Who are Poor?

ON “Planning Commission’s on Poverty estimate”:

The necessity/essentiality of ‘poverty line’ comes from a need to estimate number of ‘poor people’. This is primarily for providing assistance (resource allocation) to poor.

There has been huge debate over Planning commission’s adopted definition for poverty line which states “37% of Indian population (40.74  crore) is below poverty line (according to Rs. 32/26-a-day definition of poverty line for urban/rural)”[1]

There’re two parts to it—a) Appropriateness of estimation procedure to represent the actual poverty, b) Effectiveness of estimate to be used for welfare schemes.

 Effectiveness of estimate to be used for welfare schemes:

Proposition: Irrespective of the methodology adopted to measure poverty, the number of poor people (requiring external assistance) remains unacceptably large. Therefore, it is not acceptable to link these official poverty estimates to basic entitlements of the people. The argument is over entitlements of beneficiaries under various schemes for poor.

Argument: Poverty line is defined as minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living.[2] This is always a fuzzy area and Jean Dreze[3] considers it as ‘divisive and open to manipulation’.

There have been some efforts to define it considering multiple dimensions of deprivation (Multidimensional Poverty Index MPI defined by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) UNDP). According to MPI estimate, 55% indian population are below poverty line, which far exceeds Planning Commission estimates.[4]  The multiple dimensions of deprivation can only be collected through some detailed socio-economic census for arriving at specific entitlements. These estimates also donot reflect specificity in deprivation which results in non-optimal allocation of resources.

Appropriateness of estimation procedure to represent the actual poverty:

Proposition: The income based (PPP household consumer expenditure) cannot be a true indicative of poverty.

Argument:

There has been no consistent uniform official measure of poverty. A mere nutritional  indicator of poverty (calorie intake) will be too insufficient to capture correct figures and on the other hand income based indicator will not capture the ‘needed’ people. Based on official surveys of nutritional intakes and outcomes indicate that under-nutrition is much more widespread than income poverty (Gini coefficient is 0.32 and Global hunger index rank 67).

Moreover, this income-definition (based on Purchasing power parity) is an aggregate approach to estimate poverty. There should be a detailed assessment at individual level (MPI captures it!). Poverty estimates in India are derived from the household consumer expenditure data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) every whose exclusion rules have been considered unfair and arbitrary. [5]

In present situation when inflation is over-riding, Inappropriateness of this threshold can be best captured by in this statement by a NAC (National advisory council) member “People who are spending below Rs. 32 (a day)… they are poorest of the poor. You can call them destitute; you can call them people living in sub-human level”[6].

Conclusion:

The ‘flaws’ in appropriateness of Planning Commission’s metric is undisputed and it’s been accepted by Montek Singh, Deputy chairman of Planning Commission. But basing welfare schemes on this estimate is certainly unreasonable.

References:

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[1] Planning Commission’s Poverty line (NDTV)

[2] Poverty Line: Threshold

[3] Jean Dreze, Developmental economist

[4] 2010 Human Development report, UNDP

[5] Who are poor in India?

[6] Planning commission’s poverty line

The Frugality in Innovation: enabling inclusivity?

BIHAR: Restless Resilience

I have often wondered—about the possibility of getting dragged into a nostalgic reverie associated with a place, which doesn’t sound of any significance to anyone. But, I have realized it. Or I would say I could not resist make myself feel a deeper association or communion with such a place.  And that very moment, I could jot down my state by recollecting or reframing a statement by our Prof.: Somewhere this very fragrance of soil, quirky whims of its people, originality in expressions of children, calm and reflective environment—all these have collectively penetrated your soul so much that you would find your escape just impossibly difficult.

Today when Bihar Government has announced a three day Celebrations for BIHAR DIVAS, its time to explore unique dispositions of Bihar, to reflect on its present state and to dwell upon its future trajectory and required steps to bring significant change.

This post is an effort to provide a correct unbiased and properly filtered pool of facts, thoughts and ideas to signify its historical importance and current happenings. The whole post has been categorized into three sections.

BIHAR: Its Historical Significance-

BIHAR: Present Scenario

BIHAR: A Glimpse of Hope

Here, I would like to quote a poem by Nagarjuna to give a glimpse of Hope…

A Journey… so revealing!

‘A journey called India’-,quite aptly stated by British Broadcaster and Historian Michael Wood,  symbolizes the intoxicating unified diversification of India. The very word ‘India’ seems to associate an identity, so obvious yet quite forgotten, with us.

Today when the world is bringing a sea change in every aspects of life, A new awakening of collaborative growth seems to dawn on us.

The wheels of Change: Possibilities

Change is transition. Change is succession or substitution. Change is time evolution of system’s intrinsic state variables. Change is to alter, to undergo variation. Change is a process of bringing a difference. Change is something driven by core beliefs and central values. Change is something that presses us out of our comfort zone. Change is something that brings hope to adapt and survive, again. Change is not merely necessary to life—it is life.

We do live in a serendipitously discovered, systematically evolved, and structurally ordered world. Our innovative ideas, inventive steps and collective efforts have always kept us on path of continuous evolution. Just let imagination flow -I’m now capable of communicating to anyone, sharing information with everyone, commuting anywhere, and remarkable thing is this all at a pace which would never have been conceived by even my grandfather. This accelerating pace of technology is even driving us closer to Kurzweil’s singularity which might reveal an utterly different reality. This is the CHANGE.

We are bringing change in every possible domain of our existence. New ideas enveloped in appropriate technologies are exploring possibility everywhere. Let me present here some more examples which are sweeping a different plane altogether. The idea of Mohammud Yunus’s Grameen Bank and diligent efforts of Visionary Iqbal Kadir’s Grameen Phone is waving a sea change in the lives of people of Bangladesh. The inspiring vision of Nicholas Negroponte and remarkable innovation of Yves Behar is giving a new hope in the lives of underprivileged children from Developing countries through their XO1, ($100 laptop). A collective understanding of Compassion at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions has resulted into crafting a “Charter of Compassion” by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, It has accepted quite surprisingly our collective failure in living compassionately.

All these are just amazing glances of change. All these things clearly show the power of possibility in ideas, possibility in unfathomed imaginative vision. I see life as a continuous evolving process where these persons of immense character present a glimpse of possibilities in every dimension of human endeavor. People like Shai Agassi of Better place, Mitchel Resnick of Lifelong Kindergarten group, Nicholas Negroponte of OLPC are bringing the change almost singlehandedly.  A collective and collaborative effort is also now driving a change. A deeper realization of our associated identity and integrated co-existence is dawning on us.

The world is changing but the gravity of problems, constantly faced by us, is heart rending. The recent estimates of poverty by World Bank has revealed 1.4 billion People living at or below  the poverty line of $1.25 a day. One billion people lack access to basic health care systems.  More than 100 million people around the world are pushed into poverty each year because of catastrophic health-care expenditures. IUCN reports 75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost and Over 350 million people suffer from severe water scarcity. Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names, and most are poorer and unhealthier than those who can. Every Year, nearly 10 million children die totally unpreventable deaths. India’s Gross Enrollment ratio decreased from 88.6% at primary level to 11.85% at Tertiary level, which indicates mass drop out. (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2007).

Can India become ‘Prosperous’?

Let me start by probing into ‘being prosperous’. Does this ‘being prosperous’ mean massive accumulation of wealth, just to be able to spend it ruthlessly? Does this define a holistic parameter for sustained developmental growth? Does it consider the inclusive and equitable growth into account?  Does this have to do anything with bringing a perspective change in the mindset of people? I think ‘being Prosperous’ should definitely signify- attaining and sustaining a stable  but dynamic equilibrium with the various factors responsible for creating chaos in socio-economic context of a cosmopolitan society. Legatum Institute defines prosperity as a collective measure of factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term. These factors include economic fundamentals, democratic institutions, entrepreneurship & innovation, education, health, safety& security, governance, personal freedom and Social Capital.  And In this context only, quoting great Neuroscientist V.S.Ramachandran  “India is poised for great things to come.”

Let’s take a look at present statistics: India is a part of world’s worst place to be a kid. Nearly 12 million children are forced to work as laborer in horrible condition. Most children work for 16 hours for meager salary of less than Rs 150 a day. (Unicef Report). India’s Gross Enrollment ratio decreased from 88.6% at primary level to 11.85% at Tertiary level, which indicates mass drop out. (UNESCO Institute for Statistics,2007).

But there is a light at the end. The concept of ‘enterprise led development’ is building a new vibrant india. Some NGOs like Childline Foundation, Dream A Dream, Nalandaway foundation are trying to bring hope in the lives of otherwise neglected underprivileged children. Some educational enterprises like Calorx Foundation, Jeeva Foundation, Riverside school are changing the educational scenario.  Many Social enterprise like Selco Foundation, Dlight, Nidan are changing the way issues like rural electrification are perceived. New models and ideas are continuously being developed and suggested by fundamental institutions like NKC, CSE, CCS, and CEE.

India has been ranked 45^th among 104 nations in 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, a measure of growth as a holistic combination of material prosperity and life satisfaction. Despite our late start, in words of Global Health Expert Hans Rosling we, developing countries, are on the same trajectory of growth at a pace twice as fast as west did.

India is uniquely placed to face the constantly changing scenarios in a world drifting towards Kurzweil’s technological singularity. What makes India a best place for upcoming innovations is its exceptional porosity to opportunities arising out of its rich diversity, indigenous but ingenuous ways of execution and firm belief in continued detached pursuit of excellence. So, let’s  strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the India constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement.

Developmental Models

We have come a long way in addressing various issues since the very genesis of concept of need of an enabling framework.  In India alone there are 1.2 million registered or unregistered NGOs. There is also an active presence of various institutions (CCS,CSE,CEE,NKC) carrying out research in areas of socio-economic importance. Even common people nowadays seem to be bothered about issues like rising inequity, governmental conflicts for chartering a common basis for Climate change.

Now the intriguing question is–Why not,instead of all such motivated and continued efforts, the results are becoming apparent?  Fabulous transformations are happening at the micro-level, but  change has not become integrable.

There is a need to revise existing models and explore other possibilities. There is a need to revamp the entire system by rediscovering structure and utilizing connectedness present across various organizations in developmental space.  Here is how concept of mutual coexistence can be utilized.

Enabling, Empowering and Enhancing Framework: A visionary Transformation

Consider this…! How probable is it for someone to get trapped in an utterly unavoidably hopeless circumstance? Just Imagine the desire to get out… And What if there is NO hope to come out of it and neither a possibility of getting a beacon light ever?? This is exactly the same situation many unprivileged children, from different strata of society,  have been facing today.

We always dream for an inclusive society and by being inclusive means providing or creating an ecosystem for empowering lives of people from the bottom of pyramid by involving coordinated and consistent efforts of people from top of pyramid.

DAD (Dream A Dream) is a registered charitable trust which seeks to empower children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills and at the same time sensitizing the community through active volunteering leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated.

Life Skills are ‘abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.’Dream A Dream programs foster life skills including Interpersonal Skills, Cognitive skills, along with creativity, confidence, self-awareness and a passion for learning.A brief overview of the current happenings and future projection can be obtained from  here.

Similar has been the approach of NalandaWay foundation. NalandaWay works with children from challenging situations (that lack the capac­ity or “collective efficacy” to limit delinquency and youth violence) ,  from the poorest districts in India, helping them raise their voices and issues through theatre, visual arts, music, dance, radio and films.

Here the main focus has been practicing various forms of art to explore creativity and unlearn the earlier conditioning. They promote art and provide training to children to explore art as a from of expression. More insights can be gained on this unique approach through their recently held AAA ’09.

Childline India Foundation (1098) is another initiative to provide a form to grievances of underprivileged street children by integrating efforts of local governance bodies, health care professionals and child welfare organizations.  CHILDLINE is the crucial link between children in need of care and protection and the available services. For children with different needs, who call in anytime, anywhere, and for anything, this acts as a one-point contact which facilitates instant access to support, advice, active intervention or just a listening ear. More insights about its nationwide spread in span of 11 years can be gained from here.

These two grass-root innovations clearly reflect the fundamental way we need to look at the problems or issues… Let’s make an effort to imbibe this spirit.

Charter for Compassion: A new understanding of Reality

 

 

It seems to me that A new realization of our associated identity and integrated co-existence has dawned on us. And after a relentless effort and struggle, we as dominant species have understood the essence of values.Let’s pay our obeisance to this great idea of compassion which unifies us all irrespective of any prevalent dogmatic beliefs

“The Principle of Compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   a) to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures,  b) to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and   c)  to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”

This clearly defines our actions or desires with a selfish motive as a denial of our common Humanity. It has accepted quite surprisingly our collective failure in living compassionately. “We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.”

Having realized our consistent incompetence in restoring compassion, this summarizes  needed efforts as –”to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings”.

And finally It reiterates the Urgent Need of making Compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our Polarized World. “Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”

And this is really a giant leap in understanding of the Need of Restoring, Rediscovering beauty and Order of World we inhabit!

Source: http://charterforcompassion.org/

 

Anunaad: Resonating Yourself!

Anunaad– is based on the hypothesis of providing a connected and coherent framework to observe, analyze, assimilate, associate and connect ideas, phenomena or process.

This concept started as “Anunaad”– an Immersion program designed and structured by students of IIT Madras to initiate, channelize and sustain efforts of students towards excellence.

Need and Hypothesis:

Things are changing at a terrific speed and the present demand for surviving and excelling in this world is to generate and implement beautiful innovative solutions. Thinking different and Out of box is current paradigm. The phenomena of Information explosion have just trivialized information. Knowledge and skills provided through present pedagogical mode of learning have just made learning obsolete. And so, the very basis of learning and knowing certain things is demanding a change!

The need seems to arise from two observations:–

Objective:

a)   To expand and extend one’s knowledge space.

b)   To provide a connected framework to appreciate the inherent structure to it.

c)    To invoke interest and catalyze the process of learning.

d)  To enable students to explore possibility in ideas which are constantly changing the complete scenario

e)    To explore the innovative and value-laden system we belong to.

Structure:

The immersion program is going to contain exhibition of different posters on various matters of interest, involvement oriented activities and personal interaction with IIT students.

This immersion program has been structured into five different parts:

a)    VAID (Visually Associative Information Design):   This is a presentation (through posters) of connected framework revolving around some core topics to nurture and maintain connections to facilitate continual learning and to give subject matter a coherent, accessible and navigable form.

b)    IID (Insightful and Informative Data):  This is an exposure based data presentation and visualization to gain contemplative insights. This is to facilitate expansion of young minds towards some matter of significance.

c)     DLA (Demonstrate Learning through Activities): This is a hand on session to learn and gather concepts by doing. This is to introduce to the need of applied and actuated part of knowledge to disseminate creativity.

d)   EoD (Exploring other Dimensions): This is an observation based educative exhibition displaying essence of values, thoughts and queries. This is to inculcate rich Indian value system inherited by us.

e)     PIV (Possibility in Ideas and Vision): This is an informative and educative session exploring opportunities in various fields and finding visionary ideas and personalities who are constantly changing the way we see things.

Information Visualization is an emerging field in world’s canvas and this initiative to develop a connected framework has given a cause to implement and experiment with these tools and ideas.

Anunaad is a student driven initiative which is based on realization of associated existence and necessity of suitable mechanisms for renovating education parameters.

Here are some of our works–

1. VAID- 001 “Order Rhythm Pattern”– How different phenomena around us can be visualized or analyzed as one with some inherent rhythm or pattern?

2. VAID- 002 “Shape and Structure” —  How different things can be modeled as one with some sense of shape or size?

3. EoD -001  What is Faith or belief in oneself? And Where does it come from?

S0, This is it. We are hoping to make a strong impact on everyone from this idea of ours.