No. 322

JANUARY 2001

Vol LXXXI

ISSN 0019-5170

Contents


 
 

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programme on the Acceptance of Family Planning Programmes in Nigeria

P. KASSEY GARBA

Family planning is increasingly being accepted globally as a necessary ingredient of socioeconomic development. Despite its importance, the number of acceptors in Nigeria is still on the low side. This is in spite of the increasing level of poverty amongst both urban and rural people since the implementation of the structural adjustment programme (Garba, 1999; Taiwo, 1997; Garba et. al., 1997). Using randomly selected one hundred male and female adult respondents in Abeokuta, this paper examined the acceptance of family planning programmes and strategies, especially since the introduction of the structural adjustment programme in Nigeria. The major findings show that despite the high level of citizens awareness of various family planning programmes, which is as high as about 92,8%, the level of acceptance of both the modern and traditional methods is still below, 30%. Increasing level of poverty due to the structural adjustment programme and other related factors have done little to encourage the acceptance of the programme in Nigeria, although it has certainly increased the awareness level.


 Economic Returns from Agricultural Support Land in Different Agro-climatic Regions of Himachal Pradesh

S. K. BHAL AND P. KAUSHAL

The present study was undertaken to examine the extent of agricultural support land, its share in rural household economy and to assess the extent of dependence of local inhabitants on agricultural support land in different agro-climatic regions of Himachal Pradesh. The results indicated the average per capita agricultural and support land for the sampled farms worked out to be 0.25 and 0.10 ha. respectively. In Kullu district, the dependency on support land for fodder and fuel wood was estimated to be 92.50 per cent and 96.32 per cent respectively. The total fodder consumption per animal was highest in Kangra district (13.84 quintals of green fodder and 6.57 quintals of dry fodder). The use of fuel wood per household during a year was highest in Kullu district (67.27 quintals) followed by Kangra district (59.54 quintals). Timber use per household was maximum in Kangra district (157.39 cubic feet per annum) and minimum in Hamirpur district (11.72) cubic feet per annum). The returns from fodder per household per annum were highest in Kangra district (Rs. 5,472) and minimum in Lahaul and Spiti (Rs. 2,968). However, Kullu district recorded the highest returns for fuel wood and timber Rs. 4,033 and Rs. 9,443 respectively. The share of support land in household in income was maximum in Kullu district (47.69 per cent) followed by Kangra,(45.64 per cent) and Hamirpur (39.19 per cent). Due to heavy dependence people on forest for fuel wood, timber and fodder, it is suggested that all efforts should be made for protection, regeneration and development of forests by actively involving local people in planning and execution of forestry based projects.


   Development Planning in India: Anatomy of Past Experience and the Way Forward

V. K. ANAND
 

India has almost gone through half a century of planning, and has completed the first eight five-year plans and a few annual plans in between. It has already been through the first two years of the draft ninth plan (1997-2002), and within the next few years or so, preparations for the tenth five-year plan would perhaps begin. This paper, therefore, looks at the experience of development planning in India in terms of outlays and targets, and the resulting performance in terms of growth, and even goes beyond to analyze the overtime changes that have taken place in certain crucial economic and social indicators that ultimately effect the quality of life of the Indian people. The performance of the economy has, therefore, been judged both in terms of economic growth and development. As an epilogue, it also briefly reflects on the present scenario in terms of the Reforms (effecting a paradigm shift in macro- management in early nineties) and their impact on the economy. The paper presents a mixed picture, and comes out with some of the shortcomings of the Reforms Process, and concludes that the magic has not worked, and there is a long way to go. It suggests to correct the focus of the stabilization and structural programmes and to devise an optimal mix of planning and the role that has been assigned to the private sector, keeping in mind the needs of the people, and also remembering that nothing much can be done to change the age- old social, political, and administrative set-up that eventually dominates all thinking.


Poverty Levels, Consumptive Habits and Rural Welfare Schemes: An Enquiry Into Pondicherry Beneficiaries

K. UMASHANKAR PATNAIK

Earlier studies on poverty exhibit to some degree the growth of agricultural productivity to the persistence of poverty which is associated with the pattern of consumption expenditure and addiction of alcoholic and so on. However, a link between alcoholic habits and poverty levels is not analyzed. This study attempts on this line comparing SC and Non-SC beneficiaries of rural schemes. It is identified that habit formation is stronger in Non-SCs over SC beneficiaries. The calorie-intake in both the groups is low due to high alcohol consumption levels. Thus, inspite of income augmentation due to welfare schemes, the rural poor could not be uplifted above the expected poverty levels. Hence, habit-formation dimension should not be ignored while implementing the welfare schemes


 

  Income Status of Scheduled Castes in Rural Uttar Pradesh

GURUPADA CHAKRABARTY

In this paper we have analyzed data on income collected in the NCAER / HDI survey disaggregated by population groups: SCs and Others in rural Uttar Pradesh in 1994 to assess the relative position of these communities in terms of level of income, income inequality, incidence and intensity of poverty. As expected the results are not very encouraging.

The SCs in Uttar Pradesh constitute about 26% of the state population but their share in income is much lower at 19%. Consequently they have Ii lower mean income which is about two thirds of the mean income of others. A more egalitarian distribution around this lower mean indicates to widespread poverty among the SCs. Measured in terms of Head Count and FGT index, SCs have a contribution of 34% and 36% in incidence and intensity of poverty in Uttar Pradesh. This is much larger than their share in the state population.


 

Public Expenditure Programmes, Natural Resources and Public Policy (A New Perspective on Policy Design)

N. NAGANNA

Energy and other materials scarcities/shortages are the inevitable outcomes of the developmental processes. Therefore, we must have to learn how to do our planning and policy making subject to physical constraints-energy and other natural resources. It calls for a new and different kind of public policy. In a sense, this paper pleads for a paradigm shift in policy-making processes. Mere empty slogans and target-fixing do not as also should not make public policies.

Development is essentially built upon an ever depleting resource- base because development means extraction and extraction means depletion. Resources are finite and non-replenishable. Therefore, the fact of the matter is that growth contains decay or in growth lies decay. Depletion and decay are, by nature, inherent in the mining sector. The cognizance of this awesome reality constrains policy-making machinery to consider sustainability as its core instead of periphery as is the case now.