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Gen Singh’s age row
Ombudsmen for education |
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Leaking exam papers
Republican primaries in US Mitt Romney is the likely nominee
The Potter phenomenon
A market monopoly of traders works against the interests of farmers and consumers. Farmers cannot sell their produce to the highest bidder outside a regulated market. This results in low remuneration to growers and high prices for consumers
Scope for terminal markets
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Gen Singh’s age row
Army Chief
General V.K. Singh’s decision to drag the Union government to the Supreme Court over the dispute regarding his date of birth is unprecedented for a serving service chief and reflects a regrettable escalation in the stand-off between the Army and the Union government. Significantly, if General Singh’s date of birth is taken as May 10, 1951, for which he is fighting, he will retire 10 months later than now stipulated, in 2013. This will have an effect on who will succeed him as the next Army Chief. That perhaps explains the heightened interest within the Army and some behind-the-scene activity that is going on. While the merits of the case will presumably be contested bitterly in the court, it is unfortunate that the matter was allowed to come to such a pass. The controversy arose due to different sets of records maintained in the Adjutant General and Military Secretary branches of the Army headquarters. While the Adjutant General’s branch, which deals with pay, perks and pensions, maintains General Singh’s date of birth as May 10, 1951, the military secretary’s office, which deals with appointments and promotions, has it as May 10, 1950, in its records. It indeed speaks poorly of the system of military administration that this issue has been hanging fire for such a long time without a firm decision one way or another. It was also incumbent on General Singh to have insisted over time to get the records reconciled and straightened out even as the issue came to the fore every time he was promoted. It would be in the fitness of things if the tangle is resolved speedily whether inside the court or outside it so that it does not grievously affect the morale of the armed forces. The attention of the forces cannot be allowed to be diverted from the defence of the country’s borders, come what may. Both the Union government and General Singh need to ponder over the consequences of failing to deal with the issue speedily and sensitively.
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Ombudsmen for education
The
appointment of an ombudsman in every recognised and Central institution of higher education will help address student grievances such as denial of admissions, violations of rules during admissions, withholding of documents and non-refund of charges. An ombudsman will act as a guardian of student and public interest. By sorting out complaints locally it will reduce the rush of litigation in courts. The step was earlier part of the Bill on educational tribunals but it has got stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling UPA does not have a majority. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, impatient for reforms, has got it through with an executive order. The HRD Ministry has moved a number of Bills which are held up at various stages of law-making. This is because parliamentarians spend more time on disrupting work than clearing the piled-up legislative work. These include the Copyright Amendment Bill and the Architects Amendment Bill. The National Education Tribunals Bill is opposed on the ground that it does not include any of the recommendations of the parliamentary committee. It is seen as infringing on the rights of private educational institutions. Critics point to the UPA government’s tendency to centralise powers and put everything under some bureaucrat. The appointment of ombudsmen in top institutes and universities will help clear only part of the mess in the education sector. The practice of charging capitation fee is illegal but still rampant in private medical and technical institutions. The country has a number of regulators like the University Grants Commission, the Medical Council of India and the All India Council of Technical Education. Yet malpractices continue. Parliamentarians should rise above narrow interests and speed up the passing of education Bills. Public as well as private institutions have a vital role to play in a growing India and their need for functional autonomy should be respected, while violations of laws and rules should be sternly dealt with.
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Leaking exam papers
In
2003 when the CAT (Common Admission Test for Indian Institutes of Management) examination papers were leaked, and consequently cancelled for the first time in their history, the rate for ‘leaking’ a paper was believed to be Rs 2.4 lakh. The touts just ‘showed’ the paper to the legitimate candidate, and did not let the candidate leave the ‘ place’ till the examination time, to secure the ‘leak’ and their own necks. In the last eight years technology has advanced, upgrading the rates of the ‘leak’, which has now reportedly touched Rs 25-35 lakh for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences entrance test paper, thanks to the use of technical devices. The two doctors arrested last week for leaking papers of the Post-Graduate Medical Entrance Exam for AIIMS used sophisticated microphones and software to e-mail images of the question paper and used Bluetooth concealed in their clothes to offer answers. Examination paper leakage is organised nationally by professionals who work in connivance with some authorities in the institutions conducting examinations. Last year the CBI probed the role of some doctors of the AIIMS and a few printing press employees in another question paper leak case and busted a gang that was operating through the country leaking papers of several competitive exams. At the PGI, Chandigarh, in 2010, the admission test for two junior doctors was written by impersonators. The white collar crime is not limited to forgery and cheating for money and property alone. In a highly competitive procedure for admission to professional courses, where the seats available are in hundreds while the contestants are in millions, the scarcity of seats breed crime of this nature. Unfortunately, there are many takers for the quick route methods to get entry into these prestigious colleges, even at the cost of risking arrest. Only technology can defeat cheating in exams supported by technology. As devised by the PGI, Chandigarh, using portable biometric machines to take individual thumb impressions and finger prints at the time of the written exam, interview and joining of the professional, to match the record would be a way out.
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There are three truths: my truth, your truth and the truth. — Chinese proverb
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Republican primaries in US Mitt Romney is the likely nominee IN September 2010 when I had last arrived in Washington the great excitement across the United States was over the sudden and unexpected emergence of an entity called the Tea Party. It was essentially a combination of motley groups much to the right of the traditional Republican Right that was already so conservative as to send shivers down the spines of those believing in equality in a plural society. So strong was this surge towards right-wing extremism that in November of that year the Republican Party, in the biennial Congressional elections, wrested control of the House of Representatives and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. Given the intense mutual dislike of the two sides, since then it has been one long story of gridlock in the US. While the Republican aspirants to presidency are fighting one another acrimoniously in different parts of the country, in Washington DC the battle royal is between President Barack Obama and the Republican-dominated Congress. This time around the excitement in America seems to be even more than 15 months ago, if only because at stake is nothing less than the presidential election in November next. The contest among Republican rivals is both vituperative and entertaining. So far the primaries have taken place in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire and the next one is due in South Carolina later this week. Television coverage of these, of what rival candidates are saying about one another and what others have to say about them collectively or individually, reminds me of what TV channels back home did during the Anna movement. The acres of newsprint that every newspaper here is devoting every day to the primaries exceed anything any Indian newspaper can afford to spare for any event whatsoever. Interestingly, all this is happening at a time when the US faces grim challenges in a whole lot of trouble spots in the world of great concern and significance to it. Of these, the fast escalating confrontation with Iran may be the worst but others — ranging from Egypt and Syria to Afghanistan and Pakistan — are no less grave. However, these are problems left to policy makers and pundits to worry about; the people at large are more focused on who is going to rule them from January 20, 2013. The primaries are going to last until the end of March and, therefore, any prediction at this stage may appear premature. Yet there is striking unanimity among observers and opinion makers in this country that Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts, is the winner in the race for the Republican nomination. For, according to most reports, the Republican ranks, despite their many differences, regard him as the man most likely to defeat Mr Obama. And it is perhaps needless to add that the single-point Republican objective is to see to it that Mr Obama remains a single-term President. Time was when it looked as if Mr Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House and a powerful orator and debater, might be ahead of all other candidates, including Mr Romney. But that possibility has receded almost decisively. In Iowa Mr Gingrich plummeted to the third place. Mr Romney’s victory also was not at all impressive. In fact, his victory over the nearest rival was with a minute proportion of 1 per cent vote — a margin even smaller than that with which Mr George W. Bush had triumphed over Mr Al Gore in the 2,000 presidential polls. However, in New Hampshire , considered by many as a “pace-setting” state, Mr Romney won convincingly, and Mr Gingrich was last on the slate six. More importantly, except for sitting presidents no Republican candidate has ever won both Iowa and Hampshire primaries which is what made Mr Romney declare: “We have made history.” If, as expected, he does win South Carolina his grip on the nomination could become “unshakable”. This said, a caveat is immediately called for. The bane of the Romney campaign could well be what is ironically called “Bain Capital” that he once owned. His record during those years could undercut his plans and ambitions. There is an avalanche of allegations — most conspicuously by rival contestants for the nomination — that Mr Romney used his ownership of the equity-capital firm to make huge profits at the cost of thousands of employees he fired and the companies that went bankrupt because of his actions. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is a contestant, has gone so far as to call Mr Romney a “vulture capitalist”, not a venture capitalist. Since this undermines Mr Romney’s main claim to presidency — that with his private sector experience he is a better job creator than Mr Obama — he has hit back at his critics in kind. He has called them “opponents of private enterprise and capitalism” — there can be no worse crime in Republican eyes. But this hasn’t helped so far. His refusal to release his tax return and give details of his wealth has added to his difficulties. Meanwhile, a remarkable new development is taking place in the US that would need a more detailed exploration later. There is much greater awareness of, and protest against, growing disparities in incomes, and the worsening plight of the poor and the middle class. It was reported the other day that the income of the richest 1 per cent Americans rose by 300 per cent during the last 30 years. During the same period that of “median households” rose by only 40 per cent, but to no avail because since 1999 it has been falling continuously. Strangely, the Republican Right is more vocal on the subject than the Left that is perhaps busy with the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Republican remedy, however, is more free enterprise and less and less of government! A report by the Pew Research Centre issued this week states that about “two-thirds of Americans perceive a strong conflict between the rich and the poor”. This is 19 per cent up since 2009. On this the comment of The New York Times is: “Conflict between the rich and the poor now eclipses racial strain and irritation between immigrants and native-born as the greatest source of tension in American
society”.
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The Potter phenomenon Succumbing
to the pressure of the family youngsters, we went to see the latest Harry Potter (HP) film — actually it didn’t take too much pressure as I am a fan of HP! The eight film in the series and the 2nd part of the finale was an exhilarating, action-packed spectacle that delivered a magnificent finish. It was a special delight for me as my son is about HP’s age and I can relate to the growing up problems and confusion that children of today have to face. The story is both simple and complex. It is an epic showdown between good and evil. And what a showdown it is — tense, thrilling, breathtaking and deserves any superlative you can think of. Harry, Ron and Hermione are working to destroy Voldemort's (the bad guy) lifelines. They believe the next one is hidden away in a bank vault in Gringotts — the wizarding bank. The opening sequence of the entry in the vault in a high-speed roller-coaster is exhilarating. The complex mode of entry made me think that perhaps this is why it is so difficult for the Indian government to approach the Swiss banks to get our black money back from there! The vision of chaotic frenetically replicating goblets and napkin rings in the vault (my son’s room is like that!) and a stunning Ukrainian dragon ride that takes us from the bowels of the earth to the heavens above in seconds is superb. Then one moves onwards next to Hogwarts (the school) to look for the other lifelines. But Hogwarts has changed. Snape (another bad guy who starts as a good guy in the first set of movies — bad because of a vow,which cannot be broken!) is the new headmaster as he has killed the old one. But there are many things that Harry doesn't know, the ultimate secret being the one that revolves around his very being. Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have done the impossible here. They are possibly the only set of actors that one has seen grow up on the big screen and as the actors grew up on a personal level, they added their maturity to their characters. The nerdy children have grown up to be confident young men and women — just as my son and my nieces and nephews have become. Alan Rickman and thespian Dame Maggie Smith as Snape and Professor McGonagall, respectively, gave their all in this movie. Rickman has a part of the movie entirely dedicated to his character's personal story. It is also one of my favourite parts of the book — did I tell you that you must read the books (all seven) to really understand the film. However, I digress — Professor McGonagall stands up for Harry and when she does, the whole theatre will explode in applause. Maggie Smith fortifying Hogwarts with concrete knights who jump off the castle at her command — and then cracking a joke to lighten up the mood… just the way I like it! The movie has some Indian angles too — one of the child actresses is an Indian called Miss Patel (there used to be two — I wonder where the other one has gone). There was also a fleeting shot of a Sikh wizard in an earlier episode (the half-blood Prince) and then there is a snake called ‘Nagini’. And yes — the best part — at the end they show a middle- aged HP and friends. And lo and behold, even the wizards have a paunch that makes me — a mere Muggle (a non-magician) — feel real
good!
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A market monopoly of traders works against the interests of farmers and consumers. Farmers cannot sell their produce to the highest bidder outside a regulated market. This results in low remuneration to growers and high prices for consumers
The
abortive attempt to introduce foreign direct investment in retail has illustrated the power of the Indian trading community and the helplessness of farmers as also consumers in the face of such power. It has also showed that much more ground work needs to be done in different ways if this measure is to be successfully introduced in India.
First of all, in order to understand the nature of resistance to FDI in retail, we need to see the extent of restrictions placed on the marketing of farm produce by different states merely in terms of the domestic market and its players. The removal of these restrictions needs to be the starting point of any long-term strategy to reduce the numbers of intermediaries between the farmer and the consumer and concomitantly to ensure both better prices to farmers and lower rates to consumers. At present the market for farm produce in India is regulated through the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts enacted by various states. As on date there are over 7,500 regulated markets throughout the country, controlled by market committees mostly at the district and sub-district levels. The APMC Acts serve as the single most important instrument through which traders and middlemen control the sale of farm produce and thereby farmers.
Limiting market access Originally conceived as a means of protecting farmers and ensuring remunerative prices for farm produce, today in an age of better communication and connectivity, they serve precisely the opposite function. These Acts expressly forbid the sale of farm produce at the farmers’ fields or at any place other than the designated market for this purpose as notified by the respective APMCs. The only exemption allowed to this provision is the sale by the farmer to another person solely for the latter’s domestic consumption. Any violation of the Act is an offence punishable by law, including imprisonment up to six months, in most states. What is more, while growers are legally supposed to be part of the committees, on the ground this is far from being the reality. According to the Acts, APMCs are constituted either by election or nomination by the government from among farmers and traders and some representatives of the government. However, given the financial muscle of traders, they have penetrated the ranks of the growers and it is they who in effect control the market committees. This is very well known to officials in state governments though given the political power of trading groups, it becomes politically difficult to do anything about it. Given that they control the market committees and through the legal provisions of the APMC Act they ensure lack of competition, middlemen force the farmer to go to APMCs for selling produce and thereby ensure his helplessness. The result is that today farmers are legally forbidden to sell their produce to anyone other than the Market Committee. Given the poor financial standing and low reserves of farmers, they are forced to sell their crop at whatever price prevails in the market at the time. In effect a market monopoly has been established by traders as a general category, which works against farmers and against consumers. It is this which is the key to the problem of low remuneration to farmers and high prices for consumers.
Value-added services It was expected that the Market Committees would invest in packing, grading and warehousing facilities to provide value-added services. This expectation has been belied. Today out of the 7,557 regulated markets in India (official figures from the year 2005) only 1,079 have grading facilities; only 7% of all produce sold by farmers is graded and only 9% of all regulated markets have cold storages. Bidding procedures remain opaque and the APMCs are not interlinked electronically. Actually lack of competition has meant that Market Committees have little incentive to invest in warehousing or to improve material handling facilities. The result is that today for fruits and vegetables alone, roughly 30% of the produce is destroyed due to lack of marketing infrastructure. The APMC Acts were enacted with the expectation that growers would organise Market Committees but this expectation, which continues to be fondly expressed till date, does not take into account many ground realities. Farmers in India are notoriously independent and success stories in cooperation have been limited to the sugar and dairy industries where a significant level of value addition provides sufficient incentive for cooperation to be attractive to the farmer. Politically farmers are poorly organised and ineffective as interest groups. As individuals, the risk-bearing capacity of most growers is poor and the perishable nature of farm produce means that it is imperative for them to dispose of their produce fast at whatever the prevailing rate. Comparatively, it is far easier for traders, a smaller and richer group, to form and sustain a cartel. The writer is an IAS officer (1990 batch). The views expressed are personal
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Most
analyses of infrastructure for agricultural marketing in India acknowledge that regulated markets have not really served the intended purpose. The report of the working group of the Planning Commission on marketing infrastructure for the Eleventh Plan says as much. This and other reports speak of direct markets for farmers as an added measure as also terminal markets to be set up by private investors to take care of the problem. While the primary and secondary markets for agricultural produce at the district and sub-district levels would continue to be primarily the responsibility of the government, there is a definite scope for private investment in terminal markets. Terminal markets are major distribution centres where wholesalers buy the produce in bulk, and sell it to exporters, processors and retail chains; facilities for electronic auction, cleaning, grading and packing of produce along with cold storage are features of such markets. Such markets can also have backward integration with growers through collection centres, thereby providing a direct link between growers and consumers. The value of such markets is undoubted. But little is said about dismantling the regulatory structures erected by the APMC Acts or the fundamental provisions disenabling farmers from selling their produce to the highest bidder. One solution which has been suggested for the problem is to encourage private sector participation in the hope that perhaps the private sector may have sufficient incentive to make the necessary investments in cleaning, grading, packing and cold storages, which the APMCs have not been able to do. This would then provide some competition to the APMCs. The favoured route is the public-private partnership model with the state providing land and some subsidy and the private player bringing in capital and technological expertise. However, there are two problems. The first is that state governments are reluctant to amend the APMC Acts to allow private sector participation in the setting up of markets. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have amended their law to provide for terminal markets in fruits, vegetables and flowers but other farm produce remains a sacred cow. To believe that it is the prospect of foreign investment in a sensitive sector like agriculture which scares state governments would be a serious mis-reading of the situation. So powerful are trading groups that they have prevented domestic private players from entering agricultural marketing. None wishes their monopoly to be disturbed. Since a monopoly market designated by law is the perfect market situation for the monopolist, there is nothing that can be offered to him as an incentive to soften his stand. This is one monopoly that benefits traders by definition. Secondly, domestic players too have been reluctant to make capital investments in warehousing and terminal markets. The reasons for their reluctance are not difficult to see. The market for farm produce is never susceptible to political intervention by a variety of interest groups, nor is there any surety of consistency in policy or of state support. Witness the kind of resistance by trader groups and political furor faced by domestic retail chains in establishing their markets even in cities. In such circumstances, to make large capital investments where it is entirely possible that the entire investment might be compromised at any point of time, what to speak of returns, is a substantial financial risk. At an estimated level of investment of Rs 10,000 per metric tonne, the investment needed for one terminal market is Rs 50-60 crore. Any government policy to introduce FDI in retail needs to take account of these two problems if it is to have any hope of succeeding. The answers to the problems are not difficult but certainly they need political will. First, agricultural marketing must be shifted from the state list to the concurrent list so that the Centre can make the necessary legislative provisions. Secondly, a different model of public-private partnership needs to be found, given the problems agricultural marketing faces today. This is one field where the government needs to make an initial capital investment instead of seeking private investment. It is no one’s case that the government should run terminal markets; experience has shown that this is a job best left to private sector players. But certainly the government does have the wherewithal to make the initial capital investment. What is more, given the turnover of most mandis, it is likely that the government would recover its investment in about a decade. The Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board earned in 2008-09 an income of Rs 298 crore from market fees from 106 main market yards and 177 sub-market yards. Once these terminal markets are built, they can be leased out on a profit-sharing basis. It would be far easier and more viable as a financial proposition for major private sector players to take up such a task: all that they would then be risking is the working capital they invest. In sum, it is only by reforming domestic markets for domestic players and removing restrictions on the sale of farm produce, which have reduced farmers to the status of bonded labour, that the way for eventual FDI in retail would be paved.
— Meeta
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