Standard and poor? SCs, STs in Kerala, Tamil Nadu better off than others

May 6, 2012
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New Delhi, May 6: New census data on asset ownership among different social groups has shown that a far higher proportion of scheduled castes and higher still of scheduled tribes do not own basic consumer durables like a phone or bicycle as compared to "others".

Three states however buck this trend; across caste groupings in Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the rate of ownership of basic consumer durables is high. In fact, the asset ownership rate for scheduled castes in these three states is better than that of OBCs and upper castes in all other states.

Newly released census 2011 data shows that while 17.8% of households across India do not own a phone, computer, TV, radio, bicycle or any vehicle, this proportion is 22.6% for scheduled castes, 37.3% for scheduled tribes and 14% for "others".

While more than half of "others" own a television, less than a quarter of scheduled tribes own a TV. Less than 2% of SC families own a TV, phone, computer and some mode of transportation, the usual signifiers of a "middle class" Indian family.

This new data fits in with the argument that economist and Indian Council of Social Science Research chairman Sukhadeo Thorat has been making. Thorat is critical of the view that economic liberalization has narrowed the gap between scheduled castes and others.

Yes, poverty is declining, but the rate of decline of poverty is much lower for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes than for upper castes. There has undoubtedly been growth, but SCs and STs are not getting to participate equally in it," Thorat says.

There is considerable regional variation in the new census data.

Scheduled tribes are worst off in Madhya Pradesh, followed by in Rajasthan, Tripura and Maharashtra, where over 40% of STs do not own any basic consumer durable. Dalits are worst off in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa, where a third do not own any such asset. Unlike with the SCs, asset ownership for STs is worse than other social groups in all states.

While poverty among STs is fairly widespread across all states with a significant ST population, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are the only states where the proportion of SCs who do not own basic assets is around 10% or lower, lowest of all in Tamil Nadu. Asset ownership among SCs in these three states is higher than that among "others" in all other states.

While part of the explanation for Tamil Nadu's status as the best state for dalit asset ownership might be that the previous state government ran a scheme giving free television sets to poor households, this is not the only explanation, as ownership of other consumer durables like phones and computers is also among the highest in TN. In comparison, in Bihar, where the state government ran a scheme to give all school-going girls a free cycle, less than half of all households own a bicycle.

Research by Institute of Applied Manpower Research director-general Santosh Mehrotra has shown that the human development indicators of SCs and OBCs in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are better than those of upper castes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Moreover, all four states have a similar proportion of 'backward castes' in their population: so the key determinant of each of these states' human development situation is not its caste composition, but its politics and governance, Mehrotra says.

"A combination of social mobilization and good governance has lifted all boats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu," Mehrotra said. Social mobilization alone is not enough, Mehrotra adds, or the last twenty years in Uttar Pradesh would have led to tangible outcomes like improvement in health and nutrition, and not just intangibles like dignity and a sense of empowerment, as important as they are.

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Union minister Amit Shah on Friday, November 15, said PM Narendra Modi will amend the Waqf Act despite opposition from leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

"Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it," Shah said, addressing a rally at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.

"Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act," he said. Shah said there are two camps in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, one of 'Pandavas' represented by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the other of 'Kauravas' represented by Maha Vikas Aghadi.

"Uddhav Thackeray claims that his Shiv Sena is the real one. Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar? Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar? The real Shiv Sena stands with the BJP," Shah said.

"Rahul Baba used to say that his government would credit money in the accounts of the people instantly. You were unable to fulfil your promises in Himachal, Karnataka, and Telangana," he said.

Shah said the Mahayuti alliance has promised that women will get Rs 2,100 per month under the Ladki Bahin Yojana. "Kashmir is an integral part of India and no power in the world can snatch it away from us," Shah said.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday after US prosecutors charged the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme.

Gautam Adani's flagship company Adani Enterprises tumbled 23 per cent, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC , Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 20 per cent and 90 per cent.

Adani group's 10 listed stocks had a total market capitalisation of about $141 billion at 0534 GMT, compared to $169.08 billion on Tuesday.

US authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

Adani Green in a statement on Thursday said the US Justice Department had issued a criminal indictment against board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and the Securities and Exchange Commission had issued a civil complaint against them.

The US Justice Department also included Adani Green board member Vneet Jaain in the criminal indictment, it said.

Adani Green's units had decided not to proceed with the proposed US dollar denominated bond offerings due to developments, it added.

"Investors will shy away from Adani Group stocks ... and that's what this sharp selling is signifying," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities research at SMC Global Securities.

"This could hurt the credibility of the group and maybe borrowing costs will rise," he said.

The indictment comes nearly two years after US shortseller Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani had improperly used tax havens and was involved in stock manipulation, allegations the conglomerate denied.

Also in early Asian trading on Thursday, Adani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down 3c-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. The falls were the largest since the Adani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.

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November 12,2024

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The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported.

It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India.

There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said.

The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said

Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said.

He is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, the report added.

Kamil's appointment comes days after the external affairs ministry's point-person for Afghanistan held talks with the Taliban's acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, also posted on X about Kamil's appointment.

The appointment of Kamil is seen as part of efforts to facilitate consular services to the Afghan population in Mumbai.

There has been almost negligible presence of diplomatic staff at the Afghan missions in India.

Most of the diplomats appointed by the Ashraf Ghani government have already left India.

In May, Zakia Wardak, the seniormost Afghan diplomat in India, resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.

Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi late last year, after working as the Afghan consul general in Mumbai for more than two years.

She took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November, after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.

Mamundzay, who was an appointee of the Ghani government, had moved to the United Kingdom.

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