The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

OPINION

RUN-UP TO THE UNION BUDGET
Farmers in difficult straits
Agriculture deserves fair deal in national interest
Sucha Singh Gill
Agriculture, though a state subject, has experienced a considerable involvement of the Union Government for many years. It started with the takeover of foodgrains trade in the 1950s, but concern for meeting food requirements of the country increased further involvement of the Central Government through programmes such as Intensive Agricultural District Programme in 1961, Intensive Agricultural Area Programme in 1964-65, establishment of the Agricultural Pricing Commission in 1965 (renamed as Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) for fixing minimum support prices for agricultural products and the incorporation of the FCI for procurement of foodgrains for distribution under the PDS and maintenance of food security, signing of GATT Agreements in 1994 which included the Agreement on Agriculture and removal of quantitative restrictions on the import of all commodities, including agricultural products, from April 1, 2001, for observing compliance with the WTO guidelines. Agriculture, therefore, is affected significantly by the Union Budget and agriculturalists expect redressal of some of their significant problems which they have come to face in the wake of policy changes made by the Union Government.

FOLLOW-UP

Help Age India: in the service of the deprived lot
Reeta Sharma
‘Help Age India’ is a well known name. It completes 25 years in October this year. From a humble beginning in 1978, today, Help Age India has enormous presence all over the country. Its physical infrastructure includes a head office in New Delhi, four regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi besides 29 other offices in the country.

TRENDS & POINTERS

Learn traffic sense & much else from ants
The ant world appears to have outperformed humans to solve the perennial problem to traffic jams, a study reveals. Millions of the insects patiently following a simple lane structure ensures they all get to their destination as quickly as possible and with no delays, according to the study.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

Pak battering NAM

Give Pakistan a multilateral forum and it promptly puts on its hate-India hat. Self-appointed President Pervez Musharraf would have surprised himself more than the people in Pakistan had he not turned the 13th Non-Aligned Movement summit into a forum for spitting venom against India. Copies of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s proposed address were circulated well in advance primarily to tell Pakistan that India had no intention to rake up bilateral issues. But General Musharraf has seldom shown even a modicum of diplomatic decency in dealing with overtures for dialogue by the Indian leadership. He embarrassed Mr Vajpayee by manipulating, unhappily, even a section of the Indian media for spitting venom at his host through a surreptitiously planned live television coverage of the unscheduled breakfast meeting with journalists when he was invited to Agra. He thinks he is clever, but in international politics Musharrafism is associated with diplomatically inappropriate conduct. His performance at the NAM summit was no different. The people whom he claims to represent would have been more happy had he made some useful contribution to the debate on economic cooperation for dealing with imperialistic tendencies of the USA in a unipolar world. In his address General Musharraf had the temerity to equate the Palestinian struggle for an independent homeland with the Pakistan-sponsored acts of terrorism in Kashmir. The North-North ganging up should have seen the NAM leaders pay undivided attention to increased South-South cooperation on a range of issues like health, education and infrastructure development for speeding up the process of economic growth. But the Pakistan President used the forum for what can be called battering NAM rather go along with the general mood at the summit.

At the pre-summit parleys a broad agreement had emerged on redefining global terrorism by putting the name of Israel in the rogues’ gallery for its acts of genocide against the homeless Palestinians. President Musharraf’s uncalled for reference to Kashmir left Mr Vajpayee with no option but to depart from the prepared text and answer his neighbour point by point on how and why the Palestinian struggle could not be equated with the Pak-sponsored proxy war in Kashmir. Of course, the very objective for which the NAM summit was called was badly bruised because of Pakistan’s obsession with using any multilateral forum it is invited for attacking India. The world is passing through a critical stage not because of the threat of Iraq unleashing its so-called weapons of mass destruction, but because of American cussedness to heed the anti-war writing in bold print on the global wall. The summit was an occasion for holding hands and sending out a powerful message that the impoverished South had decided to fashion its destiny not through over-dependence on the crumbs of the North but increased cooperation on issues of common interest among member-nations. Who will remember the emphasis that most NAM leaders laid on resolving the impasse on Iraq through the multilateral route of NAM and other similar groupings being involved in finding a fair and acceptable solution? NAM leaders were prepared to tell America where it stood in terms of global support to its ill-conceived plan to attack Iraq. President Musharraf’s provocative speech made sure that NAM would have to wait until the next summit for proving its relevance in a unipolar world.

Elections in North-East

Elections to Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya Assemblies on February 26 have expectedly generated considerable interest far and wide. The three states in the North-East have been facing more or less identical socio-economic problems. Years of insurgency has affected development considerably. Insurgency and unemployment have dominated the campaigning by all the political parties in these states. The CPM-led Left Front has been ruling Tripura in the past 10 years. While the ruling coalition under the leadership of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar is seeking a third term, the Congress is giving a stiff fight to the Left Front. With insurgency as its main focus in the elections to the 60-seat State Assembly, the Left Front has accused the Congress-Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) alliance of having joined hands with insurgents. The Congress has refuted the charge by blaming CPM rule for the growth of militancy in the state, and that during its rule between 1988 and 1993, there was no ethnic conflict in Tripura. In the context of the divide between the Bengalis and the tribals (which started in the wake of the Mandai massacre of June, 1980), the Congress-INPT alliance seems to have caused concern among the Bengalis as the “tribal-militants” have been targeting them for years. Like Tripura, Nagaland too has seen political stability. Its Chief Minister, Mr S.C.Jamir, of the Congress is now seeking a third term. Unfortunately, the goodwill and ambience generated by the ceasefire agreement between the Union Government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) is being misused by some political parties. Violence cast a shadow on the elections here. The abduction of 15 people, believed to be the supporters of the Congress, allegedly by the NSCN (I-M) on February 22, has given a new twist to the electoral strategies of the political parties. The Opposition boycotted the 1998 elections, but seems determined to put up a tough fight now. The Congress has charged the NSCN(I-M) cadres with asking people not to vote for it. Village councils and community leaders wield immense clout and hopefully they will help the Election Commission in the smooth conduct of the elections.

In sharp contrast to the cycles of political stability in Tripura and Nagaland is the case of Meghalaya. This state has witnessed the most unstable phase of governance during the last five years. Rampant corruption and whimsical policies of as many as six governments have resulted in virtual bankruptcy of the state. Many Centrally-sponsored schemes have not been implemented and the funds siphoned off. At stake is the prestige of former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A.Sangma, general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The results of the 60-seat Assembly election will vindicate his stand against the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress. Interestingly, though the Congress is ruling Meghalaya with the NCP as its coalition partner, both are contesting the elections independently. Ironically, campaigning in Cherrapunjee reached a crescendo last week. Though known for receiving the maximum rainfall in the country (12,000 inches annually), Cherrapunjee is now in the grip of acute water scarcity. This constituency is represented by no less a person than Chief Minister F.A.Khanglam in the State Assembly. Whoever wins in the three states, one thing is clear: unless insurgency and ethnic conflicts are resolved expeditiously, there can be no hope of socio-economic development in this backward and neglected region.

OPINION

RUN-UP TO THE UNION BUDGET
Farmers in difficult straits
Agriculture deserves fair deal in national interest
Sucha Singh Gill

Agriculture, though a state subject, has experienced a considerable involvement of the Union Government for many years. It started with the takeover of foodgrains trade in the 1950s, but concern for meeting food requirements of the country increased further involvement of the Central Government through programmes such as Intensive Agricultural District Programme in 1961, Intensive Agricultural Area Programme in 1964-65, establishment of the Agricultural Pricing Commission in 1965 (renamed as Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) for fixing minimum support prices (MSPs) for agricultural products and the incorporation of the FCI for procurement of foodgrains for distribution under the PDS and maintenance of food security, signing of GATT Agreements in 1994 which included the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) and removal of quantitative restrictions (QRs) on the import of all commodities, including agricultural products, from April 1, 2001, for observing compliance with the WTO guidelines. Agriculture, therefore, is affected significantly by the Union Budget and agriculturalists expect redressal of some of their significant problems which they have come to face in the wake of policy changes made by the Union Government. Moreover, state governments’ capability to solve agricultural crises has been nearly undermined by their fiscal bankruptcy. At the same time, the Union Government under the pressure of the Bretton Woods institutions is pressuring the state governments and pushing the agenda of economic reforms with negative implications for agriculture.

The issue of mounting foodgrain stocks (70 million tonnes on July 1, 2002) involving the locking of Rs 5,3978 crore as in March, 2002, has assumed considerable significance. It is threatening to dismantle the procurement system at MSPs. This problem has cropped up because the offtake under the PDS has declined considerably leading to a fall in the per capita availability of food. This stood at 468.5 gram in 1991 and 468.2 gram in 1997 but declined to 390.6 gram in 2001 (Economic Survey, 2001-2002) i.e. 16.57 per cent. This had accounted for a decline in foodgrains consumption in the country to the extent of 29.10 million tonnes per year. This has been caused by two factors: One, change from the universal PDS to the targeted PDS to deny the benefits to persons (just) above poverty line causing hardships to poor non-holders of yellow cards. Two, an increase in the issue price of foodgrains making it higher than the market price. Instead of dismantling the central procurement system under the MSP, one would expect that a decision is taken to revert back to the universal PDS and the issue price is kept in check (through an enhanced food subsidy) at a level even below the purchase price. This would solve the problem of mounting/unmanageable food stocks on the one hand and make foodgrains available to the poor and save them from starvation.

A suggestion coming from an influential section of economists and policy makers to lower the procurement prices of wheat and paddy need to be ignored on two counts. In the absence of equally viable alternative crops, lowering of prices in the face of the rising cost of inputs would spell doom for farming and farmers. Already more than 58 per cent of the total work force (2001 census) depends on agriculture and allied activities and earn less than 25 per cent of the GDP, recording a per capita income less than one-half of the national average compared to the two times the national average income cornered by persons engaged in non-agricultural activities.

Secondly, though stocks of foodgrains are very high, the national food security is fragile. A 10 per cent shift in the cropping pattern away from cereals accompanied by the normalised offtake under the universal PDS would reduce the stocks considerably. This country cannot afford to shift a sizeable area away from cereals at this juncture, without increasing considerably the per acre yield of cereals. Till we are not able to increase substantially the productivity level and reduce the costs of production the MSP cannot be reduced. When the cost of production is increasing the farmers can be compensated through bonus over and above the MSP. The difference between a high MSP and a low issue price can be met through a food subsidy to the poor and it is permitted under the WTO.

The increase in the market arrival of foodgrains in the traditionally non-surplus states (other than Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Andhra Pradesh) demands that the Central procurement system at the MSP is extended to those states. At the same time, timely payment is made to state agencies which procure on behalf of the FCI. At present the Union Government owes more than Rs 4,000 crore to Punjab’s procurement agencies and has not lifted levy sugar worth more than Rs 400 crore from the sugar mills of the state which have withheld payments to farmers running into Rs 100 crore for the sugarcane supplied. Transparent and non-discriminatory operations are expected from the Union Government irrespective of the fact which political party is running the show in the states. This would avoid unnecessary harassment of the farming community.

It is time to move from first generation Green Revolution technology and crops to new (latest) generation technology and high value crops. This would increase productivity, reduce the cost of production and increase the income of farmers. This can be done by making increased investment in the areas of research in new crops and technology. At the same time, this would require a massive investment in post-harvest procurement, handling and processing of new crops. Farmers may not go for new crops unless a remunerative MSP is fixed by the Union Government and arrangements for quick market clearance are made. This is possible if a wide range of state interventions in research, extension, purchase, storage, processing and transport are made. India being a large country with wide variations in agro-climate, different regions have comparative advantage for different crops. This will require crop diversification programmes at the level of different agro-climatic zones. Obviously, crop diversification programmes have to be planned and implemented at state and zonal levels. The states, being in financial crisis, have no resources for this purpose. Punjab has already submitted a proposal with the Planning Commission for Rs 1,280 crore to introduce a crop adjustment programme. It would be advisable to announce the establishment of a Crop Adjustment Fund of Rs 1,00,000 crore out of which state governments are allowed grants for five years to introduce crop adjustment programmes away from wheat and paddy but not for an area more than 10 per cent of that already under cereals in the first phase. The package of crop diversification must include a high input subsidy and incentive MSP along with massive investment in research in agricultural universities and reorientation of extension services. At the same time, a large fund (say Rs 50,000 crore) should be announced for R & D in agriculture.

Last year’s drought has exposed the fragility of India’s agricultural production and its devastating effects on the poor farmers. One lesson which can be drawn from it (in view of Punjab’s experience) is that to stabilise agricultural production, expansion of the area under irrigation is of utmost significance. This will require conservation and efficient use of every drop of surface and ground water. Ever since India opted for a new economic policy, the investment in irrigation and power sectors has suffered and area under irrigation has not expanded. If India is to go in for proper crop planning one would expect a large allocation of funds for the development and maintenance of irrigation and power projects.

In fact, the level of both public and private investment is declining in agriculture. Large works require public investment to be supplemented by efforts of the farming community. With the declining profitability in agriculture, the capacity of farmers to make investment is seriously impaired. This will require public efforts in R & D to make agriculture profitable on the one hand and make more funds available at the disposal of farmers. The financial sector reforms have reduced the growth of credit in the rural sector. Commercial banks are not showing any interest in this area and the cooperative network has its own problems. Without increasing the flow of credit to agriculture on easy terms, it will be difficult to introduce crop diversification.

The majority of Indian farmers (70 per cent) are small and the viability of farming is faced with a question mark. One of the reasons for the non-viability of small and marginal farmers, apart from the small size of their farms and lack of resources, is related to declining employment in agriculture. Till alternative arrangements are made for their employment outside agriculture, efforts need to be made to increase job opportunities in agriculture and allied activities. This is possible through the integration of crop production with marketing and processing activities. Individually, poor farmers may not be able to accomplish this task, but collectively they can. This requires freeing cooperatives from the clutches of bureaucrats and the introduction of a whole range of new cooperatives and their encouragement and promotion. The Centrally sponsored schemes under the IRDP or employment schemes need to be reoriented state-wise to make them effective.

The suggestion of the Kelkar Task Force to impose income tax on agriculture by constitutional amendment to shift it to the Union List needs to be ignored. Eminent fiscal expert Raja J. Chelliah has opposed it on the grounds of operational difficulties and the requirement of a large additional staff.

It is time to re-examine the Customs duties structure, especially from the perspective of crop diversification. Globally, agriculture is highly subsidised, especially in the developed countries. Many a times there are hidden subsidies not known to the outside world. The proposed new crops/agriculture products such as oilseeds, pulses, dairy products, horticulture crops, etc, may not succeed if they are not adequately protected from outside competition at least for 10 years. Customs duties need to be fixed at such a level that they cover cost differences and an adequate rate of return to the farmers. This needs to be done under the Policy of Crop Adjustment Programme. At the same time, research in agricultural commodity markets needs to be encouraged and regular monitoring of international prices and production is done and farmers are informed about the risks associated with them. There is need to establish such agencies at the level of each state.

Since the major task of restructuring of agriculture falls in the share of state governments, their financial capability needs to be enhanced. This can be done by making all the Union taxes shareable. When the division of taxes between the Union and state governments was made, the service economy was very small in terms of its share of the GDP. Now, it accounts for more than 50 per cent of the GDP but the taxes on it are not shared with the states. If all the taxes of the Union Government are shared with the states, their fiscal position may improve and they may be able to intervene effectively in achieving crop restructuring. This area equally needs attention at this juncture and is very much related to the requirements of agriculture.

The writer is Professor of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala.

FOLLOW-UP

Help Age India: in the service of the deprived lot
Reeta Sharma

‘Help Age India’ is a well known name. It completes 25 years in October this year. From a humble beginning in 1978, today, Help Age India has enormous presence all over the country. Its physical infrastructure includes a head office in New Delhi, four regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi besides 29 other offices in the country.

Help Age India was founded by one noble soul, Mr Jackson Cole, in 1978. Its first patron was former Vice-President of India, Mr M. Hidayatullah. Its mission has been to work for the cause and care of disadvantaged aged persons and to improve their quality of life.

No wonder, the old, deprived and neglected have been the major concerns of Help Age India. The organisation has meticulously researched and identified the areas where in the senior citizens of the country are worst hit. “Older persons are the fastest growing section of Indian population. This is because of medical advancement, low fertility and low mortality. Sadly, while the numbers have increased, the quality of their life has deteriorated. The reasons for this are industrialisation, migration, urbanisation and even westernisation. This has further resulted into break-up of joint family system, deterioration in value system and pressing demands on living arrangements. It is in this backdrop that our organisation is trying to achieve our aim of providing a dignified life to the old. Today, we are supporting over 600 old age homes being run in the country. Help Age India has also sponsored 132 day-care centres in India”, reveals, Maj.-Gen. Inderjit Singh Dhillon (retd.), the present Director-General of Help Age India.

To reach out to the poorest of the poor, elderly, old, Help Age India started mobile medi-care units. Today, 52 such mobile vans are in operation, which go to rural areas and more than 1.25 million old people receive treatment from these vans, which are equipped with a doctor and free medicines. So far, above three million have already used these medi-care units”, elaborates, Maj-Gen.Dhillon.

As per Census-2001, there are 82 million old people in the country. This number is expected to increase to 177 million by 2025. Presently, there are 73 per cent illiterate, elderly poor of which 75 per cent live in rural areas. Of the entire old population of India, while 40 per cent live below the poverty line another 33 per cent are just above the poverty line. Of these as many as 12 million urgently need cataract operations. To this number three million get added every year.

The dire need of cataract operations held the attention of Help Age India. Hence it opened an eye hospital in Sector 26 of Noida. “Mobile vans are sent to rural areas to identify old patients to finally assist them in cataract operations in the Noida hospital. All treatments and post-operation care is free of any cost. So far, 3.5 million cataract surgeries have been undertaken by us of which 50,000 were done last year alone. We now intend approaching all the chief ministers for providing us some land and assistance to build such hospitals in all the states of India”, informs Gen. Dhillon.

Help Age India also started a unique ‘Adopt-A-Gran-Programme’. Under this school children are encouraged to adopt one destitute older person each. While, Help Age India supports them financially in cash or kind, the children, on the other hand, are being groomed to provide company and emotional bond to these lonely souls. Incidentally, this programme has become a great success and more and more schools and children are responding to this idea.

For post-earthquake rehabilitation in Gujarat, Help Age India received Rs 11 crore from the European Union. Ever since three trusts — Shroff Foundation, Kutch Vikas Trust and Navjeevan Trust — have been working on a war footing on behalf of Help Age India in Gujarat. ‘Self-help Groups’ have also been formed in the rural areas of devastated Gujarat. Six mobile vans have been put into operation, each with a doctor and a pharmacist providing health care and free medicines.

“Besides such gigantic support structures in which Help Age India has already spent Rs 152 million to assist victims of flood, cyclones and earthquakes it also has come out with a ‘Senior Citizens’ Guide’. This informs the old of various schemes, policy decisions and venues where they can seek for themselves. It also details the rights and privileges of the old. Presently, Help Age India is proposing to open Hospice hospital for the terminally ill cancer patients amongst destitute old people.

Help Age India received donations from both within India and outside to the tune of Rs 600 million between 1978 and 1997. Today, in the year-end 2002, its financial strength stands at Rs 329.5 million”, says Gen. Dhillon.

Last but not the least, a follow-up on Maj.-Gen. Inderjit Singh Dhillon, who has been selected out of 400 candidates to head this organisation, is equally revealing. He was credited for building the most tedious “Wangtu Bridge” ahead of Shimla. This bridge has found a pride of place in the Guinness Book of Records. His regiment was decorated with 12 awards for having succeeded in building this bridge. Again, the great Nicobars had received their first ever road built by Maj-Gen. Dhillon. He also had earned pride by building “Kirketchu Bridge” short of Kargil in Ladakh.

TRENDS & POINTERS

Learn traffic sense & much else from ants

The ant world appears to have outperformed humans to solve the perennial problem to traffic jams, a study reveals.

Millions of the insects patiently following a simple lane structure ensures they all get to their destination as quickly as possible and with no delays, according to the study. Vast armies of ants have developed far more logical and successful methods of getting from A to B than we have, the authors say.

Biologists at Bristol and Princeton universities believe that the way army ants tackle the day-to-day problems of getting to their destination could teach commuters a thing or two about stress-free travel. Ants form effective traffic lanes which they follow almost blindly and without question. It is crucial that every member of each colony follows the trail systems precisely.

“Even though they are blind and have tiny brains compared to us, the rules of behaviour the New World army ants follow are very simple and they work,” said Prof Nigel Franks of Bristol University, co-author of the report.

Humanity would do a lot better if we realised that a lot of problems have been solved in the natural world. The huge societies of ants parallel the way we live in large cities. “They face similar problems to us such as waste disposal, management infrastructures and managing large level of traffic.”

“The similarities with our society end there. People are selfish,” said Professor Franks. “Everyone wants to get to work quickly and doesn’t care what happens to the others. The only way lane systems such as these would work on our roads is if drivers were patient.”

Millions of New World army ants were filmed in their natural habitat — rain forest on the banks of the Panama Canal. The images were then transferred to computers so that scientists could analyse their behaviour in detail. The traffic lanes the ants formed during huge swarm raids could be up to 20 metres wide and 100 metres long.

“The ants are working together for the common benefit of society,” said Franks. DPA