Onions without tears.

Onions without tears.

As you have mentioned in your edit, Layers of crises (Indian Express, 2/12/10), the real crisis in agriculture is not merely a low yield of most of the agricultural produce but also the mismanagement of agricultural produce in India. Thousands of tons of rice and wheat are spoiled due to faulty storage. Onions and other vegetables are wasted due to lack of cold storage facilities The only way this can be tackled is through an extensive storage facilities in all talukas of the country. Is estimated that some 25 percent is lost due lack of storage.

As far as the present problem of onion is concerned, it is entirely due to weather but untimely rains started almost a month ago and the government had sufficient time to stop the export and stop the spiraling prices. Onion has a history of glut and scarcity of production ever few years in India. It is relevant to mention here that The Netherlands is the biggest exporter of onions growing only two percent of the world's production and has an export market of 23 percent. "The major reasons for this success are an excellent product, superior storage facilities; and finely-tuned transport and support infrastructure," states an article with the title, Onions without tears, in the magazine, Euro-Agri Holland. It is time we follow the Dutch example. Where there is a will, there is a way.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/layers-of-crises/728352/

December 24,2010.

*****

India's growth & black money

India's growth & black money.

R.Vaidyanathan is one of the few keen observers of the political and economic scene in India as is evident from his analysis of India's growth and the black money (DNA,21/12). He has unveiled some important facts which are not clear amidst the euphoria of 8/9 percent growth of the economy. The corporate sector which contributes only about 15 percent to the GDP gets nearly 40 percent of credit ( at the lowest rate of interest) from the banking sector The services sector which constitutes 60 percent of the GDP is driven by the private sector ( trade, construction, hotels etc) gets only about 30 percent institutional credit. He says that 43 percent of rural household and 25 percent of urban household depend on money lenders. The agricultural sector also depends mostly on money lenders ( 50% or more interest rate) and now, on micro-finance companies ( at 24/28 % interest). Is there something wrong with the credit deployment and the rate of interest to various sectors ? One wonders what happened to the promise of helping the small man through nationalization banks 50 years ago?

http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/column_the-india-growth-story-is-propelled-by-black-money_1483957

December 22,2010.

*******

Voluntary organizations - Planning Commission Report.

In our Political  Science class we were taught that Society is bigger and vaster than the State. If the State controls all the activities of the individual in a society than that society becomes a totalitarian society. That is exactly what happened in the old Soviet Union and that is what is happening  in the Communist China.

Now coming to the efforts of the Planning Commission to evolve an independent, national level self-regulatory agency for the voluntary sector, both the civil society and the government have to be careful. While there is a need to regulate the these agencies it should not stifle the voluntary sector. The need for regulating voluntary sector is clear from various news reports about the misuse of funds, especially when it comes from abroad. There are cases of one-man agencies and people who are connected with the government officials/politicians  forming such agencies. Some of the foreign funded agencies have indulged in activities which do not further Indian interests. Some have used the funds for conversion and other activities even to oppose government policies.

Every agency has to register and have audited accounts to be submitted to the government as well as to the public including their members and supporters. There has to be some structure and periodical election. There are cases where the same man/woman have been at the top for years together.

It is said that there are about three million NGOs in India ! This an astounding figure.Some proper regulation of so many NGOs is a must. There are also reports that some of them who receive foreign money have not submitted their annual report to the government.

Voluntary association is a much valued institution in any country. Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous French writer and thinker, mentions it as a most the important institution for a society in his book, Democracy in America( 1830) and he calls it " social capital".He said that Americans were ' joiners'. They joined all manners of local organizations, unlike Europeans.This was the strength of American democracy.We have to strengthen these efforts. Voluntary efforts should remain voluntary with of course some minimum control of the state.

I find it strange that not many NGOs are there to see and moniter the government welfare activities and expenditure which runs into thousands of crore rupees which are misappropriated by officials and politicians. Today's papers report that the Supreme Court has asked the CBI to look into the " serious irregularities" of some Rs.40,000 crore of rupees in NREGA ( National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) in Orissa.   

December 17,2010.

(The above comments in response to the query by Karmayog as follows:  

How to strengthen civil society - suggestions needed

Posted by: "karmayog.org" info@karmayog.org

Wed Dec 8, 2010 3:09 am (PST)

In May 2009, the Planning Commission, Govt. of India, set up "a Task Force
to examine the issues related to the evolution of an independent, national
level, self-regulatory agency for the voluntary sector and to develop
accreditation methodologies for voluntary organisations".

The 132 page Report of the Task Force is available at
http://www.karmayog.org/redirect/strred.asp?docId=31670

Pushpendra Kumar from the National Institute of Rural Development
(NIRD), who has also contributed suggestions to the Task Force says about
the Task Force and this report that:

"I find the entire exercise directed to corporatising the voluntary sector.
This is against the spirit of the National Policy for the Voluntray Sector
and will have disastrous impact on the sector.

The composition of the participants of the Task Force also bears the
testimony to my point. The voluntary sector needs a different kind of
professionalism, one that is largely different from the professionalism
required in the corporate sector (or corporate NGOs).

The significance of the voluntary sector lies in its creativity, diversity,
strong links with the community, its localised nature, voluntary spirit, its
capacity and courage to question, to challenge the dominant paradigms of
development.

I also find this an effort to further encroach upon the autonomy of the
voluntary sector. The proposed composition of the National Accreditation
Council includes representatives of government bodies, corporate bodies
(CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, ICAI, other chambers of commerce and industry) and
grant making government and international organisations.One would expect
that this would be a body comprising either exclusively or predominantly
representatives from the voluntary sector.

There is a need to recognise the diversity and wisdom of the voluntary
sector. The sector itself can find ways of enhancing accountability and
transparency in its practices. No one size can fit all and no
superimposition of norms (read corporate norms) is going to help. Let the
debate on such important issues as accountability and transparency be taken
to the vast expanse of the civil society."

The Planning Commission and CAPART invites comments and suggestions from
voluntary organisations, social activists, donor agencies and citizens.

Send your responses to: Mrs. Rupa Dutta, Director, Voluntary Action Cell,
Planning Commission, Yojana Bhawan, New Delhi 110003
Tel: 23353437, Fax No. 23096764 and Email: rupa-pc@nic.in

You may also send your responses to CAPART at dg@caparthq.delhi.nic.in and
helpdesk@caparthq.delhi.nic.in and a cc to info@karmayog.org for follow-up.

Back to top

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

8.

The bottle-neck is at the top of the bottle.

The bottle-neck is at the top of the bottle.

What Pratap Bhanu Mehta has said in is excellent analysis, "He said, she said" (Indian Express,15/12) can be summed up in a few words, " the bottle-neck is at the top of the bottle". As he has pointed out 'the shrinking moral universe is not a fact of nature; it is a consequence of decisions taken by leaders". P.M. has to answer whether he approved what Raja was doing and if not, what did he do stop him? He has rightly said this does not require an inquiry. Silence is not golden but indicates complicity.

Simlarly, if National Advisory Council does not undermine the government, how can JPC undermine existing institutions ? Nobody can dispute his observation that 'every single institution in government now carries an odour of consipiracy'. A few schemes for poor with astronomical amount of money would not solve the problems of the 300 million poor of the country. They don't empower the poor but make them depend on periodical doles ( 100 days of work).The worst failing of our PM is not coming clean and thereby 'he has undermined any reason to trust so-called good men'. This is the result of pursuit of power at any cost by all parties, especially now by UPA in this case. This is one of the seven social sins mentioned by Gandhiji, " politics without principles". This is not the India of our dreams.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/he-said-she-said/724893

December 15,2010.

*****