The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Building a new India

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Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Building a new India

By Charnajit Chanana

A well-planned movement for human capital formation will help turn the population pressure into an advantage.

INDIA'S POPULATION in 1951 was 36.11 crore; in 2001 it stood at 102.9 crore. The country now faces a gigantic problem of overpopulation or in UNDP terms poverty with low human development.

Overpopulation is a liability but it can be converted into a great asset through adequate health care, education, training and social security.

There has been a gradual fall in both the birth and death rates but not enough. Family planning in India has to emphasise on restricting the size of families. But in qualitative terms much more needs to be done. Human resource development must go hand-in-hand with family planning; health care and literacy have to be ushered in with revolutionary zeal.

Although human resource development is a continuous process, we shall see the growth of our population into three strata: (a) the growing ones in the 0-14 age-group; (b) the workforce in the 15-59 age group; and (c) the above 60 years group.

An analysis of the primary age-group (0-14) population would show the growing size of the base to be developed into `workforce' with social, economic and national responsibility. From 1961 when this age group had 18 crore of population; it has grown to 23.03 crore in 1981 and 26.31 crore in 1991. It went up to 31.24 crore in 1998 and to 36 crore (provisional) in 2001.

The 15-59 age group is our workforce potential, including the employed, unemployed, and the underemployed. The size of this group was 23.40 crore in 1961; 28.50 crore in 1971; 35.86 crore in 1981; 46.48 crore in 1991; and 54 crore (provisional) in 2001. On an average, the size of the working group will be 67 crore in 2006 and 75 crore in 2011. This underscores the importance of employment generation in rural, semi-urban and urban areas. The decennial increase in the workforce has been by 5.10 crore from 1961 to 1971; by 7.36 crore from 1971 to 1981; by 10.61 crore from 1981 to 1991; and by 2001 the size of the workforce has been estimated to be up by 12.94 crore. While the absolute figures show the shape of things to come, the decennial increase should impress on the policymakers the urgency of the matter.

While building an ideal growth model to accelerate new economic reforms for the future, the most important chapter must be devoted to human resource development and its optimum utilisation. For, human resource management is an essential growth input required for a developing economy like India. China has already set an example. The human development index in China rose from 250 in 1960 to 625 in 1994; while in India it rose from 210 in 1960 to 425 in 1994. (UNDP).

The concept of family planning does not stop at restricting the size of the family. Real family planning lies in the healthy growth of and a secure future for children. Policymakers have to promote hospitals and schools to create an environment for their positive growth. Over the last 50 years, a lot has been in this direction but that is not enough.

The economics of human settlements is not new to us. Even today, we are conversant with profession-dominant settlements, villages and mohallas (urban localities), of farmers, carpenters, weavers, blacksmiths, and potters in our cities. This gives us a basic infrastructure; we have to revitalise it.

A further market-oriented development has been the growth of ancillaries in towns and villages. Kartarpur, a prominent furniture town in Punjab, is surrounded by 23 villages of carpenters. Banswara in Rajasthan is known as an important centre for shoe-makers and has 25 villages populated by shoe-makers in its neighbourhood. Agra and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh are other similar examples. Such cases prove that we can generate economic viability and market economics in each of our villages and towns. With value-added processes, eventually these villages and mohallas can become "full employment settlements."

Large-sized state farms in Poland present another interesting example, where the farmers growing fibrous crops produce pulp out of farm waste and supply it to adjoining paper mills through an underground pipeline. Many such activities can be identified and multiplied to generate higher employment and economic viability in the villages.

Another important result of such moves will be in the form of a check on the growing rate of migration to rural areas.

An encouraging aspect of the character of our villagers is they are easily influenced by their neighbours; the imitation effect is very strong amongst them. Before sowing the crop, a farmer looks at what his neighbour is sowing. Demonstration models, therefore, can work best in generating a momentum for a start.

We must raise a chain of demonstration models in different parts of the country, adopting the villages with the most economic potential for generating fuller employment. The total involvement of all concerned is a pre-requisite for the success of a revolution. We have witnessed how the "green revolution" helped achieve self-sufficiency in food crops.

It is, imperative that the participation of the people is ensured. MLAs and the MPs: Member of Parliament get Rs.2 crore a year or Rs.10-12 crore for a full term) each for promoting development of their respective constituencies. Every local, State and national leader must select at least five villages to raise demonstration models of optimum economic viability.

An appeal must be made to the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers to lead the movement. A national conference should be organised and all the Chief Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, prominent NGOs, University professors, including Vice-Chancellors of agricultural universities; journalists, industrialists and other interested persons should be invited to participate in the move.

The call to MPs and members of the State Legislatures to participate in the proposed conference after identifying five settlements each should result in 21,450 settlements being developed as demonstration models.

We can definitely generate the requisite momentum for a movement for human capital formation and its optimum utilisation.

(The author was Industries Minister in Indira Gandhi's Government.)

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