The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Globalisation unleashing waves of change’

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Monday, Mar 31, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Globalisation unleashing waves of change’

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Speakers at a two-day seminar on “Globalisation and the management of vulnerabilities,” organised by the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), deliberated on the adverse effects of policies associated with economic liberalisation.

In his inaugural address, ISEC director N. Jayaram spoke on how the discourse on globalisation has shifted its emphasis from “trickle down growth” to “globalisation with a human face.”

R.S. Deshpande, Head, Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre, ISEC, said the policies associated with globalisation had “unleashed vulnerabilities in factor markets, including those for labour and agricultural products.”

V.M. Rao, honorary visiting professor, ISEC, emphasised the distinction between vulnerability and distress in the farm sector. He pointed out that vulnerability in the sector was prevalent on a much wider scale, which culminated in distress in some cases, manifesting in its most extreme form as suicides. He said processes associated with globalisation were “unleashing waves of change like a tsunami, which is causing a churn in society.”

Narendar Pani from the National Institute of Advanced Studies pointed out that the “major battleground” had shifted from public versus private sectors to how the private sector could get access to state support, particularly in terms of cheap access to land.

Presenting results of a study of unorganised labour in the readymade garment industry in the Mysore Road area in Bangalore, Supriya Roy Chowdhury said those organising workers were focusing on providing amenities rather than on bread-and-butter issues such as terms of employment and wages.

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