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Why WTO benefits eluded India
Should gear to avail advantage of higher agricultural prices in international market
Dr S.S. Chhina
The WTO reached its first-ever trade reform deal at the ninth World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia, in December last year. The deal would add $1trillion to the global economy. Director-General Roberto Azevedo gestures as he is congratulated by delegates. reuters |
It
seems an irreconcilable fact that a country with 16 per cent of world’s population should barely have 2 per cent share in world trade. However, joining the WTO was a compulsion for India because it could not afford to remain aloof from the other 125 countries with whom it was trading. Ostensibly, everything seemed prudent but the ideological ambience presented by the WTO was blurred. Though India is a predominantly agricultural country, it was heading towards industrialisation and urbanisation without being focused on rapid industrial growth. There were opinions that free trade would never be in favour of the Indian economy and it would further exacerbate the poor industrial sector. The compulsion to adopt a protectionist policy was based on rationality and the doubts raised about it were quite reasonable. Since India was an agricultural economy, it was feared that a lack of protectionism would have adverse effects in case agricultural goods started selling in Indian markets. However, the doubts were being cleared by 2007 after the notion that the prices of agricultural goods are lower in international market was proved erroneous. In that very year, India imported wheat and its price was nowhere less than Rs 1,050 per quintal, whereas the procurement rate of wheat in India was only Rs 750. In the same year, when India showed an impressive performance in the export of Basmati, the demand was made for the Sharbati and PUSA rice, which were like Basmati but denied export permission by the government. Later on, as a result of the pressure exerted by the Rice Exporters Association, export of these varieties was allowed and it was a step that was not only beneficial for exporters but also for the farmers. After applying the WTO provisions, all developing countries progressed at a higher rate as compared to the developed countries. Though the dominance and hegemony of the developed countries in industrialisation had given blurred results for developing countries, it was observed that wherever imports increased, exports too increased. Exports from developed countries have increased by 5.8 per cent, while those of developing countries have increased by 8.8 per cent, and imports have increased by 9.2 per cent. This created deficit in the current account. India had progressed at an average rate of 20 per cent after the WTO provisions were made applicable. In 2009-10, the exports from India were $178.8 billion, with a deficit of $109.6 billion. In 2010-11, exports further increased to $251.1 billon, but imports increased to $369.8 billion, escalating the CAD to $198.9 billion. In 2013-14, from April to October, only the exports were to the tune of $179.37 and were -6.32 per cent in the same period of the previous year. However, the imports increased 3.80 per cent, with $270.05 billion. Invariably, the CAD is further escalating, causing more problems for the fragile economic situation. Every country is conscious about prosperity and generation of employment through international development. Apart from the WTO, India is also a member of other organisations like SAARC and ASEAN and it also has bilateral trade agreements with a number of countries compatible for easy accessibility and smooth economic growth. The decline in the value of Indian currency vis a vis the dollar could boost international trade because it becomes cheaper and more goods and services can be purchased by the same amount of money. For example, there was a time when a dollar could purchase goods worth Rs 40, now it can purchase goods worth Rs 60. Invariably, inflation has eroded the benefits offered through devaluation of the currency. The inflation of agricultural goods has particuarly resulted because the higher cost of production juxtaposes the international competition with higher prices in the Indian market. Much could not be accomplished in the export of agricultural goods, but the share of these goods has decreased over this period. The situation in the international market has negated the belief that the Indian would be a sufferer. Inflation is a perpetual impediment and not only for the domestic consumer. International trade has to be controlled for the resurgence of the demand of Indian goods at the international level. It would be sheer ineptitude to depend on the resilience of the Indian economy to settle on its own. Rather strenuous efforts are needed to avail the larger benefits offered by higher agricultural prices in the international market. Import substitutes can easily be developed in the agricultural sector for which very huge sums of foreign currency are paid. Sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures are applied in the guise of protecting plant, human and animal life to keep a check on export of Indian farm goods. These non-tariff barriers are a big concern in view of WTO commitments. Marine products are the highest export earner for India but attract zero per cent duty in the USA and 5 per cent in Japan. The duty on these products in the European Union is around 7 per cent to 8.5 per cent. China, which is the third largest importer of fish from India, applies 21 per cent duty on it. Oil meals and cakes are the second biggest agricultural export of India. While Indonesia levies no import duty, it is 12 per cent in Singapore and 15 per cent in Bangladesh. India’s rice export attracts zero duty in South Africa, Bangladesh and Malaysia but 50 per cent in Philippines. India’s export policy in the past has reflected a greater concern for the consumer than for the farmer. Recently, the government has tended to show greater sensitivity to the interests of the farmer. There is need to look into planning for exports by identifying the agricultural products as well as new markets being offered by
WTO commitments. The writer is former Dean, Faculty of Agriculture,
Khalsa College, Amritsar
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MIDDLE |
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The day we will yearn for daughters
Neela Sood
 On
a bright sunny day one winter morning while sitting the verandah and munching peanuts my husband, whose mind wanders more in other’s homes than in his own, turned to me and said, “Hey, did you notice one thing that whenever we go to your aunt’s house, it is she who is doing all the household chores. Not only this, even her little grandchild expects everything from her grandmother. I really pity her. To be honest with you, I don’t feel like accepting their hospitality, not even a cup of tea, because I see it as an extra load on her.”“Not everyone is lucky like you to have only daughters,” I snapped back. Not getting the intent of my comment, he asked me to elaborate and so I did. “Yes, it is a fact that nowadays if the family stays together after the marriage of the son, then the boy’s mother must be ready to slog more. Not long ago, the mother-in-law would pass on the responsibilities of kitchen and household chores to her daughter-in-law soon after the marriage of her son, and would lead a relatively relaxed life. All of a sudden, she would be seen in more social and religious functions and would also go for occasional pilgrimages. She would give her husband a run for money with her newly acquired status of the “boss” of the house with husband, sons, and daughters-in-laws all at her command. Generally, she would be the Prime Minister of the house, with the important portfolio of Finance. Nothing manifested it better than the heavy key chain hanging around the waist of mothers-in-law in old Hindi movies. The only other persons who could independently call the shots in the house would be the unmarried daughters. But in the past 20 years, with working daughter-in-law as the first preference for matrimonial alliances, all has gone ulta pulta. The mother-in- law is no more the boss, but has to lead by example and from the front. With the daughter-in-law going to office early in the morning, she has to painstakingly prepare lunch boxes, not only for her son but for the bahu rani also. On her return, after a “tiring” day at work, the bahu rani again expects to be served like a guest by the “at home” mum-in-law. The mother-in-law has little choice if she wants her son to face his wife in a good and exuberant mood after returning from office. Schoolgoing grandchildren, with different timings, also ensure that dadi ma doesn’t take a nap which she was used to before the marriage of her beloved son. It will not be an exaggeration to say that except delivering the child, everything else, be it rearing, caring and nurturing of children, is thrust on the mothers-in-law. If it was possible, mothers-in-law would have also taken that responsibility also for their beloved sons, who in their opinion should get everything that contributes to their happiness. After all, did she not celebrate his birth with special Lohri and special Diwali?” After I had finished my explanation, my husband whom I had never seen listening to me for so long tight-lipped, murmured “Now I understand why females outnumber males for admission to professional colleges.” “Don’t get surprised if in a few years you find the ones who make supplications for sons would now actually be praying only for a female child.” I took a parting shot.
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OPED
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Orphaned rhinos find new home
The famed one-horned rhino's existence in Assam has been under threat of poachers. A huge number of the endangered animals is also dying due to natural disasters and ageing. A few success stories of rearing of orphaned rhino babies by humans are thus heartening
Usha Rai
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stories in wildlife management are hard to come by, so the one on the hand rearing of orphaned baby rhinos at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Borjuri, Panbari Reserve forest, near Kaziranga National Park in Assam and then their successful reintroduction to the Manas National Park, a designated Tiger Reserve and a World Heritage Site, needs to be celebrated.
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| Haven: Mama rhino with a baby at Manas National Park. photo: Anjan Sangwa-IFWA/WTI |
Anjan Talukdar, the veterinarian at CWRC since 2004 is ecstatic. He still remembers their rescue from the flooded Brahmaputra landscape—nervous bundles, barely able to stand, starving and in deep anguish on being separated from their mothers. The calves who were three months to a year old when displaced were in acute distress. Rushed to the Centre in well-equipped Mobile Veterinary Service vehicles, they were hand raised and bottle fed. Set up in 2002, the Centre has so far raised and relocated six rhinos in Manas. The first batch of three rhinos was released in 2008 and subsequently three more were trans-located. The birth of three cubs to these rhinos at Manas is the final cherry on the cake of successful rehabilitation, says Talukdar who kept running between Borjuri and Manas to ensure the youngsters are doing well. For several years the rhinos had been raised by humans. To see them getting back their animal instincts and fussing over their young ones was a great joy.
A baby rhino being bottle-fed at CWRC. photo : Subhamoy Bhattacharjee-IFAW/WTI |
With 100 rhinos, Manas was one of the country's most scenic parks, nestling in the lap of nature with thick forests, water bodies and mountains. It was completely ravaged during the civil unrest in the late eighties and nineties and the rhino population wiped out. Rebuilding and restoring Manas to its erstwhile splendour of flora and fauna has been the dream of conservationists and wildlife lovers. Now it is well on the way to becoming a reality though the increase in poaching for rhino horn and wildlife parts is worrying. The five rhinos, currently being raised in a stockade at the Centre will also be released into Manas at an appropriate time. Setting up of CWRC
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Alarming
Though, poaching has always been one of the biggest threats to the famed one-horned rhino of Assam, 2013 experienced one of the worst poaching scenarios in a decade. Alarmed, the forest department requested the Chief Minister, Tarun
Gogoi, to open the first police station in Kaziranga. The CM agreed to setting up of police stations in a phased manner dealing with wildlife crimes at
Pobitora, Orang and Manas. The forest department has also sought public help for getting information about the activities of killers and has promised to reward those who provide inputs about
poachers.
Killing for a horn
 Close to 50 rhinos die a natural death in Assam annually.
Over a thousand rhinos have died in wild habitats since 2001, while four have died in the state zoo.
170 rhinos have been killed by poachers since 2001, but in 2013 alone 40 rhinos became a victim of poachers' greed, the highest in 13 years.
According to the last census in 2012, the state had 2,500 rhinos. The wild, protected habitats of rhinos in the state are Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary,
Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and Manas National Park.
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It was after the devastating floods of 2000 that Menaka Gandhi, who was the then Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, arranged for a van for the rescue of animals affected by the floods. It was expected to provide first aid and release them back into the wild when the flood waters receded. But there were so many orphaned and injured elephants, rhinos and other animals and birds that a more lasting solution had to be found. The Assam Forest Department, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Wildlife Trust of India joined hands to set up the CWRC. The primary aim was to stabilise displaced wild animals, provide medical treatment if necessary and release animals back into the wild-as close to the site of rescue as possible. All animals in distress whether it was rhinos stuck in bogs, stranded tigers, rhino calves swept away in the floods, elephants calves fallen into drains of tea gardens, electrocuted lories, poisoned vultures, injured birds and snakes, orphaned bear cubs, animals confiscated from poachers or injured in conflict with humans were picked up and looked after by the CWRC team. The Centre spread across two plots of land of 3.7 and 7.2 hectares has an examination room, a theatre for surgery, a disease investigation laboratory and spacious shelters to accommodate birds, reptiles, primates, ungulates and big cats as well as nurseries for mega herbivores and small animals. The Centre is one of the few rescue centres recognised by the Central Zoo Authority of India. From 2002 it has rescued and treated 3364 wild animals including birds and snakes. In 2013, 175 animals and birds were rescued. Fifty seven per cent of them were treated for injuries, nurtured and released in the wild; 2.85 per cent who were not fit enough to go back into the wild were sent to state zoos for life time care. This is particularly true for tiger cubs that have been orphaned or separated from the mother during floods. While a small percentage of the animals are dead on arrival at the Centre, 34 per cent died during care and 1.41 per cent even managed to escape. The largest number of animals—56 per cent have been rescued from Central Assam, that is directly under CWRC, 20 per cent from Western Assam through the satellite facility at Kokrajar, 11 per cent from Eastern Assam through the satellite facility at Dhola, 7 per cent from Karbi Anlong through the satellite facility at Diphu and the remaining animals have been rescued from the North Bank through the satellite facility at Sonitpur near Pakke Tiger Reserve. At each of these facilities there is a fully equipped medical vehicle with a vet, 11 skilled staff and tranquilizing equipment. Currently under care at the Centre are 34 animals including 5 rhinos, 8 elephant calves, 2 hoolock gibbons, two wild buffalo calves, 8 lesser adjutant storks, 5 barn owls, one rhesus macaque, a small clawed otter and two leopards, one of which has been at the Centre for 11 years. Animal-human relation After hog deer, baby elephants account for the largest number of rescues - 56 of them including eight this year. Apart from those separated from the herd in the monsoons, many calves are pulled out of the deep drains surrounding the tea gardens at the foothills of Karbi Anlong and other areas. Herds of wild elephants come to the tea gardens for shelter and to raid crops. At times they are chased by the tea garden staff and calves of the fleeing herds fall into drains-some less than a month old. At times they are in the drains for two or three days and are totally dehydrated. Villagers who find them try to feed the starving calves. The hungry calves swallow the food given and many fall ill. It is difficult to save calves that have developed an infection, says Talukdar. Volunteers at the Centre feed milk in huge bottles. It is supplemented with nutrients and other food till the calves are strong enough to be re-introduced into the forests. As far as possible, the calves are placed near the spot they were rescued from in the hope they will join their own herd. Mud and dung from the wild is smeared over the calves so that they are accepted by the herd. Many of the calves were taken to Manas with radio collars and walked around. It may take five to six years before they finally join the herd. The baby elephants keep coming back to the forest camp, then wandering off to join a herd. This toing and froing continues till they integrate with the wild herd. Seven elephants have joined the herds in Manas. There is a lot of action in and around the Centre. Every day there are over half a dozen emergencies and rescues. Though animal scientists and volunteers are allowed to see and work with the animals at the Centre, outsiders are not allowed near the animals. They are isolated kept in a wild state so that their re-introduction into the jungles is less traumatic. However, even in the rarefied atmosphere of the Centre, Talukdar has seen some unusual bonding between the elephants and the friendly though screeching gibbons at the Centre. The crowning glory Both male and female rhinos have horns. The horn is just keratin or a clump of hair but is the distinguishing feature of the rhino. The horn starts growing when the rhino is two and half to three years old and keeps growing slowly till it is anything from nine to14 inches long. While the horn of the female has a narrow base and is long, that of the male is broader at the base, not as sharp as that of the female and extremely strong. It is for the horn which is said to have aphrodisiac qualities and is used in Chinese medicine that the rhino is poached. The horn, gouged out in the most inhuman manner, is secreted out through Myanmar straight to China. AnjanTalukdar at CWRC has handled five cases of bleeding rhino whose horns have been extracted. Poachers first pump bullets into the rhino and then remove the horn. The nasal bone and horn are all removed together. If the rhino has not been killed by the bullets, it is possible to save the bleeding animal if rescued quickly. The writer is a well-known environment journalist.
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