Rajasthan-facts & figures

Context & History:

History Rājasthān (Hindi: राजस्थान, Rajasthani: राजस्थाण, pronounced [raːdʒəsˈt̪ʰaːn] (listen)) the land of Rajasthanis, ("the land of kings"[1] or "the land of colours"[2]), is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state is bordered by Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 132,150 sq mi or 342,239 km². The proportion of the state's total area to the total area of the country is 10.41 per cent.

The first mention of word Rajasthan comes from the work of James Tod (Annals) in 1829 A.D. Rajasthan literally means a Land of Kingdoms. George Thomas (Military Memories) was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana. John Keay in his book, India: A History stated that the Rajputana name was coined by the British, but that the word even achieved a retrospective authenticity: in an 1829 translation of Ferishta's history of early Islamic India, John Briggs discarded the phrase Indian princes, as rendered in Dow's earlier version, and substituted Rajpoot princes. Rajasthan was essentially the country of the Gurjars. R. C. Majumdar explained that the region was long known as Gurjaratra that is Country protected or ruled by the Gurjars, early form of Gujarat, before it came to be called Rajputana.

The only difference between erstwhile Rajputana and Rajasthan is that certain portions of what had been British India, in the former province of Ajmer-Merwara, were included. Portions lying geographically outside of Rajputana such as the Sumel-Tappa area were included in Madhya Pradesh.[8]

Demographics

Population Growth

Rajasthan has a mainly Rajasthani population. Hindus account for 88.8% of the population. Muslims make up 8.5%, Sikhs 1.4% and Jains 1.2% of the population. The state of Rajasthan is also populated by Sindhis, who came to Rajasthan from Sindh province (now in Pakistan) during the India-Pakistan separation in 1947.

The mother tongue of the majority of people in Rajasthan is Rajasthani. Rajasthani and Hindi are the most widely used languages in Rajasthan. Rajasthani is used as a medium of instruction, along with Hindi and English, in some schools. Some other languages used in Rajasthan are Gujarati, Sindhi and Punjabi.

Education

Non-formal education center in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Educational program by Seva Mandir, an NGO working for the development of the rural and tribal population in Udaipur and Rajsamand districts of southern Rajasthan

During recent years, Rajasthan has made significant progress in the area of education. The state government has been making sustained efforts to improve the educational standard. In recent decades, the literacy rate of Rajasthan has increased significantly. In 1991, the state's literacy rate was only 38.55% (54.99% male and 20.44% female). In 2001, the literacy rate increased to 60.41% (75.70% male and 43.85% female). This was the highest leap in the percentage of literacy recorded in India (the rise in female literacy being 23%). At the Census 2011, Rajasthan had a literacy rate of 67.06% (80.51% male and 52.66% female). Although Rajasthan's literacy rate is below the national average of 74.04% and although its female literacy rate is the lowest in the country (closely followed by Bihar at 53.33%), the state has been praised for its efforts and achievements in raising both male and female literacy rates.

Key information:

•          Population: 68.6 million (2011 Census, estimated at more than 68 million now)

•          Cities and Towns: 222

•          Major cities: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner Bharatpur, Alwar, Bhilwara, Sri Ganganagar, Sikar and Hanumangarh.

•          Roads: 1,51,914 km. (8,798 km National Highway)

•          National highways crossing Rajasthan: Delhi-Ahmedabad, Agra-Bikaner, Jaipur-Bhopal, Bhatinda-Kandla, Shivpuri-Kota, Kota-Udaipur and Pali-Ambala.

•          Climate: Generally dry with monsoon during July–August

•          Districts: 33

•          Languages: English and Hindi commonly used, as well as indigenous Rajasthani languages, Braj Bhasha etc.

•          Literacy: 67.063%(According to Census2011)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan

meeting with youth group members of naulakha village@Ajmer

Planning commision report on hunger & poverty

India could well be one of the two fastest growing economies of the world. But for the poor, matters have only turned worse.The Human Development Report released by the Planning Commission on Friday (21/10/2011)has shockingly revealed that the poor in rural India were better fed about 30 years ago. The eye-opening figures render meaningless the controversy over Planning Commission's poverty line cut-offs - those spending over Rs 26 a day in rural areas and over Rs 32 a day in urban areas would no longer be considered to be below the poverty line.

In fact, on the hunger front it has been one long slide downwards. All states, according to the report, are facing "a serious to extremely alarming situation of hunger." Even as the Indian economy boasts of an average growth rate of over 6 per cent per annum, the calorie and protein intake of the poor has declined consistently, according to figures for 1983 to 2004-05 which were taken into account to prepare the report.

The telling impact of this on health is all too evident. During 2000-07, nearly half of India's children under the age of five years were malnourished.

This is the worst in South Asia and, shockingly, worse than the worst performer in the African region - a dubious distinction that dents India's image. Further, the eleventh five year plan document says that the absolute weight and height of Indians, on an average, have not shown any significant improvement over the last 25 years.

The Human Development Report, which was released a day ahead of the National Development Council (NDC) meeting to be attended by the Prime Minister - it was released by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and rural development minister Jairam Ramesh - paints a dark picture of the Indian situation.

Sample this: Rural calorie consumption per day has fallen from 2,221 calories in 1983 to 2047 calories in 2004-05, a decline of 8 per cent. The urban calorie consumption fell by 3.3 per cent from 2,080 calories in 1983 to 2,020 calories in 2004-05. While the rural protein consumption registered a fall of 8 per cent, it remained unchanged in the urban areas.

The government had faced acute embarrassment over Planning Commission's estimate, based on the Tendulkar Committee report, which said that a daily expenditure of more than Rs 26 in rural areas (and Rs 32 in urban areas) did not classify a family as poor. As the government was lampooned over this, the plan panel, in sync with the rural development ministry, said the ongoing socio economic caste census (SECC) would provide a more realistic basis of identifying the country's poor.

The Human Development Report comes as an obvious dampener.

The human development report holds out no glimmer of hope, saying even seemingly well-off states faced a desperate hunger situation.

"The best performing (state) is Punjab, with a Hunger Index (HI) of 13.63, categorised as having a serious problem of hunger, in spite of its fairly high per capita income," says the report.

Similarly, Gujarat, though an economically prosperous state, has turned out to be worse than a poor state like Assam in this respect.

The HI is a tool to calculate hunger and malnutrition at the regional level in India. It based on the proportion of underweight children under the age of five years and the mortality rate of children under the age of five years.

The lower the Hunger Index, the better off a state is. So Punjab with an HI of 13.63 is the best performing state and MP with an HI of 30.87 is the worst.

The nutritional requirement recommends a national norm of 2,400 kilo calories a day for rural areas and 2,100 calories a day for urban areas, the difference being attributed to the lower rate of physical activity in urban areas. Even 20 years ago, an Indian's consumption of calories on average was way below the requirement.

In rural areas about 81 per cent of the population does not consume the recommended levels and for urban areas, the figure is 57 per cent. The calorie consumption for the poorest chunk of the population is significantly lower than the top quartile despite the poor needing more calories because of more manual work they need to do.

The share of food in total expenditure continued to fall throughout the three decades prior to 2004-05 in both rural and urban India with no compensatory rise in non-cereal consumption.

This, along with decreased calorie intake, has contributed to the intensity of hunger in India.

The findings of the report 2011, which were prepared by the Planning Commission over two years, is the second in the series of the human development reports released by the commission. It was prepared with the intention of indicating the wellbeing of the people in the country based on three indicators - consumption expenditure, education and health.

Though the HDI between 1999-2000 and 2007-08 increased by 21 per cent, the major driver of improvement is the education sector. The report clearly states that nutrition, sanitation and health remain areas of concern.

source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/poverty-malnutrition-india-hunger-index/1/157110.html

अच्छा मूल्य देने से परहेज क्यों

पिछले कुछ समय से सरकारी हलकों में यह बहस चल रही है कि किसानों को दिए जाने वाले समर्थन मूल्य में कितनी वृद्धि की जाए। हाल ही में कृषि लागत एवं मूल्य आयोग ने यह सिफारिश की है कि गेहूं का समर्थन मूल्य पिछले वर्ष के समर्थन मूल्य 1120 रुपये प्रति क्विंटल से बढ़ाकर 1350 प्रति क्विंटल कर दिया जाए। उधर, पंजाब के मुख्यमंत्री ने इस वृद्धि को अपर्याप्त माना है और यह कहा है कि गेहूं के समर्थन मूल्य को कम से कम 2200 रुपये प्रति क्विंटल किया जाना चाहिए। समर्थन मूल्य को कम बढ़ाए जाने के पीछे तर्क यह दिया जा रहा है कि देश में खाद्य पदार्थो की कीमतों में जो वृद्धि पिछले कुछ समय से हो रही है, इससे और अधिक बढ़ावा मिलेगा। इसलिए किसानों को मिलने वाला समर्थन मूल्य नहीं बढ़ना चाहिए। सरकार कुछ कृषि जींसों के लिए समर्थन मूल्य की घोषणा करती है और बाजार में मांग की कमी होने पर उस समर्थन मूल्य पर उस कृषि उत्पादों की खरीद भी करती है। इसके अतिरिक्त सरकार सार्वजनिक वितरण प्रणाली या रोजगार कार्यक्रमों के निमित्त उपयोग होने वाले अनाज की खरीद भी करती है। सरकार द्वारा समर्थन मूल्य पर खरीद होने के कारण उस उपज का बाजार मूल्य नहीं गिरता है और किसान को उसकी उपज के न्यूनतम मूल्य मिलने की गारंटी हो जाती है। सरकार द्वारा समर्थन मूल्य घोषित करने के कारण किसान को उस कृषि उत्पाद का उत्पादन बढ़ाने के लिए उत्साह भी मिलता है। किसान को गारंटीशुदा मूल्य मिलने की आशा से उन वस्तुओं का उत्पादन भी बढ़ता है। हरित क्रांति के साथ सरकार की समर्थन कीमत देने की नीति के चलते देश में खाद्यान्नों, विशेषतौर पर गेहूं और चावल का उत्पादन बढ़ा और देश खाद्यान्नों के मामले में आत्मनिर्भर हो गया। किसान खुशहाल हुआ और उसकी आमदनी में होने वाली वृद्धि से देश में वस्तुओं और सेवाओं की मांग भी बढ़ी और देश की आर्थिक संवृद्धि दर में सुधार हुआ। लेकिन नई आर्थिक नीति के बाद कृषि के विकास पर तो सरकार का ध्यान कम हुआ ही, साथ ही साथ सरकार द्वारा दिए जाने वाले समर्थन मूल्य में होने वाली वृद्धि कम होती गई। दूसरी ओर किसान की उत्पादन लागत में वृद्धि कहीं ज्यादा दर्ज हुई, जिसके चलते किसानों की आमदनी दिनोंदिन कम होती गई। राष्ट्रीय आय में होने वाली वृद्धि का लाभ गैर कृषि क्षेत्रों में ज्यादा पहुंचा और जहां 1980-81 में कृषि से 38 प्रतिषत जीडीपी प्राप्त होती थी, 2010-11 तक आते-आते कृषि का जीडीपी में योगदान घटकर मात्र 14.2 प्रतिशत ही रह गया। जाहिर है कि कुल श्रम शक्ति का लगभग 57 प्रतिशत हिस्सा जो कृषि में संलग्न हैं, देश की आर्थिक संवृद्धि के लाभों से वंचित रह गया। आज कृषि कोई बहुत फायदे का व्यवसाय नहीं है। अगर देखा जाए तो देश में प्रति हेक्टेयर गेहूं की उत्पादकता आज भी औसतन 29 क्विंटल है, चावल की उत्पादकता तो 22 क्विंटल से भी कम है। दालों की उत्पादकता अब भी मात्र छह क्विंटल ही है। ऐसे में गेहूं की कीमत 1200 रुपये प्रति क्विंटल होने पर भी किसान को 35,000 से भी कम प्रति हेक्टेयर मिलते हैं। उस पर किसान का कृषि पर होने वाला खर्च और उसकी मजदूरी निकाल दी जाए तो उसके लिए कुछ बचता नहीं है, लेकिन इस बात में कोई संदेह नहीं है कि कृषि में विकास के बिना इस देश की खाद्य सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित नहीं की जा सकती। 121 करोड़ से भी अधिक लोगों का यह देश अपनी खाद्य जरूरतों की आपूर्ति के लिए विदेशों पर निर्भर नहीं रह सकता। इतिहास गवाह है कि जब-जब भारत में विदेशों से खाद्यान्न का आयात किया गया है, तब-तब वैश्विक बाजार में खाद्य पदार्थो की कीमतें बढ़ जाती हैं। इसलिए कृषि विकास के लिए अच्छी कीमतों सहित सभी प्रकार के प्रोत्साहनों की भारी जरूरत है। ऐसे में हिसाब लगाया जाए तो किसान को कृषि कार्य करने में फायदे की बजाय नुकसान ही अधिक होता है। अगर पिछले दो वर्षो का अपवाद छोड़ दिया जाए तो देखने में आता है कि सरकार पिछले लगभग 7-8 वर्षो से कृषि उत्पादों की खरीद के अपने दायित्व से विमुख होने का प्रयास करती रही है। ऐसे में निजी कंपनियों द्वारा कृषि वस्तुओं की खरीद को बढ़ावा मिला और उनके द्वारा जमाखोरी में भारी वृद्धि हुई। ऐसे में उपभोक्ताओं का स्वभाविक रूप से शोषण हुआ। किसानों को भी निजी कंपनियों द्वारा खरीद से कोई लाभ नहीं मिला, क्योंकि निजी कंपनियों ने किसानों से समर्थन मूल्य के आसपास भारी खरीद की। हम जानते हैं कि गेहूं का समर्थन और खरीद मूल्य पिछले वर्ष 1120 रुपये प्रति क्विंटल के आसपास था, जबकि बाजार में आटे की कीमत लगभग 20 से 30 रुपये प्रति किलो रही। आज विश्व में खाद्य असुरक्षा बढ़ती जा रही है। भारत में तो यह खतरनाक स्तर पर पहुंच चुकी है। खाद्यान्नों का उत्पादन घटने की सूरत में देश फिर से विदेशों पर निर्भर होना शुरू हो गया है। खाद्यान्नों के खालिस निर्यातक से भारत आज खाद्यान्नों का खालिस आयातक बन चुका है। सरकार की कृषि के प्रति बेरुखी इस बात से परिलक्षित होती है कि जहां 1987 में सरकार अपने कुल बजट का 27 प्रतिशत कृषि पर खर्च करती थी, अब वह मात्र 5 प्रतिशत ही कृषि पर खर्च करती है। सरकार द्वारा दिए जाने वाला समर्थन मूल्य उसकी लागत की पूर्ति करने में भी असमर्थ है। ऐसे में किसान द्वारा कृषि का परित्याग और तदनुसार घटता कृषि उत्पादन देश में खाद्य मुद्रा स्फीति का प्रमुख कारण है। किसानों में बढ़ती असुरक्षा की भावना इस बात से परिलक्षित होती है कि पिछले एक दशक में लगभग तीन लाख किसानों ने आत्महत्या कर ली। किसानों की यह बदहाली देश में खाद्य असुरक्षा को तो बढ़ा ही रही है, आम जन के लिए भारी महंगाई का भी कारण बन रही है। ऐसे में सरकार में बैठे नीति-निर्माताओं को यह विचार करना होगा कि कृषि के प्रति बेरुखी देश के लिए भारी खतरे का कारण बन रही है। देश में खाद्य सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करने के लिए किसानों की सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करनी होगी। इसके लिए गेहूं, चावल, गन्ना इत्यादि के समर्थन मूल्य में वृद्धि करना तो आवश्यक है ही, तिलहनों, मोटे अनाजों, दालों और तमाम प्रकार के कृषि उत्पादों की सरकारी खरीद और न्यूनतम कीमत को सुनिश्चित करना देश की खाद्य सुरक्षा की न्यूनतम शर्त है। सरकार द्वारा किसानों को दिए जाने वाले लाभकारी मूल्य के माध्यम से ही देश में कृषि उत्पादन बढ़ाया जा सकता है। यह सिद्ध हो चुका है कि बाजारी शक्तियों के कारण कीमतों में वृद्धि वास्तव में बिचौलियों को तो लाभ देती है, किसान को इसका कोई लाभ नहीं मिलता। इतिहास गवाह है कि जब भी आलू, टमाटर या अन्य प्रकार के कृषि उत्पादों के बाजार मूल्य में आए उछाल से प्रभावित होकर किसान द्वारा जब-जब उत्पादन बढ़ाया गया है, उसे भारी नुकसान सहना पड़ा है और बाजार से उचित मूल्य के अभाव में किसानों द्वारा आलू, टमाटर और अन्य प्रकार की सब्जियों को फेंकने के लिए बाध्य होना पड़ा है। जरूरत इस बात की है कि किसान को निरंतर उचित कीमत मिलने की गारंटी हो।

हैं)

अश्विनी महाजन

(लेखक आर्थिक मामलों के जानकार

Source: Dainik Jagran (Rashtriya-24/10/2011)

Farmers forced to sell produce cheap!

Hindustan times ( 22nd October 2011)

VIC@ Banswara in news!

The Village Information Center at Banswara been promoted by LIFE project is in the news. Please find the attached news paper cutting of the same. The center is committed for providing information on various government schemes and programmes for the benefit of poor and tribal community.

Latest on UID!

Women in agriculture-a study!

RCDSSS-Ajmer LIFE project team October mont plan

ACTIVITIES TO ACCOMPLISH	PREPARATION / STEPS	DATES
1.       Establishment of Vermin Compost units, Than	14 units (10'×3'×½') size	Commence
2.       Staff Meeting – Disha 3.       Staff meeting – Life & IDEA		3 Oct. 2011 4 Oct. 2011
4.       Identification of needy Livestock rearers for 200 animals for AI (breed improvement) to be completed upto dec.2011	Targeted HH having not more than 5 big animals. Two animals to get AI / per farmer These animals should get AI upto Dec.2011 latest.	Ongoing process
5.       Social Audit training of MGNREGA for CBO members (centre level)	Selection of farmer club members, SHG members & Youth Group members, PRI members etc. Selection of Members of Social Audit forum at panchayat level Invitation letter to all	17 – 18 Oct. at DISHA
6.       Establishment of 4 Rojgar Dhaba (Nepoli, Nolkha, Kalyanipura, Surajpura)	·         Selection of villages ·         Place / House with electricity connection. ·         Signing MOU with FC, Owner and community members	R.D. by 16 Oct. SHG prod. Unit by 23 Oct.
7.       Establishment of 4 training cum Production Units for SHGs
8.       Initiation of paravet trainings	Identification of 10 Local indigenous paravets (not trained) who are already providing services in village; to upgrade their skills and certify them and providing Toolkit. Plan a 5 to 10 days training at KVK.	20th Oct. 2011 Training by 10 November 11
9.       Exposure Visit to Pushkar & KVK, Ajmer on sustainable agriculture practices and modern Irrigation Practices	Selection of 50 progressive farmers Contact with KVK & Person at Pushkar to facilitate the sessions Hiring of Bus, cook and accommodations place.	21-22 October, 2011
10.    Rabi Crop Demonstration	Selection of farmers in a meeting held by Kisan Club. Sample of Water & Soil for testing	15 Oct. 2011 20 Oct. 2011
11.    Training on Post Harvesting practices, grading, storage and packing	Selection of 150 progressive farmers who sell their crop (mung, millet, Jwar etc.) Hiring a Resource Person for the same.	24, 25, 31 Oct. 2011
12.    Micro-plan development of Godiawas	FGD, Resource Mapping, transact walk Problem analysis with CBO members	20 Oct. 2011

Submitted by:                                                                                                                      

(Manish Singh)                                                                                                     

Coordinator

Impact of LIFE project at Banswara: LIFE has given shelter for my life!

Indira Awash Yojana (IAY) is a government schemes to provide shelter to the BPL and needy families in terms of construction of brick pucca house.

With the effort from LIFE team at Banswara for making the community aware about the government schemes and capacitate them to access the services in the month of September 2011 in  Nathpura village (LIFE project village) Ms. Nirmala Narshing Devdhahas ( ST community) received first installment 25000 of IAY from SBBJ bank Kushlgarh. The process of application has started in the month of June, where in LIFE project field animator Ms. Priya garasiya has shared the information to the villages ( through household visits) on IAY and facilitate a meeting of villages with the secretary of the concerned Panchyat.

With the process  Nirmala narshing  has identified her need 9a s she don’t have a proper house where she can live…in heavy rain its difficult for her and family members to survive) and eligibility and shown her willingness to avail the sevice of IAY. In continuation with the same she has met with field animator Ms. Priya and along with her she  has gone and filled the form for the same at the Panchyat Samiti Office and later on for further processing with Nirmala and Priya tried many times to meet the patwari of the village, but his unavailability has delayed the process and sometimes when he is available he just refuse the processing by saying he is busy and would take this later on…..

….but Nirmala and Priya continued pressurizing the Ptawari to do thw ork and finally he as agreed to for further processing for giving the khata naka ( maps and copies of land details)…..and with this they have submitted the entire documents including NREGA passbook copy, card, voter ID card and two passport size photographs to the concerned bank and received the first installment of Rs. 25000 from the SBBJ bank , Kushalgarh ( Banswara)…..

Nirmala is feeling happy…and is hoping to construct her own shelter…where in heavy rain she can survive with her family member……according to her…with LIFE ….she has a shelter for her life!

By: LIFE project team at SJVS-Banswara

Food security: India ranks lower than Rwanda

India 67th In Global Hunger Index Among 81 Countries With Worst Figures

Times Insight Group

New Delhi: India’s food security situation continues to rank as “alarming” according to the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Global Hunger Index, 2011. It ranks 67 of the 81 countries of the world with the worst food security status. This means that there are only 14 countries in the world whose people have a worse nutritional status.

 The GHI is composed of three equally weighted indicators — the proportion of the population that is undernourished, the proportion of children who are underweight and under-five child mortality.
   

India’s GHI for 2011 was 23.7 — lower than it was last year, but higher than it was 15 years ago – giving it a rank of 67. Pakistan, Nepal, Rwanda and Sudan all did better than India, while Bangladesh, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo were among the countries that did worse.
  

 While the DRC is the only country whose food security situation has deteriorated in the last ten years, India has the ignominy of being among the countries with the least improvement in the same period. It has however moved from having an “extremely alarming” food security situation – the worst grade given by IFPRI – to “alarming”, that is, having a GHI between 20 and 29.9. China, Iran and Brazil are among the countries that have more than halved their GHI scores over the last decade.
  

 The UPA government was not able to introduce a Food Security Bill in the monsoon session and there is little agreement yet over who qualifies as poor enough to receive subsidized food grain.
   

The IFPRI report notes that there is growing volatility in global food markets which it attributes to three factors: “increasing use of food crops for biofuels, extreme weather conditions and climate change, and increased volume of trading in commodity futures markets. These factors are exacerbated by highly concentrated export markets that leave the world’s staple food importers dependent on just a few countries, a historically low level of grain reserves, and a lack of timely information about the world food system that could help prevent overreaction to moderate shifts in supply and demand.”

   “The poorest and most vulnerable people bear the heaviest burden when food prices spike or swing unpredictably,” said Klaus von Grebmer, lead author of the report and IFPRI communications director. The IFPRI report comes just a day after the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011, which said that food price volatility is likely to increase over the next decade.

Source: Times of India (12^th October)