text:
Review: NCAER Study Finds That While Incomes Increased by Only 4%, Expenditure of Food Delivery Workers Increased by Over 20% in the Last Four Years - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2023
Recently, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) released a report on ‘the Socio-economic Impact Assessment of Food Delivery Platform Workers.’ The study is aimed at aiding policy by examining their working conditions, income stability, and overall well-being. The study was done using a telephone survey of 924 food delivery platform workers.
Food delivery partners have a significant impact on urban lives these days as they provide convenient access to a wide range of meals and deliver them right to our doorsteps. They have made it possible to enjoy meals at any time, offering a level of convenience previously unavailable. During the pandemic, especially amidst health concerns and social distancing measures, food delivery partners ensured access to food without the need to visit crowded restaurants or grocery stores. In short, food delivery partners have helped simplify our dining experiences and expanded our options, while also supporting the restaurant industry by increasing their reach and customer base.
Recently, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) released a report on ‘the Socio-economic Impact Assessment of Food Delivery Platform Workers.’ Such a study aids in examining their working conditions, income stability, and overall well-being. The report provides insights into the socio-economic challenges and opportunities faced by this workforce, helping inform policies and initiatives aimed at improving their quality of life. For the study, NCAER conducted a telephone survey of 924 food delivery platform workers from one food delivery company spread across 28 cities with representation from all Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities. It was carried out in April and May 2022. Majority of the respondents were male (99%).
The average age of a food delivery worker was 29 years. 84% of the workers were under 35 years of age. While nearly 38% of the workers were at least graduates (or above), 93% had at least completed 10th standard. Almost 40% of Tier 2 city delivery workers were college graduates. While a large proportion of them were the sole or primary wage earners in their family, about 68.9% of the workers were non-migrants working in their hometowns. The share was 76% in Tier 3 Cities.
Platform delivery workers are more qualified and earn more than urban male workers
The study revealed that the average delivery worker was slightly older than urban youth but younger than urban workers. Moreover, the average delivery worker was better educated than the average urban male. While more than 93% of the food delivery workers had an education of class 10 and above, the share was only 55.7% among urban male workers and 62.8% among urban youth male workers. The food delivery platform worker on average worked 27.7% longer than the average urban youth male worker but earned 59.6% more income than him. However, after reducing the fuel costs, the increase in income is lowered to 5%.
The study examined why workers entered the food delivery platform and the entry requirements for the job to assess the impact of the platform on labour markets. There were people who joined the platform from diverse backgrounds and occupations, such as accountants, auto drivers, artisans, businessmen, cashiers, chefs, drivers, farmers, police, waiters, teachers, electricians, storekeepers, students, tailors, designers, photographers, painters, migrants from the Middle East, and others. About 21.2% of them were students. Among all the respondents, the platform was their first job for 23.8% of them, out of which 88% were students.
Higher or additional income was cited as reason by 7 out of 10 workers
Various reasons were cited as to why they joined the platform such as loss in business, lack of job opportunities, flexible work hours, regular payment receipts, salary in bank accounts, and independence. However, higher or additional income was the dominant reason for entering platform work as was cited by 67.7% of the respondents. Independence was the reason cited by more than 35% of those surveyed. More than 28% of the workers cited flexible work hours/days as a reason for joining the platform. Around 9% of them responded with ‘job loss’ as a reason for joining as against 31.6% of the respondents who were unemployed before joining the platform.
Growth in Expenditure outstripped growth in Incomes
In terms of shift duration, workers working for 11-hour slots were considered ‘long-shift workers’ and others were ‘short-shift’ workers who worked for 5 hours, on weekends, or on special days. The average daily hours worked by a long-shift worker in the sample was 10.8 hours and by a short-shift worker, it was 5.2 hours. Platform workers reported that real incomes had gone down over time, primarily due to inflation and increasing fuel costs. For long-shift workers, it had become harder to achieve targets due to increased traffic and rising competition. The ability to meet monthly expenditures out of the monthly incomes of long-shift workers had also dropped. Since 2019, their average monthly income grew by 4% while the expenditure on fuel increased by over 50% and other expenditures increased by 24%.
Attrition rates were quite high in food delivery platform work. The average duration of stay in the food delivery platform was only 14.1 months. However, approximately a third of the workers had no plans to leave the platform. Generally, people used this work not as a career option but as a fall-back option in times of need or for augmenting incomes. 28.1% have been working in such platforms for less than a year and 25.7% for 1-2 years, indicating that they joined during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 24.7% started before the pandemic, having worked for over two years.
Social security protection is low for platform delivery workers
While 100% of the workers had a task-based written contract in the food delivery platform sector, only 31% of the long-shift workers had a tenure-based written contract of more than one year in their previous job. They did not get paid leave or pensions. 61.9% of the workers received rations. Only 12.2% of the workers had an Ayushman Bharat card; 7.1% were registered on the e-Shram portal and 4% for the Atal Pension Yojana. This is a clear indication that the food delivery workers lacked social security protection.
Food delivery platforms have emerged as a source of social protection and employment for people who either lost their jobs, who were unemployed or for people to increase their income. Even students are getting the opportunity to earn income. It has also helped in formalizing the workforce by getting the workers to open bank accounts and provide accident insurance to them. Additionally, the workers are also given skills training such as dealing with customers, GPS, language, and communication.
However, there is poor growth in income and increasing expenditure. Despite this, there are many youngsters who have joined the work in the last 3 to 4 years. As seen previously, a large share of the workers are graduates and freshers to the workforce. It needs to be seen if this is a result of unemployment and limited job opportunities available to the youth.
Recommendations to ensure social security of the workers
Some of the policy recommendations put forth in the report aimed at ensuring social welfare and safety nets for platform workers are listed below.
Legislation passed by Rajasthan for gig workers
Questions related to the welfare of gig workers have been raised in the parliament multiple times. One of the questions frequently asked is the regulation of gig workers. The responses generally spoke of the Code on Social Security, 2020 that provides for the framing of suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc. The Code also provides for setting up a Social Security Fund and one of the sources of fund, is a contribution from aggregators between 1 to 2% of the annual turnover of an aggregator subject to the limit of 5% of the amount paid or payable by an aggregator to such workers.
Rajasthan government recently passed the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration And Welfare) Bill, 2023 which calls for setting up of a welfare board in the State for gig workers. The Board also mandates maintaining a database of companies and workers, and each gig worker would receive a unique ID, valid indefinitely, and makes the aggregators accountable.

created: September 21, 2023


text:
Review: NITI Aayog Releases a Compendium of 75 Best Practices in The Social Sector
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 12, 2023
‘Best Practices in Social Sector: A Compendium 2023’ was recently released by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This provides insights into 75 different initiatives that made an impact.
The social sector plays a key role in the overall progress of a society. It encompasses several important components of society – healthcare, Education, drinking water & sanitation, environment, food security, women & child development, livelihoods, social security, skill development, etc. The role of the social sector becomes all the more critical in a progressing country like India to provide equitable opportunities for the marginalised sections of the society to be part of the growth story.
Over the years, the social sector in India has had notable success through various developmental interventions by multiple stakeholders, especially the governments – Central & State. Varied innovations, strategies, plans, schemes, etc. were executed to address many of the challenges across sectors and script success stories. As such, Best Practices in Social Sector: A Compendium 2023, released by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), provides insights into such initiatives that have made an impact.
What is this Compendium on Best Practices in Social Sector 2023?
The social sector has witnessed several successful interventions by various stakeholders. In an attempt to document such initiatives, NITI Aayog has collaborated with UNDP and released the “Best Practices in Social Sector: A Compendium 2023”. The aim of this compendium is to highlight impactful, sustainable and replicable models as a reflection on them and to serve as a handbook for future initiatives.
To commemorate the 75 anniversary of Indian Independence, 75 case studies across 14 key social sectors are compiled. The case studies for the compendium are obtained from each  State/UT of India along with 30 central government ministries & departments.
The cases identified are across various social sector themes – education, health, nutrition, agriculture, women’s empowerment, sports, financial inclusion, digitization, etc. The compendium contains information about the initiative, its impact & challenges. The information in the compendium is compiled based on the inputs from the respective State/UT governments and ministries.
In this review, we look at a few of the 75 case studies that are part of the compendium. No defined metrics are considered as a criterion for selection with aspects like the scale of impact, the problem being addressed, replicability of the model, etc. being the broader guiding points for selecting a few of these case studies.
Direct benefits, enhancing income among the main drivers for initiatives in Agriculture
About 2/3 of the population of India is dependent on agriculture and this sector contributes to around 19% of the GDP. It is not only a key component of the social fabric of the country but also to the economy through backward and forward linkages.  While dependency on agriculture for livelihood is significantly high, it is riddled with several issues that contribute to financial distress. Outdated technology, the presence of middlemen, lack of infrastructure, etc. are among the challenges plaguing the sector. The initiatives highlighted in the compendium look at addressing a few of these issues.
There are 7 case studies mentioned in the compendium for this sector. Here is a snapshot of a few of them.
Developing value chain for Large Cardamom production in Nagaland: Commercial crops generate a higher revenue than conventional crops. However, the lack of a crop-specific value chain limits farmers to explore this option.  Phek Organic Large Cardamom Producer Company, a farmer’s producer company (FPC) with the support of the Department of Horticulture, encouraged the production and developed the value chain for Organic Large Cardamom in the State. Through partnerships between farmers & organic businesses, the revenue generate during 2018-2021 was around Rs. 6.7 crores, with a progressive year-on-year increase. The value chain also created scope for by-products of cardamom fibre.
Crop Cluster development programme in Haryana: This programme initiated by the Horticulture Department of Haryana, aims to provide an on-farm facility to farmers for proper aggregation of the produce, grading/sorting, transportation, and processing of surplus produce during the glut period. A study of two such clusters reveals an increase in the direct income of the farmers through improved market access. Major challenges remain with the professional expertise required for effective market linkages, for which the government has stepped in with its support.
A similar initiative is also launched in Odisha, with a focus on the production of millets and creating a value chain for the produce.
Rice-Fish Farming in Assam: Fisheries department of Assam implemented a pilot of rice-fish farming in 431 hectares of water bodies in 11 districts. This system facilitates a mutualistic symbiosis, where-in fish excreta provides nutrients for the paddy and fish control the pests by feeding on insects eggs & larvae, plankton, etc. This has created an off-season for the farmers and helped in increasing their income without an increase in expenses.
Another initiative is Dr. YSR Rythu Bharosa Kendralu by the government of Andhra Pradesh which provides a one-stop solution for farmers. It works in four verticals – supply of pre-tested quality inputs, capacity building & knowledge dissemination, farmer advisories & call centre, and procurement operations.
Initiatives in Education & Skill Development through Technology and Outreach
The quality of human resources is critical to the progress of any society. This is achieved through education and skill development. The emphasis is evident in the compendium with 11 of the 75 best practices belonging to the education sector and another 5 categorised under skill development.
Efforts for a larger outreach for inclusion of marginalised sections under the fold of formal education and skill development is one of the important aspects addressed in a few of these initiatives.
Scholarship schemes for children of the Tea community in Assam: Children in tribal regions are among the marginalised sections of the society that are deprived of fundamental rights like education, which in turn hampers their future prospects. One such community is the tribal community in Assam which engage in the cultivation of tea. The Directorate of Tea Tribes’ Welfare of Assam launched a set of scholarship schemes to provide scholarships to students from class 9, to facilitate opportunities for encouraging children from the tea community to continue their higher studies, such as MBBS, B.Tech, Ph.D., and other job-oriented courses.
Another initiative in Assam is the School Adoption Initiative in the Darrang district of Assam. Here, each school is adopted by a school teacher to improve the learning outcomes which have been performing poorly in the education dimension.
Few of the initiatives have adopted technology to facilitate- better monitoring, improving quality, outreach, etc. for education and Skill development.
Various best practices related to skill development were focussed on a larger outreach of marginalised and downtrodden sections of society.
Best practices for environment sustainability
Safeguarding and preserving the environment are among the key Sustainable Development Goals. The compendium mentions various best practices that have contributed to this effort.
Interventions for social welfare and women empowerment
Empowerment of marginalised and vulnerable groups, activities promoting social welfare form an integral part of social sector initiatives. There are various programmes and schemes undertaken by Central agencies and State/UT governments which promote social welfare.
Biz Sakhi: Biz Sakhi aims to improve access to entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for women across rural and urban areas. It provides increased awareness, psychosocial support, enhancing employability, linkages and mentorship support.
Best practices to improve health support
Health is a critical part of social sector services and there are various initiatives across states and by the central government to improve health infrastructure and support across the country.

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


text:
Review: NITI Aayog’s report estimates 68 lakh Gig workers as of 2019-20, close to 60% in Retail & Transportation
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 5, 2022
NITI Aayog recently released a report on the Gig economy in India. Among other things, the report estimates the gig workforce to be 68 lakhs by 2019-20 and 77 lakhs by 2020-21. As per the estimates in the report, close to 60% of such workforce are in Retail & the Transportation sector. The report also identifies the challenges faced by the gig workforce.
Recent years have seen growth in the Gig economy. While freelancing & gig-based work is not a new phenomenon, the emergence of new technologies has opened multiple opportunities leading to reshaping of how work gets done. As of 2021, the gross volume of gig economy is estimated to be around USD 348 billion USD. India is also an emerging player, the importance of which is identified by the Government of India. The recent report of NITI Aayog – “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work”, underlines this emphasis of the government.
What is Gig and Platform economy?
As per the definition by the UK government, which the World Economic Forum refers to, the Gig economy entails the transaction between two entities to get work done, which is short-term and task-based in nature, with digital platforms being the key enabler.
The usage of digital technology platforms differentiates and identifies the current concept of the gig economy from the more traditional independent workers. The number of such platforms has increased from 142 in 2010 to 777 in 2020 globally.
This differentiation is highlighted in the criteria laid down by NITI Aayog in its report as well.
It identifies a gig worker as a person who engages in income-earning activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship. These workers are classified into:
Platform workers are those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms. Meanwhile, non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers mostly engaged in conventional sectors. NITI Aayog’s study report focuses on the gig workers who are platform-based.
Gig-workers constitute 1.5% of the total workforce in the country as per 2020-21 estimates
NITI Aayog’s study report states that estimating the gig workforce in India is beset with challenges. Employees who identify as partners, individual workers taking up multiple tasks and contracts at the same time, etc. are a few of the challenges that leave severe data gaps to estimate the size of the gig economy.
The official data which has a robust system in place to estimate the conventional economy does not have enough data to estimate the number of gig & platform workers. The report has based its estimates on the limited data available along with the estimations from various research studies.
Among other studies, the report cites a study by Team Lease, which estimates that the gig workers in India have increased from 8.5 million in 2016 to 15 million in 2018. The study further notes that 56% of the new employment in the country is generated from the gig economy across both white-collar and blue-collar jobs. Another study states that 1.4 million of the 2.1 million blue-collar jobs in India are gig-based jobs.
NITI Aayog’s study identifies gig-workers based on their characteristics relating to 7 specifications – Location, Age, Education, Income Level, Type of Employment, Ownership of Mobile Phones & Bank Account (for online transactions).
Occupation & Industry of the workers was another criterion used for the estimates. The report also relies on the official employment data sets like – NSSO Employment and Unemployment Datasets, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), Labour Bureau Employment Survey, Annual Survey of Industries, CMIE Datasets etc.
Based on these, it is estimated that there are about 68 lakh gig workers in India in 2019-20. This includes both principal & subsidiary gig workers. Usual Principal Status (UPS) are those who spend most of the year as gig workers and Usual Subsidiary workers (USS) are those who spend a shorter period of the year.
Comparatively, the gig-workers in 2011-12 are estimated to be around 25 lakhs. UPS form the majority, whose number has increased from 24.5 Lakhs in 2011-12 to 67 lakhs in 2019-20.  The share of the gig workforce out of India’s total workforce has also increased from 0.54% to 1.33% during this period. It is projected to increase to 1.5% in 2020-21. By 2029-30, it is estimated that there could be 2.35 crore (235 lakh) gig workers, and they could form 4.13% of the total workforce.
The study report states that the nature of the growth of the economy during the period has contributed to this increase i.e., the nature of economic growth was more conducive to gig workers while creating a less commensurate demand for non-gig workers.
Another important noticeable trend is the shift from unorganized sector to organized sector. During the period 2011-12 to 2019-20, the share of gig-workers in the unorganized sector fell from 74.1% to 62.4%. A major portion of gig workers is now part of organized sector. It increased from 25.9% in 2011-12 to 37.6% in 2019-20.
The highest number of Gig workers are in the Retail trade, followed by Transportation
In 2019-20, nearly 39% of the total Gig-workforce in India was in Retail trade. This is about 26.5 lakhs, 1.5 times higher than 10.6 lakhs in 2011-12. In 2019-20, another 19% i.e., 13 lakhs were engaged in transportation and storage. While the number of gig workers involved in these two sectors constitutes the major portion and has seen an increase, their share in the overall gig workforce has slightly fallen over the years.
This share is taken over by Real estate, construction & Information technology. In terms of absolute numbers, the other three industries that make up the top 5 in engaging gig-workforce include – Financial institutions, manufacturing, and Information technology.
With respect to occupation, 1/3 of the gig-workforce in India are Shop/market salespersons & demonstrators. In 2019-20, 22.8 lakh were engaged as gig-workers in this profession. Motor vehicle drivers constitute the next highest portion of gig-workers, accounting for 13 lakhs of the 68-lakh gig-workforce in the country.
Workers engaged in secretarial & clerical jobs are next highest followed by Finance & Sales professionals. There are around 2.7 lakh computer professionals in 2019-20 engaged in gig jobs, which increased from 0.4 lakhs in 2011-12.
Job & income security, occupations safety are among the major challenges with gig-based work
While patronization i.e., using digital platforms to identify work has helped to formalize gig works, there are multiple issues identified internationally. The main issue is with the algorithmic control of the platform labour by digital platforms. Rating-based reputation systems, power of consumers/customers over workers, etc., facilitated by these platforms are said to cause significant risks and unfair working conditions to the workers.
The study report identifies that the gig-work in India also faces these challenges with the platforms. The report further takes cognizance of various other challenges faced by gig workers in India.
One of the major challenges is with job & income security. They are typically classified as independent workers or contractors and hence are not extended benefits from labour regulations relating to wages, hours of work, working conditions etc.
Accessibility is another issue with the availability of jobs depending on location (urban vs rural), gender, access to the internet etc. Varying degrees of skill-mismatch are observed on online web-based platforms, with workers with better qualifications not necessarily finding jobs.
Unfavourable terms of contract and non-collectivism of the gig workers are among the other challenges faced by gig workers.
While these challenges exist for gig-based jobs in the country, the study report notes that gig & platform-based jobs have contributed to inclusivity, especially for women and people with disabilities.
Creating a future-ready workforce, social security, enumeration mechanism etc. are among the recommendations of the report
NITI Aayog’s study report takes cognizance of the different challenges faced by gig workers in the country. The report has also identified the need to upskill the gig workers to take advantage of the existing and future opportunities. A few of the recommendations of the study report are the following.
Featured Image: Gig economy in India


text:
Review: NITI Aayog’s report estimates future electric two-wheeler penetration under different conditions
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 8, 2022
NITI Aayog along with TIFAC recently released a report, ‘Forecasting Penetration of Electric Two-Wheelers in India’. The report estimates future electric two-wheeler penetration in India under various constraints & conditions. A tool was jointly developed by TIFAC and NITI Aayog, to analyse the future penetration of electric two-wheelers in the country across eight separate scenarios. Here is a review.
Countries around the world are encouraging a shift to electric vehicles through incentives and policies. In the last two decades, there have been considerable technological advancements in the case of electric vehicles which have helped improve their utility, reduce costs, and lower GHG emissions from the transport sector, thereby increasing the demand for electric mobility. Likewise, India is also pushing for a shift towards electric mobility to control carbon emissions and reduce the huge imports of petroleum. A national target of achieving 30% electric vehicle sales penetration by 2030 has been set by India. To achieve this, various measures such as boosting localization of EV component manufacturing, subsidies, incentives, are some central level interventions. Several states have also come up with their own policies covering subsidies and tax exemptions, among other incentives, for buyers of electric vehicles.
NITI Aayog and TIFAC released a report to forecast electric two-wheeler penetration in India
Two-wheelers dominate the Indian road transport sector, including the electric vehicles segment. According to the Vahan dashboard, a total of 5.05 lakh electric 2-wheelers have been registered in the country so far. Furthermore, the technology for electric two-wheelers has now reached a critical stage of development, and several manufacturers have launched marketable models. Considering this, Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and NITI Aayog came up with a bottom-up estimate of the annual growth of the use of electric two-wheelers which provides crucial information about the necessary infrastructure, manufacturing capacity, policy initiatives, and technological development objectives. The report, Forecasting Penetration of Electric Two-Wheelers In India was released recently.
A tool was jointly developed by TIFAC and NITI Aayog, to analyse the future penetration of electric two-wheelers in the country across eight separate scenarios. The scenarios have been constructed based on three major factors influencing the market penetration of electric two-wheelers- demand incentives, battery cost, and vehicle performance in terms of range and power. Each factor has been analysed further at two different levels. Additionally, four constraint levels were developed depending on vehicle production capacity and charging infrastructure. Full constraint means both production capacity and charging infrastructure are constraints.
Shift to electric mobility in the 2-wheeler segment can be faster than anticipated
According to the report, the shift to electric mobility, particularly in the two-wheeler segment, may happen faster than anticipated. The analysis observed that 100% market penetration could be obtained in a scenario with full constraints with the base level of production capacity and charging infrastructure. However, it called for an increase in production capacity, or else, the sales of electric two-wheelers would be constrained by supply, thereby leading to a decline in their relative market share. Furthermore, a combination of technological improvement and incentives are required to achieve 100% penetration in the full constraint scenarios. A maximum penetration, which is 71.5% in the technology-driven scenario, can be achieved with the demand incentives removed after the financial year 2024. Even if incentives are maintained through the financial year 2031, only a penetration level of 21.9% can be achieved in the absence of technological advancement and a decline in battery costs.
The demand for different scenarios has been discussed below.
Domestic manufacturing of components should be enhanced alongside policy intervention
The report suggests that the performance of vehicles and improved battery technology can help increase penetration even compensating for the impact of financial incentive withdrawal. Though demand incentives are necessary to increase the penetration level of electric two-wheelers, the larger issue of manufacturing costs remains, which is mainly influenced by the battery cost. The cost can be reduced significantly if the domestic manufacturing of components picks up alongside relevant policy interventions. Sustained high prices of petrol, and a ‘positive mindset’ about electric vehicles also influence the shift to electric vehicles. However, the recent incidents in which electric scooters caught fire have the potential to sow seeds of doubt. As per recent reports, the government set up a panel to suggest certification, testing SOPs for batteries
Additionally, a higher ratio of charging points to electric vehicles is necessary for the initial stages to bring about confidence in people. Even in Europe, charging points is a concern. According to WEF, 10 countries in Europe including Greece, Poland, Romania and Latvia, do not have one charger for every 100km of key road and a total of 18 EU members have under five charging points per 100km of road.
The International Energy Agency also suggests that governments should not abruptly change the incentive structures in place. Instead, the incentives and subsidies must transition to more targeted and financially sustainable tools. Further, it suggested that governments clearly lay down policy frameworks and foster international collaboration to tackle the strains on the material supply chain when the battery industry expands.
Featured Image: Penetration of Electric Two-Wheelers in India


text:
Review: NITI Aayog’s Report Estimates India’s Food Production to Exceed Demand by 2047 While Questions Remain - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 2, 2024
The recently released NITI Aayog’s Working Group Report titled “Crop Husbandry, Agriculture Inputs, Demand and Supply” had highlighted growth trends in the agricultural sector in terms of yield, production, and consumption of different types of food commodities, since the 1970s, and projected the scenarios of demand and supply of various food commodities by the year 2047. Here is a review.
India aims to be among the developed nations by the centenary year of its independence i.e. 2047. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s GDP has been growing at an average of 6% for the last two decades, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the recent past.  The GDP growth is also marked by advancement in various sectors such as Construction, Mining, Manufacturing, etc., including Agriculture.
The recently released National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s Working Group Report (WGR) titled “Crop Husbandry, Agriculture Inputs, Demand and Supply” highlighted growth trends in the agricultural sector in terms of yield, production and consumption of different types of food commodities, since the 1970s. Further, the WGR also projected the scenarios of demand and supply of various food commodities by the centenary year 2047, with a projected population of 1.6 billion. The study is aimed at evaluating the self-sufficiency and food security of India by the year 2047.
In this story, we look at past growth in the production, demand, and consumption patterns of various food commodities such as Cereals, Pulses, Vegetable and Fruits in India, along with their projected demand and production scenarios by the year 2047, as reported in the WGR
Household Consumption Expenditure (HCE) has increased, while the expenditure on Food Commodities has decreased
As per WGR, the HCE in India has increased significantly in the last few decades. When compared to the year 1972-73, the HCE in both food and non-food commodities has increased by 62% by the year 2011-12 (at 2011-12 prices); the total consumption expenditure (at 2011-12 prices) in 1972-73 was 983 rupees per capita per month (RCM), while it is 1599 RCM in 2011-12. Further, the share of expenditure on food commodities has come down to 44% in the year 2011-12 from 69% in the year 1972-73; At 2011-12 prices, the total expenditure on food and non-food commodities was 680 and 303 RCM, respectively, during the year 1972-73, while they were 708 and 891 RCM, respectively, during the year 2011-12. Therefore, it shows a significant difference in both household expenditure and in the amount of money spent towards food and non-food commodities.
The WGR highlights that this increase in household expenditure and decrease in the expenditure on food commodities is due to the consistent rise in the level of income of households across both rural and urban regions of India.
Cereals consumption has reduced, but the average consumption is higher than the daily recommended level
The WGR has analysed the past trends in the production and consumption of various food commodities such as Cereals, Pulses, Fruits, Vegetables, etc. The analysis has shown mixed trends in the production and consumption of various food commodities, as of the year 2011-12.
The report notes that 90% of cereals consumed in India are Rice and Wheat. The quantity of cereals consumed in the year 2011-12 was 27% higher at 357 grams per day per person (g/d/p) than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 281 g/d/p by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). However, the report notes consumption of cereals in the last couple of decades has reduced due to changing lifestyles, falling levels of energy requirement and other reasons. When compared to 1993-94, the consumption levels of cereals such as Rice, Wheat, Millets, and Maize have reduced by 14%, 1%, 67% and 70%, respectively, from 1993-94 to 2011-12. Thus, the consumption of Cereals has come down in the last couple of decades, though their average consumption remains higher, with 90% of their consumption constituted by rice and wheat alone.
Consumption of Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, and Animal Source Foods has increased, but remain below the necessary consumption levels
The WGR also reports that unlike Cereals, the consumption of other food commodities such as Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, and Animal Source Foods has increased, though their consumption is below the daily RDA. From the year 1993-94 to 2011-12, the consumption of pulses has increased from about 26 g/d/p to 27 g/d/p. This is far below the recommended level of 80-97 g/d; Similarly, consumption of Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Source Foods has increased by 21%, 14% and 12%. However, each of these commodities’ consumption is below the daily RDA of 103, 361 and 364 g/d/p, respectively.
Therefore, the WGR reports that unlike in the case of Cereals, though there is an increase in consumption of these products, their per capita consumption is below the recommended levels. However, the report also states that due to the changing patterns in the consumption of different foods, the demand for Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, and Animal Source Food is likely to increase at a higher rate than the demand for Cereals.
Production of Important Food Commodities is already short of Demand in India
To estimate the demand and supply scenarios of various food commodities by 2047, the WGR looked at the current extent of land under agriculture, the yields, and the total production of different types of food commodities as of the year 2019-20, etc., along with the possibility of bringing additional land under agriculture.
Accordingly, the WGR noted that the net sown area in India has been hovering around 139 million hectares (MH). It also noted that there is no scope for bringing additional land under agriculture, except by the crop intensification process. Thus, whatever the present and future food needs of the country must be met from the total land which is under agriculture as of 2019-20.
As per the WGR, the total production of different types of important food commodities such as Cereals, Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, and Edible Oils stood at 276, 23, 188, 102 and 12 million tons (MT), respectively. During the same period, the demand for these commodities stood at 251, 26, 199, 108 and 22 MT, respectively.
Therefore, except Cereals, the production of other food commodities in India is already short of demand. Notably, the demand for edible oils is double the amount of its production as of 2019-20. The WGR itself notes this as “Presently production of fruits and vegetables fall short of their demand which is expected to continue until acceleration in existing yield growth takes place. Similarly, shortfall in the production of edible oils is expected to continue in short run.”
Therefore, with no additional land available for agriculture, the WGR notes that there is no possibility of increasing the production of these commodities, except by the crop intensification process.
WGR says India will have sufficient production of Food by 2047, while ignoring important factors and challenges
As mentioned, as per the WGR itself, the production of some of the important food commodities is already less than the current demand. Along with these, India is also faced with other challenges related to its future food security, which are noted as follows in the WGR.
“For the past three decades, India’s net cropped area has been hovering around 139 million hectares; and there is little, if any, scope of bringing additional land under agriculture, except through intensification of the existing cropland. The water resources are limited, and the growing water scarcity has been posing a serious challenge to the intensification of the existing cropland. Groundwater in the intensively cultivated regions, as in Punjab and Haryana, has been over-extracted. Besides the quantitative limits on the utilization of these resources, their quality has also been deteriorating due to crop intensification. Further, pre-, and post-harvest losses in food commodities continue to be large, especially in perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. More importantly, climate change has emerged a significant threat to the sustainability of food production systems, and the threat is likely to be more pronounced in the plausible future climate scenarios”
The WGR itself notes important issues such as limited water resources and their scarcity, no additional land for agriculture, climate change, etc. all of which pose significant risks to the future food security of India. Therefore, any assessment on the same will have to take these factors into consideration and then project the plausible scenarios of Food Demand, Supply and Self-sufficiency.
As per WGR, by the year 2047, the projected land under Production of major Agriculture Commodities such as Cereals, Pulses, Vegetables and Fruits will be 98, 38, 15 and 11 MH, respectively, constituting to 162 MH. This is 15% more than the average net cropped area, which is 139 MH, of all the food commodities in India in the last 3 decades. Further, the respective production of major commodities will be 409, 47, 367 and 214 MT and demand will be 214, 34, 263 and 62 MT. Based on these figures, the WGR concluded that food production will be more than the demand.
However, in computing these figures, the WGR only taken two factors into consideration. The first was that the “Gross Cropped Area (GCA) is expected to increase at an annual growth of 0.45% from 2019-20 to 2047-48. The incremental acreage will come from improvements in cropping intensity.” Therefore, the increase in cropped area calculated by WGR is not based on an increase in the extent of land but only assumed increasing in the intensity of cropping. The other factor taken into consideration was by realizing the potential yield of agricultural lands, through technological and other types of improvements. The WGR notes that the current yields of agricultural lands are below the actual yielding capacity. Therefore, it takes actual yielding capacity into consideration. Based on these two factors, the report concluded that if the cropping intensity and potential yield are realized, the food production in India will be more than the demand by 2047.
However, while concluding so, the WGR did not take into consideration various important issues, factors and challenges which pose significant risks to food security of India. Firstly, the estimates provided are based on the ‘Business as Usual’ (BAU) scenario, which means that land under agriculture in 2019-20 has to remain under Agriculture even by 2047. This is highly unlikely since the WGR itself acknowledges that due to urbanization, agricultural lands are converted to non-agricultural purposes. As per the WGR, about 5 MH hectares of agricultural lands have been converted to non-agricultural purposes in the last two decades. This is accentuated by the fact that half of India is expected to be urbanized by 2047, as noted in the WGR. All this means that the increment in ‘Gross Cropped Area’ as estimated remains doubtful despite an expected increase in cropping intensity.
Similarly, the climate change-induced impacts such as changing monsoon patterns and their implications on crop yields, increasing temperatures, reducing soil quality, and water scarcity among others raise questions about the estimates provided in the WGR.


text:
Review: NITI Aayog’s report identifies best practices from states across the Take-Home Rations value chain
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 21, 2022
The Supplementary Nutrition Programme under ICDS aims to close the nutrition gap among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers as well as children under the age of six. SNP is provided in two ways: Take-Home Rations (THR) and Hot-Cooked Meals at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).  NITI Aayog’s recent report identifies best practices from states across the Take-Home Rations value chain.
Public policy is often fraught with myriad challenges since they do not have any specific set of solutions and are often interlinked. Some public policy challenges continue for several decades, with periodic improvements over the years. Child malnutrition is one such challenge. The first ever National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 1992-93 found that nearly half of the children are stunted and underweight. It presented a dismal picture of child nutrition in India. Many schemes have been launched over the last few years to tackle the issue of child malnutrition in India. One such major scheme is the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which forms the core of child nutrition in India. It also includes the supplemental nutrition programme (SNP), growth monitoring and promotion, nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-ups, and health referrals in addition to pre-school education under its ambit.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, which falls under the umbrella of food-based safety nets, seamlessly puts together the “first 1000 days” window of crucial importance while addressing malnutrition in young children and pregnant/lactating women through a variety of services such as the distribution of take-home rations (THR), nutrition health education, etc. The Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) under ICDS aims to close the nutrition gap among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers as well as children under the age of six. SNP is provided in two ways: Take-Home Rations (THR) and Hot-Cooked Meals at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).  Take-Home Rations (THR) are provided to children aged 6 to 36 months as well as pregnant and lactating women through the ICDS programme for consumption at home. Through complementary feeding, THR seeks to address the nutrition gap that exists among new-borns and young children.
We look at the report by NITI Aayog and World Food Programme, ‘Take Home Ration- Good Practices- Across the States/ UTs’ in today’s story. This report on best practises aggregates and analyses THR programme developments across several States and Union Territories to create a list of best practises used in the THR value chain’s execution, from formulations to last-mile distribution.
Anganwadis at a glance
As of 30 June 2021, a total of 13,99,697 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) are established, out of which 13,89,110 centres are operational. This is an improvement from 13,63,021 operational Anganwadi centres in 2017-18. It is crucial that the AWC surroundings and the spaces around it are kept in a clean condition because children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women frequently visit the facility and have a higher risk of infection during this vulnerable time. The infrastructure of the AWCs varies in size and is often dependent on the amount of available area. However, basic infrastructural facilities like drinking water facility and toilet facility are absent in more than 1.5 lakh AWCs. Almost 25 percent of the AWCs run in rented buildings, making permanent infrastructure provisioning difficult.
On the human resources and manpower front, a total of 13.14 lakh Anganwadi Workers and 11.73 Lakh Anganwadi helpers, along with 4798 Child Development Project Officers (CPDOs), and 33,616 lady supervisors ensure the smooth functioning of the AWCs. However, as evident from an answer of the government in the parliament in July 2021, approximately 1.94 Lakh posts are lying vacant as of March 2021, across all the Anganwadi Service functionaries. This is a slight reduction compared to 2.42 lakh vacancies in 2018, 2.11 lakh in 2019, and 1.92 lakh in 2020. Among the distribution across the states, five states account for around 1.3 lakh vacancies in 2021.
On the financial side, the funds allocated for the states by the Union Government for implementing Supplementary Nutrition Programme grew consistently from 2011-12 till 2020-21, except for a dip in 2015-16. An exponential jump can be seen since 2016-17. This could be due to the setting up of National Nutrition Mission with an outlay of Rs. 9,046 Crores for three years, starting from 2017-18. However, we had earlier noted a decline in the budget allocation for both mid-day meals and ICDS in 2022-23. Also, the amount transferred to states increased despite the fall in the number of beneficiaries under the Supplementary nutrition program. It is found that most of the northeastern states receive higher average funds per beneficiary, while Kerala receives the highest among the large states category.
Take Home Ration – Value chain
The National Nutrition Mission (NNM), also known as the Prime Minister’s overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN Abhiyaan), has recently given the supplemental nutrition services offered under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme a fresh priority. More than 9 crore beneficiaries who are registered at AWCs receive SNP using two delivery methods: Hot-Cooked Meal (HCM) and Take-Home Ration (THR). The THR programme seeks to supply supplemental food items for use in households to women who are pregnant or nursing, as well as children aged 6 to 36 months. THR programme accounts for a major share in the ICDS budget, with both the State and Union Governments spending approximately Rs. 13,500 cores on it annually.
The THR value chain starts from procurement, followed by the production model, supply chain management, product formulation, Quality control, packaging and labeling, monitoring, and ends with Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC). All these stages are crucial in ensuring the efficiency of service delivery. We shall look into best practices followed by the states in each of these stages as noted in the NITI Aayog’s report. Below are the criteria for the evaluation of best practices.
Best Practices:
Procurement
Production Model
States can contract production to either private or government entities. The THR production facilities are managed by local entities like the Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the decentralized production model. A decentralized production model including SHGs stood out as a good practice when analysing the different ways in which the state governments are contracting the production.
Local production of THR by Women SHGs of Kudumbashree Mission in Kerala, production through Women SHGs with fixed time periods for each of the processes in Odisha, and production by Mahila Supplementary Food Production Centres (MSPCs) led by Women Self-help groups in Karnataka are some of the best examples of involving WSHGs in production.
In Odisha, a total of 568 THR-making units run by around 7000 women manage the entire production cycle, covering 72,602 AWCs and benefiting more than 25 Lakh beneficiaries. In Karnataka, around 137 MSPCs are established, each containing 22-25 members from the vulnerable sections of the society.
Supply Chain Management
Product Formulation
Quality Assurance/ Quality Control
Packaging and Labelling
Monitoring
Social and Behaviour change communication
These are some of the best practices in the THR value chain as identified in the NITI Aayog report. It becomes important for the states to cross-learn to adopt the best practices from other states and Union Territories. Sharing new innovative approaches, coupled with regular sensitization of states and UTs on technological adoption in the THR value chain is the way forward.
Featured Image: Supplementary Nutrition Programme


text:
Review: NITI Aayog’s white paper highlights the issues with Urban Wastewater in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 27, 2022
India and Denmark together launched a whitepaper recently on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’ at World Water Congress and Exhibition 2022 in Copenhagen. Data for 2020-21 indicates a sewage generation of 72,368 MLD in urban centres across the country, the installed sewage treatment capacity was only 31,841 MLD.
India and Denmark together launched a whitepaper recently on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’ at World Water Congress and Exhibition 2022 in Copenhagen. An interdisciplinary team was formed with partners from Government Knowledge agencies such as Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Ministry of Jal Shakti and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), international agency Innovation Centre Denmark (ICDK) and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) to develop the whitepaper. The whitepaper presents the current status of wastewater generation in India, future capacity, need for wastewater treatment, scope for improvement and augmentation in existing infrastructure and technologies, methods for public participatory approach, financing, and co-financing options among other things.
Rapid urbanization is adding pressure on freshwater sources
With the rapidly growing population in urban areas, water scarcity is a consequence in most areas because of the expansion at an unprecedented pace. There is added pressure on freshwater sources to meet the ever-growing demand for water in urban areas. To keep up with the rising demand, it is necessary that alternate water resources are identified. One such unconventional water resource is wastewater. The increased consumption of water and improved coverage in domestic water supply and sewage due to the expansion of urban population gives rise to increased quantities of wastewater, treatment, and utilization of which has an enormous potential for meeting the supply-demand gaps in these areas.
India generates the largest volumes of wastewater in South Asia
As per the ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’, Asia generated the largest volumes of wastewater, about 42% (159 billion cubic metres) of the wastewater globally which is expected to increase to 44% by 2030. At the global level, only about 63% of the wastewater generated annually is collected, and only 52% treated. Only 11% of the total wastewater generated is reused annually and 22% of the treated water is reused directly. About 40% of the wastewater generated is discharged directly to the environment. Across regions, it was observed that wastewater collection and treatment was the highest in Western Europe and lowest in Southern Asia. India stands on the top in highest wastewater generation among the South Asian countries.
10 states account for 73% of the total sewage generated in 2020-21
As per the assessment by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the sewage generation in the urban centres of India was 72,368 Million Litres per Day (MLD) for the year 2020-21. Maharashtra generated the highest quantity of sewage across states, with 9,107 MLD followed by Uttar Pradesh with 8,263 MLD. Tamil Nadu generated 6.421 MLD followed by West Bengal and Gujarat with more than 5000 MLD each. These five states together accounted for more than 47% of the sewage generated every day. Along with Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and Rajasthan, the 10 states together contributed to more than 73% of the total sewage generated at the national level. On the other side, the sewage generated in the Northeastern states of Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram was less than 200 MLD each while that by Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh was less than 100 MLD each.
Only about 28% of the sewage is treated while the remaining is disposed of directly into water bodies
While the 2020-21 data indicates a sewage generation of 72,368 MLD in urban centres across the country, the installed sewage treatment capacity was only 31,841 MLD, which is about 43.9% of the sewage generated. Of this installed capacity, developed and operationalized capacity was only about 84%, which is 26,869 MLD. The actual utilized capacity was even lower. It accounted for 75% (20,235 MLD) of the total operationalized capacity. In simpler terms, only about 20,235 MLD of the total 72,368 MLD or 28% of the total sewage generated in urban centres is actually treated. The remaining 72% remains untreated and is disposed of into water bodies. Even if the proposed capacity of 4,827 MLD for sewage treatment is installed, there would still be a gap of 49% between the wastewater generated and the capacity available for treatment. This distribution is skewed across states.
In terms of installed capacity, Maharashtra’s installed capacity was 76% of the sewage generated. The state had the highest installed capacity with 6,890 MLD, followed by Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Karnataka with more than 2000 MLD each. The five states accounted for more than 60% of the installed capacity at the national level. Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Rajasthan had installed capacity of more than 1000 MLD each. The ten states accounted for 86% of the total installed capacity.
Many northeastern states do not have sewage treatment plants
As percentage of sewage generated, the installed capacity was more than 100% (more capacity than sewage generation) in Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana. Punjab’s installed capacity was 94% followed by Delhi with 87% and Maharashtra with 76%. Despite being among the top five sewage generating states, Tamil Nadu’s installed capacity was only about 23% and West Bengal’s was 16% of the sewage generated. Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh did not have any sewage treatment plants. Despite generating 2,276 MLD sewage, the installed capacity was only 10 MLD in Bihar.
The actual quantity of sewage treated was also the highest in Maharashtra with more than 4000 MLD (47% of sewage generated in the state). Along with Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, and Haryana, the 7 states alone were responsible for more than 80% of the actual sewage treated in the country though these states accounted for about 47% of the sewage generated.
Chandigarh had treated more sewage than it generated while Bihar, Assam & Kerala treated almost nothing
Chandigarh treated 125% of the waste generated. This could be because the actual utilized capacity is more than the sewage generation figures of the city which indicates that possibility of sewage coming from the adjoining cities or mixing of industrial wastewater into sewage. Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana treated more than 70% of the generated sewage while Gujarat treated 54% and Maharashtra treated 47%. Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura treated only 0 to 1% of sewage generated while West Bengal and Odisha treated about 4% each.
There is no specific policy at the state or national level to deal with wastewater treatment
The data is a clear indication that sewage or wastewater treatment is not being given enough & uniform attention across the country. Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are responsible for domestic wastewater treatment through provision and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities in their administrative area. However, past audits by CAG have revealed that these facilities lack manpower, financial management, and monitoring and execution. The whitepaper highlighted the absence of specific policy at both the Central or State level that deals with prevention of pollution, treatment of polluted water and ecological restoration of polluted water bodies.
Moreover, the cost of violating the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act’ is much less than the cost of compliance. Apart from this, there are lacunae in the water quality monitoring system in the country with different standards set for different uses.
Further, there is a huge gap between generated sewage and treatment capacity as observed earlier. This gap is more in cities with lesser population since capital expenditure to set STPs is high. The high cost and limited budgets hinder the adoption of latest technology to handle wastewater. Encouraging people to use recycled water for daily purposes is another challenge. There is also hesitance on the side of people to use recycled water owing to health concerns.
Whitepaper calls for formulation of coordinating agency at different levels
The ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’  whitepaper suggests utilization of decentralized wastewater treatment systems to make wastewater recycling more accessible. The paper also advocates for treating the wastewater near the site reducing the risks associated transportation. Some other innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions suggested in the white paper include nature-based solutions such as floating treatment wetlands, green roofs and living walls, waste stabilization ponds, vermifiltration, etc. It also calls for public-private partnerships, community participation & performance evaluation of treatment plants, public awareness, trainings, and knowledge transfers, improved institutional and international collaboration, and collaboration with NGOs. The paper also suggests the formation of a coordinating agency for managing the efforts at the municipal/state/national level.
Featured Image: Urban Wastewater in India

created: October 27, 2022


text:
Review: Odisha HC Rules That Hair Comparison Alone Cannot be Used for Murder Conviction
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 14, 2024
In this edition of the Court judgements review, we look at SC’s order that merely being late in following a court order doesn’t qualify as contempt unless the delay is intentional and deliberate, SC’s order that Section 391 CrPC or authority to take additional evidence should be invoked only if the party was unable to present evidence during the trial, Odisha HC’s ruling that hair comparison alone cannot be used for murder conviction, among others.
SC: Merely being late in following a court order doesn’t qualify as contempt unless the delay is intentional and deliberate
The Supreme Court was addressing the case of an IAS officer who was found guilty by the Hyderabad High Court for intentionally disobeying the court’s order. The High Court had ruled that without a good reason for the delay, it seemed like the person deliberately disobeyed the court’s order. As a penalty, the court imposed a fine of Rs. 500 in L V Subrahmanyam, IAS, Principal Secretary, Medical and Health Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh vs. The Registrar General, High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad.
The bench comprising of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, and Justice Sandeep Mehta referred to the Contempt of Courts Act proceedings as quasi-judicial (like legal actions) and stated that the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act would only apply if the individuals deliberately or wilfully disobey the court order, not just because they were late in complying with it. The High Court’s decision was quashed by the Supreme Court and the appeal was allowed.
SC: Section 391 CrPC or authority to take additional evidence should be invoked only if the party was unable to present evidence during the trial
The case, Ajitsingh Chehuji Rathod vs. State of Gujarat, involves an appeal related to a criminal case, specifically a cheque dishonour or cheque bounce case. The appellant wrote a check for Rs. 10 lakhs, but it bounced, leading to legal action. He tried to bring in a handwriting expert to support their case, but the request was denied by the court. Subsequently, they were found guilty, and even in their appeal to a higher court, the evidence from the handwriting expert was not allowed. The case was then taken to the Supreme Court, contesting the decisions made by the lower courts.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta rejected the request under Section 391 CrPC, stating that the accused had the opportunity to question a bank official during the trial but did not do so to establish a signature mismatch. It stressed that Section 391 CrPC should be invoked only if the party was unable to present evidence during the trial despite diligence or if new facts emerged later in the appeal, highlighting the risk of justice failure if such evidence is not recorded.
Further, the court emphasized that Section 118(e) of the Negotiable Instruments Act presumes the authenticity of endorsements, placing the burden on the accused to present evidence to challenge this presumption.
The court upheld the Gujarat High Court’s decision, highlighting that the accused should have taken steps like obtaining certified copies of their specimen signatures and presenting appropriate defence evidence, and the court is not obligated to assist in collecting evidence on behalf of the accused.
Delhi HC: An individual’s fundamental right to travel cannot be restricted solely based on the non-repayment of a bank loan.
In Shalini Khanna vs. Union of India, the petitioner and her husband signed a Deed of Guarantee to repay a loan provided by the bank for cash credit facilities used by the directors of a company. The directors withdrew Rs 5.95 crores out of the released Rs. 7 crores in cash credit facilities, according to the petitioner. Subsequently, the bank accused them of misappropriating funds, leading to the initiation of legal proceedings. A lookout circular was issued against her by the Bureau of Immigration. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a complaint against Khanna and the Directors of the company under Section 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 13 (1)(d) and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Justice Subramonium Prasad of Delhi High Court noted that while the Union Government allows banks to request the issuance of a Lookout Circular, such a circular should only be issued if the person’s departure poses a threat to the country’s sovereignty, security, bilateral relations, or strategic and economic interests. The term ‘detrimental to the economic interests’ should be of significant magnitude to significantly impact the economy, and Rs. 7 crores is not that large an amount, he said.
The Delhi High Court also emphasized that the issuance of a lookout circular should not be a routine measure for every case of bank loan defaults or credit facilities used for business purposes. The court stated that a citizen’s fundamental right to travel abroad should not be restricted solely due to the failure to repay a bank loan, especially when the person is not accused of any offense related to the misappropriation or misuse of loan amounts. The court quashed the lookout circular against the petitioner and mentioned that if she is later accused during criminal proceedings, the bank can request a new Lookout circular against her from the Bureau of Immigration.
Kerala HC: Parents are legal heirs and so the mortal remains of the deceased would remain with them and not live-in partner
The Kerala High Court bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran gave an oral verdict in the case, Jebin Joseph vs. State of Kerala (Case Number: WP (C) No. 4636 of 2024). According to Livelaw, the petitioner, a queer individual, had filed a case before the High Court of Kerala claiming that his live-in partner had died on 3 February 2024 by falling from his flat. The hospital was reportedly holding the mortal remains due to unpaid medical bills. Additionally, the petitioner was informed that he lacks recognition of any rights concerning the deceased under legislative or customary laws.
According to the bench, decisions about the mortal remains of the deceased would remain with the parents as they are the legal heirs. It did not allow the release of the deceased person’s body to the claimed partner as there wasn’t any proof provided to show that they were in a relationship. The court allowed the petitioner to be present at the final ceremonies of his late live-in partner if the bereaved family did not raise any objections. The court also acknowledged the social stigma faced by LGBTQIA+ couples and instructed that necessary support be extended to the petitioner to participate in the last rites of their deceased partner.
Odisha HC: Hair comparison alone cannot be used for murder conviction
In Pratap vs. State of Odisha, the deceased was found dead with injuries, and the wife accused the appellant of murder, citing threats over a motor pump theft. Another villager was also suspected due to a family dispute. The trial court found the appellant guilty, leading to an appeal before the Odisha High Court.
After reviewing the evidence and arguments, the court highlighted three points against the appellant: a prior enmity, blood stains on a sword, and matching hairs on the deceased’s palm. However, it dismissed the motive claim, found the blood stains inconclusive due to lack of origin determination and blood grouping, and hesitated to rely on the hair evidence due to the absence of proof regarding its handling after recovery. The Bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra held the view that while microscopic hair comparison is recognized as a valid and reliable scientific method, it should not be the sole grounds for convicting an accused.
Considering the above decisions and the fact that the recovered hairs were not proven to be stored properly before chemical examination, the bench concluded that the appellant’s role in the crime is uncertain. It would be risky to convict him based solely on this evidence, it said and acquitted him of murder charges.

created: February 14, 2024


text:
Review: Odisha HC Rules That Those Trespassing Railway Tracks Are Accountable for Their Own Safety and Not Eligible for Compensation
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 8, 2024
In this edition of Court Judgements, we look at the apex court’s judgement that Stridhan is wife’s property and that husband has no control over it, that mere registration of a Hindu Marriage does not confer legitimacy to the marriage, rituals should be performed as per Hindu Marriage Act, Madhya Pradesh HC’s judgment that educational institutions are not governed under Industrial Disputes Act, and Odisha HC’s ruling that those trespassing railway tracks are accountable for their own safety and not eligible for compensation.
Supreme Court: Stridhan is wife’s property and husband has no control over it
In the case Maya Gopinathan vs. Anoop SB, the appellant and the first respondent married in 2003, both having been previously married. The appellant received 89 sovereigns of gold and Rs. 2 lakhs from her family during the wedding. However, on the wedding night, the first respondent took custody of the appellant’s jewellery, which was later alleged to have been misappropriated to settle his financial liabilities. The Family Court in 2011 ruled in favour of the appellant, finding that the respondent misappropriated her gold jewellery. They were ordered to pay Rs. 8.9 lakhs for the jewellery’s value and Rs. 2 Lakhs with 6% interest per annum. The court also granted a divorce. However, when the respondents appealed to the Kerala High Court, it partly overturned the Family Court’s decision. While it upheld the repayment of Rs 2 lakhs, it found insufficient evidence for the jewellery misappropriation claim, citing inconsistencies in the appellant’s testimony.
The woman then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta held that ‘stridhan’ property, including gifts to a woman before, during, or after marriage, remains her absolute property, not shared with her husband. The husband has no authority over this property and must return it or its value in times of need. The court emphasized trust in marriage, criticizing the assumption of distrust from the start. It found the High Court’s judgment lacking, stating that the wife doesn’t need to prove how she acquired her stridhan, unlike in criminal trials, and highlighted evidence of jewellery brought to the matrimonial home as sufficient proof.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and noted that despite some weaknesses in the evidence, the Bench found the appellant’s case stronger and more credible. They noted that the respondents didn’t dispute the nature, quality, or value of the gold jewellery the appellant wore at her wedding, possibly amounting to 89 sovereigns. While the value of 89 sovereigns in 2009 was Rs. 8.9 Lakhs, the Court, acknowledging rising living costs, granted the appellant relief of Rs. 25 Lakhs directing the husband to pay this amount within six months.
Supreme Court: Registration does not confer legitimacy to the marriage, rituals should be performed as per Hindu Marriage Act
The case, Dolly Rani vs. Manish Kumar Chanchal dealt with the sanctity of Hindu marriages. The parties of the case sought a divorce decree. Their marriage was registered but without performing a Hindu marriage ceremony.
The Supreme Court Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih held that the marriage was not valid since there was no ceremony performed. The Court clarified that while registering a Hindu marriage under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act helps in proving the marriage, it doesn’t confer legitimacy if the marriage wasn’t solemnized according to Section 7 of the Act.  Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act describes the ceremonies needed for a valid Hindu marriage. It highlights that the marriage must be solemnized with proper rituals, including the saptapadi (seven steps by the couple), for it to be legally recognized. Without these ceremonies, especially saptapadi if used, the marriage won’t be considered valid under the law. Without a marriage ceremony as per Section 7, even if the conditions for a valid Hindu marriage as per the law are met, the registration alone doesn’t establish a legal Hindu marriage.
The Court emphasized the sacred nature of Hindu marriage, considering it a sacrament and the foundation of a new family based on mutual respect and partnership. It criticized the trend of young couples attempting to claim the status of husband and wife without a valid marriage ceremony under the Hindu Marriage Act, noting that such practices undermine the sanctity of marriage. The Court urged couples to understand the significance of marriage as a solemn event and not treat it as a commercial transaction. It also highlighted the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, of 1954, which allow any couple, regardless of race, caste, or creed, to legally marry without the same stringent requirements as the Hindu Marriage Act.
The Court declared the estranged couple’s marriage certificate null and void and dismissed their divorce proceedings.
Madhya Pradesh HC: Educational institutions are not governed under Industrial Disputes Act
An industrial dispute was raised by a woman under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, seeking reinstatement to her previous post and salary payment from her removal date due to alleged unlawful termination by Maharishi Panini Sanskrit Evam Vedic University’s Management. The Management argued that the termination was due to the woman’s gross misconduct of sharing unauthorized information. Despite this, the Labour Court awarded reinstatement with 50% back-wages. The labour court’s decision was challenged in the case, Maharishi Panini Sanskrit Evam Vedic University vs. Kumari Rajani Verma before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The High Court’s single bench of Justice Anil Verma observed that the woman had worked as a daily wager from 2013 to 2016 and had worked for more than 240 days in a year. However, this did not mean that their employment would be regularized, the court held, referring to a Supreme Court judgement. Further, it noted that the Management terminated her services citing unsatisfactory work and loss of confidence, following due notice. As she was not a permanent employee, formal disciplinary proceedings were not required. Additionally, the petitioner, being an educational institution, is governed by statutes like the MP University Act, Rules, and relevant circulars regarding employee service conditions, rather than industrial regulations, it held.
The bench observed that the Labour Court did not consider all relevant aspects, so its decision was legally flawed. The High Court nullified the Labour Court’s decision and held that the termination of the woman’s services was justified due to unsatisfactory performance and loss of confidence in the Management.
Odisha HC: Those trespassing railway tracks are accountable for their own safety and not eligible for compensation
In Hema Pradhan & another vs. Union of India & Others, the Odisha High Court dealt with two separate incidents resulting in fatalities at railway stations. In the first incident, a mentally challenged individual was fatally struck by a train near Andhari village, reported by the Station Master at Jujumura Railway Station. In the second incident, the petitioner’s son was also struck by a train at Soro railway station, resulting in his death. The petitioners approached the High Court seeking compensation from the Railway Authorities for the unnatural death of their kin under Section 124-A of the Railways Act.
The single bench of Dr Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi observed that the deceased individuals were not passengers but trespassers who were struck by a train while on the tracks. According to Section 124 A of the Act, compensation is mandatory only for passengers in the event of an untoward incident on a railway, regardless of whether there was any wrongful act or negligence on the part of the railway administration. Those trespassing the tracks were not eligible for the same.
He added that while railways enforce safety measures, individuals trespassing on tracks are accountable for their safety. Tracks are for trains, not pedestrians, and trespassing poses grave risks like train collisions. Those trespassing knowingly assume these risks and cannot hold railways responsible for resulting accidents, he noted. The High Court also dismissed along with the case, similar eighteen petitions.
Telangana HC: Having disabled children is not a reason to stay in premises after the expiry of contract
The case M Rama Murthy & others vs. The Assistant Commissioner of Endowments, Hyderabad & others involve a dispute concerning property belonging to a temple in Secunderabad under the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987. The Assistant Commissioner of Endowments forwarded proposals submitted by the Executive Officer of the temple against the respondent, who allegedly encroached upon a house after the expiry of a lease period without renewal. The appellant is accused of converting the residential building into commercial shops, subleasing it, and not paying rent to the temple despite demands to vacate.
The appellant challenged the Endowments Tribunal’s order to vacate the premises. He argued that he received an eviction notice in 2006, which he responded to, and had been regularly paying rent to the Temple authorities. He also mentioned having two disabled children and expressed concern that eviction would cause irreparable harm to his family.
The Telangana High Court observed that the applicants tried to deliver notices to the respondents but had to affix them on the door as the respondents were unavailable. Despite receiving termination notices, the respondents didn’t vacate the premises and instead sought renewal due to their disabled children. However, having disabled children doesn’t allow them to stay after termination, noted the High Court Bench of Justice Mathuri Girija Priyadarsini. The Bench also pointed out that under Section 83 of the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institution and Endowments Act, 1987, anyone staying in the premises after the lease expires would be considered an encroacher. Further, the Bench also observed that apart from legal reasons, the appellant couldn’t stay on the premises due to a notice from GHMC declaring the house unfit for habitation. The appeal was dismissed, and the Tribunal’s decision was upheld.


text:
The Move to Review Performance of Government employees at the age of 50 is not new - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 19, 2015
Compulsory retirement of government officials is in the news again after NDA government’s recent Order about the review of employees’ performance. But available information suggests that this is not a new step. The UPA government had issued a similar order in March 2014.
The news that the NDA government has decided to review the performance of government employees (central) at the age of 50, leading to compulsory retirement of inefficient officials, created quite a flutter. News articles were written about the uneasy relationship of the higher bureaucracy with the NDA government and this order by the government was also seen in that context. But, available information suggests, that the office memorandum (OM) by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), dated 11 September, 2015 is nothing new. A similar OM was issued by DoPT in March 2014 during the UPA government.
Compulsory Retirement
All central government employees are governed by the Fundamental Rules (FR) and also the Central Civil Services (CCS) rules. Compulsory retirement as a provision is contained in both FR & CCS pension rules.
Rule 56(j) of Fundamental Rules (FR)
The fundamental rules governing all central government employees contain provisions for the compulsory retirement of any official. Rule 56(J) of the FR says that “The appropriate authority has the absolute right to retire, if it is necessary to do so in public interest, any Government employee as per provisions of Rules”
For Group A & Group B officers, the following criteria must be met for this provision to be applicable,
The other category of employees must have attained an age of 55 as per rule 56(j).
Rule 48 of CCS Pension Rules
The provision of compulsory retirement is also contained in Rule 48 of the CCS Pension rules. Rule 48 says that All Government servants covered by CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 who have completed 30 years of qualifying service can be asked to compulsorily retire by the appropriate authority in public interest.
In both the above cases, the notice period to be served is three months.
The Process
The cases of Government servants covered by the above provisions should be reviewed six months before he attains the age of 50/55 years or completes 30 years service. The below time schedule is to be followed for the sake of this review.
A register of employees who are due to attain the age of 50/55 years or complete 30 years of service is to be maintained. The register should be scrutinized at the beginning of every quarter by a senior officer in the Ministry / Department and the review is to be undertaken according to the above schedule.
What does the present OM say?
The DoPT’s OM dated 11 September, 2015 lists some important Supreme Court judgments on the above provisions apart from reiterating the entire process. The OM cites the observations of the Supreme Court in State of Gujarat Vs Umedbhai M Patel, that compulsory retirement need not be treated as punishment and that dead wood needs to be chopped off for better administration.
The OM also talks about integrity & the conduct of the official and cites relevant Supreme Court observations on the issue. On the issue of integrity, the OM cites an observation that any officer would live by the reputation built around him and, that if his conduct & continuance in service would be injurious to public interest, then compulsory retirement as an option has to be utilized.
What about the All India Service Officers (AIS)?
For AIS officers, the provision of compulsory retirement is contained in Rule 16(3) of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.
Will it work?
While the data on the number of central government employees asked to compulsorily retire under the above provisions is not readily available, it appears that this provision is not used often. The OM from the NDA government should also be seen in that context. Unless the review process is taken seriously and this provision is used against erring officials, things are not going to change. Let’s hope that the government does it seriously this time around.

created: September 19, 2015


text:
Review of PMFBY: More Farmers insured; lesser area covered. Standing Committee makes important recommendations
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 27, 2021
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture recently reviewed the four years of implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Over the last four years, while more farmers are insured than before, the area covered has reduced. Multiple states have also dropped out of the scheme.
The agriculture & allied sector accounts for nearly 55% of the total workforce in the country as per the 2011 Census, and is a key contributor to the economy. In India, agriculture is riddled with various uncertainties and risks. Amid such risks, crop insurance helps in providing relief to the farmers and mitigating their losses to an extent. Accordingly, the Central government and respective state governments have devised & implemented various insurance schemes for agriculture over the years.
In 1985, an insurance scheme was introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, which was followed by the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in 1999-2000. In 2013-14, National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) was launched with three component schemes. Based on the earlier experiences, and with an idea to include additional risk factors under Crop insurance cover, the Government of India announced introduced its flagship scheme – Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in April 2016.  A detailed explainer about the PMFBY can be read here.
Since it has been four years in the implementation of the Scheme, the Standing Committee on agriculture selected PMFBY for its examination and review. Accordingly, the committee recently submitted its 29 report on the subject “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana – An Evaluation’. The report was presented in both the Houses of Parliament on 10 August 2021.
In this story, we look at a few of the highlights & key observations from this report.
Fall in the Area insured and withdrawal of Multiple states from the Scheme
As per the information submitted by the Department of Agriculture, a total of 494.8 Lakh Hectares (L ha) of the area was covered under PMFBY during 2019-20. This is less than the total area covered under the scheme in the earlier years. In 2018-19, it was 523 L ha. The coverage in the launch year i.e., 2016-17 was 567.3 L ha, which reduced to only 508.3 L ha in 2017-18.
There is also a fall in the share of Gross Cropped Area (GCA) that is covered under the scheme.
In 2019-20, the GCA was 25%, down from 27% in 2018-19.  During the first year of PMFBY i.e., in 2016-17, the GCA covered under the scheme was 30%.
The standing committee has taken cognizance of the fall in coverage under PMFBY and has asked the government for the reasons for the same. The government has specified two major reasons for the fall in the coverage:
While Punjab never joined the scheme, Bihar & West Bengal withdrew from the scheme in 2018 & 2019. Meanwhile, the states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana & Jharkhand did not implement the scheme last year.
The Committee also asked the government the reasons for the states not opting for PMFBY. The government stated the following reasons in response.
These reasons were specifically cited for the two states that dropped out – Bihar & West Bengal. The government stated financial constraints to be one of the reasons for other states not implementing the scheme in 2019-20.
Increase in the Farmer Applications despite the withdrawal of few states
With the withdrawal of some of the States and few others not opting for PMFBY in 2019-20, the Standing Committee raised apprehensions on the popularity of the scheme and the possibility of the existence of some major flaws in the scheme.
As a response, the government reiterated that financial constraints are the major reason for states not continuing with the scheme. The government further stated that despite the withdrawal of some states, the scheme has become increasingly popular with the farmers. The increase in the number of applications from the farmers is cited as the reason for this claim.
During 2019-20, 6.08 crore farmer applications were insured which is higher than the earlier year, i.e., 2018-19, where-in it was 5.76 crores. During the first year of implementation, the applications were 5.83 crores. In its response, the government stated that the number could be much higher, if not for the withdrawal of some states.
In the most recent Kharif-2020, there were a total of 3.98 crores applications as against 4.20 crores in Kharif – 2019, despite PMFBY being implemented in fewer states. However, despite the increase or the same level of applications, the area insured has reduced substantially.
Delay in Settlement of Claims one of the main impediments to the scheme
As part of its key observations about PMFBY, the Standing Committee stated that delay in settlement of the claims is one of the major impediments in the successful implementation of the scheme.  As a response to this aspect highlighted by the committee, the government responded with the following reasons for the delay in settlement of claims:
However, the committee expressed that it is not convinced with the reasons presented by the government regarding the delays, highlighting the fact that it is the farmer who is being impacted due to the delay in settlement of the claims and it defeats the purpose of PMFBY – providing relief and mitigation of the loss to farmers in times of distress.
It has therefore recommended that the scheme be made more technology-reliant to bring in synergy among the various departments and institutions involved in the implementation of the scheme. The committee has also recommended that the union government come up with stricter timelines and penalties to the insurance companies in case of delays in the settlement of the claims.
Committee raises concerns about non-availability of details regarding resolved Complaints
Grievance Redressal Committees (GRCs) were set up at different levels – State, District, Taluka, etc. to address the various grievances related to PMFBY.  However, there is no uniformity in the establishment of these GRCs across the states. For example, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Rajasthan have redressal committees at the Taluka level.
Hence, the Standing committee recommended that the best practices followed in a few of the states, be implemented across all the states.  However, the major concern highlighted by the committee was on the non-availability of data relating to the complaints resolved by these GRCs. The Standing Committee expressed its displeasure on the lack of the data and has strongly recommended that the government maintain a record on the types of grievances and the resolutions by GRCs.
The committee is of the opinion that such information is important to understand the shortcomings of the scheme which has resulted in the grievances and help to work on improvements in PMFBY.
Need for understanding the reasons for states opting out and to create awareness about PMFBY
PMFBY was implemented with the intention to provide increased coverage of risks faced by the farmers. This was based on the experience of implementing various other insurance schemes over the years. Hence, the idea is that PMFBY would be more beneficial to the farmers than the earlier schemes. However, the withdrawal of some states from the schemes raises questions on the efficacy of PMFBY.
While the central government stated that the financial constraints are the main reason for the withdrawal of some states, the withdrawal would be a hindrance to the farmers in those states. The committee has hence asked the Centre to explore more into the reasons behind the withdrawal of the states and make modifications to the scheme so that the farmers do not miss out on the benefits. While many of the states withdrawing from PMFBY are implementing their own schemes, the committee has opined that it would defeat the main purpose of the PMFBY.
The Standing committee has also taken cognizance of the various efforts put in by the government to create awareness about the scheme. However, it has advised the government to focus on platforms and media that are more approachable to the farmers in creating awareness so that more farmers subscribe to PMFBY.
Featured Image: Review of PMFBY