Wednesday, August 15, 2012
ZZZ Goa Elections : Looking beyond
Goa Elections : Looking beyond
--Leena Mehendale
When I received the letter from Election Commission in May 2002 informing that I was to go as one of the observers for the imminent Assembly elections in Goa, I did not expect my experience there to be any different from my earlier experiences of elections, either in Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa or Rajasthan. Elections are elections, so how will one be different from another! But I was mistaken in more than one ways.
This being my first ever visit to Goa, I kept telling myself that I should have an open mind about whatever I may see there. From the very first visible contact even before the Jet flight landed, Goa was an enchanting place, lush green and deep blue, a combination of trees and the ocean. And the people were also different. Almost total literacy, high levels of education, no begging, no child labour, highly empowered women, no gender discrimination, no abject poverty, no economic stratification of society, these were some instantly visible characteristics of the people.
Something must be said about the property rights of women in Goa before every thing else. Under the Portuguese rule of nearly 400 years, Goa had uniform civil code. This and other laws have continued here even after liberation in 1961and Goans can be rightfully proud of them. Under the property rights, the girl child gets equal share in parent’s property just as her brother would get. After marriage, the properties of both the bride and bridegroom are merged and they get equal right over all the property. The official property registers are immediately modified so as to show the rights of both. This offers complete security to women against being driven out of her husband’s house. Dowry system is virtually absent, hence dowry deaths or other dowry related crimes are practically nil. There is no discrimination against the girl child, no cases of infanticide or foeticide.
Women could be seen in all types of public activity, riding scooters, roaming freely, managing shops, and even running a ‘bhelpuri thela’. The general crime rate in Goa is low and women do not have to worry much about their physical safety. The only black spot in this encouraging picture was the information that Goa has a worrisome rate of tourism prostitution and the problems associated with it.
As I proceeded with my touring as an election observer, the political profile started getting clearer and I could not help making comparison with the conditions in other states. As far as election related crimes or violence is concerned, Goa is to be rated as the state with lowest number of crimes. There was no threat of booth capturing, no voter intimidation, no ear –piercing loud- speakers. A meagre two or three vehicles were captured for carrying sticks and soda water bottles whereas in some other states one would have expected them carrying swords, chains, rifles and even home-made bombs! And yet…….
Not muscle power but money power was the key. Major cities and news papers were buzz with talks of allurement of influencial voters with gifts and alcoholic drinks. Unlike in Assembly constituencies elsewhere in the country, the number of voters in a Goa constituency is only twenty thousand on an average. Voter turnout is around sixty five per cent. Thus anyone who can manage about seven thousand votes is in a comfortable, winning position. Stakes are high and not every voter needs to be paid. So the going rates were quite high. Women were to be coaxed with sarees. On the eve of polling, police held a couple of jeeps carrying sarees worth a few lakhs. Although this does not prove any thing and the police finally let the jeeps off, it shows the possibility.
This has baffled me a lot. We have always deplored that we had a large proportion of illiterate and poverty- struck voters, who were therefore amenable to the allurement of money and gifts. This argument does not hold for Goa. Then why?
The justification provided was that once elected, the candidates were going to make money through dubious methods. So what was wrong in sharing the loot? Not everyone, but those who accepted the gratification, had this argument. A friend implores me not to be so critical of Goans; after all, well to do people with fancy cars and mobiles have participated in looting vacant houses in Gujrat after Godhra incidence! Personally I feel that this is a very dangerous mentality. I also feel that all the programs such as karodpati and khelo India which encouraging people for easy money are adding to this tendency of looting or sharing the loot.
Despite all this, majority of the voters had their independent opinion, and were serious about maintaining secrecy of vote. It was nice to see people queuing up even before eight in the morning to finish their voting early and be free to go back to daily routine.
The campaigning revolved round three issues, namely unemployment, good governance and defections. A large number of youth, apparently unemployed, took part in campaigning. It is my assessment that if the problem of unemployment is not solved, future elections in Goa will also have more physical violence as in other parts of the country. Election offered some temporary engagement to a lot of youth and one newspaper even commented that there should be elections every year so that young people get some employment.
Present level of corruption in Goa does not affect people directly in their day- to- day life.
It occurs in cutting away forests, urban permissions, disposal of comunidade land, mining permissions etc where people have no immediate stakes.
I spoke to some candidates who agreed that the election expenditure was much beyond the prescribed limit of three lakhs. This was easily adjustable. Money that could be claimed as “spent by party” or “by friends and relatives” was not to be shown as election expense. It was not even to be reported.
I recall that when the Election Commission first started the practice of appointing election observers and became strict about the expenditure of the candidate, people raised many doubts about political parties not showing these expenditures properly in their accounts. I had replied with my great faith in administration that the Election Commission would simultaneously appoint Central Observers who would look into party accounts. But this did not happen. This lacuna gives a chance to candidates to exceed the limit and claim that the party incurred the expenses.
Touring Goa, where other election related crimes or irregularities are at minimal, I could not help thinking that while as observers we were concentrating on such tiny issues as removing posters near the polling booths, more important issues like financial influence on voters, sale and purchase of members' loyalties, their defections and infinitely higher opportunities of indulging in corruption were not being tackled.
There was gossipy story of a candidate who wanted the ticket from a particular party. He was asked to pay a huge sum. He asked - "What for? With spending half of that amount I can win the seat even by defeating your party candidate!"
The story goes that he did not get the ticket from that party. He nevertheless contested the election & won. As the final outcome turned into a "hung assembly", he was offered a price for his support. He retorted - what gives you the power to offer me a price? It is because of your ministerial chair. Well then, make me a minister - of such & such important ministry, where I will take care of myself!"
We are all familiar with this and similar types of stories. They disturb us with their straightforward logic. Imagine a candidate officially allowed to spend five lakhs for his election. Even his spending remains within the limit, what will be his first priority after becoming a member or a minister? Obviously to get his money back, suitably multiplied. And the only route for that is corruption.
We do not seem to resent it all. Even though this means that the money is going from our pockets. Or, the money is being obtained from foreign donors and sources which the country (that is, us) is repaying by compromising our industrial well being, our freedom of action over crucial issues, our intellectual property' rights and so on. We do not resent this all.
The current election process in India has given rise to two major problems. One is corruption - coupled with muscle power, violence, intimidation (except in some parts as in Goa). Perhaps even bigger evil is the culture of divisions which is getting promoted by our election processes. For the purpose of wooing the voter and winning, the candidates and parties are forced more and more to think in terms of our religion, caste, province, language etc. Members of Assembly and Parliament focus attention on small geographical area, which is their constituency, and cannot put the country's problem above themselves and their vote bank. National parties have a responsibility to think of the national problems are busy trying to save their governments from defection. A time has come to debate as to what are the alternatives to the present system -- alternatives, which will save us from corruption and divisive tendencies.
Bringing good and principled people in politics is the answer. Yet, how to do that is the question. It is necessary that our systems and processes support the honest people and smoothen their tasks. Today our systems put all restrictions and bindings only the good people and is largely ineffective against the wrong-doer. Some supportive steps can be suggested. One, to reduce the number of parties, second, to publicize the property returns of the candidates for next ten years, third, to make the government more transparent. The time has come for collective thinking on all these issues.
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Thursday, August 9, 2012
ZZZ ANJANER:CALL FOR A NEW MODEL IN TOURISM
ANJANER:CALL FOR A NEW MODEL IN TOURISM
The
hills of Anjaner, located nearly 40 km South West of Nashik are known to some
because of the legend of Hanuman, who is supposed to have been born here.
Except this knowledge, any further development from the point of view of
tourism was non-existent. Only recently, the district plan of Nashik included
some allocation for social afforestation and a road to the place and the idea
of developing the spot as a tourist centre started gathering momentum. A
tourist center, as in recent times this activity is looked upon as a money
spinner!
My mind went back to three experiences in the past, which
also represent certain philosophies - - certain set patterns of thinking. Once
I visited Costa-Del-Sol, i.e. the coast of the Sun, which is a famous tourist
spot, recently developed in Spain. This is a 50 km. long sunny beach adjoining
the deep blue Mediterranean complex, bars, casino, call-girls, rented
apartments, eating-joints, Essel-World-type amusement parks for children. You
could also add water sports. One Spanish scholar explained to me what tourism
is : You attract the attention of people through some ploy. Then earn money (
in foreign exchange) by providing accommodation, food, casinos, parks, and the
like. Your job is to see that his purse becomes light, and your earnings are
good. We have this beautiful sunny patch of a sea beach to offer to attract
people. You may use Ajanta & Ellora. This may be a little rude shock
to a typical Indian psyche, but that is the trend all over the world.
Later
I heard Sunderlal Bahuguna explaining his opposition to the Tehri dam. Among
other things, the Government is lured by the prospect of tourism development in
both the Garhwals—Tehri and Kumaun. So his point was that very soon the mountains
of the Himalayas will shine not because of the ice-capped peaks, but because of
the bottles of beer and rum littered on the Himalayas.
Add
this to the experience of Sinhagad fort. Nothing could be more sacrosanct to
those Maharastrians who are steeped in the pride of Shivaji and his warrior
friends and followers. A road wad therefore constructed to take the people
right to the top of the fort. And lo and behold! People drive to the top of the
fort in comfort and luxury. Then they start on a drinking spree accompanied by
loud music and thus enjoy the Nature as well as the Spirit of Adventure. Is it
all a money spinner? Yes. Land costs around Singhagad have shot up with the
prospects of hotels and resorts all along the road. Government also has a prospect
of subsidizing five-star hotels along this trek. Once I questioned a friend why
not encourage, support, or subsidize local small scale vendors! He explained
that the Budget was the constraint! In the sense that for small-scale vendors
& local entrepreneurs one can spend only a small budget, and then the
performance appraisal of the concerned officer which is measured by the amount
of money he spent will go haywire.
The
committee for the development of the Anjaner—which consists of senior officers
as well as the local organizations –has decided on a different line of
thinking. The main hill having the Anjani Mata temple and the birthplace of
Hanuman is at a height of 4350 feet—which is only 150 ft. less than the height
of Mahabaleshwar. There will be four stages in the total climb. The first ends
at the village site itself and will be motorable. A number of lakes and small
temples are seen along this road. The second stage is also motorable and at the
end of this patch a parking area along with some sports—especially adventurous
ones like gliding etc. can be developed. The third stretch has to be climbed on
foot from one side but a rope-way can also be developed from the other. This
ends on a huge plain land having a perennial lake with a beautiful view of the
surrounding mountain cliffs as well as an excellent view of the sunrise and
sunset. In the British era, the collector of Nashik used to have his summer
residence at this place. The last stretch leading to the historic birthplace of
Hanuman will also have to be climbed up.
On
foot there are three-four guiding thoughts behind this effort. The foremost
objective is to make the whole stretch a little easy to climb and thereby
attract more pilgrims who come to the nearby Triambakeshwar village, but not all
have the courage, time or stamina to climb up the Anjaner. So make it easy! But
not too easy. After all, Hanuman is a deity of strength—although also described
as a highly intellectual person, a learned musician, a doer and devotee.
It
is also sought to enlist the people’s contribution in terms of labour, or seva,
to the achieve afforestation on the hill-top. This really depends on the
ingenuity as well as sensitisation of our forest officials—can they organize
themselves in such a way that all the seva offered by the devotees will be used
to the maximum? This would have been much simpler for a private organization to
handle but not for a government department. The third guiding thought is from
the point of view of the students and the young generation. The site should
provide them a trek to test their stamina. Marathon races and courses on
roap-climbing, trekking. Hang-gliding, rock climbing etc should be continuously
organised. It should get them
interested in flora & fauna and the geological structure of the place. This
should demonstrate to them some water-conservation techniques. As one reaches
the top, one gets a view of Nashik district and the surrounding Konkan. The
students should be able to learn the geography of the district from this view provided
from the top of the mountain. There is also scope for fine arts and artists
like painters, sculptors, poets, and writers to draw inspiration from the
mountains all around and also from the innumerable legends of olden days!
A major scheme
will also be necessary for water-conservation all over the mountain—followed by
a scheme of greening the mountain. Today all of them are barren with no soil or
grass cover. Infact, satellite pictures rate this patch as one of the barrenest
in the whole of India. If all the meetings and deliberations on tourism
development on Anjaner achieves only one objective – that of greening this
mountain—a major success story will be made.
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14 Empowerment of Women in ... DONE
correction on 16-08-2012
EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN COMING YEARS
--Leena Mehendale [ Yojana, August 2001]
I recall that way back in my student days, I always considered myself lucky for having been born in free India and in an environment where access to education was not denied. Happily, it never occured to me then or now to question the luck for being a woman. Much later did I realize how great it was to be educated and to be treated as equal. Since then I have cherished the Constitution of India wherein the very preamble pledges the Indian citizen for secular democracy and equality to all irrespective of "Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of birth". The term 'secular' as it applies to Indian democracy is not restricted only in the sense of religion but carries the essence of equality to all without any discrimination on the ground of religion, race, sex, caste, place of birth or economic status.
During the 50 years prior to Indian independence we saw a substantial participation of women in the freedom movement, through revolutionary and social activities. We can cite the examples of Capt. Laxmi Sahgal of the Azad Hind Sena and Durgabhabhi or Kasturba Gandhi, Kamla Nehru and many more who participated in either kind of activities. It was a result of this meaningful participation of women in the freedom struggle and the social reforms started by great stalwarts like Swami Vivekanand, Dayanand Saraswati, Subramanyam Bharati, Savitribai Fule or Mahatma Gandhi etc. etc. that while drafting the Constitution of India, members of the drafting committee put great emphasis on being both secular and democratic in the governance of the country.
During the first 50 years after independence, the question of bringing women in the forefront through opportunities and capabilities has been considered from time to time. Our national plans started using the term "women Welfare" during the early period itself. Throughout various social and economic movements, especially the Cooperative movement, it was realized that women's participation in decision making was important. The Cooperative Societies Act and the Zilla Parishad Act of 1960 of Maharashtra can be cited as example. Under these, it is mandatory to co-opt two lady members if there are no elected lady representative. Then came the coinage "Women's Development" which was better enabler than 'Welfare'.
During 80's the concept of women's political participation evolved in a big way. Only towards the end of the century our planning strategies have started talking about women's empowerment. Thus in terms of government policies and programmes we have moved from the concept of women's welfare to women's development to women's participation in the social and political affairs to women's empowerment. This can be considered as theoretical or attitudinal change in our perception of the role of women.
How do we define the women's empowerment? To my mind fearlessness, dignity and awareness are the key words. Can women, decide, with dignity and without any fear, their own goals and have the freedom and capability to act towards them? Do they have access to means of production to ensure economic independence and physical security outside the house as a precondition to freedom of movement? Do their opinions and desires count at the level of family, the society and the country? How do we provide opportunities to enhance their capabilities? A woman should have the right to own and enjoy property. She should have freedom from the drudgery of the laborious domestic chores and meaningless social restrictions. She should be able to freely participate in the development and status building of the nation. She should have mastery over vocational, managerial and life-saving medicinal skills. In short, if the society's chariot runs on its two wheels, namely, the man and woman, then the woman, representing half the society, should be equally capable and empowered as the man is.
In the last 50 years we have witnessed a large number of individual achievements by women. To name a few, we have Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsale, Mother Teressa, Amrita Pritam, Anna Malhotra, Rama Devi, Nirmala Buch, Sujata Manohar, Subbalaxmi, Sonal Mansingh, Bachendri Pal, P.T.Usha, Romila Thapar, Kiran Bedi, Sudha Chandran, Neerja Bhanot, Nandini Satpathi, Shashikala Kakodkar, Kalpana Chawla etc.etc. We had Smt. Indira Gandhi at the topmost executive level in the country.
Still in the above examples we can see some gaps. Women have distinguished themselves in administration, academics, science and technology, industry and entrepreneurship, yet it has to be admitted that their number is not big. In the areas of financing, banking, espionage, trading, military affairs, physical sciences, technology, oceanography, space, war tactics, strategic planning, or even in the game of chess etc. women do not find even a small presence. Women also have yet to make their mark as philosophers, coordinators, team leaders, or as tough negotiators in domestic or international affairs. It is still believed that women do not have a place in these "manly" areas. Wherever a subject presumably requires an all-time alert mind or strategic planning for checkmating the opponent, either individually or collectively, it is clamoured that women cannot acquire the adequate expertise and mental tenacity to achieve the objectives.
Women's empowerment needs some basic ingredients. They are
Safety to woman outside her home is equally important. Annually nearly 12000 cases of rapes, 13000 cases of kidnapping and abduction of women, 26000 cases of molestation and 11000 cases of sexual harassment are registered. These nearly a lakh cases represent, as per police's own estimate, only 10 to 25 percent of the crimes actually perpetrated on women. These are further often affected by inadequate investigation, indifferent presentation in the courts, excruciating delays and insensitivity towards the problems and emotions of women victims. Even when women victims cope up with these inadequacies, the conviction rates that are as low as 15%, de facto deny befitting justice to women.
Collective and organized crime against women like gang-rapes, mass rapes, sexual exploitations of young girls, flesh trade run by organized gangs in 5-star environment, increasing population in brothel houses, etc. are the common headlines of the newspapers. In a recent sex scandal needy girls were lured with small temptation into posing for objectionable photographs and were then black-mailed for further sexual abuse. Through this several women are also being pushed into pornography. Other variety of collective crime is where one group perpetuates sexual atrocities against the women of another group, in order to teach a lesson to the other group or collectively assault women "to break her spine" as what happened in case of Bhanvari Devi.
Every stage in deterioration of law and order affects women victims more adversely, yet women have very little say in its management. If freedom from fear is the first criterion of women's empowerment, then a speedy justice delivery system needs to be ensured. We need to make our investigative machinery more efficient, the process of justice more sensitive towards women, and the punishment for sexual atrocities more stringent. There has to be a method of public monitoring of inefficiencies and delays. The entire justice delivery system may have to be revamped, going beyond the present monopoly of police and judicial machinery. What concrete steps and plans of action are before us for this? How do we present them for public monitoring? These questions need pondering and new strategies to be brought about quickly.
After safety, comes the question of earning the bread. How does the woman of today earn her bread? By undertaking to work! What type of work, how does she do it, how is it accounted for and how is she paid for it? We have to analyze four different issues. Even after half century of independence, 70% of the women in workforce are employed and getting paid only for unskilled jobs. For example, at a construction site, women carrying head-loads of cement, mortar, bricks etc. up and down the stairs several times a day undertaking much more physical exertion are called unskilled labour. But men preparing the mortar once in a while, or laying bricks for the wall or keeping accounts of the material delivered , are regarded as skilled workers and get more wages. Similarly, in most of the sectors, all the excruciatingly tiring and monotonous jobs of the women come in the category of unskilled work, and they are paid less wages.
Secondly, Women continuously perform jobs for which they do not get any payment, for example, collection of fire-wood for the house, carrying pales of water from a long distance, cooking and cleaning the house, daily purchases, looking after children, etc. A woman spends nearly six hours on these domestic jobs which are neither counted as work nor are paid for, but do demand labour, create drudgery and monotony, and there is no escape from these for an ordinary woman. Her status and the respect shown to her are the most essential ingredients for empowerment, but they are not elevated when she demonstrates her capacity to perform these jobs. In our society, a man is generally not required to participate in these domestic jobs as he is considered the epitome of empowerment. If seen sharing them, he is ridiculed for his "woman like behavior. It is extremely necessary that women get respect for doing these domestic chores, get full participation of the men-folk in the family and get occasional respite from these. To prepare such a mind-set is not within the capacity of government. The social thinkers, writers, voluntary organizations and several persons with sensitivity will have to work towards it. Even the religious organizations cannot escape from their responsibilities of creating such a mind-set without which their talk of an equitable society remains a rhetoric only. To establish this respect, and enhance opportunities for economic independence, it is necessary to find ways of inter-change between the formal and informal sectors of education and give recognition, evaluation and respect for the typical skills acquired by women.
I would like to elaborate this by an example. We are often concerned that the eldest daughter in a poor family misses her school education while looking after the younger kids in the house. We can have a policy in which girls having experience of handling smaller children could be given preference for appointment in creches or for nursing courses just with the addition of some crash course to make up for the lost formal study. In practice, however, such a girl is considered ineligible. Only the girls with formal schooling are given these opportunities while the girls I described above remain trapped in informal sector.
In one article, Alka Arya has aptly described how an ordinary middle class woman may define her concept of empowerment. Happiest is the woman who knows that a meaningful work is available for ensuring her economic independence, but does not have to actually accept the job. But the shrinking job market makes this vision a distant goal and most middle-class women are scared that by quitting one job, they may not find another when they are ready for it.
The role of proper education cannot be over emphasized. We have heard the old saying that true education must liberate!. On applying this litmus test we find that our education system today needs a complete overhaul in favour of economic productivity. The system has to be more vocation-oriented and has to promote skill building. It should be a tool to character building in which the values of truth, honesty, expertise, justice and patriotism are carefully inculcated. It should be more easily accessible and should invoke quest for knowledge and travelling. For women empowerment, a revamped system of education is the second critical input after better crime control situation. Our present system does not adequately provide for imparting vocational skills that alone can ensure a quick beginning of the earning. Presently, no vocational education can be started until 8 years of formal education. Women acquiring skills in traditional and non-formal ways find no institutional arrangements for expanding or updating the same through formal channels.
Whenever vocational skills are to be converted into actual production and earnings, there arises a need for further training in managerial aspects such as procuring loan, marketing, financial management, quality control, inventory control, pricing, etc. There are no training institutions where such short courses are available at affordable costs as per the training needs of these women.
Thirdly, some kind of self realizsation is needed for empowerment. May I take the liberty of putting up a personal experience! I had once launched a program of economic rehabilitation of Devadasis in Sangli district of Maharashtra. This included vocational training and some working capital for production. We found that the programme could go beyond a certain level only when we supplemented the vocational training program with yet another training namely personality development that emphasized on 4 skills:
i) Singing group songs
ii) March past and saluting the national flag
iii) Cycling and
iv) Photography
Even from among these four, mastering the skill to ride the cycle and commute on the cycle was most effective in making the training successful.
In another example of training to the rural women, a group was given vocational training in masonry work. However, after three months, the women demanded that the training emphasis should be changed. Accordingly they were trained not just to work as a mason but further to fill up the tenders for the works in the Gram Panchayat and Taluka panchayat. They were trained to engage construction labour, to measure the work done, to inspect quality of work done and accordingly decide the wage payment to the labour and so on. This women's group has now become a "building contractor". Third is the example of many women sarpanchas who were able to achieve spectacular developments in their villages in areas of proper schooling for drop-out girls, water-shed management and other rural development works.
These examples show the importance of mobility, the decision making authority and economic viability in the issue of empowerment of women. One powerful medium to spread vocational training facilities at a low cost is the TV network that has grown enormously in the last two decades. It is perhaps a sad commentary that the use of TV for imparting vocational skills to the millions of women residing in the far-flung corners of the country cannot compete with using TV for entertainment programmes in order to generate more revenue for the government. The priority should be redefined immediately in favour of vocational skill building because imparting vocational education through formal schooling is enormously costly.
The discussion of women's empowerment cannot be complete without discussing the issue of sharing power and property. The first step towards women's empowerment was taken in the country immediately after independence when every adult woman was given equal constitutional right to vote and to contest the elections. This right has been earned by the Indian women much before it was earned by the women in many advanced countries. The rich contributions of Indian women in our struggle of independence earned them as much respect as to male freedom fighters. As a result, during the election for self-rule government and also immediately after independence, a large number of women were elected to Assemblies and Parliament. Later, this number started dwindling. On the other hand, the need to decentralise power upto the village level was also felt. This culminated in the 74th Constitutional Amendment under which a new methodology of gram panchayat was envisaged, giving 33% reservation for women in gram-panchayat elections. It is to be noted that the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act of 1960 which is nearly 20 years older than this amendment had provided for political reservation but only to SC, ST but not to women. Thus the amendment was the real concrete step applied all over the country. It has resulted in a new wave of awareness and empowerment amongst women at the grass-root levels. In the last 20 years, we have seen newly elected first timers among the women Panch and Sarpanch who were very effective in implementing the schemes of female literacy, rural development, water and land conservation and prohibition.
It must be said that the women have proved their capability for sharing political power as ably as the men. Some eyebrows are raised on the decision of reservation for women not only in contesting the elections but also in admission to educational institutions or government services. It is enough to mention that the need for positive discrimination in favour of women was felt and provided for as long back as during the framing of Constitution, but the provision is being implemented only now, and is, therefore, totally justified. In final stages however women's empowerment can be considered as "complete" only when women, as a collective group, no longer require any positive discrimination or reservation. It is a happy sign that lot of young women have started expressing that they would prefer to come up in life on the basis of merit rather than through reservation. A right kind of "seed" for empowerment is already sown and it will be necessary to nurture this.
The sharing of power acquires a different dimension for the women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They suffer for being women as well as for their backwardness. These are the women who after a long day's work return home with insufficient wages, only to be beaten up for the needs of the alcoholic husband. They have also to suffer the rage of another more developed group in the village. When two tribal communities fight, these are the women who are either themselves the victims of atrocities by other tribe or are rendered widows. These are the women who have to bear maximum brunt of forced evictions either due to natural calamities or due to large scale land acquisition programmes of the government. Perhaps the real way of empowering the tribals, especially the women, is through ownership of forests. There are two widespread misunderstandings: first that the tribals are the destroyers of forests and the second that the development of tribals has to follow the same course as that for others, even if at the cost of their culture, value systems, knowledge-base and life styles. Throughout the centuries the tribals and the scheduled castes have been preserving a huge reserve of knowledge and skills. A proper module for empowerment of these women can be developed, keeping their existing knowledge, skills and traditional culture at the centre of such development schemes. We have to go a long way in preparing, testing and implementing such a module.
A doubt has often been raised as to whether our family system which is so unique to Indian culture, creates a hinderence in the empowerment of women. As I see the situation, the family system is at the root of any bigger social system. It can, however, sustain itself, only when there is an equitable sharing of roles, drudgery, responsibility, access to knowledge and decision making authority within the family. This requires the sharing and caring of each others' positive aspects and supplementing each other by respecting the inherent equality of the members of the family. The question of sharing property by the women is therefore important. Even though the share of women in production and productive skills is acknowledged, there is a great reluctance to allow them a share in the property rights. In recent times, many legal amendments and other administrative methods have been tried to ensure a due right to women in the property. It is unfortunate that these efforts are also being vehemently retaliated. As the awareness for rights of women and their assertion increases, women will invariably be faced with retaliation and a temporary increase in intolerance against them. This is one challenge in way of women's empowerment.
The other challenge comes from a mental attitude under which it is still believed that women do not have a place in certain "manly" areas. Unfortunately, we are witnessing unprecedented deterioration in family system resulting from domestic violence against women. Surely, it will be very unwise to lay the blame on women whose self confidence and self esteem has increased and hence, their demand for equality within the family. The sensitivity of the men in the family has not developed at the same rate and hence, the friction.
Lastly, I would like to mention yet another important aspect to consider for future. It is the impact of information technology and bio-technology. Both these technologies are capable of creating either immense centralisation or immense decentralisation. They are also capable of creating large scale opportunities for women provided the women are given the right kind of know-how and the right kind of authority to take decisions that affect the economics and productivity from them. With half of our female population still reeling under illiteracy and another one- forth of women population dropping out of school before completing primary education, it will be a challenge for all of us to ensure that these very women are taken to the controlling heights of these technologies in the coming century. Let us hope that our secular democracy and the rights given to every citizen will allow us to move in the right direction to ensure this.
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EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN COMING YEARS
--Leena Mehendale [ Yojana, August 2001]
I recall that way back in my student days, I always considered myself lucky for having been born in free India and in an environment where access to education was not denied. Happily, it never occured to me then or now to question the luck for being a woman. Much later did I realize how great it was to be educated and to be treated as equal. Since then I have cherished the Constitution of India wherein the very preamble pledges the Indian citizen for secular democracy and equality to all irrespective of "Religion, Race, Caste, Sex or Place of birth". The term 'secular' as it applies to Indian democracy is not restricted only in the sense of religion but carries the essence of equality to all without any discrimination on the ground of religion, race, sex, caste, place of birth or economic status.
During the 50 years prior to Indian independence we saw a substantial participation of women in the freedom movement, through revolutionary and social activities. We can cite the examples of Capt. Laxmi Sahgal of the Azad Hind Sena and Durgabhabhi or Kasturba Gandhi, Kamla Nehru and many more who participated in either kind of activities. It was a result of this meaningful participation of women in the freedom struggle and the social reforms started by great stalwarts like Swami Vivekanand, Dayanand Saraswati, Subramanyam Bharati, Savitribai Fule or Mahatma Gandhi etc. etc. that while drafting the Constitution of India, members of the drafting committee put great emphasis on being both secular and democratic in the governance of the country.
During the first 50 years after independence, the question of bringing women in the forefront through opportunities and capabilities has been considered from time to time. Our national plans started using the term "women Welfare" during the early period itself. Throughout various social and economic movements, especially the Cooperative movement, it was realized that women's participation in decision making was important. The Cooperative Societies Act and the Zilla Parishad Act of 1960 of Maharashtra can be cited as example. Under these, it is mandatory to co-opt two lady members if there are no elected lady representative. Then came the coinage "Women's Development" which was better enabler than 'Welfare'.
During 80's the concept of women's political participation evolved in a big way. Only towards the end of the century our planning strategies have started talking about women's empowerment. Thus in terms of government policies and programmes we have moved from the concept of women's welfare to women's development to women's participation in the social and political affairs to women's empowerment. This can be considered as theoretical or attitudinal change in our perception of the role of women.
How do we define the women's empowerment? To my mind fearlessness, dignity and awareness are the key words. Can women, decide, with dignity and without any fear, their own goals and have the freedom and capability to act towards them? Do they have access to means of production to ensure economic independence and physical security outside the house as a precondition to freedom of movement? Do their opinions and desires count at the level of family, the society and the country? How do we provide opportunities to enhance their capabilities? A woman should have the right to own and enjoy property. She should have freedom from the drudgery of the laborious domestic chores and meaningless social restrictions. She should be able to freely participate in the development and status building of the nation. She should have mastery over vocational, managerial and life-saving medicinal skills. In short, if the society's chariot runs on its two wheels, namely, the man and woman, then the woman, representing half the society, should be equally capable and empowered as the man is.
In the last 50 years we have witnessed a large number of individual achievements by women. To name a few, we have Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsale, Mother Teressa, Amrita Pritam, Anna Malhotra, Rama Devi, Nirmala Buch, Sujata Manohar, Subbalaxmi, Sonal Mansingh, Bachendri Pal, P.T.Usha, Romila Thapar, Kiran Bedi, Sudha Chandran, Neerja Bhanot, Nandini Satpathi, Shashikala Kakodkar, Kalpana Chawla etc.etc. We had Smt. Indira Gandhi at the topmost executive level in the country.
Still in the above examples we can see some gaps. Women have distinguished themselves in administration, academics, science and technology, industry and entrepreneurship, yet it has to be admitted that their number is not big. In the areas of financing, banking, espionage, trading, military affairs, physical sciences, technology, oceanography, space, war tactics, strategic planning, or even in the game of chess etc. women do not find even a small presence. Women also have yet to make their mark as philosophers, coordinators, team leaders, or as tough negotiators in domestic or international affairs. It is still believed that women do not have a place in these "manly" areas. Wherever a subject presumably requires an all-time alert mind or strategic planning for checkmating the opponent, either individually or collectively, it is clamoured that women cannot acquire the adequate expertise and mental tenacity to achieve the objectives.
Women's empowerment needs some basic ingredients. They are
- fearlessness (implying absence of crimes against women)
- freedom from drudgery of laborious domestic chores
- Economic earning and productivity
- Ability to travel and control speed
- Authority to take decision
- Sharing power and property with men
- A liberalising education that can prepare grounds for the above.
Safety to woman outside her home is equally important. Annually nearly 12000 cases of rapes, 13000 cases of kidnapping and abduction of women, 26000 cases of molestation and 11000 cases of sexual harassment are registered. These nearly a lakh cases represent, as per police's own estimate, only 10 to 25 percent of the crimes actually perpetrated on women. These are further often affected by inadequate investigation, indifferent presentation in the courts, excruciating delays and insensitivity towards the problems and emotions of women victims. Even when women victims cope up with these inadequacies, the conviction rates that are as low as 15%, de facto deny befitting justice to women.
Collective and organized crime against women like gang-rapes, mass rapes, sexual exploitations of young girls, flesh trade run by organized gangs in 5-star environment, increasing population in brothel houses, etc. are the common headlines of the newspapers. In a recent sex scandal needy girls were lured with small temptation into posing for objectionable photographs and were then black-mailed for further sexual abuse. Through this several women are also being pushed into pornography. Other variety of collective crime is where one group perpetuates sexual atrocities against the women of another group, in order to teach a lesson to the other group or collectively assault women "to break her spine" as what happened in case of Bhanvari Devi.
Every stage in deterioration of law and order affects women victims more adversely, yet women have very little say in its management. If freedom from fear is the first criterion of women's empowerment, then a speedy justice delivery system needs to be ensured. We need to make our investigative machinery more efficient, the process of justice more sensitive towards women, and the punishment for sexual atrocities more stringent. There has to be a method of public monitoring of inefficiencies and delays. The entire justice delivery system may have to be revamped, going beyond the present monopoly of police and judicial machinery. What concrete steps and plans of action are before us for this? How do we present them for public monitoring? These questions need pondering and new strategies to be brought about quickly.
After safety, comes the question of earning the bread. How does the woman of today earn her bread? By undertaking to work! What type of work, how does she do it, how is it accounted for and how is she paid for it? We have to analyze four different issues. Even after half century of independence, 70% of the women in workforce are employed and getting paid only for unskilled jobs. For example, at a construction site, women carrying head-loads of cement, mortar, bricks etc. up and down the stairs several times a day undertaking much more physical exertion are called unskilled labour. But men preparing the mortar once in a while, or laying bricks for the wall or keeping accounts of the material delivered , are regarded as skilled workers and get more wages. Similarly, in most of the sectors, all the excruciatingly tiring and monotonous jobs of the women come in the category of unskilled work, and they are paid less wages.
Secondly, Women continuously perform jobs for which they do not get any payment, for example, collection of fire-wood for the house, carrying pales of water from a long distance, cooking and cleaning the house, daily purchases, looking after children, etc. A woman spends nearly six hours on these domestic jobs which are neither counted as work nor are paid for, but do demand labour, create drudgery and monotony, and there is no escape from these for an ordinary woman. Her status and the respect shown to her are the most essential ingredients for empowerment, but they are not elevated when she demonstrates her capacity to perform these jobs. In our society, a man is generally not required to participate in these domestic jobs as he is considered the epitome of empowerment. If seen sharing them, he is ridiculed for his "woman like behavior. It is extremely necessary that women get respect for doing these domestic chores, get full participation of the men-folk in the family and get occasional respite from these. To prepare such a mind-set is not within the capacity of government. The social thinkers, writers, voluntary organizations and several persons with sensitivity will have to work towards it. Even the religious organizations cannot escape from their responsibilities of creating such a mind-set without which their talk of an equitable society remains a rhetoric only. To establish this respect, and enhance opportunities for economic independence, it is necessary to find ways of inter-change between the formal and informal sectors of education and give recognition, evaluation and respect for the typical skills acquired by women.
I would like to elaborate this by an example. We are often concerned that the eldest daughter in a poor family misses her school education while looking after the younger kids in the house. We can have a policy in which girls having experience of handling smaller children could be given preference for appointment in creches or for nursing courses just with the addition of some crash course to make up for the lost formal study. In practice, however, such a girl is considered ineligible. Only the girls with formal schooling are given these opportunities while the girls I described above remain trapped in informal sector.
In one article, Alka Arya has aptly described how an ordinary middle class woman may define her concept of empowerment. Happiest is the woman who knows that a meaningful work is available for ensuring her economic independence, but does not have to actually accept the job. But the shrinking job market makes this vision a distant goal and most middle-class women are scared that by quitting one job, they may not find another when they are ready for it.
The role of proper education cannot be over emphasized. We have heard the old saying that true education must liberate!. On applying this litmus test we find that our education system today needs a complete overhaul in favour of economic productivity. The system has to be more vocation-oriented and has to promote skill building. It should be a tool to character building in which the values of truth, honesty, expertise, justice and patriotism are carefully inculcated. It should be more easily accessible and should invoke quest for knowledge and travelling. For women empowerment, a revamped system of education is the second critical input after better crime control situation. Our present system does not adequately provide for imparting vocational skills that alone can ensure a quick beginning of the earning. Presently, no vocational education can be started until 8 years of formal education. Women acquiring skills in traditional and non-formal ways find no institutional arrangements for expanding or updating the same through formal channels.
Whenever vocational skills are to be converted into actual production and earnings, there arises a need for further training in managerial aspects such as procuring loan, marketing, financial management, quality control, inventory control, pricing, etc. There are no training institutions where such short courses are available at affordable costs as per the training needs of these women.
Thirdly, some kind of self realizsation is needed for empowerment. May I take the liberty of putting up a personal experience! I had once launched a program of economic rehabilitation of Devadasis in Sangli district of Maharashtra. This included vocational training and some working capital for production. We found that the programme could go beyond a certain level only when we supplemented the vocational training program with yet another training namely personality development that emphasized on 4 skills:
i) Singing group songs
ii) March past and saluting the national flag
iii) Cycling and
iv) Photography
Even from among these four, mastering the skill to ride the cycle and commute on the cycle was most effective in making the training successful.
In another example of training to the rural women, a group was given vocational training in masonry work. However, after three months, the women demanded that the training emphasis should be changed. Accordingly they were trained not just to work as a mason but further to fill up the tenders for the works in the Gram Panchayat and Taluka panchayat. They were trained to engage construction labour, to measure the work done, to inspect quality of work done and accordingly decide the wage payment to the labour and so on. This women's group has now become a "building contractor". Third is the example of many women sarpanchas who were able to achieve spectacular developments in their villages in areas of proper schooling for drop-out girls, water-shed management and other rural development works.
These examples show the importance of mobility, the decision making authority and economic viability in the issue of empowerment of women. One powerful medium to spread vocational training facilities at a low cost is the TV network that has grown enormously in the last two decades. It is perhaps a sad commentary that the use of TV for imparting vocational skills to the millions of women residing in the far-flung corners of the country cannot compete with using TV for entertainment programmes in order to generate more revenue for the government. The priority should be redefined immediately in favour of vocational skill building because imparting vocational education through formal schooling is enormously costly.
The discussion of women's empowerment cannot be complete without discussing the issue of sharing power and property. The first step towards women's empowerment was taken in the country immediately after independence when every adult woman was given equal constitutional right to vote and to contest the elections. This right has been earned by the Indian women much before it was earned by the women in many advanced countries. The rich contributions of Indian women in our struggle of independence earned them as much respect as to male freedom fighters. As a result, during the election for self-rule government and also immediately after independence, a large number of women were elected to Assemblies and Parliament. Later, this number started dwindling. On the other hand, the need to decentralise power upto the village level was also felt. This culminated in the 74th Constitutional Amendment under which a new methodology of gram panchayat was envisaged, giving 33% reservation for women in gram-panchayat elections. It is to be noted that the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act of 1960 which is nearly 20 years older than this amendment had provided for political reservation but only to SC, ST but not to women. Thus the amendment was the real concrete step applied all over the country. It has resulted in a new wave of awareness and empowerment amongst women at the grass-root levels. In the last 20 years, we have seen newly elected first timers among the women Panch and Sarpanch who were very effective in implementing the schemes of female literacy, rural development, water and land conservation and prohibition.
It must be said that the women have proved their capability for sharing political power as ably as the men. Some eyebrows are raised on the decision of reservation for women not only in contesting the elections but also in admission to educational institutions or government services. It is enough to mention that the need for positive discrimination in favour of women was felt and provided for as long back as during the framing of Constitution, but the provision is being implemented only now, and is, therefore, totally justified. In final stages however women's empowerment can be considered as "complete" only when women, as a collective group, no longer require any positive discrimination or reservation. It is a happy sign that lot of young women have started expressing that they would prefer to come up in life on the basis of merit rather than through reservation. A right kind of "seed" for empowerment is already sown and it will be necessary to nurture this.
The sharing of power acquires a different dimension for the women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They suffer for being women as well as for their backwardness. These are the women who after a long day's work return home with insufficient wages, only to be beaten up for the needs of the alcoholic husband. They have also to suffer the rage of another more developed group in the village. When two tribal communities fight, these are the women who are either themselves the victims of atrocities by other tribe or are rendered widows. These are the women who have to bear maximum brunt of forced evictions either due to natural calamities or due to large scale land acquisition programmes of the government. Perhaps the real way of empowering the tribals, especially the women, is through ownership of forests. There are two widespread misunderstandings: first that the tribals are the destroyers of forests and the second that the development of tribals has to follow the same course as that for others, even if at the cost of their culture, value systems, knowledge-base and life styles. Throughout the centuries the tribals and the scheduled castes have been preserving a huge reserve of knowledge and skills. A proper module for empowerment of these women can be developed, keeping their existing knowledge, skills and traditional culture at the centre of such development schemes. We have to go a long way in preparing, testing and implementing such a module.
A doubt has often been raised as to whether our family system which is so unique to Indian culture, creates a hinderence in the empowerment of women. As I see the situation, the family system is at the root of any bigger social system. It can, however, sustain itself, only when there is an equitable sharing of roles, drudgery, responsibility, access to knowledge and decision making authority within the family. This requires the sharing and caring of each others' positive aspects and supplementing each other by respecting the inherent equality of the members of the family. The question of sharing property by the women is therefore important. Even though the share of women in production and productive skills is acknowledged, there is a great reluctance to allow them a share in the property rights. In recent times, many legal amendments and other administrative methods have been tried to ensure a due right to women in the property. It is unfortunate that these efforts are also being vehemently retaliated. As the awareness for rights of women and their assertion increases, women will invariably be faced with retaliation and a temporary increase in intolerance against them. This is one challenge in way of women's empowerment.
The other challenge comes from a mental attitude under which it is still believed that women do not have a place in certain "manly" areas. Unfortunately, we are witnessing unprecedented deterioration in family system resulting from domestic violence against women. Surely, it will be very unwise to lay the blame on women whose self confidence and self esteem has increased and hence, their demand for equality within the family. The sensitivity of the men in the family has not developed at the same rate and hence, the friction.
Lastly, I would like to mention yet another important aspect to consider for future. It is the impact of information technology and bio-technology. Both these technologies are capable of creating either immense centralisation or immense decentralisation. They are also capable of creating large scale opportunities for women provided the women are given the right kind of know-how and the right kind of authority to take decisions that affect the economics and productivity from them. With half of our female population still reeling under illiteracy and another one- forth of women population dropping out of school before completing primary education, it will be a challenge for all of us to ensure that these very women are taken to the controlling heights of these technologies in the coming century. Let us hope that our secular democracy and the rights given to every citizen will allow us to move in the right direction to ensure this.
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13 NCW : An appraisal -- DONE
Title : National Commission for Women : An appraisal.
Author :MEHENDALE, Leena
Annotation :Discusses the issue related to empowerment of women.
Publication :Yojana, Vol.44, No.11,, Nov.2000, pp.22-23, 27 Magzines & Periodicals
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHECKED on 18-08-2012 for the BOOK
National Commission for Women - An appraisal
---Leena Mehendale Yojana Sept 2000
A nation or a society goes ahead only through the contribution of all its members. Push the women into the backyards, and the society itself will be dragged behind. During the struggle for independence, Mahatma Gandhi, realising this, took special efforts to include women in political as well as economic and social struggles. Even before him, stalwarts like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Phule had laid great emphasis on women's participation in their revival programs.
After independence, however, the progress of women and of the society seems to have retarded. Even after forty years, examples were galore where on one hand the sensitivity over women's issues was lacking and on the other hand atrocities against women were rising. The committee on Status of Women in India (CSWI) recommended as early as in 1975, the setting up of a National Commission for Women . Many women activists and organisations also pressed for the demand and finally the Parliament passed the Act in 1990 for setting up of a Women' s Commission. Actual formation and functioning of National Commission for Women started in 1992.
Women related issues have many dimensions but they can be summarised as violence, denial and deprivation. Violence can be in parental or matrimonial house, or at work place or elsewhere in the society. Denial comes as denial of the right to be born, or denial of nutrition, education, health, home, property etc. Deprivation results from debarring them from several opportunities of empowerment - political economir or career-wise. Aso importnt are the questions of women in jail (pre-trial or post conviction), women in mental asylums, physically handicapped, single women, singly-parenting women and so on.
These are the problems. But what about the systems designed to solve these problems? How effective are they? A review shows that right from the judicial system to police investigation to medico-legal recordings to the system of evidence, which has been badly twisted in the hands of advocates, everywhere we find systemic insensitivity. Ultimately the buck will stop at the door steps of the society which itself has become too insensitive. But the buck has to be brought there through studies, debates, seminars, action plans etc. All this provides the working ideology for National Commission for Women.
The NCW Act, 1990 has some very strong and all encompassing provisions. The most important and operative section namely Section 10 of the Act lists fourteen important areas in which the Commission has to function. They include investigation of all matters relating to safeguards, suggest amendments to various laws, look into complaints relating to deprivation of women's rights, take up matters of non-implementation of Acts meant for achieving equality and development of women and non-compliance of policy decisions etc. The commission can call for special studies and investigations and fund litigations involving women's issue of larger dimensions. Commission can also inspect jails and investigate the conditions of women therein. On the empowerment side Section 10 enjoins NCW to suggest ways for ensuring due representation of women in all spheres, to participate and advice on the planning process of socio-economic development of women and to evaluate such development. NCW can make reports on all the above matters to government and can also require that such a report be placed before the Parliament or the State Assembly as the case may be. This is one very powerful methodology in the hands of NCW. Further, as a tool for NCW's investigations, the provisions and powers of Civil court for summoning a person, summoning the record or taking statements on oath have also been given to the NCW.
The Commission works mainly through its members and team of officers. However, Commission can set up expert committees for specific issues and call upon them to make a report. Similarly experts can even be co-opted as a part of investigating team. Thus NCW can maintain a strong network with NGOs working all over the country and can tap the best available brains and activists for the purpose of situation analysis and recommendations.
The best tool to assess the work of the Commission is its Annual Reports. The annual reports from 1992-93 onwards tell us about the work done so far, the work methodology and the future directions. These reports have a set pattern. Every report has chapters on "Status of Violence against Women" and "Custodial Justice" to deal with the menace of violence which is naturally the first concern of NCW.
There is a complaints and counselling cell in the organisation which looks into complaints received and gives guidance to the visitors who come to seek help, legal advice or otherwise. Some of these complaints are of a serious nature where investigation by the Commission is warranted and undertaken. Details of these investigations can be seen in the Annual Reports. The complaint cell is an interface between the suffering women and the NCW. First objective of the complaint cell is undoubtedly to redress the complaint of the individual sufferer. The Commission however, cannot just stop there. These cases give very important insight to the Commission about various social, legal and administrative maladies. NCW can then invoke its mandate to point out these maladies and make recommendation to various government agencies for a corrective action. Systemic changes within the sectors are needed in order to ensure that women do not keep suffering in future. The NCW mandate allows it to examine larger issues involving policy decision and methods of implementation and monitoring within other government sectors. NCW needs strong ability to analyse data available in the complaint cell so as to be able to suggest the systemic changes to other government departments. To the extent the NCW can do these, the complaint cell will provide the desired interface between the suffering individual woman and the concerned administrative departments. All the findings of Compaint cell make another chapter in the Annual Report.
Annual Report also has chapters on "Review of Laws" done by Commission and recommendations given to government on various new bills or amendments to existing laws. Participation of eminent lawyers, judges, academicians and activists is enlisted before these recommendations are made.
Commission runs a programme of funding for legal literacy camps called Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat (PMLA). The publication wing of NCW has, in past, brought out substantive publications on the issues that were identified through these. The annual report also examines the Empowerment issue by examining the scenario on political and economic front and in media. Political participation of women right from the village panchayat upto Parliament, avenues for economic independence to women at all levels and the portrayal of women in media are the matters of continuous advocary in NCW. The reports also contains a chapter on our planning process and how specific planning can be helpful in removing gender disparities in various geographical and social arenas.
Let me mention two more tools with NCW. Special studies are undertaken and sponsored by Commission. Second tool is organisation of national workshop and seminars. The subjects range from child rape to tribal women to food security to agricultural labour, to health related matters to credit policy for women and so on. More than three hundred recommendations have been made so far and nearly 100 publications have been brought out. Like other government organisations however, the NCW also stops at the stage of "Output guarantee" and do not go for follow-up after situatiion has been analysed and recommendations have been made.
I am reminded of a fine poster by a friend which asks "50 years of Independence. Is that All?" The same can be aked of NCW. Our situation analysis is always excellent, our recommendations always vying for the best, but what about designing step by step implementation strategy and its actual execution? What about designing continuity and sustainability in the system? The real index of empowerment of women will be situation when the commission does not have to exist anymore for them. But in our vision of the NCW, do we see that day possible sometime in future? Are our eyes set on that day or do we have a vision of perpetual existence of the Commission? The NCW has been designed also as a watchdog on how the other government sectors perform to make their schemes accessible to women . In coming years NCW will have to keep an eye on various government efforts to ensure that they have a proper strategy, proper execution plan and proper monitoring system rather than just having excellent recommendations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author :MEHENDALE, Leena
Annotation :Discusses the issue related to empowerment of women.
Publication :Yojana, Vol.44, No.11,, Nov.2000, pp.22-23, 27 Magzines & Periodicals
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHECKED on 18-08-2012 for the BOOK
National Commission for Women - An appraisal
---Leena Mehendale Yojana Sept 2000
A nation or a society goes ahead only through the contribution of all its members. Push the women into the backyards, and the society itself will be dragged behind. During the struggle for independence, Mahatma Gandhi, realising this, took special efforts to include women in political as well as economic and social struggles. Even before him, stalwarts like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Phule had laid great emphasis on women's participation in their revival programs.
After independence, however, the progress of women and of the society seems to have retarded. Even after forty years, examples were galore where on one hand the sensitivity over women's issues was lacking and on the other hand atrocities against women were rising. The committee on Status of Women in India (CSWI) recommended as early as in 1975, the setting up of a National Commission for Women . Many women activists and organisations also pressed for the demand and finally the Parliament passed the Act in 1990 for setting up of a Women' s Commission. Actual formation and functioning of National Commission for Women started in 1992.
Women related issues have many dimensions but they can be summarised as violence, denial and deprivation. Violence can be in parental or matrimonial house, or at work place or elsewhere in the society. Denial comes as denial of the right to be born, or denial of nutrition, education, health, home, property etc. Deprivation results from debarring them from several opportunities of empowerment - political economir or career-wise. Aso importnt are the questions of women in jail (pre-trial or post conviction), women in mental asylums, physically handicapped, single women, singly-parenting women and so on.
These are the problems. But what about the systems designed to solve these problems? How effective are they? A review shows that right from the judicial system to police investigation to medico-legal recordings to the system of evidence, which has been badly twisted in the hands of advocates, everywhere we find systemic insensitivity. Ultimately the buck will stop at the door steps of the society which itself has become too insensitive. But the buck has to be brought there through studies, debates, seminars, action plans etc. All this provides the working ideology for National Commission for Women.
The NCW Act, 1990 has some very strong and all encompassing provisions. The most important and operative section namely Section 10 of the Act lists fourteen important areas in which the Commission has to function. They include investigation of all matters relating to safeguards, suggest amendments to various laws, look into complaints relating to deprivation of women's rights, take up matters of non-implementation of Acts meant for achieving equality and development of women and non-compliance of policy decisions etc. The commission can call for special studies and investigations and fund litigations involving women's issue of larger dimensions. Commission can also inspect jails and investigate the conditions of women therein. On the empowerment side Section 10 enjoins NCW to suggest ways for ensuring due representation of women in all spheres, to participate and advice on the planning process of socio-economic development of women and to evaluate such development. NCW can make reports on all the above matters to government and can also require that such a report be placed before the Parliament or the State Assembly as the case may be. This is one very powerful methodology in the hands of NCW. Further, as a tool for NCW's investigations, the provisions and powers of Civil court for summoning a person, summoning the record or taking statements on oath have also been given to the NCW.
The Commission works mainly through its members and team of officers. However, Commission can set up expert committees for specific issues and call upon them to make a report. Similarly experts can even be co-opted as a part of investigating team. Thus NCW can maintain a strong network with NGOs working all over the country and can tap the best available brains and activists for the purpose of situation analysis and recommendations.
The best tool to assess the work of the Commission is its Annual Reports. The annual reports from 1992-93 onwards tell us about the work done so far, the work methodology and the future directions. These reports have a set pattern. Every report has chapters on "Status of Violence against Women" and "Custodial Justice" to deal with the menace of violence which is naturally the first concern of NCW.
There is a complaints and counselling cell in the organisation which looks into complaints received and gives guidance to the visitors who come to seek help, legal advice or otherwise. Some of these complaints are of a serious nature where investigation by the Commission is warranted and undertaken. Details of these investigations can be seen in the Annual Reports. The complaint cell is an interface between the suffering women and the NCW. First objective of the complaint cell is undoubtedly to redress the complaint of the individual sufferer. The Commission however, cannot just stop there. These cases give very important insight to the Commission about various social, legal and administrative maladies. NCW can then invoke its mandate to point out these maladies and make recommendation to various government agencies for a corrective action. Systemic changes within the sectors are needed in order to ensure that women do not keep suffering in future. The NCW mandate allows it to examine larger issues involving policy decision and methods of implementation and monitoring within other government sectors. NCW needs strong ability to analyse data available in the complaint cell so as to be able to suggest the systemic changes to other government departments. To the extent the NCW can do these, the complaint cell will provide the desired interface between the suffering individual woman and the concerned administrative departments. All the findings of Compaint cell make another chapter in the Annual Report.
Annual Report also has chapters on "Review of Laws" done by Commission and recommendations given to government on various new bills or amendments to existing laws. Participation of eminent lawyers, judges, academicians and activists is enlisted before these recommendations are made.
Commission runs a programme of funding for legal literacy camps called Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalat (PMLA). The publication wing of NCW has, in past, brought out substantive publications on the issues that were identified through these. The annual report also examines the Empowerment issue by examining the scenario on political and economic front and in media. Political participation of women right from the village panchayat upto Parliament, avenues for economic independence to women at all levels and the portrayal of women in media are the matters of continuous advocary in NCW. The reports also contains a chapter on our planning process and how specific planning can be helpful in removing gender disparities in various geographical and social arenas.
Let me mention two more tools with NCW. Special studies are undertaken and sponsored by Commission. Second tool is organisation of national workshop and seminars. The subjects range from child rape to tribal women to food security to agricultural labour, to health related matters to credit policy for women and so on. More than three hundred recommendations have been made so far and nearly 100 publications have been brought out. Like other government organisations however, the NCW also stops at the stage of "Output guarantee" and do not go for follow-up after situatiion has been analysed and recommendations have been made.
I am reminded of a fine poster by a friend which asks "50 years of Independence. Is that All?" The same can be aked of NCW. Our situation analysis is always excellent, our recommendations always vying for the best, but what about designing step by step implementation strategy and its actual execution? What about designing continuity and sustainability in the system? The real index of empowerment of women will be situation when the commission does not have to exist anymore for them. But in our vision of the NCW, do we see that day possible sometime in future? Are our eyes set on that day or do we have a vision of perpetual existence of the Commission? The NCW has been designed also as a watchdog on how the other government sectors perform to make their schemes accessible to women . In coming years NCW will have to keep an eye on various government efforts to ensure that they have a proper strategy, proper execution plan and proper monitoring system rather than just having excellent recommendations.
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12 sati : the real story --DONE
Sati - What is the real legend
- Leena Mehendale 25.11.99 Pioneer Delhi
Taken up for correction 15 aug 2012)
The word Sati has been the catch-word in last two weeks in the media. Scenarios and conclusions have been hyped. Ordinarily the word Sati has come to be associated with a backward looking, non-developmental mind. There is no dearth of words to describe how the illiterate, uneducated, dumb women of our country fall prey to the vision of Sati. This is an issue where I consider the intelligentia guilty on more than one count. Firstly they have not made proper assessment of the enormity of the problem which is both quantitative and qualitative. We have nearly fifty crore women in the country out of which more than twenty crore are illiterate, and uneducated. Those who are educated are either steeped in tradition without knowing where the original idea came from or are extremely critical of present day tradition but have not tried to look into the origin and enlighten others about it.
The idea of Sati has not come from some meek women surrendering to death after the demise of the husband. In fact, the original legendary personality in Indian mythology bearing the name Sati was the beloved daughter of Prajapati Daksha and the beloved wife of Lord Shiva. Those were the days of early human settlements of the Vedic period. There appears to have been an attempt to relegate Shiva in the background and project Indra and such other deities in the fore front. Hence Daksha organised a Yagnya for which all deities and local leaders were invited except Lord Shiva and his wife Sati.
The story goes that Sati learnt of this Yagnya, and feeling that she need not stand on the formalities of being invited by her own father, went to attend the Yagnya where she was not welcome. Further, she found that while all smaller and bigger deities were given their due recognitiion, Lord shiva, was sought to be dismissed and ignored despite his great capabilities. Furious at the behaviour of all her society, her kith and kin, for their inability to recognize and respect the abilities of Lord Shiva, she created her own fire through Yogic action and immolated herself. She condemned the society and ordained that Lord Shiva who was otherwise too docile, lenient and tolerant towards their misdemeanour must come forward and take revenge of her death and demand and ensure that the society recognises and respects his due place.
Thus we see that the first mythological personality performing self-immolation and giving her name Sati to the act of self-immolation was a fiery lady, well versed in Hathoyoga, to be able to create her own Yogic Fire and also well versed in how society should behave and why the due respect must be given by society to a person of abilities.
She is perhaps the first person to have emphasized that Rights are NOT for surrendering. She performed self-immolation not on her husband's pier as it were, but as a protest against the society who failed to give respect and recognition where it was due. She was a fighter for her rights and her husband's right and a martyr to that cause rather than someone who gives up fight against society because the husband had died.
Another glorious personality of Indian mythology who is reverred equally as Sati and for the similarly wrong ideas is Savitri. Here was another fighter. She was a princess and a great warrier who used to accompany her father on battlefields. She was a great charioteer and a horse rider. She set out on a long journey all alone so that she could find a suitable husband for herself. She found Satyawan, who once a prince, was living in jungles with his old parents after his father lost his kingdom in a battle and had become blind. What had Satyawan to offer to a princess but for his truthfulness! When Savitri went back to her father and declared her decision to marry Satyawan, her father and the counsellors were aghast at first. The fortune tellers of her father's court tried to disuade her by pointing out that Satywan was destined to die after a year.
Look at the sharp wit and intelligence of Savitri. She asked whether she was destined to be a widow! "No" came the answer. "Then where was need to worry for the destiny of Satyawan?"
The same wit is seen again when finally the Death God Yama comes to take away the life of Satyawan. First Yama has to acknowledge that she could see him face to face because she was utterly fearless. Later she tricked Yama in returning life back to Satyawan. Savitri fought her war with Yama not by weapons but by keeping her cool, going with Yama and engaging him in a polite but brilliant conversation in which she could trick him. This was a battle of wits and nerve!
Savitri is the only personality in the Indian or the world mythology who is Mrityunjayee i.e. the conqueror of Death. What a denigration of our society that an act of meekly surrendering before the world, the society and the Death by a woman gets associated with the two great ladies who did exactly the opposite. One fought for her husband's rightful place and did something to bring him to realise that he must demand his rights. The other fought and conquered the Death God himself.
Why has not our society been able to catch and retain a glimpse of their fighting spirit? And what a failure of our intelligentia to educate the men and women of this country regarding what was the true fighting spirits of Sati and Savitri. Our intelligentia have learned only to condemn those millions of men and women who love and adore the stories of Sati and Savitri for their superstitions and their patriarchal attitudes. Instead why not educate them about the original personalities and their issues! Is not it high time to educate people that the word Sati cannot be associated with any lady not having the courage to dare and to challenge the society! Sati and Savitri are for daring, challenging and conquering your rights even by defeating Death itself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Leena Mehendale 25.11.99 Pioneer Delhi
Taken up for correction 15 aug 2012)
The word Sati has been the catch-word in last two weeks in the media. Scenarios and conclusions have been hyped. Ordinarily the word Sati has come to be associated with a backward looking, non-developmental mind. There is no dearth of words to describe how the illiterate, uneducated, dumb women of our country fall prey to the vision of Sati. This is an issue where I consider the intelligentia guilty on more than one count. Firstly they have not made proper assessment of the enormity of the problem which is both quantitative and qualitative. We have nearly fifty crore women in the country out of which more than twenty crore are illiterate, and uneducated. Those who are educated are either steeped in tradition without knowing where the original idea came from or are extremely critical of present day tradition but have not tried to look into the origin and enlighten others about it.
The idea of Sati has not come from some meek women surrendering to death after the demise of the husband. In fact, the original legendary personality in Indian mythology bearing the name Sati was the beloved daughter of Prajapati Daksha and the beloved wife of Lord Shiva. Those were the days of early human settlements of the Vedic period. There appears to have been an attempt to relegate Shiva in the background and project Indra and such other deities in the fore front. Hence Daksha organised a Yagnya for which all deities and local leaders were invited except Lord Shiva and his wife Sati.
The story goes that Sati learnt of this Yagnya, and feeling that she need not stand on the formalities of being invited by her own father, went to attend the Yagnya where she was not welcome. Further, she found that while all smaller and bigger deities were given their due recognitiion, Lord shiva, was sought to be dismissed and ignored despite his great capabilities. Furious at the behaviour of all her society, her kith and kin, for their inability to recognize and respect the abilities of Lord Shiva, she created her own fire through Yogic action and immolated herself. She condemned the society and ordained that Lord Shiva who was otherwise too docile, lenient and tolerant towards their misdemeanour must come forward and take revenge of her death and demand and ensure that the society recognises and respects his due place.
Thus we see that the first mythological personality performing self-immolation and giving her name Sati to the act of self-immolation was a fiery lady, well versed in Hathoyoga, to be able to create her own Yogic Fire and also well versed in how society should behave and why the due respect must be given by society to a person of abilities.
She is perhaps the first person to have emphasized that Rights are NOT for surrendering. She performed self-immolation not on her husband's pier as it were, but as a protest against the society who failed to give respect and recognition where it was due. She was a fighter for her rights and her husband's right and a martyr to that cause rather than someone who gives up fight against society because the husband had died.
Another glorious personality of Indian mythology who is reverred equally as Sati and for the similarly wrong ideas is Savitri. Here was another fighter. She was a princess and a great warrier who used to accompany her father on battlefields. She was a great charioteer and a horse rider. She set out on a long journey all alone so that she could find a suitable husband for herself. She found Satyawan, who once a prince, was living in jungles with his old parents after his father lost his kingdom in a battle and had become blind. What had Satyawan to offer to a princess but for his truthfulness! When Savitri went back to her father and declared her decision to marry Satyawan, her father and the counsellors were aghast at first. The fortune tellers of her father's court tried to disuade her by pointing out that Satywan was destined to die after a year.
Look at the sharp wit and intelligence of Savitri. She asked whether she was destined to be a widow! "No" came the answer. "Then where was need to worry for the destiny of Satyawan?"
The same wit is seen again when finally the Death God Yama comes to take away the life of Satyawan. First Yama has to acknowledge that she could see him face to face because she was utterly fearless. Later she tricked Yama in returning life back to Satyawan. Savitri fought her war with Yama not by weapons but by keeping her cool, going with Yama and engaging him in a polite but brilliant conversation in which she could trick him. This was a battle of wits and nerve!
Savitri is the only personality in the Indian or the world mythology who is Mrityunjayee i.e. the conqueror of Death. What a denigration of our society that an act of meekly surrendering before the world, the society and the Death by a woman gets associated with the two great ladies who did exactly the opposite. One fought for her husband's rightful place and did something to bring him to realise that he must demand his rights. The other fought and conquered the Death God himself.
Why has not our society been able to catch and retain a glimpse of their fighting spirit? And what a failure of our intelligentia to educate the men and women of this country regarding what was the true fighting spirits of Sati and Savitri. Our intelligentia have learned only to condemn those millions of men and women who love and adore the stories of Sati and Savitri for their superstitions and their patriarchal attitudes. Instead why not educate them about the original personalities and their issues! Is not it high time to educate people that the word Sati cannot be associated with any lady not having the courage to dare and to challenge the society! Sati and Savitri are for daring, challenging and conquering your rights even by defeating Death itself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 Energy auditing India --DONE
Corrections on 16-08-2012
Energy Auditing India
Just as an industry needs to know if it is working efficiently, if it is fully utilising its resorses without wastage -- its water and energy, its raw material, its finances, its man power -- so also a country needs to examine if its resources -- raw material, energy and water, finances and man power -- are being used with least wastage. And yes, what is the scope for reducing the wastage and conserving the resources for sustainable development?
2. Revamp current plant performance
3. Process integration
4. Retraining of manpower
TABLE –2
These 2 tables suggest some lines to carry out energy Audit of India and they will be --
Targets for these will have to be set up and measured for providing future direction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So if we decided to ENERGY AUDIT India, how would we proceed? This was the question taken up in PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Institute) in 2004, while I was in charge of it. We found that there are two facets of this approach -- one was to base the module on same lines as we do in Energy Audits in four major sectors namely Industrial, Agriculture and Domestic sectors and in power-generation plants themselves. Second was to look beyond them.
One of the objectives of PCRA is to function as a “Think Tank” to the Govt. of India for future policies and strategies on energy efficiency, petroleum conservation and environment protection. In 2003-04, PCRA through its various brain-storming sessions, assessed that just on the lines of Energy Audit in industries, we carry out Energy Audit of the country on a fixed frequency – preferably once in five years co-terminus with the plan period. Such a report generated one year before each plan period, shall become a part of plan document.
Energy conservation is a multifaceted activity involving both promotional and regulatory measures. The level of energy efficiency in developing countries is very low. The reasons for this are lack of technical knowledge, non-availability of energy efficient equipment or machinery and wrong energy subsidies. Energy subsidies, particularly those encouraging energy consumption by keeping the energy prices low, result in low efficiency, environmental degradation and increased energy intensity.
As per world energy outlook, India’s Specific Energy Consumption per unit of GDP is higher by 3.7 times that of Japan, 1.4 times that of Asia and 1.5 times that of USA, indicating very high energy wastage and thus potential for substantial energy savings.
In an ideal situation, the Specific Energy Consumption measures how much energy is consumed per unit of GDP growth. In order to analyse the trends in Specific Energy Consumption, it is necessary to separate energy intensity changes into structural and behavioural changes on one hand and technical energy efficiency changes on the other hand. The Specific Energy Consumption is closely related to economies of scale, process technology, instrumentation and control, structural changes, Govt. policies and end users behaviours. Yet, it is a universal scale for bench-marking and setting energy efficiency targets; something, that has been effectively used by the Japanese.
As can be seen from the table given below, in India, the industrial sector consumes 50% of the total commercial energy but contributes only 25% to the country’s GDP growth. Currently, this sector consumes more than 100 MTOE (million tones of oil equivalent), with a growth rate of about 6% per anum. There is need; therefore, to bring about substantial improvements in the efficiency of energy use in the industrial sector, particularly with the Indian economy opening up to the global markets. This alone can enable the Indian industry to compete effectively in the global market and also ensure higher profits. Based on various analyses, a saving potential of around 20% has been identified in the industrial sector without significant investment.
Taking Clue from Energy Audit of an Industry -- To do this let us take a look at how Energy Audit is conducted
An industrial energy audit helps in energy cost optimisation, pollution control, safety aspects and suggest methods to improve the operating and maintenance practices of the system. It prepares for coping up with the situation of variation in energy cost, energy availability, reliability of energy supply, decision on appropriate energy mix, decision on using improved energy conservation equipments, instrumentations and technology. The energy audit provides necessary information base for overall energy conservation programmes and is a vital link in the entire energy management chain. Energy management in turn can be construed as the process of guiding and controlling energy use so as to yield maximum possible output per unit of energy.
To meet the stated objective of Energy Audit in a holistic manner, the overall process of an industrial energy audit can be placed under five broad categories:
1.Minimize obvious wastages such as too much movement of inventory, making 2 trips when 1 is sufficient, non-balancing raw material, using excess water, lighting etc.
2. Current plant performance
For Energy Auditing of any industrial unit, the 1st step is sound knowledge of the current performance of major operating departments, process parameters and key equipments. Using this information, technical analysis is performed to check the present efficiency of energy use at each stage and to identify areas where technical improvement might be made. A good understanding of the parameters affecting the manufacturing process is essential. The cost involved for achieving enhanced performance is determined and financial analysis performed to identify cost effective measures.
This involves detailed study of the following function :
3. Process integration
Process integration always results in energy savings. It is a design tool to optimise energy resources in plants employing conventional technologies. It is common sense that Plants using batch processes would instantly benefit by shifting to continuous processes but the decision is not always easy as it requires considerations of market availability, inventory management, and manpower management too. Where the plant is already having a continuous Process, its intensification is the key. It involves making fundamental changes to processing technologies to yield improved product quality, throughput and energy efficiency. The advent of computers have made such an integration much more accurate than was earlier possible with manual controls.
Process integration is an established technology for continuous processes in the chemical industry. Pinch analysis is the most commonly used integration tool. It involves the use of heat exchanger networks to optimise heat energy by linking hot and cold process streams in the most thermodynamically advantageous way. Other tools take into account all energy flows (eg potential energy, pressure and momentum) using a technique known as exergy analysis. Developments are still needed to improve the analytical tools as well as technologies to recover the waste heat. One of the important areas is integration within a batch process where it can be substituted by continuous process.
As industries are adopting advanced equipment and process technologies for competitiveness, the available manpower also needs to be imparted new knowledge and skills to operate such technologies, for which retraining is very essential. Retraining of manpower can be done through :
Energy Auditing the Country
Unit-based
approach can be useful for a sector specific study of energy conservation pattern and fixing energy saving potential of major industries like Aluminium, Steel, Textiles, Cement, paper, Fertilizers, petroleum and chemical etc. will be required as a first step. Such first step has been taken. BEE (Bureau of Energy Effiiency) and PCRA have together fixed
these targets under Energy Conservation Act and now adopting various persuasive measures with
those industries to achieve them.
Process Integration
In the context of “Energy Auditing of the Country” the process integration means synergistic role and action of various actors, which include: -
The other issues concerning, process integration which require action oriented approach are :-
Retraining Manpower
For the success of ‘Energy Auditing India’ programme, involvement of people at the grassroots level will be important. This involvement can be ensured by motivation, education and legal liability for compliance. In this regard, the approaches can be as follows :
It is worth listing PCRA's efforts so far in respect of the above three.
i) Vocational training for skill building and skill up-dation
Unfortunately, in India we have excess of qualified engineers but scarcity of competent middle-level skilled persons like plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc. Inspite of Government efforts to open Industrial Technical Institutes (ITIs) in every district HQ and other smaller towns, we have not been able to attract sufficient number of candidates to take advantage of these courses. The simple reason for lack of interest in acquiring ITI qualification is that the poor candidates, belonging to a particular category lack the means and basic qualification to enter these courses. For this category of youth it is much easier to learn the traditional skills from their elders, where no basic qualification is required. Also there is no opportunity for them to update their skill and knowledge due to lack of basic qualification, resources and learning forums.
PCRA has prepared 60 films on vocational training, where persons with such background can update their knowledge to become more competitive. Some of the vocational films, produced by PCRA cover
Carpentry
Domestic Wiring
Masonry
Lathe Machine
Tractor Maintenance
Plumbing
Welding
AC Repair
Motor winding
ii) Behavioural and attitudinal changes through mass media
One of the objectives of PCRA is “To create awareness among masses about the importance, benefits and methods of conserving petroleum products and environment protection by enhancing information sharing and mass awareness.
A number of initiative have been taken by PCRA to bring in attitudinal changes amongst the masses for efficient utilisation of energy.
I) An infotainment radio programme “Boond Boond Ki Baat” is being aired on every Monday at 9.30 am by AIR FM Gold to spread awareness on the issues concerning energy efficiency & environment protection. The important topics covered so far are
o Energy Act
o Coal Bed Methane
o Green House Gases
o Bio-fuels
o Solid waste management
o CNG
o Fuel cells
o Auto fuel policy and energy efficient lighting system etc.
II) A very interesting edutainment programme “Khel Khel Mein Badlo Duniya” is being broadcasted on Doordarshan. The programme has been produced by PCRA and DAVP. The main topics covered in the various episodes of this programme are: -
· Wind Energy
· Solar Energy
· Bio-gas
· Vermiculture
· Transportation of petroleum products
· Vehicle population in metros
· Metro Rail
· Energy saving potential in different industries etc.
III) Regular Press Advertisements are being released by PCRA to achieve maximum reach to the households of the country. Sectoral advertisements on “Oil Conservation” for Transport, Industry, Agriculture and Domestic sectors were released in the leading national/ regional newspapers / magazines all over the country.
IV) PCRA has associated itself with “Lifeline Foundation”, an NGO of Gujrat by sponsoring their unique project, “The Highway Rescue Project” to evacuate highway accident victims within one hour of a distress call. PCRA as a sponsor to this project, displayed its conservation messages on these boards as well as stickers during last year , thereby spreading mass awareness on conservation while associating itself with this noble cause.
V) Films and TV spots are considered to be one of the most effective communicating media for PCRA’s Education Campaign Programmes Over the years, PCRA has developed several educational films and TV spots on the theme of oil conservation & environment protection in various languages that are being screened regularly during various charted activities of PCRA and sponsored in various TV channels.
VI) Large amount of literature giving useful tips for efficient utilization of energy and petroleum products in various sectors of economy is being printed and distributed by PCRA to educate the masses about the importance of efficient utilisation of energy.
iii) Statutory measures to curb inefficient use of energy ,fuel adulteration and environment protection
In addition to persuasive measures it is necessary to introduce statutory measures to curb inefficient utilization of energy. Energy conservation Act 2001 , which makes Energy Audit mandatory for certain types of industries is one step in this direction. As has already been stated, energy intensity in our country remains very high in comparison to developed countries. It is true that we have improved our Energy efficiency to some extent. The good news is that the Indian consumer has progressively become more efficient in consuming the available energy supply. As per the report from the Planning Commission, Energy intensity of our growth has reduced from 1.55 to 0.74 i.e reduction of 50% during the last three decades. To be globally competitive, a demand or need driven programme is more likely to succeed than a supply driven program based on subsidies. Lot is required to be done to create proper strategies for Demand Management Side than for Supply Management Side.
Source Available Quantity
· Coal – 370 MMT [a] Used for Electricity generation- 285 MMT [b] Used directly by industry – 85 MMT
· Petroleum –112 MMT
· Natural gas –97 MMT
· Electricity –107973 MW [a] Thermal- 76607 MW[b] Hydro- 26910 MW [c] Nuclear –2720 MW
· Non-Conventional Energy [a] Biomass – MW [b] Solar – MW [c] Wind – MW [d] Tidal - MW
Sector specific, % energy consumption Vs % contribution to GDP
Sector % Energy Consumption % Contribution to GDP
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 5.0 23 %
Industry 49 25 %
Service - 50
Training and consultancy - - ] Not known nor measured.
R and D ] Not known nor measured.
Infrastructure such as Highways and OFCs ] Not known nor measure
Re-emphasize agri and agro industries.
Make industry more energy efficient
Train HR by introducing vocational education
More coordinated efforts for non-conventional energy
Demand-Side Management
Energy Auditing India
Just as an industry needs to know if it is working efficiently, if it is fully utilising its resorses without wastage -- its water and energy, its raw material, its finances, its man power -- so also a country needs to examine if its resources -- raw material, energy and water, finances and man power -- are being used with least wastage. And yes, what is the scope for reducing the wastage and conserving the resources for sustainable development?
2. Revamp current plant performance
3. Process integration
4. Retraining of manpower
- Inventory Control
- Process details
- Plant and machinery
- Product range and product quality
- Cost and quality of various energy inputs
- Assessing the present energy consumption pattern
- Relating energy inputs and production cost
- Identifying potential areas of energy losses
- Highlighting wastages in major areas
- Fixing of energy savings potential and prioritisation targets
- Qualification improvement programmes
- Vocational courses
- distance education
- Workshops
- Training at OEM’s works.
- Government – National and State level
- Energy Efficiency Agencies
- Equipment manufacturers
- Non Government Organisations (NGOs)
- Ministries / Departments like
- Planning Commission,
- HRD Ministry
- State Technical Education Boards
- Department of Science and Technology
- Ministry of Power
- State Electricity Boards etc.
- Integrated resources planning
- Demand side management
- Policy guidelines and concept
- Vocational training for skill building and skill updation
- Mass education/awareness campaigns on behavioral and attitudinal changes towards energy and environment
- Statutory measures to curb inefficient use of energy and illegal practices like fuel adulteration and environmental protection
TABLE –2
These 2 tables suggest some lines to carry out energy Audit of India and they will be --
Targets for these will have to be set up and measured for providing future direction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So if we decided to ENERGY AUDIT India, how would we proceed? This was the question taken up in PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Institute) in 2004, while I was in charge of it. We found that there are two facets of this approach -- one was to base the module on same lines as we do in Energy Audits in four major sectors namely Industrial, Agriculture and Domestic sectors and in power-generation plants themselves. Second was to look beyond them.
One of the objectives of PCRA is to function as a “Think Tank” to the Govt. of India for future policies and strategies on energy efficiency, petroleum conservation and environment protection. In 2003-04, PCRA through its various brain-storming sessions, assessed that just on the lines of Energy Audit in industries, we carry out Energy Audit of the country on a fixed frequency – preferably once in five years co-terminus with the plan period. Such a report generated one year before each plan period, shall become a part of plan document.
Energy conservation is a multifaceted activity involving both promotional and regulatory measures. The level of energy efficiency in developing countries is very low. The reasons for this are lack of technical knowledge, non-availability of energy efficient equipment or machinery and wrong energy subsidies. Energy subsidies, particularly those encouraging energy consumption by keeping the energy prices low, result in low efficiency, environmental degradation and increased energy intensity.
As per world energy outlook, India’s Specific Energy Consumption per unit of GDP is higher by 3.7 times that of Japan, 1.4 times that of Asia and 1.5 times that of USA, indicating very high energy wastage and thus potential for substantial energy savings.
In an ideal situation, the Specific Energy Consumption measures how much energy is consumed per unit of GDP growth. In order to analyse the trends in Specific Energy Consumption, it is necessary to separate energy intensity changes into structural and behavioural changes on one hand and technical energy efficiency changes on the other hand. The Specific Energy Consumption is closely related to economies of scale, process technology, instrumentation and control, structural changes, Govt. policies and end users behaviours. Yet, it is a universal scale for bench-marking and setting energy efficiency targets; something, that has been effectively used by the Japanese.
As can be seen from the table given below, in India, the industrial sector consumes 50% of the total commercial energy but contributes only 25% to the country’s GDP growth. Currently, this sector consumes more than 100 MTOE (million tones of oil equivalent), with a growth rate of about 6% per anum. There is need; therefore, to bring about substantial improvements in the efficiency of energy use in the industrial sector, particularly with the Indian economy opening up to the global markets. This alone can enable the Indian industry to compete effectively in the global market and also ensure higher profits. Based on various analyses, a saving potential of around 20% has been identified in the industrial sector without significant investment.
Taking Clue from Energy Audit of an Industry -- To do this let us take a look at how Energy Audit is conducted
An industrial energy audit helps in energy cost optimisation, pollution control, safety aspects and suggest methods to improve the operating and maintenance practices of the system. It prepares for coping up with the situation of variation in energy cost, energy availability, reliability of energy supply, decision on appropriate energy mix, decision on using improved energy conservation equipments, instrumentations and technology. The energy audit provides necessary information base for overall energy conservation programmes and is a vital link in the entire energy management chain. Energy management in turn can be construed as the process of guiding and controlling energy use so as to yield maximum possible output per unit of energy.
To meet the stated objective of Energy Audit in a holistic manner, the overall process of an industrial energy audit can be placed under five broad categories:
1. Minimize
obvious wastages
5. Paradigm shift
1.Minimize obvious wastages such as too much movement of inventory, making 2 trips when 1 is sufficient, non-balancing raw material, using excess water, lighting etc.
2. Current plant performance
For Energy Auditing of any industrial unit, the 1st step is sound knowledge of the current performance of major operating departments, process parameters and key equipments. Using this information, technical analysis is performed to check the present efficiency of energy use at each stage and to identify areas where technical improvement might be made. A good understanding of the parameters affecting the manufacturing process is essential. The cost involved for achieving enhanced performance is determined and financial analysis performed to identify cost effective measures.
This involves detailed study of the following function :
3. Process integration
Process integration always results in energy savings. It is a design tool to optimise energy resources in plants employing conventional technologies. It is common sense that Plants using batch processes would instantly benefit by shifting to continuous processes but the decision is not always easy as it requires considerations of market availability, inventory management, and manpower management too. Where the plant is already having a continuous Process, its intensification is the key. It involves making fundamental changes to processing technologies to yield improved product quality, throughput and energy efficiency. The advent of computers have made such an integration much more accurate than was earlier possible with manual controls.
Process integration is an established technology for continuous processes in the chemical industry. Pinch analysis is the most commonly used integration tool. It involves the use of heat exchanger networks to optimise heat energy by linking hot and cold process streams in the most thermodynamically advantageous way. Other tools take into account all energy flows (eg potential energy, pressure and momentum) using a technique known as exergy analysis. Developments are still needed to improve the analytical tools as well as technologies to recover the waste heat. One of the important areas is integration within a batch process where it can be substituted by continuous process.
As industries are adopting advanced equipment and process technologies for competitiveness, the available manpower also needs to be imparted new knowledge and skills to operate such technologies, for which retraining is very essential. Retraining of manpower can be done through :
One major aspect of training is attitudinal change.
Energy Auditing the Country
For ‘Energy Auditing India’ we can try
to apply the above 5 modules. Reducing obvious wastage has great potential. Careless
use leading to wastage is a routine affair for water, grains, electricity,
fuel, even human beings.
Process Integration
In the context of “Energy Auditing of the Country” the process integration means synergistic role and action of various actors, which include: -
The other issues concerning, process integration which require action oriented approach are :-
Retraining Manpower
For the success of ‘Energy Auditing India’ programme, involvement of people at the grassroots level will be important. This involvement can be ensured by motivation, education and legal liability for compliance. In this regard, the approaches can be as follows :
It is worth listing PCRA's efforts so far in respect of the above three.
i) Vocational training for skill building and skill up-dation
Unfortunately, in India we have excess of qualified engineers but scarcity of competent middle-level skilled persons like plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc. Inspite of Government efforts to open Industrial Technical Institutes (ITIs) in every district HQ and other smaller towns, we have not been able to attract sufficient number of candidates to take advantage of these courses. The simple reason for lack of interest in acquiring ITI qualification is that the poor candidates, belonging to a particular category lack the means and basic qualification to enter these courses. For this category of youth it is much easier to learn the traditional skills from their elders, where no basic qualification is required. Also there is no opportunity for them to update their skill and knowledge due to lack of basic qualification, resources and learning forums.
PCRA has prepared 60 films on vocational training, where persons with such background can update their knowledge to become more competitive. Some of the vocational films, produced by PCRA cover
Carpentry
Domestic Wiring
Masonry
Lathe Machine
Tractor Maintenance
Plumbing
Welding
AC Repair
Motor winding
ii) Behavioural and attitudinal changes through mass media
One of the objectives of PCRA is “To create awareness among masses about the importance, benefits and methods of conserving petroleum products and environment protection by enhancing information sharing and mass awareness.
A number of initiative have been taken by PCRA to bring in attitudinal changes amongst the masses for efficient utilisation of energy.
I) An infotainment radio programme “Boond Boond Ki Baat” is being aired on every Monday at 9.30 am by AIR FM Gold to spread awareness on the issues concerning energy efficiency & environment protection. The important topics covered so far are
o Energy Act
o Coal Bed Methane
o Green House Gases
o Bio-fuels
o Solid waste management
o CNG
o Fuel cells
o Auto fuel policy and energy efficient lighting system etc.
II) A very interesting edutainment programme “Khel Khel Mein Badlo Duniya” is being broadcasted on Doordarshan. The programme has been produced by PCRA and DAVP. The main topics covered in the various episodes of this programme are: -
· Wind Energy
· Solar Energy
· Bio-gas
· Vermiculture
· Transportation of petroleum products
· Vehicle population in metros
· Metro Rail
· Energy saving potential in different industries etc.
III) Regular Press Advertisements are being released by PCRA to achieve maximum reach to the households of the country. Sectoral advertisements on “Oil Conservation” for Transport, Industry, Agriculture and Domestic sectors were released in the leading national/ regional newspapers / magazines all over the country.
IV) PCRA has associated itself with “Lifeline Foundation”, an NGO of Gujrat by sponsoring their unique project, “The Highway Rescue Project” to evacuate highway accident victims within one hour of a distress call. PCRA as a sponsor to this project, displayed its conservation messages on these boards as well as stickers during last year , thereby spreading mass awareness on conservation while associating itself with this noble cause.
V) Films and TV spots are considered to be one of the most effective communicating media for PCRA’s Education Campaign Programmes Over the years, PCRA has developed several educational films and TV spots on the theme of oil conservation & environment protection in various languages that are being screened regularly during various charted activities of PCRA and sponsored in various TV channels.
VI) Large amount of literature giving useful tips for efficient utilization of energy and petroleum products in various sectors of economy is being printed and distributed by PCRA to educate the masses about the importance of efficient utilisation of energy.
iii) Statutory measures to curb inefficient use of energy ,fuel adulteration and environment protection
In addition to persuasive measures it is necessary to introduce statutory measures to curb inefficient utilization of energy. Energy conservation Act 2001 , which makes Energy Audit mandatory for certain types of industries is one step in this direction. As has already been stated, energy intensity in our country remains very high in comparison to developed countries. It is true that we have improved our Energy efficiency to some extent. The good news is that the Indian consumer has progressively become more efficient in consuming the available energy supply. As per the report from the Planning Commission, Energy intensity of our growth has reduced from 1.55 to 0.74 i.e reduction of 50% during the last three decades. To be globally competitive, a demand or need driven programme is more likely to succeed than a supply driven program based on subsidies. Lot is required to be done to create proper strategies for Demand Management Side than for Supply Management Side.
Paradigm
Shift --
For
sustainable Eco and Energy conservation, we need two paradigm shifts. First, adopt
some new visions of development . New
vision, such as using our Optic Fiber Network to provide Rural Tele-Communication
rather than depending on traditional methods,
Developing our next-to-nil research capabilities, Larger thrust on Skill education, Energy-efficient
Urban Planning, and so on. Second, question the sanctity of some of our
developmental models . I can cite 2 examples – Our Agriculture sector consumes
less energy per unit of GDP – why not develop it? Our service sector promotes
too much of non-productive services (such as security guards, super star
hospitals) – why promote them? Let us examine this scenario – the local
municipal corporation supplies water but not potable enough – individuals buy water
purifiers – GDP grows, but these machines necessarily throw away 50 % water –
that had been pumped and brought there. We do not calculate how much water and
energy have been wasted in the process – we focus only on GDP growth brought in
through increased business of individual
water purifiers. Another example, let us look at education of urban children.
Instead of promoting neighborhood school
model, which requires revamping of quality education in all schools, our policy
allows “specialized seven-star schools” requiring daily transportation of
thousands of school children across huge distances in the city leading to
tremendous energy consumption in unproductive activity.
The most
energy-efficient country, namely Japan sets targets for still higher energy efficiency
– and one strategy is by educating children to critically examine various
life-styles and choose what promises to ensure sustained energy efficiency. We too
need to prepare ourselves for such courageous paradigm shifts.
TABLE- 1
Energy Supply Scenario –2002-2003Source Available Quantity
· Coal – 370 MMT [a] Used for Electricity generation- 285 MMT [b] Used directly by industry – 85 MMT
· Petroleum –112 MMT
· Natural gas –97 MMT
· Electricity –107973 MW [a] Thermal- 76607 MW[b] Hydro- 26910 MW [c] Nuclear –2720 MW
· Non-Conventional Energy [a] Biomass – MW [b] Solar – MW [c] Wind – MW [d] Tidal - MW
Sector specific, % energy consumption Vs % contribution to GDP
Sector % Energy Consumption % Contribution to GDP
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 5.0 23 %
Industry 49 25 %
Service - 50
Training and consultancy - - ] Not known nor measured.
R and D ] Not known nor measured.
Infrastructure such as Highways and OFCs ] Not known nor measure
Re-emphasize agri and agro industries.
Make industry more energy efficient
Train HR by introducing vocational education
More coordinated efforts for non-conventional energy
Demand-Side Management
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