“The problems are rooted in indifferent nutrition, socialization and
learning in early childhood, and in dysfunctional primary and secondary schools
that leave too many Americans unprepared for change.”—Rajan
In above words, Raghuram Ragan,
a Chicago School economist describes the reasons behind western, in a true
sense, American subprime financial crisis, which caught up with throats of all economies
of the world. His critic of financial system in contemporary times leading upto
2008 bubble bust originated in the farewell conference in honour of former
Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan who famously admitted in Congressional
hearings, ““This modern risk-management paradigm held sway for decades. The
whole intellectual edifice, however, collapsed in the summer of that year.”
Describing in detail the roots
of hidden crisis, Rajan tells:
“I use
the term education to refer to employability, but a better term is human capital, which refers to the broad
set of capabilities, including health, knowledge and intelligence, attitude,
social aptitude and empathy that makes a person a productive member of society.”
In many ways, book of Harsh
Mandar published recently gives overwhelming confirmation of what Rajan was
saying all along. ‘Ash in the Belly: India’s Unfinished Battle
Against Hunger’ makes
sad reading of the fact which Mr. Mandar shares with us,
“It
is a profound irony that 200 million Indians should sleep on an empty stomach
in the world's largest producer of milk and edible oils, and the second-largest
grower of wheat and sugar.
Arguing
about the role of government which is inescapably crucial in eradicating hunger
and resulting degeneration of social health, he says: “…One has to understand the paradox in India.
The paradox is that countries which do not have the kind of capacities that our
government has have actually done better than India in terms of reversing
malnutrition and battling hunger.”
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| Conscience Keeper: Resigned from IAS in protest of riots in Gujarat |
Speaking
to The
Hindu, Mr. Mandar exposes our lack of understanding about the social
tension which cuts through this entire problem of food. This book opens the
debate about the newly introduced ‘Right to Food’, its impact on Public
Distribution System, on people’s health, nutrition and well-being. Mandar
recently wrote an article about our community practices related to food which
historically being inspired by empathy and compassion reflected in food
distribution by the humanist and egalitarian Sufi Chisthi and Sikh traditions.
He writes in his column Barefoot
discussing other faiths also: “Christian missionaries care for the
destitute, and Jain sects serve and feed the disabled. Islamic traditions
require setting aside a regular fraction of one’s earnings to feed the hungry
and destitute.” Mandar sadly argues that these community practices in recent
times have been withering away by classification and segregation of receivers
of the food according to their class, creed and affiliations.
Combination of nutritious food, degree of mental-physical growth of children, varying levels of children`s concentration and continuation in education, obstacles in learning and crippling of aspirations to aim high in life are well documented. Rajan in his book ‘Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy’ lists three main reason why burden of neglect towards development of children in early age can lead to not only collapse of society but also possible financial crisis, as US economy witnessed. He says,
“a) Quality of learning experience in schools is so poor that far too many students drop out before completing high school.
b) Even among those who graduate from high school, many are unprepared for the rigours of university education.
c) As the college premium increase, the cost of higher education also increases.”
To add emphasis on above three observations, Rajan says: “Despite attempts to expand financial aid, a quality education at a private university is passing beyond the reach of even middle class families. Learning does not take place in classroom. Differences in aptitude for education emerge in early childhood as a result of varying nutrition, learning environments, and behavioral expectations. ” Impact of all these leads towards ‘social insecurity’:
“As more and more citizens realize that they are simply not equipped to compete, and as they come to terms up with their own diminished expectations, the words economic freedom do not conjure open vistas of unlimited opportunity. Instead they offer a nightmare vision of great and continuing insecurity, and growing envy as the have nots increasingly become the have-nevers. Without some change in this trend, destructive class warfare is no longer impossible to contemplate.”
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| His NYTimes Piece "How did Economists got it so wrong? |
Rajan describes in detail, by narrating the various economic, taxation, education, health policies to build the case that prevailing and increasing inequality in US society was responded with ambitious spur to the real estate and housing sector thus leading to the manufacturing of ‘debt sponsored derivative sky scrapers’ which created sub-prime crisis.
Success of Mid Day Meal scheme is beyond question. Spirit behind Right to Food Law is historic considering it took our country 65 years to recognize it as fundamental right. Any political correctness behind Conditional Cash Transfers is partially welcome subject to the limitations of its caveat to weaken public distribution system and submit ourselves to market dynamics, be it oil, gas or be it food. In closing speech of 100th Science Congress held at Kolkata, where STI Polciy 2013 was unveiled by PM, noted policymaker M.S. Swaminathan argues:
“Since the new STI paradigm calls for attending to the needs of the people, it may be worthwhile reminding ourselves that our position today in various global indicators relating to human development and nutrition is the following:
--> National Family Health Survey [2005-06J Malnourished Children under 5-- above 40 %
--> Low Birth Weight Children – 21 %
--> Union Planning Commission (2072) - About 217 Million are undernourished
--> Global Hunger Index (IFPRI, 2012) - 65th position among 79 countries
--> UNDP Human Development Report (2072) - 134th position among 187 countries
--> Nutrition Barometer (Save the Children, 20L2) - Very Low position
Dr. Swaminathan emphasizes on redoubling our efforts in harnessing science for meeting the needs of our people in food and nutrition, water, sanitation, education, healthcare, shelter and energy. Urging for ensuring food security through home grown food from the historic sheep to mouth food, Swaminathan urged to change language of our aspirations in agriculture from green revolution to ever green revolution.
We are witnessing fervent debates about the possible ways of improving productivity in the agriculture, ways to improve storage quality in our mandis/godowns/containers across the country, ways to incentivize farmers to invest in biotechnology or moving away from it, ways to harness benefits from emerging-expanding domestic investment and upcoming FDI in retail sector, ways to fight against scarcity of irrigation against all odds like politicization of water share across districts, states and nations.
We are witnessing historic Right to Education legislation and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, upcoming Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Integrated Child Development Programe, Teachers Training Progrmae discussed by 12th Plan, rapid expansion in higher education through newly proposed number of institutions like Central Universities, IITs, IIMs, IIITs, NITs, IISERs, AIIMSs all in the emerging crucible of unified regulatory body of higher education and research by dissolving all regulatory bodies of higher education in India. Planning Commission working paper on Higher Education in 12th plan notes following objectives on this front:
i) Provide greater opportunities of access to
higher education with equity to all eligible persons and in particular to the vulnerable sections;
ii)
Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions,
supporting State Governments and Non-Government Organizations/civil society to
supplement public efforts aimed at removing regional or other imbalances that
exist at present;
iii)
Initiate policies and programmes for strengthening research and innovations and
encourage institutions – public or private – to engage in stretching the
frontiers of knowledge;
(iv) Skill development
so as to reap the benefits of the demographic advantage
of the country;
(v) Promote the quality
of higher education by investing in infrastructure and
faculty, promoting
academic reforms, improving governance and institutional
restructuring;
(vi)
Engage with civil society, state governments and with the international community
in furtherance of knowledge, language and culture. Initiate policies and
programmes for strengthening research and innovations and encourage
institutions – public or private – to engage in stretching the frontiers of
knowledge;
(iv) Skill development
so as to reap the benefits of the demographic advantage of the
country;
(v)
Promote the quality of higher education by investing in infrastructure and faculty,
promoting academic reforms, improving governance and institutional restructuring;
(vi)
Engage with civil society, state governments and with the international community
in furtherance of knowledge, language and culture.
We are also witnessing starting of the debate related to Right to Health bill, proven success of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists), success of immunization programs like Polio, failure on the front of Cancer, TB and other equally deadly diseases, progress on the front of NRHM, emerging National Urban Health Mission, debates about health insurance and many new initiatives in the health sector. Planning Commission paper on Health outlines four goals on this front:
a)
Universal access, and access to an adequate
level, and access without excessive burden.
b)
Fair distribution of financial costs for
access and fair distribution of burden in rationing care and capacity and a
constant search for improvement to a more just system.
c)
Training providers for competence empathy and
accountability, pursuit of quality care and cost effective use of the results
of relevant research.
d)
Special attention to vulnerable groups such
as children, women, disabled
In
a way, if we try to understand the dynamics of Human Capital i.e. Health, Education, Food, Employability etc. number
of institutional, policy, legal initiatives have been taken in recent five
years. In the context of economic policies we want to implement, (if we have any), the success of all those
policies will indisputably and unequivocally depend on germination of all the initiatives
mentioned in the above lines i.e. food, agriculture, health, education,
ways of distribution, legal enforcements of rights along with innovation
thriving on free expression, experiment and collaboration across marriages of
social, economic and political resources, imagination and convictions.
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You can't postpone social development forever: Rajan in recent interview |
