Transcript Document

Global Conference on
“Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry”
Beijing, China
Infrastructure and the Poorest
by
Kirit S. Parikh
Member, Planning Commission
Government of India
Wednesday, the 17th October, 2007
Dimensions of Poverty/Deprivation/
Exclusion
WELL BEING
ILL BEING
Needs
Without Which One Suffers
Adequate food
: Hunger
+ Other needs
: Consumption / income poverty
+ Good health And literacy
to know of Opportunity
: Poverty of human development
+ Public services and goods,
Good governance
: Capability/functional poverty
+ Ability to survive shocks
social and environmental
capital
: Insecurity
+ Ability to invest for
betterment
: Hopelessness
+ Freedom, inclusion and
empowerment
: Lack of self respect
India’s Progress in Many
Dimensions of Poverty
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Persons poor
Health
Education
Environment
Access to modern goods and services
Infrastructure
Empowerment
Percentage of Population Below
Poverty Line
Year
Rural
Urban
1973-74
56.4
49.0
2004-05
28.3
25.7
Health Indicators
Year
Life Expectancy At
Birth
Infant Mortality/
1000 Births
1951
2001
32
62.5
146
60
Literacy Rate
Census Year
Males
Females
Persons
1951
2001
27.2
75.9
8.9
54.2
18.3
65.4
Significant Progress
but
Disparities across classes and
regions not reflected in the
average numbers
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Undernourished Children: (1998-99)#
M.P.
U.P.
Sikkim
Average Highest Lowest
Goa
Orissa
Sikkim
Weight-for-age
Height-for-age
# Percentage below 2 standard deviation from median
Weight-for-height
Literacy (age 7+) Male & Female: (2001)
100
Kerala
90
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Kerala
Mizoram
Kerala
80
70
Bihar
60
50
Bihar
Bihar
40
Bihar
30
20
Bihar
Female
Bihar
10
0
All
SC
ST
SC
Female
Male
Average
All
Highest(State)
Lowest(State)
ST
Indoor Air Pollution due Fuels
in Rural India
• 96% of households use biomass energy,
11% use kerosene and 5% use LPG for
cooking. Most of them use multiple fuels
• Forests contribute 39% of the fuel wood
need
• 314 Mt of bio-fuels are gathered annually
• 85 million households spend 30 billion hrs.
annually in fuel wood gathering
Burden of Dirty Fuels
• Respiratory symptoms are prevalent among 24
million adults of which 17 million have serious
symptoms
• Adults suffering
– 16% from Bronchitis
– 5% from Bronchial asthma
– 8.2% from Pulmonary TB and
– 7% from Chest infection
• Risk of contracting respiratory diseases and eye
diseases increases with longer duration of bio-
Causes of Poverty
• Too little assets
• Too little access to public goods and
services to get skilled and exploit
opportunities
• Too little access to environment
• Too little rights
• INFRASTRUCTURE physical and social
critical
Importance of Governance
• Local
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–
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Prices, Macro policy
Transfers
Institutions
Entitlements
Freedom
• Global
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Flow of goods and services – WTO
Flow of knowledge – TRIPs
Flow of finance
Flow of people
Sharing global commons
Faster and More Inclusive Growth
Strategy for Inclusive Development
• Education for All – for Empowerment
– Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
– Adult Literacy Campaign
– SSA-2 for expanding reach of secondary
education
– High quality higher education
– Modernisation of vocational education
Strategy for Inclusive
Development… (contd.)
• Better Health, Expanding Capabilities
– Rural Health Mission
– Drinking Water
– Sanitation Programme
• Infrastructure – Essential for Functioning
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RGGVY (Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana)
PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana)
JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
Telecom Connectivity
Strategy for Inclusive
Development… (contd.)
• Expanding Opportunities & Bridging
Divides
– Growth, particularly agricultural growth, for
employment opportunities
– NREGA (National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act) for immediate impact
– RSVY to pull the backward
Inclusive Development
• Elementary Education
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100% enrolment under SSA likely by 2006-07
Drop-outs still high – 31% in 2003-04
Teacher attendance and teaching quality poor
Local school management committees
SSA to include early childhood eduation (ECE)
Greater use of ICT especially for disadvantaged
children
Inclusive Development… (contd.)
Empowerment Through Education
• Secondary Education
– Launch new mission SSA-2 upto Class X
– Consider voucher system to enable poor to access private
schools
• Vocational Education
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ITIs to be expanded in numbers and skills taught
Financial & administrative autonomy given to ITIs
New initiatives in agricultural & agro-processing skills
Vocational training to be placed on par with secondary
education regarding status and resources
Inclusive Development… (contd.)
Empowerment Through Education
• Higher Education
– Critical for ICT driven knowledge economy
– Expand University system and Open education to increase
access from 8% of age-group to 20% +
– With quality faculty and greater autonomy
– Increase budgetary support and raise fees
• Science & Technology
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National Science & Technology Commission
Establish world class research facilities
Promote scientific research as career
Revamp service conditions of scientists
Inclusive Development…(contd.)
Strategy for Better Health
• National Rural Health Mission
– Special focus on 18 States
– Integrated district plans for health including drinking
water, sanitation and nutrition
– Merger of programmes and pooling of resources
– Appointment of ASHA in each village
– Involvement of non-profit sector
– Integration of Indian Systems of Medicine
– Social and Community-based health insurance
Inclusive Development… (contd.)
Strategy for Better Health
• Clean Water for All
– Despite 95% coverage, large number of slip backs (2.8
lakhs) and serious quality problems (2.17 lakhs)
– Need to move away from ground water to surface water
sources
– Emphasis on community owned & managed projects
– States need to fully utilise 12th Finance Commission
funds
• Sanitation
– Total sanitation campaign has increased coverage from
4% in 1988 to 35% at present
– Subsidy only for BPL; greater focus on APL needed
Inclusive Development … (contd.)
Rural Infrastructure
• Bharat Nirman: a fully centrally funded timebound (2009) action plan for:
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10 million ha of additional irrigation
All weather road connectivity to 66,802 habitations
60 lakh houses for rural poor
Drinking water supply to all uncovered habitations
Electricity to all un-electrified villages
Connect all remaining villages (66,802) with public
telephones
• States should supplement by expanding coverage
in coordinated manner
Ensuring Outcomes:
The Challenges
• Main elements of the implementation strategy
– Decentralisation
– Financial Empowerment of PRIs
– Stakeholder Participation
– Accountability through Transparency, RTI & Internet
– Civil Society Organsiations (CSOs) and Public Private
Partnership
– Offering Choice to People
– Entitlements to Reduce Leakages
Thank You