Governance today May 2016

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MAY 2016 VOL. 02 ISSUE 08 `60 RNI NO: UPENG/2014/62662 ISSN 2455-0426 PR NO: UP/GBD-212/2015-17 Date of Publishing 04-05-2016 Date of Posting 07-05-2016

THE GREAT

WATER CRISIS

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4 I May 2016

14 The great water crisis

On March 12th, the 2,300-megawatt Farakka power plant of NTPC suspended power generation for the first time in its 30 year history, creating a major shortage in national power grid. It remained shut for 10 days because the water level in the canal connecting the plant to the River Ganga had gone down to a level which could not sustain operations. In another incident, a small steel company in Latur shut down its operations in April because of lack of water. The company could not afford to buy water to keep its plants running.

Recently, the government of India, in a report to the Supreme Court said that 25 per cent of the country’s population, i.e. nearly 33 crore people are affected by drought.

About a quarter million villages, in 254 out of 678 districts of the country have drinking water shortage, as per the government of India.

However, this does not tell the whole picture. At a deeper level, an even more calamitous picture emerges.

As many as ten crore people in 50 out of 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh are in the grip of a severe drought.

While drought in Bundelkhand region managed to get visibility, rest of the state has not got any coverage in media. Elswehere, in Madhya Pradesh, 46 out of 51 districts are in the grip of drought, and in Karnataka, 27 out of 30 districts are facing drought and scarcity of water. www.governancetoday.co.in

WE HAVE REACHED A STAGE WHERE MORE THAN HALF OF OUR WATER IS MAN-MADE Uri Schor Israel Water Authority

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22 RIVER-LINKING PROJECT: MOTLEY OF HOPES

AND THREATS 25 INTERVIEW : SHELLEY VISHWAJEET,

FOUNDER PRESIDENT, EARTHCARE FOUNDATION 28 33

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GOVERNMENTS MUST ENSURE THAT WASTE WATER IS TREATED PRIOR TO DISCHARGE Rajul Parikh President, Water Quality India Association (WQIA)

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THERE IS A LOT OF WAYS THAT CANADIAN EXPERTISE CAN BE BROUGHT TO BENEFIT INDIA IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT 44 Brian Parrott Minister Commercial, High Commission of Canada, New Delhi

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LETTING GO A PRECIOUS RESOURCE WATER USE EFFICIENCY IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE SECTOR THE PAINFUL NECESSITY INTERVIEW : FLEMMING JAKOBSEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DHI IN-HOME RANKING, ALL POSITIVE? CUSHION TO HOUSING A DECISION IN HASTE? INTERVIEW : Dr D K AGARWAL, SENIOR CONSULTANT, NEPHROLOGY, APOLLO HOSPITALS INTERVIEW : PRASAD KAIPA, CEO, KAIPA GROUP LET’S STAND TOGETHER FOR THE CAUSE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT VOTING & WOMEN IN THE VALLEY IN QUEST OF HAPPINESS

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Editorial

Save water, it is too precious Can there be a greater tragedy that water has to be transported on train as people are literally drying for lack of water? The sad reality is that we are facing such a situation in our country today and the situation looks like getting worse as more and more areas are falling under drought. While media devotes time when some deaths occur or water riots take place, the human aspect of calamity hardly finds space in newspapers. The specter of drought has become a routine phenomenon for our country and beyond occasional headlines, does not evoke much response.

Government makes policies and announces relief every year, but is that enough? Even more crucial question is whether we are even thinking in right perspective as regards extreme water scarcity that we are facing right now and which is only likely to exacerbate in times to come?

According to reports, some part of the country or the other has faced drought and extreme water scarcity every year over the last decade. But has any program or scheme been able to make any real dent in the problem of water scarcity? Hardly so.

We have yet not been able to somehow come out of the habit of thinking of water scarcity as natural calamity. The reality is that the massive shortage of water that India faces is as much a policy failure as successive monsoon failures.

First of all, we have drained out groundwater with extreme impunity. We have more bore wells than any other country in the world. There is no control over private water drilling. Our farmers depend mostly on groundwater for irrigation. And while using groundwater, they are most wasteful. Our water use efficiency in agriculture is among lowest in world.

Second and equally important, our ability to retain rainwater is too low. Concepts like watershed development and rainwater harvesting are mostly out of policymakers’ focus. Only recently, some actions have been taken to promote such activities and some states have started to force cities and town dwellers to make adequate provisions for rainwater harvesting. Thirdly, we have really unscientific crop patterns which are out of sync with the water availability. Surely sugarcane growing is not suitable in Marathwada.

The need is to promote such activities and measures which can be implemented by villages and towns without much technical input and thankfully such measures have been taken in many villages.

Such experiments should be replicated and promoted with state funding across nation.

Finally, we need massive reforestation to help soil absorb whatever precipitation it receives. It is extremely important because most precipitation in the country takes place over a span of just a quarter.

If we could somehow retain that water, we would not have the crisis we face year after year.

But most important aspect of water planning is perhaps to look at our individual habits, right in out kitchens and bathrooms. How many of us can say that he or she really does not waste water. Our individual habits need to change to not just use less water, but also recycle as much as we can at our own end.

On a per capita basis, we don’t have much water to start with. The only hope for us is to preserve whatever we have got. Failure to do so has human, social and economical costs which may become unbearable in future if we don’t mend our ways in present.

Best regards

Ajit Sinha Editor-in-Chief www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 7

THUS THEY SPOKE As it has been proved by the Italian court that a bribe has been given in this Agusta­ Westland Chopper deal, then the Congress President should tell who’s got the money after all and name those who received the kickbacks.

Amit Shah President, BJP I said he (Nitish Kumar) has proved his mettle in his state, and when somebody has proved his mettle in the state and somebody enjoys the full support of the state, I think people take them seriously.

Sharad Pawar President, NCP I have a long political career without a blemish. Late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy instituted 25 inquiries against me and filed as many cases in courts. But he could prove nothing and had to withdraw the cases.

N Chandrababu Naidu Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh We must bring massive automation to enable innovation.

If a human has done it once, it should never be done by a human again. This must be our aspiration.

Vishal Sikka CEO, Infosys India has produced so many sportspersons who have given their sweat and blood for the country like PT Usha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ajit Pal and so many others. One of these could have been made a goodwill ambassador. What was the need to import a person (Salman Khan) from Bollywood?

Milkha Singh Former Sprinter, India The next two months are going to be tough for the farmers in Maharashtra. And I think it is our failure, our government’s failure that we haven’t been able to harvest or store the rainwater properly. It’s not a matter of one or two years. We’ve been failing our farmers since the last sixty-eight years.

Nana Patekar Bollywood Actor 8 I May 2016

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GOVERNANCE WATCH

PM launches ‘Stand Up India’ scheme

Following activities on campuses goes easy with geo-sat app

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the Stand Up India scheme which facilitates bank loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women borrowers setting up greenfield enterprises in the non-farm sector. As part of the launch event in Noida, Modi also distributed 5,100 e-rickshaws under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Mudra scheme refinances loans of up to Rs 10 lakh given by lending institutions to small borrowers for non-farm income-generating activities. Modi booked an e-rickshaw through Ola app, took a customary ride and made the payment through mobile banking. These e-rickshaws are being financed by Lucknow-based microfinance company Bhartiya Micro Credit. A portion of such entrepreneurs’ daily income will be used to repay the loan taken for buying e-rickshaws.

The Centre is keeping tabs on activities on campus through geo-satellite imagery. Whether it is uploading horizon-to-horizon photos or zoomed-in images, a new application developed by Isro for the ministry schematically displays all the works carried out and purchases made. The tool-Bhuvan RUSA apppresents an electronic version of on-ground activities as close as one metre, thus helping locate everything from the material used, contractors hired, daily progress on construction and funds used. The new app is on cellphones of ministry officials, principals and faculty members, all of who, whether in Sikkim or Surat, Kashmir or Kanyakumari, can chart territories by swiping across the grid of the new-style maps.This initiative is in keeping with the Prime Minister’s larger objective of linking space technologies to improve monitoring of real-time activities which enhances transparency.

Total ban on liquor in Bihar The Nitish Kumar government recently declared Bihar a dry State while imposing total prohibition on the sale and consumption of liquor, both country-made and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor. The Army cantonment areas have been exempted as they regulate sale and consumption of alcohol in their own way.Kumar, however, said the liquor companies and factories can continue to manufacture “but cannot trade it within the state.” They can use digital lock system and GPS monitoring equipment in vehicles transporting the liquor manufactured in Bihar to places outside the State for sale, he said. Earlier, legislators, policemen and employees of the State Secretariat had pledged not to drink liquor and even prevent others from consumption. Parents too had given written pledges in schools that they would not drink alcohol. Bihar will suffer an annual revenue loss of about Rs 4,000 crore following prohibition. www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 9

GOVERNANCE WATCH

All forms of chewable tobacco banned in Delhi

2.2 lakh central government employees to be added in two years

The Delhi government has banned for one year the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco, including “guktha, pan masala, khaini and zarda”, in the national capital. The Department of Food Safety recentlyissued a notification in this regard, according to which unpackaged products of chewable tobacco, too, are covered under the ambit of the ban.”The manufacture, storage, distribution, or sale of tobacco which is either flavoured, scented or mixed... and whether going by the name or form of gutka, pan, masala, flavoured/scented tobacco, kharra, or otherwise... whether packaged or unpackaged and/or sold as one product, or though packaged as separate products, sold or distributed in such manner so as to easily facilitate mixing by the consumer” is prohibited for a period of one year, the notification stated.

The Modi government is set to add more than two lakh central employees over a period of two years from March 1, 2015, despite the Centre’s announcements from time to time on a freeze in fresh recruitments.

The central government’s actual staff on March 1, 2015 was 33.05 lakh, which increased to 34.93 lakh in 2016 and is estimated to grow to 35.23 lakh by March 1, 2017, according to the budget estimates for 2016-17. This includes the railways — which has not added a single worker to its strength of 13,26,437 in the last three years — but excludes the defence forces. A major reason for the spurt in hiring is that many departments faced acute staff crunch in Group B and C categories due to a moratorium on fresh recruitments for the past several years.

Lucrative incentive options for doctors to rural postings Breaking away from the earlier proposal of posting MBBS students in rural areas, the government is coming up with a noble plan to incentivise students and doctors, by making their access to postgraduate courses easier or by offering them better pay. This comes in wake of a severe shortage of doctors in rural areas. Back in 2013-14, the UPA government had tried to make one year of rural posting mandatory for MBBS graduates to seek admission in post-graduate courses. The move met with severe opposition from resident doctors and MBBS students, leading to strikes. Under pressure, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the then Union Health Minister, had directed Medical Council of India to keep the notification on hold.Experts say easier PG admissions may attract many doctors as there are limited seats in specialised courses and securing admission is tough.

10 I May 2016

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GOVERNANCE WATCH

China loses to India as top FDI destination in 2015 India has replaced China as a top destination for foreign direct investment by attracting $63 billion worth FDI projects announced in 2015, says a report.

Also, there was an 8% increase in project numbers to 697, according to fDi Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times.Major companies such as Foxconn and SunEdison have agreed to invest in projects valued at $5 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in India in 2015, it said. India replaced China “following a year of high-value project announcements specifically across the coal, oil and natural gas and renewable energy sectors”, the report said. In 2015, India was for the first time the leading country in the world for FDI, overtaking the US (which had $59.6 billion of greenfield FDI) and China ($56.6 billion), the report noted.

Mumbai noisiest city, Delhi at number 4 Delhi may be the dirtiest city in terms of high air pollution but the dubious distinction of being the noisiest city goes to Mumbai which reported the maximum violation of safe noise levels for consistently longer periods during 2011-14. Delhi, in fact, was at number four as Lucknow and Hyderabad turned out to be noisier than the capital which has an advantage of relatively higher green cover and road side plantations. Though the most common source of noise pollution is motor vehicles, the other sources like generator sets, office machines, aircraft, industrial and construction activities too substantially contribute to increasing the noise level in the cities.The observation came from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which in its latest report also noted how the noise pollution can cause aggression, hypertension, hearing loss, tinnitus and sleep disturbance.

Our judicial system clogged with property, family disputes cases The litigations concerning property disputes and family conflicts choke our judicial system and in a majority of cases, police detain the accused unnecessarily. These are the findings of Daksh, an NGO which analyses the performance of the judiciary. Around 66% of all cases studied are property-related litigations, and 10%, the second largest chunk, are family matters.The other issues leading to litigation were recovery of money (8%), and permanent injunction, whereby a court orders a person or entity to take certain action or refrain from certain activities (3.4%). The survey, involving more than 9,000 civil and criminal matters over 300 subordinate courts across the country, boosts the government’s call for a “no detention policy” in the near future where arrest is an exception and not the rule if an accused is available for interrogation and has honoured court summons. www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 11

GOVERNANCE WATCH

Censor Board likely to lose power to make cuts

Model water bill to guide states in the offing

Limiting the scope of the Censor Board to categorising films according to the audience’s age and maturity, the Shyam Benegal committee has recommended that certification should be specific with new categories like adult with caution, UA12 and UA15.

The panel submitted its report to I&B minister Arun Jaitley recently. If adopted, this could change the film certification process and do away with the `censor board’ nomenclature. This comes in the wake of CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani’s controversial decisions.

According to the recommendations, a certificate can only be denied if the film is against the sovereignty and integrity of the state; impacts friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality; involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence; or if the content crosses the ceiling laid down in the highest category of certification.

The Union government is mulling to take the legislative route on conservation and distribution of water by giving precedence to drinking water supply over allocation for agricultural and industrial purposes in the country. As per the plan, the water resources ministry will come out with a draft National Water Framework Bill and circulate it to states as a model bill for suitable action as water is a state subject.At present, water is primarily managed by the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which mainly deal with pollution aspect of water resources. These laws do not oblige states to use water efficiently through enforcement measures. The new draft law will urge states to take steps to recharge depleting ground water, especially in floodplain areas of rivers.

India completes own navigational satellite system Joining the elite group of countries which have their own navigation system technology to cater to the mammoth navigational needs, the Indian Space Research Organisation recently successfully put its seventh and last satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, IRNSS-1G into the orbit.With this development, the country completed its landmark mission for a regional navigational system on par with US-based GPS. The satellite with a design life span of 12 years has two payloads for navigation and ranging.Apart from the civilian usage, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System comprising seven satellites will be used for defence purposes as well. Earlier, India has launched six regional navigational satellites (IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, ID,1E and 1F) as part of a constellation of seven satellites to provide accurate position information service to users across the country and the region, extending up to an area of 1,500 km.

12 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

GLOBAL WATCH

World Bank Group unveils new climate action plan The World Bank has announced a new plan to realize the goal of a clean energy transformation as laid down in COP21 which took place in Paris last December. The new Climate Change Action Plan that was launched by the group is aimed at helping developing countries add 30 GW of global renewable capacity by 2020. It will also aid the countries to meet their Paris COP21 pledges and address increasing climate impacts. As part of this effort, the bank plans to provide $25bn in private financing for clean energy by the end of the decade. Special teams will also be created to work with countries to generate a pipeline of bankable projects. World Bank Group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) has also announced plans to increase its climate investments from the current $2.2bn a year to $3.5bn a year in grid-connected renewable energy, green buildings, industrial commercial energy efficiency, and climate-smart urban infrastructure.

New planet with triple-star system found Scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the United States have discovered a rare triple-star system with a stable orbit planet.

The gas giant planet named KELT-4Ab is similar in size to Jupiter. The research was published in The Astronomical Journal. In it, the team explained that the binary system once thought to be a single star was actually a pair of stars orbiting one another, and was a part of the triple-star system. The planet takes approximately three days to finish its rotation around the star KELT –A which serves as its sun.

The other two stars KELT-B and KELT-C are at a further distance and take close to three years orbit one another. The pair takes nearly 4000 years to orbit KELT-A. The triple-star system offers a unique opportunity for scientists trying to understand the principle behind how gas giants manage to orbit so close to their star.

Philippines launches world’s first mass dengue vaccination The Philippines launched the first public immunization program for dengue fever, seeking to administer to a million schoolchildren the world’s first licensed vaccine, Dengvaxia. The World Health Organization has estimated that dengue which is a mosquito-borne disease infects 390 million people a year globally. The first three shots of the vaccine were administered to hundreds of fourthgraders at a public school in metropolitan Manila’s Marikina city. The Philippines had the highest dengue incidence in the WHO’s Western Pacific region from 2013 to 2015, recording 200,415 cases last year, according to the Department of Health. Dengvaxia, developed by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, obtained its first license in Mexico in December 2015 for use in individuals aged 9 to 45. Regulatory agencies in Brazil, the Philippines and El Salvador followed. But the vaccine is awaiting regulatory reviews in Europe and dozens of non-European countries, as well as prequalification by the WHO. www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 13

COVER STORY

The great water crisis

A policeman guards the train bringing water to the draught hit Latur in Maharashtra

14 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

O

Anand Mishra n March 12th, the 2,300-megawatt Farakka power plant of NTPC suspended power generation for the first time in its 30 year history, creating a major shortage in national power grid. It remained shut for 10 days because the water level in the canal connecting the plant to the River Ganga had gone down to a level which could not sustain operations.

In another incident, a small steel company in Latur shut down its operations in April because of lack of water. The company could not afford to buy water to keep its plants running.

Recently, the government of India, in a report to the Supreme Court said that 25 per cent of the country’s population, i.e. nearly 33 crore people are affected by drought. About a quarter million villages, in 254 out of 678 districts of the country have drinking water shortage, as per the government of India. However, this does not tell the whole picture. At a deeper level, an even more calamitous picture emerges. As many as ten crore people in 50 out of 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh are in the grip of a severe drought. While drought in Bundelkhand region managed to get visibility, rest of the state has not got any coverage in media.

Elswehere, in Madhya Pradesh, 46 out of 51 districts are in the grip of drought, and in Karnataka, 27 out of 30 districts are facing drought and scarcity of water. The country has awakened to the new disturbing reality of trains having to ferry water to drought hit areas.

The result of such massive water shortage throws social problems.

Fearing violence, authorities in Latur district, have imposed prohibitory orders on gatherings of more than five people around storage tanks. Northern states of Punjab and Haryana are fighting over canal that was supposed to bring water from Punjab to Haryana. In Odisha, farmers have been reported to have breached embankments to save their crops.

www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 15

But the massive water shortage is neither the only water related problem that India is facing nor is it completely the nature’s making.

The water availability is precarious, the quality of water is mostly bad, the farmers are wasting water, government policies are incongruous to the reality on ground and there is general unwillingness to do anything before crisis hits.

On top, the best practices which have done wonders in India are not amplified and global best practices are not emulated to preserve this

a meager 29 per cent of their total storage capacity. Southern region was worst hit and had just 19 per cent water availability followed

by Western and Northern regions which had 24 per cent and 26 per cent availability respectively.

Nationally, only four river basins out of eleven had storage of more than 30 per cent of their capacities. The availability in Krishna river basin was at a dangerously low level of just about 11.5 per cent.

According to the India Water Tool, a comprehensive web

of these display extremely stressful scenario. But future projections show an even more depressing scenario.

According to a report of 2030 Water Resources Group, by 2030, water demand in the country will grow to approximately 1.5 trillion cubic metres (CM). On this demand which is primarily driven by domestic demand of basic food items like rice and wheat, the country faces a large gap between current supply and projected demand—amounting to 50 percent

Water availability deviation has been high in some states Source: Central Water Commission

scarce natural resource. However, there is grudging though increasing acceptance that the country is near the tipping point and if some radical measures are not taken right now, we could be staring at a natural calamity of epic proportions.

Declining availability According to the Central Water Commission, in March this year, much before the toughest summer months of May and June, water availability in India’s 91 reservoirs stood at its lowest in a decade, at 16 I May 2016

platform that evaluates India’s water risks, four per cent of India faces high to extremely high water stress and almost 600 million people are at a higher risk of surface-water supply disruptions. The disturbing aspect is that the states of Punjab and Haryana which produce nearly half of country’s rice supply and 85 percent of its wheat stocks are among the worst affected. Also, of the 4,000 wells mapped by the app, over half have shown decline over the past seven years, with about one in six showing a decline of more than a meter per year. All

of demand or 754 billion CM. Most of India’s river basins could face severe deficit by 2030; Ganga, the Krishna, and the Indus are projected to face the biggest absolute gap.

Natural or man made?

India, despite being a decently water endowed land, is not water rich per capita. With nearly one eighth of the world’s population, it has to manage with less than one twentieth of world’s freshwater.

Then there are aspects of water www.governancetoday.co.in

availability in India which are unique in terms of timings and cyclicity of availability. At around 2,520 billion CM, the surface and groundwater base is substantial but highly variable. About half of annual precipitation falls during the monsoon season that lasts for a couple of months. Also, 90 per cent of river flows occur in only 4 months of the year.

Such pattern requires judicious water management policies by government and natural water saving predilection from society.

Sadly neither exists in India.

Because of faulty planning to retain water, the country looses much of the precipitation. At only 200 CM of water storage capacity per person, India is way behind 2,200 CM per person in China and about 6,000 CM per person in the United States. India’s accessible, reliable supply of water amounts to 744 billion CM, or only 29 percent of its total water resource.

However, there has been a distinct lack of attention to water legislation, water conservation, efficiency in water use, water recycling, and infrastructure to manage the water problem.

Historically, water has been viewed as an unlimited resource in India that did not need to be managed as a scarce commodity or provided as a basic human right.

Coupled with this, low agricultural water productivity and efficiency, combined with aging supply network, make severe supplydemand gaps likely in many basins during coming decades.

The depletion of water table is another case in example. India is the largest groundwater user in the world, and draw more groundwater than the US and China. The emergence of the deep rigs and the bore wells in the 1970s threw the balance with which groundwater had been used for centuries.

The use of bore wells has been encouraged to such an extent that the share of groundwater for irrigation has gone up from a mere one per cent during 1960-61 to 60 per cent during 2006-07.

This has obvious implications for www.governancetoday.co.in

water tables, especially when no concerted effort has been made to replenish the lost groundwater.

This is dangerous as groundwater contributes to about 85 per cent of India’s drinking water security, 60 per cent of its agricultural requirements and 50 per cent of urban water needs.

The problem is that the Centre as well as states have failed to fully resolve the questions of who really owns the groundwater, how it should be mapped, extracted and replenished. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that water

the water beneath, and have put in place complex systems of water rights, pricing and tight regulation.

India has not yet started thinking in this direction yet.

Ironically, even as farmers, governments, industry and citizens keep on drilling deeper and deeper, accentuating the groundwater crisis, planners are over stressing the investment on surface water sources like dams and canals for irrigation, setting up pipelines for drinking water and securing water for industry. Another side effect of unbridled excoriation of the earth

Large parts of the country could face severe shortage in future Source: 2030 Water Resource Group

is a state subject. Groundwater is an open-access resource and anyone can pump water from under his or her own land. India extracted 251 billion CM of groundwater in 2010, up from 90 billion CM in 1980. Compared to this, the United States extracted 112 billion CM in 2010 which was only nominally up from 1980 level. Realizing the scarcity of water as a resource, many countries have delinked land ownership from the ownership of

is that chemicals such as fluoride and arsenic have seeped into water systems including drinking water. This explains to a large extent the contamination of water in many parts of the country. Of course, open defecation is another big reason.

Moving forward, because of rising population, India is expected to remain a highly agricultural country even though the contribution of agriculture to May 2016 I 17

the overall GDP of the country is about to decline. According to 2030 Water Resource Group, assuming population growth at one percent per annum, and GDP growth at 6.8 per cent per annum between 2005-2030, by 2030, agriculture will account for almost 1,200 billion CM or 80 per cent of total water demand. This is much in contrast to China, which would need half of its water for agriculture use. On the other hand, China will be using over 30 per cent of water for industrial use compared to 13 per cent in India. India will see a compounded annual growth in demand of the order of 2.8 per cent compared to 1.6 per cent of China.

A big reason for precarious water condition, especially in

as well as groundwater, which is planted on hardly 2.5 per cent of the country’s farmland. Another instance of poor crop planning is the states of Punjab and Haryana which despite being water scarce, grow rice and wheat which need more water. In totality, water usage efficiency is quite poor in India resulting in wastage of water which is already in low supply (see detailed report: water use efficiency in Indian agriculture).

But lack of water is only one part of the picture. The other, grimmer aspect is the quality of drinking water. Nearly a quarter of the villages and 4 to 6 per cent urban population do not have access to drinking water. Apart from inadequate supply of water, quality of available water is a

The major causes of water pollution are discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluent into rivers, excessive use of fertilizers in agriculture and contamination of ground water with salts and minerals present in the lower soil profiles. In Delhi, the national capital, only half of the nearly 36 million tons of sewage, generated daily, is treated; the rest goes untreated into Yamuna. In top 23 cities, only 31 per cent of the sewage water generated is treated and the rest is flown untreated into 18 major rivers. Also, most rivers in the country are contaminated by fluorides, nitrites and toxic metals.

Creative planning required In one of his talks “Mann Ki

Sugarcane is a main crop of draught hit regions of Maharashtra

Maharashtra, is the sugarcane production which is a water guzzling crop. The entire dry belt of Maharashtra which is receiving below normal rains is predominantly sugarcane producing area much against the advice of many experts. Today, about 15 per cent of irrigation water is used by sugarcane, from surface water 18 I May 2016

serious concern. It is estimated that over 70 per cent of the water consumed by rural India falls below WHO standards. Nearly 80 per cent of rural illnesses, 21 per cent of transmissible diseases and 20 per cent of deaths among children in the age group of 5 years, are directly linked to consumption of unsafe water.

Baat�, PM Modi mentioned about the village Hiware Bazar, in Maharashtra, which has, by sheer force of conviction and common sense, has created an example for water scarce state. The village has not called a water tanker since 1995. The village, in arid Ahmednagar district of the state, has banned bore wells. It has also www.governancetoday.co.in

stopped growing water-guzzling cash crops like sugarcane and banana and instead, has shifted to growing vegetables, fruits, flowers and pulses, apart from dairy development. Because of diversified crop pattern and less dependence on traditional crops, the village has reduced poverty sharply over last few years. To retain whatever water it gets in rain, the village has successfully run watershed management program.

What Hiware Bazar has done is not rocket science and is a direction in which planners need to think.

In India, agriculture is and will continue to be the biggest water user. As such, most improvements have to come in this sector and there is tremendous scope for improvement which would result in income growth as well, just by taking simple measures. For example, according to estimates, drip irrigation alone has the potential to increase agricultural revenues by billions of dollars, by reducing the amount of fertilizer and increasing yield. Currently, most of the crops are watered through flood irrigation, resulting in over 70 per cent of the water wastage. By adopting micro-irrigation systems, not only water requirement will be reduced, but also the cost of production will come down, at the same time increasing the area under irrigation.

Beyond efficient irrigation, buffering the groundwater is perhaps the most crucial requirement. For this, both rainwater harvesting and watershed development are absolute necessities. India’s eleventh five-year plan (2007–12) covered some 15 million hectares with watershed development. But a lot more has to be done. Similarly the importance of small check dams cannot be overemphasized.

According to many economists, Gujarat’s 8 per cent-plus growth rate of agricultural GDP could not have been possible without over 100,000 check dams that the state has built. The efforts and success created by leading activists like Anna Hazare and Rajendra Singh www.governancetoday.co.in

should be emulated and amplified to underscore the necessity of conservation. As for rainwater harvesting, many states have framed regulations and have also started penalizing for failure, but unless the society takes it by choice, implementation will not go beyond tokenism.

At policy level, governments at both center and states need to empower locals with knowledge, understanding, and real-time information on the groundwater availability and manage extraction in a cooperative way. Groundwater being an open resource can be

across the country. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should be suitably modified to take care of this aspect too.

Water is a resource that belongs to society. As such, society needs to be an alert stakeholder to see that this asset is not wasted. Any governmental effort could come undone if not supported by the society and individuals at their own levels. As such, behavioral change is required to save every drop of water. While grand schemes like river linking have their own utility, it is the effort made at each home and each farm by each individual

Hiware Bazar village has put in place watershed development program to shore up water availability

extracted in any quantity. In Indian context, banning or rationing water may not have currency; therefore, a cooperative agreement among the users of the aquifer can be more acceptable. And the usage can also be monitored by state.

Simultaneously, efforts need to be made to improve the quality of water that citizens drink. For this, the government needs to strengthen state pollution control boards to enforce strict effluent standards. It would also require massive beefing up of the technical and human resources at states’ disposal. Currently, boards are incapable to effectively monitor activities, enforce regulations, and convict violators. Simultaneously, massive investment is needed in crating sewage treatment facilities

that would make the maximum impact. Despite being a near arid country, Israel has shown what can be achieved with careful planning and social cooperation. Not only it has ensured 24×7 water supply to each water tap, it has also used advanced technologies in desalination to use sea water for over half of its agricultural use.

There are many success stories in India as well where people have used great ingenuity and innovation to preserve water. The need is to put in practice all the knowledge to practice to ensure that we do not bequeath a desert to our coming generations where they will have to fight for something as essential for life as water. anand@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 19

INTERVIEW URI SCHOR | SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL WATER AUTHORITY

WE HAVE REACHED A STAGE WHERE MORE THAN HALF OF OUR WATER IS MAN-MADE

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he lack of natural water has not stopped Israel from becoming not only water sufficient, but also the world leader in water related technologies, including the drip irrigation in which it is rated the best in world. In an interaction with Anand Mishra, Editor, Governance Today, Uri Schor, the Spokesperson of Israel Water Authority, throws light on major issues related to water management and conservation in the country and how it has gone about converting a challenge into a technological opportunity.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Being a water scarce country, what are the water related issues that Israel faces?

More than sixty per cent of Israel is desert. Israel has had water problems for thousands of years; this area has been short of water for all time. In neighboring Jordan, in its capital city Amman, citizens get tap water once a week. They store it for use throughout the week. If that runs out, they have to buy water at high price. Now, Jordan has more water availability per capita than Israel. But in Israel, you have tap water available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, all through the year. So, it is not just the management of the water that is available, it is also about how creatively you think of handling the problem at hand.

20 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

More than half of water for all usage in Israel is man-made water. That gives us an advantage in managing the gap. The rest of water availability is a judicious mix of conservation and prevention of pilferage and waste. Mending the leakage in pipeline is an example.

Just a few days ago I read that in Mumbai, the loss of water in pipeline is nearly 27 per cent. In Israel, it is less than 10 per cent.

The reason is that we have put in place technology to find leaks and fix them without wasting time; saving wastage in process. So, all of this is required to ensure water availability if you don’t have much natural water.

But very often, people are not bothered. How can general population be brought in loop?

It is about knowledge and being informed. When I go to talk to kids in kindergarten, I ask them is it not magical that you open the tap and there is water? While children may respond with wide eyes on this magic, people at large need to be informed that a lot of effort by a large number of people goes to ensure that this magic continues. Further, this system needs to be guarded to keep this magic going. When they realize this, they prevent the wastage of water without changing their way of life. But it is important that they need to be reminded of this.

I will give you just an example; a dripping tap can lead to wastage of 60 litres of water a day. It takes just about a second to close the tap. So, just be making people aware and reminding them of the enormity of the issue, you can do wonders.

How has Israel gone about putting in place such an extraordinary water management system?

Actually, it is a combination of www.governancetoday.co.in

many things. First and foremost, we simply do not have enough water. And if you have a problem, you have to deal with it. So, we have learnt to deal with the water scarcity. We try to invent, try to prevent wastage, try to find a way to do best with what we have.

Because we have had this problem of water shortage for many, many years, we have been thinking of ways to deal with this problem all the time. About a decade ago, in early 2000s, we had a severe water crisis when we had seven drought years in a row. We had nearly reached a stage where we feared that someone would open a tap somewhere, and there won’t be water. So we stopped watering gardens by law; no city garden, no public garden, no individual person

More than half of water for all usage in Israel is man-made water. That gives us an advantage in managing the gap. The rest of water availability is a judicious mix of conservation and prevention of pilferage and waste was allowed to use water for gardening. If we had not stopped water for gardening, we would have ran out of water to drink.

You have to prioritize your requirements. If we continue to use more water than we get from rain, the water level in water bodies would keep going down, and at one stage, it just would not be there. So, what do we do then?

We would need to find other, new sources of water. Recycling is a prominent way. You reuse the water that has already been used. Desalination of sea water and brackish water is another one.

But these steps take time. On an

immediate basis, we need to cut consumption. For that, education, campaigns, explanations are to be used to encourage people to cut the usage of water without changing the way of life. After that, you need to prevent leaks, take care of infrastructure etc.

In our case, the problem was so severe that we did everything together. Because of strong focus, we have reached a stage where more than half of our water is man-made. That allows us to deal with a drought year or series of drought years. We have developed technologies which we are always ready to share.

How much can the desalinized water substitute natural water and what all purposes it can be used for?

You need to decide how much you want to desalinate the water depending upon the end use. We desalinate the water for every use.

But while desalination is surely an important measure that brings stability in the water availability situation, it is only one of the many measures we have taken to tackle the water scarcity issue.

On an overall basis, Recycling and reusing of used water has also been used in a big way which also improves the quality of overall water available because it reduces contamination. Today, about 60 per cent of the water used for agriculture in Israel is recycled water.

What is your take on the Clean Ganga project?

Well, if you want to clean a river, the first thing to do is to stop polluting it further by stopping pollutants from entering it. If you do that, the river has a tendency to clean itself in due course. If you cannot prevent pollutants from coming into the river, no matter how much you try, the problem will remain.

May 2016 I 21

COVER STORY

River-linking project: Motley of hopes and threats The project has a potential to generate 34 Giga-watts of power and spell displacement of 5.5 million tribal people and farmers Sagarika Ranjan

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carcity of water has raised its ugly head in India and not only Maharashtra; percentage may differ, but almost every state in the country is facing the crisis. In the wake of such a situation, river linking project may seem to be a big respite.

However environmentalists and ecologists warn of dire long term consequences.

The ambitious plan to link India’s 37 rivers was mooted during the rule of the first NDA government in 2002. Initially, 30 rivers were identified and the number finalized to be 37. The aim of the project was to link these rivers with artificial canals to provide water to the states that do not have enough water for their own. The interlinking 37 major Himalayan and Peninsular rivers is expected to carry water to the arid, semi-arid and drought prone regions through some 30 big canals and around 3000 small and large reservoirs within an estimated stretch of around 15,000 kms. The idea if implemented will certainly improve irrigational facilities, drinking water facilities and also be useful in generating hydroelectricity but at the cost of irreversible ecological losses, as argued by many experts.

The project, after being approved in 2002 did not make much progress for one year, which was folloed by the Supreme Court intervention that triggered a series of impact assessments. These assessments analyzed the project on environmental, social, ecological as well as economical aspects.

22 I May 2016

Originally 30 rivers were identified which was later increased to 37

Finally, in 2006 the courts ordered spearheading of the project. But the implementation yet faced roadblocks from various ecological

groups and environmentalists who advocated that changing the course of the rivers would lead to disbalance in the natural cycles, thus affecting www.governancetoday.co.in

seasons adversely. Yet, the then NDA government, went ahead with the implementation and the project would have made progress had the government not fell.

As a consequence of government change, the project was put on back burner for 10 long years. The UPA did bring up the issue on some occasions but the environmental lobby and undeniably the political lobby did not allow the project to start.

However, now that the project has taken off once again, the attitude of people has changed. The reactions evolved as the expected results were seen following the linking of Krishna-Godavari rivers.

The linking of these two rivers have provided much needed water to the coastal towns and also paved a way for perennial irrigation of the rayalaseema region, popularly known as the rice bowl of India.

Since September, there has also been improvement in the lives of the farmers of the region as they do not depend on rain for irrigation anymore.

However, the diversion of the river water has left the Panna Tiger reserve parched. Water shortage has been affecting the flora and fauna of the reserve, especially of the migratory birds of the reserve.

So while farmers rejoice, the wildlife is being affected. An improved water conservation efforts and technology can however be a way out of this imbalance.

The apparent success of the Krishna-Godavari linking, there is strong resistance from multiple experts to the project. “Interlinking of Rivers isn’t viable and it violates normal and natural course of flow of riparian landscape. Himalayan Rivers and peninsular rivers share distinct characteristics streams flowing through a diverse riparian landscape and physiographic which comprise of distinct ecosystems and their biodiversity. This project shall cause serious ecological degradation and biodiversity depletion,” said Kumar Deepak, environmentalist, United Nations Development Program.

The project will force large www.governancetoday.co.in

scale forests and biodiversity losses downstream of the Donor Rivers. Environmentalists allege that there is no scientific basis for such interlinking of rivers. A river has a natural course and it flows according to the geographical cycle and landscape.

“There isn’t such concept of surplus or deficit water holding by a specific river. A river can carry water as much it can. Secondly river isn’t a pipe that we can stretch and fold it from its normal discourse. When you construct a canal for large scale diversion of water, in the meantime we displace and rehabilitate large number of settlements and ecosystems,” said Kumar.

As per a report, the project threatens tiger reserve as well and it is likely to submerge 58.03 sq. km (10.07%) of the critical tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve. There is going on a disastrous intervention within the core area of the Panna National Park while interlinking the Ken-Betwa Rivers.

Ecologists allege that the Government is desirous to conclude the project for the political score and mileage without any sort of clearances.

This is like redrawing the geography of this country. Perennial rivers flow through all weathers and it’s obvious that they would carry sometimes surplus water, causing flood. This is how natural ecosystems work and when one will study the invisible economics of flood and fertility of the plain it would be profitable manifolds than this interlinking of the rivers, adds Kumar Deepak.

The implementation of the project not only sees ecological and environmental challenges but also faces some economic challenges.

This project requires a massive fiscal allocation of approximately 11 lakh crore ($168 billion). Such a huge funding is the biggest challenge before the Government.

The project’s estimated construction comprises 30 major canals and 3000 small and large reservoirs on the stretch of around 15,000 kms of land. This will have

a potential to generate 34 Gigawatts of power and will also lead to the displacement of 5.5 million tribal people and farmers.

Political challenges also loom large over the project. The negative factor being that water is a State subject. India has been the history of river water dispute. Analysts believe that this project will lead to serious inter-state relationship crisis. Situations may arise where the water surplus State may deny releasing water or engaging in untimely release of water thus affecting cropping pattern and other occupation in the water deficit regions.

Environmentally, one of the major challenges is of de-silting the canals and reservoirs. This will need additional cost and space to dump the silt. The project fails to clarify the environmental and community issues, points out Kumar adding that in long run, the project would heavily impact the flow of the channel downstream of the Donor Rivers. This would adversely affect the wetlands and the mangroves ecosystems and biodiversity. Consequently, ecosystem based disaster risk will get intensified inducing vulnerability to cyclones, floods and the likes.

There are many challenges in the project but what gives it a green signal cannot be undermined too.

There are several hopes pinned to the project and these are good enough reasons to go ahead with the project.

Channelization of 37 major will fulfill the need of the region having arid, semi-arid or scanty rainfall settlements. This will help farmers, vulnerable to crop loss due to floods and droughts every year. Northern and Eastern India frequently experience floods while Western and Southern India experiences droughts and therefore this interlinking could rectify that to some extent. It will also increase India’s utilizable surface water by 25 per cent.

The project will help to irrigate an additional 35 million hectares in the western and peninsular regions.

It would explore new business and May 2016 I 23

employment opportunities in agrobased value added industries and agro-marketing. This will encourage technological inputs and attract larger financial investments. This project will open new dimension to the fisheries industries as well, explains Kumar adding that rivers carry vast ecological and cultural regime. Therefore, a thorough Comprehensive Ecological and Social Impact Assessment are needed before persisting with the project.

India’s National Water Development Authority describes, “If we can build storage reservoirs

The ideas on which the project has been devised can certainly solve big issues. However, one has to explore available alternative options before such complex anthropogenic intervention of diverting inter-basin water is taken up. Some of the viable alternatives include watershed development, rain water harvesting, ground water recharge, optimizing existing infrastructure, cropping pattern, restoration of water bodies like wetlands.

It is only after efficient implementation of these alternatives that embarking upon

page over this project is also a big challenge. The bitter river water disputes between states shows that the project will face major roadblocks on most if not all stretches of the project. Then there are rivers that flow between two countries making matters even more complicated as international water-sharing agreements will have to be looked into.

The interlinking idea is not new.

It was way back in 1980 when the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) had formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for Water Resources Development

Kirshna and Godavari are the first two rivers to be connected under the project

on these rivers and connect them to other parts of the country, regional imbalances could be reduced significantly and lot of benefits by way of additional irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply, hydropower generation, navigational facilities would accrue.”

If one observes the statistics of this project which suggests that this way we could create 87 million acres of irrigable land, and transfer 174 trillion litres of water every year.

24 I May 2016

this interlinking of river plan can somewhere be less detrimental to nature and have a comparatively less of the hind side.

Till now, the government has not been able to work much on such alternatives and the respective government at Union and in States couldn’t implement such alternatives at the grassroots level.

Bringing state and centre and different states on the same

envisaging inter-basin transfer of water from surplus basins to deficit basins. The concept is decades old and yet we are still mooting. The pace needs a revision and so does the environmental assessment of the project. A project of this scale and complexity cannot be implemented without proper cost benefit analysis, both on monetary and ecological parameters. sagarika@governancetoday.co.in

www.governancetoday.co.in

INTERVIEW SHELLEY VISHWAJEET | FOUNDER PRESIDENT, EARTHCARE FOUNDATION

WATER CRISIS, IF NOT MANAGED SINCERELY, WILL LEAD TO INCREASED LIVELIHOOD INSECURITIES AND WIDESPREAD SOCIAL STRIFE

E

arth is a shared home and unless we all learn to respect it as such, the harm would accrue to all which is what we see all around us these days, from water scarcity to climate change. To discuss the issue of water scarcity and policy failures for the same, Ramesh Kumar Raja talked to Shelley Vishwajeet, the Founder President of Earthcare Foundation, an NGO that works in the area of environmental awareness and local area sustainability. A well respected policy analyst and writer, he has been invited to speak on critical environmental and policy issue by many reputed national and international platforms. An economic and political journalist by profession, Vishwajeet is an alumnus of SRCC and Law Faculty, Delhi University as well as Jawaharlal Nehru University.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Water is a topic of debate these days; how do you look at this crisis?

Being largely a tropical country with well spread perennial river systems, variety of water bodies, a well endowed ground water/ aquifer system and the fact that we have above world average long term precipitation, India on the surface looks well endowed with water resources. Abundance of water in most regions of Indian sub-continent had given birth to the popular belief that water is an www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 25

eternal natural gift which cannot diminish. Even in the semi arid regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bundelkhand, MP, Andhra Pradesh etc or areas where perennial river network is absent, water for human consumption and sustenance agriculture had not been an issue like the ones we are witnessing now in Bundelkhand or Marathawada regions for past few years.

Having said this, the water crisis that we are witnessing today in many parts of India has largely been a preventable phenomenon magnified by administrative and political apathy and shortsightedness. In most drought prone areas, we have worked very hard to exacerbate a natural problem with pathetic disregard for local water resource management while wasting humungous resources on grandiose plans in the name of drought relief and mega schemes.

If the water crisis is not managed sincerely and intelligently, it will lead to increased livelihood insecurities and as a consequence wide spread social strife. As a welfare state aspiring to become a shining economy, we can let this situation prevail only at our own peril and much international disrepute.

The Latur and Bundelkhand water crisis is enough to demonstrate how governments have been non-serious towards the issue despite repeated reminders from time to time. Your take?

Though the reasons and contours of water crisis in Bundlekhand is quite different from that of Marathawada region, you have rightly pointed out that there is a common thread of apathy, lack of vision, waking up too late to the crisis in the making and of course governments’ fascination with grandiose plans while neglecting 26 I May 2016

micro or local area water management practices involving communities and commonsensical approach to water conservation.

To borrow the quote of P Sainath, “everybody loves a good drought’ except of course the sufferers, who are largely marginal farmers and rural poor. Why they love it, I think we all know the answer. In the last 12 years, more than Rs 60,000 crore has been pumped for drought-relief related works in Maharashtra.

There are many good works which are visible but the general impression persists that much public money has been wasted or siphoned off. Government of the day needs to bring a ‘White Paper’ on Marathawada drought relief

Officials’ reluctance to co-opt environmentalists, NGOs, credible citizens in sustainability programs is perplexing expenditures and its results to regain public trust.

As far as Bundelkhand region is concerned, there has been a reduction in precipitation level in the region from late 80s onwards. Due to hard geographical formation (basalt & sandstone), ground water recharge and extraction has been traditionally difficult while much of the rainwater flows towards rivers and through rivers out of the region. Still, as long as population was low and modern agricultural practices (which typically require more water) had not taken roots, the problem had not blown to capture national attention. But then, warning about impending water crisis has been sounded off for a long time. Problem among the official circle and even among a section of politicians is that when warning is given by civil

society, there is a general disdain and a tendency to dismiss these warnings as alarmist. Anyway, my own feeling is that governments, for a variety of reasons, loves such crisis and that’s why it refuses to act till it actually erupts.

Because of depleting water table across the country, water viability for all uses is in danger.

How can we ensure water availability for future generations?

There is no lack of scientific, political and administrative understanding as to what needs to be done to ensure water security for future generations. Problem largely lies with the tools we have been choosing to tackle the problem and in the sincerity of approach. My overwhelming appeal is that please don’t rely solely on or give undue importance to mega plans even though they make for good headlines; instead focus more on providing policy, knowledge and financial support to micro and community initiatives for water management works.

Even in parched Marathawada, we have many success stories due to community watershed initiatives such as Ralegan Siddhi, Hiware Bazaar and Soppecom. Officials need to learn and get inspired from people like Dr Vilasrao Salunkhe, Anna Hazare, Popatrao Pawar, Kalpanatai Salunkhe and of course Rajinder Singh. The silver lining is that conventional wisdom and some social pioneers are now being co-opted in the new policy regime. And due to this, we will be seeing some dramatic positive results in few years from now even in rain deficient region of Marathawada.

Majority of ponds and lakes have become victim to rapid urbanisation and construction. What can www.governancetoday.co.in

be done to rein in this menace?

Crass urbanisation coupled with greed, official apathy, planning myopia and utter disrespect for our natural heritage has destroyed the local urban area eco-systems and has made most of our cities utterly uninhabitable place. Almost every Indian city has its own tale of destruction of natural heritage, be it Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati or Patna. Just take the sad case of Delhi. Right here in the national capital which is home to intellectuals, policy makers, highest court of justice and seats of two elected governments, just see the state of our water bodies. In official records, Delhi is supposed to have nearly 1,000 water bodies/marshes but in reality 80 per cent of these are gone forever. And most of the remaining is highly endangered. In most surviving large water bodies in Delhi, we have created concrete walls and blocked the natural water flow recharge system.

We focus more on superficial beautification and concretization but have little interest in preserving the natural eco-system. So on one hand, we let our natural heritage die and on the other we keep harping about programs like rainwater harvesting. This duplicity will not take us far.

In 2001, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests developed a separate programme called National Lake Conservation Plan to conserve urban water bodies. However, only a few states have developed statelevel conservation plans till date and very few water bodies have been revived. The failure stems from official reluctance to coopt environmentalists, NGOs, credible citizens in such efforts.

To give one example, under the order of the Delhi High Court, Delhi government in 2011 had formed a high level committee to monitor the progress of revival and conservation efforts of water bodies in Delhi. The apex bodies www.governancetoday.co.in

under this are full of bureaucrats or representatives from government institutions – who generally do not have time or natural inkling to undertake such activities. Only one NGO was made a member in the steering committee and there is not a single elected representative as its member out of total members of 30.

Why such reluctance to involve citizens and civil society and public representatives in a cause which concerns us all?

Even at individual front, people are recklessly wasting water in their homes and at workplaces. How can this be discouraged?

I sincerely believe that there is a high level of awareness

Every development work has some price to pay in terms of environmental and social fallouts but if the benefits far outweigh the cons, one needs to go for it among people, especially among the younger generation about the value of water – thanks to years of many positive campaigns to highlight the issue. Yes, a lot more needs to be done. But often, household water wastage issues are raised to divert the attention from larger failures such as distribution leakage and wastage which not long back was as high as 40 per cent in Delhi and much higher allocation of water to privileged or bureaucratic areas of a city or towns. For example, on an average a Delhi citizen gets 300 litres of water everyday, but in many areas it is not more than 100 liters while in NDMC, which

is largely home to government employees, availability is more than 700 litres. Anyway, I have a lot of faith in future generation but the notion that water is a scarce commodity needs to be reinforced time and again through campaigns, curricula and if need be some punitive measures also need to be taken.

What is your opinion on the river-interlinking project? Do you think it is environmentally sound?

Building a National Water Grid of which river interlinking is a big component is an old idea and been a source of recurring debate.

Idea on the paper is simple – to conserve and harness excess monsoon water in rivers and use it during water deficient seasons by linking rivers through networks of canals and barrage. If fructified, this could be one of the most life-changing and among the most complex projects in the world.

Every development work has some price to pay in terms of environmental and social fallouts but if the benefits far outweigh the cons, one needs to go for it. The kind of challenges that India faces such as food security, rural upliftment and livelihood, higher agricultural output etc cannot be achieved if our water resources are not harnessed and managed optimally and scientifically. River interlinking project can be a transformational feat for our countryside. And let us not overlook the fact that it is a long project and if major faults are noticed in the program at any stage, this can be abandoned or modified but opposing it even before it has begun will be a regressive, anti-farmer step.

The real challenge before the government is to communicate sincerely and effectively to people that this project will largely benefit the rural community and farmers, before other negative notion takes root.

May 2016 I 27

COVER STORY

Letting go a precious resource Apathy, corruption, greed behind failure of rainwater harvesting policies in cities across India

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Shailendra Yashwant arvest rainwater or pay fine from May 1 2016; T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, Chairman of Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) has warned the citizens reeling under unprecedented heat waves and water scarcity in the hitherto ‘air-conditioned garden capital of Karnataka.

BWSSB made rainwater harvesting compulsory through the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Rainwater Harvesting Amendment) Regulations in 2011.

According to the rules, all existing buildings on sites measuring 60 feet by 40 feet and new constructions on sites measuring 30 feet by 40 feet have to adopt the system.

Existing houses on 30 feet by 40 feet sites built before 2008 are exempted but encouraged to install rainwater-harvesting systems.

A strident Mr. Vijay Bhaskar

28 I May 2016

stressed, “You will have to pay 25 per cent of your water bill as penalty for the first three months.

The penalty will double after three months and will be collected till you adopt rainwater-harvesting system.

Our meter readers and other field staff have been trained to inspect buildings and implement the rule strictly.�

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, armed with a similar penalizing decree imposed in September 2015, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has recovered over Rs one crore from the commercial and industrial landholders for failing to install rainwater-harvesting system. Now, the deadline of October 1 has been given to the domestic households to install the rainwater harvesting unit to protect them from 30 per cent increased water tariffs from the next billing cycle. It is compulsory to install rainwater harvesting unit according to the Delhi Water & Sewer (Tariff and Metering)

Regulations, 2012.

In another instance, in New Delhi, after repeated directions by the National Green Tribunal on rainwater harvesting fell on deaf ears, nine five-star hotels, 23 malls and commercial complexes have been asked to show cause as to why they be not directed to pay compensation for not providing rainwater harvesting systems and more importantly why they be not directed to pay compensation for depleting groundwater levels.

A joint inspection team of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Central Pollution Control Board and the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) had found them to be non-conforming.

Across the country, the whip of penalty is being used as a final resort to implement the mandatory rainwater harvesting law that most states have enacted in last decade or so but have failed to implement fully. In India, under www.governancetoday.co.in

the constitutional set up, water is a state subject. In urban areas its governance rests with urban local bodies as per the 74th constitutional amendment.

Desperate times need desperate measures. Groundwater levels are falling as India’s farmers, city residents and industries drain wells and aquifers. On the face of it, India has 2.45 per cent of the world’s land and 4 per cent of its fresh water resources. India’s annual precipitation (snowfall and rain) is 4,000 billion cubic meters (bcm). This translates into 1,869 bcm of water in rivers, of which barely 690 bcm is used. What water is available is often severely polluted. And the future may only be worse, with the national supply predicted to fall 50 per cent below demand by 2030.

Regulations exist but strict enforcement has been impossible as the fear of the law is found to be totally absent in most urban areas.

Corruption is an easy facilitator.

After obtaining approvals for plans that may be in line with the building byelaws, during actual construction people tend to deviate and violate at will. Many go further to construct buildings without permissions and in complete violation of multiple laws.

They overcrowd and exponentially overstress water resources around major cities.

Cities and urban industrial conglomerates are the biggest water guzzlers and also the biggest water-wasters. Residents of Hinjewadi and Baner—IT hubs of Smart City Pune—are hostage to the tanker mafia; not very far away Navi Mumbai residents are agitated about tanker operators siphoning from pipelines for sale to housing societies. Water stress in cities is draining water sources in surrounding areas. Water shortages are met by lifting water from neighboring rural areas.

Every month, an average of Rs 50 crores worth of water is brought into Chennai from rural areas. That amounts to a whopping Rs 600 crore, every year, for water.

The steady decline in exploitable groundwater reserves shifts the www.governancetoday.co.in

onus to stopping and conserving rain water to recharge surface water that, estimates indicate, will have to contribute no less than 63-65 per cent of the total water requirement of cities in the decades ahead.

Since 2001, Tamil Nadu has been the poster child of rainwater harvesting efforts in India. The state pioneered model laws and public awareness efforts more than a decade ago and yet the city reels under water crisis every year.

Last year in March, in a desperate measure to tackle water shortage, Chennai Metro water pumped dead storage water from its quickly receding reservoirs, since the water level had gone below the shutters in the water bodies and could not naturally flow into the channels.

Nityanand Jayaraman, Chennai based activist and journalist points out, “In 2001, the Government of Tamil Nadu launched an aggressive push for rooftop rainwater harvesting. That campaign had significant though not total success. It combined awareness raising with a scheme of incentives, disincentives, statesponsored technical assistance for building owners and enforcement.”

“But that campaign’s successes faded as the campaign died.

Government interest in promoting rooftop harvesting is critical to its success. More importantly, governments need to also look at landscapes from a rainwater harvesting perspective. The same government that charted a success story with rooftop harvesting in Tamil Nadu simultaneously encouraged the encroachment of Chennai’s wetlands for ‘development’ and ‘infrastructure’.”

Climate change science and models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had predicted the current water scarcity crisis almost two decades ago but lawmakers largely ignored it. The groundwater situation is now being hailed as a national calamity.

Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti claims that her Ministry is already promoting rainwater harvesting and artificial

recharge measures in the country.

A Master Plan has been drawn and circulated to all state governments for harnessing surplus monsoon runoff to augment ground water resources.

Unfortunately, going by the actual financial allocations and institutional directives, rainwater harvesting is clearly not high on the minister’s agenda either. It is a state’s problem after all, is the constant refrain heard from the central corridors.

Here we are dealing with a full blown disaster and our only hope is to somehow survive next two months, most likely hotter than this April, and most certainly the hottest years in hundred years, after which we may have a good monsoon, as per Indian Met Department’s predictions. A monsoon that most likely will be wasted again because we forgot to fix our ancient rainwater harvesting bodies, the tanks, the ponds, the lakes, the backwaters, the rivers and the bunds.

Apathy, India’s biggest environmental threat; corruption, India’s biggest development roadblock; and greed of corporate stakeholders are at the core of the failure of implementation of rainwater harvesting policies in most cities across India.

The way forward requires a paradigm shift in water governance and the first step to achieve that is to identify, strengthen and provide legal validity to local institutions and empowerment of local communities, for ensuring equitable and sustainable use of water within ecological confines.

Both persuasive and legislative measures to involve local communities and stake-holders in the creation and maintenance of existing rain water harvesting bodies is a must and for that if criminalizing and penalizing nonconformance is the only way, then so be it.

The writer is an advisor to Climate Action Network South Asia, a coalition of over 140 civil society organizations working on climate change in the region

May 2016 I 29

INTERVIEW RAJUL PARIKH | PRESIDENT, WATER QUALITY INDIA ASSOCIATION (WQIA)

GOVERNMENTS MUST ENSURE THAT WASTE WATER IS TREATED PRIOR TO DISCHARGE

T

here is a famous saying in Hindi: “vaani aur paani har 100 km mein badalta hai” which when literally translated into English, means that in India, there is a difference in language and quality of water every 100 kms. India also has the stark distinction of having 16 per cent of the world’s population, but only 4 per cent of the planet’s freshwater resources. In terms of quality of water supplied to its citizens, India ranked 120th among 122 countries (2010). End result? 38 million Indians suffer from water borne diseases annually. Deaths? A staggering 454,367 as per a WHO report of 2010. Ramesh Kumar Raja had a conversation with Rajul Parikh, President, Water Quality India Association (WQIA) to discuss issues relating to contamination of potable water. Parikh also happens to be Director of Alfaa UV, a market leader in UV technology and India’s first ISO 9001 certified water purification company.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

30 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

What is your view on impact of falling water tables in India?

How big a problem is contamination of water in India?

Essentially, water used for consumption comes from two sources: groundwater and surface water. Groundwater is water extracted from the earth using bore wells and tube wells. Groundwater is the result of seepage of water from the earth’s surface into the ground. Groundwater is essentially rich in mineral content, mixed with hues of mineral & chemical deposits found in that particular region. Groundwater emanating from natural springs in the Himalayan region is rich in natural minerals (nutrients) which are said to be beneficial for the human body and devoid of impurities.

Calcium, magnesium and iron, in well balanced quantities constitute ideal mineral water. However, such pristine sources of groundwater are relatively elusive in areas with high population, agricultural and industrial activity.

It is estimated that about 70 per cent of India’s groundwater is contaminated. Dumping of untreated sewage into water bodies which ultimately seep into surrounding areas, discharge of industrial effluents directly into the ground, and overuse of pesticides in agriculture, have been responsible for groundwater contamination. Over-exploitation of groundwater to meet the demands of agriculture, industry and consumption outside city limits have lowered the water tables to critically low levels. With falling water tables, contaminants and salts dissolved in water (TDS) reach high levels. Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have low groundwater tables and face severe pollution of ground water. Contaminants in groundwater are not restricted to chemicals but also include naturally occurring organic chemicals, salts, metals, pesticides etc. Excessive fluoride and arsenic levels in groundwater can spell disaster on the human body with long term usage.

Surface water is found in reservoirs, lakes, ponds and rivers and is essentially rain water. Surface water is naturally soft and contains very few dissolved impurities. Here again, the problem begins with sources of contamination. Discharge of sewage and industrial effluents into water bodies causes serious contamination. (It is estimated that 90 per cent of wastewater in developing countries is discharged into rivers and water bodies without treatment.) Surface waters become the feed for treatment plants operated by civic authorities (municipalities). Post treatment, water is distributed via pipelines to residents within defined urban areas. Ageing pipelines run parallel to sewage lines, the intermittent supply of water, which is the case in most Indian cities, creates a vacuum in unpressurized water pipes, allowing contaminants from the sewage lines to be sucked into the drinking water lines, many of them riddled with leaks. These impurities are pathogenic in nature, mostly bacteria and viruses which cause serious water borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea, especially during periods of heavy contamination (eg. floods) leading to outbreaks of epidemics.

www.governancetoday.co.in

So does that mean that the ground and surface water in India are contaminated beyond permissible limits?

Both groundwater and surface water are often contaminated beyond permissible limits.

Groundwater may contain more than the permissible TDS and municipal supplies may get recontaminated during distribution and storage. The level of microorganisms may again exceed permissible levels. Most educated

citizens will be able to identify their primary source of water, and this is the beginning. The treatment options available today are based on this fundamental recognition.

(While municipalities distribute treated surface water, water supplied by commercial tankers is groundwater and may contain higher levels of TDS)

What are the technologies available to purify the contaminated water?

Filtration, ion exchange, separation and disinfection are four broad categories of technologies available to purify water. Within these, there are further sub technologies, e.g. microfiltration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and disinfection.

Depending on the water quality, separation (membrane) and disinfection technologies are used to create safe drinking water free from excessive TDS and / or microorganisms to adhere to WHO standards of drinking water.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is an effective way to treat water with higher than permissible levels of TDS, which may also contain substances such as fluorides and arsenic. A high TDS level is normally associated with hardness and an undesirable taste. In many cases, the main driver of RO usage is the noticeable change in taste post treatment by RO. RO treated water has a pleasant taste, akin to bottled water. It is important to remember that most RO membranes reduce TDS by 90 per cent. So if the TDS is 600 mg/ml to begin with, the treated water will have a TDS of 60. Ideal TDS levels should be in the range of 60-80 mg/ml. Ground water often contains microorganisms as well, so disinfection post RO is often good protection. (The primary job of an RO membrane is to separate the dissolved impurities, not disinfect.)

When the source of water is surface, filtration and disinfection May 2016 I 31

Dumping of untreated sewage into water bodies which ultimately seep into surrounding areas, discharge of industrial effluents directly into the ground, and overuse of pesticides in agriculture, have been responsible for groundwater contamination

technologies normally suffice to make the water safe… A chemical based gravity purifier or a chemical free UV purifier does a good job of disinfection. Adding an RO to treat surface water which has low TDS to start with, is normally unnecessary and akin to antibiotic treatment being administered for a common cold.

What can government do to prevent water contamination?

Governments must ensure that waste water is treated prior to discharge. While there are norms in place, implementation is weak. Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers should be discouraged through education. Incentives to promote organic farming can encourage the use of natural manures as against chemical fertilizers. Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, monitoring stations have been set up on the Ganga basin to monitor untreated waste in real time. This is a step in the right direction.

What can we learn from other countries in management of water quality?

32 I May 2016

Contamination at source must be stopped. It’s interesting to see how countries as developed as Australia, to countries such as Thailand and Sri Lanka are proud of their water bodies and make every effort to protect them. Laws and regulations are in place and penalties are high. In the last 10 years, China has made great progress in this area. Another area where we can learn from is recharge of ground water for every extraction that takes place.

Is there something that individuals can do to avoid getting sick because of water contamination?

Microorganisms in water are the number one reason for people getting water borne infections such as Typhoid, Hepatitis and Gastroenteritis. More than 4 lakh people, mostly children, die of water borne diseases every year.

India’s tropical climate supports rapid microbiological activity, especially in water and food.

Disinfection of drinking water is very important. At the municipal levels, chlorine is traditionally used. However, as water travels across miles of pipelines, some of

them very old and rusted, and often running parallel to sewage lines, chances of contamination before water is delivered at your home is possible.

Further, water stored in underground and overhead tanks may elevate the problem. So it’s important to disinfect water at the point of use. Traditionally boiling has been the way of disinfecting water using heat as the disinfectant. But high fuel costs, safety and handling issues, has reduced the popularity of boiling. Chemicals such as chlorine, iodine and bromine are found in many household purifiers today, and are relatively inexpensive. UV is a natural, chemical free disinfectant with no residual properties and provides effective protection against dangerous microorganisms.

UV disinfection is a time tested and cost effective solution to provide protection against water borne diseases. In the case of ground water supplies from wells and tankers, where dissolved impurities are found along with microorganisms, a RO+UV purifier can provide the necessary protection.

www.governancetoday.co.in

COVER STORY

Water use efficiency in Indian agriculture sector Ritwajit Das | Natalia Zorba

W

hat are the most comprehensive measures and processes in defining successful institutional and governance reform for water use efficiency (WUE) in agriculture? It is one of the most crucial questions that nations want to address today.

Water scarcity across economic sectors has amplified the importance of demand side management and of improving water use efficiency in agriculture. Most countries have tried to address the issue of water scarcity by developing new water sources under a supply management policy. Countries that have abundant water resources can gain from supply management to receive reliable amounts of water for irrigation. However, this strategy is not viable for most countries.

As such, since early 1980’s, many countries have focused on improving water use efficiency (WUE) and its governance including institutional and non-institutional reforms as a way to maximize the potential of this exhaustible resource. In short, demand management has emerged as the most significant policy instrument.

Furthermore, concurring to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, changes and erraticism in hydrological systems resulting from climate change will disproportionally affect the most vulnerable populations in the developing world. For agriculture, this indicates variations in rainfall and the higher incidence and severity of floods and droughts leading to difficulties in water resources management. Mitigation and adaptation approaches to maximizing WUE in agriculture

can be successful only if they are entrenched in longer term strategies closely linked to agricultural and water policy reforms.

India’s hitch with water scarcity is not new. Despite India’s rapid development and urbanization, industrial and domestic water users in India consume 10 percent and 8 percent respectively, while the agricultural sector consumes 82 percent of total supply. But the consumption needs of middle class will continue to drive domestic as well as industrial demand at a high clip. This express growth, combined with limited water supply and the continuing importance of agriculture, illustrates the critical need for improved WUE in India.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, have made substantial headways in reforming their water institutions and governance structures by adopting

Loktak Lake in Manipur has been used for agricultural purposes for long www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 33

There is a dire need to beef up the irrigation infrastructure in the country

legislations to promote participatory irrigation management. Presently, the deliberation in India is focused on how to negate the existing irrigation inefficiency and low crop yields and how to restructure irrigation departments so that they can become competent to improve water delivery process.

Understanding best practices from other countries and India’s own community based interventions models will help present policy thinkers and planners to enhance governance structures and understand key indicators that can assist in data-driven decisionmaking.

Development of agricultural water resource in India In India, agriculture is of central importance to the national and regional economies, contributing 14.6 percent of GDP and over 55 per cent of employment. Along with food security, Agriculture thus also provides livelihood for the majority 34 I May 2016

of the population. But only about 102 million hectares or almost onethird of the total cultivated area is irrigated. In many regions due to inadequate rainfall, irrigation plays a key role in the drive to enabling and enhancing food production.

Irrigation gives farmers the security of water supply and enables them to invest in higher yielding crop varieties and increased inputs leading to greater levels of agricultural production than would have been possible under rainfed agriculture.

However, projections of water supply and population growth rates in India are showing a disturbing scenario for the future: while the average per capita supply of water will decrease by one-third by 2025, water use will increase by about 50 percent during the same period. Low water productivity in agriculture along with aging supply infrastructure could lead to huge supply-demand gaps in many basins with currently planned crop choices.

Till the early 1970s, most of the policy mediations in India focused

on supply solutions for dealing with increased water demand.

These included the construction of large dams, inter-basin transfer of water and small-scale solutions such as rainwater harvesting and other rural development policies.

In Gujarat, for example, watershed development programs were implemented to alleviate poverty and respond to increased water demand in arid and semi-arid regions of the state. Watershed development programs were enacted in hopes that agricultural development in both rainfed and semi-arid regions of India would improve by capturing scarce water resources and managing the soil and vegetation.

Although successful in many semi-arid parts of Gujarat and western Madhya Pradesh, the program has not been as successful in other areas due to a lack of understanding of hydrologic conditions and poor infrastructure management; thus, they have not alleviated the problems of rural irrigation development and WUE. In some cases, these policies have www.governancetoday.co.in

recharge. According to the Central Ground Water Board, the rate of decline in water levels ranged from 0.91 metres below land surface to 6 metres below land surface during a twenty-year period from1980 to 2000. Although, groundwater wells are easily accessible for farmers to use for crop productivity, groundwater use is unregulated and therefore used without maximizing WUE for distribution and long-term crop production.

Rainfed farming is still too important for farming in India

exacerbated water scarcity, forcing a shift from supply-side to demand side management to address water availability and water use.

Availability of water in India India roughly receives an average of 4,000 billion cubic meters of rainfall every year.

Regrettably, only 48 per cent of rainfall ends up in India’s rivers and aquifers. A dearth of storage procedures, lack of adequate infrastructure, and ill trained water resources officials ensure that only 18 - 20 per cent of the water can be utilized. The availability and demand for water resources in India show sizeable variations from region to region. Breakdown of current water supply and demand in aquifers and river basins show that water scarcity is due to two major reasons, namely, inefficient and inequitable use of and distribution of water; and excessive irrigation development.

Nearly ninety per cent of the Indian population lives in areas with some form of water stress or food production deficit. There is a high dependency on some aquifers for production of grain to match shortfalls in river basins that are typically used for surface water based irrigation. In Gujarat’s semiarid northern region, one of the most intensively irrigated regions in www.governancetoday.co.in

India, water availability is a concern because groundwater irrigation contributes more than 90 percent of the overall livelihoods of the farmers.

Usage of water: Urban and rural divide Growing demand from the ever emergent urban and industrial sectors, and concerns for the environment is likely to reduce the share of water withdrawn for irrigation causing a reduction in food production for the growing population. Groundwater used for irrigation has increased from about 40 per cent of the net irrigated area in the 1960s to about 57 per cent in the late 1990s. Much of this expansion has occurred in water-scarce river basins resulting in increasing the groundwater overdraft in many aquifers.

As a result, the expansions of groundwater irrigation, and its sustainable management have become critical for future water management.

Groundwater uses about 44 percent of the total volume of water used for irrigation but contributes nearly 60 per cent of India’s irrigated area. For example, in northern Gujarat, excessive withdrawal of groundwater for irrigation is causing massive declines in water levels throughout the region and depleting aquifers faster than they can

Water governance issues and institutional arrangements : Rural India perspective In India, designing applicable institutional strategies to allocate scarce water and river flows has been an enormous challenge due to the complex legal, constitutional, and social issues involved. The water sector has been grappling with hyper-poor performance and worsening of infrastructure for irrigation with much of the culpability falling on the current institutions in place. There is little agreement about appropriate institutional arrangements and criteria for successful institutional design.

A wide range of institutional arrangements has evolved over the last few decades to use and manage the increasing demand for irrigation in India. For example, in India most state governments practice a Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM approach) defined by a system of participation of the farmers as beneficiaries with a loose joint role in management of the irrigation system. But there is wide variation in the number of Water User Associations (WUAs) set up in different states (ranging from more than 10,000 in Andhra Pradesh to less than 100 in Bihar).

With the PIM initiatives in place, in some cases partial autonomy was given to WUAs to jointly manage either primary or secondary canals.

In some cases, a chosen group of farmers or a committee collaborates with the irrigation department. In yet May 2016 I 35

other cases, full autonomy is given to farmers to manage the irrigation management system.

The success of institutional designs such as PIM are contingent upon collaboration of institutions, such as the central or regional, on different levels to operate and maintain an efficient irrigation system.

In India, however, infrastructure in most rural farming areas has remained largely unmaintained and there is an emerging gap between the irrigation potential created and the potential utilized – a prime culprit being the inefficient use of water for agriculture. Specifically, WUAs were formed without adequate institutional support and training services for farmers (resulting in low standards of operation and maintenance) and many WUAs do not employ staff to carry out the basic functions of water management, maintenance and record keeping resulting in poor service delivery. This inefficiency in water use and lack of performance in irrigation are signals to reform the institutional mechanisms currently in place.

management as well as for resolving regional water allocation conflict.

There is a latent need to incorporate more scientific data measurements, data management, and dissemination to improve long-term WUE beyond basic administrative institutional reform.

Scientific data collection and monitoring (including field reconnaissance) should be undertaken before reform is considered both during management implementation and within consistent intervals post-reform. Some of these data collection efforts should include: a) G r o u n d w a t e r - l e v e l measurements and monitoring in existing wells to determine water-level fluctuations in shallow aquifers b) Canal flow measurements

large basins, change can be days, weeks or months. Individual cases for WUE can also vary distinctly. In some cases, hydrologic changes occur very quickly such as during flash floods or short period rainfalls when the effects appear immediately and water levels in aquifers and rivers have dramatic changes. In these situations, measurement training to effectively help deal with irrigation management, particularly distribution, will be necessary.

Third, for small-scale irrigation users, a contractor from the village should be used for repairs and other maintenance issues. This will create a sense of ownership and belonging among the users, improve maintenance of the infrastructure, bring financial discipline, cost recovery, better regulation and

Recommendations for governance reforms and institutional restructuring A comprehensive multidisciplinary effort is necessary to enhance the efficiency of institutional reform and therefore help the agricultural sector maximize efficient water use and distribution.

The worth of the know-how of the hydrological cycle is fundamental to solving a variety of water management problems. For long-term institutional change, a basin or watershed perspective needs to be maintained.

A key feature of decentralization should be an increasing importance being attached to river basin or watershed irrigation management.

Basin WUAs can be designed and formulated on hydrologic rather than on administrative boundaries.

Understanding and interpreting the hydrology is important for water management institutions and/ or subsequent reform because it allows for an integrated approach to 36 I May 2016

With depleting water table, large number of pumps are becoming unusable

by obtaining periodic measurements of discharge (the quantity of water passing a location along a canal) c) Periodic measurements of precipitation (could be monthly, quarterly, annually) Another point that need wider acceptance is the timescale variability of various natural (hydrologic) processes.

For example, in the case of rainfall, effects such as water-level increases in rivers at various intervals can be observed, since in

overall sustainability. This also alleviates the financial burden of the government in terms of subsidies and manpower reduction.

The most efficient method of accomplishing the contracting method is to give incentives leading to water use improvements in the first year as this policy requires minimal technological investment for reducing overall water use. The contractor would then incorporate WUAs into the management of the irrigation operation. This is a cost effective way to maintain efficient www.governancetoday.co.in

Many canals have dried up because of poor upkeep

functioning of irrigation systems and can lead to better performance without additional investment.

In order to implement PIM by reforming existing institutions in India, governments must understand that the primary goal is to increase water use efficiency and how to measure its success. Therefore, to assess the efficacy of the transfer of irrigation management to WUAs, the performance of the irrigation system must be measured. Some of the criteria could be to measure the maintenance expenditure per metre of the canal and the changes in water fee collection.

Also it should be assesses as to what extent, water fees covers the operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Central governments or irrigation departments should also promote training for WUAs, assign the roles and responsibilities to different actors, and extend technical support towards management of the irrigation system. Although this involves transaction costs, in the long run this would vastly improve the efficiency and sustainability of www.governancetoday.co.in

the irrigation system. If farmers were convinced that the associated benefits of their participation exceed the costs, they would extend their active cooperation and be willing to pay the irrigation charges provided they are assured of dependable supply.

If institutional reform measures are undertaken in areas where any management system does not exist, then two additional performance indicators could be taken into consideration. First, dependability of irrigation interval can be tracked that would determine whether the interval between irrigations is either planned (such as in a planned irrigation rotation regime) or dictated by the crop’s soil moisture status. This indicator allows irrigation planners during reform projects to determine whether a crop is contributing to inefficient use of water based on the environmental conditions of the region. Second, water delivery efficiency should be measured at main canal intakes and offtakes to the tertiary unit. This value changes based on the season (monsoon or

drought) in which it is measured.

The complication in dealing with agricultural WUE, governance and institutional reform requires technical expertise at various levels of management. This includes not only individual capacities but also institutions with sufficient strength and independence to guarantee rigorous work. Some characteristics to take into account when deciding upon reform possibilities in India include the construction cost of a water distribution system having exclusive regional characteristics.

Also, the environmental impacts of actions will have to be addressed.

Achieving these changes involves better collaboration between the technical and environmental community on the one hand and farmers on the other. This allows for a more unbiased evaluation of the needs of the Irrigation Management Board (IMB), Distributary Stations and WUAs, and calls for a formal advisory group that includes all parties – particularly farmers so that their rights to political action are not compromised in making decisions regarding water distribution, fee collection, water use, and other efficiency targets.

Such collaboration cannot be imposed from above, but will have to be designed based on particular local characteristics and more microscopic bottom – up set up.

Improved water usage efficiency is the need of the hour as India does not have sufficient water per capita. In this situation, India would need a participative action plan to ensure that enough water is available for agricultural purpose without sacrificing sustainability.

It is necessary that necessary steps are taken in right earnest as further delays could severely jeopardize Indian farm sector and food security.

The writer is an International Consultant on Environment and Sustainable Development Policies and Natalia Zorba is a Sociologist from National Pedagogical Dragmanov University, Ukraine

May 2016 I 37

COVER STORY

The painful necessity Thanks to the unique concept of Water ATMs that even the poor now realise that paying for clean water can save much more in healthcare costs later

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Ramesh Kumar Raja lthough the drinking water has always been an issue in different parts of the country, it had never caught the national attention until the government’s recent move to rush water trains to the drought-hit Latur district of Maharashtra. While it exposed the reckless attitude of consecutive governments in the state, the development has brought to the fore the grave issue of water crisis that looms all over India like never before. Fresh water has indeed become such a scarce commodity these days that if at all there is a fear for a third world war, it could be over the drinking water.

It’s not an unusual scene in India’s urban slums or neighbourhoods to see women and children line up with empty buckets waiting for the tanker truck to arrive. Even in rural areas women would walk a few kilometres to draw fresh water from wells. Often shortage of water leads to minor scuffles and the day’s schedule of many homes are wasted in waiting for arrival of tanker trucks.

While most of the countries have met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of safe drinking water, India is among the ten nations without access to safe drinking water. The country has 97 million people without access to improved water supplies, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and unavailability of clean water has affected the health of many Indians. Water supply in rural areas is routinely contaminated with toxic bacteria and many children die every year because of toxic water. High fluoride content in water has resulted in several cases 38 I May 2016

of joint pain. Nearly three-fourths of all diseases caused in India are due to water contaminants. While the middle class and upper class generally install water purifiers and RO systems at home to access drinking water, this is not possible in the rural sector or urban people who might not be in a position to afford these devices.

In this context, it is easy to understand the relevance of water ATMs, which are basically water

dispensers supplying safe drinking water at extremely reasonable prices. What makes Water ATMs a winning proposition is that it supplies clean drinking water for just Rs 1 per litre, thus making it affordable for the general public.

On the other hand, a bottled water in the market is available for Rs 15 per litre. Piramal Foundation has introduced the idea of water ATMs in India quite recently with the help of its daughter company Sarvajal Private Limited. Thanks to this initiative, even the poor now realise that paying for clean water can save much more in healthcare costs later. It is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) division of business conglomerate Piramal group. Hundreds of water ATMs are now successfully working in many areas of India including even the national capital where sweet drinking water is not easily available.

Founded in 2008, Sarvajal— which in Sanskrit means “water for all”—currently serves three lakh people daily across 12 states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In bigger villages, it employs local people to man filtration plants and sell water. In small villages, it installs solar-powered water dispensing machines that use prepaid (or pay-as-you-go) smart cards that can be topped up just like a mobile phone. The machines send data to a central server via SMS, which helps Sarvajal ensure regular supply of clean water.

Likewise, Vandana Foundation, Naandi Foundation, Water Health International, Aquakraft Projects and Cairn India’s Jeevan Amrit Project are among other organisations working on charity www.governancetoday.co.in

with various states to set up water ATMs at different locations in the country. The water is usually sourced from the municipal corporations, which is actually not safe for drinking. It is then treated with various chemicals and other scientific procedures to make it fit for drinking. “The treatment is customized according to the location and the quality of water. A number of factors, like demographics and quality of water, are taken into considerations before we decide the treatment,” as per Subramanya Kusnur, chairman and CEO of Aquakraft Projects Pvt. Limited. The treatment is modified according to the weather as well. For instance, bacteria are particularly high during rainy season so the treatment is changed accordingly. The groundwater is harder during summers so again the treatment changes to make the water drinkable.

Since the unique concept of water ATMs has been launched, water-borne diseases have come down and change has been observed in the social behaviours of the villagers – where women

usually carry the task of fetching water, men are now happily involved. It has improved the lives of villagers and also functions as a form of self-governance. It is also emerging as a solution to providing clean drinking water in resettlement

Judging by the success and prospect of these water ATMs, the government should consider taking up more water projects on similar models so as to provide citizens with access to safe drinking water

Water ATMs have made the lives of women easier as they no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water

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colonies which do not get piped water. Water to these colonies is generally supplied by the tankers of municipal corporations.

Judging by the success and prospect of these water ATMs, the government should consider taking up more water projects on similar models so as to provide citizens with access to safe drinking water. Talking of India’s water security, a report by Asian Development Bank has concluded that water prospects of the country are hazardous. Experts say that increased population of cities has resulted in increased demand for water. Even the government’s own data reveals that residents of major cities have to deal with daily shortages. There is fast depletion of groundwater as well.

According to the World Bank, India is the largest user of ground water in the world, after China.

Most importantly, water management is the need of the hour. India gets fresh water every year through monsoons and glacier melts. But there is lack of infrastructure for rain water harvesting and for distribution, or even leakage in distribution.

Many cities get adequate water, but due to faulty engineering and poor maintenance, little is harvested. It is time to discuss whether nationalization of waters would be more advantageous for the country. States cannot think only for their own self. Access to water should be considered as a basic human right and water should be treated as a shared commodity. This is necessary to safeguard the country from droughts and floods. Besides, water pollution should be made a serious offence. Pollution of rivers and waste water management are areas where government should start working immediately, in addition to thinking of long term solutions. Short term solutions are rain water harvesting and increasing the capacity of lakes and reservoirs. ramesh@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 39

INTERVIEW FLEMMING JAKOBSEN | MANAGING DIRECTOR, DHI

A WATER AUDIT SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN AT LEAST ONCE IN 10 YEARS

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ver a span of 50 years, DHI has helped over 140 countries deal with challenges in water management. The company started its operations in India in 1985 and since then has involved itself in solving all issues related to water. Its focus areas include all water environments from river and reservoirs to oceans and coastlines and to cities and industries. Saving water, improving the water quality, managing the flows, and forecasting floods and droughts are some of the areas where the company has been able to provide effective solutions.

In an interaction with Lekshmi Parameswaran of Governance Today, Flemming Jakobsen, Managing Director, DHI gives an insight into the situation of water management in India and the measures that can be taken to stop the over exploitation of the precious resource.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

What are the focus areas of DHI, at a global level and in India?

DHI offers a wide range of consulting services and leading edge technologies and software tools, which can be applied to explore solutions in all aspects of water resources. DHI has extensive experience in the development and implementation of River Modeling System, River Basin Management Systems, Real Time Flood Forecast and Reservoir Operation System, Flood Inundation Modeling Systems, 40 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

Integrated Water Resource Management and Planning, Decision Support Systems (DSS) for Integrated Water Resources Management encompassing quantity and quality of water.

In addition DHI’s experience also covers Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, and Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS applications for Water Resources Management and Capacity Building under ‘Academy by DHI’.

DHI’s strong presence in India supports clients in getting stateof-the-art technical solutions tailored to Indian conditions and in updating and operating developed models and tools.

Can you elucidate our readers on the Real Time Decision Support System (RTDSS) and how effective it has been in preventing floods and managing droughts?

In recent past, most of regions of India either suffered from devastating floods resulting into loss of lives, crops and damage to infrastructure, or from severe drought conditions resulting in scarcity of water for drinking, irrigation and industrial use. To tackle the flood and drought situation, the reservoirs are built in many basins in India, however, very few of them are operated to regulate floods or tackle droughts due to lack of a forecasting system. The real time Decision support system together with a reservoir operation guidance system is useful to reduce peak floods downstream of the reservoirs in short term. The same system on long term basis is effective in optimal allocation of water to the stake holders and minimizing the effect of droughts.

The RTDSS is integrated with real time data from telemetry stations with rainfall, water levels of rivers and reservoirs and other climatic www.governancetoday.co.in

parameters. Also the system dynamically links with other web based data sources. The RTDSS system is used for providing reservoir operation guidance for an integrated operation of the reservoirs in the basin. The model together with optimization of reservoir operation also provides a basis of optimum releases for irrigation, water supply and flood control and hydropower in the entire system. A communication and information management system, which disseminates a variety of flow/flood warning as well as drought, reports to concerned authority, organizations and communities through SMS, Email and Web portal. The system is operational in the KrishnaBhima basin in Maharashtra.

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plan developed for the Tamil Nadu Government is an ambitious attempt by DHI. Can you please throw light on some of the engineering solutions provided by DHI to help in the conservation of the coastal ecosystem?

The Tamil Nadu coast comprises of ecologically sensitive areas like Pulicat Lagoon, Muthupet Lagoon, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem and several estuaries including Manakudy. For the preparation of the Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) from the ecological perspective, Manakudy estuary has been taken as case study for ecosystem improvement.

Manakudy estuary is amongst the largest estuaries in the Kanyakumari District with a total area of 145 hectares and is known for being the southernmost wintering grounds for the migratory waterfowls. The main aim of the

SAMP is to restore and conserve the Manakudy estuary ecosystem, and at the same time minimizing the loss of lives and properties in the shoreline from natural coastal disasters including cyclonic storms and surges.

Some of the engineering solutions provided were: Enhancement of connectivity of the estuary to the sea; Dumping of dredged material on the beach for beach nourishment; Permanent opening and maintenance of river mouth; Stabilization of the river bank; Shoreline protection and Restoration of mangrove.

In a country like India, managing non-revenue water (NRW) can be quite a challenge. What are the steps that can be taken to minimize the losses?

As the first step, it needs to be required to introduce metering in all Municipal Areas and introduce billing as per actual consumption rather than a fixed charge as is being practiced in many Municipalities. Even though water is treated as a social good in India, the Municipalities should at least recover the Operation and Maintenance Cost to start with and proceed to part recovery of replacement cost in a phased manner. The next step is to introduce Asset management and replace aged and wornout components periodically. A Water Audit should be undertaken at least once in 10 years to determine the amount of NRW and physical losses. DMA (district meter areas) can be developed which is an area of a distribution system which is specifically defined, e.g. by the closure of valves, and in which the quantities of water entering and leaving the district are metered.

Implementing “Leak monitor” is yet another good step. Reports can be generated and published on line via Water Audit Online.

May 2016 I 41

Hydraulic model can be developed that includes all essential components of the water supply system and realistically describes the behavior of the system. It can be used to identify areas where pressure can be reduced. Lastly, fieldwork crews can be employed to locate and close leaks.

DHI has partnered with the government in getting many of its projects implemented.

How has the experience been like? What bottlenecks did the company have to face at the policy level?

The experience has been Excellent with regard to challenges in respect of knowledge sharing, technical challenges, learning and innovation. The main matter of concern has been the delays in decision making, unrealistic timelines, and delays in payment and consequent cash flow issues in the projects.

What according to you are the problems with water management in the country and what mitigation strategies can you think of?

In India, the problem is, there is too little planning and too little management. There is no planned construction like in US and Europe. 80 per cent of water consumption in India is in agricultural sector and there is an urgent need to improve water efficiency in this sector. It can be done by: identifying areas of improvement, carrying out urgent repairs in a time bound manner, and switching to more modern irrigation systems in a phased manner.

A policy of targeted subsidies which induce better water management is also an option; 42 I May 2016

examples of which could be removing subsidy on power and fossil fuels in areas where ground water levels are falling, and Introducing subsidy on power in areas which have water logging to encourage conjunctive use of ground and surface water. All new urban and industrial development should have twin line systems with integrated water resources management, recycling and reuse of water. Start up industries should be encouraged in Innovative Water Treatment Technologies. It should be made mandatory for industries and municipalities to treat water to the desired degree and reuse or safely dispose it for other usages.

In India, water is charged as the percentage of property owned.

People pay only a lump sum amount. Even a leaking tap can amount to so much of wastage. In cities there is 60 per cent wastage of water and it can stopped only if the users are made accountable.

Are there any states in India where good water management practices can be found?

The states where there are relatively better water management practices are Maharastra and Gujarat. Rajasthan has also employed some good practices because there is very little water.

Basically, we can see wherever there is scarcity; there are better water management practices.

In India, development is taking place at the cost

of water bodies. What can be done to save these precious bodies without hindering the developmental process?

A database can be developed in each State encompassing water bodies; their catchments and land use etc. This should be followed by effective regulation and its implementation for preservation and protection of the water bodies.

It needs to be ensured that there is no sewage and industrial effluent discharge in water bodies. Water bodies and their interconnections should be restored wherever possible. Lake Development Authorities can be introduced at State Level and be empowered to regulate activities in lakes and their catchment areas. Above all, there is a need for planned urban development. It should be seen to it that the new buildings are not blocking the passage of rivers.

What are the new projects on which DHI is working?

There are several new projects but some of the areas where we acquired proficiency in and around India, in addition to our traditional areas like Hydrology, Hydraulics, Flood Forecasting etc. include morphological modeling; reservoir sedimentation modeling and sediment management studies; Shore Line studies; and Benchmarking of Irrigation Systems etc. www.governancetoday.co.in

www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 43

INTERVIEW BRIAN PARROTT | MINISTER COMMERCIAL, HIGH COMMISSION OF CANADA, NEW DELHI

THERE IS A LOT OF WAYS THAT CANADIAN EXPERTISE CAN BE BROUGHT TO BENEFIT INDIA IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

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anada is the home to one of the largest Indian communities outside India.

Canada and India also have thriving economic relations.

To discuss the trade and commercial relations between the two countries, Anand Mishra, Editor and Rajesh Mehta, Consulting Editor, Governance Today, spoke to Mr Brian Parrott, Minister Commercial at the High Commission of Canada in New Delhi. Brian has extensive experience in international commerce, policy analysis related to economic development, trade promotion and investment attraction activities. Brian is responsible for advancing Canada’s commercial relationship with India, Nepal and Bhutan; and for providing leadership and guidance to the 13 trade and investment offices Canada has located across South Asia. He has developed and implemented CIDA programs for collaboration on environmental and regulatory reform in South America, and has undertaken international development work in Asia and South America. Edited excerpts:

How do you see the trade growth between India and Canada?

What are the major 44 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

roadblocks in this relationship?

Trade growth between Canada and India is really in the ascendency. In 2015, two way trade in goods between Canada and India increased by 28 per cent, from 2014 to a total of Cdn $8.26 Billion. Indian exports to Canada jumped 23 per cent to Cdn $3.94 billion while Canadian exports to India increased 33 per cent to Cdn $4.32 billion. India is now Canada’s 6th most important destination for exports overtaking Korea and Hong Kong last year.

In fact, India has jumped from 12th to 6th in just two years. This is reflective of the increased focus on India by our government as well as the great story about India that your Prime Minister is telling the world. With a market the size of India and a huge and growing middle class, Canadian exporters are increasingly looking to India and we hope Indian companies are looking to Canada as a jumping off point for the rest of North America. Our relationship is in a good place right now. People to people ties are strong and with direct flights by Air Canada between Delhi and Toronto and soon Delhi to Vancouver the ease of travel will further enhance business linkages.

Which are the areas in which you see most potential moving forward?

The opportunities in India, as most observers agree, are enormous. Our strategy is to play to our strengths and find those opportunities where India has a need. Clearly agricultural products are important to help India assure food security. So we see this as a major strength and an area where we can increase trade. Canada is also a market for some of the products that India can produce.

We are working hard on market access issues both ways in this regard. Canada is also strong www.governancetoday.co.in

in the smart city environment with several of our cities ranked in the top tiers of smart cities.

So we are looking to export our technologies and expertise in this area. We also have ICT strengths that compliment India’s so this is another area. Canada has hundreds of thousands of miles of roads and railways so the infrastructure thrust that is so important to India is an area where we look for opportunities.

Finally, Canada is rich in energy including renewable energy.

For example, as a result of our strengths in Hydro and civil nuclear, almost 70 per cent of Canada’s electricity supply is nonemitting. We want to bring this kind of expertise to India too.

High tech and clean tech are among the most prominent industrial segments of Canada?

How can India benefit from Canada in these areas?

As I noted, the smart city agenda in India is an area we are focusing on. The reason for this is that Canada has developed a great deal of expertise and experience in water treatment, waste to energy, and roof top solar energy. Canadian companies are very active in this space in India now and will continue to come as the Smart City program grows in India. We also have companies that excel in the ITC space in this regard. Smart grids and metering, for example employs a lot of IT and Ontario and BC are two provinces in Canada that are world leaders in the use of smart metering. I think there is a lot of ways that these areas of Canadian expertise can be brought to benefit India in the urban environment. Another area is in urban transit. Canadian companies like Bombardier, with a considerable presence already in India, are world leaders in clean urban transit. I should also

mention that Canada has engaged in the Clean the Ganga initiative.

We are using technologies and expertise on projects related to this.

Canada is the partner country in India Aviation 2016. How do you think this will help in improving aerospace business in India and Canada?

Canada was proud to have been a partner country in India Aviation in 2016. We took on this role because Canada has a very well developed aviation industry.

From training ground crews to pilots, from building airport to aircraft, Canada has a lot of what India needs in this sector.

One area in particular which we focussed on was the issue of regional connectivity. This is a key part of the new Aviation Policy in India and Canada has a great deal of expertise in this area because of our large country with a lot of remote areas, only accessible by air. We make aircraft like Twin Otters, helicopters, regional jets and Q400’s that are all very well suited to regional connections to smaller airports, remote parts of India and the like. Of course we also have a huge infrastructure of companies in Canada that supply to Boeing and Airbus so it was important to showcase Canada’s capabilities across the entire spectrum of the aviation industry, including skills training, airport architects and aircraft manufacturing.

What is your take on the Make in India and Digital India initiative of the government of India? What are your suggestions to make these more successful?

As a marketing initiative Make in India has been a great success.

It has put a strong focus on May 2016 I 45

India as a place to manufacture and as such has created the impetus for lots of state investor summits. This has helped bring global attention to India and make people think about investing here.

Digital India is also an initiative that is raising awareness about using it to streamline and simplify both business processes and interaction between governments and its citizens. This is a good thing. Canada has a welldeveloped system of on-line services which has greatly increased access to government so we think this is a good initiative in India.

What is your take on Startup iniative of Modi Government? How can Indian Startup learn from Canadian Startups & vice versa?

I understand that India is now the country with the 2nd most start-ups in the world. This is not surprising knowing the talent and entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian people. The fact that there are programs to promote start-ups is great. Canada and most other countries put in place initiatives to promote start-ups. It’s an important way to create jobs for one thing and it also helps to push the economy in ways that we sometimes cannot imagine. Was anyone in the mainstream public talking about the internet of things 5 years ago, for example? We are looking at how we can bring Indian start-ups and Canadian start-ups together to find ways to collaborate and enhance some of these emerging technologies. We are convinced that in this global world if we can bring the Indian start-up eco-system together with the Canadian eco-system we both will benefit.

Canada is having its 150 years Celebrations next year. How are you 46 I May 2016

encouraging Indian tourists & businesses to benefit from the program?

Yes, Canada will be 150 years old as a nation in 2017.

Rather a young country in terms of India’s history, but nevertheless we are extremely proud of this coming Anniversary as Canada consistently gets rated as one of the best places to start a business and one of the best places in the world in which to live. Our countries share a passion for democracy and as federal, pluralist societies we actually have a lot in common. We will be looking to use this anniversary to further improve and build upon our positive relations. As

We are looking at how we can bring Indian start-ups and Canadian start-ups together to find ways to collaborate and enhance some of these emerging technologies I mentioned earlier, Air Canada has direct flights to Canada and the addition of the Vancouver route will virtually double the capacity for Indians to travel to Canada. Destination Canada, our national travel promotion agency, has a great program here in India encouraging more and more Indians to visit Canada and the numbers are all up. With interesting events and programs in Canada being planned for 2017, I am certain more Indians will want to visit to be able to say they were in Canada when it was 150 years young!

How are Canadian Universities encouraging Indian students to come to Canada for higher studies?

Canadian universities are already very active in India. Many have been in this market for several years and we are pleased at the number of Indian students attending our universities. They promote programs of interest to Indian students and some are offering programs here in India. This reduces time away from home but also helps to build a solid brand for Canadian Universities. We put on events and tour around India to talk to prospective students and their families about the benefits of studying in Canada, the great and cost effective education they will get at our universities and the safety that Canada accords young people. We are also increasingly bringing together Canadian and Indian technical colleges to ensure we can help India in on the Skilling India program.

Canada has the largest number of cities in the most liveable cities in the world list. How can India learn from this in the smart city program?

I think I addressed this question above, but I would just like to add that one of the best ways to understand what it means to be called a smart city is to visit one. We would encourage all of those that are engaged in this important endeavour in India to visit Canada and go to any of our major cities. You will find the elements of a Smart City laid out before you. Excellent urban transit systems, bike lanes, well planned neighbourhoods, smart metering and grids, a high level of internet connectivity and well-lit and clean streets. www.governancetoday.co.in

DIPLOMACY

Ottawa delegation visits India

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Anand Mishra etween April 18 and 22, Mayor of the city of Ottawa Jim Watson led a trade mission to India, which showcased Ottawa’s collective strengths in economic development. The 35 member delegation, which had participation from multiple sectors including technology companies, academic institutions, business and tourism associations, visited New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The visit resulted in agreements valued at over $80 million. Capitalizing on the core competencies of Ottawa which is high tech businesses, the mission focused on building trade linkages and attracting investments.

Interacting with newspersons in New Delhi, Mayor Watson drove home the point that the existence of more than 1,700 knowledgebased companies with over 65,000 employees makes Ottawa a great destination for Indian tech firms. He emphasized on the expertise of Canadian companies in select sectors such as clean tech,IT and electronics which can be leveraged in forging closer business collaboration between the two countries.

Mayor Watson also informed about how the city is planning to celebrate the 150th year of Canada next year. Not only are plans afoot to welcome a substantially larger number of tourists, the city is also planning to showcase itself as a great place to set up businesses.

He said that the city was expecting 1.7 million additional visitors during the celebrations and expected some $20-30 million spinoffs from the visitations. Among the many events that will mark the celebrations are finals of Red Bull Crashed Ice and Juno awards to be held in the city next year. Furthermore, all art institutions of the city will be putting up special exhibitions; a new science and tech museum

www.governancetoday.co.in

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson (3rd from left) and Canadian Ambassador Nadir Patel (2nd from right) with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

is coming up in 2017, National Art Center is being renovated and will open in 2017, the Agha Khan Center for Global Pluralism will be opening in the city in 2017.

Speaking to Governance Today, Mayor Watson elaborated on the issue of how Ottawa has become such a great destination for startups and how Indian companies can benefit from Ottawa’s start up environment. He spoke of how even after 2008 crisis, when lot of tech companies went bust, many techies started their own ventures instead of shifting to other places in the country or US. The reason was they did not want to leave Ottawa because of its lifestyle. Ottawa has more number of startups than any other city in Canada for the last four years and it has received more venture capital than other city in Canada. He mentioned about the can-do attitude of the city when it came to helping startups open and expand. “We offer the red carpet and not the red tape. We are very much responsible in helping companies expand,” he said. Deliberating upon the nature of startups, he said, “Startups anywhere in the world

face one common challenge. They don’t have enough money and they have a very short duration of time to prove that their idea is worthy.

Where the government can play a role is to make sure that they provide them and surround them with support system so that if it is a good idea, then it is going to have high probability of success.”

Mayor Watson also spoke of the innovation centre that Ottawa is building. It is a one stop-shop for startups that can come in and within six to nine months, can find out whether it is a business idea worth pursuing or not. The centre will open in September-October 2016. On the issue of what Indian cities can learn from Ottawa, he said that Indian municipalities can learn from Ottawa’s ‘Innovation Pilot Program.’ In this program, if a startup company has a technology that can be tested using city hall infrastructure, the city provides the infrastructure for them to come in for free and use it as the demonstration site. anand@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 47

EDUCATION

In-home ranking, all positive?

The first ranking of Indian academic institutions shows some unexpected results and raises important questions Sagarika Ranjan

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huge stride of identity affirmation was taken when our government launched the India-centric ranking framework officially known as the National Institutional Ranking Framework. The move comes in the wake of repeated low ranking given to the Indian institutions by foreign ranking systems.

Launched on September 29, last year, it released its first ranking report on April 4 this year.

This was followed by appreciation as well as criticism while the educational institutions saw a sea of opportunities following the ranking system.

The official website describes the system as: “A framework that outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.

The methodology draws from the overall recommendations and broad understanding arrived at by a Core Committee set up by MHRD, to identify the broad parameters for ranking various universities and institutions. The parameters broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception”.”

Although the Ranking Frameworks are similar, the exact methodologies are domain specific.

Ranking methods have been worked out for six categories of institutions i.e., Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Architecture,

Universities and Colleges, states the website.

The educational institutions, professors and other educationists believe that it is a move that would contribute towards development of Indian universities. “The institutes on the list will get noticed which was not possible with the international rankings. More popularity will spell more funds for research and involvement of our students in some major breakthroughs in the future. It is indeed a welcome step for the Indian education system,” opined the academic fraternity.

“It is a commendable effort as for the first time the government has moved forward to rank the higher education institutions in India,” said Rajiv Tewari, Chairman of Academic council, Delhi School of communications.

More than 3,500 private and government institutions had participated in the exercise under the under four categories — engineering, management,

pharmacy and universities.

The rankings took all institutes offering courses on engineering, law, management and humanities into consideration. The important parameters for assessing these institutes include placements, teaching & learning, professional performance, and inclusive action, perception of the peer group, collaborative practice, and research and graduation results. Each of these parameters was further sub categorized into 20 to 22 different fields.

This effort can be termed as the much-needed Indianization of the ranking system as it takes into consideration factors such as gender, differently-abled friendly environment, geographical diversity in student community, and percentage of students from socially and economically backward communities. These factors were not considered by the international ranking system as their parameters are set as per the global viability of the parameters.

A committee which comprised National Board of Accreditation Chairman (NBA) Surendra Prasad, IIT-Kharagapur Director PP Chakraborty, IIT-Madras Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi, besides the higher education secretary and HRD ministry officials, helped formulate the ranking framework.

IISC Bangalore, ranked as the best in India, is also the highest ranked Indian institution in many global rankings 48 I May 2016

www.governancetoday.co.in

TOP FIVE UNIVERSITIES 1

Indian Institute Of Science Bangalore

Bangalore

3

Jawaharlal Nehru University

New Delhi

2 4 5 1

Institute Of Chemical Technology

University Of Hyderabad-Hyderabad Tezpur University

ENGINEERING COLLEGES

Mumbai

Hyderabad Tezpur

Indian Institute Of Technology, Madras

Chennai

3

Indian Institute Of Technology, Kharagpur

Kharagpur

5

Indian Institute Of Technology, Kanpur

Kanpur

2

4

Indian Institute Of Technology, Bombay Indian Institute Of Technology, Delhi

PHARMACY COLLEGES

New Delhi

1

Manipal

2

University Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Chandigarh

Chandigarh

Poona College Of Pharmacy, Erandwane, Pune-Pune

Pune

3

4

5

College Of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Manipal

Bombay

Manipal

Jamia Hamdard

New Delhi

Institute Of Pharmacy, Nirma University

Ahmedabad

The initiation was done in 2009 itself when the falling standards of higher education in India and the complete absence of Indian institutions in international rankings came to fore. Concerned over the performance of our institutes, President Pranab Mukharjee had intervened into the matter.

The move was much appreciated in various corridors; however, it drew flak over its methodology. The methodology for Ranking of Universities and Colleges in India, as per official documents demands separate ranking formulae for universities and colleges. It is to ensure that institutions are compared within an appropriate peer group of institutions, and provided a levelplaying field. It is strange to see a standalone institution like JNU www.governancetoday.co.in

being compared to a university as big as Delhi University.

Tewari said, “No, it is no logical to compare two institutes on a one on one basis so there should be categories where the institutes are put in comparable categories.

Comparing multi-unit institutes with stand alone units is not logical.”

At the same time defending the idea, he added that “Like any other system on course corrections will be required. Currently the system of UGC and AICTE in higher education focuses more on the compliance side of the infrastructure and not on the quality of teaching. Too much emphasis on the infrastructure side and too many rules actually discourage many good people into venturing in the area of higher education. Ranking system should give a higher weightage to the

quality of teaching and academic results.”

Another aspect of the rankings that has invited severe criticism is data collection method. The ranking list released on April 4 was based on the information provided by the institutes themselves. Therefore the reliability of the facts provided is not beyond questioning. Therefore, on one hand where the move is being appreciated by many sections of the society as a move to honor our institutions and their values, there are several sections that is criticizing the ranking system and calling it “work in progress.”

The NIRF, however, states that all details and information were collected based on a set format. The NIRF is a move in the right direction and criticism is only helping it get better.

Ranking of institutions is a much needed development in the academic system of the country.

Tewari opines that it wouldn’t be a good idea to compare this system with the standards of developed countries given the resources at our command as a developing economy.

“The message to policy makers is positive. It sends out a good signal in favor of the students and the parents. Rankings, if done correctly, will help the parents and the students choose the right institutes to a great extent. Faith of the public at large is still in government approved degrees and diplomas so by adding the ranking system the government will gain further confidence of the people,” explains Tewari.

On balance, the current ranking system, however fraught with flaws, is a novel step by the government to lend credibility to institutions which should be encouraged. In further rounds, we should expect to see further refining of parameters which would see aspects like perceptions and social inclusiveness eliminated and greater focus being laid on the core academic parameters. So, it is a thumbs up, though a qualified one. sagarika@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 49

REALTY

Cushion to housing

Will RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s advice to realtors to bring down the prices to help revive the sector do wonder for the economy?

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Ramesh Kumar Raja

f late, the real estate sector of India has been much in public eye due to the floating negative sentiments caused by delay in possession of projects, coupled with sky rocketing prices especially in Tier 1 cities of the country. These reasons have dented the housing demand and is causing drastic fall in the interest of potential customers along with heavy inventory pile up for the developers. Being a case of land, big depreciation is pretty much off the cards and hence, can prices come down becomes the question.

50 I May 2016

But in order to keep the market and sentiments stable, developers need to provide some extra cushion. In a recent speech, Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor, insisted upon developers to take the onus and bring down the prices to help revive the sector and provide much needed transparency. “I am hopeful that as interest rates come down, there will be more credit and buying. And I am also hopeful that prices adjust in a way that encourage people to buy”, Rajan said.

Standing in sync with the words of the Governor, Avneesh Sood, director of Eros Group also believes that price flexibility has

become the need of the hour, as he explains “It is crucial to understand that real estate sector is an end user to almost 35 other industries and sectors, and if this sector is drowning, then it is not fruitful for the economy in general. RBI has played its part seemingly well over the last one year by bringing down the repo rate to 6.5 percent. Almost half of the rate cut benefit has been passed on by the banks. It is time now that developers also chip in to help this market get back on track.”

Rajan further said, “My sense is that there is a little bit of everything that needs to happen” for the revival in the real estate sector. www.governancetoday.co.in

“There is an issue of certainly how they see the housing market and how they see prices. There has to be an adjustment so that more people want to go and buy”, he added. Highlighting on the escalating pricing effect that has resulted towards lowering demand and high inventory levels, Ankit Aggarwal, CMD, Devika Group avers, “Real estate is an asset which is somewhere bound to appreciate with time. But the kind of appreciation that most Tier 1 regions across the country has witnessed, it has taken the buyers away from the market, especially investors, who were a prominent sight when the www.governancetoday.co.in

property prices were low. Housing demand is driven mostly by end users who again are looking at property prices. Thus, after RBI’s rate cut push and banks following the trend, if still the revival does not happen, then developers have to work towards decreasing the prices and increasing the transparency.”

High sale price is a result of high cost price that begins with the cost of land and the rates at which developers borrow funds.

At present, developers across the country borrow at rates as high as 22-24 percent and with land being limited and infrastructural upgradation happening at a rapid pace, fresh land parcels have become much expensive, thus adding to the cost. Here comes the importance of being an industry.

“Granting of industry status to the realty sector will directly help in the reduction of prices. The moment a developer is able to borrow at lower rates, something that industry status will allow, it will directly contribute towards lowering of prices. But at the same time, it is crucial for the borrower to maintain transparency and have a sound history. Industry status to the realty sector is on the wish list for long now and we expect a new face of this sector when it is attained”, elucidates Deepak Kapoor, president, CREDAIWestern U.P. and director, Gulshan Homz.

Rajan also emphasised on the fact that when it comes to financing to the developers, he pitched for more transparency on the borrower’s side. He said, “We need action on the real side (as) also on transparency on land acquisition, transparency on construction and on sales.” He further added that more transparency in such matters would enable financiers to better track flow of funds, which project was being funded by who and who all were the other financiers.

“RBI has lowered the repo rate by 150 basis points since last year January and now stands at 6.5 percent, which is the lowest in the last five years. Banks have also provided the benefit of this rate cut to a large extent to the customers.

But still, the market is not picking up pace on the grounds of high prices and lack of transparency.

It is high time that the developers take the market sentiments into consideration and allow flexible pricing for the customers along with increased transparency, so that this sector gains back the lost momentum,” states Kushagr Ansal, director, Ansal Housing.

Projecting India’s growth few years down the line and acknowledging real estate sector’s future contribution towards economic development, Rajan commented that “construction of every kind, including houses and roads, is a big source of growth especially for a developing economy like ours.” It is true that India is on a development spree on various construction fronts. Construction sector’s housing aspect cannot be left as it is and rather, needs to be taken up seriously in order to keep this sector contributing towards Indian GDP. “Construction sector is one of the largest contributors towards the Indian GDP with almost 6 percent contribution each year. This momentum has to be maintained.

The demand is taking a toll due to the absence of proper transparency and high prices. Real estate bill is moments away from becoming an act which will promote fair play and transparency, but what about the pricing factor? State governments need to provide fresh land banks at reduced prices and the centre must grant industry status. The sector will then gradually see momentum shifting towards better demand and growth,” concludes Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd. While there is no denying that there are cost pressures for the sector, but at the end of the day, if there is no buyer and inventory remains unsold for years, the cost keeps on building to no one’s benefit. As such, a price correction is a definite tool to bring back the customer back in market. Rajan has referred to this critical reality. ramesh@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 51

POLICY

A decision in haste?

The odd-even scheme was perhaps a decision that was taken without taking into account other contributing factors

While there is no question on the motive, the means have been debated a lot

O

Lekshmi Parameswaran

n December 3, 2015, the comments of the Supreme Court of India on the air pollution levels in the national capital brought to the fore the real magnitude of the problem.

The adage ‘living in a gas chamber’ that was used by the court to make sense of the situation served as a wakeup call to many of the lawmakers as well as the ordinary residents. The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reacted immediately to the directive of the apex court to present a comprehensive action plan to combat the pollution levels 52 I May 2016

by announcing the ‘odd-even’ scheme.

Taking cue from China which has successfully implemented a similar scheme in Beijing, this knee-jerk reaction of the Delhi Government was indeed a bold step. According to this, only vehicles with odd number plates can ply on odd days and only those with even number plates can ply on even days from 8am to 8pm. Exemptions are given to emergency services vehicles, SPG (Special Protection Group) protectees, Vehicles with Defense Ministry number plates, pilot cars, embassy cars, two-wheelers, cars driven by single women, parents

ferrying children to school and vehicles that are run on CNG. The first phase of the scheme that was implemented from January 1, 2016- January 15 2016 saw the successful compliance of the rules by the city’s residents. According to a study conducted by the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC) of the University of Chicago and Evidence of Policy Design (EPD) of Harvard University, the overall air pollution levels in Delhi came down by 10-13 per cent. Riding high on the success of this report and the lesser traffic congestion seen on the roads, the government went ahead with the second phase of this www.governancetoday.co.in

scheme. The two weeks starting from April 15, 2016 to April 30, 2016 again saw people adhering to the rules and regulations. But the surfacing of certain reports has called to question the actual success rate of this policy and has opened up far wider debates on the logic behind such a sudden implementation.

First to come out was the Delhi government’s report in the first phase of the scheme where it was claimed that the most deadly particulate matter, PM 2.5 has recorded a ‘definitive declining trend’. The statistics were immediately contested by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology which had all recorded pollution levels well above permissible limits.

Experts attributed any decline that could have been evidenced to the prevailing wind conditions in the first phase. In the second phase, the fact that the particulate matter can absorb heat from the summer sun and rise to higher altitudes was taken note of. The sky looks clearer as the matter gets carried away by the summer winds. Then came the Delhi government’s decision to set up a six-member panel to look into the issue of increased traffic during the second phase. The CPCB in its report submitted to the National Green Tribunal also stated that there was no change observed in the pollution levels since the rolling out of the scheme.

The other side The most visible success of the odd-even has been in terms of less traffic congestion seen on the roads during the first phase. When the idea was first implemented, there were a lot of factors that worked to the government’s advantage.

Immediately after the SC directive, people began viewing pollution with more seriousness.

The grey cloudy skies brought home the urgency of the situation and everyone was willing to be a part of this novel experiment. For those www.governancetoday.co.in

who did not want to comply for the sake of environmental concerns, the Rs 2,000 fine imposed by the authorities served as a deterrent in breaking the rules. That was also the time when the schools were closed and the weather was also not harsh on people.

All those factors that were once in favor of the scheme were absent in the second phase. The schools had reopened, the phase was marked by the arrival of the scorching summer and the skies were brighter. The novelty had waned away and people already had a clear idea about how Delhi’s public transportation works. And as is the case in India with all rules and regulations, the people had already devised ways to work their way through the scheme.

While implementing the scheme, the one major factor that the government overlooked was that of the social realities in India.

When the decision was made to ban half the cars plying on road on a particular day, two things were forgotten. One, the distance to the workplace makes it absolutely necessary for most to own a vehicle and it is the middle class that will be most affected by the scheme. The second is that the creamy layer of the society will find it easier to buy another car than take recourse to public transportation.

Sneha Manasa Vedula, a media professional who commutes daily from Noida to Gurugram presents an excellent perspective on the issue, “The first phase of the oddeven worked well primarily because people were ready to accommodate each other, share cabs etc. And there was also more availability of private buses as it was holiday time for schools. The Delhi metro had also increased its frequency. In the second phase, people have become smart. Most of them avoided the scheme by reaching office before 8 a.m and leaving post 8p.m. This phase also saw the surge in cab pricing because of which people found it easier to pay the fine or arrange for two wheelers. The heat also added to the miseries of the public. In short, the public has

turned out to be smarter than the government”.

What next?

The necessity of taking measures to curb the pollution levels in Delhi is beyond any debate.

Unfortunately, the city is not yet prepared for a drastic measure like odd-even. The deplorable condition of Delhi’s public transport is one of the major reasons why this scheme will not work in the long run. Also the number of exemptions makes it clear that any positive impact will only be marginal and it is not worth the struggles the ordinary citizens are put through.

The need of the hour is to ensure seamless last mile connectivity to every commuter. This can be done only by interlinking multiple modes of public transportation and ensuring their frequency at regular intervals.

Ravisekhar Nair, a Supreme Court Lawyer shares his perspective on the issue, “The oddeven scheme is well intentioned but executed in an average manner. It will go a long way if done well. The government needs to disincentivize private transport and encourage build public transportation if results need to be seen”.

A step that the government can take in regard to discouraging the use of private transport is to emulate the idea of congestion charging as practiced in cities like Singapore and London. There, the government taxes the use of roads in particular areas which makes private transport expensive. Also, differential tax rates for vehicles that are used on weekdays and weekends like in Singapore is a step that can be introduced in India. In addition to this, the buying of a second car should be made extremely costly by introducing extra charges. To sum up, the cost of using a car should go beyond its maintenance and fuel costs. Only then, can the government expect people to voluntarily give up private transport. lekshmi@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 53

INTERVIEW Dr D K AGARWAL | SENIOR CONSULTANT, NEPHROLOGY, APOLLO HOSPITALS

INCREASE AWARENESS, SAVE LIVES

H

uman Organ Transplantion is a boon for the medical industry as it has helped save lives of countless patients with dysfunctional organs. However, the ratio of donors to recipient has been very low which has left country with a long waiting list for transplants. Ritika Bisht of Governance Today in conversation with Dr. D.K Agarwal, Senior Consultant, Nephrology, Apollo Hospitals, asks him about the present, future and awareness issues related to organ donation in the country.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Can you brief us about the overall organ transplant scenario in the country?

Organ Transplantation has been one of the greatest advances of modern science which has provided new lease of life to many patients over the years. If we look back at cases dated 10 years back, then organ transplant scenario has definitely improved in India. But I still believe it is in primitive stage as cadaver transplant program is yet to gain any attention from general public and the critical shortage of donors make it impossible to meet the public demand for organ transplants. India lags behind in the implementation of a cadaveric donation program and unless you have donor pool of cadavers we won’t be able to meet the requirement.

Every year we get around 1.5 lakh patients of CKD (chronic kidney diseases). At the moment we are only able to treat around 5-10 percent cases of stage 54 I May 2016

5 CKD, either by transplant or by dialysis. Expensive cost of treatment is one of the issues for patients. The situation gets worse as lack of awareness among public poses another challenge.

We still have lot of work to do; most importantly in the area of educating general public about organ transplant and benefits of being a donor.

Your views on our country’s system in organ donation and transplant.

India’s system for human organ donation involves lot of legal procedures which were not present earlier. Our government has framed different authorization committees to eliminate the unethical practices. As per our laws, sale of organs is banned, that means no money exchange between the donor and the recipient is allowed.

Thus, while conducting organ transplant the unrelated donor has to file an affidavit in the court of a

magistrate stating that the organ is being donated out of affection.

The donor has to undergo certain tests before the transplant and all the resultant medical reports are later checked by the authorization committee. The Human Organs Transplant Act has certainly kept a check on illegal organ transplant.

In addition, the Act allows transplantation of human organs and tissues from living donors and cadavers. It has even permitted swap transplantation. Therefore, a lot of changes have taken place but certain glitches are still there which can be eliminated by educating the masses and hospital administration.

But the underground organ market is still existent and thriving in India. Your views on this practice and what needs to be done to eliminate it.

Despite the Act of 1994, we www.governancetoday.co.in

are still coming across reports of illegal organ trade. We need to understand that doctors, social workers, transplant coordinators and government are trying their best to root out this practice but the change does not happen overnight. As a result of continuous efforts many illegal transplant centers have been identified across India and shut down immediately. Penalties for removal of organ without authority have been made very stringent in order to serve as a deterrent for such activities. Educating general public, especially people from rural or remote areas, about the laws can help put a full stop to this practice but it would take time.

Though the Act of 1994 has helped support the overall transplant scenario, the endless documentation and requirements have left patients waiting for more than necessary. What can be done to ease the overall legal procedure?

Yes, I agree this is an issue when it comes to fulfilling the requirements in order to get a green signal for the transplant.

We understand that laws were enacted to stop the unethical practices but if a donor is a friend and he/she willingly comes to donate then the donor should not be harassed in the name of endless legal documentation.

This practice prevents people from donating. It is the duty of the authority in-charge to understand the situation of patients and family members and ease the procedure.

Government has the power to change the rules and it is their responsibility to make sure that genuine person/donor is not harassed.

Could you comment on the infrastructure of www.governancetoday.co.in

organ transplantation in the country, especially in smaller cities and townlevel hospitals?

Adequate hospital infrastructure for conducting organ transplant is missing in rural areas at the moment. Patients have been coming to metropolitan cities like New Delhi and Kolkata to get the treatment but with added efforts some areas are getting the benefits of programs. Our students are travelling to places in Odisha and Indore for these programs and are conducting organ transplants successfully.

When it comes to remote areas the absence of infrastructure is accompanied by lack of knowledge

among masses about organ transplant. In my experience, doctors in remote places need to come for training so that they can know how the patient of organ failure is different from regular patients. I have spent a lot of time in social services and given lectures to other doctors as well which has helped a great deal in informing people about the transplant surgeries. Thus, we need to educate not only people but doctors as well.

What needs to be done to encourage people to donate organs?

When it comes to cadaver donation the practice would take time as our population is not educated enough or informed enough as compared to people in European countries. We need proactive attitude towards cadaveric organ donation and most importantly implement counseling for relatives for organ donation in the event of brain death.

Even though our law authorizes organ donation after brain death it does not serve any purpose unless our population is informed about the procedure and how a brain dead patient can help others patients in critical stages live a normal life.

Indian society is not very welcoming to the idea of cadaver

organ transplants as they prefer to conduct last rites without the removal of essential organs.

In a sensitive case like this awareness is required not only for general public but also for hospital administration. A good motivator is needed to encourage family members to donate organs and explain them the futility of keeping a brain dead accident victim alive. All these measures need equal assistance from government and only then we would be able to increase our pool of donors to help patients live a new life.

May 2016 I 55

INTERVIEW PRASAD KAIPA | CEO, KAIPA GROUP

INDIAN MARKET IS RIPE FOR DISRUPTION AND THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE HIGH

(ISB). Prasad has also taught in executive education programs organized by INSEAD, LBS, USC, Tuck and IIM Bangalore.

Prasad co-founded the Entrepreneur Institute for TiE in the Silicon Valley in 2002 to assist entrepreneurs develop soft skills and connect, engage and co-create effectively with others in the ecosystem. Over 13,000 entrepreneurs have gone through TiE Institute programs. In a conversation with Anand Mishra, Editor, and Rajesh Mehta, Consultant Editor, Governance Today, Prasad talks about his latest book, leadership qualities and wisdom of ancient Hindu scriptures.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Could you please tell readers about your latest book “You can” which you have coauthored with Meera Shenoy? How is the book different from your earlier book “From Smart to Wise” which you wrote with Navi Rajdou?

P

rasad Kaipa is the CEO of the Kaipa Group in California and is a thought leader in the areas of innovation, leadership development and change management. He is considered to be one of the top management

56 I May 2016

thinkers of Indian origin and was inducted into the Happiness Hall of Fame in October 2014. He has been a visiting professor and was the founding Executive Director of the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC) at the Indian School of Business

My latest book is “You Can” written with Meera Shenoy and it is about stories of disabled entrepreneurs and people who facilitated such entrepreneurs.

The key message is that if they can do it, you can too.

Doing so makes you smarter (entrepreneur) and wiser (human being). It has been inspirational for us to hear the stories and write and we are getting feedback from the readers that they are inspired to act as well.

What is your advice to startup leaders, entrepreneurs and www.governancetoday.co.in

innovators in India? What should be their strategy for growth?

India is where Silicon Valley was 30-40 years ago in terms of entrepreneurial climate. The market is ripe for disruption and the opportunities are high. I feel that entrepreneurs should connect with organizations like TiE and get mentoring from other successful startups. I believe when you are an innovator start up is the best way you can leverage your innovation and the climate in India is just right. Don’t wait any longer and jump in and make a difference to others and yourself!

Who are wise leaders? What are their characteristics?

Could you share some examples?

Wise leaders leverage their intelligence for larger good knowing that working for a larger purpose allows you to benefit as well. For example, look at NR Narayana Murthy and his colleagues who started Infosys and created several thousand rupee millionaires. Think about Ratan Tata who encouraged creation of Tata Nano for people who cannot afford expensive cars.

They put India on global map of IT and Automobile industries.

In addition to them, there are several wise leaders around the world. In politics, I would consider Angela Merkel of Germany, King Wang Chuk of Bhutan, Suu Kyi of Burma, President Obama of USA to be wise leaders. Similarly, in business, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Indra Nooyi, Alan Mulally, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw in addition to Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy stand out.

In our book From Smart to Wise (written with Navi Radjou), we identify six capabilities that wise leaders demonstrate: • Wise perspective — they have a noble purpose for doing www.governancetoday.co.in

what they do and not just profit motive. They are more inclusive and systemic in their point of view.

• Action Orientation — they know when to act quickly and when to act thoughtfully. They don’t let their hurry to get in the way of prudent risk taking and don’t let their cautious and methodical approach stop them from making quick decisions.

Wise leaders know when to let go of the point of view that they are holding and when to hold on to it even though many people oppose their view strongly. The key to their decision making again is noble purpose • Role Clarity — They know when to lead from the front and when to let others lead.

For example, Narayana Murthy stepped down when he was 65 and gave chance for other promoters to be CEOs in Infosys. Then when the organization was floundering he stepped back in. Again, realizing that he is not being effective in second round, he brought in Vishal Sikka from outside.

• Decision Logic — Each of us have certain biases towards making decisions. We make decisions using either logic and data, or emotion and instinct.

Some of us even focus on intuition. Wise leaders are not stuck to one way of making the

right decision. They are open to using any or all approaches to make decisions and most of their decisions have larger purpose in mind.

• Wise Fortitude — Wise leaders know when to let go of the point of view that they are holding and when to hold on to it even though many people oppose their view strongly. The key to their decision making again is noble purpose and how it is being served by their existing plans and actions.

• Enlightened Self Interest — They realize acting out of enlightened self interest, their circle of influence and growth are enhanced at the same time, others are benefiting from their good will.

These characteristics can be used in governance and project management irrespective of the field — politics, business or execution.

How do you ignite genius in individuals and organizations?

How do you help clients in finding their next significant step?

Igniting the genius of people requires us to connect their decisions, actions and communication to a larger purpose and helping them to have role clarity so that their egos do not get in the way of their actions and impact. In Organizations, the process is by creating a culture change focused around larger purpose, energy in the organization and its core incompetence. Core incompetence is inappropriate use of their core competencies or signature strengths.

I help my clients through coaching, advising and facilitating their executive meetings. I also work with them to identify dysfunctional habits, behaviors and cultural characteristics that May 2016 I 57

are limiting their growth and help them to unlearn and selectively forget them.

How do you compare Indian CEO’s with the CEO’s in the US and in the Europe? What can they learn from each other?

Indian CEOs are, in general, more intellectually rich and cognitively well developed than their western counter parts. It is because in US, experience and skill are more valued than education and people jump into work as soon as they can. On the other hand, in India, academic diplomas, degrees and certificates are somehow more valued and that makes leaders in India to be well read and well developed conceptually.

They learn a lot from each other — Indian CEOs can learn about execution excellence from their western counter parts and western CEOs can learn the creativity and jugaad approaches from Indian CEOs. In addition, Indians are conceptually rich and good in coming with new and appropriate frameworks.

You have worked a lot on the ancient Hindu wisdom and its application in today’s life. Could you share your opinion on how ancient knowledge and wisdom can help us in our modern life problems?

What can we learn from Bhagavad Gita?

I believe that ancient models of wisdom from India — from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism in addition to Parsee wisdom can be of rich source of new models, frameworks and processes for managing people, 58 I May 2016

organizations and innovation.

They focus on systems thinking and wholeness more explicitly than western models so there are less number of side effects or negative consequences if properly designed and applied. Human development, self mastery, strategic thinking, creativity and innovation, change management and transformation are some of the areas that get addressed in ancient Hindu and Indian wisdom in significant depth and models that integrate Indian and Western approaches become more effective and impactful.

For example, in Gita, we talk about concepts like role clarity and detached engagement —

Human development, self mastery, strategic thinking, creativity and innovation, change management and transformation are some of the areas that get addressed in ancient Hindu and Indian wisdom in significant depth based on a powerful way of doing work called Nishkama Karma. It means, you do what you do without letting your ego get in the way. Where does the ego come from? It is either from positional power, personal power, role based power or relation based power. When you separate who you are from what you do, then you can objectively make better decisions, communicate

without bias and act without personal agenda. The Bhagavat Gita mentions that when you are detached from emotion but engaged with commitment — your work becomes focused, meaningful and impactful.

Similarly, the concept of wise leader for our book “From Smart to Wise” is based on StithaPrajna model in second chapter of the Bhagavat Gita. Wise leader operates with larger good in mind and not caught up with ones attachment, knowledge, emotion or past experience. All the six capabilities I wrote above are taken from the 18th chapter of Gita.

I am actively focusing on bringing more concepts, frameworks and models from Upanishads, Gita and other wisdom literature from India to the west. I would love others to join me by comparing and contrasting western models with that of Indian wisdom.

You have been a coach on innovation and leadership for some of the most valuable companies in the world.

What are the most important lessons you think innovators and leaders should learn and master in order to be successful?

Focus on customers and bring empathy to understand and appreciate what they are going through. Use what you learn as the basis for innovating. It is such an old lesson but cannot be ever ignored. Leaders have to recognize that others are not followers just because they listen to you. They are also leaders in their domain and it is up to you to recognize their capability and help them to lead by listening to them and their skills.

www.governancetoday.co.in

SUSTAINABILITY

Let’s stand together for the cause of sustainable development

R

Dr Jitendra K Das ecently, I read in a newspaper that “factories in Sanand are faced with an unusual HR problem – how to handle crorepati labourers.”

This reminded me of the highprofile political agitation and the ensuing hue and cry to stop the Tata Motors Nano Car factory to come up in Singur.

Tata Motors Nano project (2006) faced political controversy from the very beginning on the issue of government of West Bengal’s purported forceful acquisition of fertile land of villagers, and the locals’ fear for their livelihood after losing their fertile land. These agitating farmers were supported by the then opposition political party—now in power, as well as NGOs, environmental activists and urban intellectuals.

Even though Tata Motors had built a huge infrastructure for the Nano Car in Singur, due to the aggressive resistance and escalated hostility, it decided in October 2008 to move out of Singur and to relocate the Nano Car plant in Sanand, Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat acquired land for the Project without much opposition, paying about four times the market rate, which was almost impossible for them to earn during their life time. It was reported that it took just about ten days for the Gujarat Government to work out the deal. The first Nano Car rolled out of the Sanand factory in June 2010. For Tata Motors, Singur was a hostile ground whereas Sanand was conducive.

Many villagers in Sanand suddenly became ‘King Midas’ through the hefty compensation they received by selling their land.

They became crorepatis overnight; luxury cars outside their houses

www.governancetoday.co.in

Tata Nano plant at Sanand has transformed the region whereas Singur still languishes

indicating the new found prosperity!

The place itself transformed it into an industrial/ auto hub. Many ancillary units also came up in the region. So far, more than 400 companies, like Ford, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Magna International, Cadilla Health Care, Hitachi Colgate-Palmolive, various Real Estate developers, etc. have set up their units/offices in and around Sanand. Further, it has attracted commitments of billions of US dollars in investments from some of world’s largest companies.

Almost ten banks have opened branches in the village after the Nano project.

In West Bengal, though the new regime came to power ending the about 34-years old regime riding on the popular pro-farmer campaign; the land acquisition case is still pending before the Supreme Court and the economic fate of farmers in Singur remain dismal. The villagers seem to be uncertain about their future.

The land-related agitations threaten to wreck the industrialization process, and that the India’s industry and investment friendly image gets a beating. It is high time for us to learn lessons from the past and make sure to avoid similar issues in future.

The growth can be achieved

with the core belief that the fruits of growth and development must reach the weakest, most deprived and remotest of people.

Furthermore, government should place sustainability at the centre of thoughts and actions, working on the principle that inclusive growth cannot be limited by the barriers of time and space - it has to be built on the foundations of the past, leverage on the opportunities of the present, and preserve if not enhance resources for the future.

Economists have used the term sustainable development in an attempt to clarify the balance between economic growths and conservation and protection of environment.

Sustainable development refers to “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generation.”

Our planet needs green growth and gainful employment opportunities for millions of the people who currently live in poverty but rightly aspire to a better and prosperous future and to ensure decent living standards for the generations to come.

The writer is the Director of FORE School of Management, New Delhi

May 2016 I 59

GENDER EQUALITY

Voting and women in the valley ‘Our Voter IDs serve as mere identification documents to take admission or other such needs. Voting is not for Kashmiris, especially women.’

Women voters in Kashmir: Many are not fortunate enough to be able to exercise their right

T

Sagarika Ranjan he girls in the valley are not happy! They have it all – higher education, good homes, caring parents and now, a woman Chief Minister and yet they are not free. Universal adult franchise, equal rights, human rights and the likes still are decorative only for a select few when it comes to Kashmiri women.

A large number of Kashmiri women are not allowed to vote.

These are young women who have started to speak up their rights.

“I want to vote but I cannot because women are not allowed to vote. We have our voter identity cards and are registered as voters but these cards only serve as identification documents while taking admissions at educational institutions,” said Insha Lateef, a girl student from the valley.

They accept that they live in a conservative society and that voting; participating in the political

60 I May 2016

process or any out-of-home chores for that matter is something that the women should not be worried about.

“We girls are not allowed to do anything that is related to politics.

It is considered a dirty game here.

Here people want freedom from India and I cannot say that I don’t want as the consequences could be unimaginable. I cannot say that I want to vote else I will invite disdain and may be even some harm,” said another girl from the valley whose identity she asked to keep.

It was not very long ago that the former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had said that nations that discriminate between children on the basis of gender cannot progress.

It was on the eve of launching the Ladli Beti Scheme that he had said these words requesting the people of the state and others to change their perception towards girl children.

Kashmir, a place where the first

woman Chief Minister takes over and where the former Chief Minister was of the view that a nation can progress only when girls are given equal rights in every arena of life, many women are treated as second class citizens. They cannot take their own decisions. Sometimes it is the male in the family and at other times it is the society that pulls them back.

A young woman from the valley chuckles with excitement at the thought that it is a woman who is taking over the reins of Kashmir and jokingly says that she wonders if she can be the Chief Minister some day. However, there is no seriousness as she understands her limitations. A woman who cannot even vote at her will, how can she become a political leader? Women in the valley, who are still treated as second citizens expressed their frustration: Zara Khurshid, an engineering student said: “Most of the women in Kashmir are confined to www.governancetoday.co.in

domestic chores no matter what happens outside. They are more concerned about preparations for lunch and dinner. Because of this unawareness about politics, rights and government formation, they do not vote.”

The women not voting has got deep into the social fabric of most of the women in Kashmir. They refrain from political participation as they consider it a man’s job.

Uzrat Nizam, a journalism student: “Kashmir is a patriarchal society. Men do not want women to enjoy equal rights.”

Another big problem is that the people of Kashmir are yet to believe in their government. Despite recent voter turnouts crossing over 76 per cent and polling stations boasting of long queues, there is acute lack of confidence in the government.

Many do not consider themselves a part of India as Uzrat adds, “We want freedom. We don’t want to vote. If we will vote, we will be disrespecting our freedom struggle (freedom of Kashmir from India) but when we will be given freedom, we will vote then.”

A lot has been happening.

Most of it is sad and violent and then last month: First women Chief Minister takes over. Hopes? May be. Political analysts also speak on hopeful lines while talking about the plight of women in the troubletorn state. The recent killings over the alleged molestation of a girl in Kashmir have worsened the situation further. Violence also, in some cases, compels men to keep their women confined for safety reasons.

Noor Mohammad, another citizen of the valley said, “There were times during the era of militancy when polling stations were attacked and number of innocent people got killed. In areas like Lal Chowk and downtown, militants used to make an announcement that whoever will cast a vote will be rewarded and then coffins were put on road by militants as a sign that people will be killed if they cast their votes. How people could have voted in such tense situations?”

The society in the state stands www.governancetoday.co.in

divided on various levels. There are people who wish to vote and participate in the political process; there are some who deny believing that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India and there are some who have complaints against the works of the government.

Amreen, M Sc. Student said: “Sometimes women are not allowed by their family members to vote because the families do not believe in ‘dirty politics’. Over these years, politics and politicians have not done anything to that would benefit

“Even if person wants to vote; whom to vote? They are all crooks. Moreover, not only women but also men don’t know the importance of their vote. Kashmir is a conflict-torn place and almost every time elections are boycotted. People should be counseled about voting system and government formation”, says Nazira, an MBA student the people of Kashmir in any way.

So, there is no reason to vote. Why to vote when they are good for nothing.”

Then there are some who shun voting on the pretext that voting is not permitted as per Islamic laws and there is yet another section that chooses to blindly follow the herd mentality and therefore chooses any of the above stated reasons and stays away from political participation in the country.

Mohammad Musaib, a businessman in the valley says, “Voting in Islam is forbidden. Voting

is not for Muslims neither man nor woman. Kashmir is an Islamic state and we won’t bow before Indian constitution. Elections should be boycotted.”

The troubles of the state do not seem to be ending soon as fresh violence keeps fanning the flames of disruption and unrest. However, the good news is that the youth today, especially girls now understand the nuances and hoping for positive change.

Nazira, an MBA student understands that there is a need to make people understand the importance of political participation for their own good. “There is a big no to voting as per Islamic laws. Even if person wants to vote; whom to vote?

They are all crooks. Moreover, not only women but also men don’t know the importance of their vote. Kashmir is a conflict-torn place and almost every time elections are boycotted.

People should be counseled about voting system and government formation,” she says.

Being apprised of the situation, Ujwala Kadrekar, Senior Program Officer, Women Rights initiative, said that she is yet to come across incidents where girls are not allowed to vote despite having been registered as voters.

“I have to do my own part of research; however, these women are not asserting their rights enough.

There is a need for healthy advocacy and strategic solutions have to be looked at,” she said adding that social situation is grave there but by not exercising their voting rights they are anyways getting a government that is not theirs.”

What it all boils down to is a disturbing situation in which orthodoxy, genuine fear of violence and alienation all put together manifests in a unique apartheid, based on gender. Regardless, there is need for empowering the women in the state to fight for their right and claim what is rightfully theirs.

Democracy cannot thrive as long as half the population stays away from polling stations, not by choice, but because of compulsion. sagarika@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 61

POLICY

In quest of happiness Madhya Pradesh, which is often said to be a BIMARU state, plans a ministry that will bring smile to its people

Ramesh Kumar Raja

I

n a first of its kind initiative in India, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently announced a ‘Ministry of Happiness’ to measure the state’s progress, on lines of Bhutan which measures prosperity by gauging citizens’ happiness quotient and not GDP. The purpose behind setting up this ministry, as per Chouhan, is to ensure happiness in the lives of people and stop them from taking extreme steps like suicide when they are in distress. It will rope in psychologists to counsel people how to be always happy and organise activities such as yoga, meditation and cultural programmes among others to keep all happy.

62 I May 2016

According to the MP CM, the proposed department will take all possible measures to ensure that people remain happy in their lives as worldly possessions and development based on “statistical figures is not the only measure of happiness”. The given development paints a positive picture of the state which has been in news for all wrong reasons for the last few months, especially since the shocking revelations of Vyapam scam dominated headlines. As per the ruling BJP, it is touted as another breakthrough for the state after achieving “tremendous growth” and recording the highest agriculture growth rate in the country, winning the Centre’s Krishi Karman award four years in a row.

Although it’s an out of the box idea in India, things are not going to be that easy for the uniquely conceived program. The chief minister seems to have jumped the gun with this announcement, with no groundwork on how the program will be implemented. Other than the inspiration from Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) index — which calculates happiness based on ecology, health, time use, education, living standards, cultural diversity, communal vitality and psychological well-being — there is little in terms of foundation.

The announcement comes at a time when the state is facing agrarian and financial crises, with reports of farmer suicides making headlines. In addition, at least 27 www.governancetoday.co.in

students killed themselves this year under the pressure of exams.

The 2014 National Crime Records Bureau report shows that Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of rapes at 5,076, and also topped the chart in terms of crimes against children — 16.9 per cent of all crimes reported. Malnutrition, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) also remain alarmingly high in the state. In fact, India ranked a dismal 117th for 201214 in the World Happiness Report 2015, says a report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

While the initiative is somewhat untidily put, the concept of so-called happiness economics has been around for years now. It has given rise to a serious debate about taking a broader approach to development than focusing too narrowly on gross domestic product (GDP) as a metric. But it is equally true that such subjective measures are only relevant in developed economies, where GDP per capita has passed a certain threshold. In countries below that threshold such as India, there is a direct link between GDP and quality of life/happiness. It’s not a bad thing for governments to bring forth innovative approaches.

But for now, focusing on the basics will yield the greatest returns. The three-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister must take this issue into account.

Even when realised, India will not be the first to have such a ministry. Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Venezuela among others have similar ministries. As for realization of the initiative, as soon as modalities are over with a cabinet nod which is just a formality now, the MP government will study workings of the ministry in different countries and build its own model. However, if one goes by the example of Venezuela, the country that created a ‘Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness’ in 2013, the country went down on international happiness index in the next round.

In two years’ time, notwithstanding all efforts of government, the country slipped down from its 20th www.governancetoday.co.in

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh

preservation and environmental conservation by ascertaining psychological well-being, awareness levels and living standards. Since winning reelection in 2013, Chouhan has been upset by the Vyapam scam, rural distress and drought. With rural poverty rate at just 12 per cent and urban poverty at 1.8 per cent, Bhutan can afford to focus on citizen’s happiness. In contrast, MP’s poverty rate hovers around 32 per cent. While Chouhan may contend that worldly possessions and statistics should not matter much, try telling that to the poor and the low-middle class for whom it gets difficult to run a family or maintain a lifestyle.

Instead of all these, in a country like India we must work on good governance and better quality of education and healthcare in the

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS In 2012, the United Nations declared March 20 to be observed as the International Day of Happiness.

The day recognizes that happiness is a fundamental human goal, and calls upon countries to propose public policies in ways that improve the well-being of all people.

By designating a special day for happiness, the UN aims to focus world attention on the idea that economic growth must be inclusive, equitable, and balanced, such that it promotes sustainable development, and alleviates poverty. Additionally the UN acknowledges that in order to attain global happiness, economic development must be accompanied by social and environmental well-being.

The initiative to declare a day of happiness came from Bhutan – a country whose citizens are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world. The Himalayan Kingdom has championed an alternative measure of national and societal prosperity, called the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index. The GNH rejects the sole use of economic and material wealth as an indicator of development, and instead adopts a more holistic outlook, where spiritual well-being of citizens and communities is given as much importance as their material well-being. happiest nation in the world in 2013, to 23rd place in 2015. As per Jiddu Krishnamurti, a philosopher, “the demand for happiness is born out of quality which we must learn from the instance of Venezuela”.

It may be noted that the GNH attempts to quantify good governance, sustainable socioeconomic development, cultural

government sector or else the happiness index, which is rolling down will be pushed down further by the new ministry being constituted in Madhya Pradesh, which is trying hard to pull out of the infamous BIMARU state category. ramesh@governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 63

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The 13 EU-India summit th

The summit made right noises and not much of substantive progress on contentious issues

T

Deepak Raj Pandaya he relationship between India and the European Union (EU) has grown since its inception in 1963 and expanded significantly in the post Cold War era. However, this partnership has not achieved its potential partly because of the low political visibility of the EU in New Delhi and the strong bilateral relations between India and the major European powers.

The European Union pushed to transform its relation with India in 2004 by establishing a Strategic Partnership. It is noteworthy that the context of EU-India trade has changed with the recent Euro zone crisis and slow growth rate in the European Union.

With the end of Cold War, both, EU’s and India’s common views on democracy, multipolarity and multiculturalism came together leading to enhanced economic cooperation and bilateral agreements. Given the geopolitical changes that opened up both opportunities and challenges the EU had also reconfigured its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Post 9/11, the EU recognized that its foreign policy needs new focused approach with partnerships. In the backdrop of Iraq war in 2003 the EU focused on presenting a coherent approach to peace and development by articulating the European Security Strategy (ESS) in 2003. Here it identified partnership as way forward. The rejuvenated relation which began after the end of Cold War got accentuated further by signing of the Joint Action plan (JAP) between the EU and India in 2005. It was taken forward by launching negotiations for a broad based free trade agreement

64 I May 2016

Modi meets top EU officials in Brussels

in 2007 which includes trade in goods, the deregulation of services, investment, government procurement and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The aim was to conclude the agreement in 2011 but there have been major concerns on both sides prompted by limited information that has emerged from the ongoing negotiations about different aspects of inequality, market access, IPRs, agriculture and environment. With enhanced bilateral trade and investment relations India is set to garner benefits on pharmaceuticals, textile, gems and jewelry industry and it hopes to increase foreign investment particularly in defense and financial sector. India’s fast economic growth coupled with increase in purchasing capacity of Indian middle class population,

harmonized trade portfolio and untapped market opportunities especially in financial and automobile sector seem to be the source of profit and gain for the EU. Both European Union and India are among the world’s largest economies and with their significant leadership role are critical players in several key issues including financial markets and trade, security and climate change, poverty alleviation and energy supply, although their strategic interests may both converge or diverge. The economic structure of the European Union has changed in the last three to four decades.

While the manufacturing component has gone down, there has been a substantial increase in knowledge based economy. The EU holds abundant finance capital, IPR and www.governancetoday.co.in

patent and India has resources and manufacturing potential. This offers a reliable synergy for further strengthening the trade ties. This very complimentarity of the markets provides new opportunities for trade and investment engagement.

The growing profile of India within international politics and the sheer size of the economy (GDP based on PPP $7996 billion, World Economic Outlook, IMF, 2015), population and strategic significance draw attention to the changing economic distribution, which were among the reasons for the EU to upgrade its relationship with India.

With the above historical background and justifying need of enhanced cooperation between the two regions, on 30 March 2016 after a gap of 4 long years the 13th EU- India summit took place in Brussels immediately after Brussels terror attacks on 22 March 2016.

Modi’s decision to visit Brussels in such time of crisis, tightened security and high terror alert shows the intensity and rigor on both sides to re-establish the relationship which have been moving at a sluggish rate over the past few years where no annual summits were held. The summit largely focused on counterterrorism which overshadowed other important aspects of trade, investment and other forms of cooperation. EU and India re-vouched their commitment for a united fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

On issues of foreign policy on neighborhood and beyond, the joint statement addressed issues of cooperation in Africa, diplomatic solution to Ukrainian crisis, arbitration procedure on Italian Marine case, IAEA-Iran nuclear commitments, Stability in middle east and Syria, Afghanistan peace and reconciliation process, stability and democracy in Pakistan, situation and political party’s cooperation in Maldives and post earthquake reconstruction of Nepal and issues of constitutional inclusion in newly promulgated Nepalese constitution.

However the issues of agreement on foreign policy could not remain uncontroversial as Nepal came out www.governancetoday.co.in

with strong objections and seeking clarifications from both sides, where it objected by expressing that, commenting on Nepalese constitutional issues in bilateral summits was highly uncalled for and is an attempt to interfere on exclusive internal matters of an independent sovereign state.

The EU-India bilateral relations are still dominated by economic and trade issues. While the 2005 Joint Action Plan (JAP) that detailed the Strategic Partnership emphasizes the political engagement, it is the economic dimension of this partnership which is the most important for growth and development for both parties.

In the upheld summit the leadership reemphasized on importance of economic growth and jobs through fostering economic cooperation. The greatest takeaway of the summit was agreement and initiation on reengagement with discussions and negotiations for the Broad based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).

The largest issues of contentions on the trade agreement mainly remain on issues of agricultural subsidies, tariff and non tariff barriers, issues on Intellectual property protection, patents and generic medicines especially for pharmaceutical industry, labor standards and GATS mode in liberalization services.

The Summit re-connected the halted bilateral talks between the EU and India. No big breakthrough or new agreement was neither expected/perceived or were in discourse nor did anything as such happen. As India strongly holds Westphalian realist view of state as primary actor, because of which member state of the Union are considered to be of more important and prioritized by India over the EU, India’s strong bilateral relations with United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and other member states overshadow the relations with the Union focusing with enhanced cooperation with strong member states.

The EU-India summit was coupled with state visit of Belgium (Belgium is second largest trading

partner within EU) where different aspects of bilateral technological, economic and security cooperations were discussed.

The leadership acknowledged growing convergence of views on international issues committed to strengthen partnership for present and future. Belgium re-affirmed its commitment for India’s seat for permanent membership in UN Security Council and working together for India’s membership of four multilateral export control regimes namely, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement.

The Summit was positive push for further cooperation between EU and India as the EU remains India’s most important and largest trading partner. The EU remains India’s most important trading partner.

EU’s trade with India in goods and services stood at Euro 95.51 billion both ways in 2014. The Strategic Partnership with EU has, however, not realized the promise as initially was thought of. The lost momentum of trade negotiations since last few years has gained a little motion, though no remarkable breakthrough has happened or is expected. The discussions on BTIA are expected to resume soon which were called off on August of last year due to ban of 700 Indian pharmaceutical products by EU in its internal market. Alongside with enhanced cooperation, EU can learn a lot from India’s first-hand experience of fighting with terrorism since a long time.

Overall, not much was achieved in substantive terms, but the Summit made all the right noises and by doing so, put the vehicle of meaningful engagement in motion again.

The writer is a Marie Curie Early Stage Research Fellow in International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University (Program on Power and Region in a Multipolar Order--PRIMO) and Doctoral candidate of University of Hamburg, Germany

May 2016 I 65

CINEMA

An unbecoming tilt

With the top honors going to Hindi cinema, the 63rd National Film Awards have sidelined regional films like never before Lekshmi Parameswaran

‘I

s Indian cinema Bollywood?’ is the one question that avid lovers of cinema were compelled to ask after the announcement of the 63rd National Film Awards this year. In what would have been an unlikely scenario a few years ago, the awards were swept away by commercial Hindi films completely sidelining films made in other languages.

Established in 1954 to celebrate the diversities of Indian art and culture, the Film Awards became synonymous with excellence. Films of all forms and budget were given an equal footing. It encouraged regional filmmakers to make films that represented the idea of India in its truest sense. By giving recognition to some of the finest films ever made like Shyamchi Aai (Marathi), Pather Panchali (Bengali), Chemeen (Malayalam), and Halodhia Choraye Baodhan

66 I May 2016

Khai (Assamese), it brought in the culture of inclusiveness to Indian cinema. National awards started to represent the possibilities that could be explored and the creative heights that could be reached.

But the last few years have seen a slow dilution of the pan India character of the awards. Hindi films had an edge over regional cinema and the most recent announcement made that shift more pronounced than ever. The period drama Bajirao Mastani dominated the top awards with Sanjay Leela Bansali adjudged the Best Director, Tanvi Azmi - Best Supporting Actress, Remo D’Souza – Best Choreography and Sudeep Chaterjee – Best Cinematography.

The honors for the Best Actor and Actress went to Amitabh Bachchan for his performance in Piku and Kangana Ranaut for her act in the movie Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

Even the Telugu film Baahubali which won the award for the Best Film was released in multiple

languages. In a scenario like this, it has become necessary to take a relook at the contributions of regional cinema and analyze its importance in the present times.

Evolution of regional cinema The history of Indian cinema will remain incomplete without the mention of regional films. With 22 official languages and numerous others spoken throughout the length and breadth of the country, the films are rich in diversity. It is often forgotten that the very roots of Indian cinema lie in regional cinema. The first Marathi movie Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne was released as early as 1912. Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra released in 1913 which has the distinction of being the first full-length film was a Marathi Film. And it is in honor of this legend that the Government of www.governancetoday.co.in

India has constituted the lifetime achievement award.

The Marathi film industry has never been far behind in competing with the dominant Hindi films.

In 1932, just one year after the release of the famous Alam Ara, Ayodhyecha Raja, the first Marathi talkie film was released. Sant Tukaram which was the first Indian work to win the Best Film Award at the Venice film festival in 1937 was a Marathi production. So is Acharya P K Atre’s Shyamchi Aai which won the first ever National Award for the Best Feature Film. In the 1980s, Marathi cinema experimented with the genre of comedy and set new

Deool which made the film fraternity

stand up and take notice of this industry again.

The next industry that needs special mention is that of Bengal.

The contribution of Bengal to the evolution of Indian cinema has been immense. In the decades of 1900s and 1910s, Indian cinema truly emerged in what was then known as Calcutta. The silent movies and the talkies made were as good as the Hindi films that garnered all accolades. The Bengali cinema also had a pivotal role to play in India’s struggle for independence. Drawing inspiration from the revolutionary literature of

of Bengali cinema. The new age wave was headed by filmmakers of the likes of Rituparno Ghosh and Aparna Sen whose films like Dahan and Parama touched upon the sensitivities of middle class.

The industry is also known for joint India-Bangladesh productions. This year the National Award for the Best Bengali Film went to Sankhachil, a joint venture. The intense portrayal of the anguish that the partition brought with it reminded the audience of the elements that make a truly great film.

The industries in the south especially Tamil and Malayalam have also made meaningful

the time, it helped the intelligentsia in giving a definite shape to their ideas.

As the years passed, Bengali cinema produced some of the biggest stalwarts of Indian cinema like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. Ray’s Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) is credited for revolutionizing Indian cinema both on the technical and creative fronts. It was the first Indian movie to truly transcend the linguistic and cultural barriers. The changing times refused to bog down the spirit

contributions to the growth of Indian cinema. Popularly known as Kollywood, Tamil cinema has always been far ahead of times.

The first silent film Keechaka Vadham, was released in 1916 and in 1931, the first talkie Kalidas was released. The experimental nature of the industry is rarely acknowledged now. In the year, 1935, K.B. Sundarambal, a female played hero in the film Nandhanar, a bold step in those times. The first female director of Indian cinema, T.P. Rajalakshmi who directed

Can grandeur mean excellence?

standards of filmmaking. After this, the industry went into a sudden decline unable the stand the competition from Bollywood.

The revival happened in 2004 with the film Shwaas directed by Sandeep Sawant. The beautiful portrayal of a grandfather learning to grapple with his grandson’s illness earned this film sixth rank in the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film. What then followed is a series of exceptionally good award winning films like Harishchandrachi Factory and www.governancetoday.co.in

May 2016 I 67

the movie Miss Kamala, also emerged from this industry. Right after independence, Tamil cinema gave India the big-budget movie Chandralekha which was also the first movie to be well received all over the country. With the coming of director K. Balachander in the 1960s, the history of Tamil cinema was rewritten forever. The focus was laid on social issues and the heart rending narratives left a deep impression in the minds of the audience. In the current crop, Mani Ratnam with his movies Bombay, Roja and Kannathil Muthamittal stands tall.

His movies bring people together on the basis of nothing but raw emotions.

The film Visaranai directed

by Vetri Maraan which won the award for the Best Tamil Film in this year’s National Awards is an extremely powerful tale on the plight of four Tamil migrant workers in Guntur prison. Seldom comes a film like this that has the audacity to depict the real truth of the power equations that get played out. One couldn’t help but wonder if the film actually got its due at the awards.

Malayalam cinema took time to take off with the first film Vigathakumaran released only in 1930. Since then, the industry is known for producing some of the most critically acclaimed works. In the 1950s, P. Bhaskaran and A. Vincent were among the directors who made movies that were thought provoking. The 1970s changed the face of the industry.

For it was the time, the concept of parallel cinema gained widespread acceptance.

The directors Padmarajan and Bharatan spearheaded this revolution by making films that were both critically and commercially acclaimed. The movies of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and G. Aravindan gave a truly international character to Indian cinema. Even the films that are made in the current age have stayed true to the essence of the state’s culture with realistic portrayals of events and people.

Pathemari, which won the award 68 I May 2016

for the Best Malayalam Film traces the life of an expatriate in the Gulf and is a story that strikes the right chord with the audience.

Nrithya Pillai, Member, Central Board of Film Certification, Chennai shares her views on the importance of regional cinema. ““There have been great filmmakers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.

These three states in particular hold a special place for me with respect to their movies. Movies that have made an impact beyond the language barrier, beyond the definition of what commercial cinema should be. Each of them have their regional flavor but ride

Pather Panchali revolutionized Indian cinema in many ways

high on sentiment and emotion that everyone can relate to while giving a perspective on the rich culture of these parts of our country. I think Natrang the Marathi film is one of the greatest movies on art in recent times. Recent movies in Tamil that impacted me were Kuttram Kadidhal and Kakka Muttai, both small budget movies with big minds behind it”.

Wrong decision?

The awards are without a doubt decided by a well-qualified

board. The decisions of the board have largely gone unquestioned till date. In 2012 when Paan Singh Tomar and in 2013 when the English-Hindi film, Ship of Theseus were adjudged the best films, they were seen to be welldeserving of the honor. It was only in 2016 that the lines between commercial success and artistic value became blurred to an extent unimaginable.

The films Bajiirao Mastani and Baahubali were big on magnificence like how any other big budget film is meant to be.

But did these films deserve the highest honors given to Indian films? Both the films lacked the element of novelty and had almost non-existent storylines.

A few extraordinary moments cannot make a film great.

Moreover, the awards send out a very wrong message to the film fraternity as a whole.

By sidelining the films made on small budgets meant for an even smaller audience, it has demoralized those who experiment with the unconventional.

Even Hindi films that received critical acclaim the world over like Masan and Manjhi-The Mountain Man failed to get the acknowledgement that was due. These films while dealing with pressing social issues tugged at the hearts of viewers to leave a long lasting impact on them. They went beyond the realm of populism to explore the depths of raw human emotions.

The dominance of what is referred to as ‘commercial cinema’ is a dangerous trend that needs to be arrested at the earliest.

Regional artists get much better chances for performance than the commercial Hindi and Telugu movies. Perhaps it won’t be wrong to sum up that regional cinema and the artists rarely get the consideration that they deserve as the jury is often leaning towards Hindi cinema. lekshmi@governancetoday.co.in

www.governancetoday.co.in

INTERVIEW RICHARD ELDRIDGE | CO-FOUNDER & CEO, LENDDO

TRADITIONAL CREDIT SCORES CREATE A GAP THAT LENDDO ADDRESSES

C

apturing one’s creditworthiness has traditionally been confined to tracking financial activities of an individual, but that has changed now as Lenddo, the world’s leader in using non-traditional data for credit scoring has launched its entire suite of solutions for India. The company has already been providing lenders in India alternative credit scoring solutions to improve financial inclusion in the Indian market. It has now opened its complete range of solutions including Identity Verification Modules, an Origination System Module and a Marketing Insights Module combined with Custom Scorecard Development services to the Indian market.

In a conversation with Lekshmi Parameswaran of Governance Today, Richard Eldridge, CoFounder & CEO of Lenddo describes the company’s solutions.

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Could you tell us about Lenddo & its innovative technology Lenddo is the world’s leader in using non-traditional data for credit scoring and online verification. We have built proprietary technology that enables us to collect, store, analyze and process billions of data points from multiple data sources quickly and efficiently.

This includes Social, Mobile, Psychometric, Telecom, Form Filling Analytics & Transactional Data from E-Commerce Firms, Payment Gateways and Wallets etc. www.governancetoday.co.in

Our Data Science team, which includes PhD’s based in New York, use this data in combination with over 4 years of lending experience, and advanced machine learning techniques to build our highly predictive algorithms.

We offer our credit scoring, verification, marketing insights services, decision and custom scorecard solutions to banks, lending institutions, telecom and credit card companies worldwide and facilitate over 100,000 credit decisions a month for customers who typically would have been denied due to lack of credit history.

What is LenddoScore?

How is it calculated?

The score is a numerical value which measures the customer’s potential credit risk at the time of application –a higher LenddoScore indicates better creditworthiness i.e. lower predicted default. It is a powerful predictor of a customer’s character or willingness to make payments and as it is based exclusively on non-traditional data. The formula is Lenddo’s Intellectual Property and is tested and monitored regularly by the Lenddo’s Data Science and credit risk teams.

How is it different from other credit scoring agencies, like CIBIL in India?

Traditional scores like the one provided in by CIBIL, mainly use previous financial history to assess creditworthiness. This creates a gap whereby individuals, who do

not have credit history, may have limited access to credit. Lenddo is addressing this gap by expanding the scope of variables using nontraditional data sources, such as those from online behavior, mobile devices and social data. When building a credit model, Lenddo uses up to 12,000 data points, from which our team of data scientists create predictive features using advanced data modeling techniques.

What is Lenddo’s Verification like?

Lenddo’s Verification solution uses Social, Mobile and other types of non-traditional data to authenticate the information that an applicant or user provides. We have also developed an enhanced Verification solution that allows as applicant or user to take and upload images, take a selfie, affix a digital signature and submit this information real time and online through a mobile app.

How important is India as a market for Lenddo?

With India’s emerging middle class expected to grow to over 500 million by 2021 and growing usage of smartphones and the internet, Lenddo’s products and services will augment the drive for Financial Inclusion by bringing in millions in the mainstream financial service market, support digitization of credit processes and verifications to enable faster, cheaper and informed decision making. Because of its size and latent opportunity, India is an important market for us.

May 2016 I 69

URBAN CO-OPERATIVE BANKING SUMMIT

GUCBF and Governance Today organize

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hmedabad, 24th April, 2016: Gujarat Urban Co-operative Banks Federation, along with Governance Today, successfully held Urban Co-operative Banking Summit 2016 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with the aim to discuss the present challenges and future prospects of cooperative banking sector. The summit brought together cooperative banking department of Gujarat along with top cooperative banking players in the country under one platform to deliberate on the cooperative banks’ progress. The summit also saw representation from leading IT players which emphasized on the need to accelerate the adoption of high end technology in the sector.

The two day Summit was presided by Shri Jyotindra Mehta, President, NAFCUB and Chairman, GUCBF; Shri V S Das, Advisor, GUCBF; and Shri R N Joshi, IAS 70 I May 2016

(Retd), CEO, GUCBF. Ms. Suma Varma, Principal CGM, RBI, Mumbai, keynote speaker at the summit said that cooperative banks must adopt technology despite the risks. She added “in order for RBI to help UCBs banks need to share their details and bring in transparency.” Mona Khandar, IAS, Secretary, Agriculture Cooperation, Government of Gujarat, voiced similar suggestions and called for inclusion of futuristic technology.

The inaugural session laid emphasis on the present scenario of the urban cooperative sector (UCB) in banking. Panel discussions also included the importance of leveraging technology in the sector and elevating the position of UCBs by relying on cyber security and risk management technologies.

The summit was also attended by some of the top names in corporate sector namely Samsung, TM Systems, DHFL Pramerica Life

Insurance, Securens, Senrysa, Equitas, Integra, and Cyberoam.

Industry participation also included Tata Docomo, AGS, Auro, Aster Networks, BMS, C-Edge, CashLink Global Systems, Diebold, Forbes Technosys Limited, Grover Infotech Private Limited, Guardwel Industries Pvt Ltd, Godrej, Infinitas Technology Solutions, Infres, Image Infosystems, Kores, Lipid Data, Matrix, Madras Security Printers, Moked, Maximus, Robo Gardien, SBI DFHI Limited, Sharon Solutions Limited, Steel Guard, Trident, Vinayakshri Textiles, Vortex, Yolokal and Raymond Homes.

During the summit, a visit to expo highlighted some of the best available technologies for the cooperative banking sector that will assist the UCBs in addressing present challenges and facilitate IT inclusion to enable growth and sustainability. www.governancetoday.co.in

Urban Co-operative Banking Summit 2016

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Sessions Highlights

he summit primarily focused on uplifting the performance of urban cooperative banking sector and as such the first session started with discussion on Leveraging Technology. Discussion included moderator Shri Ratnakar, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Rahil Patel, CTO, Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank, Kameshwar, CTO, Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank, KP Shah, MD, Senrysa, Jemin Shingala, Cofounder, YoLokal, and Shri Manjunath HS, COO, Integra Micro. The session focused on the facilitation of futuristic technology in the sector and how it can open new opportunities of growth and competition.

The second session laid emphasis on UCBs competing with new banks.

Ajit Saijwani from FINO was the

www.governancetoday.co.in

moderator who briefed about the present status of UCBs and how the competition should be taken as an opportunity rather than taking it as a threat. The session included valuable insights from Sameer Nanavati, Director, Disha Microfinance, Vinod Dadlani, CEO, Kalupur Commercial Co-operative Bank, Vinodbhai Patel, CEO, Mehsana Urban Co-operative Bank, Narendra Dabhi, CEO, Adarsh Co-operative Bank (Sirohi, Rajasthan), H K Raghavan, MD, Equitas Microfinance.

The concluding session was focused on Physical, Cyber Security and Risk Management and Pavan Duggal, Cyber Law Expert, Advocate, Supreme Court, moderated the program. The panelist for the session were Vinod Shah, GM, Gujarat State Co-operative

Bank, Rahil Patel, CTO, Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank, Amit Parikh, CEO, Mansa Co-operative Bank, Divyen Joshi, Pre Sales Manager, Sophos Technologies, and Smrutiranjan Das, GM, Banking Sales, Securens System.

May 2016 I 71

LEADERS SPEAK

Shri Jyotindrabhai Mehta, President, NAFCUB and Chairman, GUCBF We are aware that cooperative banks require financial assistance in order to bring in technology.

The implementation of CBS (Core Banking System) alone would require a minimum expenditure support of Rs. 4 lakh for each bank. With the changed scenario, we are getting support from Government of Gujarat and RBI to meet the hardware and software requirements. There are around 1,590 cooperative banks in India and out of that 225 cooperative banks are in Gujarat. The NPA of banking industry is 6.7 per cent whereas the NPA of cooperative stands at 6.2 per cent and NPA of Gujarat cooperative banking sector is impressive 2.7 per cent. Our sector has performed well amidst challenges. With our performance and efforts we have been able to gain trust of the government and regulatory body but we need more support and we want a level playing field. The biggest challenge for UCBs has been technology which will change the way we conduct our operations.

Because we are made for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) our aim is to accept the current challenges and bring in latest technology.

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Ms. Suma Varma, Principal CGM, RBI, Mumbai We have noticed that cooperative quality among banks, which have progressed, has come down.

Cooperative banks are member driven institute and they should strive to maintain that characteristic.

Cooperative banks of Gujarat have performed well in comparison to other states in the country. We have also come across instances where cases of frauds have not been reported. The cooperative sector does not adhere to RBI norms when it comes to recognition of NPA whereas in commercial banks it is system driven. Another discussion is about technology adoption which concerns the implementation of CBS and whether CBS in cooperative banks are fully compliant with the IDRBT (Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology) benchmarks. It is known fact that technology comes with risk elements. Cooperative banks can avail the facilities of internet banking but they should adhere to standards given by RBI in this regard. The sector wants our support but RBI also demands some cooperation from this sector in order to help them. Regulators need on-time annual reports and financial inclusion reports. Most importantly, the reports sent to us should be used

by Board of Directors to determine their performance. Taking note of valuable information on reports will lead to improved operational efficiency. Thus cooperative banking sector needs to use their own strengths against the current challenges.

Mona Khandhar, IAS, Secretary, Agriculture and Co-operation Department, Government of Gujarat Urban Cooperative banking is meant especially for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises.

Our department places utmost importance to implementation of CBS in every cooperative bank.

The timely implementation of CBS is another crucial factor as delay would bring down the relevance of cooperative banks. UCBs can only be able to compete in the market through the medium of technology, professionalism and long-term vision. If UCBs work with a short-sightedness vision of earning few advantages then they won’t be able to survive in the long run. Considering the relevance of UCBs for MSME, it is our priority to make government understand the situation and support them.

Although the regulatory norms set by RBI are same for everyone but fund raising mechanism is limited for cooperative banks.

Therefore, the sector needs to meet the challenges with current limitations. UCBs must incorporate not just technology but futuristic technology as it is changing at a very rapid pace. The sector needs to diversify along with technology in order to efficiently fulfill the needs of its customers.

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INDUSTRY SPEAK Anil Chaudhary, Head Rural & Cooperative Banking, DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd.: DHFL is India’s second largest private housing finance company and Pramerica is one of the top 10 financial companies in the world.

The presentation focused on the active cooperation with cooperative banks that the company has had for last two years. As of today it has more than one crore customers which largely comprises rural sector and urban cooperative banks.

Niraj J Vyas, Tata Teleservices: Tata Teleservices’ presentation laid emphasis on the role the company plays in helping urban cooperative banks to adopt the technology in relation with implementing core banking solutions. It also informed how the company helps cooperative banks meet the minimum requirements and makes them ready for technology inclusion and improvement in operational efficiency.

Smrutiranjan Das, GM, Banking Sales, Securens Systems: Mr Das emphasized on customer centricity giving skills and information to employees about risk associated with technology.

He suggested that apart from CTO of a bank, other related employees should be educated about the www.governancetoday.co.in

cyber security to prevent hacking of data.

Divyen Joshi, Pre sales Manager, Sophos Technologies: Sophos is a world leader in IT security and data protection. The presentation focused on the services that the company provides. It showed how Sophos Security and Data Protection services provide complete protection across endpoint, email and web in a single solution to banks.

HK Raghavan, MD, Equitas Microfinance: Mr Raghwan mentioned their successful imprints in Gujarat and how they would continue to make their stakeholders satisfied with their offerings. He also provided data from World Bank report which revealed that only 4 percent of wages are credit in banks.

If we want to increase this percentage then we need to bring in technology to serve customers outside bank.

K P Shah, MD, Senrysa: Mr Shah explained how customers are of prime importance as they are always looking for ease of doing banking services. The technology has reached to a level where customer wants to conduct daily anytime transactions without actually visiting a bank. He also mentioned how customers of commercial banks are different

from customers of a cooperative bank. Unless cooperative banks strive to provide more ease of services they are not really serving their customers.

Vijay Wadhawan, Director, Samsung: Mr. Wadhwan informed about Samsung’s operations and products that would help the cooperative banks to eliminate current issues. He explained about company’s enterprise services that would enable financial inclusion and help banks to compete and stay in the market. The company also unveiled its soon to be launched Iris-based tab banking to reduce the bridge between customer and banks.

Saumil Shah, MD & CEO, TM Systems: Mr Shah’s presentation highlighted the current challenges faced by the cooperative banks and how solutions from TM Systems can help them to stand the competition with commercial banks. The issues discussed were technology adaptation, cost of CBS, technical manpower and governing bodies. Shah explained about their product Auto Bank that offers CBS application designed keeping users in mind.

Manjunath HS, COO, Integra Micro: The speaker emphasized on how financial inclusion can help urban cooperative banks in serving customers better. He added, currently there are many technology available in the market for banking sector that can help them to bring in internal efficiency and make their customers happy.

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URBAN CO-OPERATIVE BANKING SUMMIT

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Expo Visit

he Urban Cooperative Banking Summit was centered on the current challenges faced by the sector and how UCBs can compete with commercial banks with inclusion of technology. The presence from cooperative banking sector was accompanied by IT leaders who came out with their products and solutions at expo which was visited by Shri Jyotindrabhai Mehta, President, NAFCUB and Chairman, GUCBF, Ms. Suma Varma, Principal CGM, RBI, Mumbai and all the delegates from 225 plus cooperative banks.

Samsung, TM Systems, DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, Securens, Senrysa, Equitas, Integra, and Cyberoam.

Industry participation also included Tata Docomo, AGS, Auro, Aster Networks, BMS, C-Edge, CashLink Global Systems, Diebold, Forbes Technosys Limited, Grover Infotech Private Limited, Guardwel Industries Pvt Ltd, Godrej, Infinitas Technology Solutions, Infres, Image Infosystems, Kores, Lipid Data, Matrix, Madras Security Printers, Moked, Maximus, Robo Gardien, SBI DFHI Limited, Sharon Solutions Limited, Steel Guard, Trident, Vinayakshri Textiles, Vortex, and Yolokal were some of the top private players that presented the banking sector with their latest products, services and solutions.

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