Saturday, January 2, 1999

• JNU D.Lit for Sen

Interest rates on small post office scheme cut
NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — The government today reduced interest rates on certain small savings schemes to bring about parity with the public sector banks and financial institutions which offer lower interest for similar schemes.

Karunanidhi flays Joginder’s remarks
CHENNAI, Jan 1 — Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has questioned the propriety of former CBI Director Joginder Singh’s action in publishing internal matters of the CBI relating to the foreign exchange violation case involving former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha when the investigation into it was yet to be completed.

CPI to forge front in AP
HYDERABAD, Jan 1 — The CPI today vowed to forge a third front in Andhra Pradesh by mobilising Left-democratic and secular forces, weaker sections and minorities.

Focus on poverty, health and education,
says Prof Sen
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen today advised the Indian government to lay more emphasis on social policies, education, poverty and health care for raising standard of living and overall development of the economy.

"There is no instant solution to these problems when there has been a history of neglect of these issues", Prof Sen told the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, in the capital today and advised the government to frame a long-term policy on poverty, health and education.

Prof Sen, whose contributions in welfare economics range from axiomatic theory of social choice, over definitions of welfare and poverty indices, to empirical studies of famines said that basic education should be made a Fundamental Right as an overall commitment towards achieving higher literacy rate.

Mr Sinha told reporters that the government would take note of the Prof Sen’s view on various issues facing the Indian economy.

" It is our endeavour and it would continue to be our endeavour to translate Prof Sen’s ideas into practice in this country", the Finance Minister said.

Mr Sinha accompanied by the Finance Secretary Dr Vijay Kelkar and economic adviser Dr Shankar Acharya was closeted with Prof Sen for about one hour.

Prof Sen’s one of the most remarkable works in the area of famine and poverty has been his book "Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation" first published in 1981 which challenges the common view that shortage of food is the most important explanation for famine.

Prof Sen has argued that a profound understanding of famine requires a thorough analysis of how various social and economic factors influence different groups in society and determine their actual opportunities.

For example part of his explanation for the Bangladesh famine of 1974 is that flooding throughout the country that year significantly raised food prices, while work opportunities for agricultural workers declined drastically as one of the crops could not be harvested. Due to these factors the real incomes of the agricultural workers declined so much that this group was disproportionately stricken by starvation.

Prof Sen, often portrayed as a humanitarian economist because much of his work has been devoted to the economics of poverty and famine, today said there was need to give expression to the issues concerning the disadvantaged and neglected in the society. The lack of vocality of the neglected continued to be a disadvantage in political context, he added.

On the issue of literacy programmes Prof Sen said it should be not only in the interest of the illiterates but also of the literates through measures like ensuring adequate staff and reducing absenteeism.

Prof Sen is widely known for championing the state of Kerala, where, unlike much of the rest of the country, a very high literacy rate has been achieved. This is partly attributable to more focused attention towards female education and despite not having a sound industrial base stands on a par with most of the developed countries in terms of human development indices.

Prof Sen today said that was the duty of academia, including him, who happen to look at policy issues to comment on the lack of representation of people of the unorganised sector.

On the issue of frequent changes of government at the Centre, the Nobel Laureate said that it was not a phenomenon unique to India. "Continued government of similar kind has some advantage in terms of being able to carry out policies. We should not concentrate on the change of governments but should concentrate on the contents of the government", he added.

Prof Sen’s advice comes at a time when the government is struggling to provide policy prescriptions to arrest the current downturn in the economy.The Finance Minister’s repeated assurances that the economy would soon move on to a high growth trajectory have not yet translated into empirical reality and most of the sectors are presently going through a longer than normal downturn.

Disparities related to class, regions and gender are remarkably large." For example, in terms of regional contrast, at one end of the spectrum, Indian women in Kerala now have life expectancy at birth of around 75 years (almost similar to that of developed countries). At the other end of spectrum, Indian women in Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh do worse than many of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of these attributes. If the Indian states were independent countries, then in the league table of indicators of quality of life, Indian states would figure at the top as well as at the bottom", Prof Sen had said in a lecture delivered in Delhi last year.

One of Prof Sen’s most significant work is about the measurement of poverty. His writing on the subject actually inspired the United Nations to introduce a new measurement of development, from one based on a crude division of population by national income (per capita GDP) to one based on no-monetary indicators such as life expectancy, literacy and infant mortality rate.

Countries like Vietnam and Sri Lanka do rather well under this approach while regions like South Africa and Mexico drops towards the bottom of the table.

JNU D.Lit for Sen
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, January 1 — Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen and his wife Emma Rotschild rung in the New Year amidst thunderous applause as he was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) honoris causa at Jawaharlal Nehru University here on Friday evening.

The special convocation held in honour of Prof Sen was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Ashish Dutta, in the presence of the Chancellor and Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant. The School of Social Sciences hall was packed to its limited capacity and students, mediapersons, TV crew and teaching faculty tried their best to find a foothold in the hall.

The house was full and this earned an observation from none other than Prof Sen as he aired his views on "Precision in Economics or in any Social Science."

Expressing gratitude to JNU for conferring upon him the honour, Professor Sen said he has had the opportunity of being associated with the university since its inception.

Discussing economics as a Science, Professor Sen dwelt upon the question of precision, perception and value judgement. He said, "If objectivity is a criterion of science, is there a bit of oxymoron/contradiction in having a science which is concerned with the way our minds work. Economics must be concerned with the way our minds work. Each field of study has to have precision appropriate to the subject-matter."

Discussing the second question of value judgement, he asked, "Issues of truth and falsehood come in history and social science. To what extent are the scientists and the economists guided by their values? And, whose value judgement are we looking at-value judgement of the people we are studying."

Talking of perception, he pointed out that the perception human beings have of their actual state comes up in public health literature. Citing an instance to support his theory that social arrangement can influence perception of people, Professor Sen drew a parallel between the health perception of people living in Kerala with their counterparts in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the gathering, the Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant said, "It took an Amartya Sen to trace the presence of certain deprivations and crises. Sen has kindled the hopes of millions of poor in the world."

BJP admits uneasy relations with RSS

NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (PTI) — Despite being a part of a coalition at the Centre now, the BJP does not rule out the revival of its own agenda, including contentious issues like Hindutva at the time of the next Lok Sabha elections.

The party also feels that the country was by and large moving towards a bi-polar politics notwithstanding the absence of the Congress in major states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and that the third front has been marginalised.

In an hour-long interview ahead of the party’s two-day national executive beginning in Bangalore tomorrow, the first after its electoral rout in three states, BJP President Kushabhau Thakre indicated that it was an uneasy relationship between his party and the Sangh parivar.

He expressed concern over the continuing violence against Christian community in Gujarat, but would not directly condemn the VHP for its statements and alleged role in these incidents.

Mr Thakre also said that the performance of the BJP-led coalition was affected by personality clashes when it came to implementation of policies.

Asked whether the party would revive the Hindutva issues during the Lok Sabha poll to retrieve its lost ground having put them on back burner for the sake of coalition politics, he said "we have got time to think. Elections are far away. There is enough time. Political situation changes and especially in India it changes very fast. So there is no need to prophesise for a long time."

Reflecting the uneasy relationship between the RSS and the BJP in the context of the coalition government’s economic reform measures Mr Thakre said "we don’t need certificate. Whether they are happy or not is not our concern. Our concern is that country should grow."

Mr Thakre, who attended the brainstorming session of the RSS in Nagpur recently, said it was not his perception that the RSS was unhappy with government’s performance.

He said in the RSS scheme of things politics was just a small part of the social picture.

Replying to another question, Mr Thakre said "the BJP depends on its own strength and the RSS is concerned about the situation and rightly so."

He said the party also had its own concern but it had to take its own decisions and implement them.

Asked if he would like the RSS to intervene and rein in organisations like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal in the context of attacks on Christians, he said "each organisation is a separate organisation. They have their ways of working. We have no control. We don’t take responsibility for others. I don’t speak for the RSS. My duty is limited and I want to keep the BJP intact and on track."

Interest rates on small post office scheme cut

NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (PTI, UNI) — The government today reduced interest rates on certain small savings schemes to bring about parity with the public sector banks and financial institutions which offer lower interest for similar schemes.

The interest rate on post office savings account will now be 4.5 per cent, post office time deposits for one, two, three and five years will now be nine, 10 and 11.5 per cent respectively, an official press release said.

The post office recurring deposits will carry 11.5 per cent and post office monthly income account will offer 12 per cent against 13 per cent earlier, it said adding the 10 per cent bonus on maturity in this scheme will continue as also the five per cent discount on deposits for premature withdrawal before three years.

The deposit scheme for retired government employees and the deposit scheme for retired public sector employees have been revised downward to nine per cent from the present 10 per cent.

The Kisan Vikas Patra and the Indira Vikas Patra will now double in six years instead of five and a half years and the national savings certificate (eighth issue) will now offer an interest of 11.5 per cent.

The reduced interest rates would be effective from today and all these schemes would be suspended temporarily to allow time for various post offices and banks to make necessary changes. The schemes will resume not later than January 18 in various parts of the country.

Consequent to the above change, the relief bonds issued on or after the aforesaid date will bear interest at nine per cent per annum and simultaneously the sale of bonds bearing interest at 10 per cent per annum will cease.

It was clarified in an official release that subscription to the bonds should be in the form of cash/draft/cheque or matured relief bonds. The date of issue of bonds will be the date of receipt of subscription in cash, date of tender of draft or the date of realisation of cheque, as the case may be.

However, those investors, who have already submitted valid applications of the 10 per cent relief bonds up to the date on which the reviewing offices concerned have actually received advice of the aforesaid change in the rate of interest, will have the benefit of being issued the 10 per cent relief bonds notwithstanding the date from which the revised rate applies.

Karunanidhi flays Joginder’s remarks

CHENNAI, Jan 1 (PTI) — Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has questioned the propriety of former CBI Director Joginder Singh’s action in publishing internal matters of the CBI relating to the foreign exchange violation case involving former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha when the investigation into it was yet to be completed.

In a statement here yesterday, Mr Karunanidhi wanted to know which kind of action the Centre proposed to take in the case. The government should also clarify whether it was right to disclose what transpired in the CBI before the investigation was over.

He said the Centre announced an amnesty scheme in 1993 to overcome foreign exchange shortage under which those holding unaccounted foreign exchange could convert it into “white.” It, however, did not offer immunity from prosecution against such people on charges of corruption, where applicable.

Ms Jayalalitha, without fully understanding the clauses of the scheme, had converted “black money” of $ 3 lakh into “white.” This led to the state government asking the CBI to investigate the source of the money and the purpose for which it was sent.

The scheme did not provide for ill-gotten wealth to be legitimised just by paying tax on such wealth, Mr Karunanidhi said, adding that Ms Jayalalitha’s attempt to explain away the acquisition of the foreign currency by saying she paid taxes on it was not acceptable.

He described Joginder Singh’s remarks on Ms Jayalalitha’s $ 3 lakh transaction as the “advance joke” of 1999.

Vajpayee justifies nuclear tests

PORT BLAIR, Jan 1 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee asserted today that India had become fully protected from any foreign aggression following the Pokhran nuclear tests.

Addressing a meeting of BJP workers here, Mr Vajpayee said while some other countries had accepted India as a nuclear state, some others did not share this view. “Whether they accept us as a nuclear weapon state or not, it does not make any difference,” he said.

Mr Vajpayee said India had gone ahead with the nuclear tests despite knowing that the international atmosphere was not conducive.

He said for years “we were in a dilemma whether to go ahead with the tests or not. At one time, we had even dug the tunnel but the then government gave up the idea after it felt the international atmosphere was not favourable”.

Mr Vajpayee said the tests were carried out so “secretively” that even the USA, which had advanced aerial surveillance mechanisms, said it was surprised at the development.

The Prime Minister said though some people apprehended that India would get isolated after the tests, it proved to be wrong and the country’s relations with other nations were increasingly becoming friendlier.

He said the internal situation had also improved a lot, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. “Now no one talks of Jammu and Kashmir as an international problem and if anyone does no one listens to that,” he said.

Mr Vajpayee said even the USA had admitted that India’s economic condition was far better as compared to Pakistan. When Washington lifted some of the economic sanctions against Islamabad and Delhi, it lifted lesser sanctions on India, saying that India’s economic condition was much better.

Mr Vajpayee’s remarks come a day before the crucial national executive meeting of the BJP in Bangalore.

Mr Vajpayee said there was no cause for any demoralisation in the BJP following its defeat in the recent assembly elections. The BJP’s victory in several byelections in states like UP and Gujarat showed that it enjoyed the confidence of the people.

Mr Vajpayee said the party needed to evolve a strategy in a situation marked by disintegration of the third front and the absence of the Congress in some states.

The Prime Minister said the BJP’s defeat in the recent assembly elections was mainly due to a temporary price rise, especially of onions. Mr Vajpayee claimed one of the Congress Chief Ministers had told him that the BJP had been defeated by onions and not by the Congress.

Another reason for the party’s debacle was that it had not taken adequate precautions in the selection of candidates.

CPI to forge front in AP

HYDERABAD, Jan 1 (PTI) — The CPI today vowed to forge a third front in Andhra Pradesh by mobilising Left-democratic and secular forces, weaker sections and minorities.

The CPI, which had snapped the 15-year-old alliance with the TDP following the latter’s support to the BJP-led coalition at the Centre, said it would strive to forge a joint strategy with the CPM to strengthen the third front.

“We are approaching the people who are disillusioned with the policies of Congress, BJP and TDP,” the CPI state secretary and MP, S. Sudhakar Reddy told reporters here.

With the CPM already ruling out any truck with the TDP in Assembly elections due in December this year, the stage appears to be set for a realignment of political forces in the state.

Asked to name political parties which were likely to be roped in for the proposed third front, Mr Reddy said “we are not depending on the existing parties. Nor are we hoping for splits in them. We will mobilise backward classes, Dalits, minorities and secular forces to build an alternative front”.

The CPI leader, however, appealed to “secular parties” within the BJP-front like TDP, Trinamool Congress, Samata Party and AIADMK to sever links with the alliance to help in a “realignment of political forces” at the national level.

The three-day state council meeting of the CPI, which concluded here yesterday, had resolved to further strengthen Left unity and chalk out joint political strategies with the CPM, Mr Reddy said.

He was, however, evasive when asked whether Left parties were willing to revive electoral alliance with the TDP if the latter withdrew support to the Vajpayee government.

Pointing out that TDP president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had already made it clear that his support to the BJP would continue, Mr Reddy said “where is the question of our talking about reviving relationship when he (Naidu) has clarified his party’s stand”.

Asked about the TDP’s repeated assertion that it was opposed to the BJP government on several policy matters and that its support was only issue-based and conditional, he said the TDP had failed to articulate its dissent particularly on serious issues like privatisation of the insurance sector and patents bill.

Benefits for Home Guard
AGARTALA: The Tripura Government has decided to provide various benefits, including die-in-harness scheme, to Home Guard and border wing home guards. An official spokesman told UNI here today that it was decided that all benefits under the die-in-harness scheme, including creation of supernumerary posts if vacant posts are not available and ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 if no eligible persons are available for employment, would be extended to them. — UNI

Technology to the rescue
JAIPUR: With the birth of a female calf of Rathi breed by embryo transfer technique, experts at the Bikaner Veterinary College have achieved a milestone in saving this endangered breed of cow. Working under an Indian Research Council Project Dr S.S. Sharma, Dr G.N. Purohit and Dr Mahesh Dutta of the planted a fertilised egg cell of a Rathi breed cow in a Redren breed cow. This was the first birth of a calf by embryo transfer technique in the state, he said. — UNI

CID inquiry ordered
AGARTALA: The Agartala Bench of the Guwahati High Court has ordered the state government to conduct a CID inquiry into the controversial death of a police officer. Official sources said here on Friday that the high court Judge, Mr Justice P.K. Sarkar, had also issued a show-cause notice to the South Tripura District Magistrate and Collector for reported non-cooperation to the doctors, who carried autopsy on the body of the police officer, Mr Roop Sankar Reang. Mr Reang’s body was found at a police quarter of Ganga Nagar police station under Dhalai district on December 15. Mr Justice Sarkar earlier directed that a fresh autopsy of the buried body of the police officer be conducted and the report submitted by December 30. — UNI

Gangster shot dead
MUMBAI: An alleged member of the Chhota Rajan gang was killed in an encounter here early on Friday. Shankar Parmar (28) died on his way to hospital after he was injured in an encounter with the police in a lane near Famous Studios at Mahalaxmi in Central Mumbai. The police said Parmar refused to surrender when accosted by a patrol around 1.10 a.m., but opened fired from an imported .32-bore pistol. The patrol had been keeping vigil in the locality on a tip-off that Parmar would come there. An order had been issued recently for his arrest under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, the police said. — PTI