Aparupa Poddar speaks on The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Sir, for allowing me to speak on The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

This Bill aims to ensure the safety measures and promote the health of the workers employed in the factory. I strongly oppose the Bill on the behalf of my party All India Trinamool Congress because we have seen many contractual and casual workers do not have medical check up, no medical compensation. In many plants when workers die, their bodies disappear and as they are contractual workers no records are there; no compensation is paid. It is elementary to democracy that when a worker is working in a factory he or she must work in a secure environment; this is not implemented.

The amendment should cover the loopholes of the law and make them fool-proof. Under this Act the inspectors come to the factory for inspection, they have a healthy relation with the factory owner but please bother to see the environment of the factory.

Does the Factory Act remain unimplemented for decades? Therefore the system of good inspectors has failed and we need to replace it in wider civil concept. In section 56 it is suggested to extend work hours to 12 hours which is totally inhuman and will impact the health condition of the workers. Section 64 and 65 of the Act suggest increasing the overtime hours from existing hours to quarter 100 hours. It is an anti-labour Bill and it is industry-friendly Bill. The provision of safety for women workers who work in the night shift should be looked after; it is the basic need of worker.

The government needs to enlarge the concept of monitoring system, inspection of the system where government official make huge irregularities in carrying out so-called routine inspection in the factory. I recommend this Bill be sent to the Standing Committee.

I would ask only one question to the Hon’ble Minister through you, Sir. Every civilian is allowed to go to the court but when the worker has to go to the court they have to seek permission from the government through Labour Commission which is a very lengthy process. Is the Government thinking anything on it?

It is high time that this government, which is speaking of Digital India, must ensure  that workers’ rights should not be infringed upon. For the last two years the government claims to be working for improving India, but transforming India into a developed nation is not even on the horizon yet.

Thank you, Sir.

 

Mumtaz Sanghamita speaks on the Employee’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Hon. Deputy-Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity to participate in the discussion on this amendment Bill. Sir, I rise to speak on the Employee’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to amend a few clauses of the parent Act which was the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923, the first ever social security legislation of India.

I am really happy about the fact this Bill seeks to provide certain benefits to the people working as labours and the oppressed and the deprived class of the society. The Government of West Bengal headed by Ms. Mamata Banerjee is the Government of the people and for the people belonging to the lower strata of society. I stand on behalf of them.

The irony is, as has been mentioned by some of my other colleagues also, that the Labour Commissions were set up in 1974 and also in 1989, and made several recommendations, but not a single recommendation was given effect to. Here is a legislation which seeks to include some of the recommendations of the Labour Commission. But the amendment that has been brought about is a simple one. This amendment, of course, is in favour of the labourers. The first amendment seeks to enhance the penalty amount for various violations from the existing amount of Rs 5000 to Rs 50000 which can be extended up to Rs 1,00,000. This is provided for in Section 17(a) of the Act.

But it is said in section 16 that the employer should inform while employing the employee that there is a compensation to be paid if there is an injury or in case of a death next to the kin. This amendment says that it should be in writing or in the digital form, but the problem is that most of our labour class cannot read. So, there should be some witness, while he is verbally narrating it, that he has understood it. It should be there in the amendment also.

Secondly, it is said only about information but there are other statutory notes like depending upon the degree of injury, compensation should be paid. Like in the Factories Act, there should be a provision for safety measures. That is the most important thing. What about imposing a fine if there is no proper safety measure and who is going to look into it? Of course, I know that the Commission has got inspectors who inspect it. Inspection should be ensured and there should be regular reporting about safety in the factory or the working place and that safety is properly maintained there. Otherwise, there should be a regular fine and that fine should be enhanced.

Another amendment is increasing the limit for filing an appeal. Earlier, the provision was that if it was less than Rs300, then they could not file a case. Now, it is increased upto Rs 10,000. My other colleagues have also said that the words, ‘Central Government’ should be omitted so that the Central Government cannot direct them later on. About Section 30A where it is said about payment, I completely agree with it as it is impairing the Commissioner.

My various colleagues have said that the cases relating to compensation are going on for years and years. This issue should be addressed and there should be an amendment in the law so that the grievances are redressed as soon as possible.

In West Bengal, there is a rule that compensation should be paid within three months. To ensure that touts do not get hold of part of that money, the West Bengal Government, has by a notification from the Directorate of Employees’ Compensation said that if the compensation is more than Rs 20,000, it should be paid directly to the bank account of the person or his kin. With these words, I am supporting the Bill.

Vivek Gupta speaks on The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Deputy Chairman Sir, aap ka bahut bahut dhanyavad ki aaj aap ne mauka diya iss Bill pe bolne ke liye. Sir, main thora sa samay lunga, thora sa indulgence chahunga, ki aaj iss Bill par humlog kyun bol rahe hain. Aisi kya samasya hain jo humlog address karna chah rahe hain?

Sir, 76,300 cases pending pare huye hain May 2016 tak. Karib karib 2 lakh rupiya bank-o ka phansa hua hain court cases mein. Aur bade corporate jo hote hain, jo bade corporate ka naam sunta hoon, unki ek ek case mein lagbhag 500 hearings hoti hain aur uske karan poora process delay hota hain. Issi sab cheez-o ko shayad humlog address karna chah rahe hain is Bill mein, jahan tak mujhe samajh mein aaya hain.

Aur iske elawa shayad, jo hamare Mananiya Vitta Mantri ne kaha tha pichle Session mein, jab Insolvency Act pass hua tha, ki yeh charon Act aayenge – so this is enabling a continuous legislation. Aur ek aur problem bataya gaya tha, jo recovery officer judicial authorities mein kaam karte, unke training kam hain.

Sir, mujhe samajh mein nahin aa raha ki problem yeh thi lekin solution kuch aur dikhaya gaya hain. Main chahunga kabhi Vitta Mantri hum logo ko bhi samjha de apni bhashan mein, jab woh karna chahein.

Mein quote karna chahunga sabse pehle: ‘The DRT will become the country’s first online court.’ Sir, yahaan par gaon mein bijli nahin hain, internet nahin hain, aur humlog online online kar rahe hain. Un logon ke bare mein bhi sochna chahiye jinke paas bijli ya internet nahin hain. Mujhe woh is Bill mein kahin nahin mila. Un logon ke bare mein nahin bhulna chahiye kyunki different karne wala jo hota hai unko hamesha victim kaha jata hain.

DRT mein jo jane wala hain woh garib aadmi hain, kyun ki ek bada bank jab garib aadmi par attack karta hain, usi ke liye mein bolna chah raha hoon. Woh toh bank ke paas online suvidha hain, DRT ke paas online suvidha hain, jo victim jayega unke paas online suvidha hain.

Sir, doosra jo problem hain, banks directly guaranters pe chale jate hain, borrowers ko chor dete hain. Banks ko jo selective powers milta hain, is par socha jana chahiye. Sir, banks ko private businesses ke bare mein bhi khayal rehna chahiye. Jisko cheques milta hain banks se ya kisi sarkari sanstha se, jo cheques bounce hota hain, jo 3 crore cases pending hain usme kitne cheque bouncing cases hain uske bare mein koi nivaran nahin hain. Finance Minister Ji ne kaha tha jab Insolvency Act paas hua tha, ki yeh cheque bouncing aur negotiable instruments ke bare mein bhi amendments layenge ki logon ko rahat mil sake jinke cheque bouncing cases hain, woh bhi nahin.

Sir, yeh samajh mein aaya ki asset reconstruction companies (ARC) ko bahut space diya gaya hain iss Bill mein. Coincidence hain jaise hi FDI unme 100% kiya giya hain, job hi uske maange hain Bill mein kar diya giya hain. ARC zaroori hain, desh mein pragati honi chahiye, hum uske khilaf nahin hain. Magar Sir, hum ek cheez chahte hain.

Hamari sari State Governments mein debt ki itni problem hain, thora unke bare mein bhi sochiye, ki unka karz kaise thik ho sakta hain. Hamare West Bengal Government jo hain, 3 lakh crore ke karz se guzar raha hain. Banks ka halka sa NPA hota hain, unko aap recapitalise kar dete hain, Bill modify karne le aate, thora sa States ke bare mein bhi sochiye. States bhi aap ki hain. Banks toh paisa kamane ke liye hain. States toh development ka kaam kar kar rahin hain. States ka saath aap ka 100% relation hain, banks ke saath phir bhi toh 50% rishtedari hain. Toh States ko jab takleef hota hain, toh States ko kyun nahin dhyan dete hain aap debt ke upar mein? Kyun nahin aap thora sa madat karte hain – kyun nahin unko re-capitalise karte, unko madat karte? Sir, iska jawab mein Vitta Mantri se aap ke madhyam se chahunga. Sir, States ka sara kharcha development mein hoti hain. Banks audyogic growth karte hain, States development aur social growth karti hain, iske bare main sochna chahiye.

Sir, hamare Vitta Mantri Ji ka ek qur quote yahan karna chahunga, jo unhone sadan mein diya tha kuch din pehle: “States have to solve their own problems because of some previous problems they had.” Sur, States cannot solve their own problems. Aap ek taraf baat karoge cooperative federalism, federal structure, constitution ki. Sir, kya humlog yeh man le Jaitley Ji ke bhashan ke baad ki yeh one-way federalism hone wala hain? This is failed federalism. Yeh kaun sa federalism hain? Sir, yeh spirit of federalism mein ek tarah ka bhashan toh nahin hona chahiye ki States apni samasyaon ka samadhan khud kare. Agar Central Government aisi tarah pallah jhar degi State Governemnts se, tab toh ho giya federalism. Sir, mujhe toh kabhi kabhar yeh lagte hain yeh sab neeti-o ko dekh kar ki yeh camouflaged centralism na ho.

Sir, yeh jo banks ko jo powers de rahi hain, yeh debt recovery tribunals yeh sab, banks ke saath hum jab deal karte hain, ek banking ombudsman hote hain. Mujhe lagta hain DRT ka bhi ek ombudsman hona chahiye kyunki bahut bar dekha giya hain ki banks apne records ko thik nahin karte. Sir, recently case aaya hain Kolkata mein, High Court mein pending hain, jahan bank ne ek property nilam ke liye nikali, uska inspection nahin karaya, usko nilam kar kar diya. Baad mein pata chala ki paisa bank ke paas aaya hua tha. Sir, is tarah ke mamle aur bhi ho sakte hain, safeguards iss Bill mein kahan hain, yeh hume nahin mila, yeh Vitta Mantri ko aapke madhyam se hume bataye.

Sir, kuch sujhav hain, ki DRTs badaya jaye, appellate tribunals badaya jaye, un mein jo vacancies hain unko aap bhariye, aur inki pehle proper training karaiye. Aur Sir, issi tarah, jo karz lene wala hain, uske bare mein bhi sochiye, unko bhi vichar-vimarsh ke liye bulaiye, unki bhi genuine wishes hain. Unko sab on board le ke yeh kaam kariye.

Thank you, Sir.

Aparupa Poddar speaks in Lok Sabha on The Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Thank you for allowing me to speak on The Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

The purpose of the Bill is to include the state of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural University, having its headquarter in Imphal. This Bill helps to impart education in different branches of agriculture and allied sciences, undertake research in agriculture, and extension of education in Hilly regions with national and international institutes.

As agriculture is the main economic activity in Nagaland; more than 90 percent of the population is employed within it, with more than 60 tribes and sub tribes who have their own culture tradition and language. The widespread practice of jhum cultivation has led to soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. Research is required to retain soil fertility. Imphal with a hot and humid rainy season during summer and cool dry winter with fertile land made up of alluvial soil will help the farmers with new techniques thereby contributing to the productivity of agriculture of the region.

This would help in getting over the shortage of technical manpower and infrastructural facilities and would contribute to the development of agriculture including animal husbandry and horticulture, plant pathology, plan reading, soil science, agricultural chemistry.

After inclusion of state of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Central Agricultural University, the College of Veterinary Science in Nagaland will produce professional manpower in the field of animal husbandry which will facilitate the social economy growth in the region thereby contributing in the productivity of the animals in Nagaland and will be a great blessing for the people of the state.

According to the 12th plan, Rs 14.31 crore shall be expended after establishment of the college of veterinary science in Nagaland which is a very welcome initiative. The state of Nagaland has enormous potential for production season and off-season agricultural foods and vegetables.

But due to proper storage and harvest handling there is a huge loss especially for the perishable items. Funds should be provided for purchase of machineries and equipment with reasonable affordable subsidy policy. The connectivity to the potential areas from village to highway and market should be improved to boost the economy of the rural farmers.

Deputy Speaker Sir, the state does not have industries to absorb the educated unemployed youth because the state has no proper infrastructure and institutional set up. So they have every reason to take up agriculture seriously. Hon’ble President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 February, 2016 at 54th Convocation of Indian Agricultural Research Institute had addressed that agricultural education in our country must be conformed to the global standards and we need to create a large pool of competent faculty in our institutions and technology to promote agriculture nationwide.

In West Bengal, the Bidhan Chandra Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya is doing good research work and it is one of the best research institutes of the country; it is a state university. Its research work with modern technique are helping the farmers.

The government should take measures to reduce discrimination among various sections of people, specially the Dalit students and make an environment of studies and research in the university to shape students and to develop the nation.

So, I welcome the initiative taken by the government and on behalf of my party All India Trinamool Congress we support the Bill.

Thank you very much.

Dola Sen speaks on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 | Full Transcript

In the last 16 months, I have asked supplementary questions and have also participated in Zero Hour, Special Mention, etc., but today, Sir, is a special day as I am making my maiden speech. I am happy I am making my maiden speech at this time, and I want to dedicate my maiden speech to the historic victory of Maa-Mati-Manush in Bengal exactly two months ago.

Thank you, Sir, for allowing me to deliver some points on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

Healthcare in India is in an abysmal state. The Centre’s share of total public expenditure on health has fallen over the last two years, and India spends less of its GDP on health than some of the world’s poorest countries. Only 1.6% of the Budget is allocated for the medical sector.

The Working Group on Tertiary Care Institutions for the 12th Five Year Plan says nearly one million Indians die every year due to inadequate healthcare facilities, 700 million people have no access to specialist care and 80% of specialists are working in urban areas. The Indian Medical Association estimates that 45% of the Indian medical practitioners, that is, 17 lakh doctors, are unqualified and lack in formal training.

Another key reason for poor health of Indians is the high proportion of out-of-pocket expenditure on health because of low insurance coverage and weak public health systems, which force even poor people to visit private medical practitioners, and drive up average health costs. High healthcare costs often lead people to delay treatment, aggravating health problems.

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 provides a constitutional status to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination. Hon’ble Minister JP Nadda said there were three main objectives behind the move – end the multiplicity of examinations, have fair and transparent examinations, and adopt a non-exploitative process.

I would like to point out some problems with the implementation of the same.

Firstly, healthcare infrastructure: The basic medical infrastructure is woefully unequipped in our country to support the population. As per the World Health Organisation ratio between patient and doctor, India is lagging far behind developed countries. This needs to be addressed first and foremost before looking at other areas of reform.

Secondly, State consultation: All States do not conduct their 10+2 examinations at the same time. So the examination will have to be held at such a time when 10+2 examinations are over all across the country and the students can get about 2-3 months to prepare. Cooperative federalism demands extensive interaction between the Centre and States so that all issues can be discussed at length.

Regional language: Only 18% of the students in this country are getting the opportunity of studying in English and the rest are studying in their mother tongues or in their regional languages. The language for examinations should include all the languages in the 8th Schedule of our Constitution.

Syllabus disparity: Moreover, in many parts of the country, schools do not follow the same syllabus as CBSE schools. Thus this would create a disparity among the students appearing for a national exam. So if the standard is of the CBSE syllabus then rural students and students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds will be unable to compete with urban, elite students in common entrance examinations. The syllabus should be at par throughout the country.

Multiple exam centres: In West Bengal, we have multiple centers all over the State, in every district, covering nearly all subdivisions, so that students can easily sit for the exam at centers closer to their homes. The Centre must consider every subdivision across the country having more than one centre where they can go and appear for this examination.

Federalism: The Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution places education on the Concurrent List for a reason. It ensures that States can employ their resources judiciously. Thus, for cooperative federalism to be practised, States must be considered as equal shareholders; their recommendations must be heeded.

The Medical Council of India, the apex body that is tasked with regulation and monitoring of medical education and practice in India, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, chaired by Hon’ble Member Mr Ram Gopal Yadav, submitted its report on the MCI on March 8, 2016. It observed various instances of irregularities and corruption. It further stated that it has become a club of influential medical practitioners who act without any fear of governance and regulations.

Thus, the Medical Council of India cannot be given the charge to hold these examinations; a different body needs to be constituted which would ensure taking care of all the factors like regional languages, the number of examination centres, the time of holding the examination, domicile and uniform syllabus for the whole country.

I would like to conclude by presenting the current initiatives taken by the West Bengal Government in terms of access to healthcare which the Centre must take as an example. Such policies must be implemented at a central level to ensure better health services to the people.

I am proud to say that in West Bengal, where the Hon’ble Mamata Banerjee has become the Chief Minister and the Health Minister as well, in the last five years, 109 Fair Price Medicine Shops have been opened, which give a discount ranging from 48% to 77.2%. Through them over 2 crore people have been able to save Rs 585 crore. Free indoor treatment is available to everyone at Government hospitals. Simultaneously all the patients admitted there are being provided with free medication. Moreover, prescriptions with generic names are a must in Government hospitals.

The institutional delivery rate has increased from 68% to 90% in the last four years, thus reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate, with IMR coming down from 31 to 27. The women are being brought from their homes in State ambulances for check-up and after delivery they are being sent home in those ambulances. West Bengal is the only state where, at the sub-district level, besides installing CCUs and HDUs, patients are also treated free of cost.

Over the last four years, 27,000 new beds have been added to the hospitals, 1,355 medical seats have been created, amounting to 2,900 to 3,000 doctors, and 3,100 nurses have been employed.

Trying to sum up my points:

  • One: A common entrance examination might be helpful to avoid irregularity and corruption but some important issues to be addressed before the implementation of that.
  • Two: the health service and hospitals are the responsibilities of the States, so the opinions of the State Governments should be considered before any change is attempted on this issue. Otherwise, there might be injustice to the rural people.
  • Three: the Government health system in States like West Bengal is very effective and strong in catering to the rural people and to the underprivileged effectively. The physicians should be well-acquainted with the regional language and the culture of the treating patient to deliver effectively. Hence, NEET should be conducted in all regional languages of Schedule 8 of the Constitution. Eight-five per cent of the seats should be reserved for the students in their State of domicile.
  • Four: After obtaining the degree from a particular State, utilising the infrastructure, the graduate and post-graduate physicians should serve that State for at least five years. Otherwise, they should be instructed to deposit penalty to the Government of that State before for other States or countries.
  • Five: There should be uniformity of syllabus across the country, at least in the science subjects, in all boards. Students should be given opportunity to prepare through the same syllabus from level X! before they are instructed to appear for NEET, which is presently CBESE-based, as the syllabus is for two years of their study.
  • Six: There should be regulations to limit the tuition fees by the private medical colleges, otherwise they might increase their charges to compensate for capitation fees.

 

In addition, before I conclude, in view of the severe shortage of doctors to meet the need, the Government hospitals, including the district hospitals, with large infrastructure should be considered to develop graduate and post-graduate courses similar to DNB courses, which have been very successful in West Bengal. Thus, the dependence on private medical colleges might be reduced.

Private medical colleges, which don’t have such huge infrastructure, patients and clinical services usually invest capital for their profit only, even with respect to medical education. ESI hospitals and railway hospitals, which already have huge infrastructure, should also be considered for development of this education system. Additional grants from the Central Government should be sanctioned to develop the infrastructure and system, and not merely from the contributions from insured patients who are paying only for their health.

Thank you, Sir.

Ratna De Nag speaks in LS on The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016

This is a very important Bill. Child labour is a global issue. Enforcement alone cannot solve it. Child labour can be stopped when knowledge is translated into legislation and action, moving good intention and ideas in protecting children’s health. Even after 69 years of independence, we are unable to stop child labour in our country. The reasons may be divided, but we cannot absolve ourselves from this scourge.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has not been ratified yet. It fixes the minimum age of employment at 18. We cannot leave our children out to be exploited under any circumstances and for whatsoever reason. I want to refer to a recent article by Kailash Satyarthi, India’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a child rights activist: “I make an earnest appeal to members of the Lok Sabha and beckon their conscience to recognise that politics isn’t merely about the next election but is also a moral obligation to the next generation.”

Hopeful happy smiles, soft hands, million dreams – is this not the identity of a child? Then why do I see tearful eyes, terrified faces, rough hands and shattered dreams? Deprived and overloaded with work, burdened with responsibilities at such a young age? So much to learn, so much to accomplish, but not given enough time. Fight for a cause, raise your voice. Stop child labour.

Put a smile back on their faces, give them the childhood that was stolen from them. Fight for a cause, raise your voice. Stop child labour.

Sir, this is the aim of our dearest Didi, the Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of West Bengal.

Thank you very much, Sir, again.

Kalyan Banerjee speaks in LS on The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 | Full Transcript

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Sir.

Rabindranath Tagore said, “Children are living beings, more living than grown up people who built cells of habits around themselves. Therefore it is absolutely necessary for their mental health and development that they should not have in schools for lessons but the world whose guiding spirit is personal love”.

Deputy Speaker Sir, every child is a blessing of God representing the greatest assets of a nation and future of nation. It is unfortunate therefore when a child has become labourer in our prevailing social system. Every nation believes that employers should not be permitted to employ children and parents, no matter how poor they are, should not be allowed to keep children out of the school. It is up to the Stats to stand as guardian, protecting children against child labour. For poor families, children are economic assets.

Sir, by introducing Clause 5 of this Bill this Central government is opening a backdoor to bring child labour. In fact now it is permitted. Through this amendment the children while will be allowed to do the work to help his family or family enterprise which is other than any hazardous occupation.

In a country like ours where the children are not in a position to go to school, in a country like ours where the children are forced to go to work by their parents or their guardian, this Clause 5 is against the basic conception of protecting the child.

What do you mean by school hours? After the school hours will the child be permitted to go to work? This Clause has really hit the basic concept of the Act itself. Therefore it should not be brought. I should request the Hon’ble minister please don’t press upon Clause 5 itself.

Sir, India is the World’s largest democratic country and the world’s second fastest growing major economy but billions of children, all under 24 years of age, are workers, labourers. In fact, in India the percentage of child labour is 23%, the highest in the world. This is a matter of great sorrow for us. This is not a pride at all. Poverty as well as lack of education facilities contributed to the figure. A recent report produced by the International Confederation of Free Trade Union says that there were as many as 4.98 million children working in India’s agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors.

Therefore, today Sir, in this background, Clause 5 is giving the license to bring the child in the working fields. India’s booming economy has taken advantage of children workers towards its growth. While child labourers can be found in urban dwellings, around 80 per cent child labourers are found in rural areas, forced to work in agricultural activities such as stunning, livestock rearing, forestry and fisheries. The practice is widely prevalent in many third world countries such as China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Brazil. But the matter is of great concern in India.

Sir, Article 24 of the Constitution prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory or mine or engaged in any other employment.

Article 39, which comes within the Directive Principles of the Constitution, provides that the health and strength of workers of men and women and young children are not abused to enter avocation unsuited to their age or strength. Article 39(A) provides that children be given opportunities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity, and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and moral and material abandonment. The founding fathers of the Constitution emphasised the role of the child and the need for their development. Dr Ambedkar projected children’s rights in the directive principles of state policy as their deprivation had a dangerous effect on the efficiency of democracy and the rule of law.

Prior to the Constitution coming into force, there was an Act, The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933, which prohibits the pledging of labour for children for employment and prescribing penalty for persons and guardians pledging child labour, that is, it prohibits any employment for anyone below 14 years of age.

A new Article 21(A) has been incorporated, which came into effect in 2010, stipulating that the State provides free and compulsory education to all children aged six to 14 years. Compulsory education to children up to 14 years was passed with the enactment of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, or The Right to Education Act, 2010.

Sir, there is no death of Acts in our country. The problem is the implementation of the Act, the execution of the Act. This is not done in our country. Sir, the National Child Labour Project, which started its operation in 1988, was an integral part of the national policy on child labour, as adopted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, 1987. The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) addresses the issue through the following activities: a survey to identify children engaged in hazardous occupations and processes, withdrawal of children from hazardous employments and processes, and rehabilitation of children withdrawn from work, especially through schools established by the project society.

This NCLP operates through project societies run at the district level, with the district magistrate or the district collector as the chairman and an officer to work as the project director for its implementation. The special schools under NCLP are run by NGOs, local self-governments or directly by the project society. This school enrols working children from nine to 14 (years of age) and until they reach the age of 14. Each school, with two educational instructors and one vocational instructor, has provision for 50 children and are given basic education and vocational training.

Sir, until August 2009, the children of NCLP schools were provided cooked lunchtime meals, which have now been merged with mid-day meals under Sarva Shiksha Mission. Every child is paid a pension of Rs 150 per month whereby the amount is deposited in a savings account in the name of the child on a monthly basis, which can be withdrawn only at the time of mainstreaming.

Sir, in West Bengal, under the chief ministership of our greatest leader, Mamata Banerjee, all the 20 districts are covered under NCLP. Out of 985 sanctioned special schools, 963 are functioning, with a total of 47,200 children.

Sir, we have a silver lining – that now child labour has decreased. According to the 1971 census report, it was 10.75 million. According to the 1981 census, it was 13.64  million. According to the 1991 census, it was 11.28 million and according to the 2001 census, it was 12.66 million. But in 2011, it came down to 12.62 million (provisional).

Sir, in spite of the constitutional provisions and the various Acts enacted by Parliament, compulsory education has not become successful for various reasons. The reasons are: lack of educational facilities in rural areas, failure to build infrastructure and employ more teachers, and attract more rural children to education.

India carried over a large number of child labour after Independence; in fact, there was no account of child labour before the 1971 census. The British regime in pre-independence India did not take any effective steps for promoting education in rural areas and the availability of educational facilities was so marginal that only few students could take advantage. Religious concepts and caste systems were among the reasons, other remained away for the lack of interest in education before independence in India. Discouraging girls from education led to creation a huge number of child labour. Since poverty and destitutions are the main causes of child labour, labour inspectors are sympathetic to the families. That  is why I am saying that Clause 5 defeats the basic concept of the prohibiting the child labour.

Sir, in a nutshell, the Central Government is responsible for not eliminating child labour from the soil of India. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 215 million children engaged in child labour worldwide in 2008 an estimated 14% in India between the age 5 and 14 years are engaged in child labour activities.

The Ministry of Women and Child development conducted studies on effects of child abuse covering 13 states, 12,447 children, 2324 young adults and 2449 stakeholders. It looked at different types of child abuse and evidences in age groups. The key findings of the study:

 

  1. a) 50.2% children are working 7 days a week.  

 

  1. b) Boys and girls were physically abused equally.

 

  1. c) 56.38% children reported working in illegal and hazardous occupations.

 

  1. d) 65% of the children were working because of parental pressure.

 

This study shows that there is parental pressure to work as child labour. So, the Clause 5 needs to be revisited.

Education eradicated illiteracy and is a means for economic empowerment and an opportunity to lead a better life. Article 26, Sub-article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights assures that everyone has the right to education which shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. We have an Act, we are having the constitutional provisions but it has not been implemented in the entire country. The agencies have failed to implement it. We are not in a position to bring every child of this country to school. The education system is the greatest failure in this country. Due to poverty, children are subjected to many visible and invisible sufferings and disabilities. The Convention on Rights of a Child, which was ratified by Government of India on 11 December, 1992, recognises the right of a child for full and harmonious development of his or her personality. Article 3 of the Convention mandates the best interests of the child is the primary consideration.

Sir, in our Constitution, Articles 21, 21A, 23, 24, 39E and F, 45 and 46 mandate compulsory education of children, socio-economic justice to children and their empowerment. Full growth of their personality socially, educationally, culturally, growing up is a matter of right.

Therefore, Sir, I will be end saying that laws are there, we have to implement them. And it has to be implemented very strictly. Labour Ministry of the Central Government must take care and must see that this is being implemented. Although education does not come under your ministry, but to protect the child labour, it is something you have to monitor indirectly. Child labour must be eradicated by promoting education and well-planned poverty alleviation and developmental schemes as well as through the imposition of on-trade actions on employment of children.

Thank you, Sir.

 

Sugata Bose speaks in Lok Sabha on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Six new IITs will be set up at Tirupati, Palakkad, Dharwar, Bhilai, Goa and Jammu and the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad which is just across the border of West Bengal in Jharkhand is going to be upgraded to an IIT. Just reciting the name of these places is a wonderful reminder of the diversity of our country. Whenever I rise to speak in this august House on the subject of education there is a general expectation that I will speak about quality, excellence and merit.

Today I would want this House to think carefully over the question, what is merit? I posed this question because I feel that in our country there is a great danger of passing of accumulated caste privilege as merit. If there are huge sections of our people who have suffered historic injustice then we should be very careful not to label them as people who lack merit. It is our fault that they have not got adequate opportunities to excel in our schools of higher education.

Now it is often forgotten that the IIT Act was of course passed in 1961. But reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, 22.5 per cent, were not extended to the IITs until 1973. That was done under the Prime Ministership of Smt Indira Gandhi. And the OBC reservations were not extended until as late as 2006. I was reading an article by an anthropologist at Harvard University, named Ajanta Subramaniam, titled ‘Making Merit’, published in the Comparative Studies of Society and History, and I was startled to read some of the statistics that were given in that article about IIT, Madras.

Mr Deputy Speaker you know better than anyone else that our state of Tamil Nadu led ever since the great figure Annadurai showed us the way. The state of Tamil Nadu has empowered the backward class, schedule caste and scheduled tribes for decades.

But IIT Chennai is a Central institute, and as of 2015 (the numbers may have changed slightly since then), if we look at the figures for faculty members, there were 464 faculty members in the general category, 59 in the OBC category, only 11 in the scheduled castes category and a mere two in the scheduled tribes category.

These numbers cannot be explained by merit alone. These numbers can only be explained by conscious and subconscious bias against the disadvantaged sections of the people in our country. And that is why I said, please do not confuse accumulated past privilege as merit. Let us not have traditional cultural capital be transformed into modern capital in our institutes of technology, which are institutes of national importance.

Whenever the question of IIM comes up, we talk of autonomy. Now, of course, it is important to give autonomy to IIT directors, to chairpersons of governing boards of the IITs, and this Parliament must always preserve its prerogative which was under challenge by the HRD Ministry to declare institutes of national importance.

Now, the Hon’ble Human Resources Development Minister talks about accessibility as being one of his four mantras, and we have actually now given some accessibility in our IITs and our Central universities to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. But the question is that have we given the feeling of equal citizenship inside the portals of our great institutions of higher learning? That is why, when students at IIT Chennai want to set up an Ambedkar and Periyar Study Circle, why should the Dean of Students, at the direction of the Central Government, derecognise such a study circle? Everyone should be reading the works of Dr Ambedkar and of Periyar. So that is why it is very important to go beyond the accessibility and give a sense of inclusiveness to Dalit students or Adivasi students or OBC students who are beginning to enter in large numbers into institutes such as the IITs.

In conclusion, let me elaborate a little bit on a point that I raised during Questions Hour this morning. For some time now, in this Parliament, in response to the Budget presented by this Government, I have been saying that we should not make a ritual of setting up five new IITs, five new IIMs every year; and I think the Finance Minister listened to that point when he announced that he was going to have 10 public and 10 private institutions that would be selected to become globally competitive.

I say this because we have to think very carefully about when we should set up new institutes and when we should strengthen our existing institutes. And I say this not because I feel that the brand name of the IITs will be diluted by setting up new IITs. I’m actually in favour of having at least one IIT in every State, and I hate importing the terminology of the world of commerce into the world of learning. I don’t like the word ‘brand’ which was even used by my friend Shashi Tharoor in which he wrote on the brand IIT, but I am more concerned that we should make sure that we have the human resources to staff the new institutes that we are setting up and that is why when we select those 20 institutions that will have a special enabling regulatory framework, I think, we should choose the most promising existing institutions, a few IITs or Indian Institutes of Science, a few central universities and a few state universities.

Finally, we have paid tribute to our tribute to our Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru under whose leadership the IITs were set up in the early 1960’s but I would like to mention today, one great scientist from Bengal whose vision lost out in the post-independence period. His name was Meghnad Saha; he was the scientist who was appointed to the National Planning Committee by none other than Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1938 and of this National Planning Committee he also made Jawaharlal Nehru, the Chairperson. But there was a debate between Dr Homi Bhabha on one hand and Meghnad Saha on the other in the immediate post-independence decade. Meghnad Saha was a member of this august House but Jawaharlal Nehru listened to Homi Bhabha so that scientific research especially the atomic energy research became secretive state-controlled enterprise. Meghnad Saha had suggested that even nuclear physics research should take place in our finest universities. These were the days before the IITs.

So, I would like to also suggest to the government that while building on the achievements of the past, they should also show a new direction of policy for the future so that the IITs which are a good teaching institutions also become the venues of cutting-edge research. Let us support the best central and state universities as also incubators of innovative research, if we do that we will be paying a genuine tribute to a figure like Meghnad Saha whose grand farsighted vision was not accepted the way it should have been in the early 1950s.

With these words I would like to thank you once again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to speak on the IIT (Amendment) Bill. These are occasions on which we can actually deliberate more broadly on education policy as a whole. Thank you very much.

Saugata Roy speaks in Lok Sabha on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Today, I speak on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 1961. Firstly, I oppose the raising of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) fees to Rs 2 lakh per year. It is totally against the common people, the common students. I speak from experience. Fifty-two years ago, I was admitted to IIT Kharagpur, which I left later. The fee was only Rs 20 per month, which means Rs 240 in a year. That’s why my parents could afford it. And now you are raising it to Rs 2 lakh a year. You are saying you will give loans and concessions. I think it is totally anti-people. Ask the IITs to reduce the fees immediately.

Secondly, I support the Bill otherwise for setting up new IITs in Tirupati, Jammu, Bhilai, Palakkad, Goa and Dharohar, and converting Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad to an IIT. But I want to ask the Hon’ble minister why he has allotted only Rs 230 crore for six IITs and Rs 100 crore for ISM. Why have you given so little money? Please clarify – how can IITs initiate developmental activities on this money?

Thirdly, Sir, I take this opportunity to pay my respect to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who first visualised the IIT. I pay my respect to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, Bengal’s former Chief Minister, who offered the Hijli jail in Kharagpur for setting up the IIT. He also got Gyan Chandra Ghosh, a famous Bengali chemist, to head the first IIT. Kudos to them.

IIT Kharagpur was a pioneer in the field and for the first time it started courses in naval architecture. aeronautical engineering and agricultural engineering which were not taught anywhere else in the country. Later, four more IITs were set up but all with foreign help. IIT Kanpur was set up with American help, IIT Madras with German help, IIT Delhi with British help.

Mr Prahlad Joshi mentioned that Narendra Modi ji is setting up IITs in every State. It’s not factually correct. The fact is that the decision of setting up eight IITs were taken earlier – IIT College of Engineering Technology in Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Mandi, IIT Patna, IIT Ropar and IIT-BHU were set up during the last plan.

So it is not factually correct to say that Narendra Modi has taken the initiative. It is a good idea that we must have an IIT in every State. We must give every State the benefit of the high-quality teaching and research that IITs provide to us. In the morning, in a reply to a question, you have correctly said that in spite of the very good work done by the IITs in the past, our IITs are no longer among the top 50 global educational institutes. IIT Bombay is between 351-400, and IIT Delhi, Kharagpur and Madras are between 401-500, while IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati are between 501-600. So this shows how far behind we are and the best IIT we have in the Asian rankings, IIT Bombay is at 54.

So we have to do something to really improve the IITs further. I hope that the Minister will accept that something needs to be done. My submission is that you should go for fresh collaboration with top American universities and British universities like Pandit Nehru did. It’s not against the interest of the nation. You should collaborate with the top institutes of America, Britain and China to improve the standards of the IITs, to reach international standards: we have not yet reached international standards. We must raise our level to their levels.

Lastly, I would like to mention a few points. We should find out why Dr Anil Kakodkar, one of our best nuclear scientists, resigned from the Board of Governors of IIT Bombay. We should persuade these people to come to these institutes.

A member was suggesting that there should be good industry-IIT interface. But my experience says industry does not contribute a single rupee to IITs. Rather, you should reach out to the alumni. The IIT alumni are forthcoming, especially those who are established abroad, in coming forward to donate money. Please approach them for getting money as well as cutting-edge technology. These days, only cutting-edge technology can survive in the highly competitive world.

Lastly I will end by saying one small thing. Mr. Javadekar, please think of what you can do to improve patriotism in the boys and girls from IIT. I am told that 80 per cent of the students of IIT Bombay go to America, and most of them do not return. We are spending government money. If the best products of our institutions go to America, we sell out brains to make our engineers cyber coolies in America, and then it is unfortunate for the country. Don’t do it the RSS way, let us put values in them so that they love the country and stay back.

Many new IITs have come up in recent years and are also doing well. But we must take initiatives to bring them up to the level of other IITs. The Minister, I hope, will announce a programme. The Central Government runs some of the best institutions like Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. They are good but not at par with international standards. All efforts should be made to prevent politicisation of their management and to see that the best talents get together to produce the best engineers and technologists found anywhere in this highly competitive world in which India is making a bid to sit at the high table.
With these words Sir, I support the Bill.

22 April, 2016

ভোটবাক্স খুললেই শুধু মিলবে জোড়াফুল

অপমান, কুৎসার জবাব দেবেন মানুষঃ জননেত্রী

বাংলার বিধানসভা নির্বাচনে মাঝপর্বে এসে প্রচারে যতটা এগিয়ে রয়েছেন জননেত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, বিরোধীরা তার থেকে কয়েকশো যোজন দূরে। জননেত্রীর নেতৃত্বে তৃণমূল যতটা গোছানো, ততটাই অগোছালো বিরোধী শিবির।