Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan

Lack of innovative technology could scuttle TN’s aims of enhanced ethanol production Lack of innovative technology could scuttle TN’s aims of enhanced ethanol production Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan March 29, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                     Read in : தமிழ் India aims to reduce imports of fossil fuels by achieving 20% ethanol blending with gasoline from April 2023. A nationwide rollout is planned from 2025-26. At present, India’s ethanol production capacity is 426 crore litres from sugarcane-based distilleries and 258 crore litres from grain-based distilleries. By 2027, the ethanol market in India is estimated to reach Rs.40,593 crore. At present, India is the second largest importer of US ethanol for industrial purposes. The centre has also cut Goods & Service Tax (GST) on ethanol meant for the Ethanol-blended Petrol (EBP) programme from 18% to 5%. To ensure a $1 trillion economy for Tamil Nadu by 2030, multiple efforts are underway to tap the strategic advantages in emerging industries with the timely launch of new policies for facilitation and promotion of investment. The latest one is the Tamil Nadu Ethanol Blending Policy 2023 to generate clean energy from diverse foodgrains other than sugarcane.  The policy aims to attract Rs.5000 crore in new investments to establish molasses/foodgrain-based ethanol plants with a production capacity of 130 crore litres. Tamil Nadu is already a major automobile market with the third largest vehicular population in the country. The State’s petrol requirement is estimated to increase to 474 crore litres by 2024-25. According to the state ethanol policy, Tamil Nadu stands third in the consumption of Motor Spirit (MS) petrol after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with a consumption of about 2.7 million metric tonnes (3.8 billion litres) in 2021-22. The new state ethanol blending policy rightly recognises that “with transportation sector accounting for nearly one-fourth of GHG emissions and considering the projected robust growth of the State’s vehicular fleet, there is an immediate need to transition to alternate cost-effective green fuel that mitigates climate change”. The National Policy on Biofuels (2018), emphasises the production of ethanol from a variety of feed-stock including agricultural residue (rice straw, cotton stalk, corn cobs, saw dust, bagasse etc.); starch containing materials such as maize, cassava, rotten potatoes; damaged food grains apart from sugarcane and other sugar containing materials such as sugar beet. One such major foodgrain identified as feedstock in the state ethanol policy is tapioca, which would also benefit farmers of the starch-rich tuber. Despite Tamil Nadu’s surplus production of tapioca, an ideal feedstock for bioethanol, the state has no plants to use the starch-rich crop At present Tamil Nadu does not have a significant presence on ethanol production and gets its requirement from other states like Maharashtra and Karnataka. The state has 12 molasses projects with an installed capacity of just 17.4 crore litres per annum. Thus, there is huge scope for establishing bioethanol plants for food grains based like tapioca crop.  Tapioca with its high starch content (25 to 35%) and ability to grow under low management conditions has been globally recognised as a potential feedstock for bioethanol production. The state ethanol policy highlights that Tamil Nadu accounts for about 80% of the total acreage under tapioca in the country producing 38.93 lakh metric tonnes from over 91,506 hectares. The tuber is mainly cultivated in Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Dharmapuri, and Kanyakumari districts. Not surprisingly, the over 800 starch and sago factories, spread over Salem, Erode, Namakkal, and Dharmapuri are flourishing. Also Read: Ethanol blending: Thanjavur awaits this green revolution Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh account for about 96% of the area and 98% of tapioca production in India. While the tuber has been largely used as raw material for starch extraction, Kerala has tapped into the export markets for value-added tapioca products. The processed tapioca with masala from Kerala is in great demand overseas including the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The major countries importing Indian tapioca are the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal, and the Netherlands. Given that Tamil Nadu has not diversified into tapioca-based products for export, a recent report stated that its surplus production of over a million tonnes in a year can be used for the generation of bioethanol. Though, the CTCRI in Thiruvananthapuram has developed novel enzyme technology for the production of ethanol from tapioca starch/flour, the technology is yet to be implemented for a pilot study prior to being scaled up. While a plant set up in Palakkad in the late 1990s failed to scale up,  Kerala government has allocated Rs. 2 crore for the research and the production of ethanol from tapioca in its 2022 budget. If the proposal takes off it will help the state’s farmers get a remunerative price for the tuber which has seen a glut with widespread cultivation under the Subiksha Keralam project. The Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) established the Tapioca and Castor Research Station in Yethapur near Salem with the stated objective of “development of post-harvest technology, value added products and bio-fuels survey, monitoring and management of major pests”. However, it seems the Research Station has not done any significant work in the area of tapioca value addition. Other states have stolen a march over Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh and Haryana each have 15 foodgrain-based ethanol plants, Maharashtra has 28, Punjab 18, Karnataka 6 and Bihar 5 Tamil Nadu’s ethanol blending policy aims “to maximise its value addition to the State’s natural resources by promoting indigenous ethanol production based on existing locally available agrocentric resources, expansion of these resources as well as utilisation of surplus and damaged produce.” Further, the policy state that “Tamil Nadu to augment biofuel production within the State using indigenous sources which could partly insulate the import price shocks, address the pollution concerns and enhance agricultural output and its utilisation.”

TN State Budget has no tech solutions for urban issues TN State Budget has no tech solutions for urban issues Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan March 23, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                      Read in : தமிழ் The State budget is as important as the Union budget, no importance has been given to pre-budget debate on important issues at the district level even in a state like Tamil Nadu, which claims to be a model state for the country. The state government has not decentralised decision-making either. Without reaching out to major stakeholders for their suggestions on what needs to be done at the city and panchayat level, there cannot be equitable distribution of resources. The Tamil Nadu budget for 2023-24 should ideally have presented solutions to the several structural and institutional challenges hindering the prospects of equitable growth and development for all sections of people. The state’s revenue and fiscal data does not, however, give a clear picture on what is possible. Also, there are no transformational schemes and programmes announced in the budget although the government has been harping on about the Dravidian model of economics and social justice. The state is facing multiple challenges with the electricity department (TANGEDCO) and state transport corporations riddled with huge debts, and state-owned enterprises making major losses. Yet, the government, instead of addressing those issues, keeps offering more freebies and subsidies to the people. The state is facing multiple challenges with the electricity department (TANGEDCO) and state transport corporations riddled with huge debts, and state-owned enterprises making major losses. Yet, the government, instead of addressing those issues, keeps offering more freebies and subsidies to the people, and not just to those living below the poverty line. There is no transparency or accountability about the use of funds allocated for such schemes in the budget either. At the outset, the state finance minister mentioned that owing to the unprecedented and difficult reforms undertaken, the government has reduced the annual revenue deficit from Rs 62,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the revised estimates for the current year. The revenue deficit for 2023-24 has been estimated at Rs 37,540.45 crore. Also Read: TN budget: Debate throws up mixed reactions The state’s fiscal deficit has been estimated at Rs 74,524.64 crore in the revised estimates which is 3% of the GSDP for the current year. And for the coming year, the fiscal deficit has been estimated at Rs 92,074.91 crore, which is 3.25% of the GSDP and is an increase of 0.25% of GSDP or Rs 17,550.27 crore. It is even more interesting that for the coming year 2023-24, the state government plans to raise loans and the net borrowings are projected at Rs 91,866.14 crore, including Rs 82,625.96 crore of Net Open Market Borrowings and Rs 9,240.18 crore from other sources. Due to these loans borrowed year after year for the purpose of giving freebies and doles to the people, the yearly payment of interest on loans has been consistently increasing. In the budget, the expenditure on account of staff salaries is a committed expenditure estimated at Rs 77,240.31 crore for 2023-24 which is an increase of 14.14%. Further, the expenditure under salaries will increase to Rs 84,964.34 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 94,460.78 crore in 2025-26, effectively not leaving much for actual development projects. The expenditure outlay for the committed expenditure on pensions and retirement benefits is Rs 36,973.02 crore for 2023-24. It has been projected to increase to Rs 39,930.86 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 45,524.64 in 2025-26. Hence, the increase is consistent. There is not a single word in the budget on managing the increasing amounts of municipal solid waste, e-waste, hazardous waste, industrial effluents, and discharge of sewage wastewater in cities and urban centres. The expenditure on account of subsidies and transfers is estimated to be Rs 1,22,088.19 crore in the budget estimates 2023-24. Further, it has been estimated that the expenditure will increase to Rs 1,25,426.34 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 1,29,204.59 crore in 2025-26. The interest payments on public debt raised in the previous years continue to increase. For 2023-24 it is Rs.55,431.49 crore, and it is projected to increase to Rs 61,876.73 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 68,598.91 crore in 2025-26. Also Read: Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24: A bit here, a bit there! Tamil Nadu plans to borrow loans of Rs 1,43,197.93 crore for 2023-24 and make a repayment of Rs 51,331.79 crore. However, the budget has not dealt with how the tax revenue would be mobilised to finance these increased expenditures. How can it be a model state if its financial health is poor? The reduction in property registration rates from 4% to 2%, announced in the budget, would generate some additional revenue, but not much. The plans to improve skills ecosystems, including institutional capacity building and fulfilling industry requirements of skilled manpower, is very much the need of the hour. But corruption at the implementation level in district headquarters in imparting market-relevant skills are yet to be addressed. The various new schemes announced in the budget are not growth-oriented institutional reforms and do not employ technologies-based solutions to overcome major challenges. There is not a single word on managing the increasing amounts of municipal solid waste, e-waste, hazardous waste, industrial effluents, and discharge of sewage wastewater in cities and urban centres. The massive pollution they create affects the health of women, children, and elderly people. The state will pay a huge price in the future for ignoring critical issues like solid waste and sewage wastewater management, as the state is highly urbanised with more than 54% of people living in urban areas Though the budget mentions “cleaning activities such as prevention of sewage from entering the river and construction of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs)”, these are outdated methods. The Tamil Nadu government

TN Organic Farming Policy lacks vision and action plans TN Organic Farming Policy lacks vision and action plans Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan March 22, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                          Read in : தமிழ் Before the industrial revolution and the large-scale production of chemicals opened up farming to synthetic inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, all farming had been organic farming. In India particularly, the need to become self-sufficient in food production in the years after Independence led to the Green Revolution and the large-scale adoption of chemical inputs to boost agricultural produce. However, in time the use of chemicals to grow food proved harmful to human health and detrimental to the natural ecosystem surrounding food production. This awareness has led to the need for a return to organic methods of growing food, to which end the Tamil Nadu government has come up with a policy aimed at encouraging more organic farming. While the initiative assumes importance, does the policy have the vision to truly effect a positive change? One of the main issues with farming in India, is that the link between farmers and consumers got broken as middlemen came into the picture. In addition, there’s been a wide gulf between farming policies of subsequent governments and the traditional knowledge of the farming community, whether it’s with regard to seed selection, cultivation based on climatic zones and seasons and maintenance of soil health, as well as the incentives and subsidies offered. Hence, the policies of governments themselves are to blame for chemical-based farming becoming the norm and organic farming becoming the exception, leading to a rise in deadly health problems in the population as the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides became ubiquitous. Over 93% of farmers in Tamil Nadu are small and marginal farmers who need special attention with pragmatic policies and programmes to support them to make farming lucrative while at the same time being sustainable. The Tamil Nadu government released its Organic Farming Policy-2023 on March 14 to promote the growth and sustainability of organic farming in the state within a timeframe of five years. Though the state government claims to have held consultations before formulating the policy over the last one-and-a-half years, the truth is that it did not hold any notable consultations with major stakeholders in the state, nor did it release any draft policy inviting suggestions and comments from the public. There’s been a wide gulf between farming policies of subsequent governments and the traditional knowledge of the farming community, whether it’s with regard to seed selection, cultivation based on climatic zones and seasons and maintenance of soil health, as well as the incentives and subsidies offered We do not even know which division within the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department framed the policy. It matters because it would give one an idea about what kind of feedback and consultations from the farming community were internalised in the policy. Tamil Nadu occupies the 14th position among states engaged in organic farming, with 31,629 hectares of organic agriculture land, according to the policy document. This includes 14,086 hectares of organic certified area and 17,542 hectares under conversion. Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts occupy first and second positions in terms of total area under organic farming in the state. Tamil Nadu holds the 11th position in organic production with 24,826 metric tonnes which include farm and wild produce. The state exported 4,223 MT of organic products which fetched Rs 108 crore in the year 2020-2021”. Also Read: ‘Organic farming policy lacks grasp of grassroots’ According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’s latest data as on July 26, 2022), however, Tamil Nadu has a total of 52,305.73 hectares of organic farms as certified by the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and 8,240.00 hectares of organic farming as certified under the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). Since 2015-16, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has been promoting organic farming in the country through the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). The scheme gives support to organic farmers for the entire value chain i.e. from production to certification and marketing. Post-harvest management support including processing, packing, and marketing is an integral part of the scheme to encourage organic farmers. Under this scheme, there are 200 organic farming clusters in Tamil Nadu covering 4,000 hectares benefiting 10,000 farmers, as of August 2, 2022. Thus, it seems as though the state government policy was crafted in a hurry without a comprehensive study of the current status of organic farming in the state, and without looking at various models from other states such as Kerala, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. The policy also fails to set a clear roadmap with achievable targets on key parameters and the efforts needed for it. Having failed to mention the current best practices followed by various stakeholders in producing several crops in various regions in the state, the policy does not aim for qualitative or quantitative improvement. The basic standard principles of organic farming have not been elucidated in the policy document to reach out to all stakeholders. The policy also does not pay enough attention to holistic organic farming management, from how to improve soil health with the right farm inputs for the production of toxin-free farm produce to how the private sector can participate in improving the value chain and market linkages. R&D on new seed varieties is not really under the control of the public sector. The state’s policy should therefore have included ways to overcome the challenge of accessing organic crop seeds and put price caps on certain items that are under the monopoly control of certain seed production companies In the past, farmers and consumers have always had a direct relationship. One knew how their food was produced and what went

Abysmal foundational learning in TN primary schools Abysmal foundational learning in TN primary schools Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan March 1, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                     Read in : தமிழ் Tamil Nadu has been known for its model of social development, especially with regard to access to primary health care and high enrolment of students in schools. However, the quality of school education, when measured by foundational learning outcomes, especially in primary schools in Tamil Nadu, is found to be woefully inadequate. The main handicap has been the government’s focus on school education from an “input” model  — building infrastructure and fixing hardware to aid learning — rather than an “outcome” based model. An outcome-based model would require that teachers’ training be improved, applied teaching methods with creative activities be implemented and so on. The issue has become structural and institutional now, not just in Tamil Nadu but in the entire country. Several studies have illustrated the seriousness of the learning challenges in India. The World Bank report on the State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 stated that in India, between 2017 and 2021, average language scores for Class 5 students on the national assessment had declined to 309 from 319, and average mathematics scores declined to 284 from 310. The decline is about 10% for maths scores. Though the poor performance of children in primary schools in recent years has been blamed on the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, the fact is that for decades independent educationists and public policy experts have been urging governments to focus on improving the quality of foundational learning for children. Fortunately, now, governments are concerned and have launched programmes to improve the foundational learning. In 2021, the Union Ministry of Education launched the “National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN)” to ensure that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy when they complete Class 3, by the year 2027. Similarly, the Tamil Nadu government also launched the “Ennum Ezhuthum” scheme in June 2022 on a mission to improve literacy and numeracy by up to 8 years by 2025. The schemes of the union government and the Tamil Nadu government are similar in nature. The current status of the foundational learning of literacy and numeracy of primary school children in Tamil Nadu has been revealed in three studies to be abysmal. The findings may have surprised many, but in reality this has been the trend for a long time. As part of the outcome assessment of the NIPUN programme, the Foundational Learning Study (FLS) 2022 was conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) across the country in March 2022. Of the 86,000 students who participated, 2,937 students from 336 schools are from Tamil Nadu. Tiruchirappalli district is one of the top ten low-performing districts in the country. Also Read: Why TN kids have poor basic learning skills as per ASER The FLS study revealed that about 50% of Class III students in Tamil Nadu cannot read Tamil correctly and that only 20% had the minimum proficiency in understanding Class III-level Tamil text. Tamil Nadu’s performance is also the lowest compared to the performance of children in Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada languages. The NCERT study also found that in numeracy learning, only 23% of students from Tamil Nadu had the minimum proficiency of identifying and reading numbers, addition, and subtraction, identifying bigger numbers, and day, date, and month in the calendar. Further, about 52% of students could not even identify the day, date, and month in the calendar. In contrast, more than 40% of Class III students from other southern states have minimum proficiency in numbers. Moreover, primary school students in Tamil Nadu also fared poorly in reading English. Only 29% of students could read more than 35 words in one minute, and 43% of students lacked basic knowledge and skills and were able to read only 0 to 14 words in a minute. Also, most students were not able to complete the most basic grade-level tasks. However, at the national level, only 17% lacked basic knowledge and skills and 54% had a minimum level of proficiency in English. The other study, the State of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in India report-2022, released by Stanford University’s Institute for Competitiveness, revealed that students in Tamil Nadu studying in Tamil medium showed an abysmal performance, with only 9% of students exceeding global proficiency levels and 48% of students falling below the global level of partially proficient. The global benchmark on proficiency level and partial proficiency level is 51% and 6% respectively. The FLS study revealed that about 50% of Class III students in Tamil Nadu cannot read Tamil correctly and that only 20% had the minimum proficiency in understanding Class III-level Tamil text. Tamil Nadu’s performance is also the lowest compared to the performance of children in Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada languages. A 2021 study by the Institute for Competitiveness revealed that out of 40 indicators selected for assessment of school education on five important themes such as school infrastructure, access to education, basic health, learning outcomes, and governance, in 32 indicators (80%) Tamil Nadu ranked as underperforming. Tamil Nadu was found to be overperforming only on 6 indicators (15%), and performing within the expected range only on two indicators (5%). In the 2022 study, out of 39 performance indicators — the most greatly improved — Tamil Nadu was overperforming on 15 of them (38%), performing within range on 23 of them (59%) and underperforming only on one of the indicators(3%). According to the Annual Status of Education Report, (ASER 2022) survey, Tamil Nadu was among the States with the lowest reading levels (4.8%) in primary school education. For basic arithmetic learning, only 11.2% of the children surveyed in Class

How Abdul Kalam project can help TN stop the stink of rapid urbanisation How Abdul Kalam project can help TN stop the stink of rapid urbanisation Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan February 20, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                       Read in : தமிழ் During the last few years, the aftermath of the northeast monsoon has left several parts of Tamil Nadu waterlogged, effectively evicting lakhs of poor people from their homes, forcing them to move out, desperately seeking assistance from the governments and other agencies. Ironically, Tamil Nadu has a rich heritage in water conservation systems that have served as models all over the world. Stream or river-fed storage structures, sometimes built in a series, with overflow from one becoming the inflow for subsequent ones were created and nurtured by local communities. These structures are called ‘system tanks’ in Tamil Nadu and have been used since ancient times. Over the years, specially post Independence, Tamil Nadu has emerged as the state with the highest level of urbanisation, with about 54% of the people living in urban areas.  However, these areas lack adequate basic civil infrastructure and services. Recognising this demographic shift, Tamil Nadu was the first state to have a State Water Policy as early as 1994, and regulatory bodies like the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) /Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) for efficient water resource management. However, the policy focus of governments, regulatory authorities, public representatives, and other stakeholders apart from the public was diluted steadily over a period eroding the ownership, responsibilities, and accountability of local communities at all levels.  While technologies implemented for the treatment of wastewater have become obsolete, policies continue to push outdated, inefficient techniques and methods for wastewater treatment. Tamil Nadu has emerged as the state with the highest level of urbanisation, with about 54% of the people living in urban areas.  However, these areas lack adequate basic civil infrastructure and services. Inadequate treatment According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Report on “National Inventory of Sewage Treatment Plants -2021”, in Tamil Nadu, a total of 6,421 MLD of sewage wastewater is generated every day. The total installed capacity for treatment of such sewage is just 1,492 MLD (23.23%), a gap of 4,929 MLD (76.77%). Further, only 995 MLD or 15% of sewage wastewater is actually treated through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) which are operated using outdated technologies and thus generate harmful rejects in the processing system in the form of sludge. At the national level, only 28% of sewage wastewater is treated in India. According to the Swachhta Status Report 2016, in Tamil Nadu,3% of villages dispose of sewage wastewater in open areas, 23.4% of villages dispose of sewage into ponds, 18% in open drains (odais/streams), 7.3% in rivers, 4.6% other modes. The national level situation is much worse; in India, 44.4% of sewage is disposed in open areas, 15.8% in ponds, 24% in nala or drains, 6.8% in rivers, and 9% via other modes, In an industrialised and urbanised state like Tamil Nadu, without a scientific disposal system, the sewage and wastewater from conventional septic tanks are let out into open drains, roads, open grounds, leading to contamination of groundwater, rivers, and streams, resulting in poor sanitation,  pollution, and deadly diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and rotavirus. Also Read: Legacy of delays hampers biomining, reclamation of waste dumps The governance eco-system in Tamil Nadu gets some policies right at times with voices of different stakeholders like NGOs, village panchayats, academic institutions, etc. Tamil Nadu was the first state to have a comprehensive policy of Tamil Nadu Septage Management Operative Guidelines, 2014 in the country. Further, taking the salient features of the “National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM)-2017” of the Union Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Tamil Nadu issued a new “Operative Guidelines for Septage Management for Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu-2020” with penalties for violation of Bye-laws for letting out sewage wastewater without proper scientific system. According to the NITI Aayog’s Report on the “Faecal Sludge and Septage Management in Urban Areas: Service and Business models-2021”: In urban areas of Tamil Nadu, about 70% of households depend on various types of on-site sanitation systems (OSS) like septic tanks and pits (NSSO Survey Report, 2017) The NSSO Survey found that in Tamil Nadu most of the existing OSSs are constructed following non-standard or outdated practices. Further, the NITI Aayog report highlighted that the OSS system in Tamil Nadu has several issues like non-standard construction, operation, and maintenance, non-adherence to standards due to limitations of space and budget, design standards not updated to meet current needs, and institutional challenges. Unchecked disposal Tamil Nadu has over 9,000 private desludging operators (Sewage/septage tanker lorries) to service the septic tanks prevalent in its urban areas. However, there are no rule/guidelines on how and where this waste water is disposed off; no one knows where these operators dump the sewage. One solution to this rampant pollution is for local bodies to fix GPS trackers on every tanker to monitor the transportation and disposal of sewage. The Department of Municipal Administration & Water Supply (MA.3), of Tamil Nadu had issued a G.O (MS) No.106 dated 01.09.2014 to all local bodies for implementation of “Septage Management- Operative Guidelines for Septage Management for Urban and Rural Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu-2014”.This was followed up by new and revised Guidelines issued in 2020, providing directions for all local bodies and administrations (like city corporations, municipalities, and town panchayats) to undertake investigations and levy penalties on owners, occupiers or operators violating the guidelines. The local body authority is empowered to take cognizance of any violation and issue a Show Cause Notice and levy a penalty on Owner /

Ongoing neglect of youth skilling will cost India heavily Ongoing neglect of youth skilling will cost India heavily Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan February 15, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy   The Union Budget for the financial year 2023-24 features many growth-oriented aspects that are essential, but it doesn’t create sufficient conditions to maintain high economic growth in the country. The budget hopes to strike a balance between the aspirations of the youth, which are a large segment of the population, and the world economy which is grappling with more geopolitical problems than opportunities. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a sweeping statement about this being the first budget for “Amrit Kaal”, it doesn’t instil confidence as there have been several gaps between the promises of the government and its achievements in the past many years. Particularly, when it comes to youth skilling, the foundations are still weak for it to produce any dividends.In her first address to Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu mentioned “youth” seven times but did not utter “skill” even once. The President mentioned only that youth were a large chunk of the population and had the potential power to enhance the growth of the country. It shows the deep disconnect between the union government’s promises and actions, and how it just ends up being lip service. A slew of initiatives has been announced in the budget for youth skilling, includinga) access to advanced skill training for traditional artisans and craftspeopleb) 150 new nursing colleges for health educationc) Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to train lakhs of youth within the next three years for international opportunitiesd) 30 Skill India International Centres to be set up across different Statese) a unified Skill India Digital Platform for enabling demand-based formal skilling and linking with employers including MSMEsf) facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes and sector-specific skilling to achieve objectives of the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative. However, it would take years for these initiatives to realistically help the youth, whose time and energy are precious for the growth of the nation.It is imperative to build a strong institutional mechanism for youth skilling by integrating mainstream education with skill-building to enable youth to access either productive employment opportunities or undertake self-employment with financial assistance to pursue entrepreneurship in the markets.Millions of students of school-going age who either quit school after class 8 are unable to access hands-on skills training to equip themselves to demand better wages in the markets and are the most vulnerable labour force of the future. Structural institutional initiatives such as National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) to bridge the gaps among schools, colleges, and vocational training institutions are yet to reach the ground level. As per latest information (Lok Sabha question answered On 14.03.2022 regarding “Placement in Skill India Mission”), under PMKVY 1.0, a total of 18.04 lakhs persons were enrolled and trained, out of which 13.32 lakhs persons were given skills certificates. However, only 2.53 lakhs persons, or 19% of the trained persons were placed with jobs Weak institutional delivery systems at the national, state, and block or district levels are the cause. Dynamic emerging new technologies and tools if used in institutional delivery mechanisms can help the youth. For instance, under the PMKVY 3.0, a bottom-up approach with District Skill Committees (DSCs) was formed with the task of identifying local demand to strengthen the local skill capability including traditional arts and crafts. But the results largely failed even in a most industrialised state like Tamil Nadu.In 2015, the Skill India Mission was launched to train 400 million youths in various skills but the achievements so far are encouraging. PMKVY 1.0 was implemented during the year 2015-16, PMKVY 2.0 in 2016-2020 and PMKVY 3.0 in 2021-22. The performance is mixed and has not progressed in line with the vision of the 2015 launch. According to the National Skills Development Corporation’s record, as of 6th February 2023, a total of 1.42 crore persons were enrolled, 1.37 persons were trained, 1.24 crore persons were assessed and 1.10 crore persons (77.46%) were issued certificates. As per latest information (Lok Sabha question answered On 14.03.2022 regarding “Placement in Skill India Mission”), under PMKVY 1.0, a total of 18.04 lakh persons were enrolled and trained, out of which 13.32 lakh persons were given skills certificates. However, only 2.53 lakh persons, or 19% of the trained persons were placed with jobs.The placement had improved 52.8% in the PMKVY 2.0, in which a total of 41.08 lakh persons enrolled, out of which 38.11 lakh persons were trained, 31.84 lakh persons were given skill certificates, and only 18.05 lakh persons (52.8%) of them were actually placed in jobs. However, placement of persons under PMKVY 3.0 declined to 20.5%. Under the scheme, a total of 4.98 lakh persons were enrolled, out of which 4.45 lakh persons were trained, 1.72 lakh persons received certificates and only 15,450 people got placement.The huge fluctuations witnessed in all aspects such as enrolment, training, certification, and placements are due to enormous corruption, malpractices, and duplication of enrolling candidates at the training institutional level across the country. For example, the number of skill training institutions taking part in the programmes has declined over the years. There were 12,218 skill training centres under PMKVY 1.0, which reduced to 9,030 during the PMKVY 2.0 and it further fell to 683 during the PMKVY 3.0. Overall, placement of trained youth under different phases of PMKVY was 20.3% in 2015-16, 13.2% in 2016-17, 38.2% in 2017-18, 52.9% in 2019-20, 44.6% in 2020-21 and 70.6% in 2021-22. In the case of Tamil Nadu, placements stood at 37.7% in 2015-16, 44.1% in 2016-17, 56.4% in 2017-18, 82.5% in 2019-20, 42.6% in 2020-21 and 53.4% in 2021-22. There were 12,218 skill training centres under PMKVY 1.0, which declined to 9,030 during the PMKVY 2.0 and it further declined to 683 during the PMKVY 3.0 period Thus, the launch of the PMKVY 4.0 would not really help with youth skilling, as their population is projected to come down. The youth population, aged 24-29 years, is estimated to

TN ranks high but can do more, shows economic survey TN ranks high but can do more, shows economic survey Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan February 2, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy   The Union Government’s annual economic survey report, which assesses past year’s performance and examines opportunities and challenges in the year ahead, considering the effects of both domestic and international affairs, has been released. In the absence of a State Economic Survey report, which Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Thiagarajan had promised to bring out more than a year-and-a-half ago, the document must be relied upon to see how the state has fared.All major states in India usually bring out a comprehensive Economic Survey Report annually covering all the major sectors’ progress and updates made hitherto along with statistics to back up the findings. Even the most backward states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal prepare an annual Economic Survey Report but Tamil Nadu, which is the second largest economy in the country, does not have one.The Union Government’s Economic Survey report provides sectoral analysis and foresight on the development of regional economies with in-depth policy analysis and what ought to be done for the next level of growth and development, but neither the media nor academia tends to take note.The economic survey of 2022-2023 has highlighted Tamil Nadu’s reform of property taxation revision in 2022 to increase the state’s own taxes. It has also mentioned Tamil Nadu’s revision of the state’s power tariffs to rationalise the huge disparity between power production costs and tariffs levied. Regarding major reform initiatives like industrial relations and occupational safety health and working conditions, Tamil Nadu has taken proactive steps to undertake reforms in line with the directions of the Union Government. According to the economic survey, Tamil Nadu has pre-published the draft Rules for the adoption of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, The Code on Wages, 2019, and the draft Rules for the adoption of the Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. However, the state has not pre-published the Code on Social Security, 2020, which all other states have published. Even the most backward states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal prepare an annual Economic Survey Report but Tamil Nadu, which is the second largest economy in the country, does not have one As per the latest Annual Survey of Industries 2019-20 referenced by the economic survey, Tamil Nadu state has the largest number of people engaged in factories in the country, 26.6 lakh, followed by Gujarat (20.7 lakh), Maharashtra (20.4 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (11.3 lakh), and Karnataka (10.8 lakh).The age group of 18-25 years makes up the largest share in the payroll (EPFO) of companies in the organised sector. States with the largest number of workers enrolled with EPFO are Maharashtra (21.4%), Karnataka (12.1%), Tamil Nadu (10.9%), Haryana (9.0%), Gujarat (8.4%), and Delhi (7.6%). These six states account for about 70% of those on the payroll in EPFO.On health care development, Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states to have already achieved the targets of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Indicators such as Maternal Mortality Ratio below 100 per one lakh live births by 2020. Eight states have already achieved the SDG target to reduce MMR to less than 70 per one lakh live births by 2030. These include Kerala (19), Maharashtra (33), Telangana (43) Andhra Pradesh (45), Tamil Nadu (54), Jharkhand (56), Gujarat (57), and Karnataka (69). Considering the performance of states like Kerala and Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has scope for substantial improvement. Tamil Nadu is one of eight leading States in the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh which contributes to natural or organic farming through champion farmers under the Bhartiya Prakratik Krishi Paddhati, a sub-scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. It accounts for 4.09 lakh hectares of land brought under natural farming. The promotion of natural farming began in 2019-20, to assist farmers in adopting traditional indigenous practices for encouraging all forms of ecological farming, including Zero-Budget Natural Farming.The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is the largest crop insurance scheme in the world in terms of farmer enrolments, averaging 5.5 crore applications every year and the 3rd largest in terms of premiums received. States receiving more than 100% of claims in the country include Chhattisgarh (2017), Odisha (2017), Tamil Nadu (2018), and Jharkhand (2019) at 384%, 222%, 163%, and 159% of claims ratio against gross premium respectively. With regards to the cooperative sector, Tamil Nadu is 4th highest with 126 Multi-State Cooperative Societies. Maharashtra leads with 661 cooperatives, followed by Delhi (159) and Uttar Pradesh (156). The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 was enacted after repealing the Multi-State Cooperative Act 1984, to facilitate the democratic functioning and autonomous working of the societies in line with the established cooperative principles. On healthcare development, Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states to have already achieved the targets of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Indicators such as Maternal Mortality Ratio below 100 per one lakh live births by 2020 On Logistics Ease Across Different States, Tamil Nadu ranked second in 2022 after Uttar Pradesh with a percentage score of 90% and more. This rank assesses key areas of logistics including infrastructure, services timelines, traceability, competitiveness, security, operating environments, and efficiency of regulation.There has been massive growth in telecommunication across the country. The total telephone subscriber base in India stands at 117 crores (as of November 2022). While more than 97% of total subscribers are connected wirelessly (114.3 crores at the end of November 2022), 83.7 crores have internet connections as of June, 2022. The overall teledensity in India stood at 84.8%, with wide differences across states. It ranged from 55.4% in Bihar to 270.6% in Delhi. Eight licence service areas including Tamil Nadu, had a teledensity of above 100% besides Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu has reduced the rural-urban digital divide as digital services have penetrated to rural areas including remote places. The Chapter on

Tamil Nadu losing out by not nurturing startup ecosystem Tamil Nadu losing out by not nurturing startup ecosystem Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan January 3, 2023 Tamilnadu Economy                                                                                   Read in : தமிழ் amil Nadu is known for its highly-skilled manpower in the information and communication technology sector produced by several institutions of technological excellence. According to Tamil Nadu Industrial Policy 2021, the state’s “talent pool adds over a million graduates every year and has the largest annual turnout of skilled workforce in India” catering to various sectors across the world. The state also has over 70 Fortune 500 companies. And yet its startup ecosystem remains in a fledgling state. The new industrial policy supersedes the Tamil Nadu Industrial Policy 2014 and will be effective up to 2025. The state has been known for its “self-sustained and self-propelled industrial growth process” for a very long time. Tamil Nadu’s manufacturing share in the regional economy is double that of the national economy. This showcases the dynamic diversification that the sector has undergone in Tamil Nadu, which is the second-largest regional economy in the country after Maharashtra, though Uttar Pradesh is fast catching up. Tamil Nadu startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM) has set an ambitious target to establish approximately 10,000 startups in Tamil Nadu by 2026. Alas, the performance achieved so far is way behind the target of its own policy, as well in comparison with other states New startups bring new investment for higher economic growth. At present, Maharashtra with a USD 350-billion economy is the largest regional economy, Tamil Nadu follows at USD 230 billion and UP a close third with USD 210 billion. The difference between TN and UP is a mere USD 20 billion. If Tamil Nadu does not give due importance to nurturing its startup sector, its performance will suffer and UP could end up snatching the spot of the second largest regional economy in the country. In fact, Karnataka and Gujarat too, which have been improving their startup infrastructure, and thus expanding their economy, are also vying for the number 2 spot. Startup India, a flagship initiative launched in 2015 by the Government of India aims “to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India”. This initiative is a boon for millennials to test their skills at becoming successful entrepreneurs who can potentially provide jobs to millions of people. Also Read: Who can invest in startups? In order to utilise the talent pool of the state, Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Policy 2018-2023 aims to provide “an enabling, innovative ecosystem in the state”. The state startup policy aims to: Encourage, facilitate and support the emergence of at least 5,000 technology startups in the State. Collaborate with educational institutions to promote entrepreneurship among the youth. Partner with reputed investors across India and the Globe to invest in Tamil Nadu startups. Provide adequate incentives and resources to startups, facilitators, mentors, and investors to promote startup culture in the State Tamil Nadu startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM) has set an ambitious target to establish approximately 10,000 startups in Tamil Nadu by 2026. Alas, the performance achieved so far is way behind the target of its own policy, as well in comparison with other states. As the startup ecosystem did not improve for many years even after the announcement of the state policy, none of the key objectives mentioned were achieved.   The state’s apex institution for anchoring the startup ecosystem is the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute of Tamil Nadu (EDII-TN), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of MSMEs that was established two decades ago in 2001. It did not take adequate proactive steps to build partnerships with industries, successful entrepreneurs, and industry chambers. One of the systemic fault lines observed in the state is the structure of higher education institutions, which “has limited the scope for self-employment or being an entrepreneur. Many youth expect to get government jobs and salaried jobs” (Tamil Nadu State Youth Policy, 2014). Thus, the aptitude towards innovation, out-of-the-box thinking, raising of self-esteem, risk-taking and urge for awareness about entrepreneurial ventures, etc., are still not a focus in the learning processes. There is hardly any correlation between startups and industrialisation and urbanisation in Tamil Nadu. The startup initiatives should ideally provide ideas for large-scale industrialisation and urbanisation, networking of businesses with best practices, access to finance, etc., but it’s not so. It is strange that Tamil Nadu’s startup ecosystem governance is getting worse compared to other leading states in the country. As on November 30, 2022, there are 84,012 recognised startups in India since Startup India was launched in 2015.  TANSIM has been set up with a slew of incentives which include seed funds, grants, equity, tax exemptions, etc., for youngsters starting new entrepreneurial ventures in the state. The total fund allocated by the Union Government for startups in Tamil Nadu was Rs 450 crore. Out of Rs 34 crore provided, only Rs 18.70 crore was utilised as on November 30, 2022. It is interesting to see the startup initiatives among major states. Till November 30, 2022, the total number of startups created in Tamil Nadu was only 4,704 (6%), which is significantly lower than Maharashtra (15,571 or 19%), Karnataka (9,904 or 12%), Delhi (9,588 or 11%), Uttar Pradesh (7,719 or 9%) and Gujarat (5,877 or 7%). About 64% of startups are located in these six states. At all-India levels, startups have gone up from 452 in 2016 to 5,147 in 2017, 8,689 in 2018, 11,328 in 2019, 14,534 in 2020, 20,089 in 2021, and 23,773 in 2022 up to November. During the same period, the total number of startups in Tamil Nadu was 43 in 2016, 252 in 2017, 448 in 2018, 602 in 2019, 755 in 2020, 1,103 in 2021,