Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By M Rama Rao

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), as the film Censor Board is known officially, is in the news for reasons other than films. Ms. Sharmila Tagore, a leading actress of yesteryears, has replaced Mr. Anupam Kher, a ......more

Training for development

By Dr M P Gupta

Reforms after Chidambaram's US visit

By K R Sudhaman

EDITORIAL

Heed it

In an informative article on this page recently an IAS officer Manoj Kumar Dwivedi has correctly analysed the unemployment scenario in the State. Very rightly he has argued that the administration can’t be allowed to be overburdened in the name of providing jobs to one and all. There is need instead to further exploit the conventional potential areas like handicrafts, handlooms, woodwork, horticulture, floriculture, tourism, food processing, leather work, information technology, mining and construction work and trading. It has been estimated that given the political will and requisite planning about 5 lakh jobs can be created in the next ten years. Possibly much more can be achieved if the task is pursued sincerely. This makes sound economic sense that in the absence of heavy industries the focus should be on small, cottage and tiny industries. Time and again we have argued on these lines in these columns. The answer to most of our ills lies in encouraging in a big way the private entrepreneurship. Mr Dwivedi fortifies this theory with revealing facts and figures. There are 4.5 lakh government employees in the State: this means there is one government employee in every four households accounting for the highest percentage in the country. What is shocking is that the full revenue generated in the State is barely sufficient to meet 45 per cent of their salary bills. This hardly leaves doubt that ‘even if we stop all our developmental works and projects, still to pay salaries of our employees we will have to borrow more as much as we can earn in the State’. There are three lakh educated employed at this moment and of them 1.25 lakh registered with the employment exchanges include 6755 postgraduates and 15776 graduates. The hope for them thus is in the expansion of the private sector that somehow has not taken off in this State, as it ought to have during the last five decades.

By any yardstick these statistics are a telling commentary on how successive governments have mismanaged our affairs. One will have to agree that if things have come to such a pass it is because of misplaced accent on politics of populism and to some extent regionalism. A job in the administration has been doled out as the sole panacea to solve unemployment. This has been done at the cost of individual initiative. Market forces have never been allowed to function for one reason or the other. In the name of the real and perceived tenuous Centre-State relations it has almost become a policy to rush to New Delhi for financial assistance. This was the practice before the militancy began and has become a regular feature ever since to condemn the Central Government as well even when it is not at fault. While appreciating Mr Dwivedi’s arguments by and large, one can’t agree with him when he remarks: ‘There is myth that unemployment and poverty are directly related to each other. Similarly there has been a long belief without any basis that unemployment leads directly to militancy.’ On both the grounds he can be easily faulted. If joblessness does not deny one of basic requirements leading to a feeling of deprivation what else does it? Likewise, one of the factors that young persons are lured to the cult of the gun is the absence of work. They may not be motivated by any violent thought except for the desire to look after their and their family’s needs. On a broader level, one has seen this phenomenon mixed with religious extremism giving birth to monsters called mercenaries. After all, it has often been stated: ‘An idle brain is a devil’s workshop’. It is not for nothing that we have seen the planners laying emphasis on providing some monetary help or arranging some remunerative activity so that people don’t turn towards the terrorism or that if they are already in the clutches of this evil they are extracted with the assurance that they have better avenues of livelihood.

However, this is not to detract from the merit of the contention that there is dire necessity to strip the official machinery of its extra burden. There also can’t be two opinions that education system should be reoriented to meet the grave challenges of the present times. It should instill in students the confidence to venture out on their own instead of opting for sinecure assignments in the Secretariat. In brief, they must be aware that individually and collectively they can gain more by serving society as a whole. For this they will have to be invested with a high degree of competence for which educational institutions will have to alter their current approach. Such renewed offensive will reduce pressure on the Government and lift the State out of morass.

Is it true?

One will have to rub one’s eyes in disbelief over the report that the authorities have taken to moral policing in a big way in the Government Degree College of Poonch. It is unbelievable, for instance, that they have stopped boys and girls from talking to each other on the campus. As if this were not enough, they have also imposed a dress code on girl students. Those violating the orders will be fined and even rusticated. It is said that such harsh steps have been taken following a stabbing incident on the campus in which the victims was talking to a woman student. Can that one incident be serious enough reason for the college management to return to virtually medieval days? It is strange that instead of proceeding against the hooligans it has turned its ire against the students who in this case are perfectly justified in registering their protest. By no means the Poonch town can be called a backward area that has not kept pace with the times. Instead, it is one of the politically most volatile regions. Ever since undergoing the trauma and tribulations in 1947 it has witnessed sustained political activity in which every party has actively participated. Scores of local boys and girls have gone for higher education as far as Karnataka if not beyond in the country and also in leading universities in alien lands. How can they not be trusted in looking after their own dignity and decorum?

It is unimaginable that boys and girls are expected to look in different directions while studying in the same college under one roof. How is that possible? Unless of course there is a prescribed uniform it is also unfair to tell girls what they should and should not wear. Most of the colleges across the country have in fact done away with the dress restrictions. There are laws that check obscenity and they should be enough to deal with any violation. In any case the colleges are empowered to deal with individual cases on merit. The concerned teachers in Poonch should know that similar methods to impose discipline elsewhere have not yielded helpful results. They must reconsider their decision and withdraw it for the sake of their own reputation. If they look around for reason for lax atmosphere they may have to blame their own failure to invoke moral authority.

Anupam goes, Sharmila comes in

By M Rama Rao

Whether the change is warranted is not the question just as whether there were extraneous considerations before the government in making the new appointment. What is not in dispute is that the government is the appointing authority. This is an important point that cannot be glossed over in the controversy kicked up by Mr. Kher.

He is peeved that he was not allowed to complete his normal term and he sees politics in his sack. He was appointed during the NDA regime. He may deny it now but his appointment was certainly seen at that time as the larger plan of saffronisation. He did not protest the conjecture.

Generally prominent film personalities have headed the Censor Board. Some of them like Mr. Shakti Samanta made a lasting impact but some had left in a blaze of controversy. One gentleman felt India should allow pornographic films since this is the land of Kamasutra. His views did not earn him any brownie points. And he had to go.

There is no such controversy surrounding Mr. Kher. Going by the film trade magazines, his tenure was most uneventful since he is pre-occupied with his acting commitments both in the celluloid world and the stage, his first passion.

Like some of his worthy predecessors, who were active as either producers or directors, he too raised during his stint at the Censor Board questions about the wisdom of entrusting the responsibility of film censorship to a person who is pre-occupied otherwise.

The job may be honourary but it is a demanding occupation and often-tricky one too. Neither a full-time film professional nor a part-time actor can do justice at the CBFC though the need for a person with first hand knowledge of the film industry is undeniable. It is this job profile that fits well with Ms Sharmila Tagore who has replaced Mr. Kher.

There is a much larger a question in the whole issue and that revolves round political appointments whether at the Censor Board or at Raj Bhavans. It is time we come to grips with this issue without much ado. There is no need to feel shy of facing it squarely.

Political thinkers of all hues agree on the need to evolve healthy conventions. In the same breath, they also concede that it will be a healthy tradition if a political appointee bows out once the regime that had made his/her appointment is voted out.

Unfortunately, in this country we are yet to believe that practice is better than precept.

And hence the unseemly controversies we had witnessed when a Vishnu Kant Shastry, who swears by his loyalty to the Sangh Parivar was removed as governor, or when subtle hints were dropped to a leading political personality, who had migrated to the BJP camp on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, to vacate a gubernatorial office under the ministry of external affairs.

When will our public figures learn to evolve honourable traditions in the political arena since as a nation we are still proud of our long tradition as a tolerant society?

The point is there is nothing surprising in the public outburst of Mr. Anupam Kher. Probably, he has not heard about the example set by one of his peers down South.

Otherwise, he would not be terming his 'sack' after a polite request was made by the Information & Broadcasting Secretary Navin Chawla as a case of 'downright vendetta, intolerance and political narrow-mindedness'

Akkineni Nageswara Rao, a recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award, had resigned as the Cultural Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Government the moment Telugu Desam government was voted out in the May assembly elections. In fact, he had put in his papers even before the counting was completed.

Once the voting trend became clear, Nageswara Rao, ANR to his fans for over five-decades, drove to the outgoing chief minister's residence and gave his resignation.

"I am apolitical but since the government that had appointed me has lost, I should also quit," he said by way of an explanation. And the decision did not diminish his prestige.

It only enhanced his stature and his counsel is sought after by the Congress government that had succeeded the Telugu Desam in Hyderabad.

Any comment, Mr. Kher? Why do you bother about what the ageing comrade had written about you in the People's Democracy, which has a limited reach and readership? (Syndicate Features)

Training for development

By Dr M P Gupta

International alliance against hunger marked World Food Day in the year 2003, it will not be surprising to often find reports through media about large scale deaths due to hunger, suicides by farmers, burning of crops from different parts of the world which speaks volumes about food related problems due to ever increasing population around the globe. As a matter of fact, the Government alone cannot solve the problems of hunger and malnutrition, it is the people who need 'preparation' and 'development' through training. It will be worth mentioning that training helps people to discover their innate potential or capabilities to increase their competency or skill for a job. The success of any development programme or a project depends upon the strength and involvement of the trained manpower in its implementation. Many a time education is taken for training and set goal of endeavour are not achieved and calls for distinction. According to Batten (1962) both education and training are learning processes but, whereas the aims of education are general, those of training are much more specific. Further, the former lays emphasis on more of knowledge and understanding, and the later on more of understanding and skills. No matter what type, level of training is under consideration, the appropriate training strategy should include the acquisition of knowledge skill and attitude.

Some of the important inadequacies in agriculture training programmes revealed by 400 trainees and trainers selected from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh State in a study by the author, are summarized as under :

i) Training in general, was not need-based and lacked practical utility.

ii) No well defined objectives of training programmes

iii) Course contents not properly spelled-out to fulfill the objectives.

iv) Trainers do not employ modern media and are confined to lecture method alone

v) Unwilling trainers and trainees lacked enthusiasm.

vi) Undue importance to inaugural and concluding sessions of training programmes.

vii) Lack of adequate facilities for practical training.

viii) No proper management and evaluation of training courses.

ix) No follow-up of the training programmes.

Perspective Training

The importance of training as an instrument for increasing professional competence of extension personnel as well as improving skills of farmers cannot be underestimated for the success of rural development programmes like: IRD, broad based T&V and Prime Minister's Development Programme. With the introduction of Community Development Programme in 1952, the need for training was felt and since then a variety of training programmes are being organized for continuous upgrading in farmers skill and to improve staff morals, efficiency or productivity. In order to equip the extension personnel to deliver the real goods under rural development programmes, they may be required to undergo pre-job and on-the job trainings. The pre-job training may be for formal education or for special preparation. On-the-job training may include orientation, induction or apprenticeship, refresher and advance training. It becomes the responsibility of master trainer to create a desire to congenial training situation. The farmers may be imparted general training in crop production or specialized training in mushroom growing, vegetable cultivation, poultry, piggery, dairy, bee-keeping, farm machinery, etc.

It is worth mentioning that a variety of training methods are available namely (i) Case method (ii) Buzz groups (iii) lecture method (iv) Group disussion (v) Problem solving (vi) Sensitivity training (vii) Role-playing (viii) Laboratory training etc. To be effective, the trainer has to select suitable training methods keeping in view the background of traget group and objectives of the training course.

Training Needs

Obviously, for the success of training programme, it should be based on needs of the people who are to be trained. This calls for identification of their training needs which serves as a challenge and a prime task before an extension worker in planning training course. The 'participatory rural appraisal' (PRA) technique may be employed to realistically identify the training needs of the people.

Training Strategy

Training strategy includes ''system approach'' for development of skills. It refers to the integrated use of interwoven variables, teaching tools and techniques in making training dynamic , promoting change.

Guidelines for Training : These guidelines for training have special relevance to hilly areas of our country.

* Training has a vast potential in the development of skills and utilization of farm technologies for increasing production. So, training of extension personnel and farmers should be given due weightage in rural development programmes.

* Extension taining should be result oriented and for that matter it should aim at providing proper learning experience useful for solving new problems. Each learning experience must (i) Have a practical application (ii) Give satisfaction (iii) Be within the ability of the people who are to trained (iv) Provide time and opportunity to carry out the experience (v) Provide experiences desired by the intended participants.

In order to achieve the above said purpose, appropriate training strategy involving (a) analysis of intended participants (b) principles of system approach (c) defining objectives (d) analysis of task (e) subject-matter planning and (f) design of learning, shoud be employed.

* The trainings should be 'tailor made' to meet the felt and unfelt needs of clients: For this purpose, training should be strengthened and extension staff should be re-oriented in latest training media and method.

* Depending upon the potential of the area, farmers should be trained on priority in innovative, market oriented cash crops like:

-Olive cultivation

- Saffron cultivation

- Erometical & Medicinal Plants

- Kiwi cultivation

- Peanut production Technology

- Cultivation of Anardana

-Zeera cultivation, etc.

- In a study ''Use of Communication Media by JAAS'', the author reported that village extension workers were not equipped with appropriate media to drive the ideas home to illiterate farmers in an understandable and meaningful way. It is suggested that there should be enough opportunities for field staff to make use of communication media on different projects and sufficient exhibition materials should be provided for demonstrations, field days and village level training camps.

Conclusion

Training is the key to Human Resource Development, which seeks to bring a better standard of living and quality life to its people. In this behalf, it enables peoples to discover their inherent capabilities or potentials to increase their skill, aspiration level, mobilize the resources for production purposes.

Squarely speaking, the success of agril/rural development programme depends upon the ''prepatation'' and ''participation'' of the target population through training to which it is implemented. In comparison to plains, the hilly areas pose a greater challenge to extension personnel in training of farmers in modernization of agriculture, on account of complex problems like small, scattered and sloppy holdings, absence of effective means of communication, transportation and erratic weather. It is suggested that a number of community-training centers should be set up for a cluster of villages. Further farmers should be imparted training in ''mixed farming'' on scientific lines to meet their diversified needs and to safeguard against erratic behavior of weather besides increase in economic returns.

Lastly, the understanding, co-operation for development may be through overseas training among nations need to be strengthened to fight the war against hunger in the world.

Reforms after Chidambaram's US visit

By K R Sudhaman

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has sent right signals about reforms at the recently concluded IMF- World Bank annual meeting in Washington and it is heartening to note that he believes that India is poised to become a major driver of global growth in the medium term. Voicing the commitment of the UPA Government to continue with reforms with a human face, he says Government believes that the key to growth is enhanced investment: public and private, domestic and foreign.

Chidambaram claims that there is evidence of strong revival of investment demand and business confidence and the economy is expected to grow at 6.5-7 per cent this year despite a delayed monsoon and oil price pressures.

There is some validity in Chidambaram's confidence but the question that is always asked by investors, both foreign and domestic, is how he proposed to carry forward reforms, particularly the hard ones, with pulls and pressures of coalition politics. The left parties are not able to shed their past socialistic baggage even when Russia and China have been able to do so.

Labour reforms, liberalisation of foreign direct investment regime are some of the issues on which left parties have divergent views. With assembly elections in Kerala and West Bangal, the bastion of left parties, due in 2006, there is no way left is going to allow any reforms. Coupled with it is the difficult oil price situation, which makes, Chidambaram himself say, the macro-economic management in India is very complex. With Assembly elections round the corner every six-eight months in the country, monetary policy would have to continue to emphasise price stability with growth, which means slowing down of some of the reforms.

Given this scenario, it would be interesting how the Government moves forward. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's Economic Reforms in 1991 as Finance Minister in the then Narasimha Rao Government is no stranger. He is a sound economist. Chidambaram too is no novice and he is credited with some major reform measures as Finance Minister in United Front Government during 1996-98. The team also includes Montek Singh Ahluwalia as Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.

But the compulsions of coalition politics have made the reform initiatives uneven though the liberalisation process since 1991 could be credited for the overall good progress in increasing incomes and improving living standards.

After the setbacks associated with 1991 balance of payments crisis, economic growth, supported by wide-ranging reforms to deregulate the economy, picked up significantly. Reforms included abolition of all quantitative restrictions on non-consumer goods, reduction in the tariffs, unification of the exchange rates, adoption of more liberal rules foreign direct investment and the introduction of current account convertibility. There were some positive reform developments recently. Tariffs were significantly reduced in January. There are initial signs of fiscal adjustment at the Centre and in some states. Some important legislation has been passed by both Central and several State Governments in recent years, including in the areas of power sector reform, fiscal responsibility and debt recovery.

But what is worrying is that growing fiscal deficit, which needs some drastic reform measures. This meant taking some hard decisions and left parties would surely play the spoil sport in this regard. The experience of the past three or four months of UPA Government shows that the every step it takes on reforms, it is forced to take two steps backwards. There are numerous examples starting with the controversy on rising sectorial caps on FDI in telecom, insurance and civil aviation. The foreign expect controversy in the plan panels and the left's opposition to withdrawing the restrictions in the press note 18 for investments by foreign companies having subsidiaries in India.

The latest country strategy for India prepared by the World Bank warns that fiscal stance since the mid-1990s has not been conducive to long-run growth and poverty reduction. The fiscal deficit of centre and states has averaged around 10 per cent in recent years. These high fiscal deficits have been accompanied by poor composition of expenditure with wages, pension, interest and subsidy crowding out capital spending and maintenance, and leading to slow real growth in social sector spending.

The fiscal deficits, according to country strategy, have also been largely financed by borrowings, with a strategic shift towards long-term rupee debt after the 1991 crisis. Government debt rose from 58 per cent of GD at end March 1986 to 85 per cent of GDP at end March 2003. Including the debt of public enterprises, total public debt is now 95 per cent of GDP. Despite the apparent ease with which the fiscal deficit is being financed, a large part of household savings is being used to finance the gap between public sector investment savings. However the risk of crisis in India today is mitigated by public control of much of the banking sector, as well as by the strong external position. Rising external reserves and low levels of short-term external debt give the country a very comfortable cushion to counter any speculative attack. The risk is further reduced by limited capital account convertibility, and flexible exchange rate.

Unless the fiscal imbalances are addressed, the low interest rate regime prevalent presently might not remain forever. As long as debt remains high the sustainability of the fiscal stance is extremely vulnerable to an increase in interest rates. The country strategy makes it very clear that major fiscal reforms are needed to reduce central and state fiscal deficits, to improve the quality and efficiency of Government spending, and to increase revenue mobilisation --- simplifying tax structures, eliminating exemptions, bringing services into the tax net, implementing Value Added Tax). Both Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram have repeatedly said that comprehensive tax reforms would be carried out in the next budget. With one hand tied by the left parties, it is to be seen how much of it is actually implemented in the next budget.

Medium-term growth prospects depended critically on the pace of structural reform as well as fiscal consolidation, the country strategy says adding and aggressive reforms effort by the Government will be required to encourage the private investment needed to achieve higher sustained growth. Key areas for growth promoting structural reforms are the power sector, agriculture and factor markets, especially labour and land.

A slow reform scenario will push down growth to five per cent and a get reform scenario will progressively accelerate to eight per cent. Currently India appears to be a in between these two scenarios, the World Bank Country Strategy says. Medium term growth prospects have definitely improved over the last year with faster industrial and services growth already in evidence and with considerable reform progress in the last years or so. While India is currently on an underlying growth path of around six per cent, it is clearly possible for Centre and the States to set growth on a higher path and achieve eight per cent in the coming years, provided reforms are further broadened and accelerated.

In a fast reform scenario, measures to reduce fiscal deficits, at the Centre in the States, would reduce crowding out and pressures for exchange rate appreciation, and create space for increased private investment. Improvements in management and composition of public expenditures, with a lower share spent on civil servants' wages, pensions and interest and on covering power sector losses, and a higher share spent on operations and maintenance and investments in key infrastructure, would further crowd in private investment. Improvements in the investment climate, through the removal of bottlenecks in product and factor markets and key infrastructure, would increase the productivity of both public and private investment across the economy, including in India's poor rural areas. An increase in FDI would contribute technology transfer and increase output.

Accelerating growth towards eight per cent also depends greatly on changes taking place in India's lagging states. Montek Singh Ahuluwalia has already indicated that it would not be possible to achieve eight per cent growth as targeted in the Tenth plan period 2002-07.

These are stark realities. With Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram at helm of affairs, the intent is there to accelerate reforms but time will only tell how they are label to step on the accelerator with left parties putting a Governor.

PTI Feature