NUCLEAR TESTING VS POVERTY REDUCTION - NEED FOR PRIORITIZATION
Dr. N.G. Hegde
Indian Economy
India is passing through a serious crisis of poverty and environmental pollution. With
over 2% annual population growth, there is increasing pressure on food supply, potable
water, health and educational emenities and employment, which are the basic necessities
for survival. While about 70% of the rural population is dependent on agrobased
activities for their livelihood, urban people struggle for jobs in industrial and service
sectors. In the absence of adequate land holding and agricultural inputs, particularly
water resources, Indian agriculture is not able to provide year-round employment and
food security for over one half of the rural population. In such a situation, some of the
poor migrate to cities while the rest exploit the community pastures and forests to
supplement their income. Inspite of various development programmes launched by the
government and voluntary agencies, over 40% of the rural people are poor, with their
family income below US$ 300 per annum. Poverty is not only confined to rural areas but
also rampant in cities, where the poor suffer more due to inadequate housing and sanitary
facilities.
Inspite of severe poverty, the rural people live a subdued existence. Their voices are
often unheard because of illiteracy and lack of organisational capabilities at the grassroot
level. Thus Indian politics and development policies are largely influenced by the literate
urban population.
Utilization of Bilateral Aids
India is one of the poor countries in the world, which depends heavily on external
assistance. Initially after independence, India depended on bilateral aid for both
technologies and finance. However with the gradual industrial development Indian
industries are now able to attract private investment from the West, while the bilateral
assistance is utilised for food security and poverty reduction programmes.
With the sanctions imposed on bilateral aids and loans, there will be a significant
reduction in the inflow of assistance to India which will not affect the business and
industries but will affect the poor. The experts in the economic circle predict that such
sanctions by the United States and Japan may seriously jeopardise their business
interests.This may result in softening of the government stands to suit their business. The
multinationals may also use indirect routes to fund their joint ventures in India. Inspite
of such reports from reputed economists, the Indian elite is not very worried about the
after effects of the nuclear tests. Another section feels that most of the international
assistance spent on development is grossly misused and hence it is time to curb the
misuse and impose discipline within the government machineries. With such a belief,
display of nuclear capabilities of the country has scored over the curb on aids.
The sanctions on aids for socio-economic development programmes are far more
serious than what the elite Indians realise. Firstly, the International donors brought in a
wide range of their experience in various technologies and programme management
systems. The donors were also able to influence the implementing government agencies
to change their working style to implement the programme more effectively. A few years
ago, the Indian Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi had stated that only 18% of the funds
spent on rural development programmes reaches the target group while the remaining
82% is lost in administration, inefficiency and curruption. The programmes
implemented by the government agencies are often concentrated on infrastructural
development and promotion of technologies, which largely benefit the educated and elite
farmers.
Voluntary Action
The Voluntary Agencies engaged in rural development believe that the primary focus
should be to motivate the poor to take active part in micro-level planning and programme
implementation. Many prominent individuals, journalists and voluntary agencies have
expressed their concern that population, unemployment, hunger, illiteracy and
environmental pollution are more serious and need to be handled before diverting the
Indian energy in nuclear tests. In the absence of economic and food security, superiority
in nuclear power is of no practical use. This has been proved beyond doubt by the present
status of Russia.
The common people in India strongly believe in non-violent and friendly relations with
their neighbours. There have been series of protests against the Governments spending
on defence and nuclear arms, while millions of Indians are facing starvation. Many
political observers have remarked that the main aim of the nuclear test was to stabilise
the political strength rather than in the interest of the nation. This belief has been
reaffirmed by most of the Indians after the recent nuclear tests carried out by Pakistan.
BAIF feels that during recent years, the International Donor Agencies have helped the
voluntary organisations (VO) to develop their capacities to design and implement very
effective rural development programmes for ensuring sustainable livelihood.
International support for VOs could also help in establishing their credibility among the
beneficiaries and recognition by the government agencies.
Our Priorities
Presently the poor in India are suffering more from psychological poverty rather than
resource poverty. This is the reason why many poverty reduction programmes involving
free distribution of inputs and finance have not helped the poor to improve their economic
conditions. The development priority therefore should be to create awareness on
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possible solutions for the problems faced by the poor, motivate them to initiate suitable
action, train them in necessary technical and managerial skills and develop local
organisation to provide essential services.
With the motivation of the local community and formation of self-help groups, we need
to prioritise our activities. BAIF believes that programmes related to water resource
development, food security, employment generation, health care and education deserve
priority. It is also necessary to focus these programmes on the women and economically
weaker sections of the community so that the participation of the poor is ensured in the
development programmes. This way the development programmes can ensure equity and
social justice.
We therefore urge the Development Organisations in Canada, United States and Europe
to utilise this opportunity to persuade their governments to divert the bilateral aids for
Humanitarian development through voluntary organisations (Non-government
organisations). This can be an excellent opportunity for building the capacities of the
local communities, through a voluntary movement. It is also an excellent opportunity to
make effective use of the available resources for poverty reduction and environmental
protection.