Decentralise governance, development models: Ela Bhatt

Decentralisation of governance and developmental models is required to reduce the vulnerability of the poor in the country, said Ela Bhatt, founder of Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) during a conference on nation building by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) held on Thursday at Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

She said that disparity in incomes is increasing the vulnerability of the poorest and as such, the focus should be on their economic upliftment.

Accordingly, the current economic model of centralised production and longer channels in manufacturing and distribution of goods is increasing the gap in income between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' in the country.

"The rise in income (of the poor) is slower than the rise in prices of essential items. We need to decentralise power, resources. We need to bring producers closer to consumers," Bhatt said at a panel discussion during the conference, 'ARISE' by CII. She said that 'roti, kapda and makaan' (food, clothing and housing) are the basic needs of common man and to meet them, a decentralised model is required. "We need to shorten the distance between governance and the governed as well as the producer and the consumer," said Bhatt.

CII president Rakesh Bharti Mittal advocated reducing disparity in the country and stressed on the necessity of systems that work for the underprivileged. "We cannot have islands of growth and islands of happiness," said Mittal. He emphasised on increased interaction between academia and businesses to make them more productive.

State Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said that the state government has devised a policy where farmers can generate solar power in a decentralised model and sell the surplus to state utilities. The project has given farmers an additional income of up to Rs 1,500 per month, he said.

Agri, food-processing key to reducing income disparity

Agriculture, food processing and animal husbandry are key to the rapid growth of the economy and reducing income disparity, said experts during CII's conference on nation-building.

Piruz Khambatta, chairman of the Western Council for CII said that agriculture and agro-processing are key for the GDP to grow at a rate of 10 per cent. He also said that a situation where the top one per cent of the people own 60 per cent of the country's wealth cannot be allowed.

RS Sodhi, MD of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation said that animal husbandry is predominantly an unorganised sector. "Milk production by the organised sector is likely to grow from 9 crore litre to 30 crore litre per day. Every additional lakh litres produces 6,000 jobs of which 5,000 are in villages. Food and milk production are the only sectors where price and market are fixed. Close to 15,000 youth have started modern dairy farms in Gujarat in recent years," said Sodhi.

'Education system not fostering thinking'

Ela Bhatt lamented that the current education system is not encouraging thinking among the students. It is also not giving skills to students, especially in urban areas, she said. "Education does not teach us thinking. We are the best copy masters. Previously, udyog or shram (physical labour) were an integral part of the educational system," she said. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, president, CII emphasised on the importance of the participation of youth and arming them with future skills to make India one of the top three global economies.