Sunday, February 3, 2008
Economy for all
| Villagers protest plans for salt factory Against the wishes of the local people, and even the State government, a salt factory is proposed to be established on land that has been used freely by 20,000 villagers for decades. In the face of shifting politics, the residents are determined that they will protect their livelihoods. Aparna Pallavi reports. Brass metal work losing its shine Hundreds of artisans in Hajo are finding their livelihoods threatened by a local monopoly and other factors that have driven the prices of raw materials very high. The Assam government is intervening to help, but the beneficiaries wish they were consulted more. Ratna Bharali Talukdar writes. Tripura taps the rubber economy A persistent push to develop large-scale rubber plantations as a livelihood alternative to slash-and-burn cultivation by tribals has resulted in a major economic upswing in Tripura. With market prices for rubber well above sustenance levels, the future looks bright too. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports. Uneasy quiet on the POSCO front A large development or industrial project, stiff people's protests, takeover of vast tracts of land, widespread environmental and social impacts, and more. All of these realities have manifested themselves in government clearances for the POSCO project in Orissa. Manshi Asher and Kanchi Kohli analyse the current situation. SEZs: A history of injustice and abuse The origins of today's law for land acquisition for SEZs act can be traced to 1824, when the British colonial power felt the need to codify the undisguised forcible seizure of land. While colonial rule has long gone, the unjust application of the principle of eminent domain remains, writes Kannan Kasturi. Paying no heed to groundswell of opinion A range of criticisms raised at a recent seminar in Mumbai are a sufficient indication of the extent to which SEZs are being pushed as a government policy without any public consultation on their pros and cons. The seminar, on SEZs and their implications for urban planning, was held at the Rachana Sansad School of Architecture. Darryl D'Monte reports. How about a fruit ice cream? Charles and Nirmala Sequeira were simply looking for something different to do. Little did they think that their decision to start selling ice cream made from local fruits would catch on with customers, and open a new channel for value addition for local produce. Shree Padre reports. India's investment opportunities in sustainable business A new report from TERI, the first of its kind for India, argues that compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria would better differentiate Indian stocks in comparison to issuers from other emerging markets for high quality investors. Rajni Bakshi has more on why India must care. A rural B-school for women Mann Deshi Udyogini, formed by a rural women's cooperative bank in association with HSBC Bank, is a business school aims to empower rural women with knowledge of how to run small enterprises. Gagandeep Kaur reports. Carts, kiosks, and Indian retail A number of implicit and explicit constraints influence the extent to which carts and kiosks work as avenues of creative entrepreneurship. Varupi Jain compares the Indian scenario with that in the US, and notes cultural and social realities that shape the Indian experience. Tender coconut juice, instantly chilled Moments after a customer approaches this cart, the vendor pours tender coconut juice into a funnel-like part. Chilled juice comes out of a stainless steel tap below, filling a 250 ml glass, for Rs.10. Shree Padre reports about Fruit Hut Beverages, a Hyderabad-based firm that has launched the Coco Fresco brand. Storm continues over Silent Valley The Kerala government is proposing to construct a new dam only a few kilometres from the site of one of India's great environment struggles in the Silent Valley National Park. But cooked data and ignored court orders have once again invited the wrath of conservationists. M Suchitra reports. A 'sour' source of delight and livelihood A three day festival of a special tender mango called appe midi held last month in Shimoga, Karnataka attracted 6000 visitors. The festival showcased a range of preparations including popular pickles, and gave a filip to the conservation of this wild mango variety. Shree Padre reports. Lives strangulated by needle and thread 27-year-old Ratnamma, a garment factory worker, was forced to deliver a baby on the streets of Bangalore. 20-year-old Gayathri was run over by the bus belonging to the Bangalore garment factory where she worked. Garment workers in Bangalore are caught in an exploitative web, reports Padmalatha Ravi. Growing credibility gap It is widely accepted that agricultural subsidies in developed nations are distorting global agriculture trade. And yet, Purdue University and the World Bank are cleverly using economic models and simulated 'welfare gains' to push for market access in developing nations. Therein lies a danger, says Devinder Sharma. North East: Looking beyond the chicken's neck The economy in the North East is still largely based on subsistence-oriented farming. There is plenty of frustration arising out of inability to meet modern aspirations. What are the options for people to engage in productive work and earn more money? Surekha Sule reports on a new research effort. India's black agenda in a climate change era In January, the Ratan Tata-chaired Investment Commission green-lighted coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology for India and the goverment appears eager to develop policy to promote CTL. But beyond the pressing demands for energy security and new investment lies a starker reality less seen by the public, notes Sunita Dubey. Jobs, skills, shortages and future-proofing India has only 5,100 Industrial Training Institutes and 1,745 polytechnics compared to 5,00,000 similar institutes in China. The USA boasts of 1500 trade training programmes compared to India's 171. A national conference in Delhi this February recommended measures to bridge the yawning gap between growth and jobs, reports Varupi Jain. Under pressure, India makes U-turn At a two-day international seminar on "Saving Doha and delivering on development" that concluded at New Delhi on 13 March, India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath provided ample evidence of India's willingness to go along with the rich and industrialised countries. The writing is on the wall, says Devinder Sharma. How much, for submerging that forest? When a large hydropower projects results in the conversion of forest land, or its submergence, what is the right amount of money to be paid as compensation for this ecological loss? Himanshu Upadhyaya finds that developers are seeking creative arguments to lower the costs to themselves. SEZs: Lessons from China While single-minded pursuit of exports has helped China touch record growth figures, millions have been left behind, besides incurring huge environmental costs. And without even the limited dose of welfare that China offers its poor farmers, India must wary of copying China's SEZ-approach, writes Bhaskar Goswami. A storehouse of untapped potential A majority of poor and low-income workers, especially women, are not aware of how to secure their own income using basic skills. Often, they are clueless about using the skills they have tacitly acquired. Varupi Jain on the starting point for development efforts that aim to help them tap their own potential. Traditional knowledge receives a boost from government The government's recent traditional knowledge digital library will send data to patent offices abroad, so that indigenous knowledge that India abundantly has is not patented overseas. Following India's example, other nations too are showing interest in similarly protecting their interests. Ramesh Menon reports. Training the millions left behind Vocational training could play a key role in bridging the gap that keeps millions of workers in the unorganised economy away from a better future. The needs of informal sector workers are complex, and mere training for income-generation is seen to be insufficient, writes Varupi Jain. Pune's Bus Rapid Transit stumbles at the start While the idea of Bus Rapid Transit has merit, its implementation in Pune has created a poor first impression. Inadequate planning, lack of enforcement of dedicated lanes for buses, and haste in rolling out the project have all been criticised, and experts find much room for improvement. Vinita Deshmukh reports. Timbaktu Organic is scaling up This year, 160 farmers in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district committed 480 acres for organic production. Two complete cycles of procurement, processing, and marketing of organic produce in a number of cities have already been completed. Rajni Bakshi says Timbaktu Organic is expanding. Bit by byte, IT firms make rural plans Technology majors are keen to establish direct contact with potential customers in rural areas, and setting up computer kiosks is an important step in this direction. These first steps are hardly catalytic, but that has not deterred the companies, which are thinking of markets far into the future. Gagandeep Kaur reports. More self-goals by the PFC Three years after a loan disbursal to the Jindal Thermal Power Company Ltd. for a power project in Karnataka, the public-sector Power Finance Corporation has drawn flak from the Comptroller and Auditor General for having offered undue benefits to Jindal and causing a loss of Rs.13.48 crores to itself. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs deeper. The new Maharajas, and their estates - the SEZs What is it like to be a modern-day Indian prince? Devinder Sharma and Bhaskar Goswami explain how, with the proliferation of Special Economic Zones everywhere, the laws of the land are being redefined to bring in the reality of the royal tag for the rich and beautiful. For the rest of the country, sub-Saharan Africa is the only comparison. SEZs: Invitation to chaos? A Marathi booklet published by the Pune-based National Centre for Advocacy Studies reveals a number of lesser known facts about the latest controversy in Indian development, Special Economic Zones. From land-use patterns to crony land acquisition to the stake of real estate developers in Maharashtra, Aparna Pallavi sums it up. Water meters help consumers as well as suppliers With a properly metered water bill, consumers have a much better chance of being heard than otherwise. Yes, there are justified concerns about rights and equity when we talk of water, but metering is not anti-poor. In fact, used well, it can address their demands powerfully, says S Vishwanath. Tender coconuts break into corporate offices Engineering crops, distorting livelihoods When technological change has the potential to put the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people at risk, it must be regulated differently from other products in a free market. Blindly promoting innovation, as is now being done with genetically engineered crops, is self-defeating, writes Suman Sahai. Darjeeling tea's lessons for handlooms The central government launched the Handloom Mark scheme in June 2006. The idea is to popularise handloom products in domestic as well as international markets and provide a guarantee for the buyer that the product is genuine. But will it work? D Narasimha Reddy looks at the challenges. Devinder Sharma: The 'Free trade' explosion With the World Trade talks in limbo, the focus remains on aggressively pushing on the bilateral front. What could not be achieved through a multilateral trade regime, is now being pursued by the US through bilateral and regional deals. Devinder Sharma connects the dots. Thirty years with a load of fish on her head Crores of taxpayer rupees are spent by government institutes each year on fisheries technology and research. How much does this impact the lives of the average fish hawkers who vend on foot? Is there any impact at all? M Suchitra visited one Kerala hawker at a coastal village near Kochi. Caution - road work ahead! Work zones are an important source of traffic disruptions, and if not properly managed can cause both hardship and accidents. But the cost of planning and managing them is often only a tiny portion of the infrastructure costs, and the resultant savings in time can be very high, writes Madhav Pai. Lens on Bt cotton: Flaky results, pre-determined consensus? Can transgenic cotton ever be a livelihood security measure for the majority of India's small-holder farmers? Keya Acharya is circumspect. She says that the Bt cotton story in India is one of confusion. Bt appears more to favour 'rich' farmers, who have access to water, better resources, and alternative support. |
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