Searchlight
SOUTH ASIA
T r a c k i n g u r b a n p o v e rt y t r e n d s i n I n d i a , B a n g l a d e s h , n e pa l a n d Pa k i s ta n
july 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 10
Contents
feature
Flickr user Emmanuel Dyan
Inclusive Development
Slum and Housing . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Development initiative
Protecting India’s
Street Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
research perspective
Education in Pakistan:
A New Vision For 2013 . . . . . 11
News Deep Dive
Poor, but on a High . . . . . . . . 15
Regional NEWS summaries . . 19
events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
feature
Inclusive
Development and
Slum Housing
By Noopur Desai
More Searchlight South Asia at
Urbanpoverty.intellecap.com
Disclaimer The opinions expressed in
Searchlight South Asia are solely those
of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the positions of the Rockefeller
Foundation.
The first ever complete census of India’s large slum population suggests
that, one in six urban Indian residents’ lives in slums or squatter settlements,
equivalent to roughly 17.4% of urban Indian households. Slums are likely
to play host to over 100 million people by 2017 in India, and Mumbai, the
financial capital of India, has one of the largest populations of slum dwellers at roughly 41% of 20.5 million people that populate the city Delhi has
49% of its population living in slums without any basic civic amenities.
A monthly newsletter prepared by Intellecap
for the Rockefeller Foundation
Continued inside
july 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 10
Feature continued
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In India, given the rapid rate of urbanization at an annual rate of 2.4% combined
with migration and land scarcity, the incidence of growing urban poverty, slums and
illegal squatter settlements in cities are inevitable. Further, these settlements are prone
to disasters and health risks given that the temporary houses are made of materials that
could easily ignite or collapse. The debate around slum resettlement and redevelopment continues unabated in India and is fraught with political, economic and social
ramifications. What emerges as a crucial need is the empowerment of the urban poor
residing in the slums through real solutions to resolve their housing needs.
The Housing Conundrum
India has faced a host of slum housing crises. During the 11th Five Year Plan, the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation suggested that the urban housing
shortage in the country was 24.7 million units. The Government of India has facilitated various schemes and policies to uplift the urban poor; the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM) is the overarching mission. Under the
During the 11th Five Year Plan, the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation suggested
that the urban housing shortage in the country was
24.7 million.
JNNRUM, there have been many schemes and programs like the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program, Basic Services for the Urban Poor, and Slum
Rehabilitation Authority that have either come to a halt or been delayed because of
various planning, budgetary and implementation challenges.
While the schemes emanate from the Central Government, provision of affordable
housing lies in the hands of the State Governments, and different states have different
approaches to address the problem. In 2006, in Delhi, eligible slum dwellers were
resettled in colonies mostly on the urban periphery and their homes in the slums were
demolished for commercial purposes. Similarly in Mumbai, those who have lived in
slums since 1995 are entitled to a free 225 square feet apartment from the Mumbai
Slum Rehabilitation Authority – only, these could be far away from their slum locations. These resettlement colonies are far away from job opportunities, markets and
essentials like schools and hospitals, making survival a nightmare. Although aimed at
empowering slum dwellers with ownership rights, the process of resettlement in most
cases has in fact stripped them off their livelihood options. Further, there has been
an influx of slum inhabitants’ since 1995, who are not included in this scheme – and
they are rendered homeless when the slum is demolished.
The most recent scheme related to housing, the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) was introduced in 2011 under the JNNRUM with an agenda of making India slum-free. This
scheme is comprehensive and includes mapping of slum communities, community
involvement in projects, rental housing (25% of residential stock that has been set out
for slum housing is dedicated to rental housing) and property rights. The preparatory
phase of the scheme ended on June 2, 2013. The progress has been slow and there
are budgetary concerns with the existing structure in which the Central Government
bears 50% of the cost of redeveloping existing slums and creating new affordable
homes, and the state government, municipalities, and beneficiaries are to bear the
remaining 50%. Many state governments have flagged off their inability to meet this
financial requirement.
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Budget constraints are not the only challenge that the RAY faces. Micro Home
Solutions, a Delhi-based social enterprise with a vision of creating socially inclusive
cities, worked on a RAY pilot with the Mahila Housing Trust – the pilot eventually
did not take off. Mukta Naik, Architect and Urban Planner at Micro Home Solutions
explains that “one of the challenges with any of these schemes is that, regardless of
the push from the central government, there is a need for municipalities and State
Governments to take a step forward and understand the critical need of developing
appropriate housing”. Apart from this the other hurdle is the lack of capacity of local
The most optimal way to use land and ensure convenience to the dwellers, is through building ‘low rise,
high density’ structures.
government resources to understand issues of design and resource management. The
RAY is going to go through some changes where the focus is going to be on redeveloping or upgrading slums in situ, where the central government would give funds
for basic amenities and an additional interest subsidy on loans to slum dwellers to
improve their houses.
Wanted: An Integrated Approach
Experts point out that the issue at hand is not about getting rid of the slums alone, but
about empowering those who live in the slums without disrupting their livelihoods.
Many NGOs, social enterprises and community-based organizations in the housing space advocate the need for a sound approach where the community is equally
involved in the planning and implementation process so that they address different
aspects of the housing problem.
Shelter Associates, an NGO engaged in advocacy for appropriate housing policies, also works with the community to implement housing projects. One of their
successes has been the resettling of slums from Sangliwadi to Sanjay Nagar in
Sangli, a city in Maharashtra under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Program. The organization mobilized the slum dwellers to work with the
municipal bodies in planning and implementation of the housing project. During
the planning phase, weekly meetings were organized with the municipal commissioner to address the slum dwellers’ concerns. Currently, construction is underway,
and the slum dwellers have been temporarily relocated to a transit camp. “Slums
cannot be viewed in isolation” suggests Pratima Joshi, Founderof Shelter Associates. “There is a need to ensure that any redevelopment or rehabilitation doesn’t
affect the basic livelihoods of the people and they are still able to access essential
economic and social opportunities.”
Another NGO, the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC),
has been engaged in housing and infrastructure issues of the urban poor. SPARC, in
collaboration with the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan, now
known as “The Alliance” has worked in over 70 cities across the country to develop
a sustainable solution to the housing and infrastructural gap faced by the urban
poor. The Alliance mobilizes communities to develop their own housing projects
and engages the Government in the process to build long term housing solutions.
“The issue with the existing schemes is that they incorporate a target driven approach
where the mandate is to build a certain number of houses because of which the environment and needs of the slum dwellers are not taken into consideration”, suggests
Sundar Burra, Advisor, SPARC.
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Flickr user Emmanuel Dyan
Feature continued
More often than not, slum dwellers build their homes incrementally using local
masons and contractors. This method, while being affordable and convenient to them
is unsafe and the houses are poorly designed, lacking adequate ventilation and other
amenities. Picking up the concept of incremental housing, SPARC developed an
incremental housing strategy for inner city slums that helps in organically improving
housing conditions without uprooting the slum dwellers. SPARC has helped slums
across the country to incrementally upgrade their housing structures with efficient
techniques and thus, has showcased a model for affordable housing through community participation. Micro Home Solutions is also building on-the-ground solutions
for housing by catalyzing the concept of incremental housing.
Apart from sensitivity to location for slum resettlement, experts point out that planners also need to ensure that resources and land are used more judiciously. Given
the scarcity of land and the need for convenient housing, the most optimal way to
use land and ensure convenience to the dwellers, is through building ‘low rise, high
density’ structures, suggest Burra, Naik and Joshi. High-rise structures have proven
to be extremely inconvenient for slum dwellers and should be an option only if the
population density is significant in a city.
Finally, not everyone can afford to own or purchase land in cities – least of all,
the urban poor. Micro Home Solutions is trying to deliver market-based solutions to
issue of land and housing. Most migrants who settle in illegal settlements are unable
to afford housing or have a permanent house. “Rental Housing can be answer to the
affordability question of the urban poor” while having decent returns for the owners
and managers, suggests Naik. The informal sector seems to be thriving in this concept – with informal leasing and sub-letting of slum structures at high rental rates in
cities like Mumbai. The government can successfully adopt the concept of subsidized rental housing with access basic services like water and sanitation, and further
provide technical and financial assistance to owners with regard to unlocking tenure,
which could go hand in hand with the current mandate of the RAY.
Challenges to Provision of Affordable Housing
The path to providing the urban poor with legal and affordable homes is not so
smooth. Complex land security issues crop up from land scarcity and the plethora of
land scams around it. The need is increasingly “to identify tenable lands”, suggests
Burra. While the Government has made land tenure mandatory in their schemes, the
implementation is rather weak. NGOs like SPARC and Shelter Associates are working towards securing land tenure in all their projects and advocating its importance to
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Feature continued
Sources
http://www.transparentchennai.
com/2013/04/30/a-preliminary-reviewof-policies-towards-housing-for-theurban-poor-in-india/
http://shelter-associates.org/ihsdpsangli
http://ahiglobal.wordpress.
com/2013/03/13/understanding-slumdwellers-part-1-slum-dweller/
http://www.indiaurbanportal.in/reforms/
local/BasicService_UrbanPoor.pdf
http://shelter-associates.org/sites/
default/files/BSUP%20Flyer_3.pdf
http://shelter-associates.org/sites/
default/files/Relocation%20of%20
Sanjay%20Nagar%20slum%20to%20
a%20transition%20camp_2.pdf
http://www.thehindu.com/news/
cities/Delhi/in-resettlementcolonies-residents-fight-for-rights/
article3906451.ece
http://www.opendemocracy.net/
opensecurity/ayona-datta/myth-ofresettlement-in-delhi
http://www.opendemocracy.net/
opensecurity/matt-birkinshaw/battlefor-golibar-urban-splintering-in-mumbai
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/
slum-removal-scheme-tweaked-tomake-it-more-effective_855854.html
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/
PUzahr4tSkB42YeXcLddGK/RajivAwas-Yojana-builders-not-too-keen-onrental-housing.html
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Indianews/NewDelhi/Rajiv-Awas-Yojanaback-on-draft-board-to-get-a-facelift/
Article1-885402.aspx
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/2013-03-22/india/37936264_1_
slum-population-slum-households-rajivawas-yojana
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the government. Identifying ownership of land is difficult as paper work, if done at all,
is complicated. Mobilizing the community to identify land ownership might work in
many cases. More often than not, all parties are not involved in negotiations of land
leading to further insecurity. “If the land is privately owned, it is important to engage
both parties in the negotiation to gain secure tenure” suggests Joshi. The other issue
is distribution of tenure. “One way to ensure that the land tenure is not misplaced or
misused, is to organize slum dwellers into cooperatives, thereby formalizing the locality where the tenure belongs to the locality and not to individual entities,” says Joshi.
The other issue faced by urban planners is the lack of comprehensive data on
slums and illegal settlements. SPARC has been involved in mapping slums, where it
mobilizes the community in the process. Shelter Associates has also developed slum
surveys and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to map illegal settlements and
slums in Sangli and Pune city. The idea is not only to map the number of slums and
slum dwellers but also to get a sense of the environment they live in, the amenities
required and their livelihood options to ensure informed planning.
Slum Free Cities – A Possibility?
The government is often criticized for using a universal city wide approach to slum
housing. Most government mandates suggest 25 square meters that are to be allocated
per beneficiary. “This certainly works well if the allocation was in large and densely
populated cities like Delhi or Mumbai. However, in tier 2 or tier 3 cities, the land
scarcity is lesser and the slum dwellers are used to living in a 40-60 square meters
space. During redevelopment that needs to be taken into consideration,” says Naik.
Added to this, it is necessary to bring to light that a common method of redevelopment or in situ or incremental housing will not suffice the need of every slum. “A city
wide approach is essential for mapping slum pockets, however, the planning of better
housing needs a slum-to-slum development model given the difference in nature
of the slums”, suggest Joshi, Burra and Naik. To ensure sustainable slum housing,
community participation becomes an imperative for informed localized planning. However, the bigger challenge faced is an ideological one – for most people, slums
are informal and therefore unwanted. While slums represent a story of absolute poverty, they also represent a story of successful informal economic activity and livelihoods. Dharavi in Mumbai, for instance, is a well-known example of bustling economic activity and innovation for survival. The critical need is to ensure that housing
and livelihoods go hand in hand making community participation in the process
imperative. There needs to be an “institutional and attitudinal orientation in involving
people” from all the stakeholder groups, suggests Burra. In a conference put together
by Micro Home Solutions, Naik states that the CEO of Delhi Shelter Board agreed
upon the fact that most schemes fail because the informality is either rejected or
ignored. There is a need for development that happens with the slums and the urban
poor – and not in spite of them – which then changes the mandate from slum-free
cities to socially inclusive cities.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/2012-10-04/delhi/34258982_1_
civic-bodies-municipal-solid-wasteunauthorized-colonies
http://www.huffingtonpost.
com/2013/03/22/indiaslums_n_2931634.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/
mar/22/india-slumdog-census-poorconditions
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flickr user SkilliShots
july 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 10
Development Initiative
Protecting India’s
Street Vendors
By Uthara Ganesh
Amongst the most visible segments of the Indian urban poor today are its street
­vendors. Representing 2% of the urban poor population (an estimated 10 million
vendors), the street vendors of India are a vital component of the urban economy –
they make available an astounding variety of essential goods and services at affordable
rates to the country’s urban populace. Typically migrant slum residents, the street
vendors of India currently operate in a regime that has rendered them amongst the
most economically insecure and exposed communities.
In 1989, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement recognized the right of
hawkers and squatters to ply their businesses on public streets. Despite this, street vendors face constant harassment and the threat of eviction by a multiplicity of authorities, so much so that they are almost constantly wary of the unannounced inspection
visits from municipal officials. During these raids, officials confiscate their wares,
pushcarts and other belongings, and vendors spend considerable time making visits
to the police station to retrieve them. In doing so, vendors forego their wages for the
duration and undergo undue amounts of harassment and stress. So pervasive is official harassment, that the sight of hawkers hurriedly shutting shop at the first sight of
municipal officials in even the country’s most prominent urban unorganised markets
is entirely unremarkable.
Complex and often contradictory legal do’s and don’t further complicate the situation and has had an adverse impact on the livelihoods of street vendors. Section
34 of the Police Act states that, any person who exposes any goods for sale within the
limits of a town is liable to a fine or a week’s period of imprisonment. This provision
contravenes the judgement of the Supreme Court, but is in consonance with most
individual state legislations (exceptions to this being the states of Orissa and Madhya
Pradesh) on street vending. In January this year reports suggested that nearly 200
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street vendors were evicted from Bandra’s Pali Hill Road in suburban Mumbai after
residents of the upscale locality complained about lack of space and difficulty in navigating the roads. The evicted vendors were not provided with an alternate location
to carry out their business. Further, street vendors routinely face harassment by the
police or other middlemen, who often seek bribes or rent. Goods are often confiscated or destroyed by the police or local thugs if vendors refuse to pay them. A 2001
study by Manushi reported that a monthly sum of INR 500 million (US$ 8.35 million) was collected as bribes or protection money from the Delhi’s street vendors and
rickshaw pullers – a finding that was later corroborated by the government’s Central
Representing 2% of the urban poor population (an
estimated 10 million vendors), the street vendors of
India are a vital component of the urban economy.
Vigilance Commission. These factors have colluded to make life difficult for street
vendors. Their livelihoods are at constant threat, their work conditions are arduous,
and their incomes barely compensate for their hardships.
Paltry wages, little promise for a future
While there exist no recent official estimates, government reported data in 2002 stated
that street vendors earned a paltry INR 50 (US$ 8) to INR 100 (US$ 16) per day –
well below the prescribed statutory daily minimum wage amounts. Even while these
numbers are only indicative (given the sheer heterogeneity of goods and services on
offer) it can be concluded that street vendors have limited prospects for expansion,
given their poor access to capital, resources and ‘certified’ skills. Bribes and rents take
away from a significant proportion of street vendors’ earnings. Official efforts towards
helping street vendors build their capacities have been sparse.
Street vendors thus face chronic occupational stress. A 2001 study by SNDT Women’s
University and the International Labor Organisation revealed disturbing facts nearly
85% of the street vendors surveyed (from Mumbai) suffered from ailments associated
with stress. These include hyperacidity, migraine, digestive problems and lack of sleep.
The solutions to their problems would have to therefore address the structural and regulatory issues that have so far impeded their occupational and personal well-being.
Central legislation to uniformly regularize street vending
In September 2012, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihoods) Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to standardize regulatory practices for street vending
across states. The bill has provided for the formal registration of all street vendors under
designated Town Vending Committees, detailed conditions for their evictions and relocation and has also provided for locally accessible grievance redressal committees.
The National Association of Street Vendors of India, the umbrella association for
street vendors, is at the forefront of national policy advocacy efforts for street vendors.
The body has raised objections to some features of the bill. In an article published
in November last year, NASVI national co-ordinator Arbind Singh argued that the
proposed bill bestowed too much power to the local bodies, and that the proposed
structure of the Town Vending Committees did not adequately represent street vendors. He says in the article; “The main provisions of the Bill defeat the very purpose
of the need for any law as lot of power has been given to municipal bodies like the
final authority on issues like identification, registration and licensing of street vendors, identification of natural markets and allocation of space based on the idea of
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natural markets.” He further adds that the proposed laws leave many other important
issues to the discretion of the local bodies to create schemes for street vendors. “As far
as our experience in the advocacy goes, municipal bodies do not even consider the
street vending community dignified and worthy enough to engage with. How are we
then expected to believe that the same bodies can be trusted for protecting rights of
the same people?” Singh asks.
Clause 29 of the proposed bill, however, has very directly addressed the specific
issue of evictions, and built the case for street vendors. It states, “No street vendor who
carries on the street vending activities in accordance with the terms and conditions of
his certificate of vending shall be prevented from exercising such rights by any person
or police or other authority exercising powers under any other law for the time being
in force.” Singh is in agreement that the bill is a step in the right direction. “We are
In September 2012 the Street Vendors (Protection
of Livelihoods) Bill, 2012, was introduced in the
Lok Sabha with the aim of protecting the rights of
the country’s street vendors.
not arguing that the Bill is all negative, indeed it has lots of motive provisions which
will prevent the day-to-day harassment of street vendors. What we do not want is to
allow the proposed law to end up being just a cosmetic law which cannot ensure
protection of the rights of the marginalised professionals.” he said.
Press reports indicate that vendors themselves are doubtful of the bill’s potential to
effectively address their concerns. They are dissuaded by the failure of past initiatives,
and a continued absence of any form of official protection. The Hindu, a national
daily, spoke with street food vendors in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk in May this year, who
revealed that they were not only all unregistered, but continued to pay the police and
municipal officials hefty sums on a daily and monthly basis.
NASVI has since forwarded a list of proposed amendments to the current form of
the bill. These include incorporating the principles of natural markets as central to
the determination of vending zones, the prescription of quantitative norms for the
number of street vendors to be accommodated in a zone and the provision for an allocation of a minimum percentage of public land for street vending in each metropolis.
Whether or not these are incorporated into the final legislation would be revealed
when the bill is discussed and eventually passed by the national parliament. It is currently listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha and is likely to come up for debate in the
impending Monsoon session of Parliament.
PRS Legislative Research has in its analysis of the bill deliberated over the jurisdictional authority of the parliament to legislate on an issue that overlaps with municipal
zoning – which is a state subject. Even while the bill has justified this by stating that
it focuses on the concurrent subject of livelihoods, the content of the bill deals in
part with the demarcation of vending zones by municipalities – which is something
it does not have the constitutional authority to do. NASVI, however, has underscored
the importance of a strong Central Law on the subject, and maintained that the issue
is not so much a matter of municipal regulation, but of livelihoods and social security
– which is covered by entry 20, 23 and 24 of the concurrent list.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development raised an important objection
with the bill. Its contention is that since the bill allows anyone over the age of 14 to
work as a licensed hawker, it impacts one of the education department’s important
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goals, which is to get every teenager between the ages of 14 and 18 into secondary
school by 2020. The lack of acquiring secondary education would have significant
economic costs – given India’s surging youth population. NASVI, however, asserts
that the education of teenage street vendors is in fact not compromised by their participation in vending, and underlines the important economic contribution of vending to the poorest households.
Building the capacities of street vendors
From a purely development standpoint, the problems plaguing street vendors extend
to their limited ability to develop the scale of their enterprises due to poor access to
skills and capital. Efforts towards developing the capacities of street vendors have
been sparse and limited in scale.
An interesting case in point of the above is Streets India – a street food program run
in Ranchi by Tanishk Shyamya. The initiative seeks to organize Indian street vendors,
and create an enabling environment for their enterprises to flourish through supporting them with infrastructural, resource, training and supply chain support.
Streets India has focussed on street food vendors in the city of Ranchi, who have
been provided with efficiently designed kiosks to sell their ware. Standards for hygiene
are developed and the vendors are trained to conduct their business in ways that
There seems to be a huge leadership vacuum in the
organizing of street vendors – which in itself is by no
means an easy task, given the assortment of services
and goods they are engaged in producing.
make them more appealing to urban clientele. Shyamya has also successfully linked
the businesses of street food vendors under the initiative with those of other vendors
making raw materials such as leaf plates or other component ingredients to the final
product. To cover initial costs for the kiosks, Streets India was able to rope in a public
sector bank and also secure licensing support from government agencies. Vendors
working for Street India are provided with the space to form a collective voice, and
protected from the daily challenges that other vendors are subjected to. They also
make a higher profit than most other street vendors, at nearly INR 500 (US$ 8.35)
each day after deduction of all costs.
Initiatives such as these hold promise, but require the support of enabling regulations and investment. There seems to be a huge leadership vacuum in the organizing
of street vendors – which in itself is by no means a easy task, given the assortment of
services and goods they are engaged in producing.
The sole official initiative that is currently engaging with the question of developing
the skills and capacities of street vendors to expand their enterprises is the proposed
National Urban Livelihoods Mission. The program has envisaged an exclusive component that aims to provide for credit and other means of financial support, microenterprise development support and the skill building of street vendors. If effectively
implemented, these measures would go a long way in overhauling the net capacities
of the street vendors to transition from hawking to actually spearheading an enterprise. The government has released a draft plan for the program, and it is likely to be
implemented after budget outlays for the same are approved.
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Conclusion
Experts opine that India has done better than most other countries with dominant
informal economies with regard to policy interventions on street vending, and is one
of the only such countries to have a National Policy on Street Vending. The pivotal
role of the National Association for Street Vendors in India in this regard needs to
be underscored. Addressing an issue involving a community as large and heterogeneous as the Indian street vendors poses several complexities, and co-ordinating the
actions of all the authorities and stakeholders involved in reforming the realities of
their operational contexts will only concretise over a sustained period of consistent
efforts. The key challenge now is for these organizations to navigate the complexities of India’s federal system of government and to secure a role for street vendors
in urban planning processes. What is also critical is for the discourse to successfully
transcend the issues of social protection and rights, and address the capacities of vendors to build their enterprise. The role of existing organized enterprise in the public
and private sectors could be crucial – India’s street vendors are a sizeable community
providing very essential services. And as Shyamya’s Streets India has shown, there
exists tremendous promise for innovative models to transform their current mode of
functioning and retain the local flavour and color that street vendors lend to markets
in their home cities.
Sources
http://urb.im/mm/120715st#note001
http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/
uploads/media/Street%20Venders%20
Bill/Street%20Vendors%20Bill-%20
Brief.pdf
http://www.india-seminar.
com/2006/568/568_sharit_k_
bhowmik.htm
http://planningcommission.nic.in/
reports/sereport/ser/ser_rough.pdf
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/
Harsh_Mander/reclaiming-the-city-forstreet-vendors/article4058121.ece
http://www.india-seminar.
com/2000/491/491%20arbind%20
singh.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/
Delhi/street-vendors-find-shortcomingsin-bill/article4066639.ece
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Flickr user Hashoo Foundation USA - Houston, TX
july 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 10
Research Perspective
Education in
Pakistan: A New
Vision for 2013
By Priya Shah
Pakistan’s newly elected government – taking over after the country’s first transition from one democratically elected government to another – faces a number of
challenges. An energy crisis combined with a population explosion and low foreign
exchange reserves, are key areas of concern for the country of 180 million.
The need for Pakistan to increase investment in its education sector is pressing:
currently, the country allocates only 0.5% of its GDP to education, whereas the UN
standard is 5%. Approximately 7 million children between the ages of 5 and 9 are
not enrolled in formal education. In 2011, Pakistan’s government declared that they
faced an “educational emergency”.
The new government has now made education a priority. Furthermore, the recent
US $5.3 billion loan initiated by International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Pakistan on
July 4, 2013 may provide some reassurance that the government’s education policies
will have the bandwidth to explore urban improvement initiatives over the next three
to five years. In line with its global agenda, Pakistan has pledged to meet the Millennium Development Goal for Education by 2015, which aims to have all children
complete a full course of primary schooling.
This article will explore the various policies, reforms and schemes that the government has implemented in Pakistan in the last few years, and the successes and failures
of these initiatives in the urban slum areas of Karachi and Lahore, as well as in the
urbanized province of Punjab.
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Budget Proposals and Government Education Schemes
The government’s investment into higher education made progress in 2013 with
a rise in the federal education budget from PKR 39 billion (US$ 0.39 billion) to
PKR 58 billion (US$ 0.58 billion), and the provision of specialized management and
authority towards the sector.
Under the new development projects, PKR 300 million was earmarked for the
Youth Laptop Scheme in various provinces, whilst PKR 200 million was allocated for
Strengthening of Faculty of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Lahore.
On average, slightly more than half of the education budget, at the national level,
goes to primary education, whilst the remainder is distributed evenly between secondary and other levels.
The National Education Policy of 2009 set out to achieve universal and free primary
education by 2015 and up to class 10 by 2025, aiming to bridge the public-private divide
with private sector-oriented policies and incentives. Consequently, the Right to Education (RTE) Act, passed on December 2, 2012 made it mandatory for the government to
provide free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 5 and 16 years.
The 2012 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report, however, states that 36%
of Pakistanis (nearly 12 million people) have not completed primary schooling, indicating the urgent need to ensure lasting improvements in the education system.
A positive trend in the RTE legislation was the inclusion of parents and teachers as stakeholders in education, as well as the fact that penalties could be imposed on parents and
Approximately 7 million children between the ages
of 5 and 9 are not enrolled in formal education.
In 2011, Pakistan’s government declared that they
faced an ‘educational emergency’.
employers of child laborers if children were prevented from attending school. Whilst the
legislation focuses on both primary and secondary education, drop-outs in the 10-16 year age
group are still estimated to account for 83% of street child population in Karachi, suggesting
that the enforcement has not been as effective for the older age groups in urban areas.
Solutions to the Urban Education Problem
Government education policies and schemes, seeking to deliver the objectives to meet
the MDG for 2015, work in tandem with other initiatives operating at the urban level.
The Affordable Private Schools model (APS) has been successful for Pakistan,
whereby English-medium primary school education is available to children from
low-income families. Independently owned and operated, these schools are typically
run by local entrepreneurs. There are more than 90,000 APS in Pakistan and more
than 60% of them are recognized by the Department of Education.
One of the largest slum projects, the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) in Orangi Town,
Karachi, has shown more initiative in the educational space with the Education Program. Through start-up grants to individual education entrepreneurs within the slum
from US $250, as well as credit loans, OPP has upgraded the physical conditions of
schools since 1988 and improved the academic standards of a total of 588 schools
educating 79,137 children. It has also inspired other schemes such as “Development
in Literacy” (DIL) which ensure that residents of this area have access to affordable
education. DIL operates 29 schools in Orangi, with 120 teachers and 2500 students.
Without government assistance, this area benefits from a coalition of schools which
pool their money to finance each other’s education projects.
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Research perspective
continued
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The Umeed Partnership is another initiative started in 2001 in the tribal areas of
Baluchistan and in the slums of Lahore, Quetta and Bahawalpur. Community groups
in the UK and their Pakistani partners established 16 vocational training centres for
girls and four woodworking and carpentry training centres for street children. A Street
Theatre Group was also formed in the Yohannabad City slum district of Lahore to
enable young people to express themselves through the dramatic arts.
The Punjab Education Reform Roadmap, launched in 2010, is a success story of
how an increase in government funding by over 900% in the last 5 years has made
a positive difference in the urbanized province of Punjab. The initiative has established the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, worth PKR 10 billion, which has
awarded more than 40 thousand scholarships to students in the province.
Through the Punjab Education Foundation, the expansion of low-cost private
schools (the APS model) is supported through three programs. The first is the Education Voucher Scheme, which identifies out-of-school children from poor families and
provides vouchers to be redeemed at pre-screened private schools. The second is the
New Schools Program, which provides seed funding to entrepreneurs for establish-
Children in Pakistan’s poverty-stricken urban areas
face significant difficulties with access to basic
healthcare, and often suffer from malnutrition,
which are both common reasons for the high school
dropout rate.
Sources
http://efareport.wordpress.
com/2013/05/15/pakistans-electionshighlight-education-challenges/
http://tribune.com.pk/story/323600/
education-reform-a-studentsperspective/
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.
asp?id=208381
http://tribune.com.pk/story/556189/
usaid-adds-value-to-education-bytraining-teachers/
http://www.pakistantoday.com.
pk/2013/06/26/city/karachi/youvelevied-tax-on-education-here-we-go/
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistannews-newspaper-daily-english-online/
national/13-Jun-2013/rs-57-47ballocated-for-higher-education
http://www.pakistantoday.com.
pk/2013/06/26/city/islamabad/
minister-for-education-for-all/
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.a
sp?page=2013%5C07%5C01%5Cstor
y_1-7-2013_pg7_10
ing low-cost private schools in areas where no government provided option is present.
The third is the Foundation Assisted Schools, which provides government funding to
high-performing low-cost private schools.
The impact of the Punjab Education Reform Roadmap’s programs on APS schools
has so far been positive. In September 2012, the Punjab Educational Reform Roadmap’s voucher scheme showed 115,000 additional enrolments of children into
schools since November 2011. In addition, teacher quality has also improved, with
81,000 new teachers having been hired on merit and more than 35,000 more teachers are present at school every day than two years ago.
Challenges to implementing Education Policy in Urban Areas
Education statistics from UNESCO have found that the drop-out rate in Pakistan is
highest in class 1 – with approximately one out of every six children who enrol never
making it to class 2. Government schools are often characterized by severe limitations such as a lack of basic facilities, inadequately trained and often absent teachers,
and a severe shortage of learning materials and books. Of those children who do enrol
in school, less than half complete primary school.
Children in Pakistan’s poverty-stricken urban areas face significant difficulties with access
to basic healthcare, and often suffer from malnutrition, which are both common reasons
for the high school dropout rate. In tandem, the low level of family incomes encourages
children to be employed in urban areas, which also curtails school enrolment.
Moreover, there is little data to quantify the trickle-down effect of government education policy into slums such as Orangi Town. Whilst national schemes are becoming more widespread and education expenditure budgets are expanding, there is a
lack of awareness of policy efforts at the grassroots level. Rather than sweeping policy
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Research perspective
continued
Sources (continued)
http://www.carepakistan.org/the-stateof-education-in-pakistan.html
http://www.aserpakistan.org/index.
php?func=aser_2012
http://www.reform.co.uk/
resources/0000/0688/The_good_news_
from_Pakistan_final.pdf
http://asiasociety.org/files/pdf/as_
pakistan%202020_study_group_rptpdf
http://www.sparcpk.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worldsouth-asia-12691844
http://urbanpoverty.intellecap.
com/?p=453
http://urbanpoverty.intellecap.
com/?p=706
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/
government/30-000-school-bags-forpupils-in-pakistan-1.1197450
http://www.pkhope.com/privateschools-and-education/
Searchlight SOUTH ASIA
reform, funds need to be channelled towards improving individual schools and to
spearhead the growth of collaborative schools in poor urban localities.
Furthermore, state education policy does not explicitly protect female students
against street and sectarian violence. In urban schools, girls constitute only 42% of
government enrolment and 41% of private enrolment, where conservative attitudes
may impede them attending or finishing school. Terrorism is another factor that creates
hurdles to continuing children’s education. Whilst young education activist Malala
Yousafzai’s shooting took place in the rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, there are
numerous cases where similar incidents occur on the urban front, and where stricter
law enforcement is needed. On 30 March 2013, the National Secondary School in
Karachi suffered a bombing, leaving the principal dead and four others fatally injured.
In October 2009, the International Islamic University(IIU) was attacked by suicide
bombers, leaving four dead and over 20 injured. According to a report by Human
Rights Watch, at least 250 schools have been shut down by bombing or arson attacks
in the last two years, preventing thousands of children from going to school.
Conclusion
Since 2011, Pakistan has seen several efforts to improve its educational system. However, both the scope and scale of public and private sector educational efforts has had
limited impact where improving school standards for the urban poor are concerned.
Urban schools are rapidly becoming the most important education sub-sector towards
which federal budgets should be directed, given the growing demand for primary education from the expanding metropolises of Karachi and Lahore. Rural in-migration
into cities has peaked in the last 2 years stemming from factors such as rising security
threats in provinces such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the impact of natural disasters
(such as earthquakes and floods). Moreover, the burgeoning middle class population
in urban areas strive for the provision of quality education for their children, and are
the among the key target groups for the Affordable Private School (APS) model.
It remains to be seen how the benefits of the RTE Act, the National Education
Policy of 2009 and the expanded federal education budget will have a lasting impact
on schools in the poor urban localities of Pakistan. In the backdrop of a precarious
security situation and a weak economy, Pakistan may or may not be able to sustain
its efforts to achieve its educational development goals by 2015. However, whilst the
MDGs present an important objective for Pakistan, its new government also needs
to plan ahead to meet a set of more ambitious goals which will evolve as part of the
global development agenda.
http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/
chapter_12/10-Education.pdf
http://www.affordable-learning.com/
what-is-affordable-learning/whereare-low-cost-schools/country-profilepakistan.html#sthash.TWalCJ0N.dpbs
http://blogs.wsj.com/
indiarealtime/2013/06/13/in-asiaslargest-slum-development-danger/
http://www.oppinstitutions.org/
http://www.britishasiantrust.org/ourcharities/developments-in-literacy/
http://www.umeedpartnership.org.uk/
about-umeed-partnership
http://tribune.com.pk/story/452119/
pakistan-risks-missing-primaryeducation-for-all-target/
14
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Flickr user Wen-Yan King
july 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 10
News Deep Dive
Poor, but on a High
By Shree Ravindranath
The United Nations (UN) has declared June 26th as the day against drug use and illicit
trafficking. Illicit substances and drugs include cannabis, opium and its derivatives
(such as heroin), cocaine and pharmaceutical drugs grouped under Amphetamine
Type Stimulants (ATS). A study shows that the poor in the slums are mainly addicted
to tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. Slum and street children are also prone to Volatile
Substance Abuse (VSA), abusing a variety of substances that are not controlled and
easily available, such as petrol, industrial glues, paint thinners, correction fluid, nail
polish removers and other solvents.
Needless to say, substance abuse adversely affects health and impedes earning
capabilities, pushing the urban poor further into poverty. These substances inflict
their mortality and disease burden on different age groups. Illicit drugs and VSA strike
at early ages, 65% of alcohol-related deaths are before the age of 60, while 70% of
tobacco related deaths occur after the age of 60.
Drugs of their choice
South Asia has the dubious distinction of being a hotspot for the production and
trafficking of opium and its derivatives, being the landmass between the Golden Crescent to the west, and the Golden Triangle to the east. But traditionally, the region
has used tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, and these have also been the substances of
choice for the urban poor. Cheap tobacco, largely for chewing and also for smoking,
is produced and marketed locally in the entire region. Cannabis is cultivated locally;
its use is even condoned on certain religious occasions. Locally brewed alcohol is
available aplenty; volatile substances are relatively inexpensive and legal, and are
widely sold over the counter. ATS, due to their high cost, seem to be out of reach of
the poor at present.
A study on the use of drugs by 1000 respondents over 15 years of age in Mumbai
slums found that 49.7% of the respondents abused substances. Tobacco was the most
highly abused, by over 60% of the sample, alcohol by 13.89%, and Brown Sugar,
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opium and others accounted for under 3% of the sample. Abuse of multiple substances was the norm rather than the exception. There were fewer reported female
addicts than men, and the incidence of drug abuse reduced with higher education.
Interestingly, the study notes that most of the abusers (95.2%) lived in large or joint
families, and over 40% of abusers belonged to the upper lower class in the socioeconomic scale. Addiction was stated to be the reason for continued abuse, and peer
pressure was the most prominent factor for initiation to substance abuse. According
to the study, drug usage and peddling went hand-in-hand in slums.
Slum children and street children emerge as a group of substance abusers with distinct characteristics and needs. UNICEF’s estimate of 1.1 to 1.8 million street children
in India seems to be a conservative estimate, Bangladesh reports over 400,000 street
children. Working slum children or those that have less contact with their families also
report substance abuse. The pattern of initiation to substance abuse is fairly common
– they usually begin with VSA as a means to fit into their peer group. With time
they find that the effects of the substances help them tide over feelings of hunger and
exhaustion, or help them sleep better in noisy environs. These children often live in
Slum and street children are also prone to
Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA), abusing a
variety of substances that are not controlled and
easily available, such as petrol, industrial glues,
paint thinners, correction fluid, nail polish
removers and other solvents.
perpetual fear of having their savings snatched away or stolen, and they prefer to spend
the money that they make for immediate gratification through these substances.
In general, substance abusers over 15-18 years of age prefer tobacco, alcohol, and
other illicit substances, but rarely preferred VSA. On the other hand, children and
adolescents under 18 years of age most commonly abused volatile substances, often
in combination with tobacco, alcohol, and occasionally cannabis. Illicit substances
seem to be less common amongst children; the reason for this is not completely understood, but may be due at least in part to their high cost and restricted availability.
Rehabilitation
Reports from India, Pakistan and Nepal are in alignment on the need for more
scientific and evidence-based rehabilitation facilities, and support from the peers and
community of the substance addicts seems to be a critical success factor.
An example of community based rehabilitation model for adults is run by the
TTK Hospital. The hospital runs rehabilitation camps, wherein they provide treatment free of cost to low income groups. Substance users were identified through
community key informants and by snowballing. The camps run for around 10
days, and include counselling, music, games, songs and video films. The camps
work to change the attitudes of the community and family of the addict towards
the substance abuser. These camps also use medicines that aid de-addiction such
as disulfiram. The families of the addict are included in counselling sessions to
ensure that they accept and support the effort. The hospital also conducts follow
up visits.
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For children, the NGO SATHI (Society for Assistance To cHIldren in
difficult situation) has developed a systematic classification of the children and their
circumstances, and an appropriate 30-day rehabilitation and home placement
program. For children on the streets or in railway stations, the focus is on de-addiction,
reconnecting with their homes where possible, and returning them to their families. Typically, the first week is spent in building a rapport with the staff of the NGO, and engaging
the children in group and individual counselling. The second and third week focuses on
de-addiction, building their capacities and convincing them to return home, if it is possible. The fourth week is set aside for setting goals for them to achieve. Mr. Basavaraj Shali
At great risk of addiction due to socio-economic
stress and the availability of ‘affordable’ forms of
drugs, such as brown sugar, are the urban poorespecially the youth and children.
Sources
http://www.un.org/en/
http://medind.nic.in/ibl/t10/i1/
iblt10i1p117.pdf
http://socialprotectioncommunity.
in/2012/06/the%E2%80%98stuff%E2%80%99-ofyoung-addiction/
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/
facts/global_burden/en/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_
Crescent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_
Triangle_(Southeast_Asia)
http://www.rdcindia.org/anti_tobacco_
awareness.htm
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/
en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/
bulletin_1957-01-01_1_page003.html
http://www.unicef.org/india/Migration_
VOL2_v3.pdf
http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_
uploads/resources/Street_Children_Stats_
FINAL.pdf
of Sathi says, “The children we work with are most often addicted to solvents. We attempt
to intervene early, and try and send ‘fresh arrival’ children back to their homes as soon as
possible, before substance abuse habits take hold. For established substance abusing street
and platform children, we take the camp approach. We do not use any medicines to detox
the children at present.”
SATHI’s interventions for slum children are different from those for street children.
Apart from de-addiction, the focus is on education. The camp motivates the children to
stay in touch with their families, complete school, and learn useful skills that would help
them earn for their livelihood in future. “It is more difficult to work with slum children”,
Mr. Shali further elaborates, and “we have to convince the families of the benefits of the
approach first. We take help from local opinion and political leaders, and women’s groups
to ensure that the children receive permission to attend the camp.” For all the children
that they work with, Sathi also follows up on a quarterly basis where feasible. The organization has helped over 35,000 street and slum children detox and return to their homes,
with a 70% success rate.
Conclusion
In spite of coordinated global efforts, substance abuse continues to show increasing trends.
World Health Organization (WHO) projections estimate that tobacco alone would kill
50% more people than HIV/AIDS in 2015, and be responsible for 8.3 million or approximately 10% of all deaths globally by 2030. About 80% of these deaths will take place
in middle- and low-income developing countries. The United Nations’ Office on Drugs
and Crime’s (UNODC) World Drug Report (WDR) 2012 mentions that the illicit drug
problem is likely to shift from developed to developing countries, which are typically least
equipped to handle it. Reports from Nepal and India express concern over rising drug
use in addition to increased trafficking. India has also reported increasing illicit opium
production and cross border trafficking across the porous border with Bangladesh.
The WDR 2013 seems to have good news, and says that the extent of drug abuse globally
has remained stable. However, it expresses the possibility of cocaine use spreading to Asia and
South Asia as an “underpenetrated” market for the substance. It also points out the rise of the
abuse of new psychoactive substances (NPS), which may currently not be controlled.
Urban agglomerations seem to be emerging as the main points of use, given the densely
populated slums and residential areas, and the potential to retail substances to make a
profit. At great risk of addiction due to socio-economic stress and the availability of “afford-
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able” forms of drugs, such as brown sugar, are the urban poor- especially the youth
and children. However, much is to be studied with respect to substance abuse and
dependence- for example, abuse amongst women seems to be less understood and
only recently are efforts being made to study women drug abusers in detail. The
impact of technology on substance trafficking also needs close scrutiny; it facilitates
access to drugs and makes payments untraceable while at the same time aiding in the
detection of illicit trafficking.
A holistic manner of tackling this growing problem is yet to be evolved. At a country
level, strong policy frameworks and cross-border cooperation may create change. At
a local level, more systematic involvement with the communities and working with
those addicted or vulnerable to addiction will be a good first step.
Sources (continued)
http://www.addictionindia.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfiram
http://sathiindia.org/
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/
bod_projections2030_paper.pdf
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
http://www.unodc.org/documents/dataand-analysis/WDR2012/WDR_2012_
web_small.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
business-21963600
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/
sep/250912-mumbai-crime-Is-Mumbaiturning-into-a-drug-destination.htm
http://www.tehelka.com/hurricane-heroin/
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/secured/wdr/
wdr2013/World_Drug_Report_2013.pdf
https://www.unodc.org/documents/
southasia/reports/Profile_Drug_use_
pattern_Risk_Behavior_and_selected_
Bio-markers_of_women_drug_users_
from_seven_sites_in_Nepal.pdf
http://www.dnaindia.com/
mumbai/1848678/report-dnaexclusive-illegal-drugs-home-deliveredand-hellip-and-our-cops-are-clueless
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Regional News
Summaries
Development & the Economy
Nepal plans to reduce poverty by investing in development. India is likely to have slow
economic growth over the next 3 years.
World Bank sees India’s growth at 6.7% by FY’15
June 14, 2013
[India] The World Bank suggests that India’s GDP is projected to grow at 5.7% in the
current fiscal. The next two years the growth is expected at 6.5% and 6.7% respectively.
India is highly dependent on foreign investment which are likely to slow or reverse
resulting in the slow growth, suggests the ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report.
http://www.igovernment.in/site/world-bank-sees-indias-growth-6.7-fy15?utm_
source=newsletter-core&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130614
Nepal plans to reduce poverty
June 25, 2013
[Nepal] In the upcoming 13th Three Year Plan, Nepal is looking to reduce the population below poverty line from 23.8% to 18%. The plan envisages an average growth
of 3.2% in employment. It proposes to spend US$ 13.5 billion to achieve the expected
outcomes.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/791465.shtml#.Ud_Ho9I3Cn-
Pakistan pays US$ 265 million to IMF
June 29, 2013
[Pakistan] Pakistan has successfully paid the first installment to International Monetary Fund (IMF), under the signed Standard Agreement. The country is also holding talks with IMF for a fresh set of loans at US$ 4.5 – 5 billion.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-186550-Pakistan-pays-$265-million-to-IMF
Education & Health
World Bank loans US$ 225 million for AIDS project in India. RSBY health scheme for the
poor to cover unorganized sector.
Government expands coverage under RSBY scheme
June 5, 2013
[India] The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana scheme that looks at health coverage
for the poor has now included the unorganized sector like taxi drivers, rag pickers,
sanitation workers, mine workers and rickshaw pullers. The RSBY cashless smart card
based health insurance will give a cover of INR 30,000 (US$ 501.00) per annum to
the Below Poverty Line in the unorganized sector.
http://www.igovernment.in/site/govt-expands-coverage-under-rsby-scheme?utm_
source=newsletter-core&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130605
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US$ 225 million loan for India on AIDS control project
June 14, 2013
[India] An agreement of US$ 225 million from the World Bank for the National Aids
Control Project was granted. The objective of this project is to increase awareness
around safe behavior amongst vulnerable groups to meet the national goal of HIV
epidemic reversal by 2017.
http://www.igovernment.in/site/usd-255m-loan-india-aids-control-project?utm_
source=newsletter-core&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130619
Energy & Environment
Climate Change will push people further into poverty in South Asia.
Uttarakhand Floods: Eroding Ecological Heritage
June 19, 2013
[India] The Himalayan region of Uttarakhand faced intense flooding taking the lives
of many and destroying the ecological heritage. Indiscriminate urbanization, industrialization and tourism policies have been traced as the main causes for imbalance
in climate leading to the disastrous flooding.
http://www.rediff.com/news/special/north-india-floods-religious-tourism-eroding-ecologicalheritage/20130619.html
Climate Change threatening South Asian Development:
World Bank
June 23, 2013
[South Asia] Climate change is likely to reverse the development seen in South Asian
countries. Heat waves, floods and droughts will hit the region making access to food
and water resources even difficult while destroying infrastructure. Climate change
will push people further into poverty, suggests a World Bank Report.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-features/item/18657-climate-change-threatening-southasian-development-world-bank.html
People & Poverty
Bangladesh has reduced the number of poor people. Pakistan is increasingly becoming a
food insecure nation. By 2028, India is to become the most populated country.
Glue Sniffing children of Kathmandu in crimes
June 8, 2013
[Nepal] In Nepal, about 150000 people have been identified for using drugs. In Kathmandu, about 5000 street children sniff glue and are found committing various crimes
including rape and theft. Sniffing glue helps in avoiding hunger, sleep and thirst.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=55860
India to be most populous nation by 2028, says United Nations
June 14, 2013
[India] According to the new report “World Population Prospects” report by the
United Nations, India is likely to become the most populous nation by 2028 crossing
1.45 billion. While the average number of children per women in developing countries is likely to reduce, the overall life expectancy rate is expected to increase.
http://www.igovernment.in/site/india-be-most-populous-nation-2028-says-un?utm_
source=newsletter-core&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130614
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Number of Poor declines by 26%
June 20, 2013
[Bangladesh] The latest World Bank Report on Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh
suggests that the number of poor people in Bangladesh has declined by 26%. Poverty
reduction has been linked to growth in labor income and changes in demography.
The report suggests policy implementations that enhance opportunities for overseas
migration, encourage female participation in education and labor force; and enhance
a multi-sectoral approach. The assessment period of the report was for 10 years from
2000-2010.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/number-of-poor-decline-by-26-percent-wb/
About half of Pakistan’s population is not food secure
June 26, 2013
[Pakistan] About half of Pakistan’s population is not food secure, 15% of children are
malnourished and 40% suffer stunted growth. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is working with the Government of Pakistan to eradicate food insecurity
and chronic malnutrition. The food agency has requested for an additional US$ 40
million to implement operations across the country by end of the year.
http://southasia.oneworld.net/news/about-half-of-pakistan2019s-population-is-not-foodsecure-wfp#.Ud_HpNI3Cn_
Water & Sanitation
Dhaka Slums to get piped water.
Piped water for Dhaka slums
June 13, 2013
[Bangladesh] The Bangladesh Government and the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority plan to give all slum dwellers access to piped water by 2015. Currently,
only registered homes have access to piped water. However, this is to be amended to
ensure access of water to slum dwellers.
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98227/in-brief-piped-water-for-dhaka-slums
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Events
International Conference on Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship
August 8-9, 2013
New Delhi, India
http://www.bpswomenuniversity.ac.in/pdfnews/78988b9e-df63-4403-a4950c48aa4af8d3.pdf
OSH India 2013 Conference
September 16-17, 2013
Mumbai, India
http://www.oshindia.com/conference.asp?utm_campaign=EVENTCALENDAR&utm_
medium=EVENTLISTING&utm_source=EVVNT&utm_content=URL
Second International Conference on Ecosystem
Conservation and Sustainable Development
October 3-5, 2013
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela
http://ecocasd2013.in/
Fifth South Asian Conference on Sanitation
October 22-24, 2013
Kathmandu, Nepal
http://www.sacosanv.gov.np/
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Editorial Team
Editors
Shree Ravindranath
Usha Ganesh
Contributors
Noopur Desai
Uthara Ganesh
Priya Shah
Design
HNH!digital
Subcription
Free of charge
Frequency
Monthly
About Intellecap
Intellecap is a pioneer in providing innovative business solutions that help build and
scale profitable and sustainable enterprises dedicated to social and environmental
change.
We seek to build institutional capacity and channel investments in the development sector through Knowledge Services, Consulting, and Investment Banking
Services. Intellecap hosts Sankalp Social Enterprise and Investment Forum, Asia’s
largest social enterprise forum that brings together over 700 investors, innovative
social enterprises, policy makers, funders and other key stakeholders from across the
world.
Intellecap also promotes I3N, India’s first angel investment network that makes
early stage investments in double bottom line for-profit enterprises.
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