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R’ Day parade-Tableau of the Ministry of Agriculture
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AP Govt deemed it fit to announce pay hike to its employees @40% involving an outgo of Rs 2,700 crore, when the state is reeling under the adverse impact of both drought and flood devastation resulting in 30% decrease in agri out put & farm income and the Govt is not able to find funds to provide much needed relief to crores of affected farmers who are living in misery.
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Announcing the decision on pay hike, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, said despite severe financial constraints, the government decided to increase salaries considerably. “When employees and their families are happy, it results in better service,” he said.
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Pay hikes @40% for central and State Govt employees no doubt brought happiness to the employees and their families. But there is no evidence from the hikes in pay in the past resulting in better services to the public or better working whatsoever. Who pays for this hefty pay hike of over Rs 2,700 crore? It is the hapless & the long suffering public of course by way of increase in VAT by 2%. And A P Govt stopped paying all bills to pay staff salaries on 1st Feb 10.
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India paying too much to Govt employees: Study by ADB-08-07-08
"The higher the relative government pay rates, the lesser the economic growth attained," "The high relative government pay rates cost the country in terms of economic growth, while the higher employment share does not seem to have any economic growth impact," "India stands out among the high-pay countries, as it has experienced one of the most pronounced increases in relative government pay rates in recent decades," the study said. "India stands out among the high-pay countries, as it has experienced one of the most pronounced increases in relative government pay rates in recent decades," the study said. |
Overpaid under performing govt. employees are a drag on the nation.
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Note: To add to the burden to the exchequer, Central Govt is paying Rs 18,000 cr as pay arrears to staff during FY2010 and 8% hike in DA from jan10.
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| Be a Vegetarian to help solve food problem |
8 kg of cereals required to produce 1 kg of meat. If agricultural residues and other food waste are used as animal feed, instead of cereals, this would release enough food for an extra 3 billion people, which is expected to be the addition to the world population by 2050.
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| Stagnant Yields: |
The growth of food grains has been lower than that of the population for the first time since Independence, which is on account of stagnation in yields. The growth rate of productivity in rice and wheat was only 0.95 per cent and 0.87 per year during 1991-2005 compared to 3.28 per cent and 2.82 per cent between 1981 and 1990.
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Public fury over Bt Brinjal
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The protesters from Left-affiliated farmers' outfits and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) raised slogans like "Bt Go Back" and mobbed the minister on the dais at an event organised at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderanad on the 31st Jan 10. Asserting that he will not come under the influence of any company or NGO, the minister, Jairam Ramesh said he wanted to hold an impartial public consultation over the matter. The final decision on the matter would be taken after holding fair public hearings on the issue, he said.
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Rising demand for milk pushing milk prices up |
| The demand for milk is projected to rise to 166 million tonnes by 2020 and to about 180 million tonnes by 2021-22. Milk production is estimated to have risen to 108 million tonnes in 2008-09. |
| while Indian milk output has been rising, and rising quite fast for a farm product (at 4.6% compound annual average growth rate over the last four years), the demand has been rising even faster, thanks to changing food patterns. India needs an average incremental increase in milk production of 5 million tonnes per year, as against the average annual increase of 3.2 million tonnes in the last 15 years. |
| Solution for Sugar shortage |
| The severe shortage of sugar is on account of the slump in output in the 2008-09 crushing season to 14.6 million tonnes from 26.3 million tonnes and 28.3 million tonnes in the two previous seasons. Even with sizable exports and increased domestic offtake, stocks were quite high at 10 million tonnes on September 30, 2008 against 3.6 million tonnes on October 1, 2006. These stocks have come in handy and domestic needs could be met though there was a ban on exports. As stocks at the end of the season were only 4.4 million tonnes, the prospects for the 2009-10 season also are depressing. |
| Thirty teaspoons make one kg of sugar. Even if half of the country's population of nearly 115 crore consumes just “one teaspoon less” sugar everyday, consumption would reduce by a whopping 60 lakh tonnes. Awareness creation that sugar is less of an essential food and that we can and need to save sugar by making a very small sacrifice is necessary. Institutional consumption (soft drinks, confectionary, sweetmeats, hotels and restaurants) accounts for almost 60 per cent of the country's aggregate sugar consumption. |
