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MD Writes...

There is an

interesting

phenomenon

that has been

happening –

silently, quietly and yet

strongly. Whether its Egypt or

India, we see civil society and

individual citizens standing up

for good governance.

From midnight vigils to

signature campaigns, from

fasts to silent marches, they

are asserting a right,

spreading an awareness and

making a change that few

could have thought possible.

However, what is needed is

for civil society to stand with,

and not only against the

government.

At IPE, we work to link the

needs of government with the

aspirations of social

organisations ensuring a

win-win situation. Whether its

urban slums, rural schemes or

service delivery, communities

and governments must come

together to deliver. Then only

can truly inclusive

development take place.

- Ashwajit Singh

World Bank Reviews SocialProtection Schemes in India

Few things are as complicated as poverty in India.

Despite spending over 2% of its GDP on social protection

schemes, India's efforts at reducing poverty have had

limited impact as it continues to house one-third of the

world's poor!

These are some of the findings from a 7 year

comprehensive study done by the World Bank on 'Social

Protection for a Changing India' released on 18 May

2011. The report reviews performance of major central

social protection schemes and complemented with

another study on 'The perspectives of Poverty in India'

(World Bank, 2011) makes the following observations on

India's efforts to address poverty:

There has been steady progress in reducing

poverty as measured by consumption

Even so, vulnerability remains high with new

sources emerging and diversity of needs among

the poor increasing

Data issues cloud the assertion of growth being

pro-poor in the post-reform period

Despite spending significant resources on its core

safety net programs, poverty reduction has been

much lower than could be hoped for

The main driver of poor cost effectiveness is the

Editorial

Dear All

This edition of INSPIRE

pitches the happy news of

reducing IMR with the sharp

challenges of poverty and

social protection in India.

Despite being the first priority

of the MDGs, poverty in India

has remained an enigma,

wrapped in a riddle, perhaps

hidden in a mystery. It

presents a complex cauldron

of economic, social and

political issues which brew a

form of 'sustained' poverty in

the country. From bean

counting the poor to policy

reforms and inclusive growth,

India is the poverty test case

whose success could well

determine the direction of

global achievements.

After all, development needs

to move on from merely

'reducing mortality' to

eventuallly 'enhancing quality'

of lives!

Do keep writing in to us. Stay

Inspired. Stay Ahead!!

- Abdul Rahim &

Preethi Thomas

Public Distribution System (PDS)

Urban and non-farm growth are emerging as

new drivers of poverty reduction and need to be

included in the plans

The targeted Health Insurance scheme - Rashtriya

Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is the most

promising effort

Inequality is on the rise and may be higher than

often thought

The specific proposal of this report is that over time India

should aim for a “3 +block” strategy. This would involve

three core Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) or

“pillars”, combined with a block grant from which states

could finance other safety net or social security

programs.

Coming in the backdrop of the 2011 Below Poverty Line

(BPL) census which is being conducted from June -

December 2011, the reports highlight often overlooked

challenges which may be useful even for the Twelfth 5

year Plan preparations.

SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR

A CHANGING INDIA

World Bank, 2011

Vol 1 - Main Summary

(92 pp, 1.4 MB)

Vol 2 - Detailed Report

(320 pp, 6.0 MB)

PERSPECTIVES ON

POVERTY IN INDIA:

Stylized Facts from Survey

Data

World Bank, 2011

Download Report here

(296 pp, 3.8 MB)

So, how many in India are poor?

Surprisingly, there is no clear answer to this. Current norms of calorific consumption laid down by the

Planning Commission are not only outdated as brought out in this article, but have also been questioned

by the Supreme Court. The current data about poverty in India is as follows:

The last survey based figure from the National Sample Survey (2004-05) pegs poverty at 27.5%

The Arjun Sengupta Report (2007) concluded that 70% of India lives on less than Rs.20 per day

World Bank estimated (2008) it at 41.6% based on the international norm of $1.25 per day

The Tendulkar Panel Report (2009), accepted by the Planning Commission, puts it at 37.2%

The N C Saxena Expert Committee (2009) concluded that poverty was closer to 50% and

The Multi Dimensional Poverty Index used in HDR (2010) assessed it at 55%.

Another way of looking at poverty is to understand the hunger index in India. The Global Hunger Index

(GHI) 2010 Report published by the International Food Policy Research Institute ranked India at 67

among 84 countries. The Indian State Hunger Index (2009 Report) covering 17 states and 95% of Indian

population also provides an insight into hunger profile in india.

India's IMRreduces to 50!According to the SRS Bulletin

January 2011, Infant

Mortality Rate (IMR) in India

has decreased significantly

from 53 (in 2008) to 50 (in

2009). Rural IMR declined

from 58 to 55 while urban IMR

reduced from 36 to 34.

Similarly birthrate improved

(from 22.8 to 22.5) and death

rate (from 7.4 to 7.3) during

the period. The earlier SRS

Bulletin was for 2008 and

RBI releases StateFinances ReviewThe Reserve Bank of India

has released it's study titled

State Finances : A Study of

Budgets for 2010-11

recently. The report contains

data, analysis and

assessment of State

government finances and

although it observes

corrections in key fiscal

indicators, it voices concern

over the quality of such

New study toassess BlackMoneyAmid mounting pressure , the

Union Finance Ministry

announced an in-depth study

to quantify the unaccounted

income and wealth in India

and suggest ways to detect

and prevent such practices in

future. The study will be

undertaken by three national

institutions i.e. National

Council for Applied Economic

issued in October 2009. Time

Series data on some

demographic indicators is

available here and can also

be viewed through this

dynamic Google Chart.

World Bankapproves NGRBPOn 31 May 2011, the World

Bank's Board approved $1

Billion support ($199 million

interest-free IDA credit and

$801 million low-interest IBRD

loan) for the National Ganga

River Basin Project in India.

The funding will, over the next

8 years, help strengthen

capacity of the just formed

National Ganga River Basin

Authority and implement

demonstrative investments for

reducing point-source

pollution at priority locations

on the Ganga. Read more

about the project here.

IndianUrbanisationChallengesIndia is rapidly urbanising and

adjustments. This report also

includes a special section on

'Role of Finance

Commissions' and the

complete report with state

specific annexes is available

here.

RegulatingOver-use ofAntibiotics!India's Union Health Ministry

has formalised a draft

National Policy for

Containment of Antibiotic

Resistance to curb irrational

use of antibiotics which

promotes resistance

developing against them,

hence making it ineffective.

The Policy includes

recommendations for a

separate schedule for

antibiotics, hospital

surveillance for monitoring

antibiotic resistance and

encouraging rational drug

use. Read a press article on

this.

NREGA for

Research (NCEAR), National

Institute of Public Finance and

Policy (NIPFP) and National

Institute of Financial

Management (NIFM). Read

Press Release.

Battling for thegirl childOn May 24, 2011 Lancet

released a series of papers

highlighting selective sex

determination in India which

shockingly is more prevalent

in the affluent and educated

groups. The Lancets' 'Trends

in selective abortions of girls

in India' review this and asks

whether India can at all

'achieve a balance of sexes at

birth'? A similar article in EPW

on 'Long battle for the girl

child' reviews effectiveness of

the ban on pre-natal sex

determination and also has

disappointing results.

ADB invests inClimate ChangeTechnology VCs

its urban population is

expected to reach 600 million

by 2031. From the current

expenditure levels, this will

mean an increase in urban

infrastructure investment from

0.7% of GDP to 1.1% by

2031-32. Complementing this

finding, Amitabh Kundu

analyses the 'Politics of Urban

Growth' (EPW, May 14, 2011)

and how India must gear up to

address these in the Twelfth

Five year plan and beyond.

Six Thinking HatsSix Thinking Hats is a thinking

framework popularized by

Edward de Bono, a world-

renowned author of dozens of

books on creative and lateral

thinking. In the last 25 years,

this method has been

adopted by organisations

around the world as an aid for

individual and group decision-

making and other problem-

solving applications. Here are

some articles to use this

effectively to improve your

thinking as well as in public

speaking.

Climate ChangeThis EPW paper (May 14,

2011) attempts to assess the

environmental implications of

activities under the National

Rural Employment Guarantee

Act (NREGA). By reviewing

works such as plantations,

water recharge and water

bodies development being

done under NREGA in

Chitradurga district of

Karnataka, it concludes that

NREGA is a powerful model

for aligning climate change

concerns with poverty

reduction in India. Read paper

here

DFID Action PlansreleasedOn 31 May 2011, DFID

released its 4 year

Country-wise Operational

Plans outlining the results

they will deliver. The plan for

India is yet to be uploaded -

others are available here.

Meanwhile, on 25 May 2011,

US President Barack Obama

and UK Prime Minister David

Cameron made a joint

Commitment to accelerating

progress towards the MDGs

through a series of UK -US

initiatives as brought out in

this Joint fact sheet.

The Asian Development Bank

announced that it is investing

$60 million to help set up

three Venture Capital funds

dedicated to nurturing new

climate change technologies.

The funds - Aloe Environment

Fund III, Keytone Ventures II,

and VenturEast Life Fund III -

will raise further funds from

the private sector and target

markets of China and India,

which are actively promoting

clean energy and sustainable

technologies. Read more

here.

The Power ofVulnerabilityBrene Brown, a Professor of

Social Work, studies human

connection - our ability to

empathise, belong, love. In

this poignant and funny talk at

TEDx, she shares a deep

insight from her research, one

that sent her on a personal

quest to understand how

people relate to

vulnerabilities. And in thhe

process, she got to know

herself better as well as to

understand people in general.

View this Video here (21

mins).