The open communication to the government of India states that, even today, the stock market has not fully recovered. It appears that the trigger for the unsavoury sequence of events came from no less than the Prime Minister himself, when he “predicted” a stock market surge on June 4, namely, the date of counting of votes in the 2024 elections, conveying a hint that investors should invest in the stock market, as his government’s return to power would usher in further so-called “reforms”.

While expressing perplexity at what really prompted the PM to make such an ill-advised statement, Sarma adds that Modi’s statement was followed by the Union Home Minister, who is reported to have added fuel to fire by saying, that investors should buy before June 4.

As per his expectations, as reported, “the markets will shoot up” “The Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister are expecting market gains on 4th June” (livemint.com/market/stock-m…).

The PM being a responsible person occupying a high public office would not have made such an imprudent statement, had he not got some inputs either from within the Ministry of Finance itself or from outside, but his statement compounded by the Home Minister’s gave a feeling to unwary small investors that they were privy to some inside information, prompting them to blindly invest whatever little they had.

The entire communication may be read here:

From: Dr E A S Sarma Former Secretary to the Government of India

To: Shri Ajay Seth Secretary (Economic Affairs)

Govt of India

Dear Shri Seth,

It is disturbing that a combination of factors triggered a stock market surge on the June 3, 2024, followed by a huge crash during the day that followed, wiping out the hard earned savings invested in the market by small and marginal investors, allowing the bigger stockmarket sharks to profiteer at their cost.

Even today, the stock market has not fully recovered. It appears that the trigger for the unsavoury sequence of events came from no less than the Prime Minister himself, when he “predicted” a stock market surge on June 4, namely, the date of counting of votes in the 2024 elections, conveying a hint that investors should invest in the stock market, as his government’s return to power would usher in further so-called “reforms”.

I am not sure what really prompted the PM to make such an ill-advised statement. His statement was followed by the Union Home Minister, who is reported to have added fuel to fire by saying, that investors should buy before 4th June.

As per his expectations, as reported, “the markets will shoot up” “The Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister are expecting market gains on 4th June” (livemint.com/market/stock-m…). The PM being a responsible person occupying a high public office would not have made such an imprudent statement, had he not got some inputs either from within the Ministry of Finance itself or from outside, but his statement compounded by the Home Minister’s gave a feeling to unwary small investors that they were privy to some inside information, prompting them to blindly invest whatever little they had.

The huge losses that followed have certainly eroded the credibility of the stock market. This is something that cannot and should not be taken lightly, as it caused widespread misery to lakhs of small investors.

I have the following questions that call for answers: Did some “expert” in the Ministry of Finance provide inputs on this to the PMO? On what basis?

If the source of such misleading information can be identified, the concerned needs to be brought to book immediately.

Did an outsider, especially a large investor in the stock market, provide unsolicited advice to the PM?

If so, did that person deliberately mislead the PM to trigger volatility in the stock market and mint profits at the cost of small investors?

If so, such an investor needs to be identified and subject to deterrent penal action.

Where did the investor or investors who earned profits park their ill-gotten money? Is there a link to a money-laundering exercise?

The Enforcement Directorate, if it can function independently as it should, may be asked to investigate this possibility.

What has been the role played by the SEBI in all this?

Could SEBI have calmed down the market by countering false statements?

Has SEBI taken up an investigation?

There were reports earlier that the regulatory agencies were getting ready to deal with a stock market crisis that was likely to occur.

If that is so, why should the regulators become silent spectators to a stock market bloodbath?

I feel that the Department of Economic Affairs cannot afford to remain passive and allow the culprits to go scot free.

It should ask the ED, CBI and CBDT to conduct a well coordinated investigation in a time bound manner, so that the incoming new government, the newly elected Parliament and, of course, the public at large, would have to be apprised of this.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

E A S Sarma

Visakhapatnam June 5, 2024

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Results of city-wise trends on funding raised in first quarter of 2024, released by Tracxn, claiming to be a leading market intelligence platform, showo that Bengaluru topped with $247 million and 44% of all funding received, followed by Mumbai ($194 million or 35%), Hyderabad ($75.0 million or 13%), Gurgaon ($19.7 million or 3%), and Surat – the only Gujarat city to figure in Tracxn’s list of cities — ($5.0 million or 1%).

Yet, ironically, the report seeks to heap praise the Indian economy, which it says “showed a strong performance in the previous quarter with a growth of 8.4%.” Agreeing that the “this number is expected to decline to 5.9% in Q1 2024 as per government sources”, it insists, “The Government of India has always been focused on promoting the tech ecosystem in the country.”

The declining trend in the funding of the FinTech startup ecosystem has come despite “the announcement of the Startup India Initiative in 2016”, which came up with “multiple schemes and initiatives have been introduced to boost the growth of India’s startup ecosystem”, to quote from the report. Thus, “Around $12 billion was allocated in the Interim Budget for 2024 for providing interest-free loans for 50 years to promote R&D in the private sector in the country.”

The report quotes the IMF to say that India is “expected to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2027 with a GDP of over $5 trillion”, and “with a large consumer base comprising the world’s largest young population and rising urban incomes, India is set to see good growth in the coming years.”

It adds, “FinTech has consistently been one of the top funded sectors in the country. Increasing smartphone penetration, the push towards a cashless economy, and other favourable regulatory policies have helped the sector receive consistent investor interest.”

Making a comparison of funding in Q1 of 2024 and Q4 of 2023 instead of Q1 of 2023, the report says, “Banking Tech, the third-highest funded sector, received funding of $85.8 million in Q1 2024, which is a growth of 187% compared to the $29.9 million in funding witnessed in Q4 2023, benefiting substantially from record-breaking UPI transactions and digital banking’s widespread adoption due to rising internet and mobile device penetration in cities and rural areas.”

However, this comparison, which many would consider incomparable (as the compared periods do not match), also shows that, to quote from the report, “Q1 2024 witnessed a significant 75% drop in seed-stage funding, which was at $9.9 million compared to $39.2 million in the previous quarter. Early-stage funding saw a 35% drop from $227 million raised in Q4 2023 to $147 million in Q1 2024. Only late-stage funding rounds witnessed a phenomenal rise of 392% to $394 million, compared to $80.1 million in Q4 2023.”

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Based on household consumer expenditure survey (HCES) in order to ascertain “living standards” across India, the state-wise estimation of average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) suggests that Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra – including two major smaller states, Delhi and Goa and several Union territories – have higher MPCE in urban areas.

Worse, while Gujarat’s urban MPCE – estimated at Rs 6,683 – is a little above the national average, Rs 6,521, the state’s rural MPCE, Rs 3,820, nearly half of the state’s urban MPCE, is below the national average (Rs 3,860). The states which have better rural MPCE than Gujarat’s are – Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, apart from other important smaller states like Delhi and Goa and several Union Territories (click here for full table).

Explaining the concept of per capita income or per capita (overall) expenditure which has been used, the top Government of India document says, it is “used for comparison of average living standards between countries, between regions, and between social or occupational groups.” It adds, “MPCE, therefore, is defined first at the household level: household monthly consumption expenditure, divided by household size. This measure serves as the indicator of the household’s level of living.”

“Next”, states the document, “Each individual’s MPCE is defined as the MPCE of the household to which the person belongs. This assigns to each person a number representing his or her level of living. The distribution of persons by their MPCE (i.e., their household MPCE) can then be built up, giving a picture of the population classified by economic level.”

Released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) last week, the household surveys were carried out between August 2022 and July 2023 in as many 1,55,014 rural and 1,06,732 urban households in order to ascertain living standards India. Of these, the surveyors – who were divided into 10 panels – visited Gujarat’s 5,726 rural and 5,560 urban households.

While estimating living standards, if the survey offers all-India estimates of MPCE across 10 different classes each for rural and urban areas across India, ironically, it does not offer state-wise MPCE of different classes, making it impossible to ascertain the average living standard of the poorest of poor sections versus those who are in the top stratum of society, for instance, in Gujarat. These are likely to be known in June 2024 only, i.e. after the Lok Sabha elections, when the full HCES report is likely to be released.

Meanwhile, allegations have been made that the Fact Sheet has been released alongside the Niti Aayog interpretation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in order to take political mileage. Top economist Prof Arun Kumar says that, based on the Fact Sheet data officials have claimed that poverty in India has declined to less than 5% of the population is poor. However, the alleged fall in poverty is based on current prices, without taking taking into account inflation.

According to him, “At current prices, the increase in average consumption looks impressive. It increased 164% in rural areas to Rs 3,773 (from Rs 1,430 in 2011-12) and in urban areas by 146% to Rs 6,459 (from Rs 2,630 in 2011-12). But most of it is due to inflation. Adjusting for inflation, the real increase is 40% and 33.5% for rural and urban areas, respectively. This is in 11 years.”

Stating that the Fact Sheet does not make any reference to poverty eradication, nor is there suggestion of any poverty line given by the HCES, economists wonder, how is the value judgment made by Niti Aayog – that poverty has fallen? Asks Prof Arun Kumar, “What is the poverty line that is being used to claim that poverty has declined? Poverty has to be defined as ‘minimum social necessary consumption’. This is space and time specific. So, it keeps changing.”

Thus, he says, “The World Bank has changed its poverty line recently from $1.9 to $2.15 per person per day. This amounts to about Rs 26,000 per family of five per month. Even adjusting for nominal dollars, it would be about Rs 10,000 per family per month. If this poverty line is considered, then the number of poor would be much more than the 5% being quoted by officials.”

Offering a breakup suggesting the difference in standard of living between different classes, the Fact Sheet gives the following data, “The bottom 5% of India’s rural population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of Rs 1,441 while it is Rs 2,087 in the urban areas. The top 5% of India’s rural and urban population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of Rs. 10,581 and Rs 20,846, respectively.”

It further notes, “Among the states, MPCE is the highest in Sikkim for both rural and urban areas (rural – Rs 7,731 and urban – Rs. 12,105). It is the lowest in Chhattisgarh (rural – Rs 2,466 and urban – Rs 4,483). The rural-urban difference in average MPCE, among the states is the highest in Meghalaya (83%) followed by Chhattisgarh (82%). Among the Union Territories, MPCE is the highest in Chandigarh (rural – Rs 7,467 and urban – Rs 12,575), whereas, it is the lowest in Ladakh (Rs 4,035) and Lakshadweep (Rs 5,475) for rural and urban areas respectively.”

Courtesy: Counter View

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The Old Pension Scheme was designed to guarantee lifelong support for government employees post-retirement. Employees did not contribute to the fund.  However in the new scheme, retirees get a pension based on a specific formula which is equal to 50% of their final salary before retirement. In December 2023, the Finance Minister had reportedly stated that there were no plans to revert to the OPS.  However, several state government have tried to accommodate employees under the OPS this year, including Karnataka, Sikkim. Kerala is slated to make a revised pension scheme for the OPS.

Similarly, youth in Lucknow and Prayagraj were seen protesting after an exam for recruitment of police constables in the state saw a paper leak. The examination board had at first rejected the claims of the paper leak, however, after the date of the slated exam, the Uttar Pradesh government announced that they were cancelling the examination and a new one would be taking place six months from the date of the last examination.

Similarly, in Bhopal the youth congress took to protest on February 14, 2024, against the Modi government for the lack of jobs and rising unemployment in the state. Addressing the same question of unemployment, Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke on the question of unemployment at a Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra rally in UP’s Aligarh, and stated, “BJP has been in power for 10 years. Many big events such as the G20 Summit took place, everyone said that the respect of the country is increasing due to such events, even we agree to it, but I want to ask, is the respect of the country not connected with the young, our policemen, and students? There are no jobs for the youth, farmers are still sitting on roads, inflation is a burden for the people of the country.”

Similarly, The Wire reported youth protests in Rajasthan after the termination of the Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra Internship scheme by the Rajasthan government. The 4,000 people who were actively involved in the program protested as they had reportedly lost their monthly income after the scheme was reportedly terminated. They stated that the government can rebrand and rename the scheme but cannot stop it as it was resulting in the loss of their monthly income. The BJP has argued that the scheme was used by the Congress to promote its own ideology, according to The Wire.

Related:

The UP government cancels constable exam after youth protests ‘paper leak’

Farmers protest: Death of a farmer after teargas shells dropped by Haryana cops, protests intensify as 77 SM accounts banned by MEITY/MHA

Govandi slum demolition: Temporary halt after protests outside BMC office by residents, those rendered homeless to rebuild their homes at the same site

Uttarakhand state assembly tables UCC Bill amidst protests by opposition members 

The post What they don’t want you to know: youth protests against Modi government appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to the report released on 4 December 2023, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of suicides (22,746) for the third consecutive year, followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

If we look at these statistics, it is clear that the working class in the country is at the top in terms of suicides. A third of these figures are suicides of farmers and farm labourers. The next highest number of suicides is that of daily wage labourers, whose number is 44,713, which is 26.4 per cent of the total. This figure is 1% more than last year.

Also if we talk about professionals, they account for 9.2 percent of suicide cases, including 14,395 salaried and 18,357 self-employed people. Looking at suicides due to unemployment, it is 9.2 percent, while 3,541 such cases were reported in 2021, while the number was marginally lower in 2022 – 3,170.

Rising suicide rate across the country is the most worrisome. Over the years people’s purchasing power has gone down, while inflation has been on the rise. Along with this, unemployment has also peaked. As a result, people’s savings have also declined by 5 per cent. While NCRB data says that most workers quit due to family reasons. or suicides due to illness, financial crisis is one of the main reasons.

According to NCRB, 1,09,875 people who committed suicide i.e. 64.3 percent have an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh. There has been a huge increase in the number of suicides by 27.06 percent in the last five years and the proportion of suicides (16.4) is higher in urban areas.

Govt’s false development claims

These figures expose the government’s false development claims. Earlier, farmers used to commit suicide, but this was not the case with labourers. Labourers used to migrate for work and earn their livelihood by doing anything, but the problem of employment has arisen in front of them, and in the last few years, workers are also committing suicide and this number is increasing in big cities as well which is more serious. It shows that the workers are desperate and hence they are sacrificing their lives.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released its ‘Crime in India 2022’ report. Like every year, this year also there has been an increase in the incidents of violence against women. According to the data in the report, a total of 4,45,256 crimes against women have been reported in 2022. Whereas earlier in 2021, 4,28,278 and 3,71,503 cases were reported in 2020. That is, last year in 2022, about 51 crimes were registered every hour in relation to crimes against women. This data tells a different truth than all the promises and intentions of women’s safety.

According to this report, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases of crimes against women last year in 2022. About 65 thousand 743 crimes were registered here. This is the same BJP-ruled state where speeches from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Union Home Minister Amit Shah cite examples of women’s safety. Everything from Mission Shakti to Safe City scheme for women is going on here, but the story of insecurity does not change.

Capital Delhi has the worst record in terms of crime against women. The crime rate against women in Delhi is 144.4, higher than the national average of 66.4. This crime rate is per one lakh women. If we understand it in simple terms, it is the percentage of women victims of crime in relation to population i.e. for every 1 lakh women. Crime rate against women is 118.7 in Haryana, 117 in Telangana, 115.1 in Rajasthan.

Maharashtra and Rajasthan are not far behind in cases of violence against women. 45 thousand 331 cases have been registered in Maharashtra and 45 thousand 58 cases in Rajasthan.

Highest 31.4% cases of crimes against women under IPC were of cruelty by husband or his relatives

Trinamool Congress’s West Bengal is not far behind among the unsafe states for women. Women had special expectations from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but here too 34 thousand 738 cases were registered.

Elections were held recently in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP was described as a ‘women-loving’ government, but under Shivraj Singh’s rule, 32,765 cases of crimes against women were registered here too. These are the statistics of some states where leaders and ministers do not tire of repeatedly claiming that it is safe for women. Schemes are carried out in the name of security, posters with their pictures published in newspapers, However, every day the pages of newspapers expose the security system of women well. And perhaps the success of the women’s movement is that women are becoming aware and raising their voices against the oppression they face.

Women are most vulnerable in their homes

According to the report, the highest 31.4% cases of crimes against women under Indian Penal Code (IPC) were of cruelty by husband or his relatives. This means women are most vulnerable in their own homes. This was followed by 19.2% cases of kidnapping and abduction of women by luring or threatening them. At the same time, 18.7% of women were assaulted with the intention of defaming their dignity and 7.1% of cases of rape were reported.

Law and order in Delhi is in the hands of the central government and is controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on which women’s safety was an important issue. The party made many promises in its manifesto and the Prime Minister in his speech. But now that Prime Minister Modi’s second term is coming to an end, the question is now being raised whether those promises were limited to slogans.

It is noteworthy that NCRB’s ‘Crime in India’ report was released this time on December 3 i.e. Sunday. This report comes every year and every year we lament the increasing crimes against women, like – violence against women has increased this year compared to last year or how many women and minor girls are victims of rape every day. The graph of murder, domestic violence, dowry is high in these metros and sometimes the graph of domestic violence, dowry death is high in these metros and sometimes these states are most unsafe for women. But this does not solve the issue of women’s safety or change the status of women.

Courtesy: CounterView

The post Increase in desperation among workers, violence against women, say official data appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The document, which has been released as part of the 112-page government resolution (GR), whose annexures say it all, is a guideline on what all the selected 20-odd young graduates with a mere 60% with a monthly stipend of Rs 1 lakh (which is more than the salary of state class one entry-level state official) – would need to do research on.

It admits, “There is wide gap in the generation of the sewage and its scientific disposal”, underlining, “Lack of adequate system for sewage collection in villages and small towns” is leading to “serious water pollution problems due to discharge of untreated domestic sewage into recipient bodies like rivers, natural drains, lakes, seashores or groundwater.”

At the same time, the document believes, the problem is equally huge in big cities. It says, there is “wide gap in the amount of household solid waste generated in the state as well as the amount of waste collected and disposed of scientifically”, adding, “Due to the urbanization in big cities, solid waste management requires advance planning and a lot of changes in budget provision.”

What happens because of “the use of polluted water in dry areas” and “lack of clean water” across the state, believes the document, is “diseases and other health problems” to human beings, on one hand, and adverse impact on “agriculture and animal husbandry”, on the other.

Talking of “lack of proper solid waste collection, treatment and disposal system”, the document says, the “frequent epidemics and other pollution problems” become worse because of of lack of public awareness.

Pointing towards “a lot of opposition from nearby residents/ public while selecting new sites for solid waste disposal”, the document says, there is a “need to work for economic benefit from proper collection of recyclable solid waste and compostable bio-degradable solid waste.”

Insisting on the “widespread need for low-cost sewage treatment plants”, which needs to be done after evaluating “treatment capacity with regard to domestic sewage generation in municipalities”, the document recommends, there should be provision of “severe penalties for violation of solid waste disposal regulations and for its effective implementation.”

Pointing out that “operational problems in most sewage treatment plants needs to addressed, the it says, there is “lack of proper operation and maintenance of” existing “sewage treatment plants”, which “leads to odour nuisance in surrounding areas.” Hence, it underscores, the “establishment of appropriate and adequate systems for re-use of treated sewage is a big question.”

Coming to industrial wastewater pollution, the document states, “The industrialization in the state and presence of multiple sectors of industries leads to generation of complex and high volume of industrial wastewater”, adding, “Small scale industries lack technical and financial capabilities for operation of treatment plants. Problem and recommendation.”

However, it is not just small industries which are a problem. The document does not spare even large industries. Thus, it says, there is “lack of technologies and technical manpower in treatment plants with regard to product diversification in large industries.”

This problem, it notes, is compounded by operational and maintenance problems in common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), where there is “lack of capacity and new technologies in existing treatment plants for disposal of wastewater arising from new products in member units of CETP.”

The document continues, “Lack of reuse system of treated industrial wastewater from CETPs leads to disposal issues”, adding, “Industrial wastewater management by zero liquid discharge units as compared to other units have higher economic burden”, which is caused by “lack of skilled workers in industrial units as well as in CETPs.”

Presence of multiple sectors of industries in Gujarat leads to generation of complex, high volume of industrial wastewater

Coming to problem of plastic pollution, the document claims, “Number of plastic waste recyclers is the highest in Gujarat as compared to other states”, but adding, for enhancing “plastic waste management”, there is a need for registration of plastic “producers, importers and brand owners as per plastic waste management rules”.

Further claiming that “plastic waste from paper mills in the state is used as alternate fuel in cement mills”, it says, “New innovative technology is requires for utilization of plastic waste in other industries.” Also, there is need for proper “disposal of plastic waste generated from metropolitan, municipal and rural areas in scientific manner”, as it too “is a big issue.”

Seeking to address hazardous waste, the document says, “There is a huge generation of hazardous waste in Gujarat”, pointing out, the problem becomes particularly sharp because of “wide variation in the type of hazardous wastes due to diversity in industries”, which add to “its collection, storage, treatment, reuse and disposal.”

Insisting on the need for “new technologies for cleaner production and use of cleaner technology in industries to reduce hazardous waste generation” as also “policy” for promoting “industries for scientific reuse of hazardous waste”, the document seeks “strict implementation of waste hierarchy by industries, treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) operators and regulators.”

However, it regrets, “In spite of proper landfill site design and operation”, issues like “air pollution, water pollution or structural stability incidents from existing landfill sites” occur. Hence, what is required is “land use plan for keeping distance of hazardous waste disposal sites from human population and other environmentally sensitive locations on permanent basis. Problem and recommendation.”

Commenting on air pollution in the state, the document says, “effective implementation of state level air pollution control action plan by every stakeholder” is required. It talks of “lack of participation and proper time-bound coordination and implementation by all concerned departments of the state for … the City Air Action Plan.”

Seeking mandate for the use of clean fuel or controlling the increasing number of vehicles, document wants “wider use of public transportation” for which “micro level planning” should be done “for air pollution control in big cities as well as industrial estates.” Also policy is required “to increase use of clean fuel in industries”, and monitoring and imposition of penalty should be done “for effective measures to prevent air pollution from building construction.”

Then, the document talks of the need for “preventive measures required to prevent accidental pollution in industries”, which requires “monitoring by authorities like the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) for proper safety measures to prevent air pollution and need to guide industries accordingly.”

Among the measures required include “green buffer zones to prevent air pollution and noise pollution” along “major roads, highways, railway lines etc.”, though regretting, there is “lack of adequate green buffer zone around industrial estates.”

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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A recently-released 122 page government resolution (GR), which includes annexures, and whose copy is with Counterview, states, the stipend would be given to selected candidates for the Chief Minister’s fellowship programme, which would be identified as the Sardar Patel Good Governance CM Fellowship. The GR claims, “The aim and objective of this scheme is to channelise youth-energy (aged 35 or less) in holistic development of state and the nation”.

The GR states, after “careful consideration”, the government decided that in all “20 fellows will be appointed at the end of the selection process in the fellowship programme”, though not ruling out recruiting even more, underlining, “The actual need will be determined over time.”
As for remuneration, it would be “a monthly stipend of Rs 1,00,000 + Rs 10,000 leave travel allowance (LTA)”, the GR reveals, adding, the entire coordination of the programme would be carried out by the government’s top institute which offers refresher courses to all categories of officials, the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), and under the General Administration Department (GAD), responsible for giving final touch to appointment and transfer of all categories of state babus.

A government source confirmed, the Gujarat government take-home salary for a newly-recruited class one official is “around Rs 90,000-95,000 per month”, which includes the basic pay, the dearness allowance and other payments which she or he is supposed to receive every month. “The senior-most class one official gets take home salary of about Rs 1.75 lakh per month”, the source added.

According to the GR, SPIPA would invite “online applications following principle of equal access, open competition and transparent selection by advertisement in a newspaper of wide repute”, adding, the selection would be done following a scrutiny of the applications first by a Scrutiny and Shortlisting Committee (SSC), then by a Selection Committee (SC), and finally by a Special Selection Committee (SSC).

The first layer of the selection committee would do its job on the basis of “the personal statement from candidates of at least six times the available seats”. The personal statement would be “evaluated by an expert at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A)”. This expert, it adds, would recommend a panel of at least three times of the number of seats.

While government officials from SPIPA and GAD would dominate in the each of the layers set up for the selection process, the final selection, GR states, would be the prerogative of the Special Selection Committee headed by additional chief secretary (ACS), GAD, who is one of the senior-most IAS bureaucrats of the Gujarat government, and consisting of other officials and a “nominated member either from IIM- A, Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar (IIT-G), or any other reputed institute.”

Says the GR, the process of selection would be based on not just on “personal statement” evaluated by the IIM-A expert (it would be given a 20% weightage). A far bigger weightage (40%) is to be given to “personal interview”.

However, the GR offers a loophole here, stating the rules may be relaxed; the evaluation may not necessarily involve an “outsider” from IIM-A or IIT-G or any other reputed institute. It underlines, “In certain exceptional cases and in the exigency of time and with full justification, selection can also be considered from a single source…”

To be recruited for one year and extendable for another year, the GR says, the continuation of the fellowship would be determined by mutual consent, and individual fellows would get a 10% increase in their stipend. Even here there is a loophole: It notes, whereas ever the Gujarat government is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so, there may be relaxation or modification in “any of the provisions…”

And what are these 20 (or more?) selected fellows are supposed to do? The appendix attached with the GR says, the fellows – to be attached with a government “mentor”, equipped with a personal laptop, and transport facilities in case of travel for project purpose – are supposed to “contribute to the enhancement of governance in the state of Gujarat by infusing innovative and effective approaches into policy-making and service delivery processes.”

To be selected for Chief Minister’s fellowship programme, the aim is to channelise youth energy in holistic development of state and nation

Further, the selected boys and girls would “serve as a catalyst for transformation within government departments promoting a culture of innovation, efficiency and excellence”, GR says, underlining, the fellows would serve as “advisory or professional” capacity, “providing expert or strategic advice” on “management, policy or communication”.

Further, it adds, their services would include “feasibility studies, project management, engineering services, architectural services, finance accounting and taxation services, training and development, etc.” — all of which would subject to strict “confidentiality laws and regulations applicable within the State of Gujarat.”

In fact, the fellows, according to the GR, are prohibited from “publishing a book or a compilation of articles or participate in TV/ radio broadcasts/social media or contribute an article or write a letter in any newspapers or periodical either in their own name or anonymously or pseudonymously in the name of any other person if such book, article, broadcast, or letter relates to subject matter assigned to them by the Government of Gujarat.”

While the minimum qualification for applying for the fellowship is graduation with 60% marks, and persons with higher qualifications, more experience and those from reputed institutes (IIT, IIM, Indian Institute of Science, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Law University, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa) may be “preferred”, when contacted, a top state official told Counterview, “The fellowship is nothing but another BJP move amidst many to favour and reward those are from saffron outfits.”

The fellows, the GR notes, would be required to study, analyse and offer project reports on subjects which include implementation of the midday meal scheme; nutrition and health of anganwadi kids; wasting, stunting and malnutrition among school going children; health and nutrition of pregnant women and lactating mothers and children up to months of age, especially in the tribal blocks. advantages of fortified food, reduction in under-nutrition and nutritional anemia among adolescent girls.

Then, the fellows are supposed to organise rapid surveys on enrollment of students in science and mathematics stream at secondary/ higher secondary level; recycling of municipal waste, liquid and solid waste management; promotion of natural farming; enhancing irrigation capacity and optimal utilization of Narmada water resources; and tourism promotion of heritage, wildlife, beaches and religious sites.

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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Surprisingly, the forest department of Gujarat has snatched away livelihood of more than 1,200 Agariyas or salt farmers by banning their entry into the Little Rann of Kutch. They all are part of communities consisting such as Chunvaliya Koli, Sandhi, Miyana, all de-notified tribes, mostly landless and dependent solely on salt harvesting for their bread and butter.

By not allowing them to enter the Little Rann, the forest department has pushed these communities further towards marginalization, and probably to hunger.

Gujarat produces above 76% of India’s total salt production. Agariyas, traditional salt farmers of Gujarat, have been harvesting salt in the Little Rann, which contributes around 20% of the total produce. They have a history of 600 years of salt harvesting in the Little Rann. Its evidence is well documented in historical documents like the Saurastra Gazettier and the Kathiyavad Sarva Sangrah.

Agariyas migrate to the Little Rann, along with their families in the month of September, and their farming season continues till April or May. The Little Rann is a 5,000 sq km area between Kutch, Patan, Morbi and Surendranagar districts which, turns into a water body for four months of the year and a mud dry desert for 8 months. Temperature during the day rises up to 50 degrees centigrade, while during night it falls to 4 or 5 degrees. They toil hard in scorching heat and shivering cold to add taste to our meal.

The Little Rann was declared Wild Ass Sanctuary in 1973. Wild asses have been conserved very well here, and its population has grown to over 6,000 in the past 50 years.

However, the government has failed to undertake survey and settlement of rights of the Agariyas and other communities as the per provision of the Wild Life Protection Act, because of which they is still termed as “illegal” encroachers and are given notices of eviction periodically. Such unrecognised status poses threat of eviction and loss of livelihood in the community.

Last year, the Agariyas were evicted from certain parts of the Little Rann. The sanctuary department declared that only those Agariyas whose name is included in the survey and settlement report would be allowed. That resulted is the exclusion of 90% of the traditional Agariyas.

The sanctuary department asked for documentary evidence of the possession of land. The fact that the Little Rann has always been an unsurveyed land, and even the government does not have revenue record of this area, was neglected while pressing Agariyas for producing documentary evidence of their ownership or possession of land.

A few months back, Agariyas across 4 districts and 7 talukas got together and made series of representations to their elected representatives and to the administration at district and state levels. They started meeting their MLAs and the ministers concerned. They also made representations to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the High Court, where cases regarding the Little Rann were being heard.

Finally, on the 4th of September 2023, a decision was made by the state, that all traditional Agariyas would be allowed to continue salt harvesting upon simple registration, the verification of which would be done during on-site survey. It was also decided that the survey and settlement process list would be revised by doing on-site survey so that seasonal user rights were recognised on a permanent basis.

The registration process was done in all the blocks, and in September many Agariyas moved to the Little Rann. Surprisingly, for no reason, the Agariyas from Santalpur and Adesar areas were asked not to go the Little Rann and were told that their decision would be taken soon.

“The forest department told us that they need some time to verify and finalize the list … thus we were waiting. However, the forest department has still not allowing us to enter the Rann areas. We do not have any other source of livelihood and today sit ideal at home,” says Narubhai Koli from the Santalpur Rann.

“While our fellow Agariyas in Dhangadhra, Patadi, Halvad, Maliya, blocke have already moved into the Rann two months back and their salt harvesting has started, we are not allowed to even make our salt farms ready. When decision was done for the entire Little Rann, we do not understand why such discrimination is done only with us?” he asserts.

Narubhai is farming salt since 6 generations and is disappointed with such dual and selective approach of the government. He adds, “We have been making repeated representations to both our MLA as well as to the forest department. However, they even refuse to give us anything in writing on the reason for refusal of entry.”

Another traditional Agariya Sultanbhai narrates, “When asked under the Right to Information (RTI) for transferring application from the state to the district forest officer (DFO), the latter declared that the decision for Santalpur and Adesar is completely in the hands of Gandhinagar officials.”

“So our request is toggling between the Dhrangadhra DFO office and the principal chief conservator of forest’s (PCCF’s) office, Gandhinagar”, he adds.

With no other optional left, the Agariyas are now planning to go on protest before the forest department, Gandhinagar.

*Agariya Heetrakshak Manch

Courtesy: CounterView

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Most of the new jobs are distress-driven, while the data shows that the average earnings of the entire workforce, together, are going up. Is, however, these are broken down into different categories, we observe that real earnings are going up only for casual work. In other categories earnings are either stagnating or going down in real terms. Besides, the percentage of employers, the job givers, is stagnating.

These were the conclusions of a two-day conference on finance and economy with the theme ‘Measuring Recovery’, held in Delhi, organised by Centre for Financial Accountability, Economic Research Foundation and Focus on the Global South.

“The type of job that constitutes the highest share of the workforce is not just hugely precarious in its nature, but also the real earnings from the job have not seen any rise,” Mrinalini Jha, OP Jindal Global University said.

“Now we have to challenge labour statistics as well! The way these have been twisted, to show that there is no problem of female unemployment. Now we have begun counting unpaid domestic work, but to what end, does this actually empower women? If we really care about their work, we must invest in infrastructure that supports them like childcare facilities, but our interest lies in just counting their work, and driving up employment figures,” Dipa Sinha, Ambedkar University said, alluding to the employment data of the government.

Different sessions at the conference discussed issues like official Claims on Recovery, unequal K-shaped recovery, corporate write-offs and rural debt crisis, labour, wages and social protection, Muslims and financial recovery. Eminent economists and activists including Arun Kumar, retired Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University;

CP Chandrashekhar, retired Professor of Economics & Economic Research Foundation; Nandini Nayak, Assistant Professor at the School of Development Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi; Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Senior journalist; Surajit Mazumdar, Professor, CESP, JNU; Devidas Tuljapurkar, Joint Secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association; Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary All India Bank Officers Confederation; Arvind Pandey, Asst Professor, TISS, Hyderabad; Dipa Sinha, Asst Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi; Praveen Jha, Professor, CESP, JNU; Chirashree Dasgupta, Associate Professor, JNU; Ritwick Dutta, Founder of LIFE; Manshi Asher, Environmental justice activist and Ghazala Jamil, Asst Professor JNU spoke at various sessions.

“Government’s exaggerated claims about India’s rapid growth are echoed even by the UN and IMF, relying on the government-provided data. But their data collection method is deeply flawed. New indicators are required based on fresh surveys. But no new survey of the unorganised sector has been conducted since 2015,” said black money expert and economist,

Prof. Arun Kumar at the conference. “There is a recognition on the part of the Reserve Bank of India (EBI) in recent times of the global headwinds we are faced with. These include challenges of a daunting cost of living crisis, high levels of sovereign debt, tight financial conditions, uncertainties of war, climate crisis and so on. And yet, there is a rather celebratory note in the self-appraisal of the government in terms of India’s economic recovery,” said Prof Kumar busting the claims of the government about economic recovery.

Senior economist CP Chandrashekhar spoke about a peculiar inflationary rise in India driven by two large contributors comprising oil and food that have added to the woes of the people. He also spoke of the large amount of money that came into lower middle-income countries, which ultimately has resulted in rising debt.

Speaking in a session about ‘unequal recovery and its costs,’ Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta said, “We have gone one step further from cronyism. The nexus between governments and conglomerates has been strengthened like never before. We are moving towards oligarchy.”

The session titled ‘Fractured Recovery – Socio- Economic’ toll of Divisive Politics’ shed light on the impact of divisive politics on the lives and economic opportunities available for the Muslim community, focusing on how Muslims are ghettoized, not just in terms of their living spaces in cities but also as segments of the labour market.

The conference also marked the release of the second edition of the State of Finance in India report. Edited by CP Chandrashekhar, Jayati Ghosh, Shalmali Guttal, Joe Athialy and Anirban Bhattacharya and published by Yoda Press, the report is a first of its kind that expands the domain of finance and economics beyond the confines of ivory tower experts. The report invites writings from a cross section of academics, policy makers, activists, social practitioners and eminent economists who engage with questions from the ground.

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The post Claims of employment rate increase a sham: Economists appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Similarly, the demand for a caste census has also been raised by former INC President, Rahul Gandhi, who vowed to press the BJP-led Centre to conduct a caste census. The INC leader spoke about the importance of such a census during campaign rallies in Chhattisgarh and has promised a caste census within “two hours” of the formation of the Congress government. The debates on the caste census thus are largely based on the idea that the marginalised in India are still bereft of their rights and equal opportunities. Their situation is dire, and the COVID-19 has undeniably had a profound impact. In 2020, the global GDP experienced a significant contraction of 5.2%, and India, in particular, faced a harsh economic downturn with a staggering 9.4% reduction in its GDP.

Thus while India continues to make its way up in a post-pandemic environment that has left its economy deeply shaken, as has been the case worldwide. However, reports attest that the pandemic’s impact has not been uniform. Marginalised communities have been disproportionately affected, whereas businessmen like Adani have seen their stocks rise about 3000% in the last two years according to a report by Economic Times.

This piece by SabrangIndia thereby tries to share a glimpse on the position of caste and gender occupy with relation to the economy and employability in India.

Caste and economy:

A recent report released by the Centre for Sustainable Employment at the Azim Premji University has highlighted the dire situation of marginalised castes in the economy.

One of the key observations of the report titled State of Working India: Social Identities and Labour Market Outcomes is that in 2004, over 80% of the sons of casual wage workers were themselves engaged in casual employment, highlighting a lack of upward economic mobility. This pattern persisted largely among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe workers and other castes. However, by 2018, this trend started to change. For non-SC/ST castes, the percentage of casual employment fell from 83% to 53%, with an increase in the availability of better quality work, including regular salaried jobs. For SC and ST castes, although there was a reduction (from 86% to 76%), the change was less pronounced and quite marginal in that. Therefore, while caste-based occupational segregation has also seen significant changes over the years, the shift towards change has been slow. In the early 1980s, SC workers were over five times more likely to be overrepresented in waste-related work and over four times in leather-related work. Although progress has been made, this overrepresentation has not been completely eliminated as of 2021-22. In the leather industry, the representation index decreased sharply to 1.4 in 2021, while in waste management and sewerage, overrepresentation of SCs decreased to 1.6 times in 2011 before a slight increase.

The report highlights a critical point namely that the correlation between non-agrarian GDP growth and non-agrarian employment growth has been weak since the 1990s. This suggests that policies promoting faster economic growth do not necessarily lead to faster job creation. However, between 2004 and 2019, there was a notable connection between economic growth and decent employment, which was disrupted by the pandemic.

Thus, unemployment remains a concern, with post-Covid unemployment rates higher for graduates, particularly those under 25, reaching a staggering 42%. In the corporate sector even in small firms, SC and ST owners and employers are underrepresented compared to their share in the overall workforce. An interesting point to note is that as firm size increases, the number of upper castes tends to increase in proportion. Interestingly and alarmingly, the report also reveals a disparity in earnings among different caste groups. Occupations with lower average earnings tend to have a higher representation of Scheduled Caste workers whereas in stark contrast, upper-caste workers are more strongly represented in higher-paying roles. Furthermore, the research indicates that intergenerational mobility has increased over the past 15 years, with more sons of casual wage workers transitioning to regular wage employment. However, marginalised castes have experienced less mobility in this regard in comparison to upper castes.

Therefore, according to the report, while there have been positive changes, significant disparities still exist which highlights and underscores the urgent need for policies and initiatives that promote equality and inclusive economic growth. The demand for a caste census, as voiced by Rahul Gandhi and supported by many including the Bihar government, remains a crucial step toward acknowledging and addressing these disparities.

Gender, economy and “shecession”

Little attention has been given to gender as an axis to enquire in the economy. Women have reportedly borne the brunt of the economic crises in the post-pandemic era; increasing distance from employment, induction in vulnerable work, and a general burden of additional household responsibilities have ensures that instead of any improvement in the status of women in the economy, there has been a catastrophic downslide.

The APU survey report highlights that while caste segregation has reduced, gender based segregation has only further increased and worsened since the onslaught of the pandemic.  India’s female labour force participation is one of the lowest in the world at about 27%. Furthermore if we look back we see that these trends have been long in formation, for between 2004-05 and 2011-12, about 19.6 million women decided to leave their paid employment, as reported in a 2012 World Bank study. This decision was influenced by multiple factors, according to IndiaSpend, including unpaid domestic responsibilities, insufficient public transportation options, and the ingrained idea that a woman’s primary responsibility was in the home.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated this issue. It triggered widespread job losses across various sectors, and in terms of percentage, according to the report by APU, women were more adversely affected on a much larger scale than men.

Thus in labour markets worldwide, gender disparities remain a persistent issue, with women facing much greater challenges and structural barriers in accessing employment and achieving economic equality. This concern is especially underlined by international agencies which highlight that a staggering 24.9 percent of women are unable to secure employment in low-income countries, in contrast to a rate of 16.6 percent for men in the same category according to the International Labour Organisation. This discrepancy highlights a pressing global concern and sheds light on the double burden women face due to gender roles as women are the ones who have to bear the brunt of personal and family responsibilities, including unpaid care work. In many developing nations, including India, these responsibilities are noted to be a huge deterrence for women not only from obtaining jobs but also from actively seeking employment or making themselves available for work on short notice.

Vulnerable work describes a condition where workers have insufficient wages, low productivity and difficult working conditions. While vulnerable employment is a serious issue for both genders, women tend to be disproportionately represented in specific types of work which is highly precarious in nature, and women are more likely to be found contributing to household activities or assisting in family businesses. Thus women are found to be overrepresented in vulnerable work, which is a factor reportedly further coupled with lower employment rates ends up having serious implications for women’s earnings and their overall share of global labour income which contributes to a significant amount of disparity between incomes between genders, which is often termed ats the “wage gap”. Thus, on a global scale, for every dollar of labour income earned by men, women earn a mere 51 cents, underlining the stark income divide.

India, in particular, grapples with a significant gender gap in employability. According to the ILO this gap stands at 50.9 percent, with only 19.2 percent of women actively participating in the labour force, compared to 70.1 percent of men. Furthermore, the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report for 2022 placed India at an alarming rank with 135th out of 146 countries, trailing behind smaller neighbours such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. What’s more, India is among five nations, including China, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Qatar, with gender disparities exceeding five percent. The World Economic Forum has underscored that progress toward gender equality has been hindered and even reversed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic disproportionately impacted women, contributing to what is commonly referred to as the “shecession.” This setback was worsened by the pandemic’s effects on sectors like retail and hospitality, where women constitute a significant portion of the workforce. The global struggle for gender equality in labour markets remains an ongoing challenge, with particular urgency in developing countries like India. As nations strive for inclusive economic growth, addressing these disparities is not only a matter of social justice but also crucial for unlocking the full potential of their economies.

When one delves deeper into actual figures related to gender parity, one is encountered with surprises and shocks. For instance, if we take the case study of Kerala, which is known for its robust social indicators, numbers have unveiled a shocking reality regarding female unemployment. According to the Economics and Statistics Department of Kerala, the state now grapples with the highest female unemployment rate in the entire country both in urban and rural sectors. This revelation stems from the department’s report for the year 2017-18, which indicates that female job seekers constitute a substantial 63.2 percent of the total workforce aspirants within the state. What’s more, the recently released Kerala State Economic Review for 2022 delves into the worrying occurrence of a notable gender wage disparity across the state. This wage gap isn’t confined solely to the informal or unorganised sector but is extended into the regular, salaried employment. These numbers contrast starkly with the general assumption of Kerala having stellar welfare indicators.

As almost eight decades have passed since India became independent and over this time, India has asserted its independence and evolved into a fast growing cultural and economic power regionally, and aims to become a global power. Although the days of a predominantly agrarian economy are now a distant reality. However, when ‘social identities’ that the Indian constitution has tried to alleviate over the years continue to be submerged in hierarchy and economic servitude, India as a land of opportunity and equality remains a distant dream.

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