PRIME MINISTER'S INAUGURAL SPEECH
AT THE "GENDER POVERTY SUMMIT"
The Prime Minister,
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the "Gender Poverty
Summit", here today.
Smt. Veena Nayyar,
president, Women’s Political Watch, Mr. Z. Diabre, Under Secretary
General, UN New York, Dr. A. Shariff, Chief Economist, NCAER,
Dr. Rasha Al-Sabah, Minister, Ministry of Higher Education, Kuwait,
Mr. Y.K. Alagh, former member, Planning Commission and Ms. Mridula
Sinha, Chairman, Central Social Welfare Board were among those
on the present occasion. Following is the full text of the Prime
Minister’s speech on the occasion:
"I am pleased
to be with you this afternoon at this very important conference.
I see your conference as being important for two reasons. Any
meaningful activity that focuses our attention on poverty is important
because eradication of poverty continues to be the biggest challenge
before our nation. But its importance is enhanced by your commendable
effort to highlight the gender aspect of poverty.
Poverty hurts. It
hurts poor women more.
But this is only
one part of the truth. The other part is that in spite of suffering
more under poverty, women can play a bigger role in eradicating
poverty and making the life of the family and society better,
if they are empowered.
It is well known
that women’s creative power is far more benign and far more uplifting
than men’s. I for one have never ceased to be amazed at the extraordinary
qualities of women in general but especially poor women – their
capacity to face odds, their ability to find solutions to the
problems of daily life, their caring and cooperative approach
to others, and their interesting management capabilities. Just
see how even an illiterate woman works as a good manager, when
it comes managing her meager household budget despite all constraints.
When a man has a little surplus in his pocket, he normally spends
on himself. A woman spends it on the family.
Thus, when women
create material value through their economic activities, they
also add to the social and moral values of life. These
are the great qualities that have made women the main carriers
of culture and the main sustaining force of civilizations.
Therefore, our fundamental
approach to Gender and Poverty should be such that we view women
not only as a part of the problem of poverty, but also as a part
of the solution – indeed, a very important and unique part of
the solution.
Today it is all too
obvious that, to find an effective solution to the problem of
poverty – including poverty-related problems of women --, we have
to mainly rely on the informal sector of our economy. This is
true not only for India, but almost all the developing countries
in the world.
The general assumption
in the 1950s and the ‘60s was that the problem of poverty and
unemployment could be dealt with by mainly promoting the growth
of industry and agriculture through the right mix of policies
and programmes. It was also assumed that, over a period of time,
the traditional sector comprising cottage industries, small trade,
etc., also would get absorbed in the formal sector of the economy.
This assumption has
not stood the test of time. Today neither the government sector
nor the organized industry can generate significant number of
employment opportunities, although both are crucial for raising
the growth rates of the economy higher. Even in rural areas, much
of the employment is no longer directly farm-based. Both in urban
and rural areas, informal services, informal production and informal
trade have become the main sources of employment, self-employment
and entrepreneurship. Hence, the informal sector of the economy
should not be viewed as a marginal or short-term phenomenon. It
is here to stay.
It is estimated
that 93% of India’s total workforce – that is, 370 million – is
now in the informal sector. And one-third of workers in the informal
workforce are women – vendors of fruits and vegetables, bamboo
workers, makers and sellers of diyas during Diwali, rag-pickers
who make a useful contribution to the recycling business, and
an incredibly wide range of economic activities.
We should also recognize
that the size and the scope of the informal sector have vastly
expanded – not shrunk – because of the forces of liberalization
and globalisation. For example, the rate of outsourcing that we
see in this sector greatly overshadows the outsourcing in the
IT sector. Yet, it remains in the shadows because it does not
get reported, analysed and highlighted in the same way as outsourcing
in IT.
We have to admit
that our system as a whole is not yet adequately sensitive to
the problems and prospects of this very important part of our
economy. I specifically mention the word "prospects"
because we have not yet paid sufficient attention to the wealth
and assets being created in this sector. There are economists
who argue that the enormous amount of value created in this sector
is not fully reflected in our national statistics because most
of this economic activity is not registered, not accounted and
not measured in any formal way. They also argue that by providing
a proper legal status and basic infrastructure and institutional
support, even a tiny enterprise can become more productive and
employ more people.
Today the informal
sector is associated with low incomes, low – very low legal protection
--, low credit provision, low education, low inputs of science
and technology, and above all very low voice in the media
and governmental structures. This sector is also characterized
by high instability, high risk and high vulnerability. And poor
women are far more vulnerable to harassment and apathy of the
external environment than men.
For example, all
it takes for a roadside vendor to find a heart-breaking hole in
her hard-earned income is for a petty employee or officer to collect
his weekly or monthly extortionist hafta from her. Poor
men also face these poverty-accentuating excesses, but poor women
find themselves far more helpless in such moments, when their
basic right or earning a livelihood is infringed upon.
Therefore, the challenge
before all of us who have gathered here is this: how to evolve
a holistic and effective strategy to transform the informal sector
into the main driver of income-enhancing and life-fulfilling opportunities
for employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship. I would
say that this strategy has to become central – and not a peripheral
– part of our Agenda of Economic Reforms in the coming times.
In the past few decades,
both the government and non-governmental organizations in India
have tried to address this issue. A lot of useful experience and
knowledge has been gained. Many successful interventions have
been made. For example, I think that our successes in micro-financing
have not been adequately projected – either inside or outside
the country. Our banks have supported more than one million Self-Help
Groups so far. The most successful among them are those run by
women.
The Rural Employment
Generation Programme of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission
has provided financial and institutional support to a large number
of women entrepreneurs. We have many social security schemes for
the unorganized sector, and we shall soon expand their scope in
a comprehensive way. I must also acknowledge here the good work
of the National Women’s Commission and the Central Board of Social
Welfare in highlighting the issues of women’s employment and development
in the informal sector.
Organisations like
SEWA have been doing praiseworthy work in supporting women artisans
and entrepreneurs. In addition, there are also thousands of other
NGOs spread across the length and breadth of our vast country
who are engaged in securing the rights and improving the conditions
of the poor in the informal sector.
Poverty has indeed
reduced significantly as a result of economic reforms. I have
also observed that excellent results are achieved wherever the
local administration, banks, NGOs, Self-Help Groups, and small
entrepreneurs have worked closely together.
Nevertheless, our
successes in this field are small so far compared to the enormous
challenge we face. As I said, we need a holistic and scalable
strategy to fully realize the poverty alleviation potential of
the informal sector. We should remember that what works in one
place and one part of the sector does not necessarily work in
another place and another part. Therefore, our strategy has to
be suitably decentralized and differentiated.
I therefore suggest
that the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with other ministries,
banking and financial institutions, and non-governmental agencies,
prepare a broad Action Plan for promoting the poverty eradication
potential of the informal sector. Gender issues should be a specific
focus of this action plan. Naturally, in doing so, we should suitably
incorporate the successful experience of other countries in this
field.
I shall conclude
my remarks by emphasizing one all-important point. We may have
the best of policies, programmes and action plans. And we must
have nothing but the best ones. But we must also remember that
these will work only when those who implement them have a little
care and compassion for the poor, when they have a feeling for
the suffering of women, when they understanding the tremendous
creative power of ordinary women, and when they realize the nobility
and destiny-changing potential of their work.
I heartily congratulate
the Women’s Political Watch, National Council of Applied Economic
Research and other institutions for organizing this "Gender
Poverty Summit". I inaugurate this conference by extending
to all of you my best wishes.
Thank you".