasthan.

A boon for the languishing border districts of the neighbouring State, the Narmada main canal is an engineering feat of sorts as it traverses 612 concrete structures, including those built to negotiate rivers like the Mahi, Sabarmati, Rupen, Khari, Saraswati and Banas littering it's path. Built at a cost of Rs 4,800 crore, it has piled 2,038 lakh cubic metres of earthwork, 403lakh sqm of concrete lining and 34 lakh cubic metres of concrete and has a carrying capacity of 20,621 cubic ft per second as it enters north Gujarat but tapers to 3,354 cubic ft.per second when it touches the outer brim of Rajasthan." The resources used to build this Narmada main canal would be equivalent to constructing a four lane 11,000 km-long road -- from here to Kashmir three times over, said Modi trying to explain the seriousness of the exercise in layman's terms. The commissioning of the canal will provide irrigation facility to 5.51 lakh hectares in the three north Gujarat districts of Mehsana, Patan and Banaskantha and is expected to change the entire complexion of this dry, tropical region through extensive greening," he added.

The Chief Minister was candid when he said that the fruition of the Narmada project was the result of the work of successive Governments and Chief Ministers of the State but pointed out that it was his Government, which had speeded it up to achieve record results. "Beginning in 1960-61, when the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone, a sum of Rs 14,000 crore was spent on the project over 40 years and Rs 11,000 crore in just the last five years alone," he said.

Modi expressed happiness that Gujarat, which had gained the benefit of the monsoon fed rivers emanating from Rajasthan flowing into Gujarat for centuries was now in a position to repay a debt of honour. "It is with a deep sense of gratitude that we happily send the Narmada waters across to our neighbours with a sense of solidarity, bonhomie and élan," he added.

Modi also announced that Gujarat was set to play a pioneering role by introducing participatory irrigation and water management. "I intend to remove the Government from this duty. The people should manage their own water resources through water cooperatives in the State," he added.Like a master patiently explaining to a class of eager and attentive students, Modi said that the water belonged to them and would be best managed by them. "You have to understand that this is the most precious resource and we need to conserve every drop of it, using it very judiciously. It is not just a mere coincidence that ever since the State came alive to water conservation, agriculture production has gone up from Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore in the last three years. Milk yield itself is up by 20 per cent, thanks largely to the green fodder that is available in abundance. With water now flowing into north Gujarat, milk yield will also go up considerably leading to greater economic growth," he added.

and

It's deluge of happiness in desert

Lokpal Sethi | Jaipur

Virtually waiting for almost half-a-century, after hundreds of litigations, controversies, debates and agitations, Rajasthan on Thursday received about 300 cusecs of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat.

A beaming Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje -- who had promised before coming to power in 2003 that she would definitely bring Narmada water to the State -- at an impressive function at Lalpura in Jalore district released the water from Seelu canal to the main canal, which would take it to its tributaries in Jalore and Barmer districts.

As Rajasthan is entitled to get a total of 500 cusecs of water from Gujarat, she hopes that the State would soon get the remaining 200 cusecs.

Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi opened the canal, which brings water from the Sardar Sarover dam to Rajasthan, at a function at Tharad in Banaskatha.

About 50 cusecs of water was released in the canal on experiment basis in the first week of this month, which reached Seelu on March 20. This was to check the flow of the water in newly constructed canal.

Initially, Rajasthan was to get its share of water about two years ago, but due to delay in completion of canal in Gujarat, the deadline could not be met. At that time, Raje constituted a committee of senior officials from the Irrigation department to get in touch with their counterparts in Gujarat to ensure the early completion of the canal. She herself was monitoring the progress. The entire project was ready a few months ago, but owing to election in Gujarat, formal release in the canal was postponed.

To decide on the share of water among Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, a Narmada Water Dispute Authority was constituted. It fixed the share of Rajasthan at 0.5 MAF. At that time, a scheme, costing Rs 1,975 crore, was planned to bring water to Rajasthan. Under the scheme, a 458-km-long canal was to be constructed in Gujarat portion to bring water to Rajasthan. The responsibility to construct canal was given to Gujarat and for this Rajasthan Government paid an amount of Rs 647 crore to Gujarat to carry out the work.

As part of the scheme, Rajasthan was to build a main canal and its tributary network to utilise the water for irrigation and drinking purposes. Though work of most of the tributaries is complete, the entire project will be completed by next year.

According to experts, if Indira Gandhi Canal has brought water to irrigate over 10 lakh hectares of land in western Rajasthan, this project would change the life in two southern district of the State.

Apart from construction of a 74-km-long canal, the State Government has constructed 932 km of tributary network, which would provide irrigation facilities in 2.46 lakh hectares of land in 233 villages in Jalore and Barmer districts. A total of 1,336 villages in these two perennially water scarce districts would first time get the drinking water.

The availably of water, just before the summer season, has brought smile on the faces of lakhs of people in rural areas of these two districts, where women used to walk miles to fetch drinking water.

Very good news. Hope Bihar can return to Vihara.

[amit]

Some time ago I had a discussion with a few folks on the Nuclear Nukkad thread about biofuels.

I got an impression that some BRFites are of the opnion biofuels are a realistic alternative to oil, or for the matter nuclear power.

Well Time has a very interesting article calledThe Clean Energy Scam on biofuels.

But several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline.

Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves. The U.N.'s World Food Program says it needs $500 million in additional funding and supplies, calling the rising costs for food nothing less than a global emergency. Soaring corn prices have sparked tortilla riots in Mexico City, and skyrocketing flour prices have destabilized Pakistan, which wasn't exactly tranquil when flour was affordable.

Biofuels do slightly reduce dependence on imported oil, and the ethanol boom has created rural jobs while enriching some farmers and agribusinesses. But the basic problem with most biofuels is amazingly simple, given that researchers have ignored it until now: using land to grow fuel leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon.

Let's not bring a new problem to solve an old one.


[Admins: Not sure if this is the right thread for this, couldn't find one on the Powe Sector and I didn't want to clutter the Nuclear Thread. If this is not the proper thread would be much obliged if you move it to the proper one. ]

I think we need to debate biofuels in some depth as its being pushed by the Europeans on the rather flimsy arugument that it's zero carbon emission, etc.

This has the potential of causing a new global food crisis to say the least.

[Sanjay M]

Here, you want a solution for Indian development?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starve_the_beast

This would be an excellent way to thwart the tax-and-spend populist shenanigans of the Left, including the Congress Party.

Let the NDA, once elected, spend everything they can on infrastructure development. They should engage in fiscal brinksmanship, spending to the point of irresponsibility. This will leave nothing in the treasury for the Left to raid, once they regain power.

What do you do when you're married to someone who's a compulsive eater, or a compulsive drinker? Leave the cupboard bare, leave the wine cabinet bare. Then there'll be nothing there for them to compulsively grab.

[Vishy_mulay]

This topic is close to my heart. Water management should be taken on war front for better future of India. Found this interesting take on policy of bio-fuel and its impact on water availability. As far as I remember, India's policy for bio-fuels is based on Jatropha cultivation (shrub grown in wasteland with minimal water). In any case it’s an interesting take.
[quote]
Abstract
Rising energy prices, geopolitics and concerns over the impacts of green house gas emissions on climate change are increasing the demand for biofuel production. At present biofuel production is estimated at 35 billion liters, accounting only for a small part (∼2%) of the 1200 billion liters of annual gasoline consumption worldwide. But the contribution of biofuels to energy supply is expected to grow fast with beneficial impacts including reductions in greenhouse gasses, improved energy security and new income sources for farmers. However, biomass production for energy will also compete with food crops for scarce land and water resources, already a major constraint to agricultural production in many parts of the world. China and India, the world’s two largest producers and consumers of many agricultural commodities, already face severe water limitations in agricultural production, yet both have initiated programs to boost biofuel production. This paper explores the land and water implications of increased biofuel production globally and with special focus on these two important countries, using the WATERSIM model. It concludes that, although of minor concern at global level, local and regional impacts could be substantial. In fact, the strain on water resources would be such in China and India that it is unlikely that policy makers will pursue biofuel options, at least those based on traditional field crops



Future biofuels in India
Oil demand in India is expected to grow by a factor 2.2 by 2030, increasing the oil import dependency from 69% now to 91%. With the number of vehicles doubling between 2002 and 2020 (IEA 2004b), gasoline demand will make up a substantial part of this increase. The Indian Planning Commission has therefore proposed a program to produce ethanol to be blended with gasoline, and biodiesel to be blended with highspeed diesel. The ethanol is primarily derived from sugarcane and diesel from the tree based oilcrop Jathropa. The policy of 5% blending of gasoline with ethanol was made compulsory in 2003 in 9 states, but due to high costs and red tape the measure was recently abandoned in most of them (Padma 2005). The Planning Commission also intends to blend highspeed diesel with 20% Jatropha based biodiesel by 2012. The Indian government's Vision 2020 document states that cultivating ten million hectares with jatropha would generate 7.5 million tonnes of fuel a year, creating year-round jobs for five milllion people. But despite ambitious programs, targets are likely to be missed due to the high costs of Jatropha based fuel and red tape (Padma 2005). In our biofuel scenario we assume that 10% of the gasoline demand in 2030 will be met by sugar based bioethanol (in energy equivalents), requiring 9 billion liters, an increase by a factor 4.7 compared to 2002. This is in line with estimates by IEA (2004a) and Rosegrant et al (2006). The role of Jatropha will likely remain small until major technology breakthroughs are realized. In addition, Jatropha production does not generally compete with food crops for land and water, in particular irrigation water


Agricultural water use in India
Irrigation plays a major role in India’s food supply. At present some 63% of the cereal production originates from irrigated areas. Wheat and rice are mostly produced under irrigated conditions while maize and other grains are grown in rainfed areas. Close to 85% of the area under sugarcane -the crop currently most used in bioethanol- is irrigated. It is estimated that the total harvested area amounts to 175 million hectares (in 2005) of which roughly 45% is irrigated. More than half of the irrigated area is under groundwater irrigation, mostly privately owned tubewells.
Total renewable water resources are estimated at 1887 km3, but only half (or 975 km3) is potentially utilizable. Total water resources amount to 2025 m3 per capita (for the year 2000), or only around 1100 m3 of potentially utilizable per capita supplies (Amarasinghe et al 2005). Water withdrawals in India were estimated at 630 km3 in the year 2000, of which more than 90% was for irrigation. Spatial variation is enormous. The river basins of the Indus, Pennar, Luni and westerly flowing rivers in Kutsch and Gujarat are absolute water scarce, and much of North India suffers from groundwater overdraft (Amarasinghe et al. 2005). To address water scarcity, the government of India is exploring the possible implementation of a series of large scale interbasin transfers to bring water from water abundant to water short areas. This so-called “Linking of Riversâ€

[ramana]

amit, There was a National Geographic issue on the energy economics of bio -fuels. They say cane sugar gives the maximum output for the inputs. yes they also rise the matter of forst cover reduction.

I wonder about the economics of splenda or other sugar substitutes to allow diversion of cane sugar to fuel.

[Vishy_mulay]

Ramana I think partial answer to your question is answered in the paper I posted. I am thinking whether bio-fuel really makes economical and environmental sense. The more you do cost benefit analysis bio-fuel option does not appear to be viable.

[bala]

This scare tactic of India and China consumption causing world crisis needs to be stopped immediately. Why. Petroleum Stats, non oil producing nations like Japan and Germany are even more consumptive than China and India but no one gave a damn about them.

India requires roughly 2 million barrels of oil a day as imports. Jatropha and other forms are not going to contribute more than say 5-10% of the needs. But that is substantial, considering the amounts spent on OPEC nations. India has to forge a sensible alternate to the domestic fuel needs. Not one but multi prong solution is the only answer. Given the fact that India has 1/3 resources for internal consumption (which is fast depleting), 2/3 are imported. Indian refineries are net exporters which subsidizes the imports to some extent, let us say that they cover 1/3. We still have 1/3 in imports. A 5% here, a 10% there helps and pretty soon we need only to support say 10-15% as imports. That is more palatable than staring at 2/3 import bills.

A lot of nations including the US are investing in alternates like Wind and Solar. In Wind energy alone the US has potential to create 3 x current power production; already the US wind production is among the world leaders and soon it is going to be #1 in the world. Solar power is another booming area. Recently PG&E in the west coast announced mega project deals for solar-water heater-steam turbine type production power plants in the Mohave Desert of California. European and Japanese countries are also in the same mode. Portugul has 40% of its energy needs from renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Alternate energy is here to stay despite all the doomsday analysis by the Oil Lobby.

[Vishy_mulay]

Bala, even if we (India and China) cause consumption crisis, why we should be apologetic about it? Isn’t free trade economics is based on demand and supply? I completely agree that this boogie is raised to maintain western hold on geoecopolytics.
I posted the article because in my humble opinion food and water security is more important than energy security. I am a full supporter of alternative energy sources and don’t know whether bio-fuel make sense. We don’t want to get rid of OPEC cartel and land with Anglo-Saxon cartel of bio-fuels.

[bala]

We don’t want to get rid of OPEC cartel and land with Anglo-Saxon cartel of bio-fuels.

This stmt does not make any sense. The former is the Anglo-Saxon creation. Lines in the sand were drawn by the British to create Saudi, Kuwait, Iraq and the numerous gulf nations.

Bio-fuels can be grown in a narrow sun belt and India, Brazil, Africa, Indonesia, China are the few who can sustain Jatropha cultivation and others crops like sugarcane to ethanol. The US is adopting a corn model which all screwed up since the efficiencies go down very quickly growing corn, converting to ethanol. But the lobby of farmers is very strong in the rural areas. The US strategic objectives are quite different. They want to deplete world resources first, then switch to Alaskan reserves and other energy resources. The US has much more inherent capabilities and aping them is not the correct way for India. For instance, the US can mandate wind energy and completely stop coal burning in say 5 years if they want to or go the nuclear route.

[Vishy_mulay]

Bala, please read the article posted (imho it does have some important cost benefit analysis). Jatropha cultivation might not solve the problem as its oil yield (bio diesel) is not as economically feasible to that of ethanol from sugarcane. I fear that bio-fuel policy in India is drifting towards ethanol base due to political heavy weights in sugar lobby. Sugarcane is water intensive crop and puts us in double whammy. 1st it consumes more water than other commercial crops (water security) and 2nd it reduces the good cultivable land for other crops (food grain security). Do we really need to shift to bio-fuels when we can try other non conventional sources of energy? If you have some good resources for cost benefit analysis for bio-fuels, please let me know.
My remark on Anglo-Saxon cartel was in regards to geopolitical goals US is trying with bio-fuel promotion. I completely agree that US does not give any importance to conventional energy crisis.

[Vishy_mulay]

H2O Let Free Its Flow

Wet Runs: There are 32 ongoing water projects with private sector participation, as also 22 hydro power projects with private participation. Some 20 states are undertaking water sector reforms.
Farm Woe: Net irrigated area in India is 55 mn ha against a net crop area of 142 mn ha.

Fast Dwindling: Forest cover has gone down by 1,409 sq km between 2003 and 2005.

Is it Disjointed? Over 1,03,000 JFM committees manage about 18 mn ha of forest land.

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fo ... F%29&sid=1


Well once in a while Outlook does report something with information.

[bala]

Vishy, you have a point about sugarcane and water. I don't see that happening in India the way Brazil has done sugar-ethanol. Firstly Indians need to get away from consuming too much sugar, the per capita numbers are crazy and increasing day by day. Sugar burned in cars is better than burnt in human food consumption. Secondly the yield on Jatropha once it starts fruiting, is more per acre than sugarcane to ethanol yield (5-10x or more). So scare on jatropha is not justified. India on average consumes more diesel than petrol (80:20), ergo bio-diesels are more effective than ethanol. Bio-diesels can also give better gas mileage with new tech of TDI.

Just a different path: Japan and others have started using natural gas for hydrogen production to power water heaters and produce electricity at home. Eventually running electric cars/hydrogen cars is the only solution to the impending oil crisis.

[Vishy_mulay]

Can not agree more on sugar consumption in Indian population. In my own family the incidence of type II DM has sky rocketed (last count 13 close family members and I am afraid I will be next knowing that both my parents have it). Other query if you can answer, ethanol blend gas burning in combustion engine produce less or same amount of hazardous emission? Being lazy today to find it out myself.

[ramana]

Ethanol breaks down to CO2 and H20.

[Vishy_mulay]

Thanks Ramana, I wanted to ask whether ethanol blend gas has better emission then non blended one. long day today did not frame my question correctly.

[ramana]

jagmoahn in Pioneer 15 Aug., 2008

We need a new destiny

Jagmohan

India has been let down by its people and leaders

What happened in Parliament on July 22 and in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat a few days later and what is now happening in Jammu show the direction in which our democracy has been moving during the last 61 years. Things are truly falling apart, and no one seems to know how to collect the unraveled threads of national fabric and reweave them into a strong and soothing texture.

In fact, the journey of independence itself commenced on a false note. "At the stroke of mid-night when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom." These historic words, spoken by Jawaharlal Nehru on the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, have their own fascination. They sparkle with passion and enthrall Indians even today.

But were these words true? Was the world sleeping or watching India? And did we wake up fully? In fact, most Indians slept in the darkness of their homes. Some were awake because they were trembling in fear with blood-thirsty mobs on the rampage. The main architect of India's freedom, Mahatma Gandhi, looked lonely and forlorn. His "heart was burning" and he felt as if he had been "thrown into a fire-pit".

The light of freedom about which Nehru spoke so eloquently was too weak to pierce through the darkness created by the long period of India's social and cultural degeneration. Standing on a pedestal under glittering artificial lights, it was easy to declare, "We will create a mighty India -- mighty in thought, mighty in deeds, mighty in culture and mighty in service to humanity." But no one seemed to know, or even cared to know, how that 'might' would be created and the darkness dispelled.

In any case, what was that 'destiny' that was referred to so passionately? The 'appointed day' -- the day appointed by destiny -- as Nehru called it, was also the day which was preceded by a tragedy caused by the acts of commission and omission of those whom 'destiny' had put at the helm of affairs -- the tragedy that led to India's partition which witnessed riots, rape, plunder and loss of life and property on an unprecedented scale.

"It is a fateful moment for us in India," said Nehru in the same speech. Undoubtedly, it was so. But it demanded more than idealism; it demanded 'resolute practicality' to inject meaning and content in that idealism. Nehru could provide the inspiration; but this inspiration had to be accompanied by strong and sustained action.

For declarations to get translated into realities, a leadership with extraordinary courage and commitment was needed not only in the arena of politics but also in the intellectual, social, cultural and spiritual spheres. Regrettably, at a momentous period of India's history, this was not forthcoming.

It was a comparatively easy task to provide, by way of a liberal and democratic Constitution, a pattern of polity whose aims and objectives were to create both purity and productivity in public life. But it was difficult to inject the ethos of purity and productivity into the system. There was no one to undertake this task.

The clay of the people who had to run the system and the social and cultural environment in which it had to function essentially remained the same as before. And it did not take long for a fairly sound Constitution to look like a grammar of democratic anarchy in practice.

From the very first day of our independence, the people in general and the national leadership in particular have developed a propensity to keep aside the hard crusts of problems and remain content with breaking softer grounds. Even now, while chronic problems, we continue to nurse illusions and derive satisfaction from short-term gains and outward glitter.

These days, one often hears about India's impressive foreign exchange reserves, its outstanding performance in the information technology sector, its rising volume of trade and high rate of savings and investments. But comparatively little is said or done about the ever-widening income gap between the rich and the poor, worsening problems of unemployment and under-employment, continuance of acute poverty and malnutrition, rapid increase in the number of slum-dwellers and sharp deterioration in both rural and urban environment.

Let me provide you with an insight into the reality after 61 years of our 'tryst with destiny'. India today has the largest number of poor, the largest number of illiterate and the largest number of malnourished people in the world. More than 250 million men, women and children go to bed hungry every day. One out of three women is underweight. About 40 per cent of the total low birth weight children below five in the world are Indians; 57 million children of this age are undernourished, their percentage (48) is higher than that of Ethiopia (47 per cent). Six out of seven Indian women are illiterate.

In the cities, slums have been proliferating, growing 250 per cent faster than the overall population. Mumbai, with about 12 million living in such settlements, has become the global capital of slums. India is still reckoned as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Terrorism, subversion and Maoist violence have brutalised the atmosphere. While the problems of internal security are mounting, the efficacy of governance has been declining.

The inconvenient reality is that India has been let down by its people and leaders. The Indian mind and soul are getting drier by the day. No wonder the super-structure erected upon this mind and soul has developed cracks, which are ominously wide and dangerous. India's 'tryst with destiny' has turned out to be a fantasy. Our nation must re-visualise its destiny and fix a new tryst with it.

Its difficult to build a non-nationalist nation state.

[ramana]

Andthe high priest so secularism preaches more of the same

Amartya Sen in Deccan Chroncile, 15 Aug., 2008

To tackle new injustices, don’t forget the old ones
By Amartya Sen

Excerpts from the first Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Lecture on “Demands of Social Justice” delivered by Dr Amartya Sen in the Central Hall of Parliament on August 11:

One of the areas that call for urgent attention in India is the efficiency of delivery of public services. That there is a large lacuna here has been brought out recently by a number of studies from different parts of India.

While our studies indicate some reason for celebration, there is a remarkably high frequency of neglect and lack of accountability in the primary schools and health services.
Consider the working of state-run elementary schools. Even though a great many primary school teachers are extremely devoted to their work and to their students, we observed a shocking incidence of absenteeism and delayed arrival on the part of many teachers in other schools. The reliance on private tuition, which should be entirely unnecessary in primary schooling, has been quite widespread among those who can afford it. The neglect of teaching responsibilities is particularly strong when the students come mostly from underprivileged classes. This has a profound effect on the schooling of these children — sometimes first-generation schoolgoers unsure of their rights and unable to raise their voice.

The fact that the inspection system of schools has been broken down fairly comprehensively in many parts of India makes the problem harder to tackle, and administrative reforms are urgently needed. However, the problem cannot be tackled by administrative changes alone.

There is a similar picture of uncertain and disparate functioning in the delivery of primary healthcare. The reliance of even very poor people in India on private healthcare providers — sometimes even medical pretenders who combine quackery with crookery — is caused not only by the lack of enough public health institutions, but also by the poor functioning of existing public institutions for which government financing is actually available. In reforming the culture of work, and in cultivating responsibility and accountability, unions can have a hugely positive role.

I recognise that bringing about the necessary changes in public sector performance through active cooperation of the unions is not an easy task. But the need for such a reorientation and change is urgent and it calls both for greater recognition and respect of the place of unionised labour in society, and for more deliberated determination of the unions to play their part in the progress of the country. While it is often assumed that the only responsibility of the unions is to enhance the well-being of its members, the union movement across the world has, in fact, been inspired time and again by broader objectives.

But is such a change really feasible in India? I would argue from my own experience, limited as it is, that it is very much a possibility. Perhaps there is too much pessimism in India about the alleged unadulterability of the working of established institutions and of behaviour patterns. Despite our lapses, which are large, our ability to respond positively to reasoned appeal and arguments remains strong enough.

We have reason to be proud of our determination to choose democracy before any other poor country in the world, and to guard jealously its survival. But democracy itself can be seen either just as an institution, with regular ballots and elections and other such organisational requirements, or it can be seen as the way things really happen in the actual world on the basis of public deliberation.

In general, Indian democracy has been far less effective in dealing with problems of chronic deprivation and continuing inequity with adequate urgency, compared with the extreme threats of famines and other emergencies. The weakness of Indian policies on education, basic healthcare, elementary nutrition, essential land reform, and equal treatment of women reflects, at least partly, the deficiencies of politically engaged public reasoning and the reach of political pressure.

There has been more action recently in organised social movements based broadly on demands for human rights, such as the right to respect and fair treatment for members of low castes and the casteless, the right to school education for all, the right to food, the entitlement to basic healthcare, the right to information and the right of employment guarantee. There is room for argument in each case about how best to proceed, and that is indeed an important role of democratic public reasoning, but we can also see clearly that social activities are an integral part of the working of democracy, which is not just about institutions such as elections.

The perspective of realisation of justice and that of an adequately broad nyaya are central not only for the theory of justice, but also for the practice of democracy.

Amartya Sen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998, now teaches
at Harvard University

[Paul]

Pay and starve
The catastrophic cost of medical treatment is draining families’ resources and driving millions below the poverty line, reports G.S. Mudur

The family of a cancer patient at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, on Thursday. Picture by Prem Singh
At one home, fruits turned into a rare luxury — and then vanished. At another, where a family is struggling to repay medical debts, two siblings in their teens sometimes stagger dinners, eating at night only on alternate days.

And a commerce graduate from Bihar has been dusting offices and cleaning bathrooms in a Delhi hospital where doctors are treating his child, suffering from cancer.

All of them are victims of what some economists describe as the “catastrophic” health payments in India that are disrupting consumption patterns of tens of thousands of households.

“In some ways, things are deteriorating despite India’s economic growth,” said Anup Karan, an economist and former Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Health economists estimate that 80 per cent of health care costs in India come from “out-of-pocket” expenses — the personal funds of households. Mostly without health insurance cover, families coping with chronic illnesses could face medical bills from Rs 50,000 to Rs 12 lakh or even higher, said a social worker at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

“Families borrow money or sell their belongings or even their land. Some have already spent tens of thousands of rupees in other hospitals before coming here,” said Anoop Saraya, a gastro-enterologist at the AIIMS.

Transport employee Ramesh Chand (name changed) in Gwalior is one of those impoverished by the cost of medical treatment in his family. Chand, 29, led a happy life with his two children and wife Asha (name changed) until the young woman was diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2007.

He sold his ancestral property and borrowed from his father, in-laws and others to pay the Rs 5 lakh he ran up in bills at a cancer hospital in Mumbai. In August last year, Asha refused to travel to Mumbai any more fearing more debts. She died on August 26, 2007.

Chand, whose children are one-and-a-half and three years old, has developed hypertension, worrying about the Rs 2 lakh he owes his creditors other than his father and in-laws.

“I have no assets left and am paying Rs 3,000 a month from my salary. But it is proving endless,” he says, adding he had to pay an informal rate of interest too.

Saraya and his colleagues at the AIIMS have initiated a study to determine how such health payments actually affect the consumption patterns of a household.

“Right now, we only have anecdotal accounts — some family members tell us how they have stopped eating fruits or have reduced consumption of milk products; some parents might even reduce their food intake,” Saraya said.

An international team of health economists has calculated that Indian households where a member is hospitalised spend an average of about 60 per cent of their annual income on health care costs.

In a report in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, the team has said the top ten per cent of spenders in the sample they studied had spent about 150 per cent of their annual income on a single illness involving hospitalisation.

Households that spend more than 40 per cent of their non-food expenditure on health care, economists say, are incurring catastrophic health payments. An international study last year had indicated that 3.5 per cent of India’s population — about 39 million people — slipped below the poverty line because of health payment.

In a new report on global poverty issued last week, the World Bank said India’s poverty rate had dropped from 60 per cent of the population in 1981 to 42 per cent in 2005, but the absolute number of the poor has climbed from 420 million to about 455 million.

“The numbers will keep changing — a proportion of the population rises above the poverty line each year, but then health payments are simultaneously pushing millions of people into poverty,” Karan said.

Insurance gap

Households get saddled with health care payments because of low health insurance coverage. Some economists estimate that only between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of India’s 1.1 billion are covered by some form of a health insurance programme, a private or a government-supported scheme.

Numbing numbers
60 Average percentage of annual income an Indian family spends on a single hospitalised member

150 Average percentage of annual income spent by the top 10 per cent of families on the list

3.5 Percentage of Indian population that has slipped below the poverty line because of health payment. This comes to 39 million people


But most health insurance programmes in the country cover only hospitalisation and domiciliary health expenses and do not cover outpatient care, health economists say. Public awareness about insurance also needs to grow in India, a public health specialist said.

Until Asha’s illness, Gwalior’s Chand said, he was unaware of medical insurance. “But I insisted on the best treatment, although doctors said nothing could be done, and I’ve now lost my wife as well as everything else.”

“Indirect costs take a huge toll on the family,” said Gayatri Sharma, a social worker at the Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital at the AIIMS. “We get patients from neighbouring states who have to stay here for months.”

Sharma recalled the plight of a father who had arrived from Bihar with a child suffering from cancer. “He has lost his job back home, and is now working as a cleaner in the hospital to support their stay and the treatment.”

“A lack of effective public health services forces people towards the private sector (hospitals),” said Brian Lobo, an activist with the Kashtagiri Sangathan (Toilers’ Association) in Maharashtra’s Dahanu, a town in a tribal greenbelt sandwiched the industrial corridors of Boisar and Vapi.

The National Rural Health Mission, launched three years ago, has over the past three years recruited staff and built new facilities to improve health services in rural areas. But health experts anticipate that increasing numbers of people affected by chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases or cancer, are likely to contribute to catastrophic health payments.

The poorest patients just give up treatment and go home. Lobo recalled a woman who had borrowed money for her daughter-in-law’s treatment at a clinic in Dahanu. The patient was referred to a bigger hospital in Mumbai, an option the family did not pursue. The patient died last week.

Some patients run away without paying. “We’re trying to get clinics to display charges up front so patients can at least know what kind of bills they can expect,” Lobo said.

The Kashtagiri Sangathan occasionally asks private clinics to lower bills. Lobo cited how a patient receiving intravenous saline at a Dahanu clinic simply walked out of the hospital, the intravenous needle still stuck in his arm.

With inputs from Rasheed Kidwai

I had to fly to BGL last year and get my father treated at NIMHANS and Kidwai (Bangalore)who was afflicted with lymphoma in the brain. The staff at both of these places were very professional, the doctors as competent as any in the US. The doctors gave me their personal cellphone #s and asked me to contact them any time of the day or night for advice. We were very appreciative of the help provided to us by the para medical staff at both Kidwai and NIMHANS who went out of their way to help us out at a time when those you expect the help from most turn up with high words of advise but are not willing to stay for even an hr so that you can have your lunch.

The total cost of radiation came to INR50K at Kidwai + plus other costs such as hospital stay etc. came to another 1 lakh. We ended up paying as much money on auto rickshaw fare and food as much as the treatment. Have we gone to apollo we would have spent at least 5 times this amt.

I would recommend govt hospitals over the fancy Apollo or any other 5 star hospitals where they charge you an arm and leg and their doctors are not even sensitive enough to explain to you the gravity of the situation.

Have tons of patience, try not to unncecessarily bribe the peons and helpers (it is their job to help you and they will do it, give or take a few minutes), and be respectful to the doctors and most important of all, try to educate your self on the vagaries of the disease instead of pestering them.

Saw some pakistanis there as well....lots of people come there from NE. Per their account, this well run institution is popular with Bangladeshis as well. Saw some IMs exhibiting behaviour in emergency ward as Shiv had described many moons ago.

[Sanjay M]

Poverty and Genetics:

http://www.economist.com/science/displa ... extfeature

[Jamal K. Malik]

UPA failed to use Rs 72,500 crore for Dalits: Study
We are in habit to make them fool.
Nothing new
In fact,it is not structural failure,it is all planed by the state

[ramana]

Seminar India has special issue on Knowledge and Innovation.

Knowledge in Question

[Sanjay M]

Studies on Gridlock

[Sanjay M]

Here's an interesting article on bringing outsourcing to Indian villages:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/world ... india.html

[chanakyaa]

Is there a separate thread on "Reservations" in India?

[ramana]

Is there a separate thread on "Reservations" in India?

Try this in GDF

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... &start=240

[Sanjay M]

Copying is the most profitable strategy:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas ... ?page=full

[naren]

X-post from telecom thread.

Giving a voice to India's villagers

In a remote corner of rural India, a new experiment using mobile phones is bringing people news made by local villagers. The BBC's Geeta Pandey travels to Rajnandgaon district in the central state of Chhattisgarh to see who is tuning in.
...
CGnet is an attempt to cater to people who are on the wrong side of the digital divide, says Shubhranshu Choudhary, a former BBC journalist-turned-activist and the brain behind CGnet Swara.

"We are providing a new platform which the villagers can use to talk to each other and the outside world about issues that are important to them," he says.

A few years ago, a Delhi-based media research agency, Charkha, did a survey and came up with the finding that only 2% of space in mainstream media was dedicated to covering the livelihood issues of India's largely poor and overlooked tribals.

Mobile connectivity

In this remote land, newspapers have not caught on as literacy rates are abysmal, there is no internet or private television and the only sources of news are the state-run TV channel Doordarshan and All India Radio.

"But we see that even in rural and tribal areas, mobile penetration is high and is continuously growing," Mr Choudhary says.

So he came up with the idea of news on mobile phones, to see if they could be used as a platform for information-sharing in poor and unconnected areas.

And the technology, developed by Microsoft Research India and Massachusetts Institute of Technology {no indigenous ? }, is simple.

"Reporters" call a Bangalore number to upload a news item and a text message goes out to all the phone numbers in the contact list and anyone who wants to hear the report calls in to the same number and the message is played out.

Now this is truly innovative. Kinda like "web 2.0" of mobile phones. We should focus more in such areas. India will be unstoppable once we bridge the rural urban divide.

[Sanjay M]

Ruling Party Faces Hurdles in Moving Nation Forward

I like this new forum style and editor, btw

[joshvajohn]

Need to better target food subsidies to eradicate poverty: Montek
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opi ... 884593.cms

[joshvajohn]

An interesting case in Structural problems in TN.
http://www.dinamalar.com/video_Inner.asp?news_id=1619

Let me translate for those who do not understand Tamil.

There is a very good project set up by the central government for recycling the waste near this market in Chennai.

There is a big market with every day a lot of waste being thrown out just near to this recycling plant.

There is no one who would connect these two because of the structural disconnectedness between local authorities, state government monitors and central government project officers who run this recycling unit.

This is a major problem in India a lot of miscommunication between different agencies of state,central and local bodies. Unless this issue is address and a network of either people's movement or NGOs work in this favour such disconnectedness can cost lot of money and waste of our investments.

[Sanjay M]

Bihar Plants Trees to Counter Female Foeticide

[Sanjay M]

Entry of Mass-Retailers Wal-Mart & Carrefour Could Lower Prices

heh, they're figuring this out now?

[Neshant]

Entry of Mass-Retailers Wal-Mart & Carrefour Could Lower Prices

heh, they're figuring this out now?

the only thing that's going to come is a boat load of crap from China and a big deficit. thats the only thing Walmart will be lobbying for once they setup shop. Its already descimated the US manufacturing sector but the US govt prints money so thats fine. Not so for India.

As a compromise, how about introducing this through a joint venture with an Indian retailer ?

Personally I think Walmart is a bad idea. A better idea would be many smaller brand stores like 7-11s. There are far more such small brand name companies around the world and they would provide stiff competition to one another while giving suppliers & consumers a choice nstead of becoming a monopoly squeezing suppliers, poor farmer profits and importing tons of crap.

[Sanjay M]

People care less about Wal-Mart and buying plastic dogsh*t made in China, but care more about buying food. Carrefour is more known for groceries than Wal-Mart, which has only recently started moving into them.

Govt should definitely open up to mass-retailers of food, since it will improve produce demand and agricultural profits.
Best for these to be opened up in forward-looking states like Gujarat, where they can get a solid foothold and show their benefits to the public.
Once this happens, then word of mouth will spread and other states will be forced to open up.

[Sanjay M]

da "shooparrpowerr" is looking a lot like sub-saharan Africa:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/world ... 9food.html

[joshvajohn]

There should be strict laws about Scan centres. A Strict law is needed against foeticide. There is a need to give preferences for women in jobs and in other opportunities. Dedicated IITs and IIMS for women also needed. otherwise men are not going to let women to shine and sometimes outshine them.

India's censues reveals a glaring gap: girls
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-develo ... -foeticide

Millions of girls lost to selective abortion in India: study
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... 292561.121

Girl child still not welcomed by educated India
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/girl-child-s ... 818-3.html

[joshvajohn]

New Campaign Targets Gendercide, Sex-Selection Abortions
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/06/01/new- ... abortions/

What would be the best suggestion for monitoring Scan centres? should they be allowed to do scanning only if the doctor perscribe? how to stop them from revealing gender of the baby?

[joshvajohn]

Child labour robs country of 1.2 lakh cr annually: Report
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 830855.cms

[joshvajohn]

Spurt in farmer suicides in Bundelkhand
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 831476.cms

[Ravi Karumanchiri]

Who pollutes: The rich or the poor?
India's prime minister is allowing India's environment to be destroyed in order to cater to powerful foreign investors.

Vandana Shiva Last Modified: 26 Jul 2011 06:41

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/op ... 14404.html