In Kashmir, Residents Observe ‘Civil Curfew’ Against Government

August 24, 2019

Shops and business establishments open only briefly in ‘undeclared’ shutdown to protest against the Centre’s move.

Representational image. | Image Courtesy: Deccan Herald

Srinagar: Government-imposed restrictions and communication blackout continue to paralyse life in Kashmir with the security clampdown entering the 18th day on Friday. Alongside, there is a parallel ‘undeclared’ shutdown being observed by residents in most parts of the Valley to express their resentment against the Centre’s move and the ongoing crisis.

Hundreds of shops at the city centre, Lal Chowk, remain shut. In residential areas, however, the shops open early morning and late evening. It is during this time that people buy household essentials.

Even if the curfew is lifted by the government, the shopkeepers say they are keeping their shops closed as a mark of protest. “We are following a civil curfew against the government and it’s important we register our protest this time,” a shopkeeper in Jawahar Nagar said.

With all shops and business establishments across the Valley closed, the losses incurred by people are ‘enormous.’

For Asif, a cloth merchant in Lal Chowk’s HSH Street, summer is peak season. “Most weddings happen during August and September and that’s the main time for business, but this year it’s over,” he says.

This year, the situation for businessmen became a little more difficult when the government directive came asking tourists and Amarnath Yatris to leave the restive Valley. The advisories scared hundreds of skilled labourers who worked in the state’s informal sector as tailors, painters, goldsmith, hairdressers and so on.

“I have a massive backlog because most of my workers left but since my clients can’t reach me, I think weddings have either been cancelled or postponed,” another shopkeeper in Lal Chowk’s Bund says.

A non-Kashmiri hairdresser, who decided to stay back in Nowgam’s Wanbal locality, is witnessing a huge rush these days. His friend from Bihar has a tyre-repairing shop in the same locality. Both follow the same work timings – early morning till 9 a.m and then after 6 pm.

All the wedding invitations for August have been either cancelled or postponed or are being conducted as low-key affairs. Residents says it is usually difficult to attend weddings and ‘often dangerous.’

Travelling with his wife and brother, an invitee coming from Srinagar’s outskirts of Soura managed to travel nearly eight km in his car, but another one km to Nowhatta was not that easy. It is a wedding ceremony of a close family member which is why, he says, he must reach there.

“Even attending weddings is a task. I left my car midway in the vicinity of a college hoping to reach there on foot,” the person in his mid-40s told NewsClick.

Most weddings have gone austere as the single largest highlight of a Kashmiri wedding– Wazwan — which costs in lakhs for an average lunch for 200-300 people, stands cancelled. People say they have taken measures to avoid extravagance during weddings or other functions in solidarity with the community.

Saalim, a young entrepreneur, is getting get married this month. “I think I am left with a pair of jeans only,” he said. “The trouble is preparations were made for grand celebrations and then all of a sudden, you can’t celebrate,” he adds.

The people are as angry about the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state as they are about government’s enforced communication blockade and the sudden crackdown on August 5.

Hundreds of parents wait for their turn to call their children from the landline inside the DC office in Srinagar. Some of them allege the process of waiting inside the facilitation centre is ‘extremely humiliating’.

“We have come as early as 7 in the morning and its 1 p.m and I still I haven’t made the call. The administration is using our longing for our children against us. This is blackmail,” a resident of old Srinagar, waiting to call his son, says.

Some landlines in several civil line areas have started working, bringing some respite to some families, while some others are rushing to the BSNL exchange offices either to pay their longstanding bills or to get their old landline connections restored.

“We are witnessing a huge rush. In four Srinagar exchanges, we have restored connections to civil line areas only. People are turning up here in huge numbers,” a BSNL employee in Barzullah exchange says.

According to a government spokesperson, as many as 63,000 landline connections have been restored across the state, but Lal Chowk and most Srinagar areas, including the Downtown, still await restoration. And, many schools are located in this vicinity.

Even as the government claims that schools have started to function, almost all schools in Srinagar remain shut. “Given the ongoing situation, how can you think we will send our children to school. The government is talking irrationally,” Tasaduq, a father of two, told Newsclick.

“No one comes here, no teachers or students, only a few persons from the caretaker staff are inside,” the doorkeeper at Oasis International School in Gojgi Bagh says.

“It’s not about the education, we won’t send our kids to school to be used as a sign of fake normalcy,” Tasaduq adds.

Many other schools are completely locked. Not just the schools, due to restrictions, school children are unable to attend private tuition classes as well.

Courtesy: News Click

IMA finally writes to PM to withdraw Dr. Kafeel’s suspension

August 24, 2019

After struggling for two long years in the Gorakhpur tragedy in which several children died due to shortage of oxygen cylinders in the BRD College and Hospital and requesting the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Pediatrician Kafeel Khan has finally received some support from them.

Dr. Kafeel Khan ( Photo Twocirccles.net)

The IMA has written to the Prime Minister of India to revoke the suspension order and also to withdraw all legal cases against Dr. Kafeel Khan.

The IMA has also stated in their letter that the shortage of oxygen cylinders in the hospital were due to nonpayment of bills to the vendors. But Dr. Kafeel was accused of negligence even though he had bought cylinders from his money and saved the lives of several children.

According to RTI (Right to Information) this fact has been revealed. And the government has accepted that there was shortage of liquid oxygen for 54 hours in BRD Medical College on August 10, 11 and 12 and Dr Khan had indeed arranged jumbo oxygen cylinders to save the children.

A departmental enquiry has also revealed that there is no negligence on the part of Dr. Khan and the tragedy occurred due to severe shortage in the oxygen cylinders.

The doctors also drew attention of the PM to the sufferings of Dr. Khan and his family ever since his suspension and subsequent slapping of criminal cases against him. They urged the PM to compensate the doctor for the period he was suspended.

The High Court of Allahabad had also in its affidavit accepted the shortage of oxygen supply in the hospital.

The Supreme Court had asked the UP Government to pay all the subsistence allowances to Dr. Kafeel Khan pending his suspension.

However the court directions were not followed and Dr. Kafeel Khan who was wrongfully jailed and his character was tinted did not get the respite due to him. His suspension was not revoked now the compensation paid to him.

During the time when the IMA strongly supported the junior doctors who had been assaulted in a hospital in West Bengal in June, Dr. Kafeel had requested the IMA to lend their support to him as well.

Two months later the IMA decided to support Dr. Kafeel and have written to the PM in which they have stated:

“IMA identifies with Dr Kafeel Khan and proclaims solidarity with him in these difficult times. We request you to kindly further Dr khan’s cause to help him get justice,” .

“Dr Kafeel Khan’s suspension may kindly be revoked at the earliest and he may be compensated. Kindly prevail on the government of Uttar Pradesh to withdraw all pending legal cases against Dr Kafeel Khan and BRD Oxygen Tragedy may be investigated by central agencies,”.

Courtesy: Two Circle

Assam CM: Don’t panic if name doesn’t appear in NRC

August 24, 2019

Just days ahead of the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has appealed to people not to panic in case their names are not included in the list. Sonowal has also requested people to maintain peace and stay calm on August 31, the day of publication of the NRC.

Image Courtesy: DNA

Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a meeting with top officials of the state administration and police Sonowal reiterated his commitment to publishing an error-free NRC in compliance with all Supreme Court guidelines. “We have been extending cooperation in the whole process with due respect to the Supreme Court,” he told The Week.

Sonowal’s words reassuring people come shortly after a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) statement that extended the deadline for people to appeal against their exclusion. “As it may not be possible for all those excluded from final NRC to file the appeal within the prescribed time, MHA will amend the rules to increase the present time limit of filing of appeals in FTs from 60 days to 120 days regarding exclusion from final NRC.

The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 are also being amended accordingly,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, in the run up to the publication of the NRC, Sonowal held a meeting with the top brass of the police force including the Director General of Police (DGP) Kuladhar Saikia, various Superintendents and Commissioners as well as District Collectors, to discuss administrative and security measures for August 31. Sonowal also instructed them to take strict action against those spreading misinformation or making communal comments against the NRC. Police are also going to keep an eye on social media and will take action against those who use it to instigate untoward incidents.

New POCSO Act retains clause “sexual assault on child in course of communal and sectarian violence”

August 23, 2019

Hate crimes against marginalised communities have seen a steady upsurge in India in the past two decades, with the highest number of reported crimes being against Dalits and Muslims and most common alleged motives driven by caste, gender, and religion. It is especially heartbreaking when children become the victims of hate crimes.

The recently passed amended POCSO (Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences) Act when discussed in Rajya Sabha, had an amendment which removed the existing clause on “aggravated assault- in the course of communal and sectarian violence” and sought to replace the words ‘communal and sectarian violence’ with just ‘violence’. This deletion was debated and opposed by several MPs including Abir Ranjan Biswas (@ pg 89) ; Jharna Das Baidya (@ pg 114) ; T.K.S. Elangovan (@ pg 125), Sasmit Patra (@ pg 136).

Sh. Abir Ranjan Biswas was particularly on point when he debated that, “The clause classifying ‘sexual assault on child in course of sectarian and communal violence’ as aggravated penetrative sexual assault has been substituted in this Bill by ‘violence during natural calamity’. These categories of offences are not comparable. The purpose of this substitution is unclear, especially in the times of communal unrest that the country stands witness to.”

The Bill was duly amended with The Minister for Women and Child conceding and agreeing to retain the term “communal and sectarian” and also add to it “or during any natural calamity or in similar situations”.

The POCSO Act was originally passed in 2012 to provide a robust legal framework to protect children (defined as anyone below 18 years of age) from sexual offences. Exploitation and trauma inflicted on women and children during communal violence in India has been witnessed during Partition, during the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots, communal clash in Muzzafarnagar, Gujarat riots of 2002 (heavily documented by the Concerned Citizens Tribunal (Gujarat 2002) and Human Rights Watch with evidence of as many as 250 women and girls being victims of “gross sexual crimes” and unofficial estimates pointing to a much higher number of victims).

It is imperative then, that POCSO recognizes the sexual offences inflicted during “communal and sectarian violence” and thankfully the clause has been retained and the amended POCSO Act recently passed by Lok Sabha.

The question arises, why are children targeted in high numbers for sexual assault during violent circumstances? Sabrang India spoke to criminologist Rashi Vidyasagar who clarified, “Children are highly susceptible to grooming. Grooming allows someone of authority to manipulate children. By sexually assaulting a child of the other community, one is also claiming authority over the bodies of the most marginalised section of that community. Young children are in ‘need of care and protection’ during circumstances like natural calamities, sectarian and communal violence. Assaults against children during these times are especially sinister. ”

Children represent the most vulnerable section of our society. Their consent and rights are refuted everywhere they go, be it forcing them to hug “uncle/aunty” or corporal punishment by teachers. They are told to keep quiet and “obey their elders”. This makes them prone to psychological subjugation having had a vague fear of adults in authority. Being physically smaller and lighter, they are easier to overpower physically as well. Such factors leave them especially exposed to exploitation during circumstances of targeted violence against communities.

Rape of women and children was and is used as an instrument for the subjugation and humiliation of a community. The idea of the “honor” of a community residing in the sexual purity of its female population and claiming “ownership” of “their women” is responsible for the historic use of rape as an inherent war tactic all over the world. International Criminal Tribunals of United Nations have included rapes as war crimes and charged sexual violence during acts of war as “crimes against humanity”.

Despite the overwhelming number and the nature of sexual crimes inflicted on children during communal violence in India, many of our elected leaders have displayed extreme callousness on various occasions. During a parliamentary debate on Gujarat on April 30, 2002, for example, then Defense Minister George Fernandes stated: “There is nothing new in the mayhem let loose in Gujarat… A pregnant woman’s stomach being slit, a daughter being raped in front of a mother aren’t a new thing.”

Such statements and tactics to normalize violence are a regular feature of our 24 hour news cycle in contemporary India. The “death penalty for aggravated sexual assault” in the new POCSO Act was widely celebrated in the media. What a death penalty means in terms of actual impact of discouraging perpetrators from committing such acts remains to be seen. It could in fact be argued that it could lead to lower reporting and conviction rates. The perceived certainty and moral dilemma of condemning the perpetrator to death could lead to law enforcement, parents, and judiciary being reluctant. In depth research on ground can only show what the impact would be. Penalties may do nothing to deter perpetrators when the actual etiology of patriarchy and impunity afforded on the basis of gender, caste and religion remain intact.

The POCSO Act had defined the stand-alone section on “aggravated sexual assault” to recognise the special coercive circumstances in which the sexual violence is committed. The purpose of retaining the words “communal and sectarian violence” in the clause is also to ensure the sexual crimes deployed during communal attacks, caste atrocities, and riots are documented as such for what they actually are. The narrative cannot and should not erase communal motivations to appease any factions. As a nation, we have a duty to prioritize and protect children.

Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder and CEO of Red Elephant Foundation, told Sabrang India,

“We must make society see that they are stakeholders in a future that starts from investing in the protection of children. This means involving the ecosystem in any theory of change – parents, teachers, care providers and others engaged in the child’s every day activities. Prioritizing comprehensive engagement is in itself a peace building activity. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a nation to equip that village to provide for the child. Fundamentally, harm and violence create trauma. This can be physical, mental, emotional, and psychological, and this can have both long-term and short-term impacts that need to be addressed for the child to heal in a wholesome fashion. Children can exhibit injuries, they can show behavioral differences such as by acting out or being withdrawn or developing an aversion to particular activities. They may also find themselves being challenged to cope with the emotions that come up after what they faced.”

Survivors of child sexual abuse can suffer from a range of physical and mental health issues. For some, recovery takes a lifetime. It is up to lawmakers and citizens alike to protect children from being pawns in hate crimes. The retention of “communal and sectarian violence” clause in POCSO Act is one such measure to hold perpetrators accountable. It is a sad, fearful, and violent world we are raising our children in, and we must advocate for their rights at every avenue. They deserve to live in a world free of strife. They deserve to live in communal harmony. After all, they are the ones who can pay the highest price for the intolerance preached by adults.

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‘They beat Chandrashekhar with lathis all night long’ – Bhim Army

August 23, 2019

Following the massive protests against the demolition of the Ravidas temple in Tughlaqabad, dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad was picked up by the police and beaten up inside the Kalkaji police station, the Bhim Army has alleged. Speaking to Sabrangindia, Vipin Gouraiya of the Bhim Army Student Federation said, ‘near the Okhla metro station a senior police officer told us everything is alright and you can march to the temple. However when we reached the temple we saw some bikes burning , the police started firing in air and picked up Chandrashekhar Azad and Vinay Ratan Singh without informing anyone. They tied him up and beat him up with lathis all night long’. Over ninety people from the Bhim Army were arrested for rioting. He also said that while others were also beaten up in lock up, Chandrashekhar Azad was the ‘main target’. Five more young boys were picked up by the police next day when they raised ‘Jai Bheem’ slogans on seeing Chandrashekhar Azad, he alleged. Speaking to Sabrangindia, SHO Kalkaji, Atul Kumar denied all allegations and said, ‘Hundreds of people were detained, their lawyers had come along, how is it possible ? A medical was also done and he was produced in front of the magistrate’. Azad has allegedly been booked under the Arms Act among many other provisions of law. He has been sent to Tihar Jail. The Bhim Army is holding a press conference at 4PM today at Women press club in Delhi to throw more light on the matter.

Most Major Opposition Parties Demonstrate At New Delhi In Support of Kashmiris; Protest Reminiscent of J.P.’s 25 June, 1975 Rally

August 23, 2019

Co-Written by Dr. P. S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal

On 22 August, 2019 leaders of most major opposition parties demonstrated at the national protest site, JantarMantar, New Delhi, India from 11 a.m. to 1.15 p.m. The all party demonstration was organized to urge immediate release of leaders detained in J & K; to save democracy and to protect human rights. The call for this action was given by the DMK President, M.K. Stalin. Supporters of DMK from Delhi joined in large numbers.

While the attendance at the protest was in hundreds the body language of the opposition leaders; the tone and tenor of their speeches and statements; the stingingly sharp criticism of Modi Government’s action on Kashmir; no mincing of words;the political ambience of the meeting; the electrifying environment created by the playing of a Tamil song with lilting tunes at the start of the function – all sum up the mood at the gathering. The pain, anguish and outrage at the August 5 decision of the Modi government was all too discernible. The protest was attended by leaders of DMK, Congress (I), CPI, CPI (M), Indian Union of Muslim League, Samajwadi Party, National Conference, Trinamool Congress, RashtriyaJanta Dal, LoktantrikJanata Dal. Shehla Rashid of J & K Peoples’ Movement was also present.

Before the leader addressed the gathering the following slogans were raised repeatedly for a few minutes:

Release the political leaders detained in J & K immediately
Resume telecom services in the valley
Restore democracy in J & K
Restore normalcy in J & K

The message in the slogans formed the resolution adopted at the protest.

The sixteen odd leaders spoke in Tamil/Hindi/English and stressed:

“Our (National Conference) leaders don’t know why they have been arrested. I will return to Kashmir and inform the people that so many supporters are there in India willing to extend hand-in-hand support.”[National Conference representative]
“Promises were made to Kashmiris by our ancestors who fought for India’s freedom; those in power today appear to be fighting those very freedom fighters through their action in Kashmir … Kashmir has become an open air prison.” [SharadYadav]
“Please tell us what is the crime they have committed that they are behind bars, it is our right to know.” [Dinesh Trivedi]
“Country’s unity cannot be maintained with a bandook (gun) and the army. BJP’s action in Kashmir is antinational.” [Brinda Karat]
“Time to hold each other’s’ hand. If we are silent today – doomsday awaits us. We voted against the government in Parliament.” [RJD]
“We condemn what is happening. Abrogation of Article 370 is undemocratic, unconstitutional and an assault on democracy. There is a sininster attempt to push through RSS agenda of Hindu Rashtra. There is curfew all over; jails are full in J & K. We should reach out to people of J & K; call for nationwide protests.” [D. Raja]
“Media is muzzled; does not have access in J & K; jails in U.P. are being used to house Kashmiris arrested in the valley; this is a dangerous situation.” [Ram GopalYadav]
“Mulkka, kaumkaitanabheenamiyaargire, kisurkhiyaandekhateheehaath se akhabaargire…

With the start of the 2^nd term of the government a reign of dictatorship has started. Today the struggle against dictatorship has also started.” [Manish Tewari]

“Government’s swoop down in Kashmir seizing J & K through military take over; the Constitution has been manipulated to pave the way for a Hindu Rashtra.” [SitaramYechury]
“We (DMK) have a national outlook; steps in whenever constitutional norms are in danger.”[DMK representative]
“Something grave is happening in J & K. Only international media knows it. Indian media is covering Kashmir but the telecast is not being allowed. We are no longer living in democracy.” [GhulamNabi Azad]

Placards carrying the following messages (in Hindi, English and Tamil) were displayed:

Release all political leaders, workers and ordinary people arrested in Kashmir.
BJP-RSS-NDA Government stop assaults on the Indian Constitution.
Stop assaults on rights of people in J & K.

Dozens of workers, members of CPI (ML) New Democracy came out in support carrying placards with messages:

Do not trample federal structure
Restore democratic rights of people of J & K
Restore Article 370.

Some Delhi based, non-party political activists also joined the protest in solidarity. As we walked away after the protest was over, one of us – who had attended J.P.’s rally of 25^th June, 1975 – commented that though J.P.’s rally was attended by around a lakh of people at RamlilaMaidan, Delhi the political message sent out by today’s protest is as loud and clear as it was then in 1975!

(Dr. P.S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal are members of PIL Watch Group. Email: pilwatchgroup@gmail.com)

Courtesy: Counter Current

Thousands Of Job Losses Reveal Rising Risks To India’s Demographic Dividend

August 23, 2019

Jaipur/Mumbai: The recent shedding of over 350,000 jobs in its automobile sector–and thousands elsewhere–is an indicator of the economic and social hurdles that jeopardise India’s demographic dividend, the growth opportunity afforded by the world’s second largest working-age population of 688 million people.

With unemployment at a 45-year high, poor health–42 infants per 1,000 still die before turning one–and low levels of education–an average person has attended school for 6.3 years–India’s demographic dividend is at risk, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Indian government, and research from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

India needs state specific policies–good health and education systems, with more women entering the workforce in young states, and policies to attract migrants and elderly care systems in ageing states. India will also need to reduce caste and urban-rural inequality, especially in access to reproductive care, health, education and jobs.

As its working population is larger than the population of dependents, “India, theoretically, could have a golden period in the decade of 2020 to 2040 (and continuing later, though with decreasing results)…but it could happen only if the right policies and programmes are put in place right now,” according to a 2018 paper by the UNFPA.

However, our research shows, states vary widely in the education, skill development and healthcare facilities they are able to provide, leading to varying employability outcomes.

As a result, states need policies specific to their unique challenges, which are determined, in part, by the stage of demographic transition they are in. For instance, the age-dependency ratio–the ratio of dependents (people below 15 years and above 64 years) to the working-age population (people aged 15-59 years)–shows that Kerala has an ageing population, while in Bihar, the number of working people will keep increasing until 2051, based on a 2017 UNFPA report, Demographic Dividend in India.

This story examines states’ disparate needs and offers some solutions. For instance, ageing Kerala would need policies to attract migrant labour from young states such as Rajasthan and Bihar, while relatively young states such as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh require strong health and education systems to prepare the workforce for the future.

Window of demographic opportunity varies across states

The age-dependency ratio measures how many young people an economy has to support its children and the elderly. An expanding working-age population is associated with higher economic growth, according to a 2019 RBI study, based on how India’s population affected macroeconomic outcomes between 1975 and 2017.

This window of opportunity, which opened in 2005-06, can accelerate India’s economic growth and improve standards of living, at least until the working-age population starts declining.

Currently India’s average age-dependency ratio is low–with 67% of its population in the working-age bracket of 15-64 years, according to a 2018 UNFPA report. This is set to decline further and India, as a whole, will have a smaller dependent population and a larger working-age population every year until 2031, and a stable but reducing working population until 2041.

Because of the vast differences in fertility rates across states, India’s average working population only shows part of the story. If states are analysed individually, there are three broad patterns in India’s demographic transition, said Devender Singh, national programme officer at the UNFPA, based on research on the dependency ratio across Indian states. For the purpose of calculating states’ dependency ratio, the working age is considered to be 15-59 years, as 60 is the age of retirement in India.

“You cannot have the same sets of policies in all these sets of states,” to benefit from the demographic opportunity across India, Singh explained.

In states where the fertility rate is low, including some where the fertility rate is below replacement level–which means that the population will not replace itself–the window of opportunity of their working population will close soon.

In Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telnagana, Gujarat, Punjab and West Bengal, the window of opportunity will start closing after 2021, data from the UNFPA show. Kerala’s window of opportunity has already started closing.

In these states, the focus has to be on supporting the ageing population through better health facilities, and attracting more working hands from the states that have a labour surplus, Singh said. This might require programmes and policies to attract high quality labour from other states, and even re-training them to match the needs of the states with a low workforce.

The second group of states includes states such as Karnataka, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, J&K, Uttarakhand, Haryana, where the working age population is currently at its peak, but will start reducing from 2031.

There has to be a combination of policies for good health facilities for women and children, a good education system to prepare the workforce for future opportunities and a good health and support system for the elderly.

In the third group of states, which includes Uttar Pradesh (UP), Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh (MP), fertility rates are still very high, and these states have a high proportion of children. UP ‘s window of opportunity will start closing in 2043, Chhattisgarh’s in 2035, MP’s in 2041 and Bihar’s in 2051.

In these states, the focus has to be on providing good sexual and reproductive health services to women to meet family planning needs, and access to contraceptives. Women’s access to these services is indirectly related to the demographic opportunity. If women do not have access to good health services, and have a higher number of children, they might not join the workforce, reducing 50% of the population from the workforce.

The large child population would need very good quality education, health services, and good vocational training and skill development programmes to become the workforce of the future.

India’s reducing workforce and growing unemployment

Other countries have seen a high rate of economic growth during their period of low dependency. For instance, in the 10-year period starting 1985, when China’s dependency ratio was similar to India’s today, China grew at an average rate of 9.16% per year, data from the World Bank show. Similarly, South Korea grew at an average of 9.2% during a similar 10-year period in its demographic journey.

In the 10-year period starting when China was at a similar dependency ratio as India is today, the proportion of people, 15+yrs, in the labour force went from 78.6% to 73.3%.

But, in India, although the size of the working-age population is increasing, the number of people working is decreasing, the RBI study found. In comparison to China, India’s labour force participation, of people 15+ years, was 49.8% in 2017-2018, down from 50.4% in 2015-16, according to data from the periodic labour force survey, an employment survey conducted by the Indian government.

Between 2011-12 and 2014-15, the worker population ratio–the proportion of the workforce, 15+ years, in the total population–decreased from 55.9% in 2009-10 to 54.7% in 2011-12 and to 46.8% in 2017-18, data from the survey show.

A majority of this decrease came because of a reduction in the worker-population ratio of women from 22.8% in 2009-10 to 16.5% in 2017-18, data show.

High female unemployment

The number of people aged 25-64 years increased by around 47 million during the six-year period from 2014-15 to 2017-18, and 36 million, mostly women, moved out of the agricultural workforce, Himanshu (he uses one name), an economist wrote in Livemint on August 1 2019.

“The economy should have created at least 83 million jobs between 2012 and 2018 to accommodate those who have entered the labour force and those forced out of agriculture. As against these, the economy witnessed a decline in the number of workers by 15.5 million,” he wrote, based on data from India’s periodic labour force survey.

Out of those who are part of the labour force, 5.8% of males and 3.8% of females were unemployed in rural areas in 2017-18. In urban areas, 7.1% of males and 10.8% of females were unemployed, government data show. The unemployment rate has grown from 2011-12 when 1.7% of males and 1.7% of females in rural areas, and 7.3% of males and 5.2% of females were unemployed, data show.

“Whenever there are fewer jobs in the economy, women are impacted more than men, showing a gender preference in the Indian workforce, explained Singh of UNFPA.

IndiaSpend’s women@work series investigates some of the reasons for women dropping out of India’s workforce such as unequal burden of housework, unavailability of daycare for children, gender preference at the work place, sexual harassment, and family pressure.

Indians need better education to qualify for jobs

One of the major issues for India’s poorly skilled workforce is the quality of education in India. For instance, in rural India, only 20.9% of children studying in Grade III in government schools could subtract, and only about half of the students in Grade V could read a Grade II level text, found the Annual Survey of Education Report 2018, published by Pratham, an education nonprofit.

India will have an incremental requirement of 103.4 million skilled workers within high-priority sectors such as construction, real estate and retail, between 2017 and 2022, estimated the Human Resource Requirement Reports, commissioned by the National Skill Development Corporation.

Currently, only 4.69% of the workforce has undergone formal skill training. A vast majority, 95.31% of the current workforce, could miss out on new jobs if they aren’t adequately skilled.

In order to provide training, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, under its Skill India Mission, launched a flagship scheme known as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 2016-20. With less than a year to go, only 3.7 million youth have received training under the scheme, despite a target of 10 million.

Further, 33% of those skilled, did not get jobs, according to an analysis of data from the government’s labour survey, published in Livemint in August 2019.

To use its demographic opportunity, India needs to reduce inequality between castes, urban and rural India

India could learn from other countries that have gone through these stages of demographic transition, and have better education and health indicators, but India has the unique advantage of learning from itself, explained Singh of UNFPA. States that still have high dependency ratios can learn from states which have passed that stage, especially as India has its own problems of inequality between castes and religion, rural and urban segregation, and poor public service delivery systems, Singh said.

For instance, the mean age of death for scheduled castes was 48 as compared to 60 for so-called upper castes, as IndiaSpend reported in April 2018. This suggests that India not only has to provide better health services to its population but reduce the caste-based inequality in accessing these services.

Similarly, there is a difference between fertility rates in rural (2.4 children, on average, per woman) and urban India (1.8 children, on average, per woman), data from the national family health survey 2015-2016 shows, which implies that, for more women to enter the workforce, focus on providing reproductive services to women would have to focus more on rural areas.

(Khaitan is a writer/editor and Ahmed is a Research Analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

Packaged food: India consistently ranked towards bottom for all measures of nutritional quality

August 23, 2019

Excerpts from the paper “A comparison of the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages from 12 countries using the Health Star Rating nutrient profiling system, 2013–2018”, published in Obesity Reviews, World Obesity Federation:

We compared the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages between selected countries using the Health Star Rating (HSR) nutrient profiling system. Packaged food and beverage data collected 2013–2018 were obtained for Australia, Canada, Chile, China, India, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, the UK, and USA. Each product was assigned to a food or beverage category and mean HSR was calculated overall by category and by country.

Countries were ranked by mean HSR and median nutrient levels. Mean HSR for all products was 2.73 out of 5.0 (healthiest profile). The UK, USA, Australia and Canada ranked highest for overall nutrient profile (HSR 2.74–2.83) and India, Hong Kong, China and Chile ranked lowest (HSR 2.27–2.44). Countries with higher overall HSR generally ranked better with respect to nutrient levels. India ranked consistently in the least healthy third for all measures.

There is considerable variability in the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages in different countries. The finding that packaged foods and beverages are less healthy in middle‐ income countries such as China and India suggests that nutrient profiling is an important tool to enable policymakers and industry actors to reformulate products available in the marketplace to reduce the risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among populations.

There was considerable heterogeneity in the healthiness of food and beverage categories by country. No country consistently ranked in the upper, middle or lower third of HSR rankings for all categories. However, countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa had a relatively small number of categories in the lowest (least healthy) third of HSRs (two from a total of 14). In contrast, Hong Kong, India, Chile and China had six or more of their food and beverage categories ranked in the lowest third.

Canada, the UK, Australia and the USA had the highest ranked mean HSR for all foods and beverages combined (2.74 to 2.83) and Hong Kong, Chile, India and China had the lowest (2.27 to 2.44). HSR rankings differed when foods and beverages were separated out, with some countries performing well for one and less well for the other, e.g. China ranked amongst the best performing countries for beverages (HSR 2.90) but amongst the worst for food (HSR 2.37). By contrast, South Africa’s HSR for beverages (1.92) was ranked considerably lower than its HSR for foods (2.87).

There was also considerable variation in the ranking of levels of nutrients of concern between countries. Whilst countries with higher overall HSR tended to also rank better with respect to nutrient content of their foods and beverages, there were exceptions.

The sodium content of foods, in particular, was not consistently related to HSR ranking. Canadian and USA products, for example, were among the highest third of median sodium content of all countries (333 mg/100 g and 304 mg/100 g respectfully) despite sitting among the highest third of mean HSR (2.74 and 2.82 respectfully). India was consistently ranked towards the bottom for all measures of nutritional quality.

Chinese packaged foods and beverages had the highest median total sugar content (8.3 g/100 g), followed by India (7.3 g/100 g). UK foods had the lowest median sugar content (3.8 g/100 g) followed by Canada (4.6 g/100 g) and Slovenia (4.6 g/100 g).

Indian packaged foods and beverages had the highest median energy content (1515 kJ/100 g), followed by China (1461 kJ/100 g). South African products had the lowest median energy content (1044 kJ/100 g) followed by the UK (985 kJ/100 g).

Overall, packaged foods and beverages in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada ranked healthiest (mean HSR: 2.74 to 2.83 from a possible maximum of 5.00), and Indian, Hong Kong, Chinese, and Chilean foods ranked least healthy (mean HSR: 2.27 to 2.44). Chinese and Indian packaged foods and beverages also had the highest levels of saturated fat, total sugars, and energy density.

This is in line with previous research highlighting the generally unhealthy nature of packaged food and beverage products sold by the largest major food companies in India (with a mean HSR of <2.0). Levels of nutrients of concern have also previously been shown to be higher in foods in China compared to Western countries.

A recent report compared the healthiness of foods provided by nine of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers across countries. That report identified that food sold by these companies in countries of high‐income such as the UK and Australia had overall higher mean HSRs than those sold in lower‐income countries such as India and China.

The observation that packaged food and beverage products available for consumer purchases in middle‐income countries such as China and India were less healthy than those in high‐income countries such as Canada, UK, Australia and UK is a significant cause for concern.

India and China are experiencing a “nutrition transition”, with national nutrition surveys from the past few decades showing consumption patterns switching from traditional diets based upon fruits, vegetables, unprocessed cereals and legumes to diets that are increasingly dominated by highly processed packaged food and beverage products.

From a food category perspective, large differences in both mean HSR ranking and median levels of nutrients of concern were observed. Some results were not surprising, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes and eggs being the categories with the highest mean HSR (3.76 and 3.63 respectfully) and confectionery the lowest (1.23).

However, results showed that there were marked differences between countries in the healthiness of the same major food categories. In India, for example, fruit, vegetables, nuts and legume products had a mean HSR of 2.94, while the same category in Mexico had a mean HSR of 3.97. Similarly, meat and meat alternative products in China had a mean HSR of 1.89 compared to 3.35 for India.

These differences may reflect variation in national product portfolios (i.e. the ratio of different types of products available) as well as differences in the average composition of the same types of products. Systematic differences between high‐ and middle‐income countries may be attributable to a lack of capacity for implementation and enforcement of national policies, as well as differences in food labelling requirements and enforcement of food labelling.

These analyses demonstrate that there is considerable variability in the healthiness of packaged food and beverages across countries. The finding that packaged foods and beverages are consistently less healthy in countries such as China and India compared with higher income countries is a serious cause for concern.

These data highlight the need for continuous monitoring and reporting of the healthiness of products across diverse countries. Nutrient profiling is an important tool that can help define and monitor policy actions to improve the healthfulness of products in the marketplace and reduce population risks of obesity and non‐communicable disease risks.

Courtesy: Counter View

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Packaged food: India consistently ranked towards bottom for all measures of nutritional quality

Excerpts from the paper “A comparison of the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages from 12 countries using the Health Star Rating nutrient profiling system, 2013–2018”, published in Obesity Reviews, World Obesity Federation:

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