TELANGANA SOCIO ECONOMIC OULOOK-2017

TELANGANA SOCIO ECONOMIC OULOOK-2017
                   
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Key Features of UNION Budget 2016-2017

INTRODUCTION 
 Growth of Economy accelerated to 7.6% in 2015-16.
 India hailed as a ‘bright spot’ amidst a slowing global economy by IMF.
 Robust growth achieved despite very unfavourable global conditions and two consecutive years shortfall in monsoon by 13%
 Foreign exchange reserves touched highest ever level of about 350 billion US dollars.
 Despite increased devolution to States by 55% as a result of the 14th Finance Commission award, plan expenditure increased at RE stage in 2015-16 – in contrast to earlier years.
CHALLENGES IN 2016-17 
 Risks of further global slowdown and turbulence.
 Additional fiscal burden due to 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations and OROP. ROADMAP & PRIORITIES
 'Transform India' to have a significant impact on economy and lives of people.
 Government to focus on –
               >ensuring macro-economic stability and prudent fiscal management.
               >boosting on domestic demand
               >continuing with the pace of economic reforms and policy initiatives to change the lives of our people for the better.
   Focus on enhancing expenditure in priority areas of - farm and rural sector, social sector, infrastructure sector employment generation and recapitalisation of the banks
 Focus on Vulnerable sections through:
                > Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
                >New health insurance scheme to protect against hospitalisation expenditure
                >facility of cooking gas connection for BPL families
 Continue with the ongoing reform programme and ensure passage of the Goods and Service Tax bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy law
 Undertake important reforms by:
              >giving a statutory backing to AADHAR platform to ensure benefits reach the deserving.
              > freeing the transport sector from constraints and restrictions
              > incentivising gas discovery and exploration by providing calibrated marketing freedom
              >enactment of a comprehensive law to deal with resolution of financial firms
              >provide legal framework for dispute resolution and re-negotiations in PPP projects and public utility contracts
              >undertake important banking sector reforms and public listing of general insurance companies undertake significant changes in FDI policy.
AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS’ WELFARE 
 Allocation for Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare is ` 35,984 crore
 ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’ to be implemented in mission mode. 28.5 lakh hectares will be brought under irrigation.
 Implementation of 89 irrigation projects under AIBP, which are languishing for a long time, will be fast tracked
 A dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund will be created in NABARD with an initial corpus of about ` 20,000 crore
 Programme for sustainable management of ground water resources with an estimated cost of ` 6,000 crore will be implemented through multilateral funding
 5 lakh farm ponds and dug wells in rain fed areas and 10 lakh compost pits for production of organic manure will be taken up under MGNREGA
 Soil Health Card scheme will cover all 14 crore farm holdings by March 2017.
 2,000 model retail outlets of Fertilizer companies will be provided with soil and seed testing facilities during the next three years
 Promote organic farming through ‘Parmparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ and 'Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region'.
 Unified Agricultural Marketing ePlatform to provide a common e- market platform for wholesale markets
 Allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana increased to ` 19,000 crore. Will connect remaining 65,000 eligible habitations by 2019.
 To reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers, a provision of ` 15,000 crore has been made in the BE 2016-17 towards interest subvention
 Allocation under Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana ` 5,500 crore.
 ` 850 crore for four dairying projects - ‘Pashudhan Sanjivani’, ‘Nakul Swasthya Patra’, ‘E-Pashudhan Haat’ and National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds
RURAL SECTOR:
 Allocation for rural sector - ` 87,765 crore.
 ` 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
 Every block under drought and rural distress will be taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission
 A sum of ` 38,500 crore allocated for MGNREGS.
 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission
 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018.
 District Level Committees under Chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
 Priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes to be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation.
 A new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional household within the next 3 years.
 National Land Record Modernisation Programme has been revamped.
 New scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan proposed with allocation of ` 655 crore.
SOCIAL SECTOR INCLUDING HEALTH CARE 
 Allocation for social sector including education and health care – `1,51,581 crore.
 ` 2,000 crore allocated for initial cost of providing LPG connections to BPL families.
 New health protection scheme will provide health cover up to ` One lakh per family. For senior citizens an additional top-up package up to ` 30,000 will be provided.
 3,000 Stores under Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2016-17.
 ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’ to be started under National Health Mission through PPP mode
 “Stand Up India Scheme” to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch. This will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs.
 National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub to be set up in partnership with industry associations
 Allocation of ` 100 crore each for celebrating the Birth Centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and the 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
EDUCATION, SKILLS AND JOB CREATION 
 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened
 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to increasing focus on quality of education
 Regulatory architecture to be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions
 Higher Education Financing Agency to be set-up with initial capital base of ` 1000 Crores
 Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets to be set-up. SKILL DEVELOPMENT
 Allocation for skill development – ` 1804. crore.
 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes to be set-up.
 National Board for Skill Development Certification to be setup in partnership with the industry and academia
 Entrepreneurship Education and Training through Massive Open Online Courses JOB CREATION  GoI will pay contribution of 8.33% for of all new employees enrolling in EPFO for the first three years of their employment. Budget provision of ` 1000 crore for this scheme.
 Deduction under Section 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act will be available to all assesses who are subject to statutory audit under the Act
 100 Model Career Centres to operational by the end of 2016-17 under National Career Service.
 Model Shops and Establishments Bill to be circulated to States.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT
 Total investment in the road sector, including PMGSY allocation, would be ` 97,000 crore during 2016-17.
 India’s highest ever kilometres of new highways were awarded in 2015. To approve nearly 10,000 kms of National Highways in 2016-17.
 Allocation of ` 55,000 crore in the Budget for Roads. Additional ` 15,000 crore to be raised by NHAI through bonds.
 Total outlay for infrastructure - ` 2,21,246 crore.
 Amendments to be made in Motor Vehicles Act to open up the road transport sector in the passenger segment
 Action plan for revival of unserved and underserved airports to be drawn up in partnership with State Governments.
 To provide calibrated marketing freedom in order to incentivise gas production from deep-water, ultra deep-water and high pressure-high temperature areas
 Comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years, to augment the investment in nuclear power generation to be drawn up.
 Steps to re-vitalise PPPs:  Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill will be introduced during 2016-17
 Guidelines for renegotiation of PPP Concession Agreements will be issued
 New credit rating system for infrastructure projects to be introduced
 Reforms in FDI policy in the areas of Insurance and Pension, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Stock Exchanges.
 100% FDI to be allowed through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India.
 A new policy for management of Government investment in Public Sector Enterprises, including disinvestment and strategic sale,approved.
FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMS
 A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms to be introduced.
 Statutory basis for a Monetary Policy framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2016.  A Financial Data Management Centre to be set up.
 RBI to facilitate retail participation in Government securities.
 New derivative products will be developed by SEBI in the Commodity Derivatives market.
 Amendments in the SARFAESI Act 2002 to enable the sponsor of an ARC to hold up to 100% stake in the ARC and permit non institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts.
 Comprehensive Central Legislation to be bought to deal with the menace of illicit deposit taking schemes.
 Increasing members and benches of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
 Allocation of ` 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks.
 Target of amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana increased to ` 1,80,000 crore.
 General Insurance Companies owned by the Government to be listed in the stock exchanges. GOVERNANCE AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
 A Task Force has been constituted for rationalisation of human resources in various Ministries.
 Comprehensive review and rationalisation of Autonomous Bodies.
 Bill for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services by using the Aadhar framework to be introduced.
 Introduce DBT on pilot basis for fertilizer.
 Automation facilities will be provided in 3 lakh fair price shops by March 2017.
 Amendments in Companies Act to improve enabling environment for start-ups.
 Price Stabilisation Fund with a corpus of ` 900 crore to help maintain stable prices of Pulses.
 “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” programme will be launched to link States and Districts in an annual programme that connects people through exchanges in areas of language, trade, culture, travel and tourism.
FISCAL DISCIPLINE
 Fiscal deficit in RE 2015-16 and BE 2016-17 retained at 3.9% and 3.5%.
 Revenue Deficit target from 2.8% to 2.5% in RE 2015-16
 Total expenditure projected at ` 19.78 lakh crore  Plan expenditure pegged at ` 5.50 lakh crore under Plan, increase of 15.3%
 Non-Plan expenditure kept at ` 14.28 lakh crores
 Special emphasis to sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, social sector including health, women and child development, welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, minorities, infrastructure.  Mobilisation of additional finances to the extent of ` 31,300 crore by NHAI, PFC, REC, IREDA, NABARD and Inland Water Authority by raising Bonds.
 Plan / Non-Plan classification to be done away with from 2017-18. 
 Every new scheme sanctioned will have a sunset date and outcome review.
 Rationalised and restructured more than 1500 Central Plan Schemes into about 300 Central Sector and 30 Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
 Committee to review the implementation of the FRBM Act.
RELIEF TO SMALL TAX PAYERS 
 Raise the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A from `2000 to `5000 to lessen tax burden on individuals with income upto `5 laks.
 Increase the limit of deduction of rent paid under section 80GG from `24000 per annum to `60000, to provide relief to those who live in rented houses. BOOST EMPLOYMENT AND GROWTH
 Increase the turnover limit under Presumptive taxation scheme under section 44AD of the Income Tax Act to ` 2 crores to bring big relief to a large number of assessees in the MSME category.
 Extend the presumptive taxation scheme with profit deemed to be 50%, to professionals with gross receipts up to `50 lakh.
 Phasing out deduction under Income Tax:
 Accelerated depreciation wherever provided in IT Act will be limited to maximum 40% from 1.4.2017
 Benefit of deductions for Research would be limited to 150% from 1.4.2017 and 100% from 1.4.2020  Benefit of section 10AA to new SEZ units will be available to those units which commence activity before 31.3.2020.
 The weighted deduction under section 35CCD for skill development will continue up to 1.4.2020  Corporate Tax rate proposals:
  >New manufacturing companies incorporated on or after 1.3.2016 to be given an option to be taxed at 25% + surcharge and cess provided they do not claim profit linked or investment linked deductions and do not avail of investment allowance and accelerated depreciation
   >Lower the corporate tax rate for the next financial year for relatively small enterprises i.e companies with turnover not exceeding ` 5 crore (in the financial year ending March 2015), to 29% plus surcharge and cess.
 100% deduction of profits for 3 out of 5 years for startups setup during April, 2016 to March, 2019. MAT will apply in such cases.
 10% rate of tax on income from worldwide exploitation of patents developed and registered in India by a resident.
 Complete pass through of income-tax to securitization trusts including trusts of ARCs. Securitisation trusts required to deduct tax at source.
 Period for getting benefit of long term capital gain regime in case of unlisted companies is proposed to be reduced from three to two years.
 Non-banking financial companies shall be eligible for deduction to the extent of 5% of its income in respect of provision for bad and doubtful debts.
 Determination of residency of foreign company on the basis of Place of Effective Management (POEM) is proposed to be deferred by one year.
 Commitment to implement General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from 1.4.2017.
 Exemption of service tax on services provided under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and services provided by Assessing Bodies empanelled by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
 Exemption of Service tax on general insurance services provided under ‘Niramaya’ Health Insurance Scheme launched by National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability.  Basic custom and excise duty on refrigerated containers reduced to 5% and 6%.
MAKE IN INDIA
 Changes in customs and excise duty rates on certain inputs to reduce costs and improve competitiveness of domestic industry in sectors like Information technology hardware, capital goods, defence production, textiles, mineral fuels & mineral oils, chemicals & petrochemicals, paper, paperboard & newsprint, Maintenance repair and overhauling [MRO] of aircrafts and ship repair. MOVING TOWARDS A PENSIONED SOCIETY
 Withdrawal up to 40% of the corpus at the time of retirement to be tax exempt in the case of National Pension Scheme (NPS). Annuity fund which goes to legal heir will not be taxable.
 In case of superannuation funds and recognized provident funds, including EPF, the same norm of 40% of corpus to be tax free will apply in respect of corpus created out of contributions made on or from 1.4.2016.
 Limit for contribution of employer in recognized Provident and Superannuation Fund of ` 1.5 lakh per annum for taking tax benefit. Exemption from service tax for Annuity services provided by NPS and Services provided by EPFO to employees.
 Reduce service tax on Single premium Annuity (Insurance) Policies from 3.5% to 1.4% of the premium paid in certain cases. PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
 100% deduction for profits to an undertaking in housing project for flats upto 30 sq. metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. metres in other cities, approved during June 2016 to March 2019 and completed in three years. MAT to apply.
 Deduction for additional interest of `50,000 per annum for loans up to `35 lakh sanctioned in 2016-17 for first time home buyers, where house cost does not exceed ` 50 lakh.
 Distribution made out of income of SPV to the REITs and INVITs having specified shareholding will not be subjected to Dividend Distribution Tax, in respect of dividend distributed after the specified date.
 Exemption from service tax on construction of affordable houses up to 60 square metres under any scheme of the Central or State Government including PPP Schemes.
 Extend excise duty exemption, presently available to Concrete Mix manufactured at site for use in construction work to Ready Mix Concrete.
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION FOR AGRICULTURE, RURAL ECONOMY AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT 
 Additional tax at the rate of 10% of gross amount of dividend will be payable by the recipients receiving dividend in excess of ` 10 lakh per annum.
 Surcharge to be raised from 12% to 15% on persons, other than companies, firms and cooperative societies having income above ` 1 crore.
 Tax to be deducted at source at the rate of 1 % on purchase of luxury cars exceeding value of ` ten lakh and purchase of goods and services in cash exceeding ` two lakh.
 Securities Transaction tax in case of ‘Options’ is proposed to be increased from .017% to .05%.
 Equalization levy of 6% of gross amount for payment made to non- residents exceeding ` 1 lakh a year in case of B2B transactions.
 Krishi Kalyan Cess, @ 0.5% on all taxable services, w.e.f. 1 June 2016. Proceeds would be exclusively used for financing initiatives for improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers. Input tax credit of this cess will be available for payment of this cess.
 Infrastructure cess, of 1% on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5% on diesel cars of certain capacity and 4% on other higher engine capacity vehicles and SUVs. No credit of this cess will be available nor credit of any other tax or duty be utilized for paying this cess.
 Excise duty of ‘1% without input tax credit or 12.5% with input tax credit’ on articles of jewellery [excluding silver jewellery, other than studded with diamonds and some other precious stones], with a higher exemption and eligibility limits of ` 6 crores and ` 12 crores respectively.
 Excise on readymade garments with retail price of ` 1000 or more raised to 2% without input tax credit or 12.5% with input tax credit.  ‘Clean Energy Cess’ levied on coal, lignite and peat renamed to ‘Clean Environment Cess’ and rate increased from `200 per tonne to `400 per tonne.
 Excise duties on various tobacco products other than beedi raised by about 10 to 15%.
 Assignment of right to use the spectrum and its transfers has been deducted as a service leviable to service tax and not sale of intangible goods.
PROVIDING CERTAINITY IN TAXATION 
 Committed to providing a stable and predictable taxation regime and reduce black money.
 Domestic taxpayers can declare undisclosed income or such income represented in the form of any asset by paying tax at 30%, and surcharge at 7.5% and penalty at 7.5%, which is a total of 45% of the undisclosed income. Declarants will have immunity from prosecution.
 Surcharge levied at 7.5% of undisclosed income will be called Krishi Kalyan surcharge to be used for agriculture and rural economy.
 New Dispute Resolution Scheme to be introduced. No penalty in respect of cases with disputed tax up to ` 10 lakh. Cases with disputed tax exceeding ` 10 lakh to be subjected to 25% of the minimum of the imposable penalty. Any pending appeal against a penalty order can alsobe settled by paying 25% of the minimum of the imposable penalty and tax interest on quantum addition.
 High Level Committee chaired by Revenue Secretary to oversee fresh cases where assessing officer applies the retrospective amendment.
 One-time scheme of Dispute Resolution for ongoing cases under retrospective amendment.
 Penalty rates to be 50% of tax in case of underreporting of income and 200% of tax where there is misreporting of facts.
 Disallowance will be limited to 1% of the average monthly value of investments yielding exempt income, but not exceeding the actual expenditure claimed under rule 8D of Section 14A of Income Tax Act.
 Time limit of one year for disposing petitions of the tax payers seeking waiver of interest and penalty.
 Mandatory for the assessing officer to grant stay of demand once the assesse pays 15% of the disputed demand, while the appeal is pending before Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals).
 Monetary limit for deciding an appeal by a single member Bench of ITAT enhanced from ` 15 lakhs to ` 50 lakhs.
 11 new benches of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
SIMPLIFICATION AND RATIONALIZATION OF TAXES 
 13 cesses, levied by various Ministries in which revenue collection is less than ` 50 crore in a year to be abolished.
 For non-residents providing alternative documents to PAN card, higher TDS not to apply.
 Revision of return extended to Central Excise assesses.
 Additional options to banking companies and financial institutions, including NBFCs, for reversal of input tax credits with respect to non- taxable services.
 Customs Act to provide for deferred payment of customs duties for importers and exporters with proven track record.
 Customs Single Window Project to be implemented at major ports and airports starting from beginning of next financial year.
 Increase in free baggage allowance for international passengers. Filing of baggage only for those carrying dutiable goods.
TECHNOLOGY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY 
 Expansion in the scope of e-assessments to all assessees in 7 mega cities in the coming years.
 Interest at the rate of 9% p.a against normal rate of 6% p.a for delay in giving effect to Appellate order beyond ninety days.
 ‘e-Sahyog’ to be expanded to reduce compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers.
SOURCE-BUDGET SPEECH
                 PIB:

INDIAN ECONOMIC SURVEY(2015-16)

 India expects its economy to grow 7-7.5% in the fiscal year to March 2017

 fiscal year starting April 1, projected India to grow 8% in the next couple of years.

The survey was prepared by the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.

Following are the highlights of the report:





FISCAL DEFICIT

* 2015/16 fiscal deficit seen at 3.9 percent of GDP seems achievable

* 2016/17 expected to be challenging from fiscal point of view

* Credibility and optimality argue for adhering to 3.5% of GDP fiscal deficit target

* Time is right for a review of medium-term fiscal framework

INFLATION

* CPI inflation seen around 4.5 to 5% in 2016/17

* Low inflation has taken hold, confidence in price stability has improved* Expect RBI to meet 5 percent inflation target by March 2017

* Prospect of lower oil prices over medium term likely to dampen inflationary expectations

* Low inflation has taken hold, confidence in price stability has improved

CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

* 2016/17 current account deficit seen around 1-1.5% of GDP

CURRENCY

* Rupee's value must be fair, avoiding strengthening; fair value can be achieved through monetary relaxation

* India needs to prepare itself for a major currency readjustment in Asia in wake of a similar adjustment in China

* Gradual depreciation in rupee can be allowed if capital inflows are weak

TAXES
* Proposes widening tax net from 5.5% of earning individuals to more than 20%

* Tax revenue expected to be higher than budgeted levels in FY15/16

* Easiest way to widen the tax base would be not to raise exemption thresholds

* Favours review and phasing out of tax exemptions

BANKING & CORPORATE SECTOR
* Estimated capital requirement for banks likely around Rs 1.8 trillion by 2018/19

* Corporate, bank balance sheets remain stretched, affecting prospects for reviving private investments

* Underlying stressed assets in corporate sector must be sold or rehabilitated

* Govt could sell off certain non financial companies to infuse capital in state-run banks

* Govt proposes to make available 700 bln rupees via budgetary allocations during current, succeeding years in banks

NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog
The present  various members of NITI Aayog are:
Chairperson: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
CEO: Sindhushree Khullar
Vice Chairperson: Arvind Panagariya
Ex-Officio Members: Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and Radha Mohan Singh Special Invitees: Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Zubin Irani and Thawar Chand Gehlot
Full-time Members: Bibek Debroy (Economist), V. K. Saraswat (former DRDO Chief) and Ramesh Chand (Agriculture Expert)
Governing Council: All Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of States and Union Territories
FUNCTIONS OF NITI Aayog

1. Think tank for Government policy formulation.
2. Find best practices from other countries
3. Cooperative Federalism: Involve state governments and even villages in planning process.
4. Sustainable development:  Zero defect-zero effect (on environment) manufacturing 
5. Urban Development: to ensure cities can remain habitable and provide economic venues to everyone.
6. Participatory Development: with help of private sector and citizens.
7. Inclusive Development or Antyodaya. Ensure SC, ST and Women too enjoy the fruits of Development. 
8. Poverty elimination to ensure dignity and self-respect.
9. Focus on 5 crore Small enterprises– to generate more employment for weaker sections.
10. Monitoring and feedback.
11. Make policies to reap demographic dividend and social capital.
12. Regional Councils will address specific “issues” for a group of states
13. Extract maximum benefit from NRI’s geo-economic and Geo-political strength for India’s Development.
14. Use Social media and ICT tools to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance.
15. Help sorting inter-departmental conflicts.
16.  ideas about national self-interest, capacity-building, participating in ‘global-village’ etc.

NOTE-ARTICLE WILL BE UPDATED

GROUP-II-PAPER-3(SECTION-3 GENDER INEQUALITY)

GENDER INEQUALITY

                 We proud Indians of 21st century rejoice in celebrations when a boy is born, and if it is a girl, a muted or no celebrations is the norm. Love for a male child is so much so that from the times immemorial we are killing our daughters at birth or before birth, and if, fortunately, she is not killed we find various ways to discriminate against her throughout her life. Though our religious beliefs make women a goddess but we fail to recognize her as a human being first; we worship goddesses but we exploit girls. We are a society of people with double-standards as far as our attitude towards women is concerned; our thoughts and preaching are different than our actions. Let’s try to understand the phenomenon of gender inequality and search for some solutions. 

Definition and Concept of Gender Inequality

Gender’ is a socio-cultural term referring socially defined roles and behaviors assigned to ‘males’ and ‘females’ in a given society; whereas, the term ‘sex’ is a biological and physiological phenomenon which defines man and woman. In its social, historical and cultural aspects, gender is a function of power relationship between men and women where men are considered superior to women.

Therefore, gender may be understood as a man-made concept, while ‘sex’ is natural or biological characteristics of human beings. 

Gender Inequality, in simple words, may be defined as discrimination against women based on their sex. Women are traditionally considered by the society as weaker sex. She has been accorded a subordinate position to men. She is exploited, degraded, violated and discriminated both in our homes and in outside world. This peculiar type of discrimination against women is prevalent everywhere in the world and more so in Indian society.

Causes and Types of Gender Inequality in India

The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system. According to the famous sociologists Sylvia Walby, patriarchy is “a system of social structure and practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. Women’s exploitation is an age old cultural phenomenon of Indian society. The system of patriarchy finds its validity and sanction in our religious beliefs, whether it is Hindu, Muslim or any other religion.

For instance, as per ancient Hindu law giver Manu: “Women are supposed to be in the custody of their father when they are children, they must be under the custody of their husband when married and under the custody of her son in old age or as widows. In no circumstances she should be allowed to assert herself independently”. 

The above described position of women as per Manu is still the case in present modern day social structure. Barring few exceptions here and there, women have no power to take independent decisions either inside their homes or in outside world. 

In Muslims also the situation is same and there too sanction for discrimination or subordination is provided by religious texts and Islamic traditions. Similarly in other religious beliefs also women are being discriminated against in one way or other. 

The unfortunate part of gender inequality in our society is that the women too, through, continued socio-cultural conditioning, have accepted their subordinate position to men. And they are also part and parcel of same patriarchal system. 

Extreme poverty and lack of education are also some of the reasons for women’s low status in society. Poverty and lack of education derives countless women to work in low paying domestic service, organized prostitution or as migrant laborers. Women are not only getting unequal pay for equal or more work but also they are being offered only low skill jobs for which lower wages are paid. This has become a major form of inequality on the basis of gender. 

Educating girl child is still seen as a bad investment because she is bound to get married and leave her paternal home one day. Thus, without having good education women are found lacking in present day’s demanding job skills; whereas, each year’s High School and 10+2 standard results show that girls are always doing better than boys. This shows that parents are not spending much after 10+2 standard on girl child and that’s why they lack in job market. 

Not only in education, in case of family food habits, it is the male child who gets all the nutritious and choicest foods while the girl child gets whatever is left behind after the male members have taken their meals or the food which is low in both quality and nutrition. And this becomes a major health issue in her later years. One of the main reasons for the high incidences of difficult births and anemia in women is the poor quality of food which a girl always gets either in her paternal home or in her in-laws as also is the excessive workload that they are made to bear from their early childhood. 

So the inequality or discrimination against women is at various levels in the society, either in home or outside home. 

Gender Inequality in India: Important Data Global Indices: 

Gender Inequality is also reflected in India’s poor ranking in various global gender indices. 

UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index- 2014: India’s ranking is 127 out of 152 countries in the List. This ranking is only above Afghanistan as far as SAARC countries are concerned. 

World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index- 2014:   

                                 India’s ranks at 114 in the list of 142 countries of the world. 

This Index examines gender gap in four major areas: 

        Economic participation and opportunity. 

        Educational achievements. 

        Health and life expectancy. 

   Political empowerment.  

India’s position on these indicators was as follows: 

Economic participation and opportunity: 134th 

Educational achievements: 126th 

Health and Life expectancy: 141st 

Political empowerment: 15th 

These two important Global Indices show the sorry state of affairs in India as far as gender equality is concerned. Only in case of ‘Political Empowerment’ India is doing fine which is a welcome sign. But other indices are very poor and a lot need to be done to improve the same.

Gender Inequality Statistics 

Gender inequality manifests in varied ways. And as far as India is concerned the major indicators are as follows: 

Female Foeticide 

Female Infanticide Child (0 to 6 age group) 

Sex Ratio: 919 Sex Ratio: 943 

Female literacy:65.4% 

Maternal Mortality Rate: 178 deaths per 100000 live births. 

These above mentioned indicators are some of the important indices which show the status of women in our country. 

Female foeticide and female infanticide are most inhuman of acts. And it is a shame that in India these practices are prevailing at large scale. 

The data shows that despite the law in place viz Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 sex selective abortion is still on the rise. One estimate done by MacPherson shows that more than 100000 illegal abortions are being performed every year in India mainly for the reason that the featus is of girl child. Due to this, there is an alarming trend which has come to the notice in 2011 census report; the report shows Child Sex-Ratio (i.e sex-ratio of children between the age group 0 to 6) at 919 which is 8 points lesser than the 2001 data of 927. The data indicates that sex-selective abortion is increasing in our country. As far as overall sex-ratio is concerned, it’s 943 in 2011 report as compared to 933 of 2001 which is 10 points increase. Though it is a good sign that overall sex ratio is increasing but it’s still tilted against females. 

Female literacy is at 65.46% in 2011 as against 82.14% of male literacy. This gap indicates a wide gender disparity in India that Indians do not give enough importance to the education of girls. All these indicators points towards the sorry state of affairs in India regarding gender justice and women’s human right. Though every year government starts various schemes and programs apart from existing ones for the benefit and empowerment of women but on the ground there are not enough visible changes. The change will appear only when the mind set of Indian society would change; when the society would start treating male and female on equal footing and when a girl would not be considered as a burden. 

Legal and Constitutional Safeguards against Gender Inequality 

Indian Constitution provides for positive efforts to eliminate gender inequality; the Preamble to the Constitution talks about goals of achieving social, economic and political justice to everyone and to provide equality of status and of opportunity to all its citizens. Further, women have equal right to vote in our political system. Article 15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex also apart from other grounds such as religion, race, caste or place of birth. Article 15(3) authorizes the Sate to make any special provision for women and children. Moreover, the Directive Principles of State Policy also provides various provisions which are for the benefit of women and provides safeguards against discrimination. 

Other than these Constitutional safeguards, various protective Legislations have also been passed by the Parliament to eliminate exploitation of women and to give them equal status in society. For instance, the Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was enacted to abolish and make punishable the inhuman custom of Sati; the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to eliminate the practice of dowry; the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to give rightful status to married couples who marry inter-caste or inter-religion; Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Bill (introduced in Parliament in 1991, passed in 1994 to stop female infanticide and many more such Acts. Furthermore, the Parliament time to time brings out amendments to existing laws in order to give protection to women according to the changing needs of the society, for instance, Section 304-B was added to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to make dowry-death or bride-burning a specific offence punishable with maximum punishment of life imprisonment. 

So there are varied legislative safeguards and protection mechanisms for women but the ground reality is very different. Despite all these provisions women are still being treated as second rate citizens in our country; men are treating them as an object to fulfill their carnal desires; crimes against women are at alarming stage; the practice of dowry is still widely prevalent; female infanticide is a norm in our homes. 

How we can Eliminate Gender Inequality 

The list of legislations as well as types of discriminations or inequalities may go on but the real change will only come when the mentality of men will change; when the male species of human beings would start treating women as equal and not subordinate or weaker to them. In fact not only men but women also need to change their mindset as through cultural conditioning they have also become part of the same exploitative system of patriarchy and are playing a supportive role in furthering men’s agenda of dominating women. 

Therefore, what is needed is the movement for Women’s empowerment where women can become economically independent and self-reliant; where they can fight their own fears and go out in the world fearless; where they can snatch their rights from the clutches of men and they don’t have to ask for them; where women have good education, good career, ownership of property and above all where they have freedom of choice and also the freedom to make their own decisions without the bondages of age old saying of Manu. 

Let’s hope and wish that our participative democracy, in times to come, and with the efforts of both women and men, would be able to found solutions to the problem of gender inequality and would take us all towards our cherished dream of a truly modern society in both thought and action.

GROUP-II ECONOMY(తెలంగాణలో భూ సంస్కరణలు)

                               GROUP-II PAPER-3 SECTION-2(UNIT-2)
syllabus తెలంగాణలో భూ సంస్కరణలు:  మధ్యవర్తుల తొలగింపు-జమీందారీ, జాగిర్దారీ, ఇనాందారీ,కౌలు సంస్కరణలు ,భూ పరిమితి,షెడ్యూల్డ్ ఏరియాల్లో భూమి అన్యాక్రాంతం

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