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Thursday, April 29, 2010

If They Think the Migrants will Stop Coming, They Are Wrong!Personal Ambition of the S, ST, OBC Leadership is the Best Defence of Brahaminical System and its Agenda of Economic Ethnic Cleansing!

If They Think the Migrants will Stop Coming, They Are Wrong!Personal Ambition of the S, ST, OBC Leadership  is the Best Defence of Brahaminical System and its Agenda of Economic Ethnic Cleansing!


Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 468

Palash Biswas
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Migration and Migration caused  by Foreign capital, Infrastructure, Development, Political and religious Persecution Emerged as the Greatest Holocaust Continued and threatening the Aboriginal and Indigenous, Minority and Poor Black Untouchable world Total Disaster Tsunami ahead. I vied the Fox history Programme on Cu KLAX Clan today and I am afraid that Original Terrorism has been replaced by Zionist Brahaminical Economic Imperialist Monopolistic Fascist Corporate Terror today despite all the RUBBISH showcased as Global Fraternity, Co Operation, world Peace and Green. It is all round Migration! Displacement! Exodus! Ethnic Cleansing! Holocaust! As the War is imposed upon us!

If they think the migrants will stop coming, they're wrong!For migrants, new law is just another challenge!nothing else. Since Migration is the Global Phenomenon caused by Continuous Ethnic Cleansing! In India, no less then One Hundred and Forty Million Migrants were counted  in the Census of 2001. The East Bengal Refugees, deprived of Citizenship in India  officially estimated only Twenty Million! Internal Refugees are storming the Urban India which has no space for the Aboriginal Indigenous communities and ironically have been developed on the Destruction of Rural Aboriginal Districts in and around Big Cities. In New Delhi, Indian capital, the SC, ST and OBC Population in the newly Developed Urban areas is less than Ten Percent! same stories may be cited about any Indian City or Urban centre. It is ALARMING! Bangalore landscape has no place for Aboriginal world as well as Chennai and Kolkata! The Ruling Class has no Mercy for the EXTINCT Species of Humanity! Free market democracy has put the World on Fire!

Ironically, the Brahaminical Policy makers do say that Urbanisation in India has been relatively slow compared to many developing countries!

How to create urban sustainability: Siemens answers on YouTube!
www.youtube.com/siemens

Our friend Dilip Mandal has written an Excellent article on this theme published in Danik Jansatta today with the head as VISTHAPAN Ka VIKAS. I would paste it some time. Dilip called me from New delhi this evening and we discussed the Migration from Steel Plants, Mining Companies, Big Dams, Big Cities and Metros, SEZ, Airports and Infrastructure. Anthropological data of Demographic Exodus is quite interesting and we must deal the topic in detail!

Personal Ambition of the S, ST, OBC Leadership  is the Best Defence of Brahaminical System and its Agenda of economic Ethnic Cleansing!

The partitioning of the South Asian subcontinent to create India and Pakistan in 1947 produced one of the great mass migrations in human history, involving some 20 million people. Historically, major migratory movements have been to and from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The influx of Muslim refugees (estimated at 280,000 in 1983) from Bangladesh to Assam state has sparked protests among Hindus since the late 1970s. Persons of Indian origin domiciled abroad (excluding Pakistan) reside mainly in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nepal, Myanmar, South Africa, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Indian minority groups in foreign countries generally do not become assimilated with the local population but live as separate groups, intermarry, and retain their own distinctive culture even after a residence of several generations.


There has been a steady migration within India from rural to urban areas. Linguistic differences limit the degree of interstate migration, as do efforts by some states to limit job opportunities for migrants and to give preference in public employment to longtime local residents. In 1999 there were around 66,000 Sri Lankan refugees located in 133 camps in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. An estimated 40,000 Sri Lankans live outside the camps. They began arriving in the early 1990s. Since 1992, 54,000 repatriated voluntarily. However, repatriation stopped in 1995 due to violence in Sri Lanka. Some 3,800 people arrived in 1998, and the arrivals continue. Indian authorities have not requested international assistance for Sri Lankan refugees, and the repatriation of Sri Lankans to their country is voluntary.


In 2000 there were 6,271,000 migrants living in India, including 170,900 refugees. In 2000 the net immigration rate was -0.03 migrants per 1,000 population, which amounted to a net loss of approximately 280,000 people. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.


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Rural Population which Migrated to Urban Areas

25% of the country's poor live in urban areas

31% of the urban population is poor


Traditional rural-urban migration exists in India as villagers seek to improve opportunities and lifestyles. In 1991, 39 million people migrated in rural-urban patterns of which 54% were female. Caste and tribe systems complicate these population movements.

Seasonal urban migration is also evident throughout India in cities like Surant where many migrants move into the city during periods of hardship and return to their native villages for events such as the harvest.

India's largest cities / urban areas

Rank City / Urban AreaPopulation
1 Mumbai (Bombay)16,368,000
2Kolkata (Calcutta) 13,217,000
3Delhi12,791,000
4Chennai6,425,000
5Bangalore 5,687,000
6Hyderabad5,534,000
7Ahmadabad4,519,000
8Pune 3,756,000
9Surat2,811,000
10Kanpur2,690,000
11Jaipur 2,324,000
12Lucknow2,267,000
13Nagpur2,123,000
14Patna 1,707,000
15Indore1,639,044
16Vadodara1,492,000
17Bhopal 1,455,000
18Coimbatore1,446,000
19Ludhiana1,395,000
20Kochi 1,355,000
21Visakhapatnam1,329,000
22Agra1,321,000
23Varanasi 1,212,000
24Madurai1,195,000
25Meerut1,167,000
26Nashik 1,152,000
27Jabalpur1,117,000
28Jamshedpur1,102,000
29Asansol 1,090,000
30Dhanbad1,064,000
31Faridabad1,055,000
32Allahabad 1,050,000
33Amritsar1,011,000
34Vijayawada1,011,000
35Rajkot 1,002,000
Source: India's national census of 2001
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CII plans to mentor local entrepreneurs

BS Reporter  | 2010-04-27 01:10:00
 

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has decided to encourage and mentor local entrepreneurship with a view to check urban migration for a more balanced growth.

"Boosting entrepreneurship at the local level along with big industry initiatives in urban centres is one of our themes for the current financial year," said CII Northern Region deputy chairman and NIIT CEO Vijay Thadani.

He noted local entrepreneurship model would not only check urban migration, but also lead to better utilisation of local talent and workforce.

"We will be pursuing our themes of education, employability, inclusivity and entrepreneurship in all the states, including Uttar Pradesh, which cannot be ignored if India has to advance," he added.

He said CII had already been working with policy initiatives in these sectors, but now was the time to take it to the next level with more active participation at the state government level, since education figured on the concurrent list.


Pratibha for strong linkage between corporate, farm sectors

PTI
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President Pratibha Patil addressing the inernational conference on 'Dynamics of Rural Transformation in Emerging Economies' in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: PTI
PTIPresident Pratibha Patil addressing the inernational conference on 'Dynamics of Rural Transformation in Emerging Economies' in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: PTI

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday made a strong case for forging a linkage between the corporate world and the agriculture sector to promote rural development.

"Location of food processing and other agro-based industries close to rural areas will optimise benefits for both — business persons and farmers," she said while inaugurating the three-day international conference on 'Dynamics of Rural Transformation in Emerging Economies'

Farming models that include participation of industry could be developed to achieve economies of scale and promote socio-economic development, she added.

"During the global downturn the negative impact on India was less than that elsewhere. One reason was that we were able to sustain domestic demand, much of it coming from rural areas," Ms. Patil said.

About the government's efforts to reduce rural migration, she said, "To prevent desperate migration to cities, our effort is to reinforce the rural infrastructure. Even as urbanisation increases, the rural economy will continue to be a principal tool for the development and sustainability. By 2050 the world population would have risen to 9 billion."

About food security she said, "with a population of over one billion, food security is a critical issue. At present we have a targeted Public Distribution System as a mechanism for distribution of food commodities with a focus on the poor."

Stressing upon the need for development of rural areas, she said, "Twenty five per cent of the world's population lives in the rural areas of the emerging economies of India, Brazil, China and South Africa."

"Development of rural areas is to be undertaken in a globalised world, where what happens in one part of the world gets transmitted to other parts rather rapidly," she said, adding hence, financial regulations that prevent the recurrence of a global financial crisis will provide for a more stable environment for growth."

A fairer WTO trade regime for agriculture products will positively impact the rural transformation efforts of emerging economies, she added.

On the occasion, Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi pointed out, "If we could only achieve this single target (of transforming unskilled labour into skilled and semi-skilled) on a satisfactory scale, the transformative dynamics of rural India could take a quantum jump."

Talking about the failure of the prevailing education system which failed, Mr. Joshi said, "there is a need for such learning which makes a person competent to undertake a vast array of jobs."

Latest in this section

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article397134.ece

PCDForum Column #77,   Release Date July 10, 1995

DEVELOPMENT DISPLACEMENT: WHOSE NATION IS IT?

by Smitu Kothari

http://www.pcdf.org/1995/77Kothari.htm

As far back as the mid-19th century of people in India's tribal areas organized protests and rebellions against British colonial laws such as the Forest Act of 1876, which prevented their use of the forest lands on which their way of life depended. Though India gained its independence in 1950, the displacement once associated with colonialism continues in the name of development.

Since Independence, development projects under India's Five-Year plans have displaced about 500,000 persons each year--evicted from their lands by direct administrative actions of government. This figure does not include those deprived of their livelihoods by the expansion of large estate monoculture production, or those deprived of their livelihoods by project related natural resource extraction, urban evictions, or by the relocation of other displacement victims. Estimates of the total number of those displaced by "development" since independence reaches as high 40 million people. India's recent thrust to open itself to the global economy and rely more on market forces will surely accelerate the displacement.

Hydroelectric and irrigation projects are the largest source of displacement and destruction of habitat. Other major sources are mines, thermal and nuclear power plants, industrial complexes, military installations, weapons testing grounds, railways, roads, and the expansion of reserved forest areas, sanctuaries and parks.

Displacement results in dismantling production systems, severing trade and market links, desecrating ancestral sacred zones, graves, and temples, scattering kinship groups and extended families, and weakening cultural systems of self-management and control. The consequences are especially severe for women. They lose access to the fuel, fodder and food they traditionally collected for their households from common lands. They thus face increased pauperization and are thrust into the margins of the labor market.

Though India's tribal people make up roughly 7.5 percent of the population, over 40 percent of those displaced from 1950 to 1990 were from tribal communities. Since 1990 the figure has risen to 50 percent. Planners and administrators invariably capitalize on and manipulate the relatively weaker socio-economic and political position of most of the people facing displacement. Their numbers are underestimated, they are treated indifferently and only minimal cash compensation, if at all, is paid. They are rarely granted security of tenure on alternative developed land sites. All too often after a painful and traumatic period of establishing a new lifestyle, they are informed they must move again to make way for yet another project. Despite the scale of the displacement and the efforts of some governmental and independent groups, resettlement efforts continue to be shoddy and grossly inadequate.

In the post-Independence period, progress, national self-sufficiency, industrialism, and large development projects were seen as synonymous. Carried by the euphoria of nation building, most "sacrifices" sought by the rulers were widely seen as legitimate, justified as being for the "national good." Given the number of displacements and the plight suffered by the displaced, many are now asking: whose nation is it? Whose good is being served?

A common question from people facing displacement is that while precise details exist regarding the technical and economic aspects of the projects, backed by scores of professionals, why is there never a plan for them? Why are they never consulted?

Even where government does attempt to address its responsibility to the displaced, there is an underlying assumption that since displacement is inevitable, the need is to "deal" with the trauma, not to question the project, much less the development model, that is causing the displacement. No one considers that perhaps the current pattern of economic development invoked to justify the forced evictions of people is itself incompatible with the goals of equity and social security.

It is time to recognize that the projects in which massive public investments are being made involve not only the harnessing of natural resources such as land, water, minerals, and forests, they also alter the existing distribution, use, access to, and control over natural resources among different sections of society. This raises vital issues concerning fairness, equity and justice.

An improvement in the lives of those whom a project otherwise imposes severe costs in order to create benefits for others should be considered an entitlement, not an act of reluctant generosity--a basic test of project benefit. While the first goal should be to find alternatives that cause minimal displacement, in those instances where displacement is inevitable, it is imperative that the full costs of rehabilitation be internalized into the project cost.


Smitu Kothari is editor of the Lokayan Bulletin, 13, Allpur Road, Delhi 110054, India. Fax (91-11) 662-6837 and a contributing editor of The People-Centered Development Forum. This column was prepared and distributed by the PCDForum based on his editorial in the March-April 1995 Lokayan Bulletin.


People-Centered Development Forum articles and columns may be reproduced and distributed freely without prior permission. 

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Migration in India

India as a nation has seen a high migration rate in recent years. Over 98 million people migrated from one place to another in 1990s, the highest for any decade since independence according to the 2001 census details. However in 1970s migration was slowing down. The number of migrants during 1991-2001 increased by about 22% over the previous decade an increase since 1951.

Apart from women migrating due to marriage, employment is the biggest reason for migration. The number of job seekers among all migrants has increased by 45% over the previous decade. Nearly 14 million people migrated from their place of birth in search of jobs. The overwhelming majority of these-12 million was men.

Migrants have created pressure on others who are in same job market. While freedom to migrate within the country is an enshrined right the uneven development, levels of desperation and other factors have created friction points. Most people migrate because of a combination of push and pull factors. Lack of rural employment, fragmentation of land holdings and declining public investment in agriculture create a crisis for rural Indians. Urban areas and some rural areas with industrial development or high agricultural production offer better prospects for jobs or self-employment.

Contrary to common perception the search for jobs is more often within the same state than in some other state. About 9 million persons were intra-state migrants often within the district while 5 million went to other states. The intra-state figures include people moving from villages to nearby towns and cities in search of better jobs. Over 5.7 million persons who moved in search of jobs migrated from rural to urban areas. Another 4.5 million migrated within the rural areas looking for work.


The data shows that among people migrating in search of jobs, literates constitute the vast bulk over 10.6 million while illiterate migrants are about 3.3 million. Three out of four job-seeking migrants are educated males. Among literate, migrant job-seekers less than 1% was women. Nearly 40% of literate persons migrating for work had studied up to secondary level and another 32% had studied beyond. Graduates numbered over 1.8 million or about 17% while technical diploma or degree holders constituted about 8%.

About 72% do get regular work but over 11 million get less than 183 days of work in a year. This is a higher proportion than non-migrants. Independent NSS data from 1999-2000 indicates that migrant workers take up regular or casual employment or self-employment in nearly equal proportions. Around 8.1 million of the migrants were reported as available for or seeking work. The census data may not fully reflect seasonal or circulatory migration, estimated to be up to 10 million by the National Commission on Rural Labor. Seasonal migrants are usually dalits and other highly impoverished sections that go out to work in harvesting seasons or on construction sites, in brick kilns, salt mines etc.They go out to pay their debts and to survive.

No of Migrants (in million)

1951-6166
1961-7168.2
1971-8181
1981-9180.9
1991-200198.3
Other Social Issues in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/migration-in-india.html

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Caught in the quagmire

SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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A large number of children work in mines without any facalities.
The Hindu A large number of children work in mines without any facalities.

A Delhi-based NGO has spearheaded a study on the plight of children in the mining industry.

Children have always been at the receiving end of many of our flawed policies. There has always been a wide gap between what should be and what it is the reality. Here, one is talking about our mining and quarrying industry where this gap is way wide. According to the 2001 Census, 45,135 children between the age group of five and 14 years, and 206,720 between five and 19 years, are employed in the industry. "The number is much more than what the Census quotes," points out Enakshi Ganguly Thukral, co-director of the Delhi-based NGO Haq. Enakshi is part of a comprehensive study recently conducted by Haq: Centre for Child Rights in partnership with Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women – Samata and Mines, Minerals and People Alliance. Supported by Terre Des Hommes, Germany, AEI and ASTM Luxembourg, the study called "India's Childhood in the Pits – a Report on Impacts of Mining on Children in India, was carried out in eight States and took the organisations about a year to complete it. Enakshi says the results are startling but adds that the Ministry of Mines is not the only department which is responsible for their situation. "It needs to be addressed by other departments like child welfare, education, tribal welfare, labour and environment. Without such a convergence, the mining child falls through the gap." Here, Enakshi takes a few questions on the report.

What triggered the study?

In April 2005, HAQ, Samata, M.V. Foundation, Campaign Against Child Labour (Karnataka) and along with several other organisations carried out a fact-finding mission in the iron ore mines of Bellary where they found huge number of children living and working in hazardous conditions. When the report was put out, and particularly after National Human Rights Commission took suo moto cognisance of it, it was dismissed as emotive, non-factual, exaggerated, etc.

This latest study was conceived in follow up to that, and is the first study of its kind in India, looking not only at child labour in the mines, but the multitude of other ways in which children are impacted by mining such as on their health, education, living conditions, etc.

Which States has it covered?

The study covered numerous mining sites in 18 districts across Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In Orissa, we undertook case studies in a number of different sites as it is a State most impacted by mining and has been the focus of further mineral expansion.

What are the findings?

One important finding of the report is that the Government's policies related to mining and related processes do not address the specific rights and entitlements of the mining children. Also, that the mining areas are more vulnerable to child malnutrition, hunger and food insecurity. By being displaced, homeless or living in inadequate housing conditions, they are forced to drop out of schools and become vulnerable to abuse and trafficking and are recruited for illegal activities by local mafias.

Besides, the mining regions have a large number of children working in the most hazardous activities. Large-scale mining activities are mainly in Adivasi areas and the Adivasi childred are losing their Constitutional rights under 5th Schedule due to displacement, land alienation and migration by mining projects. The mining Dalit children are suffering too.

Are the children employed at the mines mostly from migrant families?

The children are from a mixture of local and migrant families. Migration and mining go hand-in-hand, due to the seasonal nature of the work and market fluctuations in demand for minerals. Large numbers of migrant families were found in many of the mining areas visited, e.g. in Pune district of Maharashtra. However, local children are often employed in the sector, particularly after their families have become displaced or lost agriculture land for mining, e.g. in Orissa.

Is it only poverty that is responsible for child labour in the mining industry?

A number of factors are responsible for child labour in the mining industry. Loss of land /displacement leads to children being forced out of school and into work. Low wages and indebtedness of their parents (often also engaged in mining work) means that children are forced into work in order to help their families survive. In the majority of areas visited, illness of parents also paid a key role in child labour. After a number of years of working in mines, their parents were falling sick with TB and silicosis, which meant that their children had to drop out of school and become 'breadwinners'.

Approximately how many children are employed in the mining industry?

This was not a Census survey…only a proper census on each and every mining site or quarry across the country will give us an exact figure. Given that the existence of child labour in mining is often even denied (as we can see from answers raised on this issue in Parliament, wherein the concerned Minister has replied saying that there were no children in mining as it is banned by law.), it is clearly impossible to estimate how many children are working in mining and quarrying sector and its allied activities.

How will the report be used in the advocacy of the issue?

The report has already been shared with the Ministry of Mines and some ther Government departments. The Secretary for Mines was a panellist at the report's launch on March 22 in New Delhi. She has promised to take some of the suggestions. She has also invited the research team and others to feed into the process that the Mines Ministry has initiated for amending the Mines Act as well as the development of a sustainable development framework.

A National Consultation on Children and Mining took place in Delhi on March 22 and 23, which brought together organisations working on mining and groups working on child rights. It is hoped that these groups will continue to work together to ensure that mining children no longer continue to be neglected.

http://beta.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article397119.ece

Opinion: India's urban rising

By Shirish Sankhe and Richard Dobbs

Published: April 29 2010 10:41 | Last updated: April 29 2010 10:41

India is on the cusp of an urban transformation, the scale and speed of which is unprecedented. It took nearly 40 years for the urban population to rise by 230m but it will take only half this time to add the next 250m. Cities will be core to India's economic growth. They will generate 70 percent of net new jobs created by 2030, produce more than 70 percent of GDP, and stimulate a near–fourfold increase in per capita incomes across the nation. If tackled well, urbanization could add 1 to 1.5 percentage points to India's GDP growth, taking it near to the double-digit rate necessary to create sufficient jobs for the 270madditional working age Indians expected by 2030. Further, it could unlock investment avenues and new markets – health care, infrastructure, project finance, education, and recreation – many not traditionally associated with India.

Yet, to date, the country has avoided dealing with the hard questions about how best to manage its massive urbanization. Cities fall woefully short of providing basic services today, and this deficit will become more chronic with time. Consequently, India will risk losing the productivity advantage associated with dense population centers. For instance, vehicle density could hit 610 per lane kilometer against a benchmark of 112 leading to urban gridlock. Thus, if India continues to fund cities at today's dismally low levels and fails to improve the management of its urban centers, it will deter investors and risk economic growth, leading to high levels of unemployment. Decisive action is vital to overturn this dichotomy into manifold investment frontiers.

According to new McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) research, 590m people will live in cities by 2030, more than double the 290m in 2001. The MGI report, India's urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth is available for free from www.mckinsey.com/mgi.India will have 68 cities with populations of more than 1 million, 13 cities with more than 4m people and 6 megacities with populations of 10m or more. This urban explosion will result in surging incomes and consumption. Households with true discretionary spending power could rise sevenfold from 13m in 2005 to around 90m in 2025. At least two cities – Mumbai and Delhi – will be among the five largest cities in the world by 2030. Many will be larger than the size of countries today in both population and economic output. For example, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's estimated 2030 GDP of $265 billion will be larger than the GDP of Portugal, Colombia, and Malaysia.

The economy will need 700m to 900m square meters of new residential and commercial space a year—equivalent to adding more than two Mumbais or one Chicago annually. In transportation, India will require 350 to 400 kilometers of new subway lines annually (more than 20 times the subway capacity built over the last decade) and between 19,000 and 25,000 kilometers of roads every year (nearly equivalent to the amount India has built in the last ten years). Urban demand for basic services will surge by five to sevenfold.

India cannot afford to continue with today's laissez-faire approach and needs to act with urgency. International experience suggests that cities can be transformed in a decade – so India still has its chance. The country needs to adopt an effective operational model for managing its cities, as nothing less than sustainable and inclusive growth is at stake.

India should focus on transforming current practice across five fronts – funding, governance, planning, shape, and low-income housing. First, India needs to unlock $1.2 trillion in investments over the next 20 years, equivalent to $134 per capita per year. This is almost eight times current spending of $17, which is just 14 percent of China's $116, and less than 5 percent of the UK's $391. Governance is another area in crying need of attention. Notwithstanding the political cacophony, India must institutionalize the system of directly elected metropolitan mayors in its 20 largest cities, similar to the UK, a parliamentary democracy, in which India's governance architecture is rooted. Finally, India has the privilege to shape the distribution of its urban population. Pre–investing in emerging Tier 2 cities so they do not go down the path of urban decay, and proactively designing the shape and density to reduce costs, saving land, and reducing environmental damage, are aspects that must be acted upon simultaneously.

Bringing about such urban reforms will need political will and vocal citizens. State governments will need to rise to the occasion and bestow power on cities and the central government will need to play a catalytic role by providing a package of incentives to states willing to undertake bold reforms.

In short, if handled well, urbanization could be an engine of growth; managed poorly, it could hinder investments and growth. Effectively managing urbanization will be pivotal to establishing India's status as an economic superpower on the world stage.

In subsequent weeks, the Financial Times will publish articles on India's urban challenge. These will focus on funding and infrastructure; governance; and how urbanization in India and China compares. Shirish Sankhe, is director of McKinsey based in Mumbai and Richard Dobbs is a Director of MGI and a Director of McKinsey, based in Seoul.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51744552-5369-11df-bfdf-00144feab49a.html

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You are here: Home » Sociology » Migration in India

Migration in India

by India in Sociology, September 27, 2008

Employment appears to the one of the main reasons for migration of the people. Economic constraint at the native place of the migrants motivates or couples the people to leave their original place in search of livelihood or economic betterment at different destinations in urban zones.

Employment appears to the one of the main reasons for migration of the people. Economic constraint at the native place of the migrants motivates or couples the people to leave their original place in search of livelihood or economic betterment at different destinations in urban zones. A survey of relevant data conducted from time to time revealed that nearly one third of the migrants have arrived in the cities only for seeking employment. It is well known that large proportion of rural villages depends entirely on farm work. These people are unable to sustain themselves, as most of them remain without rest or 5-6 months in a year. This ultimately results in their poverty. Leaving apart a few cases of big landlords, a young son of marginal farmer would never prefer to pursue himself in the profession of farming for obvious reasons. Only a less educated helpless person who can't do anything else would be a part of it. Secondly, the holdings are also going to be lesser and lesser day by day and the some area of land is now insufficient for generating self employment for landless people.


Above all speedy expansion of house and cities, through continuous acquisition of adjoining agricultural land, is a sword hanging and an impending threat to rural people curtailing the availability of cultivable land to the farmers. Education level is an important parameter for an individual which influences migration motivation and determines mobility pattern to a large extent. Nearly 5% of people migrate for this reason. There is a lack of opportunities for rural youth to acquire sufficient as well as quality of education in the rural sector. They are also devoid of any such facilities which are necessary to lift their personality as schools in the rural areas are comparatively low. In additions, the pattern of education is such that most of the youth are left untrained and are unable to take up any type of self-employment. If one tries to enter into some sort of trade, huge sums of money and risks are involved, which rural people can't afford. It is also not easy to set up a business in rural areas unless good means of transport and communication are available there.

At present there is limited scope for trade in the rural areas therefore people prefer cities in search of livelihood. The role of education factor in respect of movement of individuals also reflects their urge to seek better employment opportunities. Thus the migration of resourceful and well educated people from rural zones to urban zones is favourable for urban development. As a result rural development is either hampered, remains static or may even deteriorate for want of an effective and forceful forum to raise the voice of the innocent rural people. It is understood from various reports that around one fifth of the migrants come to cities for reasons like political and cultural and also some times due to incidence of natural calamities here. There are numerous other invisible causes for migration which technically don't seem to be so important yet are reposed by some authors to have played a definite role in this phenomena of migration from rural to urban centers and vice versa or from one region to another.


Notable among these are:

  1. Social conflicts and social tension
  2. Gap in civilization / culture
  3. Law and Order situation
  4. Inequalities in the available social and economic opportunities and other amenities of life between groups of people and or sectors.
  5. Income maximization.
  6. Inequitable distribution of benefits of economic development.
  7. Social mobility and social status aspirations.
  8. Residential satisfaction.
  9. Friend and family influences
  10. Desire for attaining lifestyle, performance and enjoyment.
  11. Development of some sort of complex.

As regards the consequence of migration, we find that the concept of migration in India has been mostly in terms of rural to urban zone and its consequences have been perceived more from the urban end. In addition unrestricted expansion of cities has resulted in high levels of pollution due to lack of public conveniences and unlimited number of vehicles plying on the roads. Safety of life is also minimal for this very reason. While all witness the adverse effect of migration over the urban society, the rural society also gets affected in a number of ways. The pinch experienced by rural people is not of a small magnitude. Those very people who could do something for the welfare of the rural society go away and as per the practice, they think and fight primarily for the welfare of urbanities. In this manner, both the societies suffer a set back. However a section of migrated urbanites think and raise voice for the upliftment of their counter parts in the rural zone. In that situation there starts an unending tug of war between the two groups of society, which is not congenial for the growth and development of the country. To check this menace a well planned strategy has to the worked out by all concerned. Steps are also needed for its implementation in time. Top priority needs to be given to creating of work opportunities, generalization of full time employment in and around the villages and providing at least bare minimum amenities in the rural sector. While proportionate budgetary allocation for the rural sector may not be feasible due to the prevalent economic crisis, provision of higher allocation for this sector appears necessary as regular feature till such time as the conditions of rural people is improved to the extent that the younger generation feels proud in staying back in the villages, earning their livelihood right there and not getting fascinated by the glamour of the cities. This could be achieved only by formulating rural oriented schemes at the national level and planning of the type that the rural society is not deprived of the benefits of progress made by the country and is able to avail all sorts of facilities / amenities available to the urbanites. It will be unjust to conclude that nothing has been done for the rural sector. The government has attached due importance to the problem and has launched important programmes.Over these years, schemes like that of providing clean drinking water communication media, dairy, development and removal of illiteracy in the rural sector have been taken up. Despite all this, if has not been possible to check the migration of people from rural sector to urban sector. Cities continue to grow at a fast speed.

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Introduction ::India
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The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually brought about independence in 1947. Communal violence led to the subcontinent's bloody partition, which resulted in the creation of two separate states, India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists allegedly originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, rapid economic development is fueling India's rise on the world stage.

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Geography ::India
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Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

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20 00 N, 77 00 E

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total: 3,287,263 sq km
country comparison to the world: 7
land: 2,973,193 sq km
water: 314,070 sq km

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slightly more than one-third the size of the US

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total: 14,103 km
border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

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7,000 km

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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

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upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

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coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land

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arable land: 48.83%
permanent crops: 2.8%
other: 48.37% (2005)

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558,080 sq km (2003)

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1,907.8 cu km (1999)

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total: 645.84 cu km/yr (8%/5%/86%)
per capita: 585 cu m/yr (2000)

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droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes

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deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources

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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal

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People ::India
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1,156,897,766 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2

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0-14 years: 30.5% (male 187,197,389/female 165,285,592)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 384,131,994/female 359,795,835)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,816,115/female 31,670,841) (2009 est.)

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total: 25.3 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 25.8 years (2009 est.)

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1.407% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93

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21.72 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90

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7.6 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115

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-0.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85

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urban population: 29% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

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total: 50.78 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 51
male: 49.33 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 52.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

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total population: 66.09 years
country comparison to the world: 161
male: 65.13 years
female: 67.17 years (2009 est.)

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2.68 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86

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0.3% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89

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2.4 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4

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310,000 (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2

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degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: chikungunya, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
animal contact disease: rabies
water contact disease: leptospirosis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

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noun: Indian(s)
adjective: Indian

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Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

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Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)

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Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 census)

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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)

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total: 10 years
male: 11 years
female: 9 years (2005)

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3.2% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 140

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Government ::India
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conventional long form: Republic of India
conventional short form: India
local long form: Republic of India/Bharatiya Ganarajya
local short form: India/Bharat

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federal republic

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name: New Delhi
geographic coordinates: 28 36 N, 77 12 E
time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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28 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Puducherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal

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15 August 1947 (from the UK)

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Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

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26 January 1950; amended many times

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based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; separate personal law codes apply to Christians, Hindus, and Muslims

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18 years of age; universal

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chief of state: President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004)
cabinet: is Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website Opens in New Window)
elections: president is elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election was last held in July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012); vice president is elected by both houses of Parliament for a five-year term; election was last held in August 2007 (next to be held August 2012); prime minister is chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party following legislative elections; election was last held April - May 2009 (next to be held no later than May 2014)
election results: Pratibha PATIL elected president; percent of vote - Pratibha PATIL 65.8%, Bhairon Singh SHEKHAWAT - 34.2%

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bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than 250 members up to 12 of whom are appointed by the president, the remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 members elected by popular vote, 2 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held in five phases on 16, 22-23, 30 April and 7, 13 May 2009 (next must be held by May 2014)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - INC 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD (U) 20, AITC 19, DMK 18, CPI-M 16, BJD 14, SS 11, AIADMK 9, NCP 9, other 61, vacant 2

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Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")

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All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK [J. JAYALALITHAA]; All India Trinamool Congress or AITC [Mamata BANERJEE]; Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP [MAYAWATI]; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [Nitin GADKARI]; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Naveen PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI [B. BARDHAN]; Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M [Prakash KARAT]; Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK [Kalaignar M.KARUNANIDHI]; Indian National Congress or INC [Sonia GANDHI]; Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) [Sharad YADAV]; Left Front (an alliance of Indian leftist parties); Nationalist Congress Party or NCP [Sharad PAWAR]; Rashtriya Lok Dal or RLD [Ajit SINGH]; Samajwadi Party or SP [Mulayam Singh YADAV]; Shiromani Akali Dal or SAD [Parkash Singh BADAL]; Shiv Sena or SS [Bal THACKERAY]; Telugu Desam Party or TDP [Chandrababu NAIDU]; note - India has dozens of national and regional political parties; only parties or coalitions with four or more seats in the People's Assembly are listed

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All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir Valley (separatist group); Bajrang Dal (religious organization); National Socialist Council of Nagaland in the northeast (separatist group); Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh [Mohan BHAGWAT] (religious organization); Vishwa Hindu Parishad [Ashok SINGHAL] (religious organization)
other: numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations; various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy

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ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CICA, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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chief of mission: Ambassador Meera SHANKAR
chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note - Consular Wing located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
FAX: [1] (202) 265-4351
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco

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chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy J. ROEMER
embassy: Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [91] (011) 2419-8000
FAX: [91] (11) 2419-0017
consulate(s) general: Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad; Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay)

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three equal horizontal bands of saffron (subdued orange) (top), white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band
note: similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band

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Economy ::India
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India is developing into an open-market economy, yet traces of its past autarkic policies remain. Economic liberalization, including reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997. India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Slightly more than half of the work force is in agriculture, but services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output, with only one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large educated English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services and software workers. An industrial slowdown early in 2008, followed by the global financial crisis, led annual GDP growth to slow to 6.1% in 2009, still second highest growth in the world among major economies. India escaped the brunt of the global financial crisis because of cautious banking policies and a relatively low dependence on exports for growth. Domestic demand, driven by purchases of consumer durables and automobiles, has re-emerged as a key driver of growth, as exports have fallen since the global crisis started. India's fiscal deficit increased substantially in 2008 due to fuel and fertilizer subsidies, a debt waiver program for farmers, a job guarantee program for rural workers, and stimulus expenditures. The government abandoned its deficit target and allowed the deficit to reach 6.8% of GDP in FY10. Nevertheless, as shares of GDP, both government spending and taxation are among the lowest in the world. The government has expressed a commitment to fiscal stimulus in FY10, and to deficit reduction the following two years. It has increased the pace of privatization of government-owned companies, partly to offset the deficit. India's long term challenges include widespread poverty, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, and insufficient access to basic and higher education. Over the long-term, a growing population and changing demographics will only exacerbate social, economic, and environmental problems.

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$3.56 trillion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$3.343 trillion (2008 est.)
$3.113 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

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$1.095 trillion (2009 est.)

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6.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
7.4% (2008 est.)
9% (2007 est.)

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$3,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
$2,900 (2008 est.)
$2,800 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

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agriculture: 17.5%
industry: 20%
services: 62.6% (2009)

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467 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2

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agriculture: 52%
industry: 14%
services: 34% (2009 est.)

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10.7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
10.4% (2008 est.)

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25% (2007 est.)

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lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 31.1% (2005)

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36.8 (2004)
country comparison to the world: 79
37.8 (1997)

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32.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18

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revenues: $129.9 billion
expenditures: $237.2 billion (2009 est.)

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59.6% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
57.6% of GDP (2008 est.)

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10.7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 195
8.3% (2008 est.)

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4.75% (9 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 75
6% (31 December 2008)

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11% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
13.31% (31 December 2008)

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$278.8 billion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 6
$239.8 billion (31 December 2008)

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$853.4 billion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 6
$687.7 billion (31 December 2008)

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$1 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 12
$828.3 billion (31 December 2008)

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$1.301 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 17
$645.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$1.819 trillion (31 December 2007)

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rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, lentils, onions, potatoes; dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry; fish

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textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals

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7.6% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12

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723.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6

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568 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6

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810 million kWh (2009 est.)

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5.27 billion kWh (2009 est.)

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3.72 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5

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2.67 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6

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738,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23

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2.9 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6

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5.625 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21

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32.85 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25

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42.99 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19

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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66

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10.79 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22

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1.075 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26

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-$8.399 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
-$30.41 billion (2008 est.)

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$165 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
$200.9 billion (2008)

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petroleum products, precious stones, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, vehicles, apparel

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UAE 12.3%, US 11.7%, China 5.4%, Singapore 4.5% (2008)

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$253.9 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
$322.3 billion (2008 est.)

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crude oil, precious stones, machinery, fertilizer, iron and steel, chemicals

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China 10.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, US 6.7%, UAE 6.7%, Iran 4.2% (2008)

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$287.5 billion (31 October 2009)
country comparison to the world: 4
$254 billion (31 December 2008)

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$223.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$232.5 billion (31 December 2008)

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$161.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
$123.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

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$77.42 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$61.77 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

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Indian rupees (INR) per US dollar - 46.78 (2009), 43.319 (2008), 41.487 (2007), 45.3 (2006), 44.101 (2005)

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Communications ::India
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36.76 million (2010)
country comparison to the world: 7

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545 million (2010)
country comparison to the world: 2

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general assessment: supported by recent deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications laws and policies, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world; total telephone subscribership base is approaching 600 million, an overall teledensity of 50%, and subscribership is currently growing nearly 20 million per month; urban teledensity has reached 100% and rural teledensity is about 20% and steadily growing
domestic: mobile cellular service introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan areas and 19 telecom circles each with multiple private service providers and one or more state-owned service providers; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; a number of major international submarine cable systems, including Sea-Me-We-3 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay), Sea-Me-We-4 with a landing site at Chennai, Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with a landing site at Mumbai (Bombay), South Africa - Far East (SAFE) with a landing site at Cochin, the i2i cable network linking to Singapore with landing sites at Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), and Tata Indicom linking Singapore and Chennai (Madras), provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for both voice and data traffic; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); 9 gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam (2010)

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AM 149, FM 171, shortwave 54 (2009)

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1,400 (2009)

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.in

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3.611 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 22

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81 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4

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Transportation ::India
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349 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 23

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total: 250
over 3,047 m: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 56
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 14 (2009)

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total: 99
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 42
under 914 m: 47 (2009)

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37 (2009)

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condensate/gas 2 km; gas 7,542 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,163 km; oil 7,659 km; refined products 7,201 km (2009)

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total: 64,015 km
country comparison to the world: 4
broad gauge: 52,808 km 1.676-m gauge (18,172 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 8,473 km 1.000-m gauge; 2,734 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2009)

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total: 3,320,410 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2009)
country comparison to the world: 3

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14,500 km
country comparison to the world: 9
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2008)

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total: 501
country comparison to the world: 23
by type: bulk carrier 102, cargo 241, carrier 1, chemical tanker 19, container 13, liquefied gas 18, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 92, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 12 (China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 6, UK 2)
registered in other countries: 61 (Barbados 1, Comoros 2, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Liberia 2, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 27, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Singapore 13, unknown 1) (2008)

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Chennai, Haldia, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mormugao, Mumbai (Bombay), New Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam

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Military ::India
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Army, Navy (includes naval air arm), Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu Sena), Coast Guard (2009)

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16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; women officers allowed in noncombat roles only (2008)

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males age 16-49: 301,094,084
females age 16-49: 283,047,141 (2008 est.)

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males age 16-49: 237,042,868
females age 16-49: 243,276,310 (2009 est.)

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male: 11.795 million
female: 10,820,590 (2009 est.)

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2.5% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 66

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Transnational Issues ::India
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since China and India launched a security and foreign policy dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to exchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal

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refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007)

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current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; internal forced labor may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage and face forced labor working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery factories; women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage; children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation; men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through India for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government authorities made uneven efforts to prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims; government authorities continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor and child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law enforcement against these forms of trafficking; a critical challenge overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking; India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

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world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia; illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor production

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The online Factbook is updated bi-weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.





Environmental Management Systems – An Exemplary for Urban Local Bodies  


By Dhirendra Kumar

Overview of Urbanisation in India

Historically, cities have been the driving force in economic and social development. At present approximately 307 million Indians lives in nearly 3700 towns and cities spread across the country. This is 30.5% of its population, in sharp contrast to only 60 millions (15%) who lived in urban areas in 1947 when the country became Independent. During the last fifty years the population of India has grown two and half times, but Urban India has grown by nearly five times. In numerical terms, India's urban population is second largest in the world after China, and is higher than the total urban population of all countries put together barring China, USA and Russia.

Table: 1 India: Urban Population 1901 – 2001
    Urban population (million)    Percentage of Urban to total population    Decadal growth rate (percent)
1901    29.9    10.8    -
1911    25.9    10.3    0.4
1921    28.1    11.2    18.3
1931    33.5    12.0    19.1
1941    44.2    13.9    32.0
1951    62.4    17.3    41.4
1961    78.9    18.0    26.4
1971    109.1    19.9    38.2
1981    159.5    23.3    46.1
1991    217.6    25.7    36.4
2001    306.9    30.5    41.0
    Source: Ministry of Urban Affairs

At the 1991 census, two-third of the country's urban population lived in Class-I cities with more than 1,00,000 population.

Table: 2 Distribution of urban population by size class of towns
Class    Population Range    No. of Towns    Share of urban Population
I    1,00,000 & above    300    65.20%
II    50,000 to 99,999    345    10.95%
III    20,000 to 49,999    947    13.19%
IV    10,000 to 19,999    1,167    7.77%
V    5,000 to 9,999    740    2.60%
VI    Less than 5,000    197    0.29%
    All Classes    3,696    100%
     Source: Ministry of Urban Affairs

About one-third of Urban India (71 million) lives in metropolitan cities (million plus). The number of such cities in India has increased from 1 in 1901 to 5 in 1951 to 23 in 1991 to 40 in 2001. Out of the total increase in the country's urban population of 58 million between 1981 and 1991, 44 million were added to Class I cities alone. 28 million persons were added in metropolitan cities.

Urban areas are the engines of productivity and growth in the country. This is manifest in the increasing contribution of urban sector to national income.
        
Table: 3 urban contribution to national income
Year    Percentage of Urban to total population    Estimated contribution to national income
1951    17.3    29%
1981    23.3    47%
1991    25.7    55%
2001    30.5    60%
     Source : Ministry of Urban Affairs

Growth of employment (main workers) in urban India during 1981-91 was recorded at 38% against 16% in rural areas and 26.1% in the country as a whole.

Environmental impacts of Urbanisation
Some of the chief forces driving urbanisation today are shifting of jobs from agriculture to industry and the concentration of economic opportunities in the urban areas. Urbanisation is associated with higher incomes, improved health, higher literacy, improved quality of life and other benefits. Yet along with the benefits of urbanization come environmental and social ills. Since with urbanization the concentration of people is increasing in cities so is the demand for basic necessities like food, energy, drinking water and shelter. The result is in terms of poor quality housing, lack of water supply and sanitation facility and lack of proper waste disposal facility leading to spread of communicable diseases.

Urbanisation affects the environment in three major ways: implications due to urban poverty which is a result of migration, stressed infrastructure and management systems and finally incresing consumerism. These problems warrant major concerns on three accounts. Firstly the prevailing pattern and trend of Urbanisation is more material and energy intensive. Secondly the discharge of pollutants and generation of solid waste  in cities is particularly harmful because it is uncontrollable and thirdly the financial, institutional, technological and infrastructure systems available for help to control these problems in the region at present are inadequate.

Urban waste
Increasing urbanisation is resulting in the generation of increasing amounts of solid waste. It is estimated that 20-50 percent of the solid waste generated remains uncollected. In New Delhi, 3,880 tons of garbage is produced per day, yet only 2,420 tons is collected for disposal. Even if collected, municipal solid waste remains a problem in many cities.
As the living standards are rising the organic content in the waste is reducing and non-biodegradable wastes like metal, plastic and glass are on a rise (Figure -1).  Urbanisation and increasing trend of consumerism in cities are the main factors leading to generation of more waste.

Urban water quality
Ever increasing urbanisation and their growing amounts of waste have over taxed the natural recycling capabilities of local rivers and lakes. Of the many problems associated with urban effluents, nutrient loading or eutrophication of local waters is one of the most serious problems. Poor water resource management too contributes to water problems.
            

Source : World Bank Urban Development Sector Unit, Solid waste Management in Asia (1999)


Urban transportation
Transportation systems are a major contributor to the decay of urban environment and reduced quality of life in the metropolitan areas due to their contribution to atmospheric emissions, noise and risk of accidents. Increasing vehicular pollution in major urban centers is becoming an area of growing concern. Poor maintenance of vehicles, degraded condition of roads and use of un-pure fuels primarily precipitate the problems of air and noise pollution arising from operation of motorized vehicles.

Urban air quality
Urban air quality has deteriorated largely on account of growth in industrial activity, transportation needs and energy production. In India, ambient air quality status derived from a network of 290 stations covering 90 towns and cities in recent years indicates that while suspended particulate matter (SPM) is consistently critical in many cities, the concentration of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide is also increasing and is already transiting from moderate to high to critical levels. As estimated, 2000 metric tones of air pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere everyday, vehicular sources contributing the maximum (Figure-2).

Source : TERI, 1996

Resource consumption
Energy demand: Urbanisation has profound effect on the amount and type of energy consumed. Along with population growth, economic development and industrialisation, urbanisation is one of the principal forces driving the increase in energy demand (Figure-3). Although the traditional rural societies rely heavily upon the human and animal energy and on nearby wood or fuel, today urban societies are characterised by their reliance on fossil fuels and electricity. These patterns of energy use lead to different environmental impacts.
 Source : World Bank 2000, World Development Indicators

Water demand
India although has enormous reserve of water, but it still suffers from urban water supply problems. The growing demand of water, along with poor water resource management and mounting pollution levels contributes to water supply problems in and around cities. Urbanisation is leading to change in lifestyle and consumption pattern, which is leading to increased demand for water. As number of people in urban area increases, so does the demand for food and hence for irrigation in agricultural areas close to cities. These pressures can quickly result in demand for water that surpass local water supply.

Poor water management practices exacerbate local water shortages. Inefficient water distribution system is another major source of water loss. Water scarcity is closely linked with water quality. Freshwater lakes and rivers provide affordable and easy accessible water, but uncontrolled discharge of domestic sewage and industrial effluents has left many urban rivers heavily polluted and their water is unsafe for use. Already struggling with uneven distribution of water resources and local water scarcity, the total water demand is projected to double by 2025 in India.

Responses
Rapid urbanisation accounts for most of the renewable and non-renewable resource consumption and waste generation. These long-term ecological concerns are relevant to urbanisation as they grow and prosper, their consumption of resources and generation of wastes will rise accordingly, unless action is taken now to promote the efficient use of resources and minimisation of waste.

The challenge is to seek new management approaches that provide both for the needs of urban residents and protect environmental resources on which human life depends. Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is a new management approach for urban local bodies that can lead cities towards eco-cities.

Relevance of EMS to Township
India has entered the new century with a whopping 300 million urban population. Urbanisation continues to increase steadily bringing with it both the benefits of infrastructure growth and the environmental ills. The administrative units of small towns/cities, municipal towns and industrial townships are expected to satisfy a broad spectrum of citizens' needs to provide various facilities and services. It has been observed that within their levels of jurisdiction they are unprepared to address the complex environmental challenges that are confronting them.

Why EMS for Urban Sector
Operation and development of urban areas involves:
 Infrastructure development
 Resource utilization
 Availability of support systems to sustain ever growing population

Therefore, to achieve sustainable development, each operational unit in an urban area needs to manage the environmental aspects arising from its activities and services in a systematic procedure. The EMS framework integrates the environment into everyday business operations, and environmental stewardship becomes part of the daily responsibility of employees and citizens across. At different levels of townships, the relevance of EMS is:

At the township administration level:
To integrate environment management and promote the use of a systematic standard procedure in township administration.

    At the facility level:
To establish a management system in their day to day operation of the facility to minimise the environmental impacts, optimise resource utilisation and manage the waste in a standarised and continual procedure.

    At the residents level:
To involve all residents in a participatory manner for minimising the environmental impacts arising out of their use of the facilities and in the process of designing, establishing, implementing and maintaining the management system in a continual manner.

Till date, EMS as per ISO 14001 was widely accepted by industries. Realising the requirements of the management and the residents of the municipalities/towns/townships, Development Alternatives initiated facilitation of EMS in three Industrial townships of India and all the three has been certified for their ISO 14001 implementation. Implementation of EMS in townships is a good role model for other urban local bodies to replicate. Development Alternatives is grateful to the management, the staff and the residents of the following townships for giving an opportunity to demonstrate on ground the applicability of EMS concept and also for sharing the information.
 Kasturinagar Township : Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative, Kalol, Gujarat
 Pirojshanagar Township : Godrej & Boyce, Vikhroli, Mumbai
 Tatachem Township : Tata Chemicals, Mithapur, Gujarat
 IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT " KASTURINAGAR"
                                   (TOWNSHIP OF IFFCO KALOL UNIT)

By Mr.P.Chanchalani, Sr. Manager, IFFCO, Kalol

This article gives complete EMS benefit of the township

" Kasturinagar" A residential colony of IFFCO Kalol.

Kasturinagar is the residential colony of IFFCO Kalol unit. This compact township with 315 residential quarters meets the housing need of the factory complex for essential production, maintenance and supporting service staff. The township is situated on Ahmedabad - Mehsana highway, having distance of 25 kms from Ahmedabad, 17 kms from State Capital Gandhinagar and 50 kms from Mehsana. Factory is 5 kms down towards Mehsana from township. The township has a wholesome establishment having full-fledged infrastructure. Such as bank, post office, drinking water supplies (Reverse Osmosis treated), electricity supply, sewage treatment, solid waste management, estate section (for maintenance & repair jobs), horticulture, recreation club (for indoor - outdoor games, swimming pool, reading room and multipurpose hall) and a temple complex.

Initiating Environmental Management System for "Kasturi Nagar"
Kasturinagar residents (especially IFFCO staff) were well aware of the environmental issues threatening life existence, as they had exposure to Environmental Management System while IFFCO plant was going for ISO 14001 certification.  But the EMS implementation separately for township was considered much useful in formalising a system, which was having a scientific approach for solving environment issues with the community participation. The perceived benefits by the implementation of EMS were;

 Commitment on the issues and programmes from all the levels,
 Categorization of environmental issues and understanding their short term / long term impacts on environment,
 Determining the gap between the desired performance and operational practices and improving upon the same.
 Setting an example, first of its kind in implementing EMS as role model.

The issues, which attracted attention for improving the environmental programme, were:

 Conservation of resources with focus on electricity and water consumption,
 Eco friendly management of solid / liquid waste,
 Environmental improvement through enhancement of green coverage.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT - THE PRIMARY NEED
Implementation of EMS for township is much different from implementing EMS for the factory; primarily because the processes in factory are known and the same have controllable parameters measurable on certain yardstick. The processes in township are only partially controllable as the inputs having environmental impacts are generated at individual level (at household level) and the commitment to a cause is unlikely to be uniform. Organizational structure can modulate the output through methodologies adopted, but unless inputs have regulated performance which, could be otherwise inconsistent.

The above mien called for comprehensive involvement of all the residents and to attain the same, core group was formulated consisting of:

 Members representing house wives and from cross section (workers to officers) of residents,
 Members from employees directly involved in maintenance of township services like sanitation, water and power supply, sewage treatment, civil, electrical and horticulture maintenance.
 Members from medical and nursing staff,
 Members representing voluntary agencies like Co-operative store, Recreation club, Temple   committee, Senior citizen group etc
 Employees from out source service segment like Post office, Bank, Contracted security agency and schoolteachers.
 Management Representatives and Assistant Management Representatives were chosen based on their experience of implementing EMS in the IFFCO factory.

Core group members were given comprehensive training on each stage of EMS implementation. The training consisted of general environmental issues, ISO-14001 standard requirements, and initial environmental review, determining significant environmental aspects that helped in setting objective and targets and developing environmental management programme. Internal auditor team also constituted from the core group members. The core group members acted as a conveyor for propagating EMS message to the township community.

COORDINATED EFFORT – THE STRENGTH
Core group members effectively conveyed the message of EMS system to each and every resident and even the household servants were made aware. In this effort, roles of housewives were very important and effective.  All the participants from contracted agencies also took active interest in doing environmental review, which helped in identifying the significant aspect for township and helping for setting up of objectives and targets for environmental improvement.  In the township context all the objectives and targets required involvement of each resident and the response was overwhelming and very positive.

Involvement of employees on township establishment role was also complete.  Each work area personnel actively participated in preparing documentation related to their area and in establishing the system confirming to EMS 14001 standard.

Awareness-training programmes were covered to all the residents of Kasturinagar Township (from children's to aged person).  The same were conducted in different ways like lecture, debate, elocution competition and spread of messages during celebrations like Navratri, Ganesh puja, Gokul Astami etc.

RESULTS SPOKE
The first township in India to receive ISO 14001 certificate in May 2001 by accredited agency of repute like BVQI and also had a successful surveillance audit held in December 2001.  Kasturinagar Township was the role model on its kind to show the benefits on ground to the outside world. The highlights of it are mentioned in Table 1.

Table 1: Environment Management Programmes (EMP) undertaken to conserve and manage resources effectively

Environment Management Programme    Environmental Benefits    Cost involved
Management of solid waste     Separation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste at household level.
 Treatment of biodegradable waste by vermicomposting
 Using the generated compost for horticulture purpose thereby saving the fertilizers used earlier.    Rs. Five lakhs
Management of wastewater generated     Treatment of generated wastewater (including sewage) by fluidized aerobic bioreactor process.
 500 m3 of treated water used for horticulture purpose, there by reducing fresh water requirement.    Rs. Sixty Three lakhs
Conservation of drinking water     Conservation of treated drinking water by five percent of its earlier use, working out to be total 3 m3.
 Above helped in reducing treatment cost of water by Reverse Osmosis process.    No cost involved
Improvement of groundwater      Design and construction of rain water harvesting structure for the entire township
 Above helped in improving groundwater level
 Above helped in saving the treatment of storm water     Rs. Seven lakhs
Conservation of electricity     Street lighting was effectively used by adapting conservation bulbs, timers for operation etc.
 Conservation of electricity at household level.    Rs. One lakh

Though the cost involved was huge in establishing EMS, the pay back period for all the above measure was in between six months to eighteen months, including the huge investment spent for wastewater treatment.  Apart from the initiatives mentioned in the Table 1, there were lot more taken by the township to reduce the adverse environmental impacts caused by its activities at various level of its operation, such as saying no to plastics and promoting the usage of biodegradable materials etc. The other major requirement of ISO 14001 was to follow the environmental and other legal requirements applicable to township. Such as dispensary in the township is managing its bio medical waste as per the Bio medical waste (management and handling) rules, 2000 by installation of needle shredder, disinfecting liquid waste generated before letting out in sewer line for further treatment etc.  Establishment of safety requirements for the LPG godown in the township as per "The LPG Regulation and supply and distribution Order, 1993".

THE TASK HAD ENOUGH CHALLENGES.
After implementing EMS conforming to ISO-14001, when we look back at the process we are really amazed about the efforts put in and the challenges faced. Some of them are explained below
 Though the resources were not the constraint, every new proposal, which required upgradation / updating of facilities, had skeptical reviews, the foremost being if it is managed some how now why need to go for change? Here the support and wisdom of top management was of immense help.  
 Making the grass-root level employees / residents conscious about their role and importance in effective implementation of EMS.  Some of the theoretical concepts of environmental review, exhaustive identification of aspects/impacts, initially took more time for building the EMS structure.

 A NEW EXPERIENCE.
The whole project was community oriented and the experience was much different from implementation of EMS at IFFCO plant.  Inputs received from Development Alternatives (DA) were of great help in designing the EMS structure for the township. DA's active involvement at every stage of implementation right from EMS training to train and conduct of initial EMS audit was of tremendous help. As a whole it was a new experience, rich in content, exemplary and above all much more satisfactory. A role model has been created for others to see and initiate the same in their local bodies.
 
MAKING IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT "TATACHEM"
(TOWNSHIP OF TATCHEMICALS, MITHAPUR)

By Dr. Ajith Nair, Asst. Manager, Tatachem Hospital


A healthy environment... in health care establishment

This article mainly emphasis the benefits that Tatachem hospital has drawn

Township details
Tatachem Township is an Industrial Township privately owned by Tata Chemicals Ltd. located 10 Kms south of Okha Port and Bet Dwarka and 20 Kms north of the holy city of Dwarka, along the coast of Arabian Sea.  Area of the Township is around 9 Sq. Km with a population of about 18000.  Township was developed into a self-sufficient green and modern inhabitant with its own municipal services, such as lighting, water supply, roads, sanitation, medical services and family planning facilities.

Hospital details
Tatachem hospital is a 52-year-old 150 bedded hospital owned and managed by Tata Chemicals Ltd.  It acts as referral centre for 1.5 Lakhs population of Okhamandal Taluka. Facilities in the hospital can be broadly classified as:
 Infrastructure resources – Out patient department and In patient department
 Staff Resources – 9 doctors, 15 paramedical staff, 26 nursing staff and 50 support staff
 Treatment Facilities – General, specialised medical care facilities, operation theatre and investigation facilities (laboratory, X-ray and ECG section etc.)
 Hospitality Services – Full fledged kitchen, laundry facilities
 Bio waste management and treatment facilities – needle shredder, autoclave, sterlisation equipments and bio-waste incinerator etc.
 Community Services  - family planning to community, mobile clinic for surrounding villages near with Okhamandal Taluka and
 Administration Facilities – to support hospital functioning

Getting hospital ready for ISO 14001
Recent research has proven that considerable amount of environmental pollution is caused by hospitals and large quantities of waste are generated for treatment. Above all lots of resources are consumed by hospitals such as energy, water, chemicals (disinfection agents) and detergents. The mixed-up link between environment and health has lead to environmental protection becoming a main concern for the healthcare community. However, healthcare facilities, especially hospitals, have ironically been identified as major sources of pollution.

This made the management team here at Tata Chemicals recognise the need for an environmental management system (EMS) to be adopted under the scope of Tatachem township. When developing the EMS procedures, the detail environmental aspects and impacts for all the departments in the hospital were identified to check out its adverse environmental impacts caused by the operation. Each department was assessed on their consistency, frequency of environmental problems and the degree of control existing for mitigating such problems. This is organized into a comprehensive environmental management system document in the form of initial environmental review assessment.

EMS implementation for the entire township was taken up by the Quality Systems of Tata Chemicals limited; the challenge faced was, to motivate staff and residents about the benefits of EMS and the effective implementation of the same.

Benefits and challenges faced in implementing EMS….
Team building and training:
 Core group members for the entire implementation of EMS included three doctors, out of which one acted as a Waste Management Officer. But staff at various levels was trained regarding EMS and bio medical waste management, who intern trained the other hospital staff members.
 Transfer of the knowledge on management of bio medical waste to the lower levels was the biggest challenge.

Bio medical waste management:
 Detail operational control procedure on segregation, transportation, storage, weighing of waste, pre disposal treatment handling, spillage of waste and treatment of waste at on site was formulated as per the bio medical waste management and handling rules, 2000 and detail training was given to all concerned staff.
 Weighing of bio waste gave an idea to understand the quantity and the origin of waste generation, which helped later on to develop environment management plan to minimize the waste generation. All the staff members were made responsible for the effective implementation of the same.
 Needle shredder was installed at all the possible places, where the injections are given to patients.
 Different colour bags and bins have been installed at various bio waste generation sources in hospital.
 The OCP also included procedure to prevent injury, infection and health hazards to hospital personnel and promoted awareness among the staff about the safe practices to be adopted during their work. . All hospital staff members were vaccinated against Hepatitis.B.
 The Waste Management Officer conducts periodic waste audits and reports are forwarded and discussed with the Senior Manager Medical services for necessary action to be taken.
 EMS helped in improving Hospital hygiene.

Emergency preparedness and response (EPR)
 A detailed EPR plan was developed for the hospital emergency situations, such as fire, spread of epidemics, storage of pressurised cylinders and inflammable materials. Periodic mock drills are also conducted to test the effectiveness of the EPR plan developed.
 All the hazardous chemicals used in the hospital were identified and the Material Safety Data Sheets for the same was prepared in English and Gujarati and training was given to the concerned staff handling the chemicals.

The Future of the Environment in Tatachem hospital
EMS has the component of continual improvement, which will help us in periodic setting and reviewing of objectives and targets. Last year the main focus was on adopting Bio Medical waste Management and Handling Rules, 2000, which helped in identifying appropriate treatment facilities for various types of bio medical waste generated from the hospitals. Coming year the focus will be on conservation of other resources such as energy, water, chemicals etc. It is worth saying that ISO 14001 helped our hospital in streamlining the procedures & preparing us for the systematic functioning and handling emergency situation. We are proud to say that our small efforts towards environmental protection will help in saving the beautiful planet - our earth!
 IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT "PIROJSHANAGAR TOWNSHIP"
(GODREJ & BOYCE, MUMBAI)

By Ms Saraswathi Iyer, Ms. Diamy'D Sauza (School teacher, Pirojshanagar Township)

This article mainly emphasis the benefits that school has drawn

Township details

Pirojshanagar Township is the residential colony for the employees of Godrej & Boyce, Mumbai. The township consists of 3 colonies viz. Hillside, Stationside & Creekside. The Hillside colony is located on the LBS Marg and consists of about 1,300 flats of various dimensions  for different categories of Management Staff of Godrej Group Companies and is home for approximately 12,000 people.  The Stationside & Creekside Colony are located on either side of Eastern Express Highway as per attached plan and has approximately 1,000 flats each, which are reserved for the workmen of Godrej Group Companies.

The other facilities of the townships are: -
1. Udayachal Primary & High School
2. Colony Dispensary
3. Consumer Stores
4. Pragati Kendra for welfare activities
5. Water and Electricity Department
6. Safety Department looks after the safety aspects of all the residential areas & sections
7. Garden Department for meeting the green cover requirement of the colonies
8. Housekeeping Department
9. Housing Department

The Pirojshanagar Township is a leading landmark in the city of Mumbai and has gained international importance due to its pioneering efforts for endeavoring to achieve ISO 14001 Certification. The Environment Policy sums up the core values of the management in accepting responsibility for living in close harmony with nature and community. The township environment does not compromise the earth's environment in any way, but rather enhances the fact that man can extract the best and yet live in harmonious compatibility with the surroundings.

Role of School for ISO 14001
The Pirojshanagar township, Mumbai, has adopted the ISO 14000 series as a tool to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. Udayachal Schools, being an integral part of the township, have joined in the venture to enhance the effectiveness of the programme : the goal being to create environmentally sensitive individuals.

The schools work as one family towards the common goal of setting the wheels of the Environmental Management System (EMS) in motion. The Principals, teachers, the non-teaching staff and the students, forming core groups and sub-groups work together in a co-operative and friendly manner, in an atmosphere of openness where children explore their creativity, offering interesting solutions to various problems.

The schools at the Pre-Primary, Primary and High School levels have undertaken various programmes and activities. As part of the Vanmahotsav celebrations, the budding blossoms of the Primary School put up interesting songs on nature, including a song on Earthworms and how they help the farmer. The exhibits had an interesting display of visual-aids on burning issues of environmental problems.  On the occasion of Vanmahotsav, the scouts, guides and colony residents participated in a tree plantation drive. Holi is celebrated with gusto but with a difference. Students visit the township, put up posters, enact street plays and sing songs and discourage people from cutting down trees. `Save the Trees' campaign is a part of Holi celebrations. World Forestry Day is also celebrated with great enthusiasm. A week long campaign on Anti-Noise Pollution is held to sensitize the children about the hazards of noise pollution.

Mangrove conservation is undertaken by the Godrej Group of Companies and the schools highlight the importance of preserving our mangroves. The Nature Club celebrated the World Wetlands Day. The students visited the mangroves at Vikhroli and were encouraged to participate in a drawing and creative writing competition at the site.

Projects for creating awareness is a four-thronged approach. Initially teachers gather information through workshops and resource personnel related to the various fields of environment. Then this information is shared with the children through a collective sharing process. A display of the output extends to a further learning process. Later the learning-sharing process is extended to the parents, who in turn, benefit from such an interaction and sharing of information. Finally, the communities at large (e.g: other schools) visit and try to absorb this environmentally friendly culture.

Creative writing and recitation competitions are held for the children on various environmental topics. These serve as a platform to express their views and opinions. Some of topics for the competitions were:   1. If trees could speak, 2. Sshh! The woodcutter is busy in the forest, 3. Cities - Are they garbage factories? 4. Plastic Fantastic?  5. There's not market where we can buy another planet.

A fire fighting demonstration was conducted as part of the On-Site Emergency Plan at Pirojshanagar for teachers and non-teaching staff. The Dos and Don'ts of safety rules were discussed. It was indeed a learning experience for students and teachers. A mock evacuation drill was conducted at Udayachal Primary School to educate the children on how to carry out an evacuation safely during a crisis. The Safety Department also conducted a session on First Aid for the Primary School children.

The Management being highly environmentally conscious and committed to sustainable development, have encouraged our ardent efforts to achieve our objectives and targets.

In our attempt to operate in an environmentally responsible manner, the schools are committed to turning waste to wealth. Everywhere one turns, the use of waste is evident. We have made a conscious effort to conserve paper, water and other resources. Re-used drawing paper from the High School, used computer sheets from the company, waste material and household scrap is used in the Creative Hall. Waste materials are also used to make musical instruments, which the children use in the Music hall. Organic waste from the school canteen is segregated into wet and dry waste and sent to the Vermicompost Centre. This practice is also being translated through the children to the parents.

Co-ordinating in harmony with the ISO 14001 team was indeed a grand learning experience for the schools. Working as internal auditors and attending Management Review meetings were an ideal setting for new learning experiences, major improvements and better performances. It has been rightly said `Catch 'em Young'. We at Pirojshanagar Township have tapped the budding and blooming minds of the young generation and kindled the flame of the noblest ideal – to conserve and preserve the environment so that they can embark into a future full of promises with the blessings of the one and only one creator of this beautiful earth.

Oh, what glory in a sunrise –
Golden hues from God above!
More amazing still the beauty,
Of a life filled with His love!

                                                                  - D. De Haan



For migrants, new law is just another challenge

'If they think the migrants will stop coming, they're wrong'

Image: Two women sat near the border with the United States in Nogales, Mexico, after being detained and deported by American border officials.
Monica Almeida / The New York Times
Two women sat near the border with the United States in Nogales, Mexico, after being detained and deported by American border officials.

Video

  States consider Arizona boycott over immigration bill
April 27: A national backlash against Arizona's tough new immigration law is growing as Democrats lead calls for economic punishment. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

Nightly News

Video

  Immigration bill 'misguided,' Obama says
April 23: The immigration issue flared up in Washington Friday as President Obama slammed an Arizona bill that would give police broad new powers to detain suspected illegal immigrants and require residents to carry immigration documents. Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart reports.

Nightly News

By Marc Lacey
updated 5:25 a.m. ET April 29, 2010

NOGALES, Mexico - Despite its intent to "discourage and deter" unlawful entry to the United States, Arizona's tough new immigration law is not what prevented Verónica from sneaking into the state without papers. After all, she had already endured a harrowing train ride, escaped dangerous drug traffickers and eluded Mexican authorities who were after the money she had stuffed in her underwear.

Verónica did not make it to the United States, she said glumly, simply because she got nervous. Her palms got sweaty and she slipped off the pole she and others in her group were shimmying up to get over the border fence and into Arizona.

It was a long fall and Verónica, a Honduran immigrant who declined to give her last name out of fear that it might hurt her chances of migrating north in the future, was bruised and limping when she recounted her failed border crossing. She was pregnant, too, and worried about how her fetus had handled the trauma.

As strict as Arizona's new immigration legislation may be, prompting the Mexican government to issue a travel alert warning that "any Mexican citizen could be bothered and questioned without cause at any moment," it happens to be child's play compared with what many illegal immigrants regularly endure on their way to the north.

"If they think the migrants will stop coming, they're wrong," Rafael Limón Corbalá, head of the regional migration office for the Mexican state of Sonora, said of the Arizona legislators who approved the law. "There's still jobs over there, and many people will still have their eyes on getting across."

If a migrant can pay enough, heading north can be as simple as waiting in line at a border crossing, handing a forged identity document to a border guard and, if it works, strolling into the United States. But it is more likely to be a nightmarish trek through the Mexican countryside and then across the Arizona desert.

Either way, migrants pool significant sums, anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000, to make the passage. That is enough in many of their hometowns to build a basic home or start a small business, but it is widely viewed among migrants as a worthy investment.

'We work for the people of Arizona'
Arizona's new law — which calls for police officers who have "reasonable suspicion" of a person's immigration status to demand proof of legal residency — was uniformly disliked by the many migrants interviewed in this border town on the Mexican side. The criticism seemed the same among those preparing to cross, those who were deciding what to do next after being deported and those in the midst of crossing who spoke as they trudged nervously north.

"We work for the people of Arizona and now they don't want us," fumed Miguel, who said he was part a group of several dozen people caught by the Border Patrol in the desert this week and bused back to the border. He said he would be making another attempt — his eighth in recent years — soon.

Relatively few migrants said the law would keep them from crossing, though they planned to steer clear of police officers even more than they did before.

While the new law is expected to give local law enforcement officers more power to detain illegal immigrants, that already occurs, migrants said. Take the case of Salvador, who like others declined to be fully identified. He said his deportation last year was prompted by an arrest for jaywalking.

He said that after living in Phoenix for 20 of his 23 years and graduating from high school there, he was crossing a street last year when a police officer took him in. Checking his records, it was discovered that he had an unpaid speeding ticket. His immigration records were then checked, he said, and when it was determined that he was in the country illegally, he was sent to Mexico, which he had left when he was a toddler.

"I should have crossed at the light," he said.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36843081/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times

Urbanization

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The expanding Los Angeles metropolitan area is an early example of uncontrolled urbanization.[1]

Urbanization (also spelled "urbanisation") is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008.[2]

Urbanization is closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of rationalization.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Movement

Percentage of population which is urbanized, by country, as of 2006.[3]

As more and more people leave villages and farms to live in cities, urban growth results. The rapid growth of cities like Chicago in the late 19th century and Shanghai a century later can be attributed largely to people from rural communities migrating there. This kind of growth is especially commonplace in developing countries.

The rapid urbanization of the world's population over the twentieth century is described in the 2005 Revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects report. The global proportion of urban population rose dramatically from 13% (220 million) in 1900, to 29% (732 million) in 1950, to 49% (3.2 billion) in 2005. The same report projected that the figure is likely to rise to 60% (4.9 billion) by 2030.[4]. However, French economist Philippe Bocquier, writing in THE FUTURIST magazine, has calculated that "the proportion of the world population living in cities and towns in the year 2030 would be roughly 50%, substantially less than the 60% forecast by the United Nations (UN), because the messiness of rapid urbanization is unsustainable. Both Bocquier and the UN see more people flocking to cities, but Bocquier sees many of them likely to leave upon discovering that there's no work for them and no place to live." [5]

According to the UN State of the World Population 2007 report, sometime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide will be living in towns or cities, for the first time in history; this is referred to as the arrival of the "Urban Millennium" or the 'tipping point'. In regard to future trends, it is estimated 93% of urban growth will occur in developing nations, with 80% of urban growth occurring in Asia and Africa.[6][7]

Urbanization rates vary between countries. The United States and United Kingdom have a far higher urbanization level than China, India, Swaziland or Niger, but a far slower annual urbanization rate, since much less of the population is living in a rural area.

Center of São Paulo, one of the largest metropolis in the world.

[edit] Causes

Population age comparison between rural Pocahontas County, Iowa and urban Johnson County, Iowa, illustrating the flight of young adults (red) to urban centers in Iowa.[9]
The City of Chicago, Illinois is an example of the early American grid system of development. The grid is enforced even on uneven topography.
Urbanization is not always attributed to high density. In Manila, the cost of living has forced residents to live in low quality slums and shanty towns

Urbanization occurs naturally from individual and corporate efforts to reduce time and expense in commuting and transportation while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation. Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the opportunities of proximity , diversity, and marketplace competition.

People move into cities to seek economic opportunities. In rural areas, often on small family farms, it is difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic sustenance. Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence, survival becomes extremely problematic.

Cities, in contrast, are known to be places where money, services and wealth are centralized. Cities are where fortunes are made and where social mobility is possible. Businesses, which generate jobs and capital, are usually located in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the cities that foreign money flows into a country. It is easy to see why someone living on a farm might wish to take their chance moving to the city and trying to make enough money to send back home to their struggling family.

There are better basic services as well as other specialist services that aren't found in rural areas. There are more job opportunities and a greater variety of jobs. Health is another major factor. People, especially the elderly are often forced to move to cities where there are doctors and hospitals that can cater for their health needs. Other factors include a greater variety of entertainment (restaurants, movie theaters, theme parks, etc) and a better quality of education, namely universities. Due to their high populations, urban areas can also have much more diverse social communities allowing others to find people like them when they might not be able to in rural areas.

These conditions are heightened during times of change from a pre-industrial society to an industrial one. It is at this time that many new commercial enterprises are made possible, thus creating new jobs in cities. It is also a result of industrialization that farms become more mechanized, putting many labourers out of work. This is currently occurring fastest in India.

[edit] Economic effects

One of the last houses of the old Russian village of Lukeryino, most of which has been demolished over the last 30 years to make way for 9-story apartment buildings in the growing city of Kstovo, such as the one in the background

In recent years, urbanization of rural areas has increased. As agriculture, more traditional local services, and small-scale industry give way to modern industry the urban and related commerce with the city drawing on the resources of an ever-widening area for its own sustenance and goods to be traded or processed into manufactures.

Research in urban ecology finds that larger cities provide more specialized goods and services to the local market and surrounding areas, function as a transportation and wholesale hub for smaller places, and accumulate more capital, financial service provision, and an educated labor force, as well as often concentrating administrative functions for the area in which they lie. This relation among places of different sizes is called the urban hierarchy.

As cities develop, effects can include a dramatic increase in costs, often pricing the local working class out of the market, including such functionaries as employees of the local municipalities. For example, Eric Hobsbawm's book The age of the revolution: 1789–1848 (published 1962 and 2005) chapter 11, stated "Urban development in our period [1789–1848] was a gigantic process of class segregation, which pushed the new labouring poor into great morasses of misery outside the centres of government and business and the newly specialised residential areas of the bourgeoisie. The almost universal European division into a 'good' west end and a 'poor' east end of large cities developed in this period." This is likely due the prevailing south-west wind which carries coal smoke and other airborne pollutants downwind, making the western edges of towns preferable to the eastern ones.

Urbanization is often viewed as a negative trend, but in fact, it occurs naturally from individual and corporate efforts to reduce expense in commuting and transportation while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation. Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the opportunities of proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition.[10][11]

[edit] Environmental effects

The urban heat island has become a growing concern and is increasing over the years. The urban heat island is formed when industrial and urban areas are developed and heat becomes more abundant. In rural areas, a large part of the incoming solar energy is used to evaporate water from vegetation and soil. In cities, where less vegetation and exposed soil exists, the majority of the sun's energy is absorbed by urban structures and asphalt. Hence, during warm daylight hours, less evaporative cooling in cities allows surface temperatures to rise higher than in rural areas. Additional city heat is given off by vehicles and factories, as well as by industrial and domestic heating and cooling units.[12] This effect causes the city to become 2 to 10o F (1 to 6o C) warmer than surrounding landscapes.[13]. Impacts also include reducing soil moisture and intensification of carbon dioxide emissions.[14]

In his book Whole Earth Discipline, Stewart Brand argues that the effects of urbanization are on the overall positive for the environment. Firstly, the birth rate of new urban dwellers falls immediately to replacement rate, and keeps falling. This can prevent overpopulation in the future. Secondly, it puts a stop to destructive subsistence farming techniques, like slash and burn agriculture. Finally, it minimizes land use by humans, leaving more for nature.[11]

[edit] Changing form of urbanization

Massive urbanization in Delhi, India resulted in tremendous strain on the city's infrastructure. The planned Dwarka Sub City can be seen in foreground while the unplanned and congested residential areas of West Delhi are visible in the background.

Different forms of urbanization can be classified depending on the style of architecture and planning methods as well as historic growth of areas.

In cities of the developed world urbanization traditionally exhibited a concentration of human activities and settlements around the downtown area, the so-called in-migration. In-migration refers to migration from former colonies and similar places. The fact that many immigrants settle in impoverished city centres led to the notion of the "peripheralization of the core", which simply describes that people who used to be at the periphery of the former empires now live right in the centre.

Recent developments, such as inner-city redevelopment schemes, mean that new arrivals in cities no longer necessarily settle in the centre. In some developed regions, the reverse effect, originally called counter urbanisation has occurred, with cities losing population to rural areas, and is particularly common for richer families. This has been possible because of improved communications, and has been caused by factors such as the fear of crime and poor urban environments. Later termed "white flight", the effect is not restricted to cities with a high ethnic minority population.

When the residential area shifts outward, this is called suburbanization. A number of researchers and writers suggest that suburbanization has gone so far to form new points of concentration outside the downtown both in developed and developing countries such as India [15]. This networked, poly-centric form of concentration is considered by some an emerging pattern of urbanization. It is called variously exurbia, edge city (Garreau, 1991), network city (Batten, 1995), or postmodern city (Dear, 2000). Los Angeles is the best-known example of this type of urbanization.

Rural migrants are attracted by the possibilities that cities can offer, but often settle in shanty towns and experience extreme poverty. In the 1980s, this was attempted to be tackled with the urban bias theory which was promoted by Michael Lipton who wrote: "...the most important class conflict in the poor countries of the world today is not between labour and capital. Nor is it between foreign and national interests. It is between rural classes and urban classes. The rural sector contains most of the poverty and most of the low-cost sources of potential advance; but the urban sector contains most of the articulateness, organization and power. So the urban classes have been able to win most of the rounds of the struggle with the countryside..." [16]. Most of the urban poor in developing countries able to find work can spend their lives in insecure, poorly paid jobs. According to research by the Overseas Development Institute pro-poor urbanisation will require labour intensive growth, supported by labour protection, flexible land use regulation and investments in basic services.' [17]


Urbanization can be planned urbanization or organic. Planned urbanization, ie: planned community or the garden city movement, is based on an advance plan, which can be prepared for military, aesthetic, economic or urban design reasons. Examples can be seen in many ancient cities; although with exploration came the collision of nations, which meant that many invaded cities took on the desired planned characteristics of their occupiers. Many ancient organic cities experienced redevelopment for military and economic purposes, new roads carved through the cities, and new parcels of land were cordoned off serving various planned purposes giving cities distinctive geometric designs. UN agencies prefer to see urban infrastructure installed before urbanization occurs. Landscape planners are responsible for landscape infrastructure (public parks, sustainable urban drainage systems, greenways etc) which can be planned before urbanization takes place, or afterward to revitalized an area and create greater livability within a region. Concepts of control of the urban expansion are considered in the American Institute of Planners.[18]

=Different forms of urbanization can be classified depending on the style of architecture and planning methods as well as historic growth of areas. In cities of the developed world urbanization traditionally exhibited a concentration of human activities and settlements around the downtown area, the so-called in-migration. In-migration refers to migration from former colonies and similar places. The fact that many immigrants settle in impoverished city centres led to the notion of the "peripheralization of the core", which simply describes that people who used to be at the periphery of the former empires now live right in the centre. Recent developments, such as inner-city redevelopment schemes, mean that new arrivals in cities no longer necessarily settle in the centre. In some developed regions, the reverse effect, originally called counter urbanisation has occurred, with cities losing population to rural areas, and is particularly common for richer families. This has been possible because of improved communications, and has been caused by factors such as the fear of crime and poor urban environments. Later termed "white flight", the effect is not restricted to cities with a high ethnic minority population. When the residential area shifts outward, this is called suburbanization. A number of researchers and writers suggest that suburbanization has gone so far to form new points of concentration outside the downtown both in developed and developing countries such as India [15]. This networked, poly-centric form of concentration is considered by some an emerging pattern of urbanization. It is called variously exurbia, edge city (Garreau, 1991), network city (Batten, 1995), or postmodern city (Dear, 2000). Los Angeles is the best-known example of this type of urbanization. Rural migrants are attracted by the possibilities that cities can offer, but often settle in shanty towns and experience extreme poverty. In the 1980s, this was attempted to be tackled with the urban bias theory which was promoted by Michael Lipton who wrote: "...the most important class conflict in the poor countries of the world today is not between labour and capital. Nor is it between foreign and national interests. It is between rural classes and urban classes. The rural sector contains most of the poverty and most of the low-cost sources of potential advance; but the urban sector contains most of the articulateness, organization and power. So the urban classes have been able to win most of the rounds of the struggle with the countryside..." [16]. Most of the urban poor in developing countries able to find work can spend their lives in insecure, poorly paid jobs. According to research by the Overseas Development Institute pro-poor urbanisation will require labour intensive growth, supported by labour protection, flexible land use regulation and investments in basic services.' [17]

Urbanization can be planned urbanization or organic. Planned urbanization, ie: planned community or the garden city movement, is based on an advance plan, which can be prepared for military, aesthetic, economic or urban design reasons. Examples can be seen in many ancient cities; although with exploration came the collision of nations, which meant that many invaded cities took on the desired planned characteristics of their occupiers. Many ancient organic cities experienced redevelopment for military and economic purposes, new roads carved through the cities, and new parcels of land were cordoned off serving various planned purposes giving cities distinctive geometric designs. UN agencies prefer to see urban infrastructure installed before urbanization occurs. Landscape planners are responsible for landscape infrastructure (public parks, sustainable urban drainage systems, greenways etc) which can be planned before urbanization takes place, or afterward to revitalized an area and create greater livability within a region. Concepts of control of the urban expansion are considered in the American Institute of Planners.[18]

[edit] See also

Contributors to urbanization:

Regional:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bonnie Richardson reviews Drosscape: Wasting Land in Urban America, by Alan Berger (2008). "Can Designers Solve the Problem of Urban Wasteland?". Terrain. http://www.terrain.org/reviews/20/drosscape.htm. 
  2. ^ The Associated Press (February 26, 2008). "UN says half the world's population will live in urban areas by end of 2008". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/26/news/UN-GEN-UN-Growing-Cities.php. 
  3. ^ http://www.unicef.org/sowc08/docs/sowc08_table_StatisticalTables.pdf
  4. ^ World Urbanization Prospects: The 2005 Revision, Pop. Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN
  5. ^ Britannica Futurist Blog
  6. ^ UN State of the World Population 2007, UNFPA
  7. ^ Ankerl, Guy (1986). Urbanization Overspeed in Tropical Africa. INUPRESS, Geneva. 
  8. ^ Milton Keynes intelligence Observatory (10/03/2008). "Population Bulletin 2007/2008". Press release. http://www.mkiobservatory.org.uk/page.aspx?id=1914&siteID=1026. Retrieved 11/06/2008. 
  9. ^ based on 2000 U.S. Census Data
  10. ^ Glaeser, Edward (Spring, 1998). "Are Cities Dying?". The Journal of Economic Perspectives 12 (2): 139–160. 
  11. ^ a b Brand, Stewart. "Whole Earth Discipline - annotated extract". http://web.me.com/stewartbrand/DISCIPLINE_footnotes/2_-_City_Planet.html. Retrieved 2009-11-29. 
  12. ^ Park, H.-S. (1987). Variations in the urban heat island intensity affected by geographical environments. Environmental Research Center papers, no. 11. Ibaraki, Japan: Environmental Research Center, The University of Tsukuba.
  13. ^ "Heat Island Effect"
  14. ^ "Heating Up: Study Shows Rapid Urbanization in China Warming the Regional Climate Faster than Other Urban Areas" [1]
  15. ^ Sridhar, K. Density gradients and their determinants: Evidence from India Regional Science and Urban Economics 37 (3) 2007, 314:344
  16. ^ Varshney, A. (ed.) 1993. "Beyond Urban Bias", p.5. London: Frank Cass.
  17. ^ "Opportunity and exploitation in urban labour markets". Overseas Development Institute. November 2008. http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/odi-publications/briefing-papers/44-urban-labour-markets-exploitation.pdf. 
  18. ^ Lovelace, E.H. (1965). "Control of urban expansion: the Lincoln, Nebraska experience.". Journal of the American Institute of Planners 31:4: 348–352. 

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