Friday, April 4, 2014

Employment in India increased by 14 million during the two year period 2010-2012

4042014
Employment in India increased by 14 million during the two year period 2010-2012, after a period of relative jobless growth. However, structural change in employment in the economy has gathered momentum since 2004-05 榮bsp;a shift away from agriculture to non-agricultural employment, which is growing fast.
During 2000 to 2005, employment increased by 60 million, but unfortunately 22 million of it was in agriculture.  This was the opposite of what is expected with development.  Structural change in the economy means that people leave agriculture to take up non-agricultural jobs. But if agricultural employment is growing, productivity in agriculture is likely to be falling.  The increase in agricultural employment 2000-05 coincided with a period of stagnant rural wages, and one of the slowest agricultural output growth, and hence stagnant incomes.  Female employment increased substantially; however, it was mainly distress employment in the agricultural sector as subsidiary workers or unpaid family workers.
Post 2005, employment increased by only 1.1 million, primarily attributed to the absolute decline in employment in agriculture, a phenomenon observed for first time since Independence, and to some extent due to decline in manufacturing employment. The fall in employment was driven by positive long-term factors: the paper observes that with increasing education, fall in child labour, mechanization in agriculture, and increase in household income, women withdrew from the labour force which is a major contributor to employment trends. However, huge increase in employment in the construction sector acted as a pull factor absorbing labour from the agriculture sector. In the manufacturing sector, with falling demand for manufacturing exports, rising import-intensity of manufacturing output and rising wages, there had been a rise in capital intensity. Nevertheless, there was a sharp turnaround in employment during 2010 to 2012, as there was resurgence in manufacturing as well
as services employment.
As wages began rising after 2006 (with the introduction of NREGA and rising minimum support prices for cereals), first rural and then urban wages, and demand for construction labour rose, monthly per capita consumption expenditure rose rapidly.  Poverty fell, with the absolute numbers of the poor (by the Tendulkar line) falling at an unprecedented rate: 138 million persons came out of poverty between 2004-5 and 2011-12.  For the first time in IndiaⳠhistory the number of the poor fell.  Employment rise since 2009-10 is connected with this increase in consumption expenditure at the bottom of the income distribution pyramid.  Those emerging out of poverty were now consuming processed food items, new garments, textiles, furniture, leather goods, and mobiles 榮bsp;these are the sectors that have driven employment.  With rising employment will come further increases in domestic, especially rural, consumption expenditure. Despite slowing growth, non-agricultural employment
will continue to grow on account of this new underlying dynamic in the economy.
The paper closes with policy implications to sustain this positive dynamic.
Regards,
Santosh Mehrotra
Director-General, Institute of Applied Manpower Research
Planning Commission, Government of India


 

Amardip Sinh Malik surges ahead on day three

4042014


Naman Dawar holds on to second

Coimbatore, April 4, 2014: Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik surged ahead on day three of the PGTI Players Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club after firing a three-under-69. Malik’s three-day total of nine-under-207 placed him one shot ahead of the rest. Delhi’s Naman Dawar posted an even-par-72 to lie second at eight-under-208.
Amardip Sinh Malik (70-68-69), in pursuit of his maiden title, climbed from overnight tied fourth to pole position thanks to a clinical 69 on Friday. Malik began with five pars and earned his first birdie of the day with a 10-feet conversion on the sixth. The 28-year-old then found the par-5 10th green in two shots to pick up another stroke. A chip-putt for birdie on the 13th took him to three-under but a misjudgment on the 14thled to his only bogey of the day. Amardip, who had ended 2013 in 19th place on the Rolex Rankings, sank another birdie on the 15th to emerge as one of the top contenders for the title.

Malik said, “My ball-striking has been good this week even though I’ve missed a number of putts. I had a terrific second-nine on day two that helped me consolidate my position on the leaderboard. We haven’t encountered the typical Coimbatore wind so far this week but nonetheless it was more windy today as compared to the last two days. I bogeyed the 14th after misjudging the direction of the wind. I’ve not had a great start to the year since I had to withdraw from two events due to a neck injury. But I’m now recovering from the injury and would like to make an impact on the season.”

Naman Dawar (68-68-72) produced a fighting 72 on Friday to end the day in second position. Dawar, who was overnight tied second, double-bogeyed the first and bogeyed the fourth to drop three strokes on the first four holes. He regained some lost ground with chip-putt birdies on the ninth and 13th. However, Naman suffered another setback when he double-bogeyed the 15th as a result of a poor tee shot. The professional from the Delhi Golf Club did well to come back once again with birdies on the last three holes.

“I hit a couple of tee shots that were totally off target today and I also topped it on the first that led to a double-bogey. However, I was able to get back into the game in the middle stages as well as at the end. The two long birdie putts on the 16th and 18thhelped me close the day in a positive frame of mind. I’ll look to cut out the errors on the final day,” said Dawar.

Chikkarangappa S of Bangalore and Kolkata’s Feroz Ali Mollah are in tied third place at seven-under-209.

Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, who was overnight tied second, is now in fifth place at six-under-210.

The Delhi duo of defending champion Rashid Khan and round two leader Kapil Kumar are in tied 11th spot at three-under-213. Kapil shot a 79 to slip down the leaderboard on Friday.

Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh and Delhi golfer Vinod Kumar shot the day’s best score of 67. While Sujjan occupies tied 11th position, Vinod is in tied 15th place.

Leading Scores:
207 – Amardip Sinh Malik (70-68-69)
208 – Naman Dawar (68-68-72)
209 – Chikkarangappa S (71-69-69), Feroz Ali Mollah (72-66-71)
210 – Om Prakash Chouhan (68-68-74)


 

GLO Color Lab Accelerates Business Growth with HP Indigo 10000 Digital

4042014
GLO Color Lab Accelerates Business Growth with HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press
Company to explore new opportunities in the publishing segment

Coimbatore, India, April 4 2014: HP today announced that Coimbatore-based GLO Color Lab has installed the new B2-sized format HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press to accelerate its business growth and expand its product offerings in the market.
GLO Color Lab acquired its first HP Indigo Digital Press back in 2007 to expand its photo-based application offerings. Today, with five HP Indigo Digital Presses in their fleet, they are the largest HP Indigo customer in India, offering services not just in photo but also in commercial, packaging and now the publishing segment.
The company has experienced tremendous growth, driving the demand for expanded digital capacity and their latest acquisition, the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press, will assist the company’s positive growth trajectory.
The HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press will provide the company with offset print quality, substrate flexibility and wide color gamut – in a larger format. With a speed of up to 4600 sheets per hour and greater imposition efficiency it will also allow GLO Color Lab to increase profitability and differentiate its business with new applications such as B2-sized calendars, book covers, posters and canvases.
“The HP Indigo10000 Digital Press allows us to take advantage of new capabilities made possible by the wider 29-inch format. With this B2 format printing, we are poised to increase our productivity and profitability” saidT.S. Ramanan, managing director, GLO Color Lab. “We are committed to providing the highest quality to our clients and HP Indigo has proved to be the right technology for our business,” he further added.
Exploring new application opportunities with the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press
With the installation of the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press, GLO Color Lab plans to expand into large-scale commercial publishing and make available affordable, high-quality books in the larger-sized formats. The B2 format allows for8pp and 16pp folded book signatures and a higher print imposition efficiency for improved productivity. The company is also looking to take on larger volumes of high value customized packaging and folding carton print jobs.
“GLO Color Lab has a strong legacy of innovation, backed by deep technical expertise and an unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality and value to its customers,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo Digital Press Division, HP. “The HP Indigo 10000 helps extend this legacy, and is delivering on its promise to change the economics for GLO Color Lab, enabling them produce a broader range of applications, increase efficiency, and accelerate profitability. We’re proud to be associated with the creative results GLO Color Lab delivers.”
GLO Color Lab is displaying the range of its digital printing applications at an exclusive open house event, at the Codissia Trade Centre, Coimbatore on April 4-5, 2014. The theme “Print Solutions for Every Age” will be used to showcase the breadth of their portfolio applications which include B-2 sized photo-books, children’s books, posters, calendars, art books and wedding albums.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society.  With the broadest technology portfolio spanning printing, personal systems, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP delivers solutions for customers’ most complex challenges in every region of the world.  More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.             
Regards,
Bhawana Suri


 

ADR Launches : “Wo Waqt Kabhi Jise Aana Tha”

4042014

ADR launches its Anthem Song for Lok Sabha 2014
“Wo Waqt Kabhi Jise Aana Tha”
 
April 4, 2014
Association for Democratic Reforms launched its Anthem Song “Wo Waqt Kabhi Jise Aana Tha” on April 4, 2014 to raise critical issues involved in the Lok Sabha Elections. 
About the Song: ​
The song, composed and sung by Harpreet, talks about the state of
​affair in ​
the nation
​even ​
after Six
​and a half ​
decades of independence. Criminalization of politics and the nexus between money, crime and muscle power
​has affected the governance and delivery of even the bare minimum services and amenities to the citizens of the country.
The ADR Anthem Song on the YouTube channel of ADR
is available for everybody to share in any network. Link to the video:
Singer & Composer: ​
Harpreet
​ is widely
 known for
​his work in the genre of​
 Sufi musi
​c​

Video Direction: ​
The video has been directed by Gaurav Raturi,founder of Filmbooth
​,​
 best known for the International Filmbooth Festival
​​
Spoofmania
 ​
organized in Delhi
 
Lyrics
​:​
Deepak Dhamija
​, ​
founder of Shoelace Productions
​ and
an IIM- Calcutta alumni
​,​
 ​
has penned the lyrics for the anthem.
 He is
​also
a leading  theatre-person in Delhi. 
 
 
At a time when around 800 Million people will go out to vote in coming 45 days, the website www.myneta.info will help the electorate to make an informed choice in deciding the future of the Nation.Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, Founder Trustee of ADR, said, “In the coming elections fairly large number of young voters will go out to vote for the first time. The song aims at making people realize the power their vote carries. A song has the ability to not only stay on the lips of the people, but it also stays in the mind. Social Media has an immense role to play in this election.”
Anil Verma, Head of ADR congratulated the team for the Anthem Song and said, “Music is the food of the soul. The soulful rendering of the ADR Anthem by Harpreet and his team has touched not only our emotional chords but awakens our sensibilities to be a responsible citizen and vote to usher in a change for better governance. Mera Vote Mera Desh!”
Gaurav Raturi, Director of the Anthem Video said, “Music and visuals go beyond words and slogans. What better story one can get to tell the people of India than to tell the people of India to vote responsibly. In reality Woh waqt suno ab aaya hai.  We all have tried our best to match the brilliant lyrics and soulful singing by Harpreet. Let’s see how the voters of India find it. All excited to be part of this anthem.”
Harpreet, composer and singer of the song said, “While working on the song, I grew not only as a musician but also as a citizen of the nation. To be a part of ADR’s Anthem Song was a journey in itself. I never felt I was working on a song, but it was like an act to serve the nation in the real sense.”
Deepak Dhamija, who wrote the lyrics of the song, said, “It is the time for people to know that if any revolution has to come, it will come through the ink on the fingers of the people after voting. The political class has ignored the real issues and demands of the people of the nation. It is high time we all come forward to make an informed choice and vote for the right candidate. ADR is doing a great job, and the creative people must come forward to support the cause for which the team of ADR is fighting.”
The ADR Anthem song has also been shared by Facebook India as part of ADR-Facebook collaboration for the campaign to create a culture of informed choice. The link to the Facebook post is here:


 

India wants a peaceful, stable Afghanistan: Task Force  

4042014

New Delhi, April 04, 2014:Releasing the “Afghanistan Task Force Report: What India Can Do” jointly prepared by Ananta Aspen Centre (formerly Aspen Institute India) and the Delhi Policy Group, a prominent Indian think tank which deals with security and conflict resolution issues, Ambassador S. K. Lambah, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India, said on Friday: “It is a matter of satisfaction that all the important and formidable candidates in tomorrow’s Presidential elections (in Afghanistan) stand for close friendship with India.”

In view of this, India sees support to the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) as an important part of its commitment to the Afghan people, Mr.Lambah noted.He said India will continue to provide assistance in accordance with Afghan requests and priorities, and called security sector assistance an important element of the Strategic partnership Agreement between the two countries.

Mr.Lambah said, “Our vision of Afghanistan is of a stable and peaceful hub linking Centraland South Asia through a network of trade, transit and pipelines for the ultimate benefit of the countries and the people in the region.India is working with Afghanistan for its integration with the regional economy since 2002.”“I hope, therefore, that the promised development of Chahbahar Port through cooperation between India and Iran is also realized soon”Mr.Lambah added.

He observed that India had reached out to all of Afghanistan’s neighbours and other stakeholders in Afghanistan for a constructive engagement that places Afghan interests at the centre of our efforts. India’s engagement with Iran, Russia and China,besides Central Asia, had increased, the special envoy pointed out. He said India remained engaged with the U.S. and continued to seek similar cooperation with Pakistan on Afghanistan.

In preparing the Report, Task Force members have visited Afghanistan, China, Iran and Tajikistan, and its recommendations have been developed after a series of bilateral, trilateral and regional meetings in Kabul, Herat, Goa, Jaipur and New Delhi involving Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the U.S. and Uzbekistan, as well as the EU and UN. We hope that the Task Force Report will offer value as resource material to those interested in Afghanistan and in India-Afghanistan relations.

The TF was co-chaired by Ambassador G. Parthasarathy, formerly India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan and Australia and ambassador to Myanmar, on behalf of Ananta Aspen Centre and Dr.Radha Kumar of DPG, a former Interlocutor of the GOI on Jammu and Kashmir. The others on the Task Force were LeelaK. Ponappa, VikramSood, Lt. Gen (Retd) Aditya Singh, Shahid Mahdi, and IndraniBagchi and Anand K. Sahay.The TF recommendations cover all aspects of India-Afghanistan relations, including security, economy, politics and diplomacy, with security considerations constituting the core.

The Report posits that India has good reason to be concerned about the post-2014 period as Indian security was severely threatened by factions in Afghanistan and from across the border in Pakistan sincethe late 1990s and could be threatened once again. This is an eventuality that the Indian government must seek to prevent. The Report maintains that India needs to step up its political, diplomatic, and security relations with Afghanistan, both bilaterally and multilaterally.India’s developmental assistance to Afghanistan has thus far been shaped to build infrastructure, aid capacity building and support social empowerment, all as per Afghanistan’s own requests; this must now be expanded to incorporate military cooperation, the Report seeks to underline.

It observes that India shares a common interest with Afghanistan in strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership through substantive and long-term exchanges in all sectors, including security. Mere supply of infrastructure and economic assistance without backing it with a display of the intention to protect Indian interests would be a waste of strategic effort and investment, “not to mention the Indian lives we lost there”, adds Radha Kumar. Simultaneously, India should maintain active dialogue and cooperate with all major external players in creating an environment that helps to secure peace, stability and economic and social progress in Afghanistan.

The Report notes the uncertainties that permeate the security, political and economic transitions in Afghanistan as the withdrawal of American and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) approaches in the course of 2014.  It points out that the security transition hinges on the ability of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces to maintain peace and stability within the country in the face of terrorist violence by the Taliban, who continue to receive sustenance from and in Pakistan. The security threat is thus both internal and external.

The view taken in the Report is that ANDSF have the intrinsic capability to deal with the threats but are underequipped and underfinanced. They require appropriate and adequate personnel and equipment to be able to achieve their objectives of safeguarding Afghanistan’s people and territory and defending the country’s borders.


 

Media Invite : Anhad

4042014

MEDIA INVITE
Dear Madam /Sir,
Anhad is organising an Urgent Press Conference, to brief the media on EVM machines’ manipulations which is becoming a grave threat to Indian Democracy.
The voices of activists who raised this question before and after 2012 Gujarat elections were ignored, called mad and as imagining things. The day before incident where an EVM was found to be voting only for BJP in Assam has proved that the alarm bells rung by them in 2012 were not wrong.
Shabnam Hashmi, founding trustee ANHAD, Gautam Thakker – President , PUCL Gujarat, Mahesh Pandya- Social Activist,Gujarat will address the media. They will talk about the 2012 experience, their study and will screen a documentary on how EVM machines are manipulated.

Date: April 5, 2014
Time: 3:00 pm
Venue: Anhad, C-5, Basement, Nizamuddin West, New Delhi -110013

We request you to kindly depute a reporter and a camera person/ camera crew to cover the Press Conference.
Shabnam Hashmi has been travelling for the past one month across India will be in Delhi only for a day and will also share the experience from the ground.

Yours sincerely,


Bhavna Sharma
8860125558

Competitiveness, climate, security Finn’s priorities Ministry of Finance release Finnish road map of EU presidency. Finland i...