By
Surjit Singh
Sponsored by NID and Ministry of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi

The project evaluated the 12th plan programmes of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad. NID has enough capabilities to compete internationally and attract foreign direct investment in education. However, the government needs to invest in modern equipment and infrastructure. The suggestions made in National Design Policy- 2007 should be supported and NID’s nodal role ensured. It is a matter of concern that there is little enthusiasm at the State Governments level to set up Institutes of Design. The clamour is for Institutes of Technologies and Engineering colleges. Institute of Design has a direct relevance to grassroots level activities viz., artisans, making local industries more competitive through design up-gradation. Design learning has to be mainstreamed. NID has the capabilities and strength to create world-class designers. Therefore, financial support has to be enhanced if India has to have any major impact on its GDP through design. Foreign direct investment can add to this resource.NID was able to achieve the 11th plan targets it had set for itself through contribution of the government and own contribution-both financial and intellectual. This speaks volume about the strengthen of the NID faculty and contribution to design movement of the country. NID has been amongst the first Central Government supported to achieve OBC reservation of 27 percent in admissions. This has put greater stress on its resources be it financial or physical. Gandhinagar and Bangalore campuses require additional infrastructure to accommodate enhanced intake of students. They require hostels and classrooms and studios. Government has to facilitate more land for NID. Students need recreation facilities and this too requires additional space. If NID has to extend its outreach to unreached sections in rural and urban India, NID has to be supported. The study revealed that the NID was not only able to reach its targets set in the Eleventh Five Year Plan but went further to increase the fees at almost 100% to decrease the dependency on government grants, especially the recurring grants. Thus, NID has the capacity and capability to achieve the Twelfth plan targets. Financial and other institutional and Government support has be forthcoming to complement the resources of the NID and meeting the growth and expansion needs of this internationally reputed Institution.

By
Mohanakumar S and Surjit Singh
Sponsored by NABARD, Mumbai

The present study made an attempt to analyse the mode of governance and its cascading impact on the future of MFIs in India. The objectives were: to review the concept of governance in organizations involved in providing/ facilitating financial services to the poor and; to review the experience and learning of enhancing/ facilitating governance structures and systems with specific tools. The study is based on primary as well as secondary data elicited and culled out from MFIs and their clienteles spread over seven states, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil nadu. For the study, 34 MFIs were contacted. Important questions on mode of governance, vision, mission, goal, and core values of MFIs, mode of review, composition of Board, active borrowers of MFIs and mode of loan disbursement, entrepreneurial activities promoted, collection strategies, were elicited from MFIs and SHGs. The study highlights that: there seem to be a set pattern for established MFIs to state their vision, mission, goal and core values. It could be observed that vision–mission statements are made available for public consumption as part of fulfilling the statutory norms under the Act of registration. Seldom the statements are honoured and measures taken to pursue it in practice. Based on the purpose and functions of MFIs, broadly they can be classed under three major categories viz., erstwhile NGOs which were concentrated mostly on community services have either transformed into MFIs or set up affiliated branches for MFI operations; erstwhile village money lenders extended and expanded their activities into MFI; large corporations or their subsidiaries; schedule led commercial banks like Dhanalekshmi Bank in Kerala joint with caste, religious and political parties to form SHGs and lend money to its members. With respect to governance, most of such organisations lack corporate culture or tradition and therefore get reduced to an individual business concern. Moreover, such organisations lack transparency in their business. The study underlines imperativeness of a rigid and well thought out statutory mechanism in place to regulate MFIs in India, which should govern them.

By
Kanchan Mathur and RS Sharma
Sponsored by IGPRS, Jaipur

This study was sponsored under the MoRD‐UNDP/CDLG project of Indira Gandhi Panchayati Raj and Grameen Vikas Sansthan, SIRD, Rajasthan. It explored the situation of EWRs by appraising their functional effectiveness, assess their needs for capacity development, and analyze their concerns and challenges in grappling with their responsibilities in a patriarchal socio‐cultural set up. It analysed women’s experience in their new political role, the processes of change, problems of participation, inherent potential, support of families, communities and other social collectives. More importantly, it attempted to understand whether this new presence and experience has had a positive impact and empowering effect on the lives of elected women representatives. Some of the key findings of the study point that the profile of respondents is changing with middle and younger age group entering rural governance. The presence of younger women has had an encouraging influence on the performance of institutions of local self governance. They are energetic and have higher educational levels and have begun influencing the decisions/agenda of meetings. However, belonging to a younger age group involves a continuous struggle between their roles in the domestic/private and public domains. The study revealed a large majority of EWRs are non‐literates or have attained only functional literacy. Caste is one of the main factor impacting differences in access, participation and influence of women in local politics in the state. Thus, in Rajasthan caste evolves into an exclusive system of control to consolidate and perpetuate exclusion. Caste works not just in conjunction with patriarchy but often becomes patriarchal itself.

The study underscores that representation of BPL category in local governance institutions continues to be marginal. There were several reasons behind EWRs motivation to join politics: caste and voters support, prior political experience of marital family and support and encouragement provided by the marital/natal family. However, reservation of seats for women emerged as the main reason motivating women to join politics.

By
Surjit Singh and JS Rathore
Sponsored by NABARD, Mumbai

The study aimed to examine the objectives, procedures and practices of the formation of famer clubs in different locations, external assistance needed and received towards the fulfillment of such objectives and indicate the scope for reformulating/redesigning the farmer clubs. The study evaluated the effectiveness of farmer clubs in six states viz. Rajasthan, Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It covered 880 farmer clubs. The results show that most farmer clubs across districts do not have laid down objectives, but in many places at the time of the formation of the club, the promoter did try to explain what the objectives were. For instance, the farmers were informed that the club would receive benefits from schemes of NABARD, knowledge about agriculture practices, facilitation of loans and promotion of savings, would receive subsidies on government schemes/programmes. Bankers had provided information on farmer clubs to farmers who were already their clients in the bank itself and then held meetings in the villages and formed the clubs. In many other places, primarily large farmers had been included. Thus, it appears that largely targets had been met and not much attention had been paid to procedures of group formation. The study recommends ways to reformulate and redesign farmer clubs. For instance, targeting has to be done away with; the existing structure is satisfactory. However, the need is to spend greater time in formation of clubs. It should involve farmers who are outside the net of credit system; as technology transfer and raising agriculture productivity is aimed at, greater involvement of Krishi Vikas Kendras (KVKs) is required.

By
Mohanakumar S
Sponsored by V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida

The study was undertaken in the light of the observation that Natural Rubber (NR) has been growing fast in Tripura, second largest NR growing state in India after Kerala. The study analysed the employment and income effect of the crop shift and also highlighted that there have been significant fall in employment for wage labour and the loss in employment days was mostly for workers in tribal and dalit communities. Hence, the immediate consequence of the shift in cropping pattern from food crops to NR was loss of employment and non-availability to food to vulnerable section in the society.

It has been estimated that 25 percent of the gross cropped area in the state of Tripura is earmarked for NR cultivation by the Rubber Board and the state government. Out of the total population, 31 percent are tribals and their main stay of livelihood continues to be traditional agriculture including bamboo flower, rice, fishery, vegetables and fruits. The study found that the promotion of commercial non-food crops (NR) in Tripura was a state-sponsored agenda introduced as a rehabilitation project for tribal who had been practicing shifting cultivation. For the last one decade, the NR price has been ruling high over the price of other major crops grown in the state and therefore farmers have shifted to NR. The current scenario is such that the spread of area under NR cultivation is beyond the regulatory power of the state government.