Fair trade in India

This article discusses how the government hopes that fair trade will help to alleviate some of India's economical problems. Recently there has been an alarming amount of farmer suicides due to the unreliable weather and abrupt rain storms. It seems that farmers have given up on the trade of farming all together and it is making a serious dent in India's agricultural business. The government hopes that by implementing fair trade they will be able to spark an interest back into the farming trade. They also hope to decrease the growing wealth gap between the rich and poor. All together India is taking a chance by using fair trade to strengthen the farming industry and stop a slew of economical issues.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/nov/21/india-fairtrade-rich-poor

Do you think fair trade will be effective for stopping farmer suicides?
What effect do you think fair trade will have on the economy?

Election Fever

India is getting ready to spend over five billion dollars on campaigning for elections next month. This will be the second largest total amount spent on an election in history. This spending is supposed to help the economy, which is in its largest slump in recent decades. But it will only be temporary as the money will increase the economic spending for now but soon it will go back down. Many people are worried that those who have the most money will win the election instead of those that are the best fit for the people. Also there is worry that fraud could be an issue. Most of the money will be put into Indian newspapers, which have been thriving, in recent years. There has been evidence of vote buying but that is often brushed off and to the world the elections seem fair and free choice. The only question is would all of this money be better spent in other areas instead of polling. Could these major political figures help out more if they spent some of the five billion dollars towards helping India and not themselves gain more power. Indian leaders regularly bribe voters with cash payouts and alcohol to gain their support. Recent state elections have seen innovations such as getting money to voters through new technology such as phones.

Do you think that this money spent for elections could be better spent in other areas to help the economy thrive in the longterm and not short term?

Do you feel that the world should take more action against India and the election fraud that goes on inside it?

Do you feel that corruption will be a big part of this election for India?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-set-to-challenge-US-for-election-spending-record/articleshow/31741588.cms

Ground Reality in Gujarat Different from what Politician Says

Ground Reality in Gujarat Different from what Politician Says

In Gujarat, Arvind Kejriwal, an AAP convener says that the current BJP leader, Narendra Modri, has lied about his promise to build 50,000 new homes for the poor in India. In fact, Kejriwal said that not even 50 homes have been built by the government of Gujarat in the last 11 years. Kejriwal also said corruption is running rampant in the Gujarati government and that this is not good for the people of the state. The Mining mafia, who recently murdered a young IPS officer, have not been put on trial yet after a few months. This goes to show how corrupt Indian politicians are, And how many of them create promises that they know they cannot keep. If India is going to change and help the poor, then the politicians need to change and start caring about the state of the Indian poor.

Discussion Questions:
What human rights are bing violated in this situation?

Will India's corrupt political system every change?

More Casualities in India's Naval Construction Industry

Once again, more were hurt and killed during the construction of a naval submarine in Visaisakhapatnam. When a hydraulic tank of the Arihant class was being tested, the lid of the tank fell off and fell on three civilian workers. One of them, 24 year old Amar, was killed instantaneously while Amzad Khan and Vishnu were seriously injured and immediately taken to a private hospital nearby. This accident is more than simply "an accident" since this has simply been one of the many accidents in the naval industry recently. Indeed, this incident on March 8 came a day after leakage of a deadly gas in an under-construction warship in Mumbai's Mazagon dock which claimed the life of a Navy Commander.  This is the 12th incident involving naval assets in service in the recent past or which are expected to join the Navy in near future. Ten days ago, two fire chiefs were killed in a mishap under water that caused fire and smoke and some months ago, 18 people were killed when the INS Sindhurakshak sank in Mumbai harbor. Clearly, the unsafe working conditions in India's growing industry is a problem that needs to be addressed.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1-killed-2injured-in-accident-at-nuclear-submarine-under-construction-in-Visakhapatnam/articleshow/31686783.cms

1. What are some steps the Indian government can take to reduce the frequency of such accidents and make working safe?

2. Knowing that so much money around the globe goes to military spending, do you think that India should not even focus on naval constructions and invest in other things such as health and education? Why or Why not?

India Addresses Poverty Situation...Or not?

Finally! We've been learning about a lot of the problems in India but have yet to see many resolutions to the problems we inspect; however, it seems as though India is finally taking action against the immense poverty that wracks the nation. According to Any Madgavkar of The Economic Times, "India has had encouraging success in reducing extreme poverty: the official poverty rate has halved from 45% in 1994 to 22% in 2012. It's time to set the country's sights on a new horizon, helping as many as 580 million people build a more economically empowered life."

A research institute, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), has recently developed an "Empowerment Line, a new measure of the consumption required for an average Indian to fulfill eight basic needs: food, energy, housing, drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, education, and social security." Madgavakar believes that extreme poverty can be eliminated by the year 2022 if India chooses to focus on job creation and higher productivity. This is a menacing task but the author believes that three tasks must be accomplished in order to eradicate the current poverty situation. First, "India needs to add another 115 million non-farm jobs over the next decade, with the manufacturing and construction sectors, along with labour-intensive services, such as tourism, forming the backbone. Second, India's farms need to double their rate of productivity growth rate in order to bring farm yields in line with those in other emerging Asian countries. And lastly, India needs to revamp the way it delivers basic services so that every rupee of increased public spending can go further."

Ideally, these should be manageable tasks for India; however, with the immense corruption within the government, can we really believe that this is in India's near future?


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/india-from-poverty-to-empowerment/articleshow/30705158.cms


Is India really up to the task of altering some of its foundational industries to ensure that each person is entitled to human dignity? Why or why not?


The fact that this situation is being addressed, however, is definitely a step in the right direction. Is this an "Westernization" of culture that is accompanying industrialization in modern-day India?

Us flight suffers tyre burst in India

This past week a plain suffered a burst tire headed to Ahmedabad. There were 260 passengers and luckily none of them were injured or killed. The crew discovered mid air that the 3 tires were deflated .  Obviously it is hard to land without tires but luckily it was successful. The plane was unable to continue in the journey but like previously stated the passengers were okay. The passengers even got to slide down the inflatable slide when they landed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-bound-Air-India-flight-suffers-tyre-burst-all-passengers-safe/articleshow/29822977.cms

5 Police Officers Accused Of Raping Minor Girl In India

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/police-accused-rape-minor-girl-chandigarh_n_4480187.html

 On December 20th, 2013, five policemen were accused of raping a 17 year old girl in Chandigarh. She had called in to settle a dispute with a relative. Allegedly, the man started harassing her over the phone. When she met with them, one of the officers raped her at gunpoint. Allegedly, the four others had raped her over a four month period. The news of this incident did not come to light until somewhat recently, until her bother relayed the information. This pertains to a lot of the issues we have seen surrounding women in India, and reinforces ideas read about in May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons. The five men were arrested, but such an example of justice is a rare one. The girl was too ashamed to come forward, because of the stigma that surrounds the issue. Few would have taken her seriously had it not been for her brother coming forward. But there is a culture of rape present, and coming from a member of authority, this hints at corruption.

In what ways does this article reflect the gender based issues brought about in "MYBTMOAHS?"

What can and should be done to prevent cases like this from happening again? What must be done to ensure action is taken and girls are not afraid to come forward.