Showing posts with label UPA government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UPA government. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Unhealthy numbers

India’s standing on most indicators of health has not improved, and the government has failed to play the role that was expected from it, says Vikas Kumar

Public health was one of the priority areas of the UPA government’s common minimum programme. But by the end of the regime, it has been another saga of broken promises and missed opportunities. And it’s thanks to health minister A. Ramadoss, who has squandered his precious tenure on petty squabbles with former AIIMS director, P. Venugopal, and hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons instead of channelising his energy towards completion of six new AIIMS. Increasing public spending on health to at least 2-3 % of GDP was ambitious target of United Progressive Alliance. And the result is – a mere 15% increase in the allocation in the budget to Rs.165.34 billion.

The Common Minimum Programme states, “The UPA government will take all steps to ensure availability of life-saving drugs at reasonable prices. Special attention will be paid to the poorer sections in the matter of healthcare. The feasibility of reviving public sector units set up for the manufacture of critical bulk drugs will be re-examined so as to bring down and keep a check on prices of drugs.” However, Chemical and Fertiliser minister Ram Vilas Paswan admitted his failure to tame the pharma lobby to B&E, “The lobby is very strong. We had been successful in including 74 drugs in the price control list. However, we are shifting our attention to opening more and more government dispensaries.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Poor man’s labour lost

The UPA announced some schemes for the working class, but largely ignored the issues that really needed to be urgently addressed, says vikas kumar

When the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government assumed office, hardly anybody had expected drastic steps in the direction of the much contentious labour reforms. This was because the oxygen for the government’s survival was being supplied by Left parties. However, its performance on many accounts was even below the modest expectations.

The National Common Minimum Programme specifically mentions about the implementation of minimum wage laws, “ The UPA administration will ensure the fullest implementation of minimum wage laws for farm labour. Comprehensive protective legislation will be enacted for all agricultural workers.” Minister of Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes says to B&E, “Whatever we had promised in the CMP for the organised or unorganised sector, we have fulfilled it.”

Labour laws face severe challenges at the grassroots level. One major problem is that there is a paucity of clear statistics on the number of people working as domestic labour. The estimated number of domestic workers in India is 90 million, but this is probably an underestimate as there has been hardly any systematic study to document such workers throughout the country.

The other issue which haunts a majority of the labour class is lack of a credible social safety net. This forces them towards bonded labour-like situation under appalling conditions for less than decent wages, often from childhood to old age.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Poor man’s labour lost

The UPA announced some schemes for the working class, but largely ignored the issues that really needed to be urgently addressed, says vikas kumar

When the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government assumed office, hardly anybody had expected drastic steps in the direction of the much contentious labour reforms. This was because the oxygen for the government’s survival was being supplied by Left parties. However, its performance on many accounts was even below the modest expectations.

The National Common Minimum Programme specifically mentions about the implementation of minimum wage laws, “ The UPA administration will ensure the fullest implementation of minimum wage laws for farm labour. Comprehensive protective legislation will be enacted for all agricultural workers.” Minister of Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes says to B&E, “Whatever we had promised in the CMP for the organised or unorganised sector, we have fulfilled it.”

Labour laws face severe challenges at the grassroots level. One major problem is that there is a paucity of clear statistics on the number of people working as domestic labour. The estimated number of domestic workers in India is 90 million, but this is probably an underestimate as there has been hardly any systematic study to document such workers throughout the country.

The other issue which haunts a majority of the labour class is lack of a credible social safety net. This forces them towards bonded labour-like situation under appalling conditions for less than decent wages, often from childhood to old age. It is deplorable that in most of the states, the minimum permissible daily wage is less than Rs.50; the level of minimum wages rises above Rs.100 only in four states.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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