Demonetization led to economic disruption in India, other "significant harms"; adult banking just 53%: Brookings

By Our Representative
A top Washington DC-based institute in its new report on financial and digital inclusion has sharply criticized the Government of India (GoI) for its demonetization move of November 8, 2016, underlining that the “abrupt announcement led to economic disruption and other significant harms.”
Among the “other significant harms” the report – titled “The 2017 Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project Report: Building a secure and inclusive global financial ecosystem”, and authored by Robin J Lewis, Jogh D Villasenor, and Darrell M West – notes include “incidences of suicide, trampling, heart attacks, and denial of health care due to inability to pay with the demonetized currency.”
Giving short detail of how the demonetization was announced by declaring notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 void at midnight, the report contests the GoI claim that “the aims of the drive included curbing corruption and advancing digital financial services.”
The harmful effects of demonetization happened, the report says, even though “the drive did appear to lead to a significant increase in deposits in individuals’ accounts within the month of the announcement.”
Pointing out that “experts hold diverging views on whether the drive will have long-term benefits, including in terms of leading to greater engagement with digital financial services and in curbing corruption”, the report insists, “More time is needed to determine the full consequences of the initiative.”
Against huge claims following demonetization that India has moved forward towards universal banking and a sharp upward swing in mobile transactions, the report states, in India, “unique mobile subscribership” is 53%, “financial account ownership among adults” is 53%, and “financial account ownership among women” is 43%.
Assessing the financial inclusion moves of the GoI, the report says, its “formal commitment milestones” include the launching of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana programme in 2014, joining the Better than Cash Alliance in September 2015, issuing provisional payments bank licenses to diverse entities, including nonbank institutions such as India Post, in August 2015, and so on.
Scoring India 72% on a scale of 100, among the 26 developing nations assessed, the country ranks worse than 12 other countries. Kenya ranks the best with 86% and Brazil comes next with 79%. Other countries which score better than India include South Africa (78%), Uganda (78%), Colombia 78%, Rwanda (76%), Philippines (76%), Chile (74%), Nigeria (74%), and Turkey (73%).
The only consolation for India is, it’s the two neighbours which are part of the assessment, Pakistan and Bangladesh, rank worse, with a score of 69% and 66%.
Among the steps the report recommends to improve its financial inclusion rate include implementing and scaling “financial capability initiatives to reduce account dormancy rates”, incentivizing “adoption of digital payments at merchant locations to enhance the digital financial services ecosystem”, and “monitoring the effects of the demonetization initiative, particularly with respect to underserved groups.”

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World Bank clarifies: Its 26th rank to India not for universal access to power but for ease of doing business

By Our Representative
In a major embarrassment to the Government of India, the World Bank has reportedly clarified that it has not ranked India 26th out of 130 countries for providing power to its population. The top international banker’s clarification comes following Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal’s claim that India has “improved to 26 position from 99” in access to electricity in just one year.

Mental health: India's 95% patients "deprived" of medical care, treatment gap 70%

By Moin Qazi*
Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis. Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb. An estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million from anxiety disorders. For those who suffer from mental illness, life can seem like a terrible prison from which there is no hope of escape; they are left forlorn and abandoned, stigmatized, shunned and misunderstood.

Modi model? "Refusal" to build Narmada's micro canals, keep Kutch dry; help industry

By Medha Patkar*
This is the latest photograph of the Kutch Branch Canal (KBC) of the Sardar Sarovar, as of April 8! What does it show, expose, and what memories do you recall? Is it dry or dead? Is it a canal or a carcass of the same?

Bill Gates "promoting" GMO, Bt cotton, like cartels that have roots in Hitler's Germany

By Our Representative
World-renowned environmental leader and ecologist Dr Vandana Shiva has expressed concern that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation, has joined the bandwagon of “a poison cartel of three" – Monsanto and Bayer, Syngenta and ChemChina, Dow and DuPont – all of whom allegedly have “roots in Hitler’s Germany and finding chemicals to kill people”.

Indian talc products contain "contaminated" asbestos structures, can cause cancer: Study

Counterview Desk
A recent study, using polarizing light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction, and X-ray analysis on multiple over-the-counter Indian talc products for the presence of asbestos, has concluded that large quantities of body talc products are likely to pose a public health risk for asbestos-related diseases, especially for the cancers related to asbestos exposure.

Why are you silent on discrimination against Dalit jawans? Macwan questions Modi

By Rajiv Shah
Close on the heels of releasing his book in Gujarati, "Bhed Bharat", which lists 319 cases of atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis across the country over the last five years, well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan has shot an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling him the reasons why he does not want vote for the BJP.

Emergence of a rare Dalit teacher in IIT-Kanpur "disturbed" certain faculty members

By PS Krishnan, IAS (Retd)*
Dr Subrahmanyam Sadrela, a faculty member in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur since January 1, 2018, and one of the rare Dalit members of the faculty in IIT group of institutions, is facing the threat of revocation of his PhD thesis, and thereby also jeopardizing his job and career.

RTE in remote areas? Govt of India "plans" to close down 2.4 lakh schools

By Srijita Majumder*
The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, came into effect on April 1, 2010, for the first time made it obligatory on the part of the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children from 6-14 years of age in India. The Act, despite its limitations, had progressive elements like neighbourhood schools, community participation, ban on corporal punishment, no detention, continuous and comprehensive evaluation and it hence it appeared that India was not far from achieving universal elementary education.

Election Commission suffering from worst-ever "credibility crisis": Ex-bureaucrats

Counterview Desk
In an open letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, a group of ex-bureaucrats have lamented ‘weak-kneed’ responses of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Citing various violations of the model code of conduct, and pointing towards how ECI has taken little action, the letter asks the President to tell ECI to “conduct itself in a manner where its independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are not questioned.”

Investigation shows Narmada downstream "seriously" polluted. Reason: apathy, greed

By Rohit Prajapati, Krishnakant, Swati Desai*
Our investigation regarding quality of water flowing in the Narmada river downstream of the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD), dated April 6, 2019, between 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. reiterates, what is commonly known now, that the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is planned without considering its impact on the downstream Narmada River stretch of 161 kilometres, its ecology, biodiversity and fishery, and lakhs of people living close to and dependent on the river directly or indirectly. This, in turn, has led to its present disastrous state.

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