Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Gross Environmental Product will find its way in planning and policy making decisions, Initiative for Sustainable Development Begins

Doon University Inaugurates Workshop on Environmental Statistics 

The long awaited initiative on preparation of green GDP and presenting economic indicators in environment discounted terms was inaugurated today at DoonUniversitythrough the first technical workshop titled “PolicyMaking and Environmental Statistics for Sustainable Development”. The workshop organized jointly by the Department of Economics, Doon University and DES, Government of Uttarakhand is the first of its kind initiative that saw participation of policy makers, bureaucrats and academicians from different expertise on environment, economics, statistics and politics together on a single platform. Highlighting the objectives of the workshop, Dr. Manoj Pant from DES, Department of Planning said that the immediate purpose of the workshop is to build a framework of understanding on creation and maintaining of a framework of statistics on environmental goods, services and impacts on economic outcomes. But the longer term objective of any such process is to make efforts towards reversing the unbridled exploitation of resources and keep it within the limits of sustainability. Dr. B.M. Harbola, the registrar of the university welcomed the dignitaries and the guests. 

Prof. V.K. Jain, the vice chancellor, Doon University addressed the audience by focusing on the environmental issues which have direct impact on people, and how these issues create inequality among states and countries. He emphasized that the department of environmental science and natural resource management, department of economics and department of statistics must work together for better environmental accounting. Prof. Jain emphasized that there are three dimensions of looking at the issue of environmental statistics. Firstly, there is a need to estimate the level of our dependence on environmental resources. Secondly, the level at which we exploit and degrade the resources of our environment. Thirdly, it is also necessary to factor in the need to ensure social, regional and inter-generational equity as well as justice while using these resources for the material consumption needs of the present generation.  Dr. R.K. Sinha, Additional Secretary, Department of Planning GoUK,focused on the significance of the data, in the process of economic and social development. Credible data, honest feedbacks and rigorous methods are needed to ensure a sustained flow of information for effective policy making. The environmental scientist turned social activist and the leader of GaonBachaoAbhiyaan,Padmashree Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, HESCO-founder highlighted the urgency to look at the economic indicators from the perspective of the marginalised and deprived sections of hilly region of Uttarkhand.He stressed that an expression of indicators like Green Environmental Product (GEP), might help in measuring the true developmental scenario of any region. He stressed that the current indicators of growth like GDP is an expression of the vulgar exploitation by the oppressive class that has been shamelessly appropriating the resources of the poor in the name of development. Dr. Manoj Pant, JD, DES gave a presentation focusing on the limitations of existing system of forest accounting, need of green GDP/GEP and ended his words with the quote “better statistics for better planning for better tomorrow”.  

Dr. Y.S. Pangtey described the inter-district disparities of Uttarakhand, how the 9 hilly districts are still underdeveloped and marginalized despite the abundant availability of natural resources, where as Dehradun. Haridwar,Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital contribute a major chunk of the state output and are the primary beneficiaries of the growth process so far. Accounts related to environmental degradation and use would actually serve the purpose of highlighting the contribution of the majority of population in the countryside in the hilly terrains of the state.

The first technical session started with a comparative perspective on the methodological divergences in preparation of environmental statistics at the global level, presented by Dr. Siba Sankar Mohanty of Department of Economics, Doon University. He stressed on the need for democratization of statistics by making all information free on the World Wide Web.

Dr. Meenakshi from HESCO, Dr. Rajesh Kumar-Director FSI, Government of India and DrRajwar from HNB Garhwal University presented the data gaps in the preparation of environmental statistics in the country.
Dr. PradeepChauhan, Economic Advisor to the Government of Himachal Pradesh presented the successful attempt of the Himachal Pradesh Government in preparing environmental statistics in the field of forestry and tourism. He stressed that it is not only a tool to look at the economic numbers from the ecological perspective; it is also a mechanism to control the excessive exploitation of the resources by keeping track of use by economic agents.

The workshop is potentially a step towards a larger effort to make our state a responsible user of resources, Mr. Y.S. Pangtey-Director DES remarked.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Discussion on “Labour Market Policies in Uttarakhand”

Discussion on
 “Labour Market Policies in Uttarakhand”
Date: 17th September 2015
Venue: Senate Hall, Doon University
Time: 2.30 P.M.

INVITATION
Dear Sir/Madam,

We are happy to invite you to participate in a discussion on “Labour Market Policies in Uttarakhand”.  The discussion is an open class of certain courses run by the department of Economics in which students get an exposure on the divergent view-points of practitioners on specific topics of interest.

The key discussants include, Sh. Hira Singh Bisht (State President INTUC and elected representative), Sh. Virendra Bhandari (General Secretary, CITU), Sh. Samar Bhandari (General Secretary, AITUC), Sh. Govind Singh Bisht (BMS, Tentative), Sh. Vijay Rawat (former professor and social activist), Sh. Ashok Chaudhary (Mahamantri, Uttaranchal Roadway’s Karamchari Union).

Kindly participate.

Sd/-

Dr. Siba Sankar Mohanty
Faculty-Economics,
School of Social Sciences,
Doon University, Dehradun



Sunday, August 30, 2015

Region and religion both matter for better population indicators

For better population indicators, region and religion both matter, suggest data from 2011 and 2001 decadal Censuses.  According to the data, in the more developed southern States all communities do better than in the more backward northern States.
Poor education indicators

Between 2001 and 2011, Muslims (24.65 per cent) remained the group with the fastest population growth, followed closely by Scheduled Tribes (23.66 per cent) and Scheduled Castes (20.85 per cent). All three groups have historically had poor education indicators, especially for women, and restricted access to health care.

However, in States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which are considered advanced in terms of income and development indicators, population growth is low for all communities, the numbers show.
The population growth rate for Muslims in Kerala, for example, while substantially higher than that for Hindus or Christians in the State, is lower than the national average for Hindus, and half that of Hindus in States like Bihar.
“When the demographic transition is occurring, the better off communities first reduce their fertility, which is then followed by poorer communities. This is exactly what we are seeing, and in developed States, access to education and health becomes available to all,” Dr. P Arokiasamy, demographer and professor at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, said.
A similar trend is observed in other States; those with higher than average Hindu growth rates have higher than average Muslim growth rates too.
Two notable exceptions are Assam and Uttarakhand, where the Muslim growth rate is significantly higher than the national average, while the Hindu growth rate is lower.
“It is undeniable that in the border districts of Assam, there is illegal immigration. There is no other explanation for the Muslim population growth there,” a senior Census official said.
Worst sex ratio
When it comes to sex ratio, Sikhs as a community had the worst sex ratio in 2011 at 903 females for every 1,000 males, followed by non-SC/ ST Hindus (929), while Christians had the best sex ratio (1,023 females for every 1,000 males) followed by STs (990). Here again, region matters.
In Punjab and Haryana, all communities see their sex ratios plummet to their worst, while in Kerala, the sex ratio of all communities except Sikhs and Buddhists rises above 1,000 females for every 1,000 males.
In Tamil Nadu, the sex ratio for Muslims, Christians and SCs rises above 1,000.

More children in school, but very few enter college

Over 400 million people, or over a third of the population in 2011, had never attended any school or educational institution, new numbers from the census show. According to the new data, while enrolment in school is now over 80 per cent for school-age children, higher education enrolment remains low.
Enrolment in educational institutions rose between 2001 and 2011 at every level, most of all in the primary and secondary school-going age of 7 to14 years. Between the age of 7 and 14, over 80 per cent of children are attending school, the numbers show.

In Kerala, the proportion of 7 to 14-year-olds attending school rose from 93 per cent to over 97 per cent. In all, however, there are still over 25.6 million children between the age of 6 and 14 who are out of school.
While girls still lag behind boys in educational enrolment at this age, the gap has substantially reduced over the last decade; school and college enrolment rose faster among girls than among boys.
Despite a substantial improvement over the last decade, less than two out of three young Indians in the age group of 15 to 19 go to any sort of educational institution, the census shows.
The proportion is lower for girls, in rural areas and among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students. In 2001, just 44 per cent of those aged 15 to 19 were in school or college, while in 2011 that proportion rose to nearly 60 per cent.
There is also wide inter-State variation. While the proportion of 15 to19-year-olds enrolled in school or college is the lowest in Odisha and Gujarat at 43.3 per cent and 51.1 per cent respectively, it is the highest in Himachal Pradesh (78.51 per cent) and Kerala (82.87 per cent).
Signalling the still low proportion of young Indians enrolling in graduate and postgraduate courses, fewer than 25 per cent of those aged 20 to 24 were enrolled in an educational institution in 2011.
Even in Kerala, the proportion is just over 30 per cent. For girls, nationally, the number is substantially lower, at under 20 per cent.
Those taking up vocational education remains extremely low. Between the age of 15 and 24, the proportion of those enrolled in a vocational institute is under 5 per cent. This figure is up from just over 2 per cent in 2001.


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Are women really safe?

Mollyshree Dhasmana
M.Sc. Economics (2011)


Women are considered to the pride and respect of a nation and therefore their safety is considered as the responsibility of the people residing there. But India’s pride took a major hit when on December 16, 2012 a 23 years old girl was gang raped, tortured and brutally injured by a group of five people in a moving bus. This incident shocked the whole nation to their core and “humanity” was critically questioned.

The girl died after 13 days of treatment and struggle but left us all thinking and doubting the safety of women in our country. Several women suffer in India from harassment, physical abuse, assault that ranges from verbal harassment to crude preposition and in some cases even rape. Many of these incidents go unreported or as most of the times, unheard. This case made each and every one of us question the security and the law and order of the nation we live in and to what extent is the system damaged and how much repairing it needs. The girl who lost her life, “Damini” or “Nirbhaya” as she is know now, may have left the eyes of her loved ones moist but she opened our eyes and made us all rise and raise our voice to get what we deserve i.e. safety and security to walk the streets without any fear.

Read more about Are women really safe? | Gender Issues - @ www.lokkatha.com

Sunday, April 28, 2013

विकास का विरोधाभासी अनुभव


-अतुल सिंह 

कुछ समय पहले मैं अपनी नौकरी के दौरान दिल्ली में था | मैं अपने ऑफिस की बस में बैठा सड़कों - फ्लाईओवर के ऊपर से गुजर रहा था | और बस में बैठकर दिल्ली की ऐतिहासिक और आधुनिक सुंदरता के सामंजस्य का आनंद ले रहा था | कुछ देर बाद दिल्ली की सुंदरता के बीच मेरी आँखों ने जीवन का वह असामान्य दृश्य देखा जिसने मुझे हैरान तो किया ही सोचने पर भी मजबूर कर दिया |
एक फ्लाईओवर के नीचे एक महिला एक खाट पर लेटी हुई है, उसका तन ढकने को एक नाकाफी साडी है जो बहुत मैली लग रही है | उसके पास में एक बच्चा है जो काफी कमजोर है, शायद वह बच्चा कुपोषण का शिकार है | भला इसमें हैरान करने वाली क्या बात है ? ऐसे वाकये तो आसानी से देखने को मिल जाते हैं | तो इसमें हैरान करने वाली खास बात यह थी कि भले ही महिला के पास तन ढकने को एक ढंग की साडी नहीं थी, उसके बच्चे के पास खाने को पर्याप्त भोजन न हो पर वह महिला मोबाईल फोन पर बात कर रही थी | यह दृश्य देखकर मैं चकित था जिसने मुझे सोचने पर मजबूर कर दिया कि ये कैसा विकास है ? ऐसे विकास को किस तरह परिभाषित किया जाना चाहिए ? जहाँ एक तरफ फ्लाईओवर के ऊपर उच्च वर्ग के लोगों की महंगी महंगी गाडियां दौड रही हैं तो दूसरी तरफ उस महिला को मजबूर होकर फ्लाईओवर के नीचे दिन गुजारने पड़ रहे हैं और एक तरफ महिला के पास भले ही पहनने को पर्याप्त कपडे और बच्चे के लिए पर्याप्त भोजन न हो पर वह मोबाईल पर बात कर रही थी |
यह नज़ारा देखकर अनायास ही मेरे मन में भी दो दशकों से चल रही उदारीकरण पर बहस प्रारंभ हो गई | जिसमें एक वर्ग मानता है कि उदारीकरण का ही प्रभाव है कि भारत प्रगति कर रहा है और विश्वमंच पर अपनी कामयाबी की कहानी लिख रहा है | जबकि दूसरे वर्ग का मानना है कि उदारीकरण ने समाज में असमानता को बढ़ावा देने में मदद की है, उदारीकरण की नीतियों ने गरीब और असहाय लोगों को और पीछे धकेल दिया है | मैं भी इन्ही विचारों की उधेड़बुन में लग गया कि उदारीकरण ने सचमुच भारत में विकास की एक नयी नींव रखी है, ऊँची ऊँची इमारतें और उनमें बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनियों के दफ्तर, ऊँचे ऊँचे फ्लाईओवर, उन पर दौड़ती महँगी महंगी गाडियां, मेट्रो ट्रेन, कंप्यूटर, आईफोन, मोबाईल आदि जो शायद इतनी जल्दी बिना उदारीकरण के संभव नहीं थे | पर उदारीकरण ही तो वो छुरी है जिसने हमारे समाज के आर्थिक रूप से पिछड़े वर्ग की पीठ पर गहरे घाव किये है | उदारीकरण की नीतियों के अंतर्गत ही सामाजिक सुरक्षाओं से जुडी योजनाओं के बजट में कटौती, आवश्यक सेवाओं पर मिलने वाली सब्सिडी को हटाना, निजीकरण आदि कई ऐसे निर्णय लिए गए जिन्होंने गरीब जनता के जीवन स्तर को नुकसान पहुँचाया है | बढती बेरोजगारी, मुद्रास्फीति और खाद्य वस्तुओं की बढ़ती दरें, किसानों द्वारा की जाने वाली आत्महत्याएं, नक्सलवाद और माओवाद कुछ ऐसे कारक है जो भारत के विकास की तस्वीर को विकृत करते हैं और कहा जाता है कि ये उदारीकरण की ‘कठोर’ नीतियों का ही परिणाम हैं |
सरकार की इन नीतियों पर प्रश्न उठना इसलिए भी स्वाभाविक है क्योंकि इन दो दशकों में उदारीकरण के अंतर्गत जो फैसले लिए गए और उनके जो परिणाम सामने आये हैं उससे पता चलता है कि भले ही कुछ लोगों को फायदा पंहुचा हो पर बहुसंख्यक जनता आज भी अपनी दो रोटी के लिए जद्दोजहद कर रही है | देश में विकास की गति को बेशक एक नयी रफ़्तार मिली है लेकिन अधिकांश लोगों के जीवन स्तर में सुधार की गति में आज भी कई अवरोधक हैं | इन नीतियों के परिणामों से संदेह होता है कि सरकारें अपनी प्राथमिकताओं कों भूल चुकी हैं | सरकार गाँव गांव को कम्प्यूटरीकृत और इन्टरनेट से जोड़ने की बात करती है लेकिन भूल जाती है कि आज भी कई गांव हैं जहाँ लोगों के पास दो वक्त का भोजन नहीं है, गांव में सड़कें नहीं हैं, अस्पताल और विद्यालयों के हालत बदतर हैं | सरकार के ही द्वारा बनायी गई गरीबी रेखा तय करने वाली सभी कमेटियों की रिपोर्ट बताती हैं कि आज भी देश की लगभग आधी जनता गरीबी रेखा के नीचे होते हुए अपना गुजर बसर कर रही है | इसी जनता को सरकारी अस्पतालों की नाकामी के कारण अपनी छोटी कमाई का एक चौथाई हिस्सा अपने स्वास्थय की देखभाल में खर्च करना पड़ता है | अधिकतर सरकारी विद्यालयों की शिक्षा का हाल सभी जानते हैं | शिक्षा कि स्थिति बताने वाली असर रिपोर्ट बताती है कि देश में बच्चों की शिक्षा का स्तर लगातार गिर रहा है | देश के प्रधानमंत्री स्वयं मानते हैं कि देश के आधे बच्चे कुपोषण का शिकार है और यह देश के लिए शर्म की बात है | ऐसे में क्या केवल विकास की गति सभी तक विकास पहुँचने का सही मानक है | भले कुछ शहरों में कुल जनसँख्या के एक छोटे हिस्से को विश्वस्तर की सुविधाएँ प्राप्त हों लेकिन बड़ा हिस्सा मूलभूत आवश्कताओं के लिए तरस ही रहा है | सरकार देश में हो रहे विकास का श्रेय लेना नहीं भूलती लेकिन जरूरी सुविधाओं को आम लोगों तक पहुचाने की अपनी प्राथमिकता को या तो भूल जाती है या जानबूझकर भुला देना चाहती है |

फिर अचानक उस महिला के विषय में ध्यान आया तो सोचने लगा कि क्या उस महिला को उदारीकरण, जिसके विषय में उसे जानकारी भी नहीं है, का शुक्रगुज़ार होना चाहिए कि भले ही उसके पास ठीक से खाने को भोजन और पहनने को कपडा ना हो पर वह मोबाईल पर बात कर रही है या उसे उदारीकरण का विरोध करना चाहिए जिसने उसके कई अधिकारों पर चोट पहुंचाई है कि उसके पास सिर ढकने को एक छत, पहनने को कपडा और खाने को भोजन नहीं है | तब कहा तो यह गया था कि उदारीकरण से होने वाला विकास रिस रिस कर गरीबों तक भी पहुंचेगा और वे भी इससे होने वाले विकास का फायदा उठा पाएंगे | लेकिन सरकार ने इस टिपण्णी पर कोई समय सीमा का वादा नहीं किया था शायद यह उस समय के लिए कहा गया था जब सारे गरीब इस उदारीकरण की भेंट चढ जायेंगे और कोई भी इसका फायदा उठाने के लिए बचेगा ही नहीं |

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

When Education Decides your Future, You Decide What Your Education Must Be: A Review of Economics Education at Doon University

When Siba Sankar Mohanty, Head of the Department of Economics, Doon University, asked me to prepare a review of the Department and the career potentials of the pass-outs of the School of Social Sciences, I was under the impression that he wanted me to prepare a promotional write up on the department. But in the course of preparation of this article I realised that the motive was rather to highlight 'Economics' as a trade in the career training of young professionals and to prepare an analysis of the extent to which, the Department of Economics, Doon University, is committed to cater to the need for fusion of the complex social and personal aspirations of young minds with the political and business aspirations of an emerging economy. What I have attempted to present here is an outcome of a month long exercise of collection of information, review of different universities in India and elsewhere, review of literature, interviews with students- parents and other faculty members of the Department and numerous sessions of discussion with Prof. Mohanty on the issues emerging out of such exercise. The task that was in no way  lesser than a research on contemporary debate on career goals and choice trade-offs, finally got shaped in the form of what follows. The author is only responsible for a compilation of secondary information and some perceptions, and is thankful to all who participated in the activity


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