ASSIGNMENT – 1
Course Code: MEDS-041
Maximum Marks: 100
Answer all questions. All questions carry 20 marks each.
- Define urbanization and explain the major problems of urbanization.
Ans:
Define urbanization
Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, “the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas”, and the ways in which each society adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.
Major problems of urbanization
Pollution:
The biggest problem of urbanisation is pollution. The sewage from massive factories pollutes water bodies which are the only source of clean water for numerous people. The waste from huge industries released in the air can lead to problems such as silicosis and lung cancer. It also deteriorates the ozone layer, which in turn affects global warming. Chemical wastes that seep into the land make it barren, and good land which can be used for agriculture is now dead. All of this coupled with the ever-increasing population is a recipe for disaster.
Population Explosion:
Rapid urbanisation leads to mass movement of people from villages to cities in search of a better life, drawn by the lure of riches and money. However, what they get is often far from what they expected. Instead of paradise, they come into an industrial era dominated by slums where others seeking similar riches have come and drowned in a life full of work and unhospitable, inhabitable conditions, with harsh work hours. These squalid settlements give rise to crimes as well as become a nesting ground for bacteria and viruses spreading diseases.
Unemployment:
People from all corners of the country come seeking the mythical treasure that is enhanced wages and a better quality of life to cities. However, since there is a lot of supply of workers and often not enough demand, they get exploited by cruel factory owners, wherein they are paid a pittance for their jobs and made to work long hours. All of this leads to a deterioration in their health. However, those who have sold of everything in their villages have no other option but to continue and people who do get a job are the lucky ones, while the unemployed folks have to rely on the generosity of others.
Health Problems:
The concentration of a large population living in squalor in slums in the urban sprawl makes it a haven for the spread of diseases. Mosquitoes, flies, rats, and similar pests thrive in these places, leading to epidemics of polio, dengue, cholera and the like. Most of these places have a common water source and thus one infected person can spread the disease all over the region, leading to widespread panic and chaos.
Traffic:
With overcrowding in the cities, traffic congestion becomes a problem, increasing the time it takes to commute over even small distances. In urgent cases when one needs to visit the hospital, or when the health services and emergency services are needed, this can be the difference between life and death.
Crime:
Rapid urbanization affects crime rates. Residents of different beliefs and behaviors thrown together suddenly do not have time to adjust or adapt to different viewpoints, leading to violence. The government’s inability to prevent widespread poverty causes an increase in theft and other crimes. Frustration and alienation linked to a lower status, limited access to education, money and other resources push young people to join organized crime.
- What are the functions of urban local bodies? How can the local urban governance be strengthened?
Ans:
Functions of urban local bodies
- Urban planning including town planning &
- Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings: Typically the above two functions fall under the purview of the development authority of the city (e.g. Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). However, the responsibilities are sometimes shared with multiple authorities (i.e. industrial development authorities, regional development authorities) within a metropolitan region. This multiplicity of authorities and lack of coordination among them make decision making and implementation of public infrastructure and services extremely difficult.
III. Planning for economic and social development: The definition and scope of this function is fairly wide, open ended and to an extent, unwieldy. Social and economic development programmes require sound integrated planning which requires resources and expertise which the most of the ULBs seem not to have endowed with. The HPEC Report on Indian Urban Infrastructure and Services has clearly stressed the need of the appropriate capacity building at local bodies’ level.
- Roads and bridges: This function is typically shared by multiple bodies- city development authorities, municipalities and the public works departments (PWDs). However, an integrated planning is essential to ensure that city roads and urban building/housing plans are properly aligned. The lack of coordination among multiple authorities involved often makes it difficult to formulate and implement an integrated plan.
- Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes: This is a function that is most appropriately by ULBs. The current state of urban water supply is quite dismal with billing and collection of only 20% of supplied water and Operations &Maintenance cost recovery of 30 – 35%. Also, the connection coverage in urban areas is low (65%) as compared to other developing countries (91% in China, 86% in SA and 80% in Brazil). Again, in some states the urban service delivery is the responsibility of parastatals (state government’s statutory agencies) that are not answerable to ULBs and only to state governments. ULBs, answerable to their smaller jurisdiction, have little control on these parastatals that operate on a larger scale; this complicates incentive structures, leading to poor outcomes.
- Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management: Public health, contrary to its significance for social and economic development of the country, is not supported by a consistent institutional structure (each state has a different structure) and policy framework (the last two National Health Policies were made in 1983 and 2002) at the centre or state level. It is highly program driven with the centre government responsible for funding and planning, and state government for implementation. Health care is largely financed by private pockets. As of 2001-02, the share in health financing of the local governments, state and central government was 2.2%, 14.4% and 7.2%II. With dwindling finances of ULBs and the extent of intervention required, it is not clear that this is a mandate that ULBs are well equipped to handle.
VII. Slum improvement and up-gradation: Typically falls under the purview of the housing boards and the city development authority. However, similar to the social and economic development functions, it is a challenging task and little exists in terms of a policy framework or planning.
VIII. Urban poverty alleviation: Such a broad mandate with the level of coordination and extent of intervention required again bring to question whether ULBs are the appropriate level of government to discharge this responsibility.
- Fire services
- Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects
- Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the handicapped and mentally retarded.
XII. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds
XIII. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
XIV. Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums.
- Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals.
XVI. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
XVII. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences.
XVIII. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.
To conclude, the devolution of functions to the local bodies could meet its intended end only with a commensurate devolution of powers, political freedom and revenues by the state governments. Further, without the administrative, institutional and financial reforms, and capacity building, the local-governments may not be able to execute their functions successfully.
- What are the major challenges of urban ecosystem and available natural resources?
Ans:
Major challenges of urban ecosystem:
- Growing Population:
A population of over thousands of millions is growing at 2.11 per cent every year. It puts considerable pressure on its natural resources and reduces the gains of development. Hence, the greatest challenge before us is to limit the population growth. Although population control does automatically lead to development, yet the development leads to a decrease in population growth rates.
- Poverty:
India has often been described a rich land with poor people. The poverty and environmental degradation have a nexus between them. The vast majority of our people are directly dependent on the nature resources of the country for their basic needs of food, fuel shelter and fodder. About 40% of our people are still below the poverty line.
- Agricultural Growth:
The people must be acquainted with the methods to sustain and increase agricultural growth with damaging the environment. High yielding varieties have caused soil salinity and damage to physical structure of soil.
- Need to Ground Water:
It is essential of rationalizing the use of groundwater. Factors like community wastes, industrial effluents and chemical fertilizers and pesticides have polluted our surface water and affected quality of the groundwater.
- Development and Forests:
Forests serve catchments for the rivers. With increasing demand of water, plan to harness the mighty river through large irrigation projects were made. Certainly, these would submerge forests; displace local people, damage flora and fauna.
- Degradation of Land:
At present out of the total 329 mha of land, only 266 mha possess any potential for production. Of this, 143 mha is agricultural land nearly and 85 suffer from varying degrees of soil degradation. Of the remaining 123 mha, 40 are completely unproductive.
- Reorientation of Institutions:
The people should be roused to orient institutions, attitudes and infrastructures, to suit conditions and needs today. The change has to be brought in keeping in view India’s traditions for resources use managements and education etc. Change should be brought in education, in attitudes, in administrative procedures and in institutions. Because it affects way people view technology resources and development.
- Reduction of Genetic Diversity:
At present most wild genetic stocks have been disappearing from nature. Wilding including the Asiatic Lion are facing problem of loss of genetic diversity. The protected areas network like sanctuaries, national parks, biosphere reserves are isolating populations. So, they are decreasing changes of one group breeding with another. Remedial steps are to be taken to check decreasing genetic diversity.
- Evil Consequences of Urbanization:
Nearly 27 per cent Indians live in urban areas. Urbanization and industrialization has given birth to a great number of environmental problems that need urgent attention. Over 30 per cent of urban Indians live in slums. Out of India’s 3,245 towns and cities, only 21 have partial or full sewerage and treatment facilities. Hence, coping with rapid urbanization is a major challenge.
- Air and Water Population:
Majority of our industrial plants are using out-dated and population technologies and makeshift facilities devoid of any provision of treating their wastes. A great number of cities and industrial areas that have been identified as the worst in terms of air and water pollution.
- Discuss how governance and development are related and complementary?
Ans:
Development and improved governance have tended to go hand in hand. But, contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that success in implementing governance reforms leads to more rapid and inclusive economic and social development. In fact, it may be the other way around.
The focus on good governance stems from the struggle to restore sustained growth during the developing-country debt crises of the 1980s. Instead of reassessing the prevailing economic-policy approach, international development institutions took aim at the easy targets: developing-country governments. Advising those governments on how to do their jobs became a new vocation for these institutions, which quickly developed new “technical” approaches to governance reform.
The World Bank, using well over 100 indicators, introduced a composite index of good governance, based on perceptions of voice and accountability, political stability and the absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, the rule of law, and levels of corruption. By claiming that it had found a strong correlation between its governance indicators and economic performance, the Bank fueled hope that the key to economic progress had been found.
The case was flawed from the beginning. The indicators used were ahistorical and failed to account for country-specific challenges and conditions, with cross-country statistical analyses suffering from selection bias and ignoring the interlinkages among a wide array of variables. As a result, the World Bank badly overestimated the impact of governance reform on economic growth.
To be sure, governance that is effective, legitimate, and responsive provides untold benefits, especially when compared to the alternative: inefficient governance, cronyism, and corruption. But the focus on governance reform has not proved nearly as effective as promised in fostering development.
In fact, this governance-focused approach may have actually undermined development efforts. For starters, it has allowed international institutions to avoid acknowledging the shortcomings of the new development orthodoxy of the last two decades of the twentieth century, when Latin America lost over a decade, and Sub-Saharan Africa a quarter-century, of economic and social progress.
It has also complicated the work of governments unnecessarily. With good-governance reforms now a condition for international aid, developing-country governments often end up mimicking donor expectations, instead of addressing the issues that are most pressing for their own citizens. Indeed, such reforms can even undermine traditional rights and customary obligations worked out among communities over many generations.
Moreover, the required reforms are so wide-ranging that they are beyond the means of most developing countries to implement. As a result, good-governance solutions tend to distract from more effective development efforts.
Another problem with governance reforms is that, although they are formally neutral, they often favor particular vested interests, with grossly unfair consequences. Reforms aimed at decentralization and devolution have, in some cases, enabled the rise of powerful local political patrons.
The conclusion is clear: the development agenda should not be overloaded with governance reform. As Harvard’s Merilee Grindle has put it, we should be aiming for “good enough” governance, selecting a few imperatives from a long list of possibilities.
But selecting the most important measures will not be easy. Indeed, advocates of governance reform have rarely been right about the most effective approach.
Consider the unrelenting promotion of efforts to strengthen property rights. Absent alienable individual ownership of productive resources, it is asserted, there will be insufficient means and incentives to pursue development initiatives, and shared resources (the “commons”) will be over-exploited and used inefficiently.
- What is urban management? What are the basic requirements of good urban management?
Ans:
Urban Management
Urban Management is a broad term covering a large set of functions. To understand urban management you have to first understand the components of urban fabric. A City or an urban settlement is not merely a set of roads buildings parks etc. The core function of a city is to provide inhabitants a liveable environment be it shelter, livelihood, entertainment, food and other stuff required for a healthy living. Urban management is a combination of all streams converging together to provide citizens above listed elements.
Basic requirements of good urban management
Urbanization is an irreversible global trend involving a multitude of social, economic, environmental and spatial aspects. While urbanization is widely accepted as an indicator for economic development, its pace and impact on social and spatial conditions pose unprecedented challenges to both politicians and professionals.
The experience of the past decades has shown that conventional concepts of urban planning and development based on control and investment in key infrastructure have not been adequate to cope with the rapid changes, financial constraints, high population growth, increasing urban poverty, informal land development and the adverse environmental impacts of urbanization.
In recent years local and national governments in collaboration with development agencies have made progress in developing flexible and action-oriented strategies. These strategies emphasize the inter-connectivity of sectors, without denying the importance of sectoral measures. Such strategies integrate a wide range of players that usually work in isolation from or even compete with each other (e.g. the private sector, NGOs, CBOs and local governments).
International development organizations such as the German GIZ (German Agency for Development Cooperation), UNDP or the World Bank have been supporting these efforts in many countries. These new concepts are based on an approach that borrows from management and governance theories and takes into account which resources are available for implementation.
To improve urban places there are five essential areas that require the attention of local governments, mayors and urban managers, and hence can be identified as imminent training needs for urban management:
- Establishing effective channels of communication to mobilize citizens’ participation, providing transparency and accountability; strengthening stakeholder participation to enhance commitment to and resource mobilization for jointly elaborated urban strategies;
- Improving the design of spatial policies to cope with rapid urban growth, of inter-sectoral programs to resolve urban problems, and of technical infrastructure and social projects sensitive to the needs of urban communities;
- Resolving urban environmental issues to create a healthier urban environment; reduce the pressure of cities on natural resources and decrease the environmental impact of cities;
- Empowering the urban poor by giving assets to them which in turn enhance their living conditions, e.g. through secure land titles; developing urban economies to provide opportunities to them, e.g. through channeling micro-finance to the urban informal sector;
- Mobilizing adequate finance in line with responsibilities taken over by municipalities in the fields of service provision and infrastructure maintenance, by pricing urban services, building partnerships with the private sector to manage and finance urban infrastructure.
ASSIGNMENT – 2
Course Code: MEDS-042
Maximum Marks: 100
Answer all questions. All questions carry 20 marks each.
- Discus the objectives and importance of National Sanitation Policy.
Ans:
Objectives and importance of National Sanitation Policy
- Environmental and Health Considerations: 100 % of human excreta and liquid wastes from all sanitation facilities including toilets must be disposed of safely. In order to achieve this goal, the following activities shall be undertaken: a. Promoting proper functioning of network-based sewerage systems and ensuring connections of households to them wherever possible; b. Promoting recycle and reuse of treated waste water for non potable applications wherever possible will be encouraged. c. Promoting proper disposal and treatment of sludge from on-site installations (septic tanks, pit latrines, etc.); d. Ensuring that all the human wastes are collected safely confined and disposed of after treatment so as not to cause any hazard to public health or the environment.
- Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Scheme: Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) is administering a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS). Under this scheme, central subsidy to the extent of 75%, state subsidy to the extent of 15% and beneficiary contribution to the extent of 10% is provided for. The main objective of the scheme is to convert around 6 lakh dry latrines into low cost pour flush latrines by 31st March 2010. 75% of the central allocation will be used for conversion and the remaining 25% will be used for construction of new toilets for EWS households who have no toilets in urban areas
- State Sanitation Strategies and City Sanitation Plans: a. States will be encouraged to prepare State Level Sanitation Strategies within a period of 2 years. Chapter on Draft Framework for Developing State Sanitation Strategies gives an outline of the strategy (Annexure I); b. Identified cities will be urged to prepare model City Sanitation Plans within a period of 2 years. Chapter on Draft Framework for a City Sanitation Plan gives an outline of the plan (Annexure II); c. Providing assistance for the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) as per city sanitation plan as soon as requests for funding are received; Urban Poor: Every urban dweller should be provided with minimum levels of sanitation, irrespective of the legal status of the land in which he/she is dwelling, possession of identity proof or status of migration. However, the provision of basic services would not entitle the dweller to any legal right to the land on which he/she is residing. At least 20% of the funds under the sanitation sector should be earmarked for the urban poor.
- City Sanitation Task Force: a) Constitute a multi-stakeholder City Sanitation Task Force comprising representatives from a Agencies directly responsible for sanitation including on-site sanitation, sewerage, water supply, solid waste, drainage, etc including the different divisions and departments of the ULB, PHED, etc; a Agencies indirectly involved in or impacted by sanitation conditions including representatives from the civil society, colonies, slum areas, apartment buildings, etc, a Eminent persons and practitioners in civic affairs, health, urban poverty, a Representatives from shops and establishments, a Representatives of other large institutions in the city (e.g. Cantonment Boards, Govt. of India or State Govt. Enterprise campuses, etc.), a NGOs working on water and sanitation, urban development and slums, health and environment, a Representatives of unions of safai karamcharis, sewerage sanitary workers, recycling agents / kabaris, etc a Representatives from private firms/contractors formally or informally working in the sanitation sector (e.g. garbage collectors, septic tank de-sludging firms etc.) a Representatives from educational and cultural institutions a Any other significant or interested stakeholders The City Sanitation Task Force will be responsible for Launching the City 100% Sanitation Campaign.
- What are the types and characteristics of urban waste? What are the governmental measures for waste management?
Ans:
Types and characteristics of urban waste
Solid wastes – These are the unwanted substances discarded by the human society. These include urban wastes, industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, biomedical wastes and radioactive wastes.
Liquid wastes – Wastes generated from washing, flushing or manufacturing processes of industries are called liquid wastes.
Gaseous wastes – These are the wastes that are released in the form of gases from automobiles, factories or burning of fossil fuels, like petroleum, and get mixed in the atmosphere.
Governmental measures for waste management
Collection and disposal of sanitary waste
The manufacturers or brand owners of sanitary napkins are responsible for awareness for proper disposal of such waste by the generator and shall provide a pouch or wrapper for disposal of each napkin or diapers along with the packet of their sanitary products.
Collect Back scheme for packaging waste
As per the rules, brand owners who sale or market their products in packaging material which are non‐biodegradable, should put in place a system to collect back the packaging waste generated due to their production.
User fees for collection
The new rules have given power to the local bodies across India to decide the user fees. Municipal authorities will levy user fees for collection, disposal and processing from bulk generators. As per the rules, the generator will have to pay “User Fee” to the waste collector and a “Spot Fine” for littering and non-segregation, the quantum of which will be decided by the local bodies.
Also, the new rules have mentioned about the integration of rag pickers, waste pickers and kabadiwalas from the informal sector to the formal sector by the state government.
The rules also stipulate zero tolerance for throwing; burning, or burying the solid waste generated on streets, open public spaces outside the generator’s premises, or in the drain, or water bodies.
Waste processing and treatment
As per the new rules, it has been advised that the bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible and the residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority. The developers of Special Economic Zone, industrial estate, industrial park to earmark at least 5 per cent of the total area of the plot or minimum 5 plots/ sheds for recovery and recycling facility.
Waste processing facilities will have to be set up by all local bodies having a population of 1 million or more within two years. For census towns with a population below 1 million or for all local bodies having a population of 0.5 million or more, common, or stand-alone sanitary landfills will have to be set up in three years time. Also, common, or regional sanitary landfills to be set up by all local bodies and census towns with a population under 0.5 million will have to be completed in three years.
Also, the rules have mandated bio‐remediation or capping of old and abandoned dump sites within five years.
Promoting use of compost
As per the rules, the Department of Fertilisers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers should provide market development assistance on city compost and ensure promotion of co‐marketing of compost with chemical fertilisers in the ratio of 3-4 bags is to 6-7 bags by the fertiliser companies to the extent compost is made available for marketing to the companies. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture should provide flexibility in Fertiliser Control Order for manufacturing and sale of compost, propagating use of compost on farm land, set up laboratories to test quality of compost produced by local authorities or their authorised agencies.
- What are the various types of industrial pollution? What are their impacts on the society?
Ans:
Various Types of Industrial Pollution
The industrial wastes may be divided into two groups:
(a) Process waste;
(b) Chemical waste.
(A) Process Waste:
The waste generated in an industry during washing and processing of raw materials is known as process waste. The process waste may be organic or inorganic in nature depending upon the raw materials used and nature of the industry.
The organic process wastes are liberated from food processing units, distilleries, breweries, paper and pulp industry, sugar mills etc. The inorganic process wastes may be the effluents of chemical industries; caustic soda industry, paint industry, petroleum industry, pesticide industry etc. Both organic and inorganic process wastes are toxic to living organisms.
The solid wastes released by different industries can be divided in to two different groups i.e.
(a) process wastes, and
(b) packing wastes.
Since different industries use different raw materials, the quality and quantity of solid wastes differ from industry to industry. Industries releasing the solid wastes in the form of fly ash is dumped on the ground which leads to soil pollution.
Some amount of fly ash also contaminate atmospheric tract causing respiratory tract disorders. Metallic industries produce a lot of solid metallic waste and large quantities of slag. In addition to the release of hazardous chemical pollutants, the industries may also cause thermal pollution and noise pollution. The thermal pollution is due to release of hot water from industries into aquatic bodies. The noise pollution is due to running of heavy machinery producing a lot of noise.
(B) Chemical Wastes:
The chemical substance generated as a by-product during the preparation of a product is known as chemical waste product. The chemical waste include heavy metals and their ions, detergents, acids and alkalies and various other toxic substances.
These are usually produced by the industries like fertiliser factories, paper and pulp industries, iron and steel industries, distilleries, sugar mills etc. These are usually liberated into nearby water bodies like rivers, lakes and seas and sometimes into lands. The entry of these chemicals into bodies may alter the pH, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand).
The loading of suspended solids (ss), heavy metals and their ions brings about a drastic change in physiochemical nature of the water. The aquatic animals and plants absorb, accumulate and bio-concentrate the chemical wastes leading to bio magnifications and finally destroying the trophic levels and food chains of the eco-system. Hence these disturb the eco-system dynamics and eco-system balance of the nature.
Effects of Industrial Pollution:
- On human health:
(i) It causes irritation of eye, nose, throat respiratory tracts, etc.
(ii) It increases mortality rate and morbidity rate.
(iii) A variety of particulates mainly pollens, initiate asthmatic attacks.
(iv) Chronic pulmonary diseases like bronchitis and asthma are aggravated by high concentration of SO2, NO2, particulate matter and photo-chemical smog.
(v) Certain heavy metals like lead may enter the body through lungs and cause poisoning.
- On animal health:
In case of animals, the pollutants enter in two steps.
(i) Accumulation of the airborne contaminants in the vegetation forage and prey animals.
(ii) Subsequent poisoning of the animals when they eat the contaminated food. In case of animals, three pollutants namely fluorine, arsenic and lead are responsible for most livestock damage.
- On plants:
Industrial pollution have been shown to have serious adverse effects on plants. In some cases, it is found that vegetation over 150 Km. away from the source of pollutants have been found to be affected. The major pollutants affecting plants are SO2, O3, MO, NO2, NH3, HCN, Ethylene, Herbicides, PAN (Peroxy Acetyl nitrate) etc. In the presence of pollutants, the healthy plants suffer from neurosis, chlorosis, abscission, epinasty etc.
- What do you understand by informal sector? What is the contribution of informal sector to urban employment?
Ans:
Meaning of Informal Sector:
The informal sector, informal economy, or grey economy is the part of an economy that is neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government. Unlike the formal economy, activities of the informal economy are not included in the gross national product (GNP) and gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. The informal sector can be described as a grey market in labour.
The term, ‘informal sector’ dates from the early 1970s when it was coined by Hart in a study on Ghana to describe urban employment outside the organized labour market. This category includes a great diversity of occupations characterized by self-employment.
These activities were not registered anywhere and were often clandestine in nature or at any rate outside the framework of official regulations. The improvised and inadequate manner whereby this took place demonstrated that the people engaging in them lived mostly in poverty and were to be found at the bottom of the urban landscape.
The Contribution of Informal Sector To Urban Employment
- At present, only 10% of India’s over 470 million workforces is in the formal sector. In other words, 90% of India’s workers do not have the privileges—like social security and workplace benefits—enjoyed by their counterparts who are formally employed.
- It is estimated by NSSO that 84.7% of jobs in the Indian economy are in the informal or unorganised sector. Of this, excluding agriculture, the leading contributors of informal employment are manufacturing, construction and trade.
- According to the Report of the Committee on Unorganized Sector Statistics, the informal economy makes a considerable contribution to the economy and caters to the requirements of the formal economy. However, its negative repercussions cannot be ignored.
- Studies show that employees tend to be significantly more productive in the formal employment when compared to the informal employment. Also, the quantum of value added by a person in a formal job is almost double that of a person in an informal job.
- Informal workers also work under worse working conditions with little job security, no perks or protections and with low wages. The protections guaranteed to workers under different legislations are not complied with by the informal sector, and they also escape the purview of the authorities.
- A large informal sector also impacts the government in terms of revenue foregone because the units operating in the informal sector stay out of the government’s fiscal revenue net (This leads to low tax GDP ratio). Hence, the informal sector is detrimental to the interests of the working population, the government and in the long run, even to the employer.
Structure of informal economy
- First, the informal economy (IE) is not transitory.
- The concept was developed (for conditions in West and East Africa) in the 1970s when it was expected that unregistered activity would be rapidly subsumed under the formal, nation-building processes of industrialization (including that of agriculture), urbanization and banking.
- With the passage of the ‘development decades’, it became clear that the IE was hard-wired into the structure of many economies in which formal registered activity not only directly exploited the IE through subcontracting but also gained from the cheap products and services it generated.
- Latterly, the ubiquity of informal (unregistered) wage labour has expanded the scope of the concept, even while it was being criticized.
- In research aimed at discovering why targeted beneficiaries are frequently victims rather than beneficiaries, the apparatus of policy making and implementation has itself been widely perceived to be informalised.
- Research into election funding has also shown how the IE and the black economy are the inescapable basis of India’s representative politics.
- How security in urban areas can be enhanced through regional urban governance?
Ans:
The theme of ‘urban safety and security’ encompasses a wide range of concerns and issues. These range from basic needs such as food, shelter and health, through impacts of natural disasters, such as those triggered by earthquakes and cyclones, to collective security needs, such as protection from urban terrorism or war. However, only a few of these concerns and issues can be addressed from a human settlements perspective through appropriate urban policy, planning, design and governance. Enhancing Urban Safety and Security: Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 focuses on three major threats to the safety and security of cities: crime and violence; insecurity of tenure and forced eviction; and natural and human-made disasters. Combined, these three threats to the safety and security of urban residents currently pose a huge challenge to both city and national governments, as well as to the international community. The report analyses worldwide trends with respect to urban crime and violence, security of tenure and forced eviction, and natural and human-made disasters. It pays particular attention to the underlying causes and impacts of these three threats to the safety and security of urban residents, as well as to the good policies and practices that have been adopted at the city, national and international levels in response to these threats.
Ways to enhance the security in urban areas:
The quick way to the best possible design
VITRUV supports urban planners in all three phases of their work. In the concept phase, a rapid assessment of the safety-related topics is performed. In the planning phase, the tool provides insights into vulnerability, weaknesses and specific areas of risk. Finally, in the detail planning, it develops concrete solutions to minimize risks. Through the iterative approach, city planners can optimize their designs step by step, ultimately opting for the best one possible.
During the conceptual phase, the software performs an empirical risk analysis. The tool uses historical data that is collected from existing knowledge databases, such as Securipedia, in order to assess the vulnerability of certain areas. Statistical frequencies are visualized according to the type of threat, the threatened object, the region and the exposure.
Identifying neuralgic points
In the two planning phases, VITRUV analyzes urban structures as well as individual buildings and provides insights into the expected consequences for people, buildings and infrastructure in the event of damage. “With the software, you can go through all the points where something could happen for a particular region and overlay the results,” says Dr. Alexander Stolz, Head of Departement Safety Technology and Protective Structures at Fraunhofer EMI. “This helps identify the neuralgic points where serious damage could occur in urban planning. By reorganizing the structure, such as through a new arrangement of the buildings or changing their use, the risk can be minimized.”
A validated physical engineering model calculates possible damages using quantitative risk analysis. In the process, VITRUV considers different scenarios, such as earthquakes, explosions or terror attacks. When calculating the possible damage, different performance criteria are available for the individual buildings or elements of the transport infrastructure, including the number of persons affected, as well as structural or monetary damages.
Improved urban resilience
The software also supports city planners in determining appropriate protective measures. A number of such provisions which can minimize the impact of an incident and optimize road or infrastructure reuse are already implemented in the software, providing decision-makers with a basis for cost-benefit analysis. The measures make it possible to improve the urban resilience and the robustness of cities against disturbances. In particular, existing infrastructures can be optimized with VITRUV by means of the latter characteristic. On the one hand, city planners can identify and quantify risks, on the other hand, they can determine how effective and expensive individual protective measures are to strengthen existing buildings in a targeted manner.
ASSIGNMENT – 3
Course Code: MEDS-043
Maximum Marks: 100
Answer all the questions. All questions carry 20 marks each.
- What is sustainable development? Explain how sustainable development goals can be revitalized through public administration.
Ans:
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living and conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural systems.
Public administration – the cornerstone of government’s work, plays an essential and critical role in improving people’s lives. Reinventing public administration is a positive and necessary way forward. Without public administration modernization and transformation to adapt to today’s needs, realizing a better future for all will be impossible. Where capable administrations are lacking, governments are incapacitated; and where governments are incapacitated, sustainable development falls short.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has recognised that governments have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review, at the national, regional and global levels, in relation to the progress made in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets over the coming 15 years. This vision will guide the work of our division in carrying out our mission, i.e. to assist countries to foster effective, efficient, transparent, accountable and citizen-oriented public administration and services for sustainable development.
Effective, accountable and inclusive institutions are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is recognized by SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda also recognized that governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the SDGs and ensuring follow-up and review over the coming 15 years, at the national, regional and global levels. One of the first steps governments take to implement the Agenda is often to shape the institutional arrangements for steering the implementation of the SDGs and reviewing progress.
Public administration – the cornerstone of government’s work- plays an essential and critical role in improving people’s lives. Reinventing public administration is a positive and necessary way forward. Without public administration modernization and transformation to adapt to today’s needs, realizing a better future for all will be impossible. Where capable administrations are lacking, governments are incapacitated; and where governments are incapacitated, sustainable development falls short.
This vision will guide the work of our division. It will assist countries in readying their institutions and public administrations for realizing the SDGs and in making those effective, transparent, accountable and inclusive. The division delivers this work through conducting analytical work and research, supporting the Committee of Experts on Public Administration and building capacities of countries who request it.
- What are various dimensions of decentralization? Compare the fiscal decentralization process of one developed country with that of a developing country by giving suitable examples.
Ans:
The term “decentralization” embraces a variety of concepts which must be carefully analyzed in any particular country before determining if projects or programs should support reorganization of financial, administrative, or service delivery systems. Decentralization—the transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to subordinate or quasi-independent government organizations and/or the private sector—is a complex multifaceted concept. Different types of decentralization should be distinguished because they have different characteristics, policy implications, and conditions for success.
Types of Decentralization
Types of decentralization include political, administrative, fiscal, and market decentralization. Drawing distinctions between these various concepts is useful for highlighting the many dimensions to successful decentralization and the need for coordination among them. Nevertheless, there is clearly overlap in defining any of these terms and the precise definitions are not as important as the need for a comprehensive approach. Political, administrative, fiscal and market decentralization can also appear in different forms and combinations across countries, within countries and even within sectors.
Political Decentralization
Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic politics and representative government, but it can also support democratization by giving citizens, or their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of policies. Advocates of political decentralization assume that decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by national political authorities. The concept implies that the selection of representatives from local electoral jurisdictions allows citizens to know better their political representatives and allows elected officials to know better the needs and desires of their constituents.
Political decentralization often requires constitutional or statutory reforms, the development of pluralistic political parties, the strengthening of legislatures, creation of local political units, and the encouragement of effective public interest groups.
Administrative Decentralization
Administrative decentralization seeks to redistribute authority, responsibility and financial resources for providing public services among different levels of government. It is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of certain public functions from the central government and its agencies to field units of government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-autonomous public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional or functional authorities.
The three major forms of administrative decentralization — deconcentration, delegation, and devolution — each have different characteristics.
Deconcentration. Deconcentration–which is often considered to be the weakest form of decentralization and is used most frequently in unitary states– redistributes decision making authority and financial and management responsibilities among different levels of the central government. It can merely shift responsibilities from central government officials in the capital city to those working in regions, provinces or districts, or it can create strong field administration or local administrative capacity under the supervision of central government ministries.
Delegation. Delegation is a more extensive form of decentralization. Through delegation central governments transfer responsibility for decision-making and administration of public functions to semi-autonomous organizations not wholly controlled by the central government, but ultimately accountable to it. Governments delegate responsibilities when they create public enterprises or corporations, housing authorities, transportation authorities, special service districts, semi-autonomous school districts, regional development corporations, or special project implementation units. Usually these organizations have a great deal of discretion in decision-making. They may be exempt from constraints on regular civil service personnel and may be able to charge users directly for services.
Devolution. A third type of administrative decentralization is devolution. When governments devolve functions, they transfer authority for decision-making, finance, and management to quasi-autonomous units of local government with corporate status. Devolution usually transfers responsibilities for services to municipalities that elect their own mayors and councils, raise their own revenues, and have independent authority to make investment decisions. In a devolved system, local governments have clear and legally recognized geographical boundaries over which they exercise authority and within which they perform public functions. It is this type of administrative decentralization that underlies most political decentralization.
Fiscal Decentralization
Financial responsibility is a core component of decentralization. If local governments and private organizations are to carry out decentralized functions effectively, they must have an adequate level of revenues –either raised locally or transferred from the central government– as well as the authority to make decisions about expenditures. Fiscal decentralization can take many forms, including a) self-financing or cost recovery through user charges, b) co-financing or co-production arrangements through which the users participate in providing services and infrastructure through monetary or labor contributions; c) expansion of local revenues through property or sales taxes, or indirect charges; d) intergovernmental transfers that shift general revenues from taxes collected by the central government to local governments for general or specific uses; and e) authorization of municipal borrowing and the mobilization of either national or local government resources through loan guarantees. In many developing countries local governments or administrative units possess the legal authority to impose taxes, but the tax base is so weak and the dependence on central government subsidies so ingrained that no attempt is made to exercise that authority.
Economic or Market Decentralization
The most complete forms of decentralization from a government’s perspective are privatization and deregulation because they shift responsibility for functions from the public to the private sector. Privatization and deregulation are usually, but not always, accompanied by economic liberalization and market development policies. They allow functions that had been primarily or exclusively the responsibility of government to be carried out by businesses, community groups, cooperatives, private voluntary associations, and other non-government organizations.
Privatization. Privatization can range in scope from leaving the provision of goods and services entirely to the free operation of the market to “public-private partnerships” in which government and the private sector cooperate to provide services or infrastructure. Privatization can include: 1) allowing private enterprises to perform functions that had previously been monopolized by government; 2) contracting out the provision or management of public services or facilities to commercial enterprises indeed, there is a wide range of possible ways in which function can be organized and many examples of within public sector and public-private institutional forms, particularly in infrastructure; 3) financing public sector programs through the capital market (with adequate regulation or measures to prevent situations where the central government bears the risk for this borrowing) and allowing private organizations to participate; and 4) transferring responsibility for providing services from the public to the private sector through the divestiture of state-owned enterprises.
Deregulation. Deregulation reduces the legal constraints on private participation in service provision or allows competition among private suppliers for services that in the past had been provided by the government or by regulated monopolies. In recent years privatization and deregulation have become more attractive alternatives to governments in developing countries. Local governments are also privatizing by contracting out service provision or administration.
- Discuss the main edifices of urban structural reform initiatives taken by the Government of India with deficiencies?
Ans:
The Main Edifices of Urban Structural Reform Initiatives Taken By Indian Government
India’s economy is expected to grow significantly in 2015 as progress in the government’s structural reform agenda and improved external demand lift investor confidence, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
ADB’s flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook 2015 (ADO), released today, forecasts India’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 7.8% in the fiscal year ending March 2016 (FY2015), driven by improved performance in the industry and services sectors. Growth momentum is expected to build to 8.2% in FY2016.
“India is expected to grow faster than the People’s Republic of China in the next few years. The government’s pro-investment attitude, improvements in the fiscal and current account deficits, and some forward movement on resolving structural bottlenecks have helped improve the business climate and make India attractive again to both domestic and foreign investors,” said ADB Chief Economist Shang-Jin Wei. “India’s economic prospects look promising but there are still many challenges.”
Growth is forecast to have picked up in FY2014 to 7.4% as the industry and service sectors both expanded, inflation declined, and efforts to reduce bottlenecks in infrastructure investment buoyed sentiment and increased the country’s attractiveness to foreign capital flows. Net portfolio investment inflow recovered strongly to more than $35 billion.
The strong growth outlook is contingent on further acceleration in investment activity. The prospects look promising as policy measures introduced by the government pushed the central bank’s business expectation index to its highest level in two years. Recent measures include accelerating environment clearances for infrastructure projects, easing the process of land acquisition for infrastructure and industrial corridors, allowing auction of coal mines to the private sector, and easing the compliance burden of labor laws on small and medium-sized industries.
The new monetary policy framework, under which the primary objective is to maintain price stability while remaining mindful of growth, would help in restraining inflation and improve the coordination between monetary and fiscal policy. The impetus given to capital expenditure in the recent budget will improve the expenditure mix significantly and bodes well for growth prospects. The government’s “Make in India” campaign is expected to further boost manufacturing industries and urbanization.
One of India’s most pressing policy challenges is to promote cities as engines of economic growth and jobs, the ADO notes. To fully reap the benefits of urbanization, the government must make further efforts to coordinate urban and industry planning to attract industries into cities, and provide the necessary supporting infrastructure.
- Discuss various principles and strategies of community based disaster management.
Ans:
Essential features of Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM)
- The focus of attention in long-term and short-term disaster management will be the local community.
- Disaster risk or vulnerability reduction is the foundation of CBDM.
- The primary content of disaster management activities revolve around reducing vulnerable conditions and removing root causes of vulnerability. This is achieved through strengthening community’s capacity and by providing disaster mitigation resources such as readily accessible cyclone shelters.
- Enhanced risks due to poorly planned development programmes turn minor emergencies into disasters.
- Adopting CBDM approach in managing disasters contribute to people’s empowerment by way of physical safety; guaranteed access and more on resources; promotes community’s participation in decision making related to risk reduction.
- In CBDM approach, community is a key resource in disaster risk reduction.
- Priority is given to improve the conditions of the most vulnerable mobilization/evacuation to safe places.
- CBDM brings together the multitude of community stakeholders for disaster risk reduction; enables expansion of resource base. Linking up communities that are most vulnerable with key systems such as early warning mechanisms, resource mobilization etc. at state and central government will be critical to the success of CBDM approach.
- Disaster resilient communities are ―flexible and elastic‖. They have the ―ability to recover from depression‖ or ―adjust, spring back easily from misfortune or change.
Snapshot on Efforts on CBDM in IndiaThe Government recognizes that “A Better Prepared Community is Key to Effective Disaster Risk Reduction” and has been striving to take the agenda forward to strengthen community risk resilience in the country. Some of the initiatives which summarize efforts made in this direction are briefly mentioned below:
♦ The Disaster Management Act, 2005 and National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009 mandates every segment of governance to be included in effective disaster management including Panchayati Raj institutions, & Municipalities. It also mandates strong association of the community and civil society with the process through well thought out strategies of awareness generation, capacity building and training. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, recognizing Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as ‘institutions of self – government’, have established decision making processes at designated grassroots level. Local self governance units (PRIs) are now mandated to be run by communities and elected representatives of them are the link with upward hierarchy of PRIs.
♦ In India, Community based disaster preparedness was first introduced at a large scale through the GOI – UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme in the early 2000. “The GOI-UNDP Disaster Risk Management (DRM) programme (2002- 2009)”, executed by the Ministry of Home Affairs with UNDP’ support was a community-based initiative in 176 multi hazard districts in 17 States/UTs at a total estimated cost of Rs 153 Crore (US$ 41 million). Under this programme, disaster management plans have been prepared at district and village levels; village volunteers trained in first-aid, search and rescue, evacuation; relief and shelter management; disaster management teams constituted at the district and sub-district levels and mock drills conducted at various levels. It is known to be the largest community-based DRM programme in the world. This was followed by GOI – UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction Programme between 2009 and 2012 which was aimed at institutional strengthening for target states, districts and cities where targeted community capacity building was also undertaken for teachers, town-planners, masons, etc.
♦ States like Assam, Gujarat and Odisha have undertaken significant community capacity building interventions at various levels through their respective State Disaster Management Authorities. Many Non- Governmental Organizations in the country too have c) taken up Community based disaster preparedness (CBDP) at State or District Levels with support and facilitation as well as collaboration with State Governments (Bihar, Sikkim, Gujarat, Odisha, Assam , Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu; etc). Some of the most vulnerable districts in the country have been covered through these programmes. The results have led to greater institutionalization of CBDP practice in many states.
- What is environment management system? Discuss how it is important for the Municipalities by giving suitable examples.
Ans:
Environment Management System
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency. This site provides information and resources related to EMS for small businesses and private industry, as well as local, state and federal agencies. The EPA continues with its progress in developing and maintaining an environmental management system at each of its offices, labs, and other facility operations, focusing on the reduction of the agency’s environmental footprint.
Environmental management system (EMS) refers to the management of an organization’s environmental programs in a comprehensive, systematic, planned and documented manner. It includes the organizational structure, planning and resources for developing, implementing and maintaining policy for environmental protection.
More formally, EMS is “a system and database which integrates procedures and processes for training of personnel, monitoring, summarizing, and reporting of specialized environmental performance information to internal and external stakeholders of a firm.”
The most widely used standard on which an EMS is based is International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001. Alternatives include the EMAS.
An environmental management information system (EMIS) is an information technology solution for tracking environmental data for a company as part of their overall environmental management system.
Goals
The goals of EMS are to increase compliance and reduce waste:
- Compliance is the act of reaching and maintaining minimal legal standards. By not being compliant, companies may face fines, government intervention or may not be able to operate.
- Waste reduction goes beyond compliance to reduce environmental impact. The EMS helps to develop, implement, manage, coordinate and monitor environmental policies. Waste reduction begins at the design phase through pollution prevention and waste minimization. At the end of the life cycle, waste is reduced by recycling.
To meet these goals, the selection of environmental management systems is typically subject to a certain set of criteria: a proven capability to handle high frequency data, high performance indicators, transparent handling and processing of data, powerful calculation engine, customised factor handling, multiple integration capabilities, automation of workflows and QA processes and in-depth, flexible reporting.
Features
An environmental management system (EMS):
- Served as a tool, or process, to improve environmental performance and information mainly “design, pollution control and waste minimization, training, reporting to top management, and the setting of goals”
- Provides a systematic way of managing an organization’s environmental affairs
- Is the aspect of the organization’s overall management structure that addresses immediate and long-term impacts of its products, services and processes on the environment. EMS assists with planning, controlling and monitoring policies in an organization.
- Gives order and consistency for organizations to address environmental concerns through the allocation of resources, assignment of responsibility and ongoing evaluation of practices, procedures and processes
- Creates environmental buy-in from management and employees and assigns accountability and responsibility.
- Sets framework for training to achieve objectives and desired performance.
- Helps understand legislative requirements to better determine a product or service’s impact, significance, priorities and objectives.
- Focuses on continual improvement of the system and a way to implement policies and objectives to meet a desired result. This also helps with reviewing and auditing the EMS to find future opportunities.
ASSIGNMENT – 4
Course Code: MEDS-044
Maximum Marks: 100
Answer all the questions. All questions carry 20 marks each.
- What do you mean by project appraisal? Discuss the major aspects to be considered during the appraisal of the project.
Ans:
Project Appraisal
Project appraisal is the process of assessing, in a structured way, the case for proceeding with a project or proposal, or the project’s viability. It often involves comparing various options, using economic appraisal or some other decision analysis technique.
In other words, project appraisal is an overall assessment of the relevancy, feasibility, and sustainability of a project prior to making the decision whether to undertake it or not. Also, it is a technique of evaluating, analyzing the investments and effort of calculating the project’s viability. The aim is to consider and compare the possible feasible project and select the best that meets the objectives. The feasibility study serves as the groundwork for appraisal. The aspects covered in feasibility study are re-examined during project appraisal. Project appraisal is a process of detailed examination of several aspects of a given project before resources are committed.
Major Aspects Project Appraisal
Aspect # 1. Financial Feasibility:
The basic data required for a financial feasibility analysis can be grouped as under:
(i) Cost of project and means of financing,
(ii) Cost of production and profitability,
(iii) Cashflow estimates during the period of loans outstanding, and
(iv) Proforma balance sheets as at the end of each financial year during the period of loan.
Aspect # 2. Technical Competence:
The technology may be indigenous or imported through foreign collaboration. In the case of indigenous technology it should be ensured that suitable technical personnel are available.
For technology acquired through collaboration tie-ups, the key areas to be probed are:
(a) The standing of the collaborators and past experience concerning tie-up arrangements with them.
(b) Adequacy of the scope and competitiveness of the terms of the collaboration in relation to the requirements of the project, project engineering, equipment specifications, drawings, process know-how, erection and commissioning of the plant, trial-run operations and performance test, training facilities etc.
(c) Performance guarantee and it’s adequacy in relation to rated capacity of plant and machinery.
(d) Reasonableness of financial and other costs by way of down payment, royalties etc.
The cost of the project should provide for the know-how fee, training expenses, foreign trips etc.
Aspect # 3. Economic Feasibility:
The economic feasibility basically deals with the marketability of the product. Basic data regarding demand and supply of a product in the domestic market so also marginal and also artificial.
Manmade shortages are not to be reckoned as genuine demand and the market analysis is an essential part of a full appraisal. Projection or forecasting of demand is no doubt a complicated matter but is of vital importance. Equally important is to examine the sales promotion proposed by the enterprise and its adequacy.
Aspect # 4. Managerial Competence:
The success of a business enterprise depends largely on the resourcefulness, competence and integrity of its management. However assessment of managerial competence has to be necessarily qualitative, calling for understanding and judgment. The managerial requirements are the experience and capability of the principal promoters to implement and run the project.
The adequacy of the management set up for day-to-day operations like production, maintenance, marketing, finance etc. and also the homogeneity of the management set up.
For a new entrepreneur it will always be advisable to build up a competent team of specialists in the required discipline to join hands with an entrepreneur who has the requisite organizational and managerial expertise in the implementation and operation of the project.
- Differentiate between monitoring and evaluation. Discuss various types of evaluation of urban development projects.
Ans:
Monitoring vs Evaluation
Monitoring is the systematic analysis occasionally made of information to identify changes over a period of time. Monitoring keeps the track of the process of implementation. It consists in examining the progress made in a project against time by taking into account performance too.
Monitoring consists in periodical checking of progress made in the conduct of the projects against the targets and goals laid down. It has to be understood that monitoring is done with a view to ensure the completion of the project in time. This, in fact, is the very purpose of monitoring.
The purpose of monitoring also lies in providing constructive suggestions. These suggestions can be regarding the rescheduling of the project if required, allotment of separate budget to the project and even reassigning the staff for the conduct of a particular project.
Evaluation is the analysis of the effectiveness of an activity that would finally prompt a judgment regarding the progress made in relation to the goals of a firm. Evaluation consists in estimating the value of something. It involves the process of finding the facts.
Evaluation can also be explained as the study of past experience when it comes to the performance and implementation of the project. Unlike Evaluation, Monitoring does not take into account the past experience involved in the performance of a project. In short it can be said that evaluation aims at the submission of the valid information on the conduct and impact of the project.
Evaluation consists in making a study about the effectiveness of the projects. The purpose of evaluation lies in bringing about the process of accounting close to perfection. It also consists in making the best possible use of the available funds, methods to stop the probability of mistakes, testing the efficacy of the new techniques employed in the completion of the projects, verifying the real benefits of the projects and understanding the participation of the people in the project by means of surveys, interviews and the like. It is true that evaluation aims for the future.
Various types of evaluation of urban development projects
Three broad types of evaluation designs, randomized experiments, quasi-experiments and non-experiments, address what would have happened in the absence of the health program (the “counterfactual”) in different ways.
Randomized experiments, also called experimental design, are the most rigorous evaluation design, often referred to as the “gold standard.”
Pre-Test/Post-Test with Random Assignment to Intervention or Comparison Groups: In randomized experiments, study subjects (or groups) are randomly assigned to a group that receives the health program intervention (study or treatment group) or a comparison group that does not receive the intervention (control or non-treatment group). Data for each group are collected before and after the intervention. At the end of the experiment, differences between the intervention and comparison groups can be attributed directly to the effect of the intervention—if the sample is large enough. Notably, post-test only designs can also be used for experimental designs, assuming that the groups are randomly assigned before the intervention began.
Randomization ensures that the intervention and comparison groups are equivalent with respect to all factors other than whether they received the intervention. In other words, the comparison group serves as the “counterfactual” of what would have happened in the absence of the program—a key requirement in determining whether a program caused a particular health outcome.
Although considered the “gold standard,” randomized experiments often are not feasible in real-world scenarios.
Practical difficulties arise in randomly assigning subjects to the intervention and comparison groups, and it may be unethical to offer the intervention to one group but not to another group.
Spillover effects can result in the comparison group being exposed to the intervention.
High rates of dropouts in the intervention or comparison groups can bias the results.
Randomized studies are often expensive to implement, which may limit the feasibility of this design for many health programs.
When randomization of subjects or groups is neither practical nor feasible, a quasi-experimental design can approximate the randomized experiment. Quasi-experimental designs use an intervention and comparison group, but assignment to the groups is nonrandom.
Pre-Test/Post-Test with Non-Random Assignment to Intervention or Control Groups: As with randomized experiments, for a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design, data are collected before and after the intervention. However, assigning subjects to the intervention and comparison groups is non-random. Thus, evaluators cannot assume equivalence between the two groups. Instead, they must assess the differences at baseline and account for any demographic or behavioral differences in the analysis.
Comparison groups in the quasi-experimental design can be identified through matching—a process of identifying individuals that are similar to the participants in the intervention group on all relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, religion and other factors associated with program exposure.
Post-Test Only with Non-Random Assignment: In some cases, data are not collected before the intervention. Instead, data are collected only after the program has ended among participants who had received the intervention and among non-participants, making for a weaker design. Matching participants and non-participants with similar characteristics and accounting for any relevant differences are especially important in the post-test only design to isolate effects of the intervention.
The non-experimental design is an intervention group only and lacks a comparison/control group, making it the weakest study design. Without a comparison group, it is difficult for evaluators to determine what would have happened in the absence of the intervention. Evaluators choose to use non-experimental designs when there are resource constraints, when they are unable to form an appropriate comparison group, or when a program covers the entire population and thus there is no comparison group, such as with a mass media campaign.
- Distinguish between graphic, descriptive, numerical and itemized rating scales.
Ans:
Graphic Rating Scale:
Graphic Rating Scale is a type of performance appraisal method. In this method traits or behaviours that are important for effective performance are listed out and each employee is rated against these traits. The rating helps employers to quantify the behaviours displayed by its employees.
Some of these behaviours might be:
- Quality of work
- Teamwork
- Sense of responsibility
- Ethics etc.
Ratings are usually on a scale of 1-5, 1 being Non-existent, 2 being Average, 3 being Good, 4 being Very Good and 5 being Excellent.
Characteristics of a good Graphic Rating scale are:
- Performance evaluation measures against which an employee has to be rated must be well defined.
- Scales should be behaviourally based.
- Ambiguous behaviours definitions, such as loyalty, honesty etc. should be avoided
- Ratings should be relevant to the behaviour being measured. For example, to measure “English Speaking Skill” rates should be fluent, hesitant, and laboured instead of excellent, average and poor.
Descriptive rating scales:
Where rating scales are used you need to be clear about what each point on the scale means. By having a description of the defining features for each rating point assessors are more likely to assess performance in a consistent and standardised way.
5-point rating scale
In this example, a candidate’s performance would need to be rated at 3 or higher to be assessed as meeting the capability requirements.
Example: 5-point rating scale
Rating |
Definition |
Description |
5 |
Very likely to be a strength |
All behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate provided an excellent response demonstrating consistent application of capability at this level and could mentor others. |
4 |
Likely to be strength |
Most behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate provided a thorough response which clearly demonstrated capability at this level. |
3 |
Meets requirements |
A satisfactory number of behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate provided a satisfactory response which met the pre-established standards for this capability. |
2 |
Development required |
Few behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate would require development on this capability. |
1 |
Significant development required |
None of the behavioural indicators were seen, or negative behaviours were seen. The candidate was unable to demonstrate competence in the capability at this level. The candidate would require significant development. |
3-point rating scale
In this example, a candidate’s performance would need to be rated at 2 or higher to be assessed as meeting the capability requirements.
Example: 3-point rating scale
Rating |
Definition |
Description |
3 |
Exceeds requirements |
All behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate provided an excellent response demonstrating consistent application of capability at this level and could mentor others. |
2 |
Meets requirements |
A satisfactory number of behavioural indicators were seen. The candidate provided a satisfactory response which met the pre-established standards for this capability. |
1 |
Development required |
Few of the behavioural indicators were seen, or negative behaviours were seen. The candidate would require development on this capability. |
Numerical Rating Scale:
A variation of the visual analog scale that uses a scalar numbering system to objectify a patient’s pain. Most numeric rating scales use a 10-cm line with tick marks spaced 1 cm apart. The leftmost mark is labeled “0” and has the notation “No Pain.” The rightmost mark is labeled “10” and the notation “Worst pain imaginable.” The patient is asked to indicate where on the continuum he or she would rate the current intensity of pain.
Itemized Rating Scale:
The Itemized Rating Scale is an Ordinal Scale that has a brief description or numbers associated with each category, ordered in terms of scale positions. The respondents are asked to select the category that best describes the stimulus object being rated.
- Explain the meaning and importance of mailed questionnaire. Write the qualities of a good questionnaire.
Ans:
Meaning and Importance of Mailed Questionnaire
Mail questionnaire is a form of questionnaire which is mailed to targeted individuals, which has a collection of questions on a particular topic asked to them as a part of interview or survey which is used for conducting research on that topic. Questions asked in questionnaire are generally dependent on knowledge of targeted individuals and are related to topic under research.
The advantages of mail questionnaire is that identity of individual filling the responses of questionnaire can be kept anonymous thus getting genuine replies from respondent. Also biasness in answers due to interviewer can be avoided. Mail questionnaire has more geographical reach and many respondents who otherwise could not have been part of survey can also reply their views in it. With no interviewer required manpower requirement is less and also mail questionnaire technique is less time and money consuming compared to interviews.
As every coin has two sides mail questionnaire has its fair share of disadvantages. The response rate of mail questionnaire is very less as respondents are having no incentive for taking the questionnaire. Also most of the times mail questionnaire land up in Spam box of respondent and ignore it. Mail questionnaire questions can be interpreted differently by different individuals and may lead to ambiguity in responses. Respondents also can’t ask any doubts in mail questionnaire and generally leave the questionnaire partially filled. Such partially filled questionnaire and low response rates of mail questionnaire does not give any concrete response of targeted individuals on the topic under consideration and so mail questionnaire has to be coupled with other research techniques.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Mail Questionnaire along with its overview.
Following are the qualities of a good questionnaire.
- The length of questionnaire should be proper one.
- The language used should be easy and simple.
- The term used are explained properly.
- The questions should be arranged in a proper way.
- The questions should be in logical manner.
- The questions should be in analytical form.
- Complex questions should be broken into filter questions.
- The questions should be described precisely and correctly.
- The questionnaire should be constructed for a specific period of time.
- The questions should be moving around the theme of the investigator.
- The answers should be short and simple.
- These answers should be accurate.
- The answers should be direct one.
- The answers should be relevant to the problem.
- The answers should be understand able to everyone of respondents.
Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire:
Questionnaires are effective business tools for gathering demographic information, facts, personal opinions and attitudes from your clients and customers. One of the greatest benefits of questionnaires lies in their uniformity – all respondents see exactly the same questions. Whether you are compiling a questionnaire to measure sentiment for a new product rollout or gauging consumer satisfaction at a retail store, understanding the attributes of a good questionnaire is a necessary first step to producing the responses you need.
Layout
A good business questionnaire should be no longer than necessary to obtain the information you want to collect. Consider the delivery avenue — a business reply card, an online survey or an extensive multipage form — and where the respondent will complete it. The topic of the questionnaire should be relevant to the respondents and their experience with your company or product, otherwise there is little incentive to complete it. Your questionnaire should have a clear purpose, directions that are easy to understand and well-crafted questions that make sense to the respondent. Questions should be general at first and progress in detail. The content, too, should transition logically from one topic to another. Avoid asking your clients sensitive questions; if you must, position them toward the end of the questionnaire and make the questionnaire anonymous to get truthful responses.
Format
The questions you ask can take two forms. Restricted questions ask the respondent to make choices – yes or no, check items on a list, or select from multiple choice answers. Unrestricted questions are open-ended and allow respondents to share feelings and opinions that are important to them about your products or services. Restricted questions are easy to tabulate and compile. Unrestricted questions are not, but they allow respondents to reveal the depth of their emotions. If your objective is to compile data from all your respondents, then stick with restricted questions that are easily quantified. If you wish to study degrees of emotions or depth of sentiment, then develop a scale to quantify those feelings.
Designing Questions
Each question should address only one topic. “When you go out to eat, do you have wine and after-dinner coffee?” from a restaurant owner does not differentiate between those who chose one or the other but not both. Be careful to address all options with multiple choice questions. With a question like “Do you plan to try our product,” a yes or no answer choice does not give the respondent the option of saying that he might under certain circumstances — and those circumstances are important to you. Multiple choice answers must be unambiguous and mutually exclusive. There can be no overlap which could blur the choices. If you ask respondents to rate situations, be sure to give them a reference point. “On a one-to-five scale, how do you rate the customer service response you received from our company compared to your previous provider.”
Tabulation
Discuss and share the questionnaire with co-workers so your work will produce the results your business needs. Determine the information you seek before formulating the questionnaire. Because you are compiling answers to gain useful information, give consideration to how you will tabulate the data you receive. If the questionnaire will be machine-read, then the layout must conform to the machine’s capability. Open-ended questions require your subjective interpretation.
- Write short notes on the following.
- Bar Charts
- Types of data
Ans:
- Bar Charts
A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars can be plotted vertically or horizontally. A vertical bar chart is sometimes called a line graph.
A bar graph shows comparisons among discrete categories. One axis of the chart shows the specific categories being compared, and the other axis represents a measured value. Some bar graphs present bars clustered in groups of more than one, showing the values of more than one measured variable.
Bar charts have a discrete domain of categories, and are usually scaled so that all the data can fit on the chart. When there is no natural ordering of the categories being compared, bars on the chart may be arranged in any order. Bar charts arranged from highest to lowest incidence are called Pareto charts. Bar graphs/charts provide a visual presentation of categorical data. Categorical data is a grouping of data into discrete groups, such as months of the year, age group, shoe sizes, and animals. These categories are usually qualitative. In a column bar chart, the categories appear along the horizontal axis; the height of the bar corresponds to the value of each category.
- Types of data
It is useful to distinguish between two broad types of variables: qualitative and quantitative (or numeric). Each is broken down into two sub-types: qualitative data can be ordinal or nominal, and numeric data can be discrete (often, integer) or continuous.
Because qualitative data always have a limited number of alternative values, such variables are also described as discrete. All qualitative data are discrete, while some numeric data are discrete and some are continuous.
For statistical analysis, qualitative data can be converted into discrete numeric data by simply counting the different values that appear.
Note: the word “variable” is used in two senses. It can mean an item of data collected on each sampling unit, and it can mean “random variable”. A random variable is a variable in the mathematical sense, but one that takes different values according to a probability distribution. The word “variate” is also sometimes used to mean random variable. In Statistics, we use random variables to build probability models for data variables. This makes sense because when data are collected on observational units sampled at random, the values recorded for the data variables can be regarded as realisations of mathematical random variables.
(a) Qualitative Data
Qualitative data arise when the observations fall into separate distinct categories.
Examples are:
Colour of eyes : blue, green, brown etc
Exam result : pass or fail
Socio-economic status : low, middle or high.
Such data are inherently discrete, in that there are a finite number of possible categories into which each observation may fall.
Data are classified as:
nominal if there is no natural order between the categories (eg eye colour), or
ordinal if an ordering exists (eg exam results, socio-economic status).
(b) Quantitative Data
Quantitative or numerical data arise when the observations are counts or measurements. The data are said to be discrete if the measurements are integers (eg number of people in a household, number of cigarettes smoked per day) and continuous if the measurements can take on any value, usually within some range (eg weight).
Quantities such as sex and weight are called variables, because the value of these quantities vary from one observation to another. Numbers calculated to describe important features of the data are called statistics. For example, (i) the proportion of females, and (ii) the average age of unemployed persons, in a sample of residents of a town are statistics.
The following table shows a part of some (hypothetical) data on a group of 48 subjects.
‘Age’ and ‘income’ are continuous numeric variables,
‘age group’ is an ordinal qualitative variable,
and ‘sex’ is a nominal qualitative variable.
ASSIGNMENT – 5
Course Code: MEDSE-046
Maximum Marks: 100
Answer all the questions. All questions carry 20 marks each.
- What is human development? Discuss how economic development is important for the promotion of human development.
Ans:
Human Development
The term ‘human development’ may be defined as an expansion of human capabilities, a widening of choices, ‘an enhancement of freedom, and a fulfilment of human rights.
Human development is a concept within the field of international development. It involves studies of the human condition with its core being the capability approach. The inequality adjusted Human Development Index is used as a way of measuring actual progress in human development by the United Nations. It is an alternative approach to a single focus on economic growth, and focused more on social justice, as a way of understanding progress.
Objectives of Human Development:
In the traditional development economics, development meant growth of per capita real income. Later on, a wider definition of development came to be assigned that focused on distributional objectives. Economic development, in other words, came to be redefined in terms of reduction or elimination of poverty and inequality.
These are, after all, ‘a goods-oriented’ view of development. True development has to be ‘people- centred’. When development is defined in terms of human welfare it means that people are put first. This ‘people-oriented’ view of development is to be called human development.
It is thus clear that per capita income does not stand as a true index of development of any country. To overcome this problem and to understand the dynamics of development, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) developed the concept of Human Development Index (HDI) in the 1990s. This index brought in revolutionary changes not only in development, but also in the policy environment in which the government was assigned a major role instead of market forces.
Economic development now refers to expanding capabilities. According to Amartya Sen, the basic objective of development is ‘the expansion of human capabilities’. The capability of a person reflects the various combinations of ‘doings and beings’ that one can achieve. It then reflects that the people are capable of doing or being. Capability thus describes a person’s freedom to choose between different ways of living.
For example:
Can people read and write? Are foodstuffs distributed among people in a universal manner? Do poor students get midday meal in schools? Do the poor children get adequately nourishing diets at home? No one would doubt that an illiterate poor person cannot have the same capabilities that a rich literate one gets. Thus capability failure leads to poverty and deprivation. This perspective of development, as enunciated by A. Sen, suggests why development economists put greater emphasis on education and health.
There are many countries in the world which —despite high levels of per capita GDP growth/ real income—experience high mortality rate, undernourishment rate, poor literacy, and so on. This is a case called ‘growth without development’. M. P Todaro and S. C. Smith assert: “Real income is essential, but to convert the characteristics of commodities into functions…. surely requires health and education as well as income.” In other words, income does not define peoples’ ‘well- being’ adequately.
Well-being, although a diverse notion, should consider health and education, in addition to income. Sen’s intellectual insights and fundamental ideas induced UNDP to formulate HDI as a comprehensive measure of development. It may be reiterated that the HDI as used in the Human Development Reports to compare different countries in the world has been designed as alternative to per capita GDP/GNP. Today, it is the most single commonly used measure to evaluate development outcomes.
- What are different types of inequalities existing in developing countries? Explain how inequality is detrimental to development.
Ans:
Inequality and climate change: Two new and pressing challenges to global development which, together, form a heady mix for researchers, governments and NGOs striving to address global inequalities.
Professor David Hulme’s recently launched book, ‘Should Rich Nations Help the Poor?” prominently features these two issues. The challenges around the inequality element in particular are further reinforced in a recent Policy Brief by Professor Stephan Klasen – a research collaborator of the Global Development Institute and the University of Manchester’s Chronic Poverty Research Centre with particular expertise in gender, chronic poverty and poverty measurement.
The Rising Inequality in Developing Countries
Since the 1980s the rising inequality within developing countries has been a key factor in the increase in social and political instability, making it no surprise that reducing inequality became a new goal within the Sustainable Development Goals.
Stephan Klasen comments that within-country inequality is responsible for the sharply rising share of all global inequality. Through the decomposable inequality measure (seen below) an underlying trend shows that between-country inequality has been falling since the 1970s whilst since 2000 the marked improvement in higher growth rates in many poor African countries also contributed to falling inequality overall. In contrast, in-country inequality has been rising substantially since 1980 and – if estimates for the top 1% were also included – the rise in overall inequality would be even faster.
In harmony with the views of Professor Hulme’s book, Stephan Klasen clearly states in his latest policy brief that one of the biggest changes of recent times in terms of inequality is that we now live in a world where it matters nearly as much for your economic fortune if you are born rich or poor within a country as it matters whether you are born in a rich or poor country. This is a situation which means we should rightly be concerned about the rise of within-country inequality and the huge impact this type of inequality is having on lives and on the wider global inequality picture.
“We now live in a world where it matters nearly as much for your economic fortune if you are born rich or poor within a country as it matters whether you are born in a rich or poor country”
– Stephan Klasen
And this is where policymakers come in. These new inequality trends are not related to unchangeable economic forces. They depend to a great extent on the policy choices by governments. This means there is scope and opportunity for more a pro-active inequality reducing agenda. One which Stephan Klasen argues should be developed and led by the countries in question and one which, as David Hulme argues, other richer countries can and should support.
Key messages
- On average—and taking into account population size—income inequality increased by 11 percent in developing countries between 1990 and 2010.
- A significant majority of households in developing countries—more than 75 percent of the population—are living today in societies where income is more unequally distributed than it was in the 1990s.
- Evidence shows that, beyond a certain threshold, inequality harms growth and poverty reduction, the quality of relations in the public and political spheres of life and individuals’ sense of fulfilment and self-worth.
- There is nothing inevitable about growing income inequality; several countries managed to contain or reduce income inequality while achieving strong growth performance.
- Evidence shows that greater income inequality between households is systematically associated with greater inequality in non-income outcomes.
- Inequality cannot be effectively confronted unless the inextricable links between inequality of outcomes and inequality of opportunities are taken into account.
- In a global survey conducted in preparation for this report, policy makers from around the world acknowledged that inequality in their countries is generally high and potentially a threat to long-term social and economic development.
- How health and development are related? Explain various challenges of health care development in India.
Ans:
Better health is central to human happiness and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress, as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and save more.
Many factors influence health status and a country’s ability to provide quality health services for its people. Ministries of health are important actors, but so are other government departments, donor organizations, civil society groups and communities themselves. For example: investments in roads can improve access to health services; inflation targets can constrain health spending; and civil service reform can create opportunities – or limits – to hiring more health workers.
WHO’s work on ‘Health and development’ tries to make sense of these complex links. It is concerned with the impact of better health on development and poverty reduction, and conversely, with the impact of development policies on the achievement of health goals. In particular, it aims to build support across government for higher levels of investment in health, and to ensure that health is prioritized within overall economic and development plans. In this context, ‘health and development’ work supports health policies that respond to the needs of the poorest groups. WHO also works with donors to ensure that aid for health is adequate, effective and targeted at priority health problems.
Health before wealth is more than just an old adage, and in the build-up to the WTO meeting at Cancún in September, we look at why programmes that aim to protect and improve the health of poor people can help in the battle against global poverty.
Health before wealth is an old adage that can be readily understood by looking at the links between ill health and poverty in developing countries. Good health boosts labour productivity, educational attainment and income, and so reduces poverty. When poor people know their children are more likely to survive and be healthy, they tend to have smaller families and so higher incomes per family member. So programmes that aim to protect and improve the health of people below and just above the poverty line in developing countries could greatly help in the battle against global poverty.
These links between health and poverty reduction have been strongly confirmed in recent research on the determinants of economic growth in developing countries (see The Commission for Macroeconomics and Health in the references). And this has helped place health higher on the international agenda than ever before, not just because of efforts to generate economic growth or because of the battle against HIV/AIDS, but because poor people have higher than average child and maternal mortality, higher levels of disease, and limited access to health care and social protection. Gender inequality undermines further the health of poor women and girls.
The various challenges of health care development in India
Population: India has the world’s second-largest population, rising from 760 million in 1985 to an estimated 1.3 billion in 2015.
Infrastructure: The existing healthcare infrastructure is just not enough to meet the needs of the population. The central and state governments do offer universal healthcare services and free treatment and essential drugs at government hospitals. However, the hospitals are, as we said, understaffed and under-financed, forcing patients to visit private medical practitioners and hospitals.
Insurance: India has one of the lowest per capita healthcare expenditures in the world. Government contribution to insurance stands at roughly 32 percent, as opposed to 83.5 percent in the UK. The high out-of-pocket expenses in India stem from the fact that 76 percent of Indians do not have health insurance.
Rural-urban disparity: The rural healthcare infrastructure is three-tiered and includes a sub-center, primary health centre (PHC) and CHC. PHCs are short of more than 3,000 doctors, with the shortage up by 200 per cent over the last 10 years to 27,421.
There are, however, potential catalysts to improve the quality of healthcare in India.
- Explain the role of manufacturing sector in development. Critically discuss various issues in manufacturing sector development in India.
Ans:
Role of Manufacturing Sector in Development
Today, times have changed and attitudes in industry are much different. The term MES has become customary to identify the set of solutions used in industrial IT, replicated and implemented in ways that support production management and execution.
In a recent book, Make it in America, Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, supports with passion the role that manufacturing production plays in the health of an economy. He says that today, more so than during any past period, production is vital and that the manufacturing industry can create jobs, economic health and growth at a level such that the services industry will never be able to do. In essense, he’s saying that not all industries are created equal.
Howevever, the current macro-economic scenario is deeply different than it was 15 years ago. Businesses must now strategically pursue a series of changes, both from an organizational productivity point of view as well as from a technological support point of view. The game is now be played on the basis of agility, responsiveness and innovation, with the fundamental support of technology and people skills. Workers who are prepared and informed will be at the center of the businesses of the future. They will provide the level of flexibility needed to meet the increasing demand for customized products.
It is in this significant mutation that even MES systems themselves are changing with respect to those seen 15 years ago. And this is why MESA introduced the term MOM in the second half of the last decade, embracing in it also the management of processes that regulate and coordinate the operations. The broader spectrum of operation goes beyond the technical execution of production and turns greater attention to organizational aspects.
In addition to this, there is a profound technological transformation that is affecting the industry. This is, in part, a reaction to the needs of users as well as a result of the development of both traditional production elements and organizational production process managed by MES/MOM.
Today, terms like the Internet of Things, Big Data, cloud, mobility and analytics are commonly used, although not always with the correct meaning, to identify the big trends of technological evolution. Given the many misunderstandings surrounding these terms, it is wise to keep the following in mind to help make sense of it all:
- Internet of Things — Things that can communicate their status, needs and problems using smart sensors and that transmit this information over the Internet through wired or wireless networks;
- BIg Data — Large volumes of highly variable data types, needing to be processed at high speeds with innovative and economic systems and being capable of producing information to support decision-making;
- Cloud— Centralized and scalable IT structures, made available as needed without the burden to establish and maintain the infrastructure;
- Mobility — Information available anywhere, regardless of the device used; and
- Analytics — Statistical models or mathematical algorithms applied to the available data to create information otherwise not immediately available. This is useful to predict scenarios and support manual decision-making or implement automated decision-making
These trends respond to the organization’s need to update production operations and, at the same time, determine the direction in which the technological evolution heads. Each of them represents a technological element integral and sometimes essential for today’s MES/MOM systems. These technologies form a unique system—pervasive and flexible— that are able to manage and coordinate the whole manufacturing supply chain efficiently and competitively.
As manufacturing becomes increasingly digital, MES/MOM helps focuses digital support for people in the organization who are increasingly the key element of the manufacturing company.
- Why marginalization is pervasive in India? Explain the various measures to be taken to overcome the problem of marginalization.
Ans:
In general, the term ‘marginalization’ describes the overt actions or tendencies of human societies, where people who they perceive to undesirable or without useful function, are excluded, i.e., marginalized. These people, who are marginalized, from a GROUP or COMMUNITY for their protection and integration and are known as ‘marginalized groups’. This limits their opportunities and means for survival.
Most vulnerable marginalized groups in almost every society can be summarized as below:
- Women –
Under different economic conditions, and under the influence of specific historical, cultural, legal and religious factors, marginalization is one of the manifestations of gender inequality. In other words, women may be excluded from certain jobs and occupations, incorporated into certain others, and marginalized in others. In general they are always marginalized relative to men, in every country and culture. Women (or, men) don’t present a homogeneous category where members have common interests, abilities, or practices. Women belonging to lower classes, lower castes, illiterate, and the poorest region have different levels of marginalization than their better off counterparts.
- People with disabilities –
People with disabilities have had to battle against centuries of biased assumptions, harmful stereotypes, and irrational fears. The stigmatization of disability resulted in the social and economic marginalization of generations with disabilities, and, like many other oppressed minorities, this has left people with disabilities in a severe state of impoverishment for centuries. The proportion of disabled population in India is about 21.9 million. The percentage of disabled population to the total population is about 2.13 per cent. There are interstate and interregional differences in the disabled population. The disabled face various types of barriers while seeking access to health and health services. Among those who are disabled women, children and aged are more vulnerable and need attention.
- Schedule Castes (Dalits) –
The caste system is a strict hierarchical social system based on underlying notions of purity and pollution. Brahmins are on the top of the hierarchy and Shudras or Dalits constitute the bottom of the hierarchy. The marginalization of Dalits influences all spheres of their life, violating basic human rights such as civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. A major proportion ofthe lower castes and Dalits are still dependent on others for their livelihood. Dalits does not refer to a caste, but suggests a group who are in a state of oppression, social disability and who are helpless and poor. Literacy rates among Dalits are very low. They have meager purchasing power and have poor housing conditions as well as have low access to resources and entitlements. Structural discrimination against these groups takes place in the form of physical, psychological, emotional and cultural abuse which receives legitimacy from the social structure and the social system. Physical segregation of their settlements is common in the villages forcing them to live in the most unhygienic and inhabitable conditions. All these factors affect their health status, access to healthcare and quality of life. There are high rates of malnutrition reported among the marginalized groups resulting in mortality, morbidity and anemia. Access to and utilization of healthcare among the marginalized groups is influenced by their socio-economic status within the society.
- Scheduled Tribes –
The Scheduled Tribes like the Scheduled Castes face structural discrimination within the Indian society. Unlike the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes are a product of marginalization based on ethnicity. In India, the Scheduled Tribes population is around 84.3 million and is considered to be socially and economically disadvantaged. Their percentages in the population and numbers however vary from State to State. They are mainly landless with little control over resources such as land, forest and water. They constitute a large proportion of agricultural laborers, casual laborers, plantation laborers, industrial laborers etc. This has resulted in poverty among them, low levels of education, poor health and reduced access to healthcare services. They belong to the poorest strata of the society and have severe health problems.
- Elderly or Aged People –
Ageing is an inevitable and inexorable process in life. In India, the population of the elderly is growing rapidly and is emerging as a serious area of concern for the government and the policy planners. According to data on the age of India’s population, in Census 2001, there are a little over 76.6 million people above 60 years, constituting 7.2 per cent of the population. The number of people over 60 years in 1991 was 6.8 per cent of the country’s population. The vulnerability among the elderly is not only due to an increased incidence of illness and disability, but also due to their economic dependency upon their spouses, children and other younger family members. According to the 2001 census, 33.1 per cent of the elderly in India live without their spouses. The widowers among older men form 14.9 per cent as against 50.1 per cent widows among elderly women. Among the elderly (80 years and above), 71.1 per cent of women were widows while widowers formed only 28.9 per cent of men. Lack of economic dependence has an impact on their access to food, clothing and healthcare. Among the basic needs of the elderly, medicine features as the highest unmet need. Healthcare of the elderly is a major concern for the society as ageing is often accompanied by multiple illnesses and physical ailments.
- Children –
Children Mortality and morbidity among children are caused and compounded by poverty, their sex and caste position in society.
All these have consequences on their nutrition intake, access to healthcare, environment and education. Poverty has a direct impact on the mortality and morbidity among children. In India, a girl child faces discrimination and differential access to nutritious food and gender based violence is evident from the falling sex ratio and the use of technologies to eliminate the girl child. The manifestations of these violations are various, ranging from child labor, child trafficking, to commercial sexual exploitation and many other forms of violence and abuse. With an estimated 12.6 million children engaged in hazardous occupations (2001 Census), for instance, India has the largest number of child laborers under the age of 14 in the world. Among children, there are some groups like street children and children of sex workers who face additional forms of discrimination. A large number of children are reportedly trafficked to the neighboring countries. Trafficking of children also continues to be a serious problem in India. While systematic data and information on child protection issues are still not always available, evidence suggests that children in need of special protection belong to communities suffering disadvantage and social exclusion such as scheduled casts and tribes, and the poor (UNICEF, India).
- Sexual Minorities –
Another group that faces stigma and discrimination are the sexual minorities. Those identified as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, kothi and hijra; experience various forms of discrimination within the society and the health system. Due to the dominance of heteronomous sexual relations as the only form of normal acceptable relations within the society, individuals who are identified as having same-sex sexual preferences are ridiculed and ostracized by their own family and are left with very limited support structures and networks of community that provide them conditions of care and support. Their needs and concerns are excluded from the various health policies and programs.