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On poll
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Benchmark
of quality Right
move
When
people suspect rulers
Bicycles,
rickshaws then and now
Make sure farmers get
their due
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Benchmark of quality
Without
doubt Oscars remain the big moment in cinematic history. The 85th Academy Award presentation, which also saw the US First Lady Michelle Obama make her presence felt through a satellite appearance, was even more so. As always, the glamour quotient remained high. However, the real focus in the time-honoured tradition once again was on cinema, the very best and in innumerable departments. Prior to the ceremony, there might have been some issues with nominations as both Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck were ignored in the Best Director category. Indeed, it’s almost unprecedented that films not nominated in the Best Director category go on to win the Best Film Award. But it happened with Argo as it has with three films previously. India, whose only hopeful Jayashri nominated for the Original Song in “Life of Pi” couldn’t make it, can take heart in the fact that a film based on an India-related novel swept the awards. “Life of Pi”, the heart-warming survival saga of an Indian boy, not only won its director Ang Lee the coveted Best Director statuette but also picked up the honours in visual effects, cinematography and original musical score. India-centric films have notched many Oscars before as well. Back in time, it was “Gandhi” and more recently it was “Slumdog Millionaire.” Whether “Life of Pi’s” emphatic win would make Indian filmmakers sit up and ponder over why, when films with Indian themes make the grade, Indian cinema can’t be a toast at the Oscars; in China the triumph of Ang Lee, who is of Taiwanese origin, has already led to serious soul searching. The ripple effect of Oscars, however, is not always positive. Iran’s state television has dubbed Argo’s win a politically motivated move. The film is a positive depiction of the CIA’s rescue of six US diplomats from Tehran during the1979 Iran hostage crisis. Besides, there have been suggestions that the controversy over the graphic portrayal of torture of suspects in Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” marred its chances and restricted its tally to one that too tied with Skyfall for Best Sound Editing. But never mind the dissenting murmurs, Oscars remain the ultimate barometer of good cinema.
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Right move
In
a country where business magnates often make headlines for their ostentatious lifestyle, it is indeed heartening to note that at least some corporate companies are realising their social responsibility. Azim Premji, the Wipro chairman, who has transferred the company’s stocks worth a staggering Rs 12,300 crore to an endowment trust headed by him, is certainly not only worthy of commendation but also emulation. While Premji has become the first Indian to sign the Giving Pledge of dedicating a major part of his wealth to philanthropy, following in the footsteps of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, clearly we need more of his kind. More so since one of the many social initiatives of his trust is in the key area of education in rural areas. Education is without doubt a field in which the country has been facing a crisis. While a gnawing gap exists between the private and government-run schools, on the kind of education being imparted in rural India, the less said the better. That there are two India’s— one inhabited by the upwardly mobile educated class and the other by those languishing in poverty and hemmed in by illiteracy— is a well-established, albeit an unwanted, reality. What is not being realised with the urgency it deserves is that it’s not just education but parity in education standards that can become the biggest equaliser. Time and again it has been reiterated that if India has to meet its education goals private investment is must. The Premji trust’s commitment to open between 60 and 100 schools is a well-meaning initiative. but not enough to cater to the needs of a nation. While the number of children not going to schools has come down substantially, 2.28 million children are still out of schools. Not too long ago the philanthropists in India were far behind their counterparts in developed nations. In the past three years there has been a perceptible change. What needs to change further is not only how much they give but where their money can be best put to use. Equitable society is a goal that would serve the interests of not just underprivileged but even the affluent classes.
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Responsibility walks hand in hand with capacity and power. — J. G. Holland
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When people suspect rulers EVERYTHING under the Congress-led coalition at the Centre is going helter-skelter. Hardly does the bad smell of a scam settle down when another one crops up to foul the atmosphere. No government since independence has been so badly battered and shattered as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's has been. The Prime Minister himself exonerated the then Communications Minister, A Raja, now languishing in jail and facing 22 cases where the Prime Minister did not find even one. Yet, he is an honourable man, with not a spec of suspicion about his integrity. Similar are the credentials of Defence Minister A.K. Anthony under whose charge the helicopter purchase deal was finalised with the reported kickbacks of roughly Rs. 34,000 crore, the highest ever for a single contract. Yet, the fact remains that Anthony rubbished the kickbacks story which appeared some 11 months ago. The Prime Minister, after a long silence, has said that the government has "nothing to hide" and it is willing for a debate in Parliament. Thanks for small mercies. A debate is a crisscross of ideas and finer points. There is no accountability and no investigation. How does one find out who are the real culprits or recipients of the bribe? We know that the kickbacks were received. We also know who gave them. But we do not know who in India got them when the persons named as recipients deny having got the kickbacks. The Bofors gun scandal reads more or less the same way. A joint parliamentary committee (JPC) was also appointed. Till today there is no official confirmation of who got the kickbacks and how much. Once again we knew who gave it, but the years of efforts did not pinpoint the parties that received the money. As for the string of scandals in the Congress-led government, you cannot blame either Manmohan Singh or Anthony personally. It is even unthinkable because of their clean records in public life. Then you come to infer that they did not know. But how can you say that when the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is the place where the buck stops? The scams continued to get headlines for months and there is also evidence that the sanctions were given. That the PMO knew about them but the Prime Minister did not is a proposition hard to digest when the transactions were going on. It is probable, if not possible, that such a situation did obtain and that neither Dr Manmohan Singh nor Anthony knew what was happening under their nose. But then you expect some heads to roll when the scams come to light and particularly when you can spot out the officials in the loop. Why has no one been punished till today and why has nothing concrete emerged after the investigations? Except for the detention of a few bureaucrats and a couple of ministers, the business is as usual. It is evident that someone is protecting them. And it is no use making the familiar arguments after the horse had bolted. In fact, the whole matter boils down to a cover-up, which the government has done, though not properly, because some nosey media person has brought the house down. The government does not seem to be even sorry for what has happened to revive faith in governance. Some ministers try to explain things “in proper perspective.” Yet what the Manmohan Singh government does not realise is the yawning trust deficit: none of its claims is accepted, none of its explanation is considered credible and none of its action is taken seriously. It is a pity that the government is suspect in the eyes of the public as if ministers have been caught with their hands in the till. Hardly any minister is regarded as honest. It is such a loss of faith that every segment of the administration has a question mark against it. Institutions like the CBI stand devalued. It is a public secret that the probe that it conducts is an eyewash. Several former directors of the CBI have written articles and books to show how they were given instructions from above to decide a case in a particular way. When the CBI remains a department of the government, doubts about its functioning cannot be brushed aside. Similarly, the other enforcement authorities of the government are no better. If their probes were to be monitored by the Supreme Court, then the general impression of interference by the government would go. People are awaiting whether the CBI inquiry into the helicopters deal would be supervised by the Supreme Court or not. No doubt, the effect of corruption on the economy is there for all to see. Crores of rupees have been siphoned off. The estimate, though challenged by the Planning Commission, of the Central Statistics Organisations is that the growth rate has fallen from 9 per cent to 5 per cent. And soon we may be nearing the Hindu growth rate, as my late economist friend Raj Krishna put it, the growth of 3.5 per cent a year. Therefore, the forthcoming Union Budget does not evoke much hope. If it is not the old wine in new bottles, it would be the new wine in old bottles. That makes no difference. True, the environment in attitudes is unfavourable. This holds good for the entire South Asia. In the countryside, home of most of our population, a minority of prosperous farmers is swamped by the growing number of marginal cultivators and landless labourers who are increasing by the pattern of development. This has been the scene for a long time. The situation has worsened because of the greed of politicians and bureaucrats who have joined hands to loot the country. Not that the new elections are sure to bring about a change. But the polls may throw up new representatives and probably herald a new
beginning.
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Bicycles, rickshaws then and now When
I was a student of DAV College, Jalandhar City, in 1955-57 it was compulsory for bicycles and rickshaws to have a front light and also good reflectors at the back. The cell-operated lights were available in the market and, therefore there was no excuse whatsoever that during night time these vehicles would not use lights. Many cyclists and rickshaw-pullers even used kerosene lamps in the front. The road conditions then were not very good and the situation of street lights was very bad. There used to be power interruptions almost daily as a result of which the light on bicycles and rickshaws used to be handy to avoid accidents. As the main shopping centres and restaurants were far away from the college (I was living in the hostel), I used to travel to these places either alone or in the company of my friends in the evenings to have a cup of coffee in the restaurants. Twice it so happened that I was challaned as I did not have a light on my bicycle. Though I pleaded with the traffic police that I would be careful in future, the police did not relent and I was given a challan to be presented at the District Courts on specific dates. Every time I had to wait for a few hours before the persons who were challaned were called and made to pay the fine in the court and only then were we allowed to go. After a few years the authorities, for reasons best known to them, exempted bicycles and cycle rickshaws from having lights. We felt a sigh of relief as by that time I had shifted to Chandigarh. Though the condition of roads was much better in Chandigarh then as compared to many cities in Punjab and Haryana, this posed a problem during the night. The position of street lights was not comfortable because of overgrown trees on the road sides which over-shadowed the poles of lights. Most of the roads continued to be dark and there was always the danger of accidents either involving a bicycle or a rickshaw as often they were not visible from a distance. While the condition of roads and lights continues to be almost the same even now, the bicycles and rickshaws are often involved in road accidents with the fast moving vehicles. Though speed limits are prescribed in the City Beautiful for various types of vehicles, no attention is paid to bicycles and cycle-rickshaws. The riders of these two kinds of vehicles are always in the danger of facing accidents involving fast moving vehicles as many persons who drive these vehicles do not bother about the speed and even the red light at the crossings. This is one reason why the residents of almost all sectors want that the trees are pruned on regular intervals so that the lights could reflect properly on roads during the night. Many cyclists, rickshaw-pullers and even pedestrians meet with road accidents, many a time fatal, as the drivers of fast-moving vehicles are sometimes not able to see them during the night. In order to make their presence felt on the roads, it will be better to revive the tradition of making these vehicle owners have a light in the front and good reflectors on the
back.
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Make sure farmers get their due The discussion about the farming sector is more focused on fruits and vegetables and other perishable produce. The remaining agricultural produce like foodgrains, sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton etc are hardly touched. Only 20 per cent of the area is under horticulture. The production of fruits is concentrated in some states. Vegetables are grown only in major cities. Wastage is always mentioned at around 25 per cent, though no authenticated data is mentioned. No excessive wastage A study conducted in 2010 by the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology revealed that wastage in fruits and vegetables is 5.8 to 18% for different crops. The wastage levels are lower for other items as compared to fruits and vegetables: for crops (3.9-6.0%), cereals (4.3-6.1%), pulses (4.3-6.1%), oilseeds (6.0%), meat (2.3%), fish (2.9%) and poultry (3.7%). These compare favourably with corresponding numbers in other countries, including developed countries. Wastage in India is not excessive compared to even that in advanced countries. However, that is in the past. It is for the states now to decide whether to permit FDI in retail. They need to lay down sufficient safeguards to protect the interests of farmers in particular and retailers in general. Sir Chhotu Ram is to farmers what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is to the SCs/STs. He was the Revenue and Agriculture Minister in the Ministry of Sir Sikander Hyaat Khan in the pre-partition joint Punjab. Between 1935 and 1938 he introduced various enactments to safeguard the interests of farmers. Some of these are: No government since then has acted so comprehensively for the betterment of the farming sector as he did. More important, for this discussion, is the Punjab Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, 1938. Before this was enacted, markets were operated by private traders. There was no compulsion to bring the produce even to those private mandis. Traders could go to the village and buy directly from farmers. Those were the days when there was hardly any radio or other means of communication through which farmers could remain informed about prices and market conditions. Private markets abolished The Punjab Agricultural Produce Marketing Act, 1938, abolished the private markets. The mandis could now be established and operated only under the provisions of this Act. These were managed by the government-appointed Market Committees and the State Level Agricultural Marketing Boards provided for in the Act. The Act made it legally obligatory that agricultural produce could be sold or bought only in the state regulated markets. In due course, it was further laid down that selling will take place by open auction. It is this that ensured proper prices to farmers. No other enactment has benefited the farmers as much as this one. And it is this very Act which will get negated, or at least substantially diluted, by the direct purchases from farmers by MNCs. No doubt, there will be contract farming and they will be offered the mutually agreed price, but difficulties would arise. The buyer, representative from an MNC, will decide about the quality of the produce. He may reject the whole or part of it and/or apply quality cuts while offering lower prices other than the contracted one. This transaction will happen at farmers’ place and not mandi. The buyer’s say will be final as there will be no other arbitrator present. For the rejected produce, the farmer will still have to go to the market with the ‘tag’ of rejected produce. Before Dr Verghese Kurien’s cooperative system was introduced for milk procurement, a representatives of a private or government milk plant, carrying a few test tubes and some chemicals, would go to the farmer, carry out some tests in his own mysterious way, and announce the fat percentage of the milk. That will determine the price of milk. The farmer hardly had any say or choice but to hand over milk to the buyer at that price. It would be the same kind of transactions which are likely to take place in case of fruits, vegetables and other perishable produce. Farmers will be at the receiving end. The middle man The middle man has been at the centre of all discussion. He is supposed to be the main culprit who works against the interests of farmers. We must not forget that the middle man, by whatever name we may call him, performs certain functions (service) and has to be compensated for that. An arhtiya also does the same. The buying and selling process will have to be serviced. An MNC’s representative will replace the arhtiya. He will have all the traits of an arhita. In fact in his case, as the price, would have been pre-negotiated between the farmer and the buyer, there is no bidding and he will exercise his power of quality control and arbitrarily apply cuts. Similarly, the government is also a kind of middle man. For providing various services in the market, it too charges market fee. The state governments should evolve an altogether new system for such transactions as to how the contractual cultivation arrangements between the farmer and the buyer will take place so as to safeguard the farmer’s interest. The condition of a minimum of 30% of the local produce is another matter of concern. Is it 30% of fruits and vegetables or of the total goods they are going to market? A visit to any mall will show that only a small percentage of the area is occupied by agricultural produce. In terms of the value of goods, it may be still less. There may even be imports of some agricultural products. For example, coconuts are cheaper in South Asian countries. MNCs will be within their rights if they import cheaper vegetables etc from other countries. This may depress local prices. Spending on infrastructure A lot has been written on the fact that MNCs are going to invest heavily in infrastructure. Infrastructure in this case consists of cold storages, refrigerated trucks for transportation and of course the roads. None of these is sunrise technology. Enough know-how is available in the country. The total expenditure required for all this is about Rs.35,000 crore, which is not a large sum or beyond the means of the Government of India. It will be wrong to presume that they are coming to improve our infrastructure. Their objective is profit. They will invest only where it is necessary for them to do so. The same goes for better seeds and agricultural practices. However, all this falls on the agricultural side and does not come in the ambit of food management. As far as increasing productivity is concerned, MNCs like Monsanto and Cargill, many companies from Israel and others are already operating in the country. It is these multinationals whose core business is agriculture. We have our ICAR and a large number of agricultural universities. They have acquitted themselves very well in evolving new varieties. For MNCs like Walmart and Tesco, agriculture is not their core area. However, if the MNCs do take some steps in this regard, they are welcome. Creation of jobs The generation of employment for youth has been another important point for propagating FDI in retail. Two points arise here. First, they will progressively substitute labour with capital. This has been the policy of MNCs in other countries. Secondly, they employ only their core staff on a regular basis. For the rest employment is on a temporary basis. Depending on the market conditions, they keep on hiring and firing. The state governments should, therefore, seriously consider what employment policies of MNCs in FDI in retail should be. As the replacement of labour by capital progressively takes place, the security of job will become more and more important. Evolving proper labour laws in this regard should be a priority of the state governments before permitting FDI in retail in their areas. All guns in getting through the FDI in retail have been fired from the farmer’s shoulder. It is for the state governments to ensure that farmers get their due. It is well known that after getting permission to enter a country, MNCs can get round the government to get conditions changed to their advantage. They slowly are able to get various concessions to increase their profits. The latest is the case of IKEA, basically a company making furniture and household furnishing. Even before starting their operations, they have been able to get round the government to include their food chain business also. All these and many more aspects need serious consideration by the state governments, lest we should throw the farmers back to the pre-Sir Chhotu Ram days. The writer is a former Secretary, Government of Punjab
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