GIST OF THE HINDU VOL14 17

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WATER CRISIS
IN 21
ST
CENTURY & 12
TH
PLAN
India or Faces a major crisis of water as we
move into the 21
st
century. This crisis threatens the
basic right to drinking water of our citizens; it also
puts the livelihoods of millions at risk. The demands
of a rapidly industrialising economy and urbanizing
soci et y come at a t i me when t he pot ent i al f or
augmenting supply is limited, water tables are falling
and water quality issues have increasingly come to
the fore.
Limits to Large Dams
Recent scholarship points to definite limits to
the role new large dam projects can play in providing
economi cal l y vi abl e addi t i onal wat er st orage
(Ackerman, 2011). The ambi t i ous scheme f or
interlinking of rivers also presents major problems.
The comprehensive proposal to link Himalayan with
t he Peninsular rivers for int er-basin t ransfer of
water was est imated to cost around Rs. 5,60,000
crores i n 200 I . Land submergence and R&R
packages would be additional to this cost. There are
no firm estimates available for running costs of the
scheme, such as the cost of power required to lift
water. There is also the problem that because of our
dependence on t he monsoons, t he periods when
ri vers have surpl us wat er are general l y
synchronous across t he subcont inent . A major
problem in planning inter-basin transfers is how to
take into account the reasonable needs of the basin
states, which will grow over time. Further, given the
topography of India and the way links are envisaged,
they might totally bypass the core dryland areas of
Central and Western India, which are locat ed on
elevat ions of 300+ met res above MSL. It is also
feared that linking rivers could affect the nat ural
supply of nutrients through curtailing flooding of the
downstream areas. Along the east coast of India, all
the major peninsular rivers have ext ensive delt as.
Damming t he rivers for linking will cut down t he
sediment supply and cause coastal and delta erosion,
destroying the fragile coastal eco-systems.
It has also been pointed out that the scheme
coul d af f ect t he monsoon syst em si gni f icant l y
(Rajamani et al, 2006). The presence of a low salinity
l ayer of wat er wi t h l ow densi t y i s a reason for
maint enance of high sea- surf ace t emperat ures
(greater than 28 degrees C) in the Bay of Bengal,
creat ing low pressure areas and intensification of
monsoon act ivit y. Rainfall over much of the sub-
continent is controlled by this layer of low saline
water. A disruption in this layer could have serious
long-term consequences for climate and rainfall in
the subcontinent, endangering the livelihoods of a
vast population.
The Crisis of Groundwater
The rel at i ve ease and conveni ence of i t s
decentralised access has meant that groundwater is
t he backbone of Indias agricult ure and drinking
wat er securi t y. Groundwat er is a Common-Pool
Resource (CPR), used by millions of farmers across
the country. Over the last four decades, around 84
per cent of t he t ot al addition t o the net irrigated
area has come from groundwater. India is, by far, the
l argest and f ast est growi ng consumer of
groundwater in the world. But groundwater is being
exploit ed beyond sust ainable levels and wit h an
estimated 30 million groundwater structures in play,
India may be hurt ling t owards a serious crisis of
Gis t of
YOJANA
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gr oundwat er over-ext r act i on and qual i t y
deterioration.
Nearly 60 per cent of all districts in India have
probl ems rel at ed t o ei t her t he quant it y or t he
quality of groundwater or bot h. According t o the
Cent ral Ground Water Boards lat est assessment
(CGWB, 2009), at t he all India level, t he st age of
groundwat er development is now 61 per cent. In
Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, this level has
crossed 100 per cent, closely followed by Tamil Nadu
(80 per cent) and UP (71 per cent).
Need for a Paradigm Shift
Given this apparent emergence of limits t o
further develop of water resources in large parts of
the country, the 12th Plan faced a challenge of how
to move forward. It was clear that business-as-usual
would not do. New ideas needed to be desperately
put i nt o place f or whi ch t he best scholars and
pract it ioners had t o come t oget her. Thus, a new
architecture of plan formulation was designed. The
Working Groups for the 12th Plan in the water sector
were, for the first time in the history of the Planning
Commission, all chaired by renowned experts from
out side government . Over t he course of several
mont hs in 2011-12, a new pat h was chart ed out ,
giving rise t o a t en-fold paradigm shift in wat er
resource management in India. This paper outlines
the main features of this change.
OIL ECONOMY INDIA & ENERGY SECURITY
Si nce t he advent of i ndust rial revolut ion,
energy has become t he key t o growt h and
devel opment . Moder n l i f e i s dependent on
consumpt ion and use of energy so much that per
capita energy consumption is directly proportional to
per capit a Gross Domestic Product of the country.
The per capita primary energy consumption in India
i s about 1I 3
rd
of t he worl d average per capi t a
primary commercial energy consumption. It is about
1I20
t h
of t he per capit a energy consumpt ion of
United St at es of America, about 1I10
t h
of t he per
capit a energy consumpt ion of Europe and about
1I4th of the per capita energy consumption of China.
Any pol i cy and programme f or growt h and
development in India will have to address the issues
of access of energy resources as well as harnessing
them for the benefit of the population.
While the worlds average per capita primary
energy consumption divided among various energy
resources is about 86 per cent in favour of fossil fuel,
the proportion of fossil fuel in Indias energy basket
is close to 94 per cent. In the energy basket of the
world as a whole, coal accounts for 30.3 per cent, oil
for 33 per cent and gas for 24 per cent. Among the
non fossil fuels, nuclear energy accounts for 4.7 per
cent , hydro energy account s for 6.4 per cent and
renewable energy accounts for 1.5 per cent. Thus,
the ratio for India is 54 per cent for coal, 3 I per cent
for oil and 9 per cent for gas among the fossil fuels,
wi t h hydro 4 per cent , nucl ear I per cent , and
renewabl e 1 per cent . I n I ndi a, apart f rom
commercial energy, non commercial sources like bio
mass, fire wood, cow dung, et c are also used t o a
large extent and their percentage share to the total
consumpt ion has been decreasing st eadily but is
unlikely to go below 10 per cent by the year 2030-
31.
The sect oral energy demand ref l ect s t he
economic st ruct ure of a count ry and t he power
sect or has been t he primary force behind energy
demand in India. The transport sector has also been
increasing its share in energy consumption and 90
per cent of transport energy consumption is likely to
be based on oil. Other sectors consuming energy are
mainly industries using energy for heating, electricity
and mechani cal purposes and commerci al
establishments and buildings for lighting, heating and
cooling, etc. Indias demand will cont inue to grow
rapidly from the present energy demand level of less
t han 700 million tonnes of oil equivalent t o over
1500 million tonnes of oil equivalent by the year
2030-31. This is est imat ed to be at a Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.1 per cent which is
more t han doubl e of t he CAGR of 1.3 per cent
estimated for the world energy demand.
Indias share in world energy demand is going
to expand from present less than 5.5 per cent to 8.6
per cent in 2030- 31. The growth would come from
all fuels. While coal and oil demands are expected to
increase by CAGR of3.1 per cent , t he growt h for
natural gas, renewable energy and nuclear energy are
expected to be much higher. Since, the consumption
of fossil fuel is the main source of emission of Carbon
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Di Oxide (C02), India has now become the yd largest
C02 emit t er i n t he worl d, f oll owing Chi na and
United States of America. The global pressure will be
on India, either to reduce consumption or to go for
expensi ve pol l ut i on cont rol measures. I n t hi s
scenario, the comparatively less pollut ing energy
sources like natural gas and nuclear power would find
favour, but the availability of these resources will
remain a question mark. Much of the growth policy
will have to address these strategic questions. India
pursues t hree key object ives in it s energy policy
access t o resources, energy securit y and climat e
change. It is necessary to understand the intertwined
dynamics of energy st akeholders and mul t i pl e
interests.
As the growth in energy demand has outpaced
the domestic production, dependence on imported
energy resources has increased. India depends on
energy imports at the levelof35 per cent with 80 per
cent of crude oil demand and about 20 per cent of
nat ural gas demand being import ed. Due t o low
production of coal, even about 20 per cent of the
demand for coal is also being met through imports.
Indias domestic hydrocarbon production is relatively
small, result ing in large dependence on imports.
India is reported to be having only about 1 per cent
of global hydrocarbon resource, but, has, perhaps
the 3
rd
largest resource base in coal. Inspite of the
large estimation of local coal resources, the actual
accessibilit y of some coal resource and t echnical
capability of Coal India Limited which is a monopoly
developer, t o produce proven coal resources has
been suspected. As regards hydrocarbon, since the
liberalization of the upstream sector and subsequent
opening of the downstream sector, oil and gas sector
is more open and competitive. It is open to 100 per
cent Foreign Direct Invest ment. But inconsistent
policies t hat put cont rols bot h i n upst ream and
downst ream have l ed t o di st ort ed pri ci ng
mechanism, underutilization of resources and lack of
investment from major international companies.
Poli cies t hat seek t o ensure t hat adequat e
energy supplies are available to meet the growth in
demand for energy at the national level and policies
t hat seek t o i ncrease access t o modern energy
services at the individual level seem to work at cross
purposes. The former requires a competitive market
based st ruct ure whi l e t he l at t er requi r es
interventions in the market structure to correct its
inherent failures. Indias energy security will depend
on finding the right balance bet ween compet ing
needs and more import antly between compet ing
policy approaches to ensure that one is not achieved
at the cost of other.
In 2012-13, India imported 185 million tonnes
of crude oil and 16 milllion t onnes of product at a
cost of Rs. 8,53,949 crores. Due to excess refining
capacity and presence of some world class refineries,
it has become possible to export 63 million tonnes
of product resulting in realization of Rs. 3,20,042
crores. So the net outf low of Rs. 5,33,907 crores was
a big drain on our resources and partially responsible
for Current Account Deficit and t he weakening of
Rupee. Due t o Government policies of subsidizing
diesel, kerosene and LPG, the under recovery of Rs.
1,61,029 crores in 2012-13, had to be met between
the budget resources of Central Government from
the t ax payers money, subsidy expropriated from
the upstream companies like ONGC, OIL & GAIL and
t he balance l eft for t he ref inery and market i ng
companies to fill. This has resulted in fiscal imbalance
in t he Cent ral Government budget , inabi lit y of
upstream companies to invest for more exploration
and production in domestic and overseas fields and
ruining the balance sheet of refinery and marketing
companies who have Gross Turnover of over Rs. 8
l akh crores and ar e unabl e t o moderni ze and
diversi f y. The Cent ral and St at e Gover nment s
together, on the other hand, collected Rs. 2,45,000
crores through taxes, duties, royalties, etc from the
hydrocarbon sect or. The St at e Gover nment s
resources are to a very large extent, dependent on
VAT whereas Cent ral Government also recovers
equal amount by way of excise, customs, other taxes
and dividend, etc. Unless State Governments and the
Central Government are able to diversify their tax
basket and decrease dependence on pet rol eum
pr oduct s, t he pri ces of t hese product s woul d
continue to be high in the scenario of high oil prices
and weak rupee.
The multifaceted energy problems are being
resolved to ensure efficient and sustainable use of
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energy. But , the long term challenges and goals have
to be tackled in an integrated and comprehensive
manner . I ndi a must pursue t echnol ogi es t hat
maxi mi se energy ef f i ci ency, demand si de
management and conservat i on. The Int egrat ed
Energy Policy Committ ee (IEPC) has given a long
t erm perspect ive which is st ill valid. The key t o
Energy Securi t y l i es i n gr eat er expl or at i on,
production and utilization of domestic resources
which imply t hat coal and t horium-pased nuclear
power will be crucial for Indias development and
secur i t y. But , t he pol icy can be as good as t he
implementation. An integrated energy policy cannot
be ef f ect i vel y i mpl ement ed by di sconnect ed
Ministries. The first level of int egration has to be
bet ween Mi ni st ri es t hat deal wi t h carbon and
hydrocarbon. When carbon becomes hydrocarbon or
vice versa, it cannot be controlled by different set of
Ministries.
I t i s anomal ous t hat we i nvi t e t he best
compani es wit h most modern t echnologies and
resources t o t he hydrocarbon sect or when our
resource base i s weak but deny access even t o
technologically and resource rich State companies in
coal sector where we have a much better resource
base. Coal bed Met hane, Underground Coal
Gasificat ion and Surface Coal Gasificat ion are all
technologies to utilize coal for production of natural
gas and are being implemented in coal rich countries
like China. If we have a common minist ry and a
common legislat ion wit h a common regulat or for
exploration and production of coal as well as oil and
gas, it should be possible to take up these projects in
real earnest and with success. We need to conserve
use of oil and gas i n areas where coal can serve
equally well.
While emphasis on domestic exploration and
production of coal and gas should continue, we need
to protect and conserve the resources of upstream
compani es so as t o di rect t hem t o acqui re
hydrocarbon assets abroad in countries that have
many times more resources than we have. Also, we
cant have a dist ort ed pricing mechanism where
petrol, diesel and kerosene that come out from the
refinery process almost joint ly and have similar
cost s, shoul d sel l domest i cal l y i n t he rat i o of
7.5:5:1.2. Manipulating the techno economic reality
and pricing is possible for a short period of time but
is not sustainable over a long term. LPG is produced
by secondary and tertiary refinery processes and thus
is even costlier fuel. It cannot be subsidized to the
level of 50 per cent of its cost for over several crore
customers for an indefinite period.
Government should leave t he pri cing and
dist ribut ion t o be regul at ed by Pet roleum and
Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) and decide
upfront what subsidy is to be given from the budget
so that competition is generated between public and
private sector refining and marketing companies to
bring about more efficiency and transparency in the
pricing of products.
We should be able to produce more natural gas
and coal base methane to substitute LPG for use as
domest i c f uel. The l arge rural area wi ll have t o
continue to find fuel from social forestry, bio mass,
and coal gas with necessary refinements t o check
pollution. Such gasifiers need to be encouraged in the
present situation.
While all efforts need be made t o push the
renewable energy programme, it seems unlikely that
i n t he absence of any major t echnol ogi cal
breakthrough, it can take more than 5 per cent share
of Indias energy basket even by the year 2030-31.
The nucl ear energy programme has t o be
implemented so that its share can go up to 4 - 5 per
cent by t hi s peri od. Nucl ear ci vi l corporat i on
agreements have to be used for improving the supply
and our domestic efforts in t hree st age t horium
based nuclear plants need to be intensified.
The economics of oil dictates that we take an
integrated view of the energy situation and dovetail
our pol i cy programmes and i mpl ement at i on
mechanisms accordingly.
FUTURE OF
GOVERNANCE E-GOVERNMENT
E-Government (al so known as el ect roni c
government , onl i ne government and di gi t al
government ) i s one of t he most si gni f i cant
devel opment s of recent t i mes i n t erms of
t ransforming t he del ivery of publ ic services t o
citizens and other stakeholders. It generally refers to
GIST OF YOJ ANA VOL14 21
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the utilisation of informat ion and communicat ion
t echnol ogi es (I CTs) f or deli vering government
i nf ormat i on and servi ces t o ci t i zens (G2C),
businesses (G2B), employees (G2E), and governments
(G2G) (Dwivedi et al. 2012a).Against this backdrop,
e-government is being considered as a technological
enabler for the delivery of redesigned public services
in order t o eliminate inefficiency, corruption, and
bureaucracy and to enhance effectiveness in service
delivery.
Table 1: Key opportunities offered by e-government
Opportunity Comment Source (s)
Improved government services Bertot et al. (20 I 0),
Increased effectiveness in terms of accomplishing Dwivedi et al. (2009,
and efficiency the governments purpose and 20 12a), and Shareef et
functioning al. (2011)
E-government can provide
Better services quick and timely services to Shareef et al. (2011)
stakeholders
The services are
provided directly from the Bertot et al. (20 I 0)
Transparency government to recipients and Dwivedi et al.
without any external (2009,2012b)
interventions
As e-government services
Accessible anytime and are provided through web-
anywhere
enabled technology, they Shareef et al. (2011)
can be accessed anytime and
anywhere
The services are primarily
User-centred ICT- intended for the use of citizens, Bertot et al. (2010) and
enabled services businesses, and the government Dwivedi et al. (2012b)
itself
As the services are provided Dwivedi et al. (2012a,
Reduced cost and time
through the internet, they are
20 12b) and Shareef et
effective in terms of time and
cost al. (2011)
E-government minimises
Reduced bureaucracy
the hierarchy of authority Dwivedi et al.
for availing any government (2012a,2012b)
services
Enhanced As automated services can
communication be accessed by different Dwivedi et al.
and coordination organisations, coordination and
(2012b)
between government further communication become
organisations relatively simple

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In order to achieve the benefits of ICT and to
ensure t he t ransparent , t i mel y, and hassle-free
delivery of the citizen services, the Government of
India initiated an e-government programme during
t he l at e 1990s by adopt i ng t he I nf ormat i on
Technology Act in 2000. The major aims of this Act
were t o recognise el ect roni c cont ract s, prevent
computer crimes, and make electronic filing possible.
Lat er, i n 2006, t he government approved t he
National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to enhance e-
government initiatives in India. It was launched with
the aim of improving the delivery of government
services to the common people in t heir localit ies
through Common Service Centres (CSCs), which were
set up across the country. In February 2012, about
97,159 CSCs were operational with different brand
names and they had started delivering services to the
people (IDG, 2013).
Since then, the government has launched a
number of e-government initiatives, including e-file
management , e-Leave, e-Tour, Income Tax services,
onl i ne passport servi ces, pensi on servi ces, e-
Procurement, and Excise and Customs Services, to
name a few Almost all State Governments and Union
Ter rit ori es have also impl ement ed t heir own e-
government services t o serve t heir cit izens and
businesses. Some of the most prominent services
include Bhoomi from Karnataka, Gyandoot from
Madhya Pradesh, Smart Government from Andhra
Pradesh, and SARI from Tamil Nadu. In addition,
some e-government services have been implemented
at bot h Cent ral and St at e Government levels. E-
government services such as grievance management
systems, e-district systems, online electoral rolls, and
bill payment systems are some examples of these
services.
E-government offers a range of opportunities
(as outlined in Table 1) to its stakeholders in terms
of enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the
government , providing bet t er services, enabling
transparency, allowing access to government services
anytime and anywhere, providing user-centric ICT-
enabled services, reducing cost and t ime, reducing
bureaucracy, and enhancing communicat ion and
coordination between government organisations.
The implement at ion of e-government is an
essential component in the transformation of any
gover nment t owards i mprovi ng t ransparency,
developing account abilit y, empowering cit izens,
lowering costs and time for services, and providing
bet ter governance. E-government has helped the
government become more result oriented. India has
been harnessi ng t he benef i t s pr ovi ded bye-
government by reaching out to citizens faster and by
providing efficient services and encouraging citizens
empowerment . The dat a emergi ng f r om t he
different e-government initiatives in India indicates
t hat it is beginning t o t ransform t he ef ficiency,
effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the
informational and transactional exchanges within the
government and between the government and the
other stakeholders.
E-governance in India has st eadily evolved
f rom t he comput eri sat i on of depart ment s t o
initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of
governance, in order to improve aspects such
as ci t i zen cent r i ci t y, ser vi ce or i ent at i on, and
transparency (NeGP, 2013). Although, both Central
and St at e Gover nment s have been t ryi ng t o
capi t al i se on t he opport uni t y provi ded bye-
government, its potential to end users can only be
truly realised when government initiatives reach out
to the masses and when citizens and businesses start
leveraging such services. As the recent data available
on the website of Indias NeGP highlights, there are
almost 968 e-government websites available across
the various St ates and Union Territories of India.
However, it is still lagging behind 125 countries in
t er ms of Worl d E-Gover nment Devel opment
Ranking (UN e-Gov Survey, 2012). This indicates that
even i f t he government has been spendi ng an
exorbitant amount of money on the development
and implement at ion of e-government , t here are
barriers and challenges that need addressing in order
to bring Indias position at par with nations taking
the lead in this area (such as the Republic of Korea,
the Netherlands, the UK, Denmark and the US). In
this regard, the existing literature has identified a
number of such barriers and challenges (as outlined
in Table 2) to developing and realising successful e-
government.
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Due t o such barriers and chal lenges, t he
overall level of e-government usage around t he
world remains comparatively low, even though a large
number of governments in developing countries have
been put t ing large invest ment s and effort s int o
enhancing t he usage of such services (UN e-Gov
Survey, 2012). The challenges and barriers identified
in the literature apply in the Indian context as well.
These issues are technical, economical, and social
i n nat ure. Wi t h t he rapi d evol ut i on of
technology and the high level of skill competence
available in India, technical challenges are less critical
for t he successful realisat ion of e-government .
Cont rast ingly, t he most severe challenges t o e-
government i ni t i at i ves i n I ndi a are social and
economic in nature, such as lack of awareness, access,
and use of e-government services by t he l arger
population living in rural India (Dwivedi et al., 2012a).
The government has made considerable attempts in
t he last few years t o overcome t hese challenges,
including its connectivity t o a large proportion of
rural population. Furthermore, realising the need for
sustainable growth, the government has announced
rural broadband connect i vi t y f or al l 250,000
Panchayats in three years to bridge the digital divide
(UN e-Gov Survey, 2012).
This could be coupled with the development of
mobile-based applications. In order to resolve the
issue of less literate citizens using e-government or
mobi le- based government services, i t might be
usef ul t o pl an t he devel opment of voice-based
mobi l e appl i cat i ons so t hat t he corresponding
government-based services can be made available to
all segments of the society.
Barrier/Challenge Comment Source(s)
Fragment at ion of services
Fragment ed/ lack of of f ered Dwivedi et al. (20 12b) and
i nt egrat ion Dupli cat i on of Weerakkody et al. (2011)
appli cat ions
- Abi li t y t o underst and and Bert ot et al. (2010), Dwivedi
Technology lit eracy use t echnologies et al. (2012b), Rana et al.
and access - Avai labi li t y of t he int ernet (2013), and Shareef et al.
t o each indi vi dual (2011)
Technologi cal challenges
ICT-relat ed faced by t he government in Rana et al. (2013) and
challenges designi ng and implement ing Weerakkody et al. (2011)
e-government
Lack of t rust Variance in t he degree of Rana et al. (2013) and
reli ance on e-govemrnent Weerakkody et al. (201] )
services
Pri vacy and securit y Lack of sense of safet y and Rana et al. (2013) and
conf i dent i ali t y Shareef et al. (2011)
I nequali t y bet ween people Dwi vedi et al. (2009,
Digi t al di vide in t he social syst em in 2012b), Rana et al. (2013),
having access t o and use of and Shareef et al. (20 11)
e-government services
The provision of a limited number of CSCs has
been an appropr i at e st ep t owards maki ng e-
government services available to citizens. However,
in order to create the critical mass of e-government
users that is essential for the widespread adoption of
such servi ces, t he number of CSCs shoul d be
i ncreased t o reachabl e di st ances i n al l rur al
communi t i es. Fai l ure t o do so may l ead t o t he
continued usage of traditional channels as mediums
for citizen interaction; hence, it may take a long time
t o real i se t he expect ed benef i t s f rom t he e-
government development and i mplement at ion.
Language acts as another barrier to accessing such
services, so the core e-government services should be
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provided in regional languages along with Hindi and
English. Also, at the local level (i.e. Blocks and Gram
Panchayats), citizens with the adequate skills and
competency needed to access and use e-government
services should be identified as catalytic social agents
(i.e. champions) for influencing other citizens to use
the services, making them aware of the benefits and
i ncreasing t hei r t rust by reduci ng securit y and
privacy concerns. Such social agents can also act as an
aid for equipping citizens with the required skills and
competency. Leading count ries in t erms of citizen
part icipat ion in democrat ic processes using ICT-
based syst ems (such as Kazakhst an) should be
benchmarked i n order t o l earn and i mpl ement
appropriat e best pract ices and st rat egi es in t he
Indian context.
A chall enge t hat is more prevalent on t he
suppl y side i s t he f ragment at ion of syst ems at
different levels (i.e. the Central and the State levels)
and the lack of system integration. Analysis of the e-
government services provided by the Cent ral and
Stat e Government s have revealed t hat similar e-
government syst ems are separat ely implement ed
across various governments. This is simply a waste of
resources in terms of developing and maint aining
them separately; it also creates problems with data
duplication and errors. The governments at both the
central and t he st at e levels should implement an
i nt egrat ed plan in such a way t hat t he same e-
government syst em devel oped at t he cent ral
government level can incorporate individual modules
f or each st at e government or can simpl y of fer
different levels of access at the cent ral and st at e
levels. For existing syst ems, mapping is needed in
order t o i dent i fy redundant syst ems. Al so, t he
analysis, mapping, and evaluat ion process should
make all efforts to identify any legacy systems (i.e. old
syst ems that cannot be integrat ed with the other
systems) that exist. In brief, emerging systems need
to be streamlined and the implementation of new
technologies requires some legacy systems either to
be replaced with new systems or to be integrated, in
order to provide the intended solution.
Also, there is little evidence of the evaluation
of the services that are already in place. Evaluation is
essential in order to examine if the desired value is
being achieved and if there are any lessons that need
to be learnt for the development of future electronic
servi ces. Wi t hout ef f ect ive eval uat i on, si mi lar
mistakes can be made again.
We conclude the above discussion with the
following thoughts. Even though the governments at
t he central and t he st ate levels have made large
invest ment s in est abli shing some aspect s of e-
government infrastructure, they have not been able
to harness fully t he opportunities it has provided.
Furt her more, t he expansi on of e-government
websites alone will not help unless cultural change
occurs, in order to support transparency, minimise
bureaucracy, and enhance cit izen empowerment .
After all, citizens will trust e-government only when
they have trust in government and public agencies.
I n ot her words, I ndi a needs t o move f rom e-
government to e-governance. As far as the social and
economic challenges and barriers to e-government
are concerned, they mainly relate to reaching out to
t he large number of rural ci t izens who are less
educated and economically less able. The government
init iat ives designed t o cat er t o t he needs of t his
population have only proven to be an initial aid to
the problem; further progress still needs to be made
to overcome the complex socio-economic challenges
to e-government usage in India. It is only if this is
achieved that India could implement world-class e-
government syst ems wit h t he aim of creat ing an
equitable information society.
OLD SOIL NEW BILL
The Ri ght t o Fai r Compensat i on and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement (RTFCTLARR) Bill, 2013 is historic in
the mere fact that it ends 119 years of the colonial
legacy of the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) 1894 and
brings Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) within
its purview. As the post independence hist ory of
development-induced displacement stands witness
to over 60 million displaced (Fernandes 2008) with
little let alone just compensation, the recognition
that land acquisition requires R&R for those who lose
t hei r l and and l i vel i hoods i s a much overdue
corrective. However, the RTFCTLARR 2013 limits
t he recognit ion and redressal of t he grievance
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suffered by those dispossessed to compensation and
R&R. By leaving st at e-led acquisit ion out of t he
purview of prior informed consent and the ultimate
determination of public purpose by the same body
requisit ioning acquisit ion in t he first placet he
appropriat e government , i t creat es a bli nkered
edi f i ce of just i ce and t op-down devel opment .
Underl i ni ng t he pol i cy prer ogat i ves of
indust rialization, development of infrast ructural
facilities and urbanization, it accordingly expands the
definition and scope of public purpose. In doing so,
i t rei nf orces t he coloni al doct ri ne of emi nent
domai n, i gnores t he lessons f rom i nt ensi fying
conf licts over land acquisition and explicitly instates
policy bias for capit alist growth over socialist and
democrat ic development, indeed over sustainable
and agrarian development. Consequently, it misses
t he opport uni t y t o set precedent t o deepen
democracy in India and continues uninhibitedly, the
colonial legacy of the LAA 1894. I discuss below some
issues around eminent domai n, public purpose,
resistance to land acquisition, compensation and R&R
t hat t he RTFCTLARR t hrows up and argue for
safeguarding democrat ic and locally appropriat e
sustainable development through cont ext ualized
rights to land- and resource-use for all.
Eminent Domain and Right to Property
The jurisprudence around eminent domain
(the doctrine that the states power for forcible land
acquisit ion draws it s legit imacy from) has always
recognized the right to fair compensation of those
dispossessed for public purpose. While the power of
acquisition inheres in the principle of sovereignty, the
right to compensation inheres in an individuals right
t o propert y. I n a 1952 judgment uphol ding t he
power of eminent domain for acquisit ion of land
from big landlords for redistributive purposes, the
Supreme
Court of I ndi a not ed: t he concept of
acqui si t i on and t hat of compensat i on are t wo
different notions having t heir origin in different
sources. One is found on the sovereign power of the
State to take, the other is based on the natural right
of t he person who is deprived of propert y t o be
compensated for his loss (The Stat e of Bihar vs
Kameshwar Si ngh 1952: 25). I mpl i ci t i n t he
jurisprudence over acquisition and compensation
t hus, i s t he recogni t i on of a persons r i ght t o
proper t y, an essent i al l i beral t enet def i ni ng
personhood t hrough t he ideology of possessi ve
individualism. What is import ant to recognize for
our purposes is that both the doctrine of eminent
domain and the right to property are British colonial
legacies specifically designed to meet the needs of the
colonial capitalist state. Given that British common
law legitimating forcible acquisit ion predat es t he
Indian constitution and that the Indian constitution
does not draw upon natural law, the twin principles
of acqui si t i on der i ved f r om sover ei gnt y and
compensation from right to property animating the
doct ri ne of emi nent domai n have ext ra-
constitutional and pre-democratic moorings in India.
I ni t i all y a f undament al ri ght i n t he post
independence Indian Const i t ut i on, t he ri ght t o
property was soon perceived as a danger to the early
social ist preoccupat ions of t he Indian st at e and
polit icians. As landlords successfully challenged
acquisition for land reforms in the courts on grounds
of their fundamental right to property, Land Reform
laws pertaining to takeover of property by the state
were moved to the IXth schedule of the Constitution
from the First (Constitutional Amendment) Act 1951
onwards. This insulated them from judicial challenge
and invalidat ion. The insertion of Art icles 31A-C
through the First Amendment and the Twenty-fifth
Amendment saved cert ai n l aws rel at ed t o
acquisition from challenge under Articles 14 (equality
before l aw) and 19 (f undament al ri ght s). Thi s
el evat ed emi nent domai n t o a const i t ut i onal
doctrine, although blanket protection from judicial
chal l enge under t he I Xt h Schedul e was l at er
considered untenable. The right to propert y was
event ual l y removed f rom f undament al ri ght s
through the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act in
1978.
As large development projects were designed,
dalits, adivasis, poor peasants and t he urban poor
increasi ngly bore t he brunt of acqui si t i on. The
const it ut ional st at us of t he doct rine of eminent
domain and the unqualified removal of the right to
property as a fundamental right without attention
to existing social, political and economic inequalities
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resulted in the exercise of eminent domain against
the most vulnerable populations. Ironically, a more
pr ogressi ve publ i c purpose of equi t abl e
redistribution of land facilitated the dispossession of
al ready economi cal l y, soci al l y and pol i t i cal l y
vulnerable people.
Public Purpose in Aid of Capital
Publ ic purpose has increasingl y promot ed
capitalist interest directly from the mid 1990s. Even
as privat e infrast ructure projects like t he Hydro-
Electric Project on the river Narmada met resistance
in the mid 1990s, Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
were announced in the mid 2000s as the new engines
of export-led growth, soon running aground from
resistance to land acquisition and ex post curtailment
of t ax benef i t s. The Del hi Mumbai I ndust r i al
Corridor (DMIC), t he Arnri t sar-Del hi -Kol kat a
Industrial Corridor and PPPs are since set to foster
capitalist growth in the economy, with the help of the
st at e. The Commerce and I ndust r y Mini st r ys
National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) 2011 envisages
Nat ional Invest ment and Manufact uring Zones
(NMIZs) of at least 250 square kilometers each with
integrated townships. The ambitious DMIC envisages
nine such NMIZs. The RTFCTLARR 2013 expands
t he scope of emi nent domai n unambi guousl y,
including acquisit ion by appropriat e government
(st at e or cent ral ) for own use, hold and cont rol
(including Public Sector Undertakings); for strategic
defense purposes; infrastructure projects as notified
by the centre; agriculture related projects; industrial
corridors, mining and NMIZs; water and sanitation,
educat i onal , sport s, heal t h-car e, t ouri sm,
t ransport at i on and space pr ogramme rel at ed
project s; and housing and development plans of
various categories.
We must be cl ear t hat pr i vat e ent i t i es
undert ake projects for privat e profit , while public
purpose is to secure the development and welfare of
all citizens and particularly those deprived of access
to basic necessities like a regular livelihood, nutrition,
housing, healt h and education. These essent ially
divergent motives are incommensurate and cannot
be conf lated; least in a country where nearly 50 per
cent of the 1.2 billion plus population lives below or
around the poverty line and is heavily dependent on
t he agrar i an economy. The grounds f or
deeming private investments in PPPs (that generally
enjoy an assured rate of return for private capital),
industrial corridors, NMIZs or for that matter SEZs
as public purpose are f limsy. The policy prerogative
of urbanization and integrated townships promotes
real est ate investment in one of the most obscure
and unregulated economies in the country with high
levels of corruption and black money. While
Social Impact Assessments in the RTFCTLARR are
welcome, t heir recommendations are non-binding
and the ultimate determination of legitimate public
purpose lies with the appropriate government. Given
the explicit and expanded scope conf lating capitalist
i nt erest wit h publ ic purpose, t he RTFCTLARR
t hreat ens t o engender l arge-scal e capi t al i st
accumulation by dispossession (Harvey 2005) by
providing outlets for domestic and foreign capital at
t he expense of l ocal popul at i ons and t hei r
development . Int ensifying popular resist ance t o
acquisit i on t hen, seeks t o count er t he t hreat of
dispossession.
Resistance to Land Acquisition
Since the 1980s, the enforced displacement of
people for large development project s has been
fiercely cont est ed. Anti-displacement movements
have raised crit ical quest ions regarding social and
environment al cost s, prior informed consent of
project affected including landless people, their legal
entitlements and livelihood security and democratic
process and accountability of the state. In the wake
of t he Narmada valley, Nandigram and Singur in
West Bengal, Raigad in Maharashtra, Mangalore in
Karnataka, Jagat singhpur in Orissa, Mundra and
Hansalpur in Gujarat, resistance in Goa, Haryana and
U.P., t he predomi nant conf l i ct over l and and
resources is not over compensation and R&R. Nor is
it about compensation and R&R in Chhattisgarh. It
is the states presumption of public purpose that is
being cont est ed agai n and agai n t hrough vit al
quest i ons regardi ng t he devel opment i t
undertakes-for whom, at what cost and at whose
cost. These are not just signal f lashpoints of conf lict
over land and resources in the early 21 $I century;
they are also conf licts over sovereignty and the right
t o deci si on-maki ng and det ermi nat i on of
GIST OF YOJ ANA VOL14 27
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development trajectories as democratic polities come
t o mat ur i t y. The RTFCTLARR 2013 however,
attempts to side-step these fundamental issues by
f ocusi ng on compensat i on and R&R. Whi l e i t
mandates consent for private acquisition and PPPs,
consent is only to be established from land owners.
By l eavi ng out t he corpus of l and acqui si t i on
undert aken by t he st at e f rom t he purvi ew of
consent , i t f ai l s t o devel op a consent -based
democratic model of development. The broad scope
of acquisit ion in aid of capitalism will potent ially
result in more and more of the same, intensifying
conf licts over land, resources, decision-making and
development in the years to come. Let us consider
brief ly the compensation and R&R that RTFCLARR
promises below.
Fair Compensation and R&R
The RTFCTLARR 2013 l eaves i t t o t he
appropri at e government t o det ermi ne whet her
compensation should be at market value of the land
or twice that in rural areas, depending on distance
from an urban area (it is unclear how or why this
distinction is to be made). Land acquisition officers
I have interviewed in the course of my research claim
that their goal is generally to get the best price (read
cheapest) of acquisition for the government. We can
safely presume this is true for private entities as well.
Wit h the addition of t his clause of distance from
urban area determining the factor of multiplication,
and given entrenched bureaucratic dispensation in
dealing with acquisition, it seems unlikely that the
best price will be determined in favor of those being
dispossessed. Compensation in urban areas remains
at market value. While compensation includes 100
per cent solat ium award plus 12 per cent int erest
unt i l t he dat e of awar d or acqui si t i on, t he
determination of the market value is to be done by
cal cul at i ng t he average market val ue of l and
t ransact ions in t he area for previous t hree years
from half the highest sale transactions. Real estate
developers I have interviewed candidly disclose that
sale deeds never ref lect the real sale price of any area
of land as the parties in transaction depress prices to
avoid stamp duties. A significant amount of the price
is thus paid under t he t able, contribut ing t o the
ubi qui t ousl y unaccount able and obscure bl ack
economy of real est at e. Besides, t he signi ficant
escalation of land and property prices in affect ed
areas once a development project is announced is
unaccount ed for, as awards are to be det ermined
based on prior rates. Despite espousal of outcomes
that ensure affected persons become partners in
development leading t o an improvement in their
post acquisit ion social and economic status (Gol
2013) the RTFCTLARR will likely continue meting
unjust compensation. Significantly, the coverage of
compensation and R&R leaves out those dependent
on land dependent communities who may not own
any l and or wor k on i t di rect l y, l i ke barbers
ironsmiths and other service providers.
GROWTH, MORE
EMPLOYMENT & MORE POVERTY
The TFCTLARR extends the coverage of R&R
for private purchase only above an area specified by
the appropriate government, or if the appropriate
government is approached for land acquisition, to
the entire area. While this devolution of decision-
making to appropriate government may ostensibly
safeguard federalism, competitive bidding by states
to attract investment can raise such limits arbitrarily
and create spiraling private concentration of land,
exempting significant private purchase from R&R
obligations. Moreover, with no ceilings on the extent
of land t hat can be acqui red for any project in a
country as densely populated, unfettered acquisition
will intensify inequalities of ownership, access and
wealth and exacerbate conflicts, unrest and distress.
The tertiarisation process is possibly an outcome of
sluggish employment opportunities in the industrial
sect or, leading t o a residual absorpt ion of semi-
ski lled and unskill ed labour in low product ivit y
activities. Such a pattern of economic change is less
l i kel y t o have benef i ci al ef f ect on l abour wi t h
inadequate skill. The erosion of the industrial base
and the proliferation of the tertiary sector do pose
serious challenges from t he point of view of t he
product ive absorption of t he unskilled and semi-
skilled workers.
The t echnol ogy used i n t he organi zed
Manufact uring sect or i s largel y import ed f rom
abroad. It is not ut ilized adequately t o derive t he
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maxi mum possi bl e gai ns pri mari l y because of
inadequate skill base of the domest ic labour. The
policy implications of the st udy can be drawn in
terms of skill up-gradation of labour and enhanced
i nvest ment , encouragi ng research on l abour
intensive. technological progress. Besides, credit and
marketing assistance to workers in some of the petty
activities is indeed important for improvements in
productivity and earnings. The poor skill base of the
workers in marginal activities is a matter of serious
concern. As possibilities of upward mobility in such
activities are highly limited, alternative avenues need
t o be creat ed t o offer t hem a gainful livelihood.
Fi nal l y, t he component s whi ch operat e as
i nf rast ruct ure base of t he economy need t o be
strengthened.
Though, t he effect s of t he growt h in high
productivity activities cannot be felt directly on the
poor, the indirect effects are not negligible either. So
t he whole quest ion is how to evolve mechanisms
that can raise the pay-offs of the new features that
are arising in t he process of growt h, and how t o
make these gains favourable to the poor as well. The
challenge before t he Indian economy is not to be
selective; rather how best the newer trends can be
turned to be beneficial, that is, faster growth with
faster reduction in poverty.
The sust ai nabil i t y of t he servi ces growt h
depends on Indias ability to secure improved access
t o f orei gn market s, creat e a more compet i t ive
l i beral i zed domest i c economy, and devel op
appropriate regulatory institutions. Commitment of
all WTO member countries for liberal cross-border
trade in services rather than only in transport and
financial services and liberal access for the strictly
temporary movement of skilled professionals are
some of the basic pre-conditions that need to be met
for enhancing Indias service revolution and making
the cont ribut ion of the services sect or t o overall
growth sustainable.
How t o make t he servi ces sect or more
responsi ve t o int ernat ional t rade is a pert inent
quest ion. Trade wit h developi ng count ri es wil l
possi bl y hol d bri ght er prospect s of growt h i n
employment intensive services activit ies. Second,
several services, in which India has comparat ive
advantages over ot her count ries, have to receive
support ive measures for t heir expansion so that
f orei gn demand and domest i c demand do not
conf l ict . For example, t he healt h sect or can be
developed extensively to tap the demand potential
for such services from several developing as well as
developed count ries. The price differences wit h
respect to the developed countries can attract a great
deal of foreign demand for health services in India.
However, supplies often are too scarce even to meet
the domest ic demand. Similarly, in t he education
sect or, India has a great pot ent ialit y t o at t ract
foreign demand, particularly from South and East
Asia, given her comparative advantages in terms of
price differentials and medium of instruction.
Mor e ref orms rel at i ng t o t he f i nanci al
institutions can invite foreign savings and this may
result in employment growt h as management of
such savi ngs wi l l be empl oyment i nt ensi ve.
Investment of such resources in productive activities
will indeed open up new employment opportunities.
The backward areas i n I ndi a r equi re massi ve
infrastructural investment in order to get integrated
wit h the rest of the world. Act ivit ies like business
ser vi ces whi ch have been I ndi as comparat i ve
advant ages can expand f ur t her t o creat e
employment opportunities on a large scale. Instead
of concentrating in a few million plus cities, foreign
investment can then penetrate to other semi-urban
areas as well. Skill up-gradation and human capital
format ion in t he rural areas will enable t he rural
youth to take advantage of these new opportunities
and thus, international trade in services can be made
pro-growth as well as employment-intensive. Poverty
alleviation would be a distant dream without the
expansion of social infrastructure (education, health
etc.) since the knowledge-intensive economy driven
by IT sector requires educated and skilled employees.
Labour mar ket i nequal i t y spi l l s over t o
inequality in education, health, political involvement
and results in other demographic vulnerabilities. On
t he ot her hand, i mprovement in labour market
equality results in reduction in gender inequality in
other areas by generating higher levels and better
qual i t y of human capi t al endowment and by
enhancing the productive capacity of women. Hence,
GIST OF YOJ ANA VOL14 29
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an important linkage exists between labour market
and empowerment in terms of involvement in the
deci si on maki ng pr ocess. On t he ot her hand,
reduction in gender inequality, particularly in t he
labour market, results in higher economic growth as
womens cont ribut ion t o t he product ion process
i ncreases wi t h human capi t al f ormat i on. The
f emi ni sat i on of povert y and t he ever-growi ng
proport ion of t he female populat ion working as
cheap labour, growing unemployment, the decline in
t he soci al power of l abour and an i ncr ease i n
temporary, part-time, casual and home-based work
are some of the out comes of t he changes that are
taking place in relation to globalization and economic
reforms. A number of policy initiatives for reducing
inequality in the labour market can be implemented
to generate greater human capital formation, and to
empower womens part icipat ion in the decision-
making process both at t he macro and household
levels.
Urban planning in developing countries needs
to consider that urban areas will have to be geared
up t o at tract furt her invest ment and at the same
time enough capacity is created to accommodate the
increasing pressure in the cities. How the low income
households in the rural areas can also benefit in the
process of urban-centric growth is another dimension
of t he problem. What opport unit ies in t erms of
i nf rast ruct ure have t o be creat ed and how t he
accessibility of the poor to these opportunities can
be enhanced are some of t he issues that need t he
attention of the policy planners.
Though, rural poverty and rural development
programmes may acquire t he t op priority in t he
development strategy of a developing country, the
contribution that the urban areas are making to the
overall growth cannot be overlooked. If the overall
growth has to be stepped up in the future years then
there is no way how the urban areas cont ribution
can be underplayed. For t his, more investment in
cities, for t heir residents and the poor who strive
hard notwithst anding their contribut ions to cit ys
growth, are definit ely required. Several count ries
particularly in the developing world usually follow an
imbal anced approach eit her by i nit iat ing major
invest ment projects in t he large cit ies only or by
raising political slogans in favour of small towns and
the rural areas. These countries need to take more
bal anced deci si ons so t hat t he i ncrease i n t he
economic growth originating from the large urban
sett lement s benefit s t he poor across all regions.
Besides, the medium sized and small towns need to
be kept ready for future productivity growth, once
t he possi bi l i t y of reapi ng t he benef i t s of
concentration from the present set of large cities is
completely exhausted. Strategic development of the
urban centres can facilitate the rise in productivity
growt h i n t he rural areas as wel l . By direct i ng
investment projects in an urban settlement which is
surrounded by rural areas, the benefits of growth can
be distributed more equitably. Some of these issues
are indeed of primary importance in urban planning.
Large ci t i es are more product i ve and
industries in large urban centers are more efficient
than in smaller centers of human habitation. More
demand-induced employment opport unit ies are
avail able in l arge ci t i es whi ch possibl y grow i n
response t o l arge quant um of i nvest ment
undert aken t herei n. In t erms of several socio-
economic and demographic characterist ics, large
cities seem to be better off. However, this does not
mean that poor are able t o access an easy ent ry to
these cities. Land scarcity, legal restrictions on land,
t he polit ician-builder nexus and net works-based
migration tend to reduce the accessibility of the poor
t o t he labour market in l arge ci t ies. As a result ,
urbanization in India does not seem to be inclusive
in spite of the fact that the large cities account for a
very large percentage of the total investment in all-
urban areas.
The main policy focus needs t o have t hree
different orientations. One is for the male migrants
who come to the city in search of jobs. Availability of
high productivity jobs in the rural areas can reduce
in-migrat ion to t he urban areas and on the ot her
hand productivity augmenting strategies need to be
adopt ed f or t hose who are engaged i n l ow
product i vit y jobs in t he urban low product ivi t y
informal sector. The other aspect of the policy has to
deal with the job market prospects of women who
accompany male migrants. In spite of the fact that
they are engaged in residual activities they are the
30 VOL14 GIST OF YOJ ANA
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ones who act ual l y meet t he consumpt i on
requi rement s of t he househol ds. Hence, t hese
women earners need t o be empowered t o access
bet t er job market opport unit ies, which t hey can
pursue along with the household or domestic work.
The t hi rd aspect concer ns t he si ngl e women
migrants. Though they are guided by the economic
factors at the place of destination, their vulnerability
in terms of social crime and housing uncertainty is
most serious and migrat ion policy in developing
countries cannot afford to ignore this aspect, which
has been gaining prominence in the recent years.
In reference t o t he quest ion whether well-
bei ng i mpr oves wi t h a r i se i n t he durat i on of
migrat ion, findings tend to suggest t hat rural-t o-
urban migration has been somewhat beneficial for
the workers and any attempt to stop migration may
t urn out to be counter- productive. On t he ot her
hand, several of the long duration migrants and the
natives still correspond to a low level of well-being
and hi gh i nci dence of pover t y. Therefore,
implementation of urban employment programmes
is indeed import ant for reducing urban povert y.
Si nce, many of t he urban poor are not f resh
migrants, rural development programmes alone will
not be adequate to reduce urban poverty. The other
policy dimensions relat e to education and healt h
because these variables play an import ant role in
determining the well-being of the households.
The urban povert y policy in India, however,
ignored many of these aspects. For a long time, it
f ocused onl y on basi c ameni t i es and publ i c
distribution system. Even under t he recent urban
renewal mission (JNNURM), infrast ruct ure and
provision of basic amenities to the urban poor get
t he t op priorit y in a handful of sixt y-t hree cities.
While investment in these areas is necessary, issues
relat ing to livelihood, micro-credit, provision for
training and skill up-gradation, institutional support
and healt h benefit s to t he workers from t he low
income households need immediate attention.
Social capital, particularly in the context of the
low income households, is important in accessing the
job market . i nf ormat i on. However, as regards
upward mobilit y, t here is no st rong evidence t o
confirm possibilities of improving earnings through
networks. On t he cont rar y, t radit ional net works
tend to reduce the possibility of upward mobility by
creating information asymmetry and excess supplies
of labour in certain pockets and act ivities. Hence,
government int ervent ion is import ant from t he
long-t erm development al point of view. On t he
whole, slum rehabilit at ion and livelihood issues
cannot be treated separat ely and t hey need to be
integrated with the survival strategies that the low
income households have developed on the basis of
social capital. Also, the political contacts are merely
a transitory respite. Keeping in view their limitations
and the lesser applicability in other Asian countries,
the role of political contact is seen as far inferior to
t hat of rat i onal pol i ci es, whi ch have wi der
applicability across countries. Awareness among the
residents has to be created to counter the practice of
being used in exchange of short-term gains.
DO YOU KNOW?
Shale gas is a natural gas. It is found trapped in shale formations. Shales are petroleum
resource rocks below the surface of earth. High heat and pressure converts the petroleum of these
rocks into natural gas. Interest in exploration of this gas has been increasing worldwide.
It is thought t hat increased use of shale gas shall help reduce green house gas emissions.
However, there is a disagreement on this issue. Some scientists have advised caution in extracting
this gas. There are fears of methane gas leak during the production of this gas.
Use of shale gas has been on the increase in the United States. China is estimated to have
the largest shale gas reserves. According to a report, there are 48 shale basins in 38 countries.
The shale gas discoveries in the United States have led to increase in its reserves. The economic
success of shale gas in US has increased interest in its exploration in Europe and Australia too.
India too has recently approved the shale gas and oil exploration policy. According to media
GIST OF YOJ ANA VOL14 31
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HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN INDIA
We know that today in 2013, education for all
has st ill not been achieved in India. Thi s is i n a
continuum from over a century and a half ago, when
modem educat ion was first int roduced t hrough
Woods Dispatch of 1835 and the Dispatch of 1854.
I would like t o present here a few salient point s
regarding the failure of the Indian effort to provide
education for all, and to offer a major explanation
for the failure, from which arise the other conditions
also producing and adding to the failure.
Begi nni ng wi t h t he fi rst major ef f ort s of
Christian missionaries in the eighteent h cent ur y,
modern education was characterized by a distaste for
indigenous culture that could border on extreme
deni grat ion. Alexander Duf f (1806-1878), who
arguably created the model for modem education in
India, was one of the most vitriolic of all missionaries.
He made a case for t he new educat ion wi t h t he
argument that the Indian mind, in learning a new
language (English) and a new set of concepts, would
be forced to un-learn its pantheism, idolat ry and
superstition.
This is what I read as the central disease of
Indian education, one that makes for failure both in
numbers-I ndi a st il l does not have 100 per cent
literacy-and in quality-Indias school-going children
are learning below t heir class levels. I call it the
home-school divide. Indian schools, administrators,
policy makers and teachers are pulling one way and
the childrens families and communities are pulling in
another. Teachers and curricula are also thus, divided.
I do not mean to belit t le other problems in
Indian education by emphasizing this one. I mean to
suggest that this formulation of the problem is the
acutest way to gain a handle on the problem of the
reports, India is the worlds fourth largest consumer of energy, could be sitting on as much as (96)
trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas reserves, equivalent to (26) years of the countrys demand
as per the estimate of US energy information administration. India relies on import for much of
its energy needs. As per available data, six basins Cambay (in Gujarat) Assam- Arakam (in the North
East) Gondwana (in Central India) K.G. on shore (in Andhra Pradesh), Cauvery onshore, and Indo-
Gangetic basins hold shale gas potential. Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGe) plans commercial
production of shale gas next year.
ONGC and Oil India Ltd., have been allowed to tap shale resources in blocks allotted to them
on nomination basis. Drilling of ten wells is planned for this year and commercial production may
start next year. ONGC is set to start drilling for unconventional shale hydrocarbon in Gujarat soon.
Cambay in Gujarat is one of the basins which is expected to contain shale reserves. The extraction
of shale gas uses hydraulic fracturing which involves blasting water, sand and chemicals underground
to release tapped oil and gas. After the permission to state-owned firm, private companies may also
be allowed to explore shale gas and oil from below the earths surface.
What is Escrow Account
Escrow account is an account in a bank which a third party holds during the process and period
of a transaction between two parties. It is a temporary account which lasts until the completion
of transaction. This account is governed by the conditions agreed to, between the parties.
This account helps in case of any violation of terms of the contract by either party. As a third
party, banks keep the account in safe custody, in case of any non-fulfilment of condition from either
side. The Bank ensures operation of account according to the terms set in the agreement.
Some banks keep it as a current account without cheque drawing facility or a fixed deposit
account. The banks run the account as per defined agreement. An escrow account may be used for
lending arrangements, project financing, securitisation, buy back of shares, take overs, custody,
litigation, sale and purchase of land, custody of software source code etc. The agreement reached
by the parties to open an escrow account in a bank needs banks approval.
32 VOL14 GIST OF YOJ ANA
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failure of Indian education which seems too slippery
t o get a hol d of ot herwi se. The economi cs of
education is import ant , for inst ance. Surely, t he
amount spent per head is responsible for the lack of
and poor qualit y of, educat ional resources. This
t urns upper and middle class families away from
government schools and creates a market for better
equipped private schools. But, if the country had the
will t o have a syst em of publ i c school i ng, t he
resources for public schools would be creat ed ,or
produced. I t i s because t he i magi nat ion of t he
educated middle class fails to comprehend the whole
of the Indian citizen body as a unit whose needs may
be addressed together, that the will for improving
public schooling is so weak. The fami lies of t he
masses are conceptualized as essentially different,
with a string of characteristics we will discuss below,
that distinguish them from the families and needs of
the middle classes. Thus, there is no need to reform
education with persistence and determination. There
is no need t o fight for resources. The short fall in
educational funding is ult imately t raceable t o t he
home-school divide. Similarly, we can agree that it is
poor management that is responsible for the poor
functioning of schools. Even when the teachers are
trained, the school building natty, teaching resources
available, and curricula imaginative, a principal will
complain that he cannot make the school work.
Management in India is understood as t he
successful control of production and delivery-if the
personnel are normal. But , my argument is, the
difference created by educat ion bet ween kinds of
Indians makes some behavior labelled as abnormal
and impossible to deal with, even though it may be
cult urally appropriate. Thus, there is no abilit y on
the part of well educated managers to manage less
educated or differently educated people in India.
This management shortcoming may be traceable to
the home-school divide. Without going over other
problems one by one, let us look at the schools in
t hei r di f f erences and t hen t rack t he probl em
according to the kinds of schools.
Family Values and the
Home-school Divide
The home i s a part i cul ar si t e of pol i t i cs.
Parent s and t he older generation control younger
generations on principle, for utilitarian reasons, to
reproduce t hemselves socially and cult urally, and
also because that is the preferred politics rather than
age equality or the dominance of the youth. Career
choices and choices of what t o study are made by
parent s. Marri age choices are li kewi se made by
par ent s. Sons and daught ers-i n-l aw may be
controlled well into their middle ages.
Apart from age politics, the family is rife with
gender politics. Every Indian family is patriarchal.
Senior men bond together to control younger men
and al l women. Age and gender power norms
combi ne t oget her t o soci al i ze gi rl s and boys
respectively to assume feminine and masculine roles
so seamlessly that no authoritarian control is needed
and men and women control themselves according
to strict patriarchal norms through out their lives.
Then there is class, caste and sectarian politics.
Each family maintains its distance from others on
these three lines, as well as on other grounds such as
l anguage and r egi on. I n each case, t here i s
separation, hierarchy, stereotyping, sometimes more
gent l y, somet i mes aggressi vely. The school, by
contrast, is a modernizing and secularizing agency
whose mandat e i s t o produce equal i t y and t o
pract ice it . Through cl assroom procedures and
regular rituals, children are taught in school t hat
India is a secular country, that all Indians are fellow
citizens, that the Constitution guarantees equality to
all, meaning both men and women, bot h rich and
poor and all religious groups.
But is equality what schools actually practice?
Is democratic citizenship what they actually succeed
in dinning into students heads? There are numerous
short comings t o schools perfect adherence t o
democratic, secular funct ioning. The first and t he
major one is that schools themselves are divided up
by class lines, if less now, by gender and sect. There
are no integrated schools in India. There are schools
for t he rich and schools for the poor and various
gradations in between. It is not a free and simple
choice that people make among schools. It is their
destiny and their lives that they wager in choosing a
school. And t hey are at t he mercy of t he syst em
because in f act t hey have no choice at all . Ri ch
children go to rich schools. Rich schools are rich in
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resources and management and personnel and
convey this air. Because of the social capital t hey
impart, even the children who are not good learners
succeed in get t ing some use out of their schools.
Poor children go to poor schools. Poor schools are
poor in resources and t each poorly. Children may
l abour very hard and l earn somet hing in t hese
schools, but t he majorit y of them remain poorly
educat ed. Some drop out because of t he sheer
poverty of the programme in school.
The whol e educat i onal syst em i n I ndi a
functions on the premise that there are two kinds of
Indians, those who would naturally want to and be
able to, pay for better schools for their children, and
t hose who woul d r esort t o f ree or subsi di zed
government schools t hat are bad or average or
unknown, but at any rate, not in the same league as
private schools t hat can claim a quality t hat t hey
charge for. The curriculum of schools is based on the
premise that India is a secular, democratic country
and children should learn about themselves, their
count ry and count rymen in modern, progressive
ways. Almost all the curricula in Indian schools is
progressive.
As it exists, the school is positioned to distance
itself from the family and whatever is eione is done
to t hem, at them, or in spit e of t hem, never wit h
t hem. The heme-seheel divide is so ingrained in
peoples minds t hat they cannot grapple with t he
probl em of uneducat ed, poor and working dass
families confronting a modern educational system.
Private English-medium schools
Many parent s who aspi re t o have t hei r
children study are willing to pay for private schooling
with the faith that these schools will teach English
and give a competitive edge to their children. The
schools, in turn, again expect, indeed, demand, that
t he home does a large part of the t eaching work.
They give homework that needs adult help and they
fail children who cannot cope with it. Almost 100 per
cent of first generation, or even second generation
school goers go t o a t ut or t o st udy aft er school
hours. The curriculum of these schools is faulty in
another way as well. The teaching of English, Science
and Social Studies, as well as sometimes Hindi and
Maths, is so non-progressive, non-interactive, and
unimaginatively undertaken t hat children do not
learn wel l. They leave school ost ensibly havi ng
st udied t hese subject s for t he durat ion of t heir
school life but with a skill level in them so poor that
they cannot use their education to provide the social
mobility they had dreamt of.
Private Indian-language schools
These are schools founded by the community,
often funded by the government, with low fees, old
buildi ngs, an Indian language as t he medium of
i nst ruct ion and a consciousness of being more
indigenous than private schools that are English
medium. These are closer t o t he homes of t heir
st udents in lit tle ways such as t he carelessness of
their school uniform and the sitting on the f loor in
madrasas. They also use the mother tongues of the
children. But they are also curiously distanced from
the homes of their students in their critique of the
home environments. Instead of attributing any fault
in st udent learning t o perhaps a short coming in
teaching methods, the fault is always seen to lie in
the family.An interesting instance is the madrasas
attended by the children of weavers families that I
have studied. Weavers sons often start sitting at the
loom when nine or ten. Madrasas timings are from
early morning to noon so they do not clash with this.
But the discourse that has been built up is of strictly
either studying or working. Any work that comes
from the family is seen as a problem for the school.
Although, these madrasas that are st arted by t he
weaving community are over a hundred years old, in
some cases, this antagonism between the home and
the school has not worked out. There has not even
been an attempt to work it out.
The schools do not respond to the ambitions
of the students families either. Students and their
famil ies want high qualit y educat ion t o achieve
competitive success in the future. Almost all Indian-
language medium schools aspire ver y low. Their
spaces and teaching methods are not ambitious in
progressivism or child friendliness. They do not plan
pedagogy or events or guidance for their students
t hat might make t hem successful in t he modem
world.