A separate Ministry for Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries set up to focus concentrated attention on the problems of small and tiny enterprises.

    Investment limit for the SSI sector in plant and machinery reduced from Rs. 3 crore to Rs. 1 crore.

    WTO Cell set up in the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) and WTO Sensitization seminars being held in different parts of the country.

    UNDP-assisted programme for capacity building in KVIC and Coir sectors finalized.

    Brand promotion for SSI under a Consortium approach initiated under the leadership of the National Small Scale Industries (NSIC).

    Procedure for reimbursement for grant of Rs. 75,000/- to SSI units obtaining ISO-9000 certification simplified and training facilities for entrepreneurs for obtaining ISO certificates strengthened. The scheme extended up to March, 2002.

    A Cell created in the Ministry for international cooperation and joint ventures in the SSI sector.

    One time grant of Rs. 1.2 crores extended to the Indian Leather Garment Association (ILGA) for setting up a CAD/CAM centre for providing design support to the leather garment manufacturers.

    Technology Upgradation Fund conceptualized. An interest subsidy scheme on the lines of the Textile Upgradation Fund under Finalization.

    Vendors Development Programme for giving market exposure to SSI products has been intensified.

    Administrative Staff College of India entrusted with a study to recommend a simplified legal system for the SSI sector.

    National Seminar on techno-commercial aspects of neem based products held. Action plan for setting up demonstration centres for essential oils and neem based products initiated.

    Comprehensive website, with networking facilities throughout the country, being set up in the office of the Development Commissioner, Small Scale Industries.

    Wide consultations held with representatives of small scale industries in various states regarding their suggestions pertaining to fiscal matters.

    During the month of December, 1999, 2777 companies were registered in India under the Companies Act, 1956 as against 2527 companies registered during the corresponding month of the previous year and 2003 companies during the previous month.

    Of the 2777 companies registered during the month, 2768 companies were limited by shares which include three Public Government companies and one Private Government Company having total authorised capital of Rs.65 lakhs. Besides, six companies were registered as guarantee companies and three companies with unlimited liability. The total authorised capital of the companies limited by shares put together amounted to Rs. 840 crores. 2764 Non-Government companies limited by shares registered during the month under review consist of 207 Public Limited companies with a total authorised capital of Rs.335 crores and 2557 Private Limited companies with a total authorised capital of Rs.505 crores. The following table indicates the position:

    The highest number of companies registered, during the month, were from the State of Maharashtra (720) followed by the National Capital Territory of Delhi (426). The States of Andhra Pradesh (266), Tamil Nadu (253), West Bengal (205) and Gujarat (174) also reported comparatively large number of companies registered during the month. These six States together accoaunted for nearly 74 per cent of the total number of companies registered during the month.

    The analysis of new registration by broad Industrial Classification during the month brings out that the highest number of companies were registered under the Industrial Classification "Manufacturing (1004). The other important Classification under which the companies were registered were "Financing, Real Estate and Business Services: (705) and "Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels" (481). In "Manufacturing" the largest group was "Manufacturing of Machinery and Equipment other than Transport Equipment" (353) followed by "Manufacturing of Basic Chemicals and Chemical Products" (119).

    Three hundred thirty one Non-Government companies (each with authorised capital of Rs.50 lakhs or above) were registered during December, 1999 as compared to 251 such companies registered in the previous month and 258 companis registered in December, 1998.

    Fiftytwo companies having paid-up capital of Rs.99 crores have ceased functioning, as reported in December, 1999. Out of them four were Public Limited companies and 48 Private Limited companies. These companies ceased functioning either by going into liquidation or their names having been struck off under Section 560 of the Companies Act. The number of such companies in the previous month was 54 having paid-up capital of Rs.7 crores. The companies which ceased functioning during December, 1998 numbered 21 having paid-up capital of Rs.7 crores.

    Of the 52 companies, 18 companies belong to each of the State of Assam and Union Territory of Pondicherry , six to the State of West Bengal, two each to the States of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Goa, and one each to the State of Bihar and National Capital Territory of Delhi. Of the companies which ceased functioning, 37 fall in the group of "Manufactuiang". 10 in the group of "Finance, Insurance and Real Estate", two in the group of "Wholesale and Retail Trade, Hotel and Restaurats" and one each in the group of "Community, Social and Personal Services", "Transport, Storage and Communication Services" and "Constructions".

    Six guarantee companies were registered during the month under review comprising two in the State of West Bengal and one each in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra , Gujarat and National Capital Territory of Delhi.

    Three companies with an authorised capital of Rs.5.11 crores were registered in the State of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra during the month under review.

Total Number of Companies at work as on December 31,1999 is indicated below:

'24'

    Shri Shyamal Ghosh assumed the charge of the Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) here today. Shri Ghosh belongs to 1965 batch of IAS, Gujarat cadre. He was Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, before taking over the new assignment.

    Shri Ghosh has worked in several important positions in the Government of Gujarat as well as in the Government of India. He was Chief Secretary, Tripura and Principal Secretary (Finance), Industry and Agriculture, Government of Gujarat. His tenure in the Central Government include Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Secretary, Department of Electronics, Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

'42'

POLICY ON NEW GRASSROOTS UREA PROJECTS

    Taking into account the country’s near self-sufficiency in urea production and the reduction of urea imports over the past two years to about 2% of the total consumption, the Department of Fertilizers has taken a policy decision on the creation of new capacities of urea in the fertilizers sector.

    Imported urea is available at much cheaper rates that than subsidized urea being produced in the country. Following discussions between the Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Suresh Prabhu and officials of the Department, it has been decided that: -

1. No new grassroots project for production of urea is to be set up in the public, private and co-operative sector for the next three years, except those public/co-operative sector projects already proposed for consideration, till the year 2003-04.
2. The Department of Fertilizers will review the position on the creation of new capacities only in April 2001, in view of the gestation period of three years for commissioning new urea plants.
3. New units will get no guarantee on the continuance of the existing Retention Pricing Scheme on a long-term basis. They may, however, get subsidy support on the basis of the Long Term Marginal Cost worked out on the basis of LNG/Gas as feedstock. They will get the benefit of Retention Pricing Scheme only as long as it lasts.

    This decision was taken keeping in view the fact that the fertilizer industry is de-licensed and promoters are free to set up fertilizers plants once they get clearance for feedstock allocation. The High-Powered Review Committee (HPRC) on Fertilizer Pricing Policy had recommended that new urea units might be justified only on the strategic consideration of desirable minimum level of self-sufficiency. This is because India has no comparative cost advantage in urea production.

    Urea is under the Retention Pricing Scheme and any new unit entails a heavy outgo by way of subsidy. The issue has become more urgent in the context of the highly reduced gap between demand and supply.

'31'

    As on 31.12.1999, reports received from the various States/ Union Territories by National Aids Control Organisation, indicated that 35 lakh 72 thousand one hundred and forty four blood samples were screened in the year 1999. Of them, 92 thousand three hundred and twelve samples were found to be HIV positive. During the corresponding period of 1998, out of 34 lakh 13 thousand one hundred and thirty seven samples screened, 82 thousand three hundred and ninety one samples were found to be HIV positive.

'31'

    The Central Government has accorded permission to Yerala Medical Trust and Research Centre, Bombay for starting a new dental college and hospital, New Mumbai with an annual intake of 100 admissions.

    The Union Government has also given permission to K.C.M.Educational Society, Moradabad (U.P.) for starting a new dental college and research centre, Moradabad with annual intake of 100 admissions.

'12'

INDIA RURAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT – 1999 SUMMARY

    The first edition of India Rural Development Report, 1999 focuses on the theme of "Regional Disparities in Development and Poverty". It is an effort to analyse various facets of rural development: agriculture, labour, infrastructure, gender and environment. It aims to capture the variations in development at sub-state level covering all the 78 National Sample Survey (NSS) Regions across the country. The report analyses the regional inequity for a range of variables related to deprivation and entitlements. The purpose here is to throw light on the extent of widening gaps between different areas, which in turn would have implications for inter and intra-state distribution of resources and affirmative action, particularly with regard to the weaker sections.

    The issues addressed in the Report are:

1. The extent to which growth has been helpful in improving the levels of living.
2. The distribution and income transfer measures as substitutes for rapid and intensive growth.
3. The degree of success of institutional reforms
4. The tasks ahead

    An attempt has been made in this report to develop three Indices viz. Social Development Index (SDI), Infrastructure Development index (IDI) and Backwardness Index for the NSS regions across the country. The report also ranks the various regions on a range of parameters, which may be useful to identify areas for priority attention on specific issues of development.

POVERTY:

OBSERVATIONS

• Poverty has declined in percentage terms, over the years, However, the absolute number of poor, more or less, has remained static.

• The regions in the western part of the country had lower incidence of poverty than central and eastern regions. In general, the states which were under the Zamindari regime have experienced relatively ineffective agrarian and land reforms and thereafter marginal impact of green revolution, have been the losers. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh account for 51 per cent of the country’s poor. If Assam, Orissa, West Bengal and some Union Territories are added, these states account for over 70 per cent of poor in the country.

• SC and ST and women-headed households are significantly poorer than others, though the gap has narrowed down in rural areas.

• Except for Bihar, which is uniformly poor across the state, there are heterogeneties in each state. Proportion of very poor are also higher in regions where proportion of poor are high.

• It is of interest that majority of the poor are concentrated around the poverty line which is a source of comfort in the sense, that with a little focussed effort, a significant proportion of the poor can be brought above poverty line.

RECOMMENDATIONS :

• Separate targetting would be necessary for those chronically poor and those who are in the ‘transient’ category.

• Lack of access to agricultural land, paucity of work on land (wage work) and non- availability of education ( for enabling occupational diversification) or shortage of capital are the fundamental causes of poverty.

• Land quality, functioning of land markets, dependence of the population on agricultute, landlessness etc are more important than land distribution per se.

• Solutions to poverty alleviation lie in raising the capacities of people through education and resource transfers, social and physical infrastructure development and removing a multitude of social barriers.

OBSERVATIONS :

• Land reforms in this country is an unfinished agenda.

• The surplus land which is meant for distribution to the landless poor constitutes only 1.8 per cnet of net sown area in the country.

• While land reforms have helped disperse inequity and brought in better production condition, the land-caste nexus, extreme dispossession of the labouring classes and gender justice are yet to receive attention.

• In respect of institutional credit, southern and western regions have done well both in terms of access and quantum of credit availability in rural areas.

• There is a nexus between irrigation, land productivity, agricultural wages and levels of living .

• Rural poverty and unemployment are synonymous with dis- empowerment of the landless and the deprived.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• In the post- independence period, not much radical effort has been made to raise the status of toiling peasants. Any solution that does not address the problems of the landless and assetless directly, may provide only a temporary reprieve, but not a lasting solution.

LABOUR & WAGES:

OBSERVATIONS :

• Between 1961 and 1994, the proportion of workers engaged in agriculture, both male and female, has hardly changed: those states, which experienced progressive changes in rural economies, however, have shown some shift e.g., Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal.

• Absorptions of labour outside agriculture is becoming increasingly difficult.

• Infrastructural growth in rural areas has been tardy, as a result, most non-farm activities are non-viable. There is, therefore, a rise in casualisation of labour except in areas which experienced green revolution or land reforms.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• The key to poverty reduction is rise in agricultural/rural wages.

• This would call for efforts to raise agricultural growth, investments in social and other infrastructure and human capital formation.

SOCIAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

OBSERVATIONS:

• The Social Development Index (SDI) developed in the report is based on

Female literacy

• The Infrastructure Development Index (IDI) is based on

Irrigation

• In terms of both SDI & IDI, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are paced at the top, followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Gujarat and a third group comprising Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, while Orissa, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are placed at the bottom.

• The inverse relationship between poverty on the one hand and SDI & IDI on the other is well contrasted. However, higher values of SDI & IDI may not be sufficient conditions for poverty reduction.

• On Gender Related Development Index (GDI) India ranks in the last quartile of 143 countries. Within India Kerala performs the best, while Uttar Pradesh performs the worst. Haryana, Punjab, Bihar and West Bengal also report high gender inequalities. This may not always be correlated to income levels but points to anti-female bias and systematic deprivation of women.

• Environmental degradation contribute to poverty through worsened health and low productivity. On the other hand, poverty makes the poor act in ways that are damaging to the environment. Government attempts at replicating successful eco-generation efforts have had mixed results.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Education and health are the most crucial factors affecting social development. Ensuring high enrolment and quality education for the poor is dependent on political will. Tamil Nadu and Himchal Pradesh, despite relatively higher poverty incidence have been more successful in reaching out to the poor through greater state commitment .

• In addition to growth in physical infrastructure of health facilities, there is a need for ensuring quality care, change in attitude of health providers and easy availability of essential drugs.

• To meet the health targets it would be necessary to double the allocation for this sector.

• People’s management is essential for ecological restoration. The example of Madhya Pradesh government in ensuring such participation is credit- worthy.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES :

OBSERVATIONS:

• In the late 1990s, the combined state and Central expenses in rural development sector does not exceed 12 per cent of total allocation.

• In none of the years in 1980s and 1990s, the Central government food subsidy or rural development expenditure as a proportion of GDP exceeded 0.5- 0.7 per cent and social services (education, health, SC/ST programmes, nutrition, drinking water) expenses to GDI have been about one per cent. The total on all these never exceeds 2.4 per cent

• The percentage spent on rural development to total plan expenditure (Central plus state) was in the range of 6 to 7 per cent in the Seventh and Eighth Plans, and expenditure in social services to plan expenditure ranged between 14 and 17 per cent.

• These small outlays / expenditure on human development may not be sufficient to make a dent on poverty.

• There has been a gradual and continuous decline in per capita real expenditure on rural development in the state budget also.

• The fall in real expenditure from public sources is near universal across the states.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Government intervention should clearly distinguish between ‘populist’ measures and those which offer lasting results.

• Investments in roads, irrigation, watersheds and water harvesting structures, electricity, infrastructure for rural industries, village schools and the like require to be undertaken with renewed vigour.

THE WAY AHEAD

• Need to rectify the urban bias in development policies.

• In addition to increased incomes,other needs of the poor viz. participation in governance, reduction of inequities, social cohesion, control over their lives and empowerment need to be considered.

• Without a positive thrust towards socio-economic transformation of marginalised groups, growth may by-pass the poor and safety-net schemes may only remain short-term solutions.

• Strengthen local self- government system.

• Need for synergy between policies for economic development and those for reduction of poverty, the " mainstreaming of poverty concerns" under close supervision of Planning Commission.

• Apart from monitoring expenditures, Planning Commission and other bodies must focus more on impacts of specific policies/ projects.

• Ultimate goal should be to achieve rural prosperity and not just poverty reduction. Towards this, strong linkages have to be established between Panchayati Raj institutions and community based organization (CBOs), NGOs, self-help groups etc.

'26'

    The Ministry of Civil Aviation has concluded aviation bilaterals with Austria, Uzbekistan and Romania.

    The delegations representing the Aeronautical Authorities of Austria and India met in Vienna on January 26 and 27, 2000 to discuss further improvement in the field of civil aviation. The agreement reached between the two sides is as follows:-

    The designated airlines of each side namely Austrian Airlines (OS) and Air India (AI) presently entitled to operate up to 3 weekly frequencies with A310 type of aircraft will now be able to operate 4 weekly frequencies effective summer 2000 and up to 5 weekly frequencies effective winter 2000/01. Further capacity enhancement will take place with the deployment of A-330 (265 seats) aircraft or any other aircraft with similar capacity, on their respective routes.

    OS will make available to AI a soft block allocation of 27 Y-class plus 3J-class seats per OW-flight on each OS flight free of charge. The revised arrangements will be effective February 12, 2000 when OS proposes to operate all three weekly services with A-330 and will cover all OS operations between Austria and India up to 2005.

    Uzbek Airways(UA) has been permitted to utilise the unused entitlement of Indian carriers under a code-share arrangement. The designated airlines of Uzbekistan will be permitted to use the unutilised entitlement of Indian side between Uzbekistan and Delhi upto 850 seats per week. UA has been granted Amritsar and Trivandrum as additional points of call with facility to operate maximum of three frequencies per week to this new station. The Indian carriers have been allowed as two additional points of call in Uzbekistan, namely Samarkand and Bukharh.

    The commercial agreement has been made more liberal with Romania with the reduction of royality payable to Air-India by Tarom (designated carrier of Romania) from $50 to $36 per passenger. This will facilitate resumption of services by Tarom to India.

'26'

    A high-level committee constituted by the Civil Aviation Ministry to conduct an in-depth enquiry into the accident which occurred at Indira Gandhi International Airport on December 13, 1999 submitted its Part-1 report to the Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri Sharad Yadav, here today. Secretary Civil Aviation, Shri Ravindra Gupta and senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.

'26'

    The Union Civil Aviation Minister, Shri Sharad Yadav inaugurated a special terminal for Haj pilgrims at Indira Gandhi International Airport, here yesterday evening. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that efforts have been made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to ensure comfortable journey to the pilgrims. He also said that arrangements have been made to fly approximately 72,000 pilgrims which is approximately 10,000 more pilgrims this year.

    The Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta speaking on the occasion said that in spite of the fact that the operational costs and fuel costs have gone up enormously, the fare being charged from the pilgrims has been kept at the same level since 1994. In every Haj flight, two Indian speaking persons will be provided to facilitate the pilgrims and uniforms of Cabin Crew will be as per Haj standards, he added. Haj flights will be operated from two more points – Ahmedabad and Cochin, apart from the five existing gateways, i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Calcutta, for the convenience of the pilgrims, Shri Gupta said.

    The Rs 2.75 crore terminal at IGI Airport has been constructed specifically for the convenience of the Haj pilgrims. A total of 57 flights of Air India will take off from Delhi accommodating 470 passengers per flight. Two flights of Air India will depart from Delhi at 1130 hrs and 1735 hrs. The total number of Hajis from Delhi is expected to be around 26,278. Besides Air India staff, over and above 20 trainees have been recruited from reputed Institutes by Air India to facilitate and assist the Haj pilgrims through Departure at IGI Airport.

    The Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dixit, Shri Sahab Singh Verma, Member of Parliament, Tanveer Ahmad, Chairman Haj Committee were the guests of honour on the occasion.

    Joint Committee of Parliament consisting of 30 members under the Chairmanship of Shri Sahib Singh Verma will be visiting Guwahati, Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai from February 9 to February 13, 2000 with a view to hold informal discussions with the representatives of various associations/organisations and individuals interested in the matter on the proposed legislation on the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill 1999. The Joint committee will also hold discussions with officials and scientists at Guwahati and Calcutta.

    The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of an authority to give an effective system for protection of the rights of plant breeders and farmers and to encourage the development of new varieties of plant; to register extant and new plant varieties; to develop characterisation and documentation of varieties; to provide the compulsory licensing of protected varieties if the right holder does not arrange for production and sale of the seeds to ensure that protected seeds are available to the farmers; to collect statistics with regard to plant varieties, seeds and germplasm for compilation and publication. The protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill, 1999 introduced in Lok Sabha on December 14, 1999 has been referred to a Joint Committee of both the Houses of Parliament.

    The issue of enacting a law relating to Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights in India has also become important particularly on India’s signing of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 1994.

    The Bill will encourage development of new varieties of Plants and will also protect Intellectual Property Rights. The main objectives of the Bill are to stimulate investments for research and development both in the public and the private sectors for the development of new plant varieties by ensuring appropriate returns on such investments; to facilitate the growth of the seed industry in the country through domestic and foreign investment which will ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting material to Indian farmers; and to recognise the role of farmers as cultivators and conservors and the contribution of traditional, rural and tribal communities to the country’s agrobiodiversity by rewarding them for their contribution through benefit sharing and protecting the traditional rights of the farmers.

    The Joint Committee will reach Guwahati on Feb 9 for a meeting from 3 to 5 PM at Administrative Staff College, Khanapara. From Guwahati the committee will reach Calcutta on Feb 10 and will hold a meeting from 11 AM to 1 PM on Feb 11 at Hotel Peerless Inn at Chennai the discussions will be held on Feb 12 from 11 AM to 1 PM at New Secretariat Building and at Mumbai the discussions will be from 1100 hrs to 1300 hrs on Feb 13, 2000 at Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

    The committee today visited National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources at Pusa Campus, New Delhi and saw their Museum, National Research Centre on DNA Fingerprinting, Tissue Culture Repository, Seed Gene Bank, Cryo Bank, Containment Facilities and held detailed discussions with scientists on the proposed legislation.

    The memoranda on the Bill can be sent to Lok Sabha Secretariat for the consideration of Committee.

    The Minister for Planning & Programme Implementation, Shri Arun Shourie today called for modernization of the statistical systems in the country so as to ensure proper and timely inputs in evolving effective policies. Inaugurating a five-day workshop being jointly organized by UNSIAP and Department of Statistics, he said statistics play a vital role in evolving policy initiatives.

    He said the government has set up a Statistical Commission to review the statistical system in India with the purpose to evolve a system compatible to the needs of the society. He said timely dissemination of statistics was vital for ensured and balanced growth. He said the government would be eagerly waiting for the outcome of the workshop as it would provide essential inputs for survey on disabilities, which the Government proposes to start next year.

    Shri Shourie said there was need to assess delivery on ground of various government departments on the basis of charters, which would provide necessary inputs for programme evaluation by various agencies including Planning Commission. He also suggested surveying on the utility of public facilities with particular reference to disabled community.

    Pleading strongly for the creating of a disability friendly society, he said there was a need to carry out review of general policies in regard to disabilities. He pointed out that by mere reservation of jobs, responsibility towards disabled cannot be fulfilled. He said the government needs to encourage non-governmental organizations to create facilities for disabled and as far as possible concessions including tax rebates should be given to dedicated and proven organizations. He said there was need to recognize efforts of voluntary organizations. He said the statisticians need to document problems coming in the way of those serving disabled.

    Secretary Statistics – Shri K.V. Irniriya said there were merely 500 million disabled in the world but surprisingly their percentage was more in developed countries. He said this makes a clear case for a review of the methodology being adopted by the developing countires. He said statistical information can be used gainfully in creating public awareness. He said, in India the incidence of disability was more severe in rural areas.

    Director (SIAP) – Mr. Lau Kak En in his remarks said that 35 participants from 14 countries including 25 from overseas were taking part in the Workshop. He said all of them are either producing statistics on disability or using them for the benefit of the society.

    Government of India have announced the sale (re-issue) of 11.83 per cent Government Stock, 2014 for a notified amount of Rs. 3,000 crore and of 12.30 per cent Government Stock, 2016 for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore. The securities will be sold through price based auctions. The auction will be conducted by Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai on February 10, 2000 (Thursday) and the successful bidders have to make payment on February 11 (Friday) before the close of banking hours.

    The Stock is eligible for ready forward facility.