Our food basket is increasingly being confined to a few select crops and cereals. Yet, our nation is endowed with a huge variety – a rich biodiversity, which provides of a complex stock of animals, plant and micro-organisms at genetic, species and eco-system levels. India needs to look beyond performance and diversify with biodiversity as the as a key functionary of the agro-ecosystem. Policies are thus urgently needed to promote a robust and sustainable agro-process through the biodiversity route.
Biodiversity is critical to the sustainability, resilience and adaptability of agricultural production system. Of the 250,000 globally identified plant species, about 7,000 have historically been used in human diets. At present, however, only about 30 crops form the basis of world’s agriculture and just three species of maize, rice and wheat supply more than half the world’s daily calories (CBD, 2008). Agriculture continues to be the mainstay to India’s large and growing population. Due to prominence of agriculture in the national food security, its performance is central to India’s policy and planning.
The biodiversity mainstreaming is the process of embedding biodiversity consideration into policies, strategies and practices of key public and private actors that impact or rely on biodiversity. It is important to strengthen the linkages between biodiversity and agriculture to enlarge the food, nutrition and health security of India.
Integrating biodiversity concerns into the agricultural sector will increase the agricultural productivity, environmental quality, reduce externalities, improve the ecosystem services and most importantly reduce the negative impacts on biodiversity. Therefore, it is important to mainstream biodiversity concerns into national plans and strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity towards minimizing the negative impacts on biodiversity through policy interventions.
Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law (CEBPOL), under National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) recently initiated a study on mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Agriculture Sector. The policy analyzed various schemes and missions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and has come out with few recommendations for integrating biodiversity concerns into the agricultural sector involving local, regional and national government.
The discussion titled-‘Policy Dialogue on Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Agricultural Sector’ was held at National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa on January 20, 2017
The proposed policy intervention document could help in achieving the twin goal of enhancing agriculture productivity as well as contributing to sustained agro biodiversity wealth of India.
Under the CEBPOL Programme, the NBA has recently suggested strategies as follows:
- Conserve in-situ
Agro-climatic zone wise planning and on-farm conservation need to be promoted across the agro biodiversity rich areas. Incentives can be provided to local communities for promoting diversified agro-ecological systems and designation of agricultural biodiversity conservation sites/agro biodiversity hotspots. - Conserve traditional seed varieties
An integrated approach is required to increase the agricultural productivity to eradicate hunger, strengthen farmer’s resilience to environmental changes and restore crop diversity. A national database/mapping of traditional seed varieties need to be developed and documented. To ensure adequate availability of traditional seeds, seed banks can be set up in each agro-climatic zone/village/block level, so that these valuable resources can be saved and utilized by the new generations of farmers. - Identify economically potential crops and facilitate cultivation
Bio-economy encompasses the sustainable production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, bio-based products and bio-energy. To identify the economically potential agro biodiversity crops/resources, the marketable traditional crops/breeds should be identified. This knowledge based frontier has the potential to generate new solutions for the planet’s most important challenges regarding energy, health, food, water and climate change delivering social, environmental and economic benefits. - Manage and conserve pollinators
Bee keeping is vital for agro-biodiversity for cross pollination of horticultural and many agricultural crops. In order to maximize agricultural production, along with honey-bees, other native agriculturally important insects also can be promoted viz moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and other vertebrates. - Encourage use of bio pesticides
Increasing the usage of bio-pesticides/insecticides at the local level, also the agriculturally important insect population can be increased in the agricultural landscape by planting native varieties of trees/providing bio infrastructural facilities towards controlling pests and diseases. - Conserve livestock
Incentives/free insurance should be given for communities who preserve those indigenous/local varieties/breeds. Relevant indigenous knowledge of management strategies used by communities to utilize the genetic diversity in their livestock should be documented; Indigenous knowledge of pastoral communities about animal maintenance and breed should be documented with the active involvement of the communities, breeders association, gaushalas and NGOs. - Below ground biodiversity and agro biodiversity index
The agro biodiversity index can be used to monitor the loss of agro biodiversity in the agro biodiversity hotspots. Also the below ground level biodiversity index can be included in the soil health card scheme for assessing the wealth of soil biodiversity. - Land use planning
The agricultural land utilisation area need to be classified considering the importance of conserving the varietal genetic diversity. It is suggested to classify the agricultural landscape through a land use policy and the agricultural landscape can be classified as: a)Agro-biodiversity hotspots; b) Prime agricultural/farm lands (fertile); c) Watershed area; d) Double cropped land; and, e) Pasture land for livestock rearing. - Identify Problematic Invasive Alien Species
The spread of alien species is considered one of the greatest global threat to biodiversity. The spread and establishment of have resulted in significant negative economic consequences around the world along with posing threats to human health and agricultural species. A criteria need to be developed for identifying the problematic species and strategies need to be developed towards prioritizing, managing and controlling the spread of invasive alien species. - Integrate horticultural mission with the Green Highways Policy
A green highway is a new concept that includes a roadway design integrating the functionalities of transport and ecological sustainability. The aim for this concept is that growth and development should go hand in hand with sustainability of the eco system and public health. It is recommended that, horticultural crops, fruit bearing trees, medicinal plants , high value timber trees can be promoted in the national and state highways. - Compliance with the Biological Diversity (BD) Act
The agriculture related research institutions need to report to NBA, if any new taxon, breed(s), culture(s), strain(s) or line(s) discovered or developed. All the State Biodiversity Boards(SBBs) should notify the list of plant and animal genetic resources which are in the verge of extinction and necessary rehabilitative measures need to be taken. Also, the list of Normally Traded Commodities for domestic stock and breed of animal, insect and fish genetic resources need to be notified by the central Government. It is also suggested to activate Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in the agro-biodiversity hotspots towards conserving and sustainable utilization of agro biodiversity resources. - Awareness and capacity building
Some of the existing programmes like Farmers Field School (FFS) can be used for creating awareness among farmers about the importance of agro biodiversity. Considering the importance of agro-biodiversity in the emerging global scenario, awareness/literacy campaign for conservation and sustainable management of agro-biodiversity need to be initiated at the gross root level, starting right from school, colleges, gram sabha/ panchayat level. - Finance mobilization and incentive mechanism
To conserve the agro-biodiversity, the financial mechanism can be mobilized through monetary and non-monetary sources. Economic incentives can be provided to the farmers switching over to ecological intensified farming practices (organic farming, integrated pest managementpractices, farming using native varieties) and polluter pay principle can be used to reclaim the agricultural lands affected due to industrial pollution and to reverse the ecology. - Include biodiversity experts in the national/state and district level committees for implementing various missions
The NBA, SBB, BMC representatives/ biodiversity experts may be included as a members in the national/state/district level committees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare schemes viz a) National Food Security Mission; b) National Mission on Oliseeds and Oilpalm; c) Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture; and, e) National Livestock Mission.
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.
Globally, around 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations.
This can pose a significant environmental and health threat.
In the absence of cost-effective, sustainable, disruptive water management solutions, about 70% of sewage is discharged untreated into India’s water bodies.
A staggering 21% of diseases are caused by contaminated water in India, according to the World Bank, and one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, according to Startup India.
As we confront these public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
Traditionally, engineering and public health have been understood as different fields.
Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
Most often, civil engineers do not have adequate skills to address public health problems. And public health professionals do not have adequate engineering skills.
India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials.
This differs from international trends. To manage a wastewater treatment plant in Europe, for example, a candidate must specialise in wastewater engineering.
Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
Similarly, public health professionals can contribute to engineering through well-researched understanding of health issues, measured risks and how course correction can be initiated.
Once both meet, a public health engineer can identify a health risk, work on developing concrete solutions such as new health and safety practices or specialised equipment, in order to correct the safety concern..
There is no doubt that the majority of diseases are water-related, transmitted through consumption of contaminated water, vectors breeding in stagnated water, or lack of adequate quantity of good quality water for proper personal hygiene.
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this.
Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
Currently, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) are considering initiating public health engineering as a separate discipline.
To leverage this opportunity even further, India needs to scale up in the same direction.
Consider this hypothetical situation: Rajalakshmi, from a remote Karnataka village spots a business opportunity.
She knows that flowers, discarded in the thousands by temples can be handcrafted into incense sticks.
She wants to find a market for the product and hopefully, employ some people to help her. Soon enough though, she discovers that starting a business is a herculean task for a person like her.
There is a laborious process of rules and regulations to go through, bribes to pay on the way and no actual means to transport her product to its market.
After making her first batch of agarbathis and taking it to Bengaluru by bus, she decides the venture is not easy and gives up.
On the flipside of this is a young entrepreneur in Bengaluru. Let’s call him Deepak. He wants to start an internet-based business selling sustainably made agarbathis.
He has no trouble getting investors and to mobilise supply chains. His paperwork is over in a matter of days and his business is set up quickly and ready to grow.
Never mind that the business is built on aggregation of small sellers who will not see half the profit .
Is this scenario really all that hypothetical or emblematic of how we think about entrepreneurship in India?
Between our national obsession with unicorns on one side and glorifying the person running a pakora stall for survival as an example of viable entrepreneurship on the other, is the middle ground in entrepreneurship—a space that should have seen millions of thriving small and medium businesses, but remains so sparsely occupied that you could almost miss it.
If we are to achieve meaningful economic growth in our country, we need to incorporate, in our national conversation on entrepreneurship, ways of addressing the missing middle.
Spread out across India’s small towns and cities, this is a class of entrepreneurs that have been hit by a triple wave over the last five years, buffeted first by the inadvertent fallout of demonetization, being unprepared for GST, and then by the endless pain of the covid-19 pandemic.
As we finally appear to be reaching some level of normality, now is the opportune time to identify the kind of industries that make up this layer, the opportunities they should be afforded, and the best ways to scale up their functioning in the shortest time frame.
But, why pay so much attention to these industries when we should be celebrating, as we do, our booming startup space?
It is indeed true that India has the third largest number of unicorns in the world now, adding 42 in 2021 alone. Braving all the disruptions of the pandemic, it was a year in which Indian startups raised $24.1 billion in equity investments, according to a NASSCOM-Zinnov report last year.
However, this is a story of lopsided growth.
The cities of Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR, and Mumbai together claim three-fourths of these startup deals while emerging hubs like Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, and Jaipur account for the rest.
This leap in the startup space has created 6.6 lakh direct jobs and a few million indirect jobs. Is that good enough for a country that sends 12 million fresh graduates to its workforce every year?
It doesn’t even make a dent on arguably our biggest unemployment in recent history—in April 2020 when the country shutdown to battle covid-19.
Technology-intensive start-ups are constrained in their ability to create jobs—and hybrid work models and artificial intelligence (AI) have further accelerated unemployment.
What we need to focus on, therefore, is the labour-intensive micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME). Here, we begin to get to a definitional notion of what we called the mundane middle and the problems it currently faces.
India has an estimated 63 million enterprises. But, out of 100 companies, 95 are micro enterprises—employing less than five people, four are small to medium and barely one is large.
The questions to ask are: why are Indian MSMEs failing to grow from micro to small and medium and then be spurred on to make the leap into large companies?
At the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), we have advocated for a National Mission for Mass Entrepreneurship, the need for which is more pronounced now than ever before.
Whenever India has worked to achieve a significant economic milestone in a limited span of time, it has worked best in mission mode. Think of the Green Revolution or Operation Flood.
From across various states, there are enough examples of approaches that work to catalyse mass entrepreneurship.
The introduction of entrepreneurship mindset curriculum (EMC) in schools through alliance mode of working by a number of agencies has shown significant improvement in academic and life outcomes.
Through creative teaching methods, students are encouraged to inculcate 21st century skills like creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and leadership which are not only foundational for entrepreneurship but essential to thrive in our complex world.
Udhyam Learning Foundation has been involved with the Government of Delhi since 2018 to help young people across over 1,000 schools to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
One pilot programme introduced the concept of ‘seed money’ and saw 41 students turn their ideas into profit-making ventures. Other programmes teach qualities like grit and resourcefulness.
If you think these are isolated examples, consider some larger data trends.
The Observer Research Foundation and The World Economic Forum released the Young India and Work: A Survey of Youth Aspirations in 2018.
When asked which type of work arrangement they prefer, 49% of the youth surveyed said they prefer a job in the public sector.
However, 38% selected self-employment as an entrepreneur as their ideal type of job. The spirit of entrepreneurship is latent and waiting to be unleashed.
The same can be said for building networks of successful women entrepreneurs—so crucial when the participation of women in the Indian economy has declined to an abysmal 20%.
The majority of India’s 63 million firms are informal —fewer than 20% are registered for GST.
Research shows that companies that start out as formal enterprises become two-three times more productive than a similar informal business.
So why do firms prefer to be informal? In most cases, it’s because of the sheer cost and difficulty of complying with the different regulations.
We have academia and non-profits working as ecosystem enablers providing insights and evidence-based models for growth. We have large private corporations and philanthropic and funding agencies ready to invest.
It should be in the scope of a National Mass Entrepreneurship Mission to bring all of them together to work in mission mode so that the gap between thought leadership and action can finally be bridged.