Implementing or Ignoring the Law on Sexual Harassment?

By Dr. (PhD) Anagha Sarpotdar (anagha.sarpotdar@gmail.com) has a doctorate in the social sciences and is based in Mumbai.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013 but not many companies in Mumbai have taken its provisions seriously or formed the mandatory internal complaints committees. A survey of how complaints by women were treated by some companies and what the internal committee members had to say shows that employer response to their women personnel and staff victimises the victim.

In early October, the Mumbai High Court ruled that it is the duty of every company to ensure that proper safeguards are provided to protect women from sexual and other harassment at work. “It is about time that every organization makes a list of dos and don’ts for male employees vis-à-vis their conduct towards women colleagues,” said a bench, headed by Justice V M Kanade (Times of India 2016). The complainant had alleged that her superior had not only made sexual advances towards her but even threatened to scuttle her career growth, if she refused. The bench, however, held that the findings of the internal complaints committee (ICC) and disciplinary committee showed that they had examined all allegations and held the officer guilty of misconduct.

The bench said sexual misconduct cannot be viewed casually and must be dealt with firmly and there should be an inbuilt internal mechanism so that instances of harassment can be conveyed confidentially to a senior woman officer. “Internal committees should be constituted to ensure that such instances are nipped at the inception itself.” It also pointed out that while Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013, most firms have not set up complaints panels and must do so expeditiously (Times of India 2016).

A gender diversity study (TeamLease 2016) has revealed that more than 72% women feel that gender discrimination exists at workplaces and that initiatives like anti-sexual harassment policies need to be boosted by employers. This was reflected in the data provided by the corporate affairs ministry, Government of India which showed that reported complaints of sexual harassment within the top 100 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange doubled in the financial year 2014–15 as compared to the previous one (Asian Age 2015). Paradoxically, employers were found to be unequipped to tackle the problem. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)–Ernst and Young study (2015) revealed that one in every three Indian companies that is 31% had not yet set up ICC and 40% had not oriented the members to legal provisions while 35% were unaware of the penal consequences of not complying with the law. Around 44% did not create awareness about the law among employees (Bhattacharyya 2015; Sharma 2015).


Researching the Issue

In this context, I argue that employer response to reported complaints of sexual harassment has been dubious and problematic before enforcement of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. This is substantiated by findings of the research undertaken by me as fulfilment of the PhD programme at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai between 2012 and 2014. The need for such research arose from the poor implementation of the Vishakha guidelines (1997). One of the objectives of the research was to understand and analyse employer response to reported complaints of sexual harassment by women. It was done prior to the enforcement of the 2013 act and provided insights into status of compliance by organisations to the then existing legal framework.


Methodological Approach

Research questions required that a qualitative approach was followed. More specifically, phenomenology was chosen in order to get a both closer and deeper understanding of lived experiences of individuals who implemented the Vishakha guidelines and those who were affected by their implementation. This helped in bringing out new and context specific knowledge both from the compliance and process point of view.

Mumbai was chosen as the research setting taking into consideration that it is the economic capital of India and home to different kinds of organisations. There were numerous challenges in terms of locating participants for research and gaining their consent. Women’s organisations and/or groups, human and/or women’s rights lawyers, and the state commission for women became contact points to get in touch with women who reported sexual harassment and individuals who had experience in implementing the Vishakha guidelines. Lawyers, trade union members and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) functioning as external members with complaints committees were willing to be part of the research.

A few participants were selected using purposive sampling (Welman and Kruger 1999) and others were located using the snowballing technique (Babbie 1995; Crabtree and Miller 1992). The sample size was 27. Out of these, six persons were members of complaints committees including chairpersons, three were human resources professionals, six were from NGOs and women’s organisations, two were members of trade unions and three were lawyers. Seven women were complainants who had reported sexual harassment at their workplaces. Out of these seven, four were employed with government organisations while three were working in private sector companies.

The challenge in locating and accessing participants for research reflected lack of uniformity in participant profiles. The sample was not representative in terms of participant activities except that all participants were employed with the organised sector and were concerned with the implementation of the Vishakha guidelines. Data collection was done using single in-depth semi-structured conversational interviews.

Experiences of the participants were captured in three themes. One of the prominent themes that emerged was employer response to reported complaints. This particular theme is especially important because it provides a base to understand and analyse prevailing situation relating to compliance to the current law on sexual harassment. The theme was analysed from the point of view of employer compliance to the Vishakha guidelines.


Major Findings

Writings and studies in India during 1997–2013 reveal under-reporting of sexual harassment, and poor implementation of the Vishakha guidelines leading to ineffective resolution of reported complaints (Saheli 1998; Sakshi 2000; Sanhita 2001; SARDI 1999; Lawyers Collective and ILO 2002; Yugantar 2003; CII 2005; Chaudhuri 2006; CFTI 2010). Situation continues to be sluggish after the 2013 act was enacted Phadnis and John (2014), Singh (2015) and DNA (2015). This is substantiated by findings of the present research.

Overall, organisations flouted the Vishakha guidelines. However, persistent efforts by the women and pressure from external agencies compelled employers to implement the guidelines. Even though it was done half-heartedly complaints committees were constituted or activated after complainants insisted and/or when there was pressure from external agencies like the state commission for women and high court.

It was found that women did not complain immediately after the incidents of sexual harassment occurred. In fact, registering a complaint with the employer was considered as the last choice and was resorted to when they found the workplace atmosphere becoming intimidating and difficult to handle. Their well-being and health was affected. Many of them did not have information about the complaint mechanism within their organisations and sought the help of women’s organisations, the police or the state commission for women.

When the women reported sexual harassment to persons in positions of authority, they were laughed at or were not believed. The complaints were rendered insignificant and branded as psychological problems, administrative harassment arising from the complainant’s non-performance, workplace politics, ragging or rude behaviour. Since these complaints were not considered grave enough to warrant attention, they were invariably dismissed. It must be noted here that non-verbal forms of sexual harassment were not regarded as harassment and the woman was blamed for making an issue out of “nothing.”

Retaliation from the employer after complaint was distinctly seen in all cases and this was a trend that was seen much more in the private sector where the complainant women’s services were terminated or they were compelled to resign due to humiliating working conditions deliberately created by the employer. The nature of retaliation in the government organisations differed substantially from the private sector. For these women, sexual and administrative harassment escalated after they complained. In all cases, however, the women were subjected to senior management personnel actually devising ways of troubling them further.

The experiences of the women complainants discussed here were substantiated by members of NGOs functioning as external members on the complaints committees, and by lawyers and trade unionists. The NGO members said that employers largely denied the existence of sexual harassment in their organisations and most of them were convinced that the environment in their organisations was safe for the women employees. As a result, the implementation of the Vishakha guidelines was undertaken reluctantly and led to low awareness among the employees about the entire issue and existence of the complaint mechanism. Almost everyone I interviewed said that the sexual harassment policies were vaguely framed because these employers did not envisage the different situations emerging from such harassment.

The NGO members further shared that employer response to reported cases was subjective and varied according to their perception about the issue and interest in the reported complaint. The response was never sympathetic and was actually negative, casual and attempted avoidance. Sexual harassment was treated as “normal” behaviour and not dealt with seriously thus forcing the women to reach out to external agencies such as the police.

The lawyers I spoke to observed that multinational companies only pretended to adhere to strict global standards but sexual harassment at the workplace was not seen as a form of violence against women or violation of rights of women employees. The employers believed that the woman was making the complaint with an ulterior motive. As a consequence, the response was negative and any show of insistence from the woman resulted in her being accused of poor performance of her job or vindictive behaviour. While her work and leave records were examined with intent to find faults and serve her with memos and termination notices, the man she had complained against was let off without any action. In fact, the woman faced isolation within the workplace and in many cases the human resources personnel ensured that her complaint was ignore or treated lightly.

Employers need to make sure that ICCs under the Companies Act, 2013 are constituted as mandated. Similarly, an efficient anti-sexual harassment policy is required to be drafted so that it is compliant with the 2013 act and addresses even those areas which the law fails to. The definition of sexual harassment should be broadened to cover the overall work culture and the ICC should meet regularly to gain visibility and reach out to the women in the organisation even when there are no reported complaints of sexual harassment. Though the act does not mandate presence of an external member in the quorum, the compulsory presence of such a member should be ensured during the committee’s meetings and proceedings.

As stated by Hersch (2015) despite being illegal, costly, and an affront to dignity, sexual harassment is pervasive and challenging to eliminate. Sincerity of purpose, interpretation of the legislation by the employers in keeping with its spirit and contextualising it with the struggle from which it emerged will go a long way in bringing about the safety of women employees at workplaces.

- See more at: http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/44-45/commentary/implementing-or-ignoring-law-sexual-harassment.html#sthash.ZXoQ1fTJ.dpuf



Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

10 social enterprises that empower women in India

In India women are disempowered and generally handed a bad deal. Consider the various issues they face. It starts at birth. According to UNICEF, more than 50 million female infants have been culled at birth and have gone ‘missing’. 

This problem runs deep, in July a female child was found half-buried in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, she later died due to injuries in hospital. No wonder India has amongst the worst sex ratios in the world, with only 893 females for every 1000 males. There are fewer female children in schools than males, most of them dropping out when they hit puberty, preferring to stay at home, because most schools don’t have toilets or running water. 

There are also fewer women in the workforce, this is not just in the organized workforce, but also in agricultrure. Their woes continue: they are not safe on the streets, with high rates of rape and sexual assault. India is definitely no country for women. 

The social entrepreneurship ecosystem has responded to this harsh environment spawning a variety of social businesses that strive empower women. Here are 10 social enterprises doing their bit to better the lives of the women of India. 

In India women are disempowered and generally handed a bad deal. Consider the various issues they face. It starts at birth. According to UNICEF, more than 50 million female infants have been culled at birth and have gone ‘missing’. This problem runs deep, in July a female child was found half-buried in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, she later died due to injuries in hospital. No wonder India has amongst the worst sex ratios in the world, with only 893 females for every 1000 males. There are fewer female children in schools than males, most of them dropping out when they hit puberty, preferring to stay at home, because most schools don’t have toilets or running water. There are also fewer women in the workforce, this is not just in the organized workforce, but also in agricultrure. Their woes continue: they are not safe on the streets, with high rates of rape and sexual assault. India is definitely no country for women. The social entrepreneurship ecosystem has responded to this harsh environment spawning a variety of social businesses that strive empower women. Here are 10 social enterprises doing their bit to better the lives of the women of India. Pic courtesy: www.worldpulse.com 

1) Ayzh (pronounced “eyes”): The company was founded by Zubaida Bai with the simple idea of developing affordable, appropriate health technologies produced by women and for women in rural India. Every year a million mothers die from unsanitary childbirth conditions. AYZH’s core product JANMA, a Rs 100 clean birth kit (containing simple tools recommended by the WHO) helps prevent infection at the time of birth leading to reduced maternal and infant mortality. Zubaida’s motivation to start the company was personal. In 2006, on the birth of her first born she contracted an infection that caused years of suffering and was told by doctors that she may not be able to have another child. She made a promise to find a sustainable clean birth solution on behalf of women worldwide. Besides reducing maternal and infant mortality, AYZH increases income of women in rural India by enabling them to be the producers and sellers of tools like sterile birth kits. With a total of 32,000+ kits sold, more than 64,000 mothers and babies worldwide now have access to a clean and safe birth. Bai is a TED, Ashoka Changemakers, and Echoing Green fellow. 

2) Blank Noise Project: Started by Jasmeen Patheja in 2003, as a student project when she was Srishti School of Art Design and Technology, the Blank Noise project has developed into a platform for women to voice their frustration against sexual assault and violence. Patheja is reluctant to call Blank Noise a movement yet, but it might slowly be becoming one. After starting in Bangalore, Blank Noise has spread to other cities, helping create awareness about ‘eve teasing’, sexual assault and violence against women. The organization entirely run by volunteers – both male and female – uses a multi-dimensional appraoch to publicly address the aforementioned issues. One of their more recent projects was ‘Talk to me’, had Blank Noise volunteers set tables on ‘Rapist Lane’ to facilitate a conversation between women, and the men who used to hang around there. Rapist Lane is a short stretch near Srishti School of Art Design and Technology where men used to park their bikes and cars, drink and generaly create a nuisance for the women passing by. The tables helped sit the men down and share tea and have a conversation with the women who passed Rapist Lane. The objective was for the men to better understand the women and create a sense of familarity between the two sexes.

3) Datahalli: Datahalli is an all-woman BPO started by the the JSW Foundation in Vijayanagar, Karnataka to create employment opportunities for rural girls, most of whom are only high school pass outs. The project has currently benefited over 500 women helping the rural women gain dignity and respect and some cases become the family’s primary bread earner. The Datahalli model encourages girls to complete their education right up to the 12th grade. The women are given basic computer skills and then trainined on data entry and processing jobs. The 300 young women who are currently employed at the BPO earn between Rs. 3000 to Rs.5000 per month. Having started with financial support from the foundation, Datahalli is a self sustained social enterprise today. 

4) Sakha Consulting Wings: India, as is well-known is not a safe place for women. There have been a slew of women only cab services that have been launched to provide safe transport solutions for women, and by women in urban India. Sakha Consulting Wings is one of them. It offers three services :Sakha Cabs for Women- a cab service driven by women for women in Delhi and NCR, Sakha Chauffeur Placement Services- a chauffeur placement service on a full time basis within an agreed contract and Sakha Chauffeur on call- chauffeur services for a short duration or daily packages. Sakha women drivers are handpicked from poor and marginalized sections of society. Their entire training and development is undertaken by Azad Foundation, Sakha’s non-profit sister organisation. Maruti Institute of Driving and Technology Research provide driving skills. In-house trainers from Azad Foundation provide training in subjects such as map reading, routes and roads in Delhi, communications and grooming, as well as an understanding of women’s rights, particularly in protection from violence in public and personal spaces. In addition to driving, they are taught self defense by the Delhi Police and the Crime against Women Cell teaches them to deal with any untoward incidents faced on the roads. 

5) Jayaashree Industries: We will never completely know what possesed Arunachalam Muruganandam, a high-school drop who was working as a helper in a welding shop to take on the problem of menstrual hygiene in India. He spent a frustrating four years coming up with a design for a sanitary napkin that could be afforded by the poor. Finally, Muruganandam succeeded in designing a machine for Rs 65,000, this was a major breakthrough because a similar machine cost Rs 3.5 crores. Muruganandam started selling napkins with his wife’s help, but met with a tepid response, but soon things started to pick up.  Over 225 such machines have sold so far and are deployed in 14 states of India. He’s also getting inquiries from various countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya Uganda, Nepal and Bangladesh. He may single-handedly spawned an entirely new industry. 

6) REVIVAL Style: Harmeet Neetu Sidhu and Allison Q. Taylor started REVIVAL Style as a way to empower women from the rural villages of India. The company designs, produces and sells stylish, ethical apparel for women. REVIVAL Style  works with female artisans from rural India, leading to a better life for them. REVIVAL Style has won quite a few honors for its business model including the NYU Gallatin Founder’s Fund Business Plan Competition, finalist in the NYU Stern Social Venture Business Plan Competition, and was named in the Top 40 (out of nearly 1800) in the Dell Social Innovation Challenge. REVIVAL Style’s inspiration is the over 180 million rural Indian women living below the universal poverty line, living on less than a dollar. By being the bridge between traditional Indian craft and the needs of a modern-day consumer, the company helps preserve Indian traditional crafts. In addition to offering the women fair wages and employment, REVIVAL Style will reinvest in the artisans’ communities through education programs. 

7) Greenway Grameen Infra (GGI): Neha Juneja and Ankit Mathur founded CGI to create sustainable solutions for the rural market. Their first product, a clean cookstove, called the Greenway Smart Stove. CGI’S team consists of technology experts, designers, socioligists and marketers who worked with rural communities to create the Greenway Smart Stove design. The results clearly shows. Their stove saves 65 percent fuel and reduces carbin emissions by 80 percent. This is an important problem to solve as traditional stoves cause over 2 million premature deaths annually due to indoor air pollution. Also, they lead to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and the release of black carbon. CGI’s efforts have won it many prizes. Some of them include the $50,000 grand prize at Intel Global Challege at UC Berkeley (2012), Women’s Impact Award (2012), DFID-GIZ Sankalp Samridhi “Social Enterprise Recognition Awards”, Grand Prize (2012), IIM – Bangalore’s “Next Big Thing” Competition and first Place at the Social Business (2012), IIT – Bombay’s “Eureka! Business Plan Competition”. After designing a great stove, CGI’s next challenge is to reduce the cost of the stove and increase sales. 

8) The Maids’ Company (TMC): TMC’s founder Gauri Singh has extensive experience in sectors like microfinance, urban livelihoods and affordable housing founded TMC in 2007. Just prior to founding TMC Gauri worked for Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) for five years. TMC aims to revolutionize the domestic housekeeping sector by improving service quality and the rights of domestic workers. TMC’s maids become co-owners in the company and own equity. Maids are guaranteed a steady income, provident fund, medical benefits and access to financial services. All maids are screened as TMC does a police verification. TMC also takes the sting out of hiring a new maid by providing a 5 day trial period. Households can also be guarateed continuity of service, because when one maid quits, TMC replaces them with another. 

9) rangSutra: Founded by Sumita Ghose in 2006, rangSutra has become of the most successful social enterprises in India. The company preserves the heritage of India and its crafts by manufacturing apparel, home furnishings and accessories. More than 70 per cent of the close to 2000 artisans that the company employs from remote regions of Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Assam are women. rangSutra creates top quality hand made products employing these artisans and farmers and provides them with sustainable livelihoods. Besides being modeled on the principles of fair trade rangSutra also has made the majority of its employees part owners and given them representation on the board of Directors. 

10) Lijjad Pappad (Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad): One of India’s oldest co-operatives supporting women, Lijjad Pappad is an organisation manufacturing various products from papad, appalam, masalas, wheat flour, chapati,detergent powder, detergent cake and liquid detergent. After starting with just 7 women employees it now employees over 43,000 women throughout India and has 81 branches. 

Source: http://social.yourstory.com/2013/10/10-social-enterprises-empower-women-india/

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Bright minds and Dark Angels

Being a 5-pointer proves to be too much for these bright students and they fail to deal with the pressure.

Dad – sorry I couldn't be a better son to you… all you asked was my betterment of my career and future and I couldn't give it to you… I have failed you dad and I am so sorry about it. I cannot show my face to you

Mom – Sorry mom, I really did love you more than dad….

I was weak I thought I could become strong but I was weak, I was so so so weak the fault is my own. The fault is my own. Hope something good happens with my death. Firestallion has left the building…

I wish to donate my eyes and internal organs…. At least somebody can be benefitted with my death.

In another 2 min it will be 3:13 both my fav numbers. awesome time to die 

These were Nitin Kumar Reddy's last words in an email he sent to his father. The final-year M.Tech student at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his hostel room after he got a semester extension.

Straight out of Raju Hirani's blockbuster 3 Idiots, Nitin aka Firestallion aka Swamy was on the verge of completing his final-year project, but could not meet the deadline. Unable to face the embarrassment of not graduating with his batch, he “left the building”.

'' I had told him not to worry; I would sort it out,'' says Nitin's father, Lakshmana Moorthy, who was to land in Chennai by the first flight the next morning. “I had left my office to attend a meeting. I got a call telling me that Nitin had sent a disturbing email. By the time my friend read out the email, he was gone.”

The pressure cooker description given by the media certainly does not go with the IIT Madras campus, located within a 620-acre natural forest with a magnificent lake and a wide range of flora and fauna.

However, in the last three years, the campus has witnessed six suicides—the highest number across IITs. This year eight IITians killed themselves across India, and IIT Madras leads this list, too, with two students, both from the mechanical engineering department, killing themselves.

In February, V. Anoop, 25, a final-year M.Tech student at IIT Madras, hanged himself in his hostel room, as he could not complete his course in time.

His father, Vijay Kumar, says Anoop had trouble with his guide, who “wasn't happy that Anoop did not consult him enough”. Anoop had requested a change, and it was granted. “His new guide had assured him that he would complete the project in time…. But we got a letter from the institute asking us to re-register. I got a call that midnight that he was gone,” he recalls.

And more recently, in September, B. Gowri Shankar, a second-year postgraduate student at IIT Madras was found dead in his room. It is suspected to be a case of suicide, though forensic experts are yet to confirm it.

According Nitin's friends, he had finished the major part of his project: simulation. “He had trouble fixing the engine,” they recall. “He asked his guide for help. He was told to approach the lab technicians, but they apparently were unable to help. Nitin tried fixing it himself, which did not happen. Finally on the day when he had to submit the thesis, the engine wasn't ready.”

And that meant Nitin had to repeat a semester. His plum placement plans bid him goodbye, and he bid goodbye to life.

Students who knew Nitin say he had initially faltered with his time-management. “His project guide should have noticed this and helped him fast-track his work,” says a student. “Indeed, many professors fail to pay enough attention to projects, as they are busy with researchers under them.”

While extensions pushed Anoop and Nitin to the extreme, the latest IITian to give up on life—Mehtab Ahmed, a first year student in IIT Kanpur—had been on campus just for a couple of months. The youngest in his family, Ahmed hanged himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on September 22.

The reasons being cited were many, including love affair and homesickness. The end result, however, was scrawled across the wall of his room in pencil: “I am tired of IIT-Kanpur.” This was the ninth suicide in IIT Kanpur in five years. 

Concerned about the spike in the number of students killing themselves, the IIT Council headed by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has recommended setting up of a task force—consisting of teachers, parents and students—to study the issue.

Eight suicides across India in an annual combined batch of 10,000 might seem, as one professor in IIT Madras put it famously, “statistically unimportant''. But when the country's brightest students decide to end their lives, it does call for, if nothing, introspection.

Life@IIT

What makes these brilliant students crack? Boman Irani as the heartless professor may have been the chief reason for many students to give up in 3 Idiots, but in real life, it is much more complicated.

And it is not that IITs are like Nazi camps. Majority of the graduates say IIT was the best part of their lives. Even current students agree: “It is fun; the pressure is part of it,” says an IIT Madras B.Tech student. “We booze once in a while, we have ‘unofficial' inter-hostel competitions, and we have our own share of masti, besides plenty of sports and recreational facilities.”

Read in Detail: The Week | Bright minds and Dark Angels

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Why poor rural tribals will remain poor for generations

A new survey by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre identified 15 regions spread over six states where poverty is getting concentrated and chronic, and found that tribal and forested areas are likely to remain poor, with the decline in poverty among the rural tribal population going from 51.9% to just 47.3% .

  Poverty is becoming hereditary in India, at least for a sizeable population. That is the conclusion derived from a three-decade tracking of poor households in rural India.
A survey by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC), an international association of researchers and academicians, claims that those who are chronically poor may pass on poverty to their next generation. What’s more, people residing in tribal and forested areas are likely to remain poor forever, fomenting violent conflicts in future. Most of India’s forested districts are already dens of Naxalites.

The survey, India Chronic Poverty Report, comes at a time when the country is awaiting its latest National Sample Survey for estimation of poverty. On April 21, while unveiling the approach paper to the 12th Five Year Plan for 2012-17, the Planning Commission disclosed that poverty has reduced from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 32% in 2009-10. The estimate is critical for the next Plan and the eagerly awaited and much debated National Food Security Law.

A controversy erupted the day the commission made the disclosure. The Supreme Court ordered the commission to explain how it fixed percentage of people below-poverty-line (BPL) at 36%. The percentage helps the commission decide the direction of development programmes and distribution of foodgrains under the public distribution system.

The apex court’s observation came in the wake of a petition filed by nonprofit People’s Union for Civil Liberties. The petitioner contends that adequate foodgrains are not being given to people living below the poverty line. This case is known as the Right to Food. The court also challenged the commission’s estimates of BPL families. “There cannot be two Indias,” said the apex court while describing the country’s high economic growth and consistent poverty. “The poverty level is reducing but at a slow pace,” says Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the court’s commissioners for the case.

Two Indias
The survey by CPRC explains the “two Indias”. “Why do some people remain poor for a longer period of time? Why do poor areas remain poor forever? These are the questions answered by the survey,” says Aasha Kapur Mehta, professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Public Administration in Delhi, who leads CPRC in India.
The survey followed about 3,000 households for almost 30 years across the country. It adopted a three-pronged approach to poverty: what drives poverty, what retains poverty and what causes exit from poverty.

CPRC has published 32 research papers in the past five years explaining various aspects of poverty in India. It defines the chronic poor as people who remain poor through their lifetime. Analysis of the papers shows that at least 50% of India’s poor are chronic poor. The survey identified 15 regions spread over six states where poverty is getting concentrated and chronic (see map). “Persistent backwardness and inequality have led to concentration of poverty in certain parts of India. So there is a geographical dimension to poverty,” says the CPRC report.

The count of very poor (with a consumption expenditure of Rs 9 per day per person) is an indicator of chronic poverty. Though the number of very poor is decreasing, the percentage is quite substantial. Their number was 115 million in 2004-05—37% of the total poor. The percentage of the very poor in the total population has declined in all states except Orissa, between 1983-94 and 2004-05. The percentage in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh is higher than the all- India figure.

The share of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh in the total of very poor people rose from 57.5% in 1983 to 66.8% in 1993-94 and to 70.6% in 2004-05. “This is alarming because the next generation of these people will also be poor. Thus a vicious cycle is created,” says Mehta.

According to the survey, people in tribal and forested or degraded forest regions are more likely to remain poor forever. Nine of the 15 identified regions are forested; they have been targeted for poverty alleviation programmes since the early-1950s.

The report says, “In forest regions, the issues are not so much agronomic or natural conditions as poor people’s access to the resources that are there, their human capital endowment and the way they are incorporated into labour market.” The survey points out the poverty reduction among tribals is slow. Estimates for 1993-94 and 2004-05 indicate that against a decline in poverty for the entire population from about 37% to 27%, the decline among the rural tribal population was from 51.9% to 47.3%.

Amita Shah, director of Gujarat Institute of Development Research, says, “Poverty reduction programmes must include issues of economic growth, employment generation, socio-spatial equity, environmental sustainability and political stability within a holistic framework.”

Why poverty becomes chronic
According to the survey, there is inequality in the efforts made to prevent people from poverty and get them out of it. The numerous poverty alleviation programmes are inadequate and insufficient. Of the 29 such programmes studied in the survey, only nine could prevent people from falling into the poverty trap. Thirteen could enable escape from poverty and 16 could alleviate chronic poverty. Consequently, says Shashanka Bhide, a senior fellow of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, a significant proportion of non-poor households may fall into poverty while a large proportion of poor may not manage to escape it.

The report is a wake-up call. “Social conflict may find easy recruits among the chronically poor, who have less to lose by engaging in conflict and might be mobilised by the politics of grievance,” says the report. Anand Kumar, professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, says, “The report points to four major deficits the country is facing—development, legitimacy, governance and democracy. This created another crisis, time deficit.” He adds, “People are no longer willing to wait; there is a sense of urgency, suggesting the need for continued mass mobilisation and protests.” 

The full report is available http://www.chronicpoverty.org/publications/details/india-chronic-poverty-report
 
This article first appeared in Down to Earth, May 31, 2011. Richard Mahapatra is a senior environmental journalist presently with Down to Earth, and a former Infochange Media Fellow.

Source: http://infochangeindia.org/poverty/books-reports/why-poor-rural-tribals-will-remain-poor-for-generations.html

 

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

India Population Reaches 1210 Million as Per Latest Census 2011

 The population of the country as per the provisional figures of Census 2011 is 1210.19 million of which 63.72 million (51.54%) are males and 586.46 million (48.46%) are females. The provisional figures of Census 2011 were released in New Delhi today by Union Home Secretary Shri G.K.Pillai and RGI Shri C. Chandramouli.

The major highlights of the Census 2011 (Provisional figures) are as under ;-

• The population of India has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011.

• Percentage growth in 2001-2011 is 17.64; males 17.19 and females 18.12.

• 2001-2011 is the first decade (with the exception of 1911-1921) which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decade.

• Uttar Pradesh (199.5 million) is the most populous State in the country  followed by Maharashtra with 112 million.

• The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous States have declined during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001:

-                      Uttar Pradesh (25.85% to 20.09%)

-                      Maharashtra (22.73% to 15.99%)

-                      Bihar (28.62% to 25.07%)

-                      West Bengal (17.77 % to 13.93%)

-                      Andhra Pradesh (14.59% to 11.10%)

-                      Madhya Pradesh (24.26% to 20.30%)

·         During 2001-2011, as many as 25 States/UTs with a share of  about 85%  of the country’s population registered an annual growth rate of less than 2% as compared to, 15 States/UTs with a share of about 42% during the period 1991-2001.

• 15 States/UTs have grown by less than 1.5 per cent per annum during 2001-2011, while the number of such States/UTs was only 4 during the previous decade.

• The total number of children in the age-group 0-6 is 158.8 million (-5 million since 2001)

• Twenty States and Union Territories now have over one million children in the age group 0-6 years. On the other extreme, there are five States and Union Territories in the country that are yet to reach the one hundred thousand mark.

• Uttar Pradesh (29.7 million), Bihar (18.6 million), Maharashtra (12.8 million), Madhya Pradesh (10.5 million) and Rajasthan (10.5 million) constitute 52% children in the age group of 0-6 years.

• Population (0-6 years) 2001-2011 registered  minus (-)3.08 percent growth with  minus (-)2.42 for males and –3.80 for females.

• The proportion of Child Population in the age group of 0-6 years to total population is 13.1 percent while the corresponding figure in 2001 was 15.9 percent. The decline has been to the extent of 2.8 points.

• Overall sex ratio at the national level has increased by 7 points to reach 940 at Census 2011 as against 933 in Census 2001. This is the highest sex ratio recorded since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961. Increase in sex ratio is observed in 29 States/UTs.

• Three major States (J&K, Bihar & Gujarat) have shown decline in sex ratio as compared to Census 2001.

• Kerala with 1084 has the highest sex ratio followed by Puducherry with 1038, Daman & Diu has the lowest sex ratio of 618.

• Child sex ratio (0-6 years) is 914. Increasing trend in the child sex ratio (0-6) seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and A&N Islands. In all remaining 27 States/UTs, the child sex ratio show decline over Census 2001.

• Mizoram has the highest child sex ratio (0-6 years) of 971 followed by Meghalaya with 970. Haryana is at the bottom with ratio of 830 followed by Punjab with 846.

• Literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per cent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21 percentage points.

• Percentage growth in literacy during 2001-2011 is 38.82; males : 31.98% & females : 49.10%.

Literates constitute 74 per cent of the total population aged seven and above and illiterates form 26 per cent.


Source:  Press Information Bureau 31-March-2011 14:5 IST
 

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

INTENSIVE PRACTICAL TRAINING PROGRAM IN PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING

The Heart to Heart Counselling Centre has now organised a six-week intensive practical training program in Psychological Counselling along with Sensitivity training during April - May 2011 at Heart To Heart Counselling Centre, 10 Jerbai Baug, Ambedkar Road, Near Gloria Chuch, Byculla (East), Mumbai 27, INDIA. Next Batches begin on 4th & 8th April 2011.

This course is an intensive professional level certificate course in counselling based on Robert Carkhuff Model of Counselling - an offshoot of Carl Roger’s Client Centered Therapy. This professional training is rooted in Humanistic Psychotherapy where you learn the scientific, contemporary and internationally most widely accepted Methodology of Counselling by an international trainer Dr.Minnu R. Bhonsle. It is ideal for those who are or want to be in people-oriented professions such as Psychologists, Counsellors, Social workers, NGO Volunteers, Medical, Paramedical & Psychology students, Teachers, Doctors, Therapists, Healers, Yoga Teachers, HR Personnel, Leaders & Trainers in Corporate world and Management Trainees

Venue: Heart To Heart Counselling Centre, 10 Jerbai Baug, Ambedkar Road, Near Gloria Chuch, Byculla (East), Mumbai 400027, INDIA .

Duration: Six Weeks. Total 20 sessions of two hours each on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Timings: Morning Batch (11.15 a.m. to 1.15 p.m.), Afternoon Batch (2.45 to 4.45 p.m.) & Evening Batch (5.45 to 7.45 p.m.)

The prospectus of the course can be read on-line by clicking on any of the following hyperlink ~

http://www.hearttoheartindia.net/courses/certificate-course-in-counselling/

Admissions for these three batches are NOW OPEN. Interested candidates can contact on the following address & telephone numbers for registration.

Prof. Dr. Rajan Bhonsle, M.D.(Bom)
(Hon.Professor & Head of the Department
KEM Hospital & G.S. Medical College, Mumbai)Director, Heart To Heart Counselling Centre
10 Jerbai Baug, Ambedkar Road,
Near Gloria Church, Byculla (East),
Mumbai 400027, INDIA
Tel : 23778624 / 23755866 / 22184528
Mobile: 9821093902
Website: www.hearttoheartindia.net

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Urgently wanted Coordinator for Helpline in Mumbai

 Organization: Ziqitza Health Care Limited- '1298' Women's and Senior Citizen's Helpline

Description:

1. The applicant is expected to maintain cordial relations with the existing NGOs dealing with women and senior citizens
2. Applicant is expected to deal with calls daily which are based on various cases related to women and senior citizens
3. Applicant would be required to maintain monthly review meetings and updates

Requirement:

• Well versed with Hindi, English and Marathi
• Soft spoken, empathetic
• Good networking skill
• Female applicants only

Experience: 2 years with NGOs working on women issues and Senior Citizens will be of advantage

Type of Employment: Contract 

*Candidate can work from home but would be expected to come to office twice a week

Location: Mumbai

Last date of Application: 10-03-2011 

Contact: Ruchika at  contactus@zhl.in 

Website: http://zhl.org.in/

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

OXFAM looking for 'REGIONAL POLICY AND RESEARCH ADVISOR, SOUTH ASIA'

Background

Oxfam was founded in 1995 and is a vibrant global movement of passionate, dedicated people fighting poverty together. People power drives everything they do. From saving lives and developing projects that put poor people in charge of their lives and livelihoods, to campaigning for change that lasts. They respond to an average of 30 emergency situations each year. That’s Oxfam in action. Today it is a confederation of 13 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries - including the UK- to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. Its mission is a just world without poverty and its goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives.

Oxfam Purpose: To work with others to overcome poverty, distress and suffering

Oxfam’s work is based on the belief that everyone has:

• the right to life and security
• the right to a sustainable livelihood
• the right to basic social services
• the right to be heard
• the right to equity

There are thirteen Oxfam organizations based in: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Quebec, Spain and the United States. New Oxfam’s have been created in India, Mexico and Japan. A small Oxfam International secretariat is based in Oxford, UK, and the secretariat runs advocacy offices in Washington DC, New York, Brussels and Geneva.

OXFAM GB Regional Centre in South Asia is supporting Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and Pakistan. The programme priorities for South Asia are Economic

Empowerment, Resilience in Crisis, Women’s leadership and Effective State Governance.

Reason for hire

OXFAM GB is seeking to hire a Regional Policy and Research Advisor-South Asia to support its programme in the region by undertaking and managing policy work and high quality research and analysis on key poverty and development trends in the region, which will contribute to maximising the impact of OXFAM GB’s work at local, national, regional and global levels in relation to Oxfam’s vision for South Asia.

Dimensions of this role:

• Decision-making is both highly strategic and operational, with judgement based on highly complex problem-solving experience and on a range of diverse internal and external factors
• Problems encountered are liable to be highly diverse and complex, requiring comprehensive analysis and interpretation of information from a wide variety of sources and capacity to communicate to a wide range of audiences
• Draws from programme and external information sources to provide high quality research and in-depth policy analysis on poverty and inequality in South Asia.
• Development of long-term research strategies to achieve significant impact on Oxfam’s programme and policy work.
• Communicates and coordinates widely within Oxfam, across countries and Oxfam International affiliates, and partners and allies (including major alliances).
• Impact and influence is major, lot of influence within Oxfam and in the wider development sector in the region. The post plays a strategic role in shaping strategy and direction of Oxfam’s work in South Asia.
• Achieves goals by influencing internal/external agenda/policies through using high quality research work.
• Expert knowledge on Policy analysis and research methodology and provides specialist advice and guidance to country teams.

• Representation of Oxfam in meetings with networks, alliances, institutional/government officials on wide range of research topics.
• Plans and manages resources, consultants and partnerships with key research institutions.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• To develop policy positions for the South Asia region on key poverty and inequality issues and produce policy briefing papers, policy position statements and public communication materials which meets the highest standards.
• To lead and deliver three South Asia researches every year, in support of Oxfam’s key regional priorities
• To develop , deliver and manage a research strategy that supports the regional change strategy and national change strategies as well as wider organizational programme , campaigning and policy priorities
• To provide support to country programmes in the region to develop and deliver effective policy and research papers of very high standard as per the agreed annual research priorities. Also help built capacities of the programme teams in research and policy analysis skills and methodologies.
• To engage in high level lobbying and represent Oxfam in South Asia at critical policy and research forums when appropriate.
• To monitor major external economic, poverty, social development and vulnerability trends in the South Asia region, and provide regular updates and written briefings on relevant issues to programme staff and senior management in order to support programme and policy advocacy work
• To establish and maintain relationships with key policy think tanks, academic and research institutions in the region and draw external expertise or develop partnership for Oxfam’s policy and research work.
• To monitor influential research produced by others (e.g. ADB, World Bank, UN) relevant to Oxfam’s interest and provide timely written critiques and responses
• To work and collaborate effectively with other key staff in the South Asia region, notably the campaigns and policy team and work with regional change leads.

• To serve as the primary focal point with the Oxford-based Policy and research team in order to maximise synergies between regional research priorities and global capacity.
• Direct Budget Management Responsibility: Research budget and small grants for commissioned research

Candidate Profile and Qualification:

Education:

· A post-graduate degree with minimum 6-8 years of experience of being associated with high quality research and development policy work. M Phil/PhD desirable.

Must Haves:

• Proven track record of producing high quality research and briefing papers on development, humanitarian and poverty issues, with thorough understanding of research methodologies and skills and an ability to train and transfer skills to others.
• Proven experience in policy analysis and production of policy briefing papers based on evidence and research.
• Experience in lobbying and playing key representational roles in influencing decisions to drive agendas forward.
• A broad-based understanding of the major economic, social development, gender, humanitarian and poverty issues in the South Asia region.
• Experience in managing other researchers and research projects (including managing commissioned researchers), ensuring high standards of delivery.
• Outstanding written and verbal communications skills, with an ability to simplify complex concepts both verbally and orally in order to influence others
• Proven ability to network and establish alliances with key stakeholders from relevant academic and applied research and policy think tanks.

Desirable

• A sound grasp of macro-economics and economic analysis as they relate to poverty and development along with understanding of and proven commitment to gender and diversity issues is desirable.
• Strong inter-personal skills

Travel: Travel is a significant part of this role

Staff reporting to this post: Interns/ Researchers/ Consultants as per requirement

Compensation Details

The starting salary for the position is commensurate with current compensation, qualification and experience.

Last date for application is 14th March 2011.

Interested candidates can send in their CVs with a cover note and three references to rpra.oxfamgb@gmail.com with the subject line indicating Regional Policy and Research Advisor, South Asia or contact us at: +91 22 43493333. Please note that only short listed candidates will be contacted.

Third Sector Partners, a leading CxO and board search firm in the Not for Profit sector, has been retained by OXFAM GB to hire this position.

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.