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GUEST
EDITOR'S OVERVIEW
LPG
IN INDIA: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES AND ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
-- Arif A. Waqif
This
Special Issue has attempted to elicit some critical perspectives
and alternative approaches to Liberalisation, Privatisation,
and Globalisation (LPG), with a focus on India's economic
and social development. The invited papers broadly contain
some critical assessment of LPG's impact on selected developmental
areas, and alternative conceptual and policy approaches
to enhance developmental benefits and ameliorate developmental
costs across the vast, heterogeneous and complex Indian
economy and society. This introductory essay attempts to
cast the contributors' perspectives in a broader background
of LPG. We begin with a brief comparative review of India's
economic growth and development before and during the LPG
era.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
MARKET-ORIENTED
POWER SECTOR REFORMS: A CRITIQUE
--
N. Sreekumar
This
article reviews the market-oriented power sector reforms
initiated in India in the early 1990s. It brings out a public
interest oriented critique of the three phases of the reforms—firstly,
privatisation of generation, secondly, state sector restructuring
and finally, the ongoing reforms since the passage of the
Electricity Act 2003. Reforms were taken up as a response
to the crisis in the sector. The article questions the success
of the process in solving the crisis. While acknowledging
positive elements like increase in transparency and participation,
it criticises the process for neglect of development issues
like rural electrification and energy efficiency. The article
concludes with some thoughts on developing an alternate
reform approach.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Rural
Credit: A New Model of Credit Delivery for `Inclusive Growth'
-- G. R. K. Murty
The
long-term neglect of agriculture as reflected in the falling
real investment, rising input costs and inadequately remunerative
prices lead to fall in agricultural production vis-à-vis
requirements. Despite spectacular expansion of bank branch
network since 1969, a substantial proportion of rural households
still remain outside the coverage of the formal banking
system. Cumulatively, the sharply declining farm income
is leading to suicides by farmers. Amidst the crisis, what
remained as eternal is farming community's desperate search
for fresh credit for the ensuing season.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
STRATEGIES
TO COUNTER GLOBALISATION: EMPOWERING WOMEN, DALITS AND INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE
-- V. Rukmini Rao
The
article examines the social dimensions of poverty in the
context of gender, dalit, tribal and Muslim minorities in
the country. Reviewing the process of globalisation in the
country, it notes that the largest section of workers continue
to work in the unorganised sector. The shifting of global
capital to the South and particularly to India has increased
opportunities for women to work in the garment export industry.
Characterised by low pay and poor working conditions, the
industry exploits women. The fear of job loss has led to
new forms of resistance by women workers not only at the
workplace but within the community linking with social movements
for protection and advancement.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
KNOWLEDGE,
DEMOCRACY AND SCIENCE POLICY: THE MISSING DIALOGUE IN GLOBALISED
INDIA
-- C. Shambu Prasad
There
is a curious paradox to India's much celebrated "World's
fastest growing free-market democracy". Even as this
success rides on Indian science and technology prowess notions
of democracy are largely missing in Indian science policy
processes. This article explores these distortions in science
policy and argues that in India's attempts to integrate
with the global economy, closer attention needs to be paid
to the democratic aspirations of large numbers of economically
poor but knowledge-rich people that science policy makers
ignore.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
ECONOMIC
GOVERNANCE AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN INDIA
--
J. V. M. Sarma
Good
governance including fiscal accountability is essential
for the implementation of policies and achievement of developmental
objectives of the nation. It is important to have strong
institutions of governance in general to effectively control
the executive and make it accountable. In India, considerable
progress has been made in economic governance, public financial
management and accountability, and the integrity of the
monetary and financial systems. Yet, it is generally felt
that these institutions must be empowered and their capacity
enhanced in view of the shift in the development philosophy
based in the context of Liberalisation, Privatisation and
Globalisation (LPG).
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
GOVERNANCE,
THE ACHILLES HEEL
-- Kambhampati
S. Sastry
The
process of globalisation, as distinguished from liberalisation
and privatisation, is a natural corollary to human progress.
It represents the inescapable need to integrate into the
rest of the world, economically and politically. To achieve
optimum outcomes in this process of integration, a nation
must govern itself well with the full backing of its populace.
Globalisation without centring it in its citizens, their
interests and their aspirations, is doomed to failure. In
the context of globalisation, the need is for `human-centric'
governance and development.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Administering
economic Development: towards an alternative perspective
-- J. M. Girglani
Search
for a new paradigm for Indian economic development can be
a very challenging exercise since we have tried many models
short of communism. In fact what we need is not a new paradigm,
but a clearly discernible paradigm. We have to achieve balanced
growth and contain its corollary, inflation. We have to
free ourselves from the fetters of the dollar and grapple
with the consequences of the leapfrogging from agricultural
growth directly into service sector growth, which was forced
upon us by the lack of industrial infrastructure development
and the providential growth of IT sector in the wake of
2K pressure.
©
J. M. Girglani. All Rights Reserved.
THE
ERRATIC SIGNPOSTS OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
--
Vithal Rajan
The
article examines the drive for `global governance' led by
the US, and powerful G8 countries. Though under the aegis
of the United Nations (UN) several international conferences
have been held over global security, environmental protection,
human rights, development, gender empowerment, natural resources
management, and climate change, and similar varied topics,
most international conventions have been stymied by American
refusal to ratify agreements. Following the US' military
actions after 9/11, and its insistence on unipolar dominance
of the world, the European Union (EU) countries have become
even more alarmed, and are using their commercial power
to create another centre of global power.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
REVIEW
ARTICLE
ALTERNATIVES
TO LIBERaLISATION, PRIVATISATION, AND GLOBALISATION: ANALYSIS
AND APPRAISAL
-- S. Shaji
Liberalisation,
Privatisation, Globalisation (LPG) has become the dominant
model of growth and development around the world since the
mid-1990s, affecting all walks of life, in particular, the
economy of nation states. The term `globalisation' refers
to the multiplicity of linkages and growing interconnectedness
between States and societies leading to the integration
of interstate and non-state activities in several spheres
across the globe. Two decades of economic reforms have thrown
up mixed results and varied points of view. Even though
LPG brought benefits to a few, majority of the people were
not covered, especially in a developing country like India,
which in turn prompted policy makers and scholars to think
aloud and look for better alternatives.
©
2008 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
BOOK
REVIEW
LIBERALISATION
IS INTERNALLY-DRIVEN
-- N. S. S.
Narayana, Suparna
Karmakar, Rajiv Kumar and Bibek Debroy, Reviewed
by Jojo Mathew George
The
simultaneous opening up of the Indian economy and the liberalisation
of procedures and controls makes the 1990s a watershed in
our history. Since then, the multidimensionality of globalisation
and its causal relationship with other aspects of economic
reforms have been widely debated in the country. Narayana's
collection of T. N. Srinivasan's essays as well as ICRIER's
(Indian Council for Research on International Relations)
compilation of articles on India's liberalisation are both
a part of that continuing debate.
©
2008 IUP holds the copyright for
the review. All Rights Reserved.
REGULATION IN THE ELECTRICTY SECTOR
-- Anjali Garg, Vikas
Gaba and J. L. Bajaj, Reviewed by Dr. Geeta Gouri
The
advent of Regulatory Commissions in the power sector is
relatively new in India and the theory and practice of regulation
by these Commissions is yet to evolve into a set of standard
norms and procedures. Reforms in the power sector stemmed
from an understanding that competition is possible and that
the prevailing inefficiencies in the sector can be traced
to the dominance of a single monolith public sector utility.
©
2008 IUP holds the copyright for
the review. All Rights Reserved.
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