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पॉलिसी बझः कोरोना व्हायरस-फोकस आठवी आवृत्ती

कल्याणकारी धोरणात जे घडत आहे त्या प्रत्येक पंधरवड्यात प्रकाशित झालेल्या बातम्यांच्या निवडीसह अद्ययावत रहा. सध्याची आवृत्ती भारतातील कोरोनाव्हायरस (साथीचा रोग) सर्व देशभर (किंवा खंडभर) असलेला यावर लक्ष केंद्रित करते आणि सरकार वाढ थांबविण्यासाठी करत असलेले प्रयत्न.

 

धोरण बातमी

  • केंद्र सरकारने प्रस्तावित राष्ट्रीय रोजगार धोरण (एन.ई.पी) ला गती दिली आहे. नोकरी आणि सामाजिक
    सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करण्यासाठी या स्थलांतरितांसह देशातील कर्मचार्‍यांच्या औपचारिकता पूर्ण करण्याचे या धोरणाचे उद्दीष्ट आहे.
  • कर्नाटक सरकारने उद्योग (सुलभता) अधिनियम 2002 च्या कलमांमध्ये सुधारणा आणल्या आहेत. या
    दुरुस्तीमुळे काम सुरू होण्यास विलंब लागणार्‍या वैधानिक मंजूरी काढून व्यवसाय करण्यास सुलभता
    येईल.
  • हरियाणा सरकारने शालेय विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी दूरस्थ शिक्षणाची सोय करण्यासाठी रिलायन्स जिओ
    टीव्हीबरोबर भागीदारी केली आहे. करारानुसार आता एडूसॅटचे चारही चॅनेल जिओ प्लॅटफॉर्मवर आता
    विनामूल्य उपलब्ध होतील.
  • राजस्थान सरकारने गरीबांना दिवसात दोनदा सवलतीच्या दरात जेवण देण्यासाठी ‘इंदिरा रसोई योजना’ सुरू केली आहे.
  • झारखंड सरकार ने शहरी कामगारांना जास्तीत जास्त 100 दिवस रोजगार उपलब्ध करुन देण्यासाठी जॉब गॅरंटी योजना सुरू करण्याची योजना आखत आहे. राज्यातील मनरेगा अंतर्गत देण्यात येणरया मजुरी पेक्षा पगार 40 टक्के जास्त आहे.

 

आरोग्य

  • इंडिया टी.बी रिपोर्ट 2020 नुसार, भारता मध्ये मागील वर्षांमध्ये 24.04 लाख टी.बी प्रकरणे आणि
    79,144 मृत्यूची नोंद झाली आहे. एकूण क्षयरोगाच्या निम्म्याहून अधिक रुग्ण उत्तर प्रदेश, महाराष्ट्र, मध्य प्रदेश, राजस्थान आणि बिहार या पाच राज्यातील आहेत.
  • कोविड -19 चाचणीची किंमत देशभर एकसारखी असल्याचे सुनिश्चित करण्यासाठी सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने केंद्र सरकारला सांगितले आहे.

 

इतर

  • एशियन इन्फ्रास्ट्रक्चर इन्व्हेस्टमेंट बँकेने (ए.आय.आय.बी) ने कोविड -19 विरूद्ध लढा मजबूत करण्यासाठी भारताला 750 दशलक्ष अमेरिकी डॉलर्स कर्ज मंजूर केले आहेत.
  • आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजन्स (GPAI) चे संस्थापक सदस्य म्हणून भारत ग्लोबल पार्टनरशिप फॉर
    आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजन्स मध्ये सामील झाला आहे. आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजन्स हा आंतरराष्ट्रीय आणि बहु-भागीदारांचा पुढाकार आहे.
  • खासगी अंतराळ उद्योगांना त्यांचे कामकाज चालविण्यासाठी पाठबळ देण्यासाठी शासनाने नवीन ‘इंडियन नॅशनल स्पेस प्रमोशन अँड ऑथरायझेशन सेंटर’ (IN-SPACe), अर्थात “अवकाश विभागांतर्गत स्वायत्त नोडल एजन्सी” स्थापनेस मान्यता दिली आहे.

Financing Nutrition in India: Cost Implications of the Nutrition Policy Landscape in 2019-20

Researchers at the Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have published a Policy Note which estimates the potential costs to deliver a core set of direct nutrition interventions (DNIs) at scale (i.e. 100 per cent coverage) for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20.

 

Background to the note

Outcomes of malnutrition such as stunting, anaemia, wasting, and low birth weight have remained persistently high in India (Menon et al. 2017). As part of India’s national strategy to address malnutrition and associated risks, a number of nutrition interventions are being implemented. These include nutrition-specific interventions such as the provision of food supplements, Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation during pregnancy, breastfeeding (BF) promotion, vitamin A supplementation in early childhood, and food supplementation, as well as nutrition sensitive interventions such as access to clean water, sanitation, etc. 

At the Union government level, these interventions are delivered primarily through Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) – the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), POSHAN Abhiyaan, and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) under the Ministry of Women and Child Department (MWCD) and the National Health Mission (NHM) operating within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). 

Despite these interventions, coverage remains variable, due to implementation challenges, and capacity, and financing gaps (Menon et al. 2017, Chakrabarti et al. 2019). Although overall use had improved and reached marginalised groups such as disadvantaged castes and tribes, the poorest quintiles of the population were still left behind, especially in the largest states that carry the highest burden of undernutrition.

This Policy Note is based on a study that carried forward research on costing for nutrition interventions, notably work by Menon et al. (2016). The methods followed by Menon et al. (2016) were adapted in this policy note to calculate the cost of providing interventions at full coverage.

 

₹20,796 crore ($3.03 billion) was required to provide food supplements at-scale for  for adolescent girls out-of-school, pregnant women, lactating mothers, children aged 6 months to 3 years, and severely underweight children

 

How can this note be used? 

The costs provided here can be used by policy-makers for planning and budgeting. The objective of budgeting is to estimate revenues required and likely expenditures, as well as to determine future funding needs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resources have to be rapidly re-prioritised. The findings from this note can facilitate such discussions as well. Cost estimates can contribute to a more informed debate on resource allocation priorities (WHO, 2003), and help make choices clearer for policymakers. 

Therefore, the findings of this note can feed directly into the planning and budgeting cycle. The cost estimates across interventions for each state can be used at the ICDS Annual Programme Implementation Plan meetings, NHM Programme Implementation Plan meetings, planning for supplementary budgets especially under NHM, as well as in planning governance reforms across sectors to improve implementation. These meetings will be crucial in re-allocating funds in July 2020, accounting for COVID-19. Therefore, the findings of this note can equip various stakeholders with the required information to ensure adequate financing for nutrition interventions.  

 

Findings

The study found that at 2019 population estimates, India should have spent at least ₹38,571 crore in 2019-20, across Union and State governments, and across ministries and departments to fully finance a set of core DNIs, at scale. 

We estimated that in FY 2019-20: 

  • To deliver counselling at scale, ₹1,373 crore ($200 million) was required (Figure 1). This included counselling for the promotion of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and water, hygiene and sanitation practices. Of all categories, Behavior Change Communication (BCC) interventions were the least costly. 

 

  • To provide food supplements at scale, ₹20,796 crore ($3.03 billion) was required. This included supplementary food for adolescent girls out-of-school, pregnant women, lactating mothers, children aged 6 months to 3 years, and additional rations for severely underweight children.

 

  • For maternity benefit cash transfers at scale, ₹9,260 crore ($1.35 billion) was required. It was to be delivered under two conditional cash transfer schemes – PMMVY (₹6,637 crore) and Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) (₹2,623 crore).

 

  • For the distribution of micronutrient supplements and deworming tablets at scale, ₹1,019 crore ($148 million) was required. This included IFA and deworming for adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers; deworming for pregnant women; vitamin A, IFA, zinc, and deworming for children.

 

  • For health interventions at scale, ₹6,123 crore ($892 million) was required. This included immunisation of children (₹3,542 crore), providing insecticide treated bed nets to pregnant women (₹146 crore), treatment of severely malnourished children at Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) (₹2,403 crore), and drugs for treatment of diarrhoea for children (₹31 crore). A detailed breakup of these costs by intervention is given in Figure 1. 

 

Figure 1: Annual costs of delivering nutrition interventions at scale, in ₹ crore

 

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, it is critical to ensure equitable and adequate resources for nutrition. Union government and ministries are likely to reassess allocation requirements in the coming months. Our findings indicate that India should have spent at least ₹38,571 crore in 2019-20,  and it is imperative that in 2020-21 and beyond, spending on nutrition will need to be benchmarked at least at this level, or beyond. 

 

 

References

Chakrabarti, S., Raghunathan, K., Alderman, H., Menon, P., and Nguyen, P. 2019. India’s Integrated Child Development Services programme; equity and extent of coverage in 2006 and 2016. Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

Menon, P., McDonald, C.M., and Chakrabarti, S. 2016. Estimating the cost of delivering direct nutrition interventions at scale: national and subnational level insights from India. Maternal and Child Nutrition (Supplement 1): 169–85. 

Menon, P., Nguyen, P.H., Mani, S., Kohli, N., Avula, R., and Tran, L.M.. 2017. Trends in Nutrition Outcomes, Determinants, and Interventions in India (2006–2016). POSHAN Report 10. International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi. 

WHO. 2003. Making choices in health: WHO guide to cost-effectiveness analysis. Geneva: World Health Organization.

 

Also Read: Nutrition CSS schemes in a Glance from Accountability Initiative’s Budget Briefs

Policy Buzz: Coronavirus-focus Eighth Edition

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. The current edition focusses on the Coronavirus pandemic in India, and the government’s efforts to stem its increase. 

 

Policy News

  • The proposed National Employment Policy (NEP) has been fast-tracked by the Union government. The policy aims at the formalisation of the country’s workforce, including migrants, to ensure job and social security.
  • The Karnataka government has introduced amendments to sections of the Industries (Facilitation) Act 2002. The amendment will improve ease of doing business by doing away with the statutory approvals that delay the commencing of work.
  • The Haryana government has entered into a partnership with Reliance Jio TV in order to facilitate distance education for school students. According to the agreement, all four channels of EDUSAT will now be available on the Jio platform free of cost.
  • The Rajasthan government has launched ‘Indira Rasoi Yojana’ to provide meals to the poor twice a day at a concessional rate.
  • The Jharkhand government is planning to launch a job guarantee scheme to provide employment to urban workers for a maximum of 100 days. The wages are likely to be 40% higher than what is provided under MNREGA in the state.

 

Health

  • According to the India TB Report 2020, India recorded 24.04 lakh tuberculosis cases and 79,144 deaths last year. Over half of the total TB cases were from five states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.
  • The Supreme Court has asked the Union government to ensure that COVID-19 test rates are uniform across the country.

 

Others

  • The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved USD 750 million as loan to India in order to strengthen the battle against COVID-19.
  • India has joined the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as its founder member. It is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative on artificial intelligence.
  • The Government has approved setting up of a new ‘Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre’ (IN-SPACe), an “autonomous nodal agency under the Department of Space” in order to provide support to the private space industry to conduct its activities.

Association between Public Investment in Education and Learning

Public school education in India is funded through both Union government as well as the states’ own budgetary resources. The erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) had been one such major Union government scheme that has funded elementary education for two decades, before becoming part of the umbrella scheme called Samagra Shiksha in 2018. But has SSA been instrumental in driving students’ learning? More specifically, has government investment through SSA played a significant role in improving students’ learning outcomes?

Even though research in the past has explored the positive impact of different school-level inputs on improved learning in India, there have hardly been  attempts to unpack the role of SSA expenditure in learning attainment.

Even after years of investment through SSA, poor learning levels of students in elementary grades in government schools have been of major concern. In 2017-18, grade and subject specific learning outcomes of children attending government schools measured through the National Achievement Survey (NAS), reinforced that learning levels at elementary level were quite poor. However, there were significant intra and inter-state variations in learning levels. In November 2018, the NCERT released skill-based learning outcomes at the district level.

This provided us with a unique opportunity to explore the causal effect of average SSA expenditure per student, collected through RTI applications, on average learning levels at a disaggregated district level. Accordingly, an econometric regression model with 383 districts across 15 states was run by us, correcting for other district level socio-economic and school-based factors that might influence students’ learning outcomes. 

The results revealed that average SSA expenditure per-student is not a significant determinant of 3rd, 5th or 8th grade learning outcomes in Mathematics or Environmental Studies (EVS). Simply put, public expenditure – controlled for prevailing school and socio-economic factors – does not seem to explain variations in student performance across districts. These findings, while disappointing, are not altogether surprising. Majority of research on the subject tends to agree that public expenditure is, at best, ambiguous in predicting students’ learning outcomes. Alternatively, students’ learning attainment is found to be more immediately influenced by a number of classroom, school, and teacher inputs.

These factors may include: access to textbooks and instructional time (Nannyonjo, 2007), access to visual and teaching aides, qualification of teachers and years of teaching experience (Glewwe et al, 2011), and remedial teaching expertise (Banerjee et al, 2005). Although many of these factors could not be taken into account into the current analysis due to absence of quantifiable data at the district-level, the results reveal important insights on the role of expenditure vis-à-vis other educational inputs and background variables, in driving learning at elementary level. 

The results also indicate that the proportion of affluent households in a district has a significant positive impact on average learning levels of students. This speaks to an underlying inequity in the delivery of public education, wherein students from more affluent districts tend to learn and perform better in the classroom, and students from less wealthier districts fare worse, academically. Conversely, districts with a higher share of population belonging to disadvantaged groups such as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), are less likely to have better learning levels. 

 

Looking Ahead 

Our findings do not dismiss the crucial role of funding for education; instead, they urge us to question and redefine the priorities that guide education expenditure in elementary schools. A closer look at component-wise distribution of SSA expenditure suggests that it has been geared towards aspects such as providing incentives to students, school infrastructure, salaries to contractual teachers. While this made sense when the goal for elementary education was to get children into schools, the current needs require focus towards interventions that push learning in elementary classrooms. Quality interventions might range from teacher training, to pedagogical improvements, and physical and digital learning tools  (depending on the needs of a state).

Further, in an effort to drive equity in student learning, we need to minimise the advantages earned by students that stem from household affluence or from belonging to a socially advantageous category in the society. The results indicate a necessity to create a  sphere of learning that extends from classrooms to homes. This would entail programmes that engage parents more as stakeholders in a child’s education, through monthly parent-teacher meetings and sending regular feedback to parents. Equally important is to empower and create awareness among School Management Committees to monitor functioning of school and demand pedagogical accountability from the government. Finally, regular and rigorous teacher training on pedagogy, as well as programmes building students’ active participation in classrooms are extremely important. 

Considering that more than 60 per cent of elementary level enrolment in India (63 per cent in 2017-18) is still in government and government-aided schools, it is necessary that we reconsider the efficacy of education expenditure decisions. In an effort to reconcile elementary education financing with learning, we need to drive a conversation towards resource allocation for ensuring quality through a range of well-planned initiatives discussed above. This conversation needs to work towards an ideal beyond universal enrolment: the guarantee of universal learning.  

 

*Findings are from an upcoming note.

 

Banerjee, Abhijit V., Cole, Shawn, Duflo, Esther, & Linden, Leigh. “Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India.” Quarterly Journal of Economics122 (August 2007): 1235–64. https://economics.mit.edu/files/804

Glewwe, Paul W., Eric A. Hanushek, Sarah D. Humpage, and Renato Ravina. 2011.“School Resources and Educational Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature from 1990 to 2010.” NBER Working Paper no. 17554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA

Nannyonjo, Harriet. 2007. Education inputs In Uganda : an analysis of factors influencing learning achievement in grade six (English). World Bank working paper ; no.98. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/445131468310730593/Education-inputs-In-Uganda-an-analysis-of-factors-influencing-learning-achievement-in-grade-six

Mridusmita is a Senior Researcher at the Accountability Initative and Rukmini is a Research Intern.

 

Challenging to Juggle COVID-19 Response and Regular Job

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April was a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, panchayat functionaries and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices. Recently, we went back to some interviewees to understand how their situation has changed. Among them was a District Project Officer (Excise Department) in Bihar. 

The interview was originally conducted in Hindi on 24 May 2020, and has been translated.

 

Q: You mentioned difficulty in arranging ration. Has the situation improved now?

DPO: Yes, sufficient amount of ration is now available. The Public Distribution System (PDS) has enough to provide to all the beneficiaries. 

Each eligible household is being provided with 5 kg of rice and wheat, free of cost. The migrant labourers who have completed quarantine are also given the allocated amount once they return to their houses. 

Q: What are your tasks now? Are you facing any other challenges?

DPO: I have to ensure the availability of ration in all the blocks and also in the quarantine facilities, supervise the PDS, quarantine the people who are coming from outside and monitor them.  

The most challenging part is juggling between multiple roles simultaneously and being held accountable for all of them. 

Q: How has your work changed with the lifting up of the lockdown and easing of restrictions? Is your primary focus still on COVID-19 or are you back to routine work?

DPO: My primary focus is still on COVID-19. However, now I have to go to the office to carry out my other tasks also. 

 

DPO (Excise) takes care of collection of various taxes and duties prescribed by the state government on relevant products. In Bihar, they are responsible for inspection, and conducting raids in accordance with the state’s prohibition law banning the sale and purchase of liquor.

पॉलिसी बझः कोरोना व्हायरस-फोकस सातवी आवृत्ती

कल्याणकारी धोरणात जे घडत आहे त्या प्रत्येक पंधरवड्यात प्रकाशित झालेल्या बातम्यांच्या निवडीसह अद्ययावत रहा. सध्याची आवृत्ती भारतातील कोरोनाव्हायरस (साथीचा रोग) सर्व देशभर (किंवा खंडभर) असलेला यावर लक्ष केंद्रित करते आणि सरकार वाढ थांबविण्यासाठी करत असलेले प्रयत्न.

 

धोरण बातमी 

  • भारत आता कोविड -19 च्या दोन लाखांहून अधिक प्रकरणांचा जगातील पाचवा सर्वात हिट देश आहे. अनलॉक 1.0 हे  30 जून 2020 पर्यंत लागू आहे.
  • दिल्लीत रुग्णांच्या संख्येत लक्षणीय वाढ होण्याच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री, दिल्लीचे मुख्यमंत्री आणि उपराज्यपाल यांच्यासह अन्य उच्च मंत्र्यांनी व अधिका्यांनी कारवाईचे भवितव्य निश्चित केले आहे. केंद्रीय राजधानीत तीन दिवसांत ही चाचणी तिप्पट होणार असल्याचे गृहमंत्री म्हणाले.
  • गृहनिर्माण व शहरी कामकाज मंत्रालयाने सोमवारी प्रधान मंत्री निधी (PM Svanidhi) आणी  पंतप्रधान पथ विक्रेत्यांची आत्मनिर्धार निधी(Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi) योजना सुरू केली. कोविड -19 द्वारे व्यवसाय विस्कळीत झाले आहेत अशा 50 लाखाहून अधिक पथ विक्रेत्यांना 10,000 पर्यंत स्वस्त कर्जे उपलब्ध करुन देण्याचे या योजनेचे उद्दीष्ट आहे. ते मार्च 2022 पर्यंत वैध आहे.
  • या वर्षाच्या उर्वरित काळात कोणतीही नवीन योजना होणार नाही, असे अर्थ मंत्रालयाने खर्चावर नियंत्रण ठेवण्यासाठी जाहीर केले आहे. मंत्रालयाने म्हटले आहे की केवळ आत्मनिर्भर भारत अभियान आणि इतर विशेष पॅकेजेस अंतर्गत मंजूर केलेल्या योजनांवरच लक्ष केंद्रित केले जाईल. केंद्रीय अर्थसंकल्पात यापूर्वी मंजूर झालेल्या योजना 31 मार्च 2021 पर्यंत स्थगित राहतील.
  • मनरेगासच्या सध्याच्या निधीच्या गरजेच्या आधारे केंद्र सरकारतर्फे 40,000 कोटी रुपयांची ‘अतिरिक्त तरतूद’ करण्यात आली आहे. (रु. 1,01,500 कोटी इतका खर्च वाढवित आहे.)
  • माता व बाल विकास मंत्रालयाने मातृ मृत्यु दर (एम.एम.आर) कमी करण्यासाठी आणि मातृत्वाचे परीक्षण करण्यासाठी एक टास्क फोर्सची स्थापना केली आहे. 31 जुलै पर्यंत अहवाल सादर केला जाईल.
  • जागतिक पर्यावरण दिनानिमित्त येत्या पाच वर्षांत देशभरात 200 नागरी वनांचा विकास करण्यासाठी सरकारने “नगर वन” योजना जाहीर केली आहे.

 

इतर

  • ग्लोबल इकॉनॉमिक प्रॉस्पेक्टच्या ताज्या आवृत्तीत जागतिक बँकेने म्हटले आहे की आर्थिक वर्ष 2020-21 मध्ये भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था 3.2 टक्क्यांनी कमी होईल.
  • येल आणि कोलंबिया विद्यापीठांच्या संशोधकांच्या म्हणण्यानुसार 2020 च्या पर्यावरण कामगिरी निर्देशांकात (ई.पी.आय) मधे 180 देशा मधे  भारताचे स्थान 168 क्रमांकाचे आहे. या अहवालानुसार भारताच्या डेबर्बनायझेशन अजेंडाला चालना द्यावी लागेल.
  • राष्ट्रीय सांख्यिकी कार्यालयाने जाहीर केलेल्या आकडेवारीनुसार 2018-19 मध्ये भारतातील बेरोजगारीचे प्रमाण अत्यल्प घटले 5.8%  त्याच बरोबर 2017-18 मधे ते प्रमाण 6.01%  होते. जुलै 2019 ते जून 2020 या कालावधीत पुढच्या सर्वेक्षणात ही संख्या बरीच जास्त असल्याचे आकडेवारीतज्ज्ञांनी सांगितले. एप्रिल आणि मे महिन्यात कोविड -19 ची साथीची रोगराई व त्यानंतरच्या लॉकडाऊनचा  प्रभाव या वर होणार आहे.

कोरोना काल में उम्मीद की किरण देने वाली महिलाएं

आज-कल बुरी खबर तो बहुत पढ़ने को मिलती हैं, लेकिन इस वक़्त में भी लोगों की सहनशीलता और नेतृत्व का प्रदर्शन देखने को मिल रहा है। ‘बढ़ते कदम’ सीरीज के तहत मध्य प्रदेश से ऐसे ही दो किस्से मैं आपके समक्ष रख रही हूँ। 

मंडला जिले में कार्यरत आँगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्ता रोशनी सेन ग्राम स्तर पर सर्वे, टीकाकरण और जागरूकता का कार्य तो कर ही रही हैं, साथ ही बुजुर्गों एवं बच्चों के लिए कोरोना संक्रमण से बचाव हेतु मास्क भी तैयार कर रही हैं। रोशनी दिव्यांग हैं और कोरोना संकट की घड़ी में लोगों की सेवा करने के अपने जज़्बे के लिए इन दिनों चर्चा में हैं । रोशनी कहती हैं: “मैं अपने काम के बाद बच्चों एवं बुजुर्गों को कोरोना संक्रमण से बचाने के लिए मास्क बना रही हूँ। मेरी कोशिश है कि मैं ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा मास्क बनाकर अपने आसपास के लोगों की मदद कर सकूँ”।

वहीं लॉकडाउन दौर में सोशल मीडिया का बेहतर उपयोग मंदसौर जिले के सुल्तानपुर सेक्टर की आँगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्ताओं ने ‘खबरे आंगन की‘ न्यूज ग्रुप बनाया है। इसके माध्यम से हितग्राहियों तक आवश्यक जानकारी पहुँचाने का काम हो रहा है। इन कार्यकर्ताओं का कहना है कि लॉकडाउन में आँगनवाड़ी केन्द्रों पर बच्चों और महिलाओं की उपस्थिति प्रतिबंधित होने से इनकी ज़िम्मेदारी तथा इनसे लोगों की अपेक्षाएं और भी बढ़ गई हैं | ऐसी स्थिति में आँगनवाड़ी केन्द्र के हितग्राहियों तक महत्वपूर्ण सूचनाओं को पहुँचाने के लिये सोशल मीडिया को माध्यम बनाया गया है।

‘खबरें आंगन की’ न्यूज ग्रुप में 17 गाँव के 31 आँगनवाड़ी केन्द्रों से जुड़े हुए उन सभी लोगों को जोड़ा गया है, जिनके पास स्मार्टफोन है । इस ग्रुप के ज़रिये  महत्वपूर्ण जानकारियाँ — जैसे आँगनवाड़ी केंद्र में टीका कब और कितने बजे लगेगा, सत्तु वितरण कब होगा, गाँव में आशा कार्यकर्ता दवाई वितरण कब करेंगी, दूरदर्शन पर 8वीं एवं 10वीं की क्लास कितने बजे से कितने बजे तक लगेगी — पहुँचाई जा रही है। साथ ही इस ग्रुप के माध्यम से स्वास्थ्य विभाग की जानकारी जैसे गाँव में कोई बीमार हो तो संजीवनी टेली हेल्थ सेवा का उपयोग टोल फ्री नम्बर पर कैसे करना है जैसे महत्वपूर्ण संदेश भी गाँव में भेजे जा रहे हैं। ‘खबरें आंगन की’ न्यूज ग्रुप के माध्यम से मंदसौर जिले में कोरोना की स्थिति, कलेक्टर के निर्देश, दूध, सब्जी-फल, राशन की दुकानों के खुलने का टाइम-टेबल आदि सूचनाएँ भी हितग्राहियों तक पहुँच रही हैं |  

आँगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्तायें कोरोना से बचाव हेतु गाँव की दीवारों पर पेंटिंग बना रही हैं, खुद के हाथों से लिखे हुए पर्चों के माध्यम से गाँव-गाँव में जागरूकता अभियान चला रही हैं, घर-घर जाकर हितग्राहीयों को पोषण आहार बाँट रहीं हैं | आँगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्ता अपने विभाग से सम्बंधित सभी कार्यों को पूरा कर रही हैं, साथ ही कोरोना से बिना डरे एक योद्धा की तरह अपने गाँव की सेवा में नियमित प्रयासरत हैं | 

 

आप आंगनवाड़ी कार्यकर्ता पर आधारित यह चित्र भी डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं |

और पढ़ें: कोरोना के खिलाफ सरकार के सिपाही

पॉलिसी बज़्ज़: करोनावायरस आधारित सातवाँ संस्करण

विभिन्न कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में क्या घटित हो रहा है, इसको लेकर आपको हर 15 दिन के अंदर यह पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ अपडेट करता है | वर्तमान प्रकाशन भारत में करोना वायरस महामारी पर आधारित है | सरकार द्वारा करोना वायरस के प्रभावों को बढ़ने से रोकने के लिए विभिन्न क़दमों को उठाया जा रहा है | 

 

नीतियों से सबंधित खबरें 

  • कोविड-19 के 2 लाख से अधिक मामलों के साथ अब भारत दुनिया का पांचवा सबसे प्रभावित देश बन चुका है | अनलॉक 1.0 30 जून 2020 तक लागू रहेगा |
  • दिल्ली में रोगियों की संख्या में उल्लेखनीय वृद्धि को देखते हुए, केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री, दिल्ली के उपराज्यपाल और मुख्यमंत्री  ने अन्य शीर्ष मंत्रियों और अधिकारियों के  साथ मिलकर आगे जो कदम उठाने हैं उन पर चर्चा की | गृह मंत्री ने कहा कि राष्ट्रीय राजधानी में एक हफ्ते के भीतर तीन गुणा परीक्षण बढ़ाने की तैयारी है |
  • आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय ने प्रधानमंत्री स्वानिधि या प्रधानमंत्री स्ट्रीट वेंडर आत्मनिर्भर निधि योजना की शुरुआत की | इस योजना का लक्ष्य 50 लाख से अधिक स्ट्रीट वेंडर्स, जिनका कारोबार कोविड-19 से प्रभावित हुआ है, उनको 10,000 रूपए तक के सस्ते ऋण प्रदान करना है | यह मार्च 2022 तक मान्य है |
  • इस वर्ष के अंत तक कोई नई योजना लागू नहीं होगी, वित्त मंत्रालय ने खर्च को नियंत्रित करने के लिए यह घोषणा की है | मंत्रालय ने कहा कि केवल उन्हीं योजनाओं पर ध्यान केंद्रित किया जाएगा जो कि आत्मनिर्भर भारत अभियान और अन्य विशेष पैकेजों के तहत स्वीकृत हैं | केंद्रीय बजट के तहत पहले से स्वीकृत योजनाएं, 31 मार्च 2021 तक निलंबित रहेंगी |
  • मनरेगा के लिए वर्तमान निधि आवश्यकता के आधार पर, केंद्र सरकार द्वारा 40,000 करोड़ रुपये का “अतिरिक्त प्रावधान” (परिव्यय को बढ़ाकर 1,01,500 करोड़ रुपये) किया गया है |
  • महिला और बाल विकास मंत्रालय ने मातृ मृत्यु दर (एम.एम.आर.) को कम करने और मातृत्व की उम्र की जांच करने के लिए एक कार्यबल का गठन किया है जिसकी रिपोर्ट 31 जुलाई तक पेश की जाएगी |
  • सरकार ने विश्व पर्यावरण दिवस के अवसर पर अगले पांच वर्षों में देश भर में 200 शहरी वनों को विकसित करने के लिए ‘नगर वन’ योजना की घोषणा की है |

 

अन्य

  • ग्लोबल इकोनॉमिक प्रॉस्पेक्ट के नवीनतम संस्करण में, विश्व बैंक ने कहा है कि वित्तीय वर्ष 2020-21 में भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था में 3.2 प्रतिशत की गिरावट देखी जायेगी |
  • येल और कोलंबिया विश्वविधालयों के शोधकर्ताओं के अनुसार, भारत 2020 पर्यावरणीय प्रदर्शन सूचकांक (ई.पी.आई.) में 180 देशों में 168 वें स्थान पर है, जिसके अनुसार भारत को डीकोर्बोनाइजेशन एजेंडे को बढ़ावा देने की ज़रूरत है |

यह लेख पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ के अंग्रेजी संस्करण पर आधारित है जो 14 जून 2020 को प्रकाशित हुआ था |

Is Decentralisation Relevant for the Future?

In a powerful and elegant paper written in the mid-nineties, titled, bluntly, ‘The Dangers of Decentralisation’, Remy Prud’homme made a strong case to be conservative when dealing with how much power and responsibility should be devolved to local governments. At that time, the paper ran counter to the popular drive towards greater decentralisation; pioneered in Latin America and advertised and sold with great enthusiasm by multilateral agencies across the developing world in Asia and Africa. Prud’homme’s paper makes interesting reading, and it would be useful to revisit some of the arguments he made then, in the light of today’s governance imperatives and challenges.

It may be simple to assume that here was a conservative and opinionated person raising the usual suspicions about decentralisation; that it weakens power and centralised control. However, Prud’homme did exactly the opposite. He first placed down the assumptions of what he considered to be the ‘typical decentralisation model’, then proceeded to analyse whether these assumptions were generally true of the modern world, and went on to test decentralisation (as he assumed it to be) against the imperatives of good governance. 

Prud’homme’s primary assumption was that the vision of champions of decentralisation was to aim for a ‘pure’ form of it, where local governments raise pure local taxes and undertake pure local expenditures without the benefit of central government transfers. He went on to analyse how ‘pure decentralisation’ impacts redistribution, stabilisation and allocation. 

With respect to the impact of decentralisation on redistribution, Prud’homme observed that poverty is both regional and individual. Thus, he said, the poor who live in well-off regions will do better than the poor in poorer regions. In order to mitigate these inequalities between poor people, as also across poorer regions, income has to be redistributed not only to poorer people, but for area development of poorer regions; regional development cannot happen when only regional poor are helped. For all these reasons, Prud’homme concluded an effective redistribution programme can only be run effectively by a higher level government.

The counterfactual to this approach is to suggest that local redistribution could be driven through a levy of higher taxes on the rich, who live in poorer regions. However, Prud’homme cautioned that such approaches will drive the rich away to lightly taxed areas. He also said that if all local development were to be driven only by local taxes, there will be concentrations of high growth (such as in urban areas) and less balanced development. In poorer regions, money has to be spent to improve infrastructure and services without expecting an immediate return on that investment in terms of growth; and only a central government could have the reach, patience and staying power for that approach.

When it comes to stabilisation of the economy, Musgrave, popularly referred to as the father of public finance, felt that it is best run as a central responsibility. However, for central governments to effectively stabilise the economy by using fiscal policies to affect overall demand, its share of national taxes and expenditures must be sufficiently large in relation to total taxes and expenditures as well as to GDP.

It naturally follows that if tax handles are decentralised, then the clout of the central government to handle stabilisation measures dilutes to that extent. It is possible then, that when the central government is attempting to stabilise the economy by either stimulating or restricting expenditures, such efforts may not be synchronised with local government income and expenditure cycles. For example, local governments often try to raise taxes immediately after elections and drive expenditures, immediately before. This cycle may run counter to stabilisation measures adopted by a central government in the larger interest.

When it came to the issue of allocation efficiency, Prud’homme was even more forthright. He noted that the classical argument in favour of decentralisation is that different places have different preferences for services and allocation is more responsive when decentralisation is strong, but argued that he was sceptical about the validity of this assumption, particularly in developing countries, for the following reasons. First, he said, the assumption that various local jurisdictions have different tastes or preferences is wrong. In reality, the main differences are in household incomes and potential tax income. The priority in most developing countries is to satisfy basic needs, which are typically not too variable across jurisdictions and are well understood. Therefore, the potential welfare gains associated with a more nuanced match of supply and demand of local services are not large.

In plain speak, he meant that if more or less the same standards are maintained and achieved in the supply of basic services by a central government in developing countries, it is not worth the trouble of decentralisation. 

Prud’homme also asserted that it is wrong to assume that taxpayers/voters of each jurisdiction express their preferences in their votes. Typically, local electoral behavior in developing countries are usually decided on the basis of personal, tribal, or political party loyalties. So local elections say little about local preferences and the menu of choices are unlikely to express the electorate’s preferences. Even assuming that local elected mayors will satisfy the preferences of people, on the strength of which they were ostensibly voted, they are unlikely to fulfill such promises because even if they wanted to fulfill it, they will be hamstrung because of a gross mismatch between available resources and promised expenditures. 

Prud’homme had a lot to say about decentralisation and corruption, and the mismatch of capacities with responsibilities; both constant bugbears of governance even today. More of that in next week’s blog.

 

Also Read by the Author: Whither, Local Governments, in the Pandemic?

Policy Buzz: Coronavirus-focus Seventh Edition

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. The current edition focusses on the Coronavirus pandemic in India, and the government’s efforts to stem its increase.  

 

Policy News

  • India is now the fifth worst-hit country in the world with more than 2 lakh cases of COVID-19. Unlock 1.0 is to remain in force till 30 June 2020.
  • Against the backdrop of a marked increase in the number of patients in Delhi, the Union Home Minister, Delhi Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor among other top ministers and officials, have met to decide the future course of action.  Testing is set to triple in the national capital within six days, the Home Minister has said.
  • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Monday launched PM Svanidhi, or Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme. The scheme aims to provide affordable loans of up to ₹10,000 to more than 50 lakh street vendors whose businesses have been hampered by COVID-19. It is valid until March 2022.
  • There will be no new schemes in the remainder of this year, the Finance Ministry has announced in a bid to control spending. The ministry said that only those schemes sanctioned under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and other special packages will be focussed on. The schemes already approved under the Union Budget will stay suspended till 31 March 2021.
  • Based on present fund requirement for the MGNREGS, an “additional provision” of Rs 40,000 crore has been made by the Union government (increasing the outlay to Rs 1,01,500 crore). 
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development Ministry has set up a taskforce to examine age of motherhood and lowering of the maternal mortality rate (MMR). The report will be submitted by 31st July.
  • The government has announced the ‘Nagar Van’ scheme to develop 200 urban forests across the country in the next five years on the occasion of World Environment Day. 

 

Others

  • In the latest edition of the Global Economic Prospect, the World Bank has said that the Indian economy will shrink by 3.2% in Financial Year 2020-21.
  • India has ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, who say India’s decarbonisation agenda needs to amplify.
  • India’s unemployment rate fell marginally to 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 from 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, data released by the National Statistical Office showed. Statisticians pointed out that these numbers are likely to be substantially higher in the next survey conducted for the period, July 2019 to June 2020, when the effect of COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in April and May will be factored in.