Tag: Kerala

ModiCare faces fresh challenge: Existing schemes by state governments

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Some of the states which are yet to agree to the central government’s call to sign up for ModiCare (also known as Ayushman Bharat) are facing a peculiar dilemma.

Not only are these states — many of them ruled by non-BJP governments — wary of the political implications of launching a scheme so closely associated with the prime minister’s name, they also already provide health cover to a much larger universe of beneficiaries than what the centre is willing to provide under Ayushman Bharat.

So the states are obviously hesitant, as merging existing schemes with Ayushman Bharat will raise costs while also being a political dud.

The deadline for Ayushman Bharat is inching closer with issues about existing versus new scheme still unresolved. The prime minister is expected to announce the launch of Ayushman Bharat on August 15. And the scheme will have a staggered rollout thereafter, with the most likely start date being Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 this year.

Ayushman Bharat envisages a Rs 5 lakh annual insurance cover at no cost to four in ten Indians. This is the biggest ever health cover, in terms of the corpus as well as the coverage universe.

Increased Burden on States

In most cases where states have existing health cover schemes, the annual insurance cover is lesser than that envisaged under Ayushman Bharat. So merging with the latter would anyway mean an increased burden on state budgets.

Besides, no state government would want to be seen withdrawing health cover from an existing beneficiary family (since the number of beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat is almost always less than state schemes) so it would necessarily have to merge the existing schemes with Ayushman Bharat, thereby again raising the health cover costs significantly.

Under the Ayushman Bharat memorandum of understanding (MoU), the centre is required to pick up only 60 percent of the tab.

Senior government officials told CNBCTV18.com that 20 states have signed an MoU with the centre to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme and four more may come on board as early as next week. Rajasthan, Goa and Punjab are expected to sign on the dotted line, with Maharashtra also “hopefully” convinced of the benefits and ready to come on board, the officials said.

The officials quoted above explained that Maharashtra has been reluctant since it already runs the ‘Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana’ covering 2.2 crore families when Ayushman Bharat is offering a cover for only 83 lakh families.

“Maharashtra is reluctant to run two schemes due to financial implications, the officials said. “But the centre’s hands are also tied since it cannot expand the coverage universe. So the Maharashtra government is looking for a way to sort this out and deal with increased payouts in case the two schemes are merged”.

The Kerala government is faced with a similar dilemma. The state already offers a cover to 35 lakh families when the Ayushman Bharat cover will apply to only 19 lakh families. In repeated conversations between the centre and the officials of the state on the enrollment for Ayushman Bharat, the government has been reluctant to abandon the universe currently covered.

The merger of the existing scheme and Ayushman Bharat poses financial challenges and some more meetings are being lined up to find a way out.

So why did states like Jharkhand signed up for Ayushman Bharat? The state’s Director for Health Services, S K Singh, said the Mukhya Mantri Swasthya Bima Yojana was being firmed up when the proposal for Ayushman Bharat came along. “So we did not have an existing health cover scheme, it was in the process of being formulated. Now, insurance companies have been asked to keep the same premium that they had agreed upon under the Mukhya Mantri Swasthya Bima Yojana for the Rs 5 lakh annual cover when earlier the cover was Rs 2.5 lakh. We will offer the scheme to the universe identified under Ayushman Bharat and for the remaining, we will use the chief minister’s scheme. This way, the universe will automatically get expanded.”

The first states to implement Ayushman Bharat could be any of these four: Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand or Madhya Pradesh. The first two will use a mixed model – trust plus insurance – while Jharkhand will use the insurance model and Madhya Pradesh the trust model.

In the trust model, the state government fixes prices, there is no price discovery and this model is considered ideal for health insurance as a non-profit motive is assured.  So wherever it will be a mixed model, some of the premium amount will be covered by insurance companies, while the remaining will be assured by state governments.

On being asked about the timeline for getting all states and union territories on board, Ayushman Bharat CEO Indu Bhushan told CNBCTV18.COM that “except for Odisha, we expect all states and Union Territories to sign up sooner or later. Sooner rather than later. We expect Rajasthan, Goa, Delhi and Karnataka to join soon”.

Though Bhushan did not comment further, officials have earlier indicated that political implications of agreeing to a scheme which is identified with the prime minister is the biggest deterrent for Odisha. And this has been conveyed to the centre.

Even if the four states which the centre expects on board by next week do sign up, it still means six more remains outside the Ayushman Bharat net – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Delhi and Telangana. How many of these will agree to come on board before the Independence Day announcement remains to be seen?

Officials said the centre has allocated Rs 4,000 crore for Ayushman Bharat till now out of the Rs 10,000 crore that the scheme is supposed to get in 2018-19. Since states are expected to bear 40 percent of the scheme’s burden, the remaining Rs 2,000 crore of the central share should come in the supplementary demand for grants, which will be presented later in the fiscal year.

A Game Changer?

Ayushman Bharat, if implemented in time and efficiently, could well be a game changer in India’s quest for universal health. In a note to clients, brokerage ICICI Securities had said some time back that “This scheme, if implemented successfully, would be one of the largest government-funded healthcare schemes globally as it would have an addressable size of Rs 50 trillion. This would be total healthcare size including hospitals, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics etc, however, hospitals would form the major portion (hospitals currently is less than 50% of the total Indian healthcare market).”

The brokerage went on to say that the Indian healthcare industry (hospitals) is expected to grow at 16-17 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) to reach to Rs 8.6 trillion by FY22. “That means if the above scheme is implemented successfully as planned, the healthcare delivery market can grow multifold,” the brokerage said.

Sindhu Bhattacharya is a journalist based in Delhi who writes on a range of topics in business and economy. 

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Kerala is the best governed state in the country, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kerala stands as the best governed state in the country and Karnataka is in the fourth position, said the Public Affairs Index 2018 released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC) here.

“Kerala has topped the Public Affairs Index (PAI) for 2018 as the best governed state for the third consecutive year since 2016 among large states,” said Bengaluru-based PAC at an event in the city on Saturday evening to release its third annual PAI.

Released annually since 2016, the index examines governance performance in the states through a data-based framework, ranking them on social and economic development they are able to provide.

Founded in 1994 by renowned Indian economist and scholar late Samuel Paul, the think tank works to mobilise a demand for better governance in the country.

Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat followed Kerala among the top five states delivering good governance, according to the report.

Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest on the PAI, indicating higher social and economic inequalities in the states.

Among smaller states (with population less than two crore), Himachal Pradesh topped the list, followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura which figured among the top five states with good governance.

Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked at the bottom of the index among small states.

As a young country with growing population, India needs to assess and address its developmental challenges, said the Chairman of PAC, K. Kasturirangan, on the occasion.

“The PAI 2018 is one example of a data-based framework that provides some basis, even if rudimentary, to assess the performance of states in India,” added Kasturirangan, the former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The think tank has undertaken the study across all the Indian states considering them across 10 themes such as essential infrastructure, support to human development, social protection, women and children as well as law and order.

“The index provides a multi-dimensional and comprehensive matrix that attempts to capture the complexities of governing the plural and diverse people of this sub-continent,” added Senior Fellow at PAC C.K. Mathew.

The states were divided into two categories — large and small — on the basis of their population. States with more than two crore population were considered large.

A total of 30 focus subjects and 100 indicators were measured to derive the PAI, relying solely upon government data.

The PAC said it was not keen to access private data sources that may be interpreted as “biased”.

This year’s PAI also included a separate index on the children of India, giving a measure of how child-friendly each of the states are.

Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram topped the index on being the states to provide better living conditions for all children.

The former chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Shantha Sinha, who was present on the occasion, delivered the Samuel Paul Memorial Lecture, drawing attention to children’s rights in the country.

“Children growing up in poverty cannot be blamed for their situation and it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that they are provided with opportunities for a better living,” Sinha said.

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Centre has approved Rs 80 crore aid to flood-hit Kerala, says Minister Kiren Rijiju

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Centre has sanctioned Rs 80 crore to Kerala as initial assistance to deal with “unprecedented rains and floods,” Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said today.

A central government team headed by Rijiju and accompanied by Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam arrived in Kochi this morning. The team will visit the rain-affected districts, including Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam.

“We issued Rs 80 crore yesterday and the state government has some amount,” Rijiju said, adding the Centre and the state would work together to deal with the situation. He said damages caused due to flooding was being calculated.

“We will extend whatever possible help from the Government of India because Kerala has witnessed unprecedented rains and floods. We are with the people of Kerala and the central government will do whatever is required,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, a defence spokesperson said the Southern Naval Command has sent five teams to Alappuzha district to assist the civil administration in disaster relief. The teams were dispatched after a request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in view of widespread inundation and waterlogging in the state.

Each team comprises five members and is equipped with inflatable gemini boats and other equipment including diving sets, the spokesperson said.

The SNC is ready to offer assistance with food and medical services if required by the administration, he added.

The toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala has gone up to 41 since the onset of monsoon on May 29.

As many as 1.18 lakh people have taken refuge in 606 relief camps across Kerala, as rains continued to batter several parts of the state.

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Kerala announces measures to speed up investment

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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To speed up investments in Kerala, state industries minister A.C. Moideen on Friday said that it had been decided if the various committees that inspect investment proposals do give a clearance in 30 days, the project can be deemed cleared.

“Officials who do not do their job cleanly and put up roadblocks in front of these investors would be strongly proceeded against, likewise a Rs 5 lakh would be levied on those investors who furnish false affidavit for approvals and each license issued would be valid for five years,” he told reporters here.

Moideen also pointed out that the government is open to investment proposals which will work out to the good of the state, but they should be environment-friendly.

To help the officials in giving clearance, an online system – Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance (K-SWIFT) – would go live in September, he said, adding that the state government would support import of granite and sand for those engaged in the construction sector.

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Kerala is imperfect but far ahead of the rest

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Editor’s note: On Sunday, we published an article titled ‘Why going to Kerala is unlike any other back-to-the-roots trip’. It was primarily an account by author Shinie Antony why she resented returning to the state to visit relatives. The article triggered a storm of protests on social media and in WhatsApp groups that it was shared. Below is a counterview by a writer who thinks Antony hasn’t really understood Kerala and why the state is unlike any other. 

Many people born to parents who hail from Kerala but are raised in larger cities find Malayali society judgmental, narrow-minded and even nasty.

It is a common complaint among such individuals to abhor having anything to do with Malayalis. I remember a Malayali friend from college who was raised in North India who used to be particular about befriending only non-Malayalis. He was honest enough to state point blank that he had learnt it the hard way about how people of his hometown ganged up against those who were raised elsewhere.

It is true that a bit of prejudice runs in Kerala against those who do not subscribe to the local viewpoint, traditions or even a conservative dress code. This puritanical streak targets in particular women who return from big cities, especially in the rural parts of the state.

A Curious Contradiction

In Kerala’s defence, the same can be said about city-slickers returning to their roots in other parts of the country. But the complaint by itself is interesting because it leads to a curious contradiction.

If there is one state that has achieved the maximum in terms of human development in India, it is Kerala. It is the most literate state in the country and its health services are often compared with Europe. (Recently, the state won international acclaim for the efficiency with which it dealt with the Nipah virus outbreak.)

Kerala has been Swachch (clean) long before the Abhiyan (programme).

Sure, its cities are also struggling now but Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode have not once broken down like Chennai, Bengaluru or Mumbai and surely do not register the apocalyptic pollution levels of Delhi. This monsoon happens to be the first occasion when Kerala is struggling to cope with waterlogging and landslides across the state.

The achievements in terms of standards in providing services is the result of having moulded a society that gives value to education and quiet efficiency over caste and religious dogmas that appear to be the foundation of societies in the Hindi heartland.

Kerala is surely among the safest states in the country but faces a peculiar problem in context: even an incident related to manhandling here is registered as a police case as the citizens are demanding and the police — when compared with the policing standards in other parts of the country — do register FIRs more often.

This has meant that the National Crime Records Bureau reports a staggering amount of cases from the state. It is a joke to even think of comparing the law and order situation in Kerala with the trigger-happy states up north where guns go off accidentally at weddings and neighbours kill one another for a parking spot and where large sections of the population shudder when they think of visiting the police station.

It is also a truth that Kerala is still unexposed to organised kidnapping or extortion mafia or even the sub-group of crime listed as dacoity wherein groups of armed men make away with the loot after killing or maiming family members, which has been a feature of big cities in many other states on account of rural distress and forced migration.

Newspaper reports suggest burglaries and cases of theft are on the rise of course and so too are cases of political violence. (The latter is a theatre in its own right and so is subject to political interpretations and therefore is not the right barometer to measure a state’s record in maintaining law and order on a day-to-day basis.)

There Are Problems

But for all the gains that have been made over the years, the Kerala society has remained culturally stagnant for a few decades. It is now apparent that despite its tremendous record in education, health and society-building, narrow-mindedness, bigotry and moral policing are on the rise. All this has also led to society becoming more judgmental when it comes to dealing with outsiders and even its own who have returned from other cultures.

For instance, it is difficult to understand why all hell broke loose — in a state that has a good share of its population living in the United States and Europe —when a few youngsters decided to organise an event marking their right to kiss in public spaces.

In another case, a teenaged boy and a girl were taken to task by school authorities when they hugged in public. The school was forced to backtrack after intervention by activists and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. (The boy in question scored record marks for the tenth standard exams that happened a few months after the incident, almost as if it was his payback.)

It is a fact that society in Kerala follows a certain conservative code. This is despite the fact that the state has perhaps the maximum number of people of Indian origin living around the world, with a good share of them living in free cultures.

Surely, a bunch of people who have been to bikini beaches around the world would be ok with slit jeans back home. But they are not!

Think about this: how do you explain that in Kochi, Kerala’s largest city, which reports stellar growth in sales of luxury vehicles year after year and the setting up of a whole new range of luxury hotels apart from and all other trappings of modernity, the shops close by 10 pm.

There is also a certain dress code that exists, though unwritten. It states that the common man and woman must look: well, common. That is to say that no departure from churidar and saris for women will be tolerated and even their right to wear jeans was hard-won around 20 years ago, with some colleges debating the issue even now.

Similarly, any man who refuses to be part of the clean-shaven or trimmed beard or moustache clusters too shall be treated as an alien.

Last year, Vinayakan, a teenager who preferred a hairstyle called Pompadour – involving shorter sides and a rolled up mop — was picked up for questioning by the police on account of his looks and died in custody allegedly due to torture.

A film song featuring a protest by the long- haired and bearded people dubbed as “Freakans” in Kerala became popular among youngsters. Instances of girls being targeted for meeting their boyfriends or even hanging out with the opposite sex continue to be reported.

There is thus a contradiction between Kerala’s identity as the most literate state in the country and its repressive and moral policing tendencies.

The problem perhaps is that education has not been able to challenge an increasingly deviant religious orthodoxy potently yet.

There have been several instances of priests and religious establishments of every kind issuing diktats to women in particular, prescribing standards of morality and steering society further away from individual liberty. This is despite the fact that instances of sexual abuse and corruption have shamed all religions in the recent past.

The second factor is patriarchy. This is a male-controlled society. Its political establishment, cinema, market place are all male-dominated.

This is true of the entire country but the difference is that Kerala is now becoming the cutting edge theatre of battle against patriarchy too. This is the only film industry in the country where a group of gutsy women actors and directors decided to take the all-powerful industry association head on.

New Movements

These artistes have taken on the male-dominated and men-led Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes known by the acronym “AMMA;” ironically, the word in Malayalam means mother. They are fighting an organisation led by stalwarts such as Mammootty and Mohan Lal under whose leadership AMMA appears to be going soft on actor Dileep who stands accused of masterminding the sexual assault of an actress.

Kerala is among the rare states in the country where an organised fight is happening against religious orthodoxy and patriarchy. Now, believers are also seeking accountability from religious organisations, suggesting the beginning of a new era.

It is true that the society in Kerala — led by an arrogant and morally corrupt religious orthodoxy and patriarchy —has become narrow-minded and judgmental. But it is also true that this is the only state that has already finished its work in basic society building. This state has the best schools, hospitals, public transport and ranks high in public order.

Sure, society appears to have lost sight of its international identity with a history of cultural exchanges for thousands of years with the rest of the world and now presents a sorry picture brandishing thought control as its core identity.

But Kerala is fighting the battle for gender – equality and creative freedom while large parts of the country are yet to build schools or hospitals, stop horrific street crimes and riots or even wash the paan stains off the walls of government offices.

It is possible that Kerala may become the first state that will lay the foundations for a futuristic society that will respect individual liberty, diversity and gender equality. Just as Kerala established standards in just about everything else.

The newly sprouted movements against orthodoxy and patriarchy may well lead to a society that will become less judgmental and make visits to the state more fun.

KP Narayana Kumar is a journalist based in Kochi.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Congress outfit drops plan to celebrate ‘Ramayana month’ in Kerala

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A Congress outfit has decided to drop its plan to hold programmes and seminars to mark the annual ‘Ramayana month,’ following protests and criticism from leaders of the parent organisation. Vichar Vibhag, the cultural wing of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, had planned a series of programmes, including ‘Ramayana Parayana’ (recitation of the epic) and seminars to the mark the annual month beginning on July 17.

‘Karkkitakam’, the last month in the Malayalam calendar beginning on July 17 this year, is generally observed as ‘Ramayana month’ in the southern state by the Hindu community. The KPCC outfit’s announcement came days after ‘Sanskrit Sangh’, which has a number of pro-Left scholars, academicians and Left sympathisers as members, had unveiled a state-wide seminar series to observe the month of rituals. Noting that it was not a programme planned by KPCC, the State Congress President M M Hassan said the celebrations have been shelved following criticism.

The programme was organised by the Vichar Vibhag, he added. Senior Congress leader V M Sudheeran and former KPCC Chief K Muraleedharan had come out openly against the plan to celebrate ‘Ramayana month’ by the party outfit. “Lord Rama was exploited for political purpose by the BJP and the stand of that party was not acceptable,” Sudheeran said adding no one should adopt any approach that would support even indirectly the stand of saffron party.

Terming the decision to celebrate Ramayana month as ‘ill-advised,’ Muraleedharan said it was not something that the Congress party needs to do. It was not the duty of political parties to organise religious functions, he said. The programme was scheduled to be inaugurated bySenior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and Former union minister Shashi Tharoor, MP was to deliver a lecture on ‘Ramayana is ours.’ ‘Karkitakam’ is the lean season ahead of the Malayalam month ‘Chingam’ that ushers in Malayalis’ most colourful festival of Onam.

Temples and traditional houses across the state would reverberate with the chanting of verses from the Ramayana during the month. Elders chant verses from ‘Adhyatma Ramayana,’ authored by medieval devotional poet Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan for 30 days in front of lighted lamps. Temples and cultural outfits also arrange recital of the epic and special poojas during the season.

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Why going to Kerala is unlike any other back-to-the-roots trip

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Maybe if my birthplace was on another planet I might be more enthusiastic to head home during the holidays. But as things stand, since childhood, I have always resented this annual southern trek towards kith and kin.

If I thought I could tiptoe through this period anonymously doing my own thing, there is something urgent that requires my complete physical presence; a betrothal or baptism or girl-seeing or boy-seeing, and if nothing else someone dies.

Since everything happens very far away one has to wake up at an unearthly hour to reach in time. In the car an aunt will say the rosary loudly , that’s how she prevents personal road accidents, an uncle will show you fond pictures of his gall bladder (not within him anymore) and a child will throw up (sometimes that’s me).

After a long and aimless drive, the motley bunch reaches destinations fresh as a daisy while I wander dazed and zombie-like. A million strangers ask me with the widest grins if I know them.

‘What’s my name?’ they will question if you nod uncertainly. I have never met so many people who forgot their own names.

This bone-deep lack of enthusiasm translates itself sartorially. I pack my oldest clothes, thinking I can throw these while leaving Kerala and travel back light. So I stand accused of landing up at weddings as if for a funeral (though, thankfully, not vice versa).

At weddings, where Malayalis are happy to turn up in their costliest Kanjeevarams colour-coordinated with rubber chappals, a blinding amount of bullion is worn by all. I am politely taken to be a Pentecost because of my lack of gold or perhaps very, very poor.

I’ve been asked point blank why am I so dark/thin/fat, why wasn’t I seen at church last to last Sunday, am I a boy or a girl, and shouldn’t I grow my hair to stop this gender confusion ha ha.

There is also the pleasant fringe benefit of being stared at in a neutral way by the opposite sex throughout your stay.

There is always time to bump into an uncle, aunt or cousin who will look tragedy-stricken that you cannot write or read Malayalam. ‘What?’ they will scream, or ‘Vaad?’, abandoning their purist tendencies just so you comprehend the full extent of their shock in the language of your betrayal.

‘And your children?’ they ask with big-big eyes. No, they cannot either, you say, edging backwards. Two years later the same uncle, aunt or cousin will tell you with beaming pride that their grand-kids speak only English.

Since a silent snobbery within Mallu circles makes maru-nadu Malayali superior to those who live there all the time, the moment one gets out, he/she starts to mock what he/she calls a ‘Typical Mallu’.

I always thought I would like my hometown more because my only parent lives there, but I find I dislike my mother a little because she chooses not to leave.

Dangle me mid-air or dunk me in a submarine in the middle of an ocean, but, please, please, don’t let me meet my relatives. As I leave whichever city I am living in, I sing: ‘Country roads, don’t take me home…’ or ‘kundree rods, dawned day’k me howmmm.’

Shinie Antony is a writer and editor based in Bangalore. Her books include The Girl Who Couldn’t Love, Barefoot and Pregnant, Planet Polygamous, and the anthologies Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman, Boo. Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Asia Prize for her story A Dog’s Death in 2003, she is co-founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival and director of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival. 

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India witnessed fewer, shorter-duration power cuts this summer

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The increase in power generation capacity, along with the reduction in transmission losses helped the country reduce its average duration of power cuts during the summer season this year compared to the last three years.

The average duration of power cuts tends to increase during the four-month period in India due to an increase in the demand for electricity across the country.

Even in 2018, India witnessed longer duration of power cuts during the summers compared to the winter season which lasts from December to February, but interestingly, the average length of power cuts across India has substantially reduced, according to data sourced from the ministry of power’s ‘Urja’ portal.

During June 2018, the average duration of power cuts across India was 8.6 hours as compared to 10.2 hours during the same month, last year and 16.3 hours during June 2016.

A similar trend was seen during other months of the summer season. For instance, the average duration of power cuts in April 2018 reduced to 6.45 hours as compared to 19.4 hours in the same month, two years ago.

Even in May 2018, the average duration of power cuts reduced to 7.5 hours from 19.2 hours during the same period.

India not only managed to reduce the average duration of power cuts but also the average number of power cuts this summer season.

In June 2018, there were as many as 13 power cuts on-an-average, across India as compared to 15 power cuts during the same month, last year. Even April 2018 saw fewer power cuts this year as compared to the previous two years. May, was the only outlier, recorded marginal increase in the average number of power cuts during the same period.

State of States

For some states, the average duration of power cuts was even better than the national average. Kerala and Tripura recorded the average duration of power cuts as low as 0.4 hours during June 2018.  Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar witnessed less than 3 hours of power cut during the same period.

On the contrary, states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttarakhand witnessed more extended blackouts during June 2018. J&K for instance, recorded 40.2 hours of power cut during the month, almost 5x longer than the national average. Similarly, Haryana and Uttarakhand also recorded more than 30 hours of power cut on-an-average during June 2018.

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The increase in MSP is welcome. But farmers need more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government has announced a fairly respectable increase in minimum support price (the price at which the government buys kharif crops from farmers). This is to be welcomed. But more may be needed.

To begin with, the cost taken into account is the value of inputs and the imputed value of family labour. A committee, I had chaired, had recommended the inclusion of some items in it like the time spent by the farmer on going to the market. That, I think, is now included but big items like imputed rent and capital costs computed as interest are not included.

This has led to MS Swaminathan correctly said that 50 percent of additionality has not been provided. He, of course, had noted in his report that I had pointed out in those days that the terms of trade had fallen for agriculture and its profitability had fallen by 14 percent in a decade.

Terms of Trade Moving Against Agriculture

This trend was reversed, but since 2014, according to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) reports, the terms of trade are again moving against agriculture. While the rest of us have improved our income by around 5 percent every year, the farmer is worse off and coming out on the road.

Niti Aayog officials have correctly pointed out that MSP is 50 percent higher than paid-out costs in most crops but that was not the National Commission on Farmers’ recommendation. Hence, the raft of protests.

MSP Covers Few States

In any case, the MSPs effectively matter for and cover only a few crops and that too in a few regions. Punjab, Haryana and Western UP account for most of the purchases of paddy. In other states, the quality of rice is an important issue, like the Jirasar, the basmati or the Kerala Red Rose and there is no procurement there.

In pulses and oilseeds, there exists only token procurement because the prices the farmer has sown for are much higher. The farmer knows that after harvest he will not get the then prevailing price of over Rs 200 a quintal and will settle for Rs 150. The MSP of Rs 50 or 60 is not important and he is worried about highly subsidised imports from the US, Canada or Australia.

The government hardly ever imposes a high enough tariff because of the needs of the consumer and the fight goes on.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) of India does some procurement but it is usually short of funds. Therefore, in reality, the MSP and 150 percent are pegged to base slogans on. The real issue of markets, first stage processing and supply chains lie elsewhere.

Getting Walmart to buy farmers produce and in fact give them space in its warehouses is far more important but simultaneously we are told that its case is slowed down because of the influential trader lobby. Not that it will be added quickly as a supply chain and regulated as it must be.

In pulses, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products, where demand is rising fast and where we get food and agriculture inflation, the infrastructure has yet to be built. But don’t scoff at the MSP rise. It is a good thing after all the rona dhona in this piece.

Yoginder K Alagh, a former Union minister, is an economist.

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Nissan to set up its first global digital hub in Kerala

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Co today said it is establishing its first global centre for digital operations in India and will hire around 500 people for the same by the end of this fiscal. The Nissan Digital Hub, to be set up in Kerala, will be followed by a number of software and information technology development centres in Asia, Europe and North America, the company said.

The Kerala centre will focus on building new-age digital capability to enhance user experiences, product development capabilities, security and connectivity in line with the advent of autonomous, connected and electric vehicle technologies.

“We are building our team up for this new-age digital capability. We thought that India would be a great market for us from a technology and talent perspective,” Nissan Motor Corporation Chief Information Officer Tony Thomas told PTI.

He said developing such new-age capability has been necessitated by the transformation happening in the automotive industry across the globe with respect to manufacturing, automation, engineering design and how cars are sold.

It has become even more important with the the advent of autonomous and connected cars along with emergence of electric vehicle technology, he added.

Commenting on the role of the new centre, for which the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kerala government today, Thomas said,”This is for the global market. The talent that we are building here will be serving all over the globe for Nissan”.

The centre, which will be initially located at Technopark  owned by the state government in Thiruvananthapuram before moving to a permanent location in the city, will focus on two key aspects, he said.

“The first is to take the current IT capability that we have and evolve it to the next generation,” Thomas added.

It will focus on digitisation of Nissan’s current manufacturing and engineering capabilities and enhancing customer experience to take it to the next level.

The second part, he said, would be on development of security and data analysis to cater to the needs of modern cars, which have become “computer on wheels”.

“Connected, electric and autonomous cars, a lot of technologies go into these cars. (There is a) need for security and analysis of data…We will be focusing on building some of those capabilities here to serve our company,” Thomas said.

When asked how big the centre would be in terms of manpower, he said,”Our assumption is that we will have about 500-odd employees here driving outcomes for Nissan across the globe”.

The centre will start with around 20-odd people.

“We have almost 100 offers ready to go as soon as we finalise with the government. Before the end of the fiscal we will hit 500 or more,” he said.

Thomas said Nissan will also work with its partners to build an ecosystem for future technology at the centre.

“We will be building it up. From thereon, based on our performance we will build up and the number (head count) will grow up,” he added.

Nissan Chairman (Africa, Middle East and India region) Peyman Kargar said, “The creation of Nissan’s first global Digital Hub in India reflects our commitment to this growing market and our belief in investing in India for the long term”.

Harnessing the skills and talents of the workforce in India is another way that Nissan is working to capture the full potential of the region, Kargar added.

Nissan, along with its alliance partner Renault, has a manufacturing facility near Chennai with a potential annual capacity of 4.8 lakh vehicles.

The alliance also has a global R&D centre in Chennai, employing 7,000 engineers engaged on several projects, including vehicle and technology development.

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