'Political instability stalls child welfare schemes'

Frequent political instability appears to have cast a shadow over the National Authority for the Elimination of Child Labour (NAECL) which has not met for more than two years.

The NAECL, an ambitious body constituted by the government in September 1994 to facilitate the convergence of services within different ministries to effectively tackle the problem of child labour, last met in early 1997 under the chairmanship of the then Labour Minister M. Arunachalam. But since then, it has not been possible to schedule a meeting of the authority, regrets Union Labour Secretary Dr. L. Misha. With fresh elections round the corner the child labour issue will once again be pushed to the background, he told. “While the Ministry of Labour is concerned with the problem of working children, departments like women and child development, education, rural areas and employment, urban poverty alleviation and health and family welfare have separate programmes for promoting the well being of children”, he said.

The support of ministries such as Information and Broadcasting was sought to spread the message against child labour, while education and health departments had been entrusted with absorbing working children into schools and giving them regular medical checkups respectively.

However, in the absence of regular meetings of the NAECL the convergence of these multiple services is not happening and children withdrawn from work are often not enrolled into school or treated for their physical and psychological ailments inflicted over years of drudgery, he said. The Labour Secretary expressed regret that despite the government's noble intentions an impression had been created over the years that in India the law was generally tolerant of the existence of child labour. “An impression seems to have gained ground that the law has spoken more in relation to the need to regulate the working conditions of working children and not so much in relation to prohibition of employment of children”, he observed.Disputing this, Dr. Mishra said his ministry had in January this year raised the number of industries banning child labour from 25 to 64. The figure was raised from seven occupations and 18 processes to 13 occupations and 51 processes.
“I have circulated 500-600 copies of this notification to officials concerned in all the states directing that no child under 14 should work in these industries,” he said and added that Rs. 37 lakh had also been sanctioned to the Department of Audio-Visual Publicity (DAVP) for undertaking mass campaigns to sensitise people.

Dr. Mishra underlined the need for a countrywide mobilisation against child labour, along the lines of that adopted for the total literacy campaign, of employers, trade unions, teachers and others. This, he said, was essential as law-enforcement agencies had been found to be in collusion with employers in many states.

Referring to the National Human Rights Commission's directive that civil servants should not employ children under 14 years as domestic labourers, the Labour Secretary said the Department of Personnel had initially turned it down.

However, the NHRC recently asked that department to reconsider is decision and so far 17 state governments have amended the State Civil Services Conduct Rules to this effect, Dr. Mishra added.

Indian children more obedient: Survey

Contrary to fears that the satellite television will derail moral values of the country's childen, 83 per cent of children and youth have told an international survey that they went by their parents' advice on which programmes to watch.

The recent survey commissioned by private agencies in Asia-Pacific countries also showed that cricket was the most popular sport and Sachin Tendulkar the hero of Indian children.
Cricket, however, does not figure in the priority of other countries, including Australia, the survey reveals.

In all 5,700 children in the age group of 7-18 were interviewed during the survey held in 18 cities in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, The Phillippines, Sinapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

While a mere 13 per cent of those interviewed in India confessed that at times they watched programmes not meant for their age group, 88 per cent of children and youth in Australia viewed programmes strictly meant for adults, while in Japan the percentage was 64, Taiwan 60 and Indonesia 56. The number of Chinese children viewing adult programmes was 22 per cent, the next lowest after India, the survey showed.

According to the survey, Indian kids were also not far behind their counterparts in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Japan when it came to reading daily newspapers. While 70 per cent of those interviewed in Malaysia said they read the newspapers, in India, which ranked fifth, 60 per cent children responded positively.

China and Australia, with 31 per cent and 34 per cent respectively were at the bottom of the rung. In fashion wear, 'Jeans' was the unanimous choice of girls and boys of Asia and Australia, while 'Bata' seemed to be the favourite designer label for footwear among Indian children. Other countries preferred footwear by “Reebok, Action and Nike”.

ONGC, IOC to develop three power projects

Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are to jointly set up three power projects totalling 1,200 mw with an aggregate cost of Rs. 4,700 crore, as per the strategic alliance between the two oil giants.

The three ventures are the 550 mw refinery residue-fuelled project at Sawli in Gujarat, the 350 mw refinery residue-based project at Panipat and the 330 mw naptha-fired project at Hazira also in Gujarat, top ONGC sources said.

All the three projects would be maintained as non-governmental enterprises by keeping the combined holding of IOC and ONGC in each at 50 per cent.The remaining equity potion is to be given to strategic foreign partners as well as financial institutions and private investors, the sources said.All three projects would have a debt equity profile of 70:30. The promoters are currently preparing the detailed feasibility reports on the projects.

I gave stability but was shunned by party: Rao
Former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao finds it odd that the Congress, which shunned him in the 1996 and 1998 polls, should be fighting the present election on the plank of stability which, he says, his minority government had given.

In an interview to the Star TV programme Prime Minister Speak, to be telecast recently, Rao said: “The Congress worker is a very wise guy.... He knows whose name to use, whose name not to use.”

On a question relating to the large number of scams during his tenure and that he was the only PM to have been chargesheeted in a criminal case, he said: “Corruption is not the innovation of the nineties... I have lived in a feudal system and have experienced it.”Rao also regretted that the liberalisation of economy that came during his tenure was being “used as a stick to beat me.... It is very difficult to beat me.” The whole programme of liberalisation “has been hijacked”, he said, “and no one is more unhappy than I”.

Rao candidly accepted the blame for the demolition of the Babri Masjid, noting: “Who would you blame but me?” He said Indira Gandhi was a comrade in adversity.

“I know many people deserted her the moment she came into trouble. It is a legend and so is the bond.” He brushed aside the age gap between him and Rajiv Gandhi.

Guinness honours Indian couple
It is a rare honour for Saloo and Neena Choudhury, ace car rallyists from Calcutta. Guinness World Records is organising a round-the-globe motor car rally called Guinness World records Road Challenge, beginning October 15, 2000, and it has named the winner's trophy Choudhury Trophy. “It's in recognition of the couple's achievement in 1989 when they passed through all six continents in 69 days and repeated the same feat in 1991 in much less time — 39 days,” Christopher Irwin, MD of Guinness, who was in Calcutta, said.

Stray dogs maul girl to death
A 3-year-old girl was mauled to death by stray dogs at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuam recently. Late, irate locals stoned at least four stray dogs to death.